Chapter 1597: The Perils of the Martial World (IV)

“Ahh!!” screamed Red Velarium. Fog Mountain’s eyes widened when he realized what was taking place. This was too ruthless, the man’s dao was being stripped from him!

While it was highly likely that Red Velarium would die in this conflict, Fog Mountain could also sense that the Red Moon master had spontaneously withdrawn at least fifty percent of Red Velarium’s strength. He was free falling from seventh rank exalted emperor!

This was... condemning Red Velarium to death. So this was what the Red Moon world master chose to do when he saw that he couldn’t rescue one of his own?

It was so brutal!

This occurrence also cemented Fog Mountain’s desire to leave Skycloud.

I can’t be the next Red Velarium. A seventh rank is a noble and lofty being in other people’s eyes, but we can be discarded in a critical moment because we are not the master of the world or great dao!

Extraction of strength!

This fully consigned Red Velarium to his doom, despite there being a strand of hope before. He was already hard pressed to defend himself from the ambush of a peak seventh rank, not to mention when half of his strength had been rescinded.

Bam!

A massive collision tore Red Velarium to pieces. Dao cracks appeared over his wheel of a red moon. He was bitter, resentful, and didn’t know who he should hate!

The New Martial Human King?

Fog Mountain?

Or the Red Moon master?

He could understand the world master’s actions.

I’m dead, he can’t save me, but you shouldn’t deny me my last chance of survival just to stabilize the world!

I’m probably ninety percent sure of dying here, but what if a miracle happens when I bring my full strength to bear? What if I can escape?

And now I can’t, I don’t have any opportunity left at all!

The high rank stretched his lips in a ghastly smile from his shelter in the red moon. He didn’t even know if he should hate his world master or not. A mighty eighth rank had lost multiple high ranks in quick succession today. Meanwhile, his world master forsook him!

Fog Mountain’s massive palm pressed down!

Bam!

The red moon exploded and Fog Mountain’s hypocritical tones of benevolence traveled into his ears. Or perhaps it wasn’t benevolence, but sympathy for one’s own kind.

“This is why I need to kill you, I need to break free from Skycloud! Brother Red Velarium, it’s not that I want your life, but that I don’t want to see this end for myself one day!”

Red Velarium looked at the man as he broke apart.

Break free?

His last glance of existence carried hints of admiration and... contempt!

You have nice dreams, but will Skycloud permit a peak seventh rank like you to leave? It’ll only do so if you leave without taking any energy. But all seventh ranks have their fair share of enemies. You’ll die quickly without any strength!

On the other hand, will an eighth rank master of the world let you leave with peak seventh rank power?

What a joke!

Killing me isn’t enough to make up for your loss—half of my dao strength was just extracted, after all. Red Moon power isn’t a good match for Skycloud power either. Given the waste that will naturally occur in consumption, it will replenish only one-third of the energy you leave with.

Will Skycloud be willing to make that trade?

If it does... then I respect the Skycloud master.

“I might see you soon, Fog Mountain!” Such were Red Velarium’s last, taunting words. It wasn’t the Red Moon master or the New Martial Human King that would come for the man, but the Skycloud master!

Why do you want to leave? How many seventh ranks are there in the vast chaos who have managed to break free of their original worlds?

Whether it’s Red Moon, Light, or any other major world, do you think the master of great dao is running a charity for those who’ve reached seventh rank?

Fog Mountain didn’t respond. He crushed the red moon to pieces with his hand and swept all of the power into his keeping. The mountain of clouds and sea of fog dissipated!

When the group refocused their eyes on the scene, Red Velarium was dead and the Human King was gone. The latter’s voice rang through the world, “Skycloud and New Martial will exterminate Red Moon together! The Red Moon master better wash his neck well to prepare for a beheading!”

Then he was gone!

What, did he want to stay for a beating instead? If he backed them into a corner and brought several eighth ranks down on his head, wouldn’t he be done for if they saw through him? This Skycloud representative really did dare kill a Red Moon exalted emperor—he had quite the balls!

Within the world barrier of a major world, a person silently calculated the Human King’s direction.

“He’s still the same after all these years!” he laughed with a soft murmur. It was obvious from a quick glance that Fang Ping was out of strength. Otherwise, he’d kill Fog Mountain along with the rest of them.

If Fog Mountain didn’t hand over the dao strength he collected from killing Red Velarium, Fang Ping would obliterate him so thoroughly that not even his mother would recognize him!

And that guy’s trying to pick up whatever he can? What a joke!

