The Burning Heaven Demoness was actually Hei Loulan's eldest aunt. This was something Fang Yuan had never anticipated.
Fang Yuan's combat power was, at most, comparable to a Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal.
Against Hei Loulan, Fang Yuan held the advantage, but she possessed the Great Strength True Martial Physique, so he still needed to guard against her counterattacks.
Against Fairy Li Shan, it could at best be called an even match. Once Fairy Li Shan's Immortal Path battlefield killing move took effect, Fang Yuan would be at a disadvantage, so he absolutely must not fall victim to that move.
And against the Burning Heaven Demoness, the disparity was so vast it was despairing. No matter how many Immortal Gu Fang Yuan possessed, a cultivation base at the Sixth Transformation — the bare minimum — simply could not compare to the Eighth Transformation.
Even a Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal could not fight an Eighth Transformation. Feng Jiuge was an exception; in over a thousand years, Central Continent had only produced one such person.
Asking Fang Yuan to fight the Burning Heaven Demoness was simply impossible.
The opponent's power was overwhelming, and Fang Yuan was in an absolutely inferior position.
"The only thing I can rely on now is probably the alliance I once formed with Fairy Li Shan and Hei Loulan. Allies are not supposed to kill each other."
Fang Yuan smiled bitterly to himself.
Before, he had found this alliance to be a hindrance, but now he had to rely on it.
"However, Fairy Li Shan is an Information Path Gu Immortal, so this alliance may not be entirely reliable. The Burning Heaven Demoness's strength could completely crush me, yet she has never made a move. If Fairy Li Shan truly wanted to kill me, she wouldn't have arranged this situation. Besides, the Burning Heaven Demoness knows my identity — so why did she still sponsor me in refining the Star Thought Immortal Gu? It's clear that they don't intend to take my life, but have other plans."
As for what those plans were, Fang Yuan had a vague understanding.
Overall, Fang Yuan's current situation did not endanger his life. This was also the reason he held steady and did not attempt to escape.
Just as Fang Yuan was contemplating his own safety, the bronze giant trapped within the Mountain Pear Garden raised its head and roared.
After several rounds of the Yin Ember killing move, the countless pear trees in the mountain valley had all turned to ash. Although they continued growing from the earth again, it would still take some time for them to spread back to the bronze giant's feet.
Seizing this opportunity, two additional pairs of bronze giant wings suddenly sprouted from the bronze giant's back.
At the same time, the bronze giant's entire body underwent a transformation. Its originally broad head became an eagle's head, its entire figure growing slender and upright. Its feet and hands transformed into sharp, five-clawed talons.
Whoosh!
Three pairs of giant wings beat in unison. Simultaneously, the bronze giant bent its knees and stomped fiercely against the ground, launching itself skyward.
The ground trembled, and a massive crater was punched into it.
Dust billowed, mixed with countless ash.
This time, the bronze giant was no longer entangled by tree roots. But just as it rose into the air, the four Hei Family elders felt a tremendous suction force — pulling and dragging at the bronze giant, preventing it from moving away.
"What is this?!" The four Hei Family elders all showed looks of shock.
For every zhang the bronze giant rose, the tremendous pulling and dragging force multiplied tenfold!
The bronze giant gradually could no longer withstand it.
No matter how hard the three pairs of wings on its back beat, the giant's ascent grew slower and slower, until it barely climbed — like a snail.
At its limit, it did not exceed ten zhang above the ground.
Boom!
With another crash, the bronze giant fell back to the ground.
The four Hei Family elders fell silent.
Needless to say, anyone could guess that their faces must have turned ashen at this moment.
This was the true terror of the Mountain Pear Garden.
Fairy Li Shan primarily cultivated the Information Path, supplemented by both the Earth and Wood Paths. The Mountain Pear Garden was a battlefield killing move combining the Earth Path and the Wood Path. The pear blossoms like snow and the entangling tree roots were merely the Wood Path aspect — the gravitational pull was the Earth Path's power made manifest.
Of course, this was also because Fairy Li Shan had activated the Fangcun Mountain within her body.
Otherwise, with her own strength alone, deploying the original Mountain Pear Garden would likely have been immediately broken through by the bronze giant.
After all, this ancient battle formation Qingcheng Criss-Cross, even though somewhat incomplete, had been set up by four Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals, whose combined combat power could rival the Eighth Transformation.
The bronze giant could not break free and fell back to the ground. In the mountain valley, countless tree roots coiled up like a nest of pythons, binding the bronze giant once more.
Just then, a phoenix cry suddenly rang out from the high sky, nearly piercing everyone's eardrums.
Three Angry Birds fused together in midair, merging into a moderately-sized flame phoenix.
