A black lotus flower materialized beneath the Angler’s feet.
The lotus had countless overlapping petals that continuously opened and closed. This was his other ultimate treasure, the Black Floating Lotus. While standing on the lotus platform, the Angler would enter a state of absolute immunity to all abilities. Combined with his skill, "Fisherman’s Concealment," it was nearly impossible for any physical attack to truly harm him.
Shi Ming, in turn, entered the second stage of the Nine-Headed Sanctuary and transformed into a black dragon.
Its nine heads roared defiantly!
Activating the Nine-Headed Sanctuary with his current constitution, the dragon’s body stretched three thousand meters long. Both its Defense Power and Attack Power received a significant boost, far surpassing the version of the Nine-Headed Sanctuary used by the Great Black Heaven Dragon. It was an excellent way to increase his Physical Strength and Attack Power.
"I was right!"
"Which of Ron’s sons are you?"
"Your father is a cruel man indeed. He must have sent you to this Cave of the Stars right after you were born! A millennium of solitude... truly a difficult fate to bear!"
ROAR—
Along with the Nine-Headed Sanctuary, he activated the Extremely Evil Sanctuary, which had evolved to possess 6,712 tendrils. Malicious tentacles sprouted from the ground like Teng snakes, their round eyes blinking open and shut.
Malice began to spread.
A creeping corruption seeped into this world.
Unseen borers hid among the tentacles, with only one real one for every hundred fakes. They silently began to infiltrate, searching for an opportunity to bore into the enemy’s body or Spiritual Power.
"You’ve got guts,"
"But you’re just a kid. You’re far too young!"
"These tricks are nothing special."
"Don’t say I’m bullying my junior. Let’s see if you can handle this next attack."
The Angler’s body seemed to fade from the world, observing Shi Ming’s performance like a spectator. At the same time, a sharp cone slowly grew in his palm, concentrating all the Attack Power of this Nirvana Powerhouse and honing it into his ultimate killing intent.
Nirvana Skill: Heartpiercer!
FWOOSH!
The cone tore through space, creating a violent sonic boom. The very instant it formed, it crossed a hundred meters. Any target with Defense Power lower than the skill’s Attack Power would most likely be killed instantly upon being pierced.
Shi Ming remained perfectly calm.
The Nine-Headed Sanctuary seamlessly shifted into the Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary. The butterfly transformed into a Kun and dove between the realms of reality and illusion. It then opened its great maw, and with a resounding cry, it unleashed a high-frequency mental assault with its formidable Spiritual Power. The borers hidden among the malicious tentacles finally found an opening and surged toward the Angler’s Sea of Spirit.
CRUNCH!
Protected by his ultimate treasure, the lotus platform, the Angler was immune to physical attacks. However, he could not evade attacks on the spiritual plane. His Brain Domain shuddered, and a heart-wrenching pain shot through him.
This caused "Heartpiercer" to go off course.
The terrifying attack missed Shi Ming and shot toward the bone pillar behind him.
Having lost its divine marrow, the bone pillar no longer held its former high status and had become considerably more fragile.
BOOM!
A sharp CRACK echoed out.
It had supported the heavens for countless eons, but time had taken its toll. No matter how hard its exterior, it could not withstand this full-powered blow. It shattered with a thunderous crash. Bone fragments flew everywhere as dried marrow and stripped sinew burst forth. The sky-propping pillar’s upper and lower halves began to tilt simultaneously. The break was a jagged mess of bone shards, and the top portion came crashing down like a pale, colossal mountain.
’This is bad!’
The pillar that held up the sky had collapsed.
Shi Ming flashed rapidly through the space, dodging the flying fragments of divine bone.
The Angler used Fisherman’s Concealment again, dodging the invisible borers while staring with anguish at the broken pillar. ’I didn’t go through all this trouble just for it to end like this!’
The Angler stopped tangling with Shi Ming and rushed toward the pillar, searching for any other treasures left inside.
’Nothing?’
