Feint East, Strike West?

Chen Rui's plan was to split into two routes. His main body would head to Snowpeak Platform to obtain the Xuedalai Flower, while Shura, his external incarnation, would take the other route. He was not merely going to play house with someone like Elisa—the true target lay atop the holy mountain.

The two began acting separately at the Hall of Holy Favor. Just as Chen Rui encountered the Light Elemental King, Shura, having dealt with Elisa and Paul, bypassed the three great halls and headed straight for the summit of Light Holy Mountain—the forbidden ground that only the Pope and the three archbishops could enter: the Temple of Light.

After bypassing the guards near the entrance, he encountered no obstacles along the way, which seemed rather unfitting for a so-called "forbidden ground." However, this stretch of road seemed endless. Even after walking for quite some time, he was still on the same mountaintop. The summit, which had appeared close at hand, remained at exactly the same distance, as though separated by the ends of the earth despite being inches away.

Shura frowned, and his figure suddenly vanished. A gigantic object burst from the earth and slammed into the spot where he had been, instantly shattering the hard stone steps. It was a massive golden tentacle, roughly four meters in diameter and ten meters long. After its strike missed, it extended several more meters and lashed at Shura, who had appeared in midair. Shura evaded again, while tentacles emerged from the ground one after another, as though the entire mountaintop were a giant octopus.

"So this is the 'sacred beast'?" Thinking of what Miranda had told him about the halls, Shura revealed a disdainful smile. "Putting its strength aside, its taste is downright atrocious."

Countless tentacles coiled toward him. Shura's body