Having made up his mind, Carefree Scholar rallied his aura and let out a long, piercing cry: "Fight! The opponent is but a single person — if you're a coward, retreat on your own!"
"Good! We will follow you to the end, my lord!"
"Truly worthy of being Lord Carefree Scholar! With you here, what is Dongfang Yuliang worth?"
The Demonic Path Gu Immortals roared in unison.
Carefree Scholar flicked his long sleeves. A killing move erupted, clearing the lingering starlight around them, and he led the charge toward Dongfang Yuliang.
"Bring it on." Dongfang Yuliang showed not the slightest fear before Carefree Scholar's Seventh Transformation might. Instead of retreating, he surged forward, plunging deep into the sea of starlight.
In an instant, the starlight churned and boiled, as though an ocean of stars had been set into a frenzy — towering waves without end, terrifying surges rolling one after another.
Dongfang Yuliang became master of a myriad stars. Commanding countless streams of starlight, he unleashed a vast stellar tide, fighting one against many!
The battle raged fiercely, shaking the very stars and scattering shards of light in every direction.
At first, Dongfang Yuliang was outnumbered and hard-pressed, his situation dire. But as time wore on, the volume of starlight surged relentlessly, nearly filling the entire area in a blinding sphere.
The starlight obscured vision and disrupted coordination. Star thoughts repeatedly invaded their minds, and the Demonic Path Gu Immortals could not help but make mistake after mistake. The more chaotic the battle grew, the greater Dongfang Yuliang's advantage.
The Gu Immortals suffered accidental blows multiple times and gradually grew unwilling to cooperate, gravitating toward fighting solo — which greatly eased the pressure on Dongfang Yuliang.
Only Carefree Scholar remained, sweeping through the battlefield unopposed. He was Dongfang Yuliang's greatest foe, and Dongfang Yuliang continuously avoided his edge, never daring to engage him head-on.
Carefree Scholar was repeatedly obstructed by other Demonic Path Gu Immortals, and frustration and rage built in his heart: "This Dongfang Yuliang is slippery as an eel! So young, yet even more cunning than the old Dongfang Changfan ever was! He has no openings — as if he'd been drilling this killing move since the day he was born! How could Dongfang Yuliang's inheritance be so extraordinary?"
Not far away, Old Lord Canyang was secretly astonished by the power of the Wan Xing Fei Ying as well. He had been concealing his presence all along, quietly healing his injuries. From time to time, he shifted his gaze, staring somberly toward Fang Yuan and the others at the edge of the battlefield.
He had a vague suspicion about Fang Yuan's identity, and was quietly waiting for Fang Yuan to enter the fray.
He was not skilled at pursuit. But if he could leverage the Wan Xing Fei Ying, his chances of capturing and killing Fang Yuan would increase dramatically.
Yet Fang Yuan remained motionless, watching from the sidelines, which made Old Lord Canyang secretly anxious as he endured the wait.
Righteous Path killing move — Thousand Dissolutions!
After fighting for some time without gaining the upper hand, Carefree Scholar finally deployed his ultimate offensive technique.
Dongfang Yuliang chuckled softly. He had long been guarding against this very move — his body swayed, agile as a butterfly, dodging the beam of light.
But just then, Dongfang Yuliang's body suddenly froze. From within came the furious roar of Dongfang Wanxiu: "Old villain, I'll drag you down with me!"
With that, "Dongfang Yuliang" changed direction and hurled himself bodily into the Thousand Dissolutions killing move.
This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard.
The might of the Thousand Dissolutions was deeply ingrained in everyone's minds. "Dongfang Yuliang" crashing headlong into it was practically suicide!
In that instant, everyone was stunned into immobility.
Even Carefree Scholar was momentarily stunned, watching as "Dongfang Yuliang" collided with his killing move.
The light of Thousand Dissolutions fell upon Dongfang Yuliang's head, immediately dissolving it completely. It then melted through the skull, penetrating straight toward the brain.
Between life and death, Old Lord Canyang roared. He could no longer care about healing his wounds. He revealed his figure and struck out to save him.
With one hand he attacked, with the other he defended.
Flames surged and billowed, sending waves of searing heat hurtling toward Carefree Scholar. Faced with a Seventh Transformation powerhouse, Carefree Scholar had no choice but to respond, diverting his attention.
Old Lord Canyang seized the opportunity and pulled Dongfang Yuliang back.
Dongfang Yuliang's skull had just been penetrated, and his brain had narrowly escaped catastrophic damage. At this moment, countless streams of star thoughts gushed like fountains through the hole in his skull, spurting outward.
After being rescued by Old Lord Canyang, Dongfang Yuliang's expression steadied — it was Dongfang Changfan's soul that had regained control of the body.
Even his face could not help but show traces of terror and lingering dread.
Had he been even one breath slower, Dongfang Yuliang's entire brain would have been dissolved.
One could say Dongfang Changfan had walked through the gates of hell — between life and death by a hair's breadth. Without Old Lord Canyang, he would likely have died once more.
"What the hell were you doing?!" Old Lord Canyang, having rescued Dongfang Changfan, pulled him backward while still shaken, roaring in the latter's ear.
Regarding the body-seizing method, Dongfang Changfan had only taught him the majority of the technique. The remaining portion — the final critical steps — had been withheld by Dongfang Changfan himself.
Therefore, Old Lord Canyang absolutely could not afford to let Dongfang Changfan die.
Dongfang Changfan's deliberate withholding had been a calculated move against Old Lord Canyang, and now its effect was paying off.
But although he had preserved his life, Dongfang Changfan's face was ashen and grim.
All of this was the aftermath of his hasty ascension to immortality, of having barely survived the Lightning Tribulation.