Chapter Eighteen: I Have Mastered Every Spell in This Realm

Within the illusory dream array conjured by Wuyun, the Tiger-Faced Immortal was raging furiously, cursing at the top of his lungs. He had fallen into the trap, his heart’s obsession surfacing—and as Wuyun listened closely, he realized the Immortal was cursing Shengba.

“How could I end up in such a wretched place? How am I supposed to fulfill my former promises...?”

Seizing this moment, Wuyun was about to slip away, when suddenly cries of grief erupted from Zuo Yi and You Er. The puppets responsible for repairing the teleportation array, as well as the mechanics themselves, had all been damaged. Any hope of restoring them swiftly was utterly hopeless.

Upon hearing Nantian’s doubts from earlier, Wuyun replied, “Divine Thunder of the Nine Heavens? If I could control it, I’d have struck him already! It was just to scare him. He really fell for it.”

“As for how long this bubble can trap him, it depends on how heavily Shengba weighs in his heart. If not much, he can break free immediately. If it is, he could be trapped for a lifetime!”

No sooner had Wuyun spoken than a strange chuckle rang out from within the bubble. The Tiger-Faced Immortal stared at him intently and murmured, “Thank you for letting me see and hear my Lord Shengba once more. From a stray wildcat to the supreme Demon Emperor, I owe it all to his earliest enlightenment. He told me I was adorable...”

Wuyun was stunned as the Tiger-Faced Immortal closed his eyes again and said coldly, “I intend to finish this dream properly. Your time is running out. I will come for you!”

Everyone—including Nantian, the seven remaining Silver-Headed Beasts, Thousand-Handed Venom, the Rainbow Tree Demon—all stood frozen. Never before had they encountered such an opponent, one who could ignore his enemies even in battle.

“I—” Wuyun had just opened his mouth when he saw Nantian and the others surrounding Dou Wang, clearly ready to act unless Wuyun was handed over.

“Who dares make a move!” roared Bear Third.

The Rainbow Tree Demon and Nantian appeared utterly unfazed, and Thousand-Handed Venom declared, “Hand him over. The next Gu I use will be mine to command. Otherwise...!”

“Who’s afraid of whom? Such a sought-after prize—if you want him, you’ll have to pay the price!” Dou Wang stood firm, while Liu Ruyan and Jiao Ying immediately struck defensive stances, determined to protect Wuyun should a fight break out.

Suddenly, Jiao Ying sensed something amiss. Revealing his true form, he spread his mighty wings, dispersing an invisible, colorless poisonous mist.

Even in the vacuum of space, where no air stirs, the poisonous mist was caught by an unseen current and drifted toward the trapped Tiger-Faced Immortal, who sneezed, shrugged, and returned to his dream.

“How dare you!” Liu Ruyan cried out when Jiao Ying’s wings suddenly changed color—she knew instantly that the sacred beast had been poisoned. The poison was colorless and tasteless; even the slightest contact with magical power could not dispel it.

Liu Ruyan was just about to unleash her life-bound treasure when Wuyun stopped her. “What sort of Gu is it?” he asked.

The Rainbow Tree Demon, already in motion, suddenly halted before Wuyun. A jellyfish-like organism released from Thousand-Handed Venom’s palm floated over and burrowed into Wuyun’s body.

“You fool!” Bear Third and the Seven Beasts exclaimed in unison. The Seven Beasts gave a sly smile. “With my cultivation at the Soul Consolidation stage, even with your help, you’re still no match for me. Besides, with such a powerful foe looming, internal strife is beneath us!”

The crowd remained skeptical. Inwardly, Wuyun reflected that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to slaughter them, but that killing here would yield no reward from the heavens—it would be killing for nothing.

Meanwhile, the Gu worm inside him was vibrating, transmitting signals. On the other end, Thousand-Handed Venom received the signal and smiled in satisfaction.

Everyone knew that the Heartless Gu was incurable; Wuyun was now a puppet!

