Just like that, slowly, cautiously, taking three steps forward and two steps back, Ji Jue shuffled to the edge of the defense domain, tentatively stepping one foot in, then both feet, and finally... his entire body, along with his vehicle, was inside.
No reaction.
The towering darkness writhed like a sheer cliff, slowly parting in the middle to clear a path for him. It even felt as if, had it been a bit smarter, it would have hung up a banner welcoming the owner home...
He entered without any twists or turmoil!
Not just Ji Jue, but even the two figures who had sneaked up behind him were stunned in place.
They looked at each other bewildered.
What the hell?
"Could it be that too many people rushed in earlier and now it's out of power?" another person asked in a low voice.
The moment they came to their senses, they walked proudly toward the core, and then... screamed miserably as they fled in panic under the onslaught of thunder and brimstone.
Then, the darkness writhed, awooo, everything was dazzlingly swept clean.
No more sound.
In the deepest part of the darkness, the massive door was riddled with holes, collapsedFacing skyward.
The broken debris was chaotically scattered in the equally disastrous hall, as if hit by a hurricane, with countless remnants of explosions, and one could still vaguely distinguish blood and charred corpses.
"Are they really that thick-headed?"
Ji Jue smelled a strange scorched scent in the air, suppressing the urge to gasp: Did someone just rush into the brush with their face?
This was the core of the workshop, and it was the Saint's workshop...
Sensing the faint and incomplete spiritual circuits in the air, Ji Jue could almost feel the exaggerated traps and defenses triggered by the previous intruders.
Four hundred years later, the security forces in the core had diminished by an unknown factor, yet were still more than enough to crush him hundreds of times.
He had just entered the door and already, Ji Jue felt like beating a retreat.
After all, a Saint, squashing Chosen Ones like them who hadn't even reached the Rebirth Rank, was like playing, and if real defense was needed, it would surely be set up to be on par with her own level...
In order to expand the range of the workshop and control the entire Crack Realm, she had removed almost everything that could be sacrificed or omitted, retaining only a minimal level of operation.
He had no idea what she was thinking to bring things to this extent!
After entering the core, the Ghost Work Ball, which had been slackening and watching the spectacle until now, dared not continue to idle. It decomposed from Ji Jue's arms, emitting a faint blue light dimly covering them, helping them shield against the workshop's surveillance and detection.
Ji Jue's authority to enter the gate was completely sufficient, but who knew what internal management rules were still in place; if something misaligned and triggered some unexpected devise, then they would be completely screwed.
[Covert Operation Begins—] A mechanical, monotonous voice sounded: [Element Collection Complete, Analysis Sequence Loading, Load Complete, Spiritual Realm Activated]
It was impossible to discern, in a moment, what earth-shattering complex alterations occurred inside the Ghost Work Ball. Amid several blessings interwoven, the general outline and structure of the entire workshop core became visible to Ji Jue. Then, it directly carried the effects formed from the blessings of Ascension and Ether.
Spiritual Realm—allowing one to directly observe with naked eyes and perception all changes, flows, and trends of spiritual substances, like dropping a dye into clear water, clear as day...
There was no time to teach Ji Jue what colors and symbols represented Superior elements and what spiritual transformations; the instructions thick as a brick were forcibly memorized, knocking him soul-deep, causing his vision to black out.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had changed completely.
All the turbulence caught in his sight.
"Come, let me see—"
Ji Jue grinned, issuing the sound every Ether Path's Chosen One would make, and then... he felt as if he had gone blind.
Light!
Too much bright light, shimmering intensely, so dazzling as if thousands of flashbangs had erupted in an instant, the overwhelming barrage of information and impact hit like a hammer on his forehead. Fortunately, with the Ghost Work Ball operating and shielding, the light was quickly diminished to a dim level.
Then, it was like the curtain was pulled back, revealing the colorful spectacle hidden behind the intense light.
From the outside, it looked merely like a palace-like building, but inside, the space was unbelievably vast, even continuously morphing and expanding.
Like a living entity, endlessly changing.
At this moment, it was like translucent glass, everywhere emitting the glow of spiritual substances and Superior elements.
Through the barrier of walls, one could see the intense flashes spreading throughout the core at every turn, whether the natural fluctuations from circuit operations or from the destruction and resistance by intruders.
Ji Jue could not help but inhale sharply several times.
"You all really have your unique tricks!"
Just like a safety officer on his first day at a construction site, looking up at each scene so bizarre and fascinating, maddeningly unbearable to witness.
Some were thick-headed, recklessly crashing into the core's defense measures; some, like Mr. Lou, relying on numbers and arms for destructive exploitation; some, like headless flies, running around everywhere; and others, carrying sacks and even scraping off gold-plated decorations from the walls to stuff into their bags...