Chapter 533

Chapter 533: The Fall of the True Realm

Unfortunately, the transformation into disaster beasts continued. Lack of Shadow broke down into tiny units, spreading throughout the city and rapidly consuming spirit energy to reproduce.

Although the newly split bodies lacked the strength of the original, they had already recorded directions for optimization and could grow stronger through continuous combat.

Barriers, formations, Spiritual Law, Spirit Law, Physical Law—all methods failed to stop Lack of Shadow’s invasion. Only a few powerful cultivators could maintain their safety with great magical power.

For instance, some top cultivators surrounded themselves with True Fire that could incinerate everything; with no gaps in the flames, they could only forcefully push through.

However, this required constant evolution, as at least a part of their bodies could not evolve into a form that completely ignored True Fire in a short time.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

“Help me! Help me! I don’t want to die!”

Too many people turned into disaster beasts, crying out in agony.

“Boom!”

A terrifying force swept through, turning those individuals to ashes, while high-level cultivators above acted coldly.

“Help you? Nothing is more important than this right now!”

The higher-ups of the Ten Thousand Flowers Spirit City decisively began to protect themselves, sweeping away the lower-level cultivators in waves, no longer allowing Lack of Shadow to gain strength.

The Spirit City was the domain of various factions, with no space left for ordinary people. These individuals were merely used by the rulers to collect echoes; surviving this disaster was more crucial, and if they perished, so be it. They could always Clone more generations later, which wouldn’t take much effort.

During this process of destruction, Lack of Shadow also lost many individuals but evolved further into higher realms.

“…”

Lack of Shadow consumed the barrier, extracting vast amounts of energy, visibly expanding its power. In contrast, the counterattacks from the five True Disciples appeared extremely pale and powerless. Although they attempted to manipulate the formations to unleash more capabilities and suppress Lack of Shadow’s growing power, the unfortunate reality was that the capabilities of the formations were fixed—they could not produce additional abilities, no matter how they changed their approaches.

They felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness. As True Disciples of external sects, they certainly ranked as powerful opponents in the True Realm, but compared to the True Disciples of the Heavenly Sect, their strength was far inferior. Outside of the Star State, they could easily sweep through armies.

In the five stages of the Mystic Realm, they had achieved at least two perfect advancements and one near-perfect one, with only the last two significant setbacks.

This meant they possessed at least a million times the magical power of the Ninth Turn law realms; a single strike could incinerate the heavens and boil the seas. Advancing to the True Realm was essential to sustain the consumption of the True Form power, unleashing true might that could shake the world.

Yet, despite this foundation bolstered by the two great weapons of the Nine Star Heavenly Sect and the Ten Thousand Flowers Spirit City, they still couldn’t handle a country-destroying disaster beast. This was no joke; they could not find a stronger power, and the longer this continued, the more certain their defeat became.

“It’s clear now; let’s use the Ascension of the Heavenly Path and see if we can exceed the limits of this disaster beast?” True Disciple He Yu suddenly spoke.

“Failing means death; the risk is too great. It’s better to abandon the Spirit City than to act recklessly; this disaster beast won’t catch us,” True Disciple Bai Hun shook his head.

“Abandoning the city would surely draw the Heavenly Sect’s wrath; that won’t do! This matter is clearly related to the demon clan. The return of the Heavenly Master to the heavenly realm has attracted these monsters, and we are just the first city. Losing to them is quite normal; seeking the Heavenly Sect’s assistance is the better option,” True Disciple Shi Shu countered.

“This disaster beast is in an alternate space, its body fully locking down the Spirit City. We can’t send a message; we can only wait for the Heavenly Sect to discover it themselves, but how long will that take?” Bai Hun continued, “At the current rate, the Spirit City will likely collapse within a quarter of an hour. The disaster beast’s power is already at the level of perfect True Realm.”

As the cultivators’ realms rose, the formations gradually fell behind. No matter how much spirit energy they had, it was hard to compare it to the magical power and True Essence of high-level cultivators.

Thus, while formations could withstand and attack for two or three decades during the Mystic Realm period, they could determine a victory or defeat within about a year in the True Realm.

Lack of Shadow exhibited perfect True Realm power in their estimation; its primary manifestation was the rapid collapse of the formations, which would be destroyed in half an hour.

Moreover, Lack of Shadow was growing too quickly; in half an hour, they might not even be able to escape using the Ascension of the Heavenly Path, risking their lives in the process.

“Indeed, if anyone intends to strike at the Spirit City, they must conceal the heavenly secrets and fabricate the illusion that the Spirit City has not been attacked. Even if it can’t be hidden for long, a mere quarter of an hour should cause no issues. The margin for error in waiting is too low; perhaps we should send two people to break through and relay the message,” True Disciple Tian Zhong suggested. “If there are ambushes, then that’s fate; it will be what it will be.”

“Then I shall opt for the breakout,” True Disciple Bai Hun declared.

If there were ambushes, they would all perish together; it was simply a matter of choice.

They were already high-level cultivators, in control of their fate, and did not hesitate.

The other four remained silent for a moment, deep in thought.

“Since that is the case, I will take the second position. I have some confidence in my mastery of the Time Spirit Law,” True Disciple Shi Shu stated.

“However…” the others nodded in agreement.

The opponent was a national destroyer capable of quickly breaching the first heavenly dome, meaning the possibility of an ambush was extremely high. The escape was not a good choice.

Moreover, as True Disciples, if they died, the Heavenly Sect would undoubtedly sense it; even if their deaths were concealed, the detection speed of the Heavenly Sect would increase.

In other words, even if both True Disciples sent to ambush were killed, the three remaining in the city would not face a dead end; there was still a glimmer of hope, though that hope was quite faint.

“Ascension of the Heavenly Path!”

The two True Disciples made their decision and entered the state of the Ascension of the Heavenly Path. The gaze of everyone within thousands of miles forcibly turned toward them, empowered by a fierce aura. The two True Disciples broke through the barrier, and the immense power they gathered erupted, aiming to strike a path to escape.

However, the moment the two True Disciples left the city, their expressions changed, and they shouted in unison,

“Trap!”

Boom!

The magic calamities spread throughout their bodies, and the explosive power was gradually pushed back into their forms. Shocked and furious, they were filled with despair.

The disaster beast had deliberately held back; it didn’t even need a brief moment to break the Spirit City—it had been calculating their psychology, waiting for them to leave the city!

The two True Disciples transformed completely into demonic forms, roaring as they sprouted wings, directly becoming Flying Zombies. Their bloodlines were extraordinarily powerful, far beyond those of ordinary Flying Zombies; they could be considered king-ranked among them.

“Roar!”

With the arrival of the red moon, darkness covered the land. The two True Disciples, in conjunction with Lack of Shadow, charged toward the Ten Thousand Flowers Spirit City, shattering its barrier on the spot.

The scene clearly indicated that there was no hope of turning back.

The three remaining True Disciples stood motionless in the sky, their feelings complicated, weighed down by an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The more they practiced, the more they understood the vast differences between them.

Weaker opponents wished to strike back against stronger ones, hoping to win with wisdom and strategy? It was a dream!

The three True Disciples awaited their doom, no longer willing to resist.

“——”

At that moment, a dark rift suddenly tore open, and a massive hand reached out from the void, gathering the entire sky and stars into one hand. Lack of Shadow and the two True Disciples resembled the Monkey King, unable to escape from the Buddha’s Five Element Mountain, and were forcibly drawn into a special space.