Chapter 185: Lead Soul Into Dream
White light gathered again above the battlefield.
Heaven Overseeing Tower floated above the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation, its damaged body still releasing a terrifying aura. The Heavenly Court Gu Immortals inside it poured their strength into the tower, and the power of fate began to accumulate once more.
The first attack had already destroyed several of Shadow Sect's Immortal Gu Houses and badly damaged the formation.
If a second attack landed properly, even the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation might not be able to continue.
Inside Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage, Fang Yuan looked upward.
"Heavenly Court is attacking again."
Fang Ming watched silently.
Heaven Overseeing Tower was preparing its strongest method again, but Fang Ming did not feel relieved. Shadow Sect had planned for countless years. If Heaven Overseeing Tower could freely use fate power again and again, Shadow Sect's scheme would be too fragile.
As expected, the white light inside Heaven Overseeing Tower suddenly shook.
The gathered power did not descend.
Instead, it exploded inside the tower.
Boom!
Heaven Overseeing Tower trembled violently. Cracks spread across parts of its surface, and several Heavenly Court Gu Immortals spat blood at the same time. The white light that had nearly condensed to its peak collapsed, scattering like broken mist.
Inside Heaven Overseeing Tower, chaos appeared for a brief moment.
A traitor had acted.
Lian Jiu Sheng.
Shadow Sect's spy hidden within Heavenly Court had finally revealed himself.
His exposure lasted only an instant. The moment his identity was uncovered, he chose death without hesitation. His immortal aperture shattered, and green winds of assimilation erupted within Heaven Overseeing Tower.
Even Heavenly Court could not ignore winds of assimilation forming inside its own rank nine Immortal Gu House. Heaven Overseeing Tower Lord and the others immediately suppressed the winds, but the damage had already been done.
Heaven Overseeing Tower survived.
But its strongest fate attack could no longer be used.
Fang Yuan's expression changed slightly.
"Heavenly Court was infiltrated?"
He understood what this meant.
Heavenly Court was not an ordinary super force. It had existed for millions of years, and joining it required trials that most rank eight Gu Immortals could not pass. Yet Shadow Sect had still managed to plant someone inside it.
Fang Ming's eyes remained calm, but his heart grew heavier.
Shadow Sect's direct strength was terrifying.
Its hidden arrangements were even worse.
Above the battlefield, Heaven Overseeing Tower no longer stayed outside the formation. Since it could not use its strongest attack from above, it charged downward like a white meteor.
Shadow Sect opened a gap.
Heaven Overseeing Tower entered the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation.
At nearly the same moment, Fang Ming controlled Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage and moved toward the opening.
Fang Yuan reacted immediately, pouring immortal essence into the defensive layer while preparing a counterattack. If they could use this chaos to leave the formation, it would be the best result.
But Sacred Feather City moved.
The damaged city crossed the battlefield and blocked Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage's path.
Its walls were cracked, and many parts of its structure were broken, but it still carried Shadow Sect's remaining force. Inside it, the surviving Shadow Sect Gu Immortals had gathered through space path methods. Immortal zombie Bo Qing, Seven Star Child, Ying Wu Xie, and the others were now using Sacred Feather City as their main active Gu House.
Fang Ming changed direction.
Sacred Feather City followed.
Heaven Overseeing Tower crashed deeper into the formation.
The battlefield became a three-way Immortal Gu House battle.
Heaven Overseeing Tower was damaged, but it was still a rank nine Immortal Gu House. Every movement carried heavy pressure. Sacred Feather City relied on Shadow Sect's Gu Immortals and the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation to barely contest it. Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage avoided direct clashes, moving through the gaps between them with crimson light flickering around it.
Fang Ming controlled movement.
Fang Yuan handled defense and counterattacks.
Both sides used strength carefully.
The rank nine yellow apricot immortal essence left by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable was powerful, but it was also their greatest emergency resource. Using it recklessly now would only benefit Heavenly Court and Shadow Sect.
Fang Ming waved his sleeve.
A large pile of immortal essence stones appeared inside Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage, stacked like a small white mountain.
Thirty thousand immortal essence stones.
Fang Yuan's gaze moved to them.
Fang Ming said, "Use these first when the situation allows. Giant Sun immortal essence should be preserved for emergencies."
Fang Yuan did not argue.
The immortal essence stones were Fang Ming's own payment. If Fang Ming wanted to spend his wealth to reduce the consumption of Giant Sun immortal essence, Fang Yuan had no reason to refuse. In this battle, rank nine immortal essence could decide life or death at a critical moment.
Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage's crimson light stabilized.
Part of its consumption shifted to the immortal essence stones, while Giant Sun immortal essence was reserved for sudden clashes, heavy defense, and escape attempts.
