Mo Guang's face twisted with terror. Before he could break free, the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion opened its enormous jaws and swallowed him whole.
Burp!
Its abdomen bulged slightly as it released a satisfied burp. Lin Yan laughed loudly and called toward Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle, "Continue chasing me, and the next time you see Mo Guang, he'll be a corpse!"
Having achieved his objective, Lin Yan ordered the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion to carry him deeper into the Green Ghost Desert. Before departing, the immemorial desolate beast turned toward the fortress and unleashed another thunderous roar. The sound rolled across the desert, throwing the surrounding soul beasts into chaos. Large groups of ordinary and ancient soul beasts rushed toward the disturbance, while several enormous soul beast tides changed direction and swept toward Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle.
Inside the Immortal Gu House, Mo Chou was both shocked and furious. He wanted to resume the pursuit immediately, but the approaching soul beast tides forced the fortress to slow down. More importantly, Mo Guang remained alive. If he pushed Lin Yan too far and caused another Rank Seven Gu Immortal to die, the Mo Family would suffer a loss it could not easily endure. That moment of hesitation was enough. By the time Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle broke through the surrounding soul beasts, the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion had already carried Lin Yan far into the depths of the desert.
Everything had unfolded as Lin Yan intended. Simply fleeing would never allow him to shake off a Rank Seven Immortal Gu House, So he had temporarily recalled the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion into his immortal aperture and used Flame Escape instead, intentionally allowing the Mo Family to close the distance. As Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle approached, Flame Eye allowed him to observe the flow of dao marks across its defenses and identify their weakest point. He then suddenly released the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion without warning, using the collision to tear open the fortress before Soul Devouring captured Mo Guang. Without an immemorial desolate beast supported by the Rank Seven Soul Devouring Demon Subduing Formation, such a counterattack would never have succeeded.
Once he had opened enough distance, Lin Yan contacted Tang Fangming through Treasure Yellow Heaven.
"Immortal Friend Lin, what happened?" Tang Fangming asked. "If you want the Tang Family to stop the Mo Family, I'm afraid I don't have that authority."
"Brother Tang misunderstands. I don't need the Tang Family to confront them. I only need you to spread some news. Tell everyone that I am fighting the Mo Family inside the Green Ghost Desert, and make certain they know that I captured Mo Guang alive."
Tang Fangming fell silent. He had expected Lin Yan to be in grave danger after the Mo Family dispatched Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle, yet Lin Yan had somehow captured another of their Rank Seven Gu Immortals. He could not understand why Lin Yan wanted the conflict known throughout Western Desert, but spreading the news carried little risk for him. "Fine. Leave it to me."
Lin Yan ended the communication with a faint smile. Divine Bean Palace was among the Fang Family's greatest secrets. If the Mo Family captured him quickly or drove him out of the Green Ghost Desert, the Fang Family could remain silent and watch from the sidelines. However, once news of the conflict spread, the Mo Family could no longer quietly conceal its movements. More Gu Immortals would enter the desert, their searches would extend across wider regions, and their battles would disturb countless soul beast tides. The longer the pursuit continued, the greater the chance that someone would discover traces of Divine Bean Palace.
The Fang Family could not tolerate that risk. Divine Bean Palace was a complete Rank Eight Immortal Gu House, valuable enough to alter the balance among Western Desert's super forces. Lin Yan did not expect the Fang Family to confront the Mo Family openly. He only needed them to hinder the pursuit by feeding the Mo Family false information, disturbing soul beast tides, concealing certain regions, or applying pressure through the righteous path. Any of these measures would give him more room to act.
If that proved insufficient, Lin Yan still had another card. Once he obtained Zheng Jingshen's True Inheritance, he could approach the Fang Family as the genuine successor of the famous Wisdom Path loose immortal. Fang Yuan's identity as Suan Bu Jin had been supported by nothing more than a fabricated story, whereas Lin Yan would possess Zheng Jingshen's true methods and inheritance. Together with Zheng Jingshen's former relationship with the Fang Family, the evidence would be almost impossible to dispute. The Fang Family would then have every reason to draw him closer and help him resist the Mo Family.
Lin Yan glanced behind him as the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion raced through the rolling soul fog. If the Mo Family refused to abandon the pursuit, he would drag the Fang Family into the conflict and turn the entire Green Ghost Desert against them.