Chapter 425: Chapter 425: The Transmutation Altar Accepts Its Master
Countless insects, stirred into a frenzy, surged toward them like a black tide. Above the swarm, a hundred-meter-tall projection of Pellira formed once again.
"Aiden! I will tear you into pieces!"
Pellira’s projection roared, and the entire Prison of Ten Thousand Insects began to collapse wildly.
"A beaten dog still dares to bark?"
Aiden shielded Irene behind him. Thunder and the Space Law twisted around his body like a raging storm.
"Master, let me help you!"
Irene shouted. Forcing herself to gather what strength she had left, she formed a hand seal.
[Crimson Mosquito Secret Art · Sea of Blood Descends!]
Endless blood mist spread out in an instant, firmly suppressing the incoming insect tide.
"10,000x Critical Hit—Space-Rending Slash!"
Aiden held two fingers together like a blade and slashed through the air.
A pitch-black space crack, a thousand meters long, tore across the void like the scythe of death.
Rumble!
The entire swarm, along with Pellira’s huge projection, was cleanly cut in half by the attack. Then they were swallowed by the violent void turbulence.
One strike.
The battlefield was cleared.
Aiden lowered his hand and looked toward the core of the insect domain.
"Let’s go."
"To the main nest. We’ll take back what belongs to us, and while we’re at it..."
"We’ll send this Demon God to his grave."
Aiden wrapped one arm around Irene’s slender waist. His body turned into a streak of golden light, carrying a sky-high killing intent as he rushed straight toward the main nest.
Passing through layers of sticky spiderwebs and poisonous mist, Aiden and Irene silently slipped into the deepest forbidden area of the insect domain—the main nest.
It was a huge underground space beyond imagination. Countless giant insect eggs hung from the ceiling, pulsing with dark green light.
The air was filled with a thick, choking stench of blood and rot. Hundreds, even thousands, of Swarm priests stood in strange formations, chanting in an ancient insect language.
At the deepest part of the main nest, on an altar built from piles of white bones, an ancient stone platform about three meters tall floated in the air.
It was the Demi-Sacred Artifact—the Transmutation Altar.
Its whole body was clear and smooth like jade. Rings of nine-colored ripples spread from it, visible to the naked eye. Each ripple seemed to reshape the laws of the world around it.
Below the altar, a huge and terrifying figure was curled up.
It was the true body of the High-Tier Demon God, Pellira—a savage centipede over a hundred meters long. But now, its hard black shell was covered with dense golden cracks.
Those were soul wounds left by the backlash of the Laws. Pellira was drawing power from the surrounding insects with all his strength, trying to repair his soul before it completely collapsed.
"Master, now is the time. He is at his weakest!"
Irene’s voice sounded in Aiden’s mind, filled with excitement she could barely hold back.
Aiden’s eyes flashed like lightning. Without the slightest hesitation, the Space Law around his body instantly boiled.
[10,000x Critical Hit · Space Teleportation!]
The void trembled slightly, without even the faintest sound of wind.
In the next instant, Aiden’s figure crossed several thousand meters out of thin air and appeared directly on top of the bone altar.
He reached out with his right hand and pressed it heavily against the warm, jade-like body of the Transmutation Altar.
Buzz—!
The moment Aiden’s palm touched the Transmutation Altar, a sharp and grand system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Ding! Demi-Sacred Artifact Transmutation Altar detected. Unknown resonance found in the system’s core logic!]
[Highest-level command left by the first host, Yves detected. The core restrictions of the Transmutation Altar are beginning to break down!]
Boom!
The Transmutation Altar seemed to awaken like a towering divine mountain. Blinding golden light burst out from it.
Within that golden light was the supreme Law of Creation. Like sunlight melting snow, it instantly burned away every trace of Pellira’s dark refining power left on the altar.
"No—! My Transmutation Altar!"
Pellira, curled beneath the altar, suddenly opened countless blood-red compound eyes and let out a furious, heart-tearing roar.
His huge body shot into the air. Countless hooked legs tore through the void with sharp screams as they lashed wildly toward Aiden.
"Get lost!"
Aiden did not even turn his head. He clenched his left fist and punched out with overwhelming force.
[10,000x Critical Hit · Nine Heavens Thunder Fist!]
The 10,000x Strength critical hit, combined with the violent power of the Thunder Law, turned into a thick golden thunder dragon as massive as a mountain. It crashed head-on into Pellira’s legs.
Rumble!
The violent shockwave instantly shattered countless insect eggs around them.
If Pellira had been at his peak as a High-Tier Demon God, Aiden would never have dared to fight him head-on like this.
But now, Pellira’s soul was cracked, and he had less than one percent of his true power left. How could he possibly block such a world-destroying punch?
With a piercing sound of breaking bones, Pellira’s huge body was blasted away by force. Black demon blood splashed across the entire altar.
[Ding! The Transmutation Altar has successfully accepted you as its master!]
[Congratulations, host. You have unlocked the core function of the Transmutation Altar: mass production of Inner Spirit fragments and Law fragments!]