’Nothing!’
’Did that little thief take it all?’
The Angler looked back, only to find that Shi Ming had already ceased his attacks, moved far away from the pillar, and was preparing to retreat.
He seemed to realize something. Looking up into the infinite heights, he saw that the starry firmament in the distance was also beginning to crumble. A chaotic torrent, like a flood, was pouring down from the sky.
This small world, connected to the star-cave, was on the brink of destruction.
"Damn it!"
"Once we’re out of this star-cave, I’ll hunt you down and settle this score!"
Outside this small world, in the Cave of the Stars proper, Spatial Power couldn’t be used. Even powerful beings like the Pillar Stones and the New Gods had to fly slowly! The Angler wasn’t worried about his target escaping. ’No matter how fast that kid is, can he possibly outrun my Solitary Skiff?’
The Angler followed Shi Ming, passing through the star-cave’s barrier and back into the real world.
In the small world known as the "Civilization’s Backbone," the bone pillar had completely collapsed. Its jagged, broken end pointed toward a sky of destruction. The half that had fallen to the ground lay like the hollow, desolate corpse of a dead god.
A dozen or so seconds later,
the chaotic torrent from the heavens crashed down, obliterating the remaining half of the pillar and dissolving the endless land into primordial chaos.
...
...
...
One after the other, Shi Ming and the Angler passed through the semi-liquid barrier of the star-cave and emerged back into the Star Sea.
The moment the Angler emerged, he sensed that something was wrong.
"Where’s my Solitary Skiff?"
"Little thief, was this your doing?"
His Solitary Skiff, which he had left parked beside a nebula, had vanished without a trace. It looked like a simple boat, but it was in fact an ultimate treasure. Now, his connection to it was completely severed, its location a total mystery.
’The Solitary Skiff?’
Shi Ming’s Spiritual Power scanned the area, and he sensed a faint trace of a Lust Demon’s aura.
’Bai Yimo?’
’Did that Lust Demon escape from the star-cave?’
’Was it because of this Angler?’
"Stop spewing nonsense, old man."
Shi Ming was speechless. He had wanted to explore the "Civilization’s Backbone" a bit longer to see if he could find anything else of interest, but he never expected this Old Deng to destroy the entire world. With the realm collapsing, he had no choice but to leave.
And now he was accusing him of stealing his boat?
Shi Ming wasn’t afraid of a prolonged fight.
However, his ship, the *Da Yun*, was hidden in a nearby nebula. If it got caught in the crossfire, his mobile base would suffer unnecessary damage.
"Old man! We have a saying in the 21st Cosmic Country: The green mountains don’t change, and the clear waters flow on. We’ll meet again someday."
Using this as a diversion, Shi Ming
flashed toward the *Da Yun*, hidden in the nebula.
"Trying to escape? Little thief, you think you can get away? Hand over my Solitary Skiff, and all the treasures you stole from these three star-caves!"
Shi Ming was already back aboard the *Da Yun*.
He stood on the deck, watching the Angler speed toward him.
"When I decide to leave, no one can stop me."
"Watch closely, old man."
The Stellar-class drifter ship thrummed to life.
Then, as the Angler watched, it defied all rules and dove straight into the Dark Cosmos. In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace.
...
...
...
The Angler was stunned.
’What was that?’
’Dark Cosmos transition? How is it possible to enter the Dark Cosmos from deep within a star-cave? Not even a New God could do that! Who is this kid?’
’Was it one of his Illusion Techniques?’
’Or some other skill?’
It was as if the Angler’s entire worldview had been shattered. He used his Spiritual Power, which was not his forte, to scan every inch of the surrounding space. He looked back at the now-dead star-cave and the spot where his Solitary Skiff had vanished.
There was nothing and no one.
For a moment, it seemed he had lost everything.
"BASTARD!"
A terrifying power erupted from his body, instantly blasting away the mist shrouding the nebula. His roar of fury and indignation echoed endlessly across the vast Star Sea.