Chapter 442 Astrael (Person Name)

After withstanding the heavenly lightning tribulation, the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure) descended from the sky.

It landed before Eldrin and spoke calmly, "Master."

Eldrin nodded. He grasped the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss, discovering its extraordinary magnificence—it shimmered with iridescent light, its pale violet Eldrin flames seeming capable of scorching the very heavens.

The consciousness of the Lifebound Immortal Sword originates from the initial divine sense Eldrin (Person Name) carved into the sword. Thus, strictly speaking, the Lifebound Immortal Sword is another incarnation of the cultivator.

Eldrin, having achieved perfect harmony with the immortal sword, immediately sensed the divine peculiarities of this Demon-Smiting Immortal Sword. Having absorbed the boundless flame energy from the Infernal Prison's sea of fire, the weapon's power astonishingly exceeded expectations by a full 30 percent.

"How does it feel?"

Seeing his delighted expression, Lyra (Person Name) immediately inquired.

Putting away his Lifebound Immortal Sword, Eldrin smiled. "With this blade in hand, I've finally touched the threshold of the Eastern Domain's top-tier experts."

"Good."

The 2 of them chatted as they made their way back into the ruins.

Seeing them return, the Clear Moon Ring remarked with a hint of amusement, "Another spiritual treasure has ascended in rank—truly a cause for celebration."

"Many thanks for your assistance, esteemed elders." Eldrin smiled faintly, his gaze shifting to the Slanting Sun Wheel. "Now that the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss has ascended, its strikes can aid in refining the Nether Qi. This should lighten your burden somewhat."

"Indeed, that is the case."

The Slanting Sun Wheel spoke impassively, "Given its power and the strength of the formation, it would originally take over a dozen years to refine the Nether Qi. However, if we add another fire-attribute Demon-Slaying Immortal Sword, we could shorten the process by 5 or 6 years."

From that day forth, aside from his daily cultivation, Eldrin's primary task became channeling the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss to refine the nether energy.

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and another 3 years had passed. On this day, an uninvited guest suddenly arrived within the Flaming Prison Sea of Fire.

The newcomer was none other than Astrael. Clad in a robe woven of starlight, he had directly positioned himself beyond the ancient ruins.

"Could it actually be him?"

The Clear Moon Wheel detected the anomaly and spoke in a tone of astonishment.

Eldrin’s eyes flickered slightly, his expression grave as he asked, “Senior, could it be that you also know him?”

"Of course I recognize it."

The Setting Sun Wheel began to speak, and as It narrated in a measured tone, Eldrin finally understood the whole story.

Back when Eldrin first entered the ruins, he had been pursued all the way to its entrance by Astrael. It was right outside these ancient grounds that they had managed to repel Astrael.

Although Astrael had been forced to retreat in defeat that time, as a cultivator at the Fake Infant realm after all, he still managed to detect traces of the ancient ruins.

Later, Astrael (Person Name) had explored the Sun Moon Sect ruins twice in his quest to investigate the ancient remains.

Unfortunately, Astrael's strength was still insufficient at that time, and coupled with his failure to locate the precise temporal node, he was ultimately barred from the ruins by the formation array.

Back then, the threshold to the Nascent Soul Realm was right before his eyes, so he simply focused his mind on forming his Nascent Soul.

Now, merely a few decades after Astrael had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, having barely recovered 90 percent of his injuries and just consolidated his cultivation base, he hastily arrived before the strike.

After hearing the Oblique Sun Wheel recount the cause and effect, Eldrin’s expression turned grave. Without hesitation, he spoke frankly, “To be honest, this individual shares a significant karmic tie with me.”

"Back then, I once swore a Heart Demon Blood Oath..."

Eldrin spoke calmly, recounting the matter of Lin Daoyang to the 2 Demon-Subduing Supreme Treasures.

After listening, the Clear Moon Wheel spoke, "This person's actions are ruthless and cruel, so it is only fitting that they face this tribulation. We shall lend you our aid."

"Many thanks." Eldrin nodded, then said, "Please hold the perimeter for us, just ensure he doesn't escape."

