It would have been the best if the Immortal Skeleton had taken care of Gu Yao and the Invader, but it was evident that it was no longer safe.
The Skeleton had deemed Lin Mu as a threat as well and was trying to attack him as well. With the first attack dodged, Lin Mu knew there was no way he could take the risk.
'We were going to do this before anyway, so it doesn't change it much. The number of targets has increased by one at most.' Lin Mu thought to himself as he continued to retreat.
~BOOM~
Another attack came towards Lin Mu as the skeleton targeted him again. Lin Mu barely dodged it it using Fade.
While retreating, a crystal appeared in his hand. It was clear but prismatic light could be seen coming from it time to time. A strange energy also swirled around it that was different from any kind of Qi.
If one observed it for a while, they would realize that the power exuding form it was even greater than that of the Immortal Qi that the Skeleton was using. It was simply unfathomable.
This was of course, nothing but the World Essence Crystal!
It was something desired by nearly every great power in the world and was always in short supply. And when it appeared in his hand, nearly everyone could feel it presence.
"What is that?!" The patriarchs felt their hearts shake.
Even Gu Yao looked towards Lin Mu and felt the strange energy coming from him.
~KREEE~
The Invader let out an angry cry and gave out orders to Gu Yao.
"DIE!" Gu Yao was urged by his master to Kill Lin Mu or that something terrifying would happen.
~CRACK~
But before Gu Yao's attack could even be released, the crystal in Lin Mu's hand was broken!
~SHATTER~
The World Essence Crystal crumbled into fine dust that flew into the air and disappeared. At that very moment, it was as if the world stood still and time came to a stop.
The ancestors watched with wide eyes as their bodies became frozen; the same was experienced by others. But the most shocked was Gu Yao, who felt the very space tremble.
'This isn't like what the master just said.' Gu Yao understood.
His master had told him that the crystal that Lin Mu just took out would push them out of the world. But that didn't happen at all. Instead, it felt like the target of the crystal wasn't them but the entire Xiaofan world, which didn't make sense to him.
After all, Lin Mu was supposed to be protecting the world as the world's ordained and not trying to harm it.
~KACHA~
While he wondered about this, a fine crack appeared high up in the sky. The crack was barely the thickness of a hair, but soon started to expand. Its size increased to cover the entire sky, from the horizon in the east all the way to the horizon in the west.
It was almost as if someone had split the sky in half!
Everyone across the world could see the crack and wondered if this was the end of the world?
~WHOOSH~
Then wind started to move, and stormy clouds formed.
~RUMBLE~
Peals of thunder raged across the sky, as if angry about something.
"Are those Tribulation clouds!?" The cultivators were confused and scared.
~BOOM~ BOOM~ BOOM~
But instead of striking the earths, the tribulation lighting went towards the crack in the sky. All of it seemed absurd to them, and it was as if their understanding of the world had been flipped on their head.
They always thought that the lightning only fell to the ground. But this time it was hitting the skies!
"Ancestors save us!" The peasants in villages huddled around their loved ones watching the sky break apart and the thunder rage.
In the Sky Precepts sect, several complex formation arrays, including the Start catching formation array which had newly been repaired, were broken. They all broke apart under an unknown force but the people running them were strangely unharmed.
Strange phenomenon occurred all over the world and people didn't know what to do.
Even the animals were left in a tizzy as they ran around randomly, unable to comprehend anything. All their instincts were screaming at them, telling them that a calamity was approaching.
But where could they run when the very world itself seemed to be breaking?
~GONG~
Suddenly, the lightning bolts that were striking the sky let out a strange sound. It was like a bell had been struck, but it was not so.
A layer of light appeared around the entire Xiaofan world and could be seen from the space. The barrier was translucent at first and countless runes swam in it. The runes were mystical and were a mix of Dao script as well as several other runes.
The complexity of them was beyond anything that the people of this world could do, and it was certainly made by Immortals.
"HEAVENS! THE WORLD BARRIER!" The Sky Precepts Ancestor exclaimed.
The people of the Sky Precepts sect were quaking in their boots upon seeing the scene. After all, they had a close relation to the world barrier and had been given a duty to maintain and protect it.
One of the creators of the world barrier was none other than the Immortal from the Sky Precepts sect. They had watched over it all these centuries, ensuring northing happened to it.
The World barrier itself was invisible and shouldn't appear even if it was attacked or something passed through it. But today they saw it reveal its true appearance for the first time ever.
"It is marvelous…" High elder Han couldn't help but say.
Similar thoughts appeared in the hearts of everyone as they saw the marvel that had protected their world for thousands of years.
~SHATTER~
But all of it turned to despair when the barrier shattered apart!
"NO!!!" The ancestors of the sects cried out.
Even if the Sky Precepts Sect was in charge of the world barrier, all of them knew that without the world barrier, they wouldn't be able to be safe for long.
If this one invader was this troublesome to deal with, what would they do when tens of such invaders arrive without the barrier to protect them?
And while all of them feared for their world, the crack in the sky started to expand. Pitch black darkness could be seen behind the crack and no one could tell what was hidden there. The mortals couldn't even see till that distance anyway.
The only ones who could were strong experts and cultivators.
~WHOOSH~
The clouds and lightning that were striking the sky disappeared in that moment, sucked into the crack.
It was as if someone had used a vacuum to suck it all away. But this was merely the start as the crack continued to expand. In a short time, the crack covered the entire sky, making one feel as if it was night time.
The sun disappeared, while the blue sky was no more. Only pitch black darkness was witnessed above them.
All this felt even more terrifying than the Invader that was in front of them.
"Master… what is this…" Gu Yao questioned, feeling lost but received no answer.
Instead, he could feel a stream of fear coming from the link he had with his master.
'Master is afraid?' Gu Yao thought.
~CLACK~ CLACK~ CLACK~
"THREAT! WORLD BARRIER IS BROKEN! ELIMINATE!" The Immortal Skeleton on the other hand, knew no fear.
It changed its target from Lin Mu to the crack in the sky.
~BOOM~ BOOM~ BOOM~
Several blasts of pure immortal Qi were shot out by the Skeleton. They were even more powerful than when it had attacked the invader or Lin Mu. It was clearly taking this as the greatest threat.
~poof~
But the result of it was anticlimactic as the blasts of immortal Qi simply disappeared into the dark sky.
~WENG~
This was soon changed though, as the sky shook once more.
Ten Golden Yellow lights appeared in the darkness, as if new suns adorning it. But the humans who saw it all turned horrified.
"Are those… eyes?"
The ten Golden Yellow lights were clearly not just lights since they had pupils inside them! They were eyes!
The eyes glanced upon the people of the world, making them feel as if they were mere insects before it.
"W-what… what is this…" The ancestors of the sects felt completely lost.
But there were a few that found it all to be familiar.
"I can't believe it… he did it… he really did it…" Jing Wei muttered and stammered.
He recalled the fearful memory of the past when he was warned by these very eyes.
Gu Yao was the same as he too experienced it, but it was far too strong this time.
Finally, a voice was heard in the heavens.
"Lin Mu… I can only do this once… Observe!"
