Chapter 246: Chapter 130: Shadow Rift - Star Dust Plateau
She took a light sip of her afternoon tea.
A slight smile touched the corners of Lady Sun’s eyes.
"The news that you crushed Saint Nuoya’s Golden Island on the ocean has had a tremendous impact within our Steam Realm."
"It’s also caused quite a stir throughout the entire Holy Land Continent."
"Some of the nobles and Extraordinary Clans whose will to resist was weak saw Saintisman suffer a defeat at sea. Now, they’re all throwing their full support behind Empress Isabella."
"And under Empress Isabella’s guidance, you must have felt it too—the Sacred Mark of our Steam Spirit Realm is growing at an incredible rate."
"Indeed... the Holy Mark Power of the Steam Empire is astonishing right now."
Zorn nodded slightly.
The reason Zorn had enough Sacred Marks in the Cosmic Ancient Ruins Desert to upgrade his many powerful Skills and Witchcraft was mainly because he and his allies had dealt a heavy blow to the Saintisman Steam Empire’s maritime territories and the framework of the Steam Spirit Realm.
This constant feedback was what gave Zorn enough Sacred Marks to upgrade his Skills.
Previously, Zorn had wanted to use this power to advance his Ancient God Curse to Level 4.
His life-and-death battle with the three Holy Crown powerhouses was an attempt to find an opportunity for a breakthrough.
However, advancing the Ancient God Curse to Level 4 didn’t just require Sacred Marks; it also demanded the power of a sufficiently strong Tree of the Magic Ring.
In the end, Zorn hadn’t succeeded.
Lady Sun continued speaking.
"Although Saintisman suffered heavy losses, the powerful Demon Creatures that invaded our World have brought a new crisis."
At this, Lady Sun looked at Zorn with particular gravity.
"What are your thoughts on this matter?"
After a moment of thought, Zorn replied.
"Perhaps... the Plane-shifting plan that’s underway is a good option."
When he had first arrived in Ogrande City, Zorn had spoken with Lady Sun about the plan for planar migration.
Lady Sun nodded slightly.
"We are indeed proceeding with the Plane-shifting plan."
"After all... those Demon Creatures are clearly planning a large-scale invasion of our World."
"Twilight of the Gods will descend upon this World!"
"And proceeding with the planar migration is the Sun Goddess’s will."
Demons were terrifying creatures. They delighted most in times of world destruction and the fall of gods.
They loved to enact the terrifying "Twilight of the Gods" ritual.
And this powerful ritual would make the Demon Realm’s Demon-Magic Ring Tree grow ever stronger.
The power of the descending Demon-Magic Ring Tree could suppress many powerful abilities, such as projection, travel, and Resurrection.
It could even suppress powerful beings like Divine Spirits and Legendary powerhouses.
They destroy, imprison, and enslave one World after another.
Forcing them to face their "apocalypse"—their "Twilight of the Gods."
This is the great ritual of the Demon Realm, with entire Worlds as its stage.
Faced with a world-ending catastrophe, the Steam Realm of the Holy Relic World must undergo a planar migration to avoid being crushed and destroyed by a superior power.
And this path would also lead the Players to expand their worldview to the entire vast Star Realm.
Just as Zorn was beginning to sense something, Lady Sun explained in a slow voice.
"Currently, the Upper Rank Powerhouse Iron Ash Calos is in the World we plan to migrate to, constructing a fortress."
"Lady Ailuviya, following the Divine Will, is opening a bridge to the Star Realm to allow more Transcendents to enter."
"Most critically, there is Lord Veselar. His Ability is like a Celestial Dome Curtain, concealing the entire plan and allowing it to proceed perfectly."
"After all, Lord Veselar’s specialty is constructing terrifying conspiracies."
"Lord Veselar isn’t just weaving conspiracies of war in our World."
"He is also building our own curtain of concealment on the other side of the Star Realm, making our kingdom even more hidden."
At this, Lady Sun smiled.
"You probably haven’t sensed it yet, have you? The truth is, we are already deep into the process of our planar migration."
Lady Sun’s explanation made Zorn’s heart skip a beat.
He truly hadn’t sensed that the nascent Steam Empire was engaged in a high-intensity planar migration, nor had he noticed any measures being taken.
On one hand, it was because he had been focusing all his energy on the Ancient Ruins at sea.
He had more important things to do.
On the other hand, it was because the Upper Rank "Conspiracy Theorist" had already laid out this monumental, deceptive plan.
Although Zorn could guess at some of this, he still felt a stir of emotion as the reality of it unfolded before him.
Even Zorn hadn’t detected any sign of it.
This indirectly proved that Lord Veselar, the "Conspiracy Theorist," had done an exceptionally good job.
The more secret and unknown a plan is, the more likely it is to succeed.
’The Sun Goddess must have sensed the crisis.’
’That’s why she pushed this plan forward. After all... if the Demon Creatures break through the entire World, she will undoubtedly die.’
’Not to mention, those powerful entities have already taken notice of this World.’
’If those powerful kingdoms capture the Sun Goddess, she will suffer an even more miserable death.’
’You have to understand, many Legendary Powerhouses want to use a God Slaying Ceremony to advance their own Level.’
’A Divine Spirit, especially one who has lived for a long, long time, is basically a walking Level-up booster.’
’It’s best to start the planar migration as soon as possible, while there’s still room to maneuver.’
’That way, the spark of Faith can be preserved.’
’She’ll still have a hope of survival.’
’I wonder what the Sun Goddess’s current Level is. Level 17? Or Level 18?’
’A Divine Spirit with a Holy Crown Divine Fire Spark is still quite helpful to Legendary Powerhouses.’
