From the outside, the building seemed just like any other building. Heavin and Liriu had entered a few before to check what was inside, but they didn't find anything significant. These buildings had several types of furniture and things like that, though there were a few that Heavin and Liriu did not know what they were used for. Nonetheless, everything was broken or didn't serve any purpose for them.
Those buildings also had clear marks that they had been visited before. It wasn't strange since those were the outer region buildings. They were lucky to find a few untouched ones in the Inner Region, but those ones didn't have anything they wanted either.
However, once Heavin and Liriu entered the building that Heavin mentioned, they immediately could tell that this was completely different. All the walls were covered with the same crystals as the Demon Beasts. However, they were way too small for them to transform. Nonetheless, Heavin and Liriu could feel the power radiating from them.
"What is this place?"
Suddenly, Heavin felt a reaction coming from his Spatial Collar. He then took out his Dark Water. As soon as it appeared, it tried to break the glass to escape deep inside the building. If Heavin didn't reinforce the glass with Spiritual Energy, the Dark Water would definitely have broken through.
Liriu and Heavin then looked in the direction the Dark Water was trying to move and then nodded at each other. Liriu took the front while Heavin followed right behind. And just like that, they went deeper inside.
Meanwhile, in the outer region, Krune's group had just finished getting rid of a small group of ghosts and crystal demon beasts. They were a lot fewer of them this time, so they didn't try to escape. Krune also took the chance to wear down one of the Crystal Demon Beasts before destroying its outer shell. Although the beast had a nigh impenetrable defense, it was still possible to break it with their combat power. Eventually, Krune took the demon core into his hands.
"Old geezer, can you feel it?"
Lucio nodded as he responded.
"I can. As we thought, the power inside these Crystal Demon Beasts is incredibly similar to our fused elements... Which is not really all that surprising. After all, it was from here that that Divine Path Sect Master from the past got the Elements Regulation Technique."
Feifei also added.
"That's not all. Those ghosts seem to be made of the same thing. Well, you two have been practicing this technique, so I guess you can tell that already."
Krune and Lucio nodded. The problem was that the ghosts didn't have a core. They were agglomerations of Soul Power and Fused Elements. Once they defeated them, they would dissipate. If they didn't, they would keep regenerating forever, so they couldn't capture one that easily.
"Other than the Elements Regulation Technique, there's also Mental Energy. Both the Demon Beasts and the Ghosts have some relation to it, surprisingly."
Lucio then looked in the direction of the Core Region before saying.
"We need to increase our pace. Otherwise, we will keep battling these things all the time."
Lucio then looked back at Krune before asking.
"How is it? Can you feel Heavin's presence already?"
Krune then closed his eyes and focused on his Divine Soul. Heavin's soul was made with part of his own Divine Soul. Because of that, they shared a faint connection with each other. This type of connection couldn't be stopped by formations or any other barrier. The only problem was that there was a limit to it in terms of distance. Suddenly, Krune felt a subtle ripple in his Divine Soul. He opened his eyes right after as he looked in a particular direction.
"I can feel him, but he is quite far away. However, there is bad news."
Feifei could already imagine what it was.
"We don't know from which side Heavin and Liriu entered the Soren Ruins. That being said, there's a chance that we entered through the opposite side. Am I correct?"
Krune bitterly smiled as he nodded his head.
"Yes... If we keep going straight, we will have to pass through the Core Region first. Should we go around the Inner Region to meet them?"
Lucio immediately shook his head.
"Heavin and Liriu are going to the Core Region to start with. By the time we arrive at the place they are now, they would have entered the Core Region a long time ago. Since they are going there, we might as well enter through our side and meet them somewhere inside."
Feifei and Krune nodded. Heavin and Liriu had a considerable advantage in terms of time. There was no way they could stop those two from entering the Core Region.
"Alright, let's go."
Krune's group immediately accelerated to the Core Region.
Back at Heavin and Liriu's side, they arrived in front of a giant closed door. Just like the walls, this door was also covered in faint blue crystals. Fortunately, they didn't meet any ghosts or Crystal Demon Beasts. The place seemed completely empty so far. But there was another thing they noticed as they made their way here. The building inside was several times bigger than what it looked from outside.
"There's definitely some sort of expansion formation acting in this place."
Liriu nodded.
"Maybe. However, we might have fallen into an illusion as well. That would explain this situation as well."
Heavin narrowed his eyes. It didn't feel like there was an illusion in place, at least. In the end, he shook his head as he looked at the door. They had entered several other rooms on their way here, but all of them were open and empty. This was the only closed one. Besides, none of the other doors in the building was this big.
"Let's forget about that for the moment and open this thing. The Dark Water keeps trying to escape in this direction anyway."
"Did it show any other reaction other than trying to move on its own?"
Heavin shook his head.
"No."
"Alright. This thing is quite resistant, so I will have to use some strength. I will also transform since I don't know what's inside, so step back a bit."
Heavin nodded as he distanced himself from Liriu and the door. Soon after, Liriu's appearance changed into his Fiery Quetzalcoatl form, which was, in fact, his Dracophoenix body. His defense was many times higher in that form, so it was good for dangerous situations. At Liriu's cultivation, controlling his Demon Beasts' body size wasn't a problem either. Well, he had to do it since demon beasts grew in size with every breakthrough. His real size at the Divinity Realm definitely wouldn't fit inside this place.
A fireball appeared inside Heavin's mouth and quickly increased in size. It was also fused with Heavin's Major Law of Fire and Tribulation Fire. Still, Heavin held back so that he wouldn't blast the entire thing away. He then shot it against the crystal-covered door.
*Boom!*
A lot of blue crystals flew everywhere together with the furniture around. Heavin and Liriu didn't care, though. They only looked directly at the door.
"That's quite a resistant door, don't you think?"
In the end, the door barely moved as the crystals covering it was still there. Nonetheless, they could see some small damage on the crystals.
"Let me try again."
"Wait."
Heavin then stopped Liriu as he approached the door.
"Since the door is made of blue crystals, perhaps..."
Heavin's Mental Energy then gathered in mid-space as many Mental Energy Blades took form.
"Go!"
*Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish...*
Immediately, many chunks of blue crystal were removed from the door. The damage caused to the crystals was a lot higher than Liriu's attack.
"Sure enough, everything made with these blue crystals is susceptible to Mental Energy. Use yours as well, and let's tear it down together."
Liriu nodded as he also formed many Mental Energy Blades. His energy wasn't as good as Heavin's, but it helped either way.
In just a few minutes, they got rid of the crystal on the door. Only then were they able to open it.
"Alright, let me go first again."
Liriu took the front once more as he used his Spiritual Energy to push it open. The door didn't show any resistance this time. However, as soon as it opened, a burst of black energy came out of it. Liriu immediately covered Heavin as the two stepped back at full speed. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough space to flee, so they were still hit by it.
"Wait, it's not an attack."
Both of them examined the sight as the black energy passed. Although they could tell that the black energy was also similar to Lucio and Krune's Fused Elements, it wasn't causing any damage. The black energy kept coming from inside the door for a few moments before it finally began to dissipate.
"Well, Lucio could use his fused elements and laws for other things than attacking, so I guess this energy was the same thing. It was not being kept there for the sake of attacking anyone."
Heavin agreed with Liriu.
"Most likely, this door had been sealed for a long time. That's why so much of this fused Elemental Energy was accumulated inside. Anyway, nothing will change if we keep waiting here. Let's go there."
The two once again made their way to the door while keeping their guards up. Because of the remaining black energy of the fused elements, they couldn't see that well from the entrance. In the end, they nodded at each other and went inside to check.
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