For the three Venerables, the massive upheaval involving Spectral Soul Demon Venerable was beneficial to Giant Sun Immortal Venerable alone.
Longevity Heaven.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable exhaled a turbid breath, sitting cross-legged with his upper body bare.
His lean, powerful torso was thick with muscle, and the black chest hair gave off an intense masculine aura.
"My injuries have healed." Giant Sun Immortal Venerable let out a sigh of relief.
If Spectral Soul Demon Venerable and the Fire Gu continued fighting to a standstill, both sides gravely wounded, it would trigger yet another clash between the Venerables.
However, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's injuries were far more severe than Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's.
If he didn't participate, he would miss out on opportunities.
If he did participate while still injured, he would be at an inherent disadvantage.
In the recent battle over the Light Gu, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had withstood the immense pressure of two Venerables joining forces while also having to protect his eldest son, Light Emperor. The price he paid had been considerable.
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable had already recovered from her injuries, while Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had only just now fully healed.
Feng Jiu Ge's sudden intervention had made Spectral Soul Demon Venerable even more powerful, forcing Star Constellation Immortal Venerable and Great Love Immortal Venerable to hold back.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had become the beneficiary of this situation.
But this feeling was one Giant Sun Immortal Venerable was already well acquainted with from his previous life.
After all, he cultivated the Fortune Path, studying variables.
The stronger he became, the more every variable would tend to work in his favor.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable contemplated for a moment, then activated a Fortune Path detection killer move.
But this time, he didn't probe any of the other Venerables — he only observed himself.
Ever since Star Constellation Immortal Venerable had refined the Wisdom Path Dao marks of Heavenly Court, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had drastically reduced the number of times he probed others, instead turning his focus more intently upon his own condition.
His fortune was poor.
"I successfully obtained the Ninth Transformation Light Gu, yet my fortune is still unfavorable. Which party could possibly be working against me?" Giant Sun Immortal Venerable furrowed his brow.
"Could it be because the Ninth Transformation Light Gu is unsuited to my use, and having already been injured, it must be continuously nourished inside Light Emperor's body?" Giant Sun Immortal Venerable speculated.
The Ninth Transformation Light Gu had been damaged by Fang Yuan's remnant refinement killer move.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had no way to repair the damage. Instead, Light Emperor, with his specialized expertise, had conceived the only possible solution.
That was to use his Light Body to continuously refine and nourish the Light Gu, ultimately reaching a state where the Light Gu would be replaced by his own Life Gu, under his command.
If it had been a wild Ninth Transformation Light Gu, Light Emperor would have had virtually no chance of subduing and refining it.
But the Light Gu was injured, its will severely battered, and with Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's assistance, Light Emperor had at last glimpsed a possibility of success.
This method came with significant drawbacks.
For a long time, Light Emperor would be nearly incapable of any action — he would even need others to help him drink water or eat.
Longevity Heaven had just gained a half-Venerable combatant, only for him to immediately enter seclusion.
But everyone in Longevity Heaven had no other option.
They certainly couldn't hand the Light Gu over to Fang Yuan for him to repair!
It was a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu.
And Fang Yuan possessed absolutely no bottom line.
Neither Giant Sun nor Light Emperor would be foolish enough to seek Fang Yuan's help on this matter.
Gazing upon his own unfavorable fortune, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable sighed inwardly in resignation: "If only what I had obtained were not a Ninth Transformation Light Gu, but a Ninth Transformation Fortune Path Immortal Gu — any kind, as long as it belonged to the Fortune Path — that would have been fine."
This feeling, too, was one Giant Sun Immortal Venerable knew well.
Although many sudden upheavals ultimately worked in his favor, in most cases they weren't what he needed most.
After all, they were variables, not constants.
At this moment, if Giant Sun Immortal Venerable possessed a Ninth Transformation Fortune Path Immortal Gu, he could have refined it into a Ninth Transformation detection killer move, and very likely been able to discern who posed the greatest threat to him.
Without a Ninth Transformation Fortune Path Immortal Gu, even when activating his detection killer move and receiving the massive Fortune Path Dao mark amplification across Longevity Heaven, he could only perceive the broad currents of fortune.
Three Venerables locked in a standoff, Spectral Soul Demon Venerable reduced to a state of mental confusion, half-Venerables like Feng Jiu Ge thrown into the mix, along with the schemes and machinations of other Venerables — all of their fortunes were entangled together, making it impossible for Giant Sun Immortal Venerable to discern the finer details. He could only make out the vague, sweeping trends.
Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu were supremely important.
They often brought about a qualitative leap!
The amplification from Fortune Path Dao marks, no matter how great, was merely a quantitative change.
"Perhaps I am still the one who has progressed the most among the three Venerables. This unfavorable fortune display is most likely due to the Ninth Transformation Light Gu — it may have prompted the other Venerables to form an alliance against me. That is what has caused their collective fortune to overshadow mine."
"Of course, there is another possibility — I have already been surpassed by someone. My advantage no longer exists. But in that case, who exactly is the hidden player?"
Just as Fang Yuan had previously pondered about Feng Jiu Ge and Heavenly Court, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable could only speculate, unable to uncover the truth.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had no choice but to leave Longevity Heaven once more and continue refining the Northern Plains Dao marks.
Once he had fully refined the Fortune Path Dao marks of the Northern Plains, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's base of power would effectively expand from Longevity Heaven to encompass the entire Northern Plains.
The benefits of this were numerous.
For instance, if Giant Sun Immortal Venerable were once again jointly attacked by Star Constellation Immortal Venerable and Great Love Immortal Venerable, he would no longer need to flee back into Longevity Heaven. Simply entering the boundaries of the Northern Plains would grant him enormous amplification.
Though this amplification would be considerably weaker than what Longevity Heaven provided, it would be more than sufficient to deal with the two Venerables joining forces in their current state.
At the same time, as Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's control over the Northern Plains deepened, he could deliberately cultivate the next generation of Gu Immortals among his descendants. He would no longer have to worry about some shameless Venerable disregarding the dignity of their station and slaughtering the Golden tribes at will — with Giant Sun Immortal Venerable having no effective way to stop them.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable understood clearly: as time dragged on, the strength of Venerables would only continue to grow, becoming ever more powerful, their immortal essence reserves ever more abundant.
During the early stages of standoff and development, the immortal essence available to Venerables was insufficient. This was the optimal window for refining the natural Dao marks of heaven and earth.
Miss this window, and it would become vastly more difficult.