Just as Ancestor Qi Hai was about to be surrounded by the Four Phase Deviation Formation of Earth, Water, Wood, and Fire, at the critical moment, an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal charged in.
The immortals looked and saw this figure was broad and sturdy, with a tall nose bridge, clad in golden dragon scales, amber dragon eyes, and a pair of golden coral dragon horns on his forehead — strikingly heroic.
It was none other than Wu Shuai, one of Fang Yuan's three great clones!
Wu Shuai had just landed in the Huawen Blessed Land when two members of Heavenly Court, Fairy Qian Hun and Great Immortal Jin Gu, pursued close behind.
Before this, Wu Shuai had been entangled with the pair of them, but had not fully shaken them off.
Whether it was Ancestor Qi Hai, or Zhan Bu Du, or Wu Shuai — all had experienced breakthroughs in strength. Ancestor Qi Hai's power had leapt to the level of Duke Long during the final stages of the Battle of Fate. Zhan Bu Du had gained many new Gu Insects, his methods becoming far more comprehensive. As for Wu Shuai, who had previously been comparable to a single Heavenly Court Gu Immortal, he now stood above two Eighth Transformation Heavenly Court immortals.
"If this trend continues, given enough time, Wu Shuai will inevitably grow into a Half-Venerable!"
"Stop Wu Shuai immediately! Don't let him rescue Ancestor Qi Hai!!"
Heavenly Court Gu Immortal Jun Shen Guang was the first to charge forward, followed by Nine Spirits Fairy, Eyebrow Elder, and Copper Elder.
Wu Shuai found himself besieged by five or six Heavenly Court Gu Immortals, perilous danger closing in from all sides in an instant.
He could only focus on self-preservation first. Countless army ants swirled around him — dense and layered, numbering in the tens of millions. No matter how many were destroyed, they could be replenished at any moment, as if endless.
"Open for me!" Ancestor Qi Hai's great sleeves billowed as he once again unleashed a hundred-zhang gale.
The four Gu Immortals maintaining the Four Phase Deviation Formation saw their expressions change drastically. They felt as though they were mere mortals clinging to the back of a sin-ridden flood dragon.
All four immortals poured everything they had into maintaining the great formation. It was tantamount to wrestling directly with Ancestor Qi Hai — and barely had it begun before blood sprayed from their mouths.
"Come help us quickly!" Bai Cangshui cried out in alarm.
"This is bad! Hurry and go assist them!"
"This formation cannot fail!"
The Heavenly Court Gu Immortals were frantic. Copper Elder, Eyebrow Elder, and the rest all converged on Ancestor Qi Hai.
Ancestor Qi Hai stood immovable, defending with perfect composure, a smile on his face, calm and unruffled. "Let us see how long you all can hold on?"
Because Ancestor Qi Hai had exerted his power, Wu Shuai finally caught a breather.
He simply pointed forward, and a massive swarm of army ants coalesced into the shape of a giant eagle, diving savagely to attack the Huawen Blessed Land.
"Stop!" Old Immortal Hua Yu's eyes nearly split from fury as he stepped forward to intercept, but even exhausting all his techniques he could only neutralize fifteen percent of the assault. The remaining eighty-five percent was beyond his power.
The entire Huawen Blessed Land shook violently. Army ants were everywhere, gnawing and burrowing, producing an incredibly dense and fine chewing sound that was deeply unnerving.
"Save the Huawen Blessed Land! It is the final pillar supporting the Myriad Stars Calculation Formation!" Old Immortal Hua Yu wailed in despair.
The Heavenly Court Gu Immortals had no choice but to divert manpower to protect the Huawen Blessed Land.
In this way, the pressure on Ancestor Qi Hai's side lessened, making it even easier for him to seize opportunities.
Because Heavenly Court had to protect the Myriad Stars Calculation Formation, they were inherently stuck in a passive position.
This disadvantage was ruthlessly exploited by Fang Yuan's three great clones, beating the Heavenly Court Gu Immortals so thoroughly they barely had room to breathe.
Within the Huawen Blessed Land, mountains had collapsed and the earth split open. Countless living beings perished miserably. Army ants rampaged everywhere. Many areas had been bored clean through, forming passages that led directly out of the blessed land to the exterior.
However, this was by no means an escape route. The vast majority of Gu Masters lacked the ability to fly. Leaping out of the blessed land meant plummeting to their deaths. If even Gu Masters faced such a fate, what hope was there for mortals and other wild beasts and plants?
"Xiao Bai, take my daughter and run!" Minister Su, a Seventh Transformation Gu Master of the Huawen Blessed Land, stood in front of Li Xiaobai and Su Qihan, shielding them both.
"No! I want to keep fighting! This is my home…" Li Xiaobai was already gravely wounded. His voice trembled as he spoke, and tears of blood rolled down his cheeks.
Minister Su whipped his head around and roared at Li Xiaobai: "Boy! Now is not the time for reckless bravery! The Huawen Blessed Land is doomed — but you are our hope. The people stored within your blessed aperture are the last seeds of the Huawen Blessed Land! Get out! Get out now!"
"Father-in-law, let's leave together!" Li Xiaobai grabbed at Minister Su.
Minister Su flung his hand away in fury, his hair bristling with rage as he rebuked: "I am a minister of the court. You are not. That is why you can leave, but I absolutely cannot. The nation faces destruction — what is death in the face of that? Ha ha ha!"
Minister Su laughed loudly, then shoved Li Xiaobai out of the Huawen Blessed Land with a powerful push. After that, he turned and flew into the swarms of ants, igniting a furious battle.
"Father—!" Su Qihan screamed, her voice filled with heartbreaking grief, tears streaming down her cheeks as Li Xiaobai forcibly dragged her along and they fled through the hole in the blessed land.
But just as the two were about to make their escape, an unexpected change occurred.
The entire aperture wall of the Huawen Blessed Land collapsed in an instant. In its place rose a massive, cylindrical wall of dark brown earth, its surface pockmarked with countless holes.
Within the earthen wall were innumerable caves and passages, like a vast labyrinth.
Li Xiaobai and Su Qihan, this pair of desperate lovers, had been mere moments from escaping with their lives — only to be bounced back by the earthen wall.
"What is this?!" In that instant, nearly every Gu Immortal was utterly stunned.
"A battlefield killer move… it's even faster than my Rumor Cage!" Zhou Xiongxin's expression darkened.
The other Heavenly Court members wore equally grim faces.
They had not yet fully trapped Ancestor Qi Hai, only to discover that they themselves had been swallowed up inside a battlefield killer move.
"It's Wu Shuai's killer move," Ancestor Qi Hai said with a smile.
Before the battle began, they had already exchanged information about each other's strengths and methods.
Ancestor Qi Hai knew: this was Wu Shuai's Myriad Army Ant Nest battlefield killer move.
The core Immortal Gu at its heart was the Eighth Transformation Ant Nest Gu. This technique used blessed lands and blessed grounds as its foundation, first dispatching countless army ants to erode the area. Only after reaching a certain threshold could it be activated.
Once activated, it could rapidly collapse the original blessed land or blessed ground, converting it into an ant nest battlefield. The activation process was extremely swift, but the preliminary accumulation required a long period of time.
Therefore, the fastest battlefield killer move to construct was still the Rumor Cage.
After Wu Shuai activated the Myriad Army Ant Nest, he immediately swept up every being within the Huawen Blessed Land, enveloping them all within this battlefield.
He instantly drove the army ants forward like a raging flood, surging toward the Gu Immortals scattered across the land. At the same time, he dispatched many more ants to ceaselessly devour the resources within, fueling the rapid reproduction of the army ants.