All the relevant intelligence flowed into Meigong and Tonggong's minds in an instant.
The moment they laid eyes on the battlefield, they simultaneously understood the full situation.
Meigong sighed. "Longgong..."
He remembered when he first laid eyes on Longgong. Back then, the man still had a full head of black hair, looking young.
Longgong had just joined the Heavenly Court and come to pay his respects to Meigong.
Though Meigong held senior standing, he hurriedly returned the salute: "Fellow Immortal, as a Protector of the Dao, the welfare of all living beings rests upon your shoulders."
Longgong's face was solemn: "I shall give my all—even if it costs me my life, I will not hesitate!"
Time had passed and things had changed. When Meigong awakened once more and returned to the Five Regions, Longgong had already fallen in battle, passing on ahead of him.
"Longgong, you died as you lived—you never once went against your original vow." Meigong murmured with emotion, then surged forward through the air. "And now, it is our turn."
Inside the Fate Allocation Altar, Bing Saichuan's eyes gleamed with sharp light. "The Immortal Tomb... so the Immortal Tomb was hidden nearby all along. Impressive work by the Heavenly Court—we searched multiple times and never found it."
Both Eternal Life and Fang Yuan had long since learned of the Immortal Tomb's existence. The awakening of the Gu Immortals within it had been anticipated by both sides.
"Look—Fang Yuan's side has made a new move!" Chang Bai, one of the Eight Extremity Masters, called out.
Bing Saichuan quickly shifted his gaze and saw four Immortal Gu Houses—the Frost House, the Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling, the Crimson River Pavilion, and the Scarlet Sky Altar—all turning and descending from the mountainside.
Bing Saichuan couldn't help but feel surprised and suspicious. "It seems Fang Yuan's side had a contingency plan all along, but pulling four Immortal Gu Houses away at once—isn't that a bit excessive?"
Fang Yuan possessed seven Immortal Gu Houses in total. Lingyun City had been given to Qi Jue Demon Immortal, and now four more had departed, leaving only the Golden Steel Fort and Crimson Palace on the mountain.
What mattered most right now was to fight their way to the summit of Book Mountain, destroy the Heavenly Court's killer move, and prevent them from obtaining the Yuan Realm.
For Fang Yuan to now divert the majority of his forces to eliminate the Gu Immortals in the tomb seemed like a serious misjudgment of priorities.
Yet in the next instant, the four dispatched Immortal Gu Houses suddenly split their forces.
The Frost House and Crimson River Pavilion charged toward Qing Chou, heading to support Zhan Bu Du.
The Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling and Scarlet Sky Altar plunged straight toward the Heavenly Court's Immortal Tomb.
Bing Saichuan suddenly realized what was happening and couldn't help but cheer inwardly. "So Fang Yuan's side wants to free up Zhan Bu Du!"
Zhan Bu Du wielded the Freedom Imperfection Change—his monstrous strength was terrifying, his body tough and thick-skinned. He was the key fighting force for Fang Yuan's side to assault the summit.
Although Fairy Minghao's Modest Courtesy killer move had been broken, there were still three Half-Immortal Venerables at the mountain's peak. Ordinary Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Houses that charged up would be suppressed by the three of them.
The Divine Emperor City at the mountainside was an even greater obstacle.
It possessed the Family Ruined and People Dead killer move, which was especially effective against Immortal Gu Houses.
Therefore, having Zhan Bu Du charge up was the wisest tactical choice.
The Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling and Scarlet Sky Altar moved with great speed, arriving before Meigong and Tonggong in no time.
Meigong took a deep breath, extended both arms, and aimed his palms at the two Immortal Gu Houses.
Withered, tough vines suddenly erupted across the surfaces of the Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling and Scarlet Sky Altar, tightly ensnaring both Immortal Gu Houses.
"Not good—the Immortal Essence stored in the Gu Houses is being absorbed by these vines!" The Gu Immortals under Fang Yuan cried out in alarm and fury upon discovering this.
The two Immortal Gu Houses immediately launched their counterattacks.
The Scarlet Sky Altar blazed with crimson radiance, and the withered branches within the light began to melt away.
From within the Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling came wave after wave of dragon roars, and the dead branches around the dwelling shattered and fell in succession.
But this brief delay was enough for Tonggong to finish preparing his killer move.
Two enormous copper rings of different sizes materialized rapidly, latching onto the two Immortal Gu Houses and spinning at tremendous speed with a deafening hum.
The copper rings spun so fast they left afterimages, resembling two copper spheres imprisoning the Immortal Gu Houses between them.
The Heavenly Court had certainly learned from past mistakes. During the Battle of Fate, the measures left behind by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had allowed Eternal Life to charge directly into the Heavenly Court, catching them completely off guard. In that battle, though the Heavenly Court's Gu Immortals had awakened, the lack of Immortal Gu had prevented them from unleashing their full power.
But this time, the Heavenly Court had long since prepared a complete set of Immortal Gu for the slumbering Gu Immortals.
As a result, Tonggong and Meigong's intervention successfully restrained the two Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Houses.
However, their advantage didn't last. Dragon souls suddenly surged out from the Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling one after another—after several failed attempts, they shattered the copper rings.
Immediately after, Fairy Miaoyin and the White Rabbit Maiden flew out from the Immortal Gu Houses, charging toward Meigong and Tonggong.
Fairy Miaoyin activated her Mystic Sound Fingers killer move, extending eight arms with graceful, flowing movements.
Spheres of light danced around the White Rabbit Maiden, her momentum fierce and overwhelming.
The two immortals charged forward. Meigong stepped up to block them, but after several exchanges, the White Rabbit Maiden spotted an opening, slipped past Meigong, and went for Tonggong.
Tonggong was forced to cancel his copper ring killer move to deal with the White Rabbit Maiden's assault.
The four immortals' figures split apart and clashed together in a furious, evenly matched battle.
Both Meigong and Tonggong were at the Eighth Transformation level. While their combat power could rival Qin Dingling's, they were not Half-Immortal Venerables like Longgong.
The Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling and Scarlet Sky Altar, having regained their freedom, charged toward the Immortal Tomb, hoping to destroy it first!
BOOM!
The moment the two Immortal Gu Houses surged forward, they were knocked back by a single Gu Immortal.
This Gu Immortal's gaze was calm, his nose high and his eyes deep-set. His shoulders rose upward, each bearing a miniature mountain peak.
"As long as I, Fengbo, stand here, you shall not lay a finger on the Immortal Tomb." Fengbo blocked the path of the two charging Immortal Gu Houses with the air of one man holding a pass against ten thousand.
The Gu Immortals under Fang Yuan naturally refused to give up, continuing to drive the Immortal Gu Houses forward.
But Fengbo's style closely resembled Lu Weiyin's—both excelled at defense. Even though the two Immortal Gu Houses rammed at him with brute force, he managed to hold them off.
"What do we do now?" The Gu Immortal inside the Scarlet Sky Altar fretted.
With Fairy Miaoyin and the White Rabbit Maiden locked in battle with Meigong and Tonggong, the task of destroying the Immortal Tomb fell solely upon the two Immortal Gu Houses.
"It's fine—he's already fallen for our trick." The Gu Immortals inside the Dragon Soul Yin Dwelling smirked coldly.
Pfft.