Chapter 598 — Brotherhood & Summons

The unknown cultivator’s phantom had been sealed within the Cosmic Sea, suppressed by both the Laws represented by the stars and the cosmic dust itself.

In Liora’s opinion, even living Ancient Devils would be suppressed once they entered this place, much less a mere remnant soul.

Yet the actual result shattered her expectations.

As her consciousness hurriedly entered the Cosmic Sea, her illusory phantom manifested before the star imprisoning the cultivator’s soul.

She had originally been prepared to use every means at her disposal to suppress the opponent before anything unexpected occurred.

But to her surprise, she discovered there was no need.

Apart from uttering those few words, the remnant soul did nothing else.

It didn’t awaken, much less move or speak.

Only its aura fluctuated for a brief instant, momentarily touching upon the Ancient Devil level before falling silent once more.

It seemed its momentary awakening had not been intentional, but merely an instinctive reaction of its body. The same was true for its words too.

After confirming this and reinforcing the soul’s seal a couple more times, Liora withdrew her consciousness, while leaving behind detection methods to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Despite doing all of this, not even a split second had passed in the outside world.

Elaouthr noticed nothing unusual throughout the process.

Seeing her remain silent while staring at the so-called Immortal Token, he took the initiative to explain.

"I found this inside the Heavenly Armor Pavilion. Ever since we entered this palace, I’ve been able to sense that it can bypass certain restrictions."

"However..."

Elaouthr gritted his teeth.

"I was afraid using it would alert the mastermind behind all of this. But now, it seems we have no other choice but to take a chance at it."

As he spoke, the Immortal Token trembled faintly within his hands, as though resonating with his own thoughts.

It seemed ready to unleash an unfathomable power, one capable of effortlessly controlling the space surrounding it.

Yet Elaouthr made no move to activate it.

Instead, he looked at Liora.

A complicated expression appeared on his face before he extended the token toward her.

"Brother Liothar, you’ve already helped me so much. I can’t accept your kindness without repaying it."

"Here. This token is now yours."

The moment those words fell, the Immortal Token left his hand and drifted toward Liora.

As though afraid she might misunderstand his intentions, Elaouthr immediately severed his connection to it, allowing it to land gently in her palm.

The instant her hand came into contact with the Immortal Token, Liora felt an invisible connection form between them.

Unlike the tokens they had obtained before, this one appeared far more special.

Liora, however, made no attempt to test its abilities.

She glanced at Elaouthr, only to meet what appeared to be an innocent, sincere expression.

Looking at the demon’s somewhat naive face, she calmly reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, brother."

"We are sworn brothers. What is a mere favor between us?"

"I’ll keep the token in your stead for now. Once we’re out of here, I’ll return it to you."

Elaouthr’s expression visibly softened upon hearing those words. He looked truly emotional.

For a brief moment, the two towering, hideous demons looked intently at one another. The sense of brotherhood between them seemed to deepen even further.

Inwardly, though, Liora could only feel speechless.

She really couldn’t tell whether Elaouthr was acting.

At first, she had been absolutely certain this demon was plotting something behind the scenes.

But by now, she found herself seriously doubting that conclusion.

After all, if he truly were pretending, then Elaouthr’s acting skills would truly be astonishing—only slightly inferior to her own.

"Is this Elaouthr’s real nature?"

"Could this demon have been dropped on his head as a child?" she wondered inwardly, before quickly dismissing the thought.

After completing this heartwarming exchange between sworn brothers, Liora no longer hesitated.

Her consciousness sank into the Immortal Token as demonic energy poured into it.

The next moment, she directed its power to strike at the space before her.

A beam of golden light shot forth.

It carried no destructive force at all.

Yet wherever it passed, space itself split apart.

When it finally struck the location Liora had chosen, the surrounding space seemed to explode.

Countless spatial fragments drifted through the air, while beneath the palace’s first layer of space, a vast dark void was exposed.

Under Liora’s control, a second golden beam shot toward the exact same spot.

This time, there was neither an explosion nor any destruction.

Under the beam’s influence, the outline of a gate slowly materialized.

It was nothing more than a faint silhouette at first, almost indistinguishable from an illusion.

But soon, a colossal golden gate stood before Liora and Elaouthr.

The two exchanged a quick glance.

Then Liora stepped forward, placed both hands against the gate, and pushed it open.

A deep creak echoed through the void.

A narrow gap appeared before rapidly widening.

Within moments, the gate had fully opened, revealing a boundless void filled with golden light.

Before Liora could take a closer look at it, a powerful teleportation force surged from within. She made no attempt to resist.

Allowing the light to envelop her, she watched as both she and Elaouthr disappeared into the gate.

--

Within a dimly lit hall, the illusory figure still stood motionless, as though the passage of endless years had failed to alter its posture in the slightest.

Countless images continuously emerged in its field of vision, though they now depicted the interior of a grand palace rather than a city.

As its gaze settled upon one of them—where only the outlines of two demons could be seen amidst a sea of golden light—it shook its head.

"The first visitors have already arrived..."

"It’s too early. Far too early."

"Still... I didn’t expect someone to obtain the Immortal Token. If that’s the case..."

"Perhaps it truly is fate..."

The moment those words fell, several golden gates materialized throughout the hall.

At the same time, within every image before the figure, identical golden gates appeared in front of each intruder.

Or rather, before the few that remained of them.