Chapter 461 - 341: Crystal Flower, Hunting the Lord (3)

He poured in his Purification Power with full force.

The Shadow Centipede’s aura began to weaken rapidly, its regeneration unable to keep up with the rate of Purification.

The movements of its three-hundred-meter-long body grew sluggish, and the light in its eyes gradually dimmed.

Just as Ian thought it was all over...

A glint of desperate resolve flashed deep within the Shadow Centipede’s pupils.

Its three-hundred-meter-long body began to swell. The Dark Gold patterns on its surface flickered wildly as the Energy within it churned violently.

It was going to self-destruct and take Ian down with it!

’A pointless struggle.’

Ian’s gaze hardened, and he ran the Gravity Collapse Ball at full power.

The twelve black spheres spun frantically, tearing the crack in its Shell even wider.

At the same time, he gathered all his Purification Power into his palm, forming it into a Long Spear.

"Have a taste of my Spear of Purification..."

Ian let out a low growl, drew his arm back, and then lunged forward.

The Long Spear pierced the crack in the Shell, driving through the wound and deep into the Shadow Centipede’s body.

PSHHH!

The tip of the spear tore through flesh, bone, and Energy Nodes... finally piercing its heart.

The Purification Power erupted!

A pale golden light burst from inside the heart, spreading through its blood vessels, pathways, and Energy Passages...

The Shadow Centipede’s movements froze completely, and its massive body began to disintegrate.

Starting from its heart, the Dark Gold Shell flaked away, piece by piece.

The Shadow Energy within spiraled out of control, erupting from the wound in a violent torrent.

"HISSS..."

The Shadow Lord let out a final, dying hiss as its dark purple compound eyes went completely dark.

Its enormous body slowly collapsed, crashing to the ground and sending up a cloud of dust.

Silence fell. Not a single Shadow Creature remained.

"Finally, it’s over."

Ian withdrew the Spear of Purification, and his divine body slowly descended to the ground.

His chest heaved slightly, his breathing a little ragged.

The battle with the giant centipede had been short, but it had consumed an immense amount of his Spiritual Power.

"Gaga! Let’s see what goodies we got!"

The little creature flew back and landed on his shoulder.

Its feathers were stained with grayish-black energy residue, but its little eyes were gleaming.

"Ian! We won! We killed a Lord!"

"Mm."

Ian rubbed its head, his gaze falling upon the Shadow Centipede’s corpse.

The three-hundred-meter-long corpse was already beginning to dissipate, transforming into dense Shadow Energy that filled the mine vein.

He activated his Gravity Rule, and an invisible Force Field gathered and compressed the Energy.

It finally condensed into twelve fist-sized Tier Three Shadow Crystals.

They were cool to the touch, a profound, dark luster swirling within them. Their quality was exceptionally high.

In addition, there were two dark purple Poison Glands and five of the most intact plates of its Shell.

Each of the Shell plates was the size of a door, with clear Dark Gold patterns on its surface.

’I could probably refine these into Tier Three Defensive Witchcraft Tools.’

Finally, there was a walnut-sized black crystal, within which the patterns of some kind of Rule were faintly visible.

’A manifested Shadow Rule Fragment...’ A look of delight flashed in Ian’s eyes.

This was a crystal that only a Shadow Lord could produce. It would be a huge help for Gaga’s advancement to Tier Three.

He placed all the spoils into his Dimension Ring, then looked toward the depths of the vein.

’Time is short. I need to start mining, fast.’

Ian didn’t hold back. He fully unleashed his Gravity Rule, the invisible Force Field acting like countless hands.

It pulled the crystals from the ground one by one, storing them in the Dimension Ring.

In just one minute, the space in his Dimension Ring was eighty percent full.

Ian estimated that with a bit of refining and cutting, he would have at least a thousand Tier Two Crystals and nearly a hundred Tier Three Shadow Crystals.

’That should be enough. The Ring can’t hold any more.’

Ian stopped and turned to leave when he caught sight of the Purification Crystal Flower out of the corner of his eye.

After the recent battle, the Crystal Flower had expanded to thirty meters in diameter, resembling a small Crystal mountain.

The Order Mark within it rotated slowly, continuously absorbing Shadow Energy and converting it into Purification Power.

Its crystal branches were still slowly growing, forking, and multiplying...

At this rate, without any outside interference, the Crystal Flower would cover the surrounding area for dozens of miles within a month at most.

It would become a "Land of Order"—a Land of Order in the Shadow World.

Ian was secretly stunned, and a faint sense of unease began to stir within him.

"Did we make too much of a scene? Gaga, let’s go."

The little creature unfolded its Shadow Domain, and a dark vortex appeared.

The man and the bird swiftly vanished from the spot.

The mine vein fell silent once more.

Only the ever-growing Crystal Flower remained, emitting a pale golden light in the gray, hazy world.

「In the deepest reaches of the Shadow World, at the very moment the Shadow Centipede died.」

A certain unnamable being... slowly opened its eyes.

Countless twisted worlds were reflected in the depths of its pupils.

Its gaze pierced the endless gray mist and fell upon the mine vein as an invisible pressure swept out in all directions.

It finally settled on the Crystal Flower, lingered for a moment, and then slowly faded away.

The Crystal Flower continued to grow...