Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

If it were an ordinary stone door, it wouldn't be so troublesome.

Not only would a simple stone door be no obstacle, but even a divine wall made from Wall of the Divine Kingdom would not be able to withstand Sterl's strength.

However, the key here was that this stone door was connected to the core of the entire Abyssal Prison. It was the backbone of the Abyssal Prison, and forcibly destroying the door would be the same as confronting the entire Abyssal Prison head-on.

Moreover, his Dimension Perception occasionally sent out a sense of impending danger. If he forcibly broke the door, something unpleasant would occur.

He wasn't entirely sure what would happen, as his knowledge about Abyssal Prison was still too limited.

The information he obtained from the Ghost Old Man and that unfortunate creature was extremely one-sided. After all, they were Ultimate Evil Beings imprisoned in the second level of the Abyssal Prison and had no knowledge of what lay in the fourth or fifth levels.

Sterl narrowed his eyes. The Nightmare Overlord was in the fifth level. Based on the information he had, it appeared that the Nightmare Overlord had cooperated with the Dream Spirit Empire to seal War Demon because he was wary of War Demon's power.

But the plan had backfired, and it was the Dream Spirit Empire that ended up tricking the Nightmare Overlord.

Even so, the Nightmare Overlord must have had some understanding of the Abyssal Prison, which was why he agreed to the plan. He likely knew of a way to break through the seal on the Eternal Light World. Therefore, entering the fifth level was crucial.

"Since the stone door hasn't been broken, how did the previous War Demon escape from the Abyssal Prison?" Sterl thought to himself.

He wasn't sure about the true strength of the original War Demon or if it was stronger than him, but one thing was clear—War Demon definitely couldn't have broken this stone door with brute force.

Even if War Demon had been sealed for over ten thousand years and his strength had diminished significantly, it would still be difficult for him to break through the door, even at his peak.

Not to mention, Sterl himself didn't have the confidence to break it with brute strength.

After all, his battle power didn't rely on Law or divine authority but on an incredibly powerful physical body.

Even Ancient Behemoth Fay had been astonished and horrified by the strength of his physical form.

Still, whether it could be done or not would have to be tested.

Sterl took a deep breath, and a surge of silver-white light filled his eyes as the Power of Star-Bone inside him surged. The strength of his Star-Bone Body erupted violently.

He then raised his hand and clenched his fist. The surrounding space seemed to bend as if he had seized it in his grip.

Boom!!

A single punch was thrown, and the terrifying force was unleashed directly onto the stone door.

Immediately, the stone door began to tremble violently, and the entire Abyssal Prison seemed to shake.

However, the power capable of piercing a star was entirely absorbed by the Abyssal Prison.

Large, intricate dark patterns began to rise from the stone door, and countless shackles surged from all directions, embedding themselves into the door.

Soon, the vibrating stone door gradually returned to its original state, as though nothing had happened.

But upon closer inspection, one would notice that the spot where Sterl's punch had struck now bore a fist-sized indentation, about one finger deep.

Moreover, under the power of the Abyssal Prison, this indentation was slowly healing. At the current rate, it would likely be completely restored in about three days.

"That's tough?"

Sterl was momentarily stunned. The hardness of the stone door exceeded his expectations.

After all, even with the full strength of his Star-Bone Body, Fay wouldn't dare to take that punch head-on, yet this stone door not only withstood the impact but was hardly damaged—this was truly remarkable.

What Sterl didn't know was that the door to Abyssal Prison had never had a mark left on it since its creation. No being had ever been able to leave an imprint, let alone do so with sheer brute force. This was unheard of.

He estimated that, with all his strength, it would take at least a thousand strikes to open the Abyssal Prison's door.

Moreover, there was surely some hidden danger behind the door, which explained why his Dimension Perception was constantly signaling a threat.

Therefore, forcing the door open was clearly not the right approach. He would have to find another method. If that failed, then he might resort to more drastic measures.

"Abyssal Prison is the core of the entire Eternal Light World. From what I know so far, the two are one and the same. In other words, Abyssal Prison is a creation of the Eternal Light World, not a prison made by the Dream Spirit Empire. The Dream Spirit Empire likely discovered Abyssal Prison within the Eternal Light World and figured out how to open it."

Sterl reflected on the details from the information he had gathered, including everything that had happened after he entered the Eternal Light World.

"With War Demon's strength, there's no way he could have opened the stone door himself. And considering that Abyssal Prison absorbs the Origin Power of beings..."

A sudden realization struck Sterl's mind, and a new idea sprang into his thoughts.

He had previously thought that War Demon had escaped Abyssal Prison by breaking free and traversing through countless Constant Abysses, weakening him further, which was why he had fallen into a coma and was then targeted by the Dream Beasts.

