Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

1000 damage per second.

Liu Nian looked down at his current status bar.

He was in good condition and barely lost any health. This was mainly because his base health, combined with the bonuses from his equipment and passive skills, allowed him to easily mitigate the damage.

The cost is entirely bearable.

Without the slightest hesitation, he focused his mind and made his choice—

Yes.

The finger pierced through the visible, distorted energy membrane surrounding the core.

"Sizzle—!!!"

The moment his fingertips touched the core's cool, solid surface, the raging, dark blue energy, like a torrent finally finding an outlet, surged wildly into his body along his arm!

-1000!

-1000!

-1000! ...

White damage numbers immediately popped up above his head.

A searing pain shot through his body from his hand! Liu Nian groaned, veins bulging on his forehead, his jaw clenching instantly.

But his hand holding the core remained as steady as a rock.

Clench your fingers together and hold them tightly.

"Ughhhhhh!!!"

With a low growl, Liu Nian used all his strength to pull his arm outwards!

puff!

It was a sticky sound, as if something was being forcibly pulled out of the fixed force field of the base.

He held that heart-sized, azure core firmly in his hand!

[System Notification: Obtained Special Item 'Unstable Psionic Core' (Eternal Grade)]

[Item Description: The power source of the floating city of Anaxiasim, crafted with ancient lost technology, containing nearly inexhaustible pure energy. Due to its forced fusion with the guardian lich's phylactery followed by violent separation, it is currently in an extremely unstable, high-energy state.]

[Applications: Can serve as the ultimate energy core for mega-cities, fortresses, or massive structures, providing a near-limitless energy supply. Warning: Requires compatible 'Pseudo-Energy Stabilization Technology' and 'Energy Transmission Technology,' otherwise its instability will lead to catastrophic consequences.]

Holding the core, it felt incredibly heavy, as if holding a miniature star.

The violent energy pulsated through his palms, clashing with Liu Nian's own power.

"I wonder if this thing is the same as the Heart of Terra that the spirit of Ector in the ruins of Ascalon spoke of..."

And as the energy core was forcibly removed—

"Rumble rumble rumble rumble—!!!!"

The entire floating city ruins emitted a mournful cry, as if on the verge of death!

The violent tremors, ten times more intense than when the library space had flipped, came wildly from beneath everyone's feet, from all directions, and from the dome above their heads!

The base device, having lost its core power supply, emitted a piercing metallic twisting sound, and billowing smoke and electric sparks emerged from its surface.

The special materials on the surrounding walls, which originally flowed with energy and provided illumination and stability, dimmed and went out at a visible speed, while countless huge and hideous cracks appeared, like broken eggshells.

Snap! Boom!

The dome began to collapse on a large scale, and huge rocks rained down like a meteor shower! The ground was cracking, and the structure, which had lost its energy support, was rapidly disintegrating.

"Damn! This place is going to collapse! Quick, find an exit!" The faces of the people who had just gotten up changed again, and they hurriedly searched for ways to avoid falling rocks and escape.

Energy was rapidly dissipating, and darkness surged in from all directions like a tide, quickly devouring the last glimmer of light.

Just as everyone was in a panic—

"Creak... Boom!"

The ground beneath the massive power supply unit, which was smoking and disintegrating after losing its core power source, suddenly collapsed inward due to violent energy imbalance and structural vibration!

A pitch-black hole, more than five meters in diameter, appeared in the original location of the base.

A faint light shone through the hole below.

Some people risked peeking out to look down.

"It's the library! The library we knew was right below!" a joyful shout rang out.

Almost simultaneously, the violent tremors that seemed to threaten to destroy everything abruptly ceased.

It wasn't because the structure had stabilized, but because... the energy had been completely depleted.

Without its core, this floating city ruin is like a giant whose heart has been removed, plunging into "death".

The collapse stopped, but darkness descended completely, leaving only the limited light from the players' own spells and equipment to illuminate a small, ravaged area.

"Huff...huff...that was a real scare." Wu Zhan leaned on his chipped scimitar, panting, and spoke in the team channel, his voice hoarse with the shock of surviving a close call: "Are you all...still alive? Report your numbers and status."

The channel quickly filled with a jumble of responses, but also with a sense of relief.

"1. Alive, low on health and mana..."

"2. Alive, in alright condition..."

"...19, alive, minor injuries."

"20... Damn, that was almost gone."

……

"it is good."

Not a single person died; that's truly a miracle!

Wu Zhan's voice regained some strength: "First, clean up the battlefield. Pick up everything the lich dropped, as well as any materials that the skeletal mages and bone dragons might drop. Don't leave a single thing behind!"

He paused, then, as if remembering something, asked, "By the way, what about the guys mining on level 3? How's the progress?"

The chat switched to another team channel, and a reply came quickly: "Boss! Basically done! The mithril ore on this level is extremely pure, and the reserves are more than expected! There's just a little bit of the vein tail left to clean up, it'll be done in five minutes at most!"

"Alright!" Wu Zhan's spirits lifted. "Come down immediately after you finish digging and meet up at the library! Be careful, this place has just been through a major battle, and the structure is unstable."

"clear!"

Liu Nian carefully put the "Unstable Psionic Core" into his backpack, and then followed the rest of the group who had finished packing and regrouping, jumping down one by one from the collapsed hole and landing back in the library area.

The room below is indeed a library, but it's not the one where they initially triggered the mechanism. It's probably a hidden room behind it that's been flipped over.

The mages continued to cast [Illumination] spells, and the soft white light from the CD player dispelled the heavy darkness, illuminating this new space.

There are no longer those towering domes and densely packed bookshelves filled with ancient books here.

The space here is smaller, but the layout is well-organized, making it more like a museum.

Rows of low but sturdy alloy display racks are neatly arranged.

On each display shelf lay a heavy scroll made of some unknown animal hide or metal sheet, radiating a solid energy fluctuation.

Or perhaps, it's a dazzlingly complex design blueprint sealed within a transparent crystal cube.

Beside each scroll or each piece of crystal, a miniature, lifelike holographic projection floats, silently demonstrating the terrifying creation recorded on the scroll or drawing!