Chapter 536 - 371: Source of Destruction, Forbidden Demon Artifact (3)

Information about the Abyss’s patterns of Erosion, the underlying Rules of Soul corruption, and how to refine a Forbidden Demon Artifact.

’The Demon Artifact, the Star-devouring Eye... I see...’

He was deeply shaken, and a flash of understanding flickered in his eyes.

"Gaa... Ian..." a faint voice came from his shoulder.

Gaga awoke from the Illusion Realm, its small eyes still wet with tears. Inside the illusion, it had seen itself turn into an ordinary Raven, casually abandoned by Ian to freeze and starve to death in the cold wind.

Once awake, it gave Ian’s shoulder a wounded peck. "Ian, you actually abandoned me..."

"That was just an Illusion Realm." Ian gently rubbed its small head. "I will never abandon you."

Gaga’s eyes brightened slightly, and it buried its face in its feathers. "I knew it..."

Ian put away the two Level Four Peak Soul Gemstones.

Counting the fifteen Level Four Mutant Beasts he killed earlier and the two Petrifying Lizards from the spatial entrance, he had a total of nineteen Level Four Soul Gemstones. However, he had already used the one from the Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard when his Earth Rule reached Perfection, leaving him with eighteen.

’A rich haul.’ He glanced around.

This spatial fragment was on the verge of collapse, and he had to leave as soon as possible. But before he left, there was one more thing to do.

Ian flew toward the depths of the grand hall. The sealing orb of light on the altar had already dissipated.

A massive eyeball floated silently in mid-air. It was over three meters in diameter and was entirely the color of Dark Gold.

Across its left half, silvery-white Starlight flowed like a liquid, and within it were visions of stars being born and dying.

On its right half, dark purple Abyssal Energy writhed slowly, emitting a chaotic and terrifying aura.

The two types of Energy converged at the pupil, forming a constantly spinning vortex. Deep within the vortex, one could see the Annihilation and rebirth of space itself.

This was the unfinished Forbidden Demon Artifact: the Star-devouring Eye.

Ian stood before the eyeball, a complex look in his eyes.

In his mind, he was digesting the information he had obtained from Astra and the Soul Dominator.

The Starlight Empire, the most brilliant civilization on this planet, had once ruled the entire Estelle Planet for over ten thousand years.

Floating Cities hung in the sky like stars, the Starlight Network spanned the continent, and the people lived and worked in peace. The entire land was a picture of serenity.

The strongest figure of that generation, the Emperor of Radiance, Astra, was the most powerful being of his time. He possessed a lifespan of five thousand years and had ruled the Empire for over three thousand of them.

He had once slain a world-invading Void Star Beast in the Void and, from its remains, obtained the refining method for a Forbidden Demon Artifact.

In the Wizard World, Demon Artifacts are a class of items of a higher tier than Witchcraft Tools.

They can only be powered by Rules, and every single Demon Artifact is exceptionally precious. Many Morning Star Wizards go their entire lives without ever owning one.

And this refining method was for an ultimate weapon capable of absorbing and converting the Pole Rule to annihilate a star in a single blow: the Star-devouring Eye.

In his quest to surpass his predecessors and break through to a higher level, Astra began to research the refining of this forbidden artifact.

But refining the Demon Artifact required a massive amount of extreme negative energy to catalyze its "Annihilation" attribute. He began to gather the world’s filth, death, and resentment...

But it was nowhere near enough. The Level of these energies was too low, a complete mismatch for his own Starlight Power.

So, he followed the "Communing with the Abyss" ritual recorded in the refining method and began to draw upon the Abyssal Aura.

The Will of the Abyss in the Void answered his call, descending upon the provided coordinates.

Disaster struck without warning.

The corruption started in the underground places where filth had been gathered, spreading at a terrifying speed. By the time Astra realized his mistake, it was already too late.

He used the last of his Power to seal the Empire’s core knowledge repository and the unfinished Star-devouring Eye within the spatial fragment known as the "Eternal Star Dome." Then, he himself was corrupted and became an Abyssal Puppet.

A thousand years passed. The Empire fell, and civilization collapsed.

All that remained were the survivors struggling underground and a tainted planet.

’The original Guardian became the destroyer in the blink of an eye. How ironic!’

After Ian finished processing the information, a brilliant light flared in his eyes.

Refining this Forbidden Demon Artifact was indeed extremely dangerous. It required two completely opposing Rules to counteract one another.

Life and Death, Light and Darkness, Order and Chaos... The requirement of clashing Rules alone was an insurmountable obstacle for most people.

Astra chose Chaos to oppose his Starlight Power, but his greatest mistake was his powerlessness against the Abyssal Erosion.

But he was different. He met every condition for refining this Demon Artifact.

First, his Starry Sky Festival Meditation Method could easily attract the Will of the Abyss, allowing him to store the purest Abyssal Demonic Qi.

Second, his unified Purification Golden Light was the manifestation of ultimate Order, creating a perfect Polarization with the Chaos of the Abyss.

Once made to clash and detonate inside the Star-devouring Eye, it would unleash the terrifying Annihilation attribute.

It would be powerful enough to threaten those at the Morning Star Late Stage, and perhaps even... higher.

Moreover, he had his panel. The thing he feared the least was Erosion and backlash at the level of his Will and Soul.

"Astra..." Ian looked at the levitating eyeball and muttered to himself.

"You were once a great Monarch. In your pursuit of a breakthrough, you became the bane of your entire civilization."

"Then let me be the one to end this transgression."

He first put away the Recording Crystal. Next to it, he found an exquisite Spatial Bracelet, its surface engraved with complex star patterns.

He beckoned with his hand, lifting the bracelet, and extended his Spiritual Power into it.

The space inside was several hundred cubic meters large and neatly stacked full of Star Realm Refined Gold. Beside the gold were piles of other materials and books, cramming the entire space.

Delighted surprise filled Ian’s eyes. Astra must have stuffed everything valuable from the entire imperial treasury in here during his final moments.

’What a pleasant surprise. Now the development of my Wizard Tower can finally continue.’

He scanned his surroundings one last time, but found nothing else of note. Finally, he came to a stop before the Star-devouring Eye.

As his fingertip brushed against it, the eyeball trembled slightly. The Starlight and Abyssal Aura within began to accelerate their flow.

At the same time, text from the panel quietly materialized at the edge of his vision.

[Demon Artifact Detected: Star-devouring Eye (Unfinished)]

[Analyzing Structure... Progress: 0.1%, 0.2%...]

Watching the rapidly filling progress bar, a look of deep anticipation flashed in Ian’s eyes.

Once he refined the true Star-devouring Eye, it would become his strongest offensive trump card, second only to the panel. Even reaching Level Five Radiant Moon would no longer be an unattainable dream.

He turned to face the collapsing space, unleashing his Gravity Domain to slow the rate of its disintegration.

While he waited, he began to sort through the knowledge he had just acquired.

Streams of memories, each filled with incredible imagination, flowed into his mind, expanding his knowledge base.

The planning for his Wizard Tower began anew.