"You little insect! I'll kill you!"
Having been ambushed and schemed against yet again, the Juyang Will was naturally furious.
It immediately split off a vast torrent of will and sent it surging toward Fang Yuan in the distance.
However, after being scoured by the inner layers of Chaos Thunder Spheres and Bond Wolf Smoke, this torrent was reduced by thirty percent. After being worn down by the outer blizzard, it was reduced by another twenty percent.
By the time it reached Fang Yuan, more than half had been stripped away.
"Only this much? It won't even last a quarter of an hour." Fang Yuan paid no heed to the rapidly approaching attack, his mind as cold and calm as ice, silently estimating how long the third method could be maintained.
He gripped the Glass Tower Lord Token tightly, and with a flicker of will, the next instant he appeared inside the Eighty-Eight Angle True Sun Tower.
This was an inherent power of the Glass Tower Lord Token.
Previously, when Fang Yuan had explored the Eighty-Eight Angle True Sun Tower, it was precisely by relying on this covert teleportation that he had moved undetected, keeping everyone in the dark.
The next moment, he materialized within an ice mountain, causing the torrent of will to strike empty air.
Heaven and earth were a swirl of white, and bone-piercing icy wind blew across his face.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Three-Eyed Snow Rabbits, each as tall as a man, with bulging muscles, dug their way out from beneath the snow. In the span of a few breaths, they had surrounded Fang Yuan.
This was naturally one of the floors within the Eighty-Eight Angle True Sun Tower — Tai Bai Yunsheng was being held here.
The snow rabbits multiplied rapidly, soon reaching tens of thousands, their hostile gazes fixed on Fang Yuan.
In terms of raw physical combat ability, these snow rabbits were no less formidable than Wind Wolves or Tortoise-back Wolves. In this frozen, snowy environment, their fighting strength actually surpassed that ordinary wolf packs.
Wild Gu Insects had parasitized their bodies, further amplifying their ferocity.
Breaking through their encirclement would undoubtedly require an enormous expenditure of energy and a great deal of time.
But Fang Yuan held the Glass Tower Lord Token, so there was no need for brute force.
With a mere thought, a faint light flashed from the Glass Tower Lord Token.
A look of confusion appeared on the faces of all the snow rabbits, and their killing intent vanished instantly.
With a casual wave of his hand from Fang Yuan, they scattered in every direction, burrowing into the thick snow and disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Using the Glass Tower Lord Token, Fang Yuan could control multiple layers of the True Sun Tower. He had deliberately held back before, not seizing full control and leaving some slots unused. Now, by activating that power, he immediately turned this floor to his own use.
Without the Juyang Will's interference, becoming the true master of this floor was effortless. Dismissing these snow rabbits was as easy as flipping a hand.
Crack… crack… crack…
The glacier split open, revealing a passage.
The passage extended downward, burrowing deep into the heart of the ice mountain.
Fang Yuan plunged into it and ran swiftly. Before long, he saw Tai Bai Yunsheng.
Tai Bai Yunsheng, his hair and beard white as snow, was sealed within a block of dark ice, seemingly trapped in a deep slumber. He did not move at all.
He had previously undergone tribulation and been struck by a Chaos Thunder Sphere, plunging him into a state of confusion where he could not think. That was how the Juyang Will had easily captured him and stored him inside the tower.
Tai Bai Yunsheng did not possess the Juyang bloodline, and he was a Gu Immortal to boot — not easy to control. To prevent him from causing trouble while the Juyang Will was busy dealing with the Earth Spirit, it had seized the opportunity to seal him here.
With a thought from Fang Yuan, the dark ice dissolved on its own, and Tai Bai Yunsheng slowly regained consciousness.
"Chang Shan Yin…" Tai Bai Yunsheng gradually recovered his wits. He swept his gaze around, recalled what had happened, and then fixed his eyes on Fang Yuan.
Though he had always been repulsed by Fang Yuan's cruel methods, he now showed a look of gratitude: "You're the one who saved me?"
Fang Yuan smiled proudly. "If not me, then who else? Tai Bai Yunsheng, do you have any idea that you're already on the brink of catastrophe, with a death tribulation bearing down on you?"
