At first, everyone was worried about what was happening, but after an entire month, most of the participants got used to it. In fact, a lot of them noticed what was really happening. After all, new areas began to appear in places where the dimensional realms were supposed to be over.
On the very last day of fusion, the Light Pillars on all floors began to shine brighter than ever. During that time, no one could take the tests at all. That phenomenon lasted an entire day before settling. After the cultivators and demon beasts checked it, they understood that now they didn't need to take the tests anymore.
Of course, for those who could fight for the top 100, they would still take the tests anyway. After all, it would give them more Godly Energy Stones. Some of them even thought about retaking the same test again now that they are stronger. Unfortunately for them, once someone goes up, even if they come down, they can't retake the same test anymore.
Although the majority were happy, they still felt that something was wrong. After all, the Holy Land had no records of something like this before. Some thought that perhaps, some treasure was sent from the higher realms, others believed that the Holy Land was breaking apart. Anyway, several theories were going back and forth.
On the 19th floor, Hanan Frunkan and his companions had calm expressions, though. They knew that something was going to happen to the Holy Land from the very start, so it didn't alarm them. After they checked the Light Pillar and saw that no tests were necessary anymore, they felt that everything was going according to their plans.
"Very well. With this, we just need to adapt to every floor's Godly Energy. Let's not waste time with the tests anymore, focus on going up."
Everyone nodded, and they immediately departed.
Cinty was on the 14th floor at the moment. Together with her, there were a few demon beasts and cultivators who were also checking the Light Pillar in front.
'No more obligatory tests?'
Cinty narrowed her eyes. As the wisp queen, she had a lot of information about the Holy Land. Still, there was nothing talking about this phenomenon.
'Should I go up directly or take the tests?'
After pondering a bit, she still decided to take the safe route. Sure, there might be some new treasure or opportunities if Cinty goes up faster, but it would also be more dangerous. Not to mention that it is on the upper floors where most of the Heavenly Divine Soul Owners are gathered. She decided that it would be a lot better to simply go through the tests and try to take her Godly Energy Stones. Then, she would spend her time to cultivate properly.
Back on the 10th Floor, Krune's group was already gathered in front of a Light Pillar. As soon as the light returned to normal, they checked it, and sure enough, they could go down now.
"Let's go!"
*Vup!*
A bright light then enveloped Krune's group, and they were sent to the 9th floor. From there, they checked the flow of spiritual energy and moved in the direction of the closest Light pillar. They continued like this on every level.
On their way here, Feifei first found Ruik and Tiane. They had been staying on the 7th floor while training, so it wasn't too difficult to do so. Not to mention that they are quite behind Feifei in cultivation. That made things easier to divine their positions.
Dilo and Xankruan were fine as well. Surprisingly enough, those two seemed to be connected by fate. After the Dimensional Realms of the 6th floor fused together, they ended finding each other in the same Light Pillar for the next level. That being said, after they encountered Krune and the others, they did not follow them. Now that they didn't have to be afraid of being split anymore, they preferred to continue their journey by themselves.
Krune didn't mind it, though. They came here to train, and their presence wouldn't make too much of a change when looking for Liriu anyway. He simply wished them good luck and kept moving down with his group.
On the 5th floor, Feifei immediately sat on the ground and began to do her calculations. Her Destiny Major Divine Soul also empowered her divination abilities even more. After spending around 30 minutes, she finally opened her eyes again.
"That Dracophoenix bloodline is really terrifying. Any other cultivator at Liriu's level would be easy to find, but I had to put a lot of effort just to be able to tell his general direction. Anyway, the closer we get, the easier it will become."
Krune nodded.
"Very well, let's go!"
Of course, Feifei said those words through Divine Sense. She wouldn't let the word Dracophoenix come out of her mouth that easily. Especially since Lala was still with them.
Even though the lower levels are opened again for everyone, to arrive here takes quite some time if you are too high. Not to mention that those who were ahead wouldn't go down without reason either. In that case, only cultivators and demon beasts of the Soul Forging Realm could be found on the Fifth Floor at the moment. This level of cultivation didn't pose any threat to Krune's group, so Krune didn't need to use his Tribulation Lightning Layer to hide them.
One day passed in a flash. Feifei then sat on the floor once more and used her divination abilities. This time, it was a lot faster. She only took 10 minutes to find Liriu's general location. This method continued for another day until, eventually, Feifei was able to pinpoint Liriu's correct position.
"Found him!"
Laex, Ruik, and Tian's eyes lit up.
"Then let's go."
Feifei led the group as they quickly departed.
