The news that a Gu Immortal had been gravely injured and was on the verge of death arrived swiftly.
The Last Beast War King's heart tightened instantly. "Already?"
His mood sank even further.
Every Gu Immortal lost meant fewer forces resisting within the Supreme Immortal Aperture. If the losses reached a critical threshold, the situation would avalanche beyond anyone's ability to contain.
The Last Beast War King gritted his teeth. "Send the order: no rescue forces are to be sent to the Little Black Heavens. All aberrations, ancient aberrations, and even primordial aberrations are to be abandoned without rescue efforts! Priority goes to securing every major city, followed by key resources. Have the Wisdom Path Gu Immortals produced any results from their deductions?"
Star Luo City naturally had Wisdom Path Gu Immortals stationed within it.
"We haven't even completed half the deductions yet — there are simply too many tribulations," a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal replied, drenched in sweat.
"Bring me whatever results you have right now, even partial ones!" The Last Beast War King nearly stamped his foot in frustration.
The results reached him quickly, and the Last Beast War King immediately made his decisions. Star Luo City began mobilizing its Gu Immortals accordingly.
"Oh?" Wu Shuai was the first to receive the new orders.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but he promptly began a controlled withdrawal.
In the brief time he had been fighting the Flame Aberrations, the Taize Flower Mist Swamp had been completely destroyed. More than half of the Flame Aberrations remained, however.
Their numbers were enormous. Even with Wu Shuai attacking at full strength, he had only managed to eliminate a small fraction.
With their original targets destroyed, the Flame Aberrations concentrated all their hostility toward Wu Shuai.
When they saw him retreating, the Flame Aberrations gave chase without mercy, flying after him en masse.
Wu Shuai lured them westward and encountered another Gu Immortal midway. Behind that Gu Immortal trailed a vast army of Qi Aberrations.
The two Gu Immortals regrouped at the center while the Flame Aberrations and Qi Aberrations clashed with each other.
"It works, just as expected!"
"These tribulations are not naturally occurring. They resulted from the main body being struck by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's killing move."
"Because it's purely a shift in Fortune Path and lacks the Heavenly Will's unified command, it's like an army of hundreds of millions with no marshal to lead them. We can use the tribulations against the tribulations."
Wu Shuai felt a small surge of satisfaction.
This was the result of the Wisdom Path Gu Immortals' deductions.
One Gu Immortal collected the acid rain, while another channeled the reversed Heavenly River into the desert...
Through such operations, the situation within the Supreme Immortal Aperture finally began to stabilize.
"We've held the line!" The Last Beast War King exhaled a long breath of turbid air. In the span of mere moments, his brow had been drenched in sweat.
The tribulations had struck with overwhelming ferocity — had they reacted even a fraction slower, the result would likely have been total collapse. Fortunately, they had seized every second and outmaneuvered the tribulations to gain the initiative, allowing the Gu Immortals to find their footing.
But stabilizing the front was far from enough.
Tribulations were still raging across every region, and those that could cancel each other out represented only a small portion.
The entirety of the Supreme Immortal Aperture continued to suffer devastation. With every breath that passed, the losses grew heavier.
"The tribulation clouds above the Taize Flower Mist have completely dissipated."
"The tribulation clouds above the Needle Forest Snow Plains have mostly cleared!"
"The Wuqing Inkstone Veins have been completely destroyed — the tribulation clouds there have been shattered!"
"Something's wrong!!! There are anomalous developments."
"Report! Across the Small Five Regions, more than twenty tribulation cloud formations have simultaneously undergone the same transformation."
"That's... the Earth-Shaking Heavenly Light Tribulation!"
The Last Beast War King had barely relaxed when he received the devastating news.
"Disaster!" His face drained of color in an instant. Cross-referencing the intelligence, a map of the Small Five Regions formed in his mind — and at every critical location, the Earth-Shaking Heavenly Light Tribulation was manifesting.
Boom, boom, boom...
Earthen-yellow pillars of light shot down from the tribulation clouds, striking the ground and plunging deep into the earth.
The tribulation clouds churned, with vast quantities rapidly funneling into the earthen-yellow pillars. The pillars flared with sudden brilliance, and a portion of that blazing light descended along the pillars into the depths below.
BOOM—!
A tremendous explosion rang out, and the earth shook violently.
BOOM—!
BOOM—!
BOOM—!
The Earth-Shaking Light Pillars across the Small Five Regions continued their assault, and the trembling of the earth grew ever more violent.
Terrifying shockwaves spread outward relentlessly. Wherever they reached, the ground heaved, mountains crumbled, rivers changed course, and seas roared.
"Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's technique operates through the Fortune Path, targeting the resources spread across the Immortal Aperture. Now that those resource nodes have either been destroyed or suffered catastrophic losses, the earth meridians have risen to prominence!"
"As a result, so many Earth-Shaking Heavenly Light Tribulations have formed, precisely surrounding every earth meridian node — aiming to uproot the meridians entirely."
Wu Shuai's expression was cold as ice.
Although the tribulations triggered by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable lacked the Heavenly Will's overall coordination, as they progressed, this kind of evolution would naturally emerge. It effectively compensated for the absence of a central commander.
"But did you truly think that the earth meridians we painstakingly constructed could be so easily destroyed?"
Wu Shuai let out a cold laugh and decisively activated the grand formation.
The Earth Meridian Grand Formation roared to life, and its thick, majestic aura spread rapidly outward. The violent tremors raging beneath the surface were forcefully suppressed.
Following that, Gu Immortals dispatched by Star Luo City reached their designated positions and launched attacks upon the Earth-Shaking Light Pillars.
One by one, the colossal pillars of light shattered. The Gu Immortals of the Supreme Immortal Aperture, working in concert, managed to overcome the immediate crisis.
The tribulation clouds shifted once more. This time, they manifested beast calamities across the regions. Golden Steel Earth Rats — each at the primordial aberration level — emerged from every direction, besieging the earth meridian nodes.
Seven or eight nodes were lost before the Golden Steel Earth Rats were finally eliminated, and a small remnant were enslaved by Wu Shuai.
The tribulation clouds transformed again, still targeting the earth meridians.
The Gu Immortals held fast to the meridians, giving their all in close cooperation.
Although the number of earth meridian nodes continued to dwindle, the overall situation was gradually improving.
Though the tribulations remained endlessly varied, their target never wavered from the earth meridians. This consistency was a controllable factor that brought the Gu Immortals considerable convenience.
Over a dozen tribulations targeted the earth meridians, and after the Gu Immortals weathered them all, the tribulation clouds that had blanketed the entire Supreme Immortal Aperture had dissipated the vast majority of their mass.
However, just when the Gu Immortals believed they were truly on the verge of overcoming the calamity, a presence that made every living being within the Supreme Immortal Aperture's heart clench with dread suddenly erupted into existence!