The Spirit God’s Soul Cultivation Method roared to life, circulating at tremendous speeds as her Spirit soared, free of the shackles of her own making, reaching heights unprecedented!

In an instant, her Divine Sense erupted, spreading out like a shockwave, covering a radius of half a kilometre. Everything within her Divine Sense was reflected within her mind. Every detail, every mote of dust in her courtyard was clear as day in her senses. The entire world seemed to slow down, allowing her to observe everything with unparalleled clarity. 

It was a state of hyper-awareness where she had a god's-eye view of the world. Nothing, no nuance, could escape her senses. It left her breathless for a few moments. She, for a moment, truly felt she was omniscient!

However, the sensation was quickly suppressed by Xiao Hong. It was a necessity for Immortal Cultivators to suppress that soaring feeling after a breakthrough in Stage. Because if they didn’t, they might be consumed by it. 

Perhaps not in the earlier Stages of the Divine Sea and Soul Palace. But in the later stages like Fusion, Transformation and higher, there was a non-zero chance that you would lose yourself in the cosmic glitter shower of your own awesomeness and end up as an insufferable Arrogant Young Master with delusions of grandeur! So yeah, in a way, "stabilising your cultivation" is more like the “Sanity check after the power trip”!

“Phew,” Xiao Hong let out a breath, trying to drain out the exhilaration. She let out a slight exclamation. “That was unexpected. But in hindsight, it makes sense.”

Normally, the cultivation of the Soul happened primarily through growth in the Cultivator as a person, gaining enlightenment of their Path, gaining enlightenment about the workings of Heaven and Earth, understanding - or rather, forming a proper opinion - abstract concepts like good and evil and so on. 

Xiao Hong had gained a boost in her Soul Cultivation as she had unshackled herself from her doubts and taken a firm step forward rather than wallowing in her doubts, thus growing as a person. Even if it was in a direction she did not like. However, that was how life was - making difficult decisions and living with the consequences of said decisions. She understood that at this moment and thus, the growth.

“Status: Soul Cultivation.”

Soul Cultivation

4th stage Purple Soul (4th Disaster Equivalent in Battle Power)

“The equivalent of an entire Disaster, huh?” she stared at the screen. 

“In fact, I’d have gained much more had I resolved to stick to my earthen morality,” Xiao Hong sighed lightly, a bit melancholic, “but such a decision will only make my life harder as someone who walks the Path to Ascension.”

“However,” She took a deep breath and spoke firmly to herself, “I will reserve the cruelty only for the worst of the worst. And only when I have absolutely no choice will I resort to it!” 

This was the resolution she made to herself. She understood the necessity of cruelty in this world, but she would never allow herself to become a cold-blooded predator with no sense of morality. 

That was her promise to herself. A promise she intended to keep.

***

A month later.

Boom! 

A gigantic ball of fire smashed into the ground with the force of a bomb, blowing up chunks of soil, stone and clouds of dust. A powerful heatwave flash-dried a large number of trees, turning the surface of trees further away into charcoal.

A black silhouette fled out of the cloud of dust in a sorry state, cursing vehemently under her breath. Half of her Sect uniform had been scorched away, revealing her glinting Inner Armor.

‘Fuck! This guy’s fucking crazy!’ Xiao Hong’s heart palpitated in terror as she glanced at the destruction wrought by the bastard’s Fireball. Sweat beaded her face as she tried to catch her breath, ‘Even though I said training could be as harsh as he wanted, I never meant being almost fucking killed!

‘It will be a real surprise if I don’t end up with PTSD after this!’

“Oh my, Junior Sister, you escaped that? You learnt your escape techniques really well!” A demonic voice wormed into her ears, causing her heart to jump in fear. 

“Why the fuck are you saying it as if I wasn’t supposed to dodge that?” she blurted out, the filter between her brain and mouth demolished by attacks she barely dodged.

Hardly had she finished speaking, a fist slammed into her stomach!

A sharp gasp escaped Xiao Hong as a tremendous force was transmitted from the fist, ringing throughout her body like a gong that was struck. She could feel her diaphragm begin to spasm violently as if it were being electrocuted. Her vision became dark as random bursts of light filled her vision. 

An agonising groan escaped her as what felt like lava spread from her stomach, surging through her body and cooking her inside out. 

Despite the crippling anguish her body was in, she reacted. Subconsciously circulating her Movement Arts, she disappeared in a burst of starlight. 

Reappearing several dozen feet away from her initial position, she slightly changed the circulation of her Qi and emitted a powerful burst of wind to her right, massively slowing down the kick aimed at her waist, before forcing her Qi to regain the lost momentum in generating the wind and then disappearing in another burst of starlight.

“Not bad, Junior Sister! Not bad at all! You learned to use the Qi momentum of the Star Shifting Art to push the Wind Burst Battle Technique and stop Wind Leopard’s Dance. Truly brilliant!” Gu Ran praised her with bright eyes, totally ignoring Xiao Hong’s resentful glare.

