A faint whistle was heard as the leaves and the wind blew towards the West.
Genesis Lotus sighed and turned toward Star Constellation.
"Star, do you have any clues yet?"
She shook her head, "There is too much going on across the entire Gu World. It's fogging up my predictions."
"Right now, nothing is for sure, but once each team reaches their search site, I should be able to determine if Wu Shuai is there or not."
Genes Lotus nodded, "At least we are safe from Fang Yuan. it's only a matter of the traps he's placed."
Both Genesis Lotus and Star Constellation turned to the skies above the Eastern Sea.
Floating above, a transcendental figure was brimming with power as he sat in the air.
The figure was in a crossed legged lotus position.
His features were becoming more unclear, and his whole body was becoming illusory.
It was Fang Yuan!
During ascension, one would be in touch with the Heavenly Dao, gleaming the inner workings of the Dao that they were cultivating.
Once they have successfully managed to understand the Dao, they will gain full access to its powers and be a living embodiment of their Dao.
This will allow them power that even Venerables drool at.
Star Constellation kept staring at Fang Yuan.
"Worried?" Genesi Lotus asked.
Star Constellation nodded, "Very."
"I know the Dao Emperor realm is far beyond what any of us are capable of, who knows if all our trump cars are enough to beat Fang Yuan as a Quasi-Dao Emperor, let alone a genuine one, but how terrible could it be?
Star Constellation inhaled a deep breath, "You don't get it. Becoming a Dao Emperor isn't a linear increase in strength."
Her eyes turned solemn, "For once someone reaches the Dao Emperor realm, they no longer need Immortal Gu."
!!!
"You mean…"
Star Constellation nodded, "Their only limit is their respective Daos."
"But wouldn't that make them?"
"Godlike? Yes."
Genesis Lotus was beginning to sweat bullets at the sheer thought of Fang Yuan being able to endlessly shoot out killer moves.
"Even though Primordial and Reckless have Supreme Daos, Fang Yuan's Dao of Elements is no slouch, coupled with his trickery, I must say I'm worried they won't be able to kill him."
"It's more complicated than that," Star Constellation bit down on her lip, "Fang Yuan's advantage lies not in the strength of his Dao but its completeness."
She elaborated, seeing that Genesis didn't seem to get it.
"While its true that one can reach the Dao Emperor realm through the diligent cultivation and understanding of their Dao Fruit, if their Dao doesn't meet at least 50% completion they won't be able to ascend, and even if they do, they aren't able to tap into its full power."
Genesis pondered Star Constellation's words, "I see, so it's reason someone like yourself who has a near complete understanding of your Dao but lacks the physical resources to manifest it can't ascend."
Star Constellation nodded, "Comprehension of the Dao allows us to merge and contact our Daos, but we need Immortal Gu to condense the physical form of the Dao."
"What if Red Lotus ascends?"
She shook her head, "His comprehension is high but not complete, and his Dao Fruit hasn't had enough time to solidify. If he ascends now, he'll only have a halfass Dao Fruit."
"Can't he make up for the lack of completion later?" Genesis Lotus asked.
"Technically, yes, but his rate of improvement is so pitifully slow that he would be better off restarting."
"That bad!?"
"Mhm, think of the Dao like Water and Ice, Imagine the Dao Fruit is a solid block of Ice with an opening that isn't frozen and Gu are sources of water that fill the inside,"
"The water can pour in as long as there is an opening but once it is closed all you would need to reopen the hole, which damages the structure which risks letting cracks appear and more water leaking out instead of flowing in."
Genesis Lotus thought about it, "I see…then we can only hope to stop him here or we're screwed."
"Yea, if Fang Yuan has a clone that possesses all the resources and Attainment, it wouldn't take long for him to condense another Dao Fruit rush up detonate and repeat"
"Dao Emperor's are strong, but the destruction of one so complete like Fang Yuan's is catastrophic." Star Constellation's words were solemn.
Genesis Lotus sighed, "So we must kill Wei Shuai at all cost."
~
In the Eastern Sea,
"I can sense Wu Shuai's presence right at the centre, below Fang Yuan," Spectral Soul pointed out.
Red Lotus had caught up by this point, "Let's remain cautious. This is Fang Yuan's territory."
For once, Spectral Soul agreed with Red Lotus.
"I can't sense any traps, but nothing is for certain when it comes to Fang Yuan." Red Lotus did a quick scan of the place when they arrived.
As the pair flew towards the centre of the Eastern Sea, they could feel the power of the Dao fluctuating and warping reality.
