Chapter 135: The Vanishing Space

The five-colored light receded, leaving behind intertwined circular marks on the ground, and right in the center of the largest circular mark was where Dao had been sitting.

A white crystal core floated quietly in the air, reflecting light in all directions under the sunlight, but Dao was nowhere to be seen—he had vanished.

At this moment, the people of the Earth-Heart Clan emerged from behind trees in different directions not far away. When Tian Xin saw the white crystal core floating in the air, a mixture of astonishment and pleasant surprise filled his eyes.

Tian Xin walked over and took the floating white crystal core into his hand. The milky-white energy within his body made slight contact with the core, and suddenly, an extremely pure, stark-white surge of energy poured from the core straight into his mind.

A white radiance emanated from Tian Xin's palm, yet somehow, under the sunlight, it was interwoven with yellow, blue, green, golden, and red lights that rotated and shone.

"This... this is!!" Lang Xin’s face was filled with utter shock, as if he were witnessing something impossible. Through his Horn-Pupil Vision, the energy in Tian Xin's palm was pure white, but the further outward it spread, the white energy seemed to be decomposed into five-colored energy.

Lang Xin stared intently at the crystal core in Tian Xin's hand, his voice somewhat trembling as he spoke, "This is attribute-less energy? How is that possible? No one has ever been able to capture the Source of the Metal Attribute, so the power of metal can never be born here."

Tian Xin stopped using his internal energy to make contact with the white crystal core, reopened his eyes, and unable to fully suppress the excitement in his heart, he said, "I only ever read about this in our clan chronicles. I never expected to actually encounter it this time. It seems that breaking through to the mid-stage Growth Realm is just around the corner."

After all, attribute-less crystal cores could not be generated by mutated beasts of Earth; they were solely produced automatically within the bodies of higher-dimensional spatial beings once they analyzed our world. Such a core was a matter of extreme fortune, obtainable only by chance and never by demand.

Tian Xin thought to himself that this time he must capture more of the three-dimensional physical vessels of the four-dimensional beings. Based on the descriptions in his clan's books, he had previously believed that attribute-less cores could only be obtained by slaying four-dimensional beings. Yet he never imagined that four-dimensional beings were truly immortal, and that the attribute-less core resided right within their three-dimensional vessel.

"What is this? Why have I never seen a pure white crystal core before?" At that moment, Bai Wan'er led the members of Purple Star Academy out from behind the thickest tree, with Dao among the Purple Star Academy group.

"This... this, he... how could he? Wasn't he trapped within the Earth-Binding Array? How is he back among the people of Purple Star Academy?"

Zi Xin stared at Dao, who was walking behind Bai Wan'er, as if he had seen a ghost. He had originally assumed that they had activated the Earth-Binding Array too late, causing the four-dimensional entity to slaughter Dao inside, and that the array, upon no longer sensing Dao's aura, had wiped out both Dao's corpse and the body of the four-dimensional entity together within the formation.

Dao walked silently behind Bai Wan'er, paying no heed to Zi Xin's expression of shock. He never entrusted his life to others, especially not to the Earth-Heart Clan with whom they had just come into conflict. Yet, this also marked the beginning of his attempting to trust a second person besides his master.

Before voluntarily becoming the bait, he had handed a wisp of silk thread from the Ink Blade over to Bai Wan'er. Dao did not know why; perhaps it was because Bai Wan'er was his master's daughter, or perhaps because it was simply time for him to step out of his own isolated world. He had chosen to trust Bai Wan'er.

At that time, the attack of the four-dimensional entity had been a hair's breadth away from his skull, and the ink-colored silk threads emitted by the Ink Blade in his hand had almost entirely enveloped him. The instant the wooden club touched his head, the Earth-Binding Array activated, the Ink Blade in his hand melted, and in a fraction of a second, when he opened his eyes again, he was already standing before Bai Wan'er.

"This is a demonic core, or you could call it an attribute-less crystal core. It is useful to anyone awakening any attribute, and for those with multiple attributes, it can truly be called a supreme heavenly treasure." Dao offered no explanation as to how he had reappeared in the ranks of Purple Star Academy; instead, he explained the white crystal core in Tian Xin's hand to Bai Wan'er.

Tian Xin looked at Dao behind Bai Wan'er without any sign of surprise. As the master of the formation, he naturally understood every minute change within the Earth-Binding Array. Still, Dao continued to amaze him; spatial power was something only monarchs could wield, so how could a mere entry-level Star Core warrior manage to traverse space?

Bai Wan'er looked at Tian Xin, and Tian Xin looked back at Bai Wan'er, saying, "The attribute-less crystal core is useful to both you and me, but there is only one."

With that, Tian Xin turned his gaze back to Dao. "Is there a way to lure out the four-dimensional beings once more?"

"Did you know all along that an attribute-less crystal core would be born within the bodies of four-dimensional beings?"

After hearing Dao's explanation, Bai Wan'er understood the immense utility of the attribute-less crystal core to them. Yet Tian Xin had merely shown the single core to Bai Wan'er for a fleeting moment before tightly clutching it in his hand, clearly regarding it already as his own possession.

Tian Xin nodded, acknowledging that he had known a little, though he was still somewhat surprised and had not expected the attribute-less crystal core to be born within the three-dimensional vessel of a four-dimensional entity.

"Theoretically, four-dimensional beings are more advanced in evolution than we are. Do you really think they are foolish enough to fall into the exact same trap twice?" Dao said somewhat helplessly, watching the eager look in Tian Xin's eyes, which was entirely consumed by the influence of the attribute-less crystal core.

