Temple Brand
Just as the purgers were about to breach the cave entrance defenses, and the two bishops were rallying their forces to launch a fatal attack—in a moment of desperation—
The entire "Fallen God Realm" suddenly and violently trembled without warning!
This tremor did not originate from the earth's depths, but rather from the very laws governing space. Spatial rifts in the sky twisted and expanded wildly, causing countless divine remains and floating continents to move and collide uncontrollably. The earth cracked open into bottomless chasms, from which chaotic torrents of energy surged forth! Even time and gravity were completely out of control, sometimes accelerating, sometimes reversing, sometimes experiencing weightlessness, and sometimes gravitational pull.
"What's going on?!" The sinister leader steadied himself in shock, and the Purifiers' attack formation was instantly thrown into chaos.
Even the two bishops stopped their attacks, their crimson eyes scanning their surroundings with suspicion and uncertainty. This scale of law-based upheaval was far from ordinary.
"It's the 'Divine Realm Tide'!" Inside the cave, the old scholar shouted excitedly, as if he had grasped a lifeline. "Legend has it that those who perished deep within the Divine Realm, due to the intertwining of too many remnants of divine laws, would periodically experience violent law storms, known as the 'Divine Realm Tide'! During the tide, all rules fail, space is disordered, and it is extremely dangerous, but it is also... the best chance to escape!"
As if to confirm his words, a massive spatial rift, like a ferocious maw, suddenly opened in the center of the Purifier force! It instantly swallowed more than a dozen Purifiers, leaving them no time to even scream. Another floating continent crashed towards the location of the two bishops like a meteorite, forcing them to temporarily evade.
Natural disaster!
This is a "natural disaster" inherent to this divine realm, one that even bishop-level powerhouses dare not confront head-on.
"Opportunity! Hurry!" Jiang Yuqiang shouted to the crowd with his last breath.
Without his reminder, everyone understood that this was the only chance! "Shadow" (Zero) immediately activated the one-time random teleportation scroll he had prepared in advance for emergency escape—a life-saving trump card he had acquired at a high price on the black market, originally intended for use at the last moment.
"Grab each other! The teleportation coordinates are uncertain, but it's better than staying here and being torn apart by the tide!" Zero roared, tearing the scroll to shreds.
Intense spatial light enveloped everyone at the cave entrance—Jiang Yu, Ling, the Rock Team, Xi, and her remaining teammates.
"Trying to run?!" Upon seeing this, the sinister leader charged forward recklessly, a dark purple energy claw reaching for Jiang Yu in the light.
"Get out of my way!" Rock roared, using his last bit of strength to throw his shield, which perished along with the energy claw.
The next moment, a burst of teleportation light erupted, and everyone's figures instantly disappeared from the cave entrance.
Almost at the same time they disappeared, the original cave was swept away by a massive turbulent current of laws, completely obliterating it.
"Damn it!" The sinister leader was furious, but he had no choice but to deal with the spatial rifts and energy storms that followed.
The two bishops hovered in the chaotic air. The Dark Eclipse Bishop coldly stared in the direction where Jiang Yu and the others had disappeared, a deep voice emanating from beneath his black robes: "He can't escape... The resonance of the key... is already under my lord's watchful eye... Next time... he will surely be captured..."
The Bishop of Annihilation remained silent, merely gazing at the slowly healing golden knife wound on his arm, his crimson eyes gleaming with even greater killing intent.
...
The intense feeling of space tearing came again, but this time, it was accompanied by the frenzied spinning of the entire world and the crushing force of its laws. How much time passed—it felt like an instant, yet also like eternity—before everyone crashed heavily onto the solid (?) ground.
They felt dizzy and disoriented, as if their internal organs had shifted. They struggled to their feet, cautiously surveying their surroundings.
They seemed to be inside... a vast, abandoned palace? The palace was made of neither gold nor stone, shimmering with a dull metallic luster, incredibly magnificent, but everywhere was scarred by battle and covered in thick dust. An ancient and dilapidated atmosphere permeated the air.
Most importantly, the space here is relatively stable, seemingly temporarily free from the direct influence of the "Divine Realm Tide".
"Where...where are we?" the doctor asked weakly.
Zero examined the now-ash-covered base of the teleportation scroll in his hand and said with a wry smile, "Random teleportation, who knows where we'll end up. But it looks like we've been thrown into... the interior of a gigantic divine corpse? Or perhaps an abandoned temple?"
Jiang Yu sensed the key fragment in her hand. The light from the fragment was still faint, but the pull towards the "Peak of Fallen Gods" remained, and it seemed... to be closer?
He looked up into the dark passageway deep within the palace and slowly said:
"We might... have gotten away with it and been taken directly to the vicinity of our destination."
The interior of the palace where they were located was far more magnificent than imagined. Enormous pillars supported a towering dome, their surfaces adorned with faded, ancient murals depicting scenes of star birth, divine creation, and the worship of all races—most of which had been slashed by swords or destroyed by some corrosive force. The floor was paved with dark gold bricks, thick with dust, making no sound underfoot. An eternal, deathly silence permeated the air, broken only by the heavy breathing and heartbeats of the group echoing in the vast emptiness.
