495: Chapter 430: Capturing a Wanted Criminal Alive, the Void Cult Emerges

The silvery-white light of the teleportation array dissipated in the deepest part of the Return to Ruins.

The moment Lin Zhou stepped out of the teleportation array, the Fire of Civilization automatically burned to its maximum power. The cyan-gold light pushed away the Return to Ruins energy within a hundred-meter radius, but beyond that lay endless gray-white. The concentration of Return to Ruins energy here was five hundred times that of the outside world; even Dragon Vein Golden Scale poked its head out from the Divine Kingdom, its golden pupils filled with vigilance.

[Return to Ruins Deepest Part · Environmental Data]

- Return to Ruins energy concentration: 500 times the outside world

- Rule stability: 0 (completely collapsed)

- Time flow rate: Chaotic (local differences of up to a thousand times)

- Visibility: Less than ten meters

- Fire of Civilization consumption: 20,000 Divine Power per minute

"This is the sleeping place of the Lord of Nothingness," Lin Zhou said in a low voice.

Dragon Vein Golden Scale let out a low whimper and raised its head in a certain direction. Lin Zhou followed its gaze—in the gray-white mist, a huge, dark red light spot could be vaguely seen. That was the anchor point of the Lord of Nothingness, a core of Return to Ruins energy about one hundred kilometers in diameter, rotating slowly.

Lin Zhou flew toward the anchor point. The projection of the ark of civilization shrank to a diameter of ten meters, its deep blue light like a ghost in the gray-white. He flew for about an hour, and the outline of the anchor point finally became clear.

It was a huge crystal, irregular in shape, with dark red veins covering its surface. The veins contracted and expanded like a heartbeat. Sealed in the center of the crystal was a humanoid phantom—the Lord of Nothingness. Its face could not be seen, only the dark red veins covering its entire body like blood vessels.

[Lord of Nothingness Anchor Point · Data]

- Diameter: about 100 kilometers

- Energy concentration: 1000 times the outside world

- Shield strength: Peak high-tier divine power

- Inside: Lord of Nothingness sleeping

- Awakening countdown: about one year

Lin Zhou stopped outside the anchor point, not getting too close. The shield's strength was too high; the Sword of Civilization could not penetrate it. He needed to disintegrate it from the inside—enter the anchor point core and purify it with the Fire of Civilization. But the shield not only blocked attacks, it also blocked entry.

He flew around the anchor point, looking for a weak point. Dragon Vein Golden Scale's perception helped him find a crack—at the bottom of the anchor point, a crack about a hundred meters long, where the shield's thickness was only one-tenth of other areas.

[Anchor Point Crack · Data]

- Location: Bottom

- Length: 100 meters

- Shield thickness: 10% of normal area

- Passable: Yes (requires burning with Fire of Civilization)

Lin Zhou descended to the crack and pressed his hands against the shield. The Fire of Civilization surged from his palms, scorching the shield's surface. The cyan-gold flames clashed with the dark red shield, making a sizzling sound.

[Shield · Burning Progress]

- Thickness: 10%... 8%... 6%...

- Consumption: 10,000 Divine Power per minute

- Estimated penetration: about five minutes

Five minutes later, a hole one meter in diameter was burned through the shield. Lin Zhou drilled into the hole, entering the interior of the anchor point. The concentration of Return to Ruins energy inside was ten times that of the outside, and the consumption of the Fire of Civilization soared to 50,000 Divine Power per minute. He gritted his teeth and continued to deepen, flying toward the core of the crystal.

The closer he got to the core, the stronger the dark red light became, and the higher the concentration of Return to Ruins energy. When he was only one kilometer from the core, human shadows suddenly appeared in the gray-white mist. It was not an illusion, but a real existence—believers of the Void Sect, guarding the inside of the anchor point.

[Void Sect · Guardians]

- Quantity: about ten people

- Rank: LV800 - LV1000

- Identity: Void Apostles (existences above the White-Robed Cardinal)

- Equipment: Dark red robes, Return to Ruins energy weapons

The leader was an old man in dark red robes with an aged face. There were no dark gold patterns on his cuffs, but pure white ones—that was the symbol of a Void Apostle. His divine Rank was about LV1000, but his divine grid integrity was only 50%; he had clearly been guarding here for a long time.

[Void Apostle · Data]

- Rank: LV1000

- Identity: Top level of the Void Sect, directly under the Lord of Nothingness

- Skill 1: Return to Ruins Erosion (Domain)

- Skill 2: Existence Erasure (Single target)

- Skill 3: Void Summoning (Can summon Void projections)

- Weakness: Fire of Civilization

"Mortal, you shouldn't have come here," the old man's voice was like an echo from the abyss.

"The Void Sect is finished. The White-Robed Cardinal is dead, and the Cardinal is dead too. You are the last one."

The old man sneered. "White-Robed Cardinal? Cardinal? They were just the periphery. The true core of the Void Sect is us—the Void Apostles. We have served the Lord of Nothingness for ten thousand years."

He raised his hand, and a dark red beam of light shot toward Lin Zhou. Lin Zhou dodged, while swinging his sword at the old man. The sword light was blocked by the shield, and the shield vibrated.

[Battle · Data]

- Void Apostles: 10 people

- Lin Zhou: 1 person + Dragon Vein Golden Scale

- Return to Ruins energy concentration: Extremely high

- Fire of Civilization consumption: 50,000 Divine Power per minute

Lin Zhou did not get entangled. His goal was the anchor point core, not these apostles. He bypassed the old man and rushed toward the core. Dragon Vein Golden Scale roared, its Dragon Breath forcing two apostles back. The old man caught up, and dark red light beams shot at Lin Zhou continuously.

