Chapter 180: Ghostly Concealment
Fang Ming stepped through the entrance of light, and Luo Po Valley disappeared behind him. The space before him was vast and strange, with no sky above, no earth below, and no normal horizon in the distance. Pale light drifted through the darkness like broken pieces of glass, while empty shadows gathered between them. The entire place felt silent, but not lifeless. It was more like a sealed chamber that had waited here for countless years, untouched by time, patiently preserving the arrangement left behind by a venerable.
Behind Fang Ming, the entrance of light still remained, but it was shrinking slowly. He glanced back once, then turned his attention forward again. He had used Open Door Gu to enter this place, and he still had Close Door Gu to control the exit if needed. The shrinking entrance was important, but the true danger was not behind him. A low wind sounded in the distance, faint at first, like something moving behind many layers of space. Then the sound grew heavier and deeper, until it became the roar of a storm.
Fang Ming looked ahead and saw dozens of enormous tornadoes moving slowly through the inheritance space. Their color was dark green, and their edges twisted with a force that caused even his expression to become serious. These were winds of assimilation, the terrifying winds that could assimilate everything they touched and grow endlessly. Fang Ming had not forgotten how Imperial Court blessed land had been destroyed. A complete blessed land could be ruined by these winds, and even Gu Immortals would avoid them like calamity. Yet here, dozens of tornadoes formed from winds of assimilation were moving inside this hidden space without destroying it.
Fang Ming observed them for a while, and soon his eyes narrowed. "These winds are restrained."
That was the truly terrifying part. The tornadoes looked fierce, but they did not spread without control. They moved within unseen boundaries, as if every strand of wind had been locked into the inheritance space by some higher rule. This was not a simple display of power. It was control, and the more Fang Ming looked, the more he understood how absurd this method was. To create or draw out winds of assimilation was already beyond ordinary Gu Immortals, but to store them, restrain them, and turn them into a test inside a stable inheritance space was something else entirely.
Fang Ming was a formation path grandmaster, and precisely because of that, he could see more of the value behind the arrangement. Space isolation, entrance control, containment, forced sequencing, and safety boundaries were all fused together so naturally that the whole inheritance space felt simple only because the method behind it was too high. His teleport tattoos, battlefield formations, dream realm relocation method, and large-scale movement plans all touched similar directions, but compared to this place, they were crude and young. A venerable's method was like a mountain. Fang Ming had only climbed a small hill, but seeing the mountain clearly still had value, because once he knew the direction, he could choose how to continue climbing.
He released several clones. They appeared around him quietly, spreading out at controlled distances. Some stayed near the entrance, some watched the tornadoes, and some prepared defensive and offensive methods. Fang Ming did not believe that a venerable inheritance would be harmless just because he knew part of the answer. Knowledge was useful, but carelessness was how people died while holding the correct information.
He approached the first tornado slowly and extended a hand. The moment his fingers touched the edge of the wind, the terrifying tornado vanished. There was no explosion, no backlash, and no devouring force. It simply disappeared, as if the wind had only been waiting for the correct person to touch it. Fang Ming's eyes flashed as he understood the rule behind this part of the inheritance.
He did not rush even after confirming it once. One safe result did not prove the whole space was safe. He moved forward step by step, allowing his clones to remain prepared while he touched the tornadoes one after another. Each wind of assimilation vanished under his hand, and each disappearance made the inheritance space quieter.
Outside the inheritance space, the sealed battlefield was shaking. Hui Feng Zi moved like a real gust of wind. His figure blurred, split into afterimages, and vanished between attacks. The information-blocking battlefield formation had trapped him and swallowed his messages, but it had not taken away his speed. Even under pressure, he was still a rank seven expert famous for movement, and every time the ancient barbarian's fist descended, he slipped away from the edge of death with frightening precision.
The huge body of Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation pressed forward. Its form was rough and powerful, condensed from the immortal essence and wills of the Eagle Sect Gu Immortals. At first, its attacks were heavy and fierce, but Hui Feng Zi was too fast. If they chased his body directly, they would always be half a step too late.
Inside the formation, Ju Go's voice carried tension. "He keeps avoiding the main force."
Bian Si Xuan's reply was calm. "Then do not chase his body. Cut off his routes."
