After Angelica finished saying her vow, something invisible suddenly gripped her heart, her dantian, and her mind. She gasped as a dreadful sensation seized her entire being.

Her vision darkened as she fell into an illusion filled with endless darkness. Breathing became difficult. The energy inside her turned chaotic, clashing wildly as if trying to tear her apart from within.

At the same time, pressure from the heavens descended. Dark clouds gathered, followed by rumbling thunder that reverberated across the land.

At this moment, countless people were far more prepared than before. After what had happened earlier, only fools would still underestimate the heavens’ reaction.

As the heavens showed their response, Aldrian had already pulled Angelica into his embrace again. His senses had been focused entirely on her from the very beginning, allowing him to feel everything she was experiencing.

Although the curse cast upon Angelica was still beyond his comprehension due to how abstract it was, the moment it activated, he could finally perceive it more clearly.

A single split second was enough.

In that instant, he felt the curse attempting to harm her physically.

Because he could grasp it in that brief moment, he knew he had to act immediately, before the curse had time to do any real damage.

’Not on my watch!’

At that moment, he drew upon the entire power of the first heaven. His body shone with a brilliant golden light, so intense that not only the people inside the church had to cover their eyes, even those watching through screens were forced to do the same.

The light spread across the heavenly city. Countless people felt a warm sensation along with an overwhelming aura.

Even from space, the light could be seen clearly.

Angelica, who had been drowning in extreme dread as her mind fell into the illusion, suddenly felt warmth. The golden light shone brightly within that endless darkness. The fear in her heart was suppressed by it, and within the illusion, she could see Aldrian’s figure.

He pulled her into an embrace. His blinding light expanded outward, slowly pushing back the darkness surrounding them.

However, it was clear that the darkness was not retreating without resistance.

A horrifying sound echoed through the void, as if a colossal beast was asserting its dominance. A deep growl reverberated, shaking the very space around them. Then, a massive red eye appeared above, opening slowly before locking directly onto Aldrian.

The moment Angelica saw that eye, she felt as if her soul was about to be pulled out of her body.

She clung tightly to Aldrian and did not dare to look anywhere else. Fear gripped her as the thought of being consumed by that eye filled her mind.

Aldrian, however, stared back at it.

The sight stirred a sense of reminiscence within him, reminding him of the time he faced Tarius in the past. Back then, he had also stood before a giant eye with his small body.

He could feel how terrifying the curse was.

From the chaotic nature of the darkness, he began to grasp a fragment of its essence.

It was actually tied to primordial chaos energy, something far more ancient than the current heaven and earth energy.

The curse was built upon it.

That alone meant the god who cast it was far from ordinary.

On top of that, the curse contained powerful karma laws, death laws, and samsara laws, all intertwined together. Because of this, the curse would follow Angelica through every reincarnation, never truly leaving her.

Aldrian was truly amazed by the complexity of the curse.

Once again, he began to wonder what kind of existence Angelica had been in the past to be afflicted with something like this. What had she done to be subjected to such torment?

Why go this far?

Why not simply erase her entirely?

From what he could perceive, the one who cast the curse had to be a god who had already reached the level of master of universe, someone capable of wielding primordial chaos energy.

He wondered who could have done this.

As far as he knew, the only existence capable of wielding primordial chaos energy beside him was Heavenly Demon.

And there was no way Heavenly Demon would do something like this.

Did that mean there was another god among the invaders with the same level of talent?

If such a god truly existed, possessing power equal to the Heavenly Demon, then even the heavens would have difficulty erasing the curse with their actions were limited by restrictive laws that bound them.

To break the curse, the heavens might have to go beyond the restrictions that had been established since the beginning of time. They would need to intervene more and use much more of their power.

Aldrian put aside those useless thoughts for now. The most important thing was to contain the curse that was trying to harm Angelica.

He fully understood that breaking the curse would not be easy. Even if he used the entire first heaven as his domain, it would still be difficult.

The curse was too powerful.

