He sank his consciousness into the Spiritual Sea, fully drawing on that platinum Divine Status.

This time, it was not a cautious, subtle breath, but a vast radiance of source divinity bursting from within him, covering the altar above and the Seed of Light along the Spiritual Power channel.

This divine radiance was not an attack, but rather like a monarch descending, exuding supreme, pure, unquestionable source light majesty.

When the divine radiance touched that layer of invisible rule defense, Duke clearly felt that the barrier, which was vague in perception, was rapidly becoming transparent and even dissipating under the illumination of the Divine Status.

Duke seized the moment, his Spiritual Power instantly penetrating the now unimpeded space, directly enveloping the pure golden Seed of Light that maintained a profound connection with the altar.

Under the continuous illumination of the Divine Status radiance, the connection between the two, based on unknown rules, quietly melted and broke like thin ice in the sun, without triggering any violent energy backlash.

"Collect!"

Duke’s Heart Thought spun, the Seed of Light wrapped in Spiritual Power trembled slightly, then turned into a gentle, golden stream of light, penetrating the soil and rock, falling into a prepared storage space, and was directly sent into the Light God Court within him.

Deprived of its core and rules defense, the entire ancient altar seemed to have its soul extracted instantly.

The white stone lost its luster at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the seemingly natural yet rule-containing lines on its surface suddenly dimmed.

More critically, the solid, sacred sense of rule presence that originally permeated around the altar, integrating with the ruins’ Energy Field, collapsed with a roar.

"Buzz——!!!"

A dull wail, seemingly from the very structure of space itself, rapidly spread outward from the altar’s original site.

The core energy supply and rule support maintaining the pale golden light film plunged sharply, the rich light energy lost its stable circulation, beginning to scatter and collide chaotically.

The Energy Guards fell into chaos, and ancient trap runes triggered erratically due to energy flow disruption.

All of this exploded within just two to three seconds.

Outside the light film.

The pale golden, long-solid light film suddenly flickered intensely without warning, its brilliance rapidly dimming and thinning, like a candle in the wind.

"The light film... is the light film vanishing?!"

"The energy fluctuations are off! Something major happened inside!"

"Who cares! Opportunity! Charge!!"

The player group, after a brief shock, was completely ignited by greed, surging madly towards the now fragile light film like sharks smelling blood.

At this moment, the light film collapsed at the slightest touch.

In the Four Gods Sect camp, the faces of the two Magic Masters changed drastically, sensing the abrupt disappearance of the core treasure’s aura and the foundational collapse of the entire ruins’ energy system.

"Someone acted ahead of us! Quick! At all costs, charge in! Find the thief! Retrieve the treasure!" An angry roar rang out.

However, it was already too late.

When the Four Gods Sect elite and the tidal wave of players broke through the light film and surged into the depths of the ruins, what they faced were rampant energy torrents, frenzied guards indistinguishable between friend and foe, randomly triggered remnants of ancient traps, and a chaotic crowd attacking each other over potential leftovers due to the treasure’s disappearance.

The true core had long since vanished without a trace.

Underground, after successfully retrieving the Seed of Light, Duke did not pause for a moment.

He sensed that although the altar itself was dead, its material was special, and the inscribed lines still held high research value.

In the window period where the Divine Status glow hadn’t fully withdrawn, and the relic’s rule defense had completely collapsed, he once again propelled vast Spiritual Power, enveloping the entire huge altar.

"Rise!"

With a rumbling sound, the ground trembled slightly, and the soul-lost altar was uprooted, instantly stored into the Space Ring.

Having done all this, Duke immediately deployed earth-walking abilities, heading toward the agreed-upon direction with Robert, fully escaping underground, moving far faster than he came.

Simultaneously, a concise command was sent to Robert through the Soul Link, urging him to leave during the chaos.

On the surface, the elite crew of Star Embers, upon receiving the order, under Robert’s command, retreated in an orderly fashion from the chaotic forefront, quickly blending into the player flood frantically fleeing or blindly charging, vanishing without a trace in a few turns, without stirring any surplus ripples.

Within the ruins, it had already turned into a chaotic scene of rampant energy and carnage.

Thunderous shouting, explosions, and screams mixed with the roar of energy rampage, drawing all attention firmly to this locus.

Using the covert and swift subterranean travel, Duke, after leaving the ruins area of the Ashen Mountains, found a remote corner and quietly returned to the surface.

He did not linger nor did he choose to accompany Robert and the others, changing back into nondescript attire, avoiding potential spies, cautiously making his way back to Azure Vault City.

The backyard of the Star Embers Potion Shop remained as silent and dusty as when he left, Duke carefully checked the alert measures he left behind, confirming that no one had intruded.

He quickly brushed off the dust on his body, ensuring no energy traces were left that could expose his trail, then closed the doors and windows tightly, setting up several protective Witch Arrays.

After finishing these, he did not rest, but immediately sat cross-legged in the center of that simple little room, preparing to enter the Light God Court.

The next moment, his figure disappeared from the original spot, appearing in that vibrant, softly-lit world of his own.

The fresh, life energy-filled air poured into his lungs, the World Tree Seed in the distance exuding vibrant life, the Spring of Life gurgling, further away, the Moon Well’s slope flowing with serene silver radiance, and beside it, a faintly deep undulation from the Dark Energy Well’s accumulation.

Everything was as usual, yet in Duke’s perception, seemed somewhat different, the Divine Court seemed joyfully awaiting something.

His Heart Thought moved, and he instantly arrived in the central region of the Divine Court, beside the World Tree Seed and the Spring of Life.

This was the core area he had planned, where energy was most active, and the rules most stable.

The Seed of Light was also here.

Even within the Light God Court, it still emitted pure and gentle golden glow, pulsating slowly and powerfully, like a miniature sun.

Duke extended his hand, holding the Seed of Light in his palm, feeling its vast internal energy and strongly throbbing energy fluctuation.

Duke could clearly sense that the Seed of Light in his hand felt no rejection for this realm; rather, it was like a traveler returning home, like a seed falling into the most suitable fertile soil, exuding a strong desire to root and integrate.

It was not merely being housed as an external treasure but was to become a crucial source node in this realm’s energy cycle and rule network.

"Indeed...the Divine Status and this artifact share the same origin, and the Divine Court’s environment is exceedingly hospitable to light and life...this is the perfect place of placement!" Enlightenment and joy flashed in Duke’s eyes.

Without hesitation, he chose a slightly elevated, well-lit flat area about a hundred meters behind the World Tree Seed and the Spring of Life’s site.

With a Heart Thought motion, the huge, now inactive white altar retrieved from the ruins emerged from the Space Ring, steadily landing here. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The altar was five meters tall, with a diameter of over ten meters, although the runes on its surface had dimmed, and the stone had lost its former luminescence, its inherently ancient and majestic shape, along with its special material, still exuded a sense of historical sedimentation and solid aura.

This was precisely the best pedestal for placing the Seed of Light, the two had been companions for countless ages.

Carefully, Duke placed the pure golden, pulsating Seed of Light, extracted from the ruins, gently into the altar’s center, in the originally existent, slightly concave circular cradle slot.

The size fit perfectly, as though it never left.

At the moment the Seed of Light and the ancient altar reconnected, the Seed of Light’s radiance became increasingly warm and restrained, and its pulsation rhythm appeared to resonate faintly with the residual cadence of the silent altar beneath his feet.