Fairy Huang Sha immediately understood. "Force him toward the western edge. The battlefield formation is thicker there."
Fairy Qing Suo added, "His messages are still being swallowed. He cannot call for help."
Fairy Fen Meng's voice sharpened. "Then we keep pressing. He is fast, but he cannot keep this up forever."
The rhythm of Tyrannical Barbarian changed. The ancient barbarian stopped trying to land every attack directly. One arm swept across empty space to block future movement. A fist struck the ground to disturb the air current beneath Hui Feng Zi's feet. Its body shifted slowly but deliberately, compressing his room to maneuver. They were no longer trying to match his speed. They were turning the battlefield itself against him.
Hui Feng Zi sensed the change immediately, and his expression darkened. These Gu Immortals were not individually terrifying. If they fought him one by one, he could escape or kill some of them without much difficulty. But inside an ancient battle formation, their weakness was covered, their immortal essence was gathered, and their wills acted through one body. More troublesome than that was the battlefield formation outside. He had already used several information-path methods, but none of them escaped. Every message was swallowed like a stone dropped into a bottomless lake.
He flashed to the edge of the battlefield and struck the formation wall with a wind blade. The wall trembled, but before he could strike again, the ancient barbarian's arm swept toward him like a collapsing cliff. Hui Feng Zi vanished from his position, but the space he could use was now smaller than before.
Inside the inheritance space, Fang Ming finally reached the last tornado. This one was larger than the rest. Its rotation was faster, and the dark green wind wrapped around something hidden within. Fang Ming stopped before it, his gaze calm but focused. He knew what was likely inside, but knowing did not mean relaxing. If anything, it meant he had to be more careful.
More clones appeared around him. Some stood near the shrinking entrance. Some gathered at different angles around the final tornado. Defensive killer moves were prepared, and offensive methods were held ready. Fang Ming's main body stood at the front. The one inside should be Feng Jiu Ge. Even injured, this man could not be treated like an ordinary rank seven. He was a peak expert of Central Continent, someone who could challenge rank eight existences and survive situations that would kill others. Fang Ming had no intention of underestimating such a person.
He raised his hand and touched the final tornado. The wind disappeared, and a figure appeared in the air, sitting cross-legged. He wore red and white robes, and his body carried severe injuries, but his posture remained upright. His aura was faint, yet the pressure he gave off did not feel weak. He was like a sword that had been buried under dust and blood but still had not lost its edge.
Feng Jiu Ge opened his eyes. For one instant, his gaze met Fang Ming's, and the inheritance space became still. Feng Jiu Ge's eyes swept across the clones, the prepared killer moves, and Fang Ming's main body. Recognition appeared in his gaze. Fang Ming, the Northern Plains Gu Immortal who had killed Old Lord Can Yang of Immortal Crane Sect. Fang Ming, one of the major suspects behind the collapse of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. Fang Ming, an enemy of Central Continent.
But Feng Jiu Ge also understood his own condition. He was badly injured, far from his peak, and Fang Ming was clearly not an ordinary rank six. The clones and battle preparations made it obvious that Fang Ming had expected something to appear from the final tornado and had already prepared for battle. More importantly, Fang Ming had just freed him. Feng Jiu Ge was not a naive righteous path fool, but he was not the type of person who would repay rescue with an immediate attack when there was no need. In his current state, fighting Fang Ming inside this inheritance space was meaningless, costly, and unnecessary.
Rainbow light burst out, and Feng Jiu Ge shot toward the entrance of light. Fang Ming's clones shifted, but Fang Ming did not order an attack. Feng Jiu Ge was too fast, and even if Fang Ming could delay him, there was no benefit in forcing a fight here. In the blink of an eye, Feng Jiu Ge passed through the light entrance and left the inheritance space.
Only an information path Gu remained behind, floating quietly in the air.
Fang Ming activated Close Door Gu immediately, and the entrance of light closed. Only after the inheritance space was isolated again did Fang Ming look at the information path Gu. A clone approached first and checked it carefully. After confirming that it was only a message and not a trap, Fang Ming sent his consciousness inside.
