Chu Du grabbed the Divine Avalanche Ape and, with tremendous strength, shattered the ape's skull with a single punch.
The echo of the punch rang in the ears of Fang Yuan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, and Fairy Li Shan. Even Hei Lou Lan opened her eyes and looked toward Chu Du nervously.
Fang Yuan shouted at Chu Du in a cold voice that sent chills down one's spine, "That ape is mine!"
The giant Strength Path hands were descending upon the ordinary beasts around Fang Yuan, killing them with ease, allowing him to gather Reckless Savage's true meaning without much difficulty.
But who would have thought that Chu Du would appear at this exact moment?
Fang Yuan's shout drew Chu Du's attention.
"A rank six Strength Path immortal zombie?… And this is Fairy Li Shan of Snowy Mountain?… And you?"
Chu Du pointed toward Tai Bai Yun Sheng. Fairy Li Shan's beautiful face turned slightly pale, while Tai Bai Yun Sheng became tense under Chu Du's questioning gaze.
Fairy Li Shan might be rank seven, but she had only recently advanced, while Chu Du was a veteran expert at the peak of rank seven.
Immortal Killer Move—Myriad Self!
An army of Strength Path phantoms appeared and surged toward Chu Du like a raging flood.
Each Strength Path phantom possessed an astonishing aura, and together they resembled a veteran army that had endured a thousand battles.
Chu Du laughed at Fang Yuan's reaction, but instead of attacking him, he turned toward the swarm of bees that had appeared after the Divine Avalanche Ape was killed.
Chu Du grabbed one of the bees and crushed it effortlessly, causing Reckless Savage's true meaning to flow out.
Immortal Killer Move—Rushing Strength Effort!
Fang Yuan appeared beside Chu Du.
He stretched his hand forward, and a giant Strength Path arm carrying a terrifying aura surged out. The arm grabbed Chu Du and exerted immense force upon him.
From the rear, Fairy Li Shan could feel the terrifying power released by both the giant Strength Path arm and Domination Immortal Chu Du. If anything approached them, it would be reduced to dust instantly. Even the air around them trembled.
Fang Yuan shouted and rushed to collect Reckless Savage's true meaning, leaving Chu Du trapped within the giant Strength Path arm.
Fang Yuan crushed another swarm of bees, causing more true meaning to leak out.
Crack…
After only a few seconds of restraining Domination Immortal Chu Du, cracks spread across the giant Strength Path arm.
Chu Du broke free from the giant hand and glanced at Fang Yuan before looking toward the beasts formed from the earthly calamity.
Without hesitation, Chu Du rushed toward the earthly calamity beasts, completely ignoring Fang Yuan's earlier attack. He had come for Reckless Savage's true meaning, not to fight.
Behind them, Fairy Li Shan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng surrounded Hei Lou Lan, preparing to defend her if necessary.
The heavenly tribulation had already been destroyed by Fang Yuan, while the earthly calamity was now being destroyed jointly by Chu Du and Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan sighed inwardly. Abandoning the nearby Reckless Savage true meaning, he rushed toward Chu Du once again.
Chu Du felt helpless toward this insane immortal zombie.
"Who is this idiot? Doesn't he understand that obtaining the true meaning is far more beneficial than fighting me?!"
With Chu Du's personality, he normally would never allow someone who attacked him like this to live. But faced with Reckless Savage's true meaning, he understood perfectly what mattered more.
He was known as Domination Immortal. When Liu tribe had offended him, he had even surrounded their blessed land until Liu tribe's first supreme elder was forced to come out and fight him. Even then, their battle had ended only in a draw.
That battle had earned Chu Du a terrifying reputation. Even among Northern Plains' rank seven Gu Immortals, few could rival him.
But that reputation had never made him arrogant. He still understood which choice would benefit him most in any given situation, and right now, obtaining Reckless Savage's true meaning was far more valuable than fighting some strange immortal zombie.
A flood of hundreds of thousands of Strength Path phantoms descended upon Chu Du like a raging tide, their collective aura shaking the heavens themselves.
Chu Du's lips twitched. His entire body trembled before suddenly expanding to ten meters tall. Veins bulged beneath his skin, and his muscles swelled until they became as hard as rock.
White steam rose from his skin as his sweat evaporated, and in an instant, a formless force exploded from his surroundings.
Immortal Killer Move—Formless Strength!
The Strength Path phantoms near Chu Du shattered instantly.
A sufficient gap appeared for him to escape, and Chu Du retreated without hesitation, continuing his struggle for Reckless Savage's true meaning.
In this battle, victory or defeat did not matter. As long as he obtained Reckless Savage's true meaning, Chu Du would be the winner!
Fang Yuan followed closely behind Chu Du, shouting,
"Chu Du, why aren't you fighting? Are you afraid?!"
"Damn your ancestors, you coward! How could our Northern Plains give birth to someone as spineless as you?!"
Fairy Li Shan was stunned and began discovering entirely new aspects of Fang Yuan's personality.
