681 Abyss Sacrifice

Asinus stood stoically on the deck, gazing out at the infinite expanse of high-dimensional space before him. His eyes betrayed a chill. “Those from the Heart Realm lineage grow stronger with each passing moment, and it won’t be long before he achieves Eternal high-dimensional lifeform status.”

“Which is why I have to strike while he’s weak,” Asinus muttered under his breath.

Without hesitation, Asinus spun on his heel and made his way back to the warship.

The interior of the vessel was vast, with an independent space that was as dark and frigid as the void of space itself. Within this space were 72 foreboding black pillars, each one bound to a different high-dimensional lifeform.

As Asinus approached, the creatures’ eyes opened, each one filled with a cold hatred for him.

One of the creatures—a thin and desperate-looking Firstborn realm high-dimensional lifeform—cried out to Asinus, begging to serve him.

“I can capture three, five, even ten Firstborn realm high-dimensional lifeforms for you,” he pleaded, “I promise it will be a lucrative arrangement for us both.”

Another creature, this one with dark-blue skin, chimed in with its own plea for mercy.

“I’m friends with Glutton Leviathan,” he said with a tremble in its voice. “I sent him a message when I was first captured. He’ll come to save me—I know he will!”

Asinus looked at the creature with a cold, calculating gaze. Then, he said with a sneer, “You’ve been here for some time, and yet Glutton Leviathan hasn’t come for you.”

“J-just wait a little longer.” The dark-blue-skinned high-dimensional lifeform was burning with anxiety.

“Time’s up.”

Asinus scanned the high-dimensional lifeforms, his eyes cold and calculating. “I had planned to gather 72 high-dimensional beings for my next sacrifice, but a Heart Realm scoundrel has pissed me off. Hmph.”

He sneered. “I can only send you to the Abyss first.”

“Asinus, you can’t—”

“The moment is finally here.”

“Asinus, the more you engage in Abyss Sacrifices, the deeper the corruption. You will definitely go completely crazy.”

“You even provoked someone from the Heart Realm lineage. It’s obvious that you’ve gone crazy, Asinus. We’re dead, but it won’t be long before you join us.”

“We’ll wait for you.”

Most of the prisoners had given up, resigned to their fate. They glared at Asinus with a mixture of hatred and despair.

Asinus laughed at their feeble attempts to dissuade him. “The more Abyss Sacrifices I make, the deeper the corruption? You pitiful fools. I was born in the Abyss, molded by it. Carrying out the sacrifice… is to repay the Abyss. The Abyss’s bestowment isn’t corruption but love.”

“The more the Abyss dotes on me, the more it will grant me even greater power.”

“Those who can’t embrace this love will go crazy. They will go crazy,” he repeated, his eyes blazing with a fierce determination. “But I’m different. I can and will be able to withstand the Abyss’s gifts. In the future, I will become an Abyss Overlord or even… an Abyss Sovereign.”

Asinus was confronted by a sea of high-dimensional lifeforms, their expressions ranging from pleading to deplorable to downright hateful.

Two Eternals and 15 Firstborns. Asinus looked at the high-dimensional lifeforms. A small sacrifice would do little to enhance my strength, but it may just be enough to take down the pesky Heart Realm kid.

For these high-dimensional lifeforms, Abyss Sacrifice was a common practice.

Among the four special existences—Primordial Star, Abyss, Mother Stream, and Heart Realm—only the Abyss would respond to such sacrifices and gift its followers with power.

The more sacrifices one offered up, the more they would be adored by the Abyss. And as the Abyss bestowed greater and greater strength upon them, those who could harness the power would naturally become stronger themselves.

With these incredible gifts came the possibility of rising to the status of an Abyss Overlord, or even an Abyss Sovereign.

The former only required one to reach the pinnacle of the Eternal realm, with the Abyss’s power augmenting their own to a level comparable to a half-step third realm.

The path to becoming an Abyssal Sovereign was more treacherous, however. One had to first reach the half-step third realm, and then undergo a special sacrifice to obtain the infinite love and blessings of the Abyss.

For those who succeeded, they could be considered invincible beings below the third realm.

Needless to say, Abyss Sovereigns were exceedingly rare.

According to the intel gathered by Xu Jingming, there wasn’t a single one to be found among the 2,000 dominions. Abyss Overlords, on the other hand, were a dime a dozen.

“Let’s begin.”

Asinus stood in the center of the sacrificial array, pouring his strength into the intricate patterns that covered every inch of the space around him.

“Here it comes.” The high-dimensional lifeforms, bound and helpless, trembled in fear as they sensed the descending aura.

And then, a dark vortex appeared above the array.

The bound lifeforms felt their strength being sucked out of them, their very essence being drained into the swirling vortex. Scales and fur were stripped away, leaving them as little more than empty husks.

“Asinus, you will perish from the corruption of the Abyss!”

“It won’t be long before you die too,” these high-dimensional lifeforms cursed. Their bodies gradually distorted and turned into ashes.

Barely five minutes had passed before the last of the lifeforms was absorbed into nothingness, leaving only a scattered pile of 17 ash heaps.

Asinus, his consciousness tethered to the Abyss, called out, “Oh, mighty Abyss, I beseech thee. Grant me the power to exact my revenge on a Firstborn realm high-dimensional lifeform of the Heart Realm lineage, and let karma be my weapon.”