Feng Jiu Ge's voice appeared in his mind. "Fang Ming, killer of Old Lord Can Yang, enemy of Immortal Crane Sect, and one of the shadows behind Northern Plains' great upheaval. Today, you opened the way and allowed me to leave. I remember grudges, but I also remember favors. Central Continent's enmity with you is not erased. My personal debt to you is also not erased. If we meet again, whether we are enemies or not will depend on the time, the place, and the song being played."
The message ended.
Fang Ming held the Gu for a moment before storing it away. Feng Jiu Ge's message did not move him much. Whether Feng Jiu Ge remembered the favor, whether he separated personal debt from faction hatred, or whether he would hesitate in some future meeting did not matter much to Fang Ming. He had killed Old Lord Can Yang, robbed opportunities from Central Continent, and was already standing on the opposite side of the ten great ancient sects. More importantly, he was a half otherworldly demon. If his next plan succeeded and he became a complete otherworldly demon, then there would be no path of reconciliation between him and Central Continent at all. Some conflicts could be negotiated, some debts could be balanced, and some favors could soften hostility for a moment, but this was different. Between Central Continent's forces and a complete otherworldly demon, enmity was not a question of attitude. It was a question of position.
To Fang Ming, the message only confirmed a practical matter. Feng Jiu Ge had recognized him, connected him to Old Lord Can Yang's death, and judged him as an enemy of Central Continent. That information would return with Feng Jiu Ge. This was not unexpected, and it did not change Fang Ming's direction. He had opened the way because the inheritance required it, not because he wanted gratitude. If Feng Jiu Ge's personal character created some minor variable in the future, Fang Ming would treat it as nothing more than an accident of circumstance. He would not build any plan on it.
Soon, the inheritance space changed. The pale light floating around began to dim. Darkness spread from every direction, swallowing the vast empty space until only the area around Fang Ming remained faintly lit. Then a voice sounded from within that darkness.
It was a man's voice, gentle and distant, as if it had crossed countless years to speak here. "Traveler from far away. You and I are the same, pitiful people who cannot return to our homes. My real name is Ben Jie Sun. People in this world call me Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. In truth, I am only a vagrant who wants to return home. This world feels like a cage of despair. If you also want to return home, accept my present. I believe it can help you. But if you want to return home, you still need to rely on your own effort. This gift's name is… Ghostly Concealment."
The voice faded, and a layer of grey light appeared around Fang Ming's body. It did not feel like armor. It did not feel like an ordinary killer move either. It was as if a hidden part of the world had stopped looking at him. His existence had not disappeared, but something about him had been covered, separated from certain forms of perception.
This was Ghostly Concealment, a Thieving Heaven true inheritance.
Fang Ming lowered his head and looked at the grey light. For a brief moment, he thought about Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, Ben Jie Sun, a person from another world who became a venerable, yet still yearned to return home. Fang Ming understood that obsession, but he did not share it. He had lived a good life on Earth. He did not hate that life, and he did not mock someone who wanted to return to such a place. Every person had their own obsession. Some looked toward the future, some clung to the past, some wanted revenge, some wanted love, some wanted freedom, and some only wanted to return to a home no one else in this world could understand.
Thieving Heaven's desire was not wrong, but it was not Fang Ming's path. Fang Ming did not treat the Gu world as a cage. Since he was already here, he would live here. He would seize what could be seized, enjoy what could be enjoyed, and climb as high as he could. Returning home was Thieving Heaven's obsession. Living greatly in this world was Fang Ming's.
The thought passed quickly, and Fang Ming's attention returned to the grey light around him. Ghostly Concealment was extremely valuable. The coming storm involved Shadow Sect, Spectral Soul, Heavenly Court, and arrangements that touched rank eight and even rank nine levels. Any additional concealment layer could decide life and death. But Fang Ming did not mistake value for invincibility. A venerable inheritance was powerful, but not absolute, especially not when the opponents also involved venerable-level arrangements. Ghostly Concealment was a shield, and a very good shield, but Fang Ming would not treat any shield as impossible to pierce.
The inheritance space trembled slightly. In the next moment, Fang Ming appeared back in Luo Po Valley. Cold soul wind swept past him. The visible grey light had faded, but Fang Ming could still feel Ghostly Concealment existing around him in a deeper layer. He did not stay still for long. The inheritance had been obtained. Now it was time to take the valley.
