Chapter 543 - 374: New Era, Refining the Demon Artifact

The visions of the world’s ascension faded away.

The sky returned to its vast blue. A hazy ring of Starlight now encircled the outer atmosphere, emitting a faint silver glow after nightfall.

Within the Profound Yellow World, the drastic changes continued. The very air was now suffused with a pure Starlight Energy that hadn’t been there before.

The Extraordinary System of the Profound Yellow World also underwent a massive transformation; ordinary people could now step into the realm of the Extraordinary without needing to rely on a Superpower Awakening.

Across the land, new mineral veins were rising.

All kinds of Metals, crystals, and rare natural treasures imbued with Starlight Energy... were "spat out" from the depths of the Earth Veins by the new World Rules, displaying the world’s rich bounty after its ascension.

The forests grew lusher, the rivers ran clearer, and even the air carried the fresh scent of rain.

The territory of Great Yan grew even more vast with the expansion of the continent.

Several large cities that were once on the coast were now over a thousand kilometers from the new shoreline.

Satellite maps had to be completely updated and geography textbooks rewritten, but this brought not panic, but opportunity.

The newly formed land was rich in resources, unspoiled by pollution, and represented immense potential for future development.

In the sky, one could occasionally see silver Starlight flowing like an aurora.

This was the ascended Level Six World Will, sorting, consolidating, and optimizing its own complex system of Rules.

Every flicker of Starlight signified that a Rule was being adjusted and perfected.

The entire world was evolving from its bloated state after the "Devouring" toward a more efficient and stable new form.

On the Northwest Plain, on the land designated as the "Starlight District," the 620,000 survivors from Estelle began their new lives.

Lumina stood in a newly cleared open space. The soil under her feet was soft, clean, and carried the scent of fresh grass.

She took a deep breath. There was no underground must, no foul stench of pollution—only the scent of sunlight and grass.

"So this is the surface," she murmured, her eyes welling up.

The survivors around her were busy building temporary shelters, tilling the land, and sowing the seeds of several hardy crops they had brought from their homeland.

They worked in silence, efficient. Though sadness still lingered deep in their eyes, it was overshadowed by resilience.

Lumina had been chosen by the people as the temporary leader of the Starlight District. She accepted without hesitation and immediately began organizing.

She divided up residential areas, assigned tasks, established a simple system of governance, and learned the language and local customs from the liaison sent by Great Yan...

She would lead her people to put down roots in this unfamiliar land.

Not far away, beside a newly built wooden house, Ah Ya sat cross-legged on a flat Stone, her eyes closed.

She was trying to sense the Starlight Energy flowing in the air.

She was following the most basic Meditation Method of the Starlight Empire, taught to her by Lumina: the [Starlight Perception Method].

The progress was slow and arduous.

The Rules of this world were, after all, different from Estelle’s, and the nature of the Energy was subtly different as well.

But she was patient, trying with every breath to capture those tiny specks of silver light.

In her mind, the image of a figure with black hair and black eyes would surface, along with the warm "sun" in his palm.

Her lips moved, but no sound came out. ’One day...’

’I will become strong—strong enough to stand before you again.’

Ian’s Spiritual Power, like an invisible net, would occasionally sweep gently over the Starlight District.

He saw Lumina’s diligence, Ah Ya’s hard work, and the old chief sitting in front of his new home, gazing blankly at the sky.

He also heard the suppressed sobs that sounded late at night, and the curious giggles of children in their new environment.

He did not interfere. The migration and integration of a civilization takes time.

He had already done enough. The rest of the journey was theirs to walk alone.

The vast majority of his energy was focused on assimilating his gains and refining the Forbidden Demon Artifact.

Deep beneath the Jiangzhou Management Bureau, the lowest secret chamber had been completely transformed.

Multiple Gravity Barriers, a Purification Barrier, and a Time Flow Speed Regulation Array had been set up here.

Ian sat cross-legged in the center of the chamber, and before him floated the three-meter-diameter Star-devouring Eye—half Starlight, half Abyss.

The eyeball slowly rotated, the Annihilation vortex within—formed by the clash of the two polar energies inside—emitting a terrifying pulse.

"The panel’s analysis was a huge help," Ian murmured to himself.

In his mind, every detail about the Star-devouring Eye’s structural principles and Energy Circuits was perfectly clear.

It was a terrifying Demon Artifact that used the clash of the Pole Rule to trigger the "Annihilation" attribute.

Astra’s design was itself extremely ingenious, but he had failed due to his insufficient control over the Abyss and the impurity of his materials.

’The balance between Starlight Power and Abyssal Demonic Qi is the key.’ A glint of gold flashed in Ian’s eyes.

’Astra relied on an altar to draw in the external Abyssal Aura. The risk was too great, and it was difficult to control precisely.’

’But I’m different.’ He thought of his Meditation Method, [Starry Sky Festival].

He also thought of the [Abyssal Soul Contract] sigil in his Sea of Spirit, which held a subtle resonance with the will of the Abyss from the depths of the Void.

’He had to meticulously perform rituals on an altar to draw it in, but I can actively fish for it.’

’During my daily Meditation, I can use the resonance of the [Abyssal Soul Contract] as bait to fish for a wisp of the purest Abyssal will from the Void.’

With a mere thought from Ian, the pale golden Star Orbit representing the Purification Rule in his Sea of Spirit faintly lit up.

When this wisp of will entered his Sea of Spirit, he couldn’t let the panel purify the will and its Energy entirely. Instead, he would use the Purification Golden Light to envelop the drawn-in Abyssal will, ’killing’ only its chaotic and frenzied parts.