Coiling Dragon Book 15 – Priceless Treasure

Book 15 – Priceless Treasure

Chapter 1, The Fiends Assemble

Two star mission. Escort from ‘Royalwing City’ of the Nightblaze Prefecture to ‘Bluemaple City’ of the Rainbow Prefecture, a trip of nearly four billion kilometers. Compensation, two hundred thousand inkstones!

Although the distance was that of four billion kilometers, generally speaking, when riding on a metallic lifeform, a few decades was enough. An escort mission of a few decades which would result in a reward of 200,000 inkstones was quite a high compensation for a One Star Fiend or a Two Star Fiend.

“You choose this one?” The youth raised his head in surprise, glancing at Linley’s team.

The look on the youth’s face caused Linley to feel suspicious. “What? Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”

“Oh.  Give  me  your  Fiend  medallion  for  a  moment.”  The youth didn’t say anything extra. Linley’s team immediately handed their Fiend medallions over. With a flip of his hand, the youth brought out gemstone which radiated with violet light.

He placed this gemstone next to the three Fiend medallions.

Under the violet light, strange characters suddenly appeared in the air above the three Fiend medallions.

“Uh?” Linley’s team was rather surprised.

“What’s this? A line of numbers?” Bebe asked. An extremely long number was currently hovering above the Fiend medallion.

The youth said very casually. “That’s the serial number for your Fiend medallion. Every single Fiend has a different serial number, and we can verify your identity through it. The medallion also has your star rank as a Fiend.” As he spoke, he recorded down the serial numbers of the three Fiend medallions. And then, he handed the three medallions back to Linley’s team. “Alright. What the three of you need to do is go to the city gates twenty days from now at dawn. At that time, staff members of the Fiend castle as well as the escorted guests will be waiting for you there. They will verify your Fiend medallions, and thus they naturally will be able to verify your identity.”

“Does it cost anything to accept missions?” Linley asked.

Linley had heard that most Fiend Castle missions required a fee to be paid first before acceptance.

The youth laughed. “That depends on the mission. Taking on escort missions doesn’t require a fee to be paid.”

Linley’s group left the Fiend Castle, returning to their own residence.

“Ah, so we have twenty more days. In twenty days, we’ll leave this place.”  Bebe tossed his grass hat to the stone table, then sighed. “We’ve lived here for thirty years now. I’ll miss it.” Linley couldn’t help but let out a long breath.

They had come to the Infernal Realm so long ago now. They had finally become Fiends. In twenty days, they would finally begin their journey enroute to the Indigo Prefecture.

“Linley.”  Delia’s face had a hint of a smile on it. “Tarosse, Dylin, and the others arrived here in the Infernal Realm long before we did. Where do you think they might be? This time, when we leave Royalwing City, will we meet them on the way?”

“Tarosse, Dylin?” Linley couldn’t help but think back to the things which had happened in the past.

“All of them are together. Tarosse and Dylin, in particular, aren’t just Gods, they are divine beasts. They should be able to have  the  ability  to  somewhat  protect  themselves.”   Linley looked  towards  the  distant  horizons.  “Only,  this  Infernal Realm is too vast. I don’t know where they were transported to.” The Infernal Realm had five great continents, as well as the Starmist Sea and the Chaotic Sea.

From the material plane, one could be transported anywhere and appear within any of those seven areas. Any two places had an extremely vast distance from each other. If they weren’t sent to the same continent, meeting would really be difficult.

Bebe hurriedly shook his head and said, “Right. It isn’t so bad for Tarosse and the others in the Infernal Realm, but Olivier came alone. Him, a Demigod all by himself, most likely will have a bit of a tougher time than we did when we first came.”

“Without having come to the Infernal Realm, who would have  known  that  it  was  like  this?”  Linley  laughed  calmly. “However,  it  makes  sense.  Countless  experts  from  material planes have been transported here over countless years, and the Infernal Realm itself has many races…it is only natural for there to be so many experts here.” Linley’s group felt very relaxed. After all, they now had a wealth of over a hundred million inkstones and had become Fiends. In the Infernal Realm, they would have no problems establishing themselves somewhere.

Linley’s group naturally also had more confidence with regards to heading to the Indigo Prefecture.

Within the twenty remaining days, Linley’s group quietly trained. Delia naturally focused on absorbing that Highgod spark. However, absorbing a Highgod spark would require dozens of years. In the blink of an eye…

The twenty days had passed.

This dawn, the cold, foggy dawn air still hovered about Royalwing City. In mid-air, the Violet Moon could still be seen. But of course, it was already past the ‘curfew’ time period. Linley’s group got up early and headed towards the gates of Royalwing City. “Royalwing City!”  Bebe sighed emotionally while walking. “In the future, I probably won’t have a chance to come to Royalwing City again.”

“Don’t overthink things.”  Linley, seeing the emotional look on Bebe’s face, wanted to laugh. “Oh. The gates are up ahead.”

“Uh,  we’re  here.”  Bebe’s  eyes  lit  up,  and  he  immediately looked over. “Where’s the metallic lifeform? Why can’t I see it?” Bebe looked carefully in the air above the outside of the city, but couldn’t see any trace of a metallic castle.

Linley felt a hint of puzzlement as well.

Logically speaking, there should be a metallic lifeform outside.

“Let’s  head  outside  then  discuss  it.”  Linley  said.  As  they stepped past the gates, a white-robed silver-haired youth, upon seeing the Fiend medallions on their chests, immediately walked over and asked in a low voice, “Are you here for the escort mission to Bluemaple City of the Rainbow Prefecture?” “Right!” Linley’s group nodded.

The silver-haired youth laughed and nodded. “Then please first go to the second floor of the restaurant next to the gates. The Fiends who are participating in this escort mission are all going there.”

“Next to the gates?” Linley turned to look. “The restaurant at the south, or the one at the north.”

“The one in the south. At the door, you’ll see someone like me, dressed in white. When you go, he will receive you.” The silver-haired youth said.

Linley’s team was puzzled. The escort was supposed to gather together and head out at dawn, so why were they going to a restaurant?

However, the restaurant was within Royalwing City, and violence was forbidden within Royalwing City. Linley’s group didn’t have to be afraid of taken advantage of or bullied. Naturally, they casually returned to Royalwing City again. At the same time, other Fiends who had accepted this mission were also guided to follow Linley and the others into the restaurant.

“The three of you, please wait a moment.” The white-robed, blue-haired youth smiled at the entrance to the restaurant. He had seen his colleague outside the gates instruct these three to come over, so he knew the three were also here for the mission.

Behind Linley’s group were two more Fiends.

Linley glanced at them, and made his judgment. “All Gods.”

“The five of you, please come with me.”  The white-robed blue-haired youth immediately guided Linley’s group of five to the second floor of the restaurant. Right now, the halls of the restaurant on the second floor were bustling. There were forty or fifty people gathered here now. At the stairway to the second floor, there was a black-robed man standing there.

“A  Fiend  Castle  staffer?”   Linley  could  immediately  tell, because this person held within his hand a gemstone that was shining with a violet light.

“The five of you, please permit me to make an inspection.” The man smiled.

He immediately used that gemstone which emitted that violet light, placing it close to the chests of Linley and the others. That violet light, upon shining down on the Fiend medallion, immediately caused the Fiend medallion to display a serial number and star rank. The black-robed man was holding a book in his hands. At the top of it, he wrote down the serial number of the Fiends who were taking part in this mission.

Only after completing each verification was the black-robed man certain of every person’s status. “The five of you, welcome.” The black-robed man smiled and nodded. Only now did he permit Linley’s group of five to enter the center of the second floor.

A silver-haired old man who on his forehead had three long black horns arranged in a circular manner came walking over. With  a  smile,  he  said,  “Welcome,  the  three  of  you.  Our expedition will occur not at dawn today, but at sundown. Please enjoy a repast here first. We will pay for all your expenditures here.”

“Sundown?”

Although Linley’s team was puzzled, they didn’t mind.

One or two days, to Deities, was nothing.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe found a corner for themselves in the dining halls of the second floor, then sat down at the table and casually ordered some dishes. “Linley, I keep on having the feeling that this escort mission seems to be a bit unusual.” Delia said softly.

Linley  nodded  slightly.  “Right.  Look.  Although  the  vast majority of the Fiends here are Gods, there’s even around ten Highgods. Highgod Fiends are generally Four Star Fiends, or even more powerful. For them to have invited so many Fiends…the price isn’t going to be low.”

The missions given out by the Fiend Castle didn’t have a randomly assigned remuneration; it was in accordance with a baseline which the Fiend Castle had come to.

To invite a One Star Fiend or a Two Star Fiend, the price wouldn’t be too bad. But for Four Star Fiends or Five Star Fiends, the price would be astonishing.

“Lord Learmonth [Li’er’meng’si]!”

“Lord  Learmonth,  you  came  as  well.”   Suddenly,  several voices rang out in the center of the restaurant. 

Linley’s group couldn’t help but turn to look as well. A skinny, callous looking youth with blue hair was walking up. Immediately, quite a few Fiends stood up to welcome him, especially the Highgods, more than half of whom stood to greet him.

The callous youth named Learmonth entered, then swept the restaurant with his gaze, which finally fell upon three handsome siblings that looked very much alike. A hint of a smile appeared on his face. “Edwards [Ai’de’hua’si], you three brothers have taken on this mission as well? It seems I’ll have it easy, then.”

The three laughed and stood up.

“Mr. Learmonth, since you’ve taken on this mission as well, then this road will most likely have no more dangers for us.” One of the three exceedingly handsome brothers said.”

Right now, the silver-haired elder with the three black horns began to chortle as he walked over. “Mr. Learmonth, Edwards and co., on this trip, we’ll be troubling you.” In the eyes of the silver-haired elder, there was no need to pay any attention to the other Fiends.

Anyone who knew Learmonth or the Edwards brothers wouldn’t be angered by this.

Learmonth was a mighty Six Star Fiend.

The Edwards brothers were all Five Star Fiends!

Generally speaking, the most powerful Fiends, the Seven Star Fiends, would be scattered everywhere in reclusion. Asking them to take on missions was very difficult. However, generally speaking, Six Star Fiends were already extremely powerful. When one of them joined a mission, there would virtually be no problems on a mission.

“Who  is  this  Lord  Learmonth?”   Not  too  far  away  from Linley, someone began discussing in a low voice. It seemed that it wasn’t just Linley who was puzzled.

“Lord Learmonth is a Six Star Fiend, one of the ranked experts of our Royalwing City.”

Linley’s team couldn’t help but feel startled.

Last time, when they were heading to Moon Lake Castle, the strongest figure had been Loysius and the other two. Loysius was only a Five Star Fiend, but he was still able to kill the master of the Moon Lake Castle without giving him a chance to fight back at all. Five Star Fiends were already so powerful; what, then, of Six Star Fiends?

In addition, a Six Star Fiend attending an escort mission?

This caused Linley to feel astonished as well.

The large group continued to eat delicacies until sundown. During this period of time, Linley’s group learned that there were nearly twenty Highgod-level Fiends who had accepted this mission, and nearly a hundred God-level Fiends. 

So many Fiends, and the leader was a Six Star Fiend.

To have a Six Star Fiend take part in an escort mission of four billion kilometers…the remuneration would be astonishing. Tens of times or hundreds of times greater than that for a God- level Fiend.

“This escort mission is definitely not ordinary.”  Linley was rather nervous.

At sundown. Outside Royalwing City.

Linley’s group, under the guidance of the silver-haired elder, quietly entered a metallic lifeform en masse. Almost as soon as they entered the metallic lifeform, without even having a chance to decide where to sit, the metallic lifeform began to move.

With a ‘swish’, the metallic lifeform disappeared into the horizons, leaving Royalwing City and heading towards Bluemaple City.

Chapter 2, Extremely Heavy Casualties

The metallic lifeform headed forward at high speed. However, the people within it couldn’t sense any turbulence at all. Right now, Linley’s group was all within the main hall of the metallic lifeform.

“The layout is pretty good.” Linley looked around and sighed in approval.

The metallic lifeform had transformed to a fairly large size. There was a main hall in the center, while behind the main hall there were rooms lining each side.

The silver-haired elder with three black horns laughed and said,  “Everyone,  this  is  the  main  hall.  The  wine  here  is complimentary, and we’ve also invited some culinary experts. If you want to eat anything, you can instruct those two and they will have the chefs cook for you.” As he spoke, the silver- haired elder pointed towards two white-robed youths nearby.

The Fiends present all smiled. These employers really were very considerate. 

“Behind the main hall are the living areas. There are a total of 130 rooms. You can choose whichever one you like, one room per person. If people want to stay together and have their rooms fuse, just give the instructions to my metallic lifeform directly.” The silver-haired elder smiled. “For example, you can say this; Camden [Kang’deng], merge these two rooms. ‘Camden’ is the name of my metallic lifeform.”

The Fiends all nodded in satisfaction.

Metallic lifeforms had intelligence. Naturally, they could change their insides easily.

…………………

“Camden, merge these two rooms together.” Linley said.

Immediately, the two rooms in front of Linley suddenly changed. The two doors transformed into a single door, while the wall between the rooms disappeared as well, forming a single large room. The bed in the room instantly changed to a larger size as well.

“Bebe, you can stay in the nearby room.” Linley turned and instructed.

Linley suddenly found to his surprise that at this moment, Bebe was staring unblinkingly into the distance. Linley followed Bebe’s gaze. “Oh?” A youth dressed in a black warrior’s outfit and a adorable young girl with braids was in that direction. Bebe was staring at that girl.

“Bebe, what is it?” Linley was somewhat surprised.

Delia’s face had a hint of laughter on it. “Linley, could it be that Bebe has fallen for that girl?”

Linley’s eyes rose upon hearing this. He took a close look at the adorable young lady. Her eyes were fairly large, and had a hint of a sly, playful look in them. The girl had noticed Bebe looking at her as well. She couldn’t help but stare back for a moment, and then give a little cute sniff. “Hmph!”  And then she turned and said, “Big brother, that guy wearing a straw hat is so annoying.”

The youngster turned over, smiling towards Bebe, Delia and Linley.

And then, they entered their own room.

“Bebe.”  Linley called out. “She went in her room already.

Why are you still standing there like an idiot?”

Bebe stood blankly in that spot for a long moment, then suddenly turned to look at Linley. “Boss, that girl is way, way, way, way, way too cute…”  This loud shout called quite a few distant Fiends to turn and look.

Linley and Delia were shocked for a good long moment by Bebe’s shout. “Let’s go into the room then discuss it.” Linley immediately grabbed Bebe by the collar of his clothes and pulled him directly into the room.

Bebe was so excited that his eyes were shining. “Boss, I’ve discovered something!”

“Speak, what have you discovered?”  Linley and Delia both laughed while looking at Bebe.

“I’m absolutely certain!” Bebe balled his fists. “There really is such a thing as love at first sight!”

Linley and Delia stared, stupefied.

“When I saw her, wow…I felt my entire body grow warm. My mind went completely blank, like I suffered a soul-attack. I only woke up a long while later…and when I woke up, I understood!” Bebe was incomparably excited. “My purpose for being here in the Infernal Realm is…chasing her and getting her!” Bebe balled his fists, his eyes filled with resoluteness. 

Linley and Delia couldn’t help but begin to laugh.

“What  are  you  laughing  at?”  Bebe  snorted.  “Boss,  think about it. How could there be such a coincidence that after so long in the Infernal Realm, I would meet her as soon as I took on an escort mission? This is…this is destiny!”

Bebe arranged his straw hat and even slightly straightened his hair, saying in a bright voice, “I have decided that before we reach Bluemaple City, I will successfully chase that girl. Boss, you just wait and see!”  And then, Bebe immediately walked out.

“This Bebe…” Linley didn’t have any idea as to what to say.

Delia laughed. “Linley, don’t worry. Just let him do as he pleases.”

“What do I have to worry about?”  Linley sighed. “Bebe has grown up with me. After all these years, he’s finally taken a liking to a girl. That’s a good thing. Only…frankly, Bebe was certain that he liked her after a single glance?”

Linley still found it inconceivable.

“Is ordinary logic applicable to Bebe?” Delia said.

Actually, Linley was quite happy. Who Bebe liked was his own business. He himself couldn’t interfere, of course.

Life in the metallic creature was very quiet. Although they ran into a few common bandit groups on the way, with so many Fiends standing there, the bandits immediately were terrified into scattering in all directions. In the blink of an eye, six years passed.

During these six years, Delia primarily focused on fusing with her Highgod spark, while Linley was training.

As for Bebe, he chased that girl. 

And as a matter of fact, Bebe only needed three days before he and the girl were together. Both of them were sly, lively spirits, and when they were together, they were exceedingly happy. That big brother of the girl, seeing them like that, didn’t oppose it. After six years…Bebe and that ‘Nisse’ girl were already a couple.

Everyone throughout the metallic creature knew that there was a pair of jokesters aboard.

In a room within the metallic creature.

Three Linley’s were seated meditatively on the ground, dressed in an earthen robe, a light green robe, and a sky-blue robe.

Linley’s divine earth clone was pondering ‘Gravitational Space’. Although Linley was capable of using the ‘Supergravity Field’ technique, he was still feeling around at the edges of the ‘Gravitational Space’ mystery. Linley’s fastest improvement speed was seen in his divine wind clone.

‘Fast’, ‘Slow’, ‘Sound Waves’, ‘Music’. Linley’s level of understanding in these four profound mysteries was rising at a stable rate. In particular, the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ aspects. According to Linley’s calculations, given his current speed, in a few decades, his complete fusion of these two profound mysteries might be completed.

As for Linley’s original body, it was focusing on gaining insights into the ‘Elemental Laws of Fire’.

With regards to elemental affinity, Linley had a high level of affinity for ‘earth’ and ‘wind’. His affinity for ‘fire’ came afterwards. As for the other elements, his affinity was exceedingly weak.

To date, Linley had two divine clones. Naturally, Linley wouldn’t give up a chance to increase his strength yet again, and so his main body began to train in the Elemental Laws of Fire. 

“I still haven’t been able to grasp the basics of the Profound Mysteries of Gravitational Space. But I have for the Elemental Laws of Fire.”  Linley laughed at himself. “But of course, I’ve only grasped the basics for the simplest ‘Essence of Fire’ profound mystery.”  For all Laws, be it the Elemental Laws of Fire or the Elemental Laws of the Earth, the simplest profound mystery was that of the ‘Essence’; the ‘Essence of Fire’, the ‘Essence of the Earth’, etc.

Also…

“When training in the ‘Essence of the Earth’  or ‘Essence of Fire’,  there  are  some  commonalities.”  Linley  thus  found  it much easier to grasp the basics of the Profound Mysteries of the Essence of Fire.

“Linley, you woke up.” Delia opened her eyes as well.

“How is your training proceeding?” Linley rose to his feet. “Not bad. I’m halfway through mastering the profound mysteries of the Laws.” Delia said.

The Elemental Laws of the Wind in total had nine types of profound mysteries. Prior to fusing with this Highgod spark, Delia had already known four of the nine profound mysteries. After spending six more years, Delia had gained insights into yet another one.

“Let’s  go.  Let’s  go  eat  something  and  drink  something.” Linley and Delia walked out, shoulder to shoulder.

Their little journey to the dining hall was very peaceful. Most of the Fiends were training in their own rooms. Right now, there were only a few Fiends in the main hall, but of course… there would definitely be two people there. Bebe and Nisse.

“Linley,  Delia,  what  a  coincidence.  You  came  as  well.” Someone walked over from by Linley’s side. It was Nisse’s older brother. “Salomon  [Sa’luo’meng],  it  is  rather  coincidental.”  Linley laughed. “Come, let’s go have a drink.”

Salomon, as Nisse’s older brother, was a Highgod-level expert. However…Linley guessed that this Salomon was a very ordinary Highgod. This was because the most powerful people on this mission were the three Five Star Fiends and the Six Star Fiend.

Linley’s group headed straight towards Bebe and Nisse, who were currently joking and teasing each other.

“Ninny, tell me, why are you girls so beautiful and yet so foolish?”  Bebe sat there on the chair, staring at the nearby Nisse.

Nisse considered for a moment, then immediately said, “Oh, I know.”

“Adorable Ninny, please speak.” Bebe looked at Nisse. Nisse  wrinkled  her  little  nose,  then  said,  “Women  are beautiful so as to let you men fall in love with us. As for why women are foolish…it’s to make me fall in love with you!”

Bebe stared. “You are foolish, thus you fell in love with me?”

“If I wasn’t foolish, why would I fall in love with you?” Nisse had an innocent, puzzled look on her face.

“Oh!”  Irritated, Bebe slapped his head. Why was it that he could never overcome Nisse in these debates?

The nearby Linley and the other two, hearing this exchange, couldn’t help but begin to laugh.

Bebe turned his head, looking at Linley in surprise. “Boss.”

“Heh heh, you keep chatting. We’ll sit over here.”  Linley laughed as he spoke. All of the tables here were fairly small, circular tables. They could sit three people. Even four people would find it to be rather crowded.

Linley, Delia, and Salomon sat down in a corner of the hall.

“Linley, Bebe really is rather adorable.”  Salomon laughed. And then, he paused for a long moment, as though considering something. Suddenly, he stretched out his Godrealm, covering Linley and Delia within the reach of his Godrealm.

“Huh?” Linley and Delia looked at Salomon, puzzled.

Salomon laughed, “Delia, Linley, there’s something I want to tell you. However, I can’t let others hear this. Thus…I am completely shutting out the sound.”

Linley and Delia looked towards Salomon in astonishment.

What was there to be so secretive about? “There are very few people who know this rumor. However, over these six years, my little sister and your little brother, Bebe, have become quite close to each other. And so, I’m going to tell you this rumor.” Salomon’s face grew very solemn.

“Rumor?” Linley and Delia were both puzzled.

Salomon said slowly, “Do you know where this escort mission started off from?”

“Started off from?” Linley frowned. “Wasn’t it in Royalwing City?”

“No.” Salomon shook his head. “Based on what I have heard, the escort mission started off in the distant Peakstone Prefecture!”

“Peakstone Prefecture?” Linley was greatly shocked. Peakstone Prefecture was a prefecture in the west part of the Redbud Continent, while Nightblaze Prefecture was in the center of the Redbud Continent. As for the Rainbow Prefecture, it was in the east part of the Redbud Continent.

“Right.” Salomon said solemnly. “According to rumor, on the way over, the escorts suffered an enemy attack on the way over, and virtually all the Fiends died. Only a few were left. Therefore, the employer hired another group of Fiends in our Royalwing City.”

Linley and Delia were both shocked.

“You  knew  this,  but  you  still  came?”  Linley  immediately discovered a problem in this.

“First  of  all,  it  is  only  a  rumor.”   Salomon  immediately laughed bitterly as he spoke. “And second of all, I only heard this rumor half a year ago.”

Linley immediately came to the conclusion; everyone had headed out six years ago. Since Salomon had heard it only half a year ago, then it seemed he had heard this from others in the metallic lifeform.

“This is just a rumor.” Linley said.

Salomon shook his head, lowering his voice. “Don’t disbelieve it. Think about it. Why would they have us gather in the restaurant and be afraid to let us openly and publicly gather at the main gates? We waited until nightfall, then quickly and stealthily slipped into the metallic lifeform. Before we even had a chance to get our footing, the metallic lifeform immediately began to move.”

Hearing this, Linley began to think that it made sense.

“Therefore, it’s best to be cautious.” Salomon said softly. “If we really run into any danger, those enemies won’t be too vicious to us. We can immediately scatter and flee. Saving our lives matters the most. The failure of the mission just means that we won’t get compensation.”

Linley and Delia both nodded slightly. 

And then, Salomon released his Godrealm. The two began to casually chat and drink.

Suddenly…

A divine sense swept across the entire metallic creature! Linley and Delia didn’t notice it at all. Only, Salomon’s face changed dramatically, and he let out a low growl, “A divine sense scan?”

“Divine sense scan?” Linley was shocked as well.

Chapter 3, Probe

Linley, Salomon, and the others instantly disappeared from the round table, reappearing at the translucent window. They all looked out through the translucent window…

In mid-air, there were hundreds of figures standing there, with the leader being a tall, slender figure with hair that was graying but a face which was exceedingly handsome. He seemed like a young man, and he had a sword on his back.

“Carrying a sword on his back?” Linley was puzzled.

In the Infernal Realm, very few experts would carry their weapons on their bodies. Most of them would keep them stored in their interspatial rings.

“So many Highgods!”  The handsome youth’s face suddenly changed slightly as well. As the leader of an extremely famous bandit group within a circumference of a million kilometers, he knew exactly which caravans could be robbed and which ones could not. 

“Lord, shall we attack?” A God behind him said quietly.

The handsome youth didn’t hesitate at all, immediately turning. “Attack? Your brain has problems. Everyone, retreat!” Instantly, the hundreds of bandits all fled downwards at high speed.

As for the metallic lifeform, without being affected at all, it continued to make its way forward.

Within the metallic creature.

Linley’s group returned to their original seats, and that Salomon laughed calmly. “Looks like I was a bit too nervous. Those bandits are far more cowardly than I had imagined. Those people immediately fled before our people even went outside.”

