The Decaying World

After a long silence, Mackenzie’s voice was a bit hoarse as he finally spoke.

"It seems this new ultimate powerhouse might be even more ruthless than us old-timers!"

"He isn’t just an ultimate powerhouse. He’s likely on a completely new level, a height that our current systems can’t accurately measure!"

Mackenzie ran a hand through his hair in anguish.

"We still haven’t solved the problem with the Heaven-Reaching Tower on our side, and it could become the main loophole for that monster from the Upper Realm to descend at any moment."

"And now, another huge problem has popped up in the East..."

"It would have been one thing before, when the situation in the Upper Realm hadn’t deteriorated this badly. But now... if a true connection is established..." Alfanya muttered, his expression grim.

"Contact the Court. See if we can gather any specifics on him. According to our intel, he has ongoing business dealings with them," Mackenzie sighed.

Infinite-level. This classification basically meant there was no one in the world who could deal with them; it was just a different way of saying it.

Infinite signified an unknown height. It meant that based on current intelligence, the target’s full power had not yet been determined.

This was the true reason for Mackenzie and Alfanya’s shock. As the two of them quickly began discussing how to handle this mysterious powerhouse who had appeared out of nowhere...

...new information arrived. In that short amount of time, the powerhouse had already captured several more Heavenly Immortal-level experts from neighboring countries and factions. He locked them in crystal pillars and vanished with them on the spot.

Instantly, the power assessment for Lin Hui skyrocketed. All the remaining Heavenly Immortals and Holy Spirits began to fear for their own safety.

Mackenzie hurriedly convened an emergency Holy Spirit assembly, inviting all the other Heavenly Immortals and Holy Spirits who hadn’t been targeted yet to attend.

But before everyone could even arrive for the meeting, disaster struck again in the Upper Realm.

They had been working hard to conceal the location of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, which housed a secret arrival altar connected to the Upper Realm. Suddenly, more than half of its candles spontaneously lit up.

Fortunately, the sorcerers on duty discovered it in time. They immediately mobilized the power of nearby sorcerers to sever the energy-transferring runes of the altar’s formation.

This only managed to pause the situation. It was important to understand that such arrival altars were typically used when deities from the Upper Realm intended to descend to the Human Realm to look after their followers.

But now, with the deities of the Upper Realm either dead or crippled, for the arrival altar to activate on its own and nearly complete a descent without any prior oracle... every sorcerer knew what that meant.

However, this was just a temporary measure. A pause didn’t mean the arrival formation was completely neutralized. The moment the restraining force slackened even slightly, the entire arrival ritual would immediately accelerate to completion.

"President, we can’t hold it back anymore...!"

Inside the Divine Hall’s conference room, the faces of the high-ranking, Holy Spirit-level sorcerers were filled with panic.

"We either abandon the migration, or we commit even greater power to forcibly stop the arrival formation from operating! But we’ve already reached our maximum output. To strengthen it further, we’d have to step in ourselves."

Alfanya said grimly.

They were Heavenly Immortals, Holy Spirits. They could indeed step up and hold it back for now. But the key issue was that the Heaven-Reaching Tower was the only channel connecting to the Celestial People on this side. They could hold it now, but what about later? What if the intensity increased?

What would they do when there was no one left to hold the line?

Mackenzie looked around at the others. Unlike him, these top sorcerers from the major factions had no time to worry about the situation on the Eastern Continent. All their energy was focused on the Heaven-Reaching Tower here and the backlash from rituals meant to communicate with the Upper Realm.

All the factions were terrified, trembling in fear. They had all received information from their own gods about the brutal and terrifying Green-Eyed Evil God, Xue Shi.

Now, everything was just far more severe, the situation far more urgent.

Mackenzie let out a sigh.

"I’ve just received a message. It’s from the Eastern Continent."

He raised his voice, drawing everyone’s attention.

Only when all the Holy Spirit sorcerers were looking at him did he continue.

