Unfortunately, the Demon Rats were hiding underground. The terrain made it impossible to slaughter them as gratifyingly as before.
Gu Zheng could have blasted an underground tunnel and chased the Demon Rats, killing his way inside.
But with the Demon Rats dead set on fleeing, even he wouldn't be able to keep up.
After all, he was no match for a Demon Rat when it came to burrowing. It simply wasn't his specialty.
DONG—
Just as he was about to look away, the ground suddenly trembled.
The next moment, right before Gu Zheng's eyes, a seven-colored stone the size of a soccer ball came tumbling rapidly out of a cave at the base of the cliff wall.
RUMBLE RUMBLE—
THUD! THUD!
The spherical stone rolled through pools of blood and crashed into the corpse of a Demon Rat before coming to a halt.
Gu Zheng kept his eyes fixed on the stone, a look of astonishment flashing across his face.
The Rule Array Hub!
As he stared at the stone for a moment longer, a piece of information automatically surfaced in his mind.
The Rule Array Hub. This seven-colored stone was the very core that appeared after the Domain activated, the source that manifested the Tunnel Between Two Realms!
'How is it here? And how did it get out?'
'Could it be the Demon Rats? Did that leader, the one giving orders, intentionally send it to me?'
'Was it… scared off by my slaughter of its kind?'
Gu Zheng's mind raced as he considered the possibilities.
According to Nangong Yaoyue, the Rule Array Hub had to be sought out, its exact form was a mystery, and it was guarded by a second-tier Demon Fiend.
Yet now, it had suddenly rolled out. There had to be a force behind it.
This canyon was Demon Rat territory, so unless something unexpected had happened, the guardian of the Rule Array Hub had to be the Demon Rat leader.
Nangong Yaoyue had said the Rule Array Hub was located deep in the center of the Domain, but there were no absolutes in these matters.
There was only one explanation for the Demon Rat leader being frightened of him.
It wasn't a second-tier Demon Fiend yet!
A Domain was a special zone formed where regions from two worlds overlapped and merged.
Influenced by the Power of Rules, the Demon Fiends within this zone were generally first-tier.
Breaking through to the second tier required time!
So, despite its anger, frustration, and resignation, the Demon Rat leader had been faced with the possibility of Gu Zheng hunting it down in its tunnels and threatening its life. It was simply more convenient to toss out the Rule Array Hub.
Perhaps, from the Demon Rat leader's perspective, the only reason Gu Zheng had so madly slaughtered its subordinates was to obtain the seven-colored stone.
If it handed the stone over, wouldn't that save a lot of trouble?
Having reasoned this far, Gu Zheng couldn't be one hundred percent certain, but he felt he was very close to the truth.
'Well, this simplifies things,'
Gu Zheng mused aloud, somewhat amused. "Found the Rule Array Hub this quickly. Should I just destroy it?"
He decided to do it.
Sure, he could take the Rule Array Hub and first search around for Source Fruits and Marvels. He might even make a hefty profit.
But the people in Qingshi City couldn't wait.
After the Domain activated, the number of Demon Fiends charging out of Great Dragon Mountain wasn't limited to just those Gu Zheng had seen on his way in.
Meanwhile, other Demon Fiends within the Domain were still trying to break out.
As long as the Rule Array Hub remained intact, Demon Fiends would continue to pour out in an endless stream.
With this in mind, Gu Zheng reached out and used Spirit Capturing to pull the seven-colored stone toward him.
His large, bronze-colored hand grabbed the stone and squeezed with all its might.
CRACK—!!
With a sharp, loud crack, the entire stone shattered, turning into fine sand that drifted down and scattered on the wind.
RUMBLE!
As the seven-colored stone vanished, the sky all around suddenly began to tremble as thunderclouds churned.
The void twisted and roiled. On the distant horizon, a thick, dense fog churned and roared.
Faintly, from behind the fog, it sounded as if some terrifying existence was roaring in unwilling rage.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Gale-force winds howled, and shockwaves of energy surged into the sky.
