Crazed Demon Cave
Tens of thousands of Heavenly Lord Bai Zu figures fill the sky over Hei Fan grotto-heaven, demanding Chu Du hand over the murderers and the grotto-heaven itself. Chu Du answers that attacking him and then demanding surrender is absurd, the dead Bai Zu tribesman simply the price of attacking him. He then activates his immortal killer move inner strength self detonation, its range covering the whole of Hei Fan grotto-heaven. Every clone detonates at once, destroying the army in one move. ch. 1173
Outside, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu’s true body grits his teeth in fury. He has just learned by letter of Bai Zu Wei’s death, whom he raised like his own child, losing him just as their foundation was being built. Mishandling this would cause a huge crisis, marking him weak and seeing Bai Zu tribe pushed aside. So he vows that if Chu Du is tough as a rock the waves cannot move, he will show him a tsunami instead. ch. 1173
Hao Zhen and Chou Lao Wu, smuggled in and hidden underground, reveal themselves once the clone army falls. Chou Lao Wu admires him alone, their doubt dispelled by his firm refusal. Chu Du tells them sincerely that they got into trouble because of him, and that submitting to a rank eight’s threat and abandoning them would betray his own title of Domination Immortal. ch. 1173
Chu Du says that merely defending will eventually fail, so he has already sent a letter inviting friends to finish Heavenly Lord Bai Zu for good. Hao Zhen and Chou Lao Wu cheer, since fame from defeating a rank eight would draw help, and offer to cover the cost. Chu Du refuses and promises them sixty percent of the grotto-heaven’s space if they defend it, a huge amount in a grotto-heaven with no calamities of its own. Hao Zhen pledges to stand by him. Chou Lao Wu calls meeting the Domination Immortal the greatest blessing of his life. ch. 1173
Distorted shadows spread across the sky and mountains, and Heavenly Lord Bai Zu figures step out with ruthless desolate beasts, two-legged and flying. Even ancient desolate beasts and ancient desolate plants come through, their roots digging into the soil to remake the terrain into temporary camps. As an enslavement path cultivator, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu cannot enter himself, so he sends beasts instead. Chu Du sends Hao Zhen and Chou Lao Wu to kill them. He alone blocks the true body from entering, using the grotto-heaven as a barrier against a gap too great to face directly. ch. 1173
At Lang Ya blessed land after his fifth earthly calamity, Fang Yuan calls rank seven Immortal Gu Sword Eyebrows, a finger-sized silver-blue worm like a centipede, to strengthen his sword path dao marks. He also cultivates his soul at Luo Po Valley on a fixed schedule. Sword Eyebrows is rank seven against his own rank six cultivation, so using it burdens his green grape immortal essence heavily, sustainable only since his calamity pressure eased and his finances improved. ch. 1173
He senses a letter Gu from Chu Du. It was written before Heavenly Lord Bai Zu’s surrender demand or beast assault, but anticipates both. It states plainly that a rank eight’s might cannot be resisted, his failure only delayed even with the grotto-heaven’s help. Chu Du’s real aim in asking for reinforcements is different: other forces already resent Bai Zu tribe, so once Heavenly Lord Bai Zu sees he cannot keep attacking without it collapsing behind him, he must withdraw to stabilize it. As a lone cultivator he had no such weakness, but his new super force gave him one, a plan Fang Yuan had already reached himself. ch. 1173
What puzzles Fang Yuan is who Chu Du wants him to ask, since the letter sends him only to Crazed Demon Cave, one of Northern Plains’ ten great fierce areas. Unlike Tai Qiu, where people such as Lang Ya Sect cultivate in secret, Crazed Demon Cave is different. Made singlehandedly by Limitless Demon Venerable, it is filled with demonic sounds that drive Gu Immortals uncontrollably mad, stripping away their senses. History records a rank eight Gu Immortal who lost his reason there. ch. 1173
