Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Ian clasped his hands together in front of him, and the blazing star core in his mind trembled slightly.

The silver-gray star trails representing the rules of gravity shone brightly, amplifying the power of the rules to the extreme.

With both hands pressed down, he uttered, "Imprisonment."

boom!!!

Centered on the Earth-Eating Demon Lizard, the spatial gravity within a radius of 10,000 meters instantly increased a hundredfold!

He directly rewrote the rules of this area, forcibly increasing the spatial "density".

The writhing nest tissues immediately let out a groan of unbearable pressure, and the dark red flesh collapsed and burst under its own weight!

The viscous bodily fluid splattered and then slammed back to the ground with a muffled thud under a hundred times the force of gravity.

Deep inside the tunnel, the enormous creature suddenly froze.

It could sense that its connection to the entire network of ley lines had been severed.

It was as if the heart had been forcibly removed from the body, and the emptiness and panic enraged it.

The earthen-yellow vertical pupils lit up in the darkness, and the phantom images of rock layers deep within the pupils flickered wildly.

It wanted to draw upon the earth's energy, but the surrounding gravitational field acted like the most solid cage, locking away all energy flow.

"Human...you..."

Intermittent mental fluctuations came through, carrying an uncontrollable rage and a hint of fear.

Ian did not respond, but brought his hands together again in front of his chest, and a point of bright white light shone between his palms.

As soon as it condensed, it instantly expanded into a miniature "sun" with a diameter of one meter.

The eternal blazing sun has appeared in the world for the second time.

Ian held the miniature star in one hand, and his entire body transformed into a blazing white streak, crashing directly into the depths of the tunnel!

The nest tissues along the way vaporized and evaporated the moment they came into contact with the flames, leaving not even ashes.

The distance of more than ten miles was covered in an instant.

This Earth Devouring Demon Lizard is over 500 meters long and its entire body is covered with a lava carapace.

At this moment, it is struggling frantically, trying to break free from the gravitational cage.

When it saw the miniature sun in Ian's hand, its earthy yellow vertical pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints!

My soul is frantically warning me: I'm going to die! I'm going to die!

"roar!!!"

The demonic lizard opened its massive jaws, and dark purple energy gathered wildly deep within its throat, attempting to spew out a torrent of energy that could corrode everything.

"A futile struggle."

Ian's eyes flashed with a mocking smile as he thrust his hands forward.

The miniature sun flew out of his hand, tracing a graceful arc, and precisely entered the gaping maw of the demon lizard.

Time stood still for a moment.

The lizard's pupils reflected the ever-brightening white orb in its mouth.

It wanted to close its mouth, but the laws of gravity held its jawbone firmly in place.

It tried to spit out a ball of light, but the thermal energy rules had already ignited the inner wall of its mouth.

hum...

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a strange buzzing sound as if space itself was being burned through.

The dark purple torrent of energy was forcibly detonated, clashed, and annihilated in the throat of the demon lizard.

Blazing white light burst forth from its mouth, nose, eye sockets, and the gaps in its carapace!

The lizard's massive body convulsed violently, and countless cracks appeared on its lava carapace.

"Aww!"

It let out a silent roar, and its formidable defenses were destroyed in the first wave of impact.

But it's not over yet.

Ian hovered in mid-air, raised his right index finger, and a point of intensely red light condensed at the tip of his finger.

This is a highly compressed entity based on pure thermal energy rules.

"Penetrating." The index finger points slightly forward.

call out!

A crimson ray, as thin as a hair, shot out silently, yet shattered and distorted the space along its path.

With a soft "plop," the ray precisely pierced the lizard's forehead, into the thickest part of its carapace.

The lizard's struggles abruptly ceased, and its earthen-yellow vertical pupils quickly dimmed.

A crimson ray pierced through the back of its head, bringing with it a wisp of dark purple soul fragment.

Just as his soul was about to completely disintegrate, the panel deep within Ian's mental sea vibrated silently.

At the edge of my field of vision, pale gold lettering appeared.

[High-purity contaminated soul residue detected. Forced purification initiated...]

A ripple gently swept over that wisp of dark purple soul.

"The abyss... is immortal..."

A final, venomous whisper echoed from the depths of his soul before vanishing completely.

As the intense heat and purifying light gradually faded, a crystal-clear gem the size of an egg, with an earthy yellow color, floated in the gravitational field.

Inside the gemstone, a miniature mountain range seemed to be sealed inside, slowly rotating.

[Obtained: Pure Level 4 Soul Gem]

Ian reached out and took the gem into his palm, carefully feeling the profound earthly essence within his soul.

"Level 4 Soul Gems are highly sought-after items in the Morning Star trade."

He muttered to himself as he put the gemstone away.

