A golden band flickered in the light, spinning as it was launched through the air, hurled away by the force of the tortoise’s foot smashing into the water. A wall of steam rose into the air along with a huge wave splashing over the area of the swamp around them. A purely physical attack wouldn’t do much to a spirit being like a Nascent Soul, but the Living Disaster’s attack was not purely physical. Like most Demonic Beasts, its body was covered by a layer of Qi, one that empowered its defenses and enhanced its attacks. It was the most rudimentary use of Qi, and usually the only technique that Beasts instinctively knew how to use other than the innate powers of their bodies. Having techniques passed down in an ancestral memory was quite rare and only the most famous and powerful species had many of those.

That layer of Qi meant the giant tortoise’s physical attack could affect his non-physical body, which meant that terrifying stomp was devastating. Just as Sage had often used the heightened physical characteristics of his powerful body to bully others at his same cultivation level, the Living Disaster was now doing the same to him. It made use of its huge body to attack with overwhelming force. Now that the tortoise had been allowed to close the distance, its foot was positively massive and with the help of another giant monster, he was caught by that terrible attack. Cracks formed over his spirit body and it shattered into particles the size of dust. Glowing specks of energy scattered apart like a handful of ash blown by the wind. From a distance, the tiny pinpricks of light spreading into the murky water looked somewhat like a reflection of a firework going off in the sky. There was no accompanying sound, the glowing lights under the water scattered and flickered, dimming and disappearing completely.

The giant tortoise lifted its head into the air and released a loud sound that was halfway between a roar and a honk. Then its head lowered into the water, starting to root around for its spoils. The giant spider across from it chittered at it, and the tortoise honked back to it. The spider stepped back, holding its position and glaring at the Living Disaster.

Upon the back of the tortoise there was chaos. The tortoise’s movements had sent their camp into confusion, destroying many tents and sending some of the people flying into ditches or smashing up against rocks. While the tortoise was trolling its nose in the water, the people on its back took a few minutes to recover. When they finally did, Whitestaff spun her staff around a few times and then thumped it against the turtle’s neck. The giant tortoise pulled its head out of the water and then let out a loud roar. Whitestaff kneeled atop the tortoise’s back, holding her staff and closing her eyes. The Living Disaster’s head swung around to its right and then scanned for back and forth, looking for something.

Then it squawked like a goose and started to move towards the direction it was looking. The huge spider across from it held its ground, but the tortoise’s new direction would take it away from the center of the swamp where the spider had risen from. After the sounds the tortoise made, the spider backed away slightly. Could it understand the turtle, or was it simply defending its territory?

The tortoise had turned towards the direction that the small golden band had been thrown. That small ring was the Universe Ring, covered in small cracks and thrown away as the tortoise’s giant foot came down. It flew through the air and splashed into the swamp water near the shore. It was thrown in the same direction that the spirit had been fleeing before it was destroyed, taking it as far from the two giant monsters as possible. When the Living Disaster turned towards the ring and started moving in its direction, a large centipede emerged from the water a moment later, crawling onto the shore of the swamp. It skittered away from the giant tortoise moving in its direction.

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It was moving to avoid the tortoise’s steps, but the tortoise did not let it go. It altered its path and chased after the comparatively tiny centipede, the giant foot coming down again to squish the insect. At the last instant, the golden ring squirted out, avoiding being smashed down into the huge crater that was formed at the edge of the swamp. It landed in a small bush, and a bright green dragonfly flew out of the bush. The tortoise was vicious and after smashing the centipede into paste it lowered its head and a gout of flame flew out of its mouth. The dragonfly tried to avoid it, but the stream of flame was too large, catching the tip of one of its wings and disrupting its flight enough for a second burst of fire to torch the rest of the bug.

This comedy of errors continued a few more times, various large bugs getting squashed and burned in various ways. Worse yet, while the bugs were being smashed, the many cultivators on the back of the Living Disaster leapt down and spread out, completely surrounding the area.

Is this it? Does it all end this absurdly?

Sage was still among the living. His Soul Clone had been destroyed and he’d had to make the decision on whether or not he should let them collect the Universe Ring. The speed with which they turned to chase the insects he released meant that Whitestaff could probably sense that he was still alive. He sacrificed the Soul Clone to try and fake his death, but they unerringly chased after the ring. Whitestaff had been part of the group of traitors and knew that he had a ring full of treasures. He was now at a crossroads. He could stay inside the Universe Ring and hope they couldn’t break in or pull him out. Or, he could take his chances and try another method of escape. The worst part was that he’d never been weaker than he was now.

The Soul Fragments that enabled the Blacksilver Pawns were destroyed. The Soul Clone was gone, and he no longer had a body, so he had no poisons or the natural abilities from his body like the Hypnotic Eye and fast healing. How was he supposed to get away when not only was he at his weakest, but his enemies were stronger than ever. The camp on the Living Disaster’s back was massive, and they were working together with the giant monster. With the view through his insect’s eyes, he’d already seen hundreds of the Fu Clan, Violet Light Sect, Artful Life Alliance, and Whitestaff’s Disciples. They were already forming an inescapable net around the area.

If he stayed in the ring, and they didn’t destroy it, there was no telling how long he’d be trapped for. He could spend a few years nurturing a new body, but then what? Was he just going to sit in there and try to force understanding of a law? Even in the best case he was destined to become an eternal prisoner should he choose to hide.

There were so many people living on his Inner World. If he died, they would go with him, but could he handle a life of imprisonment? Hadn’t he already chosen to escape the life of a pampered prisoner when he met Guan Zhenyan? Could he relegate himself to an even more restricted life?

Flipping through the air, the golden ring was shot out from beneath the giant tortoise’s foot just before it smashed into the ground again. It stopped in place, caught by a tendril of telekinetic force. A force that was wielded by a ghostly version of a man. Sage’s Nascent Soul form tilted its head back and he looked up at the face of the Living Disaster. He faced down those giant eyes, the rough cut diamonds containing a small lick of flame. The fire burned brighter with every second that passed.

Then Sage locked eyes with it.