Chapter 556 - 378: Eternal Night Mother Tree, Returning to Silver Sail City

The Ox-headed Demon King’s soul was screaming warnings at it. If it dared to refuse, it would die in the next instant.

"I... I have some!" it stammered, pulling several black crystals from its chest. Sealed inside each was a writhing mass of Shadow Energy.

"These are Shadow Essences, a rare treasure even in the Shadow World. And this..."

It took out a few more items: Shadow Crystals, Yin Soul Grass, and Dark Dust... Each one emanated a dense shadow aura.

Ian glanced at them and shook his head. "Far from enough. Are there any High Tier resources nearby, like Level Four Shadow Crystals?"

Not wanting to waste time, he directly retrieved a Level Four Soul Gem from his Dimension Ring.

"Trade me all your resources and information. And remember, my patience is limited."

The moment the gemstone appeared, the Ox-headed Shadow Demon King’s breathing hitched. "Is that... a Level Four..."

The Ox-headed Shadow Demon King swallowed hard, its eyes glued to the gemstone, and finally gritted its teeth and nodded.

"There is! Thirty thousand li to the west, there’s a place called the ’Shadow Swamp.’ In it grows a juvenile ’Eternal Night Mother Tree,’ over a million years old. The ’Shadow Fruit’ it bears is a Tier Four resource."

It shot Ian a glance and added, "But it has an owner. It belongs to the ’King of Shadows’ of this region, whose power is comparable to a Radiant Moon Wizard from your world."

"It’s usually dormant, but any creature that approaches the ancient tree is guaranteed to die."

Ian’s heart skipped a beat. ’An Eternal Night Mother Tree, here!’

It was an existence on par with the World Tree, only slightly inferior, and also the best possible Void Energy Core for a Wizard Tower.

To get news of such a treasure so easily... but a Level Five Radiant Moon was not someone he could currently fight.

After the Fourth Realm, every minor realm represented a massive gap in strength, let alone crossing an entire major realm.

’It seems this damn ox has ill intentions. It’s probably on bad terms with this King of Shadows, too.’

"Understood." He casually put away the Soul Gemstone, gathered all the resources the Ox-headed Shadow Demon King had offered into his hand, and turned to leave.

"Do not speak of my visit today to anyone. Otherwise..."

He glanced back at the Ox-headed Shadow Demon King, and a golden, star-like radiance suddenly flared in his eyes.

"AHH!" The Ox-headed Shadow Demon King felt its very soul seared by a scorching, pure, and irresistible Rule.

"Human Wizard... You’re unreasonable!"

"It’s just a small ’mark’," Ian replied nonchalantly.

"If you dare reveal my existence, I will find you directly next time. You know the consequences."

He then raised a hand and gently tore at the Void, ripping open a fissure in space.

Ian stepped through and vanished into the fissure, with Gaga close behind.

The fissure closed, and the gray mist returned to calm, leaving only the Ox-headed Shadow Demon King standing in place, its eyes filled with resentment.

It looked down at its chest, where a faint, crimson-gold mark had appeared, like a miniature fixed star slowly rotating beneath its skin.

"Damn you, human Wizard! I curse you..." It muttered curses under its breath, a flash of terror in its eyes.

’This human is too dangerous. No, I have to find the King of Shadows and get him to remove this mark for me.’

With a look of intense frustration, it turned, transformed into a black shadow, and disappeared deep into the gray mist.

「Wizard World, Shadow Moon Tower.」

Ian stepped out of the fissure and landed on the Observatory.

Gaga landed beside him, a puzzled look on its face. "Ian, why didn’t you just kill that ox?"

"I could have killed it, but I can’t do that for now," Ian said, ruffling its head.

"The Shadow World is different from other worlds. It’s a very special place. Carelessly killing a Demon of Level Four or higher will attract the attention of unimaginable existences."

"This is a lesson learned by many Morning Star Wizards. This particular part of the Shadow World might not have any powerful Demons, but what about other places?"

"The Shadow World is the shadow-side of the entire universe; its sheer volume is the largest of all worlds."

"Other top-tier worlds, like the Wizard World or the Abyss World, might cover a dozen or so major World Clusters at most, but shadows are everywhere."

"Perhaps because it’s so vast, the Shadow World of each World Cluster is relatively independent and difficult to traverse between."

Ian looked at the shadow resources in his hand, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"This will be enough for you to advance to the Late Stage of Tier Three. Once we get to the Central Continent and find better resources, you can push for Tier Four."

Gaga nodded emphatically, its small eyes filled with trust. "I can definitely do it!"

