"What exactly is this thing?"
Shi Feng felt that the closer he got to the pitch-black energy orb suspended in midair, the heavier his body became in an indescribable way. His consciousness even began to blur, as if his body no longer belonged to him—controlling it felt sluggish and unresponsive.
He had never even heard of such a thing before.
If it were merely stat suppression, it would at most make a player feel weaker or powerless. It would never cause this kind of blurring sensation.
Right now, his basic stats hadn't dropped at all, yet his combat strength had plummeted by at least seventy to eighty percent. Even an ordinary Tier 2 expert player could easily kill him now.
"You'd better stay away from that thing." Just as Shi Feng was less than a yard from the pitch-black energy orb, Seiruola suddenly waved her hand, and he was immediately pulled out of the orb's radiation range.
Only after leaving the range did Shi Feng feel his control over his body return. He stared at the energy orb in disbelief.
It was far too powerful!
If anyone could wield such an ability, they would be invincible in group battles. After all, the energy orb didn't suppress players' basic stats—it drastically reduced their control over their own bodies. No matter how strong a player's base stats were, within this radiation range they would fare no better than anyone else.
"This isn't something someone at your current level can handle. If you touched that energy orb with your Tier 2 class, it would kill you instantly. Even as a Chosen of the Heavens, it would likely take a very long time for you to revive." Seiruola looked at the dazed Shi Feng and explained slowly.
"Touch it and die, with an even longer revival time?" Shi Feng grew even more curious about the pitch-black energy orb. "Lady Seiruola, what exactly is this thing?"
He had heard of plenty of items that could kill a player on contact, but he had never once heard of an item that could drastically extend a player's revival time. There were some skills and NPCs that could accomplish something similar—like absorbing a player's Immortal Soul, which would require considerable time before the player could log back into the Divine Realm.
But when he used the Eye of Omniscience to examine the pitch-black energy orb, the information displayed was always "Unknown"—not even a shred of detail.
"That is a Crystal of Devastation, formed from the power of destruction. It not only annihilates matter completely, but can also utterly destroy the soul. Even if the faintest trace touches an Immortal Soul, it would take considerable time to recover." Seiruola gazed at the pitch-black energy orb floating in midair and explained softly. "Although the Crystal of Devastation hasn't had any of its energy activated yet, the faint aura it radiates is still far too dangerous for you."
As she spoke, Seiruola began chanting a spell, tracing divine characters in the air with her fingers.
Segments of golden divine text immediately enveloped the floating Crystal of Devastation completely. Then, with a wave of her hand, Seiruola sent it drifting down to land before Shi Feng.
"This Crystal of Devastation is an unexpected windfall. You can use it to save your life at critical moments, but be careful when wielding it—a single misstep could easily consume you as well." Seiruola warned him carefully. "Alright, you can leave now. Reforging the Armor of Devastation has given me quite a lot of insight. I want to rest and organize my thoughts without being disturbed. I likely won't be in White River City for a while."
Shi Feng stored the Crystal of Devastation away and nodded before taking his leave.
Though it seemed like Seiruola hadn't done much, Shi Feng—as a Master Blacksmith—knew full well how intricate and delicate the work of re-inscribing divine characters onto the Armor of Devastation was. Even Seiruola, a Blacksmith Grandmaster, looked somewhat weary.
After leaving Seiruola's smithy, Shi Feng couldn't help curiously examining the Crystal of Devastation in his inventory.
Crystal of Devastation—Consumable item. Sealed by Seiruola. Upon unsealing, releases the power of devastation within a 1,000-yard radius.
"A thousand yards?" Shi Feng's jaw dropped when he read the item description.
A devastating power that filled a thousand-yard radius—this range was even more terrifying than a Tier 4 super-scale destruction spell. And unlike super-scale destruction magic scrolls, which could be activated from a safe distance without affecting the user unless they deliberately enveloped themselves in the blast, the Crystal of Devastation was different. It was a bomb that would detonate the instant its seal was broken. Even if the player threw it, a hundred yards would be pushing it. But with a thousand-yard radius, there was no way the user could avoid being caught in the blast.