Chapter 530 — Archdevil Anchoring Stage

The physical structure of every Awakener had long gone beyond what people would consider human.

The stronger an Awakener became, the more different from ordinary humans they would become.

By the time someone reached Rank 6, they could be considered members of an entirely new race.

This differentiation only became more apparent when they advanced to Rank 7.

By that time, their structure was perhaps more similar to demons and even Zerg than most humans would likely wish to admit.

For Liora, this evolution process was even more intense.

Her advancement to Rank 7 signified that her strength had reached the Archdevil level in the native power system.

She had finally fulfilled the requirements agreed upon with the Demon World.

As she advanced, something began to awaken from the depths of her soul.

A high-level, fierce type of energy emerged and began to overwrite the Cosmic Energy and her human structure.

Her body, which was in the process of being adjusted, completely changed its evolutionary route.

The crimson in her red hair grew deeper. The same occurred for the color of her eyes.

A bright sheen attached to her skin as it writhed, while thunderous roars came out of her clashing bones.

The process was violent but nearly instantaneous.

One moment, Liora was just an "ordinary" human, and the next, her race had changed into an otherworld creature.

She now truly deserved the title of "Otherworld Demon".

The aura she unknowingly exuded adjusted accordingly.

It became colder and far more overwhelming, carrying a trace of imperial majesty.

From a valiant warrior, she seemed to have changed into an Empress.

Liora paid little attention to these external changes.

Closing her eyes, she looked inwardly, into her soul space, only to see a large throne floating at its center.

Looking at it was like looking at herself in the mirror.

The connection between her and her Throne—evidence of her identity as an Archdevil—had been restored.

A wave of strength washed through her as the entire Throne roared.

The insights Liora had gained in this world were integrated with it, strengthening its essence even further.

An explosion rang out in her ears.

She abruptly opened her eyes.

Liora instinctively lifted her head to look at the sky, only to see an illusory river floating far above.

Each drop of this river seemed to contain an image, a scene of the past, present, or future.

River of Time—the transcendent river encompassing all the events that had ever and would ever happen in the Origin Sea.

Liora had faced it briefly during one of her previous advancements.

Now, this had happened again.

Yet this time, she was prepared not to miss this opportunity.

Glancing into her soul space, Liora looked toward her Throne, which had already finished its evolution process.

Using the connection between them, she dragged it out of her soul space, forcing it to materialize in the outside world.

A soul-tearing pain assaulted her senses.

Every single instinct of hers warned her to stop what she was doing.

A Throne was an extremely crucial thing for Archdevils and above.

If anything were to happen to it, they would lose a large amount of strength, if not perish.

Their connection was similar to Liora and her World of Heart.

As such, taking one’s Throne out of the soul space was almost forbidden.

Despite this, Liora didn’t hesitate.

Her eyes narrowed as she did her best to suppress the pain.

Specks of light gathered before her, soon intertwining into a throne.

Liora’s Throne finally appeared in the outside world.

Then, under the control of her consciousness, it rose into the sky.

Its pace was terrifying.

In the blink of an eye, it had appeared below the River of Time. With a crash, it plunged into its waters.

The power of time instantly began washing over it, trying to drive it toward extinction.

However, the concepts Liora had integrated with it tried to resist.

Although the Throne trembled violently and appeared to have suffered, it ultimately managed to withstand the impact.

Creation, Throne, Anchoring, Ascension—the four substages of an Archdevil.

At the Anchoring stage, the Archdevil had to place their Throne into the River of Time and allow it to withstand time’s impact, gradually changing its structure to accommodate it.

Once this process was complete, the Devil could raise it out of the River of Time, escaping its clutches and becoming an Ancient Devil.

Liora had only taken the first step for now.

However, this was more than enough for her Devil stage to advance for the first time in a long while.

Moments later, the River of Time faded away, disappearing together with her Throne.

The two seemed to have ceased to exist.

Yet Liora could still sense the intimate connection between her and her Throne.

As long as she wanted, she could call upon its power, as though it was still settled within her soul space.

She closed her eyes.

The outcome of this adventure had truly gone beyond her greatest dreams.

Not only had she managed to advance as an Awakener, but she had also improved her Devil strength.

Sensing the overwhelming power rushing through her body, Liora could sense the changes these had brought accurately.

Powerful. Extremely powerful.

These were the only words she could use to describe her current condition.

Three unique power systems coexisted perfectly within her, granting her extraordinary physical strength, outstanding soul power, and unfathomable abilities.

It took quite a while for Liora to familiarize herself with her current strength.

It was only several minutes later that she finally familiarized herself with her newfound power.

Only then did she open her eyes.

Her gaze swept around her surroundings.

She wasn’t surprised to find that the Nine-Headed Hydra had become no more.

Having turned into a mummified corpse, its remains crumbled into ashes the moment she touched them lightly.

A Rank 9 deity with Rank 10 combat power and hiding a supreme secret had perished.

Yet, this was merely an unimportant detail in today’s events.

Compared to her advancement, this seemed merely an afterthought.

Of course, the Nine-Headed Hydra’s contribution to Liora achieving this was undeniable.

If it had not been for the hydra supplying her with Cosmic Energy, it would have been difficult to achieve this so soon.

Moreover, its talents and the Laws it had comprehended had played a crucial role during her advancement, acting as the key to Rank 7.

Thinking of this, a trace of curiosity flashed within her eyes.

She stared at her recently acquired abilities, which had already reached Rank 7 and thus transformed.

Time and Space. Four Elements. Life and Death.

These were helpful but were hardly worth her special attention.

What truly piqued her curiosity was the ninth Law, a Law that bound the other eight together.

Sensing a strange kind of resonance between this Law and the Divine Dragon’s remains lying on the other side of the demi-plane, Liora formed a suspicion regarding its identity.