A vein throbbed on her temple as the urge to use a Heavenly Convergence-enhanced hand to rearrange his facial features. ‘Calm down Xiao Hong! It’s not worth it! This bastard is a psychotic millennia-old shitstain that doesn’t know a thing about caring for beauty!’ She could only suppress it as she knew attacking him would be a death sentence - she was speaking from experience, after all!

She squeezed out a strained smile, “T-Thank you, Senior Brother Gu. It’s only thanks to your guidance that I improved so much.”

Gu Ran nodded. In fact, he did not want to train her so harshly either. ‘It’s just that her talent in battle doesn’t really match her talent in everything else… No, it’s downright shit. It’s basically the worst I’ve ever seen!

‘Perhaps, this is Heaven’s way of balancing things? That way, a lot of things could be explained.

‘Battle is one of the few constants on the Pathway of Ascension. And to be weak in it is indeed a major constraint on a Cultivator…’ Gu Ran looked at the panting Xiao Hong thoughtfully, before shrugging, ‘Oh well. It doesn’t matter, I’ll just have to hammer the sense of battle into her bones.’ He tossed the thought to the back of his mind.

“Ah, Junior Sister, you seem to have rested a long time! Shall we continue?” A thin beam of black flames reached Xiao Hong before his words did.

‘Ah, I should’ve just gone to Sister Jun instead…’ Xiao Hong thought tearfully as her Qi instinctively jumped into motion. ‘It is already taxing enough on my brain, having to deal with those experiments.’ Even if she decided to let go of her morality, she was still human. And humans don’t change instantaneously after a single decision. Having to deal with melting faces and brains leaking out of orifices was taxing enough even on a weekly basis!

Just as another session of bullying - ahem - training was about to start, the both of them froze in their places. 

“{Everyone. Get back inside the Formation now! I sense a Nirvana Stage Being heading towards us!}” Bai Hao’s voice resounded through Xiao Hong’s mind.

Turning to Gu Ran, she could see the solemnity she felt reflected in his face.

Nodding to each other, they circulated their Escape Techniques at full power to reach their makeshift town.

In just a few minutes, both of them were inside the town. Spotting Jun Meiling and Qiao Xuan, the two of them hurried over to her to inquire about the situation. 

“Just a little while ago, Senior Brother suddenly ended his secluded Cultivation and shot out of the Formation after sending out the Qi transmission broadcast.” Jun Meiling told them, barely suppressing her anxiety. Her gaze did not turn towards them at all and stared straight ahead.

Xiao Hong’s head turned to the left, looking in the direction of Jun Meiling’s stare. A young woman with golden hair stood in the air, casually conversing with the white-clad figure of Bai Hao. Staring at the golden-haired woman, she couldn’t help but feel something was off. 

However, before she could figure it out, Bai Hao entered the Formation and sped towards them. To Xiao Hong’s surprise, Bai Hao did not seem wary at all. He was even smiling widely! As soon as he entered the Formation he shot towards them, “Haha! We’re finally getting outta this shithole - Elder Song has come to rescue us!”

Xiao Hong froze for a second before her face lit up in joy! 

““Really?!”” She cried out along with Jun Meiling, ecstatic at Bai Hao’s words.

Bai Hao chuckled happily, “Indeed.”

Xiao Hong felt a powerful sensation of relief wash over her. Finally, she did not have to worry about several Nirvana True Demon Stage beings suddenly showing up out of nowhere and beating her to a pulp! It might look like they were safe with Bai Hao and her Formation Skills, but that wasn’t the case.

Because, no matter how awesome her Formation Skills were, they would not be able to withstand a single one of that sparkly-eyed bastard’s Talismans at all. Moreover, Bai Hao himself was only one person - there was no way he’d be able to defend against more than one enemy of the same level. 

As Xiao Hong rejoiced, Bai Hao sent out a wide-range Qi transmission: “{All Disciples, listen up! Inner Elder Song has come to rescue us. Pack up your things and get ready to leave. Mission Leaders and Vice Leaders, dismantle and retrieve the Building Artefacts…}”

The town was silent for a moment before, erupting into a loud cheer!

“Haha! We’re finally outta this shitty place!”

“Oh thank Heavens…!”

The shrieks of joy and sighs of relief resonated with Xiao Hong’s own relief and joy, causing her smile to widen. She was so happy that she might forgive Gu Ran for the beating she’d suffered at his hands at that moment!

Unlike the disciples’ positive mood, the golden-haired figure - Elder Song was not happy at all.

‘What’s this odd feeling? Why do I keep feeling as though something bad is about to happen?’ Song Siying frowned as she rubbed the back of her neck. The odd chill that raised goosebumps on her skin was extremely familiar to her - it was her Cultivator’s intuition signalling to her. Except that it wasn’t particularly strong because she was not the main body.

‘I should have them speed up.’ 

