Half an hour after Yan Ming King departed, Wang Linchi still felt uneasy. The arrival of the Tree of Immortality was the result both sides had deliberately engineered by instigating conflict.

But what if a third party intervened to stir up trouble?

The Court and the Baylong Religion were fighting fiercely within the Secret Realm. This news might be concealed for a day or two, but how could it remain hidden for one or two months?

Shadow Covenant?! The name surfaced in Wang Linchi's mind.

If anyone was capable of orchestrating this, it would undoubtedly be the Shadow Covenant.

Previously, in Qinghe City, the Shadow Covenant, by manipulating the Baylong Religion, had come close to seizing the Peacock Sword Sect's achievements. If not for the intervention of Feng Zhu, a half-step Morning Star level expert, their safe return would have been uncertain.

Their specialty was manipulating others to eliminate their targets, then seizing the spoils.

Just as he was pondering this, Wang Linchi felt the earth tremble violently.

"Is the Earth Dragon stirring?" Wang Linchi mumbled, his hands already moving swiftly to sweep all materials, experimental subjects, and other items into his Storage Soul Device.

Then, he darted out of the courtyard at high speed.

The guards had already sprung into action. Their sole responsibility was to prevent anyone from entering; they cared little for the life or death of Wang Linchi, a Waste Spirit Phase cultivator. Even Yan Ming King had only instructed them to guard the gate.

Looking up, Wang Linchi saw the entire sky fracturing.

Moreover, a massive chasm had also split open the ground.

At the same time, he saw it—the Tree of Immortality, real and complete.

What Wang Linchi had seen before was only a part of it, resembling more a large, irregular pile of bones.

Only now, upon witnessing the true Tree of Immortality, did he understand why it was called a tree. Its colossal, heaven-piercing form, with branches and roots, continuously strained against the fissures cracking open in the sky and across the land.

"The Secret Realm is shattering!" Wang Linchi realized instantly.

Although he hadn't personally experienced the previous shattering of a Gigantic Secret Realm, his eyes weren't deceiving him; he could see glimpses of the Dajing Dynasty through the enormous rifts tearing through the fabric of this space.

The danger he had sensed earlier had manifested here.

The shattering of the Secret Realm couldn't have been the Tree of Immortality's doing. If the Tree possessed such power, it wouldn't have waited until now to act.

Instead, some entity must be assisting it, providing the opportunity to shatter the Secret Realm, break free from its restraints, and enter the Dajing Dynasty.

The Ming King Palace assembled quickly. Xu Shou led Wang Linchi to the gathering point, where he found a spot in a corner.

Yan Ming King's expression was unusually grave. He stated directly that once the Secret Realm began to shatter, it would be impossible to leave by communicating with the Secret Realm itself.

This escape method had always relied on the Secret Realm's integrity.

They now faced two choices: either prevent the Secret Realm from shattering or wait for its collapse and hope to be deposited back into the Dajing Dynasty. However, due to the spatial fragmentation, their destination was uncertain, though it would most likely be within the Jing Room Domain.

Furthermore, the process would be exceedingly dangerous. The vast majority would perish unless they possessed sufficient strength to survive.

This was precisely why, when the Yingzhou Secret Realm shattered, most of the aboriginal inhabitants who emerged were those with considerable power; those lacking adequate strength had died during the transfer process.

Hearing this, Wang Linchi felt somewhat helpless; he doubted his Physique could withstand such an ordeal.

However, it's not like there's no chance, Wang Linchi suddenly recalled. The Saint Master's Protection Seal seems like it can help me endure it.

As for stopping the Tree of Immortality, that was pure fantasy.

The might displayed by the Tree of Immortality surpassed the Morning Star level. Hadn't even the Morning Star level beautiful senior sister bodyguard beside Yan Ming King been frowning deeply?

This indicated that the Tree of Immortality's strength was far beyond her capabilities to handle.

However, Yan Ming King's choice was typically heroic: to save the Secret Realm.

Despite his many flaws, Yan Ming King's moral compass was sound when it came to crucial matters. Yet, he often seemed careless about the lives of others—one of his contradictions.

Yan Ming King possessed the power to achieve feats ordinary people could not. The rest, however, were merely ordinary, no matter how talented.

The meeting had barely begun, lasting only two minutes, before they dismissed to take action. The plan seemed rudimentary to Wang Linchi, but in the eyes of the others, whose judgment seemed clouded, it was as meticulous as could be.

Wang Linchi naturally wouldn't raise objections. You're the protagonist; if you say it can work, it definitely will.

"Let's go. I'll find you a safe place," Xu Shou, an old acquaintance, said, preparing to lead Wang Linchi to shelter.

