3: Ecliptic Array Physique

A graceful figure lay silently on the bed, her serene rest shattered by the faint echoes of a distant explosion. Slowly, she fought to open her heavy eyelids, revealing eyes that once sparkled like a starry night but now appeared dull and lifeless. Her pale, almost translucent skin, devoid of vitality, heightened the stark contrast of her silky black hair cascading over her delicate shoulders. A faint trace of blood lingered on her small lips, evidence of violent coughing or vomiting, and her pristine white robes—once as pure as untouched snow—were now marred with crimson stains spreading across her chest.

Her aura, once radiant and commanding, had diminished to a barely discernible flicker. Even breathing seemed to strain her fragile body, each shallow breath draining what little strength she had left. Yet, despite her weakened state, a faint sense of recognition flickered in her dim eyes. Her trembling lips parted ever so slightly, and in a voice as fragile as a whisper carried by the wind, she softly murmured, "Husband~"

The fragile figure lying on the bed was none other than Fiona, Adler's beloved wife. As Adler stared with wide eyes, his body trembled uncontrollably. His heart felt as if it had been pierced by a cold, merciless blade, each breath heavy under the weight of her fading form. His anguished gaze lingered on her pale, weakened face, and his chest tightened painfully.

Four others stood near her bed—Ash Vickman, Wei Zu, Lux Layman, and a woman dressed in a simple maid's uniform. The maid, Fiona's personal caretaker, had been hired to tend to her fragile health. Yet the disdain in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. She glared at Adler with barely concealed contempt, her expression filled with irritation rather than concern. It didn't take much to see through her charade—she had aligned herself with the very traitors now standing before him.

Adler said nothing, enduring the silent betrayal with clenched fists, his grief and fury buried deep within. The maid, emboldened by her treachery, mingled freely with the others, her demeanor utterly devoid of guilt or shame.

Fiona's health had begun to deteriorate long before this tragic moment, but as Adler gazed at her with a pained expression, his thoughts drifted to a time when she had been strong and full of life. Memories of their first meeting surfaced—a moment etched into his soul. It had been during the subjugation of a human territory under siege by fiend's. Side by side, they had fought valiantly, their bond forged in the chaos of war. They had supported each other through countless trials, their love growing stronger with every battle.

Now, that once-unbreakable bond felt as fragile as Fiona herself, the weight of the present overshadowing the memories of their brighter days.

The sound of the maid's voice broke Adler's thoughts. "Young Master Wang!" she exclaimed, her tone laced with joy as she rushed forward to embrace the newcomer. Wang Chi, one of the traitorous figures, leader . He wrapped an arm around the maid's waist while his other hand brazenly fondled her breast, a perverse grin stretching across his face as he met Adler's gaze.

Adler's heart sank further. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place—it had all been a meticulously planned scheme. The maid had been tamed and planted as a spy to monitor Fiona's health, using it as bait to lure Adler away from his party. She had sowed discord among his comrades, lowered his defenses with feigned loyalty, and ultimately betrayed him at the opportune moment. A chilling thought crossed Adler's mind—was Fiona's sudden health decline a natural , or had it been planned by his enemies?

Adler's bloodshot eyes locked onto Wang Chi, his broken jaw trembling as he demanded an answer without words. Sensing Adler's silent question, Wang Chi let out a low chuckle, his grin widening with smug arrogance.

"Oh, Adler," Wang Chi said, his tone mocking. "You've finally started piecing it together, haven't you? Wondering if Fiona's condition was natural or... our doing? Let me ease your curiosity. You're correct—her decline wasn't by chance." He gestured toward the maid, a glint of cruelty in his eyes. "Your dear maid, or should I say, my subordinate, played her part well. I gave her clear instructions to give a heavy dose of an aphrodisiac to Fiona."

Adler trembled with fury, his cultivation crippled, and his rage barely contained as he mustered every ounce of strength to rise on his unsteady right leg, keeping his broken left leg suspended. His battered and bruised body screamed in protest as he forced himself to stand upright. With a savage glare that burned with murderous intent, he lunged at Wang Chi like a wounded beast.

Before Adler could close the distance, Ash Vickman's figure blurred, appearing before him in an instant. Without hesitation, Ash grabbed Adler's head with an iron grip and slammed it into the bedroom floor with a resounding crash. The floor cracked under the force, splinters flying in all directions. Ash then yanked Adler's head out of the shattered floor and tossed him at Wang Chi's feet like a broken sack of discarded goods.

"You're a truly stubborn fool, Adler. Death is knocking at your door, yet here you are, performing these desperate little acts to change your fate," Wang Chi sneered, his eyes gleaming with cruelty. A mocking smile curled on his lips. "Don't worry—after I deal with you. I'll make sure to 'enjoy' her right in front of your eyes. That way, you can go to hell with no regrets. Hahaha!"!"

Wang Chi ceased fondling the maid, his tone turning sharp as he addressed the crowd. "Now, let's proceed to the main event of this gathering!"

With deliberate cruelty, Wang Chi sat on Adler's back, pressing him down with overwhelming force. His left hand gripped Adler's neck like a vice, while his right hand pinned his head firmly to the ground, forcing Adler's face into the cold, cracked floor.

