Chapter 1134 : Sacrifice and the Crimson Beam

There, suspended in the void, the Grand Elder of Star Spirits stood, his form instantly disintegrating into a cloud of heavenly tribulation ash under the impact of a single, devastating crimson beam.

This World-Opening Grade Eighth-Rank Immortal Talisman could only be fully unleashed by a Half-Step Earth Immortal, though a cultivator at the Ascendant Immortal 9th Tier could manage to activate it with great strain.

The Grand Elder of Star Spirits's cultivation base was far too lacking. Forcing such a treasure to activate with his Late Ascendant Immortal Realm cultivation invited a fatal backlash, stripping him of nine-tenths of his power in an instant.

On the battlefield, such a state was a death sentence. The Blood Fiend Demonic Ship surged forward, crushing the void in its path, and its formation arrays unleashed their power, reducing him to nothing but tribulation dust.

"Grand Elder!"

Witnessing the Grand Elder's demise, the Third Elder of Star Spirits roared in fury. From his sleeve, he too drew forth a Heavenly Demon's Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman.

In that fleeting moment, he sacrificed everything, pouring his life force into the talisman to manifest a sword of pure law. With a desperate cry, he sent it cleaving toward the Blood Fiend Treasure Ship.

Yet, as the strike landed, a cold dread settled in the heart of the Third Elder of Star Spirits.

He watched as the Mountain Protection Formation shielding the Blood Fiend Demonic Ship was torn asunder, its hull shattered and more than half destroyed. Ninety-nine out of every hundred Fiend Race cultivators aboard perished instantly. But the mangled wreck of the Demonic Ship, driven by its final momentum, continued its relentless charge.

The failure was not in the power of the Heavenly Demon's Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman itself, but in the wielder. The Third Elder of Star Spirits's spiritual energy was simply too meager, too frail to channel even a fraction of the supreme immortal talisman's true, world-ending might. Find thousands of chapters at audio-novel.com.

Moreover, this Blood Fiend Demonic Ship truly lived up to its reputation as a top-grade Demonic Ship [a formidable vessel powered by demonic energy]. Its defensive capabilities far surpassed those of an Ascendant Immortal 9th Tier [the ninth and final stage of the Ascendant Immortal realm], making it nearly impervious even to a Half-Step Earth Immortal [a cultivator who has partially transcended the Ascendant Immortal realm].

With their power diminished and the ship's defenses holding, they found themselves utterly unable to destroy the Blood Fiend Demonic Ship.

"Disaster!"

Horror surged through Third Elder of Star Spirits. As the Demonic Ship bore down upon him with crushing force, he possessed not a shred of strength left to oppose it.

Forcing the activation of the Heavenly Demon's Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman [a talisman of immense destructive power] had inflicted near-fatal wounds upon him, stripping away more than ninety percent of his combat prowess. Any attempt at resistance now was utterly futile.

The Blood Fiend Demonic Ship paid him no further heed, soaring past with an aura of boundless slaughter.

The True Demon [a high-ranking demonic entity] piloting the Demonic Ship was grievously wounded, yet its eyes burned with a crimson light—a clear sign that its Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator or demon] had been seized and dominated by Blood Fiend Patriarch.

With a maddened roar, it drove the Demonic Ship, now ninety-nine percent destroyed, directly into the heart of the Source of the Stellar [the radiant, life-giving core of the star].

The Blood Fiend Demonic Ship was half-shattered, its lethal formation arrays incapable of targeting the Source of the Stellar. Undeterred, the True Demon let out a savage laugh and triggered the vessel's final, cataclysmic detonation.

"BOOM—"

With a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering self-detonation, the Blood Fiend Demonic Ship was utterly consumed, transforming into a conflagration of blood and fire that drowned everything in its path.

The entire Star Spirit Sacred Mountain crumbled in an instant. Countless Source of the Stellar [the primordial essence of stars] scattered into the void, and boundless Stellar light [radiance derived from celestial bodies] inundated all.

Witnessing this scene, Eldrin Chen felt a complex mix of profound regret and stirring excitement within his heart.

This Source of the Stellar was a supreme treasure. Had it been extracted whole and intact, it might have been possible to Creation [the act of founding or establishing] an entire Stellar Blessed Land [a sacred realm powered by stellar energies].

Now, destroyed amidst the battlefield, the Source of the Stellar had scattered into the endless void. Recovering even thirty or forty percent of it would be considered fortunate.

"A pity. A true pity."

Eldrin Chen sighed inwardly, suppressing the urge to seize the dispersing Stellar Primordial Essence [the foundational energy of stars]. His gaze instead turned upward, toward the boundless void above.

He understood clearly. Having lost the Source of the Stellar that had been suppressing its injuries, the Star Deity likely could not hold on much longer. What they witnessed now was its final, desperate madness—a last, death-defying surge.

"Aaaaaaagh—!"

"You who defy the gods, you all deserve to die!"

High in the void, the Nine Heavens Star Deity wore an expression of utter despair.

With a face contorted in furious rage, he cast aside all concern for his own grievous wounds. He summoned forth the Ancient Starry Firmament Bell and the Three Thousand Major Stars [a celestial formation of three thousand primary constellations], sending them slashing through the air towards his foes.

Seeing this, Blood Fiend Old Demon and Frostbane Old Demon merely sneered coldly and began fleeing into the distance.

The Star Deity was now merely struggling in his death throes. By temporarily retreating, they could simply wait for him to perish, and thus they saw no reason to continue the entanglement.

