Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 230 Self-destruction
Inside the treasure room.

"What's going on?" Dark Thunder King roared in shock and anger, simultaneously thrusting his Thunder Spear at Chi Yuan, pinning him against the wall. "Why did the treasure room door suddenly close? How do we get out?"

“Yes, the door is closed.” Akagaki feigned surprise, but a sly look lurked on his face. “What are we going to do? How do you plan to get out?” He paused, then pretended to frown, feigning hesitation, before a mocking smile appeared on his face. “How about I help you think of a way? By the way, don’t you have the ability to teleport through divine realms? Why don’t you try using it to leave this place?”

Jiang Ye glanced around and saw that the entire treasure room was made of G-grade metal, and with the mysterious sacrificial runes, it was unrealistic to try to force your way out.

"You're playing me." Dark Thunder King's voice boomed.

"Haha." Chi Yuan, pinned against the wall by the Thunder Spear, still smiled mockingly at Dark Thunder King. "Alien powerhouse, come on, but can you guess what I'm going to do next?"

"Stop!" Jiang Ye's gaze was as cold as frost as he raised his hand to stop Dark Thunder King's increasingly frenzied actions.

In an instant, the Thunder King's Thunder Spear froze in mid-air, crackling with lightning. He transmitted his voice, "Master, this native is clearly plotting against us. Why won't you let me kill him?"

Jiang Ye ignored Dark Thunder King and strode forward, his eyes fixed on Chi Yuan with piercing gaze. He sneered, "Native, you deliberately led us into the treasure room and closed the door so that your kin outside could take the token and then open that inheritance room, right?"

Akagaki was startled, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes, but he still tried to remain calm on the surface: "You, what nonsense are you talking about... I don't understand at all!"

“I have no interest in what’s in your inheritance room. I’ll release you as long as you’re willing to open that treasure chest!” Jiang Ye pointed to the ancient treasure chest in the center of the treasure room, which was bound by 12 chains.

"Hmph, hmph." Akagaki looked at Jiang Ye with a half-smile.

"Do you want to die?" Dark Thunder King roared, barely suppressing his anger.

"Smart!" Despite being held at the edge of the lightning spear, Akagaki remained calm and said softly, "I just want to die!"

Upon hearing this, Dark Thunder King looked utterly astonished, and even Jiang Ye was slightly taken aback. Then, as if he had realized something, Jiang Ye's expression instantly turned gloomy.

"I just want to die."

"have you understood?"

"It's been too long. I've lived for too long, and suffered for too long." A hint of relief flashed in Chi Yuan's eyes. "My clan suffered a devastating catastrophe, and I've struggled and fought for countless years. I'm so tired. Now, it's time to end it. Maybe I can even take one or two powerful alien kings with me when I die. Haha, that's really something."

As soon as he finished speaking, the divine power around Akagami surged wildly like a raging crimson tide. He roared to the sky, his long white hair instantly turned red, and strange crimson patterns appeared on the surface of his skin. Each pattern released a heart-palpitating energy fluctuation.

These energies converged at a visible speed, transforming into several blood-red snakes that lunged towards Jiang Ye. Wherever they passed, the air sizzled and the space itself became subtly distorted.

"Master, be careful!" Dark Thunder King roared, and the Thunder Spear in his hand instantly burst forth with dazzling lightning. The lightning spread wildly outward from the tip of the spear, forming a huge lightning shield.

The crimson serpent crashed into the lightning shield, producing a deafening roar. The two powerful energies collided, and the resulting impact caused the densely packed runes on the altar to shimmer faintly. However, the altar itself withstood the impact without sustaining any damage.

"Human!" Like a crimson meteor, Akagaki charged directly at Jiang Ye, yelling, "Die!!!"

Seeing Chi Yuan charging straight towards him, Jiang Ye's expression remained calm and unchanged.

Suddenly, an ancient lightning spear appeared in the hand of Dark Thunder King, crackling with lightning and radiating an ancient and powerful aura.

"drink!"

The Thunder King's treasured armor, the Thunderclap Armor, suddenly surged with lightning, its powerful energy aura like a raging sea, causing the walls of the surrounding secret chamber to tremble violently. The secret runes on the walls of the chamber flickered incessantly under the impact of the powerful energy, as if they were about to shatter at any moment.

"call out!"

With a low roar, Dark Thunder King swung his spear, channeling all his power into it. In the confined space, the spear shot towards Akagami at near-light speed. Akagami had no time to dodge, his eyes filled with terror.

"boom!"

A massive spear crackling with lightning pierced directly at Akagaki's divine body. Akagaki let out a scream as his entire body was instantly blasted into dust by the ferocious attack.

