Wagando and Erven's groups didn't simply pass through the death zone. They also kept attacking each other, trying to delay the other side. Now and then, they would bump into some cultivators or demon beasts who entered it before them. If they were far, their groups would ignore. If not, they attacked those guys as well.
The only rules were to not fly over 10 meters or leave the path agreed beforehand. Anything else was valid, including killing others.
So far, from the 143 competitors, 38 already perished. Not too surprisingly, half of it was in this death zone alone.
Suddenly, Erven's group formed a joint attack and targeted one of Wagando's group members. The guy was taken aback and was hit by all their attacks at once. Not only that, he was even thrown right inside one of the volcanos' eruption range.
However, just as he was about to die, a token under his robe shined with bright light. A powerful Sword Intent then came out, slashing everything around him. For a few moments, the entire area one hundred meters around became voided of all mater!
Although the guys didn't die, Wagando was still enraged.
"Erven, are you trying to break the pact and kill someone of our Celestial Weapons Organization?"
Yet, Erven didn't mind Wagando's temper at all!
"Hahaha! Who are you trying to deceive here? It's impossible that your ancestors in the Celestial Weapons Organization didn't leave some means of protection to you all. I just scared him a little, nothing more."
Wagando narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything else in the end. He just decided that he would pay it back.
Ten kilometers behind, Krune was also making his way through the death zone. If one looked around him, they would see several of his Myriad Lightning Shields hovering while spinning around him. All of them had Arcs of Purple Lightning coming from them as well. Thanks to that, nothing in the environment could get close to Krune. As for the heat, it didn't bother Krune to stat with.
Krune was still observing Erven and Wagando's group fighting in the distance. At first, he didn't mind their bickering. However, he was quite shocked by the power that token that saved Wagando's friend.
"Luvile, did you see that?"
Luvile understood what Krune meant.
"Yes. The powers participating in this race shouldn't be able to bring out something like that. After all, they all only have 1st Stage of the Transformation Realm Members at most. But that token's power far surpassed it. Also, considering how those two groups reacted after seeing what happened, it was evident that they weren't at all surprised by it. Without a doubt, those brats there are members of the so-called Celestial Organizations."
Krune narrowed his eyes.
"What do you think about it?"
Luvile pondered a bit and continued.
"Considering the power of that token, we can assume that these Celestial Organizations definitely have members at the God Foundation Realm at the very least. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them reached the God Core Realm, either."
Krune agreed with him.
"Indeed. However, why are they staying in this place? Did they never consider the possibility of going outside? After all, the Universe around this planet is collapsing."
Luvile immediately denied that notion.
"They can't. Everyone born in this place is linked to the demon beast's silver core. This is that Demon Beast's Foundation. Do you think it would let anything born in here have the ability to leave anytime they wanted? If that happened, the demon beast's foundation would be affected. If it was you, would you let them leave either?"
Once again, it reminded Krune of the threads that he could see attached to everyone other than Sisan and Iem.
'That is probably the Link that Luvile talked about.'
Still, Krune answered Luvile's question first.
"I would. I can't picture myself holding so many lives in my foundation against their will. However, I understand what you meant. The majority wouldn't risk losing even an iota of their power by allowing them to leave."
Luvile didn't feel surprised by Krune's words.
"Well, I already expected that answer from you. Anyway, they are all linked to this foundation. That's why they had no other choice other than creating this planetary protection formation to stop the collapsing effect from reaching their world."
"However, it is a good thing that those at the God Foundation and above can't go out. If they did, they would be found by the Godly Path Realm's Heavens. It would then send all of their Heavenly Tribulations at once. Not only that, the power would increase several times due to the time it took for the Heavens to find them. Simply put, anyone above the God Foundation Realm would be zapped in half, with no chance of survival."
Hearing those words made Krune remember the Ascencion Tribulations he went through. Those moments really scare the shit out of him.
"However, this Celestial Protection Formation can't hold forever, no?"
Luvile nodded once more.
"Naturally. I'm already very impressed that it even exists to start with. Unfortunately, the demon beast outside is dead. Its Silver Demon Core is full of cracks as well. Sooner or later, the formation will reach its limit and break apart. When that happens, everyone on this planet will be doomed. In fact, that will also be the moment that the Silver Core outside will collapse for good, becoming nothing more than an empty shell."
"How long do you think it will take?"
"Hard to say. At the moment, the Celestial Protection Formation is very sturdy. Not to mention that these Celestial Organizations seem to be taking excellent care of it. If I were to guess, I would say at least a few more chaos cycles. Of course, the time here passes ten times faster than outside, so it might not take an entire chaos cycle there."
Krune couldn't help but sigh. When that moment comes, billions, if not trillions of lives, will perish in a single moment.
"Don't overthink it. You should instead pay attention to how lucky they are. If this demon beast didn't exist in the past, the lives here would have never been born. It's just that their fortune would come to an end eventually. Don't forget that even in the Mortal Realm, an entire Universe being destroyed isn't anything that rare. What is happening here can already be considered relatively small in scale."
Krune nodded in the end.
"Right! Anyway, what should I do if I try to win, and they use those tokens against me?"
"Don't worry, that won't happen."
Krune was taken aback by that answer.
"How do you know?"
Luvile then chuckled before saying.
"If all of them have the same kind of token as that guy, then they can't activate it by themselves. I can totally tell that those are protection amulets. Unless their own owners' lives are in danger, they will not show their power. Besides, they are very hard to make. I don't think they would waste one of these in such a low-level competition."
Krune understood where Luvile came from.
"Oh, so these two groups are probably from two different Celestial Organizations. After all, they forced that guy's token to activate."
Luvile nodded.
"Exactly. Anyway, just follow the initial plan. In the last 200 kilometers, activate your Purple Lightning Shield Wings and leave them behind. I want to see what they can do about it."
Krune nodded and continued to follow those guys from a distance.
The death zone with the eruptions continued for a total of 650km straight. On the way, they also found even more of those obstacles created by the Lavagator Race. Still, as time passed, those two Celestial Organization Groups began to pull apart from the rest of the competitors. By the time they exited the death zone, there wasn't a single other cultivator or demon beast close to them anymore.
Well, everyone except for a certain wisp.
Back where Gavei and Iem's group was staying, everyone was accompanying those ten Celestial Organization Members. Obviously, there wasn't anyone that hasn't noticed their real identities by now. Thus, those who had ordinary members participating in the competition already gave up the idea of acquiring the Wind Essence Vein.
However, everyone noticed a little Purple dot that seemed attached to those two groups all the way to this place. It always kept a distance of 10km, never letting go. Obviously, the purple maggot was none other than Krune. What really impressed everyone was how Krune always kept exactly 10km of distance. Every time Erven and Wagando's groups stopped to deal with one of the obstacles, Krune would stop at the same time. It was as if he could see the groups ahead even though Divine Sense shouldn't go so far at his level.
It didn't take long for everyone to understand that Krune was playing the fisherman on troubled waters. He was letting the two groups ahead destroy themselves while he kept his energy for a final sprint. Sure enough, the powers that had allowed those Celestial Organization members to take the slots for the competition began to feel uneasy. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to warn Erven and Wagando's groups.
Iem, on the other hand, was laughing all the time. Not only him, but Gavei also had a smile that went from ear to ear. Krune's actions spelled a single word to him, hope!
He then turned in Iem and Sisan's direction and asked with a Divine Sense message.
'What do you think are his chances of victory?'
Sisan didn't know much about Krune, so he didn't answer. However, Iem simply gave Gavei a thumbs up.
'Don't worry, old man. Just watch the show.'
Finally, the last 200km arrived.
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