Her frown deepened before relaxing, ‘I cannot do anything with my current strength, I should just prioritise the disciples’ safety.

‘Let’s hope I am quick enough.’

She closed her eyes and communicated with her Main Body.

***

About two days ago.

Outside Bi Xin City, under the Spatial Anchor of the Demon Beast Haven.

Song Siying, Daoist Vermillion Cloud and Master Myriad Forms Sabre stood around a gigantic Spherical construct made of intricate golden lines. Three gigantic rings revolved around the position of the Spatial Anchor.

Above Song Siying’s hand floated a black ring-like instrument, letting out periodic pulses of silver light. As they waited in silence, the periodic pulses of light from the black ring started to become erratic before it suddenly disappeared entirely for a few seconds.

“Anytime now.” Song Siying’s steely voice resounded through the latter two’s ears, causing them to nod seriously. They had forcibly sped up the convergence of an entire fucking Realm. 

Obviously, there were going to be consequences! Even Song Siying, who was extraordinarily strong in the Transformation Realm did not have any illusions that she could do without the other two’s help. In short, they could not afford any mistakes!

Woom! A violent fluctuation of energy spread out from the Spatial Anchor. The entire Formation quaked violently and flickered as if it was sealing some sort of Ancient Monstrosity that longed to break free.

“NOW!” Song Siying screamed in both Qi transmission and normally as she, Daoist Vermillion Cloud and Master Myriad Forms Sabre all leapt into action.

A jet-black staff appeared in Vermillion Cloud’s hand. The Staff was made of an odd material that seemed to swallow any and all light that reached it, leaving it entirely black. It was his Natal Treasure: the Void-Sealing Staff!

With an elegant gesture of his finger, the Void-Sealing Staff jumped up as if it were alive and shot above the Spatial Anchor with incomprehensible speed!

Supernatural Battle Technique: Heavenly Pillar Suppressing the Void!

A shadow of an immeasurably large pillar encapsulated the Void Sealing Staff as it slammed down on the Spatial Anchor like a pillar connecting the Sky to the Ground! 

Silvery Essence surrounded the end of the Heavenly Pillar that was pointed towards the Spatial Anchor.

As soon as the Heavenly Pillar reached the Spatial Anchor, it immediately suppressed the violent fluctuations of energy, making it disappear completely. It was as if someone just flipped a switch!

At this moment, Master Myriad Forms Sabre wore a silvery glove and slammed down a fist on the Spatial Anchor with tremendous force! A terrific sonic boom followed her punch, obliterating a massive area of the forest, turning the trees, soil, stone, and everything else into little more than dust! And this was under the premise that the Gloves-type Artefact she wore transformed her strength to interfere with space!

Song Siying, noticing her opportunity, immediately chucked the black ring at the Spatial Anchor after pouring more than half of her Spiritual Qi into the Artefact.

The black ring replaced the Formation around the Spatial Anchor and emitted a silvery glow before rotating at an extreme speed.

Grrrinkkkh!

With a strange grinding noise, the Spatial Anchor stabilised as a blue portal manifested. 

However, neither Song Siying, nor the other two showed any relief.

Because almost immediately, the blue portal vibrated.

Crackle!

Hearing the loud crackling noises, the trio stared up at the Heavenly Pillar that had suddenly developed cracks. Although they quickly disappeared, they understood that this meant that things did not go according to plan.

“How long?” Master Myriad Forms Sabre turned to Vermillion Cloud.

“About 3 days. After that, it will collapse along with the portal.” Vermillion Cloud replied after a short pause. 

“Fuck!” Master Myriad Forms Sabre cursed as she bit her nails anxiously. Compared to an Immortal Cultivator, as a Martial Artist, she had limited means and fewer methods of searching for people. So there was a good chance she would not be able to achieve her goal and find her little brother.

She gritted her teeth and turned to Song Siying. “Fairy Scorching Sun, please help me find my brother! I’ll owe you my life if you bring back my little brother.” Her head bowed low. “E-Even if he’s not of this world anymore, please bring me back the news!”

“Don’t worry, Master Myriad Forms Sabre. I shall try my best to find him!” Song Siying would obviously not let go of a chance to gain the favour of a powerful Martial Artist!

“Thank you very much!” Master Myriad Forms Sabre bowed even lower.

Daoist Vermillion Cloud looked at Song Siying. “Fairy Scorching Sun, I will entrust you to find my Sect’s disciples as well, since I am unable to split off a clone while maintaining the state of the Spatial Anchor.”

Song Siying simply nodded and sat down on the ground. Closing her eyes she placed her right index and middle fingers on her forehead.  In just a moment, three fist-sized balls of golden light reminiscent of the Sun detached from her forehead and shot into the portal.

Master Myriad Forms Sabre also sat down cross-legged. A deep ocean-blue blade appeared in her hands, which she then used to directly chop off her left hand! Then she chucked her severed hand into the portal.