Immediately, the countless fragments shattered into powder rapidly coalesced into a powerful native warrior with six arms, named "Chi Yuan," though his aura was extremely weak.

This scene filled the four powerful native warriors in the core control room of the sacrificial tower with shock and anger.

What was shocking was that, judging from the energy aura, Dark Thunder King's attack had caused their clan elder, Chi Yuan, who was at the limit of burning immortal divine power, to lose about half of his immortal divine body!

"Elder, elder!" Hershta and Messiah looked at Akagami's figure on the screen with worried expressions, their voices filled with anger.

On the throne, the god-lord Yan Xiao, clad in a golden robe, gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white and cracking. His face was contorted with anger and grief: "These alien races, I will make them pay for their blood debts!"

Inside the treasure room, Jiang Ye stood with his arms crossed, his cold gaze fixed on the battle.

Seeing that Dark Thunder King had annihilated half of Chi Yuan's divine body with a single blow, he nodded slightly.

Although this native Chi Yuan was at the peak of the King-level realm, both his secret techniques and armor were far inferior to those of other King-level realm experts. Otherwise, as a King-level realm expert, even if Dark Thunder King used his most powerful treasures, he shouldn't have been so easily defeated.

……

"Haha, I've received the inheritance." Akagaki closed his eyes and smiled. "I've done enough."

With his eyes closed, Akagaki's smile appeared serene, followed by a sudden burst of energy emanating from his body.

……

"Do not!!!"

Inside the control room, the God Lord Yanxiao, witnessing the scene projected in the virtual display, screamed in agony, "No!!! No, don't do this!"

call out!
A streak of light flew into the control room; it was Lomon, who had received the inheritance.

He stared at the scene in the virtual projection, instantly stunned, his face filled with shock and grief: "Elder!"

……

Upon seeing this, Dark Thunder King's pupils contracted, and the lightning on his body surged once more. With a backhand motion, the lightning spear flew back from the spot where Crimson Wall had been blasted, landing steadily in his hand. The lightning on the spear grew even more intense.
"Sigh! Why bother!" Jiang Ye muttered to himself, pulling his cloak closed to cover himself. Chi Yuan, whose entire body was radiating terrifying energy fluctuations, smiled and then closed his eyes. "Boom~~" Every cell in his body instantly burned and exploded with terrifying energy that made people's hearts tremble. His immortal divine body, cultivated for billions of years, was completely detonated at this moment.

A self-destruction at the pinnacle of kingship! A combined attack far exceeding that of a million realm lord kings!
It can kill a peak-level King! It can severely injure a King at the limit! It might even cause a King at the limit to perish, but of course, that depends on luck...

Although……

This Chi Yuan only has 5% of his immortal divine body left, but it still has half the power of a perfect king's limit self-destruction. Unlike before when Dark Thunder King used a powerful treasure to annihilate him, this time it completely detonated and spread in all directions. In the case of self-destruction, there is no way to control the attack in one direction. When self-destructing, the god falls and the energy spreads in all directions!
Peng~~~”

A violent surge of energy swept through the entire treasure room.

The treasure room is so small, there's nowhere to hide!

Dark Thunder King's pupils constricted sharply, and the lightning around him surged wildly like an enraged dragon. Just as the energy from Chi Yuan's self-destruction was about to engulf him, he roared, and the Thunder Armor on his body shone brightly. Every piece of the lightning-patterned armor trembled violently, releasing blinding lightning that enveloped him and Jiang Ye.

The ancient lightning patterns on the surface of the Thunder Armor began to swirl rapidly, each pattern moving like a living thing, intertwining to form a giant net of lightning. Dark Thunder King thrust his hands forward with a sudden burst, and the giant net of lightning patterns pulsed with an eerie rhythm, transforming into a tangible wall of lightning that firmly protected him and Jiang Ye behind him.

"Boom!" The violent energy generated by Akagaki's self-destruction, like an ancient ferocious beast breaking free of its cage, slammed heavily into the lightning wall.

In an instant, the entire treasure room was engulfed by blinding light and deafening roar.

……

A moment later, the smoke cleared.

The misery in the treasure room goes without saying, but what lies within the core control room...

Lomon, Hershta, and Messiah were all in immense pain. Their tribe had been wiped out, and they had been struggling under the leadership of their elder, Chi Yuan. If the god Yan Xiao was their guardian deity, then Chi Yuan was their spiritual leader, always protecting them from the wind and rain. Chi Yuan had solved many difficulties and dangers for them. Now that they had received the inheritance, Chi Yuan was gone forever.

"This is a message left by our master before his death, instructing me to give it to you after his passing," the intelligent voice of the sacrificial tower echoed throughout the control room.

