Chapter 105: Erosion

"Roar!"
A mysterious roar echoed from the void, carrying a sense of ancient desolation and sorrow. In its wake, a once-brilliant star that hung high above the Celestial Pillar began to fade, leaving only a final glimmer of light struggling to remain.
As the star dimmed, it was as if something vital had been drawn away with it, causing another star to suddenly blaze with renewed brilliance, reversing its previous decline and now pressing the other mercilessly into submission.
Throughout this process, Adis watched with perfect clarity.
With Barret's death, all the divine authority once bestowed upon him was completely stolen away. Thus, the Celestial Pillar collapsed, losing more than half its power.
Yet, even so, a fragile foundation remained, preventing its total destruction.
Adis lowered his head in thought, then suddenly understood.
"So that's it. Although most of the Inderli Principality's divine authority rested with Barret alone, the ancestor god is still bound to the principality. Now that Barret is dead, I have seized the greater part of that authority, but a small portion must have transferred to the ancestor god, which is just enough to keep the Celestial Pillar from crumbling entirely."
Thinking thus, he lifted his gaze to the distant sky—another battle was still raging, not yet settled.
...
Upon the desolate earth, out in the long-abandoned wilderness, subtle anomalies were beginning to manifest.
Two immense domains of fundamentally different natures clashed and pressed against one another, transforming into vast red and azure fields, each tugging fiercely at the other.
The battle had already raged for a very long time. On the side of the crimson domain, a faint scent of blood hung heavily in the air, its surging power draining all life from the land and corroding the earth, pressing the opposing domain into an ever-weaker state.
Within the pale azure field, which was slowly being overwhelmed, threads of faith’s luminous light began to shimmer, quietly pouring strength into its defender. This place became a miniature divine realm, barely maintaining a patch of its own territory. Though outmatched, it refused to collapse.
High above, two stars slowly released filaments of primordial energy, each blessing their respective champions, holding the battlefield in a delicate balance.
But with the conclusion of the battle at Cecil City and Barret’s death on the spot, this tenuous equilibrium was shattered; the situation began to change.
In the heavens, one star abruptly dimmed, its size shrinking by half. The other star, however, swelled in brilliance, casting down torrents of power, as if pouring out its light without restraint.
Instantly, the balance of strength was reversed.
A pale azure light traced gently through the divine realm, and from its glow emerged a handsome youth. His golden eyes glimmered with enigmatic light, the secrets of natural cycles flowing serenely within them.
He looked up at the sky, where beneath the dimming star a towering figure had appeared.
This figure was immense, shrouded in crimson light, his features hidden—only the imposing silhouette and a potent aura of authority could be seen.
Yet, Chen Ming faced him with unruffled calm. As a subtle divine radiance began to bloom around him, the crimson light enveloping his opponent was dispelled.
As the light faded, the true form of the man was revealed: a majestic figure clad in a wolfskin cloak, covered in thick hair that lent him a fearsome presence. He clutched his chest in agony, his breath ragged and unstable.
This was Zarmad, the ancestor god of the Inderli Principality. His eyes, as he glared at Chen Ming standing before him, burned with a growing savagery.
Witnessing this, Chen Ming sighed softly. "As expected."
"With such a feeble foundation, you forced your way into the fifth rank. Your success was only possible because you were bolstered by the world’s primordial energy."
"But even if you succeeded, since your advancement wasn’t achieved by your own strength, it’s terribly unstable. The instant you lose the world’s blessing, you’ll inevitably revert to your former state."
Chen Ming’s expression remained tranquil as he looked forward. "At this point, I doubt I even need to act. You’re already on the verge of collapse."
As his words fell, change erupted.
Before him, Zarmad suddenly raised his gaze to the heavens. His blood-red eyes were wild and frenzied as he threw back his head and howled.
A sudden chill swept through Chen Ming’s heart, an ominous premonition taking root—something dreadful was about to occur.
Above, the fragments of the world’s divine authority, shaped like stars, seemed to sense the same. Streams of primordial energy poured down frantically, as if urging haste.
Then a howl rang out.
"Awooo!"
A wolf’s cry burst from Zarmad’s mouth, the soundwave shattering several great mountains in its wake.
But before the transformation could continue, Chen Ming sprang into action.
He was not the sort to stand idly by and wait for his foes to be ready. Sensing things had taken a turn, he immediately activated his divine power and launched his attack.
With his movement, a grand domain of nature, infused with the newly transformed divine light, crashed down with titanic force, carrying the boundless might of the world to suppress his foe.
Yet before he could fully subdue Zarmad, tremors erupted from below.
A surge of blood-red light welled up, and amid a maelstrom of vengeful spirits and grievance, Zarmad let out a guttural growl, transforming into a monstrous wolf with three heads, its body covered in scales.
With this change, the chaotic power within him was suppressed, gradually unified and assimilated by a new, deeper essence.
"What’s this?" Chen Ming was startled, sensing a familiar aura, and looked to the sky.
A wave of immense sorrow swept over him. Upon the dim, lightless star, an abyssal darkness crept upward, exuding a terrifying, unfathomable force of destruction.
"This is... the essence of that demon god. Has it come to this already?"
Chen Ming’s mind flashed with this realization, and in the next instant, two new, opposing essences collided once more.
Facing him, Zarmad had completed his transformation. The previous field of blood-red energy was now replaced by a domain of blood-black, empowered by some unknown, otherworldly force that began to spread relentlessly.
As this power expanded, Chen Ming could clearly sense the demonic energy converging from all directions. Above Zarmad’s head, a phantom of a demon god appeared, three-headed and six-armed, faintly exuding the essence of immortality, continuously corroding Zarmad.
The very land itself was briefly sealed off, and even the primordial energy familiar to Chen Ming trickled down, strengthening Zarmad further.
"This is the world’s primordial energy? It’s already been corrupted to this extent..."
Sensing his surroundings, Chen Ming sighed with resignation.
From Zarmad, he could distinctly feel the presence of the world’s primordial energy and divine authority—symbols of control over this realm.
This meant the world had fallen more deeply than he’d imagined. Even its intrinsic authority had been seized in part by an alien demon god, who now sought not only to corrupt an ancestral deity but also to steal the original authority he possessed.
"Not only that—perhaps he even intends to finish me here as well..."
"After all, I also bear a portion of the world’s divine authority."
Feeling the pervasive, decaying power of the world around him, Chen Ming gave a self-mocking smile.