Fang Yuan replied, "That wasn't hard to deduce. First, to ensure my safety, your will alone wasn't enough—the Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu House Neighboring Water Tower was the strongest guarantee. Second, thinking consumes thoughts and damages will. I had you conceive a strength-path finishing move, yet your will never showed any signs of weakening. After that, when you clashed directly with Giant Sun's Will inside my head, attempted to refine the Supreme True Inheritance of the True Yang Tower, and was scorched by the Light of Wisdom, your will still showed no signs of weakness. The only explanation was the Neighboring Water Tower! Your will was being continuously replenished inside the tower. When I examined the component Gu of the Neighboring Water Tower earlier, I didn't notice at first glance. The key Gu must have been that Wisdom Path Immortal Gu—the Le Shan Le Shui Gu, right?"
"Hehe, you guessed half of it right." Mo Yao's Will admitted frankly. "The Le Shan Le Shui Gu can only generate joy, but this will of mine isn't joy—it was transformed from joy through other Gu. This kind of will can indeed influence thoughts, disrupt reasoning, and make someone act against their nature. In that case... you deliberately lost to Giant Sun's Will?"
Fang Yuan smiled. "Giant Sun's Will is indeed powerful, but the gap between us in combat strength isn't nearly as vast as it appeared. When I snapped out of my confusion and found that the Neighboring Water Tower had already transformed into armor covering my body, saving my life, that was when I deeply realized something was wrong. Before that, I'd been wary, but under your secret influence, that wariness gradually vanished."
"But even though I sensed something was wrong, I couldn't be certain. Giant Sun's Will attacked me furiously, and I deduced his strategy. This battlefield is only so large—external factors that could influence the outcome are limited. How could I not have been watching for the Formless Hand? So I decided to take a risk and turn his plan against him. I deliberately moved slowly and took a hit from the Formless Hand. The result proved that you truly had ulterior motives!"
"Later, even after the Neighboring Water Tower was broken, I was still wary of its power. So I tricked you into entering my Immortal Orifice Blessed Land while borrowing your Gu. Then, in the distant battle, I deliberately took multiple finishing moves, ensuring that most of your Gu were sealed as a result. That was all to prevent any Gu in there that could be activated without True Essence."
Mo Yao's Will shook her head at this, sighing with emotion. "Fang Yuan, you're far too clever. The moment you sensed something was wrong, you calculated this far ahead. Your acting was better than mine."
"But there's still one thing I don't understand," Fang Yuan said.
"Oh, please, go on."
"Earlier, a Six-Finger Formless Hand took the Fixing Immortal Travel Gu from me. I know that Fixing Immortal Travel was always a Gu you wanted to secretly eliminate—it disrupted your plans too much. But how could you be so certain that the Six-Finger Formless Hand would take the Fixing Immortal Travel rather than another Immortal Gu, say the Spring Autumn Cicada?"
Mo Yao's Will showed a trace of a bitter smile. "Kid, I'm just a remnant will left behind for ten thousand years. Did you really think I could control everything? The situation was so chaotic. When the Formless Hand grabbed you, I hesitated for a moment, fearing that the appearance of the Neighboring Water Tower would arouse your suspicion."
"But afterward, when it took the Fixing Immortal Travel, I was overjoyed. I hurriedly disrupted your thinking, making you choose to help Tai Bai Yun Sheng. That delayed your time and ultimately caused you to lose the Fixing Immortal Travel."
Fang Yuan was stunned. "Your luck really was something."
Mo Yao shook her head with a bitter smile. "Back when I secretly infiltrated the True Yang Tower, I was single-mindedly trying to seize the Fortune Equaling Heaven Gu, but I let it escape. Since then, my luck has never been good. Later, when I blocked the Seven-Finger Formless Hand for you, my intention was to sacrifice the Seventh Transformation Calamity-Calling Immortal Gu inside the Neighboring Water Tower. But unfortunately, the Formless Hand grabbed the core Water-and-Milk Fusion Immortal Gu instead!"
"If your Spring Autumn Cicada contained an ordinary consciousness, I would have acted long ago. But it happened to contain your Gu Immortal consciousness, which is why I didn't dare act rashly and could only secretly infiltrate."
"I was lurking inside your head, previously focusing on your thoughts and spying on your memories. But after the direct confrontation with Giant Sun's Will, I couldn't split my forces—all my will was devoted to controlling the Neighboring Water Tower to preserve your life. Otherwise, when you realized something was wrong, I definitely would have noticed. I might even have interfered with your thoughts, making you overlook the problem entirely."
"Also, my Immortal Essence really is scarce—most of it was used to generate will. Your attrition tactics were actually quite effective. But if I'd had five or six more Red Date Immortal Essence units, the situation would have been different."
Fang Yuan nodded repeatedly. "Sigh, actually, I didn't win by honest means either. A single strand of will certainly can't think as comprehensively as the main body. Especially since each will has its own characteristics, which skew one's actions. Will is ultimately just will—it can't replace the true self. If your true self had come to deal with me, I probably would have fallen into your trap long ago. Fairy Mo Yao, your reputation is well-deserved! With just the will you left behind, you were able to reach this point."
Fang Yuan sighed again and again. After the cards were laid on the table, he actually began consoling Mo Yao's Will, as if he'd forgotten they were enemies and were old friends.
