Sovereign of the Ashes

Anyone involved in interplanar or even cross-star domain trade understood well that a complete star chart was the foundation of survival in the Astral Realm.

The complex star chart the God of Dusk Desire had just provided was valuable enough to buy back at least half his life—and he had taken a real risk in handing it over.

If the ruler of Water Ripple World or the Spring Lords of the Myriad Springs Worlds ever found out he had sold star charts of their surrounding regions, he would be in serious trouble.

But when faced with a choice between possibly being killed in the future or dying right now at Sein’s hands, the God of Dusk Desire chose the former.

At least that way, he could live a little longer.

In the end, the chart he gave Sein of the Myriad Springs Worlds was still incomplete.

It was not because he was withholding information or anything, but because he had never ventured far into it himself. He only knew that cluster of worlds was vast and filled with powerful beings.

During his visits, he had stayed near the outer regions, traveling between a limited number of border planes.

Most of the law-infused spring waters and rare resources he had acquired came from the Vitality Spring.

That particular Spring Lord was relatively easy to deal with.

With Rank Five strength, he was slightly stronger than the ruler of Water Ripple World.

For deeper knowledge of the Myriad Springs Worlds, the ruler of Water Ripple World or native powerhouses of that star domain, like the Vitality Spring, would likely know more.

Even if Sein were to extract the God of Dusk Desire’s soul, he would probably not gain much more.

When Sein asked about the true strength of the Myriad Springs Worlds, the God of Dusk Desire hesitated before answering.

“I’ve heard it’s a large-sized world with immense power, but I’ve never gone deep into it. The farthest I have reached is the Rainbow Spring World, a medium-sized plane within that world cluster.”

“It’s said that the Rainbow Spring possesses Rank Six strength,” he added carefully.

***

Sein had only just learned of the Myriad Springs Worlds.

With his limited knowledge, he had no idea that it had once been part of the Magus Alliance.

However, due to its great distance from the Magus Civilization’s territories and a mix of other factors, the large-sized world cluster had eventually broken away and developed on its own.

At first, Sein had not been sure where he and Tourmaline should go next.

But after hearing about the Myriad Springs Worlds, he decided it was worth a visit.

From the God of Dusk Desire’s description, it was not hard to tell that this was a relatively peaceful and highly independent region.

Aside from a few Spring Lords with extreme or volatile temperaments, most of them were said to be fairly easy to deal with.

More importantly, as a large-sized world cluster, it might have some knowledge of the Magus Civilization and possibly a route back to it.

With that in mind, Sein and his group followed the star chart they had acquired and set course for the Myriad Springs Worlds.

Of course, before leaving, Sein made a detour to Flowing Water Plane to collect an additional payment from the God of Dusk Desire in exchange for sparing his life.

As they departed the Vermi Star Domain, the surrounding space-time fluctuation zones were still in the middle of their once-every-five-hundred-years active phase.

Sein did not know whether other unusual lifeforms or rare materials, like the strange meteor he had encountered, might appear during this time.

But he had neither the time nor the interest to go treasure hunting.

Given both his and Tourmaline’s savings, there was no need to risk entering those unstable, dangerous spacetime zones.

If the Vermi Star Domain truly produced valuable treasures every five hundred years, it would not still be such a small star domain. It would have produced far more than just a handful of law-wielding beings.

***

The group left the Vermi Star Domain.

Sein still could not establish any connection with Magus World or his Divine Tower of Ashes.

The distance was probably too great and far beyond the range his power could bridge.

But now that they were free at last from the interference of space-time forces, Tourmaline began to notice something with the help of her bloodline.

“I can sense my family in that direction,” she said, leaning against Sein as she pointed toward the dark edge of the star domain.

Only the faintest starlight flickered there. On the star chart provided by the God of Dusk Desire, that entire region was blank.

According to him, there were no complete planes in that direction—only scattered demiplanes and broken planes that were not worth exploring.

Some had ventured deep into that region before, but even after centuries of searching, they found nothing.

The Astral Realm was simply too vast. Even a Rank Four being was nothing more than a speck within it.

What did a few hundred years amount to in the grand scale of the Astral Realm?

Perhaps those explorers had not gone the wrong way—only not far enough.

Before they ever encountered another civilization, they were swallowed by the endless darkness, worn down by doubt and uncertainty, and eventually gave up.

What made Sein hesitate was that the direction Tourmaline pointed to was the same one where the meteor had disappeared.

He reached out and ruffled her hair. Ever since the last crisis, she had grown noticeably more clingy.

Sein let out a quiet sigh. “The God of Dusk Desire said that even after centuries, no one has found any complete planes in that direction. How much time can we afford to waste?”

He continued via mental focus, “With nothing but a vague bloodline pull and no reliable star chart, heading into that unknown region is too risky. Let’s go to the Myriad Springs Worlds first. If we still can’t find a way back, we can look for another way later.”

Tourmaline nodded obediently. She would always listen to him.

As for that bloodline pull she felt, it was clearly not connected to her parents or siblings.

Between chasing distant relatives she had never met and staying with Sein, the choice was obvious.

“Let’s go.”

Holding her a little closer, Sein led the group forward, heading toward the destination marked on the star chart.

***

The battlefield of the Grand Cosmic World...

While the Magus Civilization sent out envoys to seek aid from allied planes and civilizations, the situation here took another sharp turn.

The one who caused it was none other than the Third Pharaoh of the Amenkha Empire.

As a peak Rank Eight being and a top-tier powerhouse wielding his civilization’s treasure—the Sealing Chains—he had no interest in playing a game of cat and mouse with the Grand Cosmic World or the Magus Civilization.

Leading an elite legion himself, he drove straight into the very heart of the Grand Cosmic World.

There, the Rank Eight Cosmic King, the Fire Phoenix Overlord, and Vivian—the former leader of the Northern Witches Council—faced this terrifying, unprecedented presence.