From the Abyss Invasion to the Blasting Star.

Erebus's mountain-like body fell, announcing the defeat of the Shadow Demon race.

Queen Orianna flew above the demigod's body and gave a warning:

"A demigod's body is the best material, and now is indeed the best time to advance. I can also initiate the demigod ritual for you, so we can seize this opportunity to advance to demigod together."

As she spoke, Aureanna released the elven sacred artifact, forming a halo to initiate the ascension ceremony.

Tyrese slew a great demon, drew his sword, and rushed over to stand behind Alleanna, guarding the ascension ceremony.

Galmawi released twelve crystal cores, which floated in mid-air and surrounded Lu Heng, beginning to absorb the divinity of Erebus.

"A demigod's divinity dissipates rapidly after death. If you want to try to advance to demigod status, you need to hurry, because your divinity will be almost gone in half an hour."

Lu Heng naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass him by. He opened his arms and accepted the divinity bestowed upon him by the ritual.

In the instant of divine convergence, Lu Heng felt a wondrous sensation of energy sublimation within his body, and his five senses also leaped to a higher level.

After the ascension ceremony began, Galmawi bowed, then turned and grabbed at the rhomboid Reincarnation Essence from afar, before leaping into the sky.

Seeing his actions, Lu Heng frowned deeply, drew his sword, and blocked his path: "What are you doing?"

Galmavi stored the Reincarnation Source Material behind his back and replied calmly, "My purpose in coming here is the Reincarnation Source Material, so I'm taking this with me."

Just then, a white light appeared behind Lu Heng.

A voice from the Zero Civilization echoed from within the white light: "Take back the Reincarnation Source Essence."

Lu Heng tightened his grip on the Aurora Blade, preparing to make his move.

Galmawi turned to look at the magic circle of the demigod ritual and reminded him, "This is your best chance to advance. Wasting your time on me will only make you miss this opportunity."

Lu Heng's gaze darkened, and he coldly snorted, "So this is your plan: to use a demigod ritual to hold me back, and then seize the Reincarnation Source Essence."

Galmawi sighed and replied, "To be precise, the demigod ritual was my way of expressing my apology. I must take the Reincarnation Essence, and no one can stop me."

"Then give it a try." Lu Heng's expression turned cold, and he began to gather his inner energy.

"Are you sure you want to give up the chance to become a demigod and waste your time on me?" Galmave asked again.

Lu Heng hesitated for a moment, but ultimately made his decision: "Stop him!"

The Great Xia team attacked together, and Queen Orianna also stopped her ascension ceremony to join forces with Tyrese.

Even a demigod could not escape the combined might of the powerful members of the Swordholder Alliance.

Galmawi withstood a round of combined attacks and was injured. He groaned, turned around and threw the Samsara Essence in one direction, then chose to self-destruct. His body exploded and transformed into a huge spatial light membrane, blocking everyone for a moment.

In the direction where the Reincarnation Source had flown away, another astral merchant appeared, none other than Azik.

Azik caught the source of reincarnation and disappeared into the pillar of light.

Lu Heng never expected that Galmawi would choose to self-destruct, risking his life to take the Reincarnation Essence.

The Azure Phoenix circled once where Azik had disappeared and reported, "He's gone. It was teleportation. I'm afraid we can't catch up."

The Astral Merchants have a very high level of civilization, not much lower than the Zero Civilization.

In other words, even if the Astral Merchants are not a demigod civilization, they are not far from being one.

Galmawi was willing to trade his life for Reincarnation Essence, which shows how strong the Astral Merchants' demand for Reincarnation Essence was.

Lu Heng turned around and looked at the fluorescent material scattered on the ground after Galmavi's self-destruction, his expression somewhat surprised.

With Galmawi's death, the demigod ritual he initiated ceased operation, and the twelve crystal cores that had been floating in mid-air fell to the ground.

Queen Orianna returned to the Elven advancement array and beckoned, saying, "Lu Heng, come here. There's not much time left. Seize this last opportunity."

Lu Heng didn't waste any more time and stepped into the Elven race's advancement array.

Queen Orianna held the sacred artifact of the Elven race and chanted ancient incantations for Lu Heng, as if a true god was singing mantras all around them.

Lu Heng closed his eyes, receiving the infusion of divinity, and his body slowly floated up.

The source energy within the body was sublimated once again, merging with divinity and producing wondrous changes.

The source energy, infused with divinity, displayed immense power, its strength increasing exponentially to a higher level.

