Volume One, Chapter Forty-Six: The Twisting of the Realm's Veil

Mo De lifted his head toward the silver sky, a bitter smile curling at his lips. Once again, he stirred his powers, a dull golden hue forming and separating quietly from his fingertips, crafting a blade in the air. He hurled the black cord in his hand against the makeshift barrier, shaking his head with a smile, "I can't blame you. It's just that I'm too useless, not worthy enough for you to unleash your true strength."

Even without transforming into flame, the black cord pierced straight through the simple wall. Mo De raised the golden blade in his left hand for one last strike, only to see the cord unravel and become a ring of black fire, surging back toward him. One burst of flame struck the dull gold blade at his fingertip; Mo De felt a flicker of ancient, muted metallic light in the sea of his consciousness, and the fire ring once again formed around his right wrist. But this time, it did not revert to the black cord, instead burning fiercely.

Behind him, Mu Qing's accumulating black fire suddenly roiled, almost breaking free of her tea-colored sunglasses' restraint.

In front, within the makeshift shield, the demon bathed in holy light clutched a blade sheath forged from a boundary stone, upon which a black flame abruptly ignited.

Just moments before, Li Xiang had marveled at the seemingly inexhaustible power within the boundary stone. Now, alarm replaced calm as he realized the tide had turned. Boundary energy surged along his veins back from the silver sky to the blade sheath, the extracted force soon exceeding all the energy the sheath had ever contained.

Li Xiang made a swift decision: he must let go of the sheath. Yet an immense suction held his hand fast. Without hesitation, his arm burst apart at the elbow, sacrificing the limb to halt the energy reversal. He knew he had to trigger a spatial fold immediately, or risk everything unraveling. The silver sky over the safe boundary erupted in blinding light, filling Mo De’s vision and rendering him temporarily blind.

Space rippled wildly at the junction of sky and wall, the folding poised to drag something indescribable into the world. Watching the convergence, Li Xiang was on the verge of witnessing his dream realized. He wished to cry, but could not—his flesh-and-blood eye had been destroyed by the overload, only the exposed mechanical eye, glowing red from a flood of data, fixed on the junction. Though the sensors could not capture a clear image amid the brilliance, an indescribable sensation rose at that point.

Normally, the world membrane exists beneath every space, object, and concept, like an invisible tablecloth supporting all things. To lift a corner of it is to topple everything nearby. Conversely, if one wipes away all around with a spatial fold strong enough to shatter everything—even space itself—the world membrane can manifest.

The safe boundary began to crumble from the junction, space folding into existence as boundary energy clashed and tore. The breach spread outward, reaching a kilometer in radius and growing. The flesh-and-blood sky wedged firmly into the broken wall, expanding as the hole widened.

Yet, as Mu Qing tried to stir the black fire within, she found herself stopping involuntarily. The dazzling light was blocked by her sunglasses, leaving her vision clear as ever. She could see the junction where everything was being swept aside, as if preparing for something to arrive. But she also saw atop the man's head, above the floating stone sheath, a familiar black flame.

Above the black fire, layers of colored, illusory barriers appeared. The black fire, usually insurmountable in Mu Qing's eyes, was held back by these translucent shields, unable to break through despite several attempts. When the black fire gathered for another surge, a hazy barrier appeared from nowhere, instantly quelling its fury, forcing it to circle the sheath.

Even among the many shields, this hazy barrier drew everyone's attention. It radiated an indescribable aura.

Mu Qing and Mo De were unconsciously attracted by its strange resonance, but Li Xiang knew exactly what it was. It was the small haze he had pursued with everything he had.

---

It was a piece of world membrane, trimmed and crafted by human hands into a barrier.

The black fire’s true sheath was this artificially processed membrane, and the layered shields on the boundary stone sheath existed to ensure the world membrane wouldn’t come too close to the world’s own membrane, preventing disaster.

