Sure enough, as Lu Qingyang had anticipated, with the support of a million heroic spirits, Gu Fang's cultivation climbed to new heights, astonishingly reaching the seventh-rank Saint level.
Facing Gu Fang's enhanced power, Gu Tiangang felt unprecedented pressure.
Both wielded special physiques, and the potential of the Overlord Immortal Body was not inferior to the Gu Huang Sacred Body. Now that Gu Fang had also entered the Saint realm, defeating him would be no easy task for Gu Tiangang.
The only remaining advantage was that Gu Tiangang wielded the top-grade saint treasure, Dragon Slayer, while Gu Fang's long blade was merely an ordinary saint treasure.
"Boom—"
In the void, two towering figures clashed fiercely. A battle between saints, even the slightest ripple of their power, was enough to instill fear.
"Brother Gu must have taken the wrong medicine; how did he suddenly rise to the seventh rank?"
Zhang Ming was astonished, not expecting Gu Fang to suddenly explode in strength, ascending from mid-sixth rank to the seventh-rank Saint level.
Lin Lin frowned, "I have no idea. Brother Gu's breakthrough seems strange. The battle between saints is beyond our reach. The immediate priority is to eliminate the remaining cultivators of Gu Huang Cave!"
Despite not understanding the cause of Gu Fang's breakthrough, his advancement to the seventh rank was a fact. Even if he couldn't defeat Gu Tiangang, he could at least temporarily hold him off.
During this time, they could eliminate the remaining cultivators of Gu Huang Cave.
In this battle, the Qingyang Immortal Nation had deployed all their forces. Whether in the number of fifth-rank True Men or sixth-rank True Lords, they overwhelmingly suppressed Gu Huang Cave and its allies.
If not for Gu Tiangang becoming a saint, Gu Huang Cave would have already been defeated.
Now.
With Gu Tiangang being held off by Gu Fang, they naturally seized the opportunity to eliminate the remaining enemies.
In an instant, Zhang Ming and others had locked onto several sixth-rank True Lord level experts, launching their attacks. In no time, several True Lords were dead.
While they couldn't contend with a saint, dealing with ordinary True Lords was as easy as cutting through vegetables.
On another front.
Zuo Ling also joined the fray, his Transforming God Sword Technique sweeping across the battlefield. With a flick of his wrist, sword energy tore through the air, and any True Man of Gu Huang Cave he encountered was slain.
"Bastard, how dare you attack disciples of Gu Huang Cave!"
A furious roar echoed as a brocade-robed elder flew in, his fist tearing through the air, aiming to kill Zuo Ling in one blow.
Zuo Ling's gaze turned cold at the sight.
"Members of Gu Huang Cave are just in time. If I can't kill Gu Tiangang today, I'll take down a few elders instead!"
As he spoke, Zuo Ling's qi and blood surged, and sword energy from his forefinger tore through space, piercing the True Lord expert.
The brocade-robed elder sensed the sharp sword energy, his expression changing slightly, but he remained fearless. His mountain-crushing fist collided with the sword energy, causing a terrifying shockwave.
Rolling waves of energy swept in all directions. Zuo Ling remained unscathed, his steps ghostly as his sword energy split into ten, then a hundred, a thousand, and finally ten thousand!
In less than a breath, a single sword energy transformed into ten thousand, engulfing the elder.
The elder, in sheer terror, tried to evade but it was too late.
In an instant.
The sword energy completely devoured him.
Killing a True Lord expert was as easy for Zuo Ling as crushing an ant.
With Zhang Ming, Zuo Ling, and others joining the battle, the situation for Gu Huang Cave quickly deteriorated. One after another, their strong cultivators fell, staining the sky with blood.
Among them were newly ascended True Lords as well as veteran cultivators.
There were elders from Gu Huang Cave and top figures from various sects and families.
However.
Despite their strength, they couldn't stop the advance of the Qingyang Immortal Nation.
...
Within Gu Huang Cave, the guardians of the soul lamps suddenly saw numerous bright soul lamps extinguish, their faces turning pale.
"Disaster!"
"The soul lamps are extinguishing in large numbers, indicating an unprecedented crisis for Gu Huang Cave!"
Each soul lamp represented the life of at least a True Man level cultivator, with some representing True Lords.
The extinguishing of a soul lamp meant that the associated cultivator had perished.
Looking around.
Over a hundred soul lamps had gone dark, leaving only a dozen or so still lit, indicating that most of the strong cultivators of Gu Huang Cave had fallen. This was a disaster capable of shaking the foundation of the cave and even leading to its destruction.
Immediately, the elder guarding the soul lamps rushed to report the situation.
Soon, two people arrived hurriedly.
One was the original guardian elder, and the other was an elderly man with white hair and a beard, a Supreme Elder of Gu Huang Cave. With Gu Tiangang leading the assault on Qingyang Realm, the Supreme Elder stayed behind to oversee the cave.
"The soul lamps are extinguishing, indicating a life-and-death crisis for Gu Huang Cave. If not handled properly, it could threaten the very foundation of the cave, even leading to its destruction!"
The Supreme Elder's face was equally grim. As he spoke, more soul lamps extinguished, signifying the death of several True Men.
The guardian elder's face was ashen, "The cave master has become a saint, can he not handle the mere Qingyang Realm?"
"The Qingyang Realm is attacking with great force. We don't know the specifics, but although the cave master hasn't fallen, we can't rule out any unexpected events."
"As long as the cave master is alive, Gu Huang Cave has hope for recovery."
"But if the cave master falls and most of our strong cultivators are lost, even if we win this battle, we will likely be swallowed by Taixu and Tianyang Caves."
The Supreme Elder took a deep breath. He didn't know the exact situation of the battle, but Gu Tiangang must not die.
As long as Gu Tiangang remained, with a newly ascended saint backing them, Gu Huang Cave could preserve its legacy, even if all other strong cultivators fell.
Conversely.
If Gu Tiangang perished and Gu Huang Cave suffered heavy losses, even if they won, they were destined to be devoured by Taixu and Tianyang Caves.
Taixu and Tianyang Caves had coveted Gu Huang Cave for a long time, especially Tianyang Cave, which never forgot to avenge its past humiliation.
With this in mind.
The Supreme Elder made a decisive decision, "There is no time to lose. I will awaken the ancestor immediately!"
With that, he hurried away, leaving the guardian elder stunned.
The ancestor!
In Gu Huang Cave, the only one referred to as the ancestor was the previous Golden Saint, an ancient existence self-sealed and long asleep.
The Supreme Elder's intention was clearly to awaken this slumbering old saint.
At the same time, deep within Gu Huang Cave, an ancient and vigorous aura quietly awakened, quickly spreading throughout the cave.
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