Chapter 3: Escape (Part 2)

Goha asked, “I wonder if that giant worm has left?”
Li Ran replied, “Let’s go check outside.” They quickly arrived outside the beast’s scales. Everything was silent; not a trace of life could be sensed. If it weren’t for the giant beast beneath their feet, they would have thought this place was a lifeless wasteland.
Guo Shier said, “That worm seems to have left.”
A ripple passed through Li Ran’s body, and a talismanic light flashed. After a moment, he said, “It’s gone. I can’t sense it still there.”
Qi Wu Zhen nodded as well. “That’s right. The worm has left.”
Li Ran said, “Let’s go back!” With that, he opened a talisman gate. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “Whoa, can talisman gates be used here?” Everyone was astonished too. Since entering other small worlds, they had been too hesitant to try certain habits from the talisman world, such as using talisman gates, so they hadn’t recorded the coordinates of the places they wanted to go.
Li Ran said, “I just tried it. I didn’t expect it to work here. Come on!” He stepped through the talisman gate, and the others followed immediately. In the blink of an eye, they were back at where the giant worm had been.
Qi Wu Zhen said, “It should be nearby.” She was referring to the weak point in this small world.
Everyone understood how difficult it was to cross boundaries. Breaking through directly was extremely hard, but finding a weak point could make things much easier.
Li Ran activated the boundary-breaking spell and said, “Xiao Zhenzhen, come with me!”
Qi Wu Zhen rolled her eyes. Every time Li Ran called her Xiao Zhenzhen, she felt like hitting him. But after fighting and bickering so many times, she was too lazy to care. It was pointless anyway—Li Ran not only had thick skin but also overwhelming strength. Gradually, she became indifferent.
The two conjured spells together, and the boundary-breaking spell emitted a dazzling light, blasting through the void. In just a few moments, their expressions changed.
They exchanged glances, and Qi Wu Zhen said helplessly, “It seems harder to get through. Let’s use a secret realm!”
Li Ran gave a bitter smile. “Alright. I wonder how many more small worlds are waiting for us. Hopefully, not too many, or else… we’ll really be trapped somewhere.” He glanced at the boundary-breaking spell with regret. There were less than ten small secret realms sealed within the sacrificial treasure for breaking boundaries. Who knew how many more small worlds they would have to go through before reaching the greater world? Using one now really made him reluctant.
Boom!

The world trembled as a glimmer of gold shot out from the rift and vanished into the void in an instant. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen simultaneously emitted dazzling talismanic lights before also plunging into the void. The entire space began to shake, as if a thunderclap rang in their ears. Everyone’s faces turned pale as they stared fixedly at the void.

A small dot spun rapidly and gradually expanded, resembling an bottomless hole. Li Ran shouted, “Go in!” With a wave of his hand, he cast another talisman, causing the dot to expand abruptly. Everyone rushed inside immediately.

Guo Shier Two entered and exclaimed in surprise, “This is… this is a secret realm!”

Qi Wu Zhen ordered, “Don’t stop! Hurry! Hurry!” Her tone was urgent, and no one dared hesitate. They immediately sped up, flying forward like meteors across the sky.

Guo Shier Two glanced back in a hurry and realized that the place where they had been standing was collapsing rapidly. Horrified, he said, “It’s collapsing behind us…” Not only was it collapsing behind them, but the entire small secret realm was crumbling, causing it to shake violently.

It was an apocalyptic scene.

Everyone was confused but none asked questions. They all rushed forward desperately. The small secret realm began to collapse from where they entered, at a speed only slightly slower than theirs.

Halechi cried in terror, “Damn it… what the hell is this?” He was the slowest, so Guo Shier Two used a virtual talisman chain to pull him along. Help was necessary at this moment. The same was true for Aizek and Meili—they both came from the world of talismans, and in a strange place, they naturally grouped together to help one another. Even if Guo Shier Two hadn’t intervened, others would have stepped in.

The small secret realm was collapsing at an astonishing speed. They rushed forward frantically, needing to get out before it completely collapsed.

In fact, while flying, they already understood that the purpose of the small secret realm was to be forcibly inserted into the void, allowing them to cross through it. Due to the cross-boundary situation, the secret realm couldn’t exist permanently. They were simply using its space to rush into another world before it completely collapsed.

Such a small secret realm was like a bridge connecting two shores, but it was extremely unstable. They had to reach the other side before the bridge collapsed, otherwise they would fall into the river and drown.

The space behind them collapsed rapidly, which was utterly terrifying for Guo Shier. The loud noises kept echoing nonstop. By then, Li Ran had already rushed to the front. He pointed ahead as they flew through the broken boundary, constantly chanting spells with Qi Wu Zhen. Before the small secret realm completely shattered, he had to create a passage.