「One day later, in a secret chamber at the top of Shadow Moon Tower.」

Ian sat on a stone chair, facing Endos, Louis, and Tessa.

"Here’s what you asked for." Endos raised his hand, and three pale gold crystals floated toward Ian.

"Two Tier Four Witchcraft Models and three incomplete Level Four Meditation Methods."

"And mine," Louis said, retrieving several enormous corpses from his Dimension Space.

They were pitch-black, their surfaces covered in dark purple patterns, and they emanated a distorted, chaotic Abyssal Aura.

"Tier Four Abyssal Demons. I brought them back from the front lines. Cost me quite a few favors."

Louis’s eyes held a hint of curiosity. "What do you want these for? The abyssal contamination on these corpses is very difficult to remove."

"Just a personal interest," Ian replied flatly.

He accepted the crystals from them, his Spiritual Power sweeping over them briefly.

The Witchcraft Models were complete. And while the Meditation Methods were fragmented, they would be a great help in deducing his future path.

As for the Abyssal Demon corpses, he casually stored them in his personal dimension.

"The transaction is complete." Ian put away the crystals and paid each of them a Soul Crystal.

"Until we meet again, Lord Marcus." The three were extremely satisfied and quickly vanished from the secret chamber.

After they left, Ian took out the corpses again and made a grasping motion with his hand from afar.

CHSS! CHSS! Wisps of pitch-black Demonic Qi were forcibly extracted from the corpses.

The Demonic Qi struggled and contorted in the air, letting out piercing shrieks. Ian slightly closed his fingers.

With a soft PUFF, the Demonic Qi was compressed into a black pearl the size of a rice grain and fell into the Jade Bottle in his hand.

Deprived of the Demonic Qi, the corpses collapsed with a CRUMPLE, turning into a pile of grayish-white dust.

The Demonic Qi from these few corpses had saved him several months of collection time.

In the Void, Endos and the other two gathered again. They exchanged a look, and each saw the solemn expression in the others’ eyes.

"This Marcus, why is he so keen on Abyssal Corpses? From the looks of it, he doesn’t seem to fear Demonic Qi contamination."

"This guy... he’s not simple," Louis said in a low voice.

"More than not simple," Tessa said, shaking her head. "For him to dare collect and study them, he must have his own unique methods. It’s definitely not just the Flame Rule he displays on the surface."

Endos was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "He’s heading to the Central Continent. We should just watch."

「Eastern Central Continent, above Silver Sail Port.」

A fissure silently tore open in space, and Ian’s figure stepped out from within.

He hovered high in the sky, looking down at the massive port city below. Returning here after several years, he felt a bit emotional.

The seven Crystal Giant Towers still stood tall, their peaks flowing with the silver light of runes. Countless ships were moored in the port, and the flow of people was like a woven tapestry, bustling and clamorous.

Ian’s Perception spread out silently. Deep within the port, he could sense the auras of at least five distinct Level Four Morning Stars.

He took a deep breath, a golden glint flashing in his eyes. This time, he would not hide.

A scorching Rule Fluctuation naturally emanated from his body, sweeping across the sky above Silver Sail Port.

Within the port, every Level Four Morning Star looked up at the same time.

One after another, vast Wills were projected from the depths of the seven giant towers, filled with scrutiny, curiosity, and vigilance.

’It’s that Morning Star who passed through before.’

’This Rule... it’s scorching and constant. A special Fire Element?’

’No, it’s not just fire, there’s something else... Such an unfamiliar aura. Where did he come from?’

The thoughts were transmitted rapidly between the Morning Stars, but no one made a rash move to test him.

Ian felt their gazes upon him, his expression calm as he slowly descended at the edge of the port.

The surrounding crowd parted automatically. Regardless of their Level, everyone subconsciously made way.

The pressure of a Morning Star Wizard, even when only passively released, was enough to make Low Tier Life forms tremble in awe.

Ian paid the gazes no mind and walked slowly toward the port’s interior with Gaga.

His gaze swept over a silver-blue castle in the distance—the residence of the Hawkwood Clan. He remembered that fellow named Collins from years ago was a member of the Hawkwood Clan.

Now that he was a Morning Star, such trivial matters had been delegated to Aidele to handle completely; he no longer gave them any thought.

Ian paused. A friendly mental message had just arrived, inviting him to a gathering—one exclusively for Morning Star Wizards.

’I might as well go and take a look. I might even find something unexpected.’

He took a step, vanished from the crowd in the port, and reappeared beside one of the crystal High Towers.