Chapter 416: Star Staff and God-Slaying Silver Sword - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

After eliminating two Evil Gods, significantly exceeding the original summoning objective, Su Miao left the Nether Abyss and found a secluded spot to set up a magic array, concealing herself within. Regrettably, she hadn't set up an anchor point. Otherwise, she could have returned the same way after defeating the two Evil Gods. She made a mental note to be more prepared next time. Due to uncertainty about what world she was in and why so many Evil Gods and Demon Lords were battling here, Su Miao's hidden spot was not far from the Nether Abyss, making it convenient to gather information. Once assured of the surrounding safety, Su Miao took out two sealed Evil God divine cores for research. “Please, let me go. I am willing to give up everything.” “Your Highness, spare me. Everything I've treasured for eons can be yours if you release me.” Inside the divine cores, two tiny Evil God silhouettes emerged, pleading pitifully for mercy. Su Miao elegantly raised her hand, starlight blooming to encase the divine cores, thoroughly obliterating the residual will and soul of the Evil Gods within. The Evil Gods' treasures? They were valuable, but who knew what dangers hid within? Her interest lay in the divine cores, not unnecessary riches. No amount of treasure compared to the domain she wished to perfect. Su Miao began studying the divine cores. The divine cores were mainly composed of law energy, with the Silver Feather Evil God wielding the laws of darkness and light. His command over the laws of light and darkness allowed the Silver Feather Evil God to reign supreme among many Evil Gods until now. Who would have guessed an Evil God would ambitiously comprehend the laws of light? No wonder a Heart of Light was necessary. The overpowering dark law suppressed the Silver Feather Evil God's light law, making his divine core extremely unstable. As he grew stronger, the hidden instability within his divine core would only worsen. “I don't understand why one would limit themselves to just a couple of laws?” Su Miao didn’t delve deeply into this. She shifted her focus to the Jiemer Evil God's divine core, which contained three laws: darkness, illusion, and curse. Understanding the essence, Su Miao studied the specific composition structure of the divine core, the arrangement of laws, and the domains naturally formed due to the divine core’s influence—the basis for the creation of domains for beings possessing divine cores. In other words, owning a divine core meant possessing a domain. But that wasn’t what Su Miao desired. Focusing on certain laws, or prioritizing a particular law, seemed to her a misdirection. After observing for a while, Su Miao retrieved a Demon Lord Core from her magical space. This was taken from the heart of the Magic Town’s domain. Compared to an Evil God's divine core, a Demon Lord's core represented a more brute-force approach to using laws. If we liken a divine core and a Demon Lord core to wardrobes, a divine core wardrobe is orderly, with slight chaos. On the other hand, a Demon Lord core wardrobe is utterly messy, with everything haphazardly stuffed in. That defined their differences. In her research, Su Miao entered a state of enlightenment. At this moment, the world appeared different to her. The real, the illusory, the boundaries, the dimensions, even the past and future... All these overlapping perceptions formed the world before her. As for the laws... More accurately, they are The Way. 【All paths under the heavens lead to the same destination.】 These words from "The Way and Magic" came to her. Before this, she had forgotten the context, but now it became crystal clear. Primarily a student of magic, Su Miao also studied martial arts and abilities. Only today did she truly comprehend that laws are part of The Way. In a flash, many previously incomprehensible things became very clear. Optimizing the domain turned out to be remarkably simple. Her eyes opened, their pupils now a golden hue, emitting a faint golden light. A few seconds later, the golden light in Su Miao’s eyes faded, returning to normal. Looking at the two Evil God divine cores floating before her, Su Miao elegantly pointed a finger. The two cores shattered into six fragments. “Too fragile.” She stored the divine core fragments into her magical space. These fragments could later be used to charge her starlight expression, enhancing its power significantly. Afterwards, she took out an alloy staff and reforged silver sword, engraving spells with the laws she mastered upon them. Master whatever laws she understood by engraving those laws into them. This busy process took another month. Once completed, the alloy staff and reforged silver sword exuded immense, terrifying pressure. “These are stronger than the relics used by the battling Evil Gods and Demon Lords.” Su Miao regarded her creations with satisfaction. Yet the next moment, she realized something crucial. Her alloy staff and reforged silver sword lacked formal names. Names... Naming things was challenging. Having cracked the puzzle of domains, Su Miao didn’t anticipate being