However, as he descended deeper into Abyssal Prison, Sterl had not found any traces of other creatures. The traps and mechanisms within Abyssal Prison showed no signs of having been triggered.

This meant that War Demon hadn't escaped by force. Instead, he must have used some method within the fifth level to forcibly transport himself out.

As for War Demon's weakness, it was very likely unrelated to the Constant Abyss, but rather a result of the continuous draining of his Origin Power over the course of tens of thousands of years in Abyssal Prison.

Therefore, all he needed to do was find the first location where War Demon had left Abyssal Prison, and he would be able to find some clues!

He glanced at the stone door in front of him. He had no interest in engaging in a direct confrontation with it. Instead, he focused his thoughts and activated the Dream Orb embedded in his Starry Battle Armor.

[Gateway of Dreams: This can open the Gateway of Passage, entering the endless Dream World to explore its unknown mysteries and powers. Upon entering Dreamland, all regions explored by the user will be recorded by the Dream Orb. While in Dreamland, the Gateway of Dreams can be opened through the Dream Orb, allowing instant teleportation to all previously recorded locations.]

The Dream Orb could record all the locations he had traveled to and open the Gateway of Dreams, allowing instant teleportation.

What he intended to do now was to use the Dream Orb's ability to directly return to the spot where he had first arrived. Even if it wasn't the exact location where War Demon had escaped from Abyssal Prison, it would undoubtedly be very close.

The Gateway of Dreams opened, and Sterl instantly disappeared from in front of the stone door.

The next moment, the scene before him abruptly changed, and his field of vision became bright and expansive. Although the sky of the entire Eternal Light World was still very dim, it was still much better compared to Abyssal Prison.

At the very least, it wasn't pitch-black to the point where he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

Moreover, the darkness of Abyssal Prison wasn't only visual—it also had a sensory block. If not for the Ultimate Evil Beings trapped there being extremely insane to begin with, they would have likely gone mad long ago.

No, to be more precise, none of the villains in Abyssal Prison were normal to begin with.

Looking around, Sterl saw the Dream Beast he had absorbed the soul memories from still standing motionless, slowly moving by instinct.

Given the Dream Beast's soul strength, it would likely take years for it to regain full awareness.

Ignoring the small creature, Sterl contracted his perception to a hundred-meter radius and began to carefully examine his surroundings, searching for any traces left by War Demon.

With Sterl's powerful perception, he soon caught a faint breath.

This breath was incredibly weak, but its bloodthirsty and evil essence was unmistakable.

Recalling War Demon's past deeds, it seemed highly likely that this trace had been left by War Demon.

Following the faint trace, Sterl began to track it.

The scent stretched northward, completely opposite the direction of Abyssal Prison, further confirming Sterl's theory. War Demon had definitely not escaped in a conventional way.

He quickened his pace, following the direction of the faint trace of energy. Soon, a narrow cave appeared before him.

And the starting point of this trace was deep inside the cave.

"I've found it."

A gleam of determination flashed in Sterl's eyes as he quickly approached the entrance of the cave. The air around him thickened with the familiar aura of War Demon.

It seemed that, indeed, War Demon had somehow been teleported here from Abyssal Prison.

But unfortunately, War Demon had grown too weak. His life force had already been completely extinguished, and he was only holding on with sheer willpower.

Entering the cave, Sterl found it to be pitch black. The ceiling was studded with many black crystals that flickered with eerie, phosphorescent light.

There didn't appear to be any immediate danger around, or else, given War Demon's condition, it would have been impossible for him to have ventured so far.

Soon, a familiar presence emanated from further inside the cave.

Sterl paused briefly, then instantly moved toward the source of the energy.

At the deepest point of the cave, he saw a crack in the ground, about two meters wide, extending from the depths of the earth.

Though the crack was only about two meters long, its depth was impossible to estimate, as though it pierced through the entire Eternal Light World itself.

What surprised Sterl the most, however, was the powerful energy emanating from this crack.

He took out Illusory Dream and cautiously moved it closer to the crack.

Immediately, a force of attraction emanated from Illusory Dream, absorbing all the mysterious energy being emitted from the crack.

"This is indeed Dream Power!"

Sterl withdrew Illusory Dream, finding that the Dream Power he had previously used up was now completely replenished. The crack no longer emitted any Dream Power.

Staring at the crack, Sterl's mind raced.

Before entering Dreamland, he had assumed that Dream Power was the most common and fundamental force here.

However, after entering, aside from this crack, he hadn't encountered any trace of Dream Power!

As for the nightmare creatures within the Eternal Light World, they didn't use Dream Power. Instead, they wielded a twisted, nightmarish energy that distorted consciousness and reason. This power lacked the strength and mystery of Dream Power.

Moreover, after his previous experiments and trials, Sterl had realized that obtaining Dream Power was not as simple as he had imagined.