The Nameless Region, Chapter Fifty: Seeking a Tiger’s Hide—A Path to Self-Destruction

Xu Biao had already descended dozens of miles underground, reaching the very bottom. This “bottom” was not a barrier or a layer of rock, but a formation—the outermost layer of this small world. Xu Biao could even vaguely make out the martial platform outside through this formation.

Yet he was unable to break it. The formation enveloped the entire small world, and the mighty Sumeru Law compressed its vast array into a space barely a hundred meters wide. Even if all four—Xuan Qizi and the others—combined their strength, they would hardly be able to shake it, let alone Xu Biao, who was merely at the Qi Refinement stage.

At that moment, the bloodthirsty worm hidden in his hair relayed a message through divine sense, its soul now under Zhou Xuanhong’s control: “Excellent, you’ve done well. You can return to the surface now—I have a great surprise for you.”

Xu Biao smiled, “Young Lord, how are things up there? Is it dangerous?”

“The situation is dire—far worse than ordinary. The Five-Spirit Pill Valley has joined forces with the Corpse Sect, and there’s a traitor within the Form-Transformation Sect. The three groups are slaughtering Form-Transformation disciples together. If you go out recklessly, you’re seeking death.”

Xu Biao’s face changed dramatically. “Then…what should I do?”

“Don’t worry. There’s also a beast tide made up of native monsters resisting them. Your task now is to stay away from the battlefield. As long as you don’t get involved, you’ll be safe. My worms have already scouted everything nearby. Give me a jade slip—I’ll engrave a map for you. Whether you survive or not depends on yourself. If you can’t make it with this, it’s fate.”

Xu Biao nodded quickly, “Don’t worry, Young Lord. I’ve crawled through worse than this for decades. If I really die, I won’t blame you!”

“Enough—get moving!”

Xu Biao stowed away the jade slip Zhou Xuanhong had inscribed, then used an Earth Escape Talisman to leave the depths. His ascent was much swifter than his descent; in just a few days, he would return to the surface.

Without the protection of the Earth Escape Talisman, a crushing pressure swept in from all directions. The bloodthirsty worm barely withstood it, pressing its body against the formation to alleviate the force.

“You all keep fighting—one wants to target the Form-Transformation Sect, two want to seize the small world, and one stands aloof as if uninvolved. The fiercer your struggle, the better. I won’t fight you directly. Remaining in the shadows is the mark of a true thief.”

Soon after, the bloodthirsty worm reverted to its original soul’s control, and Zhou Xuanhong’s soul shifted to another bloodthirsty worm thousands of miles away.

The worm’s sea of consciousness was small, making Zhou Xuanhong’s soul feel cramped.

This worm was near the allied armies of the two sects. On the ground, Qi Refinement cultivators rushed forward using footwork, while above, Foundation Establishment cultivators who had broken through in the past ten days soared on flying swords, exuding confidence and joy.

Their ranks had swelled over these days, enough to sweep the entire small world. They moved unimpeded, encircling and annihilating Form-Transformation Sect and Mount Song Sword Pavilion disciples with overwhelming numbers. Any rare treasures they found were handed to the three strongest Foundation Establishment cultivators for centralized distribution.

Because the small world was so rich in resources, conflicts over uneven distribution had not yet arisen. However, as time wore on, tensions would inevitably be magnified.

After slaying an elder from the Form-Transformation Sect, a Qi Refinement consummate from Five-Spirit Pill Valley recognized the corpse as someone who had once saved him during a mission. He wished to bury the elder properly.

But the Corpse Sect disciple who had killed the elder would not allow it. “This is my trophy. Why should you bury it? Refining him into a corpse puppet would be a great asset and greatly strengthen me.”

“Get lost! If the sect hadn’t arranged this alliance, I’d have killed all you pill alchemists long ago!”

Under the pervasive baleful aura of the small world, the evil cultivator’s suppressed ferocity erupted, prepared to attack at the slightest provocation. After all, the pill alchemist was not his match in strength, so he spoke with unrestrained arrogance.

The alchemist was startled by the killing intent, but the baleful aura subtly suppressed his fear, replacing it with anger.

“Fine! So that’s how you really feel. You evil cultivators deserve to be exterminated. I’m already unhappy with this alliance, and seeing our former comrades betrayed by their own is infuriating enough. Now you want to defile their corpses? There’s no need for us to stay together. Once the Form-Transformation Sect is wiped out, you’ll surely turn your fangs on us. Making deals with tigers is a path to destruction!”

With that, the alchemist turned and left, heading in the opposite direction from the group. The Five-Spirit Pill Valley’s Foundation Establishment cultivators did not stop him either—the Corpse Sect disciple’s words had displeased them, and without a proper explanation, the alliance would collapse.

