Chapter 1025

Fang Yuan flies through the sky like a fireball, trailing smoke. The moment before had been dangerous: meeting Huo Kong Dong with an incomplete set of Immortal Gu would have left him at a disadvantage. Swapping souls with Ying Wu Xie earlier had already spent too many mortal Gu to attempt that killer move again. His acting alone carried him past the danger and scammed four rank five mortal Gu out of Huo Kong Dong. ^{ch. 1025}

In his previous life he had joined the battle of Yi Tian Mountain and its huge gambling contest. That is how he learned of the tie between Chai clan’s ninth elder and Dong Fang Xiong Ji, letting him deceive Huo Kong Dong just now using attitude Gu alone. Attitude Gu conceals his true feelings and shows a false one others believe. Used in secret, it made his act flawless, convincing Huo Kong Dong he was enraged and best left alone. ^{ch. 1025}

He regrets that attitude Gu is not his to keep. He must return it to Hei Lou Lan eventually. Though revived in a new body, his soul is unchanged, still bound by a new alliance agreement he set with Hei Lou Lan and Fairy Li Shan, one very restrictive and without loopholes, binding members in both body and soul. He reasons he counts as only half a member, its effect split between soul and body, but defying it is still too costly, since his soul alone could not endure the backlash. ^{ch. 1025}

He realizes this body must hold many wisdom path dao marks. Where his mind worked slowly as an immortal zombie, needing wisdom path Gu worms just to think, this new body produces rapid, abundant thoughts on its own. His clarity of cognition is unprecedented, surpassing even his former body before it became an immortal zombie. ^{ch. 1025}

He also carries fire path dao marks: the rank five fire cape Gu he wears burns far longer and taller on him than the same Gu does on Huo Kong Dong. He has also borrowed a rank five flying smoke Gu, and his speed with it exceeds the Gu’s normal limit, matching some mortal killer moves. This suggests dao marks suited to flying too. Flight lets his flying quasi grandmaster attainment show and sharply raises his battle strength, though it remains very low among Gu Immortals. ^{ch. 1025}

He plans to avoid battle and catch up to Ying Wu Xie. He intends to expose Ying Wu Xie’s identity and rejoin Hei Lou Lan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng. Since the dream realm covering Yi Tian Mountain keeps Ying Wu Xie away, the special will Fang Yuan left in his Gu worms will not trigger there, and once the time limit passes those worms will self-detonate. He means to resolve this by collecting the Gu worms and swapping souls again with their help. ^{ch. 1025}

Flying expands his search far beyond walking. He passes many traces of fighting, but night falls before he catches them. He gives up the chase and retreats. Searching further is too risky: Spectral Soul’s refinement and tribulation already killed many Southern Border Gu Immortals near Yi Tian Mountain, drawing more investigators there, Huo Kong Dong among them. ^{ch. 1025}

He worries Ying Wu Xie might seize Shadow Sect’s remaining arrangements, and that Fixed Immortal Travel could carry him into Fang Yuan’s Hu Immortal and Star Form blessed lands. The enemy there would be Spectral Soul’s own split soul. A land spirit should still detect the swapped soul, though many methods exist to deceive one. ^{ch. 1025}

Fang Yuan stops flying and floats in the cold dark, wondering where the other three actually went. Ying Wu Xie, meanwhile, uses Fixed Immortal Travel to leave Southern Border. Arriving in Central Continent, he is greeted as master by a meek voice before he can even look around, and replies nonchalantly, looking around with a curling smile. ^{ch. 1025}