"Just like us, the East is now facing an unprecedented, massive problem."

"President, are you talking about... that new ultimate powerhouse? The Infinite Advancing Wind?" a female sorcerer in a purple robe asked.

"I’m not sure if that’s the title you’re referring to, but he is indeed skilled at using the power of wind." Mackenzie nodded and continued, "According to the council of elders’ assessment, it’s been confirmed. This person’s actual combat power far exceeds the limits of what we can handle. He has been classified as—Infinite-level."

As soon as he said this, everyone quickly fell silent. All those who understood the meaning of his words knew exactly what that classification meant.

"According to the assessment, the Green-Eyed Evil God from the Upper Realm is also rated as Infinite-level. Does this mean that in this era, we must face two absolutely unsolvable, fatal crises?" another old man with white hair and a white beard, dressed as a scholar, inquired.

"Fortunately, he’s on the Eastern Continent, not here with us."

"But we have the arrival altar in the Heaven-Reaching Tower. If we can’t defend that place..."

"Can’t we just destroy it?"

"No. Destroying it would also activate the altar’s function, and it would be the *last* activation. That means if we ever want to send *him* back to the Upper Realm in the future, it would be impossible! How long do you think we can last against the Green-Eyed Evil God?"

"What does the emissary from the Court say?" Mackenzie asked, turning to the Holy Spirit-level emissary sent by the Court.

He was a gaunt, skinny man, whose small stature was made even more apparent by his loose black robes.

This was Li Mingshu, who was perennially in charge of liaison and trade between the Court and the Sorcerers’ Assembly.

"On the Eastern Continent, it’s already certain that no one can resist the Infinite Advancing Wind, just as you are powerless against the Absolute Devouring Serpent from the Upper Realm," the emissary, Li Mingshu, said calmly.

"What is his situation exactly? What’s his attitude? Can he be reasoned with, persuaded, or dissuaded?" Mackenzie asked seriously.

"It’s very difficult. Our Court Master has dispatched several emissaries to first observe, then communicate. We’ve found that he completely refuses any sustained interaction. Although we’ve traded with him for years, we’ve never managed to establish a deep rapport."

Li Mingshu paused for a moment before continuing.

"His actions are completely unpredictable; he seems to have some mental instability. He’s also incredibly fast. When he decides to act, he immediately heads to the Iron Buddha Temple or the Slender Cloud Pavilion without a moment’s hesitation. His subsequent trip to the Great Golden Cloud Temple was the same. I do have an idea, though. Since this man is going around capturing Holy Spirit-level experts and asking how to contact the Upper Realm, and you’re over here with an arrival formation that’s desperately trying to activate and open a channel to the Celestial People in the Upper Realm...

"Why not just lure him over to the arrival altar? Wouldn’t that be giving him exactly what he wants?"

"Does this person know about the Green-Eyed Evil God’s existence?" Mackenzie asked again.

"He does not. And it’s best we don’t tell him. That way, we can make them fight to the death at the critical moment. We can’t handle either of them anyway, so we might as well let them fight it out first. No matter who wins, it will buy us more than enough time..." Li Mingshu said gravely.

"Speaking of which, the Green-Eyed Evil God also seems to have some mental instability... But between the two, the evil god’s chances of winning are much higher. Once we let him fully into the Human Realm... our fate then..." Mackenzie frowned.

"How much longer can you hold out? A month? Five months? What’s the point of just living on borrowed time?" Li Mingshu sighed. "It’s better to seek survival in the face of death, to fight for that one sliver of hope."

His meaning was clear: use the opportunity while the two were fighting to run away.

When it came to running and hiding, all the Holy Spirits and Heavenly Immortals present had profound insights and accomplishments.

"It is indeed worth a try..."

"If they happen to cripple each other and both suffer heavy losses, that would be for the best. We could even use the opportunity to finish them both off for good," Alfanya said, voicing the ideal scenario.

"So, how do we lure him here?"

