If he only needed to tear open a single breach, it would still require about a month.
Fang Yuan's fingers blossomed like flowers, unleashing a swarm of Gu insects that danced in every direction, working to unravel the formation before him. Meanwhile, his ears trembled repeatedly, pushing his detection methods to the absolute limit—the Yacha Octopus King was about to return.
Time waited for no one.
Every second counted.
"Now!" A sudden glint of sharp light flashed through Fang Yuan's eyes. The air before him erupted into a shimmering, misty glow.
Through that haze, he glimpsed a corner of the giant Gu formation.
Though his vision was blurry, he could just barely make out the landscape within.
The Yacha Octopus King had already returned.
Time was up—he had to retreat.
Within such a narrow window, catching even this brief glimpse of the formation's interior was already at the very limit of his abilities.
Had Fang Yuan not achieved a Grandmaster-level attainment in Wisdom Path, this would have been impossible.
But it was enough.
Fang Yuan exhaled, immediately turning to fall back.
The ancient primal beast Yacha Octopus King moved through the underground tunnels with the speed of a subway train. The slick, black oil coating the ditches made it swim as freely as a fish in water.
Fang Yuan nearly brushed past it.
The Yacha Octopus King returned to its lair and immediately scanned its surroundings.
Something felt off.
Earlier, Fang Yuan had dismantled parts of the formation, leaving behind traces of foreign auras. The beast's keen senses detected the irregularity.
Its massive brow furrowed deeply. More than ten enormous, yet incredibly flexible octopus tentacles guided its body as it patrolled every corner of its den.
After a while, it found nothing suspicious. The traces Fang Yuan had left were gradually being washed away by the ambient energy. Only then did the Yacha Octopus King slowly calm down, settling back into its nest.
But this time, it did not sleep. Its eyes were half-closed, yet a thin slit always remained open.
From time to time, its ears would twitch at the faint drafts flowing through the tunnels, listening for any sound.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan's remaining concerns gradually dissipated. He retreated with painstaking caution until he was back in the upper section of the octopus's lair.
This particular Yacha Octopus King appeared to hold the highest status among the beasts remaining in the den. If it sensed serious danger, it might let out a piercing shriek, summoning every other member of its clan back from battle.
At that point, setting aside whether the Northern Plains immortal zombies would also be drawn in by the commotion, Fang Yuan's movements within the den would become severely restricted.
"Right here," Fang Yuan murmured after a moment, carefully selecting an inconspicuous little corner among several tunnels.
He hesitated briefly, then activated the Immortal Gu, Ding Xian You.
That giant Gu formation had been laid down by predecessors, but when Fang Yuan had been dismantling it earlier, he had confirmed it was unattended and had fallen into disrepair over the ages. The risk of barging in should be relatively small.
To find a way to shed his immortal zombie body, this risk was worth taking.
After all, the longer time dragged on, the more perilous Fang Yuan's situation became.
It was entirely possible that the next moment, his destruction of the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building would be exposed. When that happened, the entire world would come hunting him. The Fox Fairy blessed land would be impossible to keep. The Star Constellation blessed land would be his only remaining home.
Under such circumstances, the sooner he escaped the immortal zombie body, the better. A fully vibrant immortal aperture world could be carried with him—far safer and more convenient than any blessed land.
Moreover, a normal Gu Immortal's aperture could periodically produce immortal essence on its own. That would be immensely beneficial for both Fang Yuan's finances and his combat power!
The Immortal Gu activated. A burst of emerald radiance bloomed.
In the next instant, Fang Yuan vanished from his spot, reappearing inside the giant Gu formation.
Outside the formation, the Yacha Octopus King lay sprawled. But separated by the formation's barrier, it remained utterly oblivious.
"Finally inside." Fang Yuan's vigilance was at its peak as he swiftly scanned his surroundings. Sure enough, this was the exact corner he had just observed.
Charging into a Gu formation blindly was extremely dangerous—it would be perfectly normal to be attacked.
But Fang Yuan suffered no assault, which further confirmed that the formation was unattended.
He let out a breath of relief, yet remained on high alert.
An unattended formation was still operational. Perhaps within its core lingered a will left behind by the Gu Immortal who created it.
Just like in the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, where Immortal Venerable Ju Yang had left behind a vestige of will.
This was primarily a Space Path grand formation, designed to create an entire pocket dimension.
Within this vast, expansive space, the ground was covered in purple sand, and the sky glowed in shades of egg yolk yellow.
The purple sand seemed remarkably fertile—dense, tightly packed plants filled Fang Yuan's entire field of vision, as though he had stepped into a tropical rainforest.
"Taishi Grass, Fengyuan Peaches, Immortal Beans, Blood Tide Flowers..." Fang Yuan swept his gaze across, spotting dozens of types of immortal-grade materials in a single glance.
Even someone as composed as him felt a jolt in his heart.
These immortal-grade plants were mostly Sixth Transformation, with a smaller portion at Seventh Transformation, but their sheer density was staggering.
"These immortal materials come from all five domains—not limited to the Earth Ditch or even the Northern Plains. What kind of figure was the immortal zombie powerhouse who created this place?"