Chapter 403 – The Evil Deity’s Lackey

“Are you sure you saw it correctly?”

The white-haired middle-aged man took a deep breath to stabilize his fluctuating emotions and asked again in a deep voice.

A member of the Bai Family, responsible for monitoring the situation inside the tower, shook his head, his eyes glued to the screen of the device in his hand, muttering back, “No…

And the data here shows that this native from the ancestral star entered the Star Spirit Tower with only the initial segment of the ninth stage…”

“Ninth stage…”

Hearing these words, the pupils of the white-haired middle-aged man constricted slightly, but he could no longer bear it and reached for a disc in the other’s hand.

This set of “Star Spirit Key” technology, which has been circulated among the major families of the Moyun Galaxy, allows connection to the ancient Star Spirit Tower to monitor the real-time situation of trialists inside. Since its development, it has never malfunctioned.

The white-haired middle-aged man didn’t think there would suddenly be a problem now. He quickly glanced at the content displayed on the disc and said hastily, “Bring me the detailed information on that ancestral star native named Lu Yuan.”

The other immediately pulled up the data on the native named Lu Yuan.

“Ninth stage, initial segment… Seventeen years old…”

Just a first glance at the data made the heart of the white-haired middle-aged man start to race.

An absolutely inconceivable yet exhilarating thought quickly emerged from the depths of his heart.

Ninth stage, seventeen years old, first time entering the Star Spirit Tower and reaching the tenth stage, and even faster than the geniuses of the Bai Family.

Could it be… another possessor of the Immortal Bloodline?!

The white-haired middle-aged man remembered very clearly, the possessor of the Immortal Bloodline that their Bai Family had discovered had reached the tenth stage of the Star Spirit Tower in one go on his first attempt, and had almost passed it.

It was also because of his astonishing performance in the Star Spirit Tower trial that caused quite a stir, leading them to carefully examine his qualifications and discover the existence of the Immortal Bloodline.

Now, another native with the same potential had appeared, crucially from the same ancestral star planet as the confirmed possessor of the Immortal Bloodline.

This made the white-haired middle-aged man inevitably think that such incredible destiny had fallen on their Bai Family’s head twice.

However, as the white-haired middle-aged man continued to read on, his rapidly beating heart soon calmed down again.

“Evil energy system… controller of the power of the evil deity… uninitiated in Starry Sky martial arts, likely possessing weak Talent…”

The white-haired middle-aged man reviewed the detailed information on the screen, his initial excitement and anticipation gradually fading away.

His eyes flickered, his expression growing complex.

“So it was a false hope after all…”

He revisited the information of the native Cultivator named Lu Yuan three times before finally setting the documents aside with a low sigh and a shake of his head.

“Think about it, how could an Immortal Bloodline be as common as cabbages by the roadside, casually appearing one after another…”

The reality was completely different from what he had imagined.

This native from the ancestral star, named Lu Yuan, was actually following the path of the heretic powers of the Starry Sky.

Being a heretic, he naturally stood in opposition to the mainstream, not conforming to the laws of the Starry Sky.

It was only because the ancestral star was primitive and backward, with no one to govern it, that such heretic powers could thrive.

Of course, with his current level of strength, he wasn’t even worthy of being called “The Evil Deity’s Lackey.” Even if exposed in the Starry Sky, it was unlikely that anyone would pay him any attention.

“The form of the Star Spirit Tower trial is modeled after the power of the heretic.

The interaction between heretic powers might offer some conveniences that are hard for outsiders to imagine…”

“That explains how he managed to reach the tenth stage of the Star Spirit Tower…”

The white-haired man’s mood finally stabilized, and his expression returned to one of calm.

“Although he’s not a promising seed worth cultivating, his success in the trials is genuine.

The boy managed to reach the tenth stage, so he must have received a substantial reward, which is a pleasant surprise…”

Casually, the white-haired man handed the disc back to a Bai Family member responsible for monitoring the situation, speaking indifferently, “Keep an eye on Bai Guangqian.

As for that native from the ancestral star… once he emerges from the ancestral realm, remember to send someone to reclaim the primal energy from him.”

“Yes.”

The Bai Family member, having recovered from his initial shock, nodded in agreement, saying no more.

Yet occasionally, when he glanced at the name still displayed inside the tower, a look of surprise would appear on his face.

“The Gathering of Three Flowers at the Apex…”

Accompanied by a soft, low sigh.

The pattern of eyes within his mind quietly shattered.

Following that, Lu Yuan’s scarlet eyes bloomed like petals in all directions.

