Chapter 1190

In Feng Xian grotto-heaven, rank eight Gu Immortal Prince Feng Xian spits pearls of flame that swell into fireballs meant to deduce Fang Yuan’s location, and fails again, learning nothing. He is not a wisdom path Gu Immortal, only mimicking one with fire path, so he cannot find Fang Yuan’s true location. He was tasked with capturing Fang Yuan, but Fang Yuan hides too deep: a blessed land or grotto-heaven holding no fragment of the nine heavens is cut off entirely from the five regions, beyond even Fairy Zi Wei’s deduction. When Fang Yuan does go outside, he still hides his traces. Familiar face, dark limit Immortal Gu and his own dark path dao marks do the concealing. ^{ch. 1190}

Le Yao, an attendant, reports that Gong tribe has come to meet him. Prince Feng Xian refuses, and to her objection that they carry the Longevity Edict he answers it commands only the Huang Jin bloodline, not him. Le Yao objects that they are spies inside Northern Plains and that he is still Gong tribe’s son-in-law and external supreme elder, so open defiance could be a problem. He explains that Longevity Heaven is a rank nine grotto-heaven built on Giant Sun Immortal Venerable’s own foundation, Northern Plains’ equivalent of Heavenly Court. It has ordered every Huang Jin tribe to unite against Bai Zu tribe over the collapse of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, Bai Zu tribe’s founding, and Chu Sect’s provocations. This time, he predicts, Longevity Heaven will not need him, since Yao Huang is their only choice. Gong tribe, he tells Le Yao, means only to borrow that authority falsely, to trick him into helping their old ambition of leading the righteous path, so they will not meet them. ^{ch. 1190}

Days later the Edict passes through the Huang Jin tribes and lands, as expected, in Yao Huang’s hands. Of Northern Plains’ rank eights, Old Ancestor Xue Hu is demonic path and Five Elements Grandmaster sits trapped in Calamity Luck Altar for invading Longevity Heaven. Prince Feng Xian carries no Huang Jin bloodline, and using him would prove Five Elements Grandmaster’s point that the Huang Jin bloodline, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable’s descendants, cannot defeat a strong foe alone. That leaves Yao Huang, a rank eight refinement path Gu Immortal, as the only choice to face Heavenly Lord Bai Zu. Yao Huang resents the interruption. He is very busy refining resurrection from the dead Immortal Gu, and tosses the Edict onto the table. He decides to speak to Heavenly Lord Bai Zu first, and flies out to white heaven, where Bai Zu, after hesitating, agrees to meet him. ^{ch. 1190}

The two rank eights are, in fact, friends: Heavenly Lord Bai Zu grew very close to Yao Huang before founding Bai Zu tribe, and though they later fought Old Ancestor Xue Hu together and lost, the defeat left them closer still. Bai Zu admits he never expected things to reach this point, since his goal was only to take down Hei Fan grotto-heaven, but Chu Du’s strength and wit exceeded him. He cannot back out now, even knowing Chu Du’s own people spread the rumors against him. Yao Huang recalls urging him against founding a righteous path force, and Bai Zu admits he feels it now but will not give up gains won so hard. Yao Huang says he wants no part of this either. But Longevity Heaven’s token already sits in his hand, so Heavenly Lord Bai Zu, glad of the friendship yet sorry neither can decide this for himself, concludes they can only fight. ^{ch. 1190}

Yao Huang urges no rush. He would let the juniors fight first and rile them up. Heavenly Lord Bai Zu proposes a date for a martial competition, and Yao Huang suggests Blood Plain, which Bai Zu accepts at once. News of it sets Northern Plains into commotion: the confident Huang Jin tribes choose their elite, while Bai Zu tribe and Chu Sect seek outside help and word spreads even to Central Continent as both sides gather strength. ^{ch. 1190}