Lu Heng felt the wondrous sensation of divinity, his five senses became more acute, as if he could see the laws of the world, filling every inch of space.

Half an hour later, Lu Heng slowly landed back on the ground and opened his eyes.

His eyes held a deep, radiant light, filled with divine brilliance.

Lu Heng had already felt the changes within himself; his blood and source energy were now filled with divinity.

This change is also reflected in the attribute panel, where an additional item has been added.

[God level: Demigod]

[Divinity: Mountains]

The divinity they acquired was none other than the divinity of Erebus, and its name was "Mountains".

This is why Erebus's body is as solid as a mountain, and his outstretched arms meander like mountain ranges.

After acquiring the [Mountain] divinity, Lu Heng's body did not become as huge as a mountain like Erebus, but the source energy within him was already filled with divinity.

The moment he gained divinity, Lu Heng became familiar with its power. He moved his limbs, then leaped into the sky, drew his sword, and swung it at the half-ruined Nebula City.

The sword energy descended like a mountain range, traversing the heavens and earth, splitting half of the asteroid, which was 300 kilometers long, in two.

Boom!

The half of the asteroid that Erebus preserved using the essence of reincarnation was also shattered by the mountain-like sword energy.

Tens of thousands of shadow demons turned to ashes.

The power of that single sword strike was terrifying, a force beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

All the human recruits on the battlefield stared in shock at Lu Heng in the sky.

Those recruits who had previously followed Joyce Bruno suffered heavy casualties in their eagerness to gain merit in battle; those who were not killed were also seriously injured.

Looking at Lu Heng in the sky and feeling the pressure of that demigod, they were filled with regret.

If they hadn't chosen Joyce Bruno in the first place, but instead opted to cooperate with the Great Xia team, they wouldn't have had to pay such a heavy price.

Lu Heng's sword strike also brought the battle to a complete end. The Shadow Demon that managed to escape could not escape Xavier's Matrix information network.

It's only a matter of time before we wipe out the remaining Shadow Fiends.

……

At this point, we have reached the final stage of the return time for the Abyss Battlefield.

Lu Heng landed back in front of Queen Oriana and said, "You didn't have to give me your promotion opportunity."

Orianna smiled and shook her head: "Erebus's divinity is not suitable for me; I need to inherit the divinity of the elves."

"Moreover, I didn't come away empty-handed. The divinity I acquired has already put me on the first step towards becoming a demigod. "After returning, I will naturally find a way to advance to demigod status. Perhaps next time we meet, things will be different."

Erebus's divinity is [Mountains], a heavy divinity that is indeed unsuitable for the Elven Queen.

Hearing her say that, Lu Heng didn't bring up the matter again, and instead said, "It's almost time to return, we need to teleport back. After we get back, I will come again to send you back to your hometown."

Queen Aureanna nodded and replied, "I'll wait for you. There's no need to rush. There's still plenty of work to be done here."

Lu Heng used his last moments to say goodbye to the elves, sirens, dark iron dwarves, and Bancel, before returning with his team members.

The rules of the Abyss Battlefield have been implemented, and all recruits are teleported away.

[The Abyss Battle has ended; return to the main world...]

[Completed Main Quest 1: Investigate the secret plans of the Shadow Demon's most powerful faction, the Demon King Tus. Gained 500 Divine Energy.]

[Completed Main Quest 2: Escape the defensive perimeter of the Nebula City satellite city fortress. Gained 500 Divine Energy.]

[Complete Main Quest 3: Survive 30 days in the Shadowfiend world. Gain 500 Divine Energy.]

[Completed Challenge 1: Slay 10 High-Rank Shadow Demons. Gained 1500 Divine Energy.]

[Complete Challenge 2: Destroy a Shadow Fiend satellite city fortress. Gain 1500 Divine Energy.]

[Complete Challenge Mission 3: Locate the Abyss Energy Center in Nebula City and prevent it from channeling Abyss Energy into other worlds. Reward: 1500 Divine Energy.]

……

Complete the world quest: Destroy the Shadow Demon world.

[World Quest Reward: Choose one of the following three rewards.]

[1. Consume 600 points of divine energy to establish a spatial anchor point. You can then consume divine energy to return to the Shadow Asteroid Belt.]

[2. Consume 3000 points of divine energy to gain the special talent "Destroyer of Worlds".]

[3. Consume divine energy to upgrade a skill to full proficiency. The amount of divine energy consumed varies depending on the skill level.]

