Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 232 The Arm of Misfortune
"drop--"

A clear, ethereal notification sound suddenly rang out in the quiet space. Jiang Ye's tense nerves were instantly jolted, and his gaze was fixed on the treasure chest in front of him.

Life has been confirmed!

Token confirmed!

"Snap!" With a crisp unlocking sound, the previously immovable and locked lid slowly loosened, and an ancient aura spread out.

"Hahaha..." Jiang Ye, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly broke into a joyful smile. He couldn't wait to grab the lid of the box with both hands and open it.

In an instant, the scene inside the box came into view: three antique-looking world rings, radiating a metallic luster, were neatly arranged in specially made grooves.

Immediately, a powerful force of the world reached out like an invisible tentacle, enveloping the three rings.

All three rings are unclaimed!
“Let’s look at the first one.” Jiang Ye picked up the first World Ring.

As the power of the world seeped in like threads, Jiang Ye's consciousness instantly entered a vast and boundless world.

Before them, towering metal mountains rose abruptly from the ground, reflecting a cold yet dazzling light under the sun. Countless lakes formed from rare liquids were scattered throughout the landscape, their surfaces shimmering like a dream. A dense swarm of E-class spaceships hovered in the air, resembling locusts blotting out the sky—a truly magnificent sight.

"Depend on!"

Even though he was mentally prepared, Jiang Ye couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his eyes filled with shock.

After a brief adjustment, he quickly picked up the second and third world rings and examined them one by one.

"As expected of a clan's treasure, even when the original inhabitants of the Yanji Continent were at their most powerful, this treasure would probably have accounted for a significant portion of their population," Jiang Ye thought to himself.

It is said that when the powerful figures of the four peak clans arrived, the several cosmic venerables of the Yanji clan knew that their lives were in danger, so they hid most of their treasures in the 100 true inheritance towers.

The treasures within these three world rings represent one percent of the wealth of the indigenous people of the Yanji Continent!
Jiang Ye flipped his hand, and three metal pieces appeared out of thin air. The pieces were engraved with tiny, dense characters, all in the script of the native inhabitants of the Yanji Continent, telling stories about the treasure.

Each of the three world rings contains treasures of different levels, and each world ring also contains a message.

"Surviving members of our race, this world ring contains various treasures intended for use by race members at the realm, domain, cosmic, stellar, and planetary levels. While many items may not be of high monetary value, their sheer quantity fills the entire world. Accumulated, these items constitute an immense wealth. You must use them with utmost care. The revival of our race will require billions of years, and the rational control of resource expenditure is of paramount importance. Nurturing future generations is of utmost importance; these growing young members are the future of our race. This world ring represents the hope of our race."

"Fellow tribesmen, this World Ring contains treasures prepared specifically for the immortal gods. Although the quantity is relatively small, its overall value is far more astonishing than the first one. We, who have survived the calamity, are struggling to survive and need the immortal gods to use these treasures to open up new living spaces for our tribe in the universe."

"Fellow clansmen, within this final world ring lies a true set of runic weapons. Runic weapons represent the pinnacle of our civilization. Over countless years, our Venerable Ones have poured their hearts and souls into creating fewer than a hundred. During this great calamity for our race, these runic weapons, along with some of the Venerable Ones' treasures, were dispersed among 100 inheritance towers. Some towers contain runic weapons, while others hold treasures used by the Venerable Ones. Although runic weapons have limited use for the Venerable Ones, their value in the universe is in no way inferior to the Venerable Ones' treasures, due to their extremely powerful abilities. As for the specific methods of use and abilities of this runic weapon, detailed instructions are provided on the weapon itself. Although there is only one runic weapon, its value far exceeds the combined wealth of the previous two world rings."

Jiang Ye examined the three world rings repeatedly, a ripple of emotion stirring within him.

"The inheritance of the clan?" Jiang Ye murmured.

Three world rings.

One is prepared for weaker clansmen below the Immortal level, such as Realm Lords, Domain Lords, and Universe Lords; one is for use by Immortal Gods; and the last one contains a secret weapon that can be called a clan's treasure!

"This is a secret-rune weapon? The pinnacle of civilization of the indigenous people of the Yanji Continent? Fewer than a hundred were made in countless years, and its value far exceeds all the wealth of the rings from the previous two worlds!" Jiang Ye's eyes gleamed with intense light.