stumped by naming. “Starlight Staff, God-Smiting Silver Sword, you’re okay with these names, aren’t you?” It took Su Miao three days to come up with these names. The alloy staff and the reforged silver sword remained unresponsive. Satisfactorily nodding, Su Miao said, “Alright, let's go with that.” Stowing the Starlight Staff and God-Smiting Silver Sword into her magical space, Su Miao donned a black cloak and exited her hidden sanctuary. Time to question the battling Evil Gods and Demon Lords outside about this place and how to return to Earth. If that proved futile, perhaps someone might know the Great Demon King Collette. Finding the Great Demon King Collette would make returning to Earth much easier. Oh? Su Miao spotted a familiar face. A blue-haired twin-tailed girl, cloaked, emerged from a shadow, a book in her hands. This familiar figure and book could only belong to the Chief Librarian of the Twelve Divisions. Unexpectedly, she had come here. Could this world be an Inner World? Carefully scanning her surroundings, the Chief Librarian opened her book and melded into the earth, vanishing. That’s the Earth power... Very intriguing. Having confirmed the world she was in, Su Miao didn’t feel as pressingly urgent anymore. Her gaze shifted to the Nether Abyss. Demon Lords and Evil Gods near the Nether Abyss clashed once more. Simultaneously, various strange creatures ventured into the Nether Abyss. The Nether Abyss resembled the scattered asteroid belts occasionally found in space, differing slightly in that the floating rocks and soil within were chaotically arranged. These rocks and islands would occasionally collide. Additionally, some floating rocks moved extremely fast, like lightning. A creature failed to notice and was struck crossing between two large floating rocks by a mere fist-sized stone. The creature shattered on the spot, yet the stone continued, unfazed, flying deeper into the Nether Abyss. One creature stood atop a large rock, riding it inwardly, believing itself secure. Yet less than three minutes later, the large rock split apart, taking the unsuspecting creature with it, to its death. A Demon Lord with nine heads, relying on his immense power, attempted to forcefully intrude into the Nether Abyss wielding magical artifacts. Who knew whether this Demon Lord lacked sense or was just misled here. He progressed roughly 3000 meters and, as he was about to reach an island, his body seemed to be cleaved by spatial rifts, splintering bit by bit. This initially wasn’t a lethal wound, triggering the Demon Lord to stimulate his core in Self-Rescue. Then, the Demon Lord core split. The Demon Lord with nine heads let out a scream, falling victim to the Nether Abyss. A more eerie scene unfolded. As the nine-headed Demon Lord perished in the Nether Abyss, not a drop of blood rain fell from the sky. In other words, everything of the nine-headed Demon Lord was devoured by the Nether Abyss after his death. Su Miao stepped forward to a peak. The Shadow Phantom Demon God occupying that peak opened his eyes: “Little girl, do you not see I’m here?” His head bore twelve pairs of eyes, three opening as he assessed Su Miao, indicating that he wouldn’t need full power to kill her. Did you not see the corpses and blood around this peak? With so many bodies, you still dared to come closer, clearly taunting him. Courting death. The Shadow Phantom Demon God prepared to act, emanating thick malice. Sure, he could directly annihilate her, but that wouldn’t deter similarly strong entities nearby eyeing this peak. Thus, he chose to speak before making a move. A way also to announce to the neighboring Evil Gods and Demon Lords that he, the Shadow Phantom Demon God, was about to flex his power. “Lord Shadow Phantom, it's her. She's the one who killed Silver Feather Evil God and Jiemer Evil God.” The terrified Demon Lord follower exclaimed. The Shadow Phantom Demon God's raised hand faltered between continuing the attack and retreating. A few of his eyes turned to the minion, as if questioning, Are you sure? The minion responded hastily, “Lord Shadow Phantom, it's true.” The Shadow Phantom Demon God quickly withdrew all malice, nonchalantly deciding to back off. Since he was facing the entity responsible for killing those two fools, Silver Feather and Jiemer, it wouldn’t tarnish his reputation to make a friend and have a chat. But if this figure failed to appreciate his gesture, a fight would indeed be appropriate. "Any last words?" Su Miao stood in the void, speaking softly. Having recently gained new insights, it was the perfect opportunity to test them out on this demon god. As she spoke, an invisible domain spread out. The mountain peak where the Shadow Phantom Demon God resided remained, but the surroundings transformed into a vast void. The demon lords and soldiers following the Shadow Phantom Demon God, upon witnessing the change in scenery, appeared panicked and confused about the situation. "Hahaha, I have never seen such a foolish god. You dare drag me into your newly forged divine realm; how laughable!" The Shadow Phantom Demon God was initially cautious, yet who would have thought Su Miao was just a foolish upstart god? "Do