Chapter 1134 : The Price of Forbidden Power

There, suspended in the void, the Grand Elder of the Star Spirits stood, only to be struck by a bloody radiance and reduced to scattered ashes of tribulation. This World-Opening Grade eighth-rank Immortal Talisman could only be fully unleashed by a Half-Step Earth Immortal, and even a Ninth Level of Ascension to Immortality cultivator could barely activate it. The Grand Elder of the Star Spirits's Mana [the spiritual power cultivated by immortals] was far too lacking; forcibly wielding this treasure with his Late Stage Immortal Ascension Realm cultivation resulted in a fatal backlash, stripping him of eight or nine-tenths of his strength. On the battlefield, this was a death sentence. The Blood Malignancy Demon Ship crushed through the void and immediately activated its Formation [a structured array of power, often defensive or offensive], turning him to ashes. "Grand Elder!" Witnessing the Grand Elder's demise, the Third Elder of the Star Spirits roared in fury. He, too, drew a Heaven-Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman from his sleeve. In that instant, sacrificing all cost, he invoked the Rule-Bound Heaven Sword and slashed it toward the Blood Malignancy Treasure Ship. Yet, after this strike, the Third Elder's heart sank. He saw the Mountain Guardian Grand Formation of the Blood Malignancy Demon Ship cleaved open, most of its hull destroyed, and ninety-nine out of a hundred Demon Race [a race of malevolent beings that cultivate demonic arts] aboard the Demonic Ship slain. Yet, it still surged forward with residual momentum. It was not that the Heaven-Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman lacked power, but that the Third Elder's Mana was too feeble to unleash the true might of this supreme Immortal Talisman [a talisman inscribed with immortal-level power]. Moreover, the Blood Malignancy Demon Ship, worthy of its status as a top-grade Demonic Ship, possessed defenses far exceeding what a Ninth Level of Ascension to Immortality could breach; even a Half-Step Earth Immortal would struggle to shatter it. With one side weakened and the other resilient, they actually failed to destroy the demonic vessel. "Disaster!" The Third Elder was utterly horrified. As the Demonic Ship crushed its way past, he lacked the strength to hinder it. Forcibly activating the Heaven-Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman had inflicted near-fatal wounds, stripping him of over ninety percent of his power; any attempt to block it now was futile. The Blood Malignancy Demon Ship paid him no heed, soaring past with boundless killing intent. The True Demon [a high-ranking demon cultivator] piloting the ship was grievously wounded, yet his eyes burned crimson—clearly, his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and highest essence of a cultivator] had been seized by the blood-malignancy Ancient Ancestor. He drove the ninety-nine percent ruined Demonic Ship straight into the location of the Source of the Stars [the primordial essence and origin point of stellar power]. Now half-destroyed and unable to activate its killing formation against the Source of the Stars, the True Demon gave a savage grin and detonated the Demonic Ship. "BOOM—" With a cataclysmic self-destruction, the Blood Malignancy Demon Ship transformed into a conflagration of blood and fire, engulfing everything. The entire Sacred Mountain of the Star Spirits crumbled in an instant. The scattered Source of the Stars diffused into the void, and boundless starlight drowned all. Witnessing this, Eldrin Chen felt both profound regret and stirring excitement. The Source of the Stars was a supreme treasure; extracted whole, it might have been able to Creation [to forge or establish through profound means] an entire Starry Abode of Bliss [a blessed realm of cultivation aligned with stellar forces]. Now, destroyed in battle, the essence scattered into the Endless Void; recovering even thirty to forty percent would be considered fortunate. "What a pity, what a pity," Eldrin Chen sighed inwardly, suppressing the desire to seize the stellar Primordial Source [the original, undiluted essence of something]. His gaze returned to the Endless Void above. He understood clearly: deprived of the Source of the Stars to suppress his injuries, the Star Deity likely could not hold on much longer. This was probably his final, desperate frenzy—a last, all-out assault. "Ah—!" "Heretics who defy the gods, you all deserve death!" High in the void, the Nine Heavens Star Deity revealed a look of utter despair. Consumed by furious rage, he disregarded his wounds entirely. He summoned forth the Ancient Bell of the Starry Cosmos and the Three Thousand Great Stars, sending them slashing through the air. Seeing this, Blood Malignancy Elder