Yanxiao, Luomeng, Hesta, and Messiah all held their breath.

At the same time, Akagaki's voice rang out.

"Yanxiao, Luomeng, Hesta, Messiah, if you hear these words, I have already fallen. Forgive me, I am a deserter! For billions of years, I have only endured for my beliefs. Now that I have inherited the legacy, I am satisfied. The rest is up to you. Remember, the treasure chamber door is closed. Those alien races cannot get out, and they cannot open the treasure chest. I believe they will eventually choose to leave via the divine kingdom's teleportation. Once they leave, one of you should secretly go and retrieve the treasure from that chest!"

"This is the perfect outcome. If other alien races arrive, you should immediately enter the divine kingdom through the spatial portal and destroy the spatial portal."

"Be prepared for both possibilities."

"Flame Sky, Lomon, Hershta, Messiah, children, the future of our people is in your hands. Forgive me for running away..." There was no more sound.

Lomon, Hershta, and Messiah couldn't help but cry.

After their clan was wiped out, the immortal gods who survived supported each other for hundreds of millions of years, and their bond had become incredibly strong. Chi Qiu was like an older brother, always protecting his clan from the wind and rain.

“You’re not running away, teacher, you’re not running away, you’re just too tired, too tired, you need to rest.” Yan Xiao murmured to Chi Yuan, who had taught him but whom he had never formally become his disciple, while Luo Meng, Hesta, and Messiah beside him were already sobbing uncontrollably.

For the sake of their clan, their elder, Akagaki... fell...

"We must make our people rise again, and we cannot let our elders have sacrificed themselves in vain!" Hershta roared, and Messiah nodded beside him.

"Look out at the treasure room!"

The Divine Lord Yanxiao said in a low voice, "The Treasure Chamber and the Inheritance Chamber contain various secret techniques accumulated by our race over countless years, suitable for our physical structure. The Treasure Chamber contains all sorts of precious treasures. As long as these alien divine kingdoms teleport away, we will be able to obtain this treasure."

“Hmm.” Lomon, Hershta, and Messiah nodded solemnly, watching the scene in the treasure room in the virtual projection with fervor.

******
Inside the treasure room, the self-destruction of Akagami, a powerful expert at the pinnacle of the King realm, gradually subsided after a long period of devastation.

Jiang Ye was tightly wrapped in a silver cloak, like a giant beast curled up in a cocoon, pressed firmly against the wall by the force of the explosion. Then, he unfurled the cloak behind him, making a crisp sound as it swept through the air, and looked at Dark Thunder King standing in front of him.

"Master? Are you alright?" the soul servant Dark Thunder King asked with concern.

Despite the powerful Thunder Armor, Dark Thunder King's divine body was not shattered and his aura did not weaken at all; he was merely blasted back a few steps by the explosion.

"It's nothing!" Jiang Ye shook his head.

Although Akagi's self-destruction occurred in this small treasure room, which was only 20 meters long and wide and 10 meters high, the space was enclosed and the chamber itself was extremely well-defended. It withstood the impact of the self-destruction without any damage, allowing the power of Akagi's self-destruction to be fully unleashed within this limited space, with an attack intensity beyond imagination.

However, Jiang Ye had the Starry Sky Cloak, a treasure, and was already experienced in dealing with such explosions. Not to mention, when the explosion occurred, Dark Thunder King, wearing a heavy armor, was blocking his way.

Then, at Jiang Ye's suggestion...

Dark Thunder King walked to the ancient treasure chest bound by 12 chains. He tried everything, sometimes with brute force, sometimes with various techniques, until finally, unwillingly, he kicked the treasure chest, causing the space to shatter, and said, "Master, I can't open it."

Jiang Ye's pupils narrowed slightly, a deep light swirling in his dark eyes. He slowly walked to the treasure chest, his slender fingers gently stroking its surface.

The ancient runes engraved on the surface of the box are faintly visible under your fingertips, and a mysterious power emanates from the cold touch.

……

Inside the control room of the sacrificial tower.

"These alien races want our clan's treasure? They're dreaming!" Lomon said bitterly.

"The treasure is ours," Hester sneered. "These alien races are all very unwilling. Look at that alien who killed the elder; he's almost gone mad. But what's the use of going mad? They still won't get the treasure. In the end, they only have one path to choose—to leave via the divine kingdom's teleportation!"

"Wait, wait until they leave, then we'll take the treasure," said the God Lord Yanxiao.

These three powerful natives watched silently, hoping... hoping that these invading alien races would quickly leave via the divine kingdom's teleportation.

(End of this chapter)