Arthur held the stone plate in his hand and injected his divine sense into it, ignoring Lu Gang's trembling figure kneeling nearby. The plate looked simple from the outside, almost crude compared to the advanced artifacts Arthur had seen before, but the moment his divine sense entered the carved patterns, his eyes widened slightly.
The formation etched into it was far more complex than its appearance suggested. It was not a complete formation by itself, but rather a specialized trigger mechanism designed to interact with something else. There were spatial patterns, resonance marks, blood-activation channels, and several layers of concealed structure buried beneath the surface like hidden circuits inside a machine.
He did not have time to understand every function properly, nor did he intend to waste time trying. The secret realm had already changed, the formation's suppression had vanished, and somewhere outside, the devil Lu Gang had released was loose.
So instead of analyzing the formation deeply, he focused on copying it perfectly. His divine sense moved across every line, curve, hidden node, and energy pathway, recording the structure directly into his memory and system-assisted database. It was like scanning a blueprint from a bomb while the timer was still ticking, not exactly ideal, but Arthur had worked with worse.
Lu Gang watched him anxiously from the side, not daring to speak. His face was still pale, and his body shook from fear, exhaustion, and the realization that his future had just nosedived into the abyss without even giving him a chance to reconcile.
Arthur paid him no attention. Once he confirmed the formation had been copied completely, he tightened his grip around the stone plate.
CRACK.
The artifact shattered into several pieces in his hand, Lu Gang flinched as if Arthur had struck him instead. Arthur casually threw the broken fragments aside, making sure no one else could use the plate again. Then his gaze shifted toward the altar at the center of the chamber.
Compared to the stone plate, the formation carved into the altar was on an entirely different level. The lines were ancient, and dense enough that even Arthur's enhanced perception had to slow down to avoid missing hidden structures. His expression became more serious as he approached it.
From the first glance, he could tell this was a sealing formation, but not a normal one. It was massive in concept, compressed into the altar like a folded dimension, and its true power had likely once extended across the entire forest, perhaps even the entire secret realm.
He crouched beside the altar and placed one hand against the cold stone surface. His divine sense spread carefully through the formation, copying each layer one by one. This time, the process took much longer. The formation was damaged, and many parts had already collapsed after the seal was broken, but enough of its structure remained for him to reconstruct the original design later.
As he studied it, he noticed something important. The blood grooves carved around the altar did not match the rest of the formation. Their style was different, rougher, and clearly added much later. The original formation had been a pure sealing array, but someone had modified it by adding a sacrificial bypass mechanism, turning the altar into a backdoor.
Arthur's eyes grew colder as the conclusion formed naturally in his mind. Whoever created the stone plate had not built this place. They had been trying to break into it for a long time and had finally succeeded by using Lu Gang as the idiot with the key.
The unknown man Lu Gang mentioned had not needed to enter the secret realm personally. He had only needed someone greedy and desperate enough to do the dirty work. Lu Gang had walked into the trap wearing a badge that said "free labor," and somehow still looked surprised when the trap snapped shut.
A few more moments passed before he finally finished copying the altar formation. He stood up slowly, his mind already organizing the data for later study. This formation was valuable, extremely valuable. Even damaged, it gave him insight into high-level sealing structures far beyond anything available in the markets or common sect libraries.
If he could understand even a fraction of it later, it might help him create better containment systems for dangerous energies, soul threats, or even beings like the devil that had escaped. He was about to leave when the entire chamber suddenly trembled.
At first, it was subtle, just a vibration through the floor. Then the tremor intensified rapidly until dust fell from the broken ceiling and cracks spread across the chamber walls.
Lu Gang panicked immediately. "W… What's happening?" he asked, his voice cracking. Arthur didn't answer, his eyes lifted toward the broken roof as his divine sense expanded outward. The entire secret realm was shaking. Not just the pyramid or the forest, the whole pocket dimension itself was destabilizing.