Linley laughed as well. 

Just then, he really had been quite startled.

When Salomon had said there was a divine sense probe, but he himself hadn’t discovered it, naturally that meant that the prober was a Highgod. To Linley, a Highgod was someone he had to be cautious about.

“Mr. Salomon.”  Delia laughed. “Don’t worry too much. No matter how powerful the bandits are, our metallic lifeform has Mr. Learmonth, right? With him, it’s not necessary for us to worry.” Delia wasn’t too worried.

Salomon nodded in agreement.

“Delia, you can’t say that.” Linley said.

“Oh?” Delia looked at Linley. Linley warned, “Bandits groups are virtually all made up of Gods. Generally speaking, bandit groups that have a Highgod are top of the line groups. If a bandit group is so powerful as to have multiple Highgods, then the number of Gods in that group will also be exceedingly large.”

Salomon and Delia both nodded.

They all saw how that bandit group just now had a single Highgod, but hundreds of others.

“If they really attack, true, we don’t need to fear the experts amongst them, as Learmonth and the others will deal with them. But with enemy forces being so numerous, we might be faced with the combined attacks of a large group of Gods.” Linley said resignedly. “After all, we only have a hundred or so Gods.”

Delia just came to this realization.

If they truly ran into a chaotic group battle, then how many people could Learmonth kill by himself at the same time? And even if he was able to save Linley and the others, perhaps he wouldn’t even care to.

They were neither family nor friends; why save them?

“It seems it is still best for us to be careful.” Delia said.

“Boss,  what  are  you  all  talking  about?”   Bebe  and  Nisse walked over together.

When Linley looked at Bebe and Nisse, he couldn’t help but start  to  laugh.  “Bebe,  I’ve  discovered  that  you  and  Nisse actually look rather similar.”

“What?”  Bebe looked confused, and then a look of sudden understanding appeared on his face. “Oh, I get it. Boss, have you discovered that you and Delia also look rather similar?”

Linley was startled. He couldn’t help but share a glance with Delia. 

Husband and wife would naturally have a bit of the same aura.

“This is known as, ‘spouses look alike’. Thus, Nisse and I look rather  similar.”  Bebe’s  eyes  fluttered  as  he  looked  at  Nisse. “Nisse, am I right?”

Nisse snorted, but her eyes had a hint of delight in them as well.

Linley and Salomon exchanged a glance, then laughed. Bebe and Nisse…it seemed the two of them really did have a possibility of being together.

……………..

The metallic lifeform’s journey was very peaceful. Linley’s group spent most of their time in training. Although Royalwing City and their destination, Bluemaple City, were four billion kilometers apart, that was if they travelled in a straight line. Linley’s group did not, however, travel in a straight line. They had to avoid some dangerous areas.

In the blink of an eye, another four years passed. In Linley and Delia’s room.

“Whew.” Linley opened his eyes.

Delia seemed to have sensed something, and she opened her eyes as well. “Linley, why did you stop training?”

“Delia,  I’ve  reached  a  bottleneck  in  my  training  of  the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’ in the Elemental Laws of the Wind.” Linley said with a strange expression.

“Bottleneck?  How  is  that  possible?”   Delia  was  greatly startled.

Generally speaking, only after reaching the very end would a bottleneck appear when one was training in a profound mystery of the Laws. During the early and middle stages, one might be slow but one wouldn’t encounter any bottlenecks.

“Linley,  last  time,  didn’t  you  say  that  it  would  take  you another twenty or thirty years to completely fuse them?” Delia asked.

“Delia, four years ago, I guessed that I would need another twenty years before reaching a bottleneck, and then a few more years to break through the bottleneck to achieve mastery!”  Linley  shook  his  head  and  laughed.  “But  I  was wrong. The profound mysteries of the Laws aren’t what I took them to be; I thought that the further I went along, the harder it would be.”

“I didn’t train in the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ aspects separately. I compare and contrast them against each other and train them together.”

“At first, it was true that I needed more and more time, but as I trained to the later stages and continued to compare, contrast, and hypothesize, my breakthrough speed actually increased. The ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ aspects are akin to two roads which first start off in opposite directions, and so the further you walk along them, the more distant each road will be come. However, when reaching a certain distance, the two will begin to draw close to each other. As you compare and contrast them, the two roads will draw nearer and nearer, and now, I’ve already reached the end stages of fusing them together.” Linley shook  his  head.  “Only,  I’ve  become  stuck  in  this  training bottleneck.”

Delia began to understand it generally.

As a God of the wind-style, Delia also had trained in the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ profound mysteries.

However, Delia was not able to make them fuse, nor did she understand…how the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ profound mysteries, seemingly opposites, could be fused together.

“Come, let’s go get some food.” Linley wasn’t going to try and force it. Upon reaching a bottleneck, he would first relax and then train later. “Another divine sense?” Linley suddenly frowned.

Just now, a God-level divine sense swept over the metallic lifeform.

Delia laughed. “On the way over, we’ve encountered so many probes. Even Gods dare to use their divine sense to probe us. Most likely, if they found that we are very weak, they would immediately come to attack and loot us.”

“Forget them.” Linley was irritated with these bandit groups as well.

The people in this metallic lifeform had become accustomed to the divine sense probes of these bandit groups. They couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to them. After all, they knew…that if they were to leave the metallic lifeform to attack the bandits, they probably wouldn’t be able to catch that many.

Today, yet another Highgod divine sense swept across the metallic lifeform. 

But the Fiends inside the metallic lifeform continued to drink, to train, to chat. Nobody cared.

“Everyone, disperse!”

A youth with curly silver hair led his hundred subordinates to rush down and flee, retreating into the depths of the mountain valleys below.

“Whoooosh!” The metallic creature didn’t slow down in the slightest, disappearing into the horizons.

But deep within a deep gorge.

“Drip, drip…”

Water flowed through the channels of a creek. “After waiting so many years, I’ve finally encountered you.” The youth with curly silver hair stood atop the pool of water. Behind him, a muscular black-robed man was standing respectfully.

“Hayde!” The silver-haired youth said coldly.

“Lord.” The black-robed man bowed.

The silver-haired youth said seriously, “Immediately notify young master Inigo [Yi’ni’ge]. Tell him that we have discovered the squad where those two old fellows are in. As long as the young master knows that the metallic lifeform passed by our place, he will easily be able to judge the general direction it will head in next.”

“Yes, milord.”

The black-robed man nodded slightly. Hundreds of millions of kilometers away from the silver- haired youth, within Red Orchid City, there was a hotel that had been completely booked by a group of hundreds of people.

In one of the courtyards within the hotel, there was a devilish youth with long, blood-red hair who was seated on a chair, flipping through a heavy tome. A nearby servant said respectfully, “Young master, Hayde is outside waiting to see you.”

“Hayde?”  The  blood-red  haired  youth  frowned.  “Who  is Hayde?”

“One of our messengers.” The servant said respectfully.

In the Infernal Realm, messages were usually carried by someone who had divine clones located in separate areas.

For example, one might be in the Nightblaze Prefecture, while the other might be in the Rainbow Prefecture. Although there was a distance of billions of kilometers, since the two clones really were the same person, anything one clone knew, the other one billions of kilometers away would also know.

This was a fairly normal form of communication in the Infernal Realm.

“We  finally  found  those  two  old  fellows?”   The  youth immediately was overjoyed. “Hurry up and have him come in.”

“Yes.”

A man who looked identically to the muscular black-robed man called ‘Hayde’ entered the courtyard, immediately falling respectfully to one knee. “Young master Inigo, Lord Padgett [Pa’ji’te] has instructed me to inform you, young master, that the metallic lifeforms carrying those two old fellows just passed by his location.”

“Oh?” Inigo was instantly overjoyed. With a flip of his hand, an enormous detailed map appeared on the table.

“Passed  by  Padgett?  Then  it  seems  the  squad  these  two fellows are travelling in will pass through this place, the Nisiwan [Ni’si’wan] Mountain Range. Since they’ve selected this route, then…” Inigo stared at the map, a hint of a smile on his face.

“The web I set up has finally found those two old fellows.”

Inigo nodded slightly. “I don’t know how strong the Fiends which those two old fellows have recruited are. Right. I first have to probe them.”

“Immediately   sent   a   message   back   and   tell   Vionnaz [Wei’ao’na]. Have him prepare his forces and immediately go to the area near the Bulu [Bu’lu] River. Those two old fellows will definitely pass through his area.” Inigo immediately instructed his servant. “Yes, young master.” The servant immediately acknowledged and left.

Right now, the only one left in the courtyard was Inigo.

Inigo narrowed his eyes slightly, murmuring, “Those two old fellows. They’ve taken all the wealth of their master’s clan and run all the way to the Redbud Continent. They definitely have major aims.”  And then, Inigo sneered coldly. “But no matter what they are aiming for, once I get the astonishing wealth which those two old fellows are carrying, I will benefit tremendously.”

Inigo’s face was all smiles.

“The ancient Boyd [Bo’yi] clan. How much wealth have they accumulated?” Inigo’s eyes were filled with intrigue.

“Inigo.”  Suddenly, an ancient voice rang out, and a silver- haired elder wearing a green robe entered the courtyard. “Oh, Teacher.” Inigo hurriedly said.

The green-robed silver-haired elder shook his head. “Inigo, you’ve brought so many people with you and spent so much money. If you end up getting nothing, then…”

“Teacher.” Inigo said in a quiet voice. “Don’t worry. If I fail, then the wealth I built up over all these years will be gone, that’s all. But if I succeed…Teacher, the Boyd clan is finished, but those two old fellows took all of their wealth as they fled.”

“The massive wealth accumulated by the Boyd clan over all those years.” Inigo’s heart trembled just thinking of it.

But the green-robed elder still frowned. “Inigo, think about it. If you had such an astonishing amount of wealth, why wouldn’t you hide? Instead, they invited all of those Fiends to escort them. It seems as though they are actually intending to return to the Jadefloat Continent.”

Inigo frowned. “As for this, I’m rather curious as well.” “If I were in their shoes, I would have fled and disappeared long ago.” Inigo laughed. “However, Teacher, no matter what, right now, we have already discovered their traces. As long as we kill those two old folks and seize their interspatial ring…”

“I hope you will be successful.” The green-robed elder said.

Chapter 4, Strength in Numbers

The metallic lifeform flew at a high, stable speed. Linley and Delia’s room. Linley was staring outside the window at the vast world. There were many humans, and also many beastmen, magical beasts, and other races of creatures.

“Those are all Saints.” Linley was able to judge.

In the Infernal Realm, the vast majority were still at the Saint-level. Countless Saints were spread across every part of the Infernal Realm. Only, their lives had no guarantees at all.

“If I had entered the Infernal Realm when I was a Saint, then…I would have been in trouble.” Linley couldn’t help but say to himself. “That Hodan…when I was just a Saint, he tried to lure me into entering the Infernal Realm. He definitely had bad intentions.”

“Linley, what are you thinking about?” Delia asked, puzzled. “Nothing.” Linley laughed and shook his head. “Delia, we’ve been on this metallic creature for over ten years now. Time has moved quite quickly.”

“Right. Ten years. Most likely, in another ten years, we’ll be at Bluemaple City. I hope that before you can reach Bluemaple City, you’ll have reached the God level in the Elemental Laws of the Wind.” Delia laughed.

“Let my divine wind clone also reach the God level?” Linley himself was not certain in his ability to do so. Breaking through a bottleneck could happen very quickly, but if it happened slowly…nobody could be certain as to how long it would take.

Just as Linley and Delia were chatting…

Salomon and Nisse were in a room together as well.

“Big bro, why did you want to speak to me?” Nisse laughed as she looked at her big brother. 

Salomon looked at Nisse. She was currently wearing a straw hat on her head which Bebe had given her.

“Nisse,  you  truly  wish  to  be  together  with  that  Bebe?” Salomon’s voice was very low and very solemn as he spoke.

Nisse’s smile slowly disappeared, and she nodded seriously. “Big bro, actually, I didn’t want to go to the Jadefloat Continent to begin with. Only, I didn’t want to part from you. When I think about those years we spent at the Jadefloat Continent and those attacks we suffered, I…” She couldn’t help but clench her fists.

Salomon sighed to himself, then said, “I understand. Now, I want to ask about you and Bebe. What are you planning?”

“Big bro, Bebe is a really good person. Although he occasionally likes to joke and play around, he is very sincere to others, and treats me very well. When I am with Bebe…I feel that I am very happy and carefree, without any worries at all.” Nisse had a smile on her face now. “Sometimes, when I’m not happy, Bebe will come coax me. Big bro, don’t just look at the way Bebe fools around. Bebe is actually exceedingly smart. Whenever I am even slightly unhappy, he’ll immediately know.”

“I like the feeling of being together with Bebe.” Nisse looked at her big brother. “Big bro, I’m sorry.”

Salomon said in a low voice, “Are you, no longer planning to go with me to the Jadefloat Continent?”

“I’m not going anymore.” Nisse shook her head.

Salomon maintained his silence. He had been together with his little sister, ‘Nisse’, for many years. Naturally, he couldn’t bear to part from her.

“Big bro, I’m sorry.” Nisse said quietly. Salomon shook his head and laughed. “The trip back to the Jadefloat Continent was going to be dangerous no matter what. This is for the better. You can be with Bebe for now. Once I return to the Jadefloat Continent and arrange everything, you and Bebe, when you have free time, can come to the Jadefloat

Continent to look for me.”

Nisse couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Big bro!” Nisse excitedly hugged her older brother.

“Heh heh.”  Salomon began to laugh. “It’s fine, it’s fine. But Nisse, when you and Bebe are together, you need to be careful. I won’t be by your side then.”

“Got it, big bro!” Nisse hurriedly said. “Don’t worry. By then, we will find an ordinary escort mission. It won’t be very dangerous. Look, we’ve been on this metallic lifeform for a dozen years now, but we haven’t encountered any dangers.”

“BANG!” Suddenly, the metallic creature shuddered, and both Nisse and Salomon’s bodies swayed.

“Whoosh!” The entire metallic creature shrank into a single human form, while all of the people within the creature were now hovering in mid-air. A hundred-plus people were all rather astonished. Many Fiends had been in the middle of their training, but right now, they were all startled awake.

At this moment…

Ahead of the hundred-plus people, there was a large number of Deities hovering in mid-air. The number was so high that the One Star Fiends and Two Star Fiends like Linley were all so frightened, their faces changed.

“Boss, how many people are there here?”  Bebe stared with round eyes. “It seems like there’s roughly ten thousand.”  Linley’s heart clenched. “Nearly ten thousand experts, and it seems all of them are at least Gods, while a few are Highgods! Such a large group, if they were to charge and attack all together, then the results…”

Linley’s heart grew nervous.

“Bebe, afterwards, we’ll come to this side. Delia, later, you use the Deathgod Golem.” Linley hurriedly instructed. “At this time, focus our efforts on preserving our lives. Let the Six Star Fiend defeat the foes.”

“Ninny, come over here.” Bebe immediately called out.

“Bebe.”  Nisse actually had a smile on her face. Clearly, she was rather excited at the thought of being together with Bebe. Salomon flew over as well, joining Linley’s group.

Salomon was somewhat worried as well. He said in a low voice, “This will be trouble. So many people. Even a Highgod will find it dangerous to deal with the combined attacks of hundreds of Gods, much less the nearly ten thousand we have here.”

“Everyone!”

A sonorous voice rang out in the air. “The reason you have stopped us is for the sake of money. Today, we don’t want to fight with you to the death either. There’s no benefit for either side in doing so. Name a price. As long as it is within our range of acceptableness, I will immediately offer it to you. Is this acceptable?”

The speaker of these words was the silver-haired elder with the three black horns.

At this moment, the silver-haired elder was cursing silently to himself. “This damn place, since when did it have a bandit group with ten thousand people? It even has twenty Highgods. I’ve never even heard of this group!”

“Haha…” The leader of the bandit brigade, a red-robed man, laughed loudly. “It seems you are rather straightforward. Then I won’t make things difficult for you either. We have a total of ten thousand brothers here. How about this. We won’t ask for too much. Just give us ten billion inkstones. What do you say?”

Ten billion inkstones!

This figure shocked the silver-haired elder upon hearing it.

“Ten  billion  inkstones?”   The  silver-haired  elder  stared somewhat disbelievingly at the red-robed man.

“Ten billion?”  Bebe muttered. “This asking price is really steep.”

Linley, upon hearing this figure, thought back to how he himself had a hundred million inkstones. “They immediately ask for ten billion inkstones. It seems the amount of wealth I have is nothing.” “My friend, ten billion inkstones is a bit too high, isn’t it?” The silver-haired elder’s tone of voice became slightly harder. “Ten billion inkstones, I cannot accept this price. How about we lower it a bit…” The silver-haired elder stared at the red- robed man.

The red-robed man had long, fiery red hair.

“Unacceptable to accept it?”

The red-robed man glanced around himself, laughing loudly. “Brothers, did you hear that?”

“Haha…” Many experts began to laugh.

The red-haired man suddenly shouted ferociously, “Kill them!”

“Kill!” “Kill!” “Kill!” “Kill!” The bandits simultaneously called out, while at the same time…

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

Ten thousand experts almost simultaneously launched their attacks, either using formless soul attacks or all sorts of material attacks. The entire sky was densely filled with countless swords images, saber images, elemental beasts, and more…

Covering the entire sky, these attacks charged towards Linley’s group.

The faces of all the Fiends couldn’t help but change.

Even someone as powerful as the Six Star Fiend, Learmonth, couldn’t take the combined attacks of on ten thousand Gods head-on at the same time. He was only able to protect himself and a few people around him. 

“Retreat!”

Linley growled, while at the same time he, Delia, Bebe, Nisse, and Solomon shot downwards at high speed. Although they retreated at high speed, the speed of the attacks was astonishingly fast. In almost an instant, the material attacks and soul attacks arrived.

Linley’s group relied on their dodging abilities to avoid, but the attacks were too numerous, too dense, and too fast!

“Swoosh!”  The Deathgod Golem emerged, blocking in front of Linley’s group. Two sword energy attacks smashed viciously on the Deathgod Golem’s body, and the superficial layer of skin and flesh on the Deathgod Golem split open, revealing the metallic body underneath it, which wasn’t damaged at all.

However, multiple soul attacks completely bypassed the Deathgod Golem, easily going straight through its body. “Delia.”  Linley directly interposed his own body in front of Delia’s, and a soul attack struck into Linley’s body.

“Ninny.” Bebe did the same for Nisse.

Nisse, for a moment, was completely stunned.

The first wave of attacks passed.

“Linley,  are  you  alright?”   Delia  was  somewhat  worried. Linley turned and laughed towards her. “Delia, don’t you know how powerful I am yet?” Linley was specialized in soul defense. How could a soul attack launched from so far away harm him?

“Bebe, Bebe.” Nisse was frantic with worry, and her eyes even began to tear up. “Bebe, are you alright?”  Nisse was at the point of tears. Although she and Bebe had known each other for a long time, they had never faced any threats, and so she didn’t know how powerful Bebe was. All she knew was that Bebe was just a God.

Bebe  just  grabbed  her  by  the  waist.  “Let’s  run.  Stop blabbering.”  He charged downwards, while a look of delight instantly appeared on Nisse’s face.

“That kid.” Salomon nodded slightly in approval. “It seems I can entrust him with my sister.”

All of the Fiends had scattered.

“Haha, not one of you will escape. Kill, kill!!!” The red-robed man bellowed. Several Highgods took command over several units, running in each direction as they began their pursuit and slaughter of the Fiends. As for the ten or so other Highgods, they led nearly five thousand other Gods, heading towards that silver-haired elder who was the employer for this mission.

Actually, the employer wasn’t just that silver-haired, black- horned elder. There was another white-horned, silver-haired elder. 

The two silver-haired elders glanced at each other.

“Mr. Learmonth, the Edwards brothers, we’ll be relying on you.” The black-horned silver-haired elder said.

“Don’t worry.” Learmonth said calmly, while the three Edwards brothers were supremely confident as well.

Linley, Delia, Bebe, Nisse, and Salomon formed into a five- person party. They were currently being pursued by hundreds of Gods.

“They want to chase us?”

Linley, holding Delia by the hand, suddenly accelerated dramatically. It must be understood that at present, Linley had already reached a bottleneck in the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ profound mysteries. He was very close to the level of mastery. His speed was far faster than that of these ordinary Gods. 

Bebe’s speed was astonishing as well. He was also holding Nisse by the hand. As for Solomon, as a Highgod, he naturally caught up easily.

Soon, they threw off the hundreds of Gods chasing after them.

“Being  outnumbered  really  is  a  pain.”   Salomon  laughed sourly. Hundreds of Gods…if he were to fight them, he might indeed be capable of killing all of those Gods, but it was also possible that he himself would be the one to be killed. After all, there were simply too many Gods.

For example…

If ten soul attacks hit him at the same time, although he was powerful, he would still die.

“Bebe.”  Nisse’s  little  face  was  red  as  she  looked  at  Bebe. “Thanks.” Bebe immediately began to laugh. “Ninny, why thank me?

With the relationship we have, is thanks necessary?”

Nisse, seeing the look of teasing laughter on Bebe’s face, couldn’t help but intentionally let out a snort. Watching this nearby, Linley, Delia, and Salomon all revealed hints of a smile on their faces.”

“Another group of Gods. Let’s hurry up and leave.”  Linley immediately shouted through his divine sense. There were simply too many Gods here. They had just avoided one squad of hundreds of Gods, but now another one had noticed them. Linley’s group immediately began to flee again.

In terms of speed, they were still at a huge advantage.

Suddenly…

“Rumble…”  The entire world began to shake, and invisible spatial ripples spread out, causing the trees and stones that were hit by the ripples to directly turn into powder.

Linley’s group stared in mid-air in astonishment. Not just Linley; the all of the luckily surviving Fiends on the battlefield as well as the ten thousand bandits all raised their heads….

Learmonth was there in mid-air, sweeping his sword across. Ten-plus Highgod corpses fell down from the sky at same time.

“Whoosh!”  “Whoosh!”  Of those ten-plus Highgod corpses, eight divine clones suddenly emerged from within them and began to flee in every which way.

Chapter 5, Sword Intent

Instantly, the entire battlefield fell silent.

Over ten Highgods had actually been killed in a single blow.

This was simply inconceivable!

“How is this possible?” Linley stared with wide eyes. “Even if it was a soul attack, he would at most be able to hit one person. How could ten Highgods simultaneously fall from the skies? What happened just now?” Linley now regretted it.

Regretted not having seen that sword attack.

“Flee!”

“Flee!”

The divine clones that had emerged from eight of those Highgod corpses began fleeing in terror in every which way. After having witnessed the power of that sword, none of them had any courage to fight again.

“Too powerful. Too frightening.”

These Highgods now truly had the fear of death in them.

“Fleeing?”  Learmonth watched calmly as those eight divine clones fled, a hint of a cold smile at the corner of his lips.

Suddenly…

He drew his sword!

In that instant, eight rays of black sword shadows sliced through the air simultaneously, attacking in eight different directions towards those eight fleeing divine clones. Those eight divine clones continued to move forward, but their bodies were bisected, then fell down from the skies. Blood splashed everywhere in the air.

“That sword!”  Linley’s pupils shrank, and in his mind, he frantically began to think about that sword.

That terrifying, nearly invincible sword!

In Linley’s mind, the image of that sword flashed through as fast as lightning. That sort of extremely fast sword which had the ‘intent’ of an exploding volcano. In the instant the sword had been drawn, the power of the technique had been completely, explosively released…it was utterly unblockable. Wherever the sword shadow passed, destruction came with it.

“Is this the Way of Destruction?” Linley hurriedly shook his head. “It doesn’t seem like it. It seemed like…”

In his mind, Linley was frantically trying to deconstruct that attack on a deeper level, the more he analyzed it…with each minor insight Linley gained, the more questions he had as well. 

By now, the leader of this bandit group, that muscular, red- robed man, had fled long ago. Just now, he had been calling out for combat and killing, but he only had his subordinates attack. He himself stayed in the back, not charging forward to attack at all. When he saw that destructive sword, he had

immediately chosen…

To flee!

“What a terrifying fellow. That sword was capable of simultaneously  killing  ten-plus  Highgods!”   The  red-robed man’s heart was filled with terror. “If I had been slightly slower, most likely I would have been killed by that frightening Fiend as well. How could these two old fellows have invited such a powerful Fiend?”

The red-robed man’s eyes narrowed slightly. “This Fiend is so formidable. It seems that this time, we’ll need to invite the young master’s teacher, ‘Mr. Wind’, to personally get involved.” “Hmph.”   The  red-robed  man  glanced  backwards.  “These idiots. Did they think the money of me, Vionnaz, was so easily earned? They were able to make money, but they weren’t able to spend it. Unfortunately, the twelve Highgods that the young master gave me as subordinates all died as well.”

The red-robed man was Vionnaz, one of Inigo’s subordinates.

As for the bandit army, Vionnaz had spent money to invite several major bandit organizations to form a single group. After all, Vionnaz had led twelve Highgods, while the other bandit organizations all combined only had seven or eight Highgods.

