Unable to break through the illusory doppelgängers, Fang Yuan could only guess wildly, making several more baseless choices.
Eventually, night fell, and he watched helplessly as the pursuing Dongfang Changfan grew increasingly translucent and dim until the figure dissipated entirely, revealing a cluster of Gu insects within.
Fang Yuan collected this cluster of Gu insects, but to his surprise, they did not include the Immortal Gu Phantasmal Shadow — merely a collection of Fifth Transformation Gu insects. However, they were steeped in the rich aura of an Immortal Gu.
"I've lost him! It all depends on Pi Shuihan now, but there's little hope. Dongfang Changfan has most likely escaped. As expected of a legendary figure and leader of a super force — so many hidden cards up his sleeve! The priority now is to return to Bitan Blessed Land and loot one last batch of resources."
Fang Yuan steadied himself and immediately turned to fly back.
Along the way, he contacted Fairy Lishan and Hei Loulan, only to learn that they were still in pursuit of Fangcun Mountain and wanted him to assist, promising generous resource compensation.
Fang Yuan found himself torn between two difficult choices.
On one hand, there was Bitan Blessed Land — genuinely rich in resources, but if he delayed too long, other Demonic Path Gu Immortals would strip it bare. On the other hand, there was Fangcun Mountain — if he could obtain it...
His heart stirred, just slightly.
Night descended fully. Cold air sank earthward, dark clouds blanketed the sky, and the air hung oppressively heavy.
Moments later, a fierce gale erupted, pouring rain lashing down, lightning cracking and thunder rumbling.
Dongfang Changfan sat cross-legged on the ground, his face white as paper, utterly devoid of any color. The body he had just seized through possession bore hundreds of wounds. In some places, the injuries cut deep to the bone, raw flesh and blood exposed to the open air.
Dongfang Changfan's breathing was faint, his brow furrowed deeply. "I never expected such a major complication during this possession. As expected, defying the heavens invites the wrath of heaven and earth. Fortunately, at the last moment, I abandoned Fangcun Mountain to draw away some of my pursuers. Then I sacrificed the Immortal Gu Phantasmal Shadow to engineer my escape."
In that moment, Dongfang Changfan's heart was a tangle of emotions — lingering fear, relief, joy, heaviness, grief, and hatred.
The feelings were incredibly complex, like countless threads knotted together.
"The injuries on my body are secondary — none are fatal. The pressing matter is to purge the internal threats. Most of the Immortal Essence I had accumulated was spent on the possession. The subsequent battle consumed the rest entirely. A contest of will — that is the only way for me to crush these nine wills..."
Having made his decision, Dongfang Changfan closed his eyes completely, his entire being sinking into a deep, trance-like state.
In truth, the dire circumstances left him no other choice.
He was running on empty — like a great river drained until the very bottom was visible.
To have escaped his pursuers in this state and made it out alive had been an incredibly narrow margin.
If he hesitated now and did not engage in the battle of wills, control over this body would be snatched away once more.
It was far better to seize the opportunity while he still had some reserves, some remaining strength, and convert all of it into a tide of willpower to launch an all-out war.
A contest of wills was extraordinarily dangerous. Cultivation level was irrelevant — only the strength of one's will mattered.
But Dongfang Changfan had no reserves to spare. This was his only option.
His will surged upward from the Sea of Consciousness, and in an instant, it rallied every last shred of accumulated strength, forming into a tremendous torrent.
The torrent poured forth from the Sea of Consciousness like a river cascading down from the nine heavens, flooding downward from the crown of his skull. Carrying a surging momentum, it crashed toward every corner of his body, seeking to grind up and annihilate the other wills lurking within.
"Fight!"
"All together, you old fox — his will is stronger than any one of us alone!"
"We must join forces! Only together do we stand a chance!"
The wills of the eight Dongfang Tribe Gu Immortals, along with the will of Dongfang Yuliang, rose in rebellion, charging headlong at Dongfang Changfan's will.
Ten streams of will, all intermingled, grinding against one another in a furious melee.
Neither side could afford to retreat — a single step backward meant the abyss of defeat and a death without even a grave.
So from the very start, it was a battle to the death.
The two sides were nearly evenly matched at first, but after only a brief interval, Dongfang Changfan's will began to falter.
During his earlier battle against the assembled enemies, Dongfang Changfan had merely been forcibly suppressing these wills and hadn't realized just how tenacious they truly were. Now, in this direct confrontation, he discovered that each one was as hard as tempered steel and as unyielding as diamond.
Every single one of them harbored a deep, burning hatred for him!
"Dongfang Changfan, you deceived us! You betrayed us!"
"For your own selfish desires, you killed us to fulfill yourself!!"
"So cunning, so calculating — we were blind, nothing but your pawns..."
"You made us die — don't you dare think you'll walk away unscathed!!"
"Mutual destruction! We'll drag you down with us!"
"It was you who doomed us and the entire Dongfang Tribe!"
"Now Bitan Blessed Land is sure to be plundered by those demonic monsters, and millennia of our clan's efforts will vanish into nothing!"
...
The wills screamed and wailed, gathering into wave after wave of tide that surged outward from every corner.
Dongfang Changfan's will retreated steadily, falling back into his Sea of Consciousness.