In the boundless darkness, star after star glittered with brilliant light, yet their trajectories completely defied arcane laws. Under the influence of some unknown force, they moved in utterly chaotic patterns, so one could often see stars that had been perfectly stable in their orbits suddenly veer off course and collide headlong with another star, producing terrifying explosions that triggered energy storms powerful enough to annihilate any being below the Legendary realm.
Thus, the "Chaotic Starfield" was cold and silent, with virtually no demons able to survive. This was why it could nurture a "Space-Time Stone Tablet" yet was incapable of producing a Demon Prince — unless they were innate existences like the "Abyssal Will," all other demons started from the very bottom, advancing through endless slaughter and devouring. In the "Chaotic Starfield," where even lesser demons could scarcely survive, no one could possibly grow in power.
The instant they entered the "Chaotic Starfield," another dark universe materialized behind Lucian — equally vast and boundless, equally expansive and awe-inspiring. The only difference was that the stars within this universe glowed in every color imaginable, each hue representing a different element. This was Lucian's Legendary demiplane: the "Atomic Universe"!
The "Atomic Universe" expanded the moment it appeared, as though it had completely overlapped with this layer of the Abyss. Then every "elemental planet" began vibrating in place, as though each microscopic particle possessed its own individual resonance.
*Buzz, buzz, buzz* — amid that phantom hum, the entire "Atomic Universe" shook violently, sending waves of ripples through the "Chaotic Starfield." This was the natural phenomenon that occurred when two planes overlapped and merged.
Wave after wave of illusory, water-like ripples radiated outward with Lucian at their center, spreading in every direction so rapidly that it seemed every corner of the "Chaotic Starfield" was undergoing similar changes.
Natasha didn't interrupt Lucian. Instead, she studied the chaotic starfield with keen interest and, drawing on her rudimentary knowledge of astronomy, declared: "They're all asteroids — the light is reflected, not from true stars. Just like your Atomic Universe…"
Under Lucian's tutelage, she had mastered the basics of astronomy, and her terminology was more closely aligned with Earth's. Coupled with frequent practice inside the "Atomic Universe," her assessment of the "Chaotic Starfield" was essentially flawless.
A layer of the Abyss like this was equivalent to a demiplane, and naturally couldn't possess a relatively normal starfield like an ordinary extraplanar space. The skies and suns of extraplanar spaces were fundamentally different from those of the primary material world — as though they were merely a tiny fragment of the vast universe, unable to present it as a whole. They did share one thing in common, however: they all obeyed the laws of celestial motion, and at present, no actual planets could be found within them.
As the ripples spreading through the "Chaotic Starfield" grew ever more violent, the space itself began to shake violently. Amid these tremors, Lucian keenly seized upon the information he sought through the feedback. His eyes snapped open, faint starlight still swirling within his dark pupils, and he gazed toward the starfield to his left: "The 'Space-Time Stone Tablet' is over there. The coordinates are…"
Amid the overall vibration, the core region naturally differed slightly from the surrounding areas. It was precisely this that allowed Lucian to quickly pinpoint the location of the "Space-Time Stone Tablet." Otherwise, he would never have attempted to overlap the "Atomic Universe" with the "Chaotic Starfield" — after all, the slightest misstep could backfire entirely, resulting in genuine tainting by the Abyss's energy. While this wouldn't compromise the stability of his demiplane, cleaning it up would still be quite a nuisance.
"Located the Space-Time Stone Tablet in under five seconds…" Natasha said, a hint of envy flickering in her silver-violet eyes. Before Lucian, she never bothered to conceal her natural emotions. "Aside from the Abyssal Will and the Demon Prince, only a Legendary mage using the overlap-and-merge technique with a demiplane could pinpoint the core this quickly…"
Other Legendary powerhouses who lacked demiplanes had to rely on different methods, which were considerably slower.
The "Atomic Universe" behind Lucian gradually faded, to avoid contamination from the Abyss's energy. Then, gripping Natasha's arm with his left hand, he used the demiplane as a relay point to teleport directly.
The "Chaotic Starfield" was merely one layer of the Abyss, and in just a few seconds, Lucian and Natasha had jumped to a bizarre region of space.
This area looked no different from the rest of the "Chaotic Starfield," but upon closer inspection, one would notice the blacks varied in depth, as though hidden spatial distortions had formed — like a treacherous ocean concealing countless hidden whirlpools.
An ocean would pose little threat to Legendary powerhouses, yet this region of space made Lucian hesitate to teleport directly inside.
This was a "natural defense" created by the leaking power of the "Space-Time Stone Tablet." It had warped the surrounding space-time, preventing Lucian and Natasha from teleporting close to it and simply claiming it with ease.
However, this chaotic and dangerous space also confirmed Lucian's positioning: the "Space-Time Stone Tablet" was inside.
"Be careful." Lucian chanted the incantation, condensed the "Scepter of Space-Time," and layered both himself and Natasha with a fluctuating defense of shifting space-time.
Natasha raised the "Shield of Truth" clutched in her left hand. Though when not stationary, the "Shield of Truth" had many gaps in its coverage, it was still more than sufficient for traversing this dangerous space.
The two stepped cautiously into the whirlpool-strewn region, guided by the "Mirror of Fate" gleaming before Lucian, and pressed forward swiftly.
The space appeared boundless, but in truth it was merely an illusion created by spatial distortion. After all, the "Space-Time Stone Tablet" was only a Legendary-grade material, and the range its leaking power could affect was equivalent to that of a normal second-tier Legendary. Of course, no Legendary would be so idle as to blanket the entire range — when casting spells or launching attacks, even area-of-effect spells were concentrated as much as possible.
And so, in less than ten seconds, Lucian and Natasha spotted a peculiar asteroid. It appeared to be composed entirely of diamond — transparent and pure, radiating a beautiful brilliance that most living beings could not resist.
Its radiance originated from a jet-black stone tablet at its core, upon which layers of water-like shimmering light endlessly rippled, producing a clear, flowing luminescence. Faintly, Lucian could make out many intricate and mysterious patterns on its surface, quite similar to those on the Moon Clock — steeped in an aura of time's passage, elusive and impossible to trace.
This was precisely what Lucian had come for: the Legendary material, the "Space-Time Stone Tablet"!
And upon finding the "Space-Time Stone Tablet," Lucian and Natasha also noticed a man in his thirties standing beside the asteroid. He was tall, with short, pale yellow hair. His features were typical of a Shahran Empire man — rugged and bold — yet his bearing was remarkably tranquil and serene.
However, his slightly upturned chin lent him an extra air of steely depth.
"Clement?" Lucian and Natasha said simultaneously through their mental link.
Clement, the "Saint" of the Northern Church — his appearance and his aura fluctuations were all documented in the secret intelligence archives of the Arcane Council and the Kingdom of Holman!