Chapter 40: Star
Within the sixth floor of the Supreme Temple in Sanctuary City·Top City.
The entire sixth floor could be divided into three sections: a bedchamber, a dining hall, and a treasure room. Behind the tightly shut metal door of this treasure room lay all the treasures of the Star Devourer.
One of the Star Devourer's hobbies was gluttony, especially for all kinds of delicacies. It possessed a voracious appetite like a gluttonous beast.
The powerful beings of the myriad realms were not more ascetic the stronger they became. On the contrary, the stronger one was, the greater their desires. Of course, this was matched by a stronger willpower. For this reason, the [Soul Crown] could be considered a nemesis to the powerful.
At the banquet table, various delicacies cooked with life force could not stir the Star Devourer's gluttonous appetite today. This terrified the attending servants and the chefs by the dining hall door. If their master was slightly displeased, it would casually pick them up, toss them into its mouth, and chew them up in a few bites. Compared to this world-destroying existence, so-called monsters were not even remotely terrifying.
The Star Devourer picked up a half-cooked meat steak, ready to devour it, but the sword wound slanting across its chest caused its inner brutality to surge. With a wet squelch, the large chunk of meat in its hand was crushed, blood and life-force broth dripping through its fingers.
Nightmare aura seeped from the wound, eroding the surrounding area. Star patterns appeared on the Star Devourer's body surface, suppressing it after a few moments. When everything calmed, the Star Devourer had lost its appetite for the delicacies. It casually tossed away the crushed meat in its hand, washed the grease off in a black water basin the size of a small swimming pool, then rose and walked toward the bedchamber. The servants on both sides were silent as cicadas in winter.
Inside the bedchamber, attended by an elderly Sea Clan servant, the Star Devourer half-reclined on the bed. The elderly Sea Clan servant took out an ointment and applied it to the wound on the Star Devourer's chest. This Sea Clan servant was over five meters tall, somewhat hunched, but compared to the Star Devourer, who was over eight meters tall, he was much shorter.
"Is that healer you mentioned reliable?"
The Star Devourer spoke. Hearing this, the elderly Sea Clan servant replied respectfully, "Very reliable. I saw that Scarlet Elder Son; his injuries had indeed recovered a lot."
"Hmm."
The Star Devourer's tone was somewhat satisfied, but then it thought of the Ancestor's tragic death, prompting it to ask, "How long has that doctor been living in Black Iron City? Did he go to Black Iron City recently?"
"No, I checked. That healer has lived there for over a decade. I also met the officials of that area in Black Iron City and brought our diviner. Everything checked out. The healer has indeed lived in Black Iron City for over ten years. It's said he has a close relationship with the Mechanical Maker."
After hearing this from the elderly Sea Clan servant, the Star Devourer felt much more at ease, especially regarding the diviner mentioned. That was a Red Robe Priest, a trusted confidant who had secretly served it for many years.
Just then, a knock came at the door. The Star Devourer signaled the elderly Sea Clan servant to open it, then changed from a reclining position to a majestic seated one, regaining its usual imposing aura.
The Priest was the first to enter the bedchamber, followed by a small, shifty-eyed old man—Kaisa, disguised as a healer.
Arriving here for the first time, Kaisa appeared somewhat bewildered. Guided by the elderly Sea Clan servant, he sat on a tall chair beside the bed.
This chair, several meters high, gave Kaisa a bit of acrophobia. Having strong survivability didn't mean Kaisa could fly or leap through the skies. Greed, cowardice, and shifty eyes were Kaisa's nature. Of course, if the benefits were substantial enough, his greed would boost his courage exponentially.
Watching Kaisa, who was trembling as he sat on the edge of the chair, the Star Devourer narrowed its many eyes, beginning to doubt whether this small old man, whose expression carried a hint of cowardice and sleaziness, could heal its injuries.
"G-great... sir, your injuries are too severe. My... my treatment will be very difficult."
"Hmm?"
The Star Devourer's gaze grew more displeased. It asked in a booming voice, "So what do you want?"
"I... I want more money."
"Hmm?"
The Star Devourer thought it had misheard. This human old man was trembling like a sieve from fear, yet still thinking about asking for more money. Thinking this, it burst into loud laughter. The terrifying laughter shook the ground, causing the thickened crystal glass to buzz.
Kaisa was even more direct. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted, falling from the several-meter-high chair. His legs kicked out, his body went completely stiff, making one instinctively wonder if he might have just dropped dead.
