Chapter 255: Chapter 137: Forging the Star Trace Realm

He entered the Purple Star Altar.

A familiar sensation washed over him.

’The external environment’s structure is different, but the internal framework hasn’t changed much.’

’The core altar treasure chest resonates with this vast, profound, and ancient Spirit Realm.’

’I hope I can get a good amount of resources from it.’

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Zorn moved swiftly into action.

After nearly two months of preparation, he had already gathered all the necessary materials.

He just needed to complete the rites in a few locations and then, in the altar’s core area, guide the treasure chest to open.

The only question was how his luck would hold up.

About half a day later,

all the preparations were complete.

...

In the tranquil depths of the altar,

the Sequence Essence and Spiritual Energy here were extremely dense and abundant.

For an Evil Spirit Wizard, this was a perfect place for cultivation.

Zorn estimated that even without using extra resources, just by cultivating here, he could max out the Experience for his Entry Level, Level 10 Sequence in just three years.

If he consumed some resources—say, the nearby Level 10 Sequencers—

the process would be greatly accelerated.

As for how much faster, that would depend on the number of Level 10 Sequencers in the vicinity.

But at this moment, Zorn’s mind wasn’t on the cultivation resources around him.

On the Ritual Platform at the very core of the altar,

a purplish-gold Dragon Scale Treasure Chest had fully materialized as Zorn finished chanting an ancient Spell.

It had taken a considerable amount of time to finally summon this hidden treasure chest, which was certainly gratifying.

But the thought that this thing tested the opener’s luck...

...made Zorn a little nervous.

’I really miss the days when I was the darling of the era! Favored by fate, my luck was always maxed out,’ he lamented silently.

After taking a deep breath,

he slowly opened the hidden treasure chest.

Brilliant, purplish-gold starlight instantly filled the entire tranquil altar area.

Zorn’s figure was completely enveloped within it.

A moment later, a hint of joy appeared on Zorn’s face.

’Whew... Thank goodness. I didn’t get the bare minimum.’

’Three Eternal Night Star Marks and 42 portions of Star Trace Sand.’

With a flip of his hand, a crystal ball the size of a human head appeared in his grasp.

This was an "Eternal Night Star Mark."

Inside the crystal ball was an eternally silent night sky.

A Star Mark, condensed and vibrant, was steadily sealed within.

A single Eternal Night Star Mark represented a sliver of hope, a chance to break through and advance to the Upper Rank Level.

And Zorn only needed to bring back three of them for the Steam Empire to establish a foothold in the Immortal Calamity Court and receive the protection of that great nation.

However,

Zorn planned to use these three for himself first to increase his own strength.

He could always get more Eternal Night Star Marks later.

Zorn was also very experienced in absorbing and assimilating Eternal Night Star Marks and Star Trace Sand.

’Absorb the Eternal Night Star Mark together with the Star Trace Sand.’

’Assimilating them together maximizes the properties of the Eternal Night Star Mark.’

’This will not only allow my Fighting Master’s Star Trace Realm to manifest and condense, but it will also further strengthen my Spiritual Realm.’

’In fact, with my Tree of Calamity Magic Ring, I can perfectly fuse these two Sequence Domains.’

’And that is one of the things I need to do right now.’

’At the Upper Rank Level, the strength of one’s Domain determines the strength of a Transcendent.’

’And without the ability to form your own Sequence Domain, you don’t even have the right to advance to the Upper Rank Level.’

Satisfied, Zorn stored the resources away. After surveying his surroundings, he began to set things up.

This was a rather excellent place for cultivation.

Although that Divine Blood Berserker, Baluk, could return at any moment,

it wouldn’t stop Zorn from cultivating here and improving his strength.

Besides, what if he did come back?

The Zorn of today certainly had no reason to fear him.

After deploying his Steam Magical Castle to form a secure fortress wall,

Zorn began to cultivate with peace of mind.

On one hand, he was absorbing the Eternal Night Star Marks and Star Trace Sand to develop his Star Trace Realm and strengthen his Spiritual Realm.

On the other hand, he continued his Ascetic Practice of the Ancient God Curse.

It was worth noting that although there were many resources in this High Level nation that could speed up the progress of the Ancient God Curse’s Level,

those resources were only effective for Level 3 and below.

Now that he had reached Level 4, which required the Tree of the Magic Ring to unlock,

he needed to immerse himself in the Tree of the Magic Ring.

He had to carefully perceive, cultivate, and advance the four powerful Great Witch Spells to foster their growth.

Every powerful, High-Level Witchcraft, Secret Skill, and Skill had to be obtained through a Transcendent’s step-by-step Ascetic Practice.

During Zorn’s secluded cultivation, half a year flew by in the blink of an eye.

...

Inside the Steam Magical Castle, which was rich with Spiritual Energy and flowing with Foggy Essence,

Zorn, who was immersed in a hazy projection of the Calamity·Magic Ring Divine Tree, slowly ended his week-long session of secluded cultivation.

After half a year of secluded cultivation,

Zorn had used up all the Star Trace Sand and Eternal Night Star Marks.

