He had no intention of taking it head-on.
He raised his right hand, splaying his five fingers.
Three energy beams, each as thick as a thumb, burst from his palm.
The three thumb-thick energy beams tore through the dead air, spiraling together the instant they left his palm.
A thick, pale purple ray shot straight for the Living Corpse Guard’s chest, letting out a piercing shriek.
Frost Ash Beam—full power!
It aimed precisely for its chest cavity, at the dark red Star Core that was still pulsing violently.
But the guard’s reaction was astonishingly fast.
The stump of its severed left arm suddenly exploded, transforming into dozens of pale Bone Spikes that spun toward the incoming ray.
A dark blue energy slurry flowed over the surface of the Bone Spikes, which then violently collided with the pale purple beam.
TCHSSSSS!
Extreme cold and scorching heat erupted at the point of contact. The Bone Spikes were instantly frozen and embrittled, then exploded into crystalline dust in the high temperature.
The pale purple beam was weakened by a third, but it still had enough power to continue toward the Star Core.
Just then.
The Star Core in the Living Corpse Guard’s chest suddenly contracted, then expanded outward.
VMMMM!
A ring-like dark red Energy Shield materialized on its body. The beam struck the Shield, erupting in a blinding, purplish-red halo of light.
Within the halo, the Shield could be seen faintly twisting and warping.
The Entropy Change Domain began to take effect!
The Living Corpse Guard’s movements clearly faltered for a moment.
The dark red glow on its polyhedral head began to flicker erratically, as if its energy supply had suddenly been disrupted.
"Gaa!"
Gaga seized the opportunity, expanding its wingspan to the limit.
It opened its beak and let out a silent shriek.
Shadow Summoning!
The shadows around the hall writhed madly as if they had come to life, forming pitch-black tentacles that emerged from the ground, the walls...
...and even from beneath the corpses, tightly binding the Living Corpse Guard’s legs.
Shadow Binding!
It would only hold it for less than two seconds, but that was enough.
’Now’s the time!’
A golden light flared in Ian’s eyes. He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and a black dot the size of a rice grain reappeared in his palm.
The black dot traced a nearly invisible trajectory through the air, instantly flying to the Living Corpse Guard’s chest and precisely attaching itself to the surface of the dark red Star Core.
Gravity Collapse Ball—Miniaturized Penetration Mode!
VMMMM!
The space around the Star Core began to collapse inward.
On the dark red crystal’s surface, cracks spread and deepened at a visible rate, while the viscous liquid within churned frantically.
It was trying to resist the devastating gravity.
The Living Corpse Guard let out a blood-curdling shriek. Its entire skeleton and crystalline structure trembled as it tried to forcibly break free from the Shadow Binding.
But it was too late.
Ian clenched his five fingers into a fist.
"Collapse."
A silent command.
The black dot on the Star Core’s surface abruptly imploded.
It wasn’t an explosion, but an ultimate compression, a crushing, an annihilation!
KRAK!
A pitch-black, egg-sized hole appeared on the surface of the Star Core.
Around the hole, the dark red crystal shattered inch by inch like broken glass.
The cracks rapidly spread across the entire Star Core, which then collapsed inward!
"HSS... ROAR!!"
The Living Corpse Guard’s final shriek was cut short.
The Star Core in its chest was mercilessly devoured by the black hole.
Following that were the surrounding bones, crystals, and Energy Circuits...
The eight-meter-tall colossus collapsed inward from its chest, as if being devoured piece by piece by an invisible maw.
The black hole dissipated, leaving only a pool of dark blue, viscous slurry and scattered, pale bone fragments on the ground.
The Living Corpse Guard was completely dead.
The entire process, from Ian pushing open the stone door to the end of the battle, took less than ten seconds.
At the edge of the hall.
The two Body Refining Wizards from the Deep Red Royal Court watched with constricted pupils, their faces etched with disbelief.
They had just fought this monster for nearly half an hour, paying a heavy price just to barely injure it.
And now...
That young man had finished it with just one ranged disruption and one targeted blast?
"Level Two... that was definitely Level Two Witchcraft!"
