Chapter 1275

Fang Yuan’s left grasp misses, but his right arm catches Bi Chen Tian’s leg, and when the free leg drives at his head he raises affection Immortal Gu and Bi Chen Tian pulls the kick short. Twisting upside down to hold the leg, he gains two free legs to Bi Chen Tian’s one. Their exchange, Bi Chen Tian’s single leg moving so fast it blurs, spins the river into huge spirals, with Bi Chen Tian taking the worse of it. Bi Chen Tian’s arms flail for the surface, but repeated kicks to his groin drain his air until, past caring about breathing, he wants only to kill Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan kicks free and swims clear, and a dazed Bi Chen Tian gives up, surfaces, and swears to tear out Fang Yuan’s tendons and burn him to ashes. Fang Yuan’s legs go numb from the kicks. Bi Chen Tian had guarded that spot with wood path dao marks. ^{ch. 1275}

Killing Bi Chen Tian would draw a terrifying retaliation from his methods, and Fang Yuan judges it would likely leave him heavily injured or dead. He need not fight to the death. Ying Wu Xie is still his real goal, and dying alongside Bi Chen Tian would let Ying Wu Xie laugh at him. Even a clean kill would leave him too heavily injured to still kill Ying Wu Xie, gaining nothing, since the river bars his aperture and the corpse would only burden him. Killing a rank eight as a rank seven would have won him unparalleled honor, worthless to him. ^{ch. 1275}

He swims on, still searching for Ying Wu Xie. Elsewhere, Ying Wu Xie hears a call from the water and pulls Tai Bai Yun Sheng up onto a huge king lotus leaf that floats on the surface, privately crediting his own luck to his connection with Fang Yuan. But his smile soon fades: Reverse Flow River’s state has grown really strange, and they cannot escape it. Their plan is to find Purple Mountain True Monarch, reclaim Ma Hong Yun and Zhao Lian Yun, and perhaps kill the ancient sword dragon chasing them. ^{ch. 1275}

Elsewhere, Purple Mountain True Monarch rides on Old Ancestor Xue Hu’s shoulder. He is reduced to his true rank eight miniman form now inside the river, having enlarged himself earlier by immortal method. Some power keeps the river too chaotic for his wings to carry him out of it, and he asks who created the Gu formation for Xue Hu. Xue Hu names Sun Ming Lu grimly and calls him a member of Longevity Heaven, since with Central Continent’s Gu Immortals in danger no one else in Northern Plains has the ability and guts to move against him. Purple Mountain True Monarch judges Longevity Heaven definitely after Ma Hong Yun and Zhao Lian Yun, already ahead of them. Xue Hu declares he must find his wife, and Purple Mountain True Monarch tells him Lady Wan Shou was swept away beside Ma Hong Yun and should be near them, so they press ahead. Elsewhere still, the fate reversing refinement sub formation blazes a huge, unconcealable pillar of light, with Black Extremity directing the river’s flow and Flood Extremity guarding against intruders. ^{ch. 1275}