In particular, Vionnaz had given them an enormous sum of money.

These bandit groups naturally had joined up. In recent days, they had joined forces to waylay quite a few groups.

“I need to hurry back to let the kid immediately inform the young  master.”  Vionnaz  immediately  flew  back  towards  his own residence.

With two divine clones being in two locations, communications naturally were quite fast. Inigo was thus easily kept abreast of the situation regarding Linley’s metallic lifeform.

After the leaders of the bandit group were slaughtered, and especially after Learmonth’s sword attack, all of the bandits lost their willpower and they began to flee in every direction. Instantly…not a single bandit group was now left.

“They really ran quite quickly!” Bebe snorted.

“This   Learmonth…”    Even   Salomon   was   shocked   by Learmonth, standing in mid-air. Learmonth’s face was cold and calm, as though nothing had happened. Indeed, to Learmonth, this sort of small battle was nothing at all.

“Linley?” Delia called out softly. But currently, Linley was completely lost in his own world as he pondered on that astonishing sword attack. How could he notice Delia’s call?

“Hey,  what’s  going  on  with  the  Boss?”  Bebe  noticed  that Linley seemed strange as well. The nearby Nisse laughed. “Bebe, could it be that your Boss was scared silly by that sword of Learmonth’s?” Nisse teased intentionally.

Bebe gave her a stare. “What do you know? My Boss probably had some insight.”

At this moment, Linley returned to wakefulness.

“Linley, are you alright?” Delia felt that the look on Linley’s face was rather odd.

“I’m fine.”  Linley shook his head and laughed. “Just now, I was thinking about a few things. I actually thought that I was about to make a breakthrough, but I was wrong.” Linley glanced at the distant Learmonth, his eyes filled with astonishment and puzzlement. “That sword…” Linley was also a sword-wielder, and his soul was shaped as a sword.

With regards to the concept of a sword’s ‘intent’, he had his own thoughts as well.

“I’ve only just mastered the basics of the Essence of Fire, and haven’t even become a Deity. Most likely, I guessed wrongly.” Linley was still lingering over those lightning-fast eight sword attacks. At his current level of power, Linley was not capable of seeing through the profound truths of that sword.

The  nearby  Salomon  laughed  and  said,  “Linley,  are  you shocked by Learmonth’s sword? Indeed, the sword attack by Learmonth just now was definitely at an extremely high level of the ‘Way of Destruction’.”

“Way of Destruction?” Linley raised an eyebrow. “What, weren’t you able to sense the aura of the ‘Way of Destruction’?” Salomon asked.

“I sensed it.” Linley said, but didn’t follow up.

“If  Linley  sensed  it,  why  is  he  surprised?”  Salomon  was somewhat puzzled, but he didn’t speak it aloud.

Immediately, the lucky, surviving Fiends all headed towards Learmonth and the black-horned silver-haired elder. Soon, more than fifty Fiends gathered around them.

The black-horned, silver-haired elder and the white-horned, silver-haired elder looked at each other, a hint of worry in their eyes. They had already begun to guess…the reason why so many bandits had come to waylay them. It must be understood that generally speaking, when a bandit group discovered so many Fiends, they wouldn’t attack.

The black-haired elder said loudly, “Everyone, I didn’t expect that we would encounter so many bandit attacks on this trip. I truly am sorry. In such a short time, more than sixty Fiends have died. Thankfully, Mr. Learmonth as well as Edwards and his brothers were here…”

“When  we  reach  Bluemaple  City,  we  will  add  additional money to your compensation.”

The black-horned elder said, and then a golden light flashed as the metallic lifeform once more formed in mid-air. However…the metallic lifeform was now clearly smaller in size.

The Fiends once more filled it, entering the metallic lifeform.

Soon, the metallic lifeform headed out once more. Fiends lived a life on the bloody edge of a blade to begin with. These Fiends who had lived for countless years only wanted their lives to be more exciting and to reach the peak of power in the Infernal Realm. To them, life and death…

Right, death was something they didn’t wish to face, and when they encountered any dangers they weren’t able to resist, the Fiends would flee. 

But when death truly came, they wouldn’t be in terror.

After all, ever since they became Fiends, every single one of them had become mentally prepared for that possibility!

“The black-horned elder has a bit of a conscience. He knows he should increase our compensation.”  Bebe snorted. “I keep on having the feeling that this escort mission isn’t simple.”

Linley nodded as well. “Right. Only, when we took on the mission, the only thing we noticed was that more than a hundred One Star Fiends and Two Star Fiends had been recruited. Who would have imagined…that there were Four Star Fiends, Five Star Fiends, and even a Six Star Fiend taking part  as  well!”   Linley  understood  that  this  sort  of  ‘group mission’ was divided into different parts.

It was much like the battle at Moon Lake Castle. Linley’s group was responsible for dealing with gold-robed guards, while the powerful Highgod Fiends were responsible for dealing with black-robed guards as well as the castle’s master.

This mission, with a Six Star Fiend involved, wasn’t a simple one either.

“Everyone  is  already  on  board.  What  is  there  to  think about?” Salomon shook his head. “If just now, when facing the attack of the bandits, taking the chance to flee would have been one thing. But right now, we are already aboard the metallic creature. If we want to leave and retreat now, once this gets out…we’ll lose face.”

Spineless, fearful cowards.

They would definitely become a laughingstock.

“Everyone, calmly train.”  Linley said seriously. “No matter what, even if we encounter enemies, the primary target isn’t us. It is the black-horned elder and the white-horned elder. We just need to work hard to protect ourselves.”

Linley didn’t have any intention of protecting their employers. After all…

Those two elders were both Highgods, while Linley himself was just a God.

“Right.”

Everyone nodded, and then scattered towards their own rooms to begin training. In this room, only Linley and Delia were left.

“I wonder why those two old fellows chose us, these Gods, to participate  in  the  mission.”   Linley  was  still  filled  with confusion. “Forget it. Protecting Delia and Bebe is enough.” Linley looked at Delia, and then closed his eyes and began to train. “I hope that in a short period of time, I’ll be able to quickly break through this bottleneck in the Profound Truths of Velocity. That way, I’ll be able to protect us better.”  Linley chanted to himself quietly.

Red Orchid City. Within a courtyard in a hotel.

Inigo received the news that had been delivered from his subordinate, VIonnaz. He couldn’t help but frown. “I didn’t expect that those two old fellows actually invited such a powerful Fiend. To have trained to such a level in the Way of Destruction means that he is most likely a Five Star Fiend or a Six Star Fiend.”

Inigo didn’t dare imagine that it would be a Seven Star Fiend.

This was because Seven Star Fiends were ultimate experts with their own titles. They didn’t lack for money, and they were at the top of the rankings as Fiends. They generally wouldn’t take on missions. “Inigo.” The green-robed elder suddenly appeared in the courtyard again.

Inigo, seeing this person, immediately stood up and said respectfully,  “Teacher,  the  results  of  Vionnaz’   mission  is already known…” Inigo immediately told the results of that battle in detail to his teacher.

The green-robed elder frowned. “Oh? Trains in the Way of Destruction, and killed ten Highgods with one sword? Power like  this  is  indeed  hard  to  oppose.”  The  green-robed  elder, although somewhat worried about the power of this opponent, didn’t feel that things were hopeless.

“Teacher, do you feel confident?” Inigo said softly.

The  green-robed  elder  said  in  a  low  voice,  “Since  he’s accepted a mission, then this Fiend shouldn’t be a Seven Star Fiend. Since he is a Six Star Fiend…I should be able to defeat him. However, based on the power of that sword attack you described, the attack of that Fiend is simply too powerful. I still can’t take it on head on.” “No need to take him head on, Teacher. You only need to kill those two old fellows.” Inigo said hurriedly.

The green-robed elder nodded slightly. “If that’s the case, then I am confident. I just need to separate the Fiends from them for a time.”

“Then I’ll entrust everything to you, Teacher.”

The green-robed elder laughed calmly.

Linley, in his room, continued to train for nearly a year.

“Huh?” Linley opened his eyes. “Why do I feel uneasy all of a sudden?”

For some reason, Linley suddenly felt some restlessness in his heart. Linley immediately took a deep breath, letting himself calm down. 

Delia opened her eyes as well. “Linley, what is it?”

Through the window, Linley looked at the outside. “Nothing. Only, while I was training, I felt my mind grow uneasy for some reason.” Right now, the area below the metallic lifeform was a boundless desert. The wild wind howled and desert sand filled the skies.

The metallic lifeform continued to fly at high speed.

“You felt it also?” Delia said in surprise. “I felt some unease as well.”

At this moment, the metallic lifeform was completely covered by yellow sands. Originally, the metallic lifeform’s Fiends didn’t care about the sand, but…for that instant the metallic lifeform was covered by sand, the entire metallic lifeform suddenly, in the blink of an eye…

“BOOM!” Blew apart!

Chapter 6, The Ancient Castle of Sand

The metallic lifeform had completely exploded, and the Fiends that had been inside instantly became surrounded by the boundless sands. Each grain of yellow sand seemed to weigh a million kilograms, and Linley was completely surrounded by sand, completely unable to move.

“Delia!” Linley couldn’t help but try to grab Delia’s hand.

“Linley!” Delia also wanted to grab Linley’s hand.

“Whoosh!”  Boundless amounts of yellow sand swirled over.

Linley was completely unable to control himself.

“What  is  this?!”   Linley  wanted  to  break  free  of  the constricting binds of the yellow sand, but Linley was completely unable to resist that strange, unusual binding energy. In an instant…’boom!’ Linley was thrown to the ground. Linley immediately stood up, staring around him. “This… what  is  this?”  Linley’s  heart  was  filled  with  questions  and puzzlement.

This was a massive, ancient-looking structure formed completely from yellow sand. Linley, when raising his head, was only able to see the enormous roof formed from yellow sand, and was unable to see the sky at all. This was an enormous edifice made completely from yellow sand, which Linley was now trapped within.

What astonished Linley the most was…

“Nobody. There’s nobody around me. Where is everyone?” Linley stared around himself.

But within this edifice of sand, not a single person could be seen.

Linley spread out his divine sense, but was shocked to find…“How is this possible? My divine sense, even in the Infernal Realm, can cover an area of a hundred meters. But why is it that in this damn place, it only spread to ten meters?” Linley was shocked.

“My divine sense is being affected?”

Linley  began  to  understand.  “Can  it  be  that  this  sand construct is a space of its own?”

Although Linley had discovered that nobody was here, he was still able to sense one person – Bebe! Bebe and Linley’s souls were linked. No matter how far away they were, they would still be able to sense the other’s existence.

“Boss, how are you doing? I’m in a sand-formed building. I can’t see anyone. Everyone seems to have disappeared.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind.

Their two souls were connected. They didn’t have to speak using divine sense; they could speak through their souls. Linley, hearing Bebe’s words, began to understand. “Bebe, my situation is the same as yours. This is an ancient structure completely made out of sand. I can’t see a single person within. Bebe, be careful…I have the feeling that we are in a special dimension.”

“Right, got it.” Bebe replied. “Boss, I’m going to start heading in your direction.”

“Alright.” Linley could sense Bebe as well.

The two would always be able to sense the general direction of the other. Naturally, they could draw closer to each other, even if they weren’t able to see each other.

“This  sand  structure?”   With  a  flip  of  his  hand  Linley withdrew Bloodviolet.

“Swoosh!”  Linley flew into the air, the Bloodviolet in his hand suddenly moving at a high speed. A ray of violet light flashed, and the roof of the sand structure rumbled, and a small pile of yellow sand was smashed and fell down. 

However, the yellow sand roof only trembled, then quickly returned to its normal calm.

Linley’s face changed. His Profound Truths of Velocity had already reached a bottleneck. This most powerful physical attack in his possession, the ‘Dimensional Decapitator’, was now many times more powerful than it had been when he was in the Yulan continent. But it hadn’t been able to budge this castle of sand at all.

“What a bizarre power.”  Linley frowned. “A strange energy has completely infused this yellow sand.”

“This strange place…”  Linley didn’t waste any more time, immediately drawing closer to Bebe.

“Boss, this damn place is too weird. I have no way of getting over. There are no paths in front of me, and the walls are too weird. I can’t break them apart at all. Whenever I break them apart  slightly,  the  yellow  sand  will  move  back.”  Bebe  said frantically. 

Linley couldn’t help but feel surprised.

“Bebe, wait.” Linley continued to move in Bebe’s direction as well.

The enormous sand structure had many openings and many corridors. It was like an enormous maze. Linley, after walking a while, discovered that there was a dead end in front of him, a wall formed from yellow sand. Linley could clearly sense that Bebe was right there, but he was unable to cross over.

“Bebe,  my  path  has  also  been  blocked  by  a  wall.”  Linley frowned, turning to stare at his surroundings.

“So  many  roads  and  passages?”  Linley  couldn’t  help  but think back to the Yulan continent, and a type of entertainment he had seen there; mazes.

In mazes, there were many corridors and avenues. However, there was only a single true pathway. If one took a single wrong step, one wouldn’t be able to exit the maze.

“Could it be that this structure made out of sand is a maze?” Linley guessed to himself.

“No other choices. For now, let’s just treat it as a maze.” Linley immediately began to walk along other roads. While walking, he thought back to the previous pathways he had taken. Given Linley’s visualization abilities, if he knew the rough locations of the corridors, he would be able to eventually extrapolate the correct pathway.

“Bebe, this strange place is most likely a maze.” Linley said to Bebe mentally.

“Maze?” Bebe was greatly shocked.

“Right.  Think  of  a  way  to  draw  closer  to  me  from  a roundabout way.”  Linley continued to memorize every single corridor; if he went down a wrong pathway, he would immediately turn back. 

“So it’s a maze…fine, I’ll definitely find the right path.” Bebe was very frantic as well. Both him and Linley had people they were worried about. Linley was worried about Delia, while Bebe was worried about Nisse.

………..

Twenty or so people were together, with the leader being Inigo and his teacher.

“Teacher, for you to reach such a level in the Elemental Laws of the Wind…most likely, there’s only a few people in the entire Infernal Realm who can do this.”  Inigo’s face was all smiles, and he spoke respectfully.

The green-robed elder laughed calmly. “Stop flattering me. This is the one and only ultimate technique that I have. In terms of pure power, that Fiend is perhaps still somewhat more powerful than me. Whew…he really is powerful. He broke open the walls of my ‘Castle of the Winds’ in a single sword blow.” “So what if he broke them open? You can change the walls as you  please,  Teacher.”   Inigo  knew  well  how  powerful  this technique of his master’s was.

Seven powerful Elemental Laws, and Four Edicts.

Of them, the Elemental Laws of the Wind had the most connection to space. In particular, when several of the profound mysteries were fused, the mastery over space would become even greater.

“They think this is a maze?”  The green-robed elder knew exactly what was happening within this ‘Castle of the Wind’. He discovered that many Fiends were beginning to search for an exit in accordance with the rules for dealing with a maze. “Right,  it  is  a  maze,  but…it  is  a  maze  that  I  can  change whenever I want to!”

The green-robed elder laughed calmly. “Inigo, lead your men and begin the attack. I will work with you.” “Yes, Teacher.” Inigo immediately led his men out.

Inigo and twenty-plus Highgods easily entered. Even if they encountered walls, when they drew near, the walls would naturally separate, revealing a corridor. For Linley, it was the opposite…and so, Inigo’s group had no impediments within the castle at all.

In addition, they even had the guidance and cooperation of the green-robed elder.

Linley was walking at high speed, while the map of the maze in his mind was growing more and more clear. Linley couldn’t help but reveal a hint of a smile on his lips. “It seems I’m almost about to make it out of this maze.”  Linley felt very confident.

But suddenly, Linley’s fast footsteps came to a halt.

“How is that possible?” Linley stared at the wall in front of him, his face instantly changing dramatically. “No, there shouldn’t be a wall here. I just walked past here a while ago. This place should have a corridor,  and  there  was  a  pillar  here!”  Linley  immediately turned to look. There was indeed a pillar.

“The  pillar  is  still  here,  but  the  corridor?  Can  I  have remembered wrongly? Impossible!”

Linley shut his eyes, that clear map appearing within his mind. These were all places he had walked past.

“Impossible. I couldn’t have taken a wrong route.”  Linley immediately headed back towards another direction. “There should be a corridor with an opening up this way. I just passed it.” Linley murmured. But as Linley reached the place where there should have been an opening, Linley was stunned.

In front of him…

There was indeed a large corridor, but there were no openings. 

“What is going on? I…I can’t have remembered wrongly.” Linley couldn’t help but rub his head, constantly pondering the routes he had just taken. “I can’t have remembered wrongly, but these places are all…”

Linley’s face suddenly turned pale.

“This..this  ancient  maze,  can  it  be  that  it  is  changing?” Linley had a sudden feeling of hopelessness. A maze would have a chance for one to leave it, but if the maze was constantly changing, what was one to do?

“Boss, I’m at the place you just were.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind. “I don’t know what’s going on. Just as I reached a dead end, the wall suddenly disappeared and a corridor appeared. Boss, hurry over. I don’t know where I should go right now.”

Linley, staring at the now-disappeared ‘gap’, laughed bitterly. “Bebe, I…I won’t be able to get back to my original location.” “Delia.”  Linley’s heart was filled with worry, but he had no options.

As Linley and the other Fiends were all frantically searching for an escape route, Inigo’s forces stealthily took their lives one at a time!

“This  damn  place…how  am  I  supposed  to  leave?”  Swaid [Sa’wei’te] was a Four Star Fiend who had taken on this mission, an expert who was at the Highgod level. When he had seen the Six Star Fiend, ‘Learmonth’, as well as the three Edwards brothers, he had been overjoyed.

He had believed that he wouldn’t be in any danger.

However, right now, there was nobody nearby he could rely on. He could only rely on himself.

“It isn’t a maze. It should be something created by an extremely powerful expert of the Elemental Laws of the Wind.” Swaid’s heart was shivering. “To be able to reach such a level in the Elemental Laws of the Wind…he must have fused at least half of the nine profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of the Wind.”

Swaid knew that an expert on that level was definitely not someone he could overcome.

Suddenly…

The yellow, sandy wall next to Swaid suddenly cracked open, and two figures scurried in, charging towards him. A wave of heat surged towards him, as well as an icy aura that attacked his body.

“Not good.” Swaid’s face changed dramatically.

At the same time…

A human figure in the yellow sand next to Swaid suddenly emerged, and a narrow sword pierced straight towards Swaid. Three Highgods had joined forces to kill Swaid! In addition, this was a sneak attack. Swaid was only just barely able to recover in time to block the two enemies in front of him, but the third person easily stabbed him with the sword. In the blink of an eye…

“Prepare to attack the next one. Oh. Be careful. There’s two up ahead. One is a Highgod, while the other is a God. The two of them actually ran into each other. You three, head towards the tunnel up ahead…” The green-robed elder’s voice rang out in the ears of the three.

Although this Castle of the Winds was very strange, it had taken in quite a few Fiends, so it was normal for one or two of them to occasionally meet up.

These three Highgods glanced at each other. They laughed.

With the help of this Castle of the Winds, killing was utterly effortless. In particular, they had the advantage of numbers and of stealth. The green-robed elder walked forward. “The wealth of the Boyd clan? It seems it is about to fall into my hands.”  The green-robed elder knew exactly where those two employers were located. With but a single step, the green-robed elder entered the sand.

The black-horned elder was currently hovering in mid-air cautiously.

“There’s  actually  an  expert  of  such  a  level…”  The  black- horned knew exactly what this castle was. Naturally, he didn’t dare to draw near to the ground or to the walls. Otherwise, once the enemy ambushed him suddenly from the ground, he wouldn’t even have the time to react. “It seems this time, we are in trouble.”

“Hrm?”

The black-robed elder suddenly turned his head to stare towards a distant corridor. He saw Linley, dressed in that earthen yellow robe, carefully moving forward. “It is him. He seems to be called Linley.”  The black-robed elder was somewhat surprised.

Chapter 7, To Choose

Linley walked in the middle of this changing castle, exceedingly worried. “This damn place is constantly changing. There’s no way I can find the exit. In addition, there are enemies attacking and ambushing from within!” Linley clearly remembered seeing the corpse of a Fiend earlier.

Upon seeing the corpse, Linley immediately understood that this ancient castle wasn’t just meant for trapping people.

There were people lying in ambush here!

Actually, Linley should have understood this long ago. Only, he didn’t dare to think about it. “Ambush? Assassinate? Bebe and I are a bit better off. I have a soul protecting Sovereign artifact, while Bebe has treasures bestowed upon him by Lord Beirut. He shouldn’t have any problems staying alive. But Delia, she…alas. I shouldn’t have been in such a rush. I should have let Delia reach the Highgod level first before heading out.” Linley was filled with regret.

“If Delia were to be killed…” Thinking of this, Linley grew even more worried.

In truth, Delia trained in the Elemental Laws of the Wind, and had already mastered six of the profound mysteries, and had a Deathgod Golem with her. Although her abilities at staying alive were inferior to that of Linley and Bebe’s, she still had some degree of ability.

Only, Linley himself remained worried.

“The enemy is definitely extraordinary, to be able to create this bizarre castle. Everything else aside, Delia hasn’t reached the  Highgod  level  yet.”  Linley  carefully  yet  speedily  moved through the castle, hoping that he would run into Delia within.

But suddenly…

“Huh?” Linley reached an opening, then out of the corner of his eye, saw someone hovering in mid-air.

“The  black-horned  elder?”  Linley  immediately  recognized him. That black-haired elder clearly had seen Linley as well, as he looked over towards him.

But right at this moment, the gentle wind suddenly took solid form, transforming into a green-robed elder. The green-robed elder had a hint of a smile on his face. He glanced sideways at Linley, not worried at all. “A God actually ran here as well.”

To the green-robed elder, a God was someone he could kill in an instant. Given his status and stature, he couldn’t be bothered to care about Linley at all.”

“You are…?”  The black-horned elder saw the green-robed elder appear out of thin area, and his face changed dramatically.

The green-robed elder glanced calmly at the black-horned elder before him. “You truly are bold. For you and your brother to abscond with the enormous fortune of the Boyd clan is one thing, but…I didn’t expect that after so many years, you two would dare to turn back. What, you wish to return to the Jadefloat Continent?”

The black-horned elder’s face changed, and then he chuckled in a ‘relieved’ manner. “That year, my big brother and I fled from the Jadefloat Continent. We thought that no one had detected us. This time, we only invited so many Fiends out of an abundance of caution, but I wouldn’t have expected that you would come!”

The green-robed elder let out a disdainful snort.

“You want to acquire the fortune of the Boyd clan? Haha…”

The black-horned elder suddenly raised his head and laughed loudly, then stared at the green-robed elder. “Keep dreaming. For us two brothers to dare come on this trip means that we naturally came fully prepared. Even if you kill both of us, you won’t be able to obtain the treasures of the Boyd clan! You… will never get it!” The green-robed elder’s face suddenly sank.

He had followed his student, Inigo, from the Jadefloat Continent through the Starmist Seas to the Redbud Continent. It was all for the sake of the fortune of the Boyd clan.

“Hmph. Once I kill you, I’ll know.” The green-robed elder, with a wave of his hand, summoned forth a longsword that looked like a silver thread. This was a flexible sword, but compared to Linley’s ‘Bloodviolet’ sword, it was even thinner and even lighter.

“Prepare  to  die.”  The  green-robed  elder,  confident  of  his status, would usually notify his opponent before killing them.

As soon as the black-horned elder had seen the Castle of the Winds, he had understood how powerful the opponent was.

Although he himself was also a Highgod, compared to the person in front of him, the difference was considerable. 

“You want to kill me? I will make you pay a price.” The black- horned elder had already made up his mind to die here. Bellowing, he made a black heavy sword appear in his hands. Instantly, the air around the black heavy sword began to twist, and a black light shot out in every direction.

Linley, seeing these two Highgods about to battle, couldn’t help but feel startled. “I’d better run. If I get involved in this, I’ll  be  finished!”  Linley  didn’t  hesitate  at  all,  immediately running towards the direction of one of the other corridors.

Although he was moving quickly…

“Bang!”

The first clash by these two Highgods caused the black- horned elder’s body to be sent flying towards Linley’s direction at high speed. “Huh?” Linley couldn’t help but feel stunned. Raising his head, he watched as the body flew towards him.

But with a flip, the black-horned elder righted himself, standing up. Just now, one of the divine clones of the black- horned elder was killed.

“You want to kill me?” The black-horned elder was now fully aware of how great their difference in power was. One of his clones had just been destroyed, and he now only had this one left. “Clan master, your old servant didn’t let you down. Only, in the future, your old servant won’t be able to toil on behalf of the young master any longer.”

“Bang!”

The black-horned elder’s long blade, carrying an earth- splitting force, transformed into a black blade shadow, causing space to distort and leaving behind nothing more than a faint blur. “Haha…you just had one of your divine clones die. I want to see how many you have left!”  The green-robed elder laughed wildly, and then Linley only noticed a hint of a beautiful silver flash. Wherever those rays of silver light flashed past, space itself began to form extremely tiny cracks.