Daoist Vermillion Cloud’s mouth twitched slightly at the sheer brutality of this mad woman. ‘... Thank Goodness I did not become a Martial Artist back then! 

‘Imagine having to mutilate myself every time I wanted to create a clone! 

‘And all that trouble for just a bit more power. Thank the Heavens I had talent in the Immortal Path. Otherwise, who knows how miserable a life I’d be leading now - punching away until my brains rotted.’ He shook his head and concentrated on channelling his power into the Void-sealing Staff.

***

A fascinated glint appeared in Xiao Hong’s eyes as she watched the trees, ground, rocks, rivers and mountains around her turn into a golden blur. “What terrific speed…” she whispered in pure awe. The distance that had taken her and Gu Ran weeks was reached in just a few hours! 

She turned to the golden-haired woman in front of her. Elder Song Clone A, as she introduced herself, currently held the Cultivation of Nirvana Stage - the ceiling of this Realm.

Bai Hao, who was to her left, chuckled. “Indeed. Even Celestial Bridge experts cannot travel at such speed. Elder Song’s clone might only seem to have the Cultivation of Nirvana Stage, but that isn’t entirely true. She is a Transformation Stage being after all. And her Essence is still Spiritual Qi-”

“And that means she can use Divine Abilities?” Xiao Hong’s eyes widened in realisation. She thought back to a few hours ago when she had a strange feeling about Elder Song’s clone - it was because she was causally floating in the air without the support of any aura!

“Yes.” Bai Hao nodded. “No matter how little Spiritual Qi is, it is still Spiritual Qi - a level of Essence vastly superior to our own Zhenqi. It is the case even if we don’t factor in Divine Abilities.”

“I see…” Xiao Hong nodded thoughtfully. Then a thought occurred to her.

‘Oi, doesn’t this mean that old fogies will be able to enter the Realms that restrict Cultivators over the limit? Won’t all the treasures and resources in Secret Realms be taken away by them?’ Immediately, Xiao Hong’s jumpy brain - which had been silent for a while now - leapt into action. ‘If it's like this, won’t we cute newbies wither away without resources??’

In fact, bar a few special Realms, this was indeed the case in the Eastern Mystic Continent occupied by the Purple Spirit Sect, the Mystic Sky Sect, the Myriad Kingdoms’ Alliance and the Adamantine Fist Sect. The four Super Factions and their subordinate organisations almost completely monopolised resources above a certain level, essentially smothering Loose Cultivators above the said level.

Essentially, without being associated with these four Super Factions somehow, it was impossible to cultivate above a certain level.

‘Hmm? Why does this feel like the mid-story plot in Xianxia novels-?’ A strange thought appeared in her mind.

“We’re here.” Before she could indulge her imagination about Loose Cultivator Rebellions, Xiao Hong was distracted by Song Siying’s commanding voice. 

“Line up and enter the portal one at a time. And wait for at least one breath after the person before you has gone in before entering - the portal was created forcefully and cannot bear much load.” Elder Song floated beside a blue portal, explaining with a serious expression. “You will endanger not only the person before you but also yourself if you…”

‘Oh, whatever. Let’s get outta here first.’ She shrugged and threw her thoughts to the back of her mind - she was looking forward to getting the hell out of here! And more importantly, she was looking forward to reuniting with her Sister Ying! Despite it having been only a few months, she was already starting to miss her.

‘Hehe~’ An anticipatory grin appeared on her face. 

She lined up along with Gu Ran, who was right behind her.

One by one the disciples entered the portal disappearing from Demon Beast Haven Realm.

Slowly, the line shortened until only a few dozen disciples were left.

Suddenly, a wave of icy dread washed over Xiao Hong, freezing her smile. A primal sense of danger, sharp and undeniable, cut through the anticipation and overwhelmed every other thought in her mind! Her breaths hitched as though a gigantic python was coiling around her crushing her in its vice-like grip. Her heart hammered against her chest frantically. 

The earth beneath her feet shuddered. It trembled with such intensity that she felt a leaf clinging to a tree amid a hurricane.

The ground was torn apart by gigantic cracks ripping through it, splitting the ground into jagged islands. These cracks grew in width, widening into giant chasms, separating the earth into islands.

BOOOOOOM!!

A thunderous explosion, born from the heart of the Realm, ripped through the air, sending shockwaves through the air that rattled her bones, almost causing her to collapse on the spot!

“What the fuck…?” Her eyes widened in shock and horror as her head snapped away from the portal, looking to her right - towards the centre of the Realm. 

Where there had been the blue sky was now a massive black void that was rapidly expanding, spreading across the rest of the sky like black ink staining the fabric of the World. Thick bands of light multi-coloured light-like aurorae wove around the edges of the black void trying to knit the sky back together. However,  like leaves under a weed whacker instead, they were torn apart almost instantly! And each time a band of light was destroyed, it grew dimmer.

