Chapter 194 - 163: Elemental King

Chapter 194: Chapter 163: Elemental King

On Origin Star, above a trench in the Valley Ocean of the Northern Sea Domain, Zhang Ji arrived in a flash of lightning.

This trench was several kilometers wide, with vast amounts of seawater pouring into it.

It formed a unique sort of landscape.

Zhang Ji followed the trench downward, all the way to the very bottom.

Midway down, the flow of seawater slowed, running along the earth’s crust to form a subterranean ocean.

At the very bottom lay a subterranean continent where heatwaves and air currents surged wildly.

Following the air currents, he soon spotted a massive, active subterranean volcano. It intermittently spewed lava that flowed outwards, expanding the area of the subterranean continent.

This was the location of the most difficult dungeon on Origin Star, the entrance to the Ruins Realm that held the Legendary martial art, [Cosmic Four Source Attraction].

Here, the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—converged to form this unique environment.

An ordinary A-rank martial artist would find it extremely difficult to even get close, let alone enter the Ruins Realm.

The entrance to the Ruins Realm was inside the volcano, which was still actively erupting. Its temperature far exceeded that of a normal volcano, as it was connected directly to the planet’s core.

Zhang Ji, however, was unconcerned. With his Qi Body circulating, he plunged directly into the roiling, erupting lava.

On the surface of his body, crimson-gold flames surged as the True Solar Flame covered him, absorbing a massive amount of heat energy.

As he descended through the scorching lava, Zhang Ji felt an immense pressure. Even the movement of his Spirit particles grew sluggish. Under normal circumstances, no one could possibly enter such an environment.

’In the game, most players who wanted to clear this dungeon had to use vehicles or some other aid just to get inside.’

After descending for some distance, Zhang Ji finally detected the existence of a Spatial Barrier with his Spirit particles.

This was a colossal Ruins Realm space.

It was larger than any other Ruins Realm on Origin Star.

As he drew closer, Zhang Ji’s body transformed, entering the Half-Elementalization state of his True Solar Flame, and he passed straight through the Spatial Barrier.

The entry requirement here was to master an Epic martial art from any of the earth, water, fire, or wind schools and to have achieved Half-Elementalization.

After he entered, the world before Zhang Ji’s eyes changed.

Lava flowed like an ocean. Violent gales whipped into tornadoes, lifting torrents of molten rock and scattering them everywhere.

The ground trembled intermittently, raising new mountain peaks that would collapse only an instant later.

This was an extremely unstable Ruins Realm.

But it was also the "Domain" of that grandmaster of the Profound Heart Stream from Origin Star’s past.

’Yes, players could simply carry the corresponding elements in their spatial equipment to use when unleashing their martial arts. The martial artists of the Profound Heart Stream had naturally considered this problem as well.’

’Solely borrowing power from heaven and earth has its limits.’

’The environment varies from place to place, and the available elemental components are finite.’

’So, how to solve this became the core question for the martial artists of that era.’

’Their final conclusion was to open up a new world within their own bodies to house the elements.’

Over a hundred thousand years ago, a breathtakingly talented martial artist gathered the Four Elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—within his body, hoping to create a world.

But in the end, it only brought about violent destruction.

The technique ended up killing him.

But after his death, the Four Elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—continued to circulate, eventually giving birth to this world.

This was the origin of [Cosmic Four Source Attraction].

Its essence was to simulate the workings of the universe and create a world.

When the Four Elements operate and collide in a confined space, they transform into a primitive state of Chaos. After a long period of natural evolution, they can potentially form a real world.

However, because the human body has limited strength and capacity, gathering the Four Elements internally would most likely lead to death.

Therefore, the technique could ultimately only be unleashed externally, as a means to destroy everything.

Zhang Ji surveyed this world, his expression tinged with vigilance.

’The reason players called this the hardest Ruins Realm dungeon on Origin Star wasn’t just the strict entry requirements and this miserable environment.’

’It was also because of the many absurd elemental lifeforms that had been born here.’

Within the sweep of his Spirit particles, Zhang Ji detected many unique spiritual and energy fluctuations.

’Life has never been limited to forms of flesh and blood.’

’In fact, throughout the greater universe, plasma-based lifeforms are far more common.’

’They can be found on nearly every star.’

As Zhang Ji flew forward, a crater suddenly exploded in the ground below. A pillar of magma shot skyward, heading straight for him.

With his Spirit particle detection, Zhang Ji could sense the powerful spirit body within it.

It was at least A-rank.

"KZZZAP—!"

Lightning tore through the air. Zhang Ji pierced straight through the magma pillar, leaving a hole and shattering the spirit body within.

"SPLOOSH! BANG!"

Lava splattered across the sky. Zhang Ji used his Spirit particles to pull several special crystals from the spray.

They were several orange-red, gem-like objects.

[Fire Elemental Crystal].

A crystal unique to the bodies of elemental lifeforms.

Their spirit bodies were generally housed within these crystals, which also contained incredibly pure elemental energy.

They could be used to craft special Alchemy Potions to increase one’s attributes and resistance to the corresponding element. They could also be used to create experience potions for Profound Heart Stream martial arts, or even serve as a direct energy source.