The burly man stared intently at Ian, his voice hoarse.
"And it was instant-cast, a composite-attribute Domain type... When did Shadow Moon Tower produce a monster like this?"
"Who cares what he is!"
The other Body Refining Wizard’s eyes turned vicious as he lowered his voice.
"He just used a powerful Witchcraft, so he’s at his weakest. Besides... he’s not the only one with a Domain!"
The two exchanged a look and charged simultaneously!
"Kill him!"
The burly man stomped his foot, and the ground exploded with spiderweb-like cracks.
His muscles knotted, and dark red, scale-like patterns appeared on his skin as he shot toward Ian like a cannonball!
The other man formed a sealing technique with his hands, chanting an obscure Spell.
A dark red halo spread out from under his feet, enveloping the entire hall.
Blood Boiling • Domain Prototype!
The blood of any creature within the Domain would spontaneously boil and spiral out of control, ultimately causing them to explode from the inside!
"Courting death."
Ian’s eyes were icy. He didn’t even move his feet.
He raised his right hand, splayed his fingers, and aimed at the charging man.
But this time, it wasn’t a Frost Ash Beam that shot out.
It was thirty-six fine, pale gold threads!
Crystal Silk Thread • Soul Piercing!
The threads were as fine as hair, almost invisible in the dim light.
But they were as fast as lightning, crossing thirty meters in an instant to precisely pierce thirty-six vital points on the burly man’s body!
The glabella, throat, heart, spine, limb joints...
PFFT PFFT PFFT PFFT PFFT!
A dense series of piercing sounds rang out.
The burly man’s forward charge froze abruptly.
He looked down at the nearly invisible wounds on his body, each one seeping a bead of dark red blood.
"You..."
He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.
The Crystal Silk Threads had clearly pierced his flesh, yet they had also stabbed into his Sea of Spirit!
Thirty-six threads were madly shredding and tearing apart his consciousness from within!
BANG!
The burly man’s head exploded, splattering red and white matter all over the floor.
The headless corpse slumped to the ground, twitched twice, and then fell silent.
The other Body Refining Wizard’s face went deathly pale, and he turned to flee.
But Gaga was already blocking his path.
The black Raven beat its wings gently, and the surrounding shadows instantly solidified, forming a pitch-black wall that blocked his escape.
"No... don’t kill me! I’m from the Deep Red Royal Court..."
The Wizard backed away in terror, quickly forming a Blood Shield in his hand.
Ian didn’t even let him finish.
He raised his left hand and made a grasping motion.
Another black dot the size of a rice grain appeared in his palm and shot out silently.
It suddenly expanded three meters above the wizard’s head.
VMMMM!
A Gravity Field, thirty meters in diameter, crashed down.
The Wizard felt as if a mountain had been dropped on him. The bones throughout his body made cracking sounds, unable to bear the load.
He fell to his knees, blood pouring from his seven orifices as the Blood Shield in his hands disintegrated inch by inch.
"Where is Bazaar?" Ian walked up to him, his voice calm.
"I... I don’t know..."
The Wizard gritted his teeth, still trying to resist.
Ian wasted no more words.
He pointed with his right index finger, and a slender, pale purple beam pierced through the wizard’s glabella.
The energy of interweaving ice and fire exploded inside his skull, burning his brain to a pulp.
The body fell.
Two Level One Peak Wizards from the Deep Red Royal Court were dead.
Ian turned and looked to the other side of the hall.
The old man from the Silver Ring had long since retreated to a corner. Though his expression was calm, the hand gripping his Magic Staff was trembling slightly.
"I... I was just passing by..."
The old man forced a somewhat friendly smile.
"Your strength is astounding, sir. I am in awe... I’ll be leaving now, I won’t disturb you!"
As he spoke, he slowly shuffled toward the stone door, his eyes filled with vigilance and fear.
Ian watched him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.
It was a faint smile, but it made the hair on the old man’s body stand on end.
"You can go."
Ian said calmly.
"But leave behind the information you have on the ’Flame of Civilization’."
The old man’s expression changed.
"I... I don’t know anything about a Flame of Civilization..."
"Is that so?"
