"Then you may leave."
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's single sentence froze the atmosphere between the two Venerables almost solid.
Fang Yuan couldn't help but sneer: "What a fine Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, what a noble Heavenly Court Immortal King, what a supreme faction—Humanity's leader, the great Heavenly Court!"
But almost immediately, he narrowed his eyes, his expression gradually growing serious. "Wait... if it were merely for the sake of a single clone of mine—even if he is Qihai—what exactly are you planning, Star Constellation Immortal Venerable?!"
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable said nothing. Her figure flickered like starlight as she gradually vanished from the inner side of the immortal aperture gateway.
Fang Yuan's face turned dark as water, cold light flickering unpredictably in his eyes, and a trace of anxiety gradually surfaced between his brows.
Fang Yuan turned around, descended from the Dark Sky, arrived above Central Continent, and plunged into the battlefield.
He attempted to capture Heavenly Court members, but these Gu Immortals had already been committing suicide one after another.
They would all revive in Heavenly Court's Immortal Tombs.
With the Fate Gu destroyed, suicide-and-revival tactics now held tremendous potential.
Heavenly Court had every tool at its disposal. On one hand, there were virtual apertures—when a Gu Immortal died, the virtual aperture returned with minimal loss. On the other, Gu Immortals deliberately killed themselves, and their Immortal Gu would circulate smoothly through the Yellow Treasure Heaven.
By now, this had been developed by Heavenly Court into a mature and effective tactic.
Under equal levels of cultivation, preventing a single Gu Immortal from escaping was already an extremely difficult feat. You needed at least an Immortal Formation or an Immortal Path battlefield killer move to restrain your target.
Preventing a Gu Immortal from committing suicide, of course, was even harder than stopping an escape.
If someone was determined to die, what could you do?
However, under the restraint of Zhan Budu and Wu Shuai, there were still some Gu Immortals who continued to fight.
Fang Yuan's main body arriving delivered absolute despair to these Central Continent Gu Immortals. Without a shred of mercy, he swept his great sleeve and suppressed every last one of them.
He didn't slaughter them. He captured them all.
He captured over a dozen Central Continent Gu Immortals, but not a single Heavenly Court member. Among them, of course, was Li Xiaobai.
Heavenly Court and Star Constellation Immortal Venerable remained completely still. Fang Yuan's main body grew more grim-faced with each passing moment.
After a moment's thought, he immediately flew toward Flying Crane Mountain.
Flying Crane Mountain in Central Continent was the foundation of the Immortal Crane Sect. This mountain was not only a supreme resource node but also housed the Immortal Crane Sect's public blessed land.
Fang Yuan was currently at the original site of the Myriad Starlight Profound Calculation Formation, and the nearest supreme faction was the Immortal Crane Sect.
But when he arrived at the original site of Flying Crane Mountain, the floating mountain had completely vanished.
Fang Yuan's expression darkened further. He turned northwest and headed for Ten Thousand Dragon Dock.
Ten Thousand Dragon Dock, like the Immortal Crane Sect, was one of Central Continent's Ten Great Ancient Sects. Its headquarters blessed land sat on an island at the center of Dragon Lake.
When Fang Yuan arrived, Dragon Lake and the central island were still there, but the public blessed land was completely empty.
Fang Yuan then went to the Heavenly Lotus Sect, Spirit Butterfly Valley, Ancient Soul Gate, Heavenly Jealousy Tower, Wind and Cloud Manor, Battle Immortal Sect, Spirit Fate Monastery, and Black Heaven Temple—all with empty headquarters, not a soul in sight.
Clearly, Wisdom Path Immortal Venerable Star Constellation had long since made her preparations. She had been thoroughly ready to abandon Central Continent and consolidate her forces.
Heavenly Court.
Inside Qihai Ancestor's mind.
Qihai Ancestor couldn't move. The thoughts within his mind were being gradually suppressed under Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's methods.
But the will Qihai Ancestor had left behind in his mind was still putting up a final, stubborn resistance: "Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, you truly are a brilliant schemer."
During his imprisonment, Qihai Ancestor had already figured it all out.
Lin Jianxing's sword qi killer move had been devastatingly effective against him. At first glance, it was because the sword qi was hidden and shared Air Path dao marks, making it undetectable when Qihai Ancestor stirred up the great airflow.
But analyzing at a deeper level, Qihai Ancestor was certain the true culprit had to be the Sword Path dao marks!
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable sensed Qihai Ancestor's thoughts and spoke: "Your thinking is not wrong. Lin Jianxing is vastly different from others—he is an otherworldly demon. And throughout history, otherworldly demons have always carried otherworldly dao marks."
"The Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable carried otherworldly Space Path dao marks, which is why the True Inheritance space he created could block later Venerables. In the Demon Abyss, chaotic voids once appeared, and it was precisely by using otherworldly Space Path dao marks as the main force that Thieving Heaven was able to seal them."
Qihai Ancestor understood: "So the dao marks on Lin Jianxing are otherworldly Sword Path dao marks. This move would likely be effective even against a Venerable—isn't it wasteful to use it against a mere clone of mine?"
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable then immediately revealed the truth about the Qi Fruit and the resurrection of Yuan Shi Immortal Venerable.
Qihai's will trembled violently: "So that's how it is! Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, you had this planned from the start. Setting up the Myriad Starlight Profound Calculation Formation was laying a trap. Then you used the Heavenly Dao dream to create a scenario that lured me into attacking the Myriad Starlight Profound Calculation Formation. You truly calculated correctly!"
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable replied: "As a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, I naturally studied Fang Yuan's temperament in great depth. Moreover, you are his most capable clone—the likelihood of him sending you to attack the Myriad Starlight Profound Calculation Formation was extremely high."
Qihai's will let out a cold laugh: "In that now that you've gone to all this trouble to finally capture me alive and bring me into Heavenly Court, did you also account for my main body's actions? Your Central Continent is finished! Hahaha. What a shame—if you had refined all of Central Continent's Wisdom Path dao marks, you might have been able to resist my main body. What a pity, what a pity."
Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's tone noticeably dropped: "Heavenly Court is the vanguard of the Righteous Path. Since its founding over three million years ago, countless Heavenly Court Gu Immortals have given their lives to defend the Righteous Path and protect humanity."
"The current situation—with multiple Venerables locked in standoff—is more chaotic and terrifying than even the era of non-human supremacy in Ancient Times."
"Central Continent stands at a crossroads of conflict. After prolonged confrontation with the other Venerables, I, Star Constellation, have increasingly felt my strength wanting. I can only protect the priorities and preserve the bigger picture."
"Having devised this plan, I knew Fang Yuan's response would be exactly this. Now that the plan has succeeded, my Central Continent's common people and countless living beings will suffer Fang Yuan's terrifying retaliation!"