"Catastrophe? Death tribulation?" Tai Bai Yunsheng's expression shifted slightly, but as a renowned figure, he was not alarmed by Fang Yuan's dire warnings.
He simply rose slowly to his feet and offered Fang Yuan a calm smile: "I'm listening."
Fang Yuan gazed at Tai Bai Yunsheng with an air of resentment and explained: "I was acting under my master's orders, infiltrating the True Sun Tower to unseal the Earth Spirit, intending to overthrow the tower and seize control of the Royal Court Blessed Land! My master also gave me the Glass Tower Lord Token, which holds three great methods to use against the Juyang Will. But something unexpected happened along the way — you suddenly ascended to immortality, and the Juyang Will actually used your power to weaken the Earth Spirit, leading to the current crisis. You thought you had the Juyang Will's favor? Hmph — it was merely using you to maintain the True Sun Tower! Now that you've lost your value and been sealed away, if I hadn't rescued you, you would have fallen into the Juyang Will's hands — unable to live, unable to die!"
"What?" Tai Bai Yunsheng frowned, a flicker of doubt and alarm crossing his face. Fang Yuan's words carried a massive amount of information, and they hit with considerable impact.
Tai Bai Yunsheng stared at Fang Yuan, his eyes flickering with sharp light, his brow furrowing ever deeper: "I was wondering before — why did I suddenly receive the Juyang Will's help? And after being drawn into the True Sun Tower, I was sealed for no apparent reason. According to what you've said, it all makes sense now. But who exactly are you? Why did you save me? Just because you've broken my seal doesn't mean I'll believe everything you say unconditionally!"
Fang Yuan threw his head back and laughed: "Who I am — open your eyes and watch!"
As he spoke, he took a small step back. Right in front of Tai Bai Yunsheng, he drew a blade and slowly dragged it down from the center of his forehead.
A bloody line traced its way from the blade's edge all the way down to his abdomen.
"What are you doing?!" Tai Bai Yunsheng was genuinely startled.
Fang Yuan gave a faint smile, then reversed his grip on the blade, positioned it at the back of his head, and cut downward. Alternating hands, he drew a second wound along the path.
Two long gashes quickly welled up with crimson blood.
Intense pain surged through him, yet Fang Yuan's expression did not change in the slightest.
Next, he carved wounds of various sizes across his arms, thighs, and other key areas.
Throughout the entire process, his wrist was steady as a mountain, his face cold and impassive — as though he were cutting into someone else's body, feeling not the slightest hint of pain.
"What are you doing?!" Tai Bai Yunsheng felt a chill run through him and took a step back, suspicion flooding his heart once more.
But in the next instant, his pupils contracted, and the shock on his face could no longer be concealed.
He watched as Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, first tearing off all his clothes, then peeling away his entire outer layer of skin.
His movements were clean and decisive, accomplished in just a few swift motions. Almost not a single inch of skin remained on his body — only raw, red muscle tissue. He looked like a blood demon, his snow-white gums exposed, a truly ghastly sight.
Then, Fang Yuan activated his healing Gu Insects.
Bathed in a shower of emerald-green light, fresh, tender skin rapidly grew across his entire body.
New skin gradually covered him from head to toe. When the green light faded, the person standing before Tai Bai Yunsheng was the real Fang Yuan.
"So! You're not Chang Shan Yin after all. You were impersonating him. Who are you, really?" Though Tai Bai Yunsheng was merciful, he was no fool. Seeing this reveal, he immediately understood the truth.
His wariness deepened further.
The Fang Yuan before him, though merely an ordinary-looking young man, carried himself with an extraordinary presence. Especially those eyes — dark and deep as an ancient pool, unfathomable.
His entire body radiated the overwhelming aura of a Peak Fifth Transformation Stage Gu Master, his gaze sharp as a blade. Tai Bai Yunsheng had seen countless people in his life, and one look told him that Fang Yuan was a man of unyielding backbone, unwavering will, and a genius who feared no challenge.
Such a person — in all of Tai Bai Yunsheng's life, he could count on one hand how many he had met.
"Who am I?" Fang Yuan smiled faintly, the corner of his mouth curving upward with a trace of pride, his expression vivid and alive.