Back on Krune's side, he was in the middle of a battle against two Heavenly Fragment owners. Or better, he was simply dragged into it. Krune was following the flow of Spiritual and Godly energy when he saw those two battling each other.
He decided to ignore them at first, so he used his Tribulation Lightning Layer to hide from Divine Senses. But he didn't expect them to leave behind a Warning Formation. It was like a thin and invisible barrier. It had so little energy that even Krune had difficult to notice it.
But it was too late, both of the cultivators immediately looked at his direction. They thought that Krune was planning to be the mantis hunting the cicada. In the end, the two of them joined forces temporarily to get rid of Krune first.
Krune could have run away, but Light Spirit stopped him.
"This is a good opportunity to gain some combat experience. You are in dire need of it at the moment, so don't lose this chance. Their cultivation is also similar to yours, being in the 8th and 9th Stage of the Soul Forging Realm."
Krune didn't want to waste time here, but he had to admit that Light Spirit was right. Heavin then flew somewhere else to not get in the way and left Krune alone.
The two enemies quickly arrived and immediately attacked.
"Space Slash."
"Time Slow."
Purple Lightning appeared around Krune's body, and the Laws of Time binding him instantly crumbled.
"Tribulation Lightning Movement."
With a flash of purple light, Krune disappeared from the spot he was in before the Space Sash could reach there.
Krune's Shields immediately spread and hovered around him a moment later.
'I guess I can test Mental Energy attacks this time.'
While Krune dodged their attacks, two of his Shields teleported away. Displacement Sub-Law! When they reappeared, they were covered by the Purple Lightning Layer, hiding their presence from the enemies' Divine Senses.
Krune's will came out and immediately used Tribulation Lightning Attacks.
"Thunder Line!"
The two guys were taken aback by that surprise attack. However, they were still Heavenly Fragment owners. One used the time laws to accelerate the time around him while the other teleported away just like Krune did with his shields.
The Thunder Lines hit nothing but air and shot in the distance. However, Krune just smiled. That split of a second that they were paying attention to the attack coming from behind was enough for Krune to send another wave of attacks. The two enemies were alarmed and were obliged to defend.
Krune had spent quite a few seconds creating those two needles inside his Shields who were covered in Tribulation Lightning Layers. Mental Energy attacks take longer to charge but are extremely fast since physical resistances mean little against it.
The two Heavenly Fragment owners used their weapon to block those needles. But to their despair, those needles passed through their weapons as if they didn't even exist! They raised their Energy Barrier, but it had a minimal effect against the Mental Energy Needles.
Both needles pierced through their dantians and went straight for their Divine Souls. Unable to create anything that could stop those needles, their Divine Souls were pierced by them as well. The needles then exploded in a wave of Mental Energy, obliterating their Divine Souls completely.
Immediately, their Soul Forging Realm cultivation dropped all the way to the Qi Condensation.
Seeing their cultivation dropping, hey couldn't help but look terrified at Krune.
"How come there is something like that in this world? Be it our weapons or Energy Barriers, it went through them as if they didn't even exist. Could it be that we were seeing an illusion and got attacked from somewhere else?"
Heavin came back flying and then laughed.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but no, it wasn't an illusion. That was Mhmhmhmh-"
Krune stopped Heavin by closing his beak, preventing him from talking more than necessary.
"Why would you reveal your trump cards to the enemy, are you idiot?"
"Oh, right! Sorry, I can't tell you what it was. But know that the creator of that thing is none else than your grandfather Heavin. Hahaha!"
Heavin then flew back to Krune's shoulder.
Krune looked at those two and then sighed.
"I was only passing by and had no intention of intervening in your battle. But you just had to try your luck."
The guy who had the Time Heavenly Fragment couldn't help but ask.
"Are you perhaps hiding your cultivation?"
Krune shook his head.
"I'm really in the 6th Stage of the Soul Forging Realm. However, I did gather more Heavenly Fragments than you. Anyway, would you mind passing me your Heavenly Fragments? Don't worry, if I wanted you to die, you would be dead already."
They lost their Divine Souls that were holding their Heavenly Fragments, so they couldn't be Heavenly Fragment Owners anymore. Just the fact that Krune wouldn't kill them is already a bonus considering their situation. At least, their bodies are already used to the Godly Energy, so they can cultivate from the start again. If they hide well, they can stay in this place for the next ten years before being teleported out.
"The victor is the king, that is the rule in our Universe. However, what would you use our Heavenly Fragments for? You are not a Heavenly Fragment Owner from our Universe, so it is useless to you, no?"
Krune smiled after hearing that.
"Isn't that obvious? I can still sell it to the other owners! Haha!"
Those two were taken aback. Someone who can get a slot to enter the Holy Land needs money? That seemed ridiculous! However, Krune wasn't in the mood to explain that he got those Slots by chance. For him, any extra income was more than welcome.
'You never know when you might run out of Spirit Stones.'
After getting those two Heavenly Fragments, Krune immediately departed, leaving those two behind. Whether they survived or not was up to them. Krune doesn't like to kill, not to mention that he was indeed the one who interrupted their duel. So he simply let them go like that.
On the way, Light Spirit couldn't help but comment.
"This mental energy is really something else. Other than my Purple Tribulation Lightning, it seems to be able to pass through almost anything."
Heavin shook his head.
"Energy barriers can still affect my Mental Energy to a certain extent. If the opponent's cultivation is too high, it will have a hard time passing through. Of course, we should use it as a sneak attack as much as possible. Let's try to not reveal the Mental Energy existence until we get a real chance."
Krune agreed with Heavin. Those two said that the Mental Energy Needle passed through their defenses as if there was nothing there. But Krune could tell that at least 50% of the Needle's Mental Energy was used to achieve that. Those two guys cultivations aren't much different from Krune's, either.
Now and then, Krune would ask Light Spirit if the Purple Tribulation Lightning Essence left in Fie and Feifei was still there. As it looked like, both girls were still alive, although he couldn't say anything else other than that. It took Krune three days to arrive at the entrance of the next level. During this time, Krune found out that every level had several light pillars that could send you to the next one. That also explained why he didn't meet anyone of his group back at the previous level.
Thanks to Heavin's Mental Energy Sense that could reach up to 30km in this Realm, Krune successfully avoided other participants with cultivation much higher than himself. There were also three in the Divine Path Realm. With the power of their Divine Sense, reaching more than 30km was also possible. However, Krune's Tribulation Lightning Layer was always ON, so they couldn't feel his presence. Once Heavin spotted them, Krune would be sure to stay far away.
Finally, his little group arrived at the next Light Pillar. Just like the last one, this Light Pillar extended all the way to the skies. However, the number of groups resting around was a lot smaller than the previous level. That was to be expected, though. Many cultivators and demon beasts were still in the last level, while another big bunch who had advanced are still getting used to the higher amount of Godly Energy here. That being said, they haven't come to try to enter the next level yet.
"It seems like they are avoiding starting any battle around this pillar. Now that I think about it, there was no one battling close to the previous level pillar as well. I thought that it was just a coincidence. That no one wanted to bet their coins while still on the first level. However, it seems like I was wrong."
Light Spirit and Heavin agreed with Krune. Considering the number of participants, they should have seen one or another conflict raised between enemies. Still, there was nothing, everything was peaceful.
Just as Krune decided to ask, someone called him from behind.
"Hey, you there. Where have you gotten those Heavenly Fragments?"
Krune looked behind and noticed that a small group of five members was coming in his direction. The guy who talked to Krune was in the 1st Stage of the Void Breaking Realm, while the other varied between the 7th and 9th Sage of the Soul Forging Realm.