Chapter 1545: Entering the Core
The core of the Divine Kingdom is probably over there." Zhao Feng cast his eyes toward the forbidden ground. He had become sure of this conclusion during his period of captivity.
By now, Zhao Feng had already changed into a suit of silver armor, becoming one of the guards of the Heaven Defying Faction. With all the Heaven's Legacy Race members returning, the chances of him being discovered had greatly increased, so Zhao Feng decided to wear a disguise. Unless a God King expert carefully examined him, it would be very difficult to find anything suspicious.
The members within the Heaven Defying Faction simply couldn't imagine that there was an undiscovered intruder, so their vigilance was rather low. Moreover, given the chaos of the battle, there was no God King who had the time to carefully observe a guard like Zhao Feng.
However, if he approached the forbidden area around the core, that would change. There was no one around the forbidden zone, so if Zhao Feng got close, he would be far too obvious and attract too much attention. Thus, Zhao Feng stopped near the forbidden zone and began to think.
At this moment:
Hisssss!
A white crystalline array took shape within the Heaven Defying Faction Divine Kingdom. As it was set up, powerful streams of energy began to flow across it. White rays of light began to extend from the array, linking with other parts of the Divine Kingdom. Within the array and around it, many experts began to operate crucial parts of the array.
If one wanted to fend off the attacks of three Gods, the innate defensive capabilities of the Divine Kingdom were far from enough. An energy transference array needed to be set up so that the members of the Heaven Defying Faction could supply the Divine Kingdom with power.
In the distance, three golden-armored men flew toward the forbidden zone.
"You, come here!" One of them, a pale-faced man, pointed at a silver-armored guard and called out.
"Yes!" The silver-armored guard turned in shock and immediately rushed over.
Golden armor signified a Second Heaven, and those that wore it belonged to the highest class of guard, answering only to the upper echelon of the Heaven Defying Faction. The silver-armored guards had to obey the orders of a golden- armored guard.
"Follow us to guard the forbidden zone," one of the golden-armored guards said.
The silver-armored guard paled while the people nearby trembled and instantly began to move away.
Everyone knew that the forbidden zone was the core of the Divine Kingdom. Now that the Divine Kingdom's defensive array was being activated, powerful energy was bound to erupt from the core. This energy was not something that an ordinary God Lord could endure.
"At crucial times, everyone suddenly becomes afraid of death! You, get over here!" The pale-faced man disdainfully spat, and then he spotted a silver-armored guard who was slow to move and called out.
"Yes!" This slow guard was Zhao Feng. He pretended to be unwilling as he flew over.
The three golden-armored guards gathered a few more members before making their way toward the forbidden zone.
At this time, the forbidden zone was already beginning to pulse with frightening energy. Even though it was separated from the outside world by an array, the energy could still be felt.
"When the Divine Kingdom's array is activated, the defenses around the core will weaken. In order to prevent any mishaps, you must guard this area!" the pale-faced guard sternly said.
Normally, the forbidden zone was deserted because of all the traps around it, but this was a critical moment. If there was any sort of mishap around the core, it needed to be repaired immediately. Thus, people needed to be here to keep watch.
In truth, sending Third Heavens or even God Kings would make things much safer, but there was a manpower shortage at this time, so they could only send the lower-level God Lords.
Kabooom!
Massive explosions could be heard within the core, and the terrifying energy was only increasing in power.
Outside the array, the silver-armored guards formed their Divine Power into barriers to protect themselves.
Suddenly, with a massive boom, a terrifying pulse of Divine Power slammed into the array. At the same time, the large array in the distance unleashed its own pulse of terrifying Divine Power that connected and fused with the Divine Kingdom.
With this, the Heaven Defying Faction's most powerful Divine Kingdom array was complete. Even a God would need some time to break into the Divine Kingdom.
Near the forbidden zone, the area within the array was bursting with energy. Although it had not leaked out, the guards outside were still frightened.
Heh, if the defensive array were to shatter, this terrifying power would be enough to kill a First Heaven God Lord. Even a Second Heaven would only be able to retreat! As Zhao Feng observed the forbidden zone from close up, he smiled.
He circulated his Thought power and his Realization ability. This was a Thought ability, and as long as the difficulty of completion wasn't high, he could use it without using Dream Origin energy.
Zhao Feng turned his left eye to the back of the array. Suddenly, a tiny hole appeared in the array.
Kaboom!
Terrifying Divine Power gushed out. Cracks instantly began to spread out from this hole, increasing its size.
The guards never would've imagined that such a mishap would occur right from the start.
Boom! Bang!
A storm of dark gray energy swept forth. The silver-armored guard closest to the gap was instantly engulfed by this storm of energy, his barrier of Divine Power shattering and his body turning to dust.
Zhao Feng used this chance to enter the array.
Boom! Bang!
The other silver-armored guards were knocked away.
"Not good! A hole appeared in the array!" The golden-armored guards retreated in alarm and released large amounts of Divine Power to resist the impact.