Gu worms flew out one after another as Fang Ming moved through Luo Po Valley. Formation flags landed at key points, and teleportation marks spread across stone walls, valley paths, and hidden soul path nodes. He had prepared for this operation before coming here. His teleport tattoos had given him a foundation. Tang clan's dream realm sealing and relocation method had given him experience in moving large, unstable targets. His own formation path attainment allowed him to adapt those ideas toward Luo Po Valley.
But Luo Po Valley was not a dream realm. It was a secluded domain of heaven and earth, and moving it was far more difficult. The valley resisted as the formation spread. Cold soul wind surged through the paths, and the earth groaned faintly under the pressure of separation. Fang Ming's expression remained focused while immortal materials flew from his aperture and embedded themselves into the formation. Immortal essence burned rapidly, but he did not slow down.
He was not trying to slowly uproot Luo Po Valley through ordinary means. His method had four layers: seal, stabilize, separate, and move. If the seal failed, Luo Po Valley's aura would leak and disturb the teleportation. If stabilization failed, the valley might break apart during movement. If separation failed, the formation would drag in useless surrounding land and increase backlash. If the movement failed, Luo Po Valley could damage his immortal aperture the moment it arrived. Fang Ming stood at the formation core, his hands moving steadily.
Outside, Hui Feng Zi had reached a difficult point in the battle. His robe was torn, blood marked one shoulder, and one of his arms trembled slightly from the shock of an earlier collision. He was still fast, but the sealed battlefield had become smaller for him. The incomplete information-blocking battlefield formation could not kill him by itself, yet it stopped him from leaving and swallowed every message he tried to send. Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation pressed him from the inside, and the Eagle Sect Gu Immortals were becoming more coordinated as the fight continued.
Hui Feng Zi flashed upward, turning into a green streak. The ancient barbarian raised one hand, and a heavy force field pressed down from above. Hui Feng Zi twisted aside, but Bian Si Xuan had already predicted his movement. The barbarian's other arm swept across his next escape path, forcing him to shift again. Fairy Huang Sha immediately poured immortal essence into the formation, and the ancient barbarian stamped hard on the ground.
The battlefield shook. For a tiny moment, Hui Feng Zi's movement paused. It was only a fraction of a breath, Ju Go drove the formation's power forward. The barbarian's fist struck out, carrying the combined force of the five immortals. Hui Feng Zi crossed his arms and activated a defensive killer move. Wind wrapped around him like armor, but when the fist landed, the wind armor shattered.
Hui Feng Zi was sent flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth. He crashed into the edge of the battlefield formation. Before he could use the impact to escape, the formation wall lit up and pushed him back inward. His expression finally changed. At that moment, he felt Luo Po Valley's aura shifting outside. Someone was moving the valley. Hui Feng Zi understood immediately that these people had not come to investigate. They had not come to test the area. They had come to steal Luo Po Valley itself.
He tried to send another message. The battlefield formation swallowed it. He tried a second method, then a third, but none escaped. For the first time, anger mixed with fear in his eyes. "You dare steal Luo Po Valley under Prince Feng Xian's eyes?"
No one answered him.
The ancient barbarian attacked again. Hui Feng Zi erupted with his full speed. His body split into several wind shadows, each one moving in a different direction. For a brief moment, even the Eagle Sect Gu Immortals could not tell which one was real. Fairy Qing Suo thought he was escaping left, but Bian Si Xuan corrected her immediately. The upper-left figure was fake. The real one was cutting through the lower gap.
Ju Go reacted, and the ancient barbarian's knee smashed downward. The lower wind shadow shattered, but Hui Feng Zi's real body appeared behind it, nearly slipping through a gap in the formation's pressure. Nearly. Fairy Fen Meng activated a prepared method. A faint dreamlike mist spread across the lower gap. It did not trap Hui Feng Zi completely, but it slowed his reaction by a fraction. That tiny delay was deadly, the ancient barbarian's palm to close in. Hui Feng Zi escaped again, but half his body was struck by the edge of the attack. Bones cracked, and his aura shook violently. His advantage was speed, but speed needed space. Inside a sealed battlefield, against a battle formation that kept compressing his routes, his advantage was being shaved away little by little.