Outside, lightning tribulations rained down continuously.
The sky was like a dark blue forest made from lightning. Before one wave faded, another wave struck. Dark clouds trembled and scattered in several places, revealing how heavily the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation was being pressured by heaven's will.
But the formation did not collapse.
The ten extreme immortal zombies were hidden deep within the dark clouds. Their positions could not be found easily. The formation was damaged, but its core still functioned.
Fang Yuan watched the scattering clouds and said, "If we find the formation core and attack it, we may be able to create an opening."
Fang Ming rejected it directly. "Do not waste strength on that."
Fang Yuan looked at him.
Fang Ming continued, "Heavenly Court will soon be more anxious than us."
Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
He understood that Fang Ming was hiding something again, but he also understood the situation. Fang Ming did not want to destroy the formation. His goal was not to stop Shadow Sect's refinement. He wanted the refinement to proceed until the true final result appeared.
Fang Yuan did not know exactly what that final result was.
But from Fang Ming's attitude, it was clear that it had extraordinary value.
The three Immortal Gu Houses circled and clashed within the formation. Heaven Overseeing Tower wanted to destroy Shadow Sect's plan. Sacred Feather City wanted to stall and protect the refinement. Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage wanted to preserve strength and wait for an opening.
All three sides were stalling.
But each side wanted time for a different reason.
Fang Ming and Fang Yuan wanted Heavenly Court and Shadow Sect to weaken each other.
Heavenly Court wanted the tribulations to grow stronger and pressure the formation further.
Shadow Sect wanted Ying Wu Xie to mature.
Inside Sacred Feather City, Ying Wu Xie suddenly smiled.
"I am rank seven now."
The Shadow Sect Gu Immortals turned toward him.
Seven Star Child's expression became serious. "Good. We will deal with Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage first."
Sacred Feather City shook as Shadow Sect's Gu Immortals gathered their strength.
Ying Wu Xie's expression became tense. Although he had reached rank seven, his mind was still immature. The killer move prepared for him was terrifying, but using it under the attention of so many experts placed great pressure on him.
Lead soul into dream.
A rank seven dream path immortal killer move.
Dream path was beyond this era. Most Immortal Gu Houses had no true defense against it, and Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage was no exception. It could block tribulations, resist attacks, and clash with other Gu Houses, but dream path methods bypassed many normal defenses.
Ying Wu Xie activated the killer move.
Its power was formless.
It passed through the battlefield silently and struck Fang Ming.
Fang Ming's body shook slightly.
His vision blurred for an instant, as if the surrounding red light had turned distant and unreal. A pulling force tried to drag his mind downward into a dream.
But before it could succeed, a soft layer of dream path light appeared around him.
Dream Garment Gu.
The dream path defensive Gu wrapped around Fang Ming like an invisible robe, resisting the killer move and preventing him from falling fully into the dream.
The first lead soul into dream failed.
Fang Ming's hand pressed lightly against the control core of Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage. His breathing paused for half a breath before becoming steady again.
Fang Yuan noticed immediately.
"What happened?"
Fang Ming did not hide this part. He took out Dream Garment Gu and handed it to Fang Yuan.
"I was attacked by a dream path killer move. This is Dream Garment, a dream path defensive Gu. It can protect you from dream attacks."
Fang Yuan's pupils shrank.
Dream path attack killer moves already existed in this era?
And Fang Ming had a dream path Immortal Gu?
The thought flashed through Fang Yuan's mind, but he did not waste time. He immediately took Dream Garment Gu and used it on himself. A faint layer of dream path protection covered him.
Only after doing this did Fang Yuan ask, "What will you use?"
Before Fang Ming could reply, Ying Wu Xie attacked again.
Lead soul into dream descended for the second time.
This time, without Dream Garment protecting him, Fang Ming's eyes lost focus.
Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage paused for barely a second.
Fang Yuan reacted instantly. He seized movement control and forced the crimson Gu House to shift aside just as Sacred Feather City pressed closer. The movement was not as smooth as Fang Ming's, but it prevented the Gu House from being caught.
Inside the dream, Fang Ming did not stay long.
Mist gathered around him, and fragments of a dream realm tried to form. Before the dream could stabilize, Dream Feather appeared. Fang Ming activated his dream path escape method together with Dream Feather, cutting through the surrounding dream and tearing open a path.
A few seconds later, his eyes became clear again.
He returned.
Fang Yuan glanced at him, but did not speak.
Fang Ming immediately opened his immortal aperture.
Several figures appeared inside Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage.
Fairy Huang Sha.
Fairy Qing Suo.
Fairy Fen Meng.
Bian Si Xuan.
Ju Go.
