Chapter 234: Approaching Reality
However, as Hao Chen controlled the sphere of light and continued to fly far backward for a considerable distance, he still hadn't encountered the hall entrance they had come through, nor had he come across any walls—it was as if there was only a void behind him.
However, Hao Chen was certain that after the four of them had entered through the hall doors, they hadn't walked this far, not more than fifteen or sixteen meters at most. Soon after, the four realized something was wrong and just as they thought of turning back, they found the doors had already closed.
"Hao Chen, did you notice it too? The fireball I controlled has already flown out nearly a hundred meters, but still hasn't touched the edge of this palace.
Bu Yun, Jing Potian, you two control your spheres of light to move upwards and to the left, let's see if we can find the edge of this palace." After speaking, Yao Wumeng held his breath and concentrated, his eyes fixed on the fireball that had shrunk to a tiny red dot.
By this time, Hao Chen had been controlling the sphere of light to move sideways and had retreated to about seventy meters, but it was still vast emptiness. Bu Yun and Jing Potian also sensed something was amiss and quickly controlled their spheres of light to fly upward and to the left.
When these last two spheres of light had flown away, the spot where the four people stood plunged into absolute darkness.
Being in such absolute darkness was not a pleasant feeling. However, everyone endured the darkness, not daring to condense new spheres of light. After a full quarter of an hour, the complexions of the four had turned extremely unsightly.
In the space of a quarter hour, the three spheres of light and one fireball had flown for several thousand meters, but in the connection between the four people and the fireball, they still hadn't felt any end.
Actually, when the spheres of light and fireballs had flown more than a hundred meters away, the four already knew they had been ensnared. The palace in the outside world appeared to be around a hundred meters in diameter, and perhaps it was originally much more spacious and even had outer halls, but after countless years of erosion and decay, only this great hall remained.
"It seems that we have entered another space without knowing when, or perhaps this great hall itself was another space all along.
We've lost both vision and divine sense perception, ah, this time we've really been careless." By this time, Yao Wumeng had already gathered a new fireball in front of him, and the other three had also given up on continuing to search for the walls of the great hall, each condensing new spheres of light.
"What do we do now? This really is unthinkable. The Sand Realm is already a major world, and the City of Ruins is a realm within a realm, yet now, within this realm within a realm, there seems to be an independent space or even an independent world. This is simply impossible.
With so many worlds overlapping, there will definitely be a collision of worlds." Bu Yun said dejectedly as he sat on the ground, speaking to the others.
"Indeed, but there's no need to be too shocked. After all, this battlefield was selected by a Heavenly Patroller specifically for this Six Kingdoms War. If there weren't some inexplicable elements, how could it live up to the name of the Heavenly Patroller? However, Bu Yun is right. With the three layers of worlds stacked together, the level of solidity of the spatial barriers is unimaginable.
I fear even the combined efforts of the four of us might not be able to break through!" This was the voice of Jing Potian.
However, Hao Chen and Yao Wumeng were frowning deeply as if pondering some issue and did not pick up on the conversation from Jing Potian and Bu Yun. But after thinking for a while, Hao Chen suddenly said, "Have you ever felt that this Six Kingdoms War is really strange, especially this last additional match? It is really odd.
The Sand Realm was originally the Dominion of Soil, but later it was refined by the great magical power of the Heavenly Patroller, you know this, right?"
Yao Wumeng also stopped his pondering, and upon hearing Hao Chen's words, he nodded. The origins of the Sand Realm had already been explained in detail by the Judge before.
Seeing the others nod, Hao Chen continued his analysis: "Since the Sand Realm has already been refined by the Heavenly Patroller, if there were any changes to the Sand Realm, wouldn't the Heavenly Patroller notice? Just like with your own magical weapons, if there is a problem, would you only find out when the issue arises?"
The three nodded again, agreeing with what Hao Chen said. After refinement, whether it's a weapon or a magic treasure, it becomes practically identical to one's own body, and even the smallest issue would be detected instantly. Moreover, the strength of the Heavenly Patroller was beyond their imagination, giving them even less reason not to notice any changes in the Sand Realm.
After hearing Hao Chen's words and pondering for a moment, the other three roughly understood Hao Chen's implication, but they didn't see how it related to their current predicament. Hao Chen noticed the questioning looks in their eyes and waved his hand to continue, "Don't rush, let me explain slowly.
