Chapter 513: I Never Said I Only Had One

Chapter 513 -257: I Never Said I Only Had One

A huge crater had appeared, as if a layer of the ground had been simply erased from existence.

Xi Nan stood in the center of the crater.

His usual calm and dignified air was gone. His face was a bloodless, ashen gray, and his entire body emanated an aura of decay and corruption.

“What happened?”

Yin Yongqin, Ji Zhang, and the other Councillors were all shocked.

Just a moment ago, the fight had been a stalemate. How could Xi Nan have suffered such a devastating blow in the blink of an eye?

The crowd emerged from the Wizard Tower, gathering around Xi Nan and staring up at the sky as if facing a formidable enemy.

“Hmph.”

A cold sneer echoed from the sky.

Pan Mo hovered in the air, gazing down on Xi Nan and the others. A grayish-white, diamond-shaped crystal floated in the palm of his outstretched right hand.

Pei Ze’s eyes fell upon the crystal. His expression flickered, a vague sense of familiarity washing over him.

“A Rule Origin Crystal.”

Xi Nan spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and laced with bitterness.

“From the body of the God of Decay and Death?”

“Correct.” Pan Mo sneered, making no attempt to hide the truth. “It is thanks to that divine body that I was able to refine this Rule Origin Crystal.”

Hearing this exchange, the expressions of the other Councillors soured.

Only Pei Ze wore a peculiar expression.

‘A Rule Origin Crystal?’

He muttered subconsciously.

‘Is it something similar to the Space Rule Origin Crystal I created?’

Yin Yongqin, who stood beside him, overheard Pei Ze and assumed he was confused. He explained in a low voice, “It’s an essence crystal formed by condensing the Power of Rules. Its might is comparable to the Rule Origin of an Eighth-level Wizard.”

Understanding dawned on Pei Ze.

‘So, Wizards already knew how to create a Rule Origin,’ he thought. ‘And here I was, going to all the trouble of deducing the method with my Eye of Omniscience.’

‘If I’d known, I could have just asked the other Councillors instead of wasting all that time.’

But then, another thought gave him pause.

‘If other Wizards can create Rule Origin Crystals, then mine isn’t much of a trump card, is it?’

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Yin Yongqin’s voice again.

“It’s just that, typically, only an Eighth-level Wizard can create a Rule Origin. I never expected Pan Mo to have managed to create one.”

Pei Ze felt a wave of relief.

‘That’s not so bad, then.’

“Since you recognize this, you should know you have no chance of victory.”

Pan Mo’s gaze swept over the group, a cold smile spreading across his face.

“Consider yourselves lucky. You get to witness the power of a Rule Origin before you die.”

Yin Yongqin and the others looked grim.

None of them had expected Pan Mo to possess a weapon of this caliber—a Rule Origin Crystal.

Against a Rule Wizard, such an item was an overwhelmingly powerful weapon. Even just one was terrifying enough.

One only had to look at Xi Nan’s current state to know that.

For a moment, the hearts of Yin Yongqin and the others sank.

The situation was undoubtedly dire for them.

Pan Mo saw their expressions, and a flicker of triumph flashed in his eyes.

‘Once I finish off this group,’ he thought, ‘I can go back and help Lady Fungi. Even if we can’t kill Mu Yuan, driving him off will be more than enough.’

‘After that, I just have to enter the Star Realm, and I won’t have to worry about any pursuers from Chenxi City.’

‘I’ll seclude myself in the Star Realm for a millennium to consolidate my power, then head for the Tree of Truth. After that, the world will be my oyster.’

Pan Mo’s resolve hardened. As he looked at Xi Nan and the others again, his eyes glinted with undisguised, cold killing intent.

His gaze suddenly landed on Pei Ze. He saw that Pei Ze remained calm and composed, as if completely unconcerned by the situation. Pan Mo’s brow furrowed, and he let out a cold laugh.

“You interfered back on the Wanyuan Plain, causing all my efforts to fail at the final moment. I haven’t forgotten that debt. Today, I’ll settle the score with you.”

Pei Ze smiled faintly. “I’m afraid you’ll have to add another item to that bill.”

Pan Mo frowned.

‘What does he mean by that?’

For some reason, as he looked at Pei Ze’s calm expression, a sense of foreboding inexplicably rose from deep within him.

But then he remembered the Rule Origin Crystal in his hand. Pei Ze and his group had absolutely no chance of turning the tables. With that thought, his confidence returned.

“Still talking tough, even at death’s door.”

Pan Mo scoffed, then thrust a finger forward. A murky gray beam of light shot from his fingertip, reaching the group in the blink of an eye.

Death Finger!

This was only a seventh-circle negative-energy magic. Its power wasn’t particularly formidable, especially not to Sixth-level Wizards.

But when cast by Pan Mo and amplified by the Death Rule Origin Crystal, the magic’s power skyrocketed to an astonishing degree.

Yin Yongqin and Mo Weng were instantly gripped by the fear of death. Their bodies froze, and for a terrifying moment, they felt as if it were impossible to resist.

Even Xi Nan’s expression changed.

Just as he prepared to block it, the incoming gray beam of light seemed to strike something invisible and was abruptly snuffed out of existence.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone for a moment. Then, as if acting on a shared instinct, they all turned to look at Pei Ze.

At some point, he had raised his hand. A few inches above his palm floated a brilliant, translucent crystal.

It looked remarkably similar to Pan Mo’s Rule Origin Crystal, only the color was different.

One was grayish-white; the other, bright silver.

The silver crystal emanated astonishing spatial fluctuations.

“A Space Rule Origin Crystal!”

The color drained from Pan Mo’s face as he cried out involuntarily. His earlier confidence was gone, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

“How is that possible?!”

“How do you have a Rule Origin Crystal?”

Rule Origin Crystals were incredibly precious. Even Pan Mo himself had only managed to refine a single one by relying on the body of the God of Decay and Death, and only after untold hardship. Pei Ze didn’t have the body of a space-aspected Divine Spirit, so how could he possibly possess a Space Rule Origin Crystal?