It was the end of the World.

A terrible feeling descended on her entire being. As an Immortal Cultivator, she cultivated to transcend the ordinary and become immune to disasters. But this…? This was not something she could even dream about avoiding. It was as though she was a mortal facing a Tsunami on her lonely boat, all alone - there was nothing else to depend on but luck. Her Cultivation was rendered pointless.

In front of this overwhelming force of Nature, she knew she was no different from an ant. 

A feeling of helpless terror surged from the depths of her being. Her body seemed to have become too heavy for her knees to support, causing them to buckle. The universe, in its indifferent majesty, had stripped her bare, leaving her nothing but the raw, primal fear of a lone mortal facing the inevitable. 

“{Quick! Portal! Escape!}” Gu Ran roared at her through private Qi transmission, snapping her out of her terror-induced helpless reverie. 

‘NO! I have to run!’ Her Qi thrummed with extreme urgency as she circulated her Star Shifting Steps. Out of sheer desperation, she forced titanic amounts of Qi through her meridians, nearly tearing them apart! In that instant, with her forceful circulation of Qi and her desperation to escape, the Star Shifting Steps finally broke through the level of Perfection and reached the Myriad Transformations Mastery!

Many of the disciples - without the help of Gu Ran - remained frozen in their place like Xiao Hong, paralyzed by the sheer immensity of the unfolding apocalypse. Many of them were brave Cultivators who had fought against Demonic Cultivators with all their might, not giving an inch, but at this moment they were frozen - utterly paralysed in their places by the scale of what was happening. Because against something like this,  resistance was not possible.

“MOVE!” Song Siying’s qi-powered voice slammed into them like a shockwave, waking them up from their fearful reveries. They quickly leapt into action, dashing towards the portal in a desperate bid for survival before the encroaching oblivion swallowed them whole.

Yet, before they were even halfway to the portal, the last remnants of the multi-coloured light faded away, leaving nothing but a pitch-black expanse of nothingness where the sky was.

Song Siying looked up at the black void with wide eyes, her face twisted in a mixture of fear, shock, awe, fascination and… relief. She was thankful for the Realm’s Cultivation Restrictions - even her Main Body would be no different from these disciples - at least not without extensive preparation. Even then she would only have a sliver of a chance. 

“Realm Collapse… I never expected to come across such a phenomenon on this trip…” 

She looked down at the disciples running towards the portal and instantly realised, ‘They won’t make it.’ 

Even after her recent communication with Daoist Vermillion Cloud asking him to shorten the duration of opening the portal for more stability, allowing them to move quicker through the portal, they wouldn’t be able to make it to the portal in time.

She took a deep breath and made a decision in a split second, a steely resolve flickered within her eyes, ‘There’s no point in trying to help them escape - it’s basically impossible given that the Realm will collapse completely within a few breaths. All I can do is buy them some time. Time enough for ‘It’ to respond.

‘I’ll have to sacrifice this clone. A few minor Stages of Cultivation… heh, it’s nothing much’ she tried to convince herself, but soon, the corners of her lips twitched slightly, and her ‘composure’ collapsed instantly. ‘Ahh~! The Sect had better compensate me handsomely for this!’ 

She pushed her hands together and looked down at the portal, quickly noticing Xiao Hong who had reached the portal, ‘Oh, what a quick girl. She was able to regain her senses in such a short time. Not bad at all! She’s a good seedling!’

A sense of relief washed over Xiao Hong when she reached the flickering portal. 

Just as she was about to step into the portal, a thought struck her, ‘Where’s that old fart?? Wasn’t he just behind me?’

She turned around. There, in the distance Gu Ran stood dazed, staring up at the black void like an idiot. Xiao Hong’s eyes widened, ‘What the heck is he doing standing around doing nothing like a dumbfuck?! Did those millennia of Cultivation finally cause his brain to rot?!’

Taking a step away from the portal, she screamed at him, “Oi, you dumbfuck!

“What the fuck are you doing-?!” 

Before she could even complete her sentence, however, a bubble of inky blackness materialised before her, rapidly increasing in size to engulf her body in a fraction of a moment before collapsing in on itself and vanishing. 

Xiao Hong’s vision turned dark. In an instant, she was in a dark void, unable to hear, feel, taste or smell anything at all! There was nothing at all other than a dim, golden light - reminiscent of the first rays of dawn. 

Xiao Hong could feel that familiar yet unfamiliar aura of Elder Song.

Just as she wondered what this was, tremendous agony surged up from her hips, like a gigantic monster had taken a savage bite out of her! 

“AAARRGHH!” A primal scream of agony and terror ripped through Xiao Hong’s throat as she could no longer feel or see her legs!

***

A little while ago, in the centre of the Demon Beast Haven Realm.

A hill-sized, slightly transparent, black pyramid floated upside-down in the air, rotating leisurely. The surface of its body was covered in enigmatic purple Runic patterns, giving it a sense of mystical beauty. 

