Chapter 1090: The Magic Energy Web

Boom—…

The energy conduit that descended through the ceiling was activated, and a massive flow of energy surged into the platform. Lei En felt the Ancient Sacred Altar beneath his feet tremble slightly, but the vibration remained at a very low amplitude, not severe and showing no signs of collapse.

As more energy was injected into the altar, the layers of rune arrays inside the pyramid lit up.

Dust gradually peeled away from the stone slabs on the floor and walls, revealing their essence: a magical alloy with a golden, radiant hue!

This is a variant metal of Titan Blue Iron…

No!

To be precise, Titan Blue Iron is merely a variation of this magical alloy, a low‑grade version; the Storm Giant is the later imitator.

The stone slab Suolim was pressing with his hand has now turned into a golden panel.

The panel is extremely smooth, with rows of symbols appearing and disappearing, constantly shifting; Lei En recognized them as Ancient Sacred Runes.

He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity as he looked at the golden panel.

"This is…" Lei En instantly understood why it felt familiar: the activation of the Ancient Sacred Altar was clearly like "booting up," and the golden panel was the display, essentially the control panel of this massive machine!

"It's damn alien technology!" he was profoundly shocked.

A few minutes later.

The Ancient Sacred Altar ceased trembling; at that moment, the altar and the temple atop it revealed their true form. The hundred‑meter‑tall structure seemed forged of gold, glittering brilliantly, casting dazzling light that illuminated every inch of the 500‑meter‑diameter underground space as bright as day!

Lei En couldn't help but hold his breath.

All-Seeing Eye observed that the rune arrays inside the Ancient Sacred Altar were all activated.

From the temple platform down layer by layer to the deepest level, every component forming the altar pulsed with utterly pure energy, like a precise yet massive apparatus, brimming with endless mystery, leaving him dizzy and awestruck.

Buzz—…

Lei En sensed an invisible ripple spreading outward, merging into the void and vanishing.

This energy originated from the conduit on the platform, guided from the Titan Furnace; it was originally wild and fierce, but after being transformed by the Ancient Sacred Altar, it had been tamed into a kind of energy hard to describe in words.

Pure, tranquil, deep, ever‑changing!

It is everywhere!

Lei En lifted his hand before his eyes; a thought flickered, and a wisp of invisible energy coalesced at his fingertips. Though this amount couldn't even cast a low‑level spell, it should be noted that the energy was drawn at will, consuming virtually no soul power and could be used directly.

With a little guidance, this wisp could be employed to cast the desired spell.

Lei En observed for a few seconds, his face showing shock.

The energy at his fingertips could be transmuted into Arcane or spiritual energy, the four elements, lightning, shadow, even demonic power or death force—no problem!

"This…"

Lei En had never seen energy of this nature; if he had to name it, it would be "magical energy," the "mana" used to cast any spell!

Suddenly, the energy in his hand dissipated.

He tried again and found that gathering this "mana" had become unusually difficult, as if subject to a strict limitation.

The limitation came from Suolim beside him.

Lei En was stunned, "Elder?"

"Your Majesty," Suolim said with a smile, "this is the function of the Ancient Sacred Altar. It can transform the absorbed energy and transmit it across space to distant locations with almost no loss, so my lord also calls it the 'Energy Altar.' You should have felt it."

Lei En nodded and looked at the golden panel.

The Titan Elder had already withdrawn his hand and continued, "The energy transmitted by the Ancient Sacred Altar is entirely under my control; as long as I wish, all the energy can be used by me alone."

"What about distance?" Lei En asked, hitting the crux in a single sentence.

"It depends on the size of the Ancient Sacred Altar."

Suolim replied, "The one we are in is the main altar; it can transmit energy as far as…" He paused to think, "In your human terms, about twelve hundred li. If it were an ordinary altar like the Northern Temple, the range would shrink to roughly half, leaving only seven hundred li."

Lei En quickly did the conversion.

In the Oriense Empire, the length unit 'li' equals 1,000 'steps', roughly 900 meters in his previous life.

Thus, the main altar could transmit magical energy across space beyond a thousand kilometers, and an ordinary altar's effective range exceeds six hundred kilometers! If, as Suolim claims, the transmission suffers no loss or delay, it would be nothing short of a miracle!

The Iola Core can also achieve remote energy transmission, but it requires a high‑quality magical sigil as a receiver, and the range is limited to beyond fifty li.

