Chapter 723: Swallowing the Medium-Life World (Make-up)

Black Demon Hall Headquarters.

Inside a hall, a mirror displayed a scene: Ancestor Realm accompanying Meng Chuan into Black Jade Star, where Meng Chuan began refining the Black Jade Star formation.

Nightmare Hall Master watched in silence.

"Stop looking. Ancestor Realm voluntarily gave it to Meng Chuan; there's nothing anyone can do," said Lord Lihong, who was seated nearby, looking at some scrolls.

"I've always respected Ancestor Realm and didn't want to offend him. But he's old now, preparing to give away the valuable territories he occupied to many friends, yet he wouldn't spare a single one for me," the Nightmare Hall Master said, his voice cold. "Before Meng Chuan's breakthrough, there were only three Soul Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivators in this era. The leader of the Original Realm has greater ambitions, and only I am most suitable to take over his many treasures, yet he wouldn't give me any."

"You've already fallen out with him. What's the point of saying all this now?" Lord Lihong said indifferently.

The Nightmare Hall Master fell silent.

As a Soul Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivator and wielder of the inherited treasure, the 'Nightmare Hall,' his influence throughout the entire River of Spacetime was immense. When diplomacy failed, he resorted to force, threatening Ancestor Realm: "Ancestor Realm, your power is formidable, but you must also consider your homeland and your clan members after your death."

Ancestor Realm was enraged and forcefully ignited a great war.

The Nightmare Hall Master showed no weakness and fought fiercely against Ancestor Realm. Many other Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivators intervened, as both sides had friends.

The Nightmare Hall Master, being relatively young and usually low-key, had a much stronger network than Lord Lihong; even top Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivators supported him. However, Ancestor Realm clearly had more friends! Ancestor Realm himself was also stronger. In that battle, Ancestor Realm's side held a complete advantage, but as a Soul Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivator whose soul avatars could be reformed after destruction, the Nightmare Hall Master didn't suffer significant losses.

Many branches of the Black Demon Hall, however, became targets of Ancestor Realm's wrath and were destroyed. The Nightmare Hall Master remained completely indifferent.

"So Black Jade Star has become Meng Chuan's just like that," the Nightmare Hall Master thought, feeling complex emotions. He had tried everything to curry favor with Ancestor Realm, from gentle persuasion to brute force, but all his methods were useless.

Yet, Ancestor Realm proactively gifted it to Meng Chuan.

Was he truly looked down upon so much?

"You and I are entangled in sin by joining the Black Demon Hall," Lord Lihong said calmly from the side. "It's normal for some Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivators to be hostile towards us. But there are gains and losses. My control over the Black Demon Hall and your control over the Nightmare Hall are far greater opportunities than Black Jade Star."

The Nightmare Hall Master conceded.

While the top-tier Eternal Tower has been passed down through endless ages, its power primarily comes from the 'Eye of Eternity' guarding it.

The Black Demon Hall, however, relies on two inherited treasures: the 'Black Demon Hall' and the 'Nightmare Hall.' For them, as Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivators, their utility was no less than that of an Eternal Secret Treasure. Unfortunately, they only had the right to use them! These two inherited treasures ultimately belonged to the true master of the Black Demon Hall, which was one reason no other force had ever considered trying to seize the Black Demon Hall or the Nightmare Hall.

Fugu River Domain, Anbo River System, Zhanyun World.

Zhanyun World was an ancient medium-sized life world, existing for ninety-three billion years. Even for a 'medium-sized life world,' it had existed for far too long, becoming incredibly aged and not far from its ultimate destruction.

Life worlds themselves could not be eternal; they had their birth, their barbaric and prosperous eras, but eventually, they too would decline and face annihilation.

"A ridiculous life world,"

a black-robed figure observed the medium-sized life world, its gaze penetrating the world's membrane to glimpse the myriad beings within.