Lin Zhou cut through the light beams with the Sword of Civilization, while opening a path with the river of civilization. The cyan-gold torrent carved a passage through the gray-white. He rushed into the core area, where a huge crystal stood before him—the place where the Lord of Nothingness slept. The humanoid phantom in the center of the crystal seemed to sense his arrival and vibrated slightly.

[Lord of Nothingness · Status]

- Sleeping: Yes

- Awakening countdown: about one year

- Reaction to Lin Zhou: Weak (instinctive)

Lin Zhou pressed the Fire of Civilization onto the crystal surface. The flames seeped into the crystal, and the dark red veins began to fade. But the crystal's backlash came faster—a gray-white beam of light shot out from the crystal, hitting Lin Zhou in the chest.

[Lord of Nothingness · Instinctive Counterattack]

- Attack method: Return to Ruins energy shock

- Power: Full blow of a mid-stage high-tier divine power

- Effect: Lin Zhou's divine grid integrity 100% → 95%

Lin Zhou was knocked back, golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Dragon Vein Golden Scale blocked in front of him, its Dragon Breath clashing with the crystal's light beam. The light beam was neutralized by the Dragon Breath, but cracks appeared on the Golden Scale's scales.

"Master, its counterattack is too strong," Dragon Vein Golden Scale's voice rang in Lin Zhou's consciousness.

"I know," Lin Zhou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "But, I cannot retreat."

He approached the crystal again, condensing the Fire of Civilization into a needle, and pierced it into the crack of the crystal. The flames seeped in faster than before, but the Lord of Nothingness's counterattack was also more violent.

[Purification · Progress]

- Crystal contamination level: 100%... 99%... 98%...

- Lord of Nothingness counterattack frequency: Once every ten seconds

- Lin Zhou's divine grid integrity: 95%... 90%... 85%...

The old man caught up, and seeing Lin Zhou purifying the crystal, his face changed drastically. "Stop!"

He burned his divine grid, turning into a dark red beam of light, and pounced on Lin Zhou. Dragon Vein Golden Scale blocked the beam with its body; the scales of the Golden Scale shattered, and blood gushed out.

[Dragon Vein Golden Scale · Status]

- Scale integrity: 100% → 70%

- Status: Lightly injured

"Golden Scale!" Lin Zhou roared, increasing the power of the Fire of Civilization to the limit.

[Purification · Acceleration]

- Consumption: 100,000 Divine Power per minute

- Purification speed: 1% contamination level per second

- Lord of Nothingness counterattack: Frequency increased

The contamination level of the crystal dropped at a visible speed. 98%... 95%... 90%... The old man's attacks became increasingly crazy. The scales of Dragon Vein Golden Scale shattered more and more, and blood stained its golden body red. Lin Zhou gritted his teeth and injected the last of the essence of order into the Fire of Civilization.

[essence of order · Injection]

- Quantity: 1000 units

- Effect: Fire of Civilization purification speed + 50%

- Contamination level drop: 90%... 80%... 70%...

When the contamination level dropped to 50%, the Lord of Nothingness's counterattack suddenly stopped. The phantom in the center of the crystal calmed down, as if falling into a deep sleep again. The old man also stopped attacking; he knelt in the Void Realm, his body beginning to become transparent.

"You... what have you done?"

"Delayed his awakening," Lin Zhou withdrew the Fire of Civilization, "His anchor point has been purified by half. The awakening countdown has been extended from one year to three years."

Despair flashed in the old man's eyes. "Three years... Master... I'm sorry..."

His body turned into gray-white light spots and dissipated. The other apostles also dissipated along with him.

[Void Apostles · All Fallen]

Lin Zhou knelt on one knee on the crystal, panting heavily. Dragon Vein Golden Scale curled up beside him, its wounds still bleeding. He took out the essence of order to heal the Golden Scale.

[Dragon Vein Golden Scale · Repair]

- Consumption: 1000 units of essence of order

- Scale repair: 70% → 90%

- Status: Battle-ready

"Captain, your divine grid..." Dragon Vein Golden Scale's voice was weak.

"Still holding on." Lin Zhou stood up, looking at the crystal that had been half-purified. The dark red had faded for the most part, revealing the golden core inside. That was the color of essence of order, the color of the Fire of Civilization.

"Three years. Enough."

He turned and flew out of the anchor point.

After returning to the fortress, Lin Zhou informed General Rex about the situation of the anchor point.

"The Lord of Nothingness's awakening has been delayed by three years?"

"Yes. But his anchor point has only been purified by half. Three years later, he will still wake up. And, although his apostles are dead, the philosophy of the Void Sect still exists."

"Then what should we do?"

"Continue to purify the wreckage and collect essence of order. Three years later, meet the Lord of Nothingness at the edge of the New Universe."

General Rex nodded.

Lin Zhou walked out of the headquarters and stood on the city wall. Qin Qing walked over.

"Captain, you are injured."

"It doesn't matter. Golden Scale was hurt worse than me."

"Can it recover?"

"Yes. It needs time."

Su Yueyao walked over, and the moonlight enveloped Lin Zhou. The silvery-white light seeped into his divine grid, repairing the cracks.

[Su Yueyao · Healing]

- Target: Lin Zhou

- Effect: Divine grid integrity + 5%

- Consumption: Origin of Moonlight

"Enough." Lin Zhou held her hand, "You cannot consume too much of your Origin."

"You are more important."

Lin Zhou was silent.

He looked toward the direction of the New Universe. The Fire of Civilization of one hundred thousand towns was like a sea of stars in the night sky. As long as the fire remained, the people remained.

"Captain, three years later, can we win?" Qin Qing asked.

"We can."

"Why?"

"Because, we are not alone."