Whoosh!

And then, a yellowed piece of paper fluttered down from the vortex.

Asinus snatched it out of the air, his furry hand clenching around it.

His eyes traced the labyrinthine patterns etched onto the page, a deep sense of gratification flooding his being. “Praise the Abyss, for the Abyss is the embodiment of all that is just and righteous, an eternal force to be revered and feared in equal measure.”

Destroying my consciousness carrier and seizing my treasures? To dare bully me? Asinus’s eyes were cold. He shall pay the price for daring to bully me.

Asinus stood there holding the piece of paper.

Buzz.

He focused on the paper, pouring his strength into it and activating the patterns.

Asinus struggled to grasp the elusive karma between himself and the scoundrel from the Heart Realm lineage. Despite his best efforts, the connection remained tenuous at best.

Even with the piece of paper’s assistance, Asinus could only sense a faint, almost imperceptible link between them.

I can still carry out an attack even if the karma is weak.

He extended his finger, and large amounts of blood fell onto the paper. The paper drank it up eagerly, and Asinus felt a sense of fatigue wash over him.

He didn’t know much about karmic attacks and could only rely on external objects.

“Go. Kill him,” he commanded, and the paper turned to dust.

The karmic attack was set in motion, a mysterious force following it as it disappeared into the unknown.

…

The lineage of Karma was a labyrinthine maze of complexity and intrigue, while the Heart Realm lineage had stringent requirements that few could meet.

Any Eternal realm powerhouse from the Heart Realm lineage who possesses a skill in Karma can effortlessly decimate all of my clones. Xu Jingming was traveling with the Spacetime Prison, performing survivability experiments in different dominions, always cautious and alert.

He knew how to make friends with all parties and how to cede ground when necessary, but there were only a handful of people who could push him to his limits. And even then, he had to be certain that his opponent was not proficient in either the Heart Realm lineage or the Karma lineage.

How can an Eternal who lacks mastery in either lineage pose a threat to me? Xu Jingming remained confident.

But then, Asinus activated the power of the paper, and a mysterious force began to seep through the blurry karma!

However, it was too unfocused!

The Red Lotus Fire legacy was known for its ability to isolate karma, and the Cleansing Lotus Fire at the Nine-leaf realm could also greatly weaken karma.

The karma was too vague, too insidious, and it consumed more than 90% of itself in the transmission process.

Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!

Almost at the same time, the 100-plus bodies, scattered over different dominions, were all attacked at the same time by this mysterious force.

“Ah.”

“This is—”

“Sh*t!”

They were obliterated, one by one, unable to withstand its corrosive power. The mysterious force corroded the body traveling with the Spacetime Prison midway, leaving the Spacetime Prison floating aimlessly in space.

Xu Jingming’s attention was ripped away from his virtual world game with his wife, Li Miaomiao, when he felt the attack on his body.

“Karmic attack.” Spacetime Island Lord, whom he had been consulting about cosmic spacetime on Myriad Star Island, furrowed her brow.

The island’s heavy defenses weakened the insidious attack. Despite feeling his body tremble slightly, Xu Jingming managed to stay strong.

“You suffered a karmic attack,” she said.

“Yeah.” Xu Jingming nodded seriously. “My true bodies on Myriad Star Island and in the Heart Realm territory are fine. The other true bodies have all been wiped out.”

The Heart Realm territory completely augmented him, making him especially strong and resistant.

A mysterious force had traversed the distant dominions, descending through a weak karmic connection, yet failed to shake the Heart Realm’s true body. Myriad Star Island’s array formation had proved impenetrable to the attack.

“Did you encounter an enemy?” Spacetime Island Lord asked.

“I’m on good terms with all the high-dimensional lifeforms. I only fight when there’s no other choice,” Xu Jingming replied. “But I had to face Asinus, a powerful high-dimensional lifeform. He destroyed an entire experimental planet and killed over a million human subjects. Asinus acts alone and isn’t adept at the karma lineage, so I wasn’t afraid of him.”

“You’re right; he’s not familiar with the Karma lineage. He probably relied on external objects,” Spacetime Island Lord mused.

“Yeah,” Xu Jingming agreed, nodding in agreement.

If Asinus understood the Karma lineage, he would’ve known the price he had to pay for a karmic kill, but he didn’t understand it at all. Asinus only cared about sacrificing other high-dimensional lifeforms to obtain an item for his own use.

Asinus had already sacrificed more than ten high-dimensional lifeforms, and he couldn’t afford any more.

“Avoid him for now. It’s not worth the risk,” Spacetime Island Lord advised.

“Agreed.” Xu Jingming nodded. “I’ll use my time wisely and send my true bodies to the various dominions.”

With multiple true bodies traveling simultaneously, he could reach over 100 dominions in less than two weeks.

…

Within the confines of his Heart Realm domain, the imposing figure of Xu Jingming gazed upon the beast hide that lay before him. Thanks to the impenetrable protection of my Heart Realm territory, my true body was able to effortlessly deflect the karmic assault. And my other body, hidden within the beast hide, didn’t even get attacked.

Out of all his many bodies, only this one managed to evade the wrath of the attack.

“The karmic forces were blind to this true body,” Xu Jingming muttered to himself, his eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and pride. “Seems like a certain father went to great lengths for his offspring.”