you know the lengths one goes to during divine wars to invade another's divine realm? Successfully infiltrating someone’s divine realm practically guarantees victory." "My subordinates say you killed those two fools, Silver Feather and Jiemer, and I thought you were formidable. Unbelievably foolish instead." "You, courting death." "..." The Starlight Staff appeared in Su Miao's hand, her posture elegant. "Done with your last words?" she inquired. The twelve eyes atop the Shadow Phantom Demon God's head opened, sending strange cursed beams hurtling toward Su Miao. Simultaneously, multiple gray shadows detached from his form, vanishing into the void to locate the control center of the god realm. With elegance, Su Miao waved the Starlight Staff, dispelling the cursed beams. The essence of these beams lay in the curse laws within them. Simply disrupting the arrangement of these curse laws allowed her to easily neutralize the attack. One had to admit, the Shadow Phantom Demon God was immensely powerful, far superior to most demon lords and evil gods. However, the stronger he was, the more valuable the experiment. Constraint. With a downward gesture of the Starlight Staff, multiple threads of law appeared around the Shadow Phantom Demon God, ensnaring him at the center, tightening instantly. His face showed shock; he struggled desperately, but the more he fought, the tighter the threads wound. "So many laws? Who are you really?!" Realizing something was amiss, the Shadow Phantom Demon God quickly recalled his shadows to attempt a self-rescue. Yet, once retrieved, a more terrifying truth came to light: this wasn't a god realm, and there was no central hub. Panic set in. The shadows tried to break the bonds, but with so many laws, they couldn’t be undone in the real world without several centuries of effort. Out of options, the Shadow Phantom Demon God sent layers of shadows to attack Su Miao, aiming to distract her from maintaining the law threads binding him. "Attack!" he commanded the remaining demon lords and soldiers. As they charged, the Starlight Staff in Su Miao’s hand transformed into the God-Smiting Silver Sword. With one swing, the silver blade cut through the heavens, annihilating all attacking shadows of the demon god. Among the charging forces, all vanished into thin air except for two severely injured demon lords. Despair enveloped them, particularly for the one who had warned the Shadow Phantom Demon God earlier that this entity had slain Silver Feather and Jiemer. Why had the Shadow Phantom Demon God provoked her anyway? Su Miao retracted the God-Smiting Silver Sword, replacing it with the Starlight Staff. A brilliant magical beam descended, obliterating the two demon lords. She had perfectly controlled the strike, preserving their cores adequately. The Magic Town's domain had fresh backup energy. "In a moment, I will release my hold on you. Resist with all your might." Su Miao gripped the Starlight Staff with both hands, layers of mesmerizing magic circles unfolding. Vast magical energy poured into the staff, compressing before the amplifying magic circles. [Too slow.] From her magic space, Su Miao took out three divine core fragments and sent them into the mix. These fragments converted into pure magical energy, merging in to greatly intensify the compressed energy. The volatile magic flowed forth, blowing back Su Miao’s cloak to reveal her lovely pink hair. "You— you're a witch!" The realization dawned on the Shadow Phantom Demon God, his expression turning to shock. But there was no time to contemplate Su Miao's identity as he faced impending doom. Suddenly, the binding magical threads disappeared. The Shadow Phantom Demon God was free once more. Desperately, he tried to flee, but it was too late; he was already locked as a target. "Witches are all mad!" With a furious shout, he unleashed all his divine power in a last attempt to save himself. Starlight Explosion! Boom! Darkness enveloped the world. A dazzling stream of starlight fired forth, bringing an unprecedented sense of exhilaration to Su Miao. The Shadow Phantom Demon God managed to block the starlight torrent for a fleeting instant, but only just. His divine power shattered, and his body was consumed by the starlight. His divine core appeared within the torrent, persisting only a second before disintegrating. Boom! The void ignited in a massive explosion. The entire domain world began to fragment. With a blink, Su Miao exited the domain, returning to reality. As she returned, the spatial singularity near the high peak collapsed, destroying it entirely. Observing the vanished peak, Su Miao mused. The domain’s collapse impacting reality indicated significant room for optimization. Clearly, the divine cores used for reference were inadequate; stronger ones were needed, such as the Shadow Phantom Demon God’s core, which would have sufficed if it hadn’t been destroyed. With this in mind, Su Miao gazed toward the battlefield of the gods beyond the Nether Abyss. A torrential rain of blood poured from the heavens. The warring deities paused, calming under the blood rain. They looked toward Su Miao’s location. Fear spread through their ranks. (Chapter ends)