At this moment, at the riverbed of the source of the Falling River, there were no fewer than thirty Gu Immortals gathered.
The immortals' gazes burned hot, sometimes fixing on the ball of light containing Bo Qing's Immortal Zombie body, sometimes covertly scanning the surroundings, utterly vigilant against the competitors around them.
Among these competitors, the strongest were inevitably the Gu Immortals from the ten great ancient sects of the Central Continent.
Jin Lieyang, Hong Chiming, Qi Yuntian, and others.
And among these ten great ancient sects, the one who posed the greatest threat was Fairy Bai Qing.
Seeing the standoff persist, Qi Yuntian spoke slowly: "Fairy Bai Qing, the situation is now quite clear. Bo Qing has nothing but the corpse of his Immortal Zombie. The divine soul within should have already perished in tribulation. However, it seems that some remnant will and emotions still linger in his mind, giving him a basic instinct for self-preservation."
"Therefore, each time we approach, he activates his Immortal Gu and unleashes incredibly fierce sword light in every direction. To reduce his hostility, we would need objects imbued with Bo Qing's aura, or Gu Insects he refined during his lifetime, or the will and emotions Bo Qing left behind. If someone were to produce these, we could approach the Immortal Zombie Bo Qing and firmly seize the initiative."
Fairy Bai Qing smiled bitterly: "Where would I obtain such things? If I had them, I would have acted long ago, wouldn't I?"
She truly did not possess them.
Because she had never anticipated that Bo Qing's Immortal Zombie corpse would appear here.
Qi Yuntian gave a light smile: "Why must Fairy Bai Qing deceive us? You were the first to arrive. Why did you come here alone, in secret? Could all of this really be coincidence?"
Fairy Bai Qing's smile turned even more bitter: "You claim I came here in secret. That is incorrect. I borrowed passage through the Ten Thousand Dragon Dock and the War Immortal Sect openly and aboveboard. Where is the secrecy in that?"
She had come to investigate the source of the Falling River because of Feng Jiuge's dying words.
But this truth, she could not speak aloud.
The Spirit Affinity Hall needed to delay news of Feng Jiuge's death for as long as possible, buying time for their careful preparations.
Jin Lieyang furrowed his brow, his voice growing harsh: "Why must Fairy Bai Qing continue to conceal the truth? In the current situation, any delay will only attract more Gu Immortals. Hesitation breeds disaster! Our ten great ancient sects should unite and jointly control the situation in the Central Continent. If those rogue immortals and demonic cultivators were to seize Bo Qing's Sword Dao Immortal Gu, it would inevitably cause upheaval across the Central Continent. Would your sect truly abandon the greater interests of the Central Continent for its own selfish reasons?"
Qi Yuntian maintained his gentle tone, continuing to persuade: "Our ten great ancient sects share the same origin, after all. If we join forces and first secure the Immortal Zombie Bo Qing, I can represent the Wind and Cloud Manor and sign an alliance agreement with your sect, guaranteeing your interests in this matter."
Fairy Bai Qing remained silent.
She sneered inwardly — one playing the good cop, the other playing the bad cop. Did they think she couldn't see through it?
Anxiety gnawed at her heart.
The incident had been sudden, and the Spirit Affinity Hall had not dispatched any Gu Immortals to support her.
Even though she had ascended to the Seventh Transformation, she was still only one person facing the assembled immortals.
No matter what the Immortal Zombie Bo Qing truly was, recovering his corpse along with all his Sword Dao Immortal Gu was of vital importance to the Spirit Affinity Hall.
The other nine great ancient sects had recognized this as well.
Now that Feng Jiuge's whereabouts were unknown and her fate looked grim, the Spirit Affinity Hall was weakened — they absolutely could not be allowed to successfully obtain this Bo Qing Immortal Zombie.
What if they cultivated another little Bo Qing, one as powerful as Feng Jiuge? Where would the nine great sects turn to weep?
At the bottom of the Falling River, the situation was complex.
The Immortal Zombie Bo Qing's sword light was sharp and terrifying, shooting across the entire Central Continent.
A large number of demonic cultivators and rogue immortals had come because of it. They craved chaos and wanted to strike it rich from the turmoil.
Meanwhile, the immortals of the ten great ancient sects of the Central Continent wanted to stabilize the situation, giving these outsiders not the slightest opportunity.
But at the same time, the ten great ancient sects were not united among themselves, forming an unspoken alliance of nine sects standing together against the Spirit Affinity Hall.
And Fairy Bai Qing, mistakenly believed to hold the key to the situation, found herself trapped with no way out.
Just as the immortals were locked in their standoff, a powerful wave of Eighth Transformation aura overflowed through the area.
"All immortals, please withdraw. This place is now under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court."
Everyone clamored in surprise, turning toward the voice, and saw a female immortal descending gracefully through the air.
It was Bai Cangshui, the Eighth Transformation Water Path Gu Immortal.
The situation was instantly overturned!
Central Continent — the Heavenly Court.
Bright light illuminated the Heaven Monitoring Tower, which had been restored to wholeness once more, standing tall before the three immortals.
The Tower Master, Bi Chentian, and Lian Jiusheng all felt the great weight on their hearts lift, silently letting out a breath of relief.
Ever since the Heaven Monitoring Tower had been cleaved apart by that sudden sword light, they had not had a single moment of rest for days.
To prevent the erosion of Sword Dao Marks from destroying more Gu Insects, they had worked day and night without pause to carry out repairs, and now the work was finally complete.
Fortunately, the three immortals had intervened in time, and the Heavenly Court's reserves contained sufficient immortal materials and replacement Gu Insects, so all the Gu Insects destroyed by the sword light had been quickly replaced.
There was also an important point — the Heaven Monitoring Tower was ultimately a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu House, with extraordinary natural defenses. Although the sword light had split it in two, the true damage was limited to the Gu Insects near the wound. In truth, the Heaven Monitoring Tower had not suffered any truly critical damage.
After gazing at it for a long moment, the Tower Master drew a deep breath, gripped the Fate Gu in his hand, leaned on his cane, and shuffled into the tower.
Lian Jiusheng could not help but advise: "Tower Master, perhaps you should rest for a day or two. Why rush to activate the Heaven Monitoring Tower?"
"Thank you for your concern, but it's no trouble." The Tower Master smiled and declined the suggestion.
For some reason, the instant the sword light had struck the Heaven Monitoring Tower, a feeling of unease had taken root in his heart.
As time passed, this unease gradually grew.
Even seeing the Heaven Monitoring Tower fully restored had not dispelled the Tower Master's sense of dread.
"Go." With a thought, the Fate Gu in his hand transformed into a strange light, soaring into the tower's peak and settling into the core formation eye.
The Tower Master dragged his aged body up the tower's interior staircase, one step at a time.
Each step he climbed cost him one Eighth Transformation Immortal Essence.
The tower walls glowed with brilliant, chaotic patterns, displaying a jumble of disorderly images that offered no useful guidance whatsoever.