Chapter 1702

Reports pour in of raids across Central Continent. A mysterious Gu Immortal has stolen more than half of Imprisonment Valley’s southern thorns, and three Gu Immortals have plundered the blazing red stones of red river beach after destroying its immortal formation. Fairy Zi Wei, in command at Heavenly Court, is furious at the huge mess the thieves have made. Duke Long listens with an extremely calm face and calls the losses tiny problems. ^{ch. 1702}

Fairy Zi Wei then says angrily that Fang Yuan has escaped, three Central Continent rank eights are injured, and Zhou Xiong Xin is dead. Duke Long sits up and demands the battle report, since Zhou Xiong Xin was the strongest sent against Fang Yuan and still fell. The report shows that spring scissors, modified again, killed him rather than Luo Po seal. As the immemorial year monkey, Fang Yuan reaches peak rank eight strength. Fairy Zi Wei sighs deeply and feels a little dejected, since her own strength is only upper-tier rank eight. ^{ch. 1702}

Duke Long tells her that Fang Yuan’s growth owes much to outside help. Red Lotus Demon Venerable chose him, he obtained Spring Autumn Cicada and Spectral Soul’s true inheritance, he inherited Shadow Sect, and he gained from Giant Sun Immortal Venerable. Heavenly Court is contesting the Immortal Venerables and Demon Venerables behind him as well as Fang Yuan himself. By Duke Long’s reading, Fang Yuan stalled until the will of Central Continent’s people had made rumor cage far stronger, then destroyed it with an immortal formation. The backlash was immense and left Zhou Xiong Xin heavily injured, and as the monkey with peak rank eight strength Fang Yuan killed him while the formation disrupted the other three rank eights. In a fair fight, Duke Long says, Fang Yuan could not have done it. ^{ch. 1702}

Fairy Zi Wei suggests sending Li Huang after Fang Yuan, and Duke Long refuses. Li Huang must keep guarding the Refinement Path Convention, because restoring Fate is the most important goal and Fang Yuan has Fixed Immortal Travel. Duke Long believes Heavenly Court’s foundation will definitely see fate Gu repaired, and that short of rank nine, Fang Yuan cannot change the situation. He then asks Old Man Zheng Yuan how the common enemy hatred killer move is going. ^{ch. 1702}

Old Man Zheng Yuan, senior even to Duke Long, is a rank seven human path Gu Immortal, hunchbacked and weak in aura, who woke from the immortal graveyard because of fate Gu’s restoration. Heavenly Court normally takes only rank eight elites, yet recruited him for human path. He recounts that the eighteen variant human demonic immortals lost terribly to Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable, invincible in the world, and then tried to deceive him. The Venerable sat in the formation three days and nights, then created countless lifeforms, people’s united hearts and common enemy hatred after reading The Legends of Ren Zu. Calling himself merely a key to the Venerable’s remnant methods, Old Man Zheng Yuan asks Duke Long to call him by name rather than Lord. He reports countless lifeforms already activated and common enemy hatred effective across all of Central Continent. People’s united hearts will be usable once enough human will gathers, and Duke Long is pleased that the hatred will keep the convention going smoothly. ^{ch. 1702}

At Mystical Body Sect, created by Wind Cloud Manor’s supreme elder Wu Fa, thousands of Gu Masters refine Gu while rank seven Wu Fa guards the square. Half the time has passed and most have failed. One faints from poison in the materials and is teleported out and healed; he cannot continue, yet he laughs that failing still serves Central Continent against the demonic path immortals who killed innocent lives. ^{ch. 1702}

Two young Gu Masters then stand with finished Gu worms, and Hong Yi shouts that he succeeded. Wu Fa declares both winners, sharing first place with a small sect reward. They give their names as Hong Yi and Ye Fan, and Wu Fa, unseen, finds them very handsome with great cultivation. ^{ch. 1702}