Ian Song soon arrived at the entrance to the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
The entrance looked just like the gaping maw of a giant beast, exuding a chilling, sinister aura.
All the rocks within the forbidden zone were jet-black, as if they could swallow light itself. The whole place felt oppressively gloomy, making anyone want to turn back at first sight.
But Ian had no other choice.
So, after a quick survey, he strode right in.
The deeper he went, the more open the space became, but the oppressive feeling only grew stronger. Some strange energy blanketed the sky above, so even Heavenly Gods who could fly had to enter honestly through the entrance—no shortcuts allowed.
There was no sign of life inside the zone—no plants at all, just the aura of death. As Ian walked, he even spotted dozens of decayed god corpses scattered along the way.
Suddenly—
Ian paused, sensing danger getting close.
He figured that the Heavenly God chasing him had already arrived at the entrance to the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
So he stopped moving forward and began setting up a formation right there.
He didn’t dare hold anything back. Pouring all his focus into the task, he sent out god-crystal after god-crystal to anchor the array.
At that moment—
Just as Ian expected, the icy beauty in the white dress—Selena Nangong—had already reached the entrance. Staring at the gloomy, oppressive maw, she frowned slightly. “He actually went into the Primordial Forbidden Zone!”
Others might not know the true terror of the Primordial Forbidden Zone, but as a high-level of the Nangong Family, Selena was well aware. If the two terrifying beings slumbering inside were disturbed, not even a God-King could withstand them.
So a flicker of hesitation flashed in her eyes—should she really go in?
But she quickly made up her mind. That brat was only mid-stage Mid-Rank God; he definitely couldn’t have reached the center yet. If he actually went to the heart of the zone, he’d just be courting death.
If he was only in the outer region, she could grab him at top speed without waking the sleepers.
Thinking this, she turned into a streak of white light and shot straight into the forbidden zone.
"Is she coming?"
About twenty kilometers inside the forbidden zone, Ian paused again, then sped up his array setup.
Finally, just as he spotted a streak of white light rushing toward him, the array was complete. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The moment Ian stepped into the array...
The white light closed in and resolved into the figure of the woman in the white dress.
She swept her gaze over the array Ian had set up, a hint of surprise in her voice: "A mere Mid-Rank God can set up such an exquisite formation! Too bad you met me—otherwise, even a Lower Heavenly God would have trouble breaking it."
As she spoke, the woman formed hand-seals and sent wave after wave of formation-breaking techniques into the array, causing ripples to appear.
Inside the array, Ian was surprised to realize the woman was also skilled in formations.
Fortunately, his array wasn’t just a simple formation—it incorporated all kinds of prohibitions drawn from the Divine Temple’s formation classics.
Even if she was an expert, she might not be able to break it.
"Huh?"
After sending hundreds of formation-breaking techniques, the array remained unchanged, and the woman’s face showed growing surprise.
When it came to formations, she was the undisputed number one in the Nangong Family, yet she couldn’t break an array set up by a Mid-Rank God.
She kept going!
The woman switched to a new set of techniques and continued her efforts.
But it still didn’t work.
She tried again.
......
After trying over a hundred sets of techniques, the woman couldn’t do anything to the array. She couldn’t help but feel a hint of admiration for Ian.
Recalling his mysterious soul technique, she coldly said: "If you come out on your own, I won’t kill you—but you’ll have to stay by my side as my slave!"
Ian sneered: "Heh, you can’t even break a Mid-Rank God’s array, and you think you can make me your slave?"
"Hmph! You really think I can't break your array?"
The woman in white snorted coldly.
Ian's teasing voice echoed from inside the array: "Go ahead, try your best. Don't just talk big—I could kill a God-King, you know. Do you believe me or not?"
"You little brat, just you wait!"
Her face darkened, and she switched techniques again, sending more waves of formation-breaking power, but the array didn't budge.
Inside the array.
Ian relaxed a bit. He hadn't expected his array to be this powerful, but thinking about it, most of his formation knowledge came from the Star King's classics collected in the Divine Temple.
If it was good enough for the Star King, how could it be weak?
In the blink of an eye, several hours passed.
The woman in white kept trying, but not once did she manage to shake the array.
"Hey, are you done yet? If not, just leave already!" Ian mocked from inside the array.
"Hmph!"
She glared at Ian, then turned and left in a huff.
Ian waited for a while. After confirming she had really gone, he finally released the array and continued deeper into the forbidden zone.
Twenty kilometers further in, Ian stopped again.
This time, he didn’t set up an array. Instead, he took out a black stone from his storage ring.
The stone was about the size of a fist, matte black, and emanated a faint spiritual glow.
Ian poured his divine power into the stone, and a black mist spread out, enveloping him.
This was a concealment stone, a treasure he had obtained from the Divine Temple’s treasury.
With the concealment stone activated, Ian’s aura vanished completely.
He continued forward, moving even more carefully than before.
After another ten kilometers, Ian stopped again.
He sensed a faint fluctuation of divine power ahead.
Ian carefully concealed his aura and moved forward at a snail’s pace.
Soon, he saw a figure meditating in the distance.
The figure was shrouded in a golden glow, with divine power swirling around him.
Ian recognized him—he was a God-King from the Nangong Family.
Ian didn’t dare get any closer. He retreated quietly.
After putting some distance between himself and the God-King, Ian continued deeper into the forbidden zone.
This time, he was much more careful, making sure to avoid all the powerful figures he encountered.