This left the Star Devourer somewhat bewildered. It looked down at Kaisa, who was lying on the ground and nearly in shock, then turned its gaze, filled with anger, toward the Priest, and asked, "Is this the person you found?"
"I... I'm fine."
Kaisa held an empty medicine bottle in his hand. A surging vitality was gradually emerging within his body. However, he then took out half a bottle of water, poured this somewhat murky water into the empty medicine bottle, swished it around to rinse out the dregs, and drank it down. Then, because the residue got stuck in his teeth, he spent a good while picking it out. This action instantly erased any hint of an expert's demeanor he had just mustered.
Witnessing all this, the Star Devourer didn't know what to say for a moment and finally chose silence.
Under Kaisa's direction, servants soon set up a cauldron over three meters in diameter in the bedchamber. Various materials were arranged beside the cauldron, awaiting Kaisa's performance.
A vigorous flame roasted the cauldron. Kaisa, standing on a wooden platform beside it, began adding various materials into the pot. Before long, the broth in the cauldron turned a deep brown, bubbling and gurgling. From the speed at which the bubbles burst, the broth was quite thick.
This was just the beginning. After Kaisa added several hundred types of materials in total, this Kaisa-modified version of Geham's Thick Soup was only half successfully brewed. The subsequent hours of simmering were the key.
An indescribable strange odor gradually spread through the dining hall. Besides the Star Devourer, Kaisa, the Priest, and the elderly Sea Clan servant, there was also a Red Robe Priest present—the diviner loyal to the Star Devourer.
At this moment, the Red Robe Priest's face was tense. It wasn't because he was a serious person, but because if he didn't concentrate his energy, the dinner he had eaten last night might come spewing straight out of his throat.
Even the Star Devourer's expression was grave. It occasionally glanced at Kaisa, almost directly asking, "Do I really have to drink this stuff?"
When the Geham's Thick Soup began to emit uniform small bubbles, Kaisa extinguished the fire, put on a fawning smile, and said, "Sir, the medicinal soup is ready. As long as you drink my two potions, I guarantee not only will the nightmare aura be removed, but your injuries will also recover quickly."
Hearing this, the Star Devourer's cheek twitched violently. It looked at the thick soup in the cauldron, then at Kaisa, and said coldly, "You drink it first."
Kaisa immediately picked up the ladle, filled a large bowl for himself, and took a delightful sip. The taste was so intense that his eyelids blinked rapidly. Finally, he let out a comfortable sigh and said with a smile, "The flavor is really good."
The Star Devourer looked puzzled, but with a powerful enemy looming, it had to recover its injuries as quickly as possible. However, before drinking the thick soup, it looked at the Red Robe Priest. The Red Robe Priest nodded knowingly, indicating that the divination result showed the thick soup was fine and would help heal injuries.
"Sir, your physique is powerful, so you need a larger portion."
As Kaisa spoke, he operated a lifting device to raise the cauldron and poured the thick soup into a jar taller than himself.
The Star Devourer picked up the jar, took a big gulp, and its dozen or so eyes went wide. One eye on its shoulder even had bloodshot veins bulging. But remembering how easily Kaisa had drunk it, it steeled itself and gulped down the rest in a few mouthfuls.
"Whoosh~"
The Star Devourer exhaled a puff of grayish hot air. Seeing this, Kaisa quickly handed over a bottle of potion, saying, "Sir, this is the second potion."
The Star Devourer took the potion but didn't drink it immediately. Instead, it poured out a small portion, first watching the elderly Sea Clan servant drink it, then looking at the Red Robe Priest. After the Red Robe Priest nodded, indicating the divination showed no problem, the Star Devourer finally drank the potion.
After drinking this potion, the Star Devourer originally wanted to carefully sense its effects. However, after drinking that large jar of thick soup, its stomach was in turmoil, making it extremely difficult to sense any changes from the potion.
Even though the Star Devourer could digest star cores, world forces, and the like, facing this strangely flavored thick soup, its powerful stomach seemed to be letting out a series of wails.
Then, the Star Devourer felt a surge of immense life force erupt from its stomach. This was the effect of digesting the potion it had drunk. The most intuitive manifestation was that nightmare aura began to dissipate from its wounds.
