Heavin's group didn't have the same issue as Krune since he didn't have that metal. Of course, they saw the barrier ahead, but when they checked, nothing happened to them. Since they didn't understand why it was there, they ignored it for now.
They quickly passed through it and appeared inside the Core Region. From that point onward, the environment changed. The buildings were not faint blue in color, but instead took on a deeper tone. Fura looked at that, feeling that the presence of the fused five elements and laws was quite strong within those walls.
The same happened for the crystal demon beasts. All the clusters were darker as well, so it was possible to feel a lot more energy inside than those outside.
Seeing that, Heavin immediately warned her.
'Try your best to restrain your power. We don't want to wake these things up.'
Fura and Liriu nodded as the three got closer to each other and moved onward, staying as far as possible from the dark crystals. Every now and then, Heavin's group would notice some ghosts coming. At least the ghosts seemed to be the same, though. Nevertheless, their group avoided being seen by them. After all, you only needed a single ghost to wake up all of the crystal demon beasts in the surroundings.
At first, their journey went well. Unfortunately, that didn't last for long.
*Roar!*
Suddenly, they heard the sound of one of the Crystal Demon Beasts from slightly afar. It used Spiritual Energy to spread its call since there was no air to transmit sound. Besides, it was several times faster to reach the other crystal demon beasts that haven't transformed yet through it.
'What happened? Did any of you wake it up?'
'No, it wasn't us.'
They quickly looked in the direction from where the sound came from. Fortunately, they were just in time to see a group of cultivators and demon beasts running in their direction. Sure enough, it was another group that woke up the Crystal Demon Beasts.
That group also noticed Heavin's team in the direction they were heading. Behind them, a massive mob of Crystal Demon Beasts and Ghosts were in pursuit. However, they didn't have any other choice other than to keep going in that direction. After all, going back was simply suicide.
Heavin and the others quickly noticed that the previous roar started a chain reaction that woke up all of the crystal demon beasts around them. Not only that but the nearby ghosts that haven't noticed their presence previously immediately rushed in the commotion's direction.
"All of you, run!"
There was no need to ask twice. Heavin, Liriu, and Fura immediately turned around and flashed away while using their own Spatial Laws to increase their speed. The group that came behind followed right after.
Unfortunately, their previous thoughts were right. These darker Crystal Demon Beasts were a lot stronger and faster than those in the Inner Region or further out. The ghosts didn't look any different in appearance, but it turns out that they were just as fast as the crystal beasts.
"Fuck! How the hell did you wake them up?"
"Do you think we wanted it? It was an accident. First of all, how would we know that your group was here?"
"Look at the mob you gathered. If we get caught, we're done for."
"We need to do something. The further we go, the more crystal demon beasts and ghosts will gather."
Liriu then looked at Heavin.
"Can you use the same trick as before?"
Heavin shook his head.
"There's just too much of them. Once I activate the Runestone, we'll need to move very slowly. If any of the demon beasts in that mob pass close by us, it will immediately notice our presence. There's still the possibility that their perceptions are bound to be much higher."
The leader of the other fleeing group then said.
"Look! There's one of those enormous buildings ahead. Let's enter it."
"Are you crazy? Those guys will trample on the building in a single wave. If there isn't an exit on the other side, we're done for."
"Do you have a better idea, then? If you won't enter, then fine. Our group will go there."
The guys and his two companions immediately rushed into one of the ruins. They have been running for even longer than Heavin's group, so they understood that there would be no end to this thing.
"Oh, for fuck's sake! Let's go."
Fura, Liriu, and Heavin immediately changed their directions to enter the same building as the other group. As soon as they did that, they spread their Mental Energy to find the best route. Obviously, they ended up going in the same direction as their new 'friends.'
*Boom!*
A shockwave of Spiritual Energy appeared right behind their group not long after. One or two crystal demon beasts wouldn't be able to do much to the building entrance. However, when thousands of them tried to enter all at once, there obviously wasn't enough space for them to use. Because of that, the majority hit the walls on the sides.