A spectacular aurora burst forth from his pupils and every pore on his body.

This dazzling radiance completely covered the blood-red energy surging over his body, yet it stimulated his four-headed, eight-armed form to evolve rapidly towards an even more ferocious and terrifying state.

“Crack, crack-“

Two huge bulges emerged on his forehead, as if something was trying to break through the skin from underneath.

His teeth became densely packed and sharp, stretching his entire jaw and cheeks in an exaggerated manner.

A blood-red tail, sharp and seemingly made of segments of bone, sprang from his coccyx.

Lu Yuan’s entire body also swelled slightly in size.

The body of the Eight-Armed Asura became even more robust.

A multitude of blood-red demonic patterns grew wildly over his body, and though the eye-like cracks on his chest did not open much further, it seemed as if fine scales were about to emerge beneath his rough skin.

A towering aura of ferocity emanated from Lu Yuan.

“Boom!”

The secret technique of the Gathering of Three Flowers at the Apex was activated once again. With nearly all his power unleashed, Lu Yuan merely shifted slightly, and he vanished from his original spot, seemingly materializing instantly in front of another figure, equally “inhuman.”

The Tenth Stage.

This was already the tenth trial.

The adversary Lu Yuan faced this time possessed a terrifying strength unlike any he had encountered before, forcing him, out of desperation, to activate the secret technique of the Gathering of Three Flowers at the Apex.

The opponent on the tenth stage was a monster encrusted with countless pink crystals all over its body.

It was humanoid in shape, but stood over ten meters tall.

Its skin was dark, yet studded with numerous pink crystals.

These pink crystals formed complex and ornate mystical patterns across its body, wrapping it entirely like armor.

Behind it grew two pairs of wings, equally adorned with pink crystals, and its head resembled two bizarrely wide palms spread out to either side.

It had no eyes, only two large pink gems set where its eyes should be, seemingly serving as such.

Its limbs were long and slender, surrounded by countless tiny pink crystals, giving it an exceedingly sharp aura.

Propelled by blood-red light and aurora, Lu Yuan appeared instantly in front of this pink monster.

“Eight Trigrams Dragon Devourer! Crush!”

Lu Yuan swung his robust and fierce eight arms downwards simultaneously.

“Boom!”

It was as if the void itself had collapsed, followed immediately by eight rounds of blood-red and aurora intertwined great suns rising out of nowhere.

These eight terrifying great suns pressed down fiercely, and the pink monster was immediately blasted with a pink whirlwind fountain.

“Clink Clank-“

Countless shards of pink crystal furiously collided with the eight great suns.

Each shard was exceedingly sharp, carrying the strength to slice through everything.

Lu Yuan felt as though he had crashed into a high-speed meat grinder, with numerous pink crystal shards “rinsing” over him from the front.

The sharp and cutting aura carried by the shards was so intense that not even his asura body could completely withstand it; in an instant, his body was slashed with dense cuts.

As his muscles and vital energy surged, these cuts rapidly closed and disappeared, only to reappear again…

From the moment Lu Yuan threw his punch at the pink monster to the pressing down of his fists, the wounds on his body appeared and disappeared repeatedly, happening over a dozen times.

This constant, compounding pain made the eyes on Lu Yuan’s face and body bloodshot.

The intense pain forcibly made his “eyes” open wider, seemingly even causing the vertical crease between his brows to stretch outward.

This wave of pain continued to brew within his chest, then transformed into flames of madness and bloodlust within the many eyes, dancing wildly.

“Shatter!”

Lu Yuan’s forehead bulged with veins as he roared softly, bringing his eight arms together to form a much larger “blood sun,” then fiercely pressing it downward.

This distorted sun, formed from the blending of aurora and blood lights, slammed fiercely onto the face of the pink monster.

“Sssss-“

It was like high-speed gears hitting a smooth, hard surface, with countless sparks of pink and blood scattering from where they collided.

But at this moment, Lu Yuan’s level 2 [Power of the Ultimate Skill-Shatter] had already activated.

Around the twisted great sun, numerous dark cracks spread out like a spider’s web.

These cracks spread across the face of the pink monster, whose body, previously sharp and indestructible, quickly shattered under the force of the ultimate skill.

“Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!”

Lu Yuan roared as he executed the “Eight Trigrams Dragon Devourer,” his eight freed arms immediately grabbing the pink monster’s two arms.

With a fierce tear…

“Crack-“

The pink monster’s arms broke apart.

Its legs and the crystal wings on its back quickly lifted, fiercely stabbing at several parts of Lu Yuan’s body.

