Of the seven Gu Immortals who had invaded the Lang Ya blessed land, the one Fang Yuan most wished to encounter was Xuesongzi.
Because among them, Xuesongzi's cultivation was clearly the lowest, and his combat strength was likely the weakest as well.
At the same time, Fang Yuan had fought Xuesongzi before. In that previous battle, Xuesongzi had been chased through the skies and across the earth by the army of strength-path phantom projections, reduced to a sorry state.
It could be said that Xuesongzi was a defeated foe of Fang Yuan's. Fang Yuan had experience against him and knew his capabilities inside and out.
"However, I cannot afford to be careless in this battle." Fang Yuan's face was solemn as he watched Xuesongzi in the bright mirror drawing ever closer to the Cloud Pavilion he was guarding. Not a trace of disdain or arrogance stirred in his heart.
Even a lion uses its full strength against a rabbit, and Fang Yuan was cautious by nature.
Moreover, this battle came with many concerns.
The first concern: this was not a one-on-one duel, but a massive clash between the invaders and the Lang Ya blessed land. If Fang Yuan engaged Xuesongzi, would the enemy send reinforcements? That was entirely possible!
The second concern was Xuesongzi's improved combat strength.
Inside the Lang Ya blessed land, the invaders were forbidden from using mortal-level Gu Insects. The fact that Xuesongzi could enter this place meant he carried Immortal Gu on his person.
This secret was plain as day.
Because Xuesongzi was now approaching Fang Yuan's position at tremendous speed, using nothing less than a genuine Immortal killer move.
"Looks like I'll have to start this fight with a surprise attack using strategy, to establish an advantage. Even if someone comes to reinforce him afterward, the pressure on me will drop sharply." Sinister thoughts churned in Fang Yuan's mind.
When it came to scheming against others, evil thoughts were by far the most convenient. This was something Fang Yuan had long since come to appreciate deeply.
Xuesongzi flew onward at full speed.
The scenery before him remained unchanged — nothing but vast white mist filling his vision.
The wind generated by his rapid flight swept across his entire body, stirring his spirits.
"Immortal Gu really are different from mortal Gu. Truly extraordinary." Xuesongzi relished the exhilaration brought by the Immortal-level flight killer move, while simultaneously splitting his attention to monitor his own Immortal aperture.
Within his Immortal aperture, he harbored an ice-path Immortal Gu — enormous in size, roughly as large as a normal horse. The entire Gu took the shape of a heart, resembling an ice sculpture, lifelike and radiating bone-piercing cold.
This was the Ice Heart Immortal Gu.
The Ice Heart Immortal Gu was naturally not Xuesongzi's own. It was Qin Baisheng of the Shadow Sect who had proactively lent it to Xuesongzi to bolster his combat strength for the invasion of the Lang Ya blessed land.
Qin Baisheng had not only given Xuesongzi this Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu, but also several sets of Immortal killer moves centered around the Ice Heart Immortal Gu, encompassing offense, defense, advance, retreat, healing, and more.
Xuesongzi was originally a snow-path Gu Immortal. Ice path and snow path were twin Dao paths, intertwined and entangled to the point where they were nearly indistinguishable. For Xuesongzi to wield this ice-path Immortal Gu and its accompanying killer moves was a perfect fit.
The Ice Heart Immortal Gu released a bone-deep chill, but in Xuesongzi's heart, everything was burning hot!
Before the operation began, Qin Baisheng had promised Xuesongzi that if this invasion achieved its objective, the ice-path Immortal Gu would be given to him as a reward for his service.
As a result, Xuesongzi was brimming with motivation. Once inside the blessed land, he had been exceptionally proactive.
After all, he had previously gone to great lengths to pursue a single Wooden Rooster Immortal Gu, even going so far as to secretly fund the Ma clan's bid for supremacy in the Battle of the Royal Court.
Now, with such a golden opportunity before him — and the Ice Heart Immortal Gu being far better suited to him than the Wooden Rooster Immortal Gu — how could he not be tempted?
"A Cloud Pavilion!" Xuesongzi's body abruptly halted mid-flight as he cried out in surprise.
In the seemingly eternal white mist before him, a towering pavilion suddenly emerged.
Xuesongzi reacted and was overjoyed: "I can't believe my luck — I've actually stumbled upon a Cloud Pavilion!"
Qin Baisheng's mission for him was to search through these twelve waves of the Cloud Maze Mist Formation, locate the twelve Cloud Pavilion formation eyes, and destroy them.
"If I can destroy a single Cloud Pavilion by myself, that would be a great achievement. According to the pre-battle reward policy, I'd receive a rather substantial reward. But each Cloud Pavilion is guarded by a wild beast, so I still need to be careful." Moments later, Xuesongzi composed himself.
As if hearing his thoughts, a wild beast launched itself up from beneath the Cloud Pavilion.
The wild beast was as massive as an elephant, its body a brownish-yellow color, with dense mane covering nearly half its body.
It was none other than the Yellow Jade Lion — the wild beast Fang Yuan had opportunistically acquired from the Star Constellation grotto-heaven and subsequently gifted to the Lang Ya land spirit.
The Yellow Jade Lion charged forward in silence, its body shooting toward Xuesongzi like a bolt of lightning.
"Come then." Excitement and fighting spirit surged in Xuesongzi's eyes, but his body retreated rather than advancing, revealing his cautious nature.
The Yellow Jade Lion's first strike missed, and Xuesongzi had already widened the gap between them.
The latter swept his long sleeve in a powerful motion, unleashing a massive wave of wind and snow.
The blizzard howled, sending chunks of snow the size of eggs crashing into the Yellow Jade Lion.
This was no mortal-level killer move, but an Immortal killer move — "Condensed Cold Snow." Only an Immortal killer move could be barely deployed in the current situation. Mortal-level killer moves simply could not be used at all.
The Yellow Jade Lion was battered until it could barely open its eyes. The biting cold rapidly spread across its body, forming a thick layer of white frost.
The Yellow Jade Lion shook its entire body, flinging off most of the frost, and charged at Xuesongzi once more.
Xuesongzi's gaze locked onto the Yellow Jade Lion's thick mane, and he couldn't help but snort coldly.
This Immortal killer move's offensive power was not its strength. Rather, it used cold energy to penetrate bone and flesh, hampering the opponent's movements and speed.
Among wild beasts, the Yellow Jade Lion was not particularly large, but it possessed both strength and agility in abundance.
Xuesongzi had used this move specifically to strip away the Yellow Jade Lion's agility advantage. But the Yellow Jade Lion was a wild beast, and its coat of fur was extraordinarily thick.