"He's actually just as skilled at cursing as he is at negotiating…"
"I bet Liu tribe cut off the last bit of manhood you had. Is that why you disappeared from sight for a hundred years?!"
To Chu Du, Fang Yuan's words meant less than the ice beneath his feet.
He remained calm, grabbed an armored snake, and crushed it into meat paste.
Fang Yuan laughed from behind and continued cursing while gathering Reckless Savage's true meaning.
Chu Du kept part of his attention focused on Fang Yuan, who continued following him while shouting insults and curses.
Suddenly, a pair of scissors appeared directly in front of Chu Du.
The scissors radiated vitality and greenery. As they approached Chu Du, he felt the vibrant vitality and pleasant breeze of spring.
A sense of danger erupted in Chu Du's heart. Without hesitation, he retreated and extended his right arm to block the scissors.
The scissors were enormous and incomparably sharp. Within only a few breaths, they reached Chu Du's arm and severed it cleanly from the shoulder.
Intense pain assaulted Chu Du. With the last of his awareness, he retreated from the scissors and dodged to the side.
Fang Yuan laughed as he withdrew the scissors.
"Domination Immortal Chu Du, beaten by an immortal zombie…"
Chu Du did not answer, but cursed inwardly.
"He clearly appears to be a rank six Strength Path immortal zombie, yet he actually cultivates Time Path as well…"
Chu Du felt regret for underestimating this immortal zombie.
Truthfully, he had expected this to be an easy trip. He would obtain Reckless Savage's true meaning and leave. Although he had been surprised to see Fairy Li Shan and two other Gu Immortals, one of whom was an immortal zombie, he had never expected the matter to become this troublesome.
Chu Du sighed inwardly and stopped fighting Fang Yuan altogether, instead targeting the earthly calamity, which had already been mostly destroyed.
But what he saw next made him furious.
The earthly calamity was moved by a formless force and, using all of its remaining strength, rushed toward Fang Yuan.
Only a few desolate beasts remained, and Fang Yuan killed them rapidly, bringing the earthly calamity to an end.
"I've gathered a decent amount of Reckless Savage's true meaning… I could have gathered more, but nothing ever goes exactly as one wishes."
Fang Yuan felt as though Chu Du had robbed him, but there was nothing he could do about it. Not everything was supposed to be perfect.
Fang Yuan looked toward Chu Du, then toward Fairy Li Shan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, and Hei Lou Lan.
Hei Lou Lan had already finished balancing the three qi and had formed her immortal aperture. Now, all that remained was refining Immortal Gu and dealing with the earthly calamity and heavenly tribulation inside her immortal aperture.
Fairy Li Shan revealed a strange expression when Fang Yuan approached them.
Previously, she had believed Fang Yuan's battle strength to be around her own level, perhaps even slightly below it.
Now, she was no longer certain.
"How long has it been since he became a Gu Immortal… only a few months, and yet he already possesses battle strength that might surpass mine. Even Chu Du could not suppress him."
Fairy Li Shan felt suspicion and unease toward Fang Yuan. If Fang Yuan became stronger than her, that could be either good or bad, but most likely it would be bad.
Normally, alliances were formed between parties of relatively equal strength. The weak could not truly ally with the strong.
This was a well-known rule.
Fang Yuan approached the group and cast one final glance toward the direction Chu Du had departed before using Heaven and Earth Travel to return to the quiet room inside Snowy Mountain Blessed Land.
The moment Fang Yuan arrived inside the quiet room of Snowy Mountain Blessed Land, he stopped in place and coughed out large amounts of blood.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Fairy Li Shan, and Hei Lou Lan all looked at him nervously.
"Fang Yuan?… You're injured?"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng asked with genuine concern.
Fang Yuan had displayed tremendous battle strength earlier, and Tai Bai Yun Sheng did not believe that had necessarily been Fang Yuan's true strength.
There were many killer moves that used things like vitality, lifespan, or dao marks in exchange for a temporary explosion of battle strength.
Fang Yuan steadied himself and wiped the green blood from his lips. With an ugly smile, he laughed.
"This is nothing. How can one obtain fortune without taking risks?"
Hei Lou Lan rolled her eyes before closing them again to deal with the Immortal Gu refinement, earthly calamity, and heavenly tribulation inside her immortal aperture.
"Fang Yuan, you took great risks defending Little Lan and expended a great deal of precious immortal essence. You even stepped forward to fight Chu Du… This is another favor I owe you."
Fairy Li Shan smiled elegantly and thanked Fang Yuan sincerely.
Fang Yuan waved his arms.
"Fairy, if you insist on repaying me, then so be it. Northern Plains is in chaos now, and I'm afraid we made another enemy today. We are on the same side."
Fairy Li Shan's expression softened.
Fang Yuan's words matched her own thoughts almost perfectly.
Fairy Li Shan could hide inside Snowy Mountain Blessed Land, and under Old Ancestor Xue Hu's protection, even ten Chu Dus would not dare come looking for trouble.