Linley was shocked.

“Cracks?  Cracks  in  space  in  the  Infernal  Realm?”  Linley found it hard to believe.

“Boom!”

The black-horned elder was only able to block a single silver ray of light; afterwards, his entire body was criss-crossed by the multiple remaining rays of silver light. His body was chopped into multiple parts which fell down from the skies. In particular, the interspatial ring on his left hand was sent flying downwards.

At this moment… “Interspatial  ring?”   Linley  had  a  thought.  He  absolutely could collect this interspatial ring for himself.

“Can I take it?”

The black-horned elder’s interspatial ring definitely had an enormous fortune within it. Linley was certain of this. As one of their employers, a person capable of inviting a Six Star Fiend, the amount of wealth this black-horned elder had was definitely staggering. Only, was he able to collect it?

Linley looked at the distant green-robed elder, then without hesitating at all, immediately fled.

“I wouldn’t be alive to spend it.”

Linley fled at high speed, quickly traversing thousands of meters, disappearing from the green-robed elder’s field of vision. Only, every location within this castle was under the control of this green-robed elder. Naturally, he knew exactly where Linley had gone. The green-robed elder chuckled. “This God didn’t let greed cloud his judgment.”

If Linley had stolen that interspatial ring, even if the green- robed elder originally would have had disdained killing Linley, a God, the green-robed elder would have personally intervened to retrieve the ring. At that point, Linley would have had no chance at all.

“What does he have inside?” The green-robed elder landed, then collected his interspatial ring while binding it with blood.

The green-robed elder’s face changed greatly. “Hrm? Only thirty billion inkstones. How is that possible? As little as that?” The  green-robed  elder  couldn’t  believe  it.  “Impossible.  The fortune of the Boyd clan was built up over countless years. Even the tiniest part of it would exceed this amount.”

Perhaps to Linley or to ordinary Highgods, thirty billion inkstones was an enormous fortune.

But… To the green-robed elder and other such experts, it was nothing more than a small sum of money. If you were to compare these thirty billion inkstones to the entire fortune of the Boyd clan…that would be like a single hair on the bodies of nine bulls! It must be understood…that within a city, a single hotel was worth tens of billions of inkstones.

How could the fortune of the Boyd clan be compared to a single hotel?

“No. There’s also that white-horned elder.” The green-robed elder’s eyes were cold. “The wealth is definitely on him.”  But when he sensed the location of that white-horned elder, his face changed dramatically. “Not good…that Fiend is about to draw close to the white-horned elder.”

Learmonth’s face was cold and callous. Wielding his longsword, he walked calmly through the castle as though he was just talking a stroll in his own garden. When he encountered any yellow sand walls, he would still walk straight through them, completely ignoring the walls in front of him. His sword would flash!

“Crunch!”

The yellow sand walls were all directly destroyed. Learmonth himself moved like an illusion, passing through the empty hole, while the yellow sand wall immediately recovered afterwards.

“Hmph.” Learmonth turned to look coldly towards the side.

“Swish!”   Like  a  bolt  lightning,  his  sword  chopped  out towards the distant yellow sand wall. Instantly, fresh blood exploded out from the yellow sand wall, and a corpse fell down from within the wall. The eyes of the corpse were filled with shock, as though he couldn’t believe that Learmonth had noticed him.

Learmonth continued forward. Nobody could block his advance!

“I know you can hear me.”  Learmonth said while walking. “You might as well come out. Do you believe that I am unable to break through your spatial castle?”

“Crunch!”

Yet another sword chop flashed out against the impediment in front of him, and Learmonth’s body swayed yet again, appearing on the opposite side of that way.

“Ah,  Mr.  Learmonth.”   The  white-horned  elder  stared  in astonishment and joy at Learmonth, whose face revealed a rare hint of a smile.

“I was a step behind.” The green-robed elder was hidden only a few hundred meters away from the white-horned elder, in a room. “This one named Learmonth? His attack power is truly frightening. With but a casual attack, he is able to generate such power. If he were to truly explode forth…” The green-robed elder had extraordinary experience. Of course he could tell that Learmonth had yet to use his ultimate attack.

Generally speaking, extremely powerful experts like them would stake their lives on their ultimate attacks, which usually consumed a great deal of spiritual energy and divine power. Thus, unless a critical moment came, these ultimate experts generally wouldn’t want to use their ultimate attacks.

“That damnable fellow.” The green-robed elder immediately came to a decision. “Right now, all I can do is find more Highgods and have them attack the white-horned elder, while I personally go entangle that Learmonth for a while.”

The green-robed elder understood that there was no way the other Highgods could entangle Learmonth.

But to kill the white-horned elder, only a few Highgods needed to join forces and sneak attack him. That was all that would be needed. 

………………………..

As the battles continued unabated within the castle of sand, the number of Highgods grew lower and lower.

Salomon stood calmly in mid-air.

“I hope Nisse is fine.” Salomon was still worried in his heart.

“Swoosh!”

Suddenly, from the nearby wall, two figures appeared who shot straight towards Salomon, their wild releases of energy causing space to shudder.

“Hmph!” Salomon, with a flip of his hand, emitted multiple rays of black light. Those two figures let out miserable screams. One of them suddenly smashed against the floor, never to move again, while the other fled into the yellow sand walls, disappearing.

“Want to kill me?” Salomon chuckled.

The battles continued, and one Highgod Fiend after another fell.

“Aside from that terrifying Fiend, there are four Highgods that are hard to deal with.” Inigo heard the reports from his subordinates and began to frown. He didn’t know that those four extremely hard to deal with Highgod Fiends were the Edwards brothers and Salomon!

Star rank didn’t necessarily, completely testify as to one’s strength.

For example, a powerful Fiend might only be a One Star Fiend as he might have just taken the Fiend trials. But that didn’t mean his power was only at the one star level. Salomon was a good example. On the surface, he was only a Four Star Fiend. But his true power?

Not all Fiends could be judged by their star rank.

“No need to deal with those Highgods. There’s no profit from them.”  Inigo gave the order. His real goal was just those two old fellows. There was no need to kill all of the Highgod Fiends.” For now, no need to join forces. Attack as you please. Deal with all of the God-level Fiends.

For Highgods to kill Gods, naturally there was no need for them to join forces.

“Yes, young master!”

The Highgods disappeared into the yellow sand.

With this order being given, the God-level Fiends within the castle fell into grave danger, including Linley, Bebe, Delia, Nisse…

A crisis had descended!

Linley carefully walked through the yellow sand, his hands, legs, neck, and head all covered with an earthen yellow membrane. He looked as though he were a metal warrior. Linley had already used his ‘Pulseguard Armor’ to protect every part of his body.

“Swoosh!”  An explosive sword shadow suddenly descended upon Linley from the side!

Linley only felt as though suddenly, he had transformed into a tiny boat that was currently being rocked by the wild waves of the ocean.

Chapter 8, Many Dangers

“A Highgod!”

Linley glided away like a bird in flight, gliding away alongside that explosive burst of sword energy while at the same time, the adamantine heavy sword appeared in his hand. Wielding it as though it were weightless, he sent it slamming over…and a multiple meter long earthen yellow sword shadow chopped out.

Pulsating Essence Attack!

This was a type of material attack developed after fusing the ‘Essence of the Earth’ and the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’. It was primarily reliant upon the ‘Essence of the Earth’, with the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ supporting it.

Compared to the ‘Voidwave Sword’, it was the opposite; the Voidwave Sword was primarily reliant on the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, while the ‘Essence of the Earth’ supported it. “BANG!”

The two forces collided, and the wild explosive force backlashed onto both. Linley borrowed that backlash force to flee, while the golden-haired youth also took a few steps back. He stared in astonishment at Linley. “What a powerful sword. A God actually has such strength!”

This gold-haired youth was not angry; he was instead delighted.

These Highgods didn’t have much interest in killing God- level Fiends, but now this Highgod did. Just based on that sword alone, Linley was qualified to have him treat this fight seriously.

“Swoosh.” Launching himself upwards, the Highgod shot out like an arrow, piercing through the air at high speed in pursuit of Linley.

Linley, fleeing in front of him, had already begun moving at his maximum speed early on, but the enemy behind him continued to draw closer. “This Highgod is so fast, and also, it seems he is a wind-style Highgod as well.” From the opponent’s previous attack, he could essentially sense that the opponent was a wind-style Highgod.

“Haha, flee?”

The gold-haired youth pursued at high speed while reaching out with his left hand, clawing at the air.

“What’s   this?”    While   fleeing,   Linley’s   face   changed dramatically. His body seemed to have been bound by countless thin threads. Although Linley was still able to flee, a restrictive force seemed to act upon him. Even his speed fell down by half!

“This  is  the  Profound  Mysteries  of  Dimensional  Space!” Linley instantly realized what this was. He had seen Delia often use this technique against others. But now, Linley was the one who had been hit.

“Terrible!” Linley’s heart was filled with worry. “The power of this Highgod in using this technique is much greater than Delia’s.”   Linley  knew  that  the  strength  of  an  attack  was connected to one’s divine power. The same type of profound mystery at different levels of divine power had different strength levels.

In the blink of an eye, the gold-haired youth reached a distance of less than ten meters from Linley.

“You won’t be able to run!”  A loud laugh rang out, and a strange ripple spread over Linley. Linley’s speed dropped yet again, and in his heart, he was shocked. “The Godrealm of a Highgod!”  Linley knew long ago that facing a Highgod was extremely dangerous.

Although there was a chance for victory, he only had a tiny chance.

“In terms of profound mysteries, this gold-haired youth is a Highgod who knows all nine profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of the Wind. I can only hope that he hasn’t fused any of the profound mysteries.”  Linley knew that the only chance of success he had was…a soul attack! 

“The Voidwave Sword must not fail.”

Linley had continuously fled upon meeting this gold-haired youth; he didn’t use his Voidwave Sword at all. Linley didn’t dare to rashly unleash it; he had to seize the best opportunity to kill the opponent in one blow. Otherwise, given the difference between him and his opponent, the opponent could easily rely on his speed to use a material attack to kill Linley.

Thus…

It was one thing to not unleash his ultimate attack, but if he was to unleash it, he had to succeed.

“Either you die or I die.”  Linley continued to grit his teeth, constantly thinking up new ways to flee.

However, now that he was bound by the ‘Dimensional Wind’ and the ‘Godrealm’, and given that Linley’s speed was lower to begin with and was now only a third of his normal speed, the difference between them was so great…that unless something unexpected were to happen, the outcome of this battle was predetermined.

“Swish!”  Linley’s  body  suddenly  came  to  a  halt.  His  face changed dramatically as he stared in front of himself.

In front of Linley, behind him, and above him, there were ten ‘gold-haired youths’. This gold-haired youth had actually created nearly forty doppelgangers, completely encircling Linley.

“The situation just got worse.” Linley was frantic. “The forty doppelgangers…which one is the real one? Bebe isn’t present. I’m unable to determine which one is real. What should I do?” Linley gripped the adamantine heavy sword, looking cautiously about him.

The gold-haired youth had transformed into nearly forty doppelgangers to encircle Linley. “Haha, in front of me, you still want to run? Your speed is too slow, too slow.” The gold-haired youth chuckled.

Linley warily watched his opponent.

“Haha, die.”  The gold-haired youth chuckled, and then the nearly forty doppelgangers almost simultaneously struck out. Instantly, Linley was completely covered by knife-edge palm attacks. Linley was completely unable to dodge; his only choice was to take the attacks head on!

“He…looks down on me.”  Linley, seeing this, was laughing coldly in his heart.

Doppelganger was one of the nine profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of the Wind. This Doppelganger Technique created bodies that had the aura of the original body. Generally speaking, others would find it very hard to tell the true body from the false bodies. This was an exceptional technique for fleeing. But as for attacking, it was weak. The Doppelganger Technique was meant for fleeing or to be used against weak experts.

After all, the strength of each doppelganger was far inferior to that of the main body.

The doppelgangers of Highgods, in terms of strength, wouldn’t be much stronger than that of Gods.

“Hmph. A single doppelganger’s attack might not be strong, but the combined attacks of thirty-plus doppelgangers are considerable in power. In addition, my main body’s knife-edge palm attack is included as well.”  The gold-haired youth was completely confident. “This fellow is just a God.”

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

In an instant, the many knife-edge palms landed on Linley’s body. Linley in total was hit by twenty eight palm blows, and had been only able to dodge ten of them. Of the 28 palm blows, twenty seven of them landed on Linley’s ‘Pulseguard Armor’ and collapsed, while leaving Linley’s ‘Pulseguard Armor’ completely unharmed. But the twenty eighth palm blow landed directly on Linley’s body.

“CRUNCH!”

The Pulseguard Armor cracked open, and Linley’s chest was struck by a vicious blow that all but went through his chest. Blood splattered outside, while his shattered white bones were revealed as well. This blow that split apart the ‘Pulseguard Armor’ had been launched by the gold-haired youth’s real body!

The gold-haired youth was surprised. Linley’s ‘Pulseguard Armor’ was simply astonishing.

“A defensive Highgod artifact?” The gold-haired youth chuckled. “Unfortunately, you are a God. A defensive Highgod artifact in your hands won’t be used to maximum effect.” The gold-haired youth was disdainful. “Crackle…” Linley’s ‘divine power’ in his body bubbled out, immediately healing his wound. At the same time, the ‘Pulseguard Armor’ on his body once more reformed. As long as his divine power remained, this ‘Pulseguard Armor’ could instantly recover.

“A defensive artifact?” Linley, in his heart, was disdainful. “So this is the true body!”

From that attack just now, Linley was instantly able to tell which of the bodies in front of him was the true body.

“Already healed?” The gold-haired youth was astonished. He immediately realized that Linley wasn’t using a defensive artifact, but rather a material defense.

“Haha…your material attack isn’t bad, and your material defenses  aren’t  bad  either.”   The  forty  gold-haired  youths circling Linley all spoke out. “A pity.” After speaking, the nearly forty gold-haired youths instantly moved as one. Right now, whether the youth attacked as one or en masse didn’t make much of a difference to Linley. 

From that exchange just now, Linley was already certain as to which one was the real body.

The gold-haired youth’s speed was far greater than Linley’s. He easily and continuously changed directions as he drew near Linley.

“This brown-haired kid has a powerful material attack and defense. It seems I’ll have to kill him with a soul attack.” The gold-haired youth made up his mind. “I refuse to believe that the soul defense of a God can be very powerful!”

“Death take you!”  The gold-haired youth calmly lashed out with a sword blow, causing tiny tremors to appear in the air as well as a low humming sound.

Linley’s eyes narrowed. “My only chance!”

“Rumble…”  Linley’s adamantine heavy sword struck out as well with his most powerful attack…the Voidwave Sword! 

“Clang!”   Linley’s  face  suddenly  changed.  His  Voidwave Sword had met no opposition at all as it struck into the enemy’s head. The enemy’s attack, in turn, didn’t carry any soul power at all.

“What?” Linley suddenly had a bad feeling. “Vibrations!”

A strange sort of vibration directly entered Linley’s brain. This strange vibration first clashed against that soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, the translucent scaly membrane around his soul, then shattered and dispersed.

Linley had managed to withstand the attack, but the enemy…

“Aaaah!”  The  Highgod’s  entire  body  swayed,  a  low  growl emitting from his lips.

Although this Highgod had become a Highgod on his own, and had an extremely pure soul and strong defense, in the face of Linley’s ‘Voidwave Sword’, created from the fusion of two profound mysteries, his soul still trembled and a large amount of spiritual energy immediately collapsed.

He immediately became woozy.

“Die!”  Howling  angrily,  Linley  followed  up  with  another sword blow.

The adamantine heavy sword struck directly onto the dazed gold-haired youth.

“BANG!” The gold-haired youth’s soul was no longer able to withstand it, and it directly collapsed.

“Swoosh!” A figure suddenly appeared from within the gold- haired  youth’s  corpse.  “Another  one?”  Linley’s  eyes  turned wide, but as if by reflex, he lashed out yet again…

Once again, the Voidwave Sword! 

“BANG!” That figure collapsed as well.

Only now did Linley sit down.

Having executed three ‘Voidwave Sword’ attacks in a row, Linley’s spiritual energy had been nearly exhausted. Actually, when he executed the third ‘Voidwave Sword’, Linley had already begun to feel his head split.

“I was too nervous. The divine clone of that gold-haired youth was just a Demigod clone. It wasn’t worth me using the Voidwave Sword at all.” Linley glanced at the divine clone, then laughed inwardly at himself. “Fortunately, that fellow finally died.”    Linley   directly   collected   the   gold-haired   youth’s interspatial ring, divine spark, and divine artifact.

And then, Linley ran a few hundred meters away, enduring the pain in his head. He found an unassuming location and immediately retrieved an amethyst. “The Voidwave Sword uses up far too much spiritual energy.” Linley stored the amethyst into his Coiling Dragon ring, which immediately refined it, causing surges of golden fog energy to enter Linley’s consciousness. The dry, parched sea of consciousness once more began to throb with spiritual strength.

“Whew.”   The  head-splitting  pain  began  to  subside,  and Linley let out a long breath.

“Facing a Highgod really is dangerous.” Linley, thinking back to that battle, said to himself, “If that gold-haired youth had instead relied on his speed and material attacks to come at me repeatedly, he absolutely would have killed me.”

Linley quickly came to a conclusion based on the results of that battle.

“Those  who  become  Deities  on  their  own  will  have  their souls nurtured and transformed repeatedly by the natural Laws, and so will have exceedingly strong soul defenses as well. Just gold-haired youth just now was able to take a hit from my ‘Voidwave Sword’ without dying. It seems as though in the future, I must be careful.” Linley became all the more cautious.

Linley had narrowly escaped the last attack, but the other Fiends wouldn’t be so lucky. How could it be easy for a God to overcome a Highgod?

Linley was someone who had fused two profound mysteries of a Law, which was extremely rare amongst Gods. And more importantly…Linley had a damaged soul-protecting Sovereign artifact which negated the gold-haired youth’s attack. Otherwise, how could Linley’s soul have withstood it?

“Big bro isn’t here, and Bebe isn’t here either.”

Nisse was filled with panic. She took one careful step after another through this castle of sand. Just now, she had discovered the corpse of a Fiend. Clearly, this castle of sand was filled with life-threatening dangers.

Soundlessly, a skinny, callous male figure suddenly appeared from the wall behind NIsse. 

“This little girl isn’t bad. I’ll kill her first.” The callous man said quietly to himself. Just now, he had killed three God-level Fiends. In front of him, God-level Fiends weren’t able to fight back at all. Looking at Nisse in front of him, the callous man laughed to himself. “Let me end your life.”

Chapter 9, Blue Water Drop

As danger had descended upon her, Nisse’s heart suddenly trembled, and she couldn’t help but turn to look.

“Ah!”  Nisse  was  so  terrified,  her  face  turned  as  white  as parchment, while at the same time, in her terror, she raised her speed to the limit, fleeing forward.

“You want to run?” A hint of disdain was in the eyes of the callous looking man. He immediately activated his ‘Godrealm’, and Nisse, who had been moving at high speed, instantly became restricted and slowed down. Nisse was only a God, and in her heart, she began to feel terror. “Bebe, big bro, where are you?”

As she faced death, her thoughts were of Bebe and Salomon!

At this moment, Nisse was right in the middle of a corridor opening. “Bebe!” Nisse’s eyes immediately lit up. To her right, roughly a hundred meters away, a figure appeared. It was Bebe, wearing his straw hat, his face filled with delight. But when he saw Nisse suddenly appear, he also saw that behind her, there was a Highgod.

Bebe’s facial expression instantly turned to that one of terror!

“A pity. I won’t make it in time.”  Nisse could already sense the cold air of the sword energy behind her. Her eyes were filled with a hint of unwillingness and regret. “Bebe, actually, right now, I just want to say a few words to you and hear your voice.”

In this castle of sand, Gods were only able to stretch their divine sense out for less than ten meters. How would they speak through divine sense?

Bebe’s eyes were filled with terror!

“No!” Bebe cried out in a fierce voice. They were a hundred meters away, and he was extremely fast, but that Highgod wasn’t any slower than him. More importantly, the Highgod was too close to Nisse. “Ninny, no!!!” Bebe was filled with rage and regret.

In the same instant Bebe saw Nisse.

Linley was making his way alone through the castle of sand, which was filled with danger everywhere.

Linley had just undergone a vicious battle. After a short recovery time, his strength had returned to peak condition. Suddenly, a look of delight appeared in Linley’s eyes. “Bebe. You aren’t too far away from me. Right in front of me, there is a road heading close to your direction. It’s possible that we will meet.”

“I have a corridor in front of me as well. Boss, I’ll head over as well.” Bebe was extremely excited.

Linley didn’t imagine that although at first, when he had intentionally tried to meet with Bebe, he was unable to, after that vicious battle, just by casually walking around, he would draw closer to Bebe.

“Swoosh!” Linley began to move quickly.

Passing through curved hallways, he entered a corridor which headed straight towards Bebe.

“Haha, Bebe!”

Linley already saw the familiar figure wearing a straw hat at the end of the corridor. It was Bebe.

Linley and Bebe were roughly three hundred meters or so away from each other. They were each at the opposite ends of the corridor. As for this three hundred meter long corridor, it had three or four exits and branching corridors as well.

“Haha, Boss, I see you!” Bebe said, his face excited. “I see you too.” Linley’s heart was filled with excitement. He couldn’t help but unconsciously speed up even faster. “Please don’t let another wall suddenly appear in the center of this corridor.” This was what Linley was worrying about; he had to come together with Bebe.

That way, he wouldn’t be separated from Bebe again.

“Swoosh!”

Roughly ten meters ahead of Linley, a figure suddenly appeared from a branching corridor.

“Whoah, that scared me.” What Linley feared the most was that a wall would appear, blocking him off from Bebe. “She is?” Linley’s face instantly changed dramatically.

It was Nisse, who was being pursued and attacked! Nisse saw that to her right, a hundred meters away, Bebe was present. But she didn’t realize that to her left was Linley!

Bebe had been lost in his excitement at the coming reunion with Linley, but when he suddenly saw Nisse being pursued, his heart instantly turned ice cold. His excited, lively eyes suddenly became filled with terror. “Nooooo!” A fierce cry rang out!

It had been so many years. Bebe had never fallen for a girl.

This was the first time he had. Although Bebe liked to joke around, in his heart, he had sworn that he would accompany this adorable girl for his entire life.

It was a very simple, pure thought. But Bebe had always kept it in his heart.

Bebe wasn’t able to rescue her in time! But. Linley was!

“Highgod!” Linley saw that a few meters behind Nisse, there was the figure of a skinny, cruel man. Instantly, his face changed.

After the last battle he had undergone with a Highgod, Linley knew very well…that although he had fused two profound mysteries and a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, when fighting with a Highgod, his chance of victory was less than 50%. If the enemy was cautious, the chances of Linley dying would be extremely high!

If he was to save her, he would have to use his ultimate attack. Acting so hastily, it would be very hard for him to kill the opponent. Once the opponent saw Linley using his ultimate attack, he would definitely grow cautious, and most likely Linley himself would be finished.

But if he didn’t save her, Linley might be able to find a better opportunity to kill the man in one blow! “Nooooo!” Linley could completely sense Bebe’s terror, sense Bebe’s soul shudder. His soul and Bebe’s soul were linked. Linley could clearly sense…the trembling of Bebe’s soul.

He didn’t hesitate at all!

“Kill!” A fierce look suddenly flashed in Linley’s eyes, and the adamantine heavy sword in his hand slashed out in a perfect arcing line, and then a semi-translucent sword shadow that was a faint yellow color flew out of the adamantine heavy sword, striking directly towards the skinny, cruel-looking man.

Soul attack – Voidwave Sword!

As Linley attacked the enemy without any hesitation, the terrified Bebe also let out a fierce howl, while at the same time, an enormous illusion of a Godeater Rat appeared behind him. The mouth of the illusory Godeater Rat opened as it stared coldly at the skinny, cruel man.

Innate divine ability – Godeater! 

The skinny, cruel man had been chopping down with his sword towards Nisse, but Linley was very close to him, and the Voidwave Sword attack instantly struck towards him.

“Not good!”

The skinny, cruel man’s downward chopping sword blow instantly transformed into a blocking scrape. As he didn’t know how strong the opponent was, the skinny cruel man immediately used his own most powerful soul attack, and an illusion of a green, electric serpent appeared, flying out from his sword.

The Voidwave Sword and the illusory electric serpent clashed.

“BANG!”

The illusory electric serpent vanished, while the Voidwave Sword trembled twice, then vanished as well. 

“So  powerful!”  The  skinny,  cruel  man’s  heart  shook.  The opponent’s soul attack was actually on a level comparable to his own; to be precise, it was actually slightly more powerful. If this illusory sword attack had truly struck his soul, he probably would have had his soul dissipated.

Right as he was feeling stunned…

A strange ripple suddenly encapsulated his entire body. This was the innate divine ability, Godeater.

The skinny cruel man’s body went stiff for a moment, but a moment later, he broke free.

