Reverend Insanity: Eternal Demon's Path

Crackle crackle

The eerie blue fire burned fiercely as it continued to invade Heavenly Court.

Star Constellation snorted coldly and immediately took action.

Several illusionary stars came out of her aperture and flew out of the battlefield killer move.

They rose towards the sky and started expanding at a horrifying rate.

Fang Yuan quickly used several killer moves and attempted to destroye all of the stars. But just when he was about to release all of his killer move, a change took place.

Boom!

All the stars exploded into countless pieces; they spread all over Heavenly Court and started to annihilate all the blue fire. In just a few breaths, nearly all of the fire was extinguished and the star path and wisdom path dao marks started to stabilise.

Fang Yuan quickly retreated even further and used a killer move.

Heavenly Protection Veil – Triple Concealment!

Hundreds of Fang Yuan's figures appeared as they quickly spread out throughout the battlefield. But they didn't attack; they all stared vigilantly at the three venerables.

For the first time, there was complete silence in the battlefield.

The battlefield was in tatters. Endless Soul Reversion still flowed like a cursed river, Spectral Soul stood amid a whirlpool of soul beasts, Giant Sun's golden light glowed like a second sun, and Star Constellation was hidden within layers of starlight.

But none of the Venerables made a move.

They observed each other.

This was no longer a battle of Gu.

This was a battle of brains.

Star Constellation closed her eyes slowly. Her surroundings faintly glowed with starlight as she started to deduce.

'Fang Yuan is deliberately silent. Not because he's hiding, but because he wants us to speak first.'

She remained still.

Countless thoughts collided in her mind. Each line of reasoning branched into thousands. She saw a hundred ways Fang Yuan could bait Giant Sun, and a thousand ways Giant Sun could pretend to be baited.

And then, a single deduction glowed brighter than the others.

She opened her eyes.

'So that's it. Fang Yuan is pretending to rest… but in truth, he's observing our psychological responses to Primordial Origin's aura.'

She transmitted lightly to Giant Sun.

"He's watching you. Not to attack but to weigh your fear."

Far away, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable narrowed his eyes.

Of course he knew he was being watched.

But it didn't matter.

He wanted to be watched.

He smiled faintly and transmitted calmly:

"Let him. If he thinks I'm hesitating, it only makes him overconfident."

He paused for a moment.

"Besides, I can afford to wait."

Star Constellation didn't respond.

She was already analyzing his tone, his phrasing and his expressions. Every word was a possible lie; every pause could be a potential scheme. This was the nature of a clash between three great experts.

But she saw it clearly — Giant Sun wasn't pretending to be calm.

He truly was calm.

Because he was content to wait for Primordial Origin to rise… then tip the balance.

'If I force him now, he'll retreat and help Fang Yuan just to spite me,' she thought.

'But if I ignore him… he will accumulate the advantage of choice.'

A checkmate trap.

She had to move first.

[For anyone wondering why Star Constellation has to make the first move – it's because she has took Primodial Origin into a battlefield killer move. His revival method requires too much qi; ever since she took Primodial Origin into the battlefield killer move, she had been buying different kinds of qi from treasure yellow heaven to accelerate the revival of Primodial Origin. Even though using too many kinds of qi could make the revival much more difficult, she had no choice for the moment.]

Just as Star Constellation prepared to transmit a message to Giant Sun...

Fang Yuan laughed.

The sound echoed through the battlefield.

He stepped out of concealment. He had a calm expression; as if he hadn't just gone silent for minutes.

His eyes swept over both Venerables.

"You two are brilliant at waiting," he said in a low voice. "But tell me... which one of you is brave enough to act first?"

Neither answered.

He smiled wider.

"You're both the same."

Star Constellation remained unmoved.

But Fang Yuan's gaze lingered on her longer.

"You, Star Constellation. Calculating everything... but never gambling. That's why you're always defending."

A flash of starlight flickered near her eyes; this was her only reaction.

Fang Yuan turned to Giant Sun.

"And you… so used to luck favoring you, you don't know what it's like to lose."

Giant Sun's smile faded slightly.

Fang Yuan stepped forward again, black mist trailing behind him like spilled ink.

"I know what you're thinking," he said.

"If I fight Spectral Soul, Giant Sun gains."

"If I fight Giant Sun, Star Constellation breathes."

"If I fight Star Constellation, Spectral Soul will get more time to regain his clarity."

He spread his arms slightly.

"Tell me… which move is wrong?"

Silence.

Then Giant Sun spoke.

"You're wrong if you think we are the only players left."

That changed the atmosphere instantly.

Fang Yuan's smile paused. His eyes narrowed.

Star Constellation's expression turned sharp.

'What is he implying?'

"Are you saying someone else is about to join?" she transmitted.

"Or has already joined," Giant Sun replied.

And with that, he withdrew his aura slightly; he was not retreating, but deliberately leaving a gap. A tactical hole in his defense.

A lure.

Star Constellation saw it instantly.

But so did Fang Yuan.

Now they were both faced with the same choice: attack the gap, or hold position.

More silence.

Even Spectral Soul, who was now half-sane, paused in the distance. The madness in his eyes was no longer untamed – it was focused.

He, too, was watching.

He, too, was thinking.

...

Fang Yuan slowly retracted his aura.

Giant Sun had successfully reversed the pressure.

Now it was Fang Yuan who had to react — or let Giant Sun gain even more emotional control over them.

'So this is what he meant by psychological war…' Fang Yuan thought. 'He used a single implication and forced us all into new positions.'

He smirked.

But didn't fall for it.

He transmitted to Star Constellation instead.

"Giant Sun wants us to believe there's a fourth party. If you fall for it, he'll strike your formations while you panic."

Star Constellation didn't reply.

Her starlight remained calm.

But her next action surprised them both.

She opened a small door from the battlefield killer move and came out.

She took a single step forward. Her robe wavering with the fierce winds.

And then spoke for the first time aloud.

"No one will move."

Her voice echoed with confidence.

Fang Yuan's pupils shrank slightly.

Even Giant Sun blinked.

Star Constellation turned her head and stared directly at both of them.

"Fang Yuan. I see through your smirk."

"Giant Sun. I see through your silence."

"You both want me to make a move. But if I do… you will each blame the other and pretend to mediate."

The two didn't reply.

But Star Constellation's eyes grew colder.

"I've been controlling this battlefield with one hand. You think I can't hold it still with both?"

Starlight exploded behind her. The entire sky shifted.

Hundreds of formation points activated in sync.

She wasn't lying.

She had silently fortified the core.

...

It was a stalemate.

But not a peaceful one.

Each Venerable had tested the other's mind.

Each one had seen the cost of acting too early.

And none of them had gained the upper hand.

Star Constellation waved her sleeves as she as she started to release several stars from her aperture.

But none of the venerables acted.

Because a second Star Constellation appread from the battlefield killer move.

Her aura wasn't as dense as her main body's, but it was still frightening.

[Note: I've tried to improve several things from the previous three chapters. Star Constellation was one of them. I was able to somewhat show the terrifying power of wisdom path. I also tried to change my narration style. I still haven't found a perfect writing style but I belive it will improve over time. Anyways, thanks for reading this fan-fic.]