He continued with emotion, "Your plan was extremely difficult to execute—like walking a tightrope, constantly maintaining the balance of the situation. If this had been before, and you'd targeted me, I might have been deceived by you the entire time. Unfortunately, not long after coming to the Northern Plains, I'd already made a similar mistake. And my creed is to avoid making the same mistake as much as possible!"
At this point, the image of a girl in white involuntarily surfaced in Fang Yuan's mind.
"Actually, I also owe thanks to the Zhi Hui Gu's help. Without actively activating it, just its passive Wisdom Halo alone made my thinking so sharp that I could figure out many things and see through your conspiracy. Truly worthy of being a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu. Hmm, having said all this, I still have a question for you—what exactly is your will?"
Mo Yao laughed. "There's no harm in telling you now. You already know my methods, and getting the answer is only a matter of time. Besides, in the current situation, even if you discovered my true objective, it would be too late. Your use of the Spring Autumn Cicada to self-destruct is already set in stone! This will of mine is called False Intent. False and real intertwined, real and false indistinguishable. False Intent disguises itself as another person's thoughts, participates in thought collisions, and thereby secretly alters the results of thinking, influencing another person's decisions and actions."
Fang Yuan suddenly understood. "No wonder every time I searched through my head, I couldn't find where you were hiding. You were disguised as my own thoughts! But there's one thing you've got wrong—I won't be using the Spring Autumn Cicada."
"Are you sure? Hehehe." Mo Yao's Will laughed. "The Six-Arm Heavenly Corpse King technique was something I helped you perfect. I deliberately miscalculated the time limit, turning you into a corpse body. You've already lost any chance of advancing further. You have no future left. I've been by your side for so long—my understanding of you is thorough. You have no other cards left to play."
"The current situation: the Great Unity Wind Curtain bears down, you've lost the Fixing Immortal Travel—do you think you can maintain the Star Gate? Stop being unrealistic! You're currently surrounded by enemies. Although you deliberately appeared weak before, your actual combat strength still falls short of Giant Sun's Will. After all, this isn't the True Inheritance Secret Realm. In the True Inheritance Secret Realm, will and thoughts are suppressed. As for the Wandering the World Gu, I won't be lending it to you again."
"Also, besides Giant Sun's Will, you have another hidden and enormous threat—the Great Force True Martial Body, Hei Loulan! Peak Fifth Transformation, heh, just imagine the power if he were to self-destruct! Right now, you're nothing more than relying on the Wisdom Halo sustained by the Zhi Hui Gu. Hahaha, surrounded by powerful enemies, you've reached a dead end!"
Mo Yao's Will laughed for a while, then her tone softened. "You're unwilling to use the Spring Autumn Cicada purely because you're concerned about your own Black Coffin Fortune. Actually, you don't need to be so anxious. The drawback of the Spring Autumn Cicada is exactly this—it makes the host's luck worse and worse. That was what Red Lotus Demon Venerable suffered from back then. Luck does have a significant impact, but it doesn't determine everything—it also depends on who's facing it. You have so much bad luck, yet by relying on your own strength and intellect to fight against it, you've still achieved so much. Ma Hongyun had so much good luck, yet he couldn't seize it. Though he managed to escape, he's surely already fallen into the hands of Northern Plains Gu Immortals and become a prisoner."
Fang Yuan sneered. "You've plotted for so long that you must have made thorough preparations and surely have confidence in victory. Willpower comparison was always my weakness. If I self-destructed, I'd be pitting my weakness against your strength. Do you think I'm that stupid?"
Mo Yao laughed too. "I didn't expect you'd have moments of cowardice either. Unfortunately, your guess isn't entirely correct. I do want to use the Spring Autumn Cicada, but traveling back ten thousand years requires more foundation than you currently possess. My plan is to find Red Lotus Demon Venerable's inheritance along the way against the flow of the River of Time. With the power of that inheritance, I would then travel back the full ten thousand years. Hehehe, wouldn't you like to see what Red Lotus Demon Venerable's inheritance is?"
Mo Yao dropped a bombshell—she actually knew the secret location of Red Lotus Demon Venerable's inheritance.
But Fang Yuan gave no response, simply remaining silent.
Outside, Giant Sun's Will had finally counted down from "ten" to "one."
"Seems you're stubborn beyond hope, determined to resist to the end!" Receiving no surrender from Fang Yuan, Giant Sun's Will's voice was very low.
"This demon is beyond redemption! Ancestor Giant Sun showed great mercy by giving him a chance to reform, yet he remains obstinate!" Yelü Sang shouted, though inwardly he felt relieved.
"Kill! Kill this demon! Cut off his head and use it as our chamber pot!"
"Today, we rid the people of this menace!" The crowd roiled with fury.
"Not good—the Great Unity Wind Curtain is less than a hundred steps away! Ancestor Giant Sun, what should we do?" Some cried in panic.
The Zhi Hui Gu sustained a Wisdom Halo for self-protection. All the Gu Masters stood at the halo's edge, with only Fang Yuan standing inside. The Great Unity Wind Curtain gradually closed in, compressing the space for everyone to stand. In a moment, the curtain would press up against the halo. (To be continued...)