"It's so quiet here," the doctor said softly, his voice echoing faintly among the pillars, adding to the eeriness of the place.
“Be careful,” Rock gripped his weapon tightly, scanning the shadows around him warily. “In places like this, the quieter it is, the more likely it is to hide deadly dangers.”
Jiang Yu opened his palm, and the fused key fragment floated on it, emitting a steady, faint light, like a compass, firmly pointing towards the depths of the palace. The sense of attraction was several times clearer than when they were outside, and it was almost certain that the last (or rather, the largest) key fragment was at the end of this building.
"Follow the direction indicated by the fragments," Jiang Yu decided immediately. They needed to find the fragments as soon as possible and restore their strength in order to deal with the "Order of the End" that might pursue them at any time, as well as the unknown dangers that might exist within the temple itself.
The group cautiously followed the directions indicated by the fragments. Side halls and rooms appeared intermittently along the corridor, scattered with decaying furniture, broken utensils, and even skeletons long since reduced to bones. Judging from the remaining decorations and the style of the objects, this did not seem to be the residence of a single deity, but rather more like… a council of gods or a united temple.
“Look at these fragments of murals,” the fox said, pointing to a relatively intact section of the wall. “They don’t depict a war between a single pantheon, but rather gods from different pantheons, even gods in different forms (some like angels of light, some like elemental giants, some like ancient gods of the stars) seemingly…fighting against something together.” On the murals, the figures of countless gods converge into a torrent, rushing towards a darkness that devours everything, a scene both tragic and devastating.
"The First War of the Gods..." the old scholar murmured, his eyes filled with awe and sorrow. "The legendary war in which all pantheons united to fight against 'Primordial Annihilation'... Could this be one of the command centers from back then?"
This speculation weighed heavily on everyone's minds. If this place truly is the remnant of an ancient war between gods, then the dangers and opportunities it contains will far exceed our imagination.
Continuing on, they came to a huge circular plaza. In the center of the plaza was a dried-up fountain, and at the source of the fountain stood a broken, headless statue. The moment Jiang Yu stepped into the plaza, something strange happened.
The surrounding scenery rippled like water after a pebble had been thrown in; the dust settled, the damaged buildings were restored to their original state, and the dim light became dazzling. Time seemed to flow backward at that moment, and a vision of the temple's glorious past appeared before everyone's eyes.
Countless phantoms of deities, clad in magnificent robes and in various forms, hurried across the plaza, their faces etched with anxiety, resolve, and a hint of...fear. The grand, resounding voices of divine conversation (though incomprehensible, the urgency palpable) echoed through the air.
The phantom's focus was on a massive gate at the far end of the plaza, engraved with countless star-like runes. The gate slowly opened, and dazzling light poured out, vaguely revealing the outline of a colossal, incredibly complex instrument composed of streams of light behind it.
"'The Loom of Fate'...it's a projection of the Loom of Fate!" The old scholar trembled with excitement. "The legend is actually true! The gods once tried to use it to deduce a fate that would defy annihilation!"
Just then, in the illusion, an exceptionally tall, starlight-shrouded deity (seemingly the very headless statue in the center of the square) emerged from the gate, holding a complete key with a complex structure emitting a soft white light. His expression was solemn as he held the key high, as if performing some kind of ritual.
However, in the next instant, the phantom twisted violently, and terrifying darkness seeped in from all directions, with countless hideous shadows rushing towards the gods! A fierce battle broke out, the temple collapsed under the attack, and at the last moment, the Star God seemed to throw out the complete key. The key disintegrated into several streams of light during its flight, shooting into the distance... and the head of the Star God was also severed by a dark blade.
The phantom abruptly ended, and the surroundings returned to their desolate and lifeless state. Only the headless statue silently recounted the tragedy of that year.
"Just now...we witnessed the truth behind the broken key?" Xi's voice trembled with disbelief.
“Not only that,” Jiang Yu’s gaze was fixed on the now dilapidated gate at the end of the square, “the ultimate guidance of the fragments lies behind that gate.” He could feel the strongest resonance coming from behind the gate.
The group approached the massive gate. It was covered in dents and cracks from the battle, yet still emitted faint energy fluctuations. Most of the star runes on the gate had dimmed, with only a few key nodes still flickering faintly.
“The door is locked by a powerful seal.” Zero examined the runes on the door. “It requires a specific energy sequence or a ‘key’ to open.” He looked at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu stepped forward and held the key fragment close to the door. The fragment immediately emitted a bright light, resonating with the remaining star runes on the door. The runes lit up one by one, and finally, accompanied by a heavy mechanical sound, the massive stone door slowly opened inwards a crack, large enough for a person to pass through.
An ancient, purer aura, carrying a hint of sorrow and resolve, wafted in from the crack in the door.
Behind the door, will it hold the final fragments? Or... what awaits their ultimate test?
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