Turning our gaze deeper into the tunnel, we saw specks of silver-blue light embedded in the rock walls—the very essence of the astral gold vein.

Ian smiled slightly, feeling a rare moment of joy.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers spread wide, and gravitational ripples spread out from him, enveloping the entire vein area.

"compression."

With a single thought, the rules of gravity begin to operate intricately.

Those silver-blue metallic particles embedded in the rock wall were forcibly peeled off and pulled away by an invisible force.

They converged in mid-air, like a reversed Milky Way, gathering towards Ian's palm.

Particles collide, compress, and fuse with each other.

They converged in mid-air, like a reversed Milky Way, gathering towards Ian's palm.

Particles collide, compress, and fuse with each other.

The volume is shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye, while the density is increasing dramatically.

1,000 cubic meters, 100 cubic meters, 10 cubic meters...

Ultimately, all the astral gold was compressed into a one-meter square, yet weighing thousands of tons, silver-blue metal ingot.

The surface of the metal ingot shimmered with a star-like luster, and the compressed nebula-like patterns became densely packed.

Ian weighed the metal ingot in his hand, a smile spreading across his face.

"These are truly the ultimate in compression and expansion properties. This... should be enough to build the base of the Wizard Tower."

He stored the metal ingot in his portable dimensional space, as ordinary dimensional rings could no longer bear such a heavy weight.

After doing all that, I turned around and looked at the messy tunnel behind me.

The nest's tissues had been completely reduced to charcoal, and the remains of the Earth Devouring Demon Lizard had also turned to ashes in the light of purification.

However, the entire main tunnel is still permeated with a strong smell of pollution.

"Let's clean this up while we're at it." Ian formed a complex hand seal in front of him.

Pale golden starlight emanated from his body, transforming into a shower of light that bathed every corner of the tunnel.

Wherever the light rain passed, the dark purple polluted fog melted away like ice and snow, and the stench in the air was replaced by a fresh scent.

This process lasted about a minute, and the entire main tunnel was completely transformed.

The rock face has returned to its original grayish-white color, and you can even see the neat patterns left by the manual carving.

Deep inside the tunnel, the faint sound of an underground river could be heard, indicating that a water source that had been polluted and blocked for hundreds of years was beginning to flow again.

Ian withdrew his hand, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, he paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

He noticed an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible change.

The pollution in this world seems to have lessened a little.

Like an oil painting stained with heavy ink, someone used the finest brush to gently wipe away a tiny stain.

Although insignificant, Ian's sensitivity to the abyss was already etched deep into his soul.

He closed his eyes and focused all his mental perception.

Thoughts spread in all directions like a tide, touching the earth's veins, the rock layers, and the most fundamental rules and patterns of this world.

He was certain that after killing the two Level 4 Aberrant Beasts, the pervasive abyssal pollution in this world had indeed lessened slightly.

Although the effects were not yet obvious, the measures taken that day did alleviate the worsening of the pollution.

"interesting……"

Ian muttered to himself, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

He closed his eyes again, concentrated his mind, and his thoughts suddenly rose upwards.

Through rock layers, through the earth's crust, through the boundaries of matter and rules.

My vision suddenly went dark, then brightened again.

He arrived at a space that could not be accurately described in words; there was no up, down, left, or right, and no passage of time.

"Is this... the Heart of the World?"

A hazy mist filled the field of vision, and in every wisp of mist, fragmented images were reflected.

The once verdant mountains have turned to scorched earth, the rivers flow with pus and blood, the magnificent cities have collapsed, and stars have fallen from the sky.

Countless creatures twisted, mutated, and turned into rotting flesh and bones amidst their wails...

This is the "echo of memory" of a world that has been eroded by the abyss for thousands of years.

Ian's thoughts continued to deepen, and deep within the mist, the colors began to change.

The dark purple pollution, like living vines, densely entwined everything.

They wriggle and grow, greedily absorbing the life force of this world.

Each vine is covered with tiny eyeballs, countless pupils rotating simultaneously, reflecting madness and hunger.

"The erosion of the abyss... has penetrated deep into the very origin of the world."

Ian's thoughts swept over the vines, and where they were rooted were the "nodes" of the rules of this world.

Like a poison ivy parasitizing the roots of a large tree, it is slowly draining the host's life force.

And in the deepest part of this place, shrouded in pollution...

A faint golden light was still stubbornly flickering.

The golden light was tiny, only the size of a grain of rice, yet it emanated the most essential aura of this world.

The grandeur of mountains and rivers, the rushing flow of streams, the trajectory of stars, the rhythm of life...

All the cornerstones that make up this world are condensed in that golden light.