Demon and Frost Malignancy Elder Demon merely sneered and fled into the distance. The Star Deity was now in his death throes; by simply retreating temporarily, they could calmly await his fall. There was no need to engage further. But the Star Deity, striking with bitter hatred and no regard for his condition, unleashed techniques a hundred times more ferocious. Billions of motes of starlight converged, coalescing into a Starlight Long Spear that he grasped in his hand. He did not strike immediately. Instead, he took a single step forward and hurled the stellar spear with all his might, piercing straight through the physical body of the Blood Spring Ancient Ancestor. "Pfft—!" Hemlock the Elder Demon immediately spat a mouthful of blood. Without hesitation, he fled from his physical form via his Primordial Spirit and used bloody light to reconstitute a demonic body. Only then, looking back, did he see his original flesh had been turned to ashes by the starlight. "A World-Opening Divine Ability [a supreme technique capable of shaping or cleaving reality itself]!" Gazing at the Starlight Long Spear as it dissolved back into scattered starlight, Hemlock the Elder Demon felt a surge of terror. This was his first time facing the full-force strike of a Half-Step Earth Immortal. Had he not decisively activated his Hemlock's Life-Substitution Art, he would have perished then and there. "Again!" At that moment, another beam of starlight slashed horizontally through the void. The Nine Heavens Star Deity, who loathed Hemlock the Elder Demon to the core, once more channeled a World-Opening Grade rule-bound Divine Ability, manifesting a Rule-Bound Heaven Sword to strike. In a flash, a Star-Trace Longsword descended. This Divine Ability moved with ultimate speed. Another stellar slash arrived, once again piercing through Hemlock the Elder Demon's newly formed body. Utterly horrified, Hemlock the Elder Demon was forced to activate another Blood Spring Life-Substitution Technique, barely preserving his life. Yet, after this, despair washed over him. The Nine Heavens Star Deity gathered starlight once more, shaping it into a long blade of pure radiance, its edge honed to slay all existence. This was a World-Opening Grade rule-bound Divine Ability, its power surpassing the Pinnacle of Immortal Ascension and imbued with the subtle, inexorable force of cosmic rules. It contained supreme slaughter principles; not even an Earth Immortal Progenitor could evade it, let alone a mere Ninth Level of Ascension to Immortality like himself. Though the Blood Spring Life-Substitution Technique could cheat death, its price was staggeringly high. Each activation of such a Divine Ability reduced his own power by threefold. Repeated use would inflict permanent, irreparable Dao injuries [wounds to one's fundamental cultivation path]. Having used it twice in succession, his strength was already nearly halved. If struck again here, he might not even be able to contend with a Mid Ascendant Immortal Realm cultivator. "Ah—!" Yet, as the Rule-Bound Heaven Blade descended, its rule-power ignored the vast emptiness of the void. With no escape, he could only activate the Blood Spring Life-Substitution Technique once more to survive. When the Blood Spring Ancient Ancestor reconstituted his Primordial Spirit, no fourth rule-bound divine weapon came slashing down. He looked up into the depths of the void and saw the Nine Heavens Star Deity had already dissolved into the Nine Heavens starlight, scattering into the cosmos. Only a damaged ancient bell and three thousand drifting stars remained, floating between heaven and earth. "It seems three near-death strikes were the limit for that old thing," the Blood Spring Ancient Ancestor breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression suddenly shifted. He looked behind him. There in the void, the Frost Malignancy Elder Demon, clad in a White Robe, approached with a strangely amused smile. "Even a dying Half-Step Earth Immortal possesses such terrifying power in his final three strikes. It seems we both underestimated such an existence." "Brother Blood Spring managed to survive those three moves. This humble brother truly feels inadequate by comparison." "Merely a minor technique, you flatter me, Dao-brother..." The Blood Spring Ancient Ancestor gave a dry laugh, then abruptly transformed into a streak of bloody light, attempting to flee beyond the Verdant Spirit Ancient Star. But the Frost Malignancy Elder Demon merely chuckled coldly. With one hand, he unleashed a Frost Malignancy Radiance, enveloping the Primordial Spirit of the Blood Spring Ancient Ancestor. As he acted, he strolled forward leisurely, a smile on his face. "Brother Blood Spring, our great battle is just won. The treasures have yet to be divided. Why the hurry to leave?"