Meanwhile, far from the Everlasting Pill Sect's world, Adrian flew through the chaotic energies of the relic world alongside Marivelle.
His devour-based divine domain expanded outward, refining the dense and oppressive essence saturating the atmosphere. The purified energy flowed inward continuously, replenishing the mana he had expended earlier. His reserves recovered gradually as the refined essence was absorbed into his Mana Sea.
Marivelle flew beside him in silence. Aside from giving directions toward the Everlasting Pill Sect's base, she had barely spoken. Like Lara and the other elders, she too had felt the fear of the unknown. In truth, her fear ran even deeper.
She had lived far longer than Lara and the others. She had remained within the Everlasting Pill Sect for more than a million years and had traveled across multiple galaxies, including those governed by major sects. She had accessed their public forums, interacted with disciples of major powers, and absorbed general knowledge regarding their abilities and combat systems. Even with all that exposure, she had never once heard of a cultivator wielding authority without a domain.
That single fact pushed her thoughts toward only one possibility: Adrian must belong to a great sect.
And that realization birthed fear. It was not merely fear of Adrian himself, but fear of the unknown world that stood behind him.
Lara and the others had someone like Hestia to steady their emotions and guide their understanding. But Marivelle stood alone, she had no one to temper her thoughts or redirect her anxiety. The only way she could calm herself was by convincing herself that signing the contract was actually a better option than she initially thought.
The contract itself was not overly restrictive. It was limited in duration and did not bind her permanently. Moreover, her employer was potentially someone from a great sect. That meant opportunity. It meant access to a path far beyond what she could have achieved as an elder in the Everlasting Pill Sect. At least, that was what she chose to believe and calm herself.
After several minutes of travel, Marivelle finally broke the silence.
"We are near," she said. "The base is approximately eight kilometers from here."
Adrian nodded, and they pushed forward.
Soon, an immense structure appeared ahead.
This was not a city but a single building, yet its scale rivaled entire metropolitan regions. The structure spanned nearly a hundred kilometers in radius and had once served as the main hall complex of the ancient sect that inhabited this planet. It was vast enough to accommodate at least a million disciples at once.
From above, the structure resembled a colossal geometric crown embedded into the planet's surface. Its outer ring was constructed from pale metallic material that had neither rusted nor corroded despite prolonged exposure to chaotic mana. The walls were seamless and smooth, with faint conduits glowing beneath the surface like veins beneath translucent skin.
Adrian's Source Eyes activated instinctively. The structure lit up in his perception, revealing layers upon layers of dormant formations woven into every surface. Most were dead, their power sources long depleted. But a few still pulsed faintly, fed by ambient chaotic energy.
They descended gradually toward the roof of the complex.
Adrian expanded his devour-based domain instantly, stretching it across the entire structure.
The dark crimson field swept outward, enveloping the entire building. It pressed against the dormant formations, refining the chaotic energies trapped within their frameworks.
Silence greeted him. There were no detectable life signatures, no mana fluctuations belonging to cultivators.
"They've withdrawn completely," Adrian said.
He scanned again and located the relic formation within the inner ring of the complex.
They descended from the rooftop and entered the building.
The entrance yawned before them, a circular aperture large enough to accommodate entire starships. Adrian stepped through first, his domain rippling outward as he moved, refining the residual chaos clinging to the walls.
Marivelle followed a step behind. This structure was not new to her since she had been here before.
The corridor beyond stretched endlessly. Its ceiling arched high overhead, supported by columns that had been carved from a single piece of metal-like material.
Because of its massive size, it took some time for them to travel. They moved deeper toward the inner ring, navigating vast empty halls and silent corridors. They passed through what must have once been a grand assembly hall. Rows of benches lined the space.
When they finally reached the inner ring chamber, Adrian examined the relic formation. It was identical in structure to the one the Crimson Vital Sect possessed, as both had used a similar relic key. The underlying logic and divine construct were familiar to him.
He approached the nearby console and attempted to activate the formation.
The formation powered on. However, it failed to establish a connection.
The core brightened momentarily, its purple glow intensifying as divine essence from the central crystal flooded its internal pathways. Spatial distortions rippled outward, searching for an anchor on the receiving end. But the distortions collapsed almost immediately, folding back into the core without resolving into a stable portal.
Adrian understood immediately. "The other side is gone."
Marivelle stepped forward, her expression unsurprised.
The relic key formation was designed cleverly. It did not embed a fixed spatial location directly into the structure. Instead, it functioned as two separate formations. One acted as the entry point, while the other functioned as a return anchor.
The entry point was here, on this dead world, embedded in the ancient sect's main complex. The return anchor had been installed at the Everlasting Pill Sect's headquarters, allowing their disciples to travel freely between both locations.
Now, the return anchor was gone.
Marivelle understood this as well. She had used relic keys many times and was well aware of standard sect protocol in situations like this.
"Once Kenric and the others reported your strength to Elder Casmir," she explained, "the immediate decision would have been to withdraw and dismantle the receiving anchor within the sect headquarters. If this formation remained connected, someone could use it to directly access the main sect world. No sect would risk exposing their headquarters like that. Destroying the receiving anchor is a standard measure to prevent direct pursuit."
Adrian nodded, absorbing the information about typical sect behavior.
Marivelle exhaled softly. "Coming here to destroy it may already be meaningless."
Adrian turned to face her.
"Not entirely," he replied. "This formation here still remains as an entry point. Even if the other side has been dismantled, that does not mean a new return anchor cannot be reconstructed. If someone analyzed the formation's structure in the sect beforehand, they could create another."
"That's theoretically possible," she admitted. "But this relic key was sold by the Nine-Vault Commerce Sect and is based on their protected divine concept. Without their assistance, reconstruction is impossible."
She paused, then added, "And even if they were willing to help, the cost would be high."
Adrian understood this as well. It was rare for someone to reverse-engineer as he did and construct the UNI-Sect's Server formation back. So ultimately, they would need the assistance of someone from the Nine-Vault Commerce Sect.
But he had already learned not to rely on assumptions of impossibility. Even if the chances were extremely low, he did not want any potential anchor left behind on this planet. If he intended to control this relic world fully, he could not allow even the smallest chance of re-entry by external forces.
He raised his hand and cast Starbreaker. A condensed white-grey sphere formed instantly and launched downward.
It struck the formation's core dead center. The construct shattered instantly, its fragments dissolving before they could scatter. The floor beneath collapsed inward. The entire section of the ground where the relic formation had existed vanished completely, leaving no trace of structure, no residue of formation lines, and no anchor remaining.
Only a perfectly smooth crater remained, its edges glowing faintly from residual heat.
"Now it is fully safe," Adrian murmured.
Marivelle stared at the crater, her face unreadable.
He turned toward her.
"Check the surrounding areas outside this complex," he instructed. "See if any disciples from the Everlasting Pill Sect remain."
She blinked, then nodded. "Understood."
Without waiting further, Adrian exited the building. Marivelle followed him outside and watched as he ascended higher into the sky.
His form blurred as he accelerated upward, cutting through the chaotic energies with ease. His domain remained active, refining the atmosphere as he climbed.
Due to her limited perception within the relic world, Adrian soon disappeared from her view as he climbed beyond atmospheric limits. Still, with just this, she could determine that he was ascending into space but had no idea what he intended to do next.
Suppressing her questions, she began scanning the surrounding region to confirm whether any Everlasting Pill Sect disciples still remained within the relic world.