Li Zhu didn’t make a move because there were too many seventh ranks present. Not to mention, it was seventh ranks from eighth rank worlds dying. It wasn’t like a dao universe could be stripped from them upon their deaths. There was no point killing them since their deaths would not propel him into seventh rank.

But with Fang Ping nearby...

there will be a lot of opportunities to come.

Li Zhu smiled to himself. There was no rush! He could wait, he was very good at waiting. Since that guy was close by, there would be chances. And with Fog Mountain killing the Red Moon exalted emperor, there might be a war in Skyward next!

Now that was interesting!

Some masters of the world nearby quickly took their leave. The sky was caving in! Two seventh ranks had just died not long ago and two more died today. The key was... it’d be one thing if the New Martial Human King killed all of them. However, Fog Mountain had killed one of them. That was a Skycloud exalted emperor!

That meant Skycloud might be participating in the war now! Everything was going to change!

Great disturbances were at hand for the chaos, the second eighth rank world in the region was joining the fray!

......

Fog Mountain didn’t say a word. After collecting the dao strength, he looked around and swiftly entered Skyward.

Was the sky going to fall?

He didn’t know.

But he did know that a half crippled Red Velarium might not be enough. Would the world master be willing to let him go for that?

As for the New Martial Human King... he didn’t seek to curtail the other. The Human King was no fool; the only reason why he hadn’t attacked Fog Mountain was because the latter’s presence would drag Skycloud into the conflict after Red Velarium’s death. That was an outcome that the Human King would love to see.

......

At the same time, Red Moon.

The world quaked, sky threatened to cave in, firmament split open, and a myriad of stars seemed to fall. Powerhouses tilted their head back at the sky, shock and consternation across their faces. Exalted emperors paled at the disturbance in the great dao. Why had the world suddenly changed in this way?

A lot of high ranks seemed to have died in a split second!

“A crisis is upon Red Moon!” The world master’s form appeared and covered the world, his aura suppressing everything. “New Martial and Skycloud have allied together to kill multiple Red Moon exalted emperors!

“However, we have stood in the chaos for eons and do not fear any challenge! From today forth, I will be selecting multiple people from the sixth ranks to accept dao strength. Those with sufficient fortune to their name can enter seventh ranks!”

The uneasy major world settled down somewhat when they saw their world master. When they heard that sixth ranks would be selected to become seventh ranks, some of the sixth ranks were no longer afraid at all. Only unending greed and desire shone from their eyes!

“The great dao is limited, as are the spots!” said the calm Red Moon master. “The death of one means the ascension of another! When sixth ranks enter seventh rank, there are bound to be the birth of more mid ranks! When initial ranks become mid rank, that means there will be new exalted emperors!”

The world shook briefly from his words; surging power of desire flooded out. The trembling dao universe actually began settling down!

Similar to when the general population of Silver Moon cultivated in tandem, desire was the origin of great dao in Red Moon. The death of a few exalted emperors created openings that stirred the ambitions of an entire world of cultivators!

Their previous fear and sorrow vanished, replaced by excitement and greed!

The Red Moon master watched silently—this was the outcome he desired. It was proof that the Red Moon dao was far stronger than imagined. Outsiders wouldn’t understand that it didn’t matter if they lost a few exalted emperors and their associated dao strength.

Red Moon will never fall so long as living beings have desire!

With those seventh ranks dead, everyone else is greedy for more. Red Moon will recover to peak condition before long! New Martial, Skycloud, you think too simply if you feel that this will crush my Red Moon!

Human desire is the greatest motivation of all!

The unstable world began to stabilize. Propelled by excitement, greed, and madness, countless cultivators waited with bated breath. Exalted emperors appeared throughout the land. Mid ranks wished to become high ranks, low ranks wished to become mid ranks. Fervent looks colored their eyes.

The Red Moon master didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t help any of these people yet. He would wait!

Their desires would expand without end as time dragged on, so long as time didn’t drag on indefinitely. Their lust and greed would maintain fervent heights. If someone happened to break through to seventh rank at that time, it would inspire the others to new madness!

If that happened a few times, Red Moon’s losses could be entirely compensated.

I can even...

The Red Moon master looked outside of his world. Perhaps he could permit some outsiders to become seventh ranks.

As good as a seventh rank world is, these times are not safe.

Would anyone be willing to trade a major world for a position as a Red Moon seventh rank?

A seventh rank cultivation level was no longer a guarantee of safety and success. Five of them had died in a very short period of time! Perhaps some masters of major worlds were afraid now.

If they’re willing to join Red Moon with their dao universe, I can grant them a high rank position in return. I... might actually gain something from that transaction.