Earth's Greatest Magus

The formation array prepared by Klea had not been designed merely to weaken the aperture.

Its greater purpose was stabilization.

An ownerless aperture, especially one belonging to a fallen Three Cosmos expert, was inherently unstable. Once forced open, such a domain could collapse violently, destroying everything within. Klea’s layered formation anchors continuously drained excess energy while preserving the core structure, keeping the fractured world intact long enough to be explored.

At the center of the chamber floated a pulsing mass of condensed energy, irregular in shape and wrapped in shifting mist. It throbbed like a wounded heart, releasing waves of unstable brilliance that distorted the surrounding air.

Emery stepped before it and placed his palm against the surface, then slowly channeled his spirit energy inside.

The reaction was immediate.

Like a dying star suddenly reigniting, the lump swelled outward and began drawing in the surrounding air with powerful suction. Streams of vapor erupted from its surface and spread into a vast cloud of swirling smoke. The aperture was awakening.

Emery took one step forward and raised his other hand. His divine sense sharpened into a focused point, then sank into the barrier. At the same time, he increased the pressure of his spirit energy.

“Open.”

Ripples spread through the clouded surface.

The aperture trembled violently as bursts of golden light scattered like sparks from hammered metal. For a brief moment it seemed ready to yield, but then its natural defenses awakened. Like every aperture he had forcibly entered before, the remnant mark of its master soul rose to deny him entry.

The Chimera Sovereign’s spiritual signature still remained within the domain, instinctively rejecting any foreign presence.

With calm confidence, Emery raised both hands and began weaving incantation runes into the air. His fingers moved in precise patterns as lines of silver light spiraled outward, interlocking one after another.

This was a spatial art taught to him by Veyarel.

[Runelock Threading]

The runes shimmered with delicate strands of light and rotated inward around the aperture. Rather than attacking directly, they moved with patient precision, probing every inch of the defensive lattice in search of weakness. They traced seams, tested unstable joints, and hunted for the smallest fractures concealed within the domain’s runic structure.

Once they found them—

They slipped inside.

Thin threads of spatial force entered the gaps and began unraveling the barrier from within, tearing apart the structure layer by layer where it was weakest.

Breaking into the aperture of a Three Cosmos cultivator was never simple. But this aperture had already been weakened by Klea’s formation and with the combine of Emery’s powerful divine sense and a masterful spatial technique, the balance slowly shifted.

Then at last—

A faint crack appeared across the fabric of the domain.

The moment it formed, Emery acted instantly. He activated Spirit Devour, anchoring the breach with devouring force before the aperture could regenerate and seal itself shut.

The crack widened into a stable opening.

“It’s ready,” Emery said as he glanced back toward Klea. “I’m going in now.”

Klea remained at the outer formation ring, maintaining the stabilizing array with steady focus.

“Alright,” she said with a smile. “Good luck.”

Without another word, Emery stepped toward the breach and entered the Chimera Sovereign’s concealed world.

Emery descended through a dense layer of cloud and vapor until the hidden world beneath finally revealed itself.

At first glance, the domain was smaller than expected.

For a Three Cosmos cultivator, it was far from impressive, stretching less than a hundred miles across.

The place was desolate.

Barren wastelands spread across the horizon. Dry mountain ridges rose from cracked earth like the bones of a dead world. Vast deserts of pale dust shifted beneath restless winds, while scattered valleys showed signs of long neglect. Even the spiritual atmosphere felt thin and uneven.

It was immediately clear that the Chimera Sovereign had placed little care into the development of his own inner world.

Emery expanded his divine sense across the entire realm.

Nine separate concentrations of spirit aura quickly revealed themselves, each isolated from the others and arranged like controlled habitats rather than natural regions.

One was a deep cavern swarming with three or four species of armored insects that fed on mineral walls.

Another was a dark lake inhabited by aggressive eel-like creatures crackling with faint elemental current.

There was a stagnant swamp filled with scaled lizards, a windswept grassland covered in white spirit reeds, a volcanic trench containing fire-blooded beetles, and several more zones occupied by beasts, herbs, or lesser spirit resources.

Yet after closer inspection, none of them were remarkable.

Most of the creatures were mid-grade at best. The herbs and materials were similarly ordinary, useful enough for commerce or refinement, but nowhere near the treasures one would expect from a feared Three Cosmos Sovereign.

There were no palaces.

No treasure halls.

The only structure of significance stood at the center of the domain.

There, rising from the wasteland, lay massive stone ruins stretching hundreds of meters in every direction. Broken slabs of black stone littered the ground. Deep channels carved with runes ran through the earth like severed veins, many still glowing faintly with lingering power. Heavy chains, shattered pillars, and fragments of ancient constructs were scattered across the site.

Emery landed silently among the ruins and studied the layout.

With only a brief examination, he estimated that at least seven colossal rune monoliths had once stood around the central platform.