This was mainly because Wang Linchi was the only weakling in the entire Ming King Palace; everyone else was at least Secret Silver Level.

This highlighted another aspect of the Protagonist's Aura: no matter how rapidly the protagonist's strength increased, or how many resources and fortuitous encounters they obtained, the next time they met a supporting character, that subordinate would, in all likelihood, have caught up to the protagonist's level of power.

Wang Linchi might have even experienced this himself; otherwise, his Luck would be excessively good. As it stood, his role was, at best, that of a minor supporting character making an appearance. It was just that his self-modified cultivation system had caused some issues with his level classification.

"I'd love to accept your offer, but where exactly is safe?" Wang Linchi glanced at the ground, where tree roots formed of bone writhed continuously within the massive fissures.

A moment of carelessness could lead to being caught by the Tree of Immortality's roots.

"I can't take you with me; I have to help stop the Tree of Immortality. If there's truly no other way, you'll have to rely on your Luck," Xu Shou said, equally helpless.

As an Elite Gold Level Awakener and Yan Ming King's father-in-law, he was a key figure in the Ming King Palace.

Xu Shou had also resigned from his official position at Court, primarily because the benefits of associating with Yan Ming King were far greater.

"Ah... in that case, you'd better find me a safe place then," Wang Linchi said, realizing Yan Ming King hadn't factored him into any plans.

It was probably force of habit. After all, everyone under Yan Ming King was powerful, and Wang Linchi wasn't an official member of the Ming King Palace, so he had likely been subconsciously overlooked.

Xu Shou didn't say much more and quickly led Wang Linchi to a relatively safer location.

Relatively safe simply meant there were fewer fissures in the vicinity.

However, Xu Shou hadn't been gone for even two minutes when the fissures began to spread toward them.

Naturally, Wang Linchi immediately summoned the Saint Master to protect himself.

The Saint Master grabbed Wang Linchi and began leaping agilely from side to side, evading the encroaching cracks.

The newly manifested Saint Master had initially been only two meters tall, but as its power grew, it now stood at an imposing 3.5 meters, holding Wang Linchi effortlessly.

The Saint Master could also fly, possessing two distinct modes of flight.

One was a form of levitation similar to the Fox Ghost's, but an evolved version, akin to flight that defied conventional physics.

The other mode, inherited from the Raksha Ghost, involved using wings for bird-like flight.

Most of the time, the former flight method was employed, as it offered greater flexibility and speed.

The latter was a backup, utilized for physical flight in areas with restrictions on movement or magic.

The wings were concealed beneath its bone Scale Armor. When not in use, they formed part of the armor and musculature, and were not typically deployed.

Although the Saint Master was constantly carrying him to evade danger, Wang Linchi's gaze remained fixed on the distant battle.

Yan Ming King's efforts were not progressing smoothly. The Black Dragon Bishop had appeared to obstruct him, only to be intercepted by the Morning Star level beautiful senior sister.

Subsequently, the third-party force, the Shadow Covenant, also made its move.

A large number of Shadow Humans materialized, using their signature Soul Kind ability, Shadow Space, to directly segment the battlefield, aiming to buy more time for the Tree of Immortality to shatter the Broken Mystical Land.

The Shadow Covenant had apparently reached some agreement with the Baylong Religion; there was definitely cooperation between them.

"Well, well, what have we here? A little fish that slipped through the net," a mocking voice called out. Not far away, a shadow twisted and coalesced from the darkness into a humanoid form.

"Get lost!" Wang Linchi snapped, glancing sideways. A mere Secret Silver Level actually dared to target him while he was under the Saint Master's protection? He must have a death wish.

The opponent was visibly stunned, clearly having never encountered such an arrogant Black Iron Level Awakener.

Then, he burst into laughter—a loud, unrestrained laugh.

"Kill him," Wang Linchi ordered curtly.

The Saint Master, still holding Wang Linchi, was unimpeded in battle. It swiftly closed the distance. With one massive hand, it seized the Shadow Human's head and crushed it. Subsequently, the Saint Master absorbed all the residual life force, spiritual power, Luck, and so forth from the corpse.

These energies were used to restore the Saint Master, some were converted into aptitude, and others were channeled into its Blessing for accumulation.

"Get us away from here, before we get entangled by more of these witless Shadow Humans," Wang Linchi commanded.

Upon his command, the Saint Master carried Wang Linchi across the fissures, distancing them from the battlefield.

Given the situation, it seems the Secret Realm can't be saved. I need to prepare to endure the worst, Wang Linchi thought. It seems even the Protagonist's Aura won't be able to solve this.

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