"Hmmm…" Liam absent-mindedly traced the tattoo on his chest with his finger. He did not know what exactly was the connection between this cauldron and his stone tablet. He also did not know what kind of a place this was to finally find a clue about his stone tablet.
Well, there was only one way to get an answer to these questions. "Senior, please come out." Liam awkwardly tried to summon the cauldron. He waited a few moments for a response but nothing happened. He tried a couple more times before giving up.
Liam shook his head with a chuckle. "Why did he think that this was going to be easy?" He took out the system-sanctioned storage pouch and then looked at the haul inside. At least this mission had gone perfectly. Will this be enough to satisfy that guy?
Liam gazed out into the void. The platform had left the world and was now once again shuttling in the void. He looked back in the direction of the world and when his eyes widened in surprise. The now football-sized thing shone brightly for a moment and blinked a couple of times before completely disappearing from his vision.
Liam's eyes remained fixed on the spot where the world had just been, his heartbeat quickening. Did it just… vanish?
He blinked, half-expecting the massive landmass to reappear, but the void remained empty—silent and indifferent, as if nothing had ever been there. A cold chill ran down his spine. Did that world just explode?
Liam swallowed. If he was not wrong, then this was the second world he had personally destroyed. His gaze remained glued to the void where the world had been.
He then laughed nervously. "It is not like someone was keeping track of all of this…" The thought made him feel uneasy and he decided to not dwell too much on it. After all, there was a lot of work to be done.
He was once again in the void and who knew when he might come across another world next. It was time to start creating the second constellation.
Liam only barely started cultivating his soul when suddenly something odd snapped him awake. He was feeling warm all of a sudden. Inexplicably warm. He opened his eyes to see that the barrier around the platform was behaving oddly.
The barrier that had been stable all this time was not so stable anymore. Liam's eyes widened as he watched the barrier around the platform flicker and pulse erratically. The once stable, translucent shield now glowed with an unsettling crimson hue, like blood swirling in water.
The temperature around him continued to rise, an oppressive heat pressing down on him from all directions. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, his skin tingling uncomfortably.
Liam immediately activated his dao seed of ice without hesitation. His ice dao seed had long since evolved.
After the trip to the frozen world, the seed showed signs of sprouting. Fractals had emerged from the seed and he was actively trying to block its growth before he stepped into transcendence. However, right at this moment this dangerously evolved seed came to his rescue.
Liam activated his ice dao seed, and the air around him dropped to a bone-chilling temperature. Frost crystallized along the edges of the platform, swirling in intricate patterns as the cold energy expanded outward. The temperature drop was drastic, enough to make the oppressive heat bearable, but not enough to neutralize it completely.
The crimson hue swirling around the barrier flickered in response. It pulsed again, sending another wave of blistering heat across the platform. The frost on the ground evaporated instantly, leaving behind faint wisps of steam.
He pushed more energy into his ice dao seed, strengthening the cold aura around him. Snowflakes materialized, swirling around him like a protective storm, buffering him from the rising temperature.
But the crimson light grew stronger, pushing against his barrier of cold. The heat wasn't just temperature—it was malevolent, ancient, and filled with wrath. And it was getting stronger.
The more he pushed back, the worse the heat was. If he did not push back at all, then the heat further amplified. No matter what he did, the heat continued increasing.
Liam gritted his teeth, his cold aura flickering under the relentless assault. His ice dao seed roared in defiance, frost spiraling around him in intricate fractals. Yet, the crimson light continued to pulse, feeding off his resistance, growing hotter, fiercer, as if mocking his efforts.
He then had an idea. He pulled back the cold aura and silenced his ice dao seed. Instead of resisting the heat, Liam decided to embrace it. He reached inward, toward the fire dao seed he had cultivated.
The fire dao seed was small, a flickering ember compared to the fractal ice storm. But this was all he had for now. He erected a fire domain and tried to absorb all the pure affinity mana coming towards him.
However, once again the oppressive heat was not willing to cooperate. The heat looked like a mixture of many different types of mana but that was not the problem. It was as if it had a will of its own and refused to be subdued in any way.
The heat surged, the crimson light intensifying, spiraling around him in a vortex of anger and malice. Liam's fire domain trembled, cracks forming along its boundaries as the oppressive heat threatened to consume him whole. He gritted his teeth, beads of sweat evaporating before they could even form.
The heat reached such a high degree that his skin started blistering and peeling, his flesh sizzling under the relentless assault. Liam gritted his teeth, his body shaking from the searing pain.
The next instant, his fire domain shattered, the crimson light tearing through his defenses like paper. It crashed into him, sending him sprawling across the platform, his back slamming against the flickering barrier.
The impact forced the air from his lungs, pain shooting through every nerve in his body. It was at this point that a token tattoo appeared on his palm. This was the same system event token he had used to enter.