All of them had been destroyed recently.

The fractures were fresh. The remaining energy signatures were unstable. Emery immediately summoned VIA to analyze the runic patterns while transmitting mental images outward to Klea through their connection.

While they worked, he rose back into the air and began sweeping through the rest of the domain personally.

Even at high speed, it took only minutes to cross the entire realm.

When he finished, he released a disappointed sigh.

There was no hidden vault.

No sealed inheritance.

No mountain of spirit stones concealed beneath the earth.

No secret garden of legendary herbs.

Nothing.

After a short while, VIA and Klea returned their conclusions.

The ruined structure at the center had once been a large sacrificial control altar. It was the place where the spirit shaman bound his spirit beasts. The six destroyed monoliths likely functioned as suppression pillars used to anchor powerful creatures.

Based on the damage, most of the connected beasts had probably died when the Sovereign’s body exploded and the domain lost balance.

As for the nine habitats scattered across the realm, they were feeding grounds.

Breeding pens.

Controlled ecosystems maintained only to raise prey, venom, or replacement stock for the master’s chained beasts.

Hearing that explanation, Emery’s disappointment deepened.

No wonder the Chimera Sovereign’s spirit had remained calm and unconcerned when knowing Emery intention to enter the aperture. The old monster had known there was little here worth protecting.

Unwilling to leave empty-handed, Emery decided that even lesser gains were still gains.

He spent the next half hour moving across the domain, systematically harvesting every resource of value. Spirit herbs were uprooted and sealed into storage containers. Mineral deposits were extracted from cliff faces. Insect colonies were collected whole and transferred into preservation chambers. Several useful beast species from the nine habitats were captured.

None of it was extraordinary.

But accumulated together, it was still a respectable harvest.

When he had finally finished, Emery rose into the sky and let out a long breath. The barren world below had little left worth taking, and the domain itself was growing increasingly unstable. He was ready to leave.

Then—

He paused midair.

A faint sensation brushed across his instincts.

Something was watching him.

Emery turned sharply, divine sense sweeping the empty sky behind him.

Nothing.

He narrowed his eyes.

Certain that he had not imagined it, he activated the sixth layer of his Pagoda, sharpening his perception. The world around him seemed to slow as countless hidden traces became visible.

There.

A slight distortion behind a broken slab of stone near the ruins.

As Emery’s gaze locked onto the location, two yellow eyes suddenly opened from the shadows and stared back at him.

For a brief instant, man and beast measured one another.

Then the hidden figure fled.

It burst from concealment like a streak of silver wind, shooting across the sky with astonishing speed.

Emery moved immediately and gave chase.

Yet after only moments, surprise flashed through his mind. Even with divine sense fully extended, tracking the creature’s movement was difficult. Its flight path twisted unnaturally, vanishing and reappearing through blind angles, blending with cloud and terrain as if the world itself helped hide it.

Then it disappeared completely.

Emery halted in midair.

Instead of continuing the pursuit blindly, he changed tactics at once.

With a single thought, he flew straight toward the domain’s breach point—the only stable exit leading outside.

He hovered before the opening and spoke aloud, his voice carrying through the collapsing world.

“This domain is dying.”

His eyes swept the empty sky.

“And this is the only way out.”

A beast with such power should possess intelligence. Even if it did not, survival instinct alone would drive it toward escape.

As expected, once the weakened domain began to tremble more violently, cracks spreading through the sky like shattered glass, Emery sensed a disturbance in the air behind him.

He reacted instantly.

His divine sense locked onto a faint silhouette streaking toward the exit.

[Spectral Gaze]

Invisible mental force surged outward and struck the target. The fleeing figure staggered mid-flight, its concealment interrupted just long enough for its true form to emerge.

An ape, barely a meter tall, covered in long silvery fur that flowed like moonlit water. Sharp golden eyes burned with wild intelligence. Even restrained, it radiated dangerous strength.

A spirit beast.

Most likely the only surviving bonded beast of the Chimera Sovereign.

The creature roared furiously and struggled against Emery’s suppression, proving powerful enough to partially resist his mental hold. It twisted violently in the air, trying to break free and vanish once more.

Emery wasted no time.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Varkhall Banner.

The beast-taming artifact unfurled in the air, releasing chains of runic light that descended upon the silver ape. The creature fought savagely, striking, tearing, and roaring as the bindings tightened around its limbs and torso.

The struggle lasted several intense minutes.

Only when the domain’s collapse worsened and the banner’s suppressive aura fully enveloped it did the ape finally cease resisting. Its chest heaved, golden eyes still filled with defiance, but it no longer attacked.

At that same moment, VIA completed its analysis.

[Spirit Beast Identified]

[Silver Veil Ape]

Additional data followed.

An extremely rare spirit beast known for exceptional concealment ability.

Emery’s disappointment from earlier disappeared instantly.

The barren domain had hidden one true treasure after all.