"Let’s go, there’s still a lot to do." He gazed toward the deepest part of the Sunset Forest. Shrouded in mist year-round, it was a forbidden zone that even Giant Dragons were reluctant to casually set foot in.
Raylo nodded and, alongside Austin Sage, teleported directly onto Lightning’s back. Lightning tore through the clouds, transforming into a streak of lightning as it vanished into the horizon.
Sunset Forest.
The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became. The ancient giant trees blocked out the sky, and even the wind carried a hint of a whimper. A bizarre scent—a mix of damp putrefaction and a strange fragrance—permeated the air.
Several hours later.
They stopped before a massive basin. In its center rested a dilapidated, pure white Divine Hall, lying quietly like the skeleton of a Giant. Most of it had collapsed, overgrown with dark green vines and unknown fungi. Exquisite, sacred reliefs could still faintly be seen on the remaining broken walls. However, those reliefs depicting Angels and Saints were now mostly corroded beyond recognition.
Many Low Tier Demons had gathered around the Divine Hall, but upon the arrival of Lightning’s Giant Dragon aura, they scattered and hid in the shadows deep within the woods.
"An ancient Divine Hall of Light. It was abandoned later on." Austin Sage drifted to the ground.
The main doors of the Divine Hall stood a hundred meters tall, carved from a single piece of unknown white boulder, covered with faintly visible golden Holy Runes. Even after tens of thousands of years, these runes still emanated a faint glow, forming a barrier that rejected all evil and mortality.
"The restrictions on this door were laid down personally by someone at the World Destruction Level, at the very least." Austin Sage stepped forward, extending a withered finger to tap on the giant doors, producing a muffled THUD THUD.
Feeling that vast and pure energy, Raylo frowned slightly. Forcibly breaking it open would likely trigger unpredictable consequences.
"Time is the greatest enemy of all existence. There are nodes of leaking energy everywhere here; this restriction is already quite broken." After speaking, Austin Sage brought his index and middle fingers together, located the core of the restriction, and gave it a light tap.
CRACK.
A crisp sound rang out. The network of golden runes on the giant doors fractured inch by inch like a spiderweb, their light rapidly dimming. Immediately after, a heavy RUMBLE! echoed. The stone doors, weighing hundreds of tons, slowly opened inward amidst an agonizing friction.
The moment the doors opened, a thick aura of decay rushed out from the darkness deep within the Divine Hall. In the darkness, two spots of golden light suddenly flared. They were two statues standing guard on either side of the Divine Hall’s corridor. They had originally looked no different from the surrounding stone carvings, but now, the stone skin on their surfaces was peeling off in clusters, revealing wings that glinted with a metallic luster and skin as pale as a corpse beneath.
The two guards, having slumbered for untold ages, had awakened. On their faces, two eyes burning with Holy Flame lit up. Behind them, two pairs of Holy Light wings abruptly spread open, stirring up a gale.
"Four-winged Angels of Death. To think they just used such little toys to guard the door." Austin Sage didn’t even bother to bat an eye as he said to Raylo, "Kid, I’ll leave this to you."
Before his voice had even faded, the two Angels of Death moved. Their figures turned into two streaks of golden lightning. Soundless and traceless, they materialized Giant Swords burning with golden Holy Flame out of thin air in their hands. Crossing their blades from the left and right, they slashed toward Raylo’s neck!
The oppressive might of the Domain Level descended imposingly!
Raylo stood there calmly, his right hand resting on the hilt of the blade at his waist. The next second, a clear CLANG! of a vibrating blade echoed as the Divine Weapon, Broken Flow, was unsheathed.
A translucent flash of a blade—so fast it seemed to cleave through light and space itself—flashed through the air and vanished. Then, with a flip of his right wrist, Raylo seamlessly sheathed Broken Flow in one fluid motion.
CLICK.
The crisp sound of the blade returning to its scabbard rang out in the dead silence of the Divine Hall, sounding exceptionally clear. And at the exact moment that sound echoed, the ferocious movements of the two Four-winged Angels of Death behind him came to a screeching halt.
Their raised Holy Flame Giant Swords instantly extinguished, and the Holy Flame in their eyes dimmed along with them. Immediately afterward, a fine line, as smooth as a mirror, surfaced across their waists. Their upper bodies slowly slid off and smashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. At the cuts, complex Alchemy structures were clearly visible, yet no energy dissipated whatsoever.
One slash, instant kill.
HOWL!
A dark shadow flashed by. Coal Ball appeared beside the two severed Angel remains at the first opportunity, skillfully storing away these spoils of war.
Passing through the long and dark corridor, the two arrived at the very core of the Divine Hall.
It was an incomparably massive circular altar. At the center of the altar, a mass of Abyssal Black Qi over a hundred meters in diameter—churning ceaselessly and as thick as ink—was tightly bound by dozens of golden chains thicker than water barrels. However, at this moment, these chains that once represented the mighty power of the gods had grown dim, with visible cracks appearing in many places.
Every time that mass of Abyssal Black Qi churned, the entire Divine Hall would tremble violently, and the chains would emit an overwhelmed CREAK. Heart-palpitating, maddened whispers and roars seeped out from the black qi like a tide, crashing against the soul of every living creature that stepped into this place.
"HEH HEH HEH... Fresh... flesh and blood... souls..."
"Let me out... Let me out!"
"Pope... I will tear him to shreds!!"
Even Raylo, the moment he heard these chaotic wills, felt a sharp pain in his head, as if Hell Illusions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood had appeared before his eyes.