Hei Lou Lan and the others slowly retreated.
Giant Sun's Will from the Long River roared incessantly, yet for the time being, it dared not recklessly charge forward.
After a fierce battle with Fang Yuan, its volume was less than half of its original size.
Anxious, it thought, "Damn it! Unless the main body's will sends reinforcements, I can't deal with Fang Yuan by myself!"
The battlefield fell into a brief silence.
Seeing that the situation had finally turned out as he had anticipated, Fang Yuan let out a turbid breath of relief.
The struggle for the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building had gone through many twists and turns, and by now, the situation had gradually become clear.
Fang Yuan was like a tightrope walker on the edge of a cliff, with fierce winds blowing from all sides. He had fallen into danger and lost the initiative several times. If not for his careful scheming and numerous methods, he would never have lasted until now.
Especially this time, Fang Yuan had bravely risked his life, seeking to die together with his enemy, and only then barely managed to seize back the initiative.
"The journey to the Northern Plains has finally reached its most critical moment! The upcoming immortal ascension is of utmost importance, practically deciding who will be the victor!" Fang Yuan rallied his spirit. As he had said before, the real battle had only just begun.
"Junior brother, you must be extremely careful!" Tai Bai Yun Sheng's tone was heavy, his gaze anxious, and his heart was filled with worry.
He had just ascended to immortality himself and was very clear about the hardships of the heavenly tribulation. He understood: if not for the help of Giant Sun's Will, he could never have succeeded. Even though he had accumulated a lifetime of experience and possessed a deep foundation!
"Sigh. Junior brother is young and impatient, he should never have made this choice! If I had known earlier, I would never have let him do it at any cost! But it's too late to say anything now. Sigh. I just hope he received guidance from our master and succeeds against all odds..." Tai Bai Yun Sheng lamented in his heart.
Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng exchanged a glance, and Fang Yuan nodded.
Then, he slowly closed his eyes and immersed his mind into his body.
An ordinary Gu Master or Gu Immortal has only one aperture their entire life. But Fang Yuan had once narrowly escaped death at Three Kings Mountain and seized an opportunity. Consequently, he had used the Second Aperture Immortal Gu and now possessed two apertures.
After the battle at Royal Court, both of his apertures were at the peak of Rank Five, with crystal-purple true essence!
A Gu Master's ascension to immortality had three major steps, the first of which was destroying the aperture.
Fang Yuan destroyed his second aperture.
Once a Gu Master destroys his aperture, he can only move forward, with no retreat. This is because they only have one aperture.
But Fang Yuan had two.
That is to say, even if he failed this tribulation and lost one aperture, he would still retain one aperture.
Retaining one aperture would allow him to preserve his life.
This was one of the benefits of having a second aperture.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng did not know this secret; if he did, much of his worry would surely have dissipated.
Kacha!
Kacha!
Kacha!
Bolts of lightning, one after another, struck Giant Sun's Will.
"Little thief Fang Yuan, you will die a miserable death!" Giant Sun's Will roared, meeting the tribulation lightning head-on, its golden sand-like thoughts scattering again and again.
This lightning was no ordinary thing. It took the shape of a trident and possessed extraordinary power. It was one of the Ten Extreme Calamities.
Normally, the Snow Calamity Tribulation Lightning was not very frequent, taking at least dozens of breaths to form once. But now, Fang Yuan's ascension and aperture destruction were attracting the qi of heaven and earth, forming a new heavenly tribulation and earthly calamity.
This new tribulation and calamity then merged with the ten-year snowstorm calamity, immediately boosting the power of the snow disaster.
The Snow Calamity Tribulation Lightning seemed to be drugged, growing excited. It struck continuously, with less than a single breath between each strike!
Every time it defended, Giant Sun's Will paid a heavy price.
But it simply couldn't just walk away.
The Eighty-Eight True Yang Building needed its protection.
Right now, the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building had almost completely stopped functioning, existing only in form. If Giant Sun's Will withdrew its protection, the True Yang Building would be destroyed in the blink of an eye by the terrifying heavenly tribulation and earthly calamity.
The Eighty-Eight True Yang Building was a precious inheritance left behind by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable. Giant Sun's Will was the manager of this building. Its mission forced Giant Sun's Will to grit its teeth and withstand the heavenly tribulation and earthly calamity.
In this way, it had become a babysitter for Fang Yuan during his tribulation!
Protecting the enemy who had schemed against it, helping him transcend the tribulation and ascend to immortality. Forced by the situation to do this, one could imagine the frustration and fury in Giant Sun's Will's heart.
"Little thief Fang Yuan, once I weather this heavenly tribulation and earthly calamity, I will flay you alive! I will drink your blood and eat your flesh!" Giant Sun's Will roared, its fury drowning out even the booming thunder.
But soon, its roars abruptly stopped, replaced by shock: "Th-this is... Luan Qi Ya!"
In the lightning-streaked sky, eighteen vortexes appeared.
The vortexes spun rapidly, their edges quickly expanding outwards.
Within each pitch-black vortex, a massive, snow-white beast fang slowly condensed into form.
There were eighteen beast fangs, white as snow, each colossal beyond compare, thick as an ancient tree and over ten zhang long.
The beast fangs were poised to strike, and an intense sense of crisis rose within Giant Sun's Will's heart.