"So it turns out the Demon Venerable of Stealing Heaven intervened not just through the Heavenly Phenomenon killer move, but also through this location — I simply never noticed it," Fang Yuan murmured.
Suddenly, a new thought struck him, and he blurted out, "Could it be that Qing Chou is also still alive?"
During the late stages of Fang Yuan's pursuit battle, the Divine Emperor City had rushed to the battlefield in great haste. Had its sole purpose truly been to suppress the Qi Cut-Off Demon Immortal and Longevity Heaven?
What Fang Yuan was thinking about were those fragments of Qing Chou's corpse.
What was the Divine Emperor City's true primary objective?
That was very much worth debating!
Lu Weiyin's expression grew slightly solemn as he remarked with a sigh, "This point is something I only figured out after returning here and recovering for a long time. What was the true reason for the Divine Emperor City's participation? At the time, the Ninth Transformation Hatred Gu was indeed completely devoid of any aura — it appeared utterly destroyed."
"However, Qing Chou is fundamentally a life form created from a killer move. Whether it is truly dead or alive, even I cannot say with certainty. Immortal Venerable Yuan Lian's method was absolutely inconceivable — truly breathtaking!"
To be able to transform a killer move into an Ancient Legendary, such a technique was far too profound. Even Fang Yuan and Lu Weiyin could only stare blankly, unable to fathom its depths.
Lu Weiyin continued, "As for Qing Chou's state of life or death, I have no way of divining it. But as for the Ghostly Soul Demon Venerable's situation, I know it with perfect clarity."
Fang Yuan smiled faintly. "I would be glad to hear the details."
Lu Weiyin had kept them in suspense for long enough — he was finally returning to the main topic.
He answered, "The Ghostly Soul Demon Venerable's current state can be described as both dead and alive. That is because his true body has always been hidden inside the Gate of Life and Death."
Fang Yuan nodded, letting out a sigh. "Just as I suspected."
When the Demon Venerable Ghostly Soul had self-destructed at the time, Fang Yuan had already felt something slightly off. After all the Heavenly Dao Dao Marks had been refined, he reflected further, and the doubts in his heart only grew.
The great Ghostly Soul — dead, just like that?
After all, the Ghostly Soul was the most heaven-defying existence among all the Venerables!
In Fang Yuan's previous life five hundred years ago, the Zombie Alliance had still been standing, the Shadow Sect lurking in the shadows, and Ghostly Soul had secretly been controlling Heavenly Court. Dragon Duke had never appeared, clearly having been secretly eliminated by Ghostly Soul. He had also plotted to kill Phoenix Nine Songs and seized the Langya Blessed Land in the process — he had been manipulating the grand scheme, the single greatest mastermind behind the war across the Five Regions.
As long as the Great Dream Immortal Venerable had not been born, Ghostly Soul was the biggest winner.
And so, there had been Fang Yuan's invasion of the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land, with Song Zhong assisting at his side, cutting down Feng Jinhuang.
Who was Feng Jinhuang?
Since childhood, Feng Jinhuang had a Dream Wing Immortal Gu voluntarily fly to her — she was a seed of the Great Dream Immortal Venerable!
Who was Fang Yuan?
Fang Yuan was an otherworldly demon. Under the condition that Fate had not yet been destroyed, only through his hand could changes be wrought.
Who was Song Zhong?
Song Zhong was publicly known as Song Zixing's son, but in truth he was transformed from Song Zixing's blood embryo.
And Song Zixing?
He was known as the Blood Dragon — a member of the Shadow Sect, a clone of the Ghostly Soul!
Fang Yuan's previous life five hundred years ago had truly been riddled with hidden depths.
At that time, Fate Gu had not yet been destroyed, the Qi Cut-Off Demon Immortal could not be reborn, and the other Venerables could only glare helplessly at the Ghostly Soul.
Ghostly Soul had run rampant, ultimately forcing the Heavenly Dao to select Fang Yuan — to send him back to the past to change everything!
The great battle at Yitian Mountain had, on the surface, ended with Fang Yuan successfully thwarting the Ghostly Soul.
But was that really the case?
When the Ghostly Soul learned that Fang Yuan had been reborn and sent back, he immediately understood it was the work of the Heavenly Dao. Even if he followed his original plan, even if he could control Heavenly Court and manipulate the great war across the Five Regions, he would always face interference from the Heavenly Dao. If one Fang Yuan wasn't enough, there would be a second, a third otherworldly demon reborn and sent back — the Ghostly Soul would never truly be able to stand at the pinnacle of the universe.
And so, he changed his thinking. That was the moment he truly began cooperating with the Red Lotus Demon Venerable.
In the end, he gifted the Supreme Immortal Zombie Body to Fang Yuan, forging a complete otherworldly demon!
After the Battle of Fate, Fate Gu was destroyed by Fang Yuan.
The Ghostly Soul wanted to reclaim the Supreme Immortal Zombie Body.
His calculations had been perfect. His soul path realm was not lacking — with the Supreme Immortal Zombie Body, he could devour the Soul Calming Cave Heaven and others, rising to prominence again in the blink of an eye!
That way, he would leapfrog all the other Venerables and seize the initiative.
The advantage of initiative was beyond imagination. Once the Ghostly Soul succeeded, he alone would reign supreme — the entire universe would be crushed beneath his feet.
But he had not succeeded.
The Red Lotus Demon Venerable had schemed against him. The Heavenly Dao Dao Marks that bound Fang Yuan also protected him.
Without obtaining the Supreme Immortal Zombie Body, the difference in development had been vast.
During Fang Yuan's pursuit battle, Heavenly Court and Longevity Heaven had struck simultaneously, and with Lu Weiyin — the heir of the Immortal Venerable Le Tu — joining the fight, they had finally killed the Demon Venerable Ghostly Soul.
Looking back at the Ghostly Soul's schemes, Fang Yuan placed himself in the Ghostly Soul's shoes: if he were the Ghostly Soul, what would he have done?
And so, he quickly discovered a massive flaw in the Ghostly Soul's grand plan —
It was far too reckless!
During the Dream Battle, Dragon Duke had defeated the Lord of Purple Mountain, breached the Blessed Land, and captured the Demon Venerable Ghostly Soul alive, taking away the Gate of Life and Death.
The Demon Venerable Ghostly Soul's life and death were in Heavenly Court's hands. If Fairy Zi Wei, driven by greed for intelligence and leads, had simply executed the Demon Venerable Ghostly Soul directly — wouldn't that have been catastrophic?
If it were Fang Yuan, he would never have arranged things that way.
What about the Ghostly Soul?
Even if his killing intent ranked first among all, he was surely not so foolish and stupid.
And so, the most likely possibility was that the Demon Venerable Ghostly Soul was not the Ghostly Soul's true body!
If Fang Yuan were in the Ghostly Soul's position, he would have done exactly this — use a clone disguised as his true body, allowing himself to be captured by Heavenly Court.
On one hand, it could lower or even eliminate the enemy's vigilance.
On the other hand, the clone was also a trap — and Fairy Zi Wei had ultimately fallen for it.
And thirdly, the intelligence and heritage possessed by the clone were far inferior to the true body's. Even if captured, it would not provide excessive aid to the enemy.