This brought the Star Devourer a wave of comfort, even the discomfort in its stomach disappeared. It looked down at Kaisa, considering whether to imprison this person or reward him. As for gratitude, a world-destroying existence that had devoured countless worlds would not have emotions like gratitude or pity.
Just as the Star Devourer had yet to make a decision, Kaisa suddenly took out a glass bottle and shook the translucent liquid inside. With just a slight shake, the translucent liquid formed a simple spell formation.
Almost simultaneously.
Hum~
An identical spell formation formed in the Star Devourer's stomach. Then, in less than 0.5 seconds, a spatial muffled sound spread.
Thump!
The Star Devourer was as if struck by an invisible giant cannon. Despite its powerful physique, black-blue blood sprayed from its mouth and nose. This was an internal organ attack. A spatial impact force, ignoring its physical defenses, slammed into its stomach and also teleported something inside. The moment this object was teleported into its stomach, everything else in its stomach was instantly vaporized cleanly.
The Star Devourer's dozen or so eyes bulged to the extreme, cracks splitting at the corners. The terrifying fluctuation from its stomach made it open its gaping maw. One arm stretched long, reaching straight into its stomach. But the next second, this arm sprouted numerous translucent tentacles and exploded with a crack, turning into translucent fluid.
"Roar!!!"
The Star Devourer threw its head back and roared. Layers of airwaves spread out, cracking the surrounding space with cracks.
"Original Sin..."
The Star Devourer had already sensed an Original Sin object in its stomach, but for some reason, this Original Sin object was so terrifying that it couldn't even vomit it out.
The Star Devourer looked at the culprit, Kaisa, but where its gaze landed, Kaisa had already disappeared.
"Kill them all..."
The Star Devourer ordered the elderly Sea Clan servant, but the next second, it found the elderly Sea Clan servant and the Red Robe Priest standing respectfully with bowed heads behind the Priest. Not only that, but all the servants in the hall were now standing behind the Priest, looking as if they followed his lead.
Seeing this, the Star Devourer suddenly felt that Sanctuary City was no longer safe. One or two betraying it could be explained as being won over by the enemy, but all of them betraying it at once meant only one thing: the Eternal Dark Lord and the Archbishop of the Abyss were about to make a move against it.
With the Star Devourer's intelligence, it instantly deduced that this was a trap set by the Archbishop of the Abyss. The reason must be that the Archbishop of the Abyss had secretly allied with the Law Annihilator. What [Seal Blade] obtained last time was fake. The Archbishop of the Abyss had simply chosen not to leave for now. After securing the bargaining chip to leave at any time, he joined forces with the Law Annihilator to eliminate the other three giants, then divided the origin power left after their deaths. The Ancestor might have died this way.
The Star Devourer became increasingly certain of this, so it felt it couldn't stay in Sanctuary City for even a second longer. Fighting these traitors would be a waste of time.
Boom!
The Star Devourer crashed through the wall of the Supreme Temple, leaving behind specks of starlight, and charged straight toward the barrier of Sanctuary City, slamming into it.
Thump!!
The entire Sanctuary City shook. The barrier of Sanctuary City was indeed sturdy when activated; the Star Devourer couldn't break through with one headbutt. But it shook its slightly dizzy head, then crashed through the barrier and rushed outside.
The Star Devourer had essentially swallowed the [Book of Original Sin], yet it didn't die from it and could even forcibly break through Sanctuary City's barrier. This showed how terrifyingly powerful this world-destroying existence's physique was.
At the breach on the sixth floor of the Supreme Temple, the Priest watched the Star Devourer rush out of Sanctuary City, a thoughtful look in his eyes. After a moment, he turned and walked into the darkness emerging behind him, his aura completely disappearing. Behind him, the heads of the elderly Sea Clan servant and the Red Robe Priest immediately exploded.
The reason these two had betrayed the Star Devourer traced back to their infiltration of Black Iron City to investigate Kaisa's identity. This was also a trap. Anyone sent by the Star Devourer to investigate this matter would surely be its trusted confidant.
The Priest, traveling with these two, coordinated with Zuiyasi from within. Shortly after the two arrived in Black Iron City, the Priest and Zuiyasi had arranged for marrow parasite worms to be planted in their brains.
Because of this, the Red Robe Priest kept indicating that his divination found no danger. The Star Devourer still had some trust in this confidant.
At this moment, over a hundred kilometers from Sanctuary City, a meteor crashed heavily into a ring-shaped valley.