“Ugh!”  The distant Bebe spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale as well. He only had the power of a God, but he wanted to use the Godeater ability against a Highgod? There was only one possible outcome. This Godeater ability was very unique! If it succeeded, it would devour and take away the opponent’s divine spark, and the opponent wouldn’t be able to resist at all.

But if it failed, the opponent wouldn’t be harmed at all. In addition, the amount of spiritual energy this technique consumed was quite astonishing.

“There are two of them!”  Only now did the skinny, callous man notice Bebe.

“What an unusual attack.” The skinny, callous man immediately began to treat Linley and Bebe as major foes. However, in the skinny, callous man’s heart, the one he was concerned about the most was Linley. This was because Linley’s Voidwave Sword was already at a level of power which could threaten his life!

“Bebe used the Godeater ability?”

Linley immediately ignored all else. Gritting his teeth, he took the opportunity to once more strike out with his adamantine heavy sword, launching his most powerful attack, the Voidwave Sword, once more.

But unfortunately, the impact of Bebe’s Godeater ability on a Highgod was too miniscule.

The skinny callous man’s sword once more emitted an illusory electric serpent, clashing once more with Linley’s Voidwave Sword. This spectacle was virtually identical to the one earlier. The two soul attacks once more cancelled out.

“Crackle.”

From the body of the skinny, cruel man emerged four deep- green lightning dragons. The four lightning dragons pounced straight towards Linley. Although the size of each lightning dragon wasn’t too massive, with all four charging over at the same time, Linley was completely unable to dodge.

“Die.”  The callous, grim man watched this calmly. “This is my most powerful lightning-type attack!” “Bang!” The Pulseguard Armor on linley’s body only resisted for an instant, then directly collapsed. Linley was sent smashing far away, with blood, flesh, and bones flying everywhere. His entire body had lost half of its mass as those lightning dragons had attacked Linley, trying to destroy him!

Bebe had just been delighted, but then upon seeing Linley immediately face death, he grew terrified anew.

“Boss!” Bebe’s eyes were filled with concern.

“Not good!” As Linley’s Pulseguard Armor was shattered, his body had immediately transformed. The divine earth clone and his main body immediately swapped, but despite swapping out quickly, Linley’s divine earth clone still only had half its body and a head left.

In the recent battles, Linley had used the divine earth clone. After all, the divine earth clone was the most powerful, and when using it to use attacks dependent on the Laws of the Earth, using his earth clone meant the attacks would be most powerful.

In this situation, Linley had to choose to switch bodies. After all, if his divine earth clone continued to take blows like these, the divine earth clone would most likely be shattered.

“I’ll have to see how strong my Dragonform’s defense is!” Linley’s original body was Dragonformed!

“BOOM!”

The four lightning dragons finally dispersed. Linley collapsed where he stood from the explosion, the azure-gold draconic scales covering his body broken and battered, and multiple spikes on his back shattered as well. His left arm had been completely blown off, while his waist had almost been blown through as well. “What astonishing defense!”  The skinny man couldn’t help but be amazed.

Actually, the attack he had used just now had used up nearly half of its strength in breaking through the Pulseguard Armor. At the critical moment, Linley had swapped out his body, using his main body in Dragonform to take it head on. Although it was very difficult, the defense in Dragonform was indeed exceedingly great, just slightly inferior to the Pulseguard Armor.

He was badly injured, but at least he had saved his life.

“What a talent.”  The skinny cruel man sighed to himself. Linley’s soul attack and his defense, despite being just a God… the skinny, cruel man understood that if Linley was born into a major clan, he would definitely be one of their most highly valued talents to be cultivated.

“Unfortunately, you’ll die in my hands.” The skinny man said to himself calmly. “Am I about to die?” Linley’s badly wounded body lay there on the ground. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of helplessness. There was indeed a great difference between himself and a Highgod. Once the opponent noticed his Voidwave Sword, then he probably would be finished.

“Crackle…”

Right at this moment…

Linley sensed that from within the Coiling Dragon ring, surges of unique energy began to fill his body. Linley’s body instantly was repaired, and the draconic scales and spikes on his back were all healed as well. At the same time, that unique energy filled his draconic scales, spikes, and every other part of his body, strengthening the power of Linley’s draconic scales.

On the surface of Linley’s draconic scales, a layer of azure light was shining.

“What is this?” Linley immediately filled the Coiling Dragon ring with his spiritual energy. 

“The three blue drops of water?” When Linley had become a Deity, the Coiling Dragon ring had a single golden drop of liquid as well as three blue drops of water within it. At that time, the golden liquid had transformed Linley’s Dragonform, while Linley had yet to find a use for the three blue drops of water.

But now, one of the three blue drops of water was emitting an azure energy that was filling Linley’s body, strengthening Linley’s Dragonform.

“Huh?” The skinny cruel man saw that Linley’s body had instantly healed. His face couldn’t help but change.

“Hmph.”

The skinny cruel man let out a cold sneer. His hands stretched out like claws, and six lightning dragons pounced towards Linley. “NO!!!!” The frantic, furious Bebe had already charged next to the skinny, cruel man, but he wasn’t going to make it in time to save Linley. Bebe’s heart was filled with regret and self-hate. If Linley were to have died due to saving Nisse, Bebe would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

“You can die together.”

Chapter 10, Meeting

“I feel so powerful!”

In a short amount of time, one of the three blue drops of water completely converted into energy, fusing with Linley’s original body, repeatedly strengthening Linley’s draconic scales. Linley’s scales defensive power was rising at an absolutely stupefying speed!

The three blue drops of water had now become just two.

“Huh?” Linley suddenly was startled into wakefulness. “Six lightning dragons?” Linley was shocked and frightened.

Six flashing lightning dragons bellowed and attacked Linley.

Before this, the attack of just four flashing lightning dragons had not only shattered the Pulseguard Armor but also had caused serious injury to Linley. Now there were six of them. Linley wasn’t able to form the Pulseguard Armor in time. The only thing he could do was…

“Swoosh!” Linley flew backwards, trying to dodge.

But how could a person’s movement speed compare to the speed of an attack?

“Bang!”

The six bellowing lightning dragons all smashed against Linley, and even the nearby walls of sand exploded from the collision.

“Boss!”   Bebe,  seeing  Linley  being  struck  by  those  six lightning dragons which exploded against his body, was terrified to the point of losing his mind.

“Don’t, don’t die.”  The distant Nisse’s heart was filled with terror as well. 

She didn’t know what to do.

“If Bebe’s Boss dies, Bebe will definitely be miserable. His Boss did this only for the sake of saving me.” Nisse could only stand there in the distance. She didn’t have any ability to interfere. This sense of helplessness filled Nisse’s heart with guilt.

Bebe, because Linley had been attacked, had lost his wits for a moment, but when experts were battling, how could they possibly lose their focus?

“Daydreaming in a battle?” The skinny man’s lightning-like sword flashed down viciously, striking against Bebe. Bebe’s body was sent flying away, while at the same time, an illusory electric serpent ignored Bebe’s defense, directly entering Bebe’s body.

A soul attack! “Huh?” The skinny man suddenly turned to look back.

After the explosion of the six lightning dragons, Linley was just standing there, azure light flowing atop his azure-golden draconic scales. Surges of power emanated from his draconic scales. The strength of his aura caused even the skinny man to feel terror in his heart.

“What…what is this aura?” The skinny man couldn’t believe it.

He was certain that what he feared right now wasn’t Linley himself, but rather it was the aura coming off of the draconic scales.

Linley’s cold, dark-golden eyes stared at the skinny man. His lips curved upwards slightly, and this skinny man was completely unable to ascertain if Linley was smiling or not.

“I…have to thank you.” Linley said calmly. The skinny man was stunned. Thank him?

Linley knew very clearly that if it hadn’t been for the skinny man nearly destroying his original body, which caused this ‘blue water drop’ to suddenly send its energy into his body and transform it, there is no way that Linley would have been able to utilize this blue water drop.

Currently, he had used up one of them, but Linley was still overjoyed.

This was because he could clearly sense that currently in Dragonform, he possessed incomparable, boundless strength! Absolute strength! Physical strength of the body!

“Boss!” Bebe’s delighted voice rang out.

“What?!”    The   skinny   man   turned   to   look   and   was astonished. Bebe had suffered his soul attack, but hadn’t died. “How is this possible. A mere God who suffered my soul attack didn’t die?” The skinny man was completely unable to accept this, but instantly, he had a thought. “Can it be, can it be that he has a soul protecting divine artifact?”

“Impossible. How can that be?”  The skinny man couldn’t believe this conjecture.

Soul protecting divine artifacts were very special!

They weren’t like ordinary swords, sabers, armor, and other artifacts which were easy to forge. In the entire Infernal Realm, there were exceedingly few people capable of forging ‘soul protecting divine artifacts’, and many Highgods didn’t have that sort of ability. The damndest thing was…there were no soul protecting divine artifacts for sale!

Linley’s group, upon arriving in the Infernal Realm, had yet to find a single soul protecting divine artifact for sale. If there were, Linley would have bought one for Delia long ago.

This was because once a person was killed, his soul protecting divine artifact would definitely be damaged as well. A damaged soul protecting divine artifact was generally useless.

Also…

There was more to it than that. Soul protecting divine artifacts weren’t made from special ores; they were forged from ‘spiritual energy’. For example, for Linley to repair his soul protecting Sovereign artifact, he had to use his spiritual energy to repair it. This was because…soul protecting divine artifacts were made out of spiritual energy to begin with.

Only, they had a rather special structure!

Because they were made out of spiritual energy, soul protecting artifacts couldn’t be easily tamed and commanded just through blood binding. There were many profound mysteries that were involved in these things! Only the original creator of the soul protecting divine artifact, by using some special methods, could allow for his soul protecting divine artifact to be used by others. Thus…

Anyone who had a soul protecting divine artifact had definitely received permission from the creator of the artifact.

And every single creator of a soul protecting divine artifact was, without a doubt, one of the ultimate experts of the Infernal Realm! Every single one was extremely accomplished in understanding the soul, and had reached terrifying heights.

“This kid with a straw hat…he has a major figure backing him up?” The skinny man came to this judgment.

“And that Draconian! The aura coming off from his body is so terrifying.”  The skinny man’s heart quivered. “What is going on. One has a soul protecting divine artifact, while the other has such terrifying defense.”

Right  now,  the  distant  Nisse  was  overjoyed.  “Bebe’s  Boss didn’t die. Bebe’s also fine. Wonderful, wonderful!” “Haha,  Boss,  let’s  kill  this  bastard  together.”   Bebe  said through their souls.

“Fine!” Linley was exceedingly happy as well.

The powerful strength he felt in his Dragonform caused Linley want to let loose.

“Swoosh!” Bebe’s dagger shot out like lightning towards the skinny man.

“Whoosh!” Linley launched himself from the ground.

Linley shot out like an arrow, exploding forward and moving so quickly that his body turned into a blur. Linley’s right leg danced out like a saber, chopping down with a fierce, azure- golden light towards the neck of that skinny man.

The speed was too fast! “Who cares who you are? Kill!!!” The skinny man was angry now as well.

“Clang!”

The longsword in his hand collided head on with the draconic scales on Linley’s right leg, creating a metallic ringing sound. After having absorbed a drop of that ‘blue drop of water’ and having been strengthened to a terrifying degree, Linley’s draconic scales were not one whit inferior to a Highgod artifact.

Linley’s body landed.

“How  is  that  possible?!”  The  skinny  man’s  face  changed dramatically. Today, he had been shocked too many times.

Bebe came howling forth as well. “You have a soul protecting divine artifact. Then, I shall use a material attack! The skinny man’s body once more emitted those four lightning dragons towards Bebe, who didn’t dodge at all, instead charging at high speed towards those four lightning dragons.

“BOOM!”

The four lightning dragons landed directly on Bebe, then dispersed, but Bebe wasn’t hurt at all.

“Die.” Bebe’s eyes were filled with murder.

“How is this possible?!” The skinny man’s mind was in utter chaos. Linley’s freakishly strong draconic scale defense, Bebe’s soul protecting divine artifact…and now, Bebe used his terrifying physical defense to blast through one lightning dragon after another. The skinny man was at the verge of insanity. “Who are you guys?!”

“Swish!” A metallic tail slapped over lightning-fast. 

“Clang!”

The sword and the iron-whip-like draconic tail clashed. The skinny man borrowed that force to retreat backwards. Ignoring all else, what he decided he needed to do was…flee!

“Freaks! Two freaks!” The skinny man cursed angrily. “Such freakishly strong defense, and a soul protecting divine artifact as well. Can they be two young masters from a major clan? But how can the young masters of a large clan come wandering around at the God-level, without a single protector?”

The skinny man knew very well. The Infernal Realm had existed for a long time, and within it, there were extremely ancient, great clans!

Those great clans were able to exist for countless years; naturally, they had power to rely on and special abilities. For the young masters of these clans to possess soul-protecting artifacts was very normal. Linley and Bebe’s performances were very much similar to that of those young masters of those clans.

Only, why would high and noble young masters get involved with this sort of escort mission?

“Big bro, kill him!” Nisse’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Huh?” The skinny man was suddenly startled into wakefulness.

However…

A ray of black light flashed past his eyes. The skinny man didn’t even have a chance to react before the dark black light entered his body.

The skinny man immediately collapsed. “Hmph!” Salomon stared coldly at the corpse on the ground.

“Big bro.” Nisse immediately ran over, throwing herself into Salomon’s arms and beginning to cry. “Big bro, just now I, I almost was killed by him. Sob…” After having experienced the terror of a near-death experience, then being worried for Linley and Bebe, she finally was no longer able to hold back her tears upon seeing her big brother.

“Don’t cry.” Salomon comforted her.

“Big bro, just now, if it wasn’t for Linley, I would be dead already.” Nisse lifted her head to look at her big brother. “Just now…” Nisse immediately explained everything.

Salomon, hearing his sister’s explanation, immediately turned to look at Linley. Upon seeing Linley’s Dragonform, Salomon was slightly surprised. However, his experience was much greater than his little sister’s, and he immediately bowed and said thankfully, “Linley, thank you. You saved my little sister’s life. I, Salomon Boyd, will never forget this!” Salomon Boyd. This surname one which Linley didn’t particular understand the importance of.

‘Boyd’ was a clan name which Linley had never heard of.

“Big bro…” Nisse stared in astonishment at her big brother, Salomon.

Her big brother wouldn’t easily reveal his identity. Why did he do so now?

“For the sake of Bebe, even if I had to risk death, I would rescue Nisse.” Linley said. At the same time, he returned to his divine earth clone, his body once more becoming covered with the Pulseguard Armor.

“Boss.” Bebe and Linley exchanged a glance.

“Let’s hurry up and go.” Linley said hurriedly. “I don’t know what the situation is with Delia.”  Linley was worried about Delia.

Immediately, Linley, Bebe, Salomon, and Nisse began to traverse this sand castle.

After having absorbed that blue drop of water, his Dragonform had quickly raised in power to yet another monstrous level. Linley had already made his decision.

“My main body’s Dragonform has an exceedingly strong material defense, while it also has a soul protecting Sovereign artifact. It has sufficient material and spiritual defense. In the future, if I face an ordinary Highgod, I am capable of killing them head on. However…the soul protecting Sovereign artifact is damaged!

Linley was still somewhat worried.

“Ordinary Highgods using a soul attack aren’t able to use it to seek out a weak spot. But in Moon Lake Castle, when I was hit by the soul poison of the Godslayer Arrow, the soul poison was actually able to search for the ‘weak point’ in my damaged soul protecting  Sovereign  artifact  to  attack  my  soul.” Linley understood.

It was just that the opponents he had encountered thus far weren’t very powerful.

If his enemy was a powerful Highgod, the Highgod would be able to use his soul attack to seek out the weak points, then attack the gap.

“Thus, in the end, I can’t completely reveal this trump card.”

Unless it was critical, Linley wouldn’t easily reveal the secret of him being able to Dragonform. After all, only a trump card that remained hidden would be effect. Besides, his ‘Pulseguard Armor’ wasn’t weak either.

Linley and the other three walked shoulder by shoulder, but were unable to find Delia. “Strange. Why has the sand castle stopped transforming?” Bebe muttered.

Linley had noticed this as well.

“Perhaps…the  person  who  set  up  the  castle  of  sand  is currently busy battling, and so he has no energy to deal with changing the castle.” Salomon guessed. Salomon’s words were correct; at this moment, the green-robed elder, ‘Mr. Wind’, was currently battling with Learmonth!

“BANG!!!!”

A terrifying explosion occurred, while at the same time, the entire ‘castle of sand’ seemed to have lost its controller. With a rustle and rumble, the sand began to flow down, and the entire castle of sand in the blink of an eye transformed into boundless amounts of sand dunes.

The castle of sand was gone! The destruction of the castle of sand allowed everyone to see the sky, to see the Blood Sun.

There were quite a few corpses lying about the sand. Many of the Fiends had died miserable deaths, while the lucky survivors were in the midst of the desert. All of them seemed to be astonished, including Inigo and his subordinates.

“What is going on?” Inigo didn’t understand. How did the castle of sand which his teacher controlled suddenly collapse?

Linley was staring at his surroundings. Immediately, he saw from afar the ashen-faced Delia, who had the Deathgod Golem by   her   side.   “Delia!”    Linley   immediately   rushed   over, overjoyed.

“Linley!”  Delia’s  eyes  were  immediately  filled  with  joy  as well, and she too rushed over towards Linley.

Chapter 11, Secret

In the middle of the empty desert, there were dozens of broken, bloodstained corpses. Both the forces of the Fiends as well as the forces of Inigo came to a halt in their attacks, while Linley and Delia tightly embraced each other.

“Delia!” Only now did Linley settle down.

Ever since they had been trapped into the castle of sand, Linley had been feeling a sense of terror deep in his heart. He was terrified of Delia dying. Linley would forever remember how Delia had been when she was young and at the Ernst Institute with him. And then, their reunion meeting at the O’Brien Empire.

Decades had passed in what seemed like moments, and Delia had become the other half of Linley’s life.

When he saw her, Linley’s heart grew calm. And didn’t Delia feel just the way Linley did?

“Thank  you,  heavens.”  Delia  said  softly  in  Linley’s  arms. “Linley, just now, it was so dangerous. I almost got killed by that Highgod, but I didn’t want to die…I wanted to see you.” Delia, thinking back to the near-death struggle she had just undergone, felt her heart tremble.

In the face of great danger, Delia had really gone all out, using both the Deathgod Golem as well as her profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of the Wind.

Fortunately, she also knew the ‘Doppelganger’ technique, and was also proficient at the ‘Dimensional Wind’. This allowed her to be lucky enough to escape.

“I won’t let you be in any danger ever again.” Linley held Delia by the hand. Holding his loved one’s hand, Linley felt that his life and his soul were incomparably rich and filling.

Just as Linley and Delia were absorbed in the joy of meeting again… “Bang!”

A terrifying explosion sounded out in mid-air. A ray of green light and a ray of black light clashed multiple times, each time causing the world to shake. And then, the two rays of light landed on the desert sands, transforming into the green-robed elder and a black-robed Learmonth.

The green-robed elder’s face was ashen. He stared at Learmonth,  his  heart  filled  with  extreme  terror.  “This Learmonth’s power is even more frightening than I had anticipated. His sword techniques in the Ways of Destruction have reached such a terrifying level.” Prior to this, the green- robed elder had only wanted to tie Learmonth up for a while.

Unfortunately, Learmonth’s power was far greater than he had imagined.

This had resulted in the green-robed elder being the one to fall into peril instead. He didn’t even dare to allow himself to be distracted by controlling the castle of sand. Thus, he voluntarily released the castle of sand, focusing entirely on this terrifying opponent – Learmonth.

Learmonth held his longsword in his hand, looking calmly at the green-robed elder, a faint hint of a smile playing at his lips. “Your power is not bad. You are worthy of receiving my most powerful sword attack.”

The green-robed elder’s face instantly changed dramatically.

“What? Most powerful attack?” The green-robed elder’s heart turned cold. Before this, he had been able to stay alive, but he had to use all his strength to do so.

The experts who were watching, upon hearing Learmonth’s words, were all astonished.

“Delia, let’s move backwards a little bit.” Linley held Delia by the hand, retreating to where Salomon and Bebe were, watching these experts battle from a safe distance. “I really rather look forward to seeing what their attacks look like!” Prior to this, when they encountered that bandit ambush, Learmonth’s sword attack had stunned Linley. This chance in front of him was all the more precious..

“Those two old fellows played me!” Inigo cursed to himself. He glanced towards Salomon. “There’s no mistake about it, but we don’t have any more chances. It seems as though Teacher is unable  to  hold  on  any  longer.  It’s  best  if  I  leave!”   Inigo immediately, stealthily merged his entire body into the sands, disappearing. Right now, everyone’s attention was on those two ultimate experts, and nobody was paying attention to Inigo.

In addition…

On the side of the Fiends, the only one who knew Inigo was that luckily surviving white-horned elder, but the white- horned elder hadn’t noticed the distant Inigo at all.

“BOOM!” Learmonth’s entire body exploded forth with a terrifyingly powerful sword intent. Learmonth’s body actually emitted an enormous illusory sword that radiated the Way of Destruction. Learmonth seemed to have transformed into the nucleus of that enormous illusory sword, and a fierce, sharp sword energy was swirling around it.

The power of the sword intent was rapidly rising!

“Crackle…”   The  sword  intent  actually  caused  space  to shudder.

Everyone seeing this had their faces change. The Infernal Realm was one of the Higher Planes, and its stability was far greater than that of a material plane’s. The sword energy hadn’t even been released yet, and yet it already possessed such power. At what sort of level then would Learmonth’s most powerful sword attack be at?

“Madman. He’s truly a madman.” The green-robed elder’s heart was cold. Learmonth’s power had already caused him to feel dread.

“Hmph. So what if you are powerful. The Elemental Laws of the Wind are the best for fleeing!” The green-robed elder, faced with Learmonth, had already been awed and frightened by him. Suddenly, he transformed into hundreds of doppelgangers, dispersing in every direction.

One of the nine profound mysteries of the wind – Doppelganger!

“So many doppelgangers?” Delia was shocked, and Linley let out a surprised breath as well.

When Delia used the Doppelganger technique, she was only capable of nine doppelgangers. This green-robed elder, however, had transformed into hundreds of them. The same profound mystery, ‘Doppelganger’, when used by people of different levels of ability would have tremendously great differences in power. “The Doppelganger technique is indeed an excellent fleeing method. Hundreds of doppelgangers, all of whom are hard to tell apart by their aura. Learmonth will find it hard to catch the  right  one.”   Linley  said  to  himself.  However,  Linley continued to watch Learmonth, waiting to see what his reaction would be.

“Fleeing? How disappointing.” Learmonth’s voice rang out.

At the same time…

“Rumble…”

In an area of a thousand meters surrounding Learmonth, out of nowhere, countless surges of sword energy appeared. The hundreds of fleeing doppelgangers were smashed into powder by the sword energy. In the blink of an eye, all of the hundreds of doppelgangers were annihilated, leaving behind only a single green-robed elder.

“How is this possible?!” The green-robed elder’s face changed dramatically. 

Learmonth flew towards him at high speed, striking out like a viperous dragon. Wherever his body passed, many ripples in space appeared. The speed of Learmonth wasn’t lower than the green-robed elder at all.

“I  won’t  be  able  to  flee!”  The  green-robed  elder  instantly understood this upon witnessing the other person’s speed.

The green-robed elder retreated backwards, while at the same time, a silver, string-like sword appeared in his hands. “Since I can’t flee, then I’ll go all out!” The green-robed elder’s eyes were now filled with a ferocious killing intent as well, and green energy swirled around his body, forming into a what appeared to be a solid dragon.

“Groooooowl!” The massive green dragon bellowed.

Watching the battle, Linley felt astonished. “Essence of the Wind  and  the  Profound  Mysteries  of  Music.”  Linley  could immediately tell how powerful this attack by the green-robed elder was. “That enormous green dragon is not only capable of protecting his body, it is also capable of creating musical attacks to affect the enemy.”

This was a support ability.

“Haha…Starpoint    Explosions!”      The    normally    calm, emotionless Learmonth was now revealing his wild side. Laughing madly, the longsword in his hand shot out.

The longsword pierced through the air!

As it did, in mid-air, a black ‘hole’ appeared as the longsword twisted through the cracks of reality. Wherever the longsword passed, tears in space constantly appeared, and everything around it was transformed into nothingness.

Facing Learmonth’s most powerful attack, the green-robed elder slowly brandished out that silver thread-like sword.

“Rumble…” The silver sword was even longer and even narrower than Bloodviolet. It lashed out like a whip. Crack! Under the lashing of that silver sword, space itself split apart, creating an extremely narrow spatial tear, as a strange music rang out.

The entire desert was utterly silent.

Linley and the others were all utterly astonished by these two sword attacks. One was a terrifying sword that contained within it the Way of Destruction, while the other used the sharpness of the Elemental Laws of the Wind.

“BOOM!”

The silver sword, moving in a strange way, struck down upon the edge of Learmonth’s longsword.

