Qin Dingling and Jun Shenguang flew cautiously through the two heavens.
"That old immortal Huayu, what a slippery character! He actually made us come to Shanguang Grotto-Heaven first to win them over," Jun Shenguang complained.
Ever since they had taken on the mission to turn Immortal Huayu, they had been stealthily making their way toward the vicinity of Huawen Grotto-Heaven.
Taking advantage of Immortal Huayu's absence to drive away beast hordes, they had made secret contact with him.
"Do you think Immortal Huayu might be deliberately stringing us along? That by the time we try to win over Shanguang Grotto-Heaven, it'll already be an ambush waiting for us?" Jun Shenguang suddenly asked.
Qin Dingling sighed: "That's unlikely. Immortal Huayu has actually been wavering for some time now. The reason his attitude has been ambiguous and his words vague is simply because he's afraid that once they defect, they'll be hunted down by Fang Yuan!"
"In this situation, of course he'd prefer to have less hostility directed at himself. So, he hopes that more Grotto-Heaven forces will defect from Fang Yuan together. That way, Huawen Grotto-Heaven won't stand out."
"But we can't completely rule out what you said."
Jun Shenguang said helplessly: "What should we do? The Gu Immortal leader of Shanguang Grotto-Heaven, Liang Jingjing, is different from Immortal Huayu—we don't know much about her, and we certainly can't determine her true intentions."
Qin Dingling pondered: "We may not know her, but Immortal Huayu probably has some confidence. Otherwise, he wouldn't have singled out this Grotto-Heaven for us to win over."
"Perhaps it's time to use this move."
Qin Dingling gradually slowed her flight, her expression turning resolute—she had clearly made up her mind.
Jun Shenguang looked confused.
Qin Dingling said: "Shanguang Grotto-Heaven isn't far away, but before we take the risk of making contact, let me use Luck Path methods to lay some groundwork."
Jun Shenguang asked worriedly: "Isn't the cost of this move too great?"
Qin Dingling shook her head: "Although it will consume some of my Luck Path Dao Marks, for the sake of Heavenly Court, such a small sacrifice is insignificant. The reason I hesitated is because this move has a significant drawback. It's essentially moving good fortune from the future to the present to use now—it might end up benefiting the enemy."
"I see." Jun Shenguang nodded.
Qin Dingling continued: "But when I think it over carefully, the matter of turning Immortal Huayu is actually quite important. Right now, with the three Venerables in a standoff, there will be a long period of equilibrium."
"The Fang Family of the Western Desert has already become like stray dogs. If Immortal Huayu and the others all defect from Fang Yuan, then Demon Venerable Refining Heaven's standing will drop to the lowest among the three Venerables. Whether or not Fang Yuan personally goes to hunt down Immortal Huayu, he'll suffer a loss either way."
"If we Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals can influence the clash between Venerables, isn't that incredibly valuable?"
Jun Shenguang was convinced: "Indeed! Lady Qin Dingling, please proceed. I'll stand guard for you."
Before long, Qin Dingling finished her preparations and activated her killer move.
However, this time, activating the killer move took a full half hour before it was completed.
Qin Dingling's face was pale and covered in sweat, her gaze peculiar.
"Did something go wrong?" Jun Shenguang had already noticed something amiss and quickly asked.
Qin Dingling didn't hide it and replied: "When I activated this move this time, it actually triggered a mysterious change—it seemed as though Heaven and Earth were responding to me. Normally, activating the killer move only takes a dozen or so breaths. But just now, with the assistance of Heaven and Earth, I tried to sustain it and keep activating. I didn't expect that this persistence lasted a full half hour."
Jun Shenguang frowned: "I've heard of the secret behind the Dao Lord's might. When a Venerable refines natural Dao Marks, every action they take receives enhancement from the Dao Marks—that is, the response of Heaven and Earth. Lady Qin Dingling, how could you have such a similar experience?"
Qin Dingling shook her head: "I can't quite comprehend it yet. But it doesn't matter—this trip to Shanguang Grotto-Heaven will definitely bring us tremendous support. Let's go."
"Mm."
The two Heavenly Court immortals set off once more.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Boom!
A tremendous sound rang out as the Heavenly Chasm finally could not hold—the weakest point was pierced through by Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's arm.
Both sides were now connected.
Fairy Ziwei's and Ying Wuxie's pupils contracted simultaneously. In that instant, they felt boundless killing intent erupt from Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's body.
This killing intent was so dense that Fairy Ziwei and Ying Wuxie both experienced an illusion—as if they had been reduced to mortals, facing sky-high waves crashing down upon them.
A surge of helplessness, despair, and panic rose unbidden and quickly filled their chests.
"Run!" Fairy Ziwei, being a Wisdom Path powerhouse, reacted swiftly and activated her killer move.
Ying Wuxie, given her assistance, also snapped back to his senses.
Boom, boom, boom!
More of Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's arms pierced through the Heavenly Chasm, reaching toward the two of them.
A Ninth Transformation Heavenly Chasm could trouble Fairy Ziwei and Ying Wuxie, but it could only add minor inconveniences for the mindless Spectral Soul Demon Venerable.
Fairy Ziwei and Ying Wuxie retreated in a panic.
But suddenly, one of Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's dark arms surged in speed and seized Ying Wuxie.
At the boundary of life and death, Ying Wuxie quickly activated his technique.
Immortal Killer Move—Soul Swap Technique!
In the next moment, he swapped positions with an ancient soul beast. The ancient soul beast took his place and was captured by Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, while Ying Wuxie appeared in the distance and fled in a panic.
Over this period, Ying Wuxie had been diligently practicing and had eventually created the Soul Swap Technique.
Compared to Fang Yuan's dream-based soul swap method, this Soul Swap Technique had its own advantages and disadvantages.
Ying Wuxie managed to escape.
Spectral Soul Demon Venerable let out a furious roar. With a boom, the massive claw squeezed down and crushed the ancient soul beast into powder. The ancient soul core was instantly absorbed by Spectral Soul Demon Venerable.
More massive claws broke through the Heavenly Chasm and extended toward them.
Nearly ten giant claws spread open, erupting with terrifying suction force from their palms.
The soul beast swarm under Ying Wuxie's control had no resistance whatsoever—they were all sucked in.
The giant claws closed, but this time they didn't crush the soul beasts. Instead, they continuously kneaded them.