Below, stood a figure clad in robes blacker than night. Her beautiful face revealed to the world, wind stirred her lush shoulder-length, purple hair as she stared up at the pyramid-looking Artefact. 

Several figures, clad in robes that seemed to be weaved from shadows themselves appeared out of thin air. 

The leading figure, unlike the others, 

“What’s the status of the Immortal Cultivators and Martial Artists?” She queried.

“The disciples of the Adamantine Fist Valley have been annihilated almost completely by the Demonic Cultivators. They were unable to find Myriad Forms Sabre’s little brother, however. He has most likely been rescued by Scorching Sun.” A figure in black stepped forward to report.

“Ah. How unfortunate. A crazed Myriad Forms Sabre would be the most useful, with her status as a Core Elder candidate…” the purple-haired beauty, High Inquisitor Eastborn sighed regretfully before moving on. “Oh well. It’s not like the Adamantine Fist Sect will sit still after losing so many disciples. They will definitely cause a lot of chaos after this - plenty enough for our plans to come to fruition without being noticed.” 

She chuckled for a bit before continuing, “The Purple Spirit Sect?”

“They’ve lost around a fourth of their disciples. Apparently, they had some genius Formation Master who managed to hold back the Demonic Cultivator while their Mission Leader, Bai Hao, managed to break through to Nirvana Stage.”

“What trash. A Nirvana Stage Cultivator was stopped so easily…” Eastborn’s nose scrunched up in disdain. A sneer twisted her lips, “The Demonic Path deserves to be suppressed with trash like this among them.

“What about the Mystic Sky Sect?”

Another figure stepped forward, his tone a little odd, “... The Mystic Sky Sect has lost only five disciples.”

“Huh?” High Inquisitor Eastborn raised her eyebrows in surprise, “That’s it? Did they also have some genius Formation Master or something?”

“... No. The Demonic Cultivators seem to have intentionally avoided them for some reason.” 

Eastborn blinked before her eyebrow raised in admiration, “Oh! Devious~! 

“As expected of Demonic Cultivators! Their strength might not be up to par, but they definitely are full of schemes!” A light giggle escaped Eastborn. “Those old fogies in the other Immortal Sects would immediately realise that this was an attempt to frame the Mystic Sky Sect.

“Coupled with their contempt and general disregard after suppressing the Demonic Path for so long and the pact between Immortal Sects of the Eastern Mystic Continent, they would probably associate this with their current biggest enemy - the Myriad Kingdoms' Alliance. 

“And by now, the Sects’ investigations would have yielded results, discovering the Myriad Kingdoms' Alliance plans. And they would be doubly wary of them since the Myriad Kingdoms’ Alliance’s plans aren’t actually fully in place, but they have already started attacks on the Sects’ Fortune - forcing the Immortal Sects to think that there was more to the matter than what they found.

“So even if some would still suspect the Mystic Sky Sect and the Demonic Path, most of them would suspect the Myriad Kingdoms' Alliance and therefore let their guards down towards the Demonic Path. And this would buy them enough time for their own plans.

“Not to mention that the Immortal Sects lack the knowledge of our involvement…

“Tsk, tsk. These people's brains work quite well.” Eastborn clicked her tongue in admiration, somewhat impressed by the depth of the Demonic Cultivator’s schemes.

Then she tossed the thought to the back of her mind. “Oh, whatever. Let’s leave these people to their games - they can play as much as they want as long as we secure this Realm - a crystallised Tier 6 being’s Internal World isn’t so easy to come across, after all.”

She stared up at the increasingly transparent black pyramid with barely suppressed anticipation and excitement. ‘Once the Realm Controller has integrated with the Realm, we can lift the level Restrictions and use it as a springboard for our future plans!’ 

She would benefit immensely at that time! ‘I might even receive a full subsidy of resources for Tier 4! As long as I can fully digest these resources, I can achieve strength enough to contend with those Essence Soul Immortal Cultivators, allowing me to influence the Great Mystic Realm and therefore pave the way for greater rewards! Haha!’

Too caught up in her daydreams, she completely missed the strange state of one of the cloaked figures that stood behind her.

About an hour later, the Realm Controller had turned almost completely transparent. It emitted an aura that was almost completely identical to the Demon Beast Haven Realm’s. After it became completely identical, it would become a part of the Realm which can then be used to gain control over the Realm. And this one was only the last of 6 others that she had placed throughout the Realm. Together they would form a Realm-spanning Ritual Formation that would allow her to gain complete control over this Realm!

Eastborn stared at the Realm Controller with bated breath, ‘We can finally go and… huh?’ Eastborn’s face froze when she realised that the Realm Controller had suddenly stopped working. ‘What on earth is going on? Why is…’

Her voice trailed off when she realised that the Realm Connector had started to reverse its state, and very violently! 

‘Shit!’