The phoenix sang shrilly, flapping its wings at tremendous speed. After tracing a brilliant rainbow arc across the sky, it struck the bronze giant's arm directly and then completely dissipated.
The bronze giant displayed formidable defensive power; its arm was only blasted with a deep crater.
Then a swirl of cyan mist enveloped the area, and the crater bulged back outward like a gel, rapidly restoring itself.
However, the Burning Heaven Demoness's assault did not cease.
She stood proudly in the high sky, slowly drew back her arm, aimed from afar at the bronze giant below, then brought her arm down in a fierce chopping motion!
Flame Dao Killing Move — Phoenix Feather Three-Wing Blade.
Three trails of flame took shape in an instant. Each resembled a phoenix's feather — curved and upturned — or perhaps sharp, crescent blades.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three flame blades slashed across the sky, blazing fiercely, kicking up tremendous howling winds.
The three blades descended in succession, striking the same spot one after another.
Combined with the earlier Angry Birds, they once again achieved a combo effect. The bronze giant's arm was actually severed by these three strikes.
The four Hei Family elders roared in fury, but it was already too late to stop it.
The bronze giant itself was a manifestation of an ancient battle formation. Once the arm separated from the main body, it was equivalent to a section of the Gu formation being severed. Deprived of the four Hei Family elders' Immortal Essence supply, the arm quickly dissipated into nothingness. Countless Gu Insects flew in all directions, swiftly heading back toward the bronze giant.
Hei Cheng, who had been held in its grasp, was released from his bonds and fell downward.
The bronze giant tried to seize him again, but the Burning Heaven Demoness prevented it.
Hei Cheng attempted to flee, but circumstances had changed. Trapped within the Mountain Pear Garden, he was quickly entangled by countless vines and tree roots, then pushed outward and deposited into Fairy Li Shan's hands.
"Release him!" The four Hei Family elders were furious.
Several rounds of Yin Ember erupted violently. Dragon patterns appeared across the bronze giant's chest and back, rising to the surface as if emerging from water, transforming into bronze dragons that flew in all directions.
This was the signature killing move of the Hei Family's Grand Supreme Elder — Nine-Layered Dragon Body Protection!
It was both offensive and defensive, and amplified by the ancient battle formation, displayed terrifying power!
In an instant, nine dragons soared through the sky, unstoppable.
Mountains collapsed. Pear blossoms withered. Vegetation exploded outward.
Fairy Li Shan's expression changed: "Quick! This place can't hold much longer!"
The bronze giant had erupted with peak-stage combat power. That the Mountain Pear Garden had held until now was already remarkable.
"Let's go!" The Burning Heaven Demoness was even more decisive. She directly flung out a long flame chain, binding Fang Yuan, Hei Loulan, Fairy Li Shan, and Hei Cheng.
Immediately after, she activated her movement killing move, transforming into a streak of brilliant light, pulling everyone high into the sky and away.
The moment the flame chain bound him, Fang Yuan instinctively wanted to resist, but in the end he held himself back.
The Burning Heaven Demoness's speed was extraordinary. In the blink of an eye, she carried everyone beyond the horizon.
Ten breaths later, the Mountain Pear Garden was completely shattered. Terrifying mountain collapses ravaged the entire battlefield.
The bronze giant soared into the high sky and roared at the heavens, its cry shaking heaven and earth.
The Burning Heaven Demoness's movement killing move was extremely fast. It would take considerable effort for the four Hei Family elders to catch up.
Even if they caught up and fought, the outcome would be uncertain.
But the four Hei Family elders had no choice — they had to give chase. Hei Cheng had served as proxy for the four great Supreme Elders of the Hei Family, managing their affairs for many years, and knew many secrets.
Moreover, as a superpower, having one of their own Gu Immortals kidnapped by someone else — the four Hei Family elders had completely lost face. If they did not make the Burning Heaven Demoness pay, they would never be able to hold their heads high in dealings with other superpowers, with the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path.
The Hei Family's Immortal Gu House, the Black Prison, had already been lost. If Hei Cheng were also kidnapped, the Hei Family's prestige would plummet.
As the saying goes, when a wall crumbles, everyone pushes against it. In such a weakened state, the Hei Family would inevitably be oppressed by other forces, and the many cultivation resources they occupied in the Northern Plains would likely be forced out of their hands.
The Qingcheng Criss-Cross was an ancient battle formation, and the four great Supreme Elders of the Hei Family were not lacking in movement killing moves. If they activated them all at once, their speed would surpass the Burning Heaven Demoness's by several times.
But just as the bronze giant was about to set off in pursuit, a distress letter reached the four Hei Family elders.
"What?! Our blessed land headquarters has been secretly infiltrated! Most of the resources have been plundered — the losses are catastrophic!"
"The Hei Family Gu Immortals left to guard the base are all gravely injured!"