The transmitted energy is limited to Arcane power, with considerable loss and delay; the farther the distance, the greater the latency.

Moreover, loss is proportional to distance; at fifty li from the Iola Core, the transmitted energy would be less than one‑tenth of the original.

In short, it's not very practical.

At that moment, Suolim instantly gathered a burst of electric light on his palm.

Lei En sensed its energy nature—it was magical energy transmuted, a nine‑ring Electric Blast Orb.

"Six Ancient Sacred Altars can perfectly cover the entire Storm Plane," Suolim said proudly as he made the Electric Blast Orb spin on his palm, "Once the altars are rebuilt, I will possess virtually inexhaustible mana within the Storm Plane."

"The energy conversion of the Ancient Sacred Altar is extremely fast; as long as energy is abundant, I can instantly cast any spell I have mastered."

"Even a ten‑ring one would be a breeze!"

"Moreover, the Ancient Sacred Altar itself is an energy reservoir with enormous capacity; the entire Titan Furnace continuously feeds it day and night, taking over three months to fill. Each altar is linked, forming a massive transmission network that can summon energy from farther altars at any time."

"The Ancient Sacred Altar can also supply energy to rune formations, sustain large‑scale guided spells across space, and power various shields."

"Most importantly, multiple Ancient Sacred Altars covering the entire plane will create an even larger chain effect."

Suolim looked at Lei En, "That is the plane's sealing!"

"The sealing power of the Ancient Sacred Altar is difficult even for deities to breach. Mortals beneath the gods, without my permission, cannot enter or exit the Storm Plane," the Titan Elder said, his tone growing more fervent, eyes shining, "Thus, I will control the Storm Plane and become the Plane Lord!"

Those words contained a wealth of information.

Lei En listened intently, missing no word, but upon hearing the later description, he sensed an inconsistency.

The Ancient Sacred Altar is indeed immensely powerful; controlling its energy and sealing the plane would render Suolim invincible within the plane.

However, the so‑called 'Plane Lord' is not what he had imagined.

Lei En had originally thought that a Plane Lord, like an Abyssal Lord, awakens the Willpower of the plane, links souls to that Willpower, receives the plane's great power, and in a sense becomes the plane's master—a manifestation of the plane's Willpower.

The relationship between the Abyssal Lord and a plane is like that between a deity and a divine kingdom.

However, according to Suolim, the Ancient Sacred Altar is entirely different; it has nothing to do with the plane's Willpower, but rather uses massive energy and magical principles far beyond mortal imagination to forcibly bind the plane with a shackle, then controls the plane through that shackle.

Although the results look similar, the essence is worlds apart!

If one insists on a metaphor,

A plane is like a peerless beauty that countless men drool over; the Abyssal Lord's method is to win her heart—continually sending gifts, playing the sycophant, and after defeating all rivals, coaxing the beauty to willingly offer herself. In contrast, the Ancient Sacred Altar is like a brute who forces himself upon her, even playing a bondage game, leaving her no choice!

The Ancient Sacred Altar truly is formidable; this method is too overbearing!

But I like it.

A bold idea flashed in Lei En's mind: if he could master the construction and operation principles of the Ancient Sacred Altar, could it be applied to the Prime Material Plane?

The Prime Material Plane is far larger than the Storm Plane.

Even if only the land area is counted, it is at least thirty times larger!

To cover the entire Prime Material Plane, oceans included, the required number of Ancient Sacred Altars would be over fifty times, i. e., three hundred. Clearly this is far harder than controlling the Storm Plane, but if successful, the sealing power generated by three hundred Ancient Sacred Altars and the massive energy they provide would be unimaginable!

Lei En thought even deeper.

An energy transmission network that completely covers the Prime Material Plane, if developed, would make full use of matter and unleash boundless potential!

It could almost be applied to every aspect of the world, penetrating people's lives.

Communications, transportation, logistics, medicine, education, agriculture, industry, everyday entertainment, superhuman powers, magic energy everywhere, even the internet could be built.

Human productivity will experience a massive explosion!

Within a century—or even less—humanity will evolve into a great magic energy civilization, far surpassing any era in history, and even the deities will be shocked by mortals' brilliant achievements!

And as the founder and controller of all this, one's power and status will surpass the gods.

A deity's divine power comes from belief, and belief comes from believers.

Over seventy percent of the gods' followers reside in the Prime Material Plane!

