Whoosh!
A brilliant crimson streak of light tore through the void, scraping up a tremendous spray of flames as it passed. The scenery outside twisted violently, and for a brief moment there was a clear barrier of isolation — unmistakable signs of speed pushed to an extreme.
The light faded, and the figure decelerated from violent motion to a dead stop with surprising smoothness. A dark silhouette emerged, and below it hung an enormous ball of iron chains, every link of which was firmly sealed with rune inscriptions.
"This spot... is at least a thousand nautical miles from the scene of the incident. That should be far enough, right?"
The dark figure was, of course, Lei Lin. After seizing Belcrack, he had immediately fled to avoid drawing attention, deploying a host of concealment and misdirection spells along the way.
He had no idea how effective they actually were, but having them was better than nothing.
Now, after putting so much distance between himself and the battle without attracting any notice, Lei Lin finally allowed himself a small breath of relief.
"Still, to be safe, I should deal with this as quickly as possible!"
Lei Lin descended slowly, landing on a solitary island.
The island was extremely small — little more than a massive coral reef protruding above the sea surface. There were no plants, no freshwater resources, and the whole place looked utterly desolate.
But Lei Lin nodded with satisfaction, especially after sweeping the area with his soul power.
"Nice spot. And with the added bonus of mobility!"
With a soft chuckle, Lei Lin tapped his right foot lightly against the ground. Hummm! A fine tremor rippled outward from the sole of his foot, growing larger and larger until it became a minor earthquake accompanied by a small tsunami.
Rumble rumble! Loose rocks scattered across the coral reef began rolling and cracking, fractures spreading across its surface.
Once the earthquake caused by Lei Lin subsided, the surroundings fell silent. And then — an even more violent shaking erupted.
A deep, resonant animal cry rang out, reminiscent of a dragon's roar or a tiger's growl, rising up from the dark ocean depths.
Whoosh! The solitary island where Lei Lin stood began rising rapidly. Black rock draped in kelp and seashells broke through the waterline, climbing higher and higher.
Before long, the small island had become a massive, irregularly shaped landmass.
Crash! On one side of the island, enormous slabs of rock tumbled into the sea, revealing a pitch-black cavern. A serpentine head emerged from within the gaping hole.
"Roar! Roar!" The howling from earlier was clearly emanating from this creature's throat.
The creature was enormous in size, and there were even large amounts of algae and green moss growing on its eyelids.
[Ding! High-energy biological fluctuation detected. Scan complete!] Accompanied by the Chip's voice, a complete image of the creature had already been projected before Lei Lin's eyes.
The creature turned out to be a colossal turtle with a diameter exceeding tens of thousands of meters. The coral island where Lei Lin stood was actually its very back — and because it had been drifting motionless for so long, traces of life had even begun to appear on the coral island's surface.
"A miracle of life! Or perhaps the magnificence of the world! Truly mesmerizing!"
Lei Lin murmured in admiration. A giant turtle of this magnitude could easily slumber for several thousand years in a single dormancy cycle. If it were ever discovered by unknown humans, it could very well lead to the formation of an entire city on its back.
"Good day, Your Excellency! I apologize for disturbing your slumber! But for now, I must ask you to carry me for a short while — I will compensate you afterward!"
Although the giant turtle already possessed the strength of a fourth-tier Morning Star according to the Chip's scan, before Lei Lin's Half-Moon-stage True Spirit power, it still trembled and submitted.
Soon, the massive island began drifting aimlessly through the deep ocean, appearing slow but actually moving at great speed.
"Excellent!" Lei Lin nodded. His body sank automatically into the coral island's strata, as if the ground had melted away before him.
"A moving target is obviously much harder to discover. But the most important thing is to deal with this fellow as soon as possible — otherwise it's a hidden danger!"
A speck of earthy-yellow light flickered, then spread outward in all directions, immediately forming a spacious underground chamber.
The walls fused together on their own, forming a material resembling marble, appearing incredibly solid.
Lei Lin sat cross-legged on the dry ground, his expression utterly solemn.
"Chip! Pull up the content on the Path of Sacrifice from the Purgatory World!"
[Ding! Task established. Beginning data retrieval...] Accompanied by the Chip's feedback, a massive amount of information was quickly retrieved and stored into Lei Lin's memory center.
The Path of Sacrifice had a long history in the Purgatory World. Through countless ages of selection, it had become the most mainstream system of power.
Lei Lin had once believed that this form of sacrifice was a technique inherited from the World of the
Although the origins of the Path of Sacrifice were no longer traceable, after such a long period of development, its core content had become incredibly rich.
