Inside the gray, hazy pocket world, Lila Li wore a grave expression, a trace of worry flickering in her eyes. Ian Song had entered the Stellar Divine Temple over two hours ago—had he managed to find a way to break the array?
While two hours had passed outside, more than two hundred hours had already gone by for Ian inside the Library Pavilion.
He had already flipped through all the formation books and was now organizing and integrating the knowledge in his mind with his eyes closed.
But there was simply too much knowledge, vast and boundless. He estimated he’d need about a month to process it all. Still, he wasn’t worried—one month here was just two or three hours outside. What he didn’t know was that the Innate Grand Array outside had already undergone some unknown change.
"Ah!"
A piercing, miserable scream echoed from one of the array’s pocket worlds—a latecomer Nascent Soul cultivator had stumbled into the wind-blade world and was shredded to dust by the savage blades in mere moments.
Witnessing this, Damien Chi—who was also trapped in the same world—felt not the slightest sympathy, his mood already foul beyond measure.
"Damn it!"
Cursing as he fought, he raised his hand and scattered or deflected the wind blades flying toward him.
After more than two hours, even with constant pills and spirit crystals to restore his true essence, he’d still used up a third of it.
Moreover—
The wind blades kept growing faster and stronger, so he judged that if he couldn’t escape this hellhole within two hours, he’d end up shredded to bits just like that unlucky Nascent Soul cultivator—no corpse left behind.
In another pocket world—
Molten lava had already submerged Mira Xuan’s foothold, the rock she’d been standing on. The heat radiating from the lava grew ever more intense, drenching her entire body in sweat and soaking her clothes through.
And the lava kept squeezing her remaining space; if it filled the entire pocket world, she’d likely become just another part of it.
Meanwhile—
The Innate Grand Array kept echoing with cultivators’ dying screams. In just a quarter-hour, every cultivator below the Out-of-Body stage had been shredded by the array. After their deaths, the array refined their remaining life essence and channeled it into the Golden Spirit Egg at the heart of the valley.
With this nourishment, a third and fourth soft pink claw squeezed out from the shell, making the golden pillar in the sky even more dazzling.
The brighter the golden pillar, the greater its allure for the cultivators outside.
One after another, they threw themselves into the array, only to be shredded and turned into nourishment for the Golden Spirit Egg.
In the blink of an eye, another hour passed.
The number of cultivators who’d charged into the grand array had already broken two thousand. Nearly every Nascent Soul expert on the island had gone in, while many Golden Core cultivators still hesitated outside.
"Ah!"
As the density in the water world kept rising, Fletcher Toba finally couldn’t take it—the radiance of his protective robes dimmed rapidly under the crushing pressure, then shattered inch by inch.
Unwilling to die, Fletcher Toba summoned all his true essence to form a protective shield around his body.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Under the crushing water pressure, his true essence drained at a terrifying rate. He estimated that in half an hour, he’d be completely spent.
In a pocket world filled with darkness, there was no light, no sound, no wind—nothing at all. Diana Toba couldn’t even feel her own breath.
She sensed herself sinking deeper and deeper. Sooner or later, her soul would be utterly lost—and when that happened, she’d die as well.
Fear—boundless, spreading fear.
She wanted desperately to scream for help, to vent her terror—but she couldn’t even hear her own voice.
The darkness devoured everything.
Wind-blade pocket world—
The wind blades’ speed and power multiplied yet again. Even with Damien Chi blocking with all his might, several blades still tore through his robes, leaving bloody gashes across his body.
Gritting his teeth, eyes wide with rage, he swore that if he ever got out, he’d tear the array’s creator limb from limb.
Gray, hazy pocket world—
Lila Li clenched her silver teeth, mustering all her true essence to resist the crushing pressure from every direction. She didn’t know if she could hold out until Ian Song appeared—but when she thought of her fallen senior brother, and the Fire God Church and Witch God Church’s schemes, a surge of strength welled up inside her, helping her withstand the pressure.
Magma pocket world—scorching lava now filled ninety-nine percent of the space, leaving only a narrow gap just wide enough for Mira Xuan to lie flat.
The magma below roasted her body and kept rising; her robes had already melted away, and now she could only use true essence to ward off the heat.
Inside the Divine Temple’s Library Pavilion—
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Ian Song’s lips. “It’s almost time.”
Outside the Divine Temple—
The spatial pressure intensified again. Lila Li could sense her true essence being forced deeper into her body by the crushing force. If it was completely compressed, her flesh alone wouldn’t be able to withstand it—the only outcome would be total collapse.
Inside the Divine Temple’s Library Pavilion—
Ian Song rose to his feet. With time accelerated, it had taken him a full month and a half to discover a way to break the array.
“Time to head out!”
With a flicker, he appeared outside the temple.
But as soon as he arrived, a terrifying pressure surged in from every direction, nearly crushing his body. Fortunately, his Stellar Divine Physique activated instinctively, shielding him from the force.
Then he saw Lila Li, straining with all her true essence to resist the pressure. He asked gravely, “Saintess, what’s going on?”
Lila Li didn’t reply—she just blinked at him.
Ian Song suddenly realized—under this pressure, speaking must consume an enormous amount of energy. So he stepped toward Lila Li, but as soon as he lifted his leg, a series of "crack, crack" sounds rang out from his body. His Stellar Divine Physique was nearing its limit, on the verge of collapse.
Ian Song was shocked—how could the pressure here be so terrifying?
“Saintess, let’s get closer and head inside the temple together!”
Ian Song summoned all his true essence and the power of his Stellar Divine Physique, finally managing to take a single step forward.
Lila Li also lifted her foot and moved toward him.
But her expression was strained and full of pain. Though her cultivation was higher than Ian Song’s, her physical strength was no match for his Stellar Divine Physique.
It took her a full minute to force out a single step, and her true essence had already been compressed to just three inches from her body.
There were still about three meters between them, and the pressure in the pocket world kept increasing. At this rate, Lila Li’s true essence would be fully compressed before she reached him—her body would collapse.
Realizing this, Ian Song gritted his teeth and, with a roar, charged toward Lila Li.
“Crack! Crack! Crack!”
Ian Song could clearly feel his body starting to break apart.
"Crack! Crack!"
"Pop! Pop!"
After charging forward a meter, his face was covered in countless cracks, and both his eyeballs burst open.
Seeing this, Lila Li was inexplicably moved.
But Ian Song didn’t care about his collapsing body—if anything, his speed doubled.
Finally—
His hand reached Lila Li, pulling her into his arms as he shouted in his heart, "Go!"