The thought of the danger of explosion of the Curese Worm and the risk of damage to his Life Ability is why his face is feeling the phantom pain. He is sure that he will grimace and feel heartache if the Corpse Worm explodes, so he is already grimacing now and grimacing intensely, which is causing his face to actually feel pain.
Unfortunately, he can’t back down because he doesn’t want to offend Skarg and because he needs the money. He needs the money to start preparing for his advancement to rank 5 or at least prepare a way out for himself if he fails to advance to rank 5.
He doesn’t actually want to advance to rank 5. He is satisfied with what he has achieved in life and will be content remaining a rank 4 cultivator all of his life.
Unfortunately for him, what he wants is not up to him. As long as there is another rank 4 cultivator with the Corpse Worm Life Ability, he must either advance to rank 5 as soon as possible or become chow for the other cultivator when they advance to rank 5.
When he thought of this, he gritted his teeth and said, "This world is eat or be eaten. I either eat, or I will be eaten."
He knows this more clearly than anyone else because he has witnessed many seniors with the Curse Worm Life Ability being eaten by a rank 5 being.
Those seniors were all part of his society. They didn’t know that the society was established solely to create rank 3 death cultivators as food.
They didn’t discover this until a new rank 5 cultivator of the Curse Worm Life Ability advanced and came to them. The leader of their society then sold off all of the rank 3 cultivators of the Curse Worm Life Ability, who were then eaten right there in front of everyone.
So he knows without a doubt that the only reason he is alive is that he was lucky that the rank 5 cultivator became full before it got to his turn to be eaten. But he doesn’t want to rely on that kind of luck anymore.
He doesn’t want to be in the kind of situation where he barely survives due to luck. This is very important since he knows that he will never have that opportunity again.
Once a new rank 5 cultivator with his Life Ability appears, he will definitely be among the first on the menu since he is already at rank 4. This is why he must be the next rank 5 cultivator of his Life Ability, no matter how content he is with staying at rank 4.
He was thinking about this while he worked. On the other side, Skarg and his two children were watching him work while chatting with each other.
Skarg said to Sophia, "How is the Heavenly Battlefield these days?"
Sophia’s face paled when she heard this question. Her face wanted to become as white as her hair, and her eyes widened with residual fear when she thought of the Heavenly Battlefield.
When she didn’t answer for a while, Skarg became concerned, and he said with concern, "Is it that bad?"
In response, Sophia chuckled and said, "It is bad. But I am alive, and that’s what matters."
Serge didn’t understand his sister’s reaction, so he asked with a perplexed expression on his face, "What is so bad about the Heavenly Battlefield?"
To which Skarg laughed and said, "You’ll know when it is your turn."
Serge found the answer to his question unsatisfactory, so he rolled his eyes and said, "Why won’t you tell me now? You never tell me when I ask."
Skarg shook his head and said, "It is a tradition not to tell people like you about it."
This reply made Serge scoff and say, "You guys are just being mysterious."
But Skarg only threw his head back and said, "Of course, that’s the main goal. We want to be mysterious about it."
Sophia smiled and said, "Just know that rank 4 cultivators are cannon fodder on the Heavenly Battlefield. So you’re too weak to be concerned about it."
Skarg nodded in agreement. But as nonchalant and cheerful as he was, terribly scenes of blood and carnage flashed in his eyes that reminded him of the reason he decided to leave the Heavenly Battlefield.
The Heavenly Battlefield is perhaps the most important battlefield between sects. After all, the outcome of such battles will determine which sect gains control of the small worlds, which they can use to steal souls from the other domains.
The importance of the Heavenly Battlefield makes it so that divine beings pay attention to it. So, if by chance one wants to gain the support of a divine being, the Heavenly Battlefield is the place to display their value.
There is also the fact that the Heavenly Battlefield is practically the only place where grade 5 merit points can be earned. With grade 5 merit points, becoming stronger with Dao Status becomes certain, and advancing to rank 5 becomes possible.
Despite all of these benefits, Skarg still chose to leave the Heavenly Battlefield. This is because it is too dangerous. He has seen too many rank 4 people die for him to continue risking his life on the Heavenly Battlefield.
As he thought of this, he said to them, "Fighting on the Heavenly Battlefield is like participating in a lottery, but the cost is your life. If you win, you can soar to the sky. But the chances of winning are too slim. Most people fail and lose their lives."
To himself, he said, "I will rather be a lowly rank 4 cultivator with my life than be dead. Besides, i have that inheritance. So i don’t need to risk my life."
Of his two children, Sophia nodded in agreement to what he said and said, "I’m glad that you called me back for this. Maybe I’ll just go to an Earthly Battlefield. It will be more difficult to earn grade 4 merit points there, but it is safer."