Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Purification

Aiden and his White Devil Emperor party stood before a massive broken structure, their eyes fixed on the ominous black smoke billowing from it. The structure, which resembled a half-broken temple or shrine, was a haunting sight, continually releasing dark fumes that seemed to taint the air around them.

The area surrounding the temple was dotted with a myriad of small houses, some of which were quite large. Each house emanated an eerie presence, a sense of disgusting presence that make feel Aiden and his party to not go near it.

“Undead, huh? Never thought I would find them here,” Aiden mumbled under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area.

Shelly, standing beside him, glanced over and said, “They are corrupted living, twisted by an evil cultivator’s dark arts.”

“Hmm, so that’s what they are called here,” Aiden nodded thoughtfully. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out three shimmering Divine Energy Crystals. “Three should be enough,” he said confidently.

With a flick, Aiden tossed the crystals into the air. As they ascended, he began to weave a complex spell. The air around him crackled with energy, and the crystals transformed, forming three glowing golden circles in the sky.

Shelly and Serina watched in amazement, their eyes wide with awe. The scene was surreal, the golden circles casting a warm, purifying glow over the entire ruin. It felt like they were witnessing a miracle.

“Grggggg… Gurhhhhhhhhh… Arghhhhhhhhhh…”

The sudden, guttural howling pulled their attention downwards. Below, they saw a horde of undead creatures, their forms twisted and grotesque, wailing in agony. One by one, the undead fell, their bodies disintegrating into ashes as the pure energy from the golden circles consumed them.

“What is this?” Serina asked, her voice tinged with both curiosity and fear.

“I infused them with pure energy, the opposite of the undead’s corrupted energy,” Aiden explained, his tone calm and assured. “When these opposing energies collide within them, it causes a violent reaction that burns them to ashes.”

The explanation made everyone nod in understanding, Serina looked at Aiden and thought inwardly ‘ My decision to follow him was right’

“That’s like a new discovery,” Shelly said, her eyes still wide with wonder. “We usually just burn them or use lightning, as only these two attacks work on them. This method is much more efficient.”

“Well, lightning and high temperatures from flames burn them to ashes, so no wonder they work on these kinds of creatures. After all, these corrupted beings don’t feel much pain,” Aiden nodded and replied.

“WHO DARES!” A heavy shout resounded from the temple, and the shockwave generated from the shout alone knocked over many houses.

Aiden solemnly looked at the newcomer. He was an old man with broken teeth and a bent body, but the strength in that bent body was terrifying.

The old man’s eyes swept over all of them, and he sinisterly said, “Did you kill my underlings?” His malice-filled voice seemed to carry corruption.

Serina paled as she looked at the old man. “He is a Spirit Saint peak, like me,” she said.

Her eyes darted to Aiden, wanting to see his reaction, and she saw him flashing a battle-manic smile.

Serina calmed and looked at Shelly. Seeing Shelly’s expression as she looked at the old man as if he were an ant, she felt reassured. ‘At least even if he is reckless, his life wouldn’t be in danger,’ she thought and waited to see what would happen next.

The old man frowned as he saw no one answering him. He released his cultivation aura and asked once again, “I asked, who killed my cute underlings?”

But then, in the next second, he made a dumbfounded face as he saw the two women standing straight without much change in their expressions. The most bizarre thing was the boy between them, who looked around and played with the spirit pressure as if he found it intriguing.

‘Who the fuck are these people?’ the old man frowned and thought inwardly. ‘Should I run?’ he wondered.

Just as he was contemplating his next move, a sudden voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Hmm, Shelly, release your full cultivation base,” Aiden’s voice sounded.

Shelly smiled and then released her pressure. The old man’s bent body fully bent as he fell face flat on the ground, even causing the ground around him to sink.

‘As expected, the phenomenon of releasing Spirit pressure is like putting all of one’s Spirit energy on another person. If the other person has the same amount of weight of spirit pressure inside their body, they will endure it, or rather, they won’t feel anything. But if their own capacity is lower than the other side, they will feel the weight of the spirit pressure,’ Aiden thought. ‘It’s like scuba diving—the more one goes in depth, the more they feel the weight of water over them.’

Satisfied with his observations, Aiden told Shelly to withdraw her pressure.

As the pressure was removed, the old man hurriedly stood up, his broken body trembling as he kneeled before Shelly. “S-Senior, please spare my life!” he pleaded.

‘What the fuck is this? Wasn’t this part of the continent supposed to be the weakest? So what is a Spirit God like her doing here?’ He mentally cursed his bad luck.

He had run all the way from the Eastern part of the continent to here to cultivate his strength by stealing the vitality of people. His plan had worked, allowing him to jump from Spirit Lord to peak Spirit Saint within a year. But it seemed his luck had run out, meeting such a powerhouse here.

Aiden looked at the old man pleading and then landed 100 meters away from him. Curiously looking at the old man, he said, “Let’s have a match between you and my servants. If you win, I will let you leave. If not, you will die,” Aiden proposed.

The old man raised his brows as he gazed at the white-haired kid. ‘This kid is probably from a noble house. Kekeke, good for me. He thinks he owns the world just because he has a Spirit God powerhouse with him. I can easily win this and just run away. If his family can provide him with a Spirit God like her, there is no way I can risk killing him. Not to mention, I can’t even kill him,’ the old man thought inwardly and then nodded.

“Okay, I will fight with you,” he said. Then, taking a pill, he healed himself. Next, he took out a gourd-like object and, removing its stopper, summoned a flesh golem.

“I will be using this,” he said, smirking inside. He thought the kid would already be scared out of his wits and would forfeit at any time.

Shelly and Serina frowned, seeing the disgusting being the old man summoned. It was made of various flesh pieces sewn together, with faces all over its body and bones protruding like spikes. Overall, it looked like a grotesque version of the flesh golems from Diablo.

“Very well, my turn,” Aiden said. He then clapped his hands and opened them, revealing three black crystals. The old man, seeing them, felt his very soul ache for those crystals. ‘Such pure darkness,’ he felt captivated by their power, but the next move of Aiden left him dumbfounded.

“Ancient Dullahan Creation,” Aiden mumbled. From the ruins, ashes began to collect in front of Aiden, taking the shape of an imposing figure. The air around them seemed to grow colder as the entity took form.

The Dullahan stood tall, towering over everyone present. Its body was clad in blackish-red heavy armor that seemed ancient, covered in intricate runes and battle scars. The armor exuded an aura of malevolence, its dark metallic sheen reflecting a crimson glow.

Instead of a head, there was a burning skull that floated above its neck. The skull was engulfed in eerie blue flames, which flickered and danced menacingly. Its empty eye sockets glowed with an unholy light, and its jaw hung open as if in a perpetual silent scream.

In one hand, the Dullahan held a massive, two-handed sword. The blade was as dark as the void, etched with glowing red runes that pulsed rhythmically. In its other hand, it carried a gruesome whip made of chains and bone, crackling with dark energy.

The very ground beneath the Dullahan’s feet seemed to wither and die, and a sense of dread permeated the air around it. This was no mere summoned creature; it was an ancient entity of immense power and terror, a relic from a time long forgotten.

The old man’s face twisted in horror as he took in the sight of the Dullahan. The grotesque flesh golem he had summoned now seemed pitifully inadequate in comparison to this terrifying being.

Aiden looked at the old man and said, “Let’s see if your creation can stand against mine”

Shelly and Serina although curious at why Aiden is using a Demonic art, kept their silences as although it seems Demonic art, Aiden summoned it using Black Crystals of his, So, they dont know what to think of it.