At the same time, this activity alarmed the other people in the Divine Kingdom.
Deep underground:
"What's going on!?" the Right Protector called out.
"The forbidden zone array has been damaged!" an operator immediately reported.
Only a true member of the Heaven's Legacy Race could repair the array, but the majority of the Heaven's Legacy Race members had low cultivation levels.
However, the Right Protector still managed to find an appropriate man for the job. This person was none other than Yu Liuping, and he quickly arrived at the Divine Kingdom's core.
"Elder Yu!" The nearby guards bowed.
"Did you notice anyone suspicious just now?" Yu Liuping's gaze was dark as he questioned.
"No." This was the answer he obtained from everyone.
"There were eight people in all standing guard around the forbidden zone. Two of them were close to the break in the array and were killed in the line of duty...." the pale-faced man reported.
"Mm." Yu Liuping nodded and ceased worrying.
The energy was at its strongest at the moment it broke through the array. If caught off guard, a First Heaven God Lord had no chance to resist.
He also inspected the inside of the array. Not sensing anything strange, he began the repairs.
The forbidden zone had three levels of arrays. The outermost array was the defensive isolation domain while the other two were weakening barriers. Any energy that passed through these arrays would be weakened to a certain extent.
Just now, Zhao Feng ventured into the second array, using his Realization ability to repair the gap he had made.
The energy within the second array was so powerful that even a Second Heaven God Lord would be instantly killed. However, as a peak Second Heaven, Zhao Feng naturally had nothing to fear, and he ventured into the depths.
What was before him now was the third array. The energy inside was so great that even a Third Heaven wouldn't last a second.
"If it can prevent even Gods from getting in, the core of this Divine Kingdom must be extraordinary!" Zhao Feng was wondering if he should enter the third array.
A powerful ripple of energy suddenly approached Zhao Feng.
"Kid, who are you?" an indistinct soul voice rang out.
Alarmed, Zhao Feng focused his eyes and spotted an ethereal robe floating in a storm of Divine Power. Various spatial barriers surrounded the robe, sheltering it from the storm of energy around it.
This is...?" Zhao Feng was startled. It was the robe that had spoken just now.
He activated his left eye so he could get a clearer view of the insides of the array.
The robe was crystalline white and covered in mysterious silver patterns. It glimmered with a gorgeous light. Moreover, in the center of the third array was a fourth array!
"Kid, you're quite bold to dare and sneak in here!" the robe spoke again.
"An Ancestral Artifact?" Zhao Feng probed.
Ordinary divine weapons would have never been able to safely remain in that place.
"I..." The robe was at a loss for words.
When it was whole, it truly was an Ancestral Artifact, but now, it was a Pseudo Ancestral Artifact that had been forged from many fragments. But if it said such a thing, it would just be debasing itself.
Seeing as the robe said nothing, Zhao Feng could guess that it was a Pseudo Ancestral Artifact. After all, he had already seen the Pseudo Ancestral Artifact Blazing Hell.
"Kid, you're not a member of the Heaven's Legacy Race, so you're truly foolish for coming here!" The robe began to exude an imposing aura as it spoke in an accusatory tone.
"Why don't you leave this place with me?" Zhao Feng smiled and proposed.
His goal right now was to damage the internal structure of the Divine Kingdom, perhaps even the core. And now, in the core, he had discovered this Pseudo Ancestral Artifact.
From the look of it, the immense energy unleashed by the Pseudo Ancestral Artifact was of great assistance to the Divine Kingdom's defenses. If he took it away with him, wouldn't he have reached his goal?
Zhao Feng was more confident in this line of action. The innermost fourth array had many kinds of Ancestral Artifact fragments. These probably allowed the core to function and provided it with different kinds of energy. However, the array was surrounded by spatial energy that blocked the senses and vision.
It was clear that this was the robe's work. Otherwise, Zhao Feng would not have mistakenly believed that there were only three arrays. From this, one could see that the robe had some hope in the intruder and wanted to leave.
"Kid, just you!?" the robe angrily bellowed.
Outside the Heaven Defying Faction Divine Kingdom, the Heaven Lord and the Divine Kingdom were fleeing.
But he was being pursued by the Spacetime God Eye, who had also increased the speed of the other two Gods. Lightning, Spacetime energy, and thorny vines intersected as the three Gods' attacks struck.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
The Heaven Lord used a large amount of eye-bloodline energy and power from himself and his Divine Kingdom to block the attacks.
"What a sturdy Divine Kingdom!" The Spacetime God's mouth twitched.
"We can't be careless. They're behind us...." the Life God warned.
Ten million li behind them, three figures were rapidly flying. One of them was a stooped old man wearing tattered black robes. Another was an elder wearing a resplendent golden robe, his golden eyes more dazzling than the sun. In the very back was a well-endowed middle-aged woman in a dark purple gown, her entire body exuding a dark and oppressive energy.