[Current effect: ordinary soul energy can be converted into Inner Spirit fragments. Law comprehension speed is increased by ten times!]
Listening to the system notifications in his mind, Aiden was overjoyed. But he did not let victory go to his head.
Pellira was weak, but he was still a High-Tier Demon God. If he fought with his life on the line, he would surely have endless hidden cards. Staying here any longer was too risky.
"Irene, let’s go!"
Aiden waved one hand and put the huge Transmutation Altar directly into his system space. Then he grabbed Irene.
[10,000x Critical Hit · Great Space Shift!]
Their bodies instantly turned into a stream of empty space light, retreating at high speed toward the outside of the main nest.
"Human! I swear, even if I have to chase you to the ends of the world and cross the endless Abyss, I will tear you into pieces and refine your soul and marrow!"
From the depths of the main nest came Pellira’s almost insane roar, full of hatred. The whole insect domain shook violently from his rage.
However, Aiden, who had already entered the space tunnel, did not care about that powerless roar at all.
Because the moment the Transmutation Altar fully accepted him as its master, a very blurry memory suddenly flashed through his mind without warning.
It was a dead, cold stretch of deep space.
A man in a blue robe stood with his hands behind his back. His back faced all living beings, leaving Aiden only a towering figure that he could not clearly see.
"Yves...?"
Aiden’s heart shook hard, and he muttered the name to himself.
...
The void shattered like a mirror. Two streaks of light crossed layer after layer of space and landed steadily in the front hall of the Supreme Miko Palace.
With a wave of his sleeve, Aiden removed the Space Law seal he had set up earlier. It faded away like a receding tide.
"Master, we’re safe now," Irene said softly.
Her beautiful face was filled with awe.
At that moment, two powerful and mysterious auras were surging wildly inside the front hall.
It was Rainn and Cheryl.
While Aiden had been in the insect domain, the two women had not been idle. They had been using all their strength to refine the huge amount of resources from the first level of the treasure vault.
Buzz!
Rainn’s tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. The "Primordial Miko Crown" on her forehead burst out with dazzling nine-colored divine light.
Inside her mysterious "Eye of Origin," countless ancient runes flowed like a river of stars.
Level 90. The Venerable realm.
She had fully stabilized her power.
Not only that, but her connection with the Origin inheritance had grown even deeper. With every movement she made, terrifying Miko Laws strong enough to destroy the world seemed to follow her.
On the other side, frost energy had almost frozen the void itself.
Cheryl let out a sharp cry. The "Battle Miko Armor" on her body gave off a clear metallic sound, and deep blue Frost Law power coiled around her like a giant dragon.
Level 78!
Her strength had also increased greatly. Her understanding of the Frost Law had reached a terrifying depth.
"Sis, the space seal is open!"
Cheryl sensed something and suddenly turned her head.
When she saw the tall figure slowly walking out of the space crack, both women trembled at the same time.
Aiden was dressed in black, completely spotless. His expression was calm, as if he had only gone for a walk in his own backyard.
Behind him stood Irene, the Crimson Mosquito princess, whose aura was faintly recovering. There was also the faint phantom of an ancient stone platform, giving off the power of the Law of Creation, flashing briefly before disappearing.
"Aiden!"
Cheryl cried out in surprise. She no longer cared about acting reserved. Like a young swallow returning to its nest, she rushed forward and tightly hugged Aiden’s arm.
"I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried about you!"
Feeling the surprising softness and warmth against his arm, Aiden smiled slightly and patted Cheryl on the head.
Beside them, Rainn stared fixedly at Aiden. Huge waves of shock rolled through her beautiful eyes, along with a burning heat she could not hide.
It was pure amazement and admiration.
The insect domain was the territory of a King-rank race in the middle levels of the Abyss. It was also guarded by a High-Tier Demon God. Entering that place was no different from walking into a dragon’s den.
But this man had returned without a single wound.
Not only that, he had even brought back the Swarm’s greatest treasure.
"Aiden, you... really did it?"
Rainn’s voice was a little hoarse. Her full chest rose and fell heavily.
"It was just a small thing," Aiden said with a faint smile.
His tone was calm, but it carried absolute confidence, as if he looked down on everything.
"A small thing?"
Irene could not help giving a bitter smile. Then she looked at the two Mikos, her eyes filled with fanatical worship.
"You two don’t know what happened. Master’s actions in the insect domain were nothing short of a miracle!"
Irene took a deep breath and began to describe that terrifying battle.
"Master charged into the core of the main nest alone and killed the High-Tier Demon God Wyrm with one punch!"
"When he faced Pellira’s true body, Master used Golden Sunfire to forcefully stop his Law refinement. Then, with only three punches, he smashed Pellira’s hundred-meter centipede body until his soul cracked and demon blood sprayed everywhere!"
"Even when Pellira used his life-bound divine ability, ’Soul-Bind Leech,’ and tried to parasitize me, Master casually summoned the supreme divine light of Creation and instantly melted it away!"
"And in the end, right in front of Pellira, Master forcefully made the Demi-Sacred Artifact, the Transmutation Altar, accept him as its master. Then he openly crossed space and returned!"