Li Xiang’s ruined body could barely stand, his mechanical eye glowing red from the torrent of data, enveloped in ecstatic joy. The world membrane was real, and could even be cut and fashioned into a barrier. That meant, within such a barrier, might there be a "new world" in another sense?

A reminder flashed in his mind: spatial fluctuations had reached their peak, the fold was ready. Time for the finale. Even though he had already glimpsed his ideal, he wanted to witness its completion firsthand.

A crisp sound echoed, and at the center of the vanished wall beneath the sky, something cracked at the conceptual level.

The spatial fold began; even "space," the vessel of all things, fractured at its origin. Something emerged slowly from the rift, its aura eerily similar to the haze atop the sheath. Both now visible as concepts, they distorted toward each other.

The small world membrane atop the sheath rippled, but was suppressed by the black fire within and the shields without. Yet the membrane Li Xiang drew forth underwent a sudden change.

The flesh-and-blood net in the sky exploded, boundary energy whirling through heaven and earth. As the void, lacking all “concept,” resonated with the sheath’s membrane, a distortion occurred.

Within a hundred meters, all energy in the air, the ground beneath, and the three figures themselves vanished without trace.

Now, only an unconscious soldier remained, a few steps from a spherical crater and the gaping hole in the safe boundary overhead.

Behind the fallen soldier, more fully armed troops rushed in. Before him, thick fog mixed with sandstorm poured through the breach, and within the haze, a vast shadow drew closer, attracted by the rupture.

The safe boundary absorbed stray energy and lingering boundary force to patch the breach quickly, but restoring the massive hole, now stretching over ten kilometers, would take much time. The unit commander stared at the battered wall, stamping and cursing, "Who the hell did this? Put a hole in the sky! Contact other districts for immediate reinforcements—we can't hold this line alone."

Through binoculars, the giant shadow in the mist grew clearer.

"Sound the top-level alarm citywide! Gather all master cultivators—tell them the safe boundary's broken, a Titan beast is inbound, we need everyone to buy time!"

"Thank you for your efforts." A figure dropped from the sky, landing beside the commander.

"Commander—" "No need for words. Your arrangements are sound. Keep the line steady. It won’t be long before a smaller beast swarm gathers—then it’s up to you." The military commander patted his shoulder, then rose into the air, joining several swift figures heading through the breach into the mist.

---

...

"Taiyin, Taiyin, something just vanished over there!" The little Moon Attendant sitting on the young man's shoulder gnawed at her moon projection, gazing afar. "After disappearing, it reappeared far, far away."

"Disappeared and reappeared? Shall we check it out?" Taiyin shielded his eyes from the flickering violet light overhead, squinting in the direction indicated. It seemed to be where the one who had spied on him earlier had fled.

Moon Attendant hesitated, curious about what had happened, but also wanting to keep searching for delicious lunar fragments.

"Let's go then. You've eaten a lot these days, time to digest. Besides, that's Qin City—my colleague's hometown." Taiyin set her down, taking her hand as they walked toward that direction.

"Taiyin, Taiyin, are those purple things edible?" Reluctantly finishing her last moon fragment, the girl tugged at his hand, pointing to the violet lightning forest overhead.

"They’re edible, want to try?" Taiyin plucked a bolt of violet lightning, rolling it into a small purple ball and handing it to her.

"Mmm... mm-mm-mm..." Swallowing it whole, her short hair stood on end, her head puffing up like a little hedgehog.

"How does it taste?" Taiyin asked, sweeping more violet lightning aside as they walked toward Qin City.

"No real flavor, but my tongue tingles. The purple hops around in my mouth—so much fun!" She puffed white mist from her mouth, delighted, asking for more purple lightning balls.

"Let’s tame your wild hair first." Taiyin couldn’t help but laugh, leaving Moon Attendant puzzled, her puffed hair making her look at him in confusion.

The thunder echoed through the violet forest, unable to mask the young man's breathless laughter.