It only took them around one hour before Heavin suddenly said.
"I can see him. But it seems like he is the middle of a battle."
"What?!"
Tiane, Ruik, and Laex expressions went dark. But before they could dash forward, Heavin continued.
"Oh! Heavin has really improved a lot, no? He is fighting against three other Soul Forging Realms, but he isn't in the least bit of disadvantage. From what I can see, he could have run anytime he wanted, but he seems to be sticking around on purpose."
Tiane and the others were taken aback. But the one who was the most impressed was Lala. She is in the 3rd Stage of the Divine Path Realm, but even she can't see as far as Heavin. In fact, it felt quite weird since she can't feel Divine Sense power coming from him at all.
'Just what is wrong with this group? The more I learn about them, the harder it becomes to understand.'
On Laex's side, his eyes lit up after hearing Heavin's report.
"Oh?! Let's get close then, I want to watch it."
Heavin nodded excitedly.
"You guys are probably having a big surprise when you see him."
Everyone's worried faces changed into curious ones. Only Tiane seemed to be still concerned nonetheless.
As they got closer, Liriu began to enter their mental energy range one by one. Lala was still a Divine Path Realm demon beast, so her Divine Sense was quite powerful. That allowed her to catch Liriu's figure almost at the same time as the others. Heavin and Krune were basically the only ones to be able to see things further with Mental Energy than Lala with her Divine Sense.
"This!"
Everyone immediately identified Liriu. But it turned out that Liriu was a lot bigger than before. Sure enough, the Core Formation Realm Liriu and the Soul Forging Realm Liriu were in two completely different leagues.
Laex couldn't help but comment.
"So big! At least twice as I was when I reached the Soul Forging Realm."
However, Krune was more attracted to something else.
On Liriu's side, the battle continued. He was fighting against a demon beast and two cultivators. The cultivators were at the 5th and 6th Stages of the Soul Forging Realm. As for the demon beast, it was at the 7th Stage. Also, it looked quite similar to an Armadillo, obviously a defense type one.
Bang!
Liriu's tail and demon beast's shell hit each other, sending those two flying like cannonballs. At the same time, the cultivators took the change to try to attack Liriu by the sides.
"Hell Piercing Spear!"
"Mountain Splitting Sword!"
Liriu couldn't stop the inertia of his body, so he didn't try. Instead, he counter-attacked with his own skill.
"Tribulation Fire Breath!"
The power of the Fire Tribulation gathered on Liriu's mouth like torrents. Sure enough, as a Dracophoenix, Liriu had the Dragon's signature attack, the Dragon's Breath. It's just that he used it with his Tribulation Fire instead. The fire spread, enveloping both the cultivators before their attacks landed. With no other choice, they could only change the target and counter-attack Liriu's Tribulation Fire Breath instead of Liriu himself.
Boom!
The two cultivators might have been taken by surprise by that. However, their cultivations were still higher than Liriu. Not to mention that Liriu's counter-attack was brought out hastily. Both cultivators were sent flying by the power of Fire Tribulation Energy, but they suffered very little damage.
The Armadillo demon beast then quickly came back and joined the battle once more.
Bang! Boom! Boom!
Skills, Domains, Melee attacks, Ranged attacks, the battle continued for quite a few minutes. Both sides began to accumulate injuries, but so far, they weren't anything dangerous. Finally, it came to the point where both sides used their strongest attacks against each other.
"God Slaying Spear!"
"World Sundering Slash!"
"Titan's might!"
Liriu didn't hold back either.
"Dracophoenix Supernova!"
As Liriu's enemies' attacks approached, his entire body began to lit up with Tribulation Fire. The fire quickly spread as it became a giant ball of flames. It was so bright that it looked like the Sun itself!
Boom!
As body sides clashed, the Sun-like Fire Sphere exploded with enough energy to obliterate an entire mountain. The fabric of space was broke apart as if it was a battle at the Void Breaking Realm level.
Even with their combined effort, the two cultivators and the Armadillo couldn't hold back against Liriu's attack. They shot back like cannonballs before hitting the ground with immense energy. All three of them couldn't help but vomit blood.
As one looked at Liriu, it was also possible to see that his Dracophoenix Supernova consumed a lot of his energy too. He looked quite tired as his body gasped for air.
But Liriu quickly recovered and began to move in the direction of those three. Seeing that, Krune couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
"Is he going to finish them off?"
Tiane looked at that, concerned that Liriu might have changed a lot during this time. Her Liriu, from the time they entered the Holy Land, wouldn't kill others that easily.