If one could control the Prime Material Plane, rule the vast majority of intelligent races, and with a single word make one's subjects change their belief, then it would be tantamount to seizing the gods' soft spot. The heavens' deities, for the sake of the power of belief, would have to bow to him.

Lei En's heart surged, and both hands trembled faintly.

He had indeed thought of conquering the whole world, but that would inevitably provoke a united counterattack from the gods, and he had no means to resist the deities.

Now he has it!

The Ancient Sacred Altar showed him a great possibility of success, and a huge one at that.

Of course, this is only a vague notion; the specifics require countless deliberations and conjectures, such as how to conceal one's true purpose from the gods' eyes; how to win the support of certain deities; the Ancient Sacred Altars must spread across the Prime Material Plane, beyond the Empire's borders, and those realms—especially non‑human races—will never consent, making a total war unavoidable.

Et cetera, etc., etc. —a series of problems.

This is a century‑long grand scheme, a far more insane great plan than mortal deification!

Since ascending to the throne as emperor, Lei En has felt somewhat aimless; after achieving his long‑term goals, a void has settled in, and he doesn't know what else he can do— even deifying mortals offers no challenge.

But at this moment, he set his goal.

The more difficult the challenge, the more excited Lei En becomes.

"A magical energy transmission network that covers the entire Prime Material Plane… let's call it the 'Magic Energy Network'!"

"To build it, I will launch a 'Network Plan'."

Lei En's mind became clear and resolute, though his face remained impassive as he observed the conduit feeding energy into the altar, and he asked aloud, "Elder, the Ancient Sacred Altar should not be limited by the nature of the energy it absorbs, right? Was this energy conduit added by Anheluoz?"

"Exactly," Suolim nodded. "Regardless of the energy type, the Ancient Sacred Altar can absorb and transmute it."

He also looked at the energy conduit and sighed, "According to my lord's research, the Ancient Sacred Altar on the Storm Plane is likely incomplete. The reason it was built deep underground is probably to draw subterranean energy without needing external input, but for unknown reasons it was never finished—perhaps the relevant function was never activated—so my lord can only supply it with energy via a Titan Furnace."

Even though the speculation had existed, Lei En couldn't help but feel delighted upon hearing it.

This means the Ancient Sacred Altar could combine with the Iola Core; the Iola Core's energy never wanes, is stable and efficient, and unlike the Titan Furnace, it does not consume source crystals.

Infinite energy combined with energy transmission technology is a perfect match!

Of course, if the Ancient Sacred Altar could be deciphered and a method to absorb subterranean energy developed, that would be even better. After all, the Iola Core is extremely expensive—one costs fifty million Gold Shields—and laying out an energy transmission network would require producing three hundred Iola Cores.

Not to mention the one‑billion‑five‑hundred‑million Gold Shield cost, can the Prime Material Plane even muster that much material?

Suolim did not know what Lei En was thinking.

He looked rather regretful, "Based on my research of the Ancient Sacred Altar, if it were not for the installed energy conduit, it could be completely concealed when activated, the entire altar hidden within a self‑created anomalous space that others could never locate, so there would be no need to worry about its destruction."

Lei En nodded, "What a pity."

"Indeed..."

Suolim waved his hand, causing the golden panel to retract back onto the platform; evidently, he had not let Lei En experience what it meant to control the Ancient Sacred Altar.

Lei En paid no mind to the Titan Elder's guard and asked, "Elder, shouldn't you now teach me the Ancient Sacred Runes?"

The most difficult first step of the Network Plan is constructing the Ancient Sacred Altar.

And to build the Ancient Sacred Altar, it is best to decipher the Ancient Sacred Runes, fully grasp its construction methods and operating principles; otherwise the Magic Energy Network cannot be realized. Even though the Titan Elder knows only a few dozen Ancient Sacred Runes, and they may not even be correct, one must first learn them by heart.

"Naturally so."

Suolim escorted Lei En back to the Sky Sanctum, where he finally began teaching the Ancient Sacred Runes.

Before departing, Lei En had already taken over a thousand photos and recorded video on his phone, documenting every Ancient Sacred Rune and formation he could see. These records are only a small portion of the entire altar, but he was not in a hurry; thereafter, Suolim's reconstruction of the altar would inevitably involve him, and the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers would provide plenty of opportunities to interact with the Ancient Sacred Altar.

Lei En thought that, with his phone's translation dictionary, if he could find a single keyword, perhaps he could decipher the Ancient Sacred Runes!

(End of Chapter)