The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 457: Heavenly Sovereign Sanctuary Staff in Action

Aldrian did not hold back as he released his death energy to the fullest. This was the first time he had unleashed such energy in this way, and it was truly terrifying.

Now that he had reached the duke stage, his death energy had become much stronger, amplifying its effects even further.

Due to the concentration of death energy and death laws, the sky was also affected. Dark clouds gathered as if a thunderstorm were about to strike.

The heavens responded to the intense presence of primordial laws, reacting as they had been programmed to since ancient times. The heavens followed a set of rules that automatically activated under certain conditions.

Aldrian could sense it through his connection with the heavens—they were simply following their natural course. Since he had already overcome the heavenly tribulation when he successfully comprehended the death laws, the heavens did not send another tribulation.

The dark clouds above were merely a sign from the heavens, indicating that the concentration of death laws had reached such a level that it was affecting the atmosphere and threw the surrounding energies of heaven and earth into chaos.

The death energy consumed all other energies, killing everything it touched. Even space itself began to corrode under its influence.

Rumble! Rumble!

A thunderclap resounded across the sky as the dark clouds continued to expand. They had already reached the city, and still, they kept spreading.

Prince Wilmar and the others, witnessing the death energy for the first time, felt their souls turn cold. It was as if their very spirits wanted to leave their bodies, drawn toward the black tornado. In his eyes, the reflection of the tornado seemed to be consuming him, inching closer with every second.

All of them experienced the same kind of illusion. However, as high-ranking cultivators at the King and Emperor stages, they were able to pull themselves out of the death energy’s influence and steady their minds.

"All of you, don’t focus on that energy! Don’t let your illusions consume you, or you’ll go mad!" Grand Duke Donovan shouted, his voice booming across the massive army.

The troops snapped out of their trance-like state, trying to steady themselves, but it was futile. The fear still lingered in their hearts.

It was not something they could easily dispel. It was a primordial fear—one woven into the essence of every living being. The death laws triggered that fear, no matter how hard they tried to suppress it.

The Second Prince gritted his teeth as he watched the scene unfold, then turned toward Cardinal Carsius.

"Do it. Even though it’s earlier than planned," he said firmly.

He had never expected Aldrian to possess such a terrifying energy, far more sinister than anything he had ever felt. If this continued, it would severely affect the entire army, making it impossible to issue commands properly.

Cardinal Carsius solemnly nodded as he took a staff from his storage ring. In an instant, a middle divine grade aura radiated from it. Those nearby turned toward him and saw that he had already drawn the Heavenly Sovereign Staff. He raised it high into the sky, then thrust it into the ground before him.

Heavenly Sovereign Sanctuary: The Holy Territory

Wung!

A strange sound echoed as a yellow-hued bubble suddenly expanded from the staff, spreading outward and covering a radius of fifty kilometers. It was even larger than Aldrian’s domain, which now spanned forty-five kilometers.

Everyone within the sanctuary felt warmth seep into their souls. Their minds cleared, their thoughts sharpened, and the fear that had gripped them just moments ago quickly faded. At last, they could think straight—free from the suffocating dread.

Aldrian, who was also within the bubble, raised his eyebrows. He immediately recognized it as a type of domain, specifically an artificial one created by a divine-grade artifact. His expression shifted to one of curiosity, as he was intrigued by what kind of effect this domain would have on the people inside.

What he sensed from the artifact was warmth and a holy presence, an energy that directly opposed negative forces such as death energy.

The holy domain was powerful enough that he could feel his death energy being suppressed. This genuinely surprised him. It was the first time he had ever felt his death laws affected in such a way. Until now, nothing and no one had ever managed to suppress his death energy, but this holy domain was capable of doing exactly that.

Aldrian then looked at the staff embedded in the ground in front of Cardinal Carsius and read its information.

---------------------------------

Heavenly Sovereign Sanctuary Staff

Description: One of the legacy artifacts of the Heavenly Direction Church. It was created by the first king of the Forgeheart Kingdom, along with other dwarves, in collaboration with the first pope and the early cardinals of the church.

This staff received a direct blessing from the heavens and contains an immense amount of holy energy. The holy energy within it is also considered to be among the purest ever recorded.

