Chapter 699

Lord Sky Crane hesitates over He Feng Yang’s order to sacrifice Fang Zheng. Reason tells him it serves the sect best, but his feelings resist, since Fang Zheng reminds him too much of himself. He cannot bear to sacrifice him. Memories flood back: a botched refinement, a failed crane formation, and a confinement for fighting that Lord Sky Crane praised, having served a longer one himself. Fang Zheng calls him master again and again in these memories. ^{ch. 699}

Lord Sky Crane roars at Fang Zheng to persevere, invoking the pain Fang Yuan caused him and the deaths of his uncle and aunt at Fang Yuan’s hands. Fang Zheng must not fail and must not give up. Fang Zheng’s spirit stirs, but he still senses only endless darkness. His body nears its limit, and he apologizes to his master for failing as he begins slipping toward unconsciousness. Lord Sky Crane refuses to allow it. ^{ch. 699}

Thinking of his own possession plan and the punishment He Feng Yang would give for failure, Lord Sky Crane finally convinces himself. He activates the trump card. Blood path Gu worms hidden around the blood pool spring to life on Fang Zheng’s body, and bright light sweeps away the darkness. Fang Zheng’s body spasms as if electrocuted, in incomparable pain. His roar cuts off almost instantly and he loses consciousness, though the Gu worms keep his body activating failed blood demon flower Gu and blood sense Gu on their own. ^{ch. 699}

The blood pool seethes. The failed blood demon flowers grow rapidly, and Fang Zheng stands rigid, head raised and arms spread like a statue. Vines thicken and burst from his throat and mouth until nothing of his original appearance remains. Watching him, Lord Sky Crane’s anxiety gives way to guilt, and his soul sheds tears, telling Fang Zheng that his master has done him an injustice. ^{ch. 699}

In Fu Hu blessed land, third supreme elder Lord Tiger Demon senses He Feng Yang’s arrangement activating. He activates an Immortal Gu borrowed by He Feng Yang from Lady Sang Xin: a rank six information path Immortal Gu called Mutual Sense. It descends over the blood pool within about ten breaths. Mutual sense releases a grey light pillar over Fang Zheng that turns red with his blood. ^{ch. 699}

Fang Zheng’s remaining consciousness wanders the darkness until a blood-red light speck appears, carrying an aura he recognizes as Fang Yuan’s. The vines holding his mouth keep him from speaking. But a joyful tear falls that shakes Lord Sky Crane’s soul into silence. As he nears the light, it pulls him in, absorbing what remains of his consciousness. In Hu Immortal blessed land, Fang Yuan opens his eyes, sensing the blood pool, Fang Zheng’s body, and the mutual sense Immortal Gu above. He sneers, mocking his little brother’s coming death as a sacrifice for the group, then laughs. ^{ch. 699}

Tai Bai Yun Sheng asks what happened, and Hei Lou Lan and Fairy Li Shan turn inquiring gazes on Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan explains that Immortal Crane Sect used his little brother and the Mutual Sense Immortal Gu to find him. He tells everyone to leave Dang Hun palace and lie in ambush. His senior brother will explain the details. Through the Gu, Fang Yuan reads everything about Fang Zheng, while Fang Zheng cannot even perceive the immortal aperture inside him. Hei Lou Lan and Fairy Li Shan, hindered by the Snowy Mountain Alliance, brace to fight beside Fang Yuan. ^{ch. 699}

On Tian Ti mountain, He Feng Yang opens his eyes: the time is ripe. He draws an Immortal Gu that Fairy Cang Yu names expand space Immortal Gu, borrowed from the second supreme elder as the core of an immortal killer move. The move, Force Intrusion, burns through over ten beads of green grape immortal essence, and space cracks open to reveal Hu Immortal blessed land’s terrain. He Feng Yang gestures for Fairy Cang Yu to enter first. She laughs and steps toward the opening. Lightning strikes at her. ^{ch. 699}