Chapter 1413

Boom—

The thunder gradually faded, and the dark golden lightning that had filled the heavens and earth retracted like a receding tide.

Finally, all of it vanished into Xu Jingming's body.

He stood suspended in midair.

His three-meter-tall Zi Yan Demon Body resembled a demonic god, its purple scales glinting with a cold luster under the starlight.

"Finally..."

Looking at the source points on his system panel, Xu Jingming felt his heartbeat quicken slightly.

In just half an hour, he had gained more than he would have from spending a full month in the Heavenly Punishment Lightning Realm!

"Looks like doing extra missions sometimes brings unexpected rewards."

Xu Jingming secretly rejoiced.

With over seventy million source points bolstering him, he could feel he was ready to invest points into the Source Core Scripture at any moment!

But now wasn't the time.

According to the Giant Titan Demon's words, half a hundred million lifeforms on Ironfall Star had been transformed into demons.

Three million were in Xuan Star City; the rest, another two million, were scattered elsewhere.

He had to move quickly and eliminate all two million of these demons.

"Jingming!"

At that moment, a cold voice called from afar.

Yue Ying, her silver hair fluttering, flew over.

Behind her, Lan Yu, Yan Ji, Hughes, and Xya followed one after another, each bearing varying degrees of awe on their faces.

"With these demons dealt with, we've completed most of our mission—should we now go eliminate the remaining demons?"

Yue Ying asked softly.

This cold, elegant woman's tone now carried a hint of eagerness.

Indeed, since arriving on Ironfall Star,

she had had no chance to fight—and she was already impatient.

Hughes and Xya couldn't help glancing over as well.

Though he said nothing aloud, Hughes, a Star Rank Four, had once looked down on Xu Jingming.

But after the battle just now, all his condescension vanished, replaced by reverence.

As for Xya, no further explanation was needed—her attitude was now profoundly respectful.

Hearing Yue Ying's question, Xu Jingming stilled his thoughts, exited the Zi Yan Demon Body, and nodded:

"Next, split up.

You all scout across Ironfall Star, locate demon concentrations, then eliminate them."

Though he longed to handle each demon himself,

time was life—every minute delayed meant more ordinary humans would fall victim to the demon plague.

So he could only move swiftly to clear the demons, leaving the rest to Yue Ying and the others.

At that moment, the perceptive Yue Ying noticed the lingering demonic aura still clinging to Xu Jingming after he exited the Zi Yan Demon Body, and spoke:

"Does demonic aura benefit you?"

"Should we trap these demons first, let you absorb their aura, then kill them?"

"No need," Xu Jingming shook his head. "We're short on manpower—just kill demons when you find them."

Though Yue Ying's assumption was mistaken, demonic aura truly did benefit him.

Although Yue Ying misunderstood the direction, the demonic creatures were indeed useful to him.

Yue Ying's crimson lips curled slightly upward.

A faint glow from her space ring summoned ten silver spheres, each the size of a ping-pong ball, materializing in midair:

"These are Space Lock Spheres I took when I left the Elf Kingdom—black tech from our Eternal Star Alliance.

Each can seal a hundred-li radius for twenty-four hours—we just need to herd the demons together.

I still have thirty more of these.

They can contain up to Star Rank Three demons—should be sufficient."

As Yue Ying finished speaking, Hughes involuntarily drew a sharp breath inward.

Equipment with this effect should be at least A1-class!

Yet she casually produced forty of them—wasn't this excessive?

Xu Jingming's eyes lit up at once:

"Perfect, perfect—no wonder you're a princess. If you've got this kind of gear, let's do it your way."

Rich people really are rich—their gear is ridiculously well-stocked.

A wealthy woman is a wealthy woman—her equipment was simply too comprehensive.

Yue Ying lifted her chest slightly, pride in her voice.

This caused her already impressive bust to rise and fall noticeably.

Next, apart from Xu Jingming,

each person received eight Space Lock Spheres from Yue Ying, then shot off as streaks of light in different directions.

Xu Jingming flew to the Giant Titan Demon's crash site, collected its space ring and the space rings of the other Star-rank demons,

then chose a direction different from Yue Ying's group and flew off.

He also chose a direction different from Yueying and the others and flew off.

As for the contents inside the space ring, he did not check them.

The immediate priority is the demons; it's not too late to sort things out once all the demons are cleared.

Although over twenty million demons still remain.

But they are not scattered—most are concentrated within the cities.

In just over eight hours, Xu Jingming crossed thousands of kilometers and eliminated four demon gathering points.

Meanwhile, Yueying and the others reported that all remaining demons had been contained within sealed spheres at fixed locations.

"Perfect!"

Flying through the air, Xu Jingming saw the coordinates sent by Yueying on his smart armband and nearly wanted to pull her over and kiss her.

Without Yueying, he would have lost tens of millions of Source Points!

"Since the demons are contained and no longer spreading, there's no rush to kill them.

I might as well find a place and see what secrets the Source Core Scripture holds!"

Xu Jingming's eyes gleamed with sharp light, then he transformed into a golden streak, crossing over a hundred kilometers to land in a remote mountain range.

The Source Core Scripture is a heavenly art capable of altering genetic levels and the essence of the soul!

He didn't know what would happen after allocating points—it was better to stay far from the cities.

"Deep Blue, allocate points!"

After hiding in a cave, Xu Jingming, brimming with anticipation, slammed his finger down on the system panel's point-allocation option.

Source Points -30,000,000!

Source Core Scripture → Source Core Scripture, First Layer!

In an instant, an unprecedented transformation erupted within Xu Jingming!

He felt every cell in his body boiling, his gene chains reorganizing, his soul's essence ascending!

"Ahh—"

Unbearable pain forced Xu Jingming to roar, his Purple Nightmare Body unfolding uncontrollably.

His three-meter-tall frame swelled further, his purple scales becoming denser and harder.

Bone spurs extended with mysterious patterns; demonic horns surfaced with golden lightning markings.

Though the changes were subtle, a strange new aura now seemed to linger.

Boom—!!

At that moment, an invisible pressure suddenly appeared.

Xu Jingming felt the surrounding space twist, as if crushing in toward him!

"Is this... the universe rejecting me?"

Before he could even examine the changes brought by successfully cultivating the Source Core Scripture, Xu Jingming's heart was swept by a storm of shock.

As one who had comprehended the Principle of Destruction and the Principle of Lightning,

the universe was not foreign to him—in fact, he could say he knew it well!

Yet now, he felt the universe seemed determined to erase his very existence!

Fortunately, the feeling came swiftly and vanished just as quickly.

Before Xu Jingming could act further, the sensation disappeared entirely.