This valley was about a kilometer in diameter, surrounded by barrel-shaped rock walls that enclosed it. Inside the valley was a layer of shallow water, with vines and moss clinging to the surrounding rock faces.
The Star Devourer's remaining three large hands—two grabbed its upper and lower jaws, pulling them apart, while the last hand reached into its mouth and stomach, grabbing something that looked like a book. But the next instant, a dark green smoke emerged on this arm. The flesh evaporated, the bones withered, and it crumbled into ash.
"Roar!!"
The Star Devourer let out a roar of extreme fury. It was deeply unwilling. In its view, with its intellect not inferior to the Archbishop of the Abyss, how could it die from such a trap? It had always believed its intellect was on par with the Archbishop of the Abyss, and together, they were a notch above the Eternal Dark Lord.
Pfft!
The Star Devourer stabbed one hand into its chest and abdomen, but the next moment, its large hand was repelled. What made it worse was that, due to its poor condition, it couldn't control its own recovery, so the wound regenerated and healed in an instant.
Just as the Star Devourer felt that the terrifying object in its abdomen was about to break, and the things inside were about to erupt, a figure leaped down from the rock wall above, landing a hundred meters in front of it.
The Star Devourer looked toward the sound and saw the Law Annihilator standing opposite. It lunged toward the enemy, but a sharp pain in its abdomen made it vomit a large mouthful of black-blue blood, even containing faint glimmers of starlight—this was its origin power.
Su Xiao raised his hand. The [Book of Original Sin] appeared before him. He grasped the [Book of Original Sin] with one hand, calming its increasingly unstable fluctuations until it returned to its usual stability. The proud song crystals attached to it also peeled off. For some reason, these proud song crystals had been attached to the [Book of Original Sin] in the form of a spell formation.
Sending the [Book of Original Sin] into the Star Devourer's stomach was an exceptionally risky plan. Under normal circumstances, Su Xiao would not have done this. He would have preferred to fight the Star Devourer to the death to secure victory.
But now, he couldn't fight the Star Devourer to the death for two reasons. First, this was how he had killed the Ancestor. The Eternal Dark Lord and the Archbishop of the Abyss would surely be on guard. If, during a deathmatch with the Star Devourer, the Eternal Dark Lord and the Archbishop of the Abyss arrived, Su Xiao would be doomed.
Second, the whereabouts of the Nightmare Blood Shadow were unknown. Su Xiao was certain that one of the Nightmare Blood Shadow's goals was to kill him. This held extraordinary significance for the Nightmare Blood Shadow. If the Nightmare Blood Shadow appeared during a deathmatch with the Star Devourer, Su Xiao would also be doomed.
Therefore, he used this risky method to deal with the Star Devourer. If the [Book of Original Sin] malfunctioned inside the Star Devourer's stomach, releasing all five Original Sin objects inside, Su Xiao would also be in grave danger.
The Law Annihilator's fortune brought Su Xiao not only immense luck but also cultivated a habit: when facing a powerful enemy, he must consider how to handle the worst possible outcome.
To prevent the [Book of Original Sin] from cracking inside the Star Devourer's stomach, Su Xiao chose the approach of "blocking is worse than channeling." Since the [Book of Original Sin] was unstable because of the five Original Sin objects inside, releasing one would greatly reduce the pressure on the [Book of Original Sin], ensuring no problems.
As for which one to release, it was naturally the [Scarlet Scepter]. Su Xiao was not the holder of this Original Sin object, so sealing it was the most difficult. In other words, just before Su Xiao retrieved the [Book of Original Sin], he manipulated it to release the Scarlet Scepter sealed on the fifth page.
This meant that the Scarlet Scepter was now inside the Star Devourer's stomach. This might be the first world-destroying existence to dare swallow the Scarlet Scepter.
After the [Necronomicon] detached, the Star Devourer fell face-first to the ground with a splash, water spraying everywhere. It panted like an ox, but all its eyes stared coldly at Su Xiao, because the Star Devourer was already considering how to deal with this enemy.
The Star Devourer rose from the ground, water dripping from its horns. Although it didn't know why the opposing Law Annihilator had taken away that terrifying Original Sin object, it didn't matter. It would make this scheming Law Annihilator pay the price.
Just as the Star Devourer was considering how to quickly recover its condition, its vision suddenly distorted, and then scarlet began to spread from its mouth and nose. If having the [Book of Original Sin] in its stomach earlier was like swallowing a red-hot branding iron that ignored its physical defenses and relentlessly burned its organs, then now, the Star Devourer felt as if it had drunk a bellyful of liquid fire.
