Chapter 1329

Chi Shang summons Chi Liu to help publicize the dispute. Chi Liu resists, citing Chi clan’s ongoing, mutually beneficial dream realm business with Wu clan and the clan’s official neutrality. Chi Shang realizes he lacks standing among his own clansmen to compel Chi Liu, having kept to formation path research and away from other Chi clan Gu Immortals. This left him quite small influence in the clan, small enough that it could be called the smallest among rank seven Gu Immortals there. Chi Liu proposes taking the matter to Chi Gui, the clan’s leader stationed here, for a ruling, and Chi Shang, extremely comforted, agrees. ^{ch. 1329}

Chi Gui, hearing the report, is troubled that nobody wants involvement in a dispute merely over a woman. He is also aware that if it really escalates it becomes political, since the two men’s very high status means their quarrel is already a matter between Wu clan and Chi clan. He proposes handling it privately instead: Chi Shang should inform Fairy Si Liu of the dispute and ask her to witness it, since Wu Yi Hai’s own feelings for her would absolutely keep him from acting shamelessly. Chi Shang loves the idea. He immediately informs Qiao Si Liu by Gu worm, and the enormous pressure of her now knowing becomes a huge motivation to win. ^{ch. 1329}

Chi Shang spends days in the wisdom sweat formation, a mystical formation taught to him by the first supreme elder. It inverts how such formations normally work, running on wisdom path Gu worms as its core with a water path Immortal Gu named Sweat as the supplementary Gu, and leaves him exhausted, several of the mortal Gu it spent left dead. He solves the problem and gloats. Fang Yuan receives it and recognizes that Chi Shang has brought Qiao Si Liu into the contest against him. He is unbothered, since she is not his actual goal, and instead evaluates his own limits. Formation path is extremely vast, his own inheritance is only mortal level against Chi clan’s immortal level ones, and reaching grandmaster attainment himself would let him solve such problems by instinct. ^{ch. 1329}

By the next night, Chi Shang receives Fang Yuan’s reply, which admits his ability and his worthiness of Fairy Si Liu’s admiration but notes that Wu clan has people who could produce solutions like his, so it proves nothing unusual. The letter poses a further problem and promises that if Chi Shang solves it, Fang Yuan will publicly admit inferiority to him, even before Fairy Si Liu. Chi Shang pictures humiliating his rival in front of her. He grows steadily more excited, confident that her presence as witness will keep Wu Yi Hai from reneging. ^{ch. 1329}