Chapter 4175: 4175 Chapter 4175: The Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor Candle Dragon used the rules to open a passage for the Dao Lords, allowing them all to come through. Soon, a thousand Dao Lords arrived, with several Eternals directing their defensive arrangements. According to Candle Dragon, the great battle would erupt within days at any moment. Although Candle Dragon was fully aware that the world itself would not be in danger and if they couldn’t hold out, he could intervene such intervention was a last resort. The best outcome was for him not to act, to avoid triggering a backlash from the rules. The struggle between Dao Wild Beasts and cultivators was dictated by the rules; if he intervened, he would be breaking them. He couldn’t be both judge and participant. Candle Dragon understood cause and effect: the situation had evolved as it had partly because of his own actions, and the other half was due to Lin Moyu. Now, with the great battle approaching, Candle Dragon didn’t want to act, Lin Moyu was absent, and others would have to fight and sacrifice this was hard to justify. Thus, new karma was created, again and again, endlessly. Candle Dragon could do nothing about this, wishing only to complete his transcendence soon and sever all karma with this world, gaining true freedom. Five days later, the Dao Cloud began to boil. In the distance, countless black dots appeared, sweeping in like a dark cloud. The Hengduan Mountains’ formations activated, towers shone, and the power of the stars gathered. Lin Moyu, unaware of events within the world, was still sweeping through the Soul Devouring Spirits, searching for the Soul Devouring Spirit Kings. These kings were rare he found one only every few dozen days. Killing them wasn’t difficult; his methods were effective, easily wounding them and finishing the job in a few moves. After two hundred days outside the world, Lin Moyu had slain five Soul Devouring Spirit Kings, collecting three portions of essence and fulfilling his agreement with Candle Dragon. He didn’t stop, continuing his search for more, needing their essence for research. On the three hundredth day, he had two more portions of essence. "Why do I feel vaguely uneasy?" Lin Moyu frowned, searching for the source of his unease. He glanced down at the world, but the Five Worlds Domain was wrapped in a barrier like frosted glass, filled with its own rules, blocking his vision. "Could something have happened inside the world?" he wondered. "The Dao Wild Beasts have already been beaten back, the Soulless Beast has purified so many pools, the beasts’ power is greatly reduced, their numbers dwindling. What threat could they pose? Only the mutated beasts could be dangerous, but reviving them isn’t easy. The Beast Emperors paid a great price to revive one before, and the other eight were normal, no anomalies." In less than a year, there shouldn’t have been any big changes. Yet his sense of unease, which had never failed him before, grew stronger. A thought arose: "Maybe I should go back." The more he thought about it, the stronger the urge became, as if a voice was urging him, and the unease intensified. "Go back!" Lin Moyu decided, trusting his instincts as always. He was already a great distance from where he’d started; flying back would take days. So he prepared to open a direct passage to the Origin Land. This was the convenience of being an Eternal: no matter how far, he could open a path home at any time. He willed a connection to the Origin Land, the rules began to stir, and a passage opened before him. As he was about to step in, he suddenly stopped. The moment the portal appeared, his unease multiplied exponentially. The portal felt like a dangerous abyss entering it would mean falling into endless torment. His heart raced, his hair stood on end. Trusting his instincts, he didn’t enter. Instead, he backed away, eyes fixed on the portal. "What’s going on? That sense of danger came out of nowhere. It seemed like a whim, but now it feels truly strange." "It’s as if some force is affecting my Dao heart, creating false thoughts. If that’s the case, then the portal I opened doesn’t lead to the Origin Land at all, and what I’m sensing isn’t the Origin Land." "To affect the Dao heart and create illusions Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor!" Lin Moyu was shocked. He realized he had encountered the Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor. Candle Dragon had warned him: the Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor was extremely dangerous if encountered, he should escape immediately, though he might not even get the chance. But Candle Dragon never said what the danger was, or how the Emperor appeared. Now, Lin Moyu realized: Candle Dragon didn’t know either. At first, Lin Moyu hadn’t worried he’d met a Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor from another world and even fought him. While powerful, he wasn’t unstoppable. But now he saw: every Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor was different. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 Lin Moyu slowly retreated, taking out the scale Candle Dragon had given him, which still pointed the way. He followed it, heading back to his entry point, aiming to return to the world. Suddenly, countless space portals appeared in the void tens of thousands of entrances densely layered. Each one radiated the aura of the Origin Land, as if they all led home. But Lin Moyu saw that every one led to hell. If he’d only suspected before, now he was certain: he’d encountered the Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor. Unlike the Soul Devouring Spirit Kings, the Emperor didn’t just read memories, but could create illusions based on them. He could directly influence the Dao heart, making one believe false actions were correct far more terrifying than ordinary illusions. If not for his acute senses, if he’d stepped through any of those portals, who knows what would have happened. "Something’s happened at the Hengduan Mountains, hurry back!" The thought flashed through his mind, and Lin Moyu seemed to see endless wild beasts attacking the Hengduan Mountains, the formations shattered, the Eternals gravely wounded, unable to hold out. He realized these were thoughts from his subconscious he’d once considered such a possibility. The Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor had magnified them, presenting them as reality. Lin Moyu instinctively knew it was false, but it felt so real. The Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor had surpassed mere illusion, affecting the Dao heart and soul to show seemingly real scenes. Lin Moyu held firm to his Dao heart, slipped away through a gap, and refused to engage with the Soul Devouring Spirit Emperor. The enemy was hidden, he was exposed avoiding confrontation was the best choice. Ko-fi.com/translatetoki only donate if u want to My p@treon is now up go to [email protected]/Translatetoki Remove the @ symbol and type a