Perhaps for the first time in the present world, having been swallowed into a stomach, the Scarlet Scepter was momentarily unable to determine its location. When it realized it had been swallowed into an abdomen, the Scarlet Scepter displayed its anger for the first time in a long while.
Su Xiao noticed that the Star Devourer's 800% health cap suddenly plummeted by a large chunk. It wasn't that this segment of the health bar was cleared; rather, the 800% health cap suddenly dropped to 700%, then 600%, 480%, falling at a rate of 100% to 150% per second. This was only possible because of the Star Devourer's powerful physique. If it were a being with a 100% health cap, it would have died instantly.
Su Xiao did not take this opportunity to attack the Star Devourer, both to avoid provoking the Scarlet Scepter's backlash and to wait for an opportunity. The next second, the opportunity came.
The Star Devourer opened its gaping maw, trying to spit out the Scarlet Scepter, but its abdomen churned for a long time without success. It roared again, using both hands to pull its upper and lower jaws apart to the maximum. The scarlet power inside surged out faster. With the Star Devourer's eight-meter frame and its current half-human, half-beast form, its gaping maw was even larger.
When its health dropped to 60%, the Star Devourer finally spat out the Scarlet Scepter. Su Xiao had been waiting for this opportunity. As the Star Devourer's mouth was wide open, the blood shadow behind him released the energy bowstring of the soul great bow. A crystal spear made of proud song crystals plunged into the Star Devourer's mouth.
The Star Devourer grunted, but compared to the terrifying erosion of the Scarlet Scepter, this crystal spear attack was nothing to it. One of its large hands supported the ground, and its aura stabilized somewhat.
However, what the Star Devourer didn't expect was that the crystal spear that had just entered its mouth and abdomen was not meant for attack. After the crystal spear exploded inside the Star Devourer's abdomen, it formed multiple spell formations in crystal form, attaching to various organs of the Star Devourer. As for its stomachs, it had three stomachs. Two had now disappeared, and the remaining half was also shattered.
Before the Star Devourer could get up, Su Xiao took out a [Sun Holy Sword]. This [Sun Holy Sword] was special, not because it had been activated for over ten seconds and was about to explode, but because its surface was covered with teleportation spell formations. To ensure it didn't explode during teleportation, a layer of crystals over ten centimeters thick was attached to the outside of the glass pillar.
Su Xiao activated the [Sun Holy Sword], and it disappeared. The Star Devourer immediately became alert. But after spitting out the Scarlet Scepter, which then vanished, the burning sensation in its chest and abdomen had subsided, and it even felt warm...
Suddenly, the Star Devourer felt a scorching heat in its chest and abdomen.
Thump!!
A muffled sound came from the Star Devourer's chest cavity. Its body suddenly swelled a bit, then slowly returned to normal. A [Sun Holy Sword] had exploded inside its body.
The Star Devourer, who had just stood up, staggered, then fell to its knees with a splash. It spewed magma-like liquid from its mouth. All its eyes bulged wide. Finally, it crashed to the ground and watched as a Law Annihilator's blade, emitting black-blue smoke, pierced into its head between its horns.
"I... am the one who devoured... the stars, the world-destroying... calamity!! How could... how could I be slain like this... If only... let me... devour... one, star, I would be... undying, immortal, un... decayed..."
All the Star Devourer's eyes bulged to the extreme until its aura completely disappeared. Its horns exploded, and a massive amount of star power surged into the sky. A giant tree formed from star power grew rapidly, its roots pushing aside the surrounding rock walls.
In just a few minutes, the surrounding scene had drastically changed. Dozens of kilometers around had turned into a shallow water area with various vegetation. A star giant tree tens of thousands of meters high grew in front of Su Xiao. Its trunk was like deep blue crystal, with a hint of woody warmth. Translucent tree roots hung down. Although it was a breathtaking sight, it was hard to imagine how many worlds the Star Devourer had devoured to accumulate so much star power.
"This fool is finally dead."
A steady but dark voice came.
Hearing this, Su Xiao turned around, his back to the star giant tree behind him. The water at his feet barely covered his ankles. His long sword in hand pointed diagonally at the ground, his gaze calm as he looked at the Archbishop of the Abyss and the Eternal Dark Lord a hundred meters away.