Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 917: The Rules Don’t Apply to This Thing

Ethan let out a laugh—sharp, amused, and utterly unbothered.

"This place is my fortress now."

"You can't break in, so why the hell would I come out? If you've got the strength to force your way in, then we'll talk. Until then, save your breath."

With that blunt, unapologetic taunt, he turned and began walking back toward the heart of the mineral zone.

But—

The moment his foot lifted, a strange, unnatural rumble echoed across the sky.

It wasn't thunder. It wasn't an energy surge. It sounded more like something massive tearing through space itself—a deep, grinding resonance that made the air feel thick and wrong.

The light distorted. The atmosphere turned viscous.

Then, a colossal shadow dropped from the sky.

It was a creature—centipede-like in form, its segmented body wrapped in dark, armored plating. Dozens of thin, twitching tendrils waved through the air, each one trailing ripples of unsettling energy.

But the worst part?

The mountain's rejection field—the one that should've incinerated any native of the Nether Sea—didn't react to it at all.

The barrier didn't stop it.

The creature passed through the defensive zone like it wasn't even there, descending straight into the airspace above the mine.

Ethan's pupils contracted sharply.

The rules had been broken.

He didn't have time to question how. Instinct took over.

He summoned a massive Energy Disc midair and hurled it with full force.

The spinning blade screamed through the sky, slamming directly into the creature's armored shell.

Sparks flew.

But the disc only scraped the surface, leaving behind a few bright flashes—no damage. Not even a scratch.

The creature didn't slow down.

It came crashing toward Ethan like a meteor, fast and unstoppable.

With no time to dodge, Ethan pushed his energy reserves to the limit.

A Celestial Dragon formed in his palm, forged from pure power. With a deafening roar, it launched forward, colliding head-on with the incoming beast.

BOOM—!

The shockwave rocked the edge of the mining zone, the energy blast so intense it nearly destabilized the air itself.

But the creature held its ground.

It only staggered slightly before regaining its momentum.

Then came a voice—not spoken, but felt. A cold, alien whisper that bypassed sound and struck directly into Ethan's mind.

"Such delightful power you carry…"

"It's been so long since I've tasted something this pure."

"Hand it over."

Ethan's chest tightened.

This thing—whatever it was—didn't belong to the Nether Sea's ecosystem. It was something else entirely.

And in the split second his focus wavered—

A pale, bone-white light erupted from within him.

Space itself seemed to ripple, like something higher had brushed against the fabric of reality.

Then Lily appeared.

She floated into view, her form still slightly translucent, her outline woven from light and mist. But the pressure she radiated was undeniable—an instinctive, overwhelming presence that bent the battlefield's rules just by existing.

She didn't speak.

She didn't posture.

She simply raised a hand and tapped the air.

In that instant, invisible chains snapped into place around the creature, locking it mid-motion. Every limb, every tendril froze.

Then—

A violent implosion detonated from within its body.

BOOM!!!

The massive form shattered in an instant, bursting into a storm of energy fragments. Not even a scrap of flesh remained.

Only a single blood-red energy core hovered in the air, pulsing with dense, dangerous power. It glowed with a deep luster, like it still held the echo of the creature's life force.

Lily's eyes lit up with rare satisfaction.

"Crystals of this grade don't come around often."

Without hesitation, she plucked the core from the air and popped it into her mouth.

As the energy was absorbed, her once-hazy form grew noticeably more solid. Her aura stabilized, her presence sharper.

She smoothed out her energy flow with a casual flick of her fingers, then drifted down beside Ethan and gave his shoulder a light pat.

Her tone was breezy, like she'd just reminded him to bring an umbrella.

"Next time something like that shows up, let me out first."

"Don't try to tank it yourself."

Ethan didn't say a word—just gave a silent nod.

Almost instantly, Lily's form dissolved into a pale, bone-white light and slowly sank back into his body, as if she'd never been there at all.

The air stilled.

Only then did Ethan finally exhale, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little.

But that moment of relief didn't last.

Because with every time Lily grew stronger, a quiet unease was also growing inside him.

If one day she fully restored her power—if she no longer needed to rely on his body to exist—then what would he be to her?

An ally? A vessel? Or just a disposable tool?

The thought made his brow tighten.

But he forced himself to push it aside.

Now wasn't the time to get distracted.

Outside the energy barrier, the Abyssal Harpy swarm still hovered in the sky, unmoving but ever-present. They hadn't dared to breach the mine's defenses, but their pressure loomed like a storm cloud overhead.

If anyone from Emerald Castle stepped even half a foot beyond the barrier, the outcome was obvious.

Ethan quickly issued new orders:

No one was to leave the energy zone without permission. All personnel were to remain inside the mine, focus on cultivation, and continue expanding the army.

The Nether Sea was far from a tame world.

The oceans ruled here. Land was scarce, and what little there was teemed with dangerous terrestrial and semi-aquatic creatures.

Most of them carried Nethora Power in their bodies—highly corrosive to conventional energy. Direct confrontation usually ended in heavy losses.

Even now, Emerald Castle wasn't strong enough to steamroll this world.

And Ethan knew it.

He kept his guard up.

He deployed multiple evolved goblin squads to patrol the outer perimeter in rotating shifts, monitoring for any unusual energy fluctuations.

That centipede-like monster from earlier had made one thing painfully clear—

There were still entities in this world that could bypass the mine's protective field entirely.

Lily had just happened to wake up in time.

Next time, they might not be so lucky.

The thought made Ethan's nerves tighten again.

He returned to the core of the mineral zone and sat cross-legged at the edge of the glowing energy lake, adjusting his breathing and syncing his body to the absorption rhythm.

Energy flowed into him like a slow, steady tide.

At the same time, he continued summoning new Crimson Ultimate heroes and goblin units, steadily growing the army's numbers.

Time slipped by in the rhythm of cultivation and command.

He didn't know how long had passed, but eventually, Ethan could feel it—his internal energy density was nearing a new threshold. A breakthrough was close.

And then—

A harsh grinding sound echoed from deep underground.

It was the sound of solid rock being torn apart by brute force.

Screeeee—

Chunks of stone broke loose from the cavern walls. The energy in the air turned chaotic.

A moment later, a massive black shadow burst through the rock face.

The creature that emerged was bizarre—its body shaped like a pangolin, but with clear crocodilian features. Thick, overlapping scales covered its body, each one gleaming with a strange metallic sheen.

Its jaws glowed faintly with heat, and every breath it took released waves of scorching air. It looked like it could unleash a blast of fire at any second.

The beast froze.

It had clearly followed the energy trail here, but hadn't expected to find this many humans and non-native units gathered inside the mine.

After a brief pause, it spoke in a low, gravelly voice:

"Who… are you people?"

"How are you even here?"

"Why hasn't this place's power rejected you?"