Chapter 1969

An ancient soul beast flees through black heaven, weakens and stops, and its body disintegrates as Spectral Soul appears and eats its soul core. Without a soul path killer move, he must wait a while to digest it. Since splitting from Old Man Zheng Yuan and Fairy Zi Wei he has met very few soul beasts, perhaps because the qi tides exterminated lifeforms. Now that fate Gu is destroyed, he says, heaven’s will cannot block his path to becoming venerable again, and he will kill anyone who obstructs him. ^{ch. 1969}

He finally finds an army of over three million soul beasts, where a quick glance already finds six immemorial and over thirty ancient soul beasts. Just as he is about to charge, he notices that three Gu Immortals in matching black robes control it. The leader is a rank eight female immortal, and her two male companions are tired. Recognizing them as black heaven Gu Immortals, Spectral Soul mixes stealthily into the army. ^{ch. 1969}

The female immortal takes over the army and rebukes one of the men, tall and thin with a bamboo staff, for flattering her. She tells them they are the likeliest in the clan to advance further besides her, and that without hard work the era will drown Soul Pacifying grotto-heaven. She says the qi tides now sweeping the whole world, black and white heaven included, expose the positions of grotto-heavens, so black heaven’s Gu Immortals are meeting, and the two men will represent Soul Pacifying grotto-heaven. Spectral Soul overhears and sees a perfect opportunity. ^{ch. 1969}

After half a day they reach an open grotto-heaven where many wait outside. Night Heavenly Wolf Lord, a rank eight Gu Immortal, flies out from a pack of night heavenly wolves and greets the female immortal as Lady Cold Ash. He says the variant human Gu Immortals have gone in already and that he waited so they could enter together, not be pushed aside as lone rank eights. Lady Cold Ash says Ice Crystal Immortal Monarch, a snowman, called the gathering in his own grotto-heaven, so variant humans will dominate it. She leaves the two rank sevens to watch the army and brings only some immemorial soul beasts inside, one of which Spectral Soul possesses. ^{ch. 1969}

Inside, a frost crystal mountain carries a palace of ice and snow at its peak. Lady Cold Ash and Night Heavenly Wolf Lord leave their beasts outside the hall and enter, and Spectral Soul finds a loophole and slips in. Ice Crystal Immortal Monarch sits at the main seat with three rank eight variant humans, a rockman, a hairy man and an eggman. Spectral Soul counts four variant human rank eights and two human ones. Variant humans fled to black and white heaven once humans dominated the world, and their grotto-heavens last while human ones mostly get destroyed. ^{ch. 1969}

The six discuss for a long time. One proposes uniting against the five regions, but the replies doubt that their resources can compare and that their different identities allow sincere cooperation. Lady Cold Ash says Soul Pacifying Ancestor was forced to live in black heaven and they have broken all ties with the five regions. Night Heavenly Wolf Lord says Night Wolf grotto-heaven does not want to expose itself, given its immense enmity with Northern Plains’ Longevity Heaven. Ice Crystal Immortal Monarch asks if they want only to defend, since with fate Gu destroyed and the five regions’ Gu Immortals recuperating this is the best chance to act. Asked for a plan, he says that if they do not improve themselves, the five regions will eliminate them once they settle, so only taking the lead offers hope of survival. ^{ch. 1969}