He moved instantly, shooting upward through the broken roof of the pyramid while casting a concealment spell over himself. Lu Gang's desperate voice followed from below. "W… Wait! Please! Don't leave me here!"
Arthur ignored him completely. He had no reason to carry a traitor who sacrificed his own teammates and then begged for protection after his little villain arc went off-script. The moment Arthur emerged above the pyramid, he looked toward the sky and saw a massive spatial tear stretching across the heavens.
It was enormous, far larger than the entrance he had used to enter the Violet Heaven Secret Realm. Ancient spiritual energy leaked from the tear in unstable waves, and fragments of the realm itself seemed to peel away at the edges.
He immediately understood it was the only exit. Or more accurately, the realm was forcing everyone out before it collapsed entirely. The destruction of the formation had destabilized the secret realm's foundation, and if his estimate was correct, this pocket dimension might not last more than a day.
Arthur hovered above the forest while analyzing the situation. Under normal circumstances, breaking a formation should not cause an entire secret realm to collapse. Formations were usually not fused with a pocket dimension's foundations. But whoever had built the seal here had been extremely skilled.
They had likely linked the sealing formation directly to the secret realm's structural core, using the stability of the pocket dimension to strengthen the prison. It was a clever design, almost annoyingly clever. As long as the realm existed, the seal would remain reinforced. But the downside was obvious now. Once the seal was broken, the realm itself began falling apart.
Arthur looked down and saw countless beasts rampaging through the forest. With the suppression gone, monsters that had previously been restrained were now tearing into one another, fleeing, or rushing toward the spatial tear instinctively.
Once the realm fully collapsed, many of these beasts would flood into the outside world. Still, he was not overly worried. The entrance was located in the middle of the Desolate Forest, far from major cities. Even if the beasts escaped, the cultivators of this planet and the major organizations gathered outside would eventually deal with them.
He was about to head toward the exit when a furious roar echoed across the secret realm, so loud that the clouds above trembled.
"WHO THE HELL TOOK MY IMMORTAL FLAME!?" The voice was filled with rage, frustration, and a very personal kind of offense, like someone had opened their fridge and found the ice cream they were saving for later missing.
Arthur paused midair, his gaze slowly turned toward the direction of the shout. The voice came from far away, but with his senses restored and the formation suppression gone, he could roughly identify the location.
It was toward the mountain range where he had first landed. Or rather, where the mountain range used to be before the Origin Flame casually deleted the whole area. Arthur's expression became thoughtful. "So that flame belonged to him?" he muttered.
That explained why such a treasure had been hidden in the salamander lair. The devil had likely stored it there before being sealed. He considered leaving immediately; there was no benefit in picking a fight with an unknown enemy, especially one connected to devils, gods, and sealed prisons. But the Origin Flame was now inside him, and if the devil could track it or recognize its aura, avoiding the matter might only delay the confrontation.
…
Thousands of kilometers away, above the enormous crater left behind by the Origin Flame's eruption, Malphas floated in the air with his blood-red body trembling from fury. He had imagined many things after regaining freedom.
He imagined tearing apart the descendants of the Celestial Sect, gathering strength, summoning his god, and turning this world into the first foothold of a new invasion. He imagined retrieving the Immortal Flame he had hidden before his defeat and using it to accelerate his recovery. What he had not imagined was returning to the hiding place and finding nothing but a crater hundreds of kilometers wide.
The flame was gone and for a few seconds, Malphas simply stared downward, unable to accept it. Then rage consumed him, before being sealed, after breaching the universal barrier, he had discovered that terrifying flame by chance. Even among Infernals, flames of that level were priceless.
He had believed it to be an Immortal Flame, perhaps even something greater, and he had planned to refine it before summoning more of his brethren. But before he could absorb it, a cultivator from the Celestial Sect found him and chased him for weeks.