In Luo Po Valley, Fang Ming finished the final formation layer. The teleport formation now surrounded the valley. Light spread across the ground, climbing along cliffs, stone walls, and hidden soul path nodes. Luo Po Valley trembled violently. Soul wind rose into ghostly cries that echoed through the area, but the formation held. Fang Ming stood at the center, his immortal essence pouring out like a river.
"Separate."
The first layer activated. The land around Luo Po Valley cracked along the lines he had set, cutting the valley's core away from the surrounding terrain.
"Stabilize."
The second layer activated. Immortal materials shone, suppressing the violent soul path fluctuations. Luo Po Valley continued shaking, but its structure held.
"Seal."
The third layer activated. A boundary formed around the valley, locking its aura inside and preventing soul path fluctuations from tearing through the teleportation path.
Fang Ming's eyes sharpened. "Move."
The fourth layer activated, and space folded. Luo Po Valley vanished. Inside Fang Ming's immortal aperture, a vast prepared region lit up. The sky darkened as Luo Po Valley appeared, bringing with it cold pressure and ancient soul path aura. The formation inside the aperture groaned under the burden, but it did not break. Fang Ming's will immediately took control of the receiving arrangement, holding Luo Po Valley in place and preventing the newly moved secluded domain from disturbing the surrounding regions of his aperture.
Luo Po Valley settled into the prepared region. The secluded domain of heaven and earth was now inside Fang Ming's aperture. Outside, the land where Luo Po Valley had existed was left torn and hollow, carrying only fading soul path traces and broken formation marks.
The moment Luo Po Valley vanished, Hui Feng Zi felt it. His face turned pale. "They moved it…"
That moment of shock cost him his life. Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation seized the opening. The ancient barbarian roared, and all five Eagle Sect Gu Immortals poured their strength into one attack. Its arms moved together, sealing Hui Feng Zi's routes from above, below, left, and right. The battlefield formation pressed inward at the same time. Hui Feng Zi tried to turn into wind, but the space around him had already been compressed. The final punch landed. His defensive killer move broke, and his body shattered under the impact.
Hui Feng Zi, a rank seven Gu Immortal famous for speed, died inside the sealed battlefield.
For a moment, the Eagle Sect Gu Immortals were silent. They had killed a rank seven. Even with formation advantage, battlefield restriction, and numbers, this was still a rank seven expert. None of them could have done it alone. Even together, without Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation and the information-blocking battlefield, Hui Feng Zi would most likely have escaped. But now, he was dead.
Ju Go was the first to move. He remembered Fang Ming's earlier order and flew forward quickly. Gu worms entered Hui Feng Zi's corpse, and formation light wrapped around the forming immortal aperture. A rank seven immortal aperture was a major prize, but it was also troublesome to handle. If they delayed too long, the aperture could become unstable or be lost. Ju Go acted carefully, not daring to be greedy, and after several breaths, the seal stabilized.
Hui Feng Zi's rank seven immortal aperture was secured as a mission gain.
Only then did the Eagle Sect Gu Immortals begin dismantling their formations. Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation dispersed first, its huge body breaking into light and returning to the five immortals. Their faces were pale, and their immortal essence had been consumed heavily, but their eyes were bright. Training in Lang Ya blessed land had been valuable, but this battle had changed something more deeply. Training was only training. Killing a rank seven in a real battlefield was different.
After Tyrannical Barbarian dispersed, they carefully dismantled the information-blocking battlefield formation. It was incomplete and borrowed from Lang Ya, so they preserved whatever could still be preserved. By the time they finished, Fang Ming had returned from the empty remains of Luo Po Valley. He looked at Hui Feng Zi's sealed aperture, then at the five Eagle Sect Gu Immortals.
"You actully managed to kill him," Fang Ming said. "That was a real rank seven expert, well done."
Ju Go lowered his head. "We relied on the battlefield formation and Tyrannical Barbarian. Without them, he would have escaped."
Fang Ming nodded. "Knowing why you won is more important than winning once. Remember that feeling clearly. A battle formation can cover weakness, but it cannot replace judgment. If your coordination had broken for even a moment, Hui Feng Zi would have found a way out."