This is the core of the world's will in the world of Estelle, but at this moment, it is tightly bound by dark purple vines.

Every pulse is like a struggle, every flicker is like a cry for help.

Ian's mind drew near to the golden light, and he clearly heard its silent lament.

That emotion cannot be expressed by any voice; it is the lament of the entire world and the entire civilization.

For a thousand years, the world's will has been eroded!

From its initial glorious empire to its current state of crumbling ruins.

The world's will watched helplessly as its children died one after another, and civilization crumbled bit by bit.

It once mobilized the power of mountains and rivers to fight back, but instead it brought about an even more intense backlash of pollution.

It once guided survivors to build shelters, but could not stop the spread of pollution.

Like a candle flame about to go out, it flickers in the gale.

The moment Ian's thoughts touched the outer edge of the golden light.

hum!

The golden light trembled violently, conveying an unbelievable excitement!

It "saw" the pure aura of order in Ian's mind and sensed the purifying rules that made all the pollution of the abyss tremble.

They also sensed the trace of pollution that Ian had forcibly erased when he killed the Earth-Eating Lizard.

A thousand years... a whole thousand years!

For the first time, someone has truly weakened the Abyss's erosion of this world!

For the first time, the pollution has been reduced, even if only by a tiny bit!

The golden light began to flash intensely, like a drowning person finally seeing a hand reaching out from the shore.

It relentlessly transmits information.

The information flow was extremely faint, yet it contained a thousand years of pain, exhaustion, and despair...

And the last glimmer of hope that refused to be extinguished.

"A guest from another world...please help me..."

"Dispel...pollution..."

"Save...my...world..."

The information flow was intermittent; with each word transmitted, the golden light dimmed a little.

It has become so weak that it can hardly express itself fully.

Ian stared silently at the golden light that was tightly bound by vines and could be extinguished at any moment.

He could sense the images being transmitted from the world's will.

The once glorious Star Empire, with its floating cities suspended in the sky like stars, was home to people who possessed the secrets of astral gold and built a magnificent civilization.

Then, the abyss suddenly descended, the sky was torn apart, the earth was corrupted, and living beings were twisted...

The world mobilized all its forces to resist, but suffered defeat after defeat.

Ultimately, they could only retreat to their core and watch helplessly as their world slowly died.

Like a giant being slowly sliced ​​to death, each cut pierces the depths of his soul.

"You're going to die, I can't help you!"

Ian spoke slowly, his thoughts echoing in the hazy space.

He was telling the truth; the world's will was too badly wounded, and this was merely a final burst of energy before its death.

Although the time of His final moments was different from that of ordinary people.

The golden light flashed intensely once more.

This time, its message was clearer, carrying a sense of desperate determination.

"Kill those... Level 4 contaminants... They are... the anchors of the abyss."

"If...all anchor points are cleared..."

"I can... briefly gather power..."

The information flow ends abruptly here.

The frequency of the golden light flashing decreased significantly, as if it had exhausted its last bit of power.

But Ian has already received the meaning it conveyed.

Those Level 4 Aberrant Beasts are not just powerful monsters, but also "anchors" planted by the will of the abyss in this world.

They are rooted in the world's rules, continuously supplying pollution and suppressing any resistance from the world's will.

Each time a nail is killed, a part of the corrupted and usurped rule authority is removed, allowing the world's will to reclaim a portion of its privileges.

When all the anchors are removed, there may truly be a glimmer of hope for the world to recover.

Ian took one last look at the golden light entwined by vines, then slowly withdrew from the space.

As his consciousness returned to his body, he opened his eyes, a complex look flashing deep within his pupils.

So that's how it is. The survivors of this world are not lucky at all; the world's will is still protecting them.

Although, it was the humans of this world who hurt Him the most.

It remains trapped deep within the origin, tightly bound by the vines of the abyss, struggling for a thousand years.

"It seems that while collecting astral gold and knowledge, it might also be a good idea to help this world remove some obstacles."

If a complete world will could be revived, it might offer a decent "reward".

Ian began to weigh the options in his mind.

First of all, simply helping him doesn't align with his interests; what he desires most isn't the origin of the world, but rather the knowledge found here.

Secondly, whether Estelle will pay a reward after her world will awakens is also a question that needs to be considered.

Furthermore, Ian still hasn't figured out how the world was initially polluted.

Of all the materials I've come across these past few days, there's no record of this, so I need to pay close attention.

As for the other commission, if the will of the Xuanhuang World wants to advance to the sixth level, it must devour the origin of other worlds in order to do so.

The mandates of the two world wills clashed violently.

"What should I do to get the most benefit...?"

I'm currently reading Chapter 367, "The Heart of the World," on the novel by Cola, completely engrossed and unable to tear myself away.