He then picked up the third world ring, and with a thought, an invisible force instantly extracted the weapon from the ring.

Wow!
A small and exquisite weapon appeared in Jiang Ye's hand.

This weapon resembles an arm guard, with a deep black main color and a surface that faintly shimmers with a hazy starlight luster, like a microcosm of the vast universe.

"Instructions for using the rune weapon, with detailed instructions?" Jiang Ye frowned slightly, carefully examining the arm guard, only to find the runes on it obscure and difficult to understand.

Left with no other choice, he slowly channeled a wisp of world power into the arm guard. In an instant, the spiritual imprint contained within the world power seamlessly integrated into the arm guard.

The arm guard trembled slightly, instantly completing the process of recognizing its owner.

"This is really convenient." As Jiang Ye easily made the secret weapon recognize him as its master, a piece of information directly entered Jiang Ye's sea of ​​consciousness.

This information provides a detailed description of this rune weapon.

"Younger generations! This treasure is called the 'Arm of Misfortune,' one of the less than one hundred secret-rune weapons in existence in the universe, which exists in the form of an arm guard."

The most powerful and mysterious thing about our race is the "Sacrifice Runes". This is a special path of advancement that our ancestors discovered and comprehended by chance in a secret realm of the universe. It is also the path most suitable for our race. The sacrificial tower you are riding is the most basic application of the Sacrifice Runes.

The altar is covered with countless sacrificial runes, which intertwine to form a powerful energy field, giving the altar many magical abilities such as repelling probes, sealing space, and disrupting time.

However, the sacrificial tower uses "real runes," which require a specific carrier to function and have great limitations in actual combat.

To this end, the ancestors of the tribe went through countless trials and explorations and finally succeeded in creating the more powerful "Void Runes". Inside each rune weapon, there are Void Runes constructed from complex structures. As long as an energy source is provided, the Void Runes can quickly disperse into the void, and the area covered is the user's controllable area.

Attention! Among the many energy sources, the Immortal Divine Power Crystal is the most suitable. Never use your own Immortal Divine Power lightly. The power of runic weapons is astonishing, but their energy consumption is also terrifying, and this consumption is absolute. Using your own Immortal Divine Power to power them is tantamount to burning your Immortal Divine Body, with unimaginable consequences.

There are all kinds of immortal divine power crystals in the universe, but the stronger the energy contained in the crystal, the longer the secret weapon can be used.

The "Arm of Time's Misfortune" has the core function of pausing time within a specific area by utilizing the spread of the illusory runes.

Once activated, time will stand still for everything that enters the area.

For this reason, the Arm of Time's Imperfection is a powerful weapon for those skilled in the laws of time. However, it's worth noting that it also has certain effects on the user. While using the Arm of Time's Imperfection, the user cannot freely control the flow of time or simultaneously use any time-related special abilities. Therefore, the Arm of Time's Imperfection is best suited for those skilled in the laws of space. When a master of the laws of space traps their opponent with sophisticated spatial manipulation, activating the Arm of Time's Imperfection to stop time allows them to easily seize control of the battlefield and deliver a fatal blow. Because the Arm of Time's Imperfection contains illusory runes, as long as the user carries it, time can be continuously stopped within a certain range centered on it.

This characteristic offers a significant advantage over sacrificial towers. Sacrificial towers have limited space, making it difficult to move in sync with the user. In intense battles, the structure of the sacrificial tower and the solid runes on its surface are also highly susceptible to damage. In contrast, illusory runes are formless and intangible, making them difficult to destroy and extremely stable.

The spread of "The Arm of Misfortune" is divided into three levels:

The first tier covers an area with a diffusion radius of 1 kilometers.

The second tier covers areas with a diffusion radius of 10 kilometers.

The third tier covers areas with a diffusion radius of 100 million kilometers.

The larger the diffusion area, the more energy is consumed. Given that the "Arm of Misfortune" consumes an astonishing amount of energy, the user should only use it when facing a true enemy in a life-or-death battle, and should never use it indiscriminately in ordinary times.

It is hoped that powerful descendants within the clan will wield this secret-rune weapon to protect the clan and help it achieve its revival!

"The Arm of Misfortune? Time Stop?" A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Ye's eyes. "It's not the Arm of Locking the Void that Luo Feng obtained back then!"

