{No abnormalities detected.}
{Using the chaotic World Energy to temper the body...}
The , which couldn’t be cultivated before, had finally met its requirements.
The technique required World Energy to temper the body through an unimaginably brutal refinement process, slowly destroying the body before rebuilding it over and over again.
That brutal foundation also fulfilled the requirement for the second technique.
The .
This method greatly increased the body’s adaptability while also enhancing its overall muscle growth potential and physical strength.
Of course, the improvement wouldn’t be that significant. Ash’s body had already been forged using the Runes, making Runic Energy far more effective for tempering than ordinary World Energy.
However, the plan was to temper his body with World Energy until it could no longer provide any meaningful improvement, and only then switch to Runic Energy.
Just to squeeze out maximum efficiency.
After all, the potency of Runic Energy depended entirely on the user’s comprehension of the Runes.
As Ash’s comprehension increased over time, the effectiveness of the tempering would continue increasing as well, making it a refinement process that could last for an extremely long time.
The same principle applied to Soul Refinement, the expansion of the Inner Universe, and Willpower cultivation.
If the day ever came when his body, Soul, Will and Inner Universe could no longer grow stronger...
Wouldn’t that mean he had already become the strongest?
Putting it aside, the chaotic World Energy surged through every part of his body, especially his muscles and bones.
Even though his muscles behaved like countless overlapping spatial layers, they were still flesh at the end of the day.
Under the violent tempering of the World Energy that was controlled perfectly by Eva, tiny cracks slowly began appearing throughout the muscle fibers before his regeneration immediately repaired them.
With every cycle of destruction and restoration, his body’s adaptability to World Energy increased.
At the same time, the continuously amplified the growth and strengthening that the World Energy could provide, allowing every round of tempering to produce greater results than the last.
Meanwhile, the , which used Runes to strengthen the body, also received a significant boost.
The chaotic World Energy raging throughout his body accelerated the entire refinement process and assimilation of Runes into the body, reducing the time required for the Rune tempering.
The Runic Symbols seeped into every newly formed crack before fusing with the flesh almost instantly, becoming a natural part of his body without the slightest resistance.
The continuously destroyed and rebuilt the body.
The maximized the gains from every cycle of refinement.
The engraved the power of the Runes deeper into every newly restored part of his body.
Together, the three techniques formed a perfectly harmonious cycle of Body Refinement.
**
While Ash’s body was being refined to perfection, back in the Heavenly Realm...
Luminara City
Vice Commander’s Residence
"My Lord, this is the last location where the Vice Commander’s energy signature can be traced. Beyond this point... there is nothing. It’s as if she vanished like a ghost."
An Angel spoke while holding a compass-like artifact in his hands.
Standing next to him was the City Warden, a Celestial Rank Angel with five pairs of majestic wings resting behind his back.
His expression, however, was far from pleasant.
"I can smell the disgusting stench of those Devil bastards, which should be impossible if common sense is to be believed. After all, a Devil entering the Divine Realm is nothing but suicide. They would be killed on the spot, and the chances of one successfully hiding are incredibly slim...unless an artifact of higher tier is used...."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Then why can I still sense this disgusting stench?"
The City Warden muttered to himself.
He could not understand the motive behind it at all, and even if someone had used an artifact, that artifact was bound to be of highest tier but why would someone risk loosing such precious artifact?
He can’t understand at all.
The subordinate Angel holding the compass remained silent, having no idea how to respond. He couldn’t smell or sense anything unusual.
The traces Ash had left behind were simply too faint, almost microscopic in nature. Unless someone possessed exceptionally high sensitivity and perception, discovering them was nearly impossible.
At the same time, those faint traces served as a clue.
Whoever the Devil was, they had gone to extraordinary lengths to erase every trace of their presence. However, perhaps due to their comparatively lower cultivation, they had failed to account for details this minute.
Which again bugged the City Warden because something did not feel right to him.
The City Warden looked toward his subordinate.
"Send a report regarding this incident to headquarters. I’ll follow this trail myself and determine whether there truly is a Devil in this place... or if this is something else entirely."
"Yes, my Lord."
The Angel bowed deeply.
However, by the time he straightened his back, the City Warden had already disappeared without a trace.
**
The City Warden thought as he shot through the sky at the speed of light. With how fast he was traveling, it didn’t take long before he arrived at the location where the trail led.
It was a vast mountain range with very few dangerous beasts.
