Chapter 548: Hidden Threat

Across countless minor worlds, those burdened with sinful karma had been wiped out. Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, most people who had never committed any serious wrongdoing had survived and been given a fresh start. The threat of the female protagonist Baili Ruoxi arriving and destroying the world had been resolved. Although another danger still awaited them more than a hundred years in the future, they at least had the chance to begin again.

It was difficult to say which outcome was better or worse.

Xiao Shou had once believed that after the female protagonist ascended, the Heaven Origin Realm would recover and soon return to prosperity. Instead, the realm had barely escaped one destruction only to fall into another trap that threatened to destroy it all over again.

Inside Yao Heng’s inner space, Xiao Shou thought about all of this. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he bore at least some responsibility for the immortals’ arrival. It was because of her influence that Yu Lin had chosen to side with Nanli, the Immortal Emperor of the Immortal Realm. That decision had ultimately led to the arrival of two Immortal Kings and the disastrous consequences that followed.

That was why, upon discovering that he had transmigrated into yet another novel, Xiao Shou had been so desperate to leave as soon as possible. He had no intention of getting involved in the affairs of this realm, no matter how dangerous things became.

After all, whether one called it the plot or the momentum of fate, things usually turned out best when the chosen child of destiny was allowed to follow their destined path. Even the slightest attempt to change things seemed only to make the outcome worse.

Hearing her say this, Fu Young blinked. Rather than pointing out that the cultivation techniques he and his master practiced did not give rise to heart demons, he instead remarked with a faintly amused smile, "What Lord Shanhe really wants to talk about isn’t compassion, is it? You must be worried about the same thing as me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so concerned about this matter."

"What thing?" Xiao Shou asked, looking at Fu Young and Tushan Shanhe in surprise.

If this wasn’t about compassion, then why was Great Granduncle Shanhe so eager to resolve the World Eater crisis?

Seeing the utterly bewildered look on Xiao Shou’s face, Fu Young suppressed a laugh.

"It’s the danger level of the World Eaters, isn’t it? Master, you said they feed on all things. So what happens if the cultivators of this realm lose, and the World Eaters devour the entire Mystic Jade Realm? What will they do next?"

"Uh! Of course, they’ll..."

Continue looking for food.

Before Xiao Shou could finish saying it aloud, he understood what the two men were getting at. Her expression stiffened as he replied awkwardly, "But if the Mystic Jade Realm is destroyed, they’ll fall straight into the void. The void is filled with strange energies from beyond the realm. They... should have a hard time surviving there. Wouldn’t they simply die in the... void?"

"Not necessarily. They managed to invade our realm from the extraterrestrial battlefield and survive, which means they must possess some ability to survive in the void. If that’s the case, we need to consider which spirit realm will be the next to suffer after they devour the Mystic Jade Realm and enter the void."

After delivering this explanation in one breath, Tushan Shanhe’s tone grew somber.

"So long as we cannot discover their weakness and find a way to eradicate them completely, sooner or later, they’ll reach the Spirit Fox Realm and wreak havoc there. How many places will be devastated before they arrive is anyone’s guess. Tsk, what a massive headache. What on earth were those people on the extraterrestrial battlefield thinking, allowing such dangerous creatures to slip inside?"

"So... that’s what it means..."

As Tushan Shanhe spoke, an inexplicable thought surfaced in Xiao Shou’s mind. At the end of the novel, after An Tae, who had been possessed by the female protagonist Baili Ruoxi, self destructed and detonated the two Heavenfall Immortal Sword and Heavenrise Immotal Sword , the system had automatically protected her consciousness and carried it back to the Mystic Azure Realm.

A line of bold text had appeared at the very end.

[ From the endless ruins shrouded in raging immortal energy, the strongest World Eater Mother that had once existed crawled out. Its body was covered in wounds as it drifted helplessly into the void. ]

Had that sentence actually been hinting at the problem Great Granduncle Shanhe had just mentioned?

If Tushan Shanhe’s guess was correct and the World Eaters continued to spread afterward, what would happen to the entire Spirit Realms? Even a brief thought about it sent a chill down Xiao Shou’s spine.

Fu Young had become somewhat interested. Something that seemed so difficult to deal with sounded genuinely intriguing to him. Looking at Xiao Shou as though he had discovered an interesting new toy, he said, "Master! Since Lord Shanhe thinks so, why don’t we investigate? We can find out whether these creatures really are World Eaters. If they are, we’ll need to discover their weaknesses."

If the strange energy infecting that man really was caused by the World Eaters, as Master had said, Fu Young wondered whether Ximen Xuanji’s power could deal with them.

Sigh. If that fellow could get infected too, things would be so much easier. Then I wouldn’t have to think of another way. I could simply extract the fragment of the Supreme Star Lord’s consciousness from him.

Fu Young entertained the rather malicious thought with a hint of amusement.

"This... where should we even begin?" Xiao Shou wanted to refuse, but when he saw the rare excitement shining in his beloved disciple’s eyes, his refusal turned into a hesitant question instead.

"Should we go directly to that friend of the man surnamed Mo? But wouldn’t that expose the fact that we were eavesdropping... I mean, gathering information?"

Fu Young’s lips curved upward.