Several Corpse Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances. Disguised as Wang Li of the Corpse Sect, one flew out and launched a cold, deadly beam at the disciple who had spoken harshly.

“You dare kill me!”

The disciple realized too late; before he could raise his defenses, Wang Li’s attack pierced his brow.

After the kill, Wang Li offered no apology to the Pill Valley Foundation Establishment cultivators—it was not his place.

A strange young man at the second level of Foundation Establishment from the Corpse Sect approached the Pill Valley group, apologetic. “Fellow Daoists, pay no mind to his words. Our elders have decreed that nothing shall damage the alliance. You can trust them—just as you trust your own elders not to send you to your deaths.”

A veiled woman from Pill Valley smiled faintly. “We hold no grudge. Besides, even if it came to blows, who lives or dies is not yet certain.”

The youth chuckled hoarsely and returned to his group, his face darkening as a glint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Wang Li teased, “Oh? You’re holding back? That’s not like you. If you ask me, we should just kill all those pill alchemists. Only then will the Corpse Sect reap the greatest benefit.”

The strange youth shot Wang Li a cold look. “I don’t know who you are, but your technique is not from our sect. Don’t act indifferent—cooperate properly, or if the sect’s plan fails, you’ll suffer as well.”

“Whatever,” Wang Li shrugged indifferently. “My goal is already achieved.”

On the Pill Valley side, the veiled woman’s gaze was icy. In her palm, a pill furnace mark faded into her skin.

“Go bury the Form-Transformation Sect cultivator’s body. I recognize him—he was friendly with our disciples.”

A young man behind her pouted. “Senior Sister, what are the elders thinking, betraying the Form-Transformation Sect? Is a small world really worth it?”

She sighed and fondly ruffled his hair. “The small world is important—a treasure to our sect. But that’s not the main reason for breaking with the Form-Transformation Sect. They’re declining, and the Corpse Sect seems to be linked with the Grand Yin Corpse Sect. Our elders weighed the pros and cons; abandoning the Form-Transformation Sect was inevitable. We are alchemists, not killers. The Corpse Sect does the killing, so even if our old allies are destroyed, we won’t be blamed. There was no true alliance, so there’s no betrayal. By the way, where’s your Azure-Scaled Eagle?”

The youth scratched his head in frustration. “Who knows? The master-servant bond just broke suddenly, and this small world is too vast to find it.”

The woman comforted him. “A shame—it had great potential, could’ve become our sect’s guardian beast. But don’t worry. Anything brought in will be sent out when the month is up. The elders will look into it then.”

As the nearly hundred-strong group pressed forward, oblivious, tiny bloodthirsty worms watched silently from their hiding places. When anyone swallowed a pill, a worm would enter their body along with it.

Whenever Qi Refinement consummate cultivators in the group paused to break through to Foundation Establishment, they found quiet spots, confident they were safe in the wake of their army. As they began to build their Foundation Platforms, bloodthirsty worms at mid-stage Qi Refinement moved close, slipping into their bodies with pills, following spiritual energy to the dantian, and merging into the Foundation Platform, nourished by pure spiritual power, entering dormancy.

Once the cultivator achieved Foundation Establishment, their spiritual sense would detect something strange in their dantian. But no matter how they tried, they couldn’t expel it. Fortunately, they sensed no life from the worm, so they set aside their worries, intending to investigate after leaving the small world.

High in the branches of a great tree, a bloodthirsty worm clung to the underside of a leaf, emanating a human soul wave—Zhou Xuanhong’s soul had arrived. Gazing at the group of nearly a hundred cultivators below, he marveled.

“Not bad at all. Looks like you’ll soon encounter the beast horde led by Gu Zhen. That will be quite a spectacle. Maybe the carnage will yield a Foundation Establishment bloodthirsty worm—one strong enough to hold my soul and slip into the world array with ease.”

“The core of the World Pearl is in the sky—there’ll be furious competition, with nowhere to hide. I’ll enter the array’s edge from underground, familiarizing myself with its structure bit by bit. You old foxes might have set contingencies, but you can’t seize it directly from the Form-Transformation Sect. This is my chance. If I break the array before the great battle and refine the small world, it’ll be mine.”

“It’s a pity the Golden-Eyed Beast’s blood didn’t give me spirit eyes, but it did strengthen my soul, making my study of arrays much more effective. Judging by Xuan Qizi’s attitude toward me, nothing unexpected should happen soon. I must use this time to master the formation. It would be embarrassing if the battle breaks out and I still haven’t cracked the world array.”