Chapter Fifty-Four: Can't You Let Me Die for a While?

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“Why is time standing still here? No, something’s off!” Bear Third was both alarmed and delighted as he realized that in the spatial passage, time moved excruciatingly slowly—one hour inside equaled a year in the Qianluo Realm.

Long Yi glanced at Bear Third and sent a wave of divine sense to him and the others, saying, “There are certain common truths of the Immortal Realm you must never reveal. If you slip, we’ll be in serious trouble!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than another imperial artifact appeared in the passage—a genuine, undiminished imperial artifact. The moment it entered the passage to the Third Immortal Realm, it collided with the formation diagram.

Within this spatial tunnel, no matter how formidable an immortal or imperial artifact, upon entering, it became utterly insignificant. Yet, the imperial might was so overwhelming that even a casual release of power made the formation tremble on the verge of collapse, not yet restored to its original, impregnable state. Without a period of recuperation and reforging, it was impossible for the diagram to recover its initial defensive power.

Thus, the grand formation began to shatter!

“It’s over,” Long Yi murmured. If he were restored to his former Immortal King cultivation, there would still be hope—he could break through the space and escape. But with his current peak Concentration Stage strength, he was powerless.

Amid the violent tremors, the Six-Talents Ancestral Dragon emerged in agony, circling the group. Once the Ten Heavens and Nine Earths formation diagram was destroyed, he would have to seek a new refuge.

“Hurry! Try to wake Senior Wuyun!” The shrewd Little Bug transformed into human form, shaking and shouting, but Wuyun remained unresponsive.

In the critical moment, Long Yi forced his divine sense into Wuyun’s consciousness, only to be instantly repelled by a torrent of information. An ineffable force made him vomit blood.

Suddenly, Wuyun’s eyes opened dully. He spoke mechanically, “What’s the matter? Can’t you let me die for a while?”

With a mouthful of saliva from the Six-Talents Ancestral Dragon, Wuyun jolted awake from his nightmare and shouted, “Don’t even think about altering my memory!”

When he saw everyone staring at him, he said in alarm, “Never intrude upon my consciousness! There’s still a wisp of chaotic energy protecting everything inside—my only foundation. If anyone touches it, they’ll be destroyed along with me!”

His voice grew faint, for at that moment, another divine sense forcefully invaded as the formation broke.

“Who are you, Immortal Emperor, to meddle in my affairs?” Wuyun’s voice rang out with dominance, giving Bear Third and the others reassurance—this elder was truly formidable, undaunted even by an Immortal Emperor.

A hazy shape formed from divine sense—a weapon, though its true nature remained concealed. The figure sighed, “Anything coveted by other Immortal Realms must be an extraordinary thing. Yet, I sense this is all about vengeance. Hand over your techniques, yield, and surrender. I will not kill you, only confine your souls and nourish them well.”

Wuyun was about to retort with bravado when suddenly, twenty more strands of divine sense appeared within the formation—all of them had stealthily infiltrated while he was unconscious, unnoticed even by the Six-Talents Ancestral Dragon.

One of them sneered, “There are hundreds of known Great Immortal Realms. The Qianluo Minor World’s ascension belongs as a resource to the First and Thirtieth Immortal Realms. Otherwise, I would have descended long ago, sacrificing myself to capture you!”

“What kind of beast did Saint Tyrant feed you?” Wuyun mocked, and the other snorted in annoyance, “Any creature, be it worm or rat, is beneath an emperor of the Immortal Realm! Friend from the Third Immortal Realm, if you can capture that child alive, please use your imperial artifact to deliver him to a minor world slightly east of Area 909. In return, you will be taught more than thirty ways to transcend to godhood!”

This voice spoke for the other nineteen. The hazy weapon-shaped divine sense burst into hearty laughter. “Thank you for your generosity, friend. I promise to capture both the child and the formation!”

The Immortal Emperor of the Third Immortal Realm was confident—his imperial artifact was already in the passage, soon to reach the formation diagram.

It was like a mortal, newly ascended, encountering an Immortal Emperor at the gateway—a single glance could spell instant death.

Doom seemed certain! If they tried to reverse course back to the minor world, the result would be the same: utter destruction.

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Long Yi understood the underlying mysteries. At this point, their only hope was to break out of the formation and scatter in flight. Yet Wuyun, sitting at the core of the formation, exposed himself to the crushing pressure of the passage, his body twisting like a rope under the immense force.

“Little Eagle and Liu Ruyan’s fates are still unknown—I can’t lose you as well. If I lack the strength to protect you, what meaning is there in my existence?” In his contorted form, Wuyun closed his eyes, as if ready to perish in this spatial corridor.

The Immortal Emperors’ divine senses laughed uproariously; even the weapon-shaped sense from the Third Immortal Realm couldn’t help but chuckle. “If a mere mortal escapes under an Immortal Emperor’s watchful eye, I shall enter nirvana and be reborn!”

But Wuyun had already fallen silent again, sinking into a deep slumber.

Nearby, Battle King anxiously summoned his golden body to resist the pressure, but now it was as fragile as thin paper.

“Has the elder fallen asleep?” Battle King coughed awkwardly, asking twice, but Wuyun gave no response, stoic as a monk allowing his body to be worn away by the passage.