If the Heavenly Patroller had long discovered the changes in the Sand Realm, then why would he still hold the Six Kingdoms War there? Alternatively, one could assume that there haven't been any changes within the Sand Realm at all, and all of this is merely a tactic."
"You mean to say that there's another purpose to this Six Kingdoms War? I thought our performance was for the trial in the Patrolling Celestial World…" Jing Potian's voice trailed off as he too seemed to grasp something.
It was still just an outline, and not very concrete, but he realized that even the Heavenly Patrollers were involved this time and a great world had been specifically crafted to serve as the battlefield.
"Jing Potian, you must have noticed something strange about this Sand Realm, haven't you? Leaving other things aside, just the mysterious crystals in the bodies of the strange insects outside the city are proof enough that this place is no ordinary world. The origin power of earth, which cannot exist in other worlds, is scattered all around here although it's faint.
But if one is determined, it is still possible to collect enough origin power."
Yao Wumeng took out a relatively large piece of the mysterious crystal from his bosom, then casually threw it onto the ground, where the mysterious crystal actually floated and spun on its own. Bathed in the glow of the fireball, it looked incredibly beautiful.
After watching the crystal for a moment, Yao Wumeng continued, "Rather than a battlefield, it's better to say that this place is meant for us to enhance our strength. I've noticed that among the seventy-two participants in the Six Kingdoms War, all the ordinary warriors are dead.
Now, those who are still alive are all top-level warriors among the Nine Patterns Supreme—like you and me, Lin Xi from the Genesis Divine Nation, the Six-Eared Macaque from the Netherworld World—each one a genius rarely seen in the world. And no matter what dangers we face, none of us seem likely to die."
The others showed a look of surprise upon hearing this. They had been too busy running for their lives to notice such details, but now that they considered it, it seemed to be true.
At that moment, Bu Yun suddenly spoke, "Can we understand it this way then? This Six Kingdoms War is just a pretext, or maybe it's just because it coincidentally fell at the time for the Six Kingdoms War. The real purpose is not to rank us but to let us maximize the enhancement of our strength in the throes of battle? But what I can't figure out is, why go through all this trouble?
Is it for a re-ranking of the Six Great Divine Nations? No, that can't be right, we should have finished after obtaining the Domain Bead. The trial in the Patrolling Celestial World is meant for a reshuffling of the ten great forces!"
Yao Wumeng didn't have an answer either, but he did have some clues, given by the Myriad Demon King of the Hidden Realm before he set out. However, these matters were too massive, he had some guesses but did not reveal them. Yet, he thought of another possibility, "Regardless of how it is, one thing is certain now, and that is that those of us who have survived so far, should definitely not die.
Otherwise, we couldn't have made it through until now. Whether it was the ant swarm we encountered when we first entered the city or those four massive golden ants, they all had plenty of chances to annihilate us, but in the end, we're still alive!"
"Really? I always thought it was because my own strength had greatly increased," Jing Potian said, somewhat bewildered. Yao Wumeng glanced at him and then asked, "Let's not talk about the ant swarm for now, but those four golden ants, when you first saw them, what was the first thought in your mind?"
Hao Chen thought for a moment and said, "Powerful, terrifying, invincible. To be honest, I almost wanted to turn and flee right then." After Hao Chen finished speaking, Yao Wumeng shifted his gaze onto Jing Potian and Bu Yun, both nodding in agreement.
Yao Wumeng then continued, "Moreover, those four golden ants clearly possessed high intelligence and perception, thus they could execute perfect combination attacks. And later, Bu Yun also discovered that those four ants were merely puppets, so tell me, does this lead you to any conclusions?"
Hao Chen suddenly brightened, "All they did was demonstrate their strength to us before, meaning they could have easily defeated us. But during the actual battle, they did not coordinate any attacks, nor did they assist their injured comrades. And I also noticed something—they seemed to feel pain, every hit would slow them down.
But those that turned out to be puppets, it's clear that the person controlling them from behind was pulling some strings, allowing us deliberately to kill them, with the purpose being, perhaps, for us to obtain that golden sphere, the core!"
At Hao Chen's words, Yao Wumeng suddenly stiffened, an embarrassed look on his face as he explained, "I really didn't do it on purpose, the Ancestor Demon doesn't listen to my orders at all!"
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