Chapter 4362: Another Step Forward

"What bullshit Backdoor Ghost?!" The always calm monk, who usually spoke in mantras and rarely showed much emotion, completely lost his composure. "What the hell was that? How did you do it?"

"Me?" Rean pointed at himself before shaking his head. "I didn’t do anything. I simply pointed out the backdoors that had been left behind and used them to deactivate all the arrays at once. Still, I have to admit, it was quite a good job. Even I took a while to notice they were there."

Arcis and Tobao’s expressions immediately turned ugly. They weren’t idiots. Anyone with enough experience could tell those so-called backdoors hadn’t been created by accident. They had been carefully hidden inside the arrays’ framework so the crystal could be stolen at a later date.

Immediately, Tobao’s mind returned to the conversation he had with Roan months ago. Back then, Roan had mentioned that the crystal represented a kind of temptation unlike anything the cultivators of the Besgol Region had ever encountered, especially those near the Law God Realm.

At the time, Tobao understood the reasoning behind those words, but understanding something in theory and witnessing reality firsthand were entirely different matters. He still believed everyone would consider Besgol’s necessities above all else, as it had always been the case.

Turns out Roan had been absolutely right. However, as Tobao thought about it further, another issue immediately came to mind. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Rean.

"Wait! What are you even doing here?"

"Roan asked me to pay a visit," Rean answered truthfully.

---

A few days earlier, Rean had returned to the residence where Roan, Celis, and Kentucky were cultivating.

By that point, more than eighty percent of all the Godly Creatures’ Crystals they had obtained had already been spent. It sounded like an absurd amount, but it wasn’t surprising at all. Their cultivation required far more energy than ordinary cultivators to achieve the same breakthroughs, and there were four of them sharing those resources.

On top of that, the amount of energy required only continued to increase with every stage they advanced through. The higher they climbed, the more ridiculous the consumption became.

"Alright," Celis said as soon as he noticed Rean’s arrival. "Let’s break through into the Peak Stage of the Anchor God Realm."

Kentucky immediately raised a wing. "Can we get some time off after this? We’ve been cultivating nonstop ever since we got these crystals."

Under normal circumstances, Roan would have called that nonsense. This time, however, he agreed, not because Kentucky had asked, but because it was genuinely necessary.

"We have to," Roan replied. "This will be our second stage breakthrough in a row. If we force ourselves all the way to the Aura God Realm breakthrough without allowing our foundations to stabilize, we will eventually create problems for ourselves. Our bodies, souls, and energies need time to adapt to the increase in strength."

Cultivators often became obsessed with advancement. The faster they improved, the more they wanted to continue. However, true experts knew there was a balance between speed and stability, and ignoring that balance often resulted in hidden flaws that only revealed themselves much later.

Even Celis couldn’t argue with that logic. "As much as I want to keep cultivating, I’m not stupid enough to exchange long-term success for short-term gains. We’ll do as you said."

"Hahaha! Great!" Kentucky couldn’t have been happier.

Roan ignored the excited bird and turned his attention to Rean. "The Godly Subjugation Guild seems to be nearing the end of its preparations to use the Godly Crystal Arcis found."

Rean glanced at him. "So?"

Roan’s instincts had saved his life countless times over the years, and they had also saved everyone around him more than once. "After we’re done here, go pay them a visit and inspect their arrays. If they use the crystal the way I think they will, that place will become an excellent training ground for us. We can use the Godly Creatures that appear there to get accustomed to our new strength. At the same time, I don’t want that place disappearing the moment it’s completed."

Rean immediately understood what he meant and smiled. "Trust no one, correct?"

Roan nodded. "This time more than ever. The value of that crystal is simply too great. It is the kind of treasure that can make rational people lose their minds."

"Good." Rean shrugged. "I don’t mind taking a look. Might as well run a few tests of my own while I’m at it. Sister Orb, you can help too, right?"

[Yeap!] Sister Orb sounded quite pleased. [The higher your cultivation becomes, the more processing power I can get. I don’t have my hacking abilities anymore, but I can still analyze arrays and inscriptions. Besides, with Rean’s access to the Arrays Guild Network, I’ve spent plenty of time studying the arrays and inscription systems used throughout Besgol.]

"Are you all finished?" Celis asked, already losing patience. "Let’s start."

There were no Godly Spawn Crystals left, and most of the Godly Beast Crystals had already been consumed. Even so, they still possessed more than enough resources for the breakthrough. They could even continue cultivating for some time afterward within the Peak Stage of the Anchor God Realm if they wished.

Not that they intended to do so immediately. Even if they exhausted every remaining crystal, it still wouldn’t be enough to carry them all the way into the Aura God Realm. At least, not without touching the ten Godly Predator Crystals in their possession.

The Godly Predator Crystals were simply too valuable to use at their current level. Their benefits would be much greater once the group reached the higher stages of the Aura God Realm, so none of them had any intention of touching those resources yet.

With everything decided, they began the breakthrough. Their cultivation technique remained as flawless as ever. There were no bottlenecks, no instability, and no need to force anything. Energy surged through their bodies in perfect harmony while their cultivation steadily climbed toward its next destination.

A powerful wave of Godly Energy erupted outward from the residence, spreading through the surrounding area like an invisible storm. The breakthrough proceeded smoothly from beginning to end, and once everything settled down, the four opened their eyes. Their cultivations had successfully reached the Peak Stage of the Anchor God Realm.

"Here." Roan tossed a vial to each of them. "The pills inside will help stabilize our foundations faster. Since we’re planning to spend some time adapting to our new power, we might as well make the process more efficient."

The others caught their vials without issue, bringing the breakthrough session to an end.

---

Back in the present, that was the reason Rean had appeared here.

"He told me that nobody would dare touch the crystal while Seniors Tobao and Arcis were nearby," Rean explained. "However, you can’t stay beside the crystal forever. Since that was the case, the obvious solution was to seal it inside multiple layers of arrays while using it for the farm."

He then gestured toward the shattered array framework surrounding the crystal chamber. "Which means the arrays themselves became the only realistic method of stealing it. Sure enough, although they were extremely well hidden, the backdoors left behind were more than enough to bring the entire system down. Whoever created them knew exactly what they were doing."

Rean then crossed his arms. "There’s no need to thank me."

[I helped too, you know?] Sister Orb immediately protested.

’The greatest orb ever couldn’t possibly care about the praise of a few puny Law Gods, now could she?’ Rean replied through their connection.

[O-Of course! It’s good that you understand...]

Sister Orb suddenly stopped.

[Your ass! What kind of cheap manipulation is that?!]

’Would you rather I didn’t say it?’

[...]

[I guess I’m fine with it.]

Despite understanding perfectly well what Rean was doing, Sister Orb still loved being praised.

Tobao and Arcis obviously didn’t hear Sister Orb, and at the moment, it wouldn’t have mattered even if they could. There was a far more urgent issue demanding their attention.

Arcis immediately turned toward one of the leading workers standing nearby, his expression cold enough to freeze the air itself. The worker felt his heart skip a beat the moment their eyes met.

"Bring the Guild Masters here immediately," said Arcis. "If I don’t find whoever left those backdoors inside the array framework, then it will be their heads that roll."

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