As the space behind them collapsed, all the supplies inside the small secret realm vanished into nothingness. Guo Shier knew that if he were caught in it, he might not even save his soul. His soul trembled violently—a sign of extreme danger. The old man Shuai was also shocked in the altar. After asking briefly about the situation, he dared not disturb Guo Shier any further, fearing it might slow down Guo Shier’s escape.

Everyone was desperately fleeing. No one dared to be careless or speak; they just kept charging forward headlong.

Suddenly, Li Ran exclaimed in joy, “It works! It works!”

Qi Wu Zhen and Li Ran joined forces again. The broken boundary emitted a dazzling light as it violently split open the space. Li Ran roared, “Go in immediately! Whoever delays will die!”

In just a few moments, everyone rushed in, with Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen following. Soon after, the small secret realm completely collapsed, turning into nothingness.

They were out!

It was another new world, a new small world.

It was a gloomy world. As their experiences grew, everyone had become accustomed to strange worlds. No matter how peculiar this world was, they no longer found it strange. All they had to do was find its weak points and move on to the next small world, until they reached the grand world. No one knew how far this journey would go or how many more small worlds they would have to pass through.

By this point, everyone understood that this path was difficult. They had to keep moving forward—without hesitation or retreat. Only by entering the grand world could they achieve true liberation.

Guo Shier looked up at the sky, which was a strange dark purple. Strange purple mist rose from the ground, and the surroundings were gloomy. There was a faint fragrance in the air that made one feel relaxed. He smiled and said, “This place is really strange. Hehe, this smell… it’s like being in a garden.”

Everyone landed on the ground. The place they emerged in was about a hundred meters above the ground. Only then did they notice that the ground was covered with palm-length purple plants with tiny dark purple flowers that emitted a faint fragrance. These purple plants resembled a layer of purple carpet covering the land.

Guo Shier bent down, reached out to grab a few purple plants, examined them carefully, and said, “I wonder what use these plants have?” He casually lifted a large piece of purple soil, taking the plants on it as well, and placed them in the secret realm of the altar. It was his usual habit—whenever he encountered special plants, he would collect some for storage.

Li Ran said, “Let’s find a safer place. I need to refine the Boundary Breaker. This time… we’ll need a lot of materials for repairs.” Using up a small secret realm caused damage to the Boundary Breaker, which had to be repaired so it could be used effectively next time. He couldn’t afford to be careless in the slightest.

The group flew forward without knowing the direction. Due to a layer of purple mist, they couldn’t see far ahead. The ground was very soft, like a thin carpet. As they were running, Li Ran suddenly changed direction and flew left. At that moment, Guo Shier heard the sound of flowing water.

A small river appeared before them.

Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “Purple water?” He squatted by the river, scooped up some water, and realized it wasn’t purple at all but clear and transparent. The purple color came from the purple aquatic plants in the river. He took a sip and smiled, “This water is a bit sweet.”

The group sat down. Guo Shier summoned the Symbol House, and Li Ran along with Qi Wu Zhen went upstairs to begin refining the Boundary Breaker.

Last time, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen had collected enough small secret realms. Aside from giving one to Guo Shier, they hadn’t used them all—two remained. Taking this opportunity to refine the Boundary Breaker, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen added another secret realm to it, using a large amount of materials and Soul Beads in the process.

The Boundary Breaker was the only sacrificial treasure they needed to enter the Greater World, so Li Ran attached great importance to it. After each use, he tried his best to restore or even improve it. This sacrificial treasure had already reached the peak of Grade 9. With proper refinement, it might even surpass the quality of Grade 9 treasures.

It took a full six days to fully repair it this time. Qi Wu Zhen was a bit worried and said, “I wonder how many more times we can use the materials we have. I hope we can reach the Sacrificial Star soon.” She had always thought their destination was the Sacrificial Star, not realizing that the so-called Sacrificial Star was actually the Greater World.

Li Ran pondered for a moment before saying, “It’s fine. Even if our materials run out, others have plenty with them, so it should be enough.” He knew that Guo Shier was a wealthy man with countless materials—just the harvest from Da Yuantan alone was astonishing. That’s why he felt so confident. After all, once they arrived here, they could no longer find materials unique to the Spellcraft World; everything they used would gradually diminish.

Sighing, Li Ran said, “Back then, when Shier worked so hard to collect materials, I didn’t take it seriously. Hehe, it seems now that none of us are as wise as him.”

Qi Wu Zhen nodded and said, “Let’s find the weak point of this world as soon as possible.” With that, he headed downstairs. Li Ran dismissed the boundary-breaking ability and followed him down.

When they reached the bottom, they were surprised to find no one there. Li Ran wondered, “Where have they gone?”

Qi Wu Zhen stared at the purple mist in the distance and shook his head. “I don’t know. There aren’t any messages left…”

Suddenly, a long howl came faintly from afar. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen exchanged a glance without saying a word, then both took off, flying toward the direction from which the howl came.