Fang Yuan's pupils widened.
As the Gu activated, the two were sent back into the river of time.
Without any hesitation, Kao Dao Ji roared.
With all his strength, he charged towards Fang Yuan, unleashing a powerful uppercut.
However, Fang Yuan tilted his head slightly.
Avoiding the blow narrowly, not only that, but from his fingertips.
Purple electricity flew through and reached the body of Kao Dao Ji.
He grinned.
This was a mental battle between Wills; in this mental escape, whilst not perfectly, the power of Gu could be simulated to a certain degree.
And he?
He was an expert in every path!
But.
He overestimated his own strength.
Kao Dao Ji snorted coldly; his body was not hurt in the slightest.
"What a great idea you have just given me!" He stretched his palm.
There was no color or aura, but there was a faint metallic smell.
Fang Yuan widened his eyes, understanding what was about to happen.
He raised his arms to block.
The invisible gas was set alight!
Golden flames sprouted in every direction.
Whilst Kao Dao Ji grinned.
He may not understand the steps the one who stole his body may have made, but he understood the gist of it.
And imagination itself was sufficient to emulate such Killer Moves.
But Fang Yuan was a cunning old fox.
Whilst raising his arms to block, he tilted his body and jumped to ensure his legs would take most of the blow.
His legs exploded into pieces.
However, bat-like wings sprouted from behind his back, as he stabilized.
They rapidly flapped.
However.
Kao Dao Ji too had rapidly soared towards the heavens; his feet were aiming at his neck, and from the feet a golden aura was surging through.
Fang Yuan tilted his head downwards; on his forehead a massive horn rapidly sprouted like a tumor.
The horn began to spin, and began to shine in seven different colors.
Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, Wood, Dark and Light!
The perfect angle and the synchronicity made for an absurdly efficient move, and yet.
Through sheer brute force.
Kao Dao Ji slowly pierced through the horn, even at the cost of impaling himself.
Noticing that the situation would turn for the worse, Fang Yuan shot out the horn like a projectile.
But Kao Dao Ji gritted his teeth, using the force of the horn as well as his own defenses; he rotated his body by 360 degrees.
Throwing a kick with his other leg, aiming at his head.
Fang Yuan evaded.
But then, Kao Dao Ji released that invisible gas once more.
But Fang Yuan was prepared this time!
He stretched his own palm too, countering with his own gas.
Explosive gases behaved as such because they were very unstable and very flammable, which, together with a single Spark of Extreme Yang, led to an explosion.
Hydrogen and oxygen were both unstable elements, but together they were remarkably stable.
With his understanding of the Dao, how could he not know about gas composition?
Kao Dao Ji frowned; even without the sudden force, he could still set the clouds alight, even if without as much intensity.
But Fang Yuan grinned.
A black cloud rapidly emerged, and then it split into hundreds of stable spherical greyish particles.
Kao Dao Ji's lips trembled.
The principles were quasi-identical to his own MicroCloud Killer Move, but they also contained the profundity of Extreme Yin.
They were released towards the golden cloud, using the concentration of gases and several factors; the flames rapidly doused.
Fang Yuan stared at him coldly.
His chances of winning seemed scarce; he was fighting ten with one, only through technique could he hope to turn the battle around.
But Kao Dao Ji merely pressed on.
His facial expressions twitched in rage. The flames intensified, burning as brightly as the sun itself.
Then they were dyed by an intense purple.
A Killer Move that he could never execute in his own (as he lacked purple Gu) was realized in the middle of the fight.
The Will of Fang Yuan grew chaotic; usually it was a mere Dual Path Method, which enabled Clouded Thoughts Gu to enter into the brain whilst the attack surged.
However. Both of them were made of Will, and as such those attacks were almost identical in nature to ordinary methods.
Thus, thousands of Needles reached the body of Fang Yuan, destabilizing it.
Fang Yuan was covered by a thin wind stream; he redirected the force and turned it towards Kao Dao Ji.
But Kao Dao Ji merely countered; he shouted.
