The sudden anomaly caused everyone's expressions to change.
"What happened? Where did they go?"
"They've vanished!"
"Could it be that this trial holds some hidden mystery?"
The crowd speculated, buzzing with discussion.
Hei Lou Lan furrowed his brows deeply, thoroughly confused.
Sun Shihan's expression shifted between dark and light, as if something had occurred to him. He said hesitantly, "Could this be... Battle Space Gu?"
"Battle Space Gu?" In an instant, nearly everyone's gaze converged on Sun Shihan.
A sharp glint flashed in Hei Lou Lan's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "This is indeed a Space Path Gu. But if it's Battle Space Gu, then Elder Hao Jiliu is in danger."
"Battle Space Gu has been lost for so many years. Who would have thought it would resurface here?" Tai Bai Yunsheng sighed, seemingly having confirmed it.
Having obtained an Immortal Path inheritance from the old beggar, his knowledge was naturally extraordinary.
"What exactly is Battle Space Gu?" everyone pressed.
Yelü Sang's gaze was solemn and focused. He was also the current patriarch of the superpower Yelü family, but after suffering defeat, he had reluctantly joined the Hei family.
Possessing a mysterious Flame Path Immortal Gu and hailing from a deeply learned lineage, he spoke up to explain: "Battle Space Gu is a Fifth Transformation Space Path Gu. Once activated, it pulls both allies and enemies into a separate space. There, the two sides fight to the death, and only when a victor is decided—or when time runs out—can anyone leave."
"Sigh, to think the Flying Bear was hiding such a Gu!" Hei Lou Lan sighed toward the sky, his tone bitter with regret.
Everyone's expressions turned extremely somber as they voiced their concern for Hao Jiliu.
The Flying Bear illusion was so powerful that even their combined strength couldn't kill it. How could Hao Jiliu alone be its match?
The outcome of this duel was easy for anyone to guess—the Flying Bear would win, and Hao Jiliu would lose.
Though Hao Jiliu had the Water Image Gu and a range of other escape methods at his disposal, Yelü Sang had already explained that the space created by Battle Space Gu would not close until a victor—or a corpse—was decided.
No matter how many escape methods Hao Jiliu exhausted, it was only a matter of time before the Flying Bear illusion caught and killed him.
Unless he had a Space Path Gu to counter it.
But Hao Jiliu was a Water Path Gu Master—everyone knew that.
Even among the powerful individuals present, none practiced the Space Path, leaving them utterly helpless against Battle Space Gu.
"There might still be hope. Patriarch Yelü just said 'when a victor is decided, or when time runs out.' What does 'time runs out' mean?" Tang Miaoming asked.
Yelü Sang let out a long sigh. "The 'time running out' refers to the Gu Master's side. Maintaining Battle Space Gu requires a constant expenditure of True Essence. If the Gu Master keeps it active until their True Essence is completely depleted, Battle Space Gu will naturally dissipate."
Now all hope was completely lost.
The Battle Space Gu on the Flying Bear illusion was a wild Gu.
Wild Gu draw upon the Primordial Qi in the air, and here the Primordial Qi was inexhaustible. Relying on "time running out" was utterly impossible.
"If we could completely absorb all the Primordial Qi in the air, wouldn't that work?" Bian Sixuan proposed a promising idea that brightened everyone's hopes.
But it was no use.
After discussing for a moment, they realized that dealing with the formless and substanceless Primordial Qi would require Qi Path methods.
However, the Qi Path was an ancient school that had once flourished, only to be supplanted by the newly established Strength Path.
By now, even the Strength Path had declined so greatly—let alone the Qi Path.
The Qi Path could be said to be long extinct.
It was extremely rare to encounter a Qi Path Gu Master.
Tai Bai Yunsheng had roamed the Northern Plains for years and had only encountered three Qi Path practitioners. The most recent—and the strongest—was one of Liu Wenwu's sworn brothers: Mo Shikuang.
But he had long since followed Liu Wenwu and submitted to the Liu family. How could he possibly serve under Hei Lou Lan?
Even if they could persuade him to act, he was an offensive-type Gu Master and might not have the means to deal with Primordial Qi. And even if he did, outsiders couldn't enter the Royal Court Blessed Land now.
"Actually, not having the Qi Path isn't the critical issue. The key is to sever the connection between the Primordial Qi and Battle Space Gu—it's not necessary to drain all the Qi here." Tai Bai Yunsheng stroked his beard as he spoke.
But this was something no one could accomplish either.
Severing the connection between Primordial Qi and wild Gu—that was the Restriction Path's specialty.
The Restriction Path was similarly an obscure school, and Restriction Path Gu Masters were equally rare.
None among those present was a Restriction Path Gu Master.
"Sigh, back when I achieved a superior clear, I found the Restriction Path Gu Insect 'Yuan Severing Gu' in the Secret Repository of the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. It would have been perfect for this situation. Unfortunately, I couldn't have predicted this and exchanged it for something else." Lü Shuang slapped his thigh in deep regret.
Fang Yuan stood to the side with his arms crossed and an expressionless face, saying nothing.
"Think harder—there has to be a way." No sooner had Hei Lou Lan finished speaking than the air trembled, and the enormous silhouette of the Flying Bear illusion suddenly materialized.
It opened its mouth and roared, its wild fury on full display.
Everyone's hearts sank as they hurriedly searched for any sign of Hao Jiliu.
If alive, they needed to see him; if dead, they needed to see a body. But there was no trace of Hao Jiliu.
"Look at the Flying Bear's mouth!" Sun Shihan, being a reconnaissance Gu Master, was the first to spot the telltale signs.
Everyone looked where he indicated and noticed that the corners of the Flying Bear's mouth were stained with obvious blood. When it opened its jaws to roar, scraps of torn fabric could be seen caught between its sharp teeth.
The fabric looked familiar, and it quickly dawned on everyone—wasn't this the very outfit Hao Jiliu had been wearing?
The realization struck them like a thunderbolt.
Hao Jiliu had been chewed up and devoured by the Flying Bear!
Poor Hao Jiliu—a renowned powerhouse of the Demonic Path, known as the "Water Demon," who had shone brilliantly during the struggle for the Royal Court—had met his end here.
The fickleness of fate and the cruelty of reality left everyone with an unavoidable sense of desolation—the mourning of the fox for the hare.
Even Tai Bai Yunsheng was at his wit's end.