Spectral Soul gently rubbed his finger against the air, quickly producing flames that shot up into an inferno.
"The amount of Fire Path Dao marks here are so dense that the simple friction produced from my fingers turned into a Rank 1 Killer Move."
Red Lotus frowned, "This anomaly must be a result of Fang Yuan's ascension, I'm sure the other parts of the Eastern Sea have been transformed into similar terrains"
Red Lotus's hunch was right. Within a 5-sided pentagram around Fang Yuan, there were different regions of Dao Marks
While Dao Marks had strong impact on the living conditions of the various environments in the 5 regions, the change was too sudden to produce any real effect, keep in mind that it was Spectral Soul's shear strength that caused his fingers to produced such heat, any other normal person would just be experiencing an unbearable amount of heat caused by the thick amount of Fire Path Dao Marks.
Though each of the 5 Regions were big, it wouldn't have taken Spectral Soul or Red Lotus long to reach their destination.
However, the pair moved cautiously and took 30 minutes slowly, traversing the Eastern Sea.
Upon reaching the centre,
"I've been expecting you," a lone figure stood solitarily below the transcendental glowing Fang Yuan.
Spectral Soul grin savagely, "HE'S HERE I KNEW IT!"
The idea of venting all the pent-up anger he had from repeated losses from Fang Yuan was too tempting to pass up.
And without a second thought, he would have rushed up and decimated Wu Shuai, keyword, would.
Just as he was prepared to pounce, a hand gripped his shoulder, Spectral Soul suddenly felt everything turn slow, which could have only meant one thing.
"RED LOTUS!" Spectral Soul snarled, "What's the meaning of this!"
But Red Lotus didn't answer. Instead, he kept squinting at Wu Shuai.
"Something's not right. You aren't thinking straight, pull yourself together!" Red Lotus had his Spacetime Defensive Killer Move up the entire time.
He noticed that the moment they saw Wu Shuai, Spectral's Soul's eyes immediately turned feral, and his killing intent soared.
"It's not possible for Spectral Soul to lose his cool that easily, especially not in such a dangerous environment,"
Indeed, Red Lotus knew Spectral Soul was brash but not dumb, he saw how cautious Spectral Soul was the entire journey, and for him to suddenly change just at the sight of Wu Shuai…something wasn't right.
"Tch," the figure in the centre clicked his tongue, "I knew it wouldn't work. Oh well, time for plan B."
He snapped his fingers, and instantly, a familiar metal helmet encased the figure in the middle.
"You came to find me, but all that awaits is death!" the metallic voice intoned.
The power of elements converged on their location.
Clarity was slowly returning to Spectral Soul, Red Lotus contacted Star Constellation and the others,
"Guys we found Wu Shuai, and we need backup! He's in control of the Colossal of Elements Killer Move!"
But instead of getting an immediate response, there was a brief silence,
"Hello?"
Red Lotus was slightly worried at the lack of response until
"*Boom!*"
The sound of battle travelled into his ears through their communication Killer Move,
"Hello?! Who's that?"
The voice of Giant Sun replied, "It's me! I found Wu Shuai. He's in the Southern Border, I'm in pursuit. He's flying away in the Myriad Year Flying Warship, but he's enslaved most of the Gu Masters in the Southern Border"
Wind was blowing intensely, conveying the speed at which the chase was happening, all while explosion sounds were taking place in the background.
"It seems like Fang Yuan planned this before because all the Gu Masters and Immortals in the Southern Border are living and throwing themselves and whatever they have to slow me down!"
Just as Giant Sun said that, the cannons on the Myriad Year Flying Warship turned towards him and blasted shots at him!
"Shit!" Giant Sun could detect the Killer Move that was used. It wasn't the damage he was worried about. It was the slow down!
"He's shooting some kind of Slow Down Time Path Killer Move at me! It must be him! Red Lotus, I need you here now!"
Just as Red Lotus was confused, the Colossal had finished forming, though it was only 1/32th the size it was when Fang Yuan used it.
"Hahaha, you're confused right now aren't you?"
Red Lotus furrowed his brows, "Nah, the one Giant Sun is chasing is the real one isn't it? Otherwise, why is it so desperate to escape?"
The metallic voice just chuckled in response.
At that moment, another's voice came through,
"I found Wu Shuai. He's in the Western Desert."
!!!
The 'Wu Shuai' in front of Red Lotus smirked, Red Lotus's confused face said it all.
Hey guys, sorry there's been no chapter. My renovation won't be done until thur, so I decided to do up a more cliffhanger chapter so that I can get into the real meat later in the week