The results were equally astonishing.

His Star Trace Fighter class had now completely condensed a powerful Star Trace Realm.

When its Gang Qi spread out, it was like a Giant Dragon galloping under a starry night sky.

The Evil Spirit Wizard’s Spiritual Realm had also been significantly strengthened.

When combined, Zorn’s Witchcraft, when cast, now behaved like a Fighting Master’s Skill,

carrying the oppressive properties of the powerful Star Trace Realm.

His Witchcraft now had both explosive power and suppressive force.

With "Dual Domains," his Dual Sequence would possess extremely strong combat capabilities.

Furthermore,

the Tree of Calamity Magic Ring had also made significant progress.

Nourished by this Spirit Realm’s Essence and Spiritual Energy,

not only did the Tree of Calamity Magic Ring grow rapidly, but his Divine Kingdom also began to manifest new effects.

Now, within the Celestial Dome Curtain of the Calamity Divine Kingdom, stars had begun to twinkle.

Using the Steam Magical Castle to draw in large amounts of external Energy not only enhanced its own growth but also benefited the Divine Kingdom and the Tree of the Magic Ring.

As this thought occurred to him, Zorn opened his system page.

[Star Trace Fighter]

Level: Level 10 (32%)

...

Tarktos’ Hand (Ancient God Forbidden Technique): Level 4 (21%)

...

This half-year of secluded cultivation

had also raised Zorn’s Level to a certain extent.

His Ancient God’s Hand had also progressed nicely.

’In half a year, I’ve finished absorbing the resources here. My overall strength has undergone a decent transformation and growth.’

’Now, heading to the Starry Sky District should be much safer.’

’After all... the Starry Sky District is a battleground where top experts from the Three Great Divine Kingdoms fight to the death.’

’Some masters even hunt other experts there, not for resources, but simply for the enjoyment of battle and slaughter.’

’Although the Spiritual Energy Essence here is excellent, staying any longer won’t bring about any qualitative changes.’

’Besides, I need to start making preparations for the upcoming Middle Rank Level Ancient God Curse.’

’This will take quite some time. Those guys in the Starry Sky District are really tough to deal with.’

About half a day later, Zorn left the Purple Star Altar and headed toward the Spirit Country Star Bridge area.

The Spirit Country Star Bridge was the only passage to the Starry Sky District.

The Starry Sky District, in turn, was a region of space filled with celestial bodies of all sizes.

Every so often, an Eternal Night Star Mark would streak across the Starry Sky District.

One of the goals for the experts stationed and wandering there was to capture those Eternal Night Star Marks that appeared in the Starry Sky District.

Sometimes, there would even be a Meteor Shower.

At that time, hundreds or even thousands of Eternal Night Star Marks would cross the Starry Sky District.

However, a Meteor Shower of Eternal Night Star Marks was a once-in-a-century event.

For Zorn,

neither the elusive Meteor Shower

nor waiting around to catch an Eternal Night Star Mark streaking across the sky was his objective.

His main goal was to open the unknown secret passage in a hidden corner, enter the core treasury of the Spirit Realm, and complete the mission to obtain the Middle Rank Level Ancient God Curse.

Of course, there would also be a few good treasure chests along the way.

This batch of Spirit Realm resources would be enough to solidify Zorn’s foundation.

...

The news of Zorn’s departure was naturally picked up by the burly Warrior, Duke, who had previously occupied this place.

He immediately initiated a ritual and contacted his "big brother" in the Starry Sky District, the Divine Blood Berserker Baluk.

"Big brother, that Evil Spirit Wizard just left the Purple Star Altar. It looks like he’s heading toward the Spirit Country Star Bridge."

Sensing the towering figure on the Ritual Curtain,

Duke reported with utmost respect.

The massive figure, which seemed to be made of burning blood, sent out a rumbling sound with even the slightest movement.

"He stole my cultivation spot, and now he dares to come to the Starry Sky District? Hmph... He truly doesn’t know what’s good for him."

"I just recently finished my journey through the Starry Sky District, and my strength has improved even further."

"Since that Evil Spirit Wizard wants to come over, I’ll go to the Spirit Country Star Bridge and wait for him."

"I’d like to see what kind of power this guy from the Calamity Court really has."

"Also, this time, use the Ritual Curtain to lock down the Essence in the Purple Star Altar for me."

"After I kill that Evil Spirit Wizard, I plan to go back and cultivate for a while. Once I return to my own nation, I feel I’ll be able to advance to the Upper Rank Level."

Hearing this, the Warrior Duke was overjoyed.

"Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll stay here and make sure the Essence inside is contained for you."

"When you get back, you’ll be able to cultivate directly in an environment of abundant Essence."

"Alright, that’s all. I’ll contact you again after I’ve killed that Evil Spirit Wizard!"

With that, the Divine Blood Berserker Baluk cut off the ritual.

"An Evil Spirit Wizard?"

Baluk, who stood a full ten meters tall with Divine Blood flowing through his veins, gazed in the direction of the Spirit Realm Star Bridge.

"The day you set foot in the Starry Sky District will be the day you die!"