Chapter 864 – Severing the Dark Gold Pillar

As the divination results came into clear focus, Mo Lan’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper. “How can it be… there?”

The location of the Well of the Sky indicated by her Divination Magic coincided perfectly with the point where the dark gold pillar of light penetrated the boundary membrane!

The Starsea Ark cautiously navigated to that region, and the sight before them not only confirmed the divination but brought an even deeper shock.

The terminus of the dark gold pillar of light resembled a massive, opaque piece of amber, completely encasing and sealing within it the Well of the Sky and its surrounding Explorer’s Camp — which should have been integrated with the boundary membrane. Though this area still lay within the Celestial Profound Realm’s boundary membrane, it had been thoroughly isolated from it.

“It seems that without first destroying this dark gold pillar, there’s no way to restore the Well of the Sky to normal operation and receive native cultivators!”

Mo Lan hesitated no further. She had Zhizhi pilot the Starsea Ark away from the Celestial Profound Realm’s boundary membrane and back into the void.

“Target locked — the dark gold energy pillar ahead.” Mo Lan’s voice was extraordinarily calm. “Activate attack mode! Release Sixth Rank spatial blade!”

In the next instant, a card ejected from the Starsea Ark’s boundary membrane, transforming in the void into a silver mega-blade spanning half a world, and hurtled toward the nearby dark gold energy pillar in a ferocious strike!

Wherever the spatial blade passed, the void itself warped and twisted.

However, just as the spatial blade was about to make contact with the dark gold pillar—

“Hummm—”

An indescribably powerful will descended along the dark gold pillar, and the defensive power of the dark gold energy pillar instantly multiplied several times over.

“CLANG—!”

The Sixth Rank spatial blade — powerful enough to cut through a Rank Ten world’s boundary membrane — struck the dark gold pillar and produced an ear-piercing shriek like divine iron clashing against divine iron. The rampaging spatial power and the dark gold energy pillar collided against each other, churning the surrounding void into chaos.

The spatial blade cut halfway through with great difficulty before finally exhausting its power, shattering into countless silver motes of light that scattered and vanished.

Fortunately, a crack had appeared on the dark gold pillar as well, its glow flickering uncertainly.

Even as Mo Lan sensed the fury emanating from the dark gold pillar, she continued issuing orders to Clack without hesitation: “Strike again!”

If she were currently inside the giant plane, or within either of those two Eighth Rank worlds that had previously divined as “great misfortune” or “minor misfortune,” she would have worried about the world consciousness controlling the boundary membrane’s energy against her.

But right now, she was at a Second Rank world separated by the endless void, and outside the boundary membrane at that.

No matter how powerful a world consciousness was, it could not directly affect beings outside its world.

Even a world beyond the Thirteenth Rank was no exception!

Another card flickering with dangerous silver light ejected. The second Sixth Rank spatial blade had already taken form, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it tore through the void once more and slashed down viciously upon the dark gold pillar that had just suffered heavy damage and had not yet fully recovered!

The cracks on the dark gold pillar spread further, yet it still did not shatter. Energy continuously flowed along the pillar to this location, repairing it — the freshly carved fissures were quickly mended for the most part.

This time, Mo Lan took over personally, pressing the attack button again and again.

Third strike!

Fourth strike!

Fifth strike!

…

It was not until the seventh strike fell that, accompanied by a crisp snap, the dark gold energy pillar could hold on no longer and fractured into pieces.

Starting from the point of fracture, the pillar’s glow rapidly dimmed and collapsed in both directions, finally vanishing into the void.

“We did it!”

Inside the command center, Zhizhi cheered with delight. Sentai’s roots swayed gently, recording this historic moment. The soul fire in Clack’s skull flickered excitedly.

Yet not a trace of joy could be seen on Mo Lan’s face.

Her hand remained firmly on the attack button, her gaze sharp as a hawk’s, fixed intently on the direction from which the energy pillar had originated.

Her worries had not faded with the pillar’s destruction — if anything, they had grown heavier.

A world consciousness truly could not directly affect beings beyond its boundary membrane, but… a spellcaster within the world, if powerful enough, certainly could!

The dark gold energy pillar was essentially composed of boundary membrane energy from that giant world — it was a part of that world’s boundary membrane.

Now that the energy pillar had been severed, and that world could no longer draw source power from this one, would the giant world’s consciousness seek aid from the powerful spellcasters within it?

Ascension from lower worlds was so swift — surely that giant world could dispatch a powerful figure to this location with equal speed!

The only question was whether the destruction of the dark gold energy pillar mid-transit would have any effect on the incoming spellcaster.

That was a world beyond the Thirteenth Rank — the most powerful spellcasters within it could be Eighth Rank or even Ninth Rank!

Were it not for the Divination Magic’s clear result of “great fortune,” were it not for the disposable Mana reserves in her Book of Cards having reached the trillions once again, her usual caution would have dictated fleeing the instant the pillar was severed, never lingering even a single breath longer.

Just as Mo Lan maintained her full vigilance, a sudden disturbance erupted in the void ahead!

A blurred figure radiating suffocating pressure came hurtling from the distance.

Though its aura appeared chaotic and gravely wounded, it still filled Mo Lan with immense pressure.

Without waiting for it to draw close, Mo Lan immediately pressed the attack button.

The Starsea Ark’s attack systems went to full power, sparing no energy. Countless Sixth Rank Magic Cards poured forth, engulfing the dangerous figure in a deluge that left it completely overwhelmed, unable to advance a single step.

Simultaneously, Mo Lan rapidly channeled her Mana and began layering curse after curse upon the approaching figure.

At that very moment, a rampaging energy storm swept through, passing directly through the area of concentrated bombardment.

The figure within could not dodge in time and was instantly stripped of its defenses by the energy storm.

The Sixth Rank Magic that previously would have inflicted only minor injuries now became death sentences.

Without protection, every searing fireball, every razor-sharp ice spike, every warping spatial blade struck its body with full force — and this was not a being who had tempered its physical form!

The torrential storm of Magic continued to pour down without cease. Its aura rapidly withered until it was utterly annihilated amid the raging energy maelstrom and the endless brilliance of Magic.

“Dead?” Mo Lan recalled that cultivators also practiced refining their primordial spirits — sometimes even when the physical body was destroyed, the primordial spirit could escape and seize another body for rebirth. So she did not cease her attack immediately, continuing the bombardment for several more minutes, plowing that stretch of void back and forth multiple times. Only after even the energy storm had subsided did she finally stop.

Looking at the Book of Cards and seeing that the disposable Mana she had painstakingly accumulated over the years — over twenty trillion Mana — had dwindled to less than nine trillion Mana, she couldn’t help but wince at the cost.

“This alone hardly counts as ‘great fortune’!” Mo Lan felt certain there must be deeper benefits that had yet to reveal themselves.

“Clack! Go take a look!” Mo Lan kept her eyes locked on the screen.