The suction came far too fiercely.
Zhou Xuan's feet were dragged half a step forward, his soles scraping two white streaks across the golden brick floor.
Taiyi Divine Power surged through his meridians, bracing his body, but it was being consumed at a frightening rate. The Token Master Mark spread from his forearm to the crook of his elbow, burning as though something alive were burrowing beneath his skin.
"Again?"
Gritting his teeth, Zhou Xuan clamped the Supreme One Token in his palm. The Command Token was absurdly hot, yet it kept radiating light that followed the hall's Dark Gold patterns into the deeper darkness.
As though answering someone's call.
The empty shelves of the Treasure Vault Hall shook row after row. The Dark Gold engravings on their bases seemed to have had their fuses lit all at once. Streams of light gathered into brooks, the brooks merged into rivers, and all of them surged toward the void outside the hall.
The entire ruin resonated.
This was completely different from when he had examined the bases earlier. Back then, he had touched and awakened them one by one. Now, the other side had reached out first.
The difference in power was plain to see.
He could not stop it at all.
"I said, not now!"
Zhou Xuan roared, forcing Taiyi Divine Power outward with reckless abandon. He felt faint ruptures in his meridians—the injuries he had just healed in the Secret Chamber were showing signs of returning.
At that instant, the suction stopped.
Not because he had suppressed it.
It had stopped on its own.
Zhou Xuan's entire body remained taut, sweat already beading on his forehead. The streams of light within the Treasure Vault Hall froze at that same moment, and every glowing engraving went dark at once.
Silence