For a moment, every immortal's mind was boiling, racing to think!
The Soul-Shaking, Spirit-Dropping Seal was truly formidable. Against the muddled Soul Demon Venerable, it was practically a killing trump card.
Zhan Bu Du was right. Given the current situation, there was indeed such a possibility—relying on the Soul-Shaking, Spirit-Dropping Seal to slay the Soul Demon Venerable.
"If nothing goes wrong, it truly is feasible..."
"We need to find a way out from this. Under the Soul Demon Venerable's frenzied assault, it's next to impossible. But if we could directly eliminate the Soul Demon Venerable, that would indeed be an option!"
"This place is under the Soul Demon Venerable's control. Finding an exit—hope is slim. But dealing with the Soul Demon Venerable, even eliminating him, would certainly be a life-and-death battle!"
The immortals contemplated the situation.
Qi Sea Ancestor said with a stern face: "In truth, if we want to escape the Gate of Life and Death, don't we have to overcome the obstacle of the Soul Demon Venerable? Even if we temporarily shake off the Soul Demon Venerable and flee the Gate, what if he pursues us out? At that point, we'd have to contend with both Star Constellation and Soul Demon—the two Venerables! We might as well take advantage of the fact that Immortal Venerable Star Constellation is overconfident and busy infiltrating the Madness Formation, and slay the Soul Demon Venerable now to settle the matter!"
Every immortal's heart skipped a beat.
"Indeed," Lu Wei Yin murmured in a low voice. "If we wish to seize the fruits of eternal life, we must inevitably stand against Heavenly Court. If we slay the Soul Demon Venerable now, Heavenly Court's threat immediately drops by half."
"Hmph!" Zhan Bu Du snorted coldly. "What are you all still hesitating for? The longer we delay, the more Star Constellation infiltrates on her side, and the closer she gets to the fruits of eternal life. Regardless of what strategy we adopt, we must decide quickly."
But Giant Sun Immortal Zombie furrowed his brow deeply, musing: "It's not that simple, Immortal Friend Fang Yuan. Immortal Venerable Star Constellation is the foremost wisdom path cultivator—would she leave such an obvious flaw? What I'm worried about is this: perhaps Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's method of manipulating the Soul Demon Venerable has a time limit. Once the time is up, the Soul Demon Venerable might shake off this predicament on his own. At that point, we'd have the Soul Demon Venerable as an ally."
"If we make a move against the Soul Demon Venerable, whether we win, or the Soul Demon Venerable wins, or even if it ends in a stalemate—both sides would suffer heavy losses, and it would be Star Constellation Immortal Venerable who profits the most."
The immortals fell silent.
Giant Sun Immortal Zombie made a great deal of sense. No matter how highly one rated Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, it was never enough.
"Immortal Friend Giant Sun, when do you think the Soul Demon Venerable will break free from control and regain his senses?" Fang Yuan's true body asked, his gaze sharp as lightning. "Following your speculation, let's take it a step further. What if Star Constellation Immortal Venerable intentionally left this flaw and these clues to lead us into thinking this way? In truth, even if Star Constellation can only control the Soul Demon for a limited time—but if that time limit is enough for her to seize the fruits of eternal life, what then?"
"So it seems Immortal Friend Fang Yuan is determined to fight a desperate battle? In this kind of environment?" Giant Sun Immortal Zombie stared intently at Fang Yuan without blinking.
Fang Yuan met his gaze without yielding.
The atmosphere among the immortals suddenly turned subtle and tense.
Just then, Shen Shang suddenly shouted: "I've succeeded, I've succeeded! My killer move is finally complete!"
Le Tu asked calmly: "Shen Shang, how confident are you?"
"Eighty percent!" Shen Shang's face was flushed with excitement. "This move was always incomplete before—it was only missing the fruits of the Heavenly Dao. But the missing part was never the critical core. A powerful instinct tells me this move will definitely succeed. Of course, there's still plenty of room for improvement, but it's already complete and can absolutely be activated."
Fang Yuan and Giant Sun Immortal Zombie both withdrew their gazes upon hearing this.
Fang Yuan spoke: "Then let's provide cover for Immortal Friend Shen Shang and give it a try."
Earlier, Fang Yuan and the others had successfully provided cover for Le Tu. Now with the Soul-Shaking, Spirit-Dropping Seal, shielding Shen Shang was not difficult.
Immortal Path Killer Move—Heaven Never Closes All Paths!
Moments later, amidst the Soul Demon Venerable's raging onslaught, Shen Shang activated his killer move, forming a narrow winding path.
The trail wound its way in a serpentine curve, stretching outward—completely incomparable to the Fortuitous Golden Light Path. But at its end, it pierced directly through space, penetrating the Gate of Life and Death. The immortals could even make out the blurry scenery of the outside world at the path's terminus.
The immortals were simultaneously surprised and elated.
Shen Shang laughed heartily, pumping his fist in triumph: "It really did succeed."
Le Tu smiled: "I didn't misjudge you."
"A hundred years as the Eastern Immortal Head, talent equal to half a Venerable—the reputation is well deserved." Qi Sea Ancestor cupped his fists.
"That we can escape today is all thanks to you." Qi Jue Demon Immortal offered her praise without reservation.
"Let's go." Zhan Bu Du was once again the first to lead the way, well-suited for clearing the path ahead.
The immortals harbored no further hesitation, covering for each other as they stepped onto the narrow path one after another.
Shen Shang's killer move was truly peculiar—even the Gate of Life and Death couldn't intercept it, allowing these Gu Immortals to successfully escape.
The immortals burst forth from the Gate of Life and Death and immediately took up defensive positions.
From within the Gate came the Soul Demon Venerable's violent, furious roars, and the entire massive gate trembled continuously.
But in the end, the Soul Demon Venerable did not take even half a step out of the Gate of Life and Death!
"So that's how it is—the Soul Demon Venerable can't leave the Gate of Life and Death for some reason."
"No wonder Immortal Venerable Star Constellation lured us inside."
"Perhaps the Soul Demon Venerable could come out, but Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's methods of influence and control are most effective within the Gate of Life and Death."
The Gu Immortals breathed a sigh of relief, speculating among themselves.
"Hurry—to the Madness Formation! So much time has passed; who knows what progress Star Constellation Immortal Venerable has made?" Qi Jue Demon Immortal warned.
Before departing, the immortals launched attacks, attempting to destroy the Immortal Tomb.
But every killer move that landed was absorbed into the Gate of Life and Death.
"It's useless. Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's arrangement is exquisite—this Immortal Tomb is tightly linked to the Gate of Life and Death. To forcibly destroy the Immortal Tomb, you'd have to destroy the Gate of Life and Death first." Giant Sun Immortal Zombie sighed and was the first to turn and leave.
It was precisely because he saw through this that he and Fang Yuan had chosen to attack into the Gate of Life and Death in the first place.
Of course, beyond this, there were many other reasons.
"This method can certainly be broken, ultimately causing the Immortal Tomb and the Gate of Life and Death to separate and split apart. But we don't have time. Let's go—to the Madness Formation!" Fang Yuan also turned and took the initiative to leave.
The immortals followed without delay.
Ever since the Yuan Realm was destroyed, the eighth and ninth layers could be entered and exited with ease.
When Fang Yuan, Giant Sun Immortal Zombie, and the others arrived before the Madness Formation once more, the grand formation had less than thirty percent remaining.
A great number of Fact Ice Floes had already dissipated, and the remaining Fact Ice Floes had expanded several times over compared to before.