No one laughed.
The Qi family Gu Immortals — three at the Seventh Transformation, two at the Sixth Transformation — were no match for Fang Yuan even when joining forces. Before him, they were fish on a chopping block, at his mercy.
After speaking up, Qi Fa gathered his courage and continued, "We are now at the door of the wager, having earned the Gate Tower's recognition. We can explore that blessed land, and so we are protected by the Gate Tower. If Fang Yuan wants to come and kill us, he must first overcome the Gate Tower's barrier. But if he were to dismantle the Gate Tower, he would violate the wager and be unable to enter the world on the other side."
Qi Fa's words immediately steadied everyone's nerves.
Fang Yuan couldn't help but size up Qi Fa, smiling and offering generous praise: "You have some cunning, I'll give you that."
Qi Fa's words were addressed to the Qi family Gu Immortals as much as they were a warning to Fang Yuan. That the Qi family had become the ultimate victors of the Thousand-Year Five Phase Wager was not without reason. Over so many years, the Qi family had developed to its current state, suppressing and enslaving the other four families while keeping a remarkably low profile. Even the Southern Border's Righteous Path seemed to have noticed little — at least, they had never attempted to lay claim to the Five Phase Supreme Treasures, which spoke volumes about the Qi family's capabilities.
But no matter how capable they were, running into Fang Yuan left them in a wretched predicament.
Fang Yuan's smile, seen through their eyes, was all the more terrifying. His exposed white teeth gleamed like cold, sharp swords and spears.
Fang Yuan glanced at the Qi family Gu Immortals, then shifted his gaze to Bai Ningbing.
The two had already reached an understanding beforehand. Bai Ningbing gave Fang Yuan a slight nod and flew into the Gate Tower.
The Qi family Gu Immortals stirred visibly, but could only watch helplessly.
The moment Bai Ningbing entered the pale blue icy light, it wavered briefly, then stabilized.
Fang Yuan nodded inwardly. He had been slightly worried about Bai Ningbing's dragonman identity — after all, dragonmen were a non-human race and not orthodox humans. But judging by the result, the Gate Tower recognized only Bai Ningbing's bloodline, regardless of whether she was non-human or human.
After a few breaths, Bai Ningbing officially received the Gate Tower's recognition and, guided by an invisible gentle force, descended onto the cloud layer.
Flickers of regret passed through the Qi family Gu Immortals' eyes.
"So it seems Bai Ningbing hasn't been manipulated or enslaved by Fang Yuan — otherwise, the Gate Tower would never have recognized her."
"What a pity..."
"This is just great — Bai Ningbing has gained recognition too, which means she can enter the world on the other side of the Gate Tower!"
Ever since Bai Ningbing had come under Inkstone Elder's control, the latter had never attempted to enslave her. All their cooperation had been transactional in nature.
After Bai Ningbing had attached herself to Fang Yuan, he had the means to control her but had never used them.
Precisely because he had taken this Gate Tower into account.
Bai Ningbing landed on the cloud, conducted a careful inspection, then turned to Fang Yuan and said, "As long as you land on this cloud, you're considered to have the Gate Tower's recognition. Furthermore, Gu Immortals cannot attack each other for the time being."
"Good." A sharp gleam flashed through Fang Yuan's eyes. What he did next drew a chorus of gasps from the Qi family Gu Immortals.
Fang Yuan had actually flown into the pale blue icy light as well.
The pale blue icy light wavered for a moment, then stabilized.
Though Fang Yuan wore his true appearance, he had already activated the Immortal Path killer move Meeting Old Acquaintance. He had modified this move, incorporating a Blood Path Immortal Gu, which allowed him to disguise himself as a blood descendant. It was precisely this way that he had deceived the Wu Family, posing as Wu Yihai and infiltrating the Southern Border's Righteous Path.
But before Fang Yuan could even begin to celebrate, four other kinds of radiance suddenly blazed across the Gate Tower's surface.
These four radiances each represented the power of the other four Phases.
Fang Yuan's expression flickered with surprise. He had sent Bai Ningbing ahead precisely to gauge the pale blue icy light. Flying into the light himself, he had deceived the pale blue icy light — but he hadn't expected the power of the other four Phases to erupt forth.
Boom!
The Gate Tower shuddered, and an immense invisible force violently expelled Fang Yuan from the light.
"Even Meeting Old Acquaintance can't fool it?" Fang Yuan's heart sank slightly.
The Five Phase Patrol Heavens!
This once-dominant combination that had led the Southern Border's Gu Immortal world now displayed their majesty and power.
All five Qi family Gu Immortals breathed a heavy sigh of relief, relief and elation flooding their faces.
Fang Yuan's actions had given them a terrible fright, but the final result filled them with immeasurable relief.
"That was close — Fang Yuan ultimately couldn't sneak in!"
"There's hope for us! Now Fang Yuan can only be locked outside, and the only one we have to deal with is Bai Ningbing alone."
"Her White Phase killer move is troublesome, true, but our Qi Phase true inheritance is no pushover."
Fang Yuan fixed his gaze on the Gate Tower.
He had to admit, he had underestimated the Gate Tower. Or more precisely, the intelligence from the Shadow Sect and the information Bai Ningbing had provided did not go deep enough regarding this Gate Tower.
Deceiving this Gate Tower with Meeting Old Acquaintance alone was not enough.
Fang Yuan did not want Bai Ningbing to enter and explore alone.
Bai Ningbing was unreliable. Even if she truly were reliable, she alone would be no match for so many Qi family Gu Immortals.
Though Fang Yuan had been rebuffed once, his determination to sneak inside had not wavered.
"Qi Phase, White Phase, Blood Phase, Mud Phase, Eating Phase — these are the Five Phase Patrol Heavens. This Gate Tower was clearly created by them in collaboration, containing the power of all five."
Fang Yuan sank into rapid contemplation.