Chapter 429: Chapter 429: Key of Destiny
The soft whisper drifted past Aiden’s ears like a gentle breeze blowing across ten thousand years.
Crash!
The next moment, the Memory Crystal used up the last of its light. It broke apart into a cloud of blue dust and scattered through the empty hall.
Inside the Hall of Laws, everything fell into a deathly silence.
Rainn, Cheryl, and Irene were still lost in the shock of what they had just seen. For a long time, none of them could come back to their senses.
Aiden stood where he was. He looked calm on the outside, but deep inside, his heart was shaken like a raging sea.
The system...
It really was connected to Yves, the only Mythic-class being known as the "Bane of All Races."
"Aiden, are you all right?"
Rainn looked at him with worry. The final look in the Supreme Miko’s eyes had been far too strange.
"I’m fine."
Aiden pushed down the thoughts in his heart and spoke calmly.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief—
Rumble!
The entire Hall of Laws suddenly began to shake violently.
Deep within the ancient altar, the ground that had once been sealed by layers of black chains began to crack, inch by inch.
A blinding dark-golden divine light burst out from the cracks beneath the ground, lighting up the entire hall!
It was a terrifying power that even the Memory Crystal had never mentioned.
It carried a supreme aura, as if it stood above all worlds.
Then it descended with overwhelming force!
Rumble—!
The ground split apart wildly. Dark-golden divine light erupted like a volcano that had slept for ten thousand years, tearing a huge Abyss through the entire Hall of Laws.
The pressure was terrifying.
Even Rainn, who had just advanced to a level 90 Venerable, was forced back again and again by the shockwaves. His face turned pale.
Aiden stood with his hands behind his back. His robe snapped loudly in the violent wind. The world-devouring divine light was reflected in his eyes, yet his expression remained calm, like a deep and ancient well.
"Step back. I’ll handle this."
Just four simple words.
But they carried an unquestionable power, instantly calming the fear in Cheryl and Irene’s hearts.
As the dark-golden light slowly faded, an ancient secret chamber, sealed away for ten thousand years, was finally revealed deep underground.
The chamber was not large.
The walls around it were carved with extremely complex law patterns, releasing a pressure that made everyone’s heart tremble.
And in the very center of the chamber stood a white jade platform.
Above the platform floated a key about the size of a palm. Its whole body was dark gold, and it gave off a faint glow.
[Key of Destiny]!
With just one glance, Aiden could feel the terrifying Strength hidden inside it.
It was a supreme source of power that went beyond gods, and even beyond a God-Emperor.
"This... this is Yves’s aura!"
Irene had once been a Great Venerable, so she had the most knowledge among them. At this moment, she stared fixedly at the key, her voice trembling.
"According to the legends, he drew out the purest law essence from Earth’s core. Then, with the power of a Divine Emperor, he personally forged this key. It can open the Gate of Destiny in Earth’s core!"
Rainn and Cheryl looked at each other.
Both of them saw despair and shock in each other’s eyes.
The Divine Emperor Rank...
That was a supreme existence standing at the peak of both the Abyss and humanity. A being that only existed in myths!
Aiden’s face showed no emotion.
He slowly walked toward the white jade platform.
With every step he took, the resistance in the void multiplied.
The terrifying pressure of the laws pressed down on him like countless divine mountains, trying to crush him beneath their weight.
"Open!"
Aiden let out a cold shout in his heart.
His level was only 55, which was not high. But the terrifying blood energy and Force of Laws hidden within his body erupted at once.
With brute force, he tore open a gap in that crushing pressure.
Then he reached out and grabbed the Key of Destiny.
Buzz—!
The moment Aiden touched the key, something changed.
Inside his mind, the silent [10,000x Critical Hit System] suddenly released a violent roar unlike anything before!
"Ding! Core origin artifact detected—[Key of Destiny]!"
"Strong resonance detected with the system’s core module. Resonance rate: 100%!"
"Warning: Host’s current strength is not enough. To activate the [Key of Destiny], the host must control the law origin of the Divine Emperor Rank. Activation is currently impossible!"
The wild system alerts echoed again and again inside Aiden’s mind.
Aiden’s pupils suddenly shrank.
A resonance rate of one hundred percent!
This system...
It really was one half of the same whole as the [Key of Destiny]!
Yves, what kind of earth-shaking final plan did you leave behind on this path to godhood?
Aiden forced down the storm in his heart and placed the Key of Destiny into his system space.
Only then did the strange vision slowly fade away.
"Aiden, are you all right?" Cheryl hurried over, her beautiful eyes full of worry.
"I’m fine."
Aiden turned and looked at Irene.
"Irene, your strength is damaged right now. This Transmutation Altar is a Swarm Demi-Sacred Artifact. It is the best thing for helping you recover."
"You should stay here. Use the Transmutation Altar and the remaining laws of the Supreme Miko Temple to rebuild your strength and return to the Great Venerable realm."
Irene knelt respectfully, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude.
"As you command, my lord!"
Aiden gave a slight nod, then looked into the void with deep eyes.
The search for the Supreme Miko’s treasure had now come to a perfect end.