“BANG!” The silver sword suddenly exploded, transforming into countless silver shards which flew everywhere.

“Swish!”

The tip of the longsword almost instantly pierced through the green-robed elder’s forehead. It was so fast that the green- robed elder wasn’t able to dodge at all. His eyes were filled with shock, and fresh blood slowly flowed down from his forehead.

“Bang!” The green-robed elder’s corpse fell down.

“That soft sword…that simple whipping and chopping motion…” Linley’s heart suddenly grew agitated. It was as though something had come to his mind, and he immediately shut his eyes quietly.

In the desert. Everyone else was still watching those two experts. But Linley was lost in meditating and in his insights. Indeed. The green-robed elder’s power was slightly weaker than Learmonth’s. But as far as his insights into the ‘Elemental Laws of the Wind’ went, he had already fused quite a few profound mysteries.

That simple whipping motion included multiple profound mysteries.

Recently, Linley had been stuck in a bottleneck with regards to the Profound Truths of Velocity. He had been pondering on how to break through this bottleneck and completely fuse the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ profound mysteries.

After the life-and-death struggle within the desert castle, as well the fluctuating feelings of worry and then calm, and now after seeing the green-robed elder’s most powerful attack, Linley had already begin to create cracks in the ‘bottleneck’ of the Profound Truths of Velocity…

The green-robed elder’s corpse lay there on the ground. Learmonth let out a sigh. This sigh contained within it a hint of disappointment.

Learmonth glanced at the corpse of the green-robed elder. “You both use flexible swords, but your power is far too weak when compared to the Bloodviolet Fiend. Your time seems to have been all spent in defense and in trapping people. With regards to offense…too weak.” Learmonth said softly.

A person suddenly appeared from within the green-robed elder’s corpse. It was the divine clone of the green-robed elder. Only, this divine clone was a mere God.

“Learmonth. You speak the truth.”  The green-robed elder said astringently. “Only, in the future, I’ll never be able to train in the Elemental Laws of the Wind again.” The green-robed elder didn’t try to flee. His divine clone was only at the God level. How could he flee?

“Mr. Learmonth, please kill him.” The white-horned elder walked over, his eyes filled with hatred. “He’s already killed my brother. I hope you will kill him, or allow me to personally deal with him.” The white-horned elder’s heart was filled with hate.

Him and his elder brother, the black-horned elder, had been together for many years. Although they had known that this return trip to the Jadefloat Continent would be dangerous, when his elder brother had died, the white-horned elder’s heart was still filled with rage and hate.

“No need for you to personally act.” Learmonth said.

In Learmonth’s mind, although the green-robed elder only had a God-level divine clone left, he was once an extremely powerful expert. Experts would not tolerate being humiliated.

The green-robed elder glanced at him, then said to Learmonth, “Learmonth, I accept my loss to you. If you are willing to let me live, I will tell you a secret!”

“What are you doing?!” The white-horned elder immediately grew frantic. 

The green-robed elder laughed coldly. “Are you afraid?”

“Swoosh!”    The   white-horned   elder   immediately   flew forward, his eyes filled with a killing intent. Only, a sword flash suddenly struck out upon the white-horned elder, knocking him flying back.

“Mr. Learmonth, you!” The white-horned elder

Learmonth let out a calm laugh. “I’m a little curious as to what this secret is.”  As he spoke, Learmonth looked at the green-robed elder.

The white-horned elder was frantic.

The green-robed elder glanced disdainfully at the white- horned elder, then nodded and said, “Fine, I’ll tell you. In truth, this employer who you have been escorting on this mission is in reality, an old servant of the Boyd clan of the Jingan Prefecture of the Jadefloat Continent…” “You…” The white-horned elder was utterly frantic. “Learmonth, you…how can you!”

Learmonth glanced at him coldly. “Shut your mouth.”

The green-robed elder’s face immediately had a hint of a smile appear on it. He continued, “After the Boyd clan was destroyed, these two old fellows took the vast fortune which the Boyd clan had accumulated over countless years and fled. Learmonth, I think you too can imagine…how astonishing the amount of wealth which a powerful clan accumulated over countless years is.”

The white-horned elder’s face was ashen.

At this time, next to Bebe, Nisse’s face was filled with rage as well. But Salomon only watched coldly.

Chapter 12, A Breakthrough in Wind

“Boyd clan?” Bebe had a thought, and he couldn’t help but glance towards the nearby Salomon.

Although Bebe was rather rambunctious, he was very smart and insightful. When Linley had saved Nisse, Salomon had, for whatever reason, revealed his true name when thanking Linley

– Salomon Boyd!

At that time, Bebe hadn’t paid much attention.

But now that he heard it again, Bebe began to grow puzzled.

“Nisse has been with me for so long, but she’s never been willing to tell me what her surname is!” Bebe began to suspect. “Since that’s the case, the surname must be very important. Salomon only recently told my Boss. Since his family name is Boyd…” “Can this Boyd be the same ‘Boyd’ as the clan this green- robed elder is referring to?”

Bebe mused secretly, while at the same time looking towards Linley. Only three people had been present when Salomon had said his surname; Linley, Bebe, and Nisse.

“Boss…actually closed his eyes and began to meditate?” Bebe couldn’t help but find himself caught between laughter and tears. Next, Bebe turned to look towards the distant Learmonth, the green-robed elder, and the white-horned elder. “It seems as though the situation is about to change. Will Learmonth attack out of greed?” Bebe mused to himself.

Indeed, right now, the situation had just become very terrible for the white-horned elder.

He hadn’t anticipated that the green-robed elder would actually voluntarily reveal this. The white-horned elder understood that his power was far inferior to Learmonth’s. If Learmonth wanted to attack, then… “Even if the young master helped out, we wouldn’t be able to deal  with  Learmonth.”  The  white-horned  elder  understood. “In addition, it won’t just be Learmonth alone who will turn red-eyed with greed upon learning this secret. The Edwards brothers are here as well.”

The Edwards brothers had also escorted them on the mission, and had yet to reveal any startling abilities.

However, not a single one of them had died. This gave testament to their strength.

“No matter what, even if I die, I cannot reveal the young master’s identity.” The white-horned elder made up his mind.

“Oh, you said Boyd clan?” Learmonth raised an eyebrow. “The Boyd clan of the Jadefloat Continent’s Jingan Prefecture is indeed an ancient clan. Even though I am here in the Redbud Continent, I’ve heard of the fame of the Boyd clan.”

The green-robed elder said, “Of course. You can imagine how wealthy the Boyd clan is, Learmonth.” The Edwards brothers looked at each other, secretly speaking through divine sense.

“Oho, things are getting messy.”  Bebe looked at the distant Edwards brothers, then looked at Learmonth, before finally looking at the weakest actor, the white-horned elder. “This old fellow is almost certainly going to die. There’s too many people who would be greedy for this treasure.”

The white-horned elder said furiously, “Mr. Learmonth, I’m your employer, you…”

“Shut your mouth.” Learmonth glanced at him calmly.

The green-robed elder couldn’t help but laugh, while at the same time saying, “Learmonth, I’ll leave now.” As he spoke the green-robed elder prepared to leave.

“Swish!” A black sword energy pierced through the green-robed elder’s skull. The green-robed elder’s eyes were filled with shock and disbelief, and then he fell to the ground. The final remaining God-level divine clone of this green-robed elder died, just like that!

“This…?” The white-horned elder, Edwards, and the others were all shocked.

Learmonth glanced calmly at the green-robed elder. “I only told you to tell me the secret. I never agreed to spare you in exchange. You killed one of my employers. How could I not kill you?” And then Learmonth turned to look at the white-horned elder.

The white-horned elder’s face instantly turned ashen.

“Fine. If you want to kill me, then kill me.”  Having seen Learmonth’s power, the white-horned elder didn’t try to resist at all. He said coldly, “Since you were willing to kill Mr. Wind, I am content.”  The white-horned elder was already prepared for death. He murmured to himself, “Young master, you’ll have to rely on yourself now.”

“If I kill you, who will pay me my escort fee?”  Learmonth asked.

The white-horned elder was astonished.

And then, Learmonth walked away while saying calmly, “Hurry up and prepare the metallic lifeform. We are going to head out.”

“He  isn’t  going  to  kill  me?”  The  white-horned  elder  was unable to believe it.

The ten-plus lucky survivors amongst the Fiends stared towards Learmonth in astonishment as well. It must be understood anyone who cared about money at all would find it hard not to grow greedy for the wealth of the vast fortune of a massive clan. In addition, killing the white-robed elder would have been very easy. 

“What is going on with this Learmonth?” The three Edwards brothers looked at each other.

Learmonth’s reaction had caused the Edwards brothers to be unable to implement their plan.

“Big brother, let’s just endure for now.”

Learmonth was able to refrain from being greedy, but the three Edwards brothers were not. This was the massive fortune of an ancient clan. The fame of the Boyd clan was so great, it echoed like thunder.

“Wait a while before heading out!” Salomon’s voice rang out. “My friend here is currently training.”

Learmonth, the three Edwards brothers, the white-horned elder, and the luckily surviving remnants of the Fiends all looked over. Linley was standing there right there in the sands, his body surrounded by a faint swirl of wind. Indeed, he was training. This sight caused everyone to be extremely surprised.

“He  started  training,  just  like  that?”  The  lucky  survivors amongst the Fiends were all shocked. To immediately begin training having just concluded a life and death struggle…that truly was crazy.

“Waiting for him alone? Wake him up.” The second of the three Edwards brothers said with a frown. Him, a Five Star Fiend, wait for a God? He didn’t have that sort of patience.

Bebe, hearing this, couldn’t help but frown.

“Intriguing, intriguing.” Learmonth looked at Linley, a hint of a smile on his face. “We aren’t in any rush to leave. Let’s wait a while.”

Since Learmonth had made his decision, the three Edwards brothers wouldn’t say anything now. Immediately, the surviving Fiends took up temporary residence within the desert. After this great battle, the Highgods only numbered Learmonth, the three Edwards brothers, and Salomon, while for the Gods, including Linley’s group, only thirteen survived.

Time passed on.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. The Fiends were very patient, and didn’t care about these three days at all.

“How long will the Boss be training for?” Bebe, seeing Linley remain  in  his  meditative  state,  was  growing  frantic.  “The Fiends aren’t impatient yet, but if too much time passes, they definitely will grow impatient. But disturbing the Boss when he is training will have a major impact on him.”

Bebe understood that Linley’s sudden decision to meditate must have meant that he had a sudden insight.

This sort of opportunity was very precious. Once interrupted, it would be hard for him to once more enter this state.

“Rumble…”

A surge of unique ripples of Law descended from the heavens, encapsulating Linley.

“He made a breakthrough!” Everyone, including Learmonth, immediately opened their eyes to look towards Linley. They all understood…that this descent of the natural Laws was the sign of a someone breaking through to become a Deity naturally.

Linley hovered in the air, while at the same time, his divine wind clone came out from his body…a light green-robed Linley.

“Rumble…”

A divine spark which emanated a green light emerged from Linley’s head, hovering there in the air above him. A large amount of wind elemental essence, under the guidance of the natural Laws, directly converged upon the divine spark, which slowly began to transform.

Moments later…

That Demigod-level divine wind spark had transformed into a God-level divine wind spark.

The ripples of the natural Laws subsided, and Linley opened his eyes.

“Uhh….” Linley, having made the breakthrough, now saw that a large group of people were around him, staring.

“Congratulations, Linley. You now have another God-level divine clone.” Salomon said with a laugh.

Learmonth nodded slightly as well. He looked towards Linley with an appraising gaze. “Very nicely done. You even gained insights during a life-and-death crisis.”

Learmonth very much appreciated this sort of person, who could make a breakthrough even during a life-and-death crisis.

He himself loved combat and challenges. As for money? As Learmonth saw it, having enough money to spend was sufficient. The so-called fortune of the Boyd clan was something which Learmonth didn’t care about at all. Learmonth’s goal was…

To become a Seven Star Fiend, then challenge an Asura!

Become one of the 108 Asuras of the Infernal Realm!

The three Edwards brothers glanced at Linley. They only chuckled. A mere God. What was there to be proud of? The Edwards brothers didn’t hold Linley in any particular regard at all. They immediately looked at the white-horned elder. “Hey, that kid has made his breakthrough. Let’s head out.” “Alright. Head out.” The white-horned elder immediately said.

“Head out?” Only now did Linley come to the realization that all the other Fiends had been forced to wait here for him when he had suddenly begun to meditate.

“Bebe, how long did I meditate for?”  Linley asked through his spirit.

“Three days. Boss, you really are amazing. Your divine wind clone has reached the God level as well.” Bebe was boundlessly delighted for Linley.

Linley secretly let out a sigh of relief. “Not too bad. Just three days.” If he had been training for half a year with the others all accompanying him, Linley would have felt extremely embarrassed.

The Infernal Realm. A desolate mountain range within the Redbud Continent. 

Inigo stood there beneath a waterfall, two Highgods behind him.

“I didn’t expect that the Boyd clan actually has a successor.” Inigo said to himself. “Although that fellow was only allowed to enter the Boyd clan’s estate a single time before being sent out…luckily enough, I remembered him.”

Salomon’s identity, even within the Boyd clan, was a major secret.

As he had entered the clan’s estate only a single time before being sent out caused there to be very few people who knew who Salomon was. There were very few people who knew that Salomon had a connection to the Boyd clan.

But Inigo, thanks to a stroke of luck, had found out by accident. And this time, when Inigo saw Salomon, he instantly understood!

“No wonder those two old fellows fled to the Redbud Continent, then tried to go back.” Inigo said to himself. “However, since I now know, then…”

“Young master, what shall we do?” The two subordinates behind him looked at him.

Inigo said emotionlessly, “We head out.”  As he spoke, Inigo flew at high speed towards the north, and the two Highgods behind him immediately followed.

The metallic lifeform was constantly pressing forward. It had shrunk yet again. After all, there were very few people inside it now.

Within the metallic lifeform. Linley and Delia’s room. “The  ‘Fast’  and  ‘Slow’  aspects  of  the  Profound  Truths  of Velocity have been completely fused. Only the sword attack that is both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ is the sharpest, most powerful sword  attack!”  Linley  understood  now  why  experts  of  the Elemental Laws of the Wind found flexible swords to be so

suited for them. Flexible swords allowed one to bring out the full strength of the profound mysteries.

After having seen the green-robed elder and Learmonth’s sword intents…

Linley had some new thoughts regarding his usage of the sword as well.

“Unpredictable and fierce! This represents the most powerful attack of the Profound Truths of Velocity.” Linley continued to visualize them in his head. He was hard at working trying to make the attacks of the Profound Truths of Velocity more powerful and to apply it better.

This attack primarily relied on the Profound Truths of Velocity. 

Naturally, it was a material attack.

“If I combine this material attack with my Dragonform…” Linley   mused   to   himself.   “The   Dragonformed   body   is incomparably tough, and in terms of both strength and speed, it has reached a very high level. If I take the strength I have in Dragonform, then combine it with the Profound Truths of Velocity, then put it all on display through Bloodviolet, the power will definitely be substantial.

The same profound mystery, when used by a Highgod, would be far more powerful than when a God used it. This was because the mystery would be exerted through the divine power of a Highgod.

After Dragonforming, however, Linley’s strength, defense, and speed were even more monstrous than most ordinary Highgods. This was a body that was as tough as a divine artifact! Linley was also beginning to gain a clearer and clearer understanding of the power of his most powerful sword attack.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

“Unfortunately,  there’s  no  place  to  test  it  out  within  the metallic lifeform.” Linley said to himself. His sword attack was now able to easily chop apart this metallic lifeform. If they truly were to fight here..most likely the white-horned elder and the other Fiends would be enraged.

“Linley.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Uh? Oh, Salomon, it’s you.” Linley saw that Salomon was outside his door.

Upon seeing Salomon, Linley thought about what Bebe had told him regarding the proceedings when he was training. He hadn’t heard the green-robed elder discuss the Boyd clan, but upon returning to the metallic lifeform, of course Bebe had told him everything. 

“This Salomon…can he be the master of this clan?”  Linley wondered to himself.

Salomon said with a laugh, “Linley, there’s something I wish to discuss with you.”

Chapter 13, Re-Employment

Linley had a thought. Why had this Salomon suddenly come looking for him?

“Salomon, my wife, Delia, is inside training right now. How about this. Let’s chat outside.” Linley said with a smile.

Salomon’s face was very friendly. “Fine.”  As he spoke, he walked out of the room alongside Linley.

Linley  guessed  to  himself,  “Salomon’s  name  is  Salomon Boyd. Bebe told me as well that when those people were trying to kill the black-horned elder and the white-horned elder, it was because those two were the old servants of the Boyd clan and carried the fortune of the Boyd clan with them! But from the looks of it, the treasure is probably carried by Salomon.”

“However, if this Salomon truly is a member of the Boyd clan, he should keep the secret. Why did he reveal his identity to me?” Linley didn’t understand.

The two stepped into another room. Salomon immediately spread out his Godrealm, preventing sound from leaking out.

“Please, please sit.”  Salomon said courteously, and then he sat down as well.

Linley spoke out. “Salomon, why have you sought me out?” As he said, Linley looked at Salomon.

Salomon’s face was very sour. He let out a low sigh.

“Linley, I think you’ve probably guessed part of it.” Salomon sighed as he spoke.

Linley didn’t deny it either. He nodded. “Right. Before he died, I heard the green-robed elder say something about the Boyd clan? Can it be that the Boyd clan truly is your…” Salomon nodded. “Right. I am indeed a member of the Boyd clan. The heir to the Boyd clan.”

Linley’s heart was startled.

Indeed!

And this Salomon wasn’t an ordinary clan member; he was actually the heir and successor.

“The Boyd clan truly is a large clan.”  Salomon said slowly. “In Jingan Prefecture, it is one of the top ten large clans, but of course it is difficult for even an enormous clan to exist forever and never decay. Under the secret machinations of our opponents, my Boyd clan was finally brought down and destroyed.”

“My father…was the clan leader of the Boyd clan!” Salomon said softly. Linley nodded slightly.

“In fact, I was only conceived by happenstance, when my father was touring the Infernal Realm and met my mother. I was just an illegitimate child.” Salomon snorted. “In the Boyd clan, it would be very hard for someone of my status to become the heir.”

Linley now understood. He said to himself, “I didn’t expect that this sort of thing happens in the Infernal Realm as well. It seems this Salomon’s life in the Boyd clan wasn’t very good.”

Although Linley had never experienced this himself, he had heard of it.

The status of a bastard was far inferior to that of someone in the direct line of descent.

“That year, Nisse and I went on a visit to the Jadefloat Continent. But on that trip…”  Salomon’s face grew ugly. “We were directly kicked out!” Linley was slightly startled.

Kicked out?

“I only stayed at the Boyd clan for a single day before being forced to leave.”  Salomon laughed bitterly. “I returned to the Redbud Continent. Only afterwards did I learn that it was my father, the clan leader, who had arranged for myself and my sister to be expelled. Father had discovered long ago that the clan was facing a terrible danger.”

“At that time, when I returned to the Redbud Continent, it was Father who sent me to my teacher to study from him.” Salomon said with a sigh.

Linley just stood there, listening.

“Indeed…”   Salomon  said  heavily.  “The  Boyd  clan  was finished. Some of its businesses in the ten great cities of Jingan Prefecture were swallowed and taken over. However, the vast fortune accumulated over countless years by our Boyd clan was hidden away. Those two faithful old servants of our clan took it and headed to the Redbud Continent to give it to me.”

Linley said helplessly, “Salomon, why are you telling me this?”

Although telling him this sort of secret was a form of trust, it was also a source of pressure for Linley.

Salomon looked at Linley. Calmly, he said, “I trust you. At the same time, I don’t want Bebe and my sister Nisse to have any misunderstandings between them, so it’s best to explain things clearly.”

Linley couldn’t help but take a close look at Boyd. He then nodded slightly.

Something like this could indeed cause Bebe’s suspicions to be raised. If it wasn’t made clear, there would always be a hint of reservations between Bebe and Nisse. 

“This  Salomon  is  worth  befriending.”   Linley  nodded  to himself. This fortune…he himself of course viewed money as something being the more the better, but there was no way he would rob and kill a friend for the sake of money.

Salomon continued to speak.

“A long time passed after I acquired this fortune. When I felt my power had reached a certain level, I led my two servants and my little sister back towards the Jadefloat Continent. I didn’t expect…that after so many years, there still were people waiting here for us.” Salomon sighed.

Linley laughed calmly. “Salomon, the fortune of an entire clan will cause greed in many. So what if they wait ten million years?”

To an expert who could live for hundreds of millions of years, waiting ten thousand years really was nothing. “Fair enough.”

Salomon  continued.  “Linley,  today,  I  have  told  you  these things because first of all, I want for there to be no misunderstandings between the two of us. After all, my little sister is going to be together with your little brother.” This was how Linley introduced Bebe, as his little brother.

And in truth, the relationship between the two really was like that of two siblings.

“Secondly, Linley, I hope that in the future, you will help take care of my little sister.” Salomon said bitterly. “Even once I return to the Jadefloat Continent, I will still be beset by difficulties. My little sister, if she goes with you, will probably be better off. I only have a single little sister…I don’t want her to be in danger!”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about this.”  Linley didn’t hesitate at all. “As long as I, Linley, do not die, I will definitely protect your sister.” In the Infernal Realm, the people Linley cared about were, without question, Bebe and his wife Delia. Even if it were only for Bebe’s sake, Linley would protect Nisse.

“That  makes  me  relieved.”  Salomon  nodded  and  laughed. “Linley, since that’s the case, I won’t disturb you further. You can go be busy.”

Linley left Salomon’s residence.

After Linley left, Salomon’s face, previously all smiles, instantly turned gloomy, his gaze turning fierce. “I told him so many things, but Linley continues to conceal his secrets from me. Hmph, does he think that I don’t know? A core member of the Four Divine Beasts clan…”

Salomon knew very well what the history of the Four Divine Beasts clan was.

“The Four Divine Beasts clan once shook the Four Higher Realms with their fame. Although they have decayed, they are still outstanding figures within the Infernal Realm.”  Salomon murmured. “After transforming, his draconic scales are azure- gold, and his aura is so frightening. He is definitely a core member.”

Within the castle of sand, Linley’s Dragonform had absorbed that drop of blue water, and then he had attacked that Highgod. Salomon had appeared and had seen Linley’s transformation form.

Salomon, as the heir to the Boyd clan, had been secretly trained by some reclusive experts at his father’s request. Naturally, he knew many of the secrets of the Infernal Realm. Salomon had previously told Linley his name precisely because he had the intention of befriending Linley.

Boyd clan? Forget about now; even when they were at the heights of their power, they could only be considered a major clan within the Jingan Prefecture. Compared to the Four Divine Beasts clan, they were far inferior.

Which of the ultimate experts within the Infernal Realm hadn’t heard of the great fame of the Four Divine Beasts clan? And this was with the Four Divine Beasts clan being in a decayed state.

When the Four Divine Beasts clan had been at the full heights of their power, their influence reached throughout the Four Higher Planes.

In Salomon’s mind, Linley was definitely hiding secrets from him. How could he know that Linley actually only knew just the tiniest bit about the Four Divine Beasts clan?

The metallic lifeform pressed onwards. In the blink of an eye, it flew for yet another three months.

“This truly has been boring.”

Linley sighed to himself. “With regards to executing the sword attack with the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’, I already have some confidence. Only, without practical experience, I can’t be certain. But within this metallic creature, there’s no way I can casually test it out.” What Linley wanted to do right now was to find an empty space and to test things out. 

He wanted to ascertain the strength of this attack with the Profound Truths of Velocity.

“Everyone, please come to the main hall.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“To the main hall?” Linley couldn’t help but be puzzled. “Judging from the sound, it should be the voice of that white- horned elder.”

Delia, who had been fusing with her divine spark, was startled into wakefulness. “Linley, did that white-horned elder ask for us to all go to the main hall?” Linley took Delia by the hand and laughed, “How should I know what is going on? Let’s go take a look.” As he spoke, the two left their room.

Within the main hall of the metallic lifeform, a group of Fiends stood together, all of them looking towards the white- horned elder. The white-horned elder said in a bright voice, “Everyone, we will soon arrive at Yilan City. We will stop outside of Yilan City. Everyone can take a rest within the metallic lifeform. After two crises, many Fiends have died, and our two chefs have died as well. This time, I will go into the city to invite some new chefs

to come, and also employ a few more Fiends from the Fiend Castle.”

“Employ Fiends?” The Fiends in the main hall didn’t object.

This trip was fairly dangerous, but how could an escort mission be without danger? If there was no danger, why would there be a need for Fiends to escort them?

The Fiends actually welcomed more Fiends joining in.

“I’ve been bored to death recently. It’ll be good to enter the city. We can relax.” Immediately, some Fiends began to laugh.

“Boss, when we go inside Yilan City, we’ll be able to have some good food in the restaurants in the city.” Bebe smacked his lips as he spoke. “Ever since those two chefs were killed during that bandit attack, a long time has passed since I had any good food.”