The building couldn't hold the pressure and immediately collapsed. With that, more and more ghosts and crystal demon beasts rushed into the building as they decimated all of the obstacles in their way. Fortunately, they still had an advantage. The smaller Crytal Demon Beasts were at least five times the size of a human. With the small corridors and other passages inside, they had to destroy everything to be able to pass through.
Seeing that, both groups sighed in relief, and they rushed further inside the building ruins.
"What do we do if there isn't an exit at the end?"
"What else? Since those Crystal Demon Beasts can destroy these building ruins with brute force, then so can we. Let's gather everyone's power and attack a single point in the walls. I refuse to believe that so many Divinity Realm cultivators and demon beasts can't do anything to it."
"But that will attract the attention of any other crystal demon beast or ghost on the other side as well."
"It's still better than being trapped here. At the very least, the number of crystal demon beasts and ghosts pursuing us will drop drastically."
"Alright, let's do it as you say."
With their Divinity Realm cultivation levels, the two groups only took a minute or so to pass through the entire building. Nevertheless, it still showed how enormous it was. After all, the speed of Divinity Realm cultivators was nothing to scoff at.
"Look, an exit!"
Everyone's eyes immediately lit up, and soon, they increased their speed. Even though the Crystal Demon Beasts stayed behind, the same didn't happen with the ghosts. They could pass through the demon beasts' bodies, so there weren't any obstructions for them. Nonetheless, one thing didn't change. The ghosts couldn't pass through any of the Soren Ruins' walls. That being said, the pack behind their group was quite small now.
"Liriu, go!"
Liriu nodded and immediately transformed back into his Dracophoenix Form. He then turned around and stopped for a moment. As soon as Heavin and the other opened up some distance from him, he went ahead and used his skill.
"Dracophoenix Supernova!"
*BOOM!*
The wall collapsed around him as his body flashed away. The passage they were using wasn't that big, so Liriu's attack power was enough to at least block that bit.
The other group saw that with their Divine Senses and were shocked. Liriu's power just now was ridiculously high. Still, Liriu didn't care about their reactions.
"How can these Soren Ruins be so resistant? My supernova couldn't even do more than just collapse an ordinary corridor."
"Doesn't matter. The point is that you blocked the ghosts from passing through. Once we pass through the exit, those ghosts behind us won't be able to wake up more Crystal Demon Beasts and call for more ghosts."
Everyone nodded, including the newly arrived group. Eventually, they rushed through the exit without even waiting to see what could be on the other side first. However, when they saw what it looked like on the other side, they felt incredibly shocked!
"What?! This doesn't make sense."
"Indeed. This place is nothing like the Soren Ruins."
"That's not all. I could tell the length of the building ruins behind us with my Divine Sense. The other side of it definitely didn't have anything like this."
The sun shone amidst the blue sky. A few white clouds could be seen here and there as well. There were mountains, a river, vegetation, animals... Simply put, it was a miraculous sight to behold!
"Wait! Where's the exit?"
In an instant, everyone turned around as their expressions turned grim. The gate they just passed through had utterly disappeared. The sounds of the Crystal Demon Beasts destroying the building weren't there anymore either. It was as if everything that happened until now was nothing more than just a dream.
"Have we been teleported to some planet outside the Soren Ruins?"
That was everyone's first thought. After all, everyone knew that the Soren Ruins wasn't located inside any galaxy. No sun could be found in hundreds of thousands of light-years of distance, let alone a planet. Naturally, they could only think that they were teleported somewhere outside the ruins.
"Wait! I can't spread my Divine Sense."
As soon as they heard that, everyone tried to do it. However, it was true. Their Divine Senses couldn't go anywhere. It wasn't just a restriction, though. Their Divine Senses couldn't even leave their bodies to start with. Heavin, Liriu, and Fura then changed to Mental Energy. Fortunately, Mental Energy could still be used. However, it was restricted to a certain level, not being able to spread it for even a hundred meters.
They looked at each other in the air, not knowing what to do. However, things weren't over. Before they could even start talking, their flying capabilities were affected as they slowly descended. When they finally touched the ground, they couldn't fly anymore.
"This... Just what is happening here?"
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