Chapter 544 - 374: New Era: Refining a Demon Artifact (Part 2)

This process would leave only the purest, most essential Abyssal Demonic Qi. Any Demonic Qi collected this way would be of the highest purity and entirely under his control.

The only drawback was its slow efficiency. He would have to accumulate it bit by bit every day until the total volume achieved a perfect balance with the power of his self-cultivated Purification Rule.

’Then, I’ll use these two diametrically opposed yet equal Powers of Rules as fuel and a catalyst to re-Refine the Star-devouring Eye...’

’The power of this Demon Artifact will far surpass what Astra ever envisioned!’

His plan was clear, but the process would be exceedingly long, requiring extreme caution and patience.

The Will of the Abyss was no docile sheep; it was an amalgam of Chaos and madness. The slightest misstep could result in him getting burned.

But Ian had his panel as a final failsafe, not to mention his extensive experience "dealing with" the Abyss in the Wizard World.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

’Let’s begin.’

The Starry Sky Festival began to slowly operate as his Will delved deep into the Void, resonating with extremely distant stars.

At the same time, deep within his Sea of Spirit, the ancient mark of the Abyssal Soul Contract was also "activated."

Like a lighthouse in the dark, it radiated a unique pulse into the depths of the Void—a pulse that was extremely alluring to the Will of the Abyss.

After about ten minutes of Meditation, HUMMM...

Ian felt a wisp of cold, viscous Energy, filled with mad ramblings, quietly seep in along the invisible Link of the Abyssal Soul Contract.

’Here it comes again. These manifestations of the Will of the Abyss in the Void don’t seem to have any real intelligence. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve fleeced them, and I’ve never failed once.’

With practiced ease, Ian guided this wisp of the Abyss’s Will into his Sea of Spirit, letting it flow slowly toward the "trap" he had already prepared.

In a corner of his Sea of Spirit, dense Purification Starlight had already condensed into a pale golden orb of light.

The orb was hollow, like an egg waiting to hatch. The moment the wisp of dark purple Abyssal Will touched it...

’Contract!’

At Ian’s command, the pale golden orb contracted abruptly, tightly enveloping the small wisp of Abyssal Will.

SZZZZT!!!

Inside the orb, the Purification Rule and the Will of the Abyss clashed madly, resulting in mutual Annihilation.

Countless chaotic thoughts and twisted illusions erupted within the orb, only to be forcibly crushed and purified by the golden light.

As his Realm increased, the manifestations of the Abyssal Will he attracted also grew more powerful.

Ian’s face paled slightly. The Purification process placed an immense strain on his Spiritual Power and tested his Will.

He had to maintain the orb’s stability, ensuring he only "killed" the will without damaging the fundamental source of the Demonic Qi.

After three breaths, the conflict within the orb subsided, and the dark purple fluctuations of will vanished completely.

At the center of the orb remained a tiny wisp of pure purple mist, thinner than a strand of hair yet condensed to the absolute limit.

Pure Abyssal Demonic Qi!

Ian carefully guided this wisp of Demonic Qi out, encased it in an even thinner layer of golden light, and transferred it into a sealed container forged from Star Realm Refined Gold.

Star Realm Refined Gold was extremely resistant to corrosion, and the container’s interior was inscribed with stabilizing and sealing Runes, making it the perfect vessel for storage.

With the first wisp successfully collected, Ian slowly exhaled. A light sweat had already beaded on his temples.

’Three times a day is the maximum. Any more than that and my spirit won’t be able to take it. It might also draw too much attention from the main body of the Abyss’s Will.’

He glanced at the wisp of Demonic Qi in the container. ’Accumulating enough to match my own vast Purification Rule is going to take a while!’

But if there was one thing Ian didn’t lack, it was time and patience. He decided to finish the collection process right here in the Profound Yellow World.

Collecting Abyssal Demonic Qi in the Wizard World was far too dangerous. Frequently stirring up a Morning Star Level Abyssal Aura would undoubtedly attract the attention of higher-level entities.

And so it went, day after day, month after month.

Ian’s life fell into an extremely regular cycle.

During the day, he would occasionally use his Spiritual Power to check on the situation in the Starlight District or chat with Wei Song about the changes in the Profound Yellow World after its advancement.

The miniature Thermonuclear Core in Wei Song’s chest was developing rapidly in the starlight-rich environment, and he was already on the verge of reaching the Legendary Peak.

At night, it was his unchangeable routine of "fishing" and "collecting."

The dark purple Demonic Qi inside the container grew from an initial wisp to a small cluster, and then to a fist-sized mass...

It floated silently in the center of the container, rotating slowly and exuding a pure yet terrifying aura of Chaos.

It formed a strange contrast with the vast, tranquil, pale gold Purification Golden Light surrounding Ian. In terms of quantity, the two were slowly approaching a state of balance.

Ian didn’t remain idle during the time he spent collecting the Demonic Qi.

He took out the Two-Realm Phase Analyzer, along with the eight "Sands of Space-Time" he had collected from the Profound Yellow World.

The transparent stones flickered in his palm, each sealing a solidified Space-Time Node within.

’The core of the Phase Meter is spatial anchoring and cross-world Links. The Sands of Space-Time contain the purest space-time Rule Fragments.’

Ian’s eyes gleamed with contemplation. ’If I could perfectly integrate them into the Star-devouring Eye...’

’Not only would it grant the Demon Artifact the ability to shift between corporeal and incorporeal states and be summoned and dismissed at will, but perhaps it could also imbue its ’Annihilation’ attack with a ’space-time stripping’ effect?’

’To ’erase’ a target from existence itself—from its past, present, and future?’

The thought made his heart beat a little faster, but achieving it would be no easy feat.

He began running simulations with his panel, combining and optimizing the Phase Meter’s structure as analyzed by the panel with the Demon Artifact’s circuits in the Star-devouring Eye.

Within his Sea of Spirit, countless Runes and Energy pathways flickered madly, undergoing Reorganization and trial-and-error.

Time slipped by quietly amid deep thought and methodical collection.