Apart from small animals, there was nothing particularly unique or auspicious about the place. If anything, it had remained isolated from the outside world precisely because it was so ordinary.
But...
The City Warden’s eyes constricted.
The faint stench of corruption and darkness he had been tracking suddenly intensified by several folds. Although it was still weak, the amount he could now sense was no longer coming from a single direction.
Besides the trail he had followed, he could sense three more trails, all converging toward the same mountain range.
Each one carried an aura nearly identical to the one he had been tracking.
Standing nearby were three other Celestial Rank Angels, each wearing an equally grim expression.
As the City Warden approached them, they immediately began exchanging information, answering one another’s questions while asking their own in return.
After their discussion through telepathy, that did not last even a minute, the city warden spoke out loud.
"So... my city wasn’t the only one where someone disappeared."
He frowned.
"But to strike four different cities at the exact same time... just how many Devils have infiltrated the Heavenly Realm...?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
"We don’t know. I waited here because I was certain someone else would eventually follow one of the trails. I was the first to arrive, but within ten minutes, the three of you arrived as well."
An Angel with slightly aged features spoke calmly, his hands tucked inside his robes.
"I think we should investigate what’s inside that mountain range."
Everyone nodded.
The four Celestial Rank Angels descended toward the mountain range.
However, the moment they crossed into it, the trails of corruption they had been following vanished without a trace.
None of them appeared surprised.
Instead, it only confirmed their suspicions.
Whoever had left those traces had clearly done everything possible to conceal their presence, and something within this mountain range was capable of erasing even the smallest remnants of their energy.
The four spread their Divine Senses across the entire mountain range.
For a long while, they found nothing.
Nothing except for a tiny region that their Divine Senses couldn’t penetrate.
The anomaly had been hidden exceptionally well. Had someone casually swept their Divine Sense across the mountain range, they would have overlooked it completely.
It was only because they were meticulously searching every inch of this otherwise ordinary mountain range that they managed to discover the hidden area.
As they moved closer, their expressions became increasingly grim.
The realization that Devils had infiltrated the Heavenly Realm and hidden themselves this thoroughly was anything but reassuring.
But they had no choice. Whatever was hiding here had to be purged before it was too late.
Soon, they arrived before an Illusion Formation that concealed everything beyond it, but with the strength of four Celestial Rank Angels working together, the formation shattered almost effortlessly, revealing yet another Barrier Formation hidden behind it, which met the same fate and crumbled apart under their overwhelming power.
Only then did a small cave reveal itself before them.
The four Angels exchanged silent glances before stepping inside, their expressions remaining solemn as they cautiously advanced deeper into the cave, where the narrow passage gradually widened before eventually opening into an enormous underground chamber, one so vast that it rivaled the size of an entire football stadium.
"Space Expansion Magic..." one of the Angels muttered in a low voice as he swept his gaze across the seemingly impossible expanse before them.
The others remained silent.
Although none of them were particularly surprised by the existence of such magic, seeing it hidden beneath an ordinary mountain range only made their expressions grow even heavier.
The moment their eyes fell upon the chamber itself, every one of their expressions darkened.
Scattered throughout the enormous cavern were countless objects that could only have originated from the Abyss.
Herbs tainted with dense Abyssal Energy were piled together in one corner, dark minerals radiating an ominous aura were stacked nearby, strange weapons of unknown origin rested upon crude racks, and numerous ancient ritual arrays had been engraved across different sections of the chamber, while several small Abyssal creatures remained imprisoned inside reinforced cages, weakly struggling against their restraints as though they had long since exhausted their strength.
Yet despite the shocking sight before them, none of those things managed to hold their attention for more than a brief moment.
Because at the very center of the underground chamber, suspended high above the ground by thick black chains that disappeared into the ceiling, hung a massive iron cage.
Inside that cage...
Were corpses.
The corpses of nearly ten God Rank Angels.
Their lifeless bodies hung motionlessly within the prison, dried golden blood staining their pale skin and armor, while directly beneath the hanging cage stood dozens upon dozens of transparent test tube-like containers filled with fresh golden blood that had unmistakably been extracted from those very Angels.
For a long moment, complete silence filled the underground chamber.
The horrifying scene before them was enough to send chills through even the hearts of Celestial Rank beings.
Then, almost simultaneously...
The exact same thought echoed through the minds of all four Angels.
**