Boom!
Without warning, a violent explosion shattered the valley's tranquility.
The shockwave formed a tremendous wall of heat that spread outward with terrifying speed in all directions.
In the span of a single breath, the dense forests stretching a thousand li in every direction had been wiped clean, reduced to nothing but a barren wasteland of drifting sand.
Eight Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals from Heavenly Court gradually revealed themselves.
They stood in a circle, all bearing grievous wounds, their grim eyes fixed on the solitary figure standing at the center.
The immortal zombie Bo Qing stood tall and rigid, proud as a spear.
He slowly rolled his eyes, and a flash of sword light flickered within them.
The eight Gu Immortals jolted with alarm, and three of them instinctively took a step back. In the fierce battle that had just concluded, they had more than once suffered under that sword-like gaze.
But the sword light in Bo Qing's eyes lasted only a heartbeat before vanishing.
Then the gleam in his eyes faded entirely. His body went motionless, like a stone sculpture.
"It's done!"
"We've finally destroyed the remnant soul inside Bo Qing's body..."
The Heavenly Court Gu Immortals all let out a collective sigh of relief. They had won this battle.
Bo Qing was known as a quasi-Supreme, but only his physical body remained. The remnant soul inhabiting it was that of Mo Yao.
The Heavenly Court Gu Immortals had targeted this very weakness, executing their strategy to completely annihilate Mo Yao's remnant soul within Bo Qing's immortal zombie body. Without the remnant soul pulling the strings, the immortal zombie Bo Qing ceased all movement.
"I haven't had a battle like this in ages—one that truly took my breath away!" one of the Heavenly Court Gu Immortals remarked with emotion.
"Thank heavens this immortal zombie Bo Qing had such a glaring weakness. Otherwise, we would have lost at least one of us today."
"It's a pity we couldn't capture a living one..."
"Bring this immortal zombie body back to Heavenly Court and store it properly. I'm going back to my slumber."
Earlier. The Inspector Tower Lord, Bi Chentian, and Lian Jiusheng, with the help of the Immortal Gu House Phantom Garden, had trapped the immortal zombie Bo Qing and Yu Muchun.
Bo Qing fought all three immortals. His sword Dao was absolutely unstoppable. The three Heavenly Court immortals couldn't hold him and had no choice but to call for reinforcements. Five additional Heavenly Court Gu Immortals had to be awakened from their slumber to descend and help.
Eight Gu Immortals formed an ancient battle formation. After more than a month, they finally killed Yu Muchun and destroyed Mo Yao's remnant soul.
With the battle over, the five Heavenly Court Gu Immortals immediately returned to headquarters and resumed their slumber.
Their lifespans were nearly depleted. Every second had to be treasured.
Bi Chentian and Lian Jiusheng also prepared to depart. Their condition was far better than the five reinforcements'. They still had time to look after their descendants and their sects.
However, the Inspector Tower Lord entrusted Bi Chentian with the task of cleaning up the battlefield, and persuaded Lian Jiusheng to descend to the riverbed at the source of the Falling Sky River for further exploration.
As for himself, he flew toward Heavenly Court.
"Though we won this battle, I feel increasingly unsettled—so anxious, as if the end of days is approaching." Standing before the Inspector Tower, this elderly Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal's brow was deeply furrowed.
He stepped inside the tower and resumed his previous divination.
"What's going on?" Before long, sweat beaded across the Inspector Tower Lord's forehead.
His gaze wavered with shock and uncertainty.
The immense pressure made every step a struggle.
In the past, each step of his divination had cost him only a single Eighth Transformation Immortal Essence Stone. But this time, for reasons unknown, the Immortal Essence consumed at each level of the tower was multiplying several times over!
"Since I took command of the Inspector Tower, this has never happened before! What on earth is going on?"
A powerful instinct told the Inspector Tower Lord: the matter of Sword Immortal Bo Qing was merely the beginning. Behind it lurked an even greater hand!
"I see. Someone is secretly obstructing my divination... Very well. If that's the case, then I must succeed all the more. I will climb to the top of this tower. I want to see with my own eyes—who exactly has escaped the judgment of Fate!"
The Inspector Tower Lord continued his ascent, his expression now iron-firm, all traces of his earlier doubt gone.
But after he crossed the one-hundredth step, the walls turned pitch black.
It was as though the deepest ink had been splashed across every surface.
There was no image at all.
The Inspector Tower Lord's heart grew heavy. "Who is it? Who is interfering with my divination? And to think they can disrupt a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu House like the Inspector Tower to this degree!!"
Time flowed forward at its steady, unhurried pace.
One month later, the Inspector Tower Lord finally reached the top floor.
He was utterly spent, more exhausted than he had ever been in his life. Nearly all the Immortal Essence he had accumulated over a lifetime had been consumed.
He cast his gaze upon the final mural wall, brimming with anticipation.
From the very first blackened mural onward, he had not seen a single clear image.
But the Inspector Tower Lord knew that the power of Fate Gu was omnipresent and unstoppable. This final painting would surely reveal the true mastermind behind it all.
The moment he reached the topmost floor, his eyes widened, and he stared eagerly.
The next instant, his pupils shrank to pinpoints.
His aged body trembled violently.
The final wall was still pitch black.
Darkness. An impossibly profound darkness.
But unlike before, floating within that darkness were a pair of eyes.
Human eyes.
Yet they radiated a bone-deep cold, and a terrifying killing intent.