Chapter 432 - 431: The Nine Wonders Uprooted, The Demon Emperor Shakes the Barrier Realm

"It is remarkable," the monk murmured after they passed another unstable passage. "Her fortune does not simply lead her toward treasures. It also helps her avoid dangers that would prevent her from reaching them."

Lin Yuan nodded slightly. "Fortune is not a substitute for judgment. It can create opportunities, but we still need to recognize them and decide how to act. If we rely on it blindly, we may overlook the very thing it is trying to lead us toward."

Bai Qingyue looked at him with a faint smile. "Then I will leave the judgment to you while I continue following the path."

"That would be a sensible arrangement," Lin Yuan replied.

Ku Ming shook his head with an amused expression. Even in the midst of a catastrophe, the pair could exchange a few simple words without losing sight of their purpose.

Their composure was not the result of ignorance about the danger ahead, but of a trust that had been strengthened through countless shared experiences.

The monk turned his attention back toward the surrounding ruins. "Still, we should remain cautious. If the Demon Emperor can manipulate the foundational Wonders directly, the changes we are witnessing may only be the beginning. The longer the dimensional structure remains unstable, the greater the danger to everyone trapped within it."

Lin Yuan’s expression grew serious. He had been thinking along the same lines, and the absence of direct interference from the Demon Emperor did not reassure him.

A being with such overwhelming strength had no need to chase every opponent personally. If he could reshape the battlefield by moving the foundations of the Nine Provinces, then even the most powerful human cultivators might find their options reduced before a direct confrontation began.

The Golden Immortal Beast continued forward, its golden scales reflecting the pale light of distant stars. The three cultivators followed the shifting currents, their attention divided between the search for a useful treasure and the need to remain aware of the changes occurring across the connected dimensions.

Then the entire Barrier Realm violently shuddered.

The movement was so sudden that the astral dust around them seemed to freeze in place. Floating debris, including boulders larger than cities and ancient swords that had drifted undisturbed for countless years, was abruptly pulled upward by an irresistible force.

The surrounding currents twisted into enormous spirals, and the Golden Immortal Beast released a distressed cry as it struggled to maintain its position.

Lin Yuan immediately extended his spiritual perception. He searched for the source of the disturbance, expecting to discover a powerful attack or a hidden formation activating nearby.

Yet there was no identifiable enemy in the surrounding space, and the changes were too widespread to have originated from an ordinary technique.

"Hold on!" he commanded.

He planted his feet firmly on the beast’s back and allowed his True Elemental Body to release its full stabilizing power. Golden-purple thunder spread through the space around them, while silver-blue rain formed a protective layer that resisted the violent spatial currents.

The pressure was enormous, but Lin Yuan managed to anchor himself and his companions long enough to examine what was happening.

Ku Ming gripped the beast’s scales, his golden eyes widening as he looked toward the upper expanse of the Barrier Realm. "This is not a localized disturbance. The entire dimension is being affected!"

Bai Qingyue tightened her hold on the Sun Shooting Bow. Her fortune had suddenly become restless, and the sensation was so intense that she could no longer mistake it for the subtle guidance she had experienced earlier.

Something of extraordinary importance was moving through the connected dimensions, and its passage was disturbing the very structure of the Barrier Realm.

"Look!" Ku Ming cried, pointing toward the vast expanse above them.

The dimensional fabric tore open.

Beyond the fracture lay the bruised-purple sky of the Hollow Beyond, but the sight that emerged through the opening was far more terrifying than the surrounding darkness. Massive structures were passing directly overhead, each one so enormous that its full extent could not be understood at a glance.

They moved through the dimensional tear as though an invisible hand had seized the foundations of the Nine Provinces and begun dragging them toward the abyss.

Lin Yuan’s pupils contracted.

He recognized the first structure immediately. It was the Continental Land, a vast network of interconnected tectonic plates that supported mountain ranges, ancient cities, and countless regions of the Nine Provinces.

Entire territories were being carried through the dimensional fracture, surrounded by pitch-black demonic energy that gripped the massive structure with merciless strength.

The sight was so enormous that ordinary measurements became meaningless. Mountain ranges stretched across the moving mass like small ridges, while rivers and lakes shimmered beneath a veil of distorted light.

The remains of ancient empires could be seen among the shifting regions, their cities reduced to tiny clusters of buildings beneath the force dragging their foundations away.

The Continental Land was not simply a collection of physical territories. Its vast structure helped stabilize the spatial and elemental laws of the Nine Provinces, distributing the pressures that allowed countless regions to exist within the same world.

Removing it would not merely destroy the cities resting upon it. It would weaken the foundations upon which the entire world depended.

Another enormous structure passed through the fracture, radiating emerald light.

The Whispering Mirage Woods had been uprooted in its entirety. Billions of ancient trees floated within a vast sphere of green radiance, their enormous roots twisting through the surrounding space as though they were searching for something to hold onto.

Countless branches had been torn apart by the force of the extraction, and fragments of leaves and wood scattered through the dimensional currents.

Even from their distant position, Lin Yuan could sense the profound laws preserved within the forest. The Whispering Mirage Woods had existed for ages beyond ordinary historical records, and its ancient trees had absorbed countless traces of spiritual Qi from the Nine Provinces.

Their collective presence helped sustain a complex network of natural laws, including those governing illusions, growth, and the circulation of life.

Now, that vast inheritance was being dragged away.

The emerald sphere trembled as the demonic force tightened around it. The oldest trees within the forest released faint pulses of light, and several enormous branches cracked under the pressure.

Their resistance seemed insignificant against the force that had seized the entire Wonder, and the sphere continued moving toward the Hollow Beyond without slowing.

Bai Qingyue’s expression paled. She had encountered powerful spiritual forests before, and she understood that even the oldest trees could be destroyed by sufficient force.

Yet the Whispering Mirage Woods had been one of the foundational Wonders of the Nine Provinces, a place whose laws had supported countless generations of cultivators.

Seeing it uprooted so casually made the danger of their situation impossible to ignore.

"How much strength does the Demon Emperor possess?" she whispered.