But she needed to travel throughout Northern Plains to conduct her business by establishing alliance agreements.
If Chu Du happened to seek her out to settle the grudge, Fairy Li Shan would undoubtedly die.
With Fang Yuan's battle strength, however, she had no doubt that they could at least force Chu Du to retreat until reinforcements arrived.
"Fairy, I noticed something while fighting Chu Du. It seems he suffered injuries recently. Otherwise, with my strength alone, I would have been the one suppressed, not him… I hope you can investigate this."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was shocked by this discovery.
"Injured? Who could injure a peak rank seven Gu Immortal badly enough for his battle strength to fall to the point where you could match him?"
Fairy Li Shan replied without reservation.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be another Gu Immortal. There are dozens of things capable of injuring a rank seven Gu Immortal… Ancient desolate beasts and immemorial desolate beasts can do so. There can also be backlash from Gu refinement or research into immortal killer moves, and of course, calamities and tribulations as well. A rank seven Gu Immortal undergoes an earthly calamity every ten years, a heavenly tribulation every fifty years, and a grand tribulation every hundred years. Earthly calamities and heavenly tribulations are somewhat difficult, but with sufficient preparation, they are relatively manageable. Grand tribulations, however…"
Fairy Li Shan's expression darkened slightly when she mentioned grand tribulations.
Fang Yuan continued after her.
"Every grand tribulation is a challenge and a crossroads between life and death for a rank seven Gu Immortal. Rank seven Gu Immortals who survive a single grand tribulation can already be considered elites among elites, while those who survive two are geniuses with the potential to reach rank eight. The first grand tribulation may be extremely difficult, but it is not beyond the ordinary. However, when the second grand tribulation arrives, it can be several times, or even ten times, stronger than the previous one!"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng inhaled sharply.
Merely hearing about the power of grand tribulations made him unwilling to ever witness one.
"So you're saying Chu Du recently underwent his second grand tribulation, and that's why he wasn't at full strength because of his injuries?"
Fang Yuan nodded.
This was not merely speculation. In his previous life, Chu Du had undergone his second grand tribulation and suffered enormous losses to his foundation. He had even been injured so severely that he was forced to borrow Immortal Gu to heal himself.
"Still, his injuries seem worse this time. Was his grand tribulation stronger in this life?"
Fang Yuan felt an intuition telling him that this was indeed the case.
This intuition came from his attainment levels, which gave him an instinctive understanding toward nearly everything.
After finishing with the heavenly tribulation and earthly calamity inside her immortal aperture, Hei Lou Lan opened her eyes.
Her expression was gloomy, causing Fairy Li Shan to ask,
"Little Lan, did something go wrong?"
"Little aunt… there was no serious problem. But when I tried to refine Qi Strength Immortal Gu, I failed. At least I successfully refined Strength Suppression Immortal Gu."
Fairy Li Shan was slightly disappointed, but far more delighted.
"Little Lan, you're truly fortunate! You have only just advanced to Gu Immortal, yet you already possess three Immortal Gu. Combined with your super-grade blessed land, your future is limitless!… If your mother could see you now, I bet she would be extremely happy."
Hei Lou Lan nodded, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"Fang Yuan, you helped me survive my immortal ascension tribulation, and you even stopped Chu Du… Little aunt will investigate the information regarding Ma Hong Yun and Qin Bai Sheng. There is also Dong Fang Chang Fan's Wisdom Path inheritance."
"That's not enough," Fang Yuan replied with certainty.
Hei Lou Lan shook her head.
"The alliance states that whenever one member is in danger, all members must help. If you want compensation, I can repay you later."
Hei Lou Lan neither rejected him completely nor gave in. Instead, she stepped back slightly, giving Fang Yuan room to negotiate.
Both Hei Lou Lan and Fang Yuan were intelligent people. Insisting endlessly on something pointless would only insult each other's intelligence.
"You can repay me in the future. When I ask for your help, you won't need to demand compensation from me. That will be enough."
Fang Yuan proposed another solution without backing down.
Hei Lou Lan thought for a moment before agreeing.
For her, the most important thing now was managing her immortal aperture and accumulating wealth to develop it. As long as the matter did not involve her share of the Guts Gu profits, she was very likely to compromise.
Fang Yuan understood this, but he had no desire to pressure her too much and create a crack in their already tense alliance.
After everything was settled, Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng returned to Hu Immortal Blessed Land.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng entered Star Gate and returned to Eastern Sea once again without even stopping to rest.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuan entered secluded cultivation to heal his injuries.
He had truly been injured during the battle, though not entirely because of Chu Du.
Fang Yuan possessed two of the Ten Extreme Physiques, but these extreme physiques were defective because of the conflict between their dao marks.
Precisely because of this, Fang Yuan could not display the full extent of his battle strength. If he tried to force himself beyond that limit, he would suffer a backlash that could even kill him!
During the previous battle, Fang Yuan had exceeded that limit slightly and suffered backlash as a result.
Thus, he had to heal his injuries before taking action again.