The staff has the ability to generate a fifty-kilometer-wide domain that functions as a holy territory. Within this domain, the artifact’s master can choose to strengthen or weaken anything, depending on their will. The most powerful effects are directed specifically against any form of negative energy.

Level: Middle Divine Grade

----------------------------------

Reading the information, Aldrian was truly amazed by its history. It was no wonder the artifact was so powerful, given that it was the result of a joint effort between the church and the dwarves. With a direct blessing from the heavens, it had become the ultimate artifact for combating beings like devils.

"You really helped them fight me, huh?" Aldrian tried to communicate with the heavens. His tone was slightly joking, yet to his surprise, the heavens responded with unexpected seriousness.

Their intent came down upon him like a tidal wave, urgently trying to explain themselves so he would not misunderstand. Aldrian was baffled. For the first time, he felt the heavens themselves were worried, concerned enough to clarify their actions.

They even told him that, if necessary, they could withdraw their blessing from the legacy artifact.

"Alright, I’m joking. You don’t have to pull out the blessing, It would significantly weaken the artifact, and the church still needs it back. I just found it funny that your blessing is being used against me." Aldrian replied.

As soon as he said that, the heavens seemed to calm down, and their intent faded. Aldrian smiled to himself and decided to retract his death energy.

"You abomination! As I thought, you’re using sinister energy that reeks of darkness and death. You must have killed countless innocent people to gain that kind of power!" Prince Wilmar shouted.

"You must have used a forbidden technique to become this powerful! Even if we fall here, we’ll make sure to bring you down with us. We can’t let the entire continent continue being fooled by your false heroic image!" he continued.

Even at this moment, Prince Wilmar continued trying to tarnish Aldrian’s name. However, this time, many of the people in the city who witnessed the death energy for the first time began to feel that such power was not something a human should wield. The sinister aura left a deep impression on them, causing some to question how Aldrian had managed to comprehend something like that.

Aldrian simply smiled at the prince’s attempt. Then, he raised his hand to his mask and slowly removed it, confidently revealing his disguised face. His smiling gaze met Prince Wilmar’s directly, and it made the prince feel unsettled. An ominous feeling suddenly rose in his chest.

The people here also saw his face clearly for the first time, and it could be said that the sketch circulating was not too far off. Many of them began to wonder why Aldrian had chosen to take off his mask.

"That’s quite the slander and rich coming from someone who has been working with devils all these years. Don’t you feel even a shred of shame for betraying the entire continent and siding with those who only bring destruction?" Aldrian’s voice echoed clearly across the city.

Many who heard it was stunned. They had never expected such a twist. What in the world? The prince worked with devils? Even the troops could not hide their shock at this accusation.

Prince Wilmar froze for a moment, but quickly shouted back at Aldrian.

"Ha! You dare to slander me after I exposed your wicked nature? That’s not going to work!" he barked. "Group Two, attack him!"

At his command, dozens of king-stage cultivators shot into the air from the troops formation, flying at high speed toward Aldrian as they unleashed their techniques.

Inwardly, Prince Wilmar was in a state of panic. Aldrian seemed to know about his connection with the devils, how was that possible? Only a handful of people were aware of it, and he could count them on one hand. He doubted any of them would have told Aldrian, as doing so would endanger themselves as well. So how did he find out?

Wilmar gritted his teeth. He had to silence Aldrian before he said more. He would not give him another chance to speak.

The combined attack from the dozens of king-stage cultivators surged forward, their power reaching the level of a low emperor-stage strike. They unleashed a coordinated lightning technique, one they had clearly trained together many times.

Their strikes moved in perfect harmony, forming a single lightning attack. The lightning itself seemed to grow even stronger within the Holy Territory, enhanced by the holy properties.

Aldrian simply smiled at the incoming attacks. The combined strikes of lightning halted before they could reach him since they were effortlessly stopped by his spatial barrier. His domain power that poured into the barrier was more than enough to withstand an emperor-stage assault.

Their coordinated attack failed to even crack it.

"You like playing with lightning, huh? Then let me give you some lightning," Aldrian said calmly.

Rumble!