Chapter 200: Awakening of a Realm’s Will!

Inside the Spirit Annihilation Array.

Before Red Captain Wang, a true mountain of corpses had completely formed. Only corpses lay piled high, without rivers of blood or the chaos of war!

Because this was merely a one-sided slaughter.

If an ordinary person stood here, despite the absence of visible gore, an eerie and terrifying dread would certainly grip them, sending chills down their spine.

The cultivators who had died looked so fearful and dreadful!

Their bodies were withered and utterly bloodless!

Now, the Spirit Annihilation Array had undergone a massive transformation. It enveloped an area of ten square miles, and one hundred zhang directly above Red Captain Wang’s head, a dark cloud approximately one hundred zhang in diameter floated.

“Haven’t eaten this well in ages. What a pity they were just appetizers! Urp!”

Looking at the mountain of corpses before him, Red Captain Wang showed no fear. Instead, he seemed unsatisfied, letting out a burp.

Crack!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning as thick as a man’s wrist shot down from the cloud, heading straight to strike Red Captain Wang below.

“Hmph!”

Seeing the wrist-thick lightning descending upon him, Red Captain Wang didn’t feel fear or dread. Instead, a trace of mockery appeared at the corner of his mouth as he snorted disdainfully.

Squelch!

With his snort, the strange, hair-like structures on his head suddenly writhed violently. He opened his mouth, and that terrifying tongue lashed out again at an unimaginable speed.

Rip!

The seemingly powerful lightning bolt was actually caught directly by Red Captain Wang’s tongue. Then, with a sharp retraction, the tongue recoiled back into his mouth.

Pop! Crackle!

Deep rumblings emanated from Red Captain Wang’s belly, accompanied by flashes of light visible within his body.

“Heh heh, after eating so much, a little lightning force helps with digestion! Dragon Emperor, I think your brain is failing! You think I wouldn’t know about those Spirit-Swallowing Locusts? Hmph, what if you hid them inside those cultivators? I am a Red Worm, capable of devouring all things between heaven and earth! What are mere newly hatched Spirit-Swallowing Locusts?”

After digesting the lightning, the surface of Red Captain Wang’s body grew even more crimson. His aura began to steadily rise, seemingly on the verge of breaking through from the Mid Core Formation Stage to the Late Core Formation Stage. His gaze drifted faintly towards the direction where Young Master Ma was located.

In Red Captain Wang’s view, Young Master Ma’s scheme to ambush him using the Spirit-Swallowing Locusts had already been exposed. But he wasn’t afraid; Young Master Ma’s attempt to use the power of the array to kill him had instead become his replenishment.

After all, Red Captain Wang was currently possessed by a Red Worm. Though less terrifying than a mature Red Worm capable of swallowing heaven and earth, it could still devour the vast majority of things.

Thus, the current Red Captain Wang possessed absolute confidence. As long as he recovered slightly further, he could go and kill Young Master Ma.

Boom!

Soon after the first lightning bolt was devoured, a second one erupted once more from the dark clouds.

Squelch!

When the second lightning bolt appeared, Red Captain Wang’s tongue moved again, reaching out to coil around it.

Bolt after bolt of lightning descended, and Red Captain Wang swallowed them one after another.

If other cultivators witnessed this scene, they would likely be shocked speechless.

While Red Captain Wang inside the array continuously devoured the lightning, in the air ten miles away, Young Master Ma watched the giant Compass Disk before him, his face full of excitement.

“Hehe, Red Worm, you’re really grasping at straws! So what if you discovered those soul-devouring locusts? Did you really think those were my backups? Hah, you couldn’t be more wrong! Did you actually believe those lightning bolts were safe to devour? Since you love eating them so much, feast to your heart’s content! When you gorge yourself beyond capacity, you’ll realize your error!”

Young Master Ma stared intently at the compass disk, a surge of excitement building within him.

It wouldn’t be long before Red Captain Wang’s cultivation level broke through. He would inevitably shatter the Spirit Annihilation Array, leading to their direct confrontation. Yet, Young Master Ma felt no trace of fear.

“Hmm, just about time. Red Worm, you should be emerging soon. Since that’s the case, I’ll await you at the next battlefield!”

After manipulating the giant compass disk for a moment and satisfying himself that everything was proceeding flawlessly, Young Master Ma transformed into a wisp of shadowy light. He shot off swiftly in the direction Tang Jinbiao had taken earlier.

Within the Spirit Annihilation Array, the more Red Captain Wang devoured the lightning’s power, the more delighted he became. His aura climbed relentlessly, edging towards the final barrier before his breakthrough.

Crackle!

The last bolt of lightning struck down, swallowed whole by Red Captain Wang. Simultaneously, the dark clouds overhead dispersed rapidly, revealing the massive structure of the Spirit Annihilation Array.

Boom!

Suddenly, warmth flooded Red Captain Wang’s body. He could no longer suppress the surge in his cultivation. An aura characteristic of the Late Core Formation Stage erupted violently from him.