Too complex.

But he did not feel deterred. Instead, his resolve grew even stronger. He believed in his ability to face it.

After all, he possessed something that stood as the bane of any curse. Even one that used primordial chaos energy.

The golden energy around him shone even more brightly, as if trying to push the chaotic curse away. In response, the darkness growled more menacingly, and the massive eye revealed its anger.

Aldrian activated his avatar technique within this realm.

A giant golden figure appeared.

The light intensified further, pressing outward as it continued to push back the darkness. The size of the avatar was nearly equal to that of the eye.

Roar!!

The curse became enraged and let out a furious roar.

Angelica’s grip tightened around him. But he remained focused, his attention locked entirely on the curse.

At the same time, Aldrian felt something else. Beyond its fury, he could sense something deeper.

The curse felt threatened.

Its roar was followed by a surge of resistance as it pushed against the golden energy. For a moment, it worked. The darkness slowly forced the light back.

But Aldrian answered with even greater force. He pushed forward with everything he had.

And once again, the curse was driven back.

Although Aldrian knew that he could not break the curse, he could still do something else to contain it.

Suddenly, he pushed Angelica away.

She was caught off guard as her body was thrown far from him. In that brief moment, she saw him smiling at her.

"Aldrian!"

Her voice echoed, but her figure quickly faded from the darkness.

Once he confirmed that Angelica’s consciousness had safely left the curse realm, Aldrian turned his full attention back to the curse.

A mocking smile appeared on his face.

The curse grew even more furious as its target slipped from its grasp.

’If I cannot destroy you, then—’

He clasped his hands together, and a massive formation symbol appeared beneath his avatar.

From the massive formation, a huge metallic net emerged. The sharp clinking of metal echoed through the void as the net expanded, spreading across the darkness and covering even the giant eye.

In an instant, it enclosed everything.

The darkness was trapped like a beast inside a cage as the net tightened and formed a complete seal.

’I will seal you.’

Divine Seal of a Million Samsara.

Roar!!

The curse roared in fury as it realized it had been trapped. It struggled violently, trying to break free, but the cage held firm.

This was the sealing technique of Xuanji, a method capable of sealing anything.

Absolutely anything.

Physical, intangible, even abstract concepts that existed only within the mind.

Even gods could not escape its effect.

As its name implied, the seal could endure for a million samsara cycles.

A truly terrifying seal.

Although what Aldrian created was only a much weaker version compared to the one Xuanji could use, it was more than enough for now.

With his golden energy as the foundation, the domain of the entire first heaven, and his comprehension of various laws, the seal could hold.

Aldrian even sent a fragment of his soul into this place, allowing him to unleash his technique. At the same time, it also helped strengthen the seal.

"You will have to stay with me for a while until I have enough power to destroy you. Let’s enjoy our time."

After saying that, his figure dispersed into countless golden particles. The particles merged into the cage, becoming one with it and reinforcing the seal.

Roar!!!

The curse roared in fury as it struggled to break free. Darkness surged violently from the giant eye, crashing against the cage again and again.

But the seal held. It only trembled slightly with each impact.

Roar!!!

Back in the church, the golden light slowly receded. Not long after, it completely disappeared, along with the dark clouds above.

The people who had been covering their eyes gradually lowered their hands. One by one, they looked toward Aldrian, trying to understand what had just happened.

They saw Angelica hugging Aldrian tightly, tears streaming down her face. Aldrian held her gently, a warm smile on his lips as he stroked her back.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m here, you see," he said softly.

But Angelica’s body continued to tremble as she cried.

"I thought something happened to you," she said. The scene of him pushing her away, leaving him behind in that terrifying darkness, still lingered in her mind.

Aldrian only smiled and continued to stroke her back, while the others watched in confusion, unable to understand what was going on.

He then turned to look at them and smiled calmly.

"My apologies for the shock, ladies and gentlemen. I hope that did not disturb the atmosphere. What happened just now is nothing to worry about."