Chapter 534 - 371: Source of Destruction, Forbidden Demon Artifact

A terrifying, world-ending light bore down upon him.

Ian hovered in the air, a faint golden halo illuminating his form. It was a barrier of Order, created by five highly compressed Rules.

SCREEECH!!!

The pillar of destructive light slammed into the barrier of Order, and an ear-piercing sound of Annihilation erupted in the Void.

The barrier of Order caved inward, countless fine cracks spiderwebbing across its surface, but it ultimately held.

Amid the intersecting beams of light, Ian and Astra locked eyes across the distance.

This isolated fragment of space was now on the brink of collapse.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the sky, and the darkness of the Void seeped through the Rifts. The great hall began to crumble and shatter, revealing the bottomless Void below.

Each time the two clashed, the fragment of space trembled. With every collision of their Rules, a piece of this dimension eroded away.

’He still hasn’t made his move?’ Ian thought, a little puzzled and disappointed.

’Is there some restriction preventing him from acting?’

This space was about to collapse completely. If they remained, even a Morning Star Wizard would be swept into the chaotic currents of the Void.

The lucky might be thrown into another world. The unlucky would be lost forever in the eternal darkness.

He held back no longer. The Blazing Star Core within his Sea of Spirit abruptly accelerated!

VMMMM!

His Rule Domain began to contract violently inward—five thousand kilometers, one thousand kilometers, one hundred kilometers...

The smaller the Domain’s range, the higher the density of the Rules within, and the greater the Power amplifying Ian.

Finally, the Domain stabilized into a zone of absolute control with a ten-kilometer radius centered on Ian.

’The amplification from my Rules has increased more than tenfold...’

Ian felt the Power surging through his body; a single, casual thought could now unleash a tidal wave of Rules.

With a flicker of his will, a translucent Star Orbit flared to life around him. He activated the Time Rule at full power.

The flow of time within a ten-kilometer radius abruptly accelerated tenfold as the Time Rule of the entire area was forcibly rewritten.

To Ian, Astra’s movements instantly seemed ten times slower.

Eternal Fierce Sun - Ultimate Edition!

Ian brought his hands together before his chest. A blazing white orb of light took shape, then split into three.

Three Miniature Stars, each half a meter in diameter, hovered in mid-air in a triangular formation. Each star was a concentration of his five Rules.

"Go," Ian commanded, pushing his hands forward.

With time accelerated, the three Eternal Fierce Suns became three streaks of light, instantly surrounding Astra.

A violent flicker finally appeared in Astra’s dead, still eyes. Three Starlight Shields instantly materialized.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The three explosions detonated almost simultaneously, and blazing white light erupted around Astra, completely engulfing him.

Dense cracks spiderwebbed across the shields’ surfaces as Starlight scattered. The Abyssal Energy in his right hand formed a vortex, attempting to Devour and neutralize the attack.

However, the extreme Thermal Energy and Purification Golden Light were too potent a counter to the Abyss; the vortex dispersed the moment it formed.

He grunted as the aftershock struck his chest, blasting open a charred hole.

"Annihilation!"

The crimson light in Astra’s right eye flared as he spat out a dark purple beam, sweeping it outward.

HSSS!

The beam and the orbs of light vanished simultaneously, leaving behind a pitch-black hole three meters in diameter.

But this single strike exhausted the last of the Power Astra used to maintain the balance within his body.

"GRAAHH!!"

He let out a pained roar, and his body began to tremble violently.

The brilliant Starlight on the left side of his body rapidly dimmed, while the dark purple Abyssal Energy on his right side began to frantically erode his Starlight core.

The translucent patterns beneath his skin began to disintegrate. The reflection of a nebula in his left eye grew blurry, while the Abyssal vortex in his right eye shone ever brighter.

The balance between the two Energies was finally broken.

"I... I..." Astra’s voice began to change.

The rasp of the Abyss gradually took over, while the clarity of the Starlight grew fainter and fainter.

He staggered back, bracing himself on the armrest of the shattered throne. He looked at Ian, and a trace of clarity flashed in his left eye.

"You’ve won..."

His lips twitched, and a weak psychic message was transmitted directly into Ian’s mind.

"I made a grave mistake... I should never have been Refining the Forbidden Demon Artifact... It comes from the Abyss... This is a trap..."

"Be careful... That thing will backlash..."

The message cut off abruptly, and Astra’s body went rigid.

The Starlight in his left eye was completely extinguished, and the Abyssal vortex in his right eye abruptly contracted.

’Not good! He’s going to self-destruct!’

The Soul of a being at the Peak of Level Four self-destructing would be enough to completely obliterate this fragment of space.

Ian’s pupils constricted. He fully contracted his Gravity Domain, attempting to Imprison the blast.

But the wave of self-destruction had already reached the core of the Soul...

Deep within his Sea of Spirit, the panel vibrated silently. At the edge of his vision, faint golden text appeared.

[High-purity contaminated Soul detected. Commencing forced Purification...]

An intangible, formless, and supreme ripple extended from the panel.

It gently swept over Astra’s exploding Soul, and the wave of self-destruction... vanished.

Astra remained frozen in place, the light in his eyes rapidly dimming.

His body began to turn to ash, disintegrating inch by inch, starting from his fingertips.

Three breaths later, the ash scattered, leaving a silver-white, goose-egg-sized Gemstone hovering in its place.

[Acquired: Purified Level Four Soul Gem]

Ian reached out, drawing the Gemstone into his palm.

It was warm and smooth to the touch. The immense Power of the Soul Origin within was several times more formidable than any he had acquired before.

"So this is the Peak of Level Four..." he murmured, carefully storing the Gemstone away.

The instant the Gemstone was in his hand, a wave of impossibly cold Spiritual Power struck him from behind without any warning!

"GAA!"

Gaga, who was in the nearby shadows, was also hit. It let out a startled cry as its wings flared open.

The next second, the cry cut off abruptly. Its pupils turned vacant, and its body froze in mid-air.