An attribute-less crystal core was a temptation to anyone, whether of the Earth-Heart Clan or humanity. Dao also wished to slay a few more three-dimensional shells of four-dimensional beings, but there seemed to be no way to lure them out again.

"What if we change the bait?" Ye Bai, having heard what Dao had just said, chimed in, "What if we change the person, and change the method of luring them?"

Dao turned around, looked at Ye Bai, and asked, "What attraction do you hold for four-dimensional entities? Or do you happen to possess the Ink Blade in your hands?"

Ye Bai shook his head and continued to ask, "Then what is the motivation behind the attacks of the four-dimensional beings? Is it your blood, the Ink Blade, or physical flesh and blood?"

As Dao listened to Ye Bai, a sudden light dawned in his eyes at the mention of the condition, and he said, "Perhaps there is a way."

"Flesh and blood, flesh and blood," Dao muttered to himself a few times, then abruptly asked, "Is anyone injured?"

"Me." Wang Jiao limped out from the back.

Watching Wang Jiao, Dao began to slowly detail his plan. In fact, during the sudden assault by the four-dimensional entities just moments ago, many people had been injured, just not as severely or visibly as Wang Jiao.

Wang Jiao walked alone through the forest, with no one else around her. She had been walking by herself for more than ten minutes, having already left the spot where the three-dimensional vessel had just been slain. During this time, there was no movement whatsoever—no four-dimensional beings appeared, and no creatures born of spatial anomalies emerged.

While remaining vigilant of her surroundings, Wang Jiao held her weapon, which was densely wrapped in the silk threads of the Ink Blade, while pondering the feasibility of Dao's plan.

She was merely a part of this plan. Dao was currently acting as bait just like her, though heading in a different direction, walking entirely alone.

Her side was watched over by the people of the Earth-Heart Clan, while the other side was guarded by the people of Purple Star Academy.

Dao had said that the Ink Blade and the four-dimensional beings could sense each other. He and Dao served as two lures of differing levels of temptation. Being isolated and injured was the optimal opportunity for an attack by a four-dimensional entity, though it remained uncertain whether the creature would choose to attack her side or Dao's, or perhaps attempt to wipe them all out.

"Whoosh—"

Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind brushed past her ear, causing Wang Jiao's heart to tighten. During her first encounter with the four-dimensional entity, she had known she was no match for it. Unlike Dao, she could not instantly teleport; she could be said to have entrusted her life entirely into the hands of the Earth-Heart Clan members.

Wang Jiao glanced back in panic, quickening her pace as if desperate to flee this place. At that moment, she seemed to have forgotten that she was merely an actor playing the part of a lure—she was the genuine bait, struggling purely for survival.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." The sound of the wind grew more frequent around her ears. The four-dimensional entity seemed capable of sensing Wang Jiao's tension and fear, lingering nearby to toy with her, attempting to shatter her last line of psychological defense.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Dao walked alone in silence. The Ink Blade in his hand occasionally emitted ink-colored silk threads to continually warn him of the presence of nearby four-dimensional beings, yet in Dao's perception, there was no motion whatsoever, and his smart brain interface indicated he was entirely by himself.

After walking for a while, Dao stopped beside a tree, laid the Ink Blade down on the ground, and took out a flask of water to drink.

The very instant Dao raised his flask, a fierce aura surged toward him. His indifferent gaze instantly hardened into sharp focus, the Ink Blade on the ground dissolved into black mist and vanished, and the weapon materialized once more in his hand.

The transparent shadow that had appeared near the ground and just managed to seize the Ink Blade paused for a fraction of a second, then vanished.

Ink-colored silk threads tightly enveloped the blade, making the entire Ink Blade appear much larger. Raising his sword to parry, Dao collided with the wooden club and was forced backward.

The four-dimensional entity, despite holding the advantage, was momentarily stunned upon seeing the Ink Blade in Dao's hands, attempting to fade back into the spatial void. But before it could make a move, a swarm of tiny red blades surrounding it swarmed madly into its body.

The wooden club in the hand of the four-dimensional entity flashed with a brownish light, seemingly trying to beat back the assaulting red blades. Suddenly, the ground trembled and split wide open, and an earthy-yellow hand thrust out from the earth, grabbing the four-dimensional entity firmly in its grip.

Immediately afterward, an ink-colored blade aura flashed across the sky, leaving a brand-new attribute-less crystal core floating in the air. At this point, Ye Bai, Bai Wan'er, and the others finally walked out.

Shortly after it ended, the people of the Earth-Heart Clan returned with Wang Jiao. Everyone wore a smile on their faces, save for Wang Jiao, whose complexion remained unsightly.

"The harvest this time is not bad; we've slain four," Tian Xin said, tossing over two attribute-less crystal cores.

Yet before Tian Xin's words had even faded, the sky above—or rather, the entire space itself—underwent a drastic transformation, and Wang Jiao's expression turned even more terrified.

The blue sky, the trees before them, and the brownish ground all began to peel away like layers of a painted canvas being torn off one by one, revealing a gray drawing board lurking directly behind them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tian Xin's face changed dramatically.

"I don't know, I don't know! Why is space tearing apart?" Wang Jiao suddenly cried out in a near-breakdown voice.

Meanwhile, far away, the old man and the young man remained just as they had been before, except that the white-haired old man, who had been resting with his eyes closed, abruptly opened them, and the young man abruptly halted the movements of his hands.

"Has space vanished?"

The two exchanged glances and vanished instantly from the spot.