Ian raised his right hand, and the pale purple energy glow reappeared in his palm.
Cold sweat broke out on the old man’s forehead. He gritted his teeth.
He pulled a palm-sized silver metal plate from his robes and threw it over.
"This is the fragmented information my Silver Ring has gathered... It’s all in there!"
Ian caught the metal plate, his Spiritual Power sweeping over it.
It did indeed record some information about the Star Spirit Race ruins, but most of it was fragmentary, with little of real use.
"You can go."
He put away the metal plate and didn’t look at the old man again.
As if granted amnesty, the old man rushed out of the stone door and disappeared into the depths of the passage.
Gaga landed back on Ian’s shoulder, its small eyes staring at the old man’s retreating back.
"Ian, are you just letting him go? What if he goes back and reports..."
"He will report it."
Ian said calmly.
"But it doesn’t matter. The Silver Ring’s main force should be deeper inside right now; they don’t have time to deal with us. Besides..."
He paused.
"We can’t just kill people from the Silver Ring. They... have a Morning Star Wizard."
To this day, Ian still remembered the terrifying power of the "Endless Holy Light" displayed during the Demon Hunting war.
He had too many secrets and really didn’t want to attract the attention of such a prominent figure.
He was unwilling to take even the slightest chance.
Gaga nodded, seeming to half-understand.
Ian said no more and walked over to the remains of the Living Corpse Guard.
In the dark blue, viscous slurry, a fist-sized, dark red crystal lay quietly.
The Star Core was extremely durable; his Gravity Witchcraft was not yet able to destroy it.
But its surface was also covered in fine cracks, and a viscous liquid flowed within, exuding the aura of stars and corruption.
Fallen Star Marrow.
A twisted product formed after a Star Spirit Race Warrior’s Star Core is corrupted by Abyssal Power after death.
Ian carefully picked up the crystal. It was cold to the touch, feeling like solidified blood.
Probing it with his Spiritual Perception, he could feel two completely opposite energies clashing madly inside.
One was the pure, vast Power of the Stars; the other was the chaotic, violent corruption of the Abyss.
’I can use this to strengthen the Starry Sky Festival, or for refining a High Tier Potion...’
He put away the Star Marrow and his gaze swept across the surroundings.
On the hall walls, some blurry murals were carved.
The images were badly damaged, but their content could be vaguely discerned.
A group of humanoids wearing Star Robes were kneeling before a giant, glowing crystal.
Inside the crystal, countless points of light swirled, like a miniature starry sky.
In the next image, cracks appeared on the crystal’s surface, and black mist seeped out from them.
The kneeling Star Spirits began to twist and melt, eventually turning into pale skeletons.
’The Star Core Cultivation System... was corrupted?’
Ian muttered to himself.
He walked to the wall and reached out to touch the murals.
His fingertips felt a cold touch, along with a faint psychic echo.
It was the despair and unwillingness of the Star Spirit Race at the moment of their death.
His Spirit Devourer trait activated automatically, devouring and purifying the negative emotions.
Ian withdrew his hand and looked no further.
The ruins held too many secrets, and he didn’t have time to delve into them now.
"Gaga, collect the spoils. It’s time to go."
"Okay-ga!"
The black Raven excitedly flapped its wings and began to rummage through the corpses on the floor.
The two Body Refining Wizards from the Deep Red Royal Court didn’t have much of value on them, only a few Middle Level Potions and some Magic Stones.
However, in the remains of the Living Corpse Guard, there were a few relatively intact dark blue crystals containing faint Star Energy.
Ian collected them all and turned toward the stone door.
Before walking out of the side hall, he glanced back one last time.
The pool of dark blue slurry in the center of the hall was slowly evaporating, emitting a decaying stench.
The murals on the walls looked even blurrier in the dim light, like a forgotten nightmare.
"The Star Spirit Race..."
He whispered the name, then left without looking back.
The stone door slowly closed behind him, sealing away the death and secrets once more.
In the passage, footsteps rang out again.
One man and one bird advanced deeper into the labyrinth.
In the distance, the faint roar of battle and inhuman shrieks could be heard.