Using Cloud to mimic Wind, he pushed enormous tides of wind to destabilize Fang Yuan.
But Fang Yuan, like a sailor making use of the winds to direct a boat, used the intense wind and directed it with his powerful wings that rapidly expanded and grew in size to accommodate this.
Kao Dao Ji snorted coldly.
Several water drops were shot like a myriad of bullets reaching towards Fang Yuan, who could only make the most modest of defenses to try and survive.
Blood sprayed everywhere as his body flew towards the ground.
He waved his hands madly; he commanded the blood to create his own myriad of projectiles.
However, Kao Dao Ji merely charged forward without hesitation; mere superficial wounds reached his body with each collision.
However. Fang Yuan's eyes shone with a deep gleam.
Attacking with blood? No.
That was just the trick he employed to deceive him, using the cover of the blood.
He blocked Kao Dao Ji's vision, managing to get away from his vision.
Kao Dao Ji widened his eyes as he realized what had happened.
However, he himself was an expert; he turned his head to the side and-
A dagger was shot towards his heart.
Usually this would kill a person, but just like with a Land Spirit, as long as enough of the Will remained, the body would remain alive.
"AHHHHHHH!" Kao Dao Ji unleashed devastating flames towards Fang Yuan, who once more retreated.
Using the cover of flames, he even got away from Kao Dao Ji.
But this time he had grown wiser; the second he lost track of him, he flew upwards.
And then.
He saw him.
Fang Yuan was at almost the exact place where his legs had been blown out; they were still floating in the void.
Without hesitation, he charged another time.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He made a battle cry, producing such a powerful sound that Fang Yuan was frozen in place.
The expended Will of Fang Yuan seemed to reach its limits; to barely keep up he had expended plenty of Will, and he was finally running out of steam.
The body of Kao Dao Ji seemed about to reach Fang Yuan, but at the next moment.
The pair of legs were suddenly reanimated; they jumped towards Kao Dao Ji.
"You want to stop me with just that? You truly have grown desperate, old dog!" He snorted coldly, but then.
A faint smile appeared in Fang Yuan's face.
At the next moment.
[Myriad Self!]
The pair of legs multiplied by a thousand-fold; they swarmed at every angle.
The attack was so sudden that there was no longer time to prepare any defense powerful enough to block.
However.
Kao Dao Ji cracked a wide smile.
Golden flames sprouted across every pore of his body, and he stretched his arms and legs.
Setting everything ablaze around him.
"Fang Yuan! That trick may have fooled others, but I already knew about your Myriad Self Killer Move." A pair of legs seemed insignificant; however, Kao Dao Ji had realized that before they were detached, Fang Yuan had actually directed a considerable percentage of his own energy within them.
Then during the final exchange, he directed him towards that spot; of course he could have tried a myriad of other things.
However.
He knew about that guy's signature Killer Move; furthermore, it suited the situation perfectly.
Even if his scheme had been anything else, the curtain of flames would have protected him regardless.
And if he hit the nail, he could make use of Fang Yuan's Killer Move to empower his own!
Fang Yuan frowned deeply.
"He knows about my Myriad Self Killer Move? Just how much does he know?" But then.
Kao Dao Ji turned his body; as the legs were set ablaze, their energy turned into fuel to strengthen his Killer Move.
Fang Yuan frowned; black ice sprouted from his palms. Together with a faint white steam.
With whatever power he had, he managed to deflect and disperse the flames.
But the cost was his two arms!
Without arms and legs.
He could only concentrate on flying away and regenerating them, but why would Kao Dao Ji give him the chance?
"This is for my Clan!" Kao Dao Ji roared.
A myriad of clouds appeared around him; they had the shape of a tube.
They began to spin rapidly.
The 'flesh' of Fang Yuan was rapidly torn apart.
He scrambled to put on a defense.
"And this is for what you forced Le Tu and Hui Gui Yu to do!" He shouted.
A golden dragon surged behind his back.
Whilst the friendship between both sides was nonexistent, as any relationship he could have had with Le Tu was shallow and was not even truly his but from the one who stole his body.
