Duke did not stop, continuing to stealth upward. Based on his earlier sensing, the altar was located slightly east of the center of the ruins.

Like a fish well-versed in the ways of water, he adjusted his course with precision within the soil-ocean saturated with light energy, silently closing in on the spot directly beneath the altar.

At the same time, outside the light membrane, the clamor and chaos continued.

In the Four Gods Sect camp, two Magic Masters were joining forces, directing dozens of Mages as they attempted to construct a large composite-element disintegration Magic Array. Torrents of elements in different colors bombarded the same spot on the light membrane, trying to pierce the surface by concentrating on a single point. The light membrane rippled violently, golden ripples spreading outward again and again, drawing the gaze of countless players.

A small number of stronger players, or those who possessed special light-resistance items, along with elite squads from the Four Gods Sect, had already succeeded in breaking through the light membrane and entering the outer perimeter of the ruins.

But just as Duke had scouted, they immediately fell into a triple predicament of environmental suppression, attacks from Energy Guards, and ancient traps. Their advance was slow, casualties kept mounting, and faint shouts of alarm and sounds of battle drifted out from within the light membrane, further jangling the nerves of the crowd outside.

These people were basically unable to penetrate into the deeper parts of the ruins; before long they would be forced to withdraw.

The main force on the Four Gods Sect’s side was still focused on solving the problem of the light membrane. Only by completely dealing with this defensive mechanism could they safely enter the ruins in earnest.

No one knew that beneath this chaos, deep underground, Duke had already slipped through, ghostlike, the absolute barrier that everyone else was battering against in vain, and had reached the spot directly beneath the calmest—and also most dangerous—eye of the storm.

Duke stopped roughly ten meters below the foundation of the altar. The fluctuation of light-origin power coming from above was already so dense it was almost tangible, warm and majestic.

He could even hear the faint humming from above, like a softly chanted hymn, as the altar’s runes exchanged energy with the Seed of Light.

For the moment, Duke did not break through to the surface. Instead, he extended his Spiritual Power upward in the gentlest way possible, tuned to be as close as he could make it to the light origin, letting it spread like creeping vines. It threaded through the last few meters of soil and the altar’s heavy foundation, cautiously feeling for the structure at the altar’s base.

The first thing to do was to observe, to understand.

To understand the operational principles of this ancient altar, to understand how it was connected to the Seed of Light, and to find that critical node or the entry point of the ritual.

Lurking directly beneath the altar, Duke’s Spiritual Power became the finest of probes. Using the aura of the God of Light’s Divine Status as cover, it silently seeped into the altar’s heavy foundation and internal structure.

The sophistication of this ancient altar’s construction far surpassed his earlier rough impressions.

It was not simply a stone platform, but a comprehensive ritual and energy hub composed of multiple layers of energy circuits, nested rune arrays, and special conduction materials.

Inside the pristine white monoliths were embedded pale-golden metallic conduits, like veins. They connected with the countless runes carved on the inner and outer surfaces of the stone, together forming a vast and intricate three-dimensional network.

These networks were like roots drawing sustenance from the earth. The altar’s base was deeply joined to the leylines, gathering the light energy scattered throughout the ruins and surrounding region, then performing initial purification and stabilization through specific rune sequences.

The energy thus gathered was guided by the internal network and poured ceaselessly into the Seed of Light suspended above the altar, sustaining its existence and slow growth.

At the same time, the altar’s own rune array maintained a precise energy resonance with the Seed of Light. The two were like synchronized heartbeats, forming a self-consistent circulatory system.

A portion of the more refined origin, further purified by the Seed of Light, was fed back into the altar’s network, reinforcing the protective wards and Energy Field of the entire ruins.

And the connection between the Seed of Light and the altar was not merely a matter of energy transmission.

As his perception approached the actual body of the altar and the surface of the Seed of Light, it encountered a barrier that was invisible yet undeniably present.

This barrier was neither a purely energetic Shield nor a membrane in the physical sense.

It was more like a pervasive, higher-dimensional will of rejection, a defense constructed on the basis of some underlying rule that Duke could not yet fully comprehend.

His Spiritual Power could see the exquisite stone-carved patterns of the altar, could feel the vast origin fluctuations of the Seed of Light, yet could not penetrate to perceive more minute details within, nor could he make out the exact mechanism by which the two were bound together. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

That invisible rules-level defense was like frosted glass, blurring and isolating the deepest core mysteries.

Duke could only surmise that this defense originated from the ancient builders having touched upon some deeper application of the laws of light, which they had then solidified into an automatic mechanism to protect the core.

"Self-protection on the level of rules... In my current state, I can’t understand it, much less break it." Duke felt a chill in his heart.

This confirmed what Dali had said: seizing the Seed of Light was far from easy; conventional methods were almost impossible.

In ancient times there might have been specific rituals, prayers, or tokens that could grant temporary permission, but those had long since been lost.

Fortunately, he possessed an unconventional means—that was the Divine Status of the God of Light.

The Divine Status itself was a manifestation of extremely high authority over the light rules of this Plane, very likely on a level above the rules defense employed by this ancient ruin.

There was no time to hesitate, nor any need to understand the precise composition of that rules defense.

Duke chose the most direct, most domineering approach: to use a higher-tier power to overwrite and suppress it.