Xu Hao and Li Junying were both exceptionally perceptive.
The news Zhao Lianyun brought was far too重大 — far too重大.
The first thing the two of them thought of was not the Heaven-Stealing Legacy, but Feng Jiuge!
Combining the intelligence gathered by Central Continent's Gu Immortals, they could almost be certain: the reason Feng Jiuge had gone missing was that he had fallen into the Heaven-Stealing Legacy.
"The Heaven-Stealing Legacy must have been exploited by the enemy to trap Feng Jiuge." Xu Hao was a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal. After performing a quick calculation, he promptly spoke.
"Then what should we do now?" Li Junying's words left both of them in silence.
Zhao Lianyun glanced around and said nothing.
The reason she had revealed this clue was that she wanted to return to the Northern Plains, to leverage Spirit Affinity Hall's power in order to rescue Ma Hongyun.
But she did not know about Spirit Affinity Hall's internal conflicts.
Xu Hao and Li Junying locked eyes, communicating only through subtle gazes.
Their expressions gradually turned cold. Years of tacit understanding allowed them to reach a decision swiftly.
They decided to suppress this intelligence and hold off on reporting it for the time being.
They were only too happy to see Feng Jiuge dead.
If they reported it promptly, Spirit Affinity Hall would immediately dispatch a rescue team. What if Feng Jiuge still had a breath left and was pulled out alive?
Thus they stalled for three full days. Only when the two immortals were at their limit did they finally relay the intelligence.
Sure enough, as expected, the highest echelons of Spirit Affinity Hall were all alarmed and actively organized a rescue. And the Demon of Outer Realm, Zhao Lianyun, was without question made the key figure of this operation and taken to the Northern Plains.
Several days later.
Northern Plains Zombie Alliance, Yin Flow Giant City.
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion. The violent blast shook the entire giant city three times over.
"What's going on?"
"What happened? Is someone attacking Yin Flow Giant City?"
Below Yin Flow Giant City, everything descended into chaos — people thrown about, noise and panic everywhere.
Yin Flow Giant City was as vast as a mountain range, divided into seven tiers. The bottom five tiers housed mortal Gu Masters and were bustling with activity. The tier above that was home to those who had some connection to Zombie Immortals. The highest tier was restricted to Gu Immortal-level beings.
At this moment, on the very top of Yin Flow Giant City, a thick column of smoke rose into the sky.
"Cough, cough, cough." Fang Yuan, covered in ash and grime, emerged from the ruins of the secret chamber, coughing ceaselessly.
Refining the Star Thought Immortal Gu had once again ended in failure.
Ever since the new alliance pact was established, Fang Yuan had not returned to his own Blessed Land. Instead, he had come once more to Yin Flow Giant City to borrow the Northern Plains Zombie Alliance branch's Refinement Path Gu Formation.
He was not a Formation Path Gu Immortal. He could not construct a Gu Formation of such caliber on his own.
Fang Yuan had attempted to refine the Star Thought Immortal Gu once more.
Burning Heaven Demoness, as agreed, had furnished him with a large quantity of immortal refinement materials.
This time, the materials were all normal — none had been tampered with.
Fang Yuan proceeded smoothly without a hitch, all the way until the final few steps of the refinement, when the process failed. A violent explosion erupted without warning.
The blast nearly destroyed the entire Refinement Path Gu Formation and also obliterated the secret chamber, alarming every stationed Gu Immortal in Yin Flow Giant City. Even the mortal Gu Masters on the lower tiers could feel it.
"In the final few steps, it comes down to the subtle fluctuations between Dao Marks — fundamentally impossible to control. Amid the volatile interactions of these Dao Marks, only one outcome yields a stable result: the Sixth Transformation Star Thought Immortal Gu. And at that point, it all comes down to pure luck." Fang Yuan sighed inwardly.
Humans are the spiritual essence of all things; Gu are the true quintessence of heaven and earth.
All living things, including the human race, were incapable of directly manipulating Dao Marks. Whether Gu Masters, Desolate Beasts, or Desolate Plants, even if they bore Dao Marks upon themselves, they had to use Gu Insects to indirectly harness them.
Therefore, when Gu Immortals refined Gu, they could not directly manipulate Dao Marks — let alone control the volatile interactions between them.
To use an imperfect analogy:
Refining a Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu was like playing bowling.
All the preparation a Gu Immortal did beforehand was to ensure the bowling ball in their hand followed the trajectory they had planned.
And at the end of the long lane lay a hundred holes.
Only if the bowling ball finally rolled into the single correct hole could the refinement succeed.
A Gu Immortal could at most ensure the ball rolled according to plan through the early and middle portions of the lane. Once it reached the latter half, where the surface was uneven and riddled with bumps and dips, the ball's trajectory shifted unpredictably, and the Gu Immortal could barely influence it.
So whether the ball ultimately landed in that one correct hole came down entirely to luck.
"Although Burning Heaven Demoness is no longer tampering with the immortal materials, her assistance is not free — I will need to repay the debt. Refining Immortal Gu is simply too difficult, with far too low a success rate. Perhaps I should consult the Langya Earth Spirit. He should possess some powerful Refinement Path Immortal Gu, or perhaps special Refinement Path techniques that could raise the success rate of Gu refinement."
Throughout history, Old Ancestor Longhair had been renowned as the foremost Refinement Path Gu Immortal of all time. The number of Immortal Gu he had successfully refined in his lifetime was staggering.
Though Old Ancestor Longhair had perished, he had left behind a living Earth Spirit and a fully intact Langya Blessed Land.
Fang Yuan's latest attempt at refinement had failed once more, and he had even sustained injuries.
He decided to consult the Langya Earth Spirit, to seek a breakthrough — even at the cost of a steep price!
"I suggest you try refining a Strength Path Immortal Gu first." At this moment, Fairy Li Shan walked over and offered Fang Yuan a suggestion.