"Adler, you should feel honored. You're about to be sacrificed for a greater purpose," Wang Chi taunted, his tone dripping with mockery. "The unique initiate skill you possess—the ability to locate and indicate the direction of specific objects—will soon belong to me. I'm sure you're wondering how I'm going to accomplish this, or why I even need it. Since you'll die soon anyway, consider this your last wish granted—I'll grant you one final kindness and tell you a secret that will shake your very soul."

Wang Chi grinned, savoring the moment of power and dominance. "I possess the Ecliptic Array Physique."

The room fell eerily silent. It was as if the weight of his words had drained all sound and movement from the air. The onlookers froze, their expressions shifting from disbelief to awe—and a touch of jealousy.

The Ecliptic Array Physique—a legendary body akin to an array of stars, where each star served as a vessel capable of containing a unique skill. This mythical physique allowed its possessor to absorb the skill cores of others, permanently adding their powers to their own.

Skill cores, rare abnormalities or special abilities found only in a select few cultivators. These cores granted their hosts unique, innate skills and became the very foundation of their cultivation, storing every technique and ability they acquired over time. However, their greatest weakness lay in their fragility—if a skill core was destroyed, all the skills tied to it would vanish instantly, leaving the cultivator completely powerless and unable to recover.

Wang Chi's words hung in the air, and the weight of his revelation filled the room with tension. His allies, unaware of the truth until now, were left in awe of his fearsome power.

Wang Chi's voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "Lu Ziyan, come here and mend Adler's broken jaw. I only want him to be able to speak—do nothing more than that," he ordered, his words laced with authority.

With Adler pinned firmly against the cold, unyielding floor, Wang Chi leaned closer, his voice dropping to a sinister whisper. "This isn't mercy," he sneered, malice dripping from every word. "I want to hear your screams, to savor your agony as I extract your skill core. It'll be the last thing you offer before I consume everything you hold dear."

Adler's body lay crumpled on the ground, his breathing shallow but his spirit unbroken—well, mostly unbroken. There was only so much resilience a man could muster while pinned beneath the smugness of Wang Chi, who sat atop him as if he were some benevolent overlord gracing his subject with attention. Wang Chi's expression was one of exaggerated pity, the kind that said

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, and isn't it just delicious?

"Adler, you don't look so good," Wang Chi sneered, casually adjusting his robes as if he were merely lounging and not actively ruining someone's life. "But don't worry. This isn't going to hurt… much. Well, at least not in the way you think."

The room fell silent, the air so tense it could have been sliced with a knife. Not that Wang Chi needed one, of course. That would be far too crude for someone of his Ecliptic Array Physique.

"You see," Wang Chi began, his voice dripping with theatrical flair, "lesser cultivators might need tools, rituals, or some messy bloodletting to extract a skill core and in the end most of the time it would end up as a failure. But me? I'm beyond such… pedestrian methods. My physique operates on a level far above your comprehension. It doesn't need to touch the flesh—it reaches straight into the soul."

Adler gritted his teeth, bracing himself for whatever torment Wang Chi had planned. He had endured countless injuries, survived battles that had pushed his body beyond its limits—but this was different. This was not just pain. This was an agony that reached beyond the flesh, beyond the bones, beyond anything he had ever experienced.

Wang Chi's hand hovered just above Adler's chest, a soft glow emanating from his fingertips, as if drawing something unseen from deep within. The eerie celestial patterns flickered around him, shifting like constellations rearranging themselves in the night sky.

Then, it began.

A sudden, unbearable force ripped through Adler's body, as if an invisible claw had reached inside him and seized something vital. His entire being convulsed as white-hot pain surged through his nerves, every muscle tightening, every bone screaming in protest. It was as if his soul was being unraveled, torn apart thread by thread. His veins bulged, his breathing turned ragged, and despite his best efforts to endure, a hoarse, guttural scream tore from his throat.

The sound was not just of pain—it was suffering made manifest, a raw, primal agony that sent chills down the spines of those watching. Even Ash Vickman, who had delighted in Adler's suffering up until now, found his expression darkening. Wei Zu took an unconscious step back, while Lux Layman's fingers twitched, as if resisting the urge to cover his ears.

In the silence of the room, Fiona's frail body trembled on the bed. Her fingers twitched slightly, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something—but no words came. Tears welled in her dull eyes, her fragile heart aching at the sound of Adler's torment. She was too weak to move, too powerless to stop it, and that helplessness cut deeper than any blade ever could.

Adler clenched his fists, his fingernails digging so deep into his palms that blood began to seep between his fingers. He fought against the pain, against the pull of Wang Chi's physique, but it was useless. His body was failing him. His soul was unraveling.

He wanted to hold on. He wanted to resist. But the agony was too overwhelming.

His screams grew weaker, his vision darkening as Wang Chi's celestial glow intensified. And then, with a final, soul-wrenching pull, the last strand of resistance snapped.

A small, radiant sphere of energy—a manifestation of his very being—rose from his chest, hovering in the air like a fragile wisp of light. It flickered, resisting for only a moment before Wang Chi's physique drew it in. The light vanished into his body, absorbed completely.

The pain stopped instantly. Not because Adler had won—but because there was nothing left to take.

His body collapsed, cold sweat soaking his clothes, his breathing shallow and erratic. He lay motionless, his chest barely rising and falling.

Wang Chi exhaled slowly, stretching his arms as if savoring the sensation of newfound power. A slow, satisfied grin spread across his face.

"Well," he said, his voice dripping with amusement. "That was fun."