While the group was conversing, Astrael outside had already stepped forward and spoke calmly, "Do you intend to open the ruins yourselves, or shall this True Monarch do it for you?"

Astrael stood quietly before the ruins, clad in his stellar robe. An intangible aura emanated from him, suppressing the boundless sea of flames into utter stillness.

His gaze swept calmly over the ruins, unexpectedly piercing through layers upon layers of formations to discover the 2 figures—Eldrin and Lyra.

"It's them?" Astrael's pupils contracted slightly as he thought to himself, "I heard Lyra has successfully forged a Lifebound Demon-Slaying Immortal Sword. With that power, she could likely contend against a Nascent Soul True Lord."

"I have only recently broken through to the Nascent Soul stage and don't even possess a single Refining Demonic Supreme Treasure. Facing their coordinated assault would likely yield me no advantage."

A faint unease settled in Astrael's heart, prompting him to decide to withdraw for the time being.

But Eldrin naturally had no intention of letting him leave. With a casual flick of his hand, he summoned divine thunderbolts that rained down 1 after another.

After breaking through to the Golden Core, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm), Eldrin's magical power was no weaker than that of a False Infant cultivator. When he exerted his divine abilities, he could barely pose a threat to False Infant cultivators.

Faced with the divine ability he unleashed in attack, Astrael's eyes narrowed slightly with cold intent. With a mere flick of his sleeve, a dazzling stellar sword radiance shot forth.

Sword Radiance of the Great White Star.

Eldrin's pupils contracted slightly. This Astrael truly lived up to his reputation as a True Monarch. The divine art he casually manifested already possessed power far surpassing the False Infant Realm—enough to severely injure or even slay ordinary Golden Core, Late Stage cultivators.

He dared not delay, immediately unleashing the Dual Polarity Divine Thunder (Cultivation Art) to barely deflect this strike.

"Clang—"

Seizing the moment, Lyra (Person Name) also made her move at this very instant.

With a flick of her hand, she summoned the Heaven's Ruin Immortal-Slaying Sword and swung it directly toward Astrael's head.

As the Demon-Slaying Immortal Sword came slashing down, Astrael felt a slight tingle on his scalp. He dared to face Eldrin with ease, but he would never dare to meet the Heaven’s Ruin Immortal-Slaying Sword head-on.

Driven by Lyra's (Person Name) refined spiritual power, the Demon-Slaying Immortal Sword unleashed might no less formidable than a Nascent Soul True Monarch's full-strength strike.

While unleashing his divine abilities to counter the attacks, Astrael swiftly summoned an escape light to evade, inwardly fuming, "How infuriating! Had my life-bound magic treasure not been destroyed, I would never have been bullied like this by those wielding their own artifacts."

The Nascent Soul Lightning Tribulation was notoriously difficult to transcend. As a rogue cultivator, Astrael (Person Name) possessed no demon-refining supreme treasure to aid him through this ordeal. The price he paid to survive the tribulation was devastatingly severe.

In the recent heavenly tribulation of thunder, Astrael's life-bound treasures—the 6-Soul Bell, the Celestial Star Furnace, and the ancient bronze shield—were all destroyed amidst the lightning.

Especially that Celestial Star Furnace, this treasure was forged from a fragment of the 9 Heavens Star Fragment (Spiritual Object), the very same material used for Lyra (Person Name)'s advancement into the Demonslaying Immortal Sword.

Yet this renowned magic treasure, formidable as it was, ultimately shattered amidst the heavenly tribulation.

Now Astrael had almost no high-grade magic treasures left in his hands. Relying solely on the divine abilities he had cultivated, he actually found himself struggling somewhat against the joint assault of the 2 opponents.

Lyra alone had already forced him into a disadvantage, let alone the fact that Eldrin had also erupted with extraordinarily formidable combat prowess.

Seeing that he couldn't subdue the 2, Astrael was unwilling to prolong the entanglement. He summoned his escape light and soared eastward, but had barely flown a few steps when a brilliant treasure light struck down, actually sending him stumbling.