Chapter 564: World Eaters’ Origins

Faced with Tushan Shanhe’s displeased complaints, Xiao Shou’s expression softened slightly, revealing a rare hint of tenderness. He spoke quietly.

"Well, what can I do? I’m his master."

A few moments later, after consuming three pieces of Seventh-Grade Soul Nourishing Jade, Ximen Xuanji’s face gradually relaxed. The distortion disappeared, and his soul returned to a peaceful state, making him look as though he were merely asleep.

Looking at him, Xiao Shou blinked in surprise before turning to Tushan Shanhe, who stood beside him.

"Great Granduncle Shanhe, is it just my imagination, or does he no longer look anything like Young’er?"

Although Ximen Xuanji was still exceptionally handsome and noble, his appearance had changed compared to before. He no longer possessed that unique, peerless beauty and nobility, nor the extraordinary aura that made it obvious he was no ordinary being and inspired instinctive reverence in others.

He seemed much more ordinary now. Even though his handsome and noble appearance was still rare among ordinary cultivators, it was merely exceptional, no longer utterly unique.

"His appearance doesn’t matter. Now that he’s fine, I’ll wake the others. Information about the World Eaters is more important right now."

Without that mysterious power, even the face resembling that legendary existence had not been allowed to remain unchanged. What would happen to Fu Young in the end?

Would that being eventually reclaim all its power from him as well?

This concern flashed through Tushan Shanhe’s mind, but he kept his expression unchanged. He casually infused spiritual energy into the dozen or so unconscious cultivators, waking them up one by one.

Afterward, he glanced at Xiao Shou, who had moved to stand behind him. Xiao Shou’s gaze was anxious, yet he was forcing himself to remain patient.

As the awakened cultivators looked around in confusion and surprise, Tushan Shanhe asked in a dignified voice, "Do you remember what happened just now?"

"I remember that we were fighting when a beautiful blue... something came flying toward us. Then everything suddenly went black."

"It wasn’t ordinary blue. It was a more translucent, ice blue color, and its shape seemed to resemble waves..."

"I remember it too. I seemed to lose consciousness the moment I saw that ice blue light."

"What exactly happened? Where are those monsters?"

As the cultivators voiced their confusion, Tushan Shanhe spoke with authority.

"They have all been eliminated. However, these World Eaters from the Extraterritorial Battlefield pose an enormous threat. If left unchecked, they could cause a catastrophic disaster, possibly even destroy the entire Mystic Jade Realm. So I need you to tell me where these World Eaters came from and explain everything that happened."

"Thank you, Senior Tushan, for saving our lives. We have also witnessed the danger these creatures pose firsthand."

Qin Zhaoming, who had recognized Tushan Shanhe and the others before losing consciousness, wore a bitter expression as he spoke.

"This is a long story. It all began with what happened to my friend, Brother Ying. About two months ago, after Brother Ying emerged from the Myriad Ghosts Grotto secret realm following his cultivation session, his cultivation became unstable. A strange force began moving erratically through his body..."

As Qin Zhaoming and the others explained the situation, Xiao Shou and Tushan Shanhe learned that there was much more to the incident than they had previously known.

Brother Ying was not the only victim. Several people in the Ximen Kingdom had also been affected.

The Ximen Kingdom was a country where confucian cultivation and the Dao were highly esteemed. Its people took pride in practicing confucianism and the Dao, so the victims benefited from the righteous virtue energy within their bodies.

Rather than being killed immediately after the juvenile World Eaters entered their bodies, the victims had managed to suppress the creatures’ growth.

Furthermore, the Ximen Kingdom had Ximen Xuanji, a powerful cultivator capable of removing foreign energies from the body. Thanks to him, all the victims had been rescued.

However, the elders of the Ximen Clan had recognized the danger posed by this mysterious power. If it was not dealt with, a large scale outbreak could occur someday. Even if Ximen Xuanji was capable of saving the victims, how many people could one person possibly rescue?

Besides, even in a country where confucian cultivation flourished, not everyone practiced confucianism. Ordinary people and cultivators who followed other paths were just as numerous.

If they became infected, they would have no righteous virtue energy to resist the invading creatures. They would likely die immediately, just like the wild beasts and demonic beasts used in the experiments.

For these reasons, the Ximen Clan gathered information about where the victims had been before they became infected. After investigating their movements, they discovered that they all shared one thing in common.

The common factors were that all the victims had recently emerged from Myriad Ghosts Grotto and had passed through the same location before leaving.

Based on these two clues, the elders and officials of the Ximen Kingdom suspected that the source of the infection was connected to that particular location inside Myriad Ghosts Grotto. After discussing the matter, the Ximen Emperor dispatched Ximen Xuanji, who was immune to foreign energies, to investigate. Two of the victims were assigned to guide him and help uncover the truth.

However, they had underestimated the danger posed by the World Eaters. They sent only Ximen Xuanji and his guards to investigate, without any powerful elders accompanying them.

After arriving, they happened to meet Qin Zhaoming and the others, learning about another victim. When City Lord Murong Shuang heard about the incident, he realized that it needed to be taken seriously. Murong Wan also volunteered for the mission, so Murong Shuang simply sent some of his subordinates along with her.

Unfortunately, Murong Shuang had also underestimated the severity of the situation.

After reaching the suspected location, they proceeded cautiously, tracking the strange energy and remaining on guard. Eventually, they discovered a spatial rift less than half a meter wide in the sky above the Ghost Emperor region, deep within the frigid northern reaches of Myriad Ghosts Grotto.