The five Gu Immortals accepted his words seriously. No one spoke of dividing Hui Feng Zi's aperture on the battlefield. There was no need. Eagle Sect already had established rules for such matters. Mission gains were divided according to contribution, and every Gu Immortal present understood what that meant. The five Eagle Sect Gu Immortals had personally fought, spent immortal essence, operated Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation, endured the pressure of fighting a rank seven expert, and killed Hui Feng Zi. The sealed aperture was their battle gain. Fang Ming would also receive a share, not because he was sect master and could swallow everything, but because the operation, information-blocking battlefield formation, Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation, timing, target, and overall arrangement all came from him.
This was how Eagle Sect functioned. Its Gu Immortals were not slaves. They were sect members with interests, obligations, and rewards. When a mission produced spoils, the spoils were divided by established rules. When a mission produced no direct reward, Fang Ming paid the participating Gu Immortals from his own pocket. Clear rewards made people willing to fight. Clear rules made people willing to risk their lives without worrying that their gains would be swallowed afterward.
Hui Feng Zi's aperture would be handled later, after it was stabilized and its land spirit's condition was confirmed. Whether the blessed land could acknowledge a master or had to be divided through resources, the result would follow sect rules. Fang Ming's share was only one part of the whole. The rest belonged to the five Gu Immortals who had killed Hui Feng Zi with their own hands.
Fairy Huang Sha glanced toward the empty land where Luo Po Valley had been. Even though the aura shift had already told them part of the answer, she still could not help asking, "Sect master, did the valley move successfully?"
Fang Ming nodded. "Luo Po Valley is already inside my aperture. The receiving formation held, and the valley has been taken."
The five Gu Immortals' hearts trembled. Hui Feng Zi's death was already a great gain for them, but Luo Po Valley was something else entirely. That was a secluded domain of heaven and earth, a treasure that even super forces would fight over. Now, the land before them was hollow, and the valley that had stood there for countless years had truly been moved away.
That was different from Hui Feng Zi's aperture. Luo Po Valley had been Fang Ming's target from the beginning. He had the information, the method, the teleport formation, and the prepared aperture region to receive it. Eagle Sect had handled Hui Feng Zi outside, while Fang Ming had entered the valley, obtained the inheritance, and moved Luo Po Valley himself. The valley belonged to Fang Ming, while Hui Feng Zi's aperture was the shared battle reward of the mission.
Fang Ming opened his immortal aperture and took the Eagle Sect Gu Immortals in. Hui Feng Zi's sealed aperture was also stored carefully, not as Fang Ming's private property, but as a secured mission gain waiting to be processed under Eagle Sect's rules. Then Fang Ming erased the battlefield traces as much as possible. The surrounding area had already been damaged by the Hundred Days Battle, and now that Luo Po Valley was gone, deductions and investigations would soon turn this place into a storm. Fang Ming had no reason to remain.
Purple mist rose around him, and the empty land, fading soul path traces, and broken battlefield vanished from his sight. When Fang Ming appeared again, he was back in Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land. The warm fire path aura replaced the cold pressure around Luo Po Valley. Inside his immortal aperture, Luo Po Valley stood within its prepared region, while Hui Feng Zi's rank seven immortal aperture was stabilized separately under guard, waiting for later handling according to Eagle Sect's mission rules. The Eagle Sect Gu Immortals rested after their first true formation battle, their immortal essence heavily consumed but their morale clearly different from before.
Fang Ming stood quietly among the red mountains. This operation had been worth it. Ghostly Concealment, Luo Po Valley, his rightful share of Hui Feng Zi's rank seven immortal aperture, and the proof that Tyrannical Barbarian Ancient Formation could allow ordinary rank six Gu Immortals to kill a trapped rank seven expert. Each gain mattered, but the last point mattered in another way. Eagle Sect was no longer only a group of subordinates gathered under him. It had completed a real mission, killed a real expert, and gained real spoils.
Fang Ming was becoming increasingly satisfied with Eagle Sect. Whether it was the Gu Masters who stole the dream realm or the Gu Immortals who were finally maturing into a force threatening even to him, Eagle Sect's true potential was finally beginning to show.