Dimness.
Boundless darkness.
This was entirely different from the darkness experienced in the deep sea before.
It felt like truly falling into a dim abyss.
However, soon.
This sensation vanished completely.
The surroundings appeared dim, but the sky was a bloody hue.
"Is this the Heavenly Road?"
Ao Yuan took a shallow breath. He could indeed feel the spiritual energy here was more concentrated than on Blue Star.
But what puzzled him was why it looked so unimpressive.
Let alone comparing it to the Heavenly Court, which was like a fairyland, it couldn't even compare to ordinary regions on Blue Star.
"Truly strange." As Ao Yuan frowned, he also looked behind him.
Fortunately, the warriors who had followed him were all accounted for.
One could even see that they were all in high spirits.
Ao Yuan could tell at a glance that they were likely excited because they sensed the extremely dense spiritual energy.
"Are you all alright?" Ao Yuan asked.
"No... No problem."
The warriors suppressed their excitement and responded.
"Since you're fine, let's continue to explore deeper."
Ao Yuan said, and then walked further in.
The other warriors immediately followed suit.
"En?"
After walking only a short distance, Ao Yuan suddenly saw a bloody shadow dart out from the side.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the bloody shadow, the warriors' faces turned pale with fear. Just as they were about to make a move.
"Hmph!"
Ao Yuan let out a cold snort, waved his large hand, and directly suppressed the bloody shadow to the ground.
"What is this thing?"
"Dragon God!"
"Dragon God, you are truly powerful!"
...
The warriors exclaimed in admiration for Ao Yuan.
If it had been them just now, they would have likely been ambushed and killed by this bloody shadow.
"Be vigilant of your surroundings." Ao Yuan ignored their praise and issued an order.
All the warriors immediately stopped talking and began to carry out Ao Yuan's command.
They divided into groups of two or three, standing not far away and keeping watch on their surroundings.
Ao Yuan, however, stared at the bloody shadow in his hand and coldly asked, "Who are you?"
"And where are they?"
"Squeak squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak!"
The bloody shadow did not answer Ao Yuan's question, its body struggling violently.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Ao Yuan's expression turned cold. He tightened his grip and directly crushed the bloody shadow to death.
Since it didn't want to answer, Ao Yuan didn't have the patience to wait.
"Continue deeper!"
Ao Yuan looked up towards the distance again and said, "All of you, stay alert."
"Even I cannot guarantee your safety here."
"Yes."
The warriors responded in unison and followed behind Ao Yuan.
Dada da!
Dada da!
Dada da!
The further they went, the dimmer the surroundings became.
The blood-red light hanging in the sky grew more intense.
This gave them a sense of extreme unease.
"Huh!"
Suddenly, Ao Yuan stopped, his gaze fixed ahead.
Not far in front of them, it seemed a great battle had taken place.
The ground was riddled with potholes.
Several figures lay in these uneven pits.
The figures were broken and mangled, but one could vaguely make out that they were human.
"It's Aisen! It's Aisen!" Suddenly, someone in the warrior group exclaimed.
"What's going on?" Ao Yuan turned to ask.
"Dragon God, they should be the first batch of warriors to enter the rift."
A warrior immediately responded.
"Be careful."
Ao Yuan frowned slightly. "There are dangers lurking everywhere in here."
"We might encounter monsters that we cannot handle."
As he spoke, Ao Yuan continued to move forward, secretly increasing his vigilance.
Although he was confident of detecting everything except for the rumored appearance of the main god, Zeus,
some caution was still necessary.
Ao Yuan did not want to stumble and capsize here.
"Roar roar roar!"
"Roar roar roar!"
Not long after passing the mangled figures, the group suddenly heard roars.
They hid in the darkness, their eyes glowing eerily in the dim light.
But everyone could clearly perceive the terrifying danger lurking in these dark places.
It was evident that these creatures, whatever they were, were certainly not weak.
"Roar!"
The next second, a long howl sounded, followed by a shadow that shot out from the darkness, lunging directly at them.
"Hmph!"
Ao Yuan let out a cold snort and casually brought his hands down.
Bang bang bang!
Dozens of sounds echoed out, and then the green glow from the dim areas disappeared.
Only a faint smell of blood permeated the air.
Clearly, these powerful creatures, whatever they were, were no match for Ao Yuan.
"Continue forward!"
Ao Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he shouted.
The warriors responded in unison.
In fact, without Ao Yuan's command, they would have followed him closely anyway.
Although they had not encountered any danger or suffered any casualties in these two encounters,
they had deeply understood that all of this was only because Ao Yuan was present.
If they had entered alone, they would have already become the broken figures they discovered earlier.
As Ao Yuan ventured further in.
Outside.
Warriors from various countries were still working diligently, preparing to face any subsequent crises.
The leaders of the nations watched the rift quietly from the side.
Elder Long occupied the foremost position.
Buzz buzz buzz!
As they observed, the rift suddenly emitted a powerful aura.
This aura swept out like a tide.
Pfft!
The leaders watching from the side could not resist and spat out blood, their faces instantly paling.
However, the rift seemed to issue a warning. After the aura dissipated, the rift returned to its ordinary appearance.
It was merely expanding its scope as time passed.
Seeing this, the leaders of the nations looked at the rift with expressions of horror.
"What... what happened!" a national leader exclaimed, his face filled with fear.
Elder Long's cloudy eyes were filled with solemnity. "It seems Ao Yuan has gotten into a conflict with someone inside the rift."
"Can you contact the warriors inside now?"
"No." A national leader tried and let out a wry smile. "Once they enter the rift, it's as if all contact is lost."
This statement caused the expressions of many national leaders to fall further.
No contact meant that all their previous plans were rendered ineffective.
All they could do was wait for something to emerge from the rift and then eliminate it.
"Then... won't the Dragon God be alright?" someone asked with concern.
This question immediately drew all eyes to Elder Long.
Among them, only Elder Long had interacted with Ao Yuan for a longer period.
...