Having pierced through the boundary wall, the Eastern Sea group finally set foot on the Northern Plains.
"We're back at last." Fang Yuan sighed. Disguised as the Star Diviner, he stood upon the grasslands, and the emotion in his voice wasn't entirely an act.
Before him, the Scorching Heaven Deviless's eyes flickered as she murmured softly, "Yes. We're back."
She felt even more deeply about it than Fang Yuan.
Though Fang Yuan was a Northern Plains Gu Immortal, he had only ascended to immortality here—he was originally born in the Southern Border.
The Scorching Heaven Deviless, on the other hand, was thoroughly a Northerner. After nearly a century apart, she had finally returned home.
The terrain of the Five Regions varied enormously. The Eastern Sea was home to countless strange and wondrous sea regions, while the Northern Plains stretched flat and wide, with grasslands, wastelands, and hills interspersed across the landscape.
At this moment, the grassland beneath the Scorching Heaven Deviless's feet was a barren wasteland, the yellow-brown earth dotted with only faint specks of green.
Yet in the Scorching Heaven Deviless's heart, a warm sense of kinship stirred naturally.
Apart from Fang Yuan and the Scorching Heaven Deviless, the other accompanying Gu Immortals wore slight frowns. They were all Eastern Sea Gu Immortals, curious about but unfamiliar with the Northern Plains. Having left their homeland for a strange land, they were filled with a sense of being outcasts, completely at odds with their surroundings.
Among them, the two with the most powerful auras were both zombie immortals, each at the Eighth Transformation.
This group from the Eastern Sea was almost entirely composed of zombie immortals, with very few living beings. Together with the Scorching Heaven Deviless and Fang Yuan, they numbered three at the Eighth Transformation, six at the Seventh Transformation, and four at the Sixth Transformation.
A formidable lineup, great in number!
The Ancestor Snow Beard's actions had thoroughly enraged the Eastern Sea Zombie Alliance. They hadn't hesitated to mobilize such a powerful force and rush to the Northern Plains to settle the score.
But at this moment, every Gu Immortal was wounded. The Sixth Transformation ones had only minor injuries; the Seventh Transformation ones were hurt far more badly, looking bedraggled. As for the three Eighth Transformation, they were utterly spent—their bodies were broken, some missing an arm, others a leg. In the gentle breeze, they swayed unsteadily, threatening to topple at any moment.
At the edges of the Five Regions lay boundary walls. Wrapped around the Northern Plains was the Sweetgrass Boundary Wall, while the Azure Water Boundary Wall encircled the Eastern Sea.
It was precisely because of these boundary walls that the Five Regions remained isolated from one another.
Moreover, the higher a being's level, the greater the obstruction the boundary walls posed.
For an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal to penetrate a boundary wall was over ten thousand times harder than for a Sixth Transformation one!
For the Eastern Sea zombie immortals to travel from the Eastern Sea into the Northern Plains, they had to bore through two consecutive boundary walls. All three at the Eighth Transformation suffered serious injuries, and four zombie immortals at the Seventh Transformation lost their lives within the walls. The Sixth Transformation Gu Immortals, by contrast, faced less pressure.
Of everyone, Fang Yuan had the easiest time.
He had the lowest cultivation—a mere Sixth Transformation at the bottom. On top of that, he was a Northern Plains Gu Immortal.
When he passed from the Eastern Sea into the Northern Plains, the Eastern Sea boundary wall rejected him, pushing him outward, while the Northern Plains boundary wall welcomed him, drawing him inward.
Likewise, among the three Eighth Transformation zombie immortals, the Scorching Heaven Deviless was the least injured.
Like a wanderer returning home, both Fang Yuan and the Scorching Heaven Deviless received a warm welcome from the Northern Plains.
"If not for that massive Gu formation at the Eastern Sea Zombie Alliance headquarters, at least one of the three Eighth Transformation zombie immortals would have had to be sacrificed. And we would have lost half of the Seventh Transformation ones too."
Fang Yuan observed calmly, secretly admiring the deep reserves of the Eastern Sea Zombie Alliance.
Before their departure, dozens of zombie immortals at the Alliance headquarters had worked together to activate a Gu formation, and had actually conjured up an earth tide.
Periodically, earth tides arose in the Eastern Sea.
Boundless geological forces surged from the depths of the ocean trenches, vast and overwhelming, churning the seawater into an earth tide.
The force of an earth tide was enormous—raising tsunamis hundreds and thousands of zhang high was child's play. When the earth tide struck the boundary walls, they grew thinner. During the annual earth tide season, many Gu Immortals from other regions would flood into the Eastern Sea.
By the time Fang Yuan and the others set out, the earth tide had long since passed.
Who would have thought that the Eastern Sea Zombie Alliance headquarters had the means to create an artificial earth tide? In a very short time, they had weakened a section of the Eastern Sea boundary wall.
Without that aid, Fang Yuan's group would have suffered even heavier losses.
"What do we do next?" After catching his breath for a moment, one of the Eighth Transformation zombie immortals broke the silence.
All eyes turned to the Scorching Heaven Deviless.
She was the leader of the Northern Plains Zombie Alliance, and among the three at the Eighth Transformation, she was the strongest in combat power. This operation therefore fell under her command.
The Scorching Heaven Deviless didn't hesitate. She smiled. "According to reliable intelligence, Ancestor Snow Beard has already returned to his Great Snow Mountain Blessed Land. We shouldn't rush back. It would be most prudent to rest and recuperate first, restoring our combat strength as quickly as possible."
The zombie immortals nodded in agreement, none raising any objections.
Having just torn through the boundary walls, their strength had plummeted to rock bottom. They genuinely needed a thorough period of recovery.
The Scorching Heaven Deviless didn't even return to the Yin Flow Giant City. Instead, she chose a secluded location.
The Eastern Sea Gu Immortals went into hiding and focused on recuperation.
This approach was virtually identical to the one the Central Continent Gu Immortals had adopted when they first infiltrated the region.