For the mortals living in Zhanyun World, the 'world's aging' was too distant a concept. Even if a life world had only several hundred thousand years of 'life' remaining, it was still an immensely long time for mortals. Zhanyun World remained incredibly prosperous, with countless family forces living in hedonism. Their cultivation system was also very advanced and complete. Historically, Zhanyun World had given birth to one Seven-Tribulation Realm cultivator and fifteen Six-Tribulation Realm cultivators, demonstrating its naturally profound heritage.

Even with the world's current decline, it still harbored one Tribulation Realm cultivator, five Monarchs, and over a hundred Venerable-level beings.

"Whoosh."

The black-robed figure suddenly dissipated, replaced by a massive, shadowy creature. Its gaping maw, more terrifying than a dark black hole, swallowed Zhanyun World in a single gulp. The rules of spacetime, which protected 'life worlds,' proved ineffective before this Seven-Tribulation Realm forbidden creature.

The countless beings of Zhanyun World discovered, in terror, that space was tearing apart, revealing endless darkness, which then completely engulfed them.

Zhanyun World had an outer realm true body of a Three-Tribulation Realm cultivator, as well as partial true bodies of its Monarchs and Venerables, located outside the domain.

However, this single act of swallowing, which annihilated all life, also extinguished the outer realm true bodies of the Tribulation Realm cultivator and the Monarchs through causality.

All living beings of Zhanyun World were completely annihilated.

Zhanyun World itself also vanished.

The massive creature felt immensely satisfied after swallowing Zhanyun World.

"Too bad this life world was too old and weak; its flavor wasn't good enough," the colossal creature mused. "Weak beings of this life world, don't blame me. The ones truly killing you are the powerful beings from your own universe. You are fighting among yourselves!"

The colossal creature then quietly disappeared.

This part of the void was now missing a life world, but otherwise, nothing had changed.

The disappearance of Zhanyun World caused no ripples.

In the vast River of Spacetime, enmity and bloodshed were commonplace. Tribulation Realm cultivators and Monarchs frequently perished; the death of merely one Three-Tribulation Realm cultivator and a few Monarchs from Zhanyun World went unnoticed.

As for Zhanyun World's disappearance? It was already a very old world; wasn't its annihilation merely a normal occurrence?

A dark hall.

Emperor Wanxing sat cross-legged, a stick of incense burning beside him.

"Whoosh."

The black-robed figure arrived in the dark hall and respectfully saluted Emperor Wanxing.

"Emperor, here are the treasures from Zhanyun World. All valuable items are contained within," the black-robed figure said, respectfully handing a pagoda to Emperor Wanxing.

Emperor Wanxing took the pagoda, examined it carefully, and couldn't help but frown slightly. "Most of the treasures left by Zhanyun World's ancestors have been used up. What remains is only worth about ten million units of resources. Truly poor."

This meager gain left Emperor Wanxing rather unsatisfied.

"You didn't swallow any of the treasures, did you?" Emperor Wanxing looked up at the black-robed figure, his gaze cold. Although he had remotely observed the entire process of the Seven-Tribulation Realm forbidden creature 'devouring Zhanyun World,' and even assisted with spacetime concealment, once the entire Zhanyun World was in the creature's belly, it would be difficult for him to detect if a particularly valuable treasure had been secretly consumed and digested by the creature.

"I wouldn't dare," the black-robed figure quickly replied, showing immense fear of Emperor Wanxing.

Emperor Wanxing observed it, then finally turned his hand and produced an ancient, incomplete wine cup. "You may rest now."

"Yes," the black-robed figure dared not disobey in the slightest. Emperor Wanxing controlled its life core, completely dictating its life and death, capable of extinguishing its consciousness with a single thought.

The black-robed figure immediately transformed into a stream of light and flew into the wine cup.

Emperor Wanxing casually put away the wine cup, his gaze extending to a distant location. He remotely saw Meng Chuan refining the Black Jade Star formation, with Ancestor Realm accompanying him.

"Ancestor Realm gifted Black Jade Star to Meng Chuan?" Emperor Wanxing watched from afar, his expression devoid of emotion.