Whilst he did not know Hui Gui Yu truly.
However.
Once the dream collapsed, and once he and the others woke up.
Kao Dao Ji formulated a plan.
Le Tu used Dreaming Gu to pretend the Dream Realm had not collapsed yet.
Whilst Kao Dao Ji and Uru Hong Jing located Fang Yuan amidst the chaos.
Not only that, but during the second step of the plan.
Le Tu and Hui Gui Yu willingly charged towards certain death to give him this chance.
The most surprising one was Le Tu, who, despite having the method to flee, chose to keep fighting.
While their motivations differed, they both sacrificed their lives for this very moment.
For him to travel back in time and to fix everything.
How could he not feel moved?
"I would love to tear everything you hold so dear, just like you did to me…And yet, I can't.
You do not love anything or anybody; even your desire for Immortality is for the hunt itself.
But I can still put an end to that hunt, here and now!"
The dragon passed Kao Dao Ji and reached Fang Yuan, devouring his body and trapping him within his jaws.
Whilst Kao Dao Ji followed closely.
"FANG YUAN! THIS ONE IS FOR ME!" He raised his fist, which was set ablaze once more.
The outcome seemed inevitable; Fang Yuan widened his eyes.
At that moment, he shouted.
"Do you know about the weakness of your physique? Without me, you will die!"
However, Kao Dao Ji did not stop in the slightest.
He was just a few meters away from him, but before hitting him.
He changed his posture; instead of hitting him, he made a chop.
Fang Yuan's pupils shrank.
With one swift motion, he beheaded him.
"So, this is how I die? Ah…
life is truly full of turns…" Fang Yuan closed his eyes.
He seemed prepared to rest forever as his body turned into ashes, but then.
A green steam reached his neck.
Stabilizing his body.
At that moment.
He realized.
"I see! You did not want to kill me. But you also did not want me breaking free.
So you beheaded me to cut as much as possible from my Will as possible, keeping as little as you can without killing me."
"Well played, well played…" He smiled faintly as he spoke those words.
"Shut the fuck up. I do not have the intention to hear you ramble. Tell me.
What was that weakness you spoke about?" Kao Dao Ji asked whilst squinting his eyes.
"If I detect a single lie in your words, I will kill you right here, right now."
"Hah…Fine. I was going to tell you anyway."
"Regardless…Do you know where your unique physique comes from?" Fang Yuan asked, not only to confirm his suspicions but also to fish for more information.
Kao Dao Ji frowned.
"All I know is that one day I died, and the next. A thief appeared, stealing my body; only now that I was given a chance, I broke free."
Fang Yuan tilted his head.
"You know so little and yet you two have achieved so much? Impressive. Truly impressive. No wonder you were chosen as a pawn to defeat me!"
But then he paused.
"Well, I will go from the beginning.
The physique you possess is the Heavenly Harmony Physique.
An artificial physique devised by Le Tu during his later years, but he could only complete it after Fate was broken and by using the research results of Limitless as well as Primordial Domain.
Anyhow.
The Physique is based on the three harmonies.
Human, Heaven, and Earth.
The first step is modifying a human soul, increasing it towards a hundred million souls as well as adding other properties to it.
Such as flexibility.
Once this step is complete, one must then arrange a second body.
During the steps of Immortal Ascension, the Immortal has to purposefully fail; then they must modify the Aperture itself to guarantee that a Land Spirit is made or simply gamble that they do.
By fusing the Human Soul with the nascent Land Spirit that is being made, one can prevent its birth and instead regress the transformation.
By employing this and other mechanisms, one can 'reverse' partially the transformation, preserving the mind, whilst also preparing the body for later steps.
Originally, Le Tu devised this method to employ it with his main soul, as well as that of a clone.
However nothing stopped souls from multiple sources from fusing together.
Actually that is how I and Crimson Soul realized that you had been affected by somebody else, because the method itself that made the current you neccessitated a second soul to work.
Especially because we noticed the traces of you behaving like an otherworldly demon.
Returning to the point.
Despite accomplishing this.
Your transformation is not yet done.
