The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 1557: Star Sealing Runic Cage

“It’s not like it matters,” Cain muttered under his breath. Without any hint of mercy or ceremony, he sent the unconscious pair of Divine Transformation Masters directly into his Luminous Phoenix Heart.

Intense flames erupted, incinerating the two bodies as if they were nothing more than tinder. Their flesh burned away in a matter of seconds, followed swiftly by the crumbling of their bones. A surge of vitality then coursed through Cain’s flesh and blood, focusing especially on his Rebirth Heart.

As the two Divine Transformation Masters were consumed down to the last speck, Cain felt his Rebirth Heart pulse with renewed strength. However, as the embers faded, he realized there were two things left completely untouched by the Luminous Phoenix flames.

“As I expected,” he said softly. “They’re not so easy to destroy.”

Hovering within the fiery domain were two motionless entities: a strange spider and a black butterfly. These were the Gu Insects belonging to the cultivators Cain had just annihilated. While they had no active power on their own—being inert without their hosts—they retained an inherent invulnerability that kept the flames from consuming them. As Third Realm phenomena, Gu Insects were notoriously resilient, and mere flames, however powerful, could not easily harm them.

Glancing away from the inert Gu Insects, Cain’s gaze shifted toward the corpses of the Apotheosis Masters still floating above the river. Their bodies trembled with dark energy as the Gu Insects within them began to feed, devouring any remaining blood, energy, or life force. In some cases, these Gu Insects burst directly out of the corpses, growing larger and more fearsome as they gobbled up everything, right down to the last drop of blood.

Under normal circumstances, Cain would have used his own Gu Insect to devour the incapacitated Insects in his Luminous Phoenix Heart and the ones emerging from the floating corpses. But he did not possess a Gu Insect. Allowing them to remain here was unacceptable since anyone else who stumbled upon this scene could reap these Gu Insects for themselves.

Yet Cain was not out of options. He had not spent the last few weeks submerged in the river merely biding his time. He had prepared meticulously for exactly this kind of scenario.

Rolling up his sleeve, Cain revealed an intricate rune on his left forearm. “Star Sealing Runic Cage,” he whispered, a satisfied glint in his nebula-like eyes.

This Runic Formation was modeled after the very same formation the Sky Sovereign once used to contain a Tier 9 Astral Supremacy Star within his own heart after the death of his body. Of course, Cain’s version was far less powerful than the original, but it remained immensely formidable, standing at a half-step Prima Deity rank.

The Star Sealing Runic Cage was not meant to imprison something as large and powerful as a star in its prime. Instead, Cain had adapted it to trap the smaller but numerous Gu Insects he was likely to encounter. As he channeled energy through the runic formation, the sigil began to glow, projecting a subtle force that latched onto the dormant Gu Insects.

All at once, the spider and the black butterfly within his Luminous Phoenix Heart, along with the various Gu Insects hovering above the water, were pulled into the glowing rune, disappearing from sight as they became sealed within the formation.

A wide smile crossed Cain’s face. “Everything’s going according to plan,” he said under his breath, nodding in approval.

Satisfied, he turned back to the remaining unconscious Divine Ascension Masters—those who had survived his earlier roar but had passed out from the aftershocks. With a single gesture, he transported them into his Luminous Phoenix Heart as well. The same scorching flames devoured their bodies, gifting him another surge of healing energy.

Cain’s smile deepened as he felt his Astral Rebirth Path of Power gradually stabilizing. He still had a ways to go before recovering his full might, but each increment of vital force brought him closer. Naturally, he did not forget to capture their Gu Insects, sealing them inside the Star Sealing Runic Cage.

With the battlefield cleared of hostiles, Cain’s focus shifted to the memories he had extracted from the two Divine Transformation Masters. In particular, one of them—an Inferno Daemon woman—had revealed vital intelligence about a Core Elder Karun, a faction leader.

“Core Elder Karun, is it?” Cain mused, a hint of anticipation dancing in his eyes. “No point in wandering aimlessly when I can hunt the strong directly.”

Though it was risky to go after a faction leader—especially since Cain could only utilize his Essence Evolution Path for combat—he recognized that time was not on his side. The longer he waited, the more these powerful figures would consolidate their armies and strengthen their Gu Insects. If they became too strong, even Cain might struggle to overcome them.

He refused to allow himself to be hunted like a dog in the Gu World. Instead, he would seize the initiative, turning the tables on his enemies.

Without further delay, he locked onto the location described in his stolen memories and flashed forward.

It took Cain less than two hours to reach his destination—a titanic mountain that seemed to pierce the clouds, ice crusted on every surface. At a distance, it looked almost like a gigantic spear thrusting into the Crystal Wall.

“This must be the Freezing Peak,” Cain noted, recalling the name from the Inferno Daemon’s memory. According to her recollection, Core Elder Karun had chosen this freezing fortress as his command center.

High above, near the summit, Cain spotted a massive city—newly constructed but already fortified by three imposing towers. Glacial mists drifted in the air, hinting at powerful defensive formations that tapped into the region’s elemental energy.

Cain’s eyes narrowed. Assaulting the fortress head-on would be suicidal, especially with his current limitations.

Instead, Cain masked his presence, descending smoothly until he merged with the frozen ground beneath him.

“As much as I’d love to break down the front door, I’ll have to be patient,” he reflected silently. “Better to monitor the area. If I wait for their scouting parties or supply lines to come and go, I can pick them off one by one.”