Chapter 1350

An intensely powerful aura bursts outside the super Gu formation. The righteous path Gu Immortals inside first suspect a rank eight Gu Immortal, before realizing it is an immemorial desolate beast instead. Before anyone finishes identifying it, the formation takes an unprecedented, violent attack that shakes it apart, and its inner halls crumble. A set Gu formation runs off its Gu worms and the environment, so their destruction gives the Gu Immortals only a less intense backlash and injuries here are few. Ancient battle formations differ, since their destruction gives the Gu Immortals severe backlashes, worst of all for the formation’s main controller. Fang Yuan’s own hall collapses completely, and a huge hole opens in the super Gu formation, exposing the dream realm it had kept fully concealed. Outside stands a huge human shaped beast, black as ink, with two monstrous claws, roaring that it wants to eat every Gu Immortal present to become more human. ^{ch. 1350}

Fang Yuan identifies it as Zuo Ye Hui, a legendary immemorial desolate beast whose past rampages across Southern Border are known to every righteous path Gu Immortal there. Its appearance, on par with a rank eight Gu Immortal, breaks the defenders’ morale. In the whole of the five regions, only two people, Feng Jiu Ge and Liu Guan Yi, can hold a rank seven body against rank eight strength. Chi Gui, who leads the Chi clan forces present and knows the formation’s design from first supreme elder Chi Qu You, rallies everyone into its third of four layers as the broken outer layer’s defense shuts down. The third layer does not reach across the whole dream realm, which stays visible, though the formation still conceals most of it. Fang Yuan withdraws with the rest, his true self still hidden behind the Wu Yi Hai identity. He notes that Wu clan’s Immortal Gu House, delayed earlier by a mishap he suspects was Shadow Sect’s doing, remains his best route out once it arrives. ^{ch. 1350}

At Ying Wu Xie’s signal, Fairy Miao Yin, Bai Ning Bing, and Hei Lou Lan pull back as Zuo Ye Hui inhales and swells to twice its size. It fires a huge grey beam from its mouth. This is its signature killer move, Grey Night, and it strikes the third layer directly. This is the beast’s second use of the move; an earlier cast, made with the same three demonic path Gu Immortals, had already destroyed the formation’s fourth layer. The impact leaves the third layer only half destroyed rather than broken outright, and this time no righteous path Gu Immortal is killed or hurt. Chi Gui, sweating, can only guess the earlier inside-and-outside strike is what brought the fourth layer down. Fang Yuan notices this Grey Night differs from the version in his own dream realm, and wonders whether Zuo Ye Hui, Shadow Sect, or an unseen rank eight ally modified it. ^{ch. 1350}

Fairy Miao Yin, Bai Ning Bing, and Hei Lou Lan return to the breach, now joined by Ying Wu Xie and a large force of demonic path Gu Immortals and lone cultivators. Purple Mountain True Monarch spent heavily to recruit them. Shadow Sect lacks manpower rather than resources, and these Southern Border Gu Immortals only followed Ying Wu Xie into the open once Zuo Ye Hui had appeared and used grey night. Ying Wu Xie orders them to force the formation’s holes wider for reward, and Shadow Sect surges forward; the righteous path scrambles to seal the breaches while Chi Gui works to activate the formation’s second layer. Ba De then announces that Zuo Ye Hui has used Grey Night twice, its limit, and needs to rest, while Fang Yuan has watched the beast pant motionless since its last attack. Many Southern Border Gu Immortals here know Zuo Ye Hui from history, since its every appearance brought disaster and forced them to band together, and the righteous path super clans hold accurate records on it. ^{ch. 1350}