In the center of the grand hall covered in magical inscriptions, the magic crystal pillar was completely sealed by a magic array, making it impossible for players to even approach its base.
The magic array sealing the crystal pillar looked simple, but its defensive strength was so great that even a Tier 4 Legendary powerhouse couldn't damage it in the slightest. Players had no way of forcibly taking the items inside the pillar — the only option was to defeat the guardian boss and then gradually unravel the array's seal.
Shi Feng arrived at the barrier of the magic array and lightly tapped it. Instantly, a system interface for the magic array appeared before his eyes, displaying all of its information.
"Truly impressive. Without reaching the level of mastering advanced magic arrays, one could only stand by and watch." Shi Feng gave it a cursory look and felt mildly surprised.
In the Divine Realm, there were two ways to break through a treasure's magic seal.
The first was to kill the guardian boss, which would automatically dispel the seal.
The second relied on the player's own ability to unlock the seal — this method didn't care about a player's combat power at all, only their understanding of magic arrays.
The first method was the easiest, but as players' levels rose, they would encounter the second situation more and more often. That was why becoming a mage was so important in his previous life — even expert players who didn't enjoy studying magic arrays had to put in the effort, especially magic-oriented players.
It was precisely because of magic array unlocking that the major guilds began to take magic array study seriously. In the later stages, the status of a magic grandmaster was no lower than that of a Master Blacksmith or an Alchemy Master.
To unlock the seal on the magic crystal pillar before him, one had to have mastered advanced magic arrays. Otherwise, there was nothing to do but turn around and leave.
Generally, when a player reached Level 70, the highest magic seal they would encounter was at the Beginner level. Intermediate-level seals were extremely rare, yet the array before him required an Advanced-level player to unlock — the difficulty could be imagined.
The major superpowers had many players learning magic arrays, but those who could reach the Intermediate level were few and far between, let alone Advanced level.
This meant that anyone who came here without mastering advanced magic arrays, even if they were strong enough to defeat the boss, wouldn't be able to obtain the most valuable items in the Ancient God Maze.
After studying the completed magic array, Shi Feng immediately began to unlock it.
Unlocking a magic array wasn't particularly hard, nor was it easy — it was the same as learning one. The player had to trace out the complete magic array, and once the sealing array was drawn, the seal would unlock. Learning a single magic array already required considerable time and full concentration, and with monsters lurking nearby, unlocking an array was practically impossible.
Shi Feng felt quite fortunate that he had already reached the Advanced level, otherwise he could only watch helplessly as the bloodline slipped from his grasp.
Finally, after spending five hours, Shi Feng finished tracing the sealing array. Instantly, the barrier enveloping the entire magic crystal pillar began to shatter, and the pillar was fully revealed before his eyes.
The entire magic crystal pillar was semi-translucent, and the bloodline stored within gleamed brilliantly. Before, the magical barrier had blocked his perception, but once the barrier was dispelled, Shi Feng felt a wave of suppression at the level of existence itself.
Just looking at the bloodline made him feel that his very being was under considerable pressure.
"An Advanced Bloodline?!" Shi Feng couldn't help but be startled.
Bloodlines came in three tiers — Common, Advanced, and Top-grade. The bloodline he had obtained from the Temple of God and Demon was a Common Dark Iron Bloodline, but since it was an excellent fit for the Swordsman class, it was considered among the best of Common bloodlines. Yet here he was, being suppressed by the bloodline inside the pillar.
The only explanation was that its level of existence was above his own.
Above a Common bloodline, there could only be an Advanced bloodline. He would have loved to imagine it was a Top-grade bloodline, but any Top-grade bloodline was valued close to a Legendary-grade item fragment — the odds of one appearing in the Ancient God Maze were astronomically low. An Advanced bloodline was far more likely.
Even so, it was still astonishing.
Any Advanced bloodline could set a player on a much shorter path toward advancement. With enough effort and a bit of talent, the gate to Tier 5 would be wide open, and it could even provide a modest boost toward Tier 6. This was precisely why the great powers of the Divine Realm went so wild over bloodlines.
Shi Feng walked up to the magic crystal pillar and retrieved the crystal vial containing the bloodline, unable to contain his eagerness as he checked its details.
Elemental Bloodline — after obtaining it, a player's compatibility with all magic skills would be greatly enhanced, becoming the favored child of the elements. It primarily boosted Intelligence and Spirit, with secondary improvements to Agility, Endurance, and Strength.
"It really is an Advanced Bloodline!" Shi Feng couldn't contain his excitement upon seeing it.
Although the stats panel didn't explicitly state the bloodline's tier, Common bloodlines primarily enhanced a single attribute, while Advanced bloodlines primarily enhanced two. The Elemental Bloodline boosted two primary attributes, so it was naturally an Advanced Bloodline. Moreover, the ability it granted was incredibly powerful — universal enhancement of magic skill compatibility. It was far superior to the Advanced Bloodlines he had seen in the Temple of God and Demon.
If a magic-oriented player obtained it, it would be an all-around power boost. And the compatibility increase from an Advanced Bloodline was even higher than that of a Common one. In truth, the Elemental Bloodline was a top-tier specimen among Advanced Bloodlines — its value was absolutely comparable to a top-quality Legendary-grade item fragment.
Shi Feng carefully stored away the Elemental Bloodline and then continued exploring the Ancient God Maze.
The entire maze was incredibly complex. Every time he entered a new hall's domain, he faced waves of elemental monsters, and their levels were clearly not comparable to the initial hall — all of them were Level 75 or above. However, after equipping the Blade of Dusk, Shi Feng's combat power had increased considerably, and his speed in dispatching these elemental monsters was much faster.
But regarding the guardian bosses in each hall, Shi Feng only dared to observe from afar and never approach. He had already discovered several halls where the guardian bosses were at minimum a Lord-rank Primordial Species, and some were even Tier 4 Legendary monsters. Without the ability to use summoned creatures, a direct confrontation would be certain death.
Though he could do nothing about those guardian bosses, Shi Feng wasn't willing to let a single elemental monster in the halls go to waste — after all, they dropped Epic-grade armor fragments and Elemental Cores. Missing this opportunity would make it exceedingly difficult to find another like it in the future.
And so Shi Feng spent twelve consecutive days farming, clearing out every elemental monster in each hall before moving on to the next.
It was during his relentless exploration of the Ancient God Maze that he arrived at a particularly special hall. Compared to the others, this hall was far more elaborately decorated — massive pillars crafted from magic crystal stone lined the space, and the entire hall was shrouded in gray gloom. Even with Shi Feng's constitution, he could only see fifty to sixty yards ahead; beyond that, everything faded into nothingness.
The moment Shi Feng stepped onto the floor made of magic crystal, he suddenly found breathing incredibly difficult. A deafening roar followed, as though heaven and earth themselves were trembling.
After the roar subsided, before Shi Feng had even recovered, the entire hall abruptly blazed with light.
Before him, in a hall that rivaled several hundred-thousand-seat stadiums in size, stood a bronze dragon fully fifty to sixty meters tall. Its terrifying pressure seemed capable of tearing the very air apart, and the flapping of its wings caused the space itself to groan under the strain — as if it might shatter at any moment, leaving Shi Feng completely immobilized, unable to move even a fraction…