[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-emperor-of-the-source":3,"chapter-emperor-of-the-source-emperor-of-the-source-chapter-132":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Emperor of the Source",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1713130,2188,"Chapter 131: The Beacon of Life","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-132",132,"\u003Cp>Several days earlier…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the golden-white light of the Origin Net first began spreading across the galaxy, an unseen ripple traveled through the deep void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far beyond the reaches of the galactic routes, beyond the starlit borders of the empires, there existed a region of broken gravity and twisted stars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A place where the void howled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, time bent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, the light of suns could not reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And here, the Demon Empire thrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fortress the size of a moon drifted at the edge of the Demon Empire, carved from black iron and pulsing with veins of red energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around it floated legions of black warships, their runes dripping with blood-light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every few seconds, faint screams could be heard, the echoes of captured life, essence being drained to fuel the fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, in a high chamber layered with obsidian mirrors and carved bones, a demon knelt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was tall, skeletal, and humanoid, his skin obsidian and veined with crimson light. Twin horns curled backward from his skull like a crown, and his eyes, black pools rimmed with molten gold, stared into a swirling basin of liquefied mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Xylos, a Seer, one of the ancient demon castes capable of reading the ripples of life and essence across the void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For hours, he had been conducting his daily scrying ritual, reading the void for life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, the process was predictable, faint signatures of distant stars, the occasional scream from the frontlines, the dull pulse of battles between clans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then… something changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He froze, fingers clawing at the basin's edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surface of the mana pool rippled violently. He felt a radiant pulse of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached deeper, tasting the energy in the void currents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There it was again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive concentration of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hundreds of billions of lesser beings, and amidst them, dozens of Stellar essences burning like small suns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All outside of galactic routes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xylos' eyes widened, and a tremor ran through his body, his tongue flicking out. \"...So bright,\" he whispered, trembling. \"So rich.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was not the faint signature of a stellar patrol. This was a gathering. Dozens of Stellar auras. Hundreds of billions of living beings. Each one pulsing with mana, essence, life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A feast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, Xylos rushed into the command sanctum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chamber was vast, lined with cracked black pillars. Chains hung from the ceiling, each bearing the skulls of fallen Stellar warriors, trophies of wars long past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the far end sat a towering figure, half-shrouded in shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two horns curved back from his temples, and molten cracks ran down his arms where two distinct essences intertwined, fire and shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Kraxis, one of the Demon Lords, beings who had mastered two essences and ruled a sector of the Demon Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lounged lazily on his throne, eyes half-closed as reports flickered before him, trivial data from the frontlines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord!\" Xylos fell to one knee, breath ragged. \"I bring a vision from the void!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraxis raised one brow. \"Another dying star, perhaps?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, my lord. A beacon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that word, Kraxis stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Speak.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xylos bowed lower. \"A feast of life has gathered… outside the Aethelian Empire's galactic routes. I sensed dozens of Stellar presences… A pulse of essence so bright I could feel it even through the Scar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraxis' expression shifted from boredom to interest. \"Outside the routes? How curious. What would drive so many there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do not know, my lord,\" Xylos rasped. \"But it is no illusion. It calls to every Seer across the demon empire. A beacon too bright to be ignored.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Kraxis rose from his throne, towering over him. For the first time in decades, a smile crept across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then they have gathered a feast for us in their ignorance.\" His voice rumbled through the fortress, shaking the chains overhead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned toward the viewing portal, where distant stars flickered beyond the twisted void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's been centuries since I've hunted personally,\" he mused, voice deep and amused. \"Perhaps it's time they remember my name.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced back at Xylos, eyes blazing. \"Summon the fleet. Prepare the war drums.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It would be… rude not to attend.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xylos looked up, hesitant. \"My lord, it is… vast. I have never seen such a gathering outside the frontlines.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perfect,\" Kraxis chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At once, horns sounded through the fortress. Deep, resonant blasts that shook the obsidian walls and sent tremors through the hanging chains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All across the fortress, the orders spread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drums began to thunder, a rhythmic pounding that matched the pulse of bloodlust rising in every demon heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cavernous hangars erupted into motion as thousands of lesser demons swarmed into their vessels, disciplined despite their feral appearance, each one an SSS-rank warrior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were intelligent, vicious, and organized, not mindless beasts, but soldiers who had slaughtered their way through countless battlefields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demon Commanders, single-essence Stellar beings, stood atop their warships, roaring commands to their legions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A feast awaits us!\" one bellowed, his form wreathed in corrosive green light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Follow the scent of life! Drown the stars in their blood!\" another roared, shadow essence coiling around his limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lesser demons responded with roars that shook the hangars, their weapons raised high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My Lord Kraxis,\" one commander saluted, \"The warships are ready.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraxis descended from his throne, his aura dimming the fires around him until only cold darkness remained. \"Then let us feast.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The commanders roared in unison, fists slamming against their chests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From every hangar, the black ships began to move, not in elegant formations like the empire fleets, but like predators breaking from a cage, hungry and savage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, demons howled in frenzy, their chants overlapping in a thousand voices that merged into a single terrible hymn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Feast! Feast! Feast!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound built into a crescendo that echoed through the void itself, a promise of slaughter carried on dark currents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraxis stood at the forefront of his flagship, a vessel the size of a small moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His dual essences of fire and shadow rippled around him, intertwining in patterns that defied natural law, each feeding the other in an endless cycle of destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xylos,\" he said, his voice calm amidst the chaos, a stark contrast to the madness surrounding him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord?\" The Seer approached, bowing low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guide us, follow the scent, let the beacon lead the way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, my lord.\" Xylos closed his eyes, reaching out with his essence, tasting the void currents until he found it again, that brilliant pulse of concentrated life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fleet shifted course, all ships orienting toward a single point in the distant void, their movements synchronized despite the apparent chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A direction that led straight toward Origin Capital, though Kraxis did not yet know the name of his destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraxis looked ahead, his grin widening until it split his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hand, energy bursting from his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Feast well, my kin.\" His voice carried across every ship through essence alone, reaching every demon simultaneously. \"The brightest lights… will bleed the sweetest!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, the Demon Fleet surged forward, tearing through the void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, the fortress dimmed as its energy reserves were channeled into propulsion, every scrap of power devoted to reaching the feast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demons were coming toward the Origin Capital.\u003C\u002Fp>",1230,"2026-06-06T15:05:27.003Z",1,"novelbin.me","5000c2fb8981f101c7b8612f9cae82778046db91ad8fcaa116a00684292395d3","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-133","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-131",347,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Femperor-of-the-source-cover.jpg"]