Central Continent.
Flowing Silver Blessed Land.
"Spare, spare my life!"
"Run, that's the Purple Star Demon Immortal! Someone far beyond our ability to deal with."
"Just our luck—we barely break in and the Purple Star Demon Immortal shows up!"
The Central Continent Gu Immortals cried out in dismay, scrambling to flee.
"Did I say you could leave?" Purple Star Fairy sneered, purple radiance streaming from her entire body.
The glow illuminated half the sky. The majority of the Central Continent Gu Immortals perished miserably; only a single one managed to escape with their life.
Purple Star Fairy was an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal and a great Wisdom Path powerhouse. Facing these Sixth and Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals, she displayed overwhelming, hopeless combat strength.
Having slaughtered the Gu Immortals present with ease, Purple Star Fairy curled a finger, and the souls of every one of them were drawn before Phantom Soul.
"Devour them, and Master's soul foundation will increase substantially once more," Purple Star Fairy said with a smile.
But Phantom Soul was sullen and dejected, his morale low. "Sigh… even if my foundation grows stronger, what of it? My original body is dead. All that's left is this wisp of a split soul, barely clinging to life."
"Master, you must not lose heart," An Xun hastily urged. "Your subordinate has brought nearly all the soul-path resources from the Peaceful Soul Cave Heaven. They are provisions for your cultivation."
During this period, An Xun had successfully rendezvoused with Purple Star Fairy and Phantom Soul.
After finishing his encouragement of Phantom Soul, An Xun turned to Purple Star Fairy. "Lady Purple Star, that Transformation Path Gu Immortal just now—you let him go on purpose, didn't you? Why do that? Were you hoping he'd lure more Gu Immortal enemies here?"
An Xun's soul had been reshaped by Spectral Soul, making him fanatically loyal to Phantom Soul. He would raise objections to anything that went against Phantom Soul's interests.
Right now, he stared at Purple Star Fairy, his gaze sharp with questioning.
Purple Star Fairy let out a cold laugh and completely ignored him.
Phantom Soul hurried to ease the atmosphere. "That Transformation Path Gu Immortal—if I'm not mistaken, that should be Iron Steed Warrior. He's one of Fang Yuan's subordinates, originally a Gu Immortal from the Beast Disaster Cave Heaven. After the Battle of Fate, he's been wandering outside ever since."
An Xun furrowed his brow, indignant. "Fang Yuan is the one who killed Master's original body! He's our mortal enemy—we should have killed that one even more!"
Phantom Soul sighed. "Right now, Fang Yuan's demonic might towers to the heavens. He's thoroughly subdued the Beast Calamity Alliance and claimed a corner of the Eastern Sea. When he fought the Eastern Sea Righteous Path Alliance, he displayed Venerable-level combat strength—he's completely broken free of the Heavenly Dao's restrictions. Now he's calling on his subordinates to return, and look—who among the powers along the way dares to stand in his way? Even the ten great ancient sects of Central Continent turn a blind eye."
Purple Star Fairy continued, "Fang Yuan is cunning, despicable, vicious, and ruthless. When he was young, he slaughtered his entire family—every last relative—just to raise his own Aptitude. He is cold and heartless; whether it was the Battle of Fate or the Heavenly Court campaign, he cast aside his old subordinates without a moment's hesitation. Even if we had killed that Iron Steed Warrior, how much would it truly have cost Fang Yuan?"
"Despicable!" An Xun clenched his fists, finally understanding. "This demon's momentum is already established—we truly cannot shake him. Not only that, even eliminating his subordinates carries enormous risk, since we'd fear Fang Yuan might trace it back to us. If this demon has already recovered his combat strength, why doesn't he go fight Heavenly Court to the death?"
As Purple Star Fairy plundered the Flowing Silver Blessed Land, she analyzed further. "There's one thing I'm quite suspicious of—Fang Yuan's Immortal Essence reserves. It's very likely he's currently short on Immortal Essence. His previous clash with Ancestor Qi Sea was just a bluff. So right now, he's fully focused on recuperation."
"Can you be certain?" An Xun's eyes blazed with keen light upon hearing this. "Perhaps that's something we can exploit!"
Purple Star Fairy fell silent once more.
Phantom Soul shook his head with a bitter smile. "Do you know what the greatest takeaway from our clashes with Fang Yuan has been?"
"What?"
"That you must never judge Fang Yuan by conventional standards. Based on the previous intensity and frequency of battles, his current shortage of Immortal Essence does follow logical reasoning. But no one knows how many methods he commands, how much the Venerables secretly aided him, or what remarkable techniques exist in the memories he gained from his rebirth. Even my original body fell to him. We've only just managed to escape with our lives—let's not go provoking him lightly." Phantom Soul counseled.
Purple Star Fairy frowned. Phantom Soul's words didn't exactly sting her heart, but she was growing worried about his morale.
Fang Yuan was always full of surprises, repeatedly delivering shocking performances. As a result, Phantom Soul's heart was now filled with dread. This was hardly befitting the bearing of the great Demonic Venerable Spectral Soul!
Phantom Soul was not merely one of Spectral Soul's split souls—he was also the master whom Purple Star Fairy and An Xun had pledged their loyalty to, the one they hoped would rise to power in the future.
To bolster Phantom Soul's spirit, Purple Star Fairy weighed her words carefully before speaking at a measured pace. "Fang Yuan is indeed terrifying. Consider that all along, he has been under pressure from every direction. Whether it was the relentless push from the various Venerables or my leadership of Heavenly Court's hunt, he spent a long time in a state of constant displacement, never knowing if he would survive to the next day."
"As I see it, Fang Yuan is merely a chess piece. The Venerables who funded him gave him up entirely the moment the Fate Gu was destroyed. Not merely abandoned—they intended to have him destroyed! Both the Heavenly Dao's restrictions binding Fang Yuan and Spectral Soul's pursuit of him are proof of that."
"But now, Fang Yuan has broken free of those chains and assassinated Demonic Venerable Spectral Soul. He has escaped the Venerables' designs and obtained his freedom. He never had the time to properly develop and build up his strength before—and now he does."
"With every passing second, he is growing stronger, at a pace outsiders can hardly fathom. Even I, a great Wisdom Path powerhouse who has clashed with Fang Yuan multiple times, cannot estimate how powerful his next strike will be."
"But no matter how strong he becomes, as long as he has not yet attained Venerable status, he is not invincible." Purple Star Fairy's tone shifted as she spoke.