The promotion path for a normal Transcendent in the Extraordinary World was different from the promotion path of a Divine Spirit.
A conventional Transcendent progressed through Lower Rank Level, Middle Rank Level, and Upper Rank Level, then advanced to Holy Crown, and finally, Legendary.
Level 25 was the cap for the Legendary rank!
But those on the Divine Spirit Sequence could ignite their Divine Fire after reaching Holy Crown and undergo Divinity Ascension.
After the Holy Crown Level—that is, after Level 16—a Transcendent could absorb Faith and attempt to ignite their own Divine Spirit Sequence.
If they didn’t construct their own Divine Spirit Sequence, they would face Death when they reached the end of their lifespan.
But by constructing a Divine Spirit Sequence and igniting the Divine Fire, they could achieve immortality.
However!
How could Divinity Ascension be so easy?
Other Divine Spirits in the same World, other Holy Crowns, would all be staring intently at any Divine Spirit attempting to advance.
The vast majority of Holy Crowns nearing the end of their lives would risk everything in a desperate attempt at Divinity Ascension!
After all, anyone who could reach the Saint Level was a top genius of their era.
None of them would be willing to simply die and fade away.
However, the vast majority of these attempts would end in failure.
Constructing one’s own Divine Spirit Sequence was incredibly difficult.
Even if one withstood the interference of other Divine Spirits and the hunts of other Holy Crowns or even Legendary Powerhouses, the process of igniting the Divine Fire itself would, in all likelihood, burn the aspirant who coveted the Divine Spirit Sequence to ashes.
Zorn slowly reined in his thoughts.
It seemed that under the Sun Goddess’s leadership, Lady Sun, Veselar, and the others had made good progress with the plan. There shouldn’t have been any need to tell him. But now, Lady Sun hadn’t just informed him; she had come personally to discuss it in great detail.
Clearly, there was a problem with the plan.
And Zorn had already picked up on some of the details.
Namely... Lord Iron Ash Dominator Calos was building a fortress, handling its construction.
’This... sounds a lot like the place I’m planning to go.’
’There’s a one-in-five chance that their planar migration target is the same as mine.’
Zorn didn’t point this out. Instead, he slowly asked.
"Lady Sun, you’ve come to share so much valuable intelligence with me."
"Have you run into some trouble exploring the Star Realm?"
"Yes!"
Lady Sun nodded, then slowly began to explain.
"And it’s quite a thorny problem."
"The destination we’ve chosen is a hidden corner of the Star Realm called the Shadow Rift - Star Dust Plateau."
"It’s a very peculiar Star Realm. There is only eternal starlight; the celestial dome is forever adorned with stars."
As Lady Sun spoke, Zorn’s mind stirred.
That was it!
The destination for Zorn’s own planned journey into the Star Realm was none other than the Shadow Rift - Star Dust Plateau.
A one-in-five chance, and their paths had crossed.
As Zorn listened intently, Lady Sun continued.
"A long, long time ago, the Sun Goddess went there and found her opportunity for Divinity Ascension."
"Under the Sun Goddess’s guidance, Lady Ailuviya, who is skilled in Star Realm travel, also found a suitable place for us to settle on the Star Dust Plateau within the Shadow Rift."
"Although the area is vast, the environment is also quite harsh."
"The vast World is characterized by desolation and Death. There are also terrifying Star Beasts that roam among the stars."
"Even if it’s a good place to settle, we still need to construct our own Life Fortress and establish our own Divine Kingdom Fortress to survive there."
"However... that place is within the power-radiation zone of the Immortal Calamity Court-Ring Divine Kingdom’s Tree of the Magic Ring."
"When we, under the Sun Goddess’s leadership, began building our Steam Divine Kingdom Fortress and unleashing the power of our Divine Kingdom there, we received a projection from a Divine Kingdom Envoy of the Immortal Calamity Court-Ring Divine Kingdom."
"We are required to provide one to three Middle Rank Level Spiritual Kingdom Apostles to enter the Middle Rank Spirit Realm Battlefield."
"Only by obtaining a seed from the Disaster Court Tree of the Magic Ring will we be qualified to build our kingdom there."
"Otherwise... our Steam Divine Kingdom will not be permitted to exist there."
"As you know, without the bulwark of a Divine Kingdom in the Star Realm, it’s no different from a land of Death."
"Only by establishing our own Divine Kingdom do we have any hope of putting down roots there."
"Over the past few months, we sent one Level 10 and two Level 9 Transcendents to participate in that so-called Spirit Realm Battlefield. The result... they didn’t even pass the basic assessment."
"All three of our candidates have fallen."
At this... Lady Sun looked at Zorn. Her meaning was obvious.
’The Middle Rank Spirit Realm Battlefield!’
Zorn rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The Immortal Calamity Court-Ring Divine Kingdom was one of the Three Great Divine Kingdoms in the Shadow Rift - Star Dust Plateau.
It possessed a Level 27 Disaster Court Tree of the Magic Ring.
Every Magic Ring Realm exercised absolute dominion over the area its power radiated.
Once you entered their territory, you had to obey the commands of that Magic Ring Realm.
Otherwise, the Disaster Court Tree of the Magic Ring could release a calamity, and in an instant, any conventional Divine Kingdom Fortress built there would collapse, and all who entered would die a violent death.
Seeking refuge in one of these ancient Magic Ring Divine Kingdoms obviously came at a price.
One had to participate in various battlefields, fighting against geniuses, powerhouses, and the trailblazers of their eras from every World.
And this was a necessary path for the Players to push forward with planar migration.