Gu Zheng decisively executed a Triple Jump. He leaped three times in a row—THUD, THUD, THUD—back in the direction he had come from, then glided through the air toward Great Dragon Mountain.
The Rule Array Hub was destroyed; the Domain was about to collapse!
...
"What's going on?"
On a mountaintop, Liangqiu Changkong, wreathed in the phantom of a greatsword, clove a three-meter-tall stone Demon Fiend in two. Just as he was about to begin the Absorption of its Demon-Transforming Blood, he felt the sky all around him begin to tremble violently. An immense, invisible oppressive force was rapidly receding.
Amidst the churning clouds, the darkness was also retreating, and the roars of Demon Fiends echoed even louder in his ears.
As astonishment seized Liangqiu Changkong, his expression suddenly changed. "The Rule Array Hub has been destroyed? How is that possible!"
"How could someone find the Rule Array Hub so fast, defeat a second-tier Demon Fiend, and destroy it?"
It was just too fast!
How long had they even been here?
Someone had already found the Rule Array Hub and killed the second-tier Demon Fiend guarding it.
Nothing like this had ever been recorded in his family's ancestral annals.
He never thought he would be the one to encounter it.
"Damn it!"
Liangqiu Changkong gritted his teeth. Not daring to linger, he burst forth with speed and charged down the mountain.
Accident or not, the Rule Array Hub was destroyed, and the Domain was about to collapse. They couldn't stay here any longer.
If they hadn't left by the time the Domain vanished, they would be dragged back with the territory into the Demon Realm.
And without the protection of the Power of Rules, entering the Demon Realm in their physical bodies, with their current level of strength, would mean certain death.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
Bursting forth at extreme speed, Liangqiu Changkong kept his head down and ran straight for Great Dragon Mountain.
"Liangqiu, what's happening!"
A shout came from halfway down the path.
It was Dongfang He, Nangong Yaoyue, and Jiang Mingjiu—who was being carried by Nangong Yaoyue—all fleeing in a sorry state. When Dongfang He saw Liangqiu Changkong, he shouted hastily across the distance, "The Rule Array Hub—did you find and destroy it?"
"It wasn't me!"
Liangqiu Changkong averted his gaze and continued to sprint as he replied, "I don't know what happened either. I didn't see anyone find the Rule Array Hub."
"Then who did it?"
Dongfang He roared, on the verge of frenzy. "I had just found a piece of Magic Gold and was about to make my move! Then this tremor started, the Magic Gold got spooked, and it ran! It got away! Aaaargh!"
"That's enough." Nangong Yaoyue frowned, calling out in a low voice as she flew onward. "What's done is done, what's the use of throwing a tantrum? Getting out of here is what's most important."
"Just who did it? Who was it?!"
Dongfang He roared in a frenzy a couple more times before bottling up his anger and continuing his mad dash.
Liangqiu Changkong didn't respond. While running at top speed, he scanned his surroundings, hoping to find a Source Fruit or a Marvel.
However, such a lucky break wasn't so easy to come by.
By the time they had flown all the way back to Great Dragon Mountain, they still hadn't seen anything.
A few panicked Demon Fiends, however, had followed the group to Great Dragon Mountain.
"Die! Just die!"
Dongfang He was already fuming, and the sight of these Demon Fiends sent him charging forward at once.
SWOOSH!
BAM! BAM! BAM—!
Sounds of explosions and bursting flesh filled the air.
In just a few dashes, Dongfang He unleashed a devastatingly sharp aura, brutally slaughtering several boar-like Demon Fiends.
"Come on! Bring it on!"
Dongfang He continued to roar, "All you Demon Fiends, get out here!"
"Enough."
Nangong Yaoyue frowned. "This place isn't safe either. Let's get out of the mountains first."
As soon as she spoke, a figure descended from the sky.
THUD!
The bronze-skinned Gu Zheng landed, his feet smashing two deep pits into the ground and sending earth and stone flying.
"Was it you?!"