“Delany! What the hell is going on?!” She whipped her head and stared at a certain cloaked figure. “Why the hell is this reversing-?

She paused again. And her eyes suddenly widened before staring at the  “You’re not Delany! Who are you?! What are you up to?! Don’t you know who you will offend if these plans fail?!”

“Oh my, you figured it out quite quickly, didn’t you~?” The mysterious cloaked figure mocked, as the hood that covered the person’s face fell off revealing a plump young man with striking orange eyes. He chuckled lightly before continuing, “But to answer your questions, I am Aaron - with no family name and I’m here as a righteous person to do the right thing and thwart your evil-”

Bang! 

A small explosion happened where he’d been standing.

“Oi, it ain’t nice to attack people when they are talking!” Aaron shouted indignantly. 

“I hardly need to be polite with some commoner mongrel.” Eastborn sneered contemptuously, her nose scrunched up in disgust as though she had gotten the stink of trash. Actually, as a Mage, she did not really give a shit whether he was a commoner or not. She was just hoping to trigger the opponent and then direct the conversation to extract information. 

Unfortunately, Aaron was a weirdo. “Tsk, what an unpleasant bitch. I wanted to have a chat with a beautiful lady known to have a great personality, but it seems it was all false propaganda like that of the Empire… oh, well.”

Before Eastborn could even react, an orange beam struck the Realm Connector, shattering it instantly.

“Shit-!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

***

Somewhere outside the vision of the living beings of the Great Mystic World. 

A vast, shimmering sea, a kaleidoscope of colours stretched endlessly across the void. Billions and billions of thin filament-like structures rose from the sea, like the thin tentacles of a titanic jellyfish, pulsating gently.

Some of these filaments disappeared into the Void - into somewhere unknown, in pursuit of some obscure goal; some entangled with each other - weaving into strange yet eerily beautiful patterns like the dance of some alien creatures; some simply fell back into the endless sea lazily - as though unwilling to move, others buzzed around like hyperactive hummingbirds; few lay still and dead. 

A vast portion of these threads climbed towards a colossal plane of shimmering, blue-silver crystal, penetrating trillions of layers of membranes that lay between the multicoloured Sea and the plane of blue-silver crystal, merging with one of its infinite crystal faces.

In each of these crystals, shadows of many sceneries seemed to play out - each mirroring a grand story of their own. Some showed an endless sea of fire, some showed the scene of thunderstorms, some showed battles, some showed a desperate defence against an overwhelming enemy using Formations…

Indeed. Each facet of this ‘Wall of Crystal’ was a subsidiary Realm of the Great Mystic World. The nearly infinite collection of these Realms formed the first defence of any Realm - the Crystal Wall. And the Sea below was the Sea of World Origin.

But now one of these facets - or rather, Subsidiary Realms - pulsing with vibrant life moments before, began to crack. The fissure which propagated rapidly through the entire facet like cracks through glass, destroying it extremely quickly.  Soon, the once brilliant facet was a shattered mosaic, an imperfection in the once-perfect Crystal Wall. The threads attached to it started withering, their light fading into oblivion.

In just a moment, the filaments had turned completely dim and grey, a sharp contrast from their previously lively state. 

At this moment, however, something happened. From the depths of the Multicoloured Sea, a boundless Will awakened. A massive wave spread throughout the Sea of World Origin causing a tremor to shake the very fabric of existence.

The Will was formless and illusory, ethereal and utterly incomprehensible. It was like the mysterious Sea of Stars, it was vaster than the endless void of space, it was more terrible like the end of the world, but also more gentle than a mother’s embrace. It was a pile of contradictions that existed in harmony.

It was the World’s Will.

The World’s Will surged up from the multicoloured Sea of World Origin moving towards the facet representing the Demon Beast Haven Realm, causing tumultuous waves to rise all over the Sea of World Origin. The filaments shuddered like the tentacles of jellyfish when surprised with ever-growing intensity, pulsing with an intensity that outshone the brightest of stars.

The ever-growing cracks on the facet paused. And then… it reversed. Like a recording rewinded by an invisible hand, the fissures receded back into the centre of the facet. And in an instant, all the cracks on it disappeared. 

The World Will reversed time like it was nothing.

An obscure ball of multicoloured light that replicated the filaments’ colours and aura moved through the filament connected to the Realm sneakily, trying to avoid detection.

However, it suddenly froze in place. Inside the ball of light, the black-robed man also froze. His plump face paled and his eyes widened in abject terror as he felt the gaze of the World on him,  a crushing presence that stripped away his arrogance, “N-No way! There’s no way the World’s Will of any Realm can be this intelligent! That’s imposs-!” 

The overwhelming World’s Will descended upon him, freezing him completely. It paused for a moment scanning him, assessing the black-robed man. The black-robed man’s eyes widened as an extremely intrusive feeling invaded his very Being, probing and parsing every inch of it with methodical precision. He felt like he had turned into a book at a public library, each detail of his very existence read like words on a page! 

