On the battlefield, the cultivators of the Immortal and Demonic Paths had entered a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Thanks to their desperate struggle, more and more members of the Outer Realms Race were slain. Now, a single glance across the battlefields of the Cultivation World revealed mountains of alien corpses. Of course, the bodies of countless fallen cultivators were an unavoidable part of the view.

The races from the Outer Realms were bizarrely shaped. Some crawled on the ground while others flew through the air. These monsters attacked the cultivators with desperate ferocity.

"For our families behind us, wipe out these beasts from the Outer Realms! Brothers, charge!"

The Vermilion’s form circled high in the sky. Beneath its Vermilion Bird Fire, countless monsters burned, raining down from above only to turn to ash before they even hit the ground. Then there was the Black Tortoise; wherever its massive body passed, its sheer weight crushed innumerable monsters.

The slaughter lasted for three days and three nights.

Day bled into night and back again, yet the cultivators fought without a moment’s rest, relentlessly slaying the monsters. By the end, many were utterly exhausted, their cultivation completely depleted.

The invading Outer Realms Race died off quickly. What began as a dense swarm that blotted out the sky slowly dwindled, until only a few scattered stragglers flew in the air, while those attempting to flee on the ground were hunted down by the cultivators.

"We killed them all."

"They’re dead... They’re all dead."

"We’ve killed all those monsters from the Outer Realms."

"We won."

The cultivators from the Immortal and Demonic Paths joyfully embraced, leaning on each other for support. In that moment, smiles broke out on every face. It wasn’t just them on the battlefield—the people in the Undercity, who had been anxiously watching the battle unfold, were also cheering wildly.

"We won."

"They won."

"The Outer Realms Race is dead, they’re all dead! We’re saved!"

Smiles graced the faces of countless people, but for many, the joy was overshadowed by grief. They had won, yes, but so many had perished in the slaughter.

On the battlefield, amidst the chorus of cheers, Celeste Grant remained silent.

’Did we win? Did we really kill those monsters from the Outer Realms this easily?’ She had a feeling it wasn’t that simple.

At this thought, Celeste Grant tightened her grip on her sword and looked up. The sky was empty of monsters, eerily quiet save for the whistling wind. And there was no sign of Javier Sinclair.

Not seeing him, she couldn’t help but murmur, "Where did he go? He was just here a moment ago."

Right! Something else was missing.

"Where’s Nina Kaye?"

Why hadn’t she seen that top-tier fighter anywhere?

Ever since the Outer Realms Race had invaded, the cultivators of the Immortal and Demonic Paths had been busy fighting the monsters. Celeste realized she hadn’t seen Nina Kaye at all. A quick scan of her surroundings confirmed Nina wasn’t there, so she assumed she was on another battlefield.

And then there was her son. Now that the fighting had broken out, she had no idea which battlefield he was on, or if he was hurt. However, knowing the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger were with him put her mind at ease.

Her son, Aaron Sinclair, had returned from the Secret Realm a month ago. If it weren’t for the prophecy foretelling a disaster in the Cultivation World in six months, and his concern for Celeste Grant’s safety, he wouldn’t have rushed back. Originally, he had planned on tempering himself in the outside world for several years before coming home.

Just as Celeste thought of her, an exhausted-looking figure materialized in the air and landed beside her.

"Are you alright, ma’am?" she asked as she came to Celeste’s side.

Celeste’s gaze fell on her. From the looks of it, she had clearly been through a major battle.

"I haven’t seen you this whole time," Celeste said. "Which battlefield were you on? Did you see my son? Is he okay?"

At her words.

Nina Kaye shook her head.

"I wasn’t with the Young Master, ma’am, so I don’t know his situation."

"I was up there the whole time," Nina Kaye said, pointing to a spot in the sky. "I was guarding the entrance to that void rift, keeping myself hidden to intercept those foul things invading the Cultivation World. And they really reeked."

As she said this, she turned her head to the side and retched violently. It was obvious she had suffered quite a bit over the past three days.

Nina Kaye went on, "The Outer Realms Race truly has all sorts of monstrosities. The things coming through the void rift I was guarding were all capable of turning invisible and hiding their presence. Many were completely transparent—you couldn’t see or touch them, as if they had no life signs at all. If you weren’t paying close attention, you’d miss them completely. One type, this viscous sludge-like thing, smelled absolutely putrid. Thankfully, I could see them, so I killed every last one that came through. Don’t make me talk about it... let me just... BLECH..."

Once she finished, she continued, "These things from the Outer Realms are pretty smart, too. They knew enough to send one wave in an open frontal assault to act as a vanguard, while another took a stealthy route to launch a sneak attack. A pity for them that nothing can escape my perception."

She was, after all, the personification of the World’s Will. As long as something entered this world—even the invisible ones—it couldn’t hope to escape her senses.

"It’s a good thing you were there to stop them from entering the Cultivation World."

’Invisible things?’ Celeste thought. ’I never imagined the Outer Realms Race would have creatures like that. If they had slipped into this world undetected, the consequences would have been unimaginable.’

At that thought, she reached out and patted Nina Kaye’s shoulder. "You did a great job. It must have been tough."

Hearing Celeste Grant praise her, Nina Kaye couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Celeste had praised her.

’I’m so happy.’

"Oh, it was nothing, really. I didn’t do much. Besides, this Cultivation World is partly mine to begin with. How could I possibly allow those things from the Outer Realms to come here and slaughter its people, to treat the creatures of this world as food? That would be a direct slap in my face."

A smile touched Celeste Grant’s lips.

’She changes her tune so quickly. That’s not what she used to say.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

It hadn’t been that long, yet Nina Kaye, the World’s Will, already felt a sense of belonging to the Cultivation World and was thinking of protecting it. Celeste remembered how, in the beginning, every word from Nina’s mouth was cynical, always shouting about destroying the world.

’Still, this is a good thing,’ Celeste thought. ’After all, I’d rather not keep someone by my side who’s constantly plotting to destroy the world.’

Nina Kaye looked up at the sky. No more members of the Outer Realms Race were emerging from the rifts. "So... the Cultivation World’s disaster should be over now, right?"

Celeste Grant shook her head. "I don’t know. It looks like we’re in the clear for now. But the sky itself is torn open... I wonder if some new, unknown danger will emerge."

A massive vertical rift now scarred the sky, surrounded by seven or eight smaller fissures.

Celeste Grant stared at the enormous void rift, her gaze fixed on the inky blackness within. A powerful sense of foreboding washed over her.

The feeling was intense.

It was as if the real danger had only just begun.

Just as they were speaking, Celeste Grant saw a figure materialize high in the sky. In his hand, he gripped a blood-red tentacle that was writhing frantically, trying to escape.