"Just tell him the truth. No one is unaware of the rumors about the dangers in the Upper Realm. Hiding it would be the height of folly. Judging from his actions, there’s a high probability he’ll choose to press forward regardless of the circumstances there," Li Mingshu explained.

"No, we should conceal it for now. What if he decides to flee, or worse, threatens to use us as cannon fodder to test his opponent first? We’d be in a terrible position either way," someone objected.

"I see... That is indeed a possibility..." Li Mingshu mentally simulated a decision Lin Hui might make based on his personality, and the chance he would force them to scout ahead was very real.

"Then it’s settled. We conceal the truth and guide him to the Heaven-Reaching Tower region," Mackenzie declared, finalizing the decision.

This determined the core of their operation.

*

*

*

While Mackenzie and the others were discussing how to deal with the two great threats...

...after Lin Hui had forced his way into the Great Golden Cloud Temple, his only purpose in capturing people was to confirm whether the method the Apricot Blossom Fairy of Slender Cloud Pavilion had for contacting the Upper Realm was actually effective.

As for sealing him, it was mainly because the man’s attitude was terrible and his tone arrogant, so he had simply frozen him and brought him along.

In truth, he had no idea how much of a stir his actions had caused.

He just felt that the old monk he’d captured was quite strong, having broken free from the Celestial Father Seal’s freeze more than ten times. It was only when Lin Hui finally lost his patience and knocked him unconscious with a single slap that the vicious cycle ended.

After capturing the man and comparing the information...

...fortunately, this time the Apricot Blossom Fairy truly didn’t dare to play any more tricks and obediently provided the simplest and fastest method.

「On the border of the New Republic, in a desolate valley.」

Lin Hui casually tossed aside a Ganoderma, a Treasure Medicine for enhancing virility that he had just obtained, letting it roll freely in the dirt.

Unfortunately, the Treasure Medicine, which he had taken a bite out of, was completely useless to him.

After severing his flesh, blood, and bones, there were very, very few Treasure Medicines that could have any effect on him. As a result, he could only wait patiently for his Blood Seal’s evolution to proceed at its natural pace.

He glanced at the Apricot Blossom Fairy, who was attempting to set up the formation for the fifth time not far away.

"Still not working?"

"My apologies... Senior. Our connection to the Upper Realm relies mainly on the Heaven-Ascending Gate. It’s a Magical Treasure, a transit formation in the Upper Realm that is closest to our Human Realm. But I’ve just tried several times and can no longer connect to it..." This time, the Apricot Blossom Fairy was telling the truth.

She really had been meticulously setting up the formation, and she hadn’t cut any corners with the Mana crystals powering it.

Its ultimate failure was indeed due to the problem she had mentioned.

With the formation in the Upper Realm no longer being maintained, it was inevitable that more and more problems would arise over time.

"Are there any other ways to contact the Upper Realm?" Lin Hui asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

"There are..." the Apricot Blossom Fairy said cautiously. "But... it’s quite far from here. Not in any of the surrounding countries. Not even on this continent."

"Where?"

"The Heaven-Reaching Tower!" the Apricot Blossom Fairy answered softly. "It’s located on the Western Continent. Their connection with the Upper Realm has always been much stronger than ours. So they still have the Heaven-Reaching Tower’s arrival formation, which connects to the Celestial People."

"And through this arrival formation, one can go directly to the Upper Realm?" Lin Hui asked.

"Yes, but you can only go to the Western Continent’s section of the Upper Realm—the place where their gods reside," the Apricot Blossom Fairy answered quickly.

"However, it’s said that when used in reverse, the formation can only teleport one person every ten years." She was worried she’d be dragged along as cannon fodder to test the path again, so she quickly made this clear.

"Take me to see it," Lin Hui said flatly.

"Understood! I will make contact immediately!" The Apricot Blossom Fairy was ecstatic. ’Everything is going exactly according to the plan with the sorcerers!’

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