Sacrifice, in essence, meant offering tributes to higher beings — beings who were at minimum existences that transcended the Rules. Only through them could the power of enhancement be channeled down via some ineffable connection.
Leveraging the enhancement power of the other party could effectively boost a sacrificer's strength. Even with a time limit, this was still a remarkable feat—as long as offerings were plentiful, this power could be borrowed almost indefinitely, provided the sacrificer's body could endure it.
Moreover, as sacrifices were performed continuously, the sacrificer's rank could also increase. Once they entered the fourth-level Morning Star realm, they could perform permanent attribute enhancement rituals.
After undergoing such a ritual, the sacrificer would essentially be branded with the mark of the Supreme Being they had chosen. Their sacrifices would basically no longer be accepted by anyone else.
Through multiple enhancements, a sacrificer could even obtain power that transcended their race—for instance, Governor Iyas, whose physical attributes even surpassed those of
At the same time, a fourth-level sacrificer could not only borrow power first and offer sacrifices later, but could even attempt to summon an avatar of the Supreme Being!
According to Lei Lin's reasoning, the higher a sacrificer's rank, the greater the authority they held with their Supreme Being, and the more attention they could receive. Any requests would be answered swiftly as well.
This was also why Lei Lin had to flee far away the moment he captured Beklak—a fifth-level sacrificer was already enough to attract the attention of the Eye of Judgment.
A fifth-level sacrificer could even borrow trace amounts of a Supreme Being's Rules power, such as the golden lightning and judgment force that Beklak had obtained.
If Lei Lin's strength hadn't overwhelmingly surpassed his opponent's, Beklak alone—with these abilities—would have been far from the bottom tier among ordinary fifth-level Wizards.
"According to the Chip's estimates, once a sacrificer reaches the sixth level, they should be able to directly borrow the Rules power wielded by a Supreme Being. If both parties share a high enough degree of mutual recognition, they could even borrow over ninety percent of the Rules power! Their strength would far surpass those so-called Solari Throne holders..."
Lei Lin's expression grew somewhat grave.
"Of course, the Path of Sacrifice has its drawbacks as well. Borrowed Rules power is borrowed after all—no matter how harmonious the relationship, it's impossible to use it to advance to the seventh-level Realm of Rules. The Supreme Beings would never allow someone to fully master the Rules power that belongs to them... Therefore, for the Path of Sacrifice, the sixth level is its peak! Of course, there might be some exceptions..."
As if thinking of something, a trace of excitement crept across Lei Lin's lips, and he even seemed somewhat eager to give it a try.
[Ding! Sacrifice formation transmission complete!]A complex
This was not only the specialized sacrifice formation he had collected, but one that had been modified and optimized by him and the Chip. It could not only accept more sacrificial power but also significantly reduce energy loss.
To put it bluntly, simply selling this improved sacrifice Wizard Formation on the open market would instantly make Lei Lin extraordinarily wealthy.
Of course, he had no intention of doing so.
"The choice of your first sacrifice is extremely important, and the offerings are key. The better the offerings used in that first sacrifice, the greater the attention you'll receive from the Supreme Being, and the more benefits you'll get!"
The storage item flashed, and a massive quantity of materials materialized before him.
Lei Lin began drawing the improved sacrifice formation on the ground. With the Chip's assistance and with no regard for cost or materials, the sacrifice Wizard Formation he constructed surpassed the secret techniques of many major powers in the Infernal World.
"One more thing..." After setting up the sacrifice Wizard Formation, Lei Lin looked at the surrounding walls and gently ran his hand across them.
Layer after layer of blood-red lightning runes automatically surfaced.
"Otherworld Summoning!" "Powerful Binding!" "Annihilation Lightning!" "Aura Isolation!" "Positioning Disruption!" A massive number of high-tier runes and even ancient runes continuously surfaced, matching the standards of the Starry Abyss Laboratory.
Although Lei Lin also planned to cultivate the path of sacrifice, the necessary precautions were still indispensable.
After completing all of this, even with Lei Lin's own soul force — terrifyingly powerful as it was — he still appeared slightly fatigued.
Clang! The black Rune Chains broke apart, revealing the Evil Eye Elder within — Beklak.
However, at this moment, with his soul force sealed, the other party couldn't even express himself through language. His three vertical eyes were filled with terror.
"We meet again, Elder Beklak!" Lei Lin greeted him.
But it was obvious that Beklak, having already recognized Lei Lin, was now filled with endless dread in his heart. Especially after catching sight of the sacrifice Wizard Formation Lei Lin had set up, Beklak's entire being sank with despair.
[Ding! Sacrifice Wizard Formation complete. Simulated operation success rate: 100%!]
At that moment, the Chip's information also came through.