Lu Heng was slightly surprised after reading the world mission rewards; a special reward option had appeared.

Even without considering the effects of [Destroyer], this would definitely be the choice.

After Lu Heng selected the world mission reward, the return teleportation gradually ended, his vision returned, and he could gradually see the things in front of him clearly.

Da da!

Two sharp taps of attention and salutes rang out as Wu Weibing, deputy commander of the Longwei Regiment, led a squad of Longwei soldiers in saluting the recruits returning to the assembly hall.

Immediately afterwards, medics stepped forward to treat the wounded soldiers.

Lu Heng didn't have much time to talk to Wu Weibing. He waved to him and instructed, "You take care of the logistics. There are still some things to finish."

Jian Qing asked, "Do we need to return to the Abyss Battlefield?"

The Abyss Battlefield has indeed ended, but the battle in the Shadow Asteroid Belt is not entirely over yet.

The sword-wielding teams from civilizations such as the Elves and Sirens are still in the Shadow Demon world and need to continue clearing out the remaining Shadow Demons.

The demigods in the Shadow Fiend world have been dealt with, so theoretically, the Shadow Fiend world poses little threat anymore.

However, with the abyss existing, there are still variables.

If humans can become summoners to enter the Shadowfiend world, then other Abyssal races can also be teleported there by the Abyss.

If a teleportation to the abyss occurs, it means that the teams of the elves, sirens, dark iron dwarves, and Bancel will be attacked by abyssal demons.

In other words, danger remains as long as the warriors of these races have not returned to their home world.

Not only that.

The issue of the Reincarnation Source Matter remains unresolved.

The astral merchants took the Reincarnation Essence, meaning the Zero Civilization failed to achieve its goal.

It is currently impossible to determine how a civilization would react to being reduced to zero.

The moment Lu Heng stepped out of the Dragon Might Base, a white light burst forth behind him, and the surrounding space and time instantly froze.

This time, Lu Heng's body was not restrained; instead, he turned to look at Bai Guang.

In the past, when the white light appeared, everything under its influence would freeze, including Lu Heng himself.

This time the situation is different; Lu Heng is free to move around.

Lu Heng knew that this was not because Bai Guang had given up imprisoning him, but because his demigod body was immune to the effect of time-space stagnation.

"what you want to say?"

Bai Guang: "You let the Star Realm Merchant take away the Reincarnation Essence."

Lu Heng: "You should have seen the process very clearly. I intervened and stopped it. Garmavi took the essence of reincarnation with his life."

Bai Guang: "The result is that the Reincarnation Source Essence was not retrieved."

Lu Heng: "Just state the purpose directly. Arguing about responsibility is meaningless. You should be very clear about that."

Bai Guang: "You have already advanced to demigod status. You are capable of facing the Star Realm Merchant and retrieving the Reincarnation Essence."

Lu Heng: "Are you ordering me around?"

Bai Guang fell silent.

Lu Heng said in a deep voice, "You need to understand one thing: I don't owe you anything. I promised you I would find the Origin of Reincarnation, and I have been doing just that."

"The tangible benefits your civilization offers me are not that enticing."

"At most, we have a cooperative relationship. If you can get the Reincarnation Source back, you should thank me. If you can't, then it's just your fate."

"Finally, if you still want my help, you'd better be polite. The final ritual for my ascension to demigod was completed by the Elf Queen, not you."

After a long silence, Bai Guang finally lowered his stance: "You are right. We need your help. The fate of a civilization is in your hands. We beg you to help us retrieve the Reincarnation Essence. We are willing to pay any price for it, as long as we have it."

Lu Heng suppressed his temper and said, "Wouldn't it have been better to talk like this earlier? Why do we have to wait until we're evenly matched before we can have a proper discussion? I will continue searching for the Reincarnation Source Essence, but it's already in the hands of the Star Realm Merchant. I can't guarantee whether I can get it back."

When Lu Heng last met Galmavi, he didn't expect that this astral merchant had such a strong need for Reincarnation Essence.

He actually chose to self-destruct so that his clansmen could take away the Reincarnation Essence.

Moreover, it was Azik who ultimately took away the essence of reincarnation.

When I first met them in the ecosphere, they clearly didn't get along and were constantly arguing.

Now it seems more like acting.

But why are astral merchants so obsessed with the essence of reincarnation?

Karmawi's willingness to sacrifice his life for the Reincarnation Essence demonstrates its immense importance to them. (End of Chapter)