A split second later the World’s Will retracted. Then it paused for a bit, as though weighing something.

Then it fluctuated.

And black-robed man simply vanished into nothingness, his existence nullified. There was no reincarnation, no transmigration, no Netherworld. Simply oblivion.

As this happened, another portion of the World Will caught onto several orbs of golden light that shone like the sun. Each of these orbs of light contained figures of human beings - each mutilated to some extent as casualties of the incident. Some were merely missing their hair, some a fingernail or two. But some were horrific - their bodies ravaged by the chaotic Spatial Fluctuations. Some were missing entire halves of their bodies, limbs or even a portion of their brains. The golden light on their bodies dimmed slowly, trying its best to sustain their lives.

From a nearby filament, thin threads stretched out, connecting to each orb of golden light. A gentle force was transmitted through, breathing life into the nearly dead humans. In but a moment, all their injuries disappeared, and they were as good as new - even better perhaps, after being touched by such an overwhelming presence.

One such figure, an unconscious woman of breathtaking beauty, lay suspended in a sphere of light that fought tooth and nail against fate barely keeping her alive. The girl was missing her right arm and the entire lower half of her body. This was Xiao Hong. The wave of energy spread out and touched her, regrowing her arm and then her legs. In just a few moments, she was good as new.

Another gentle force enveloped them like a mother embracing her children, carefully guiding each of them to one of the many filaments, and pushing them towards the multicoloured Sea of World Origin. 

***

After screaming at Xiao Hong through Qi Transmission, Gu Ran turned around and watched the swirling abyssal Void that seemed to resonate with his Cultivation with blurry eyes, ‘It has been a while since I’ve seen a Subsidiary Realm collapse… Though, this would be my first time seeing a Yuan Opening Cultivator’s Grotto Heaven collapse.

‘Ah, damned unpleasant memories.’ He cursed, gulping to swallow the odd stuffy feeling in his throat. ‘After sacrificing so much for them, all I received was a stab in the back.’

Involuntarily, scenes of three children playing around happily appeared in his mind. They were best of friends who were inseparable. Even when the Immortal Sects came around to recruit, they were blessed to be together - born with equally overwhelming talent. They grew up together, played together, bathed together, cultivated together, fought together, bullied disciples together, drank together, and dreamed of achieving the Dao or dying together. But now… 

‘“Brothers in all but blood”, huh?’ Gu Ran looked down at his chest, from where a bloody hand seemed to have emerged. 

His lips twisted into a mockery of a smile. 

‘But, Ah Chen, my blood is on your hands and we’re brothers no longer.’

He took a deep breath. His eyes hardened. ‘Well, I’ll have my answers sooner or later. I just have to be strong enough.’

The resonance of his Cultivation Technique grew stronger and stronger, and a powerful desire seemed to be transmitted from the depths of his Cultivation Base. The desire was so strong that it was even pushing away his melancholic state!

Just as he was about to step forward towards the source of his desire, a familiar voice - a beautiful voice that tickled one’s heart - reached him. Except the words that were uttered were not pleasant at all. 

“Oi, you dumbfuck!” 

He snapped his head towards the source of the voice only to see Xiao Hong cursing at him, her face utterly devoid of blood. But also within those eyes, he saw concern and worry. For him.

“What the fuck are you doing-?!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. But before she could even complete her sentence an inky-black bubble swallowed her in an instant! It was so fast that Gu Ran did not even have the time to formulate a thought!

His eyes widened. He shot forward towards her previous location but almost immediately realised it was useless. “That was a Spatial Void. She was swallowed by a Spatial Void!” And he calmed down slightly. ‘While a Spatial Void isn't exactly safe, it isn’t all that dangerous either. She would most likely have been shifted to another layer of Space.’ After all, it is only the byproduct of a layer of Space being stretched too thin and another layer of Space suddenly coinciding with for the briefest moment. ‘There’s no need to worry since “It” will ensure that anyone caught within is not harmed.’

Upon thinking of this he was quite relieved. 

At the same time though, he felt a little ashamed. Almost all of the interaction he had with Xiao Hong was based on the theory that she would be a reliable ally in the future. It was based on the fact that she would be useful to him in the future. His concessions in their deals, casual guidance on their way to the Purple Spirit Forest, giving her Cultivation Techniques, agreement to train her how to fight better and so on were mainly to build rapport for a smooth working relationship

But now, upon seeing the genuine concern and worry, upon seeing her put herself in danger for him, he felt he was a little cruel. ‘Perhaps I can try…?’ A part of him rejected it instantly.

Heh. If even a bond forged over millennia could be broken so easily, how likely is a ‘friendship’ that you began based on benefit would last? Allies brought over with benefits are the best. There’s no need to depend on something as illusory as friendship.

‘Ugh. Forget it. I’ll think about it later. Now, I should focus on how I am going to go anywhere near the Void without my previous life’s Cultivation…