The Eagle Sect Gu Immortals had been watching from inside Fang Ming's aperture, so they already understood the basic situation. Even so, personally standing inside Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage and seeing Heaven Overseeing Tower, Sacred Feather City, tribulations, and the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation made their expressions change.
Fang Ming did not give them time to be shocked.
"Prepare to take over control. If Fang Yuan or I fall into dream again, stabilize the Gu House immediately. Movement, defense, and immortal essence flow must not stop."
The Eagle Sect Gu Immortals answered in full, their voices serious.
Fang Yuan noticed them, but he did not object.
In this situation, any useful help had value. If Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Hei Lou Lan, and Fairy Li Shan were available beside him, he would also call them out to assist. Shadow Sect's dream path method could interrupt control through the Immortal Gu House. More hands meant more chances to keep Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage moving.
The Eagle Sect Gu Immortals took positions under Fang Ming's arrangement.
Inwardly, several of them were confused.
Fang Ming had lent Dream Garment Gu to Fang Yuan and exposed himself to dream path danger. At first glance, this was strange. Dream path was too mysterious, and giving the strongest defense to Fang Yuan seemed risky.
But after seeing Fang Ming leave the dream within seconds, their doubts faded.
Fang Ming could escape dreams.
Fang Yuan might not be able to do the same if struck by Ying Wu Xie's killer move.
That was the surface logic.
Only Fang Ming knew the deeper reason.
He did not want Fang Yuan to enter Star Constellation's dream.
If Fang Yuan entered that dream and heard the song connected to Spectral Soul, he might connect too many clues too early. Fang Yuan was not an ordinary person. Given the right hints, he could deduce what Shadow Sect was refining.
That would make the final struggle far more troublesome.
So Fang Ming would rather take the dream attacks himself, then escape quickly using his own methods, while Fang Yuan remained protected by Dream Garment.
Inside Sacred Feather City, Ying Wu Xie scratched his head.
"Strange."
Seven Star Child asked sharply, "What happened?"
Ying Wu Xie looked confused. "The first one did not enter the dream. The second one entered, but came out very quickly."
The Shadow Sect Gu Immortals were silent for a moment.
"Try Fang Yuan," Seven Star Child said.
Ying Wu Xie nodded and activated lead soul into dream again.
The formless dream path power crossed the battlefield and targeted Fang Yuan.
Dream Garment lit up faintly.
Fang Yuan's eyes remained clear.
The dream attack failed to pull him in.
Ying Wu Xie's expression became even more confused.
"He has dream path protection."
The Shadow Sect Gu Immortals' expressions became ugly.
Dream path was supposed to be beyond the era. Even Heaven Overseeing Tower could not properly defend against it. Yet Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage had two people who were not behaving as expected.
Fang Yuan was protected and could not be dragged in.
Fang Ming could be dragged in, but escaped within seconds.
Worse, more Gu Immortals had appeared inside Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage. Even if Ying Wu Xie pulled one controller into a dream, another could take over. If he wanted to stop the Gu House properly, he would have to drag them all into dreams in succession or at the same time.
But Fang Ming kept escaping.
Fang Yuan remained protected.
The Gu House continued moving.
Ying Wu Xie used lead soul into dream again.
Fang Ming entered a dream and left after a few breaths.
He used it again.
Dream Garment blocked Fang Yuan.
He used it again.
An Eagle Sect Gu Immortal staggered briefly, but another took over their position before the Gu House could lose control.
Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage trembled under Sacred Feather City's pressure, but it did not stop.
Inside Sacred Feather City, Ying Wu Xie's face twisted in frustration.
"Why are they not staying in the dream?"
No one answered immediately.
Outside, Heaven Overseeing Tower crashed into Sacred Feather City's support again, forcing Shadow Sect to divide attention. Lightning tribulations struck the dark clouds, scattering parts of the formation before they reformed. Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage slipped through the chaos, crimson light flickering as it avoided being trapped.
The battle had not become easier.
But Shadow Sect's dream path trump card had failed to decide the situation.
Fang Ming stood at the movement core of Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage, his expression pale but steady. Dream Feather's aura slowly faded around him. Fang Yuan stood not far away, protected by Dream Garment, his gaze deep and unreadable.
Between them, there was cooperation.
Between them, there was calculation.
Around them, Eagle Sect Gu Immortals maintained backup control while immortal essence stones burned continuously.
Above them, Heaven Overseeing Tower fought on despite heavy damage.
Before them, Sacred Feather City blocked the way.
And deep within the ten extreme immortal zombie lifeless formation, the refinement continued.
Every side was waiting.
Every side was wounded.
Every side still believed that time could favor them.
But as Ying Wu Xie's dream path aura rose again, Fang Ming knew clearly that the next opening would decide far more than the movement of one Immortal Gu House.