Chapter 1789

At Heavenly Court, Duke Long watches several Gu Immortals build a refinement path formation beside Heaven Overseeing Tower, and Fairy Zi Wei arrives to greet him. Fang Yuan holds Lang Ya blessed land and so knows the details of Refinement Cauldron, on which the old formation was modeled, so Duke Long has ordered it disassembled and modified. He sighs that Heavenly Court’s control seems to be slowly dwindling. Fang Yuan, whom he calls Red Lotus Demon Venerable’s pawn, thwarted their plans, caused the deaths of Chen Yi and Thunder Ghost True Monarch, and has now captured many Southern Border immortals. Unlike in the previous life, Duke Long no longer leaves everything to Fairy Zi Wei. ^{ch. 1789}

Fairy Zi Wei answers with three points. First, she has sent three rank eight Gu Immortals into Southern Border to search for Fang Yuan’s traces. Second, his killer move with Fixed Immortal Travel as its core is more threatening than Omni-directional Travel, so she has ordered fixed space Gu refined first. Liu Hao holds fixed space Immortal Gu and is Fang Yuan’s captive, but she is confident Heavenly Court can make it self-detonate. Third, they must guard against Spring Autumn Cicada. ^{ch. 1789}

She increasingly suspects that Fang Yuan has already used it and been reborn. Heavenly Court lost at Lang Ya blessed land when star cast was broken, and she finds it very suspicious that he locked onto one of Feng Jiu Ge’s many dao marks and set a formation there in advance. The plan is to use the killer move benevolent equality against Spring Autumn Cicada, but benevolence Gu is still in Southern Border with Paradise Earth’s inheritor Lu Wei Yin. Duke Long judges it the fittest answer, since Fang Yuan would likely wrap Spring Autumn Cicada in a killer move. She will soon ask Lu Wei Yin to lend benevolence Gu, earlier than in the previous life because of the ink effect. A refusal would raise the likelihood of rebirth, since the move counters Fang Yuan, while agreement would make it unlikely. Duke Long agrees. ^{ch. 1789}

He adds that a refusal need not worry them while Heavenly Court controls the situation, since Red Lotus failed with far more strength. Fairy Zi Wei asks why Heavenly Court lacks its own method. Red Lotus once told Duke Long in battle that the stone lotus islands in the River of Time, though unconnected, form one killer move, his proudest creation, which indirectly affects the traces of all beings. Its most evident effect is that any Gu worm or method that counters Spring Autumn Cicada never ends up in Heavenly Court. That influence is weakening, and Heavenly Court has gained some methods that disrupt Spring Autumn Cicada, though most are still unusable. ^{ch. 1789}

Fairy Zi Wei then lists her next steps. News will spread that Fang Yuan is trying to ascend to rank eight, she will work through Wu Yong to find more opponents in Southern Border, and Fang Zheng will be nurtured fully. ^{ch. 1789}

In Central Continent, Gu Yue Fang Zheng floats above a mountain peak and tosses a rank five blood path Gu into his condensed qi. His immortal ascension succeeds, giving him a high grade blessed land and enough leftover qi to raise his vital blood path mortal Gu into an Immortal Gu. Guarding Fang Zheng, Fan Xi Liu asks to enter and help. Fang Zheng is angry at the intrusion but opens the door, knowing countless eyes watch him and that he is a tool nurtured against Fang Yuan. ^{ch. 1789}

Inside, Fan Xi Liu says his own tribulation gave only a medium grade blessed land despite great risk. Fang Zheng’s aperture sits near the limits of a high grade blessed land in size and rate of time, and Fang Zheng now owns two blood path Immortal Gu. By order of the sect, Fan Xi Liu brings blood path resources, mostly immortal materials, worth a rank six lone cultivator’s hundred years of accumulation. He cannot hide his envy. ^{ch. 1789}

Glad to be an immortal at last, Fang Zheng thinks his backers’ help makes dealing with Fang Yuan possible. Though he understands Fang Yuan, he will not forgive him. With far more help than in the previous life, Fang Zheng ascends much earlier than he did then. Heavenly Court hid the facts of its loss, and Southern Border’s fate is not yet known to everyone. So Fang Zheng does not know that Chen Yi and Thunder Ghost True Monarch died or that Fang Yuan captured Southern Border’s immortals. He wrongly believes that by continuing as he is he might reach Fang Yuan’s height and face him directly. ^{ch. 1789}