Everyone was discussing this amongst themselves.

The white-horned elder said loudly, “At the same time, I would like to ask everyone to remain within the metallic creature and not to enter Yilan City.” These words instantly caused dissatisfaction.

“Why not?” A Fiend spoke out.

The white-horned elder said calmly, “I hope everyone can understand. After the battle at the castle of sand, I imagine all of you know about the Boyd clan’s affairs. I don’t want for this information to spread out. Thus…even if you don’t stay inside the metallic lifeform, at the very least, you cannot enter the city.”

Indeed, amongst the Fiends present, there were some who wanted to leak this news out. 

The secret of the Boyd clan?

Linley nodded to himself. It was true. If someone spread this secret, everyone would probably meet with danger on the way.

“I understand this logic.” The eldest of the three Edwards brothers said calmly. “Please don’t worry. Since we’ve accepted this mission, we naturally won’t reveal it. Even if we were only doing it for our own sakes, we wouldn’t reveal it. All of us will stay outside the city and not enter it. Mr. Learmonth, what say you?”

Learmonth nodded. “Nobody is permitted to enter the city, nor chat casually with outsiders, until this mission is completed.”

The white-horned elder was overjoyed. “Thank you, the four of you.” With the three Edwards brothers and Learmonth having spoken out, the other Fiends wouldn’t raise any other objections.

Moments later, through the window, they all saw the city drawing nearer. The metallic lifeform came to a halt at a wide, empty expanse of wild grass roughly ten kilometers outside of the city. The white-horned elder headed by himself through the city gates, while the others left the metallic lifeform as well.

They rested in the area around the metallic lifeform.

“I hope everyone will act wisely.”  The eldest of the three Edwards brothers, the handsome man, said emotionlessly. “If someone interacts with outsiders, don’t blame us for being merciless.”

“Hmph. So boring.” Bebe snorted softly. “We’re at a city, but we can’t go inside.” Linley’s face was all smiles. “This is good. I will have the chance to test the sword technique now.” Linley walked to an empty area, then drew Bloodviolet and began to test his sword technique. As he was worried that someone might recognize Bloodviolet, Linley had intentionally changed Bloodviolet’s appearance slightly.

Actually, there were many violet longswords, and the number of people who had personally met the Bloodviolet Fiend could be counted on one hand. After Linley’s modifications, even the aura of Bloodviolet had changed. Who would possibly be able to recognize Bloodviolet?

Chapter 14, The Scorching Volcano

Linley’s group remained outside of Yilan City, while nearly a hundred million kilometers east of Yilan City, there was an enormous chain of volcanoes.

The massive volcano chain took up thousands of kilometers of space. Within these thousand kilometers was an area of volcanoes, and the entire place was a dim red color.

“Crackle…”  A  white  mist  emitted  from  the  center  of  the mountain range. A dense smell of sulfur could be smelled from far away, and many skeletons of humans, beastmen, and others lay throughout the mountain range. There was no life here, not a single blade of grass. This was a famously lethal region in the Infernal Realm…

The Biss [Bi’si] Volcano Range!

Dozens of human figures were flying in the air above the Biss Volcano Range. Judging from their appearances, they seemed rather ragged. 

“The Infernal Realm really is chaotic. It’s impossible to find a peaceful place to live.” The leader cursed angrily.

“Big brother, let’s hurry up and find a place where we can find  our  footing.”  A  muscular  man  behind  him  said  softly. “Let’s try to find an out of the way place where we can build our power, and then we can worry about other things. In the Infernal Realm, there are too many dangers.”

“Right.” The leader nodded.

But right at that moment…

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

From the surface of the Biss Volcano Range, thousands of stones, carrying scorching flames, began to rise into the air at a terrifying speed. Instantly, those dozens of figures began to flee in terror, but those thousands of stones were capable of altering their trajectory. 

“Crunch!” “Crunch!”

In the blink of an eye, dozens of Deities had their heads smashed in. Their divine sparks flew out and their souls dispersed. All of them fell down from mid-air.

Their corpses landed at the ground level of the volcano.

“Crackle…”   The  volcano  range  was  like  a  living  thing, swallowing up the corpses, interspatial rings, divine sparks, and divine artifacts.

The Biss Volcano Range was as peaceful as ever before. Aside from the fact that the surface of the volcano range now had a few more corpses, nothing had changed at all.

The Biss Volcano Range was a dangerous area, but for the many people who had never read any books regarding it or who had no experience, how would they know that this was a dangerous area? For example, Linley’s group only knew about some of the dangerous areas because they had bought some books.

And also…

Many dangerous areas in the Infernal Realm were newly formed and not recorded in any books.

Dangerous areas littered the world. This was the Infernal Realm!

A metallic lifeform was flying at high speed towards the Biss Volcano Range. Roughly a few dozen kilometers away from the Biss Volcano Range, the metallic lifeform landed on the ground. From within it, three figures disembarked. It was Inigo and two of his subordinates.

“Young master, we’re coming to a halt now? Why don’t we fly into the volcano range?”  One of them, a Highgod, asked questioningly. Inigo  glanced  sideways  at  him  coldly.  “Hmph,  into  the volcano range? You are asking for death! The Biss Volcano Range is one of the lethally dangerous areas of the Infernal Realm. It isn’t as simple as you imagine it to be! Follow me.” As he spoke, Inigo strode forward at high speed towards the volcano range.

“How dangerous is this Biss Volcano Range, exactly?”  The two Highgods behind him both wondered.

They were Highgods. There were very few areas which could pose a threat to them.

“If you don’t want to die, then don’t run about wildly.” Inigo snorted. “In this place, I’m not able to protect you.”

Although Inigo was walking on the ground, he traversed the dozens of kilometers in a very short period of time. Inigo led his two subordinates to the outer reaches of the Biss Volcano Range. Looking at the white steam and the barren, lifeless landscape, the volcano range covered with the odor of sulfur, Inigo couldn’t help but clear his throat. 

“Lord Elquin [A’li’kui’en], I am second young master Inigo of the Bayfield [Bei’fei’er’de] clan of the Jingan Prefecture. I would like to request that Lord Elquin graces me with a meeting!” Inigo bowed respectfully as he spoke.

After speaking, Inigo remained in the bowing position, quietly awaiting for a response.

“Someone  lives  within  this  volcano  range?”   The  two Highgods behind Inigo both felt surprised.

They too had heard that the Biss Volcano Range was a dangerous area, but they had never heard that the Biss Volcano Range had people within it.

“The Bayfield clan?” A deep voice rang out from within the volcano range, causing the entire volcano range to rumble slightly. “Enter, then.” And then, a tunnel suddenly appeared from a crack on the surface of the volcano range.

Inigo took a deep breath, then walked towards the corridor.

The two Highgods behind him both felt astonished.

“Hurry up and follow.” Inigo barked.

“Yes, young master.” The two immediately followed Inigo in, stepping into the corridor.

According to the rules of the Infernal Realm, once one became a Seven Star Fiend, one had the right to challenge the Asuras. Only by defeating an Asura would one receive the position. The former Asura would either die in battle, or survive and relinquish their position…after countless challenges and struggles, the Infernal Realm naturally now had many reclusive experts.

These reclusive experts might be former Asuras, or they might be Seven Star Fiends, or perhaps even those extremely powerful experts who weren’t interested in fighting for the position of Asura.

Without question, however, they all possessed terrifying power.

The common people of the Infernal Realm had no idea they existed, but some of the ancient clans knew about some of the reclusive experts who couldn’t be offended.

The two subordinates of Inigo immediately understood. “Most likely, this Biss Volcano Range has an ultimate expert residing within.”

In the dark corridor, the three continuously advanced deeper into the ground.

Suddenly… “Crackle…”   The  stone  wall  at  the  side  of  the  corridor suddenly splintered into countless pebbles which suddenly moved forwards!

“Ah!” “Ah!”

The two Highgods were pierced through by those countless flying pebbles, and even their divine sparks were struck numerous times. Their souls were immediately dispersed!

But Inigo’s face didn’t change. He thought to himself, “I didn’t expect that after so many years, that pet of Lord Elquin’s behaves just as father said. Hmph. These two fellows served as food for Lord Elquin’s pet!”

Moments later…

Inigo walked to the end of the corridor, where a river of lava was flowing. Inigo had arrived at the heart of the volcano range now. This core region was an extremely vast, empty cave. In the center of the cave, there was a scorching hot pond of golden magma. 

“I didn’t expect that there was such a strange thing underground.” Inigo’s face changed.

“Drip…drip…” The golden magma continued to boil and flow.

The muscles on Inigo’s face clenched twice, and then he left through another corridor, arriving at a large, lavish, empty underground palace. Deep within the underground palace, black-robed figure was currently seated in the official position, while within his arms there was a golden kitten.

Inigo immediately bowed and said, “Inigo Bayfield pays his respects to Lord Elquin, and also brings the well-wishes of my father.”

“Mm.” The black-robed figure responded calmly. “Inigo, I’ve heard your father speak of you. Why have you come to me?” A hint of a smile appeared on Inigo’s face. “Lord Elquin, actually, I spent a very long period of time and led over a hundred Highgods in preparation for a major event, but in the end, despite spending a large amount of money, most of my subordinates died and we still failed.”

“Whatever it is that you want, speak clearly!”  The black- robed figure snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.

Inigo hurriedly said, “Yes, I’ll speak clearly. Not long ago, the Boyd clan was destroyed, but two servants of their clan took the vast fortune accumulated by the Boyd clan over countless years and fled with it. I have been searching for them this entire time, and chased them here from the Jadefloat Continent. In the end, I discovered them!”

“Boyd clan?”

The  black-robed  figure  was  finally  startled.  “Are  you referring to the Boyd clan which was as famous as your Bayfield clan?” “Yes.” Inigo said.

The black-robed figure let out a few insidious chuckles. “Haha, Inigo, the fortune of the Boyd clan is an astonishing sum. You’ve actually come to notify me about such a fortunate event? Why didn’t you go seek out other members of your Bayfield clan? I have to question what your intentions are.”

Inigo said hurriedly, “Lord Elquin, there are two major reasons why I didn’t go to my clan for help.”

“First of all, if I were to look for the experts within the clan, I would have to at least head back to the Jingan Prefecture of the Jadefloat Continent. The distance is simply too vast, and it’s hard to say if some variables would occur which would cause me to lose track of them.”  Inigo said hurriedly. “As for the second reason, I’m afraid Lord Elquin will laugh at me.”

Inigo laughed self-mockingly, “Lord Elquin, you should know that my big brother is the eldest son of the clan chief. In the future, he will be the one to inherit the position of clan chief. As for me, in the future, I will most likely be sent off to some distant area. My power will probably be far inferior to even my current level.”

The black-robed figure let out two insidious chuckles. “You are a smart kid. Right. Speak a bit more regarding the fortune of the Boyd clan. If I can acquire this fortune, I naturally won’t mistreat you.”

Although he was extremely powerful, this vast fortune of an enormous clan had been enough to make him greedy.

“Um, this…” Inigo mumbled.

The black-robed figure chuckled, “Kid, do you think I can’t tell what you are thinking? Fine, then. You and I can make a contract by the Overgods. If I acquire the fortune of the Boyd clan, I will give you ten percent. What do you say?”

The power of a contract was extremely great. It was like the ‘bond of equals’ or ‘master-servant bond’ between a man and a magical beast. When metallic lifeforms were under the control of others, it was also because of this sort of bond.

As for the Overgod contract, it was an extremely serious type of bond.

“Alright.”  Inigo was instantly overjoyed. Ten percent of the fortune!

If he had given this information to his clan, the clan would heavily reward him, but how much would he get? This was the entire fortune of the Boyd clan; if his own clan gave him even one percent, that would be quite good. How could they give him ten percent?

Inigo and the black-robed man immediately set up an Overgod contract.

“Crackle…” Two rays of black light flew out from Inigo and the black- robed man’s foreheads, piercing into their divine sparks.

Inigo was now completely at ease. He immediately laughed. “Lord Elquins, on this trip, on the surface, those two servants have employed a group of Fiends, with one of the servants having died and only one remaining.”

“So the fortune is on those two old servants?”  The black- robed figure said.

Inigo instead said, “Not necessarily. Lord Elquins, I saw someone within the group of Fiends who is very likely to be a member of the Boyd clan. I suspect…that the fortune is currently on him.”

“He  joined  the  Fiends?”   The  black-robed  figure  nodded slightly. “Lord Elquins, don’t worry. When the time comes, I will follow you and immediately point him out.”

The black-robed figure said calmly, “How about this. Inigo, you arrange for everything. All you need to do is notify me.” Inigo bowed respectfully, then retreated.

After Inigo left, the black-robed figure immediately stood up. His ashen, pale face was only now revealed. A hint of a smile was at the corner of Elquin’s lips. “Since we have made an Overgod contract, this kid won’t dare lie to me. It is worth a trip.”

Elquin was also worried that Inigo might play some tricks, but now, there was no need.

“Phusro [Pu’si’luo], let’s prepare to head out.” Elquins petted the golden fur on the kitten in his hands.

“Meow.” The little golden kitten called out. Outside Yilan City, the metallic lifeform remained halted outside the city. The three Edwards brothers and the other Fiends waited quietly outside the city.

“That kid really is hard working. He’s always training.”

“Most likely it is because he encountered so many dangers.

He’s afraid of death.”

The three Edwards brothers chatted and laughed quietly amongst themselves, while at the same time glancing sideways into the distance at Linley, who was experimenting with his sword techniques time and time again. Linley had already been experimenting nonstop for eighteen full days. Over the course of these eighteen days, Linley had continuously trained while also correcting and improving the technique.

Theory and practice were not the same. There were always some differences.

Linley once more struck out with Bloodviolet. As it chopped out, instantly, the sword shadow became blurred, as though it had reached the limits of speed as well as the limits of sloth. This sort of feeling was extremely disorienting. As his sword flashed past, sharp ripples in space appeared.

“Crackle…” The earth split open.

This was caused by those spatial ripples alone.

“There  we  go.”  Linley’s  eyes  lit  up.  For  experimentation, Linley only used a tenth of his full power, but the strength of this attack remained astonishing.

A  smile  appeared  on  Linley’s  face.  “That’s  about  it.  This ‘Bewildering Shadow’ attack has finally been completed! If I were to attack using it at full strength, especially when matching it with the massive strength and speed of my Dragonform, the power of this attack…will be dozens of times greater than it was just now!”

Chapter 15, News of Olivier

After spending eighteen days of time, Linley had finally completed this technique which he had been pondering for so long. This ‘Bewildering Shadow’ was Linley’s most powerful material attack now. After having developed the ‘Bewildering Shadow’, Linley began to accompany Delia and Bebe with a relaxed mind.

After the metallic life had waited outside Yilan City for a month or so, the white-horned elder finally returned with a group of hired Fiends. Soon, nearly a hundred Fiends had followed the white-horned elder over.

“So there are Fiends here already.”  The hired Fiends, upon seeing Linley’s group, couldn’t help but begin to laugh and chat.

“But there’s so few people. There’s less than twenty people, all combined.”

“Most  likely  this  mission  really  will  be  as  dangerous  as claimed.” “Dangerous? If they died during the mission, all that can be said was that they were useless!”

Hearing this discourse, the three Edwards brothers, Learmonth, and those original Fiends were all laughing coldly in their hearts….

“So few? How would you know that when we first started, we had over a hundred Fiends as well!”

“Useless? Let’s see how many of you will survive.”

Linley and the others felt as though they could already see the sight of these Fiends being killed.

The white-horned elder laughed. “Everyone has been waiting for quite some time now. Let’s go in. We’re heading out now.” Immediately, the bustling array of people all filled the metallic creature, with Linley, Delia, Bebe, Nisse, and Salomon walking together.

“Hired so many?” Bebe mumbled. “110 Fiends, a hundred at the God-level, with the other ten being Highgods. Why invite so many Gods? To serve as cannon fodder?”

Hearing Bebe’s words, Linley actually mused to himself, “Cannon fodder? No, most likely, with more Fiends present, it will be easier to hide Salomon’s identity.”

Linley suddenly thought back to that original conversation he had with Salomon early on.

During that conversation, Salomon had intentionally acted mysteriously and said that this escort mission was very risky, and that the origin point for this mission actually wasn’t Royalwing City. He had said that if this mission ran into any danger, Linley should immediately flee and try to preserve himself. At that time, Linley had felt grateful towards Salomon. 

But afterwards, Linley had learned…

That this escort mission’s primary figure was actually Salomon!

“Most likely, he intentionally spread that ‘rumor’  as well.” Linley  said  to  himself.  “When  danger  came,  if  the  Fiends scattered everywhere, he would most likely have a chance to flee as well. By then, with so many people fleeing and him amongst them, others would only pay attention to the white- horned elder. Nobody would go deal with him.”

Linley had to admit that Salomon truly did think far ahead.

Hiring more Fiends was just done for obscuring the truth.

“It’s  best  to  be  somewhat  cautious  when  dealing  with someone like him. Otherwise, I’ll probably be taken advantage of him without even realizing it.” Linley couldn’t help but feel more guarded towards Salomon. 

The metallic lifeform had remained outside of Yilan City for roughly a month, and now it was once more heading off. Currently, the metallic lifeform had once more transformed to the size it had been at when leaving Royalwing City. The interior of the metallic lifeform once more appeared to be bustling.

The metallic lifeform. Linley and Delia’s room.

Delia was frowning as though thinking about something. She then  turned  to  look  at  Linley  and  spoke.  “Linley,  there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Hm, what is it?”  Linley turned his head to look at Delia. Judging from her expression, it seemed to be rather important.

Delia  frowned.  “Linley,  at  first,  when  we  accepted  this mission, we thought that it would help us move along the way in our journey. But I keep on having the feeling that this mission is too dangerous. Don’t you know who we are escorting? One of the ancient clans of the Infernal Realm and the massive wealth they have accumulated over countless years! We’ve been attacked twice already. I’m worried there will be a third attack. Most likely, the third attack will be even more dangerous than the first two. Although we do need to face some challenges in the Infernal Realm, but, we don’t need to put ourselves in such danger. We could die at any moment.”

Linley nodded.

During this journey, they had first suffered the bandit attack, which had only been a probe. The second attack within the castle of sand had been filled with danger. If there was a third attack, how dangerous would it be?

Linley reached out with his arm, taking Delia into his embrace. In a gentle voice, he said, “Delia, I know. However, we’ve already accepted this mission. What are we supposed to do, withdraw from it? Look at those other surviving Fiends. Do you see any of them withdrawing?”

If they had taken the chance to flee during a chaotic battle, they would at least have an excuse and say that they fled in terror and got separated. 

But actively withdrawing…

Once this was recorded down into the mission records of the Fiend Castles, once it spread out, they would have lost all face! In the Infernal Realm, courage was reverenced while cowardice was reviled! In addition, the Infernal Realm was dangerous to begin with. Everyone was psychologically prepared for the danger.

“That’s   not   what   I   meant.”    Delia   said   hurriedly.   “I understand that we can’t withdraw. Once that spreads to the Indigo Prefecture and your ancestors find out…we can’t lose face like that. All I wanted to say was that once we arrive at the Rainbow Prefecture’s Bluemaple City, we need to do a better job of selecting missions. An easier one.”

“I understand.”

Linley nodded, then comforted her, “Don’t worry. We’re halfway through the journey now. Wait a bit longer.” “Delia doesn’t like danger.” Linley said to himself quietly. In truth, only when teetering at the brink of death, when fighting for his life at the edge of the blade, when encountering danger, did Linley feel his blood pumping. He wasn’t afraid at all.

On the contrary, Linley felt as though he were back in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts as a youth.

This was a very exciting feeling.

“Creeaaaak.”  He  shut  the  door,  then  headed  towards  the main hall.

Because there were many Fiends, the main hall within the metallic lifeform seemed quite crowded. There were seven or eight people seated there drinking and chatting, two of whom Linley recognized. Months had passed since they had left Yilan City, and Linley had gotten to know these Fiends.

“Oi, Linley!” Immediately, a Fiend greeted Linley from afar. Linley grinned and waved back, then sat down by himself at a round table. He casually ordered two dishes and some wine, then began to drink by himself.

At this time, a muscular, two meter tall man with golden hair walked over, somewhat surprised. He looked at Linley curiously, then said softly, “You…are Linley?”

Puzzled, Linley looked up and glanced at him. “Right. I am Linley.”

“You are Linley Baruch?”  The golden haired man suddenly asked.

Linley was greatly shocked. Someone knew his full name. “You are?” The golden haired man, seeing the look on Linley’s face, laughed and sat down. “Linley, don’t be nervous. I’ve just heard of you before, that’s all.”

“Heard of me before?” Linley didn’t understand. In the Infernal Realm, he didn’t have much of a reputation.

How could a stranger recognize him?

“Let  me  introduce  myself  first.  My  name  is  Bachelor [Ba’che’lei]. As for why I know your name…Olivier, you know him, yes?” The man laughed.

Linley was shocked. “Bachelor, you know Olivier?”

After having been in the Infernal Realm for so long, upon suddenly hearing the name ‘Olivier’, Linley’s heart was filled with a strange feeling. After all, this was someone from his homeland of the Yulan Plane.

“Of course I know him.” Bachelor held a goblet of wine, laughing. “Olivier and I have a bit of a history together. We arrived in the same batch of people to the Infernal Realm, and then were tossed out by the Redbud Army together, so we took up residence in a nearby tribe.”

Linley nodded to himself. This was essentially his experience as well. 

“At that time, I was already a God, while Olivier was only a Demigod. However, his training speed was very fast. After roughly fifty years, he reached the God level in the Laws of Light.” Bachelor sighed. “And then, we came together to Yilan City to take part in the Fiend trials. We both succeeded in becoming One Star Fiends!”

Linley had a hint of a smile on his face.

It seemed as though Bachelor and Olivier’s relationship truly wasn’t just a superficial one.

“Then where is Olivier himself?” Linley asked.

Bachelor shook his head helplessly. “After becoming One Star Fiends, we took on a two star mission. However, we encountered some danger in that mission. Unable to deal with it, we all fled in every direction. I fled with some of my friends back to Yilan City. As for Olivier, I haven’t been able to find him.” Linley frowned.

“Perhaps Olivier is still alive. Who knows?” Bachelor raised his head, gulping down the wine in his goblet, then put it back down and sighed. “Fiend missions are filled with danger to begin with. If you die, you die.”

Linley nodded slightly.

In the Infernal Realm, death was all too common. Everyone was mentally prepared.

“When Olivier and I were in the tribe together, he mentioned you to me before. You gave him a very deep, lasting impression.” Bachelor sighed. “When I praised him for having been so quick to become a God, he said that you probably had reached this level as well. And it seems this is indeed the case!”

Linley let out a long, drawn breath. While they were in the Yulan continent, he and Olivier had often been viewed as equals and discussed in the same breath by others. The two were acclaimed as the two greatest talents the Yulan continent had seen in over ten thousand years. However, within the boundless Infernal Realm, Linley and Olivier were very unremarkable figures.

“I hope that Olivier is still alive.” Linley quietly prayed for his compatriot.

“I was able to run into two talents who come from the same material plane. This is a form of karmic destiny. Come, cheers.” Bachelor grinned as he spoke.

Linley had good impression of Bachelor as well, and so he laughed and raised his own goblet as well.

Linley began to casually chat while drinking with Bachelor. When Linley mentioned the battle at Moon Lake Castle, Bachelor shared his own experiences during his own Fiend trial. However, at this time, neither Linley nor Bachelor noticed that the metallic lifeform was currently flying through a volcanic region. 

“Based on the map, it should be an ordinary mountain range beneath us. Why did it transform into a volcano range?”

The two Fiends by the window chatted together.

Indeed, this volcano range had moved here not long ago!

Linley and Bachelor were still chatting happily.

“Linley, you have no idea. Even I thought that I was dead for sure. At that second, with a ‘slash’ sound, Olivier suddenly appeared behind the enemy, then stabbed him straight through the back of his head, killing him with a single blow. That’s the only reason why I managed to survive.” Bachelor said excitedly.

But right at that moment…

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” A dense array of sounds suddenly pierced through the skies, while at the same time, the metallic lifeform exploded apart with a ‘BOOM’ sound. Countless red boulders were smashing towards all of the Fiends within the metallic creature. Everything immediately became a scene of utter chaos.

“BOOM!” A Fiend who was drinking in the main hall not too far away from them was struck by one of those fiery red boulders. His body was smashed into a pulp, and his head was shattered open, his divine spark falling down from mid-air.

An enormous fiery boulder came smashing towards Linley, who immediately dodged, but the fiery red bolder suddenly arced in midair.

“BANG!” It smashed hard onto Linley’s body.

Linley’s body trembled violently, and the Pulseguard Armor on his body trembled as well. “Fortunately, this Pulseguard Armor   was   defensively   strong   enough!”    Linley   secretly celebrated. “Not good. Delia.” Linley immediately wanted to fly towards Delia.

But a large number of fiery boulders continued to smash around him.

Linley discovered that Bachelor was currently facing the attack of a fiery red boulder. Bachelor roared angrily, chopping down with the greatsword in his hands, and a surge of fierce power struck viciously against that fiery boulder, which was immediately cleft in two.