Even Bear Third tried to stealthily release silken threads from his treasure, attempting to extract the Gu from Wuyun’s body, but to his surprise, Wuyun’s entire form was now impenetrably tough, all traces of his former weakness at the Qi Gathering stage gone.

Once a dragon ascends to the heavens, how could a god be trapped in water?

Having reached the Soul Consolidation stage, Wuyun now possessed countless means and, having traversed myriad dimensions, understood the structure of every world. Master one, master them all—he could reach the pinnacle!

Seeing Wuyun willingly submit, Bear Third felt a pang of regret, but before he could speak, Thousand-Handed Venom asked in a sinister tone, “Is Shengba dead?”

“He’s dead!” Wuyun replied instantly.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Thousand-Handed Venom began to chant. The Gu worm inside Wuyun surged toward his brain, and Wuyun, his head now swollen and dripping with sweat, stared blankly and muttered, “Shengba is not dead!”

“Where is Shengba? Will he return?”

“He is in a unique space, formed by the dying wish and memory of a god. When a certain point in time is reached, it will vanish. That is why he desperately seeks the power of chaos to stabilize his world. As for whether he’ll return—I don’t know. He probably won't.”

Thousand-Handed Venom’s face turned grim. Behind him, the Rainbow Tree Demon pressed for a plan of escape. He asked, and sure enough, Wuyun replied, “The teleportation array was tampered with by the Tiger-Faced Immortal. Even if repaired, it’s a trap and will explode. However, the surrounding grand array can be breached by gathering everyone’s strength to force open a gap.”

With these answers, Thousand-Handed Venom was reassured. Glancing smugly at Nantian, he said, “There’s no time to waste. Let’s leave at once and reconsider our options.”

The rest of the powerful cultivators all agreed. One among them, a silent expert at the Godbreaking stage, turned to Nantian and asked, “What about Shengba’s disciples?”

By the meteorite teleportation array, with the Sword Mountain sect masters and elders forced to repair the puppets, Nantian answered with displeasure, “Any karmic tie to Shengba, I will sever.”

“Exactly! Life and death are fated, wealth is in the hands of heaven. Didn’t they beg for Shengba’s return? Now their savior is here—let’s see how they’re rescued!” The Rainbow Tree Demon hurriedly demanded that Wuyun lead the way to break the array and escape.

So Wuyun led them, pointing east and west, up and down, circling round and round. Though they seemed to return to their starting point, when the meteorite array appeared again, it was still far away. Only after following instructions did the three Godbreaking experts join forces, detonating their treasures to blast open a gap, revealing the scattered stars of outer space.

“Heaven aids us!”

With a wave, Thousand-Handed Venom beckoned Wuyun to enter his flying treasure. Bear Third immediately entangled Wuyun tightly with his silken threads, while Liu Ruyan shouted angrily, “Hand over the antidote, now!”

“There is no antidote. In twelve hours, Jiao Ying will develop his own immunity!” Thousand-Handed Venom shot her a scornful glance. “You all refuse to get involved in Shengba’s karma—I’ll take it on myself. This trouble—better hand it over to me. Otherwise, if he dies, everything falls apart!”

His words offended the others, especially Nantian and the Rainbow Tree Demon, who were now the strongest among them. Even if Bear Third and the others joined forces, they’d be no match.

Nantian frowned. “Wuyun cannot die. Ask him—does he know any celestial or divine arts?”

Thousand-Handed Venom was reluctant, but under pressure from Nantian and the Rainbow Tree Demon, he grudgingly asked, and was stunned by the answer.

“In this dimension, I know all basic immortal arts from the low, middle, and high realms. Which one do you want to learn?” Wuyun replied dully, his expression vacant.

“Thousand-Handed Venom, is that Gu of yours just for show? If you keep boasting like this, I’m afraid the Tiger-Faced Immortal will boast his way out of the illusion!” Nantian snapped, convinced that Thousand-Handed Venom was simply playing tricks.