From the moment the native Chi Yuan appeared, Jiang Ye realized that the treasure trove of the sacrificial tower he had entered was completely different from the one that Night King had invited Luo Feng to enter in the original novel.

However, this did not cause him any major problems.

The presence of six guides at the entrance reveals that this altar is one of the top-ranking hundred altars, and the value of its treasures is roughly the same.

"Secret rune weapon? Sacrificial rune?"

"Is this a path to power that the ancestors of the indigenous people of the Yanji Continent accidentally discovered and comprehended in a secret realm of the universe?" Jiang Ye praised, "Interesting, it has both real and illusory secret patterns."

When Jiang Ye first entered the sacrificial tower, he was very envious of the special runes inside. However, based on his judgment, the sacrificial tower should have an intelligence, so Jiang Ye could not take it all with him.

Now, the three world rings in the treasure of the sacrificial tower, especially the last one, have brought Jiang Ye immense joy.

……

"Give it a try." Unable to contain his excitement, Jiang Ye stretched out his left arm.

"Wow!"

The Arm of Misfortune, like a nimble black serpent, adhered directly to Jiang Ye's left arm, partially merging into his skin. At the same time, the hazy, star-like black surface suddenly cracked open with a "crack," revealing an energy groove inside the Arm of Misfortune.

"You need an immortal divine power crystal with extremely high energy?" Jiang Ye smiled. "Fortunately, I was prepared in advance and bought a few more fire god source crystals."

Crystals like Vulcan Source Crystal and Thor Source Crystal are highly condensed crystals of immortal divine power. They were originally designed by the Mechanical Race to supply pure energy to large-scale instruments.

However, in the brutal cosmic battlefield, the powerful discovered their immense explosive power. From then on, Vulcan Crystals and the like were often used as incredibly powerful explosive weapons.

"Snap!" Jiang Ye flicked his wrist, and a Vulcan Source Crystal, the size of a fist and worth 2 million points, instantly appeared in his palm.

The fire energy contained within this Vulcan Source Crystal, once detonated, would be comparable in power to the self-destruction of a low-level King-rank expert. Jiang Ye placed it steadily into the groove; the fist-sized Vulcan Source Crystal only occupied one-third of the groove's space.

"Crack!"

The mechanical structure inside the groove snapped shut with a crisp sound. In an instant, a surge of intense flame energy, like a torrent of magma, flowed continuously into the arm guard along the groove's veins, causing the surface of the arm guard to glow with a magnificent red light.

"Crack!"

Immediately afterwards, the surface of the arm guard closed up again, as if it had never been opened, leaving only faint starlight flowing on the surface.

"Hmm..." Jiang Ye's mind stirred, and the golden armor automatically covered the arm guards, protecting them completely. In fact, the Arm of Misfortune didn't need protection at this moment, since its material was extremely expensive to manufacture, much stronger and harder than the chained treasure chest, and even a Universe Venerable would find it extremely difficult to damage.

"Misfortune has befallen us!"

The arm of Shi Chuan had already been imprinted with a spiritual mark, so Jiang Ye could easily control it.

"Minimum area, radius of 1 kilometers, time paused," Jiang Ye silently recited in his mind.

The secret weapon "Arm of Misfortune" had a Vulcan Source Crystal worth 2 million points as its energy source, so the energy was so abundant that it was activated instantly.

"Om-"

An invisible, strange energy, centered on the Arm of Time's Misfortune, swept outwards in all directions like a surging tide.

This energy fluctuation is remarkably similar to the laws of time.

Within a radius of 1 kilometers in the void, the clouds and mist that were originally flowing in the sky instantly froze, the outlines of the mountains were frozen, the grass on the grassland maintained its swaying posture in the wind, and the fine particles in the soil underground were also suspended in the air.

At the same time, faint sacrificial runes appeared in the void. These runes were composed of mysterious energy, ethereal and intangible. Even if someone threw a full-force punch, they could only pass through them, because they were formless and intangible "illusory runes," difficult to destroy by conventional means. The only way to destroy these runes was to destroy the Arm of Misfortune.

"Hmm..." Jiang Ye looked around with delight, then looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

With his keen perception of the laws of time, he clearly sensed that within a radius of 1 kilometers, time had completely stopped, all fluctuations in time had vanished without a trace, and everything seemed to be sealed in this moment.

(End of this chapter)