His strength and his trump cards had both made a huge leap forward.
Next, his path was very clear.
Return to Earth!
Clean out the hidden threats, build an absolute force of his own, and then...
Become a god!
The traitors who had worked with the Evil Demons Guild, and the rotten tumors inside the Great Shaw Empire, had to be removed.
"Aiden, I want to stay in Miko City."
Rainn looked at Aiden. There was a trace of reluctance in her beautiful eyes, but even more than that, there was firm resolve.
"I just broke through to level 90. I need to fully stabilize my realm here. At the same time, I want to build my own force and fight against Winterhold, The Selwyn Family. I’ll clear the obstacles on the Abyss side for you."
Aiden looked at her deeply, then nodded.
"Good. When I come to the Abyss again, it will be the day The Selwyn Family is destroyed."
"What about me? I don’t care. I’m going back to Earth with you!"
Cheryl hugged Aiden’s arm and lifted her small face proudly, her red lips slightly pursed.
"I haven’t had enough fun in Earth’s tech world yet. And besides, I need to keep an eye on you, so those vixens from the hidden families don’t steal your heart!"
Aiden smiled helplessly and rubbed her head. He was just about to speak when—
Suddenly!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
In Rainn’s arms, a deep-blue Miko Seal began flashing wildly.
Then it lit up with a blinding blood-red glow!
"Sister! Help!"
"Morwenna... that madwoman Morwenna has brought the fallen Miko and the remaining Abyss Demons. They are launching a crazy counterattack against the Supreme Miko Temple!"
"They’ve activated a forbidden spell and are slaughtering everyone. We can’t hold on much longer!"
The desperate screams came from the seal, mixed with sharp explosions.
Then the voice suddenly cut off.
Rainn’s face instantly turned as pale as paper.
The civil war had begun again!
"Big Sister! Hurry! Morwenna is trying to take the temple’s core origin!"
The terrible scream from the Miko Seal echoed through the silent Hall of Laws, sending a chill down everyone’s spine.
Rainn’s body trembled hard. Burning rage filled her beautiful eyes, along with a trace of panic she could not hide.
"That traitor Morwenna... She waited until we went deep into the temple, then gathered all the fallen Miko and the remaining Demons to strike back!"
Cheryl’s pretty face turned cold with anger. The twin battle blades at her waist began to hum with a clear, sharp sound.
Aiden narrowed his eyes. A cold killing intent flashed deep within them.
"I planned to let her live a few more days. But since she is in such a hurry to die, I’ll grant her wish."
He turned to Irene and said calmly, "Irene, come with me. We’ll clean up this trash first. Then you can go into seclusion in peace."
Irene dropped to one knee. Her silver hair danced in the air as she answered respectfully,
"As you command, my lord!"
Boom!
Four terrifying auras shot into the sky at once.
They turned into four streams of light, tore through the void, and rushed toward Miko City.
At that moment, the Force of Laws inside Aiden surged with power.
His speed was so fast that he left layers of afterimages in space.
However, just as the four of them were about to rush out of the misty forest outside the temple, the surrounding space suddenly froze.
Whoosh—!
Countless black chains appeared from the void.
They carried a thick smell of blood and decay, twisting together like wild pythons and blocking every way out.
Dozens of fallen Miko in black robes slowly walked out from the shadows. Their faces were dry and withered, and their eyes locked tightly onto Aiden and the others.
"Heh heh... Rainn, you are not getting away."
The black-robed old woman at the front let out a strange laugh, like a night owl.
The aura around her began to surge wildly.
To everyone’s shock, she had reached level 85!
And it was not just her.
The thirty death warriors behind her all released pressure as deep and heavy as the sea.
Every single one of them was a terrifying existence above level 85!
Rainn’s pupils suddenly shrank, and she cried out in shock.
"That’s the Soul-Burning Forbidden Drug! You burned away your soul and lifespan just to force your strength higher!"
"For Lord Morwenna’s great cause, our deaths mean nothing!"
The black-robed old woman screamed sharply.
She brought her withered hands together, and in the next instant, the void within ten miles was swallowed by endless black flames.
"Aiden, today is the day you die! Stay here for this old woman!"
The thirty level 85 death warriors roared at the same time.
Together, they summoned a huge black-bone Skeleton.
It carried a terrifying pressure that seemed able to destroy heaven and earth, and smashed down toward Aiden with wild force.
This combined attack was powerful enough to seriously wound, or even kill, an ordinary level 90 Venerable.
But Aiden only gave a cold smile.
"Soul-Burning Forbidden Drug?"
"Even if ants swallow poison, they are still ants."
Aiden slowly raised his right hand and slightly bent his index finger.
At his fingertip, a small dark-red flame quietly appeared.
It was the power of the Law of Slaughter and the Law of Fire he had just understood, combined with the basic Magic Apprentice skill—
[Fireball].
"Ding! Basic magic skill [Fireball] detected. The 10,000x Critical Hit System has been triggered automatically!"
"Ding! Critical multiplier this time: 10,000x!"
Rumble—!
As the cold system voice sounded, the tiny flame on Aiden’s fingertip expanded millions of times in an instant!
