At that moment, Luo Chuan stood amidst a sea of chaos, deep in thought, contemplating how to handle the towering World Tree nestled within the ancient ruins.
All around him, hordes of abominations surged forward—creatures composed of ghastly white bone and writhing black sludge. They were grotesque amalgamations, reeking of corruption and decay. But as they neared Luo Chuan, their forms abruptly dissolved into nothingness, vanishing as though swallowed by an invisible boundary.
A forbidden zone of life surrounded him—impenetrable and absolute.
Whether these monsters were truly alive remained unclear. Yet even in the face of certain death, they did not retreat. They charged on, mindless and unrelenting.
At first, Luo Chuan found their persistence irritating.
But soon, he grew indifferent.
"If you want to die, I won't stop you," he muttered.
With the invincibility buff still active, he felt no pressure—none at all.
His eyes turned toward the object of his mission.
The World Tree.
Ancient. Towering. Pulsing with a malevolent rhythm.
"So, death-snapping doesn't work on you..." Luo Chuan mused aloud, narrowing his eyes.
Then, an idea sparked.
"System, can you transfer the World Tree into the system space?" he asked suddenly.
A pause.
The system took a few breaths to respond, almost as if caught off guard by his sudden shift in strategy.
"The host may store it directly in the lottery space."
Luo Chuan nodded.
"Lottery space, system space—makes no difference to me. As long as it's secured."
But even as he prepared, the World Tree shuddered violently.
Those twisted, rune-like patterns etched across its trunk began to glow. A dark and ancient malice radiated outward, choking the air around it.
The silt creatures—connected to the World Tree—grew even more frenzied, surging with renewed madness.
But Luo Chuan remained still, utterly unaffected.
He raised a hand.
Reality itself shifted.
Space warped and collapsed like a folding curtain—and in an instant, the World Tree, once blotting out the sky, vanished without a trace.
Gone.
The monsters froze.
Then, like puppets whose strings had been cut, they descended into chaotic frenzy—attacking everything and nothing. Lost without a purpose.
Luo Chuan watched them, then added a final touch.
He set a restriction on the ancient ruins:
No entry or exit without permission.
Unless one could surpass the authority of the system itself, escape was impossible.
And on the Azure Continent, no cultivator existed with such power.
"Ascension mission completed. Return now?"
The system's voice echoed in Luo Chuan's mind.
He blinked.
"…That's it?"
Even now, it felt almost too easy. Too… anticlimactic.
Could the true trap of the Nine Stars' mission have been the failure of the World Tree itself?
He didn't have the answer. But the task was complete.
And honestly, he was tired of this place.
These lifeless ruins, endless monsters, and desolate air—it had all worn thin.
He missed the quiet life back at Origin Mall. A place where he could laze around and drink Coke without sludge monsters trying to devour him.
Besides, as a proper shopkeeper, constant battle was beneath him.
He gave a final nod.
"Return."
Of course, before he left, Luo Chuan sent a mental message to Yao Ziyan.
His figure became surrounded by a luminous formation as arcane symbols formed beneath his feet. A gust of wind howled through the ruins.
The space around him shattered—
And Luo Chuan vanished.
Leaving behind only a ruined battlefield, hordes of frenzied monsters, and an ageless desolation.
Meanwhile, far away—
A group of monster beast royals made their return, having gone their separate ways after the previous battle.
Among them walked Yao Ziyan.
As Luo Chuan's spiritual message reached her, a small smile crept across her lips.
It was a simple message:
"I'm going back to Origin Mall first."
And just like that, a touch of warmth returned to her heart amidst the silence.