“Finally advanced! Haha!” Feeling the change within him, Red Captain Wang couldn’t contain his elation. He laughed heartily.

However, Red Captain Wang failed to notice what accompanied his breakthrough. Along with the Late Core Formation energy, an alien, indescribably destructive aura – not of this realm, but primal and wild – seeped from his body.

“What?!” Red Captain Wang, basking momentarily in his improved cultivation, jolted as he sensed this ancient, destructive power emanating from his core. His expression twisted in horror, heart pounding like a frantic drum against his ribs.

“Damn it! Dragon Emperor, you old fox! This entire setup… all this preparation… was just to force my breakthrough! You calculated that after waking, I’d gorge on souls and lightning to recover! Curses, my own greed tricked me!”

The brief moment of triumph vanished abruptly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The dark clouds that had coalesced around the array had barely vanished when an immense and indescribable will awakened anew in the sky. Its power was terrifying – even a Tribulation Transcendent could not face it head-on.

Zzzt!

As this will stirred, dark clouds appeared from nowhere, instantly shrouding the entire sky, swallowing hundreds of miles in their gloom.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Once the clouds blotted out the vast area, they began to churn furiously directly above Red Captain Wang, forming a colossal vortex. Gale-force winds howled outwards from its depths.

Rumble! Rumble!

Lightning flickered ominously within the swirling gloom, promising imminent strikes.

“The Will of the Realm!” Red Captain Wang glared upward at the vortex with profound hatred gleaming in his eyes. “Dragon Emperor! I never imagined you could sink to such treacherous depths!”

He had initially dismissed Young Master Ma as foolish for offering such easy sustenance just after his awakening. Now, he saw it plainly: it had all been poison.

Poof!

As the vortex solidified, the Spirit Annihilation Array on the ground below flickered and died, its energies dissolving completely. Its purpose was served.

“Urgh! ARGH! Dragon Emperor! We are mortal enemies now!” Roaring in near-madness, Red Captain Wang faced the sky, the suffocating pressure bearing down on him.

Crackle!

At that moment, a violet lightning bolt lanced from the vortex, striking directly down at Red Captain Wang on the ground.

“GRAAAH! RED DEVOURER’S MAW!” Red Captain Wang roared in defiance. He changed instantly. The tiny scarlet flower on his head exploded with bloody light, swelling monstrously. Within a blink, it transformed into a colossal crimson bloom towering ten feet high.

Sizzle!

The seemingly devastating lightning bolt slammed brutally into the giant scarlet flower. Yet, the flower proved extraordinary. It merely let out a faint wisp of smoke as it absorbed the bolt entirely.

“Pfft!” Though the flower appeared to dissipate the strike effortlessly, Red Captain Wang convulsed, spattering the ground with a mouthful of bright blood.

Crackle!

A second bolt followed immediately.

“AARRGH!” Utter resentment filled Red Captain Wang’s heart, but facing this threat offered only one option: endure the onslaught.

He struggled desperately against the crushing pressure unleashed by the Will of the Realm. Seventy miles away, in a patch of empty sky, Young Master Ma hovered in place. He gazed calmly towards the storm-wracked scene where Red Captain Wang battled.

“Heh heh, finally arrived. ‘This’ is the main course I lovingly prepared for you! Of course… this dish alone isn’t quite enough to finish you off.” A gleeful smile spread across Young Master Ma’s face, his satisfaction undisguised.

“I was just like you after I emerged. Desperate to rebuild my cultivation, eager to return home just one day sooner. But this place… it has eyes watching. Manifest even a sliver of power truly beyond this realm, and calamity arrives. Years ago, I too faced near oblivion. Only by signing a Ghost Spirit Contract with a certain human boy did I cheat death. Pity he died. Had I reclaimed that contract, true immortality would be mine! Returning to the Divine Realm would no longer be a fool’s dream.”

He remembered his own torment acutely – gorging on the souls of human cultivators and demon beasts after awakening, triggering an uncontrolled surge in power. That surge had awakened the will of the realm, sealing his doom. But at the critical moment, Wei Wuya intervened. Saving him bound Young Master Ma to Wei Wuya’s side ever since.

“Half a day. He’ll likely emerge within half a day. Utterly drained. Utterly vulnerable. That moment shall be my victory!” Young Master Ma chuckled darkly. “Those Tribulation Transcendent old monsters of the Divine Wind Continent… they’re all holed up on Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain. Even if they sensed the disturbance here, traversing ten thousand miles – even by shattering the void – is impossible! Especially with the Will manifesting here; breaching the void for ten thousand miles around is blocked. As for Nascent Soul Cultivators? Witnessing a manifestation this grandiose, they’d flee instantly. My true concern now lies with Nascent Soul Cultivators who might observe.”

Paranoia gnawed at him. His mind raced through every possible scenario. He couldn’t lose. He had to win. Devouring Red Worm was the key that would unlock everything else he desired.

“Danger!” Just then, a terrifying wave of annihilation pulsed outward from the gigantic vortex. Sensing its dire approach, Young Master Ma’s expression twisted. He immediately fled, hurtling further away into the distance…