The Barbarian Desolate Grand World.
A majestic, weathered palace of dark gold hovered high in the central skies.
This was the Heaven-Fortune Suppression Palace.
Inside the palace's great hall, Bing Saichuan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. On the small table before him, a Communication Path Immortal Gu lay quietly.
Several Gu Immortals flanked him on either side.
Bing Saichuan stared at the Communication Path Immortal Gu on the table, his brow slightly furrowed.
Fang Yuan and Lu Weiyin had arrived hand in hand, bringing enormous uncertainty to the ongoing three-way struggle between the Grand Worlds. The Longevity Heaven occupied the Barbarian Desolate Grand World — so which direction should they take now?
Should they withdraw first? Or send more forces to probe Fang Yuan's true strength?
Bing Saichuan couldn't make up his mind for the moment.
After pondering briefly, he turned his gaze to the first seat on the left.
There sat a fat man.
The fat man was slumped over the table, fast asleep. Drool had even dribbled from the corner of his mouth onto his sleeve, then dripped onto the rosewood table.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bing Saichuan rapped his knuckles against the fat man's table.
The sound jolted the fat man awake. He opened his hazy eyes and asked drowsily, "What is it?"
Bing Saichuan suppressed his irritation. "Gai Mei, you're the Heavenly Extremity Son — a specialist of the Wisdom Path. The latest intelligence is right here. I want you to calculate what our next move should be."
As he spoke, the Communication Path Immortal Gu flew up and landed on the fat man's head.
The fat man didn't even reach for it. He simply sent his mind directly into the Immortal Gu nestled in his hair, and his pupils contracted slightly.
"Huh? That great demon lord Fang Yuan has actually come?" The fat man spread his hands. "See? My earlier calculation was correct, wasn't it?"
Bing Saichuan rapped on the table again. "I'm asking you to calculate how we should respond to this variable! Originally, the Loess Grand World was the weakest. We controlled the Barbarian Desolate Grand World, and the Heavenly Court held the Azure Lotus Grand World — both wanted to seize the opportunity to devour the Loess Grand World, strengthen themselves, and then settle things between each other. But now Fang Yuan and Lu Weiyin have descended into the Loess Grand World. If we attack rashly, they'll likely counterattack and drain too much of our strength."
Bing Saichuan wasn't actually afraid of Fang Yuan's counterattack — he was worried about the larger strategic picture.
After all, the current situation was far more complex than before, with three Grand Worlds entangled in mutual conflict. If any two sides fought too fiercely, the third would reap the benefits.
"Fine, let me calculate then." The Heavenly Extremity Son, the fat Gu Immortal Gai Mei, shook his wide sleeves, extended five thick, chubby fingers, and made a show of pinching them together in calculation.
"Oh, I've got it — we should just carry on as usual," Gai Mei declared.
Bing Saichuan stared in disbelief. "You're supposed to activate the Immortal Gu's killer move and actually perform a proper calculation!"
Gai Mei blinked. "Huh? How did you know I was faking it? You caught me! You're so smart — you must be the real Wisdom Path specialist, right?"
A vein throbbed at Bing Saichuan's temple. "Do you think you're Wu Yong from the Southern Border? You don't even have any means to conceal your aura! Now calculate — for real this time!"
Gai Mei shook his wide sleeves once more, baring those five thick fingers again. He was about to pinch them when he suddenly sighed. "Ahh, forget it. Activating a killer move is too tiring. Why don't we just ask the Master directly?"
Bing Saichuan's eye twitched with rage. He growled in a low voice, "Absolutely not! The Master is currently working with the Earth Extremity Son, the Dark Extremity Son, and the Universe Extremity Son to deduce the layout of the Limitless Demon Venerable. How can we disturb the Master?"
"Right now, the Heavenly Court has already taken the initiative and seized the Book Mountain. We're entirely dependent on the Master just to have any hope of catching up with the Heavenly Court's progress. Heavenly Extremity Son, don't you have any sense of the bigger picture?"
Gai Mei grumbled unhappily, "Stop calling me 'Heavenly Extremity Son, Heavenly Extremity Son' all the time. I never wanted this position in the first place. You all just forced it onto me."
The Yellow Extremity Son Jiao Huo, who sat beside Gai Mei, couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up. "Brother Gai, why don't you just go ahead and make the calculation? This isn't just about the Loess Grand World's military strength — it's also about Fang Yuan's movements."
"That demon Fang Yuan has absolutely no sense of human solidarity whatsoever. What I'm worried about is that he'll capture the native Gu Immortals of the Loess Grand World — and perhaps even the native Gu Immortals of ours and the Heavenly Court — and imprison them in his Supreme Immortal Orifice. Look at what he's done across the Five Regions. He recruited alien races into his ranks and accepted virtually anyone who came to him. I think the chances of him doing the same here are extremely high."
"If that happens, it could ruin the Master's grand strategy."
Jiao Huo's persuasion carried an earnest, heartfelt tone, but Gai Mei simply shook his head. Instead, he even grinned. "Actually, none of us need to worry so much. We're anxious, but is the Heavenly Court not equally anxious? Why don't we just watch what the Heavenly Court does? They have Immortal Venerable Xingxiu overseeing them — the greatest Wisdom Path specialist in all of history. Her calculations will certainly be more accurate than mine."
Jiao Huo's expression froze. "Even so, if the Heavenly Court calculates the answer first, they'll inevitably seize the initiative. If we wait to reference their actions, we'll be falling behind once again."
"I'm not calculating, no matter what!" Gai Mei rolled his eyes, flopped back onto the table, and buried his head to sleep once more.
Jiao Huo, Bing Saichuan, and the others glared at him, but he simply pretended not to notice.
"Charge! Follow me in!"
"Drive all of these bastards back!"
"Kill them — !"
Thousands of Gu Masters clashed across the terrain. The battle line was jagged and uneven, blood soaking the earth.
In the skies above, the Gu Immortals waged their own war — over a dozen Gu Immortals fought in scattered duels, an endless melee.
On the ground, the Gu Master army of the Loess Grand World launched a counterattack wave. But in the skies, the Gu Immortals of the Loess Grand World were still being suppressed.
The Saint of the Loess Grand World had already descended. The Gu Masters could summon their blood-courage to fight with renewed vigor, but in the clash between Gu Immortals, sheer morale alone could not bridge the gap in their power.
After all, the Loess Grand World had fewer Gu Immortals than the Azure Lotus Grand World.
There was nothing to be done about it.
The three Grand Worlds had been created in sequence. The oldest was the Barbarian Desolate Grand World, though it suffered from severe internal strife. The Azure Lotus Grand World came second, and the Loess Grand World was last — for the Blessed Land Immortal Venerable had been the last among the Venerables.
The Loess Grand World had few Gu Immortals to begin with, and now it was being targeted by both of the other Grand Worlds combined. Their Gu Immortal combat strength dwindled with every battle, they were stretched beyond their limits, and the situation was dire.
"Our Saint has arrived — there is still hope."
"I will protect the Loess Grand World! I will protect my home!"
The Gu Immortals of the Loess Grand World cried out, rallying one another with shouts of encouragement.