However, the Star Deity, driven by bitter hatred and no longer caring for his own injuries, unleashed techniques a hundred times more ferocious and overwhelming.

Behold! Billions upon billions of starlight rays converged from the heavens, coalescing into a radiant spear of condensed starlight which he grasped firmly in his hand. Find thousands of chapters at audio—novel.com.

The Star Deity did not strike immediately. Instead, he took a single, earth-shaking step forward and hurled that Stellar [pertaining to stars or celestial bodies] spear with all his might. It pierced straight through, impaling the physical body of Blood Spring Patriarch.

"Pfft—"

Blood Spring Old Demon immediately vomited a mouthful of blood. Without hesitation, he abandoned his ruined flesh, his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and highest essence of a cultivator] fleeing the corporeal shell. A sanguine glow gathered once more, reforming into a new demonic body.

Only then did he look back, realizing his original physical form had been utterly incinerated into ashes by the devastating stellar energy.

"A World-Opening Heavenly God Ability [a supreme divine technique capable of creating worlds]!"

Watching the spear of starlight, Blood Spring Old Demon saw it dissipate into a sky full of shimmering light, his face revealing a trace of utter terror.

This was the first time in his life he had faced the full-force attack of a Half-Step Earth Immortal [a cultivator on the verge of attaining the Earth Immortal realm]. Had he not decisively activated his Blood Spring Life-Substitution Art [a forbidden technique that uses a reservoir of blood essence to cheat death] moments before, he would surely have perished beneath that strike.

"Again!"

At that very moment, another streak of starlight unfurled across the void.

The Nine Heavens Star Deity [a divine being born from the essence of the nine celestial heavens], his hatred for Blood Spring Old Demon burning fiercely, once more channeled his World-Opening Grade [a realm of power associated with the genesis of worlds] Divine Ability [a supreme technique powered by divine will and understanding of cosmic laws]. He condensed a sword forged from the very fabric of cosmic rules and sent it slashing forth.

In a Ksana-time [an infinitesimal unit of time], a blade etched with starry patterns soared and cleaved through the air. This Divine Ability moved with blinding speed. Another stellar radiance descended, piercing straight through the physical form of Blood Spring Old Demon once more.

Heart filled with boundless dread, Blood Spring Old Demon desperately activated another Blood Spring Life-Substitution Art, barely clinging to a sliver of life.

Yet, having accomplished this, Blood Spring Old Demon could only reveal a look of utter despair.

For he saw the Nine Heavens Star Deity gathering starlight yet again, this time shaping it into a long, gleaming blade of pure stellar energy. It hummed with an edge sharp enough to sever fate itself.

This is a Rule-Bound Divine Ability [a supreme supernatural power bound to a fundamental cosmic law] of the World-Opening Grade. Its might has already transcended the Ascendant Immortal Perfection realm, containing the subtle and profound Rule Power [the power of a fundamental cosmic law or principle].

It contains the supreme Slaughter rule; even an Earth Immortal Patriarch would find it impossible to evade, let alone a mere Ascendant Immortal 9th Tier cultivator like him.

Although the Blood Spring Life-Substitution Art [a forbidden art that allows one to substitute a fatal wound with a portion of one's life force and cultivation base] could cheat death, its price was astronomically immense.

Each time he activated such a Divine Ability, his own power would drop by three tiers; if activated consecutively, it would inflict permanent, irreparable Dao injuries [wounds to one's foundational cultivation path].

Having already activated it twice in succession, his strength had been nearly halved. If he were grievously wounded here again, he feared he might not even be able to contend with a Mid Ascendant Immortal Realm cultivator.

"Aaaargh—!"

But as the Rule-Bound Heavenly Blade cleaved down, the Rule Power within it ignored the endless, boundless void. With no escape possible, he had no choice but to activate the Blood Spring Life-Substitution Art once more to preserve his life.

When the Blood Spring Patriarch reformed his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and true self of a high-level cultivator], he did not find a fourth rule-bound divine weapon cleaving towards him.

He raised his head to look deep into the void, only then discovering that the Nine Heavens Star Deity had already transformed into Nine Heavens starlight, dissipating between heaven and earth. Only a single damaged Ancient Bell and the Three Thousand Stellar [a collection of three thousand condensed stellar essences] remained, floating and sinking within the cosmos.

"It seems the three near-death strikes from that old thing were his limit after all."

Blood Spring Patriarch [a powerful demonic cultivator] let out a sigh of relief, but his expression abruptly shifted as he turned to look behind him.

There, in the void, Frostbane Old Demon [a formidable ice-aligned demonic cultivator] approached, clad in white robes and wearing a faint, eerie smile.

"Even a dying Half-Step Earth Immortal [a cultivator on the verge of becoming an Earth Immortal] possesses such terrifying power in their final three strikes. It seems we both underestimated such an existence."

"For you, Brother Blood Spring, to survive those three attacks... this humble brother truly feels inadequate in comparison."

"A mere trifle, you flatter me, Elder Brother…"

Blood Spring Patriarch gave a dry chuckle, then instantly transformed into a streak of bloody light, attempting to flee beyond the bounds of the Verdant Spirit Ancient Star [an ancient celestial body].

Yet Frostbane Old Demon merely sneered. With a flick of his hand, he unleashed a chilling, frosty radiance that enveloped the Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] of Blood Spring Patriarch.

He advanced with deliberate, unhurried steps, speaking in a measured tone as he acted.

"Brother Blood Spring, our great battle has just concluded victoriously. The treasures have yet to be divided. Why such haste to depart?" For the best reading experience, visit audio-novel[dot]com.