"Fang Yuan, your time is up!" Demon Venerable Spectral Soul gave chase for a stretch before striking once more. This time, his confidence was absolute.
In an instant, yin winds howled and black clouds blanketed the sky, forming an impossibly vast wall that barred the path ahead of the Dragon Palace.
"That's… fall back!" Wu Shuai's expression turned taut with alarm. He recognized it — this was a Soul Path battlefield killer move!
The black clouds surged and rolled forward. The Dragon Palace and Ancestor Qi Sea both retreated hastily.
Immortal-level killer move — Soul Hunting Battlefield!
This was Demon Venerable Spectral Soul's most infamous battlefield technique.
Countless enemies had perished under this move. Once trapped within the battlefield, soul beasts in dark blue would coalesce from the thick yin fog by the thousands, endlessly multiplying. Any living being that died within the battlefield would have its soul extracted and transformed into a new soul beast, all under Spectral Soul's absolute command.
Trapped within the black smoke vortex, there was still hope of escape. But if the Soul Hunting Battlefield closed around them, the chances of getting away would be virtually nil.
Fang Yuan had obtained the true inheritances from Shadow Sect, which naturally included the Soul Hunting Battlefield. His understanding of this technique ran deep.
But the fact that Spectral Soul was deploying it so brazenly now likely meant he had refined and improved it greatly in the interim. Everything Fang Yuan knew could have been turned into a trap designed to ensnare him.
For the moment, neither Fang Yuan nor Ancestor Qi Sea dared to linger. They fled onward.
Demon Venerable Spectral Soul rode the vast black smoke, pursuing them from behind.
When ordinary Gu Immortals used battlefield killer moves, once they failed to contain the target, they had no choice but to give up.
But Spectral Soul was no ordinary cultivator.
He employed the technique of dismantling killer moves, breaking the Soul Hunting Battlefield into individual components. The first step produced the endless black clouds, which Spectral Soul could sustain indefinitely and shift at will — flawless in every respect.
"The Soul Hunting Battlefield was something Spectral Soul created early in his career and used through his mid-period. In his later years, he developed an even stronger battlefield technique — the Billion Massacre Field. Why isn't he using that instead? Could it be that he hasn't gathered the matching Gu Insects?" Fang Yuan speculated.
Spectral Soul was speculating too: "Ever since escaping Heavenly Court, Fang Yuan has been flying north without hesitation. Where is he trying to reach? Northern Plains? If Northern Plains, then which specific location? The Insanity Grotto?"
Now that the five regions had merged and the realm walls had vanished, this worked heavily in Spectral Soul's favor. Without the realm walls to exploit, there were only so many places Fang Yuan could shake off his pursuers.
Spectral Soul was intimately familiar with the five regions, and the Insanity Grotto was the first place he guessed.
Even if Spectral Soul couldn't confirm the guess, he understood that blocking Fang Yuan's northward flight was the prudent choice. And so he channeled the soul mist and black smoke to fill the sky and cover the earth, forcing Fang Yuan to change direction repeatedly — eventually flying back over the Sorrowful Wind Mountain Range once more.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield.
"That's enough." Feng Jinhuang panted heavily as she slowly ceased channeling her killer move. Sweat beaded across her forehead; activating the Pure Dream Seeker of Truth Transformation under these circumstances had subjected her to tremendous pressure.
But it was done.
Under the watchful eyes of dozens of Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals from Heavenly Court, Shadow Sect, and Eternal Life Celestial, Feng Jinhuang gathered all the dreams drifting in the air above.
There was absolutely no sign of Fang Yuan.
"Fang Yuan truly isn't hiding here." The Gu Immortals felt disappointed yet simultaneously relieved.
Qin Dingling immediately pressed the attack, steering her Immortal Gu House toward the Wisdom Path grand formation: "Fairy Ziwei, I have given you ample time. Now tell me — where is Fang Yuan's true body?"
The Calamity Altar hurriedly shifted forward to block Qin Dingling. Ice Plug River's voice echoed from within: "Slow down, Court Fairy of Heavenly Court!"
He addressed Qin Dingling as "Court Fairy," an allusion to her past — she had once been Supreme Pinnacle Immortal Venerable's woman.
But then Ice Plug River turned his attention to Fairy Ziwei: "However, Fairy Qin's question is also mine. Fairy Ziwei, I hope you have a satisfactory answer."
Ice Plug River was growing impatient as well.
The time Fairy Ziwei had spent on this divination was longer than before — noticeably inconsistent with her previous performance.
Fairy Ziwei halted the Wisdom Path grand formation and openly collected her Gu Insects.
She offered an excuse without missing a beat: "This situation is different from last time. Fang Yuan is on his guard now. But I have ultimately calculated his location."
"Where?" Qin Dingling pressed immediately.
Fairy Ziwei had already pocketed her core Immortal Gu and answered directly: "Fang Yuan's true body is still aboard the Dragon Palace."
She told the truth.
Hiding Fang Yuan's location was no longer useful.
After all, Qi Jue Demonic Immortal possessed his own will and was hurtling toward Spectral Soul at great speed, with the Myriad Year Battle Chariot following close behind.
Fang Yuan's true body's location was now plain as day.
"After them!" Qin Dingling commanded at once.
Several of Heavenly Court's Immortal Gu Houses coordinated and flew off together.
Shadow Sect and Eternal Life Celestial followed close behind.
But the three factions were spread far apart, the atmosphere between them fraught with subtlety.
On Fairy Ziwei's side, she had the will but not the power. She wanted to intercept Heavenly Court ahead of time, but the alliance with Eternal Life Celestial was far from solid at this juncture — united in appearance, divided in heart.
As for Heavenly Court?
Qin Dingling could not be certain whether Fairy Ziwei's answer was true, but since Fang Yuan hadn't appeared in the dreams, the only remaining possibilities were the Dragon Palace and the Myriad Year Battle Chariot. Judging from Spectral Soul's behavior, the odds that Fang Yuan was aboard the Dragon Palace were considerably higher.
And until she located Fang Yuan's true position, Qin Dingling had no intention of moving against Fairy Ziwei. Attacking would consume too much time. If, during that window, Spectral Soul and Fang Yuan reached a life-or-death outcome before Heavenly Court could intervene, the loss would be immense.
On Eternal Life Celestial's side, Ice Plug River was also biding his time. He did not want to strike blindly — his faction's strength was insufficient to dominate the battle, and he needed to cherish every opening, to aim squarely at Fang Yuan. If he could cut Fang Yuan down, the spoils would be extraordinary.
All three factions had their sights set on Fang Yuan.
This opportunity to eliminate Fang Yuan was truly rare — a once-in-a-millennium chance.