The black dragon flew recklessly above the Great Tree Sea, a daring act it would never have attempted before, considering the fact that the elves would not allow a dragon to fly so freely above their heads!
But now it was acting without restraint, all because of the person on its back!
The location indicated by the map was deep within the Great Tree Sea, inside what the elves referred to as the forbidden land. This place was shrouded in a faint mist, not an ordinary mist, but rather a manifestation of a formation that could shield one's senses. However, it was utterly useless in front of Bexia.
"Primordial Fire!" A vague gray flame appeared in Bexia's hand, seemingly powerless but when he threw out this flame, a strong reaction erupted from the mist in the forest below.
"Buzzz!"
The formation on the ground was ignited, several bright nodes of the formation flickered with light. Bexia casually released a few bursts of power, shattering these nodes one by one. The mist quickly dissipated completely.
"There, let's go down!" Bexia pointed to the center of the formation towards the highest altar as the black dragon swiftly descended.
Deep within the Great Tree Sea, this area belonged to a primal forest environment. Originally, there was a pond around the altar but it had now turned into a marsh full of weeds, insects, and snakes. Even the altar was covered with various dry branches and vines.
"Boom!" The black dragon landed, causing the surrounding snakes and insects to flee from its imposing presence. Bexia leaped up, but his feet floated half a meter above the ground as he slowly approached the altar.
"Splash, splash, splash!" Bexia moved his mind and a force shook off all the weeds and branches around, revealing the weathered altar inside. In his senses, there was still a lingering power within the altar, not yet fully activated.
"Boom, boom, boom!" Bexia decisively struck the altar with his fist. He didn't enjoy playing the game of deciphering formations.
"Crash!" However, Bexia's punch did not completely shatter the altar. After the outer rocks crumbled, an energy orb appeared inside, blocking all of Bexia's power. However, the orb itself seemed to lose all its power, leaving only an ancient scroll floating above!
Looking at the quaint scroll, Bexia hesitated for a moment. The power he had felt had come from within the scroll, but now it had weakened drastically. He glanced at the scroll and reached out to open it.
"Boom, boom, boom!" The moment the scroll was opened, the entire Great Tree Sea trembled. Not just the Great Tree Sea, even the whole domain of the Orloses shook. A gigantic net hovering above the world gradually emerged. The intricate net began to collapse slowly, a change visible in various parts of the world. Most understood what it meant, especially the gods of the three major domains. They felt the weakening of the barrier isolating them from descending, making them thrilled. Particularly those deities with ambitions coveted the Cup of Powers held by the Great Sage more than anyone else!
Most importantly, they knew something the common people did not. This world not only had a barrier separating them from the lower realms but also had a barrier preventing them from exploring higher realms!
The barrier below was weakening, just like the one above. However, the barrier above was far stronger and more difficult to breach, as it imprisoned numerous divine beings.
Sensing the weakening of the world's barriers, Bexia smiled faintly, confirming his previous suspicions. It seemed that the Great Sage had indeed meddled with the world, or perhaps sealed it using the Cup of Powers.
Once the scroll unfolded, it disappeared. Yet, the altar beneath his feet trembled violently, and the central offering altar began to sink. Subsequently, a stone slab in the shape of a human form holding a cup rose, and on the stone slab were six slots, each representing something:
- A missing eyeball on the left eye
- A missing earring on the right ear
- A missing ring on the left hand
- A missing bracelet on the right foot
- A huge waist pouch missing from the belt
- A diamond-shaped gem missing from the necklace around the neck
As the stone slab arose, a dignified voice resounded, as if transcending through the river of time.
"When the Instruments of Gods are in place, the Cup of Powers shall rise to the sky!"
After the voice faded, Bexia tried to remove the stone slab from the altar but encountered a powerful resistance. This was not just any resistance; using brute force might tear the ground under his feet.
"Oh! The formation has merged into the entire earth!" Bexia was slightly surprised. He withdrew the power in his hand not because he couldn't take it down, but because he didn't want to cause unnecessary incidents by tearing the ground apart.
As the sealed barrier weakened, beings of lower god level that were previously unable to descend to the earthly realm found their seals released due to the weakening of the barrier. They could now manifest directly on the earth's surface. Moreover, not only lower gods, even middle and upper gods could descend, although the strength of the upper gods might be somewhat suppressed, it was a trivial matter!
