The yellow fog spread slowly.
False emotion fake will Gu floated before Frost Jade Peacock, releasing a hazy light that wrapped around Hei Lou Lan and Ma Hong Yun.
The ancient forest at the center of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building was silent.
Hei Lou Lan stood with a solemn expression, his eyes hiding ambition. Becoming one of Imperial Court blessed land's owners was a benefit large enough to make even his breathing grow heavier.
Ma Hong Yun, however, looked confused.
He did not understand Imperial Court blessed land.
He did not understand ownership.
He only knew that Giant Sun's will had suddenly brought him here, and that Zhao Lian Yun and Chang Li were still outside.
Frost Jade Peacock glared at them from within the weakening seal.
Hatred filled its eyes.
It had been imprisoned for hundreds of thousands of years. Now, just as it saw a chance to break free, Giant Sun's will wanted to force two controlled masters onto it.
How could it submit willingly?
Giant Sun's will did not care.
As long as false emotion fake will Gu succeeded, Frost Jade Peacock's will would be deceived. Hei Lou Lan and Ma Hong Yun would become owners in name, but the true control would still remain in Giant Sun's hands.
The yellow fog grew thicker.
It was about to touch Frost Jade Peacock.
Then Giant Sun's will froze.
His golden figure suddenly looked upward.
The next instant, fury twisted his face.
"Damn it—!"
His roar had barely begun when it was cut off.
A terrifying force descended from nowhere, wrapping around Giant Sun's will and pulling him out of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
The golden figure vanished.
The yellow fog trembled, then scattered.
Hei Lou Lan's expression changed.
Ma Hong Yun blinked stupidly.
Frost Jade Peacock's eyes flashed with wild joy.
The forced ownership process had been interrupted.
Outside Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, golden light burst into the sky.
Giant Sun's will had been expelled.
The majestic will that had once controlled the building now covered its surface like a blazing golden ocean. But the moment it appeared outside, the calamities and tribulations struck.
Chaotic lightning balls bombarded it.
Restraining smoke coiled around it.
The raging blizzard of Northern Plains tore into it from the outside.
Even Giant Sun's will, vast and ancient as it was, could not ignore such attacks. Parts of the golden will shattered under the lightning. Some fragments were swallowed by restraining smoke. The blizzard scraped away layer after layer like knives against gold.
Inside Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, the situation changed immediately.
The building still stood.
Its structure remained.
But without Giant Sun's will commanding it, it became like an army that had suddenly lost its general.
The Gu worms inside still existed.
The arrangements still existed.
But their reactions slowed.
Their coordination weakened.
For a short moment, Eighty-Eight True Yang Building was vulnerable.
Far away, hidden among the chaos outside Sacred Palace, Fang Ming opened his eyes.
He could not see the exact scene inside.
He had discarded his copied owner token, cutting off the thread that once connected him to the building.
But he could feel the shift.
The pressure changed.
The rhythm of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building broke.
The will that had been pressing down on the world was suddenly dragged outward and exposed to the tribulation.
Fang Ming's lips curved slightly.
"So he used it."
Fang Yuan had acted.
The third hidden Central Continent method.
The method that could temporarily expel Giant Sun's will from Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
Fang Ming was not surprised.
Fang Yuan would never retreat at this stage. He had already entered too deeply. He had the glass owner token, Mo Yao's help, and the arrangements left behind by Central Continent's Gu Immortals.
If Giant Sun's will wanted to regain control, Fang Yuan would overturn the board first.
And now, he had done exactly that.
Fang Ming sat quietly in the shadows, his aura restrained.
His current appearance was completely different from before.
His black eyes had turned brown. His face had changed. His bones and muscles had reshaped under the Great Strength True Martial Physique. Even his body's bearing was different.
The Fang Ming recorded by Eighty-Eight True Yang Building no longer existed.
Giant Sun's will could search the building's memories and find that old figure.
The Fang Ming who had entered the treasure room.
The Fang Ming who had used abnormal methods.
The Fang Ming who once moved near Fang Yuan's path.
But that face was useless now.
To Giant Sun's will, the current Fang Ming was only another person outside the building.
A random nobody.
Someone not worth remembering.
More importantly, Fang Ming no longer held the copied owner token.
No thread.
No authority mark.
No obvious trail.
That was his greatest protection.
He watched the distant Eighty-Eight True Yang Building as golden light struggled against lightning, smoke, and snow.
This was not his moment.
The opportunity looked tempting.
Giant Sun's will had been expelled.
The building was weakened.
Frost Jade Peacock remained uncontrolled.
Hei Lou Lan and Ma Hong Yun's forced ownership had failed.
But Fang Ming did not move.
A premature move would only expose him.
Fang Yuan was still inside.
Fang Yuan would use this window.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had just become a Gu Immortal, and although Giant Sun had imprisoned him, Fang Yuan would not leave such a piece unused. He needed Tai Bai Yun Sheng. He needed Landscape as Before.
Soon, Fang Yuan would take the old man away through the stargate.
Hu Immortal blessed land.
Safety.
Recovery.
Preparation.
Then he would return.
Fang Ming lowered his gaze.
He would wait for that return.
Inside Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, Fang Yuan moved quickly through the loosened structure.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was sealed in ice, still recovering from the chaos of his ascension and Giant Sun's imprisonment. The old man had crossed into immortality, but he had no time to enjoy it. He was already a piece in another man's hand.
Fang Yuan freed him.
Words were exchanged.
Trust was built through secrets, half-truths, and benefits.
Soon, starlight opened.
Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng vanished from Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
The Gu Immortal who had just ascended disappeared with him.
The building trembled again.
Outside, Giant Sun's will raged, but the tribulations still battered him.
Frost Jade Peacock remained unclaimed.
Hei Lou Lan's face was dark.
Ma Hong Yun stood in confusion.
And Fang Ming remained hidden.
The board had changed again.
Giant Sun's will had tried to regain control.
Fang Yuan had torn him out of the building.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had become Fang Yuan's new piece.
Frost Jade Peacock still had not submitted.
Everything was unstable.
Everything was dangerous.
And that was good.
Fang Ming slowly closed his eyes.
His strength path power surged quietly within his body. The Great Strength True Martial Physique made every breath feel heavy, as if his flesh contained a storm waiting to break free.
His time was still running out.
But he could not rush.
Not yet.
When he acted, it would not be a probing move.
It would not be a small theft.
It would be thunder.
Until then, silence was his shield.
The blizzard howled around Sacred Palace.
Lightning struck Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
Restraining smoke wrapped around its ancient structure.
Fang Ming remained unseen beneath the chaos.
Waiting.