All present were at least of the Concentration Stage, relying on precious artifacts to make their way into the Immortal Realm with ease. But Wuyun, with only a broken divine stage cultivation and no protection, was in a dire state.

Flesh was torn away, bone gradually exposed.

At last, Bear Third abandoned all illusions and cried out, “It’s over! Senior Wuyun would rather perish than be captured. What do we do—fight, die, or surrender?”

Long Yi cast his spells, searching for a means of escape. When disaster strikes, each fends for himself; facing an Immortal Emperor, even he, once an Immortal King, had no confidence.

Little Bug was the first to dart off, and Bear Third followed, brandishing his artifact in flight.

Once broken and incomplete, their artifacts had gradually regained their immense power upon reaching the Immortal Realm.

Long Yi too unleashed his hidden treasure—a weathered ancient blade, the Frightening God Blade. As he was about to flee, an imposing dragon blocked his path!

Long Yi was startled—at such a moment, was his own father still unwilling to let him go? He looked at the suspended blade, full of regret and anger. “Father, do you truly want me to die here?”

“Nonsense! The Ten Heavens and Nine Earths formation is about to shatter—I’m going to hide in the divine blade for safety. Quickly, relinquish control so I can enter!”

In a flurry, Six-Talents rushed inside. Long Yi didn’t spare a glance at Battle King and shot past the fleeing Bear Third, racing for the corridor—only to see Little Bug circle back.

Long Yi’s heart sank. “It’s over. Is the passage so filled with imperial might that we’re completely surrounded?”

He made one last desperate bid for freedom, the Frightening God Blade gleaming under the scrutiny of countless divine senses and imperial auras. Glancing back at the dying, silent Wuyun, he steeled himself to cast his immortal arts—then, like Little Bug, turned back.

“No, something’s wrong. Why is Little Bug so calm?” Long Yi reversed course, as did Bear Third and Battle King, each retracing their steps, all eyes locked on Little Bug.

“I’m only guessing!” Little Bug wanted to add, “Don’t hit me,” but words were pointless in such a situation. He pointed at Wuyun. “There’s someone we forgot!”

“Yue Qi!”

They spoke in unison, suddenly grasping the key. The son of Yue Luohua was still present, yet to be attended to, still inside Wuyun’s artifact. There must be a backup plan!

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With renewed hope, just as the formation of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths shattered completely and the dreadful imperial might swept in, a weapon identical to the earlier hazy shape revealed itself—a divine bow, famed for slaying immortals and demons.

Such an imperial artifact bow was the deadliest weapon in the spatial corridor. The imperial immortal would not act lightly, but when he did, it was with apocalyptic force, seeking to destroy with a single blow.

Despair—despair within despair—left not a sliver of resistance.

The world seemed about to end. As the imperial might was about to obliterate their bodies, seize their souls, and render them to dust, there fell a silence—an absolute, unbroken silence.

The entire spatial passage became as if time itself had stopped—nothing moved.

No, the corridor still crept forward, light shimmering as before, but everyone—immortals, imperial artifacts, all twenty-one strands of divine sense—was utterly paralyzed.

Then, in the next instant—or perhaps after countless years, or merely a heartbeat—as everyone blinked in confusion, everything was gone.

It was like waking from a nightmare of pursuit and slaughter. Wuyun, his bones laid bare, staggered to his feet and pulled something from his chest—the artifact holding Yue Qi. With a wave of his hand, the shattered Ten Heavens and Nine Earths formation returned to his palm. Without hesitation, he directed Long Yi to break the space immediately and open a rift for escape.

There was no imperial might pressing in, no pursuers behind. Long Yi, holding the Frightening God Blade, unleashed its long-stored power as Wuyun instructed—one strike, and a spatial fissure appeared.

In a flash, they were shoved through the crack, tumbling into an unknown world.

“Ahhh—!”

With a thud, six figures fell. Only Long Yi, clutching the crying child, transformed into his dragon form and landed upright.

As for Battle King, Bear Third, and Little Bug, one had his head and neck buried in the earth, another was stuck waist-deep. Only Wuyun fared worst of all: he tossed Yue Qi up to lessen the impact, but he himself landed flat on his back, splayed out in the sand.

“Hurry, Senior Wuyun’s in bad shape!” Bear Third, quick-eyed, urged Little Bug to spit out rainbow silk for first aid, but with Wuyun’s bones exposed, what could be stitched together?

He had collapsed completely, blood streaming, with no skin or muscle to cover his frame—his features unrecognizable. Even Battle King would struggle to recover from such wounds.

In their panic, everyone emptied their private stashes, pouring all the pills from the Golden Bridge into Wuyun’s toothless mouth. But like a dying man with no teeth, he couldn’t chew immortal pills as large as fists!

If swallowing them meant survival, what if he couldn’t?

In a flash, Bear Third spun out silver-white silken threads crackling with thunder, smashing the pills into powder and filling Wuyun’s gaping mouth. Long Yi then attempted to use an immortal art, but the spell was blocked—his water techniques failed.

Desolation. An endless desert, blazing heat, a place unlike the Immortal Realm where even the simplest conjuring of water was impossible.

“Could it be my own laziness and neglect?” Long Yi shook Bear Third, but neither he, Little Bug, nor Battle King had any solution.