However, the two cleft halves actually continued to fly towards Bachelor.

Bachelor’s face changed dramatically.

“Whoosh!” An illusory, blurry violet sword shadow suddenly appeared. The violet sword shadow was lightning-fast, but it also gave a slow, plodding feeling. Wherever the sword shadow passed by, space itself trembled. The violet sword shadow struck towards those two boulders, which immediately shattered apart, transforming into a large amount of pebbles.

Bachelor immediately let out a breath, glancing sideways towards Linley with a hint of thankfulness in his eyes.

“Careful!” Linley’s face changed dramatically.

“Boom!”

A nearby fiery boulder that had been attacking someone else suddenly changed direction, smashing directly towards Bachelor’s  head.  “BANG!”  Bachelor’s  head  exploded,  and  a divine spark fell down from mid-air.

Chapter 16, Golden Magma

“Rumble…” Linley didn’t have the time to think about other things. He saw countless boulders everywhere, with so many above them that they blocked out the sun. All of the fiery boulders pressed down towards the Fiends, surrounding them. Linley himself was collected in by those countless boulders, rendering him unable to move.

“Crackle…”

All of the fiery red boulders began to move bizarrely. If someone was watching from the outside, that person would have discovered…that within the volcano range, a fiery mountain peak had suddenly appeared.

This mountain peak was formed from those countless fiery boulders.

Linley and the surviving Fiends, as well as the corpses of the dead Fiends, were within the mountain peak. “What is going on?” Linley stared in astonishment.

The boulders that had been surrounding him were all moved away, and in front of him was a narrow corridor. Linley followed through this narrow corridor for roughly ten meters, at which point he discovered an awesome spectacle…in front of him, there was a tunnel that led directly upwards and downwards!

At this time, one surviving Fiend after another was gathering in this vertical tunnel, coming out from their own narrow corridors. The group of them just floated there within the vertical tunnel.

“Delia?”   Linley  frantically  looked  for  her  towards  each corridor.

The vast majority of the Fiends who had survived to come out of the tunnel were Highgods, while a few Gods were amongst them. The sudden attack just now had caused many Gods to lose their lives. “Boss!” A voice suddenly rang out.

Linley immediately turned!

He saw Delia and Bebe emerge from within a distant corridor.

“Delia, Bebe.” Overjoyed, Linley immediately went over. Bebe and Delia’s eyes were filled with joy as well. Linley carefully looked at Delia, his heart delighted.

“It was all thanks to Bebe just now.” Delia sighed emotionally. “That attack came too suddenly, and there were many of those giant boulders. Fortunately, I was able to use the Deathgod Golem to take one of them head on. Afterwards, it was only thanks to Bebe’s help that I was able to safely pass through those terrifying waves of attacks.”

Bebe quirked his lips. “I just stood there. When the metallic creature was shattered, I was only a few meters away from Delia, so it was easy for me to help out.” Although he spoke casually, within Bebe’s eyes, there was still a hint of urgency. 

Linley understood that Bebe was worried about Nisse.

“Where’s Nisse? Wasn’t she with you at the time?”  Linley suddenly asked.

Bebe squeezed out a smile. “At that time, Ninny went to her brother’s place. Salomon is a Highgod. He should have been able to protect Ninny.”

“Bebe.” A voice rang out from afar.

Bebe immediately turned his head, and a look of delight appeared on his face. “Ninny.” Nisse and Salomon immediately flew over. After suffering this attack but not dying, everyone finally was able to smile.

Suddenly… “Everyone, let’s break open the mountain walls and go out.” Suddenly, someone called out.

“BANG!”

An explosion immediately followed. By the time Linley and the others turned their heads, all they saw was a shattered corpse falling downwards.

“What’s going on?” Linley’s group was somewhat mystified.

“Everyone, what should we do right now?” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Everyone, including Linley, turned to look. The speaker was a Highgod. Linley had heard of his name before; his name was Sperry. He had a rather high reputation amongst the group of Fiends who had been hired from Yilan City, and his strength was most likely that of a Four Star Fiend or a Five Star Fiend. This Sperry had long, slightly wavy brown hair.

With a flip of his hand, a black blade shadow suddenly appeared. Space shuddered as the blade shadow flashed past the mountain wall, carving out a half-meter deep hole, but the rocks carved out from the hole all shot out at high speed towards Sperry.

Countless blade shadows flashed, and those shattered rocks transformed into dust.

The strange thing was, the powdered rocks actually reformed, flying back to the half-meter deep hole in the mountain walls, completely filling it up. And then, the stone powder moved about, transforming to a very polished state without any hint of a blade scar.

“Everyone saw that, right?” Sperry swept everyone with his gaze.

Many of the Fiends present were highly experienced. Seeing this, they were able to hypothesize what the situation was. 

“This  should  be  a  Volcano  Titan!”  Immediately,  someone spoke out. “The most important part of a Volcano Titan is their energy nucleus. As long as the nucleus doesn’t shatter, they are able to control countless amounts of rocks to once more reform their enormous bodies. Most likely, this entire volcano range is just part of the enormous body of the Volcano Titan.”

“Volcano Titan?” Linley was shocked, and he couldn’t help but exchange glances with Bebe.

Linley thought of a type of creature. The strange thing he had encountered on the sixth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods…the Flame Tyrant!

At that time, that creature was also a mountain-sized giant. The first time, they had managed to destroy it, but a semi- translucent stone had formed as the center for the recreation of its body. Afterwards, Linley had relied on the Throbbing Pulse of the World to shake the energy nucleus to pieces, killing the creature. “Can it be that this is also a Flame Tyrant? Or, to be precise, the Highgod variant of a Flame Tyrant?” Linley wondered to himself. This ‘Volcano Titan’ was definitely a Highgod. If it was only a God, how could it have so easily killed so many Gods?

“I didn’t expect that we would end up inside the body of a creature! And this volcano range is a creature.” Bebe muttered.

“Everyone knows the situation. Now, what should we do?” Sperry said, and then he looked towards the white-horned elder. “What thoughts do you have? You have hired us for this mission, after all.”

The white-horned elder said sincerely, “How could I have any thoughts on this? Everyone, you decide.”

“We only have seven Highgod Fiends here.” Another person said clearly. “That ambush attack was dangerous to Gods, but not to most Highgods. Also…neither the Edwards brothers nor Learmonth are here. I refuse to believe that they would die! Thus, I imagine that the surviving Fiends have most likely been divided into two or three segments.” Everyone nodded slightly.

The three Edwards brothers and Learmonth were all extremely powerful experts in this mission. No one believed that the attack just now was capable of killing them.

However, Learmonth and the others weren’t here.

“Perhaps  they  are  in  another  part  of  the  Volcano  Titan’s body.” Sperry said calmly. “However, this Volcano Titan truly is bold, to allow us to enter his body. As long as we can find his energy nucleus and shatter it, he will die for certain. Come. We have no other choices. Let’s go downwards.”

Perry led them in flying downwards, and immediately, all the other Fiends immediately followed.

Linley and the others flew downwards as well. Soon afterwards, they landed on the ground. This place was covered with boiling rivers of lava, which had passageways and corridors to each side.

Within a palace that was hidden away deep within the volcano range, Elquin was seated on a chair, dressed in a black robe, holding that little golden kitten in his arms. Inigo, appearing rather respectful, was standing next to him.

“Phusro, how goes it?” Elquin gently petted the little golden kitten in his arms, smiling as he spoke.

“Meow. Master, I’ve already separated the Fiends apart, and the more powerful Fiends are now in a different area! That powerful Fiend named ‘Learmonth’ which Inigo described has been placed in a separate area, blocked off from everyone else. For now, he won’t be able to interfere with our plans. Meow.” The little golden kitten spoke in human tongues.

Elquin nodded slightly. “Meow. Master, that white-horned elder and that man whom Inigo said is probably a member of the Boyd clan have been placed by me in the same location. Right now, they have reached the Goldflame Pool. Meow.”  The little golden kitten said silkily.

Elquin smiled in satisfaction. “It’s about time. Let’s move!”

“Drip, drip…”

In the center of this cave, there was a pool of golden lava that was constantly boiling and hurtling about. The air on top of the magma pool was twisted and distorted from the high temperature.

By the time Linley and the other Fiends arrived here, some of the Fiends, upon seeing the pool of magma, had changed looks on their faces. They unconsciously backed away slightly from that golden magma. As for Linley and Bebe, who were rather inexperienced, they didn’t know how terrifying that golden magma was. “Liquefied Goldflame?” Salomon said softly.

“What’s  a  Goldflame?”   Linley,  Bebe,  and  Delia  didn’t understand.

Salomon said in a low voice, “This is a very monstrous toy. Its corrosiveness and temperature is extremely high. Forget about you; even a Highgod that falls in will be in trouble. Don’t go too close to it.”

“Liquefied Goldflame?” Although Linley was over ten meters away from that golden magma pool, he could still sense those waves of heat assaulting his body. If a Saint from a material plane was to come here, most likely within just a few meters of this golden magma pool, the Saint would immediately combust and burn to nothingness due to the temperature.

The group of Fiends all intentionally stayed a distance away from the golden magma pool, not daring to draw too near.

“Rumble…”   Quite  bizarrely,  the  stone  floor  around  the magma pool began to move like waves of water. All of the Fiends were caught off guard and immediately flew into the air.

“Swish!” “Swish!” “Swish!”

A large number of boulders from the cave walls suddenly fell down, while at the same time shooting towards Linley’s group of Fiends at astonishing speed. The densely clustered boulders shot over, and Linley and the others were forced to use their strength to block. Linley, Delia, Bebe, Nisse, and Salomon were all together.

“Bang!” A boulder slammed into him. Although his defense was powerful, Linley was still knocked flying by dozens of meters, and moved all the way over to the air above the golden magma.

“Drip, drip…”

The ‘magma’ in the golden magma pool suddenly transformed in to an enormous golden liquid hand, reaching out to grasp Linley. 

“Swish!”  Linley immediately activated the Profound Truths of Velocity, using it to maximum effect. He transformed into a surge of blue smoke, twisting strangely in the air and avoiding that clutch, then flying back to Delia and Bebe’s side.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Linley had managed to avoid disaster, but another person had also been knocked to the air above the magma pool and had been grabbed by that golden liquid hand, then dragged into the golden magma pool. Upon being dragged in…he never came out again. Only a few bubbles could be seen.

“Everyone, be careful. Don’t let yourself be knocked into that golden magma pool.” Linley could still taste his fear.

“Linley, you be careful too.” Salomon had the easiest time of their group. Whenever boulders drew near, a black light would flash in his hands and those boulders would immediately transform into smithereens. Delia was prepared now, and the Deathgod Golem was constantly smashing apart one boulder after another in front of her. Deathgod Golems were incomparably tough, far tougher than these boulders, and it sheared through them now.

“Ahhhh!”

Yet another person was knocked into the air above the golden magma pool, and two enormous liquid golden hands reached out, dragging him down. He, too, never appeared again. This sight caused those experts who were suffering the attacks of those many boulders to be terrified.

“Not only is this golden magma pool itself terrifying, the main issue is that this blazing titan is secretly using techniques against us. Even a Highgod who falls in that place will find it hard  to  survive.”  Salomon  sent  mentally  to  Linley  and  the others. “Everyone, be careful. Don’t fall in.”

Linley, Delia, and Bebe were all on maximum vigilance, smashing one boulder after another aside. Most of those who fell into the golden magma pool and died were Gods.

As for their employer, that white-horned elder, he had a fairly easy time of it. He was wielding a staff in his hands, which danced and whirled like a viper, deflecting the boulders which attacked him towards each side, with the boulders being unable to harm him at all.

But right at this moment…

From another corridor that also led to this cave, three figures walked out. It was the three Edwards brothers. When they had been in the metallic lifeform, they had shared a single room. After the metallic lifeform had exploded and shattered and those boulders had sought to crush them, the three brothers had still been together.

“There’s  actually  liquefied  Goldflame  here!”   The  three Edwards brothers carefully inspected the scene. “Ah, that Learmonth isn’t present!”  The eyes of the third Edwards brother shone. “Big brother, second brother, this is a good chance. That white-horned old man is right there.”

The three Edwards brothers were beginning to grow rather excited.

They didn’t consider how this opportunity had suddenly came. Learmonth wasn’t here; what did the three of them have to be afraid of?

Upon killing that white-horned elder, they would receive the astonishing wealth accumulated over countless years by the Boyd clan!

Chapter 17, The Fight Over the Priceless Treasure

“Drip, drip…” The golden magma pool was continuing to bubble and boil. The many fiery boulders shooting at them finally came to a halt.

Only now did Linley and the others let out sighs of relief.

Suddenly, the shattered stones that had been broken into dozens of pieces on the ground floated into the air. Everyone grew cautious, prepared to block at any moment. But these levitating stones just flew back towards the walls on each side, merging into those deep holes. After a vibration, the walls of the cave once more returned to normal.

It was as though those attacking boulders had been nothing more than a dream.

“Whew.” Linley’s group let out sighs of relief. “The survivors are fewer in number again.” Delia said softly. Everyone in the cave sensed a sort of pressure. Just now, those shooting boulders had been nothing more than an appetizer. The main course hadn’t arrived yet. However, less than ten Gods were surviving.

The Highgod Fiend, Sperry, said brightly, “Everyone, we…”

“BANG!”

Very suddenly, three thick electric serpents suddenly snaked across from the distant tunnel entrance, rapidly striking towards the white-horned elder. The strange thing was, the heads of the three electric serpents were flashing were saber light.

“Hrm!” Salomon’s forehead creased slightly.

The white-horned elder immediately grew solemn. His body swayed, and suddenly, one doppelganger after another filled the cave, floating in the air above it. There was an awe- inspiring sight of over three hundred doppelgangers, each one emitting the same soul aura. For the moment, there was no way to tell which one was the real one.

“Haha…” With loud, while laughter, the three electric serpents coiled and twisted, transforming into three people. It was the three Edward brothers.

“The  Edward  brothers.  What  are  you  doing!”  The  white- horned elder’s angry shout simultaneously came out from the mouths of the three-hundred plus doppelgangers, reverberating  throughout  the  cave.  “What  are  you  doing!” “What are you doing!” The angry sound continued to cascade and echo throughout the cave, carrying with it a hint of an unusual vibration.

Linley and the other Gods couldn’t help but feel their heads grow slightly dizzy.

“Profound Mysteries of Music?”  Linley couldn’t help but be startled. The three Edward brothers had separated long ago. They were standing in front of the three exits from the cave, preventing the white-horned elder from fleeing.

“What are we doing?” The eldest of the three Edward brothers laughed coldly, then opened his mouth wide. “Roaaaaaaar!” With this furious, earth-shaking roar, countless bolts of electric light spread out, covering the entire cave. And then, the electric bolts suddenly split apart, heading to two different ends.

The electric light condensed around the two ends, then shot out electricity in each direction.

“Crackle…”

Between each end was a strange electric radiation area, with the three hundred plus doppelgangers caught within the field. But it wasn’t just the three hundred doppelgangers that were caught here; Linley and the others were also caught within it, causing them to suffer as well. “Linley, Bebe, this is a sort of material attack of the Laws of Lightning. However, it is a rather unique type of material attack. Protect yourselves.” Salomon shouted to them through divine sense.

At the same time, Salomon’s hands spread out, and two rays of black light flashed out, ensconcing Delia and Nisse.

A material attack!

Bebe’s body was unbelievably tough. Naturally, he wouldn’t fear it.

“Thank you.” Linley said towards Salomon through divine sense. It was already very good of him to be willing to protect Delia.

“Ahhh!”  In the next instant, Linley sensed an astonishing, unique electric force trying to break through his Pulseguard Armor. Not only did it attack from in front, it also attacked from behind. However, the Pulseguard Armor’s defensive power was quite astonishing indeed. 

Linley was able to take it head on.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

One doppelganger after another exploded, while at the same time, of those God-level Fiends, aside from Linley and his group, only two managed to survive. The other Gods all perished.

“Second brother, third brother, you help out as well.”  The other two Edward brothers all opened their mouths as well.

With two angry roars erupting, even more electricity spewed forth into the air. Countless flashes of electricity condensed around those two ends, and instantly the penetrative power of the electric field multiplied. Those two luckily surviving God- level Fiends let out miserable cries, and then were burnt by the electricity to ash, leaving behind only their divine sparks. “Haaargh!” Salomon let out a low growl, and the black light surrounding Nisse and Delia also intensified, with his own expression becoming fiercer.

“Motherf*cker,  those  three  bastards  have  gone  crazy.” Salomon growled in a low voice.

Bebe’s body was extremely durable. Even though the penetrative power of the electric bolts had increased, he was still able to take it head on. As for Linley, however, the ‘Pulseguard Armor’ around his body was beginning to shudder.

“Not good.” Linley could clearly sense how innumerable tiny needle-like electric sparks were piercing through his Pulseguard Armor. The Pulseguard Armor shook violently, and at this point, Linley no longer hid anything. He immediately switched to his original form.

“Huh?”

The three Edwards brothers were greatly shocked. They couldn’t help but look at Linley. 

The azure-golden draconic scales covered his entire body, with a faint blue light swirling above the scales. An ancient, powerful aura emanated out from Linley’s Dragonform. Even Highgods couldn’t help but to turn and look. The powerful Dragonformed body didn’t fear the penetrative power of those electric sparks at all.

“He is…?”  The three Edwards brothers exchanged glances, coming to the same hypothesis.

With his body so incredibly endurable, there was no way Linley was one of those common Draconians. In addition, that aura he carried was also astonishing.

“It doesn’t matter who he is. Our target is only that white- horned old man. Brothers, let’s do it.” The three Edward brothers leapt forward at virtually the same instant, each wielding a thin knife, with faint electric light crackling on the surface. The white-horned elder let out an angry shout, and the longstaff in his hand came smashing down!

“Crackle…” Space began to crack and split open.

“The old fellow was pretending to be weak all along!”  The three Edward brothers had savage looks on their faces, with the eldest of them using his knife to smash against the longstaff.

“Bang!”

Like echoing thunder, the white-horned elder’s longstaff in his hands began to crackle with electricity, and he couldn’t help but shudder slightly for a moment. At this time, the other two Edward brothers simultaneously shot in this direction like arrows, moving so quickly that even Linley and the others could only feel astonished.

“Absolutely trampled!” Linley frowned. He couldn’t help but to glance at Salomon. 

This was the old servant of Salomon!

But Salomon didn’t move at all. He just watched quietly. Clearly, Salomon didn’t want to intervene at all, or perhaps… he didn’t have enough strength to intervene.

“Alas,  this  old  fellow  is  doing  to  die.”   Linley  sighed  to himself.

“Growl…” The roar of a dragon could be heard as an enormous electric dragon opened its mouth, bellowing and chomping down towards the white-horned elder. Facing death, the white-horned elder let out a wild, savage cry, and a deep explosion could be heard.

As the lightning dragon dispersed, the corpse of the white- horned elder fell to the ground as well.

The eldest of the three Edward brothers immediately grabbed the interspatial ring, and smiles appeared on their faces as well.

“We  finally  got  it!”   The  three  Edward  brothers  were incomparably excited.

The boiling, bubbling lava’s golden light shot out towards that interspatial ring, which was so dazzling to behold!

But right now, Linley’s attention was on Salomon and Nisse. Salomon was still very calm, but Nisse’s eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

“This Salomon definitely is unwilling to reveal his identity. The two old fellows are dead. Precisely speaking, this escort mission has lost its employers.”  Linley said to himself, and then Linley glanced at the wildly celebrating Edward brothers.

Linley knew very well that the actual priceless treasure lay with Salomon! “Haha…” Suddenly, a cold, sinister laugh echoed within the cave. Everyone, including the three Edward brothers, turned their heads to look. From another tunnel in the cave, a person appeared, completely covered in a black robe!

The black-robed man’s face was utterly pale, and in his hands, he held a golden kitten. He calmly said, “Do you three brothers think that you’ll be able to acquire the treasure of the Boyd clan?”

These words instantly caused the looks on the faces of the three Edward brothers to change.

“Be good boys and put down the interspatial ring, and I can spare  your  lives  and  permit  you  to  depart  this  place.”  The black-robed man, Elquin, said coldly.

Linley and the others very wisely withdrew to the corners of the cave.

“It seems things are going to become increasingly exciting.” Bebe’s eyes were shining. 

Linley’s attention was still on the nearby Salomon, who had a hint of a cold laugh on his face. Clearly, the coming disaster for the three Edward brothers was a source of pleasure for him. However, Linley was still puzzled. “Isn’t Salomon worried that the black-robed man will act against him as well?”

“The priceless treasures of the Boyd clan. In your dreams!” The eldest of the three Edward brothers shouted angrily.

“Bang!”

The three simultaneously transformed into three enormous electric serpents, snaking towards Elquin.

Elquin continued to hold the kitten with his left hand. He stretched out his right hand, which was covered with a translucent glove. Through the glove, one could see the details of his right hand clearly…this was a hand which was slightly black and had a yellow tint to it. A deathly aura!

The right hand stretched out and slapped towards the air in the direction of the three attackers. The three attacking electric serpents bizarrely began to break apart inch by inch, suddenly transforming back into the three Edward brothers. The three Edward brothers were extremely shocked and frightened. Without hesitating, they chose…

To flee!

“Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” “Swoosh!”

The three went flying towards the three different exits. After having exchanged blows, the three Edward brothers had discovered very clearly that they weren’t even close to being a match for the black-robed man. Their difference in power was simply too great. “He is at least a Seven Star Fiend, and he might  even  be  a  retired  Asura!”   The  three  brothers  were terrified.

“Fleeing?” Elquin laughed calmly. “Phusro!” “Meow.” The kitten in his arms let out a meow.

Suddenly….

The three corridors immediately closed, with this cave now being completely sealed off from the outside.

Seeing this, the three Edward brothers were completely stunned. They all turned and looked at each other, then their leader, the eldest, hurriedly said respectfully, “Milord, we three brothers no longer desire the priceless treasure. We offer it to you, milord, and hope that just like you said earlier, you can spare our lives, milord.”

“Oh. You don’t want it anymore?” Elquin laughed.

The three Edward brothers hurriedly nodded. “Unfortunately, I’ll only give someone a single chance! Just now,  you  didn’t  take  that  chance…”   As  he  spoke,  Elquin suddenly transformed into hundreds of doppelgangers, surrounding the three Edward brothers.

“Shadowshape  Doppelganger  technique.”   Bebe  stared  in astonishment, his eyes wide.

Elquin’s usage of it was clearly far superior to Bebe’s, whether in terms of speed or in the number of doppelgangers.

The three Edward brothers were momentarily unable to determine which one was the real body. With a sudden ‘BOOM!’, Elquin’s palm came slamming down towards the youngest of the three Edward brothers, and his head immediately exploded apart.

“Third brother!”

The eyes of the eldest brother and second brother of the three Edwards brothers instantly turned red, while at the same time, they hurriedly began to dodge. 

The Shadowshape technique was very terrifying, because the true body could constantly fluctuate between every single shadow. They could dodge a single shadow, but could they dodge so many?

“Soon, it will be your turn.” Elquin’s voice rang out.

“Bang!”  Yet another palm suddenly caused a man’s head to shatter.

“Second brother!” Only one remained.

“Bang!”  Another black shadow flashed by, and a right hand covered by a translucent glove smashed in the skull of the eldest of the three Edward brothers.

Immediately afterwards, all of the shadows reformed into a single form. The black-robed man was still holding the golden kitten. 

Within the cave, Linley and the others didn’t dare to so much as breathe too loudly.

Too terrifying!

“Can it be that he is a Seven Star Fiend? Or even a former Asura?” Linley couldn’t help but make this guess. Linley could tell that this Elquin’s speed was very terrifying. The three Edward brothers weren’t able to react to a single palm attack.

In addition, his strength was formidable as well; the combined attack of the three Edward brothers had been dispersed with a single palm slap!

“Those three idiots wanted to acquire the treasures of the Boyd clan, but they didn’t even know who the real owner of the treasure is.”  Esqusin snickered. When these words came out, the muscles on Salomon’s face began to twitch. Elquin turned to look at Salomon. With a calm laugh, he said, “Child of the Boyd clan, did you think that by hiding amongst the other Fiends that I wouldn’t be able to recognize you? Hand over the fortune of your clan to me. I will give you one chance as well. Give me the treasure, and I will let you leave!”

Salomon’s face instantly turned ashen, without any hint of blood at all.

Salomon turned his head, staring hatefully at Linley. His eyes were filled with venom!

The only person he had told his identity to was Linley!

Chapter 18, Salomon’s Rage

Salomon’s face was savage, and the fury in his heart was roaring.

He, Salomon, was only an illegitimate child of the Boyd clan. He had been kicked out of the household after entering it for only a single day! Alone and without any support, he had been escorted to his teacher’s place, a reclusive expert who had only accepted him as a disciple for his father’s sake.

However, his teacher was a person with an extremely perverted disposition.

“I endured the humiliation of being expelled from the clan, and the life of torment