Liora stretched her hand, and several distinct types of energy danced on top of her palm.

At times, there would be Indestructible Matter and demonic energy. At others, the energies would combine and turn into destructive Demonforce.

Then, their integrated form would disperse again and turn back into its primal forces.

Liora looked unblinkingly at this sight, slightly amazed.

"The 6th Level of the Demonic Body Art is already the peak of this technique. There is no level above it."

"In a way, my achievements in it have reached the heights of the one who created it."

"From now on, I can freely create Demonforce with just a thought.", she whispered and controlled the Demonforce to strike at the space in front of her.

She didn’t activate any ability.

Yet, a large hash appeared on the reinforced floor, stretching for hundreds of meters and tens of meters wide. This damage was created simply by the Demonforce’s pure power.

Liora nodded faintly.

Although the Demonic Body Art was just a Greater Devil Technique, this did not mean that it was entirely useless.

Even for her, its complete mastery was enough to slightly enhance her strength.

Of course, this was not the main thing occupying her mind.

Rather, she was still immersed in the excitement of Profane Offering’s effects.

In the future, practicing Devil Techniques would be extremely easy for her.

As long as she was willing to pay a sufficient price, she would be able to practice every technique she wanted.

"Perhaps the most difficult aspect of practicing a Devil Technique is to satisfy those requirements."

"Although I still have to pay an ’equivalent price’ and give an ’offering’, I won’t have the trouble of having to search for materials anymore.", Liora judged.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but think about the System’s reminder.

More accurately, the warning it had given her not to spread the technique to other people.

Obviously, Profane Offering went beyond the limits that the Demon World had set on its children.

If such an ability were to spread, the relatively balanced ecosystem created by the Demon World to nurture Devils would be completely ruined.

It was natural for the Demon World to be unwilling to accept this, and the same was true for the Supreme Laws, which governed the Origin Sea above it.

As for why Liora could use this ability without suffering backlash?

She guessed that this was most likely the result of the System’s shielding, similarly to how it allowed her to bypass any Devil Contracts she signed.

With that thought, Liora suppressed her inner curiosity and shifted her attention to the matter at hand.

She casually waved her hand and smoothed out the spiderweb-like cracks along the floor, while burning away the ashes of the sacrificed items.

Following this, her mind moved, and a miniature furnace materialized in her hand.

Behind her appeared an illusory river that wrapped around her waist and seemed to transcend the boundaries of the timeline.

Liora manipulated the Devil Empress’s Furnace to expand and turned it into a crucible.

Once it had grown large enough for her purposes, her eyes narrowed, and she reached into the river.

Her hand passed through its lustrous waters and reached its bottom before it grabbed the Thousand-Eyed Devil, who was still unconscious.

With the spillage of a few water drops, Liora pulled her hand back and let him appear in the outside world.

Although his "seal" was broken and the Snake of Time was no longer there to suppress him, the Thousand-Eyed Devil did not wake up just yet.

He had previously exhausted all his Indestructible Matter, and being continuously washed by the power of the river had prevented him from recovering.

Unless part of his Indestructible Matter recovered or some other change occurred, he would remain unconscious forever.

Of course, with the nearly unlimited lifespan of an Archdevil, the chances of him being saved were low, but not zero.

"Unfortunately for you, you won’t have the chance to wait any longer...", Liora shook her head.

With one of her hands, she slapped the furnace and sent its lid flying, while with the other, she tossed the Thousand-Eyed Devil inside.

His body quickly fell into its mouth. As the lid returned to its place, his figure vanished completely.

Liora took her seat beside the Devil Empress’s Furnace.

She struck at it and activated the patterns on its surface, while letting them absorb her demonic energy.

Slowly, she worked to refine the Thousand-Eyed Devil.

--

The Thousand-Eyed Devil did not know how much time had passed or what his current state was.

All he could sense was himself being unconscious, while his connection with the outside world had been severed.

He felt a transcendent power constantly wash over him like the waves of the sea, rendering him unable to recover.

His consciousness fell deeper and deeper into the darkness, and he was starting to believe that he would never have the chance to wake up.

Until suddenly, the Thousand-Eyed Devil felt a sharp pain assault both his body and mind.

It was as if his very existence had been thrown into a shredding machine and was being torn apart.

The soul-tearing pain unleashed his potential.

Despite his severe injuries and his overconsumption, his consciousness succeeded in the unthinkable task of waking him up.

His eyes suddenly opened.

However, he was far from excited.

The sight around him left him terrified.

He saw scorching flames everywhere, which rushed towards his direction and slithered up his body like snakes. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Chains wrapped around his limbs and tightly kept him in place, while shrill cries and screams rang out.

The Thousand-Eyed Devil was shocked at first.

But he soon realized that these screams came from his own body.

Both his body and soul were ripped to shreds, causing him to withstand a pain that he had never experienced in the thousands of years he had lived before.

Even when he succeeded in waking up, the unbearable pain rendered him unable to move.

The person manipulating everything seemed to have noticed his struggles.

A faint hum echoed in the sea of flames before the chains bound him even more tightly. One of them in particular struck at his neck, wrapping around it and squeezing it with all its strength.

The eyes of the Thousand-Eyed Devil looked ready to burst out.

Within moments, his vision went dark, and he fell unconscious once more.

"This man is quite extraordinary to be able to wake up."

"His soul might have reached the Transcendent Eye stage. If he possessed the inheritance of the Way of the Heart, he could very well have the chance to open his World of Heart", a voice spread, surprise filling its tone.

But despite the admiration the invisible person showed, they didn’t stop their actions. If anything, the temperature of the flames rose even further, and the torture intensified.