Do you know why?
Apart from the obvious reasons you may have already guessed, such as the production of Immortal Essence or a limit in Rank advancement.
There is another flaw.
To stabilize the mind.
And to prevent the original Land Spirit from fusing fully, one uses the Human Soul. To regress the transformation of one of the Land Spirit.
By doing this in the perfect way, one already possesses a 'Will' that has stretched across the aperture.
Whilst also possessing a very stable soul.
Yet. Have you not wondered what will come after?
With every Tribulation, your Aperture increases in size, no matter how slightly.
Step by step, Tribulation by Tribulation.
As this process occurs, your Soul and Will are stretched further and further.
The Heavens are fair and give every living being a chance to survive, and thus Land Spirits are purposefully given Heavenly Energy to expand the reach of their Will, preventing them from collapsing.
But such a favor from heaven does not extend towards the human soul.
In other words.
Eventually your Soul will lose so much density that your mind will begin to regress.
To that of a child, and eventually to that of a Land Spirit."
Kao Dao Ji stared at him coldly.
"So, all I have to do is to make use of Soul Path Killer Moves?"
"No. While that may help alleviate the symptoms is not a solution in the long term.
Your soul cannot stretch forever. Whilst preserving its utmost quality. Unless you become the Venerable and Dao Lord of Soul Path.
But how will you achieve that whilst remaining at Rank 6?"
Kao Dao Ji frowned.
"Then how did Le Tu succeed if he was not a Venerable in Soul Path?"
"Because he employed Heaven and Earth Path instead.
You may not understand the underlying logic.
But do you know the phrase.
From one comes two, from two comes three, and from three comes all the things in the universe.
One refers to the Dao, two refers to Yin-Yang, three refers to Heaven Human and Earth, and everything refers to you.
You completed the previous step to fuse Yin and Yang together, you have Human and Heaven, but you still lack 'Earth.'
Just like ordinary Gu Masters possess Vital Gu, you too must possess a Vital mechanism which will act as the core of your existence to anchor you to this world.
But instead of employing a Gu, you will have to make use of a Secluded Domain of Heaven and Earth!"
Kao Dao Ji pupils widened.
The weight of this information was overbearing.
"Once the transformation is complete, not only will your aperture begin to produce essence, but from the core of the Secluded Domain of Heaven and Earth, a body will be made."
After saying those words.
Fang Yuan finally stared at Kao Dao Ji.
"I have given you my sincerity; as you can see, I already told you the method."
Kao Dao Ji raised his eyebrows.
"You have, yes. So why should I keep you alive?"
"Because I only told you the basics. Tell me, without me, how long will it take you to complete this physique? Are you going to wait until Le Tu becomes a Venerable to help you out?
Or will you try to stumble your way to the solution on your own?
But do you honestly believe the others will give you the chance?"
Kao Dao Ji's expression grew cold as he realized his following words.
"Once we return to the world of the living, we can make a Spiritual Contract.
And even if you suspect me. I can only break contracts by using Gu; in my current state, even ordinary Mortal Methods would work.
All I ask for is a chance to live, whilst in return not only I will give you the method, but I can also share however many inheritances you want."
Kao Dao Ji frowned deeply.
He wanted to do nothing more than to destroy Fang Yuan, and yet…
He was hesitating.
Suddenly.
Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"Hey, you should probably pay attention; we are about to return to the world of the living."
"Huh?"
Kao Dao Ji stared at the surroundings ahead.
He blinked.
Ahead of his vision.
There was Crimson Soul.
A seemingly plain red orb was hovering towards him.
But Kao Dao Ji only felt pure horror upon witnessing it.
"SHIT!!!!!!" He flickered as far away as he could.
Whilst also activating Fate Armor Gu.
A few moments later.
From that seemingly ordinary orb, a Spring Autumn Cicada Rank 9 opened its mouth.
And then-
An overbearing ray was shot.
The skies were set ablaze by its fury, and despite dodging.
His body was maimed and partially incinerated.
At the next moment.
A deafening explosion reached through the barrier.
And so time resumed.