By the time Xie Heli and the others had endured countless hardships and overcome every obstacle, nearly fifteen minutes had passed.
They had finally charged through the gates of the Hall of Audience Tower, only to immediately face the rioting darkness and the attacks and entanglement of countless crazed shadows.
The bandages around Xie Heli's body unfurled in an instant, spreading the stench of decay and causing all things to wither and rot. Even the darkness rapidly dimmed.
Within his body, the sound of rupturing rang out without end.
The pressure of Tower's Shadow was rapidly increasing, growing steadily more targeted.
Yet the moment he finally rushed to the top of the tower, all he saw was devastation. Amid countless scorch marks and cracks, there were only patches of thick, sticky bloodstains.
And yet, not a single corpse could be found.
That scene was clearly not the result of accidentally triggering some taboo of the shrine. It looked more like a massacre—a crushing, savage slaughter and ravaging!
But the site was far too clean. Apart from bloodstains and fractures, not even a trace of Spiritual Substance or shredded flesh remained.
As though everything had been completely devoured by some invisible monster.
The instant he saw that scene, Xie Heli withdrew without hesitation and shot backward. He even ignored the taboo against taking flight, vaulting straight over the edge of The Tower and plunging down.
And in that final instant, he heard a crisp sound.
—Within the core of The Tower, the self-destruction sequence had activated.
As the entire Rift World shook, the Bell of Invasion within the shrine rang out forcefully. Its echoes soared as the darkness burst its banks like a surging spring, sweeping forth without restraint.
The massive Hall of Audience Tower then exploded with a roar right