Lu Yuan, with all eight arms, firmly held down the four crystal wings of the pink monster.

The tips of the wings pierced through his palms, blood flowing down.

Below, Lu Yuan blocked one attacking leg with his knee, but the other moved too swiftly, unexpectedly stabbing him fiercely in the abdomen.

The demonic patterns covered flesh was instantly pierced, and the leg that penetrated his body shattered, turning into countless pink crystal fragments that wildly poured in, continuously tearing and enlarging the wound, as if to rip Lu Yuan apart from the inside out.

This pain, emanating from within, was dozens of times more intense than the previous agony of “lingering death.”

Lu Yuan’s heart pounded wildly, his blood boiling like magma.

At this moment, the asura nature hidden in his blood seemed to be fully awakened.

Several cun of blood-red light burst violently from Lu Yuan’s eyes.

His face, which retained traces of handsomeness, was now completely twisted, with two bulges on his forehead seemingly protruding a bit more.

His mouth stretched wide open to the roots of his ears, revealing rows of sharp, knife-like teeth.

“Very good, very good!”

Lu Yuan laughed, displaying an indescribably fierce and terrifying expression.

“It has been a long time since anyone has made me feel this much pain…”

“You deserve… a reward!”

With that, Lu Yuan opened his mouth wide, like a ferocious beast, and viciously bit down on the position of the shattered, pink monster’s head.

“Boom!”

The void where the two were fighting exploded into terrifying aftershocks one after another.

Large, pitch-black cracks spread wildly in the void, the space resembling a shattered mirror.

Within the chaotic battle group, Lu Yuan’s low growls and the continuous sounds of tearing and chewing could be heard.

Finally…

All noise gradually subsided.

The shattered void quickly repaired itself, revealing Lu Yuan’s figure once again.

At this moment, his body was covered in cuts, with blood trickling down the lines of his skin and muscles like small streams.

His appearance was extremely miserable, with the palms of all eight arms mangled and bone visibly exposed.

The area around his mouth was a complete mess, as if it had been put through a meat grinder, too dreadful to behold.

“Huff-huff-“

Lu Yuan breathed heavily, casually spitting out a clot of blood mixed with broken teeth, flesh, and crystal fragments, then emotionlessly tossed aside the limbs and severed arms of the pink monster that he held in his hand.

He gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then slowly exited the asura form and the state induced by the secret technique of the gathering of three flowers at the apex.

Having reverted to his normal state, his injuries had seemingly disappeared.

Yet his face was deathly pale, devoid of any blood color.

“Just as I expected, activating the ‘gathering of three flowers at the apex’ in my asura form does consume my life potential, but not so drastically… It won’t cause a ‘system crash’ that makes it impossible to exit…”

Lu Yuan thought to himself and promptly sat down on the ground of the space.

Looking at the severed limbs of the pink monster before him, and watching the shards of pink crystal disappear into tiny light spots, Lu Yuan felt a sense of relief and exhilaration.

This pink monster, whose origins seem to trace back to some Ancient Evil Deity system, is definitely the strongest opponent he has ever encountered!

There’s none other!

“At the peak of the tenth stage, that kind of control over pink crystal strength is so domineering… It feels even stronger than Yuwen Tong…”

Due to Yuwen Tong’s identity and his special relationship with her, Lu Yuan has never fully unleashed his power to have a proper fight with Yuwen Tong in the Consciousness Space, so he can’t make an accurate comparison.

But the terrifying strength of the pink monster is beyond doubt.

Apart from the ultimate reckless strategy of overlaying the ‘second limit break’ deity form and the ‘gathering of three flowers at the apex’ secret technique, Lu Yuan had exhausted all his methods.

Even the power of the ultimate skill at level 2 was used, and yet, he barely managed a tragic victory.

It was almost… him who would have been finished.

Keep in mind, in the previous stage, once he unleashed his level 2 power of the ultimate skill, the ninth stage peak Ancient Evil Deity monster shattered like porcelain under his blows.

“The difficulty jump between each stage is just too vast.

The tenth stage pits me against a peak tenth stage opponent, the next one… could it possibly bring forth a Star Lord Realm deity?”

At that moment, three portals quietly formed in front of him.

Lu Yuan watched as the cuckoo bird swiftly dashed into the portal on the far left, too lazy to stop or chase after it.

“Go ahead, go ahead, there’s no way I can pass the next one anyway… I’ll just surrender as soon as I enter…”

Lu Yuan displayed a completely defeated attitude, waved his hand, and slowly walked towards the last remaining red portal.