Max prepared to move, but another figure stepped ahead before he could take action. Aden lifted his hand, and golden flas spiraled around his arm. The fire he summoned was pure, radiant, and far stronger than the flas carried by the bats. He drew in a deep breath, gathering his strength, and then swung his arm in a grand sweeping arc.
A wave of golden fire surged forward in a wide formation. The mont it touched the flaming bats, the weaker flas on their bodies were extinguished instantly. The bats dissolved into particles of glowing dust, and the golden flas continued to spread across the sky.
The fire wave expanded until it covered nearly the entire visible swarm. Within seconds, thousands of bats burned away silently, leaving nothing but drifting golden embers that slowly faded into the void.
Seraphina lowered her barrier and exhaled heavily. "Your fire really is on a different level," she said while shaking his head in relief. "These creatures were nurous, but they were still born from common fla essence. Your golden fla devoured them completely."
Aden extinguished the golden fire from his hand and stepped back into formation. "This area was not a place to rest. It was a nest. Those cracks were hiding their eggs, and the warmth of our presence must have awakened them. If we had walked through without caution, they would have sward us before we even realized what was happening."
Max surveyed the area once more. The stone platform was covered with burnt remains of lted eggshells and fading sparks of golden light. Nothing else moved. The entire region had fallen silent again, but the silence felt heavier than before.
"We cannot underestimate anything here," Max said quietly as he turned toward the next set of paths stretching into the violet horizon. "If the first area is already filled with creatures of this scale, then the deeper regions will not remain calm. Prepare yourselves. This place was built to test the bloodlines of divine beasts. We should expect challenges at every step."
As the group prepared to move deeper along the branching stone paths, Max turned toward the elder who had served as the designated guide for the Four God Nation during previous expeditions.
"You take the lead," Max said calmly.
The elder looked surprised for a mont. "Lord Max, with your abilities, especially your ability to perceive danger from afar, I assud you would prefer to lead personally."
Max shook his head. "My ability allows to sense threats, but sensing danger and knowing how this realm behaves are not the sa thing. You have walked this place many tis. You understand which areas are illusions, which paths loop endlessly, and which regions hide creatures that cannot be provoked. Familiarity with the land is a different form of power."
The elder lowered his head slightly in acknowledgnt. "I have indeed guided the geniuses of the Four God Nation through these routes for many years. Although the realm changes from ti to ti, its temperant remains similar. I can recognize the places where danger sleeps and the places that invite unnecessary trouble."
"Exactly," Max replied, allowing a faint smile to appear. "So we follow you. It is better to trust the one who has walked these paths than to assu we can force our way through everything we encounter."
Freya nodded beside him. "Max is right. Even the strongest warrior can fall into a trap if he does not understand the terrain. We should rely on the guide's experience. Our strength will co into play when we reach the inheritance grounds."
The guide straightened his robe and bowed. "Very well. I will lead with utmost caution. Every step here must be taken carefully. Many regions that appear harmless are actually forbidden zones. If we wander too close, we may provoke creatures that should never be awakened."
Max gestured with his hand toward the stretch of glowing stone ahead. "Then show us the path."
The guide stepped forward and began to walk with careful strides, his eyes scanning the space around them with the familiarity of soone who knew the hidden rules of this world. Max followed behind him in silence, trusting the elder to navigate the endless maze of paths suspended in the violet sky.
As they continued, the group began to understand Max's decision. They passed regions that looked strangely calm but pulsed with hidden danger. They avoided areas where faint mist drifted, which the guide explained was capable of corroding a cultivator's soul.
They skirted the edges of zones where distant echoes indicated powerful beasts sleeping in the void. Every decision the guide made ensured that the group fell into no unnecessary conflict.
Max's decision proved to be the correct one. The guide from the Four God Nation, an elder who had walked these paths many tis and possessed countless years of accumulated experience, stepped ahead of the group and began directing them through the maze-like stone routes.
Although Max possessed the Three Dinsional Body and could sense danger approaching from far distances, he still understood one truth. In a world shaped by divine beasts and constructed with ancient chanisms, instincts alone could not replace the familiarity of soone who had traveled these paths repeatedly.
The guide knew which shimring cracks in the void were harmless illusions and which ones concealed lurking creatures. He also knew the regions where the air seed silent yet hid hidden domains packed with deadly traps.
Therefore Max allowed him to take the lead while he himself observed everything quietly from behind.
As they journeyed forward, the group passed through several regions that appeared calm on the surface. Yet under the guide's warnings they never set foot inside. So areas were filled with strange drifting crystals that sparkled beautifully in the air.
According to the guide, those were fragnts left behind by collapsed spatial cages that had devoured explorers in the past. Other regions carried gentle white mist that looked harmless but would slowly corrode a cultivator's soul if one breathed it even once.
Max sensed danger from such places from afar, but the guide's experience allowed them to avoid the trouble entirely without risking unnecessary engagent.
There were also parts of the secret domain where distant roars echoed from the void. The path beneath their feet trembled faintly whenever those sounds appeared. The guide explained that those regions were nests of colossal beasts that never left their territory yet attacked anything within their sound radius.
By avoiding the echoing zones and taking alternate routes, the group passed by without waking the dormant creatures. Max silently acknowledged that, even with all his abilities, he would have spent far more ti testing and investigating such areas without the guide's local knowledge. His decision to follow the guide gave the group a smooth and efficient passage through territory that would have otherwise slowed them considerably.
Eventually the surrounding space began to shift. The violet sky deepened in color, gaining faint white streaks that resembled enormous claw marks stretching across the heavens. The stone path widened and brightened, revealing markings of ancient white tiger patterns carved deep into its surface.
A low but powerful pressure filled the air, causing the hearts of every cultivator present to tighten instinctively. It was not a killing pressure. Instead, it felt like the natural presence of a powerful beast watching them from every direction.
The guide paused and pointed forward respectfully. "We have arrived at the first inheritance ground of the Four God Nation. This is the White Tiger Inheritance Ground. Only those who possess a firm heart, sharp will and battle intent worthy of a white tiger bloodline should step inside."
Max looked across the vast expanse before them. It was a large open arena of white stone. Massive statues of white tigers stood at the four corners, each one carved with such precision that their gazes seed alive.
The sky above shimred with faint silver light, and the air humd with a subtle yet fierce energy. The legacy of the White Tiger divine beast lingered here in an ancient but unyielding form, and anyone who dared to step into this ground would feel its gaze judging their worth.
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