Sweltering heat saturated this fifth layer of space, warping the distant figures until they shimmered and blurred.
"Lin Lei, come quickly!" A familiar voice carried from afar. Lin Lei turned to look. Though the figure in the distance was hazy, he could still make it out—it was Faen, the eldest disciple of the War God's Gate.
Though Lin Lei felt somewhat heavy-hearted, his will remained steadfast.
In a place like the Tomb of the Gods, unless one chose to give up entirely, there was no option but to hold firm and press onward, step by step.
"Bei Bei, let's go," Lin Lei said calmly. Bei Bei leaped straight onto his shoulder.
Turning into a phantom, Lin Lei soon arrived where a number of powerhouses had gathered. Not only was Faen present, but Desli, Rosalie, Tulei, and Rutherford as well. All five of these Saint Realm ultimate powerhouses had assembled in one spot.
Besides the five of them, there were also three Six-eyed Golden Ni standing nearby.
"With you two here, we're all accounted for," Desli said with a faint smile.
Lin Lei felt a flicker of confusion. What did that mean? All accounted for?
"Lin Lei, sit down." Faen gestured to the side. "I heard that while you were down below, the Ba Serpent awakened. That was indeed terrible luck. Fortunately, you made it back alive. Now, let's discuss what lies beyond the sixth layer."
Lin Lei sat cross-legged nearby.
The searing temperature below meant nothing to him, covered as he were in scales from head to toe.
"Aren't we going to discuss things with those people?" Bei Bei asked, pointing doubtfully toward a group of humans and magical beasts in the distance.
More than thirty powerhouses had made it alive to the fifth layer. Among them were over a dozen magical beast powerhouses and over a dozen human ones. Originally, among the eighty-odd people, there had been more than sixty humans. But over thirty had perished in the third layer alone, and a few more had likely died in the first and second. The remaining ten or so had probably gone into hiding on the second layer, too afraid to venture any further.
"Those people?" Tulei said, his expression stern, his tone flat. "Dragging them in will only be a hindrance."
Lin Lei understood immediately, glancing at the distant group that included Olivier, Hayward, and others. Tulei's meaning was simple enough—right now, these ten powerhouses were the ten absolute strongest. His and Bei Bei's strength were no weaker than theirs. And those three Six-eyed Golden Ni were unfathomable as well. As for Olivier, Hayward, the War God's Gate disciples, and the various magical beast powerhouses—they were a clear notch below.
Here, the top-tier powerhouses had naturally formed one group.
The twenty-odd who were slightly weaker had formed another.
Though the second group included Desli's close friends Hayward and Higginson, several of Faen's junior brothers, and two of Tulei's own disciples, there was nothing to be done about it.
"Lin Lei, Bei Bei, Cleo—you three brothers are probably unfamiliar with the sixth layer of this Tomb of the Gods, so let me explain first," Desli said gravely. "Bei Bei, you all just saw that the creatures of this fifth layer were a few 'Red Rock Demons.' Their strength is roughly comparable to Hayward's group."
"Red Rock Demons?" Lin Lei was puzzled.
He hadn't encountered any Red Rock Demons. Desli looked at Lin Lei. "You didn't get the chance to see them. Red Rock Demons are composed of rock, roughly human in height. Their strength is immense, their defenses extremely formidable—the only drawback is that they're somewhat slow. Their power... is probably comparable to your good friend Bark's, though their defenses are slightly inferior."
Lin Lei now had a clear picture.
"This fifth layer is the weakest of the first five. Those Red Rock Demons have already been wiped out by us," Desli continued. "This layer also serves as a place for us to rest and recover. As for the sixth layer we're about to enter..."
Lin Lei, Bei Bei, and the three Six-eyed Golden Ni all listened closely.
The danger of the sixth layer skyrocketed, far surpassing the first five combined.
"The sixth layer is a world of magma and hard stone, and within it resides the most powerful creature—the Flame Monarch!" Whether it was Desli, Rosalie, Tulei, or Faen, their expressions all grew grave.
The Flame Monarch?
"To be precise, the Flame Monarch stands several hundred meters tall. His body is actually composed of countless slabs of hard rock compressed together. His strength is inexhaustible, and his defenses have reached a terrifying level." Desli's expression was solemn. "Most importantly, he wields a Bloodthirsty Giant Axe. If any one of us is struck by that axe, we would likely lose our lives."
Lin Lei felt a sharp pang of dread.
A single strike meant death. That was truly terrifying.
"That's not all. Besides the Flame Monarch, the sixth layer also contains hundreds upon hundreds of Red Rock Demons," Desli said, his tone growing even more serious. "One or two Red Rock Demons are nothing, but hundreds or thousands of them—that's a threat of an entirely different magnitude."
Lin Lei was rendered speechless.
"Hundreds of Red Rock Demons—that's like having hundreds of Undying Warriors!" he thought in alarm. Though the Red Rock Demons' defenses were slightly inferior to those of Undying Warriors, having hundreds or thousands attack at once was still terrifying.
Desli continued: "The hordes of Red Rock Demons obey the Flame Monarch's commands. I actually have a suspicion... the Flame Monarch is an evolved form of the Red Rock Demon. Look—they're both made of rock. The difference is that the Flame Monarch is as massive as a mountain, while the Red Rock Demons are merely human-sized."
Rutherford sneered from the side. "The Flame Monarch is essentially a Red Rock Demon scaled up by hundreds of times. His strength and attacks are correspondingly hundreds or thousands of times greater."
Lin Lei and Bei Bei exchanged a glance.
"Boss, the Red Rock Demons have immense strength—nearly equal to Bark's. If the Flame Monarch's power is hundreds of times greater on top of that..." Bei Bei's voice echoed in Lin Lei's mind. Lin Lei kept silent.
Now, Lin Lei and the others had a clear understanding of the sixth layer.
The sixth layer was a domain where the Flame Monarch commanded hundreds of Red Rock Demons. This mountain-sized Flame Monarch could shatter an entire peak with a casual punch. No one dared take such a blow head-on.