That memory alone made Malphas's face twist with hatred. The Celestial Sect cultivator had been terrifyingly powerful, far beyond what Malphas could handle at the time. In desperation, Malphas had hidden the flame inside this pocket dimension before confronting the cultivator.
The battle had ended badly for him, his body had been destroyed, and his soul had been sealed inside that cursed formation for nearly fifty thousand years. But Infernals like him were not so easily killed, death was more of an inconvenience than an ending for them.
After countless years, he had finally revived enough to break free through the sacrificial opening created by that useful fool. And now, after all that suffering, the flame was gone. Malphas's claws clenched until blood-like energy dripped from his palms. "It must be that dog from the Celestial Sect," he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. "Just you wait, I will tear your soul apart and drink your blood drop by drop."
…
Arthur listened to the distant rage filled shout and made his decision. If this devil was connected to the flame, then he needed to confront him, but he would not approach recklessly. With a thought, the Godbuster Armor formed around his body, covering him in its familiar sleek and heavy presence.
The armor's systems came alive instantly, reinforcing his body and preparing for high-impact combat. Arthur layered concealment spells over himself again, then flew toward the direction of the shout. As he moved, the terrain beneath him became increasingly familiar. The forest gave way to broken land, then scorched plains, and finally the edge of the enormous crater created by the Origin Flame.
The destruction still looked absurd even from a distance. Molten cracks were spread across the land, and bluish-golden embers lingered in places. At the center of the crater floated a blood-red figure, looking down with an expression so furious it almost looked like someone had killed his parents.
He stopped at a safe distance and immediately activated 'Analyze'. The upgraded system responded instantly, far more detailed than before.
//--------------------//
Name: Malphas
Race: Infernal
Power Tier: 5-B – Planetary Level (Weakened State: Low 5-B)
Soul Tier: Lord Soul
Abilities: Blood Manipulation, Soul Suppression, Plague Seed, Blood Assimilation…
Note: Infernals are not native to this universe and possess weakness toward Holy/Light Elements. Malphas belongs to the Blood Demon Tribe of the Infernal Race. They are a race of universal conquerors and often prey on weaker universes across the Primordial Chaos.
//--------------------//
Arthur stared at the panel for a moment. 'F*ck.' That was the only word that came to mind, clean and honest. Malphas's full strength was around Immortal King level, and even weakened, he was still stronger than him by a significant margin.
The only comforting detail was his weakness toward Holy and Light elements, both of which Arthur could use. But weakness did not mean he was helpless, a weakened planet-level blood demon was still a planet-level blood demon.
He remained concealed, watching carefully while weighing whether to engage, retreat, or observe longer. The secret realm was collapsing, the exit was open, and the devil was furious. Fighting him now might be dangerous, but letting him leave freely could become a far greater problem later.
Before Arthur could decide, another presence arrived beside him. The person appeared silently, moving with enough control that even Arthur only sensed them at the last moment. He turned his head slightly, his expression hidden beneath the Godbuster Armor's helm. The newcomer stood calmly in the air, also looking toward Malphas, who had already noticed both of them.
Malphas slowly raised his head, his burning eyes locking onto their location despite Arthur's concealment. A savage smile spread across the Infernal's face, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "There you are," Malphas said, his voice low and filled with killing intent. "I was wondering which rat had been watching me."
Arthur's fingers flexed slightly inside the armor as he got ready to fight. The newcomer beside him did not speak immediately, but their aura sharpened, making it clear they had not come here by accident.
Arthur looked at him and greeted, "Union head Chen."
Chen Yuze looked towards Arthur a bit confused, "You are…?"
Arthur replied while keeping his eyes glued to the blood demon, "I am Liu." As his helmet slid back to show his face.
Chen Yuze was surprised but he suppressed his questions and said, "Looks like we have got a tough opponent, let's talk after taking care of it." Arthur nodded, hearing him.
Below them, the blood demon was also preparing for battle, while above, the secret realm's sky cracked wider with every passing moment.
***
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