Seeing Chang Biao take the battlefield, the Ma family immediately sent out a female expert.
Her name was Xi Xue — a peak Fourth Transformation cultivator and a renowned Ice Path expert. She possessed a Fifth Transformation Sky-filling Snow Gu. Once activated, a blizzard of goose-feather snow would rage violently, transforming everything within several thousand steps into a frigid ice domain.
When Chang Biao saw this person, he silently groaned, "This is bad."
Even at his peak condition, he would have had to be extremely cautious against this woman. In his current injured state, he stood no chance.
The two clashed. Xi Xue's attacks were fierce and relentless, while Chang Biao focused primarily on dodging and stalling. As a result, he was inevitably forced onto the defensive.
The great battle raged on. As time passed, Fourth Transformation Gu Masters continued to fall — some wounded and forced to retreat, others killed outright.
Both sides suffered casualties, but overall, it was a stalemate.
Gradually, the Fourth Transformation Gu Masters in both royal camps dwindled in number, no longer sufficient for further deployment.
"Clan Leader Gu, I must ask you to lend your strength at this moment." Hei Loulan turned his gaze toward a figure who had remained seated in his royal camp the entire time.
Gu Guolong, clan leader of the Gu family, was an Earth Path Gu Master. He had once stacked stones into mountains, bringing enormous trouble to the Hei family army. There was a time when he had even made Hei Loulan consider withdrawing entirely. But in the end, Bai Yunsheng's arrival had turned the tide, securing victory for the Hei family. The Gu family, having been on the losing side, was absorbed into the Hei family army.
Gu Guolong stepping onto the battlefield sent shockwaves through the Ma family army.
He was the first Fifth Transformation powerhouse to enter the fray. Ma Shangfeng immediately responded by dispatching Cheng Long, the Cheng family's clan leader.
This man was a Fifth Transformation Transformation Path expert — Cheng Hu's elder brother.
Seeing Cheng Long take the field, Gu Guolong offered a slight bow and said politely, "So it's Clan Leader Cheng. Please, grant me your guidance."
Cheng Long chuckled, "I wouldn't dare presume to guide Clan Leader Gu. Let us merely have a friendly exchange."
The two clashed with tremendous force, immediately eclipsing everyone else and becoming the center of all attention.
Gu Guolong was balanced in both offense and defense, steady and unyielding. Cheng Long, meanwhile, soared through the air with ease — fierce yet composed.
After twelve rounds of exchanges, Hei Loulan dispatched another Fifth Transformation powerhouse: Luo Bojun.
Luo Bojun had originally defected to Liu Wenwu, but after the Liu family's defeat at the hands of the Hei family, he had become one of the senior figures in the Hei family army.
The Ma family immediately sent a Fifth Transformation expert to meet the challenge.
In terms of Fifth Transformation lineups, the Ma family was no less formidable. In the preceding battles, the Nur army had absorbed the Tao family, the Yang family had defeated Nur, the Yelu had then defeated the Yang family, and ultimately the Ma family had shattered the Yelu army, emerging as the final victors. Through this entire cycle of warfare, the Ma family army had come to include numerous large clans — the Qilian, the Cheng family, the Zhao family, the Lü family, the Tao family, the Yang family, and many other powerful forces.
Moreover, they possessed three Slave Path masters: Jiang Baoya, Yang Poying, and Ma Zun!
Fifth Transformation Gu Masters mostly held high positions of authority. Compared to the murderous intensity of their Fourth Transformation counterparts, their manner and tone were far more composed and cordial. When they fought, they also held back roughly three parts of their strength and two parts of courtesy.
Should any of them perish, their clan would be left without a leader and eventually absorbed by either the Hei or Ma family.
Though they were on opposing sides, what they truly cared about was their own clan's interests. Even with the binding force of sworn pacts, an unspoken set of rules governed their conduct.
Fang Yuan sat calmly, watching in silence.
Though he only displayed peak Fourth Transformation cultivation, he was in truth a Slave Path master — a key figure capable of influencing the entire battle. As such, his status was special, even higher than those Fifth Transformation clan leaders.
"The Great Immortal Venerable Juyang was truly audacious in his grand design, and his schemes were nothing short of brilliant!" Participating personally in the Battle of the Royal Court only deepened Fang Yuan's admiration.
Great Immortal Venerable Juyang had left behind his legacy for future generations, established the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, and instituted the tradition of the "Battle of the Royal Court" — a testament to his ingenious mind and painstaking effort.
Setting aside the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, the Battle of the Royal Court alone served as a purge with every iteration. The golden clans absorbed other tribes and strengthened themselves.
Simultaneously, the concentration of resources gave rise to a thriving war-merit economy during the conflict — a twisted prosperity. Through war reparations, technology was exchanged, greatly enriching the foundation of the golden clans.
Most crucially, it was the survival of the fittest. By pushing Gu Masters to the brink between life and death, it stimulated their thinking and drove them to become stronger. It served as a filter, selecting seeds for Gu Immortals among the golden clans.
Though Great Immortal Venerable Juyang was no longer of this world, his influence still ruled over the entire Northern Plains.
"Compared to an Immortal Venerable, I am as insignificant as an ant. Still, I owe much of my rapid advancement to this Battle of the Royal Court — without it, my strength would not have progressed so quickly..."
At this thought, Fang Yuan allowed his mind to wander slightly, directing his attention into his Empty Orifice.
Inside the Empty Orifice, several new Gu Insects had appeared. Most were Fourth Transformation, one was Third Transformation, and there were also a Fifth Transformation Shura Corpse Gu and a Fifth Transformation Earth Tyrant Gu.
Ever since gaining inspiration from the "Three Heads Six Arms" killing move, Fang Yuan had combined it with his own foundation and vision to develop certain results.
He then condensed these results into a single killing move, which he named — Four Arms Earth King!
Once activated, this move would cause a new pair of arms to grow from both sides of his body. When all four arms struck simultaneously, his combat power would skyrocket, rivaling the Liu family brothers' "Three Heads Six Arms" ultimate technique!
"However, compared to Three Heads Six Arms, the Four Arms Earth King form lasts for a shorter duration. Only while my feet are planted on the ground can I unleash its full power. Once I take to the air, my combat strength drops by half."
This killing move was still in its early stages, far from complete. It would only be refined through the crucible of battle — adding new Gu to replace unnecessary old ones, or simply removing them outright. Only through this process could it gradually be perfected.
The rising sun climbed ever higher, but on this eve of the blizzard disaster, even the normally fierce and scorching sunlight appeared cold and feeble.
On the battlefield, killing intent boiled, steadily building to its peak.
Dozens of combat circles erupted with brilliant, colorful displays of power as the fighters clashed inextricably.
Inside the Hei family's royal camp, only a handful of Gu Masters remained. The rest were either still engaged in combat, had withdrawn to rest and recover, or had perished on the battlefield.
Overall, however, the Hei family still held a slight advantage.
Hei Loulan had long received generous support from the two Gu Immortals, Hei Bai and Hei Cheng. The Ma family, by contrast, had only sought aid from Xue Songzi during this particular great battle.
"Hmph, these Ma family bastards really are tough to put down!" Hei Loulan let out a cold snort, his gaze turning savage, growing increasingly impatient.
He turned his eyes toward Fang Yuan, about to speak, when three surging waves of beast herds burst forth from the Ma family's formation.
On the left, ten thousand horses thundered forward, their hooves pounding the earth like rolling drums!