Hou Niao kept well away. Although he badly wanted to kill this freak of a Wu Sect Magic Cultivator now and spare himself future trouble, any careless intervention in a Core Formation heavenly tribulation would bring utter catastrophe down on him.
If the heavenly tribulation came looking for him too and made him achieve Core Formation along the way, that would truly be a joke.
One duel producing two Golden Cores? This Ganling Small World would become all the rage on the Brocade Continent.
He could not get out now, and he dared not attack, so all he could do was watch from the sidelines. Watching someone else achieve Core Formation in utter misery was a pleasure in its own right.
What could he do? He liked helping people.
He might not have appeared to face much danger in this battle, but murderous intent had lurked beneath the surface, with every step a heart-stopping one.
Just as Daoist Zhan had guessed, he had been deeply suspicious of the choice of the Ganling Small World as their dueling ground. As a veteran of combat, no one cared more than he did about the choice of surroundings; it was an important factor in deciding victory and defeat.
To guard against unforeseen circumstances, he had instinctively begun interfering with the operation of the Small Grotto-Heaven Small World after entering it. This was not difficult for him, since it was not his first time doing so. With the Ancient Thunder Talisman in hand, he could accomplish what others in the Three Heavens Realms could not.
His interference could only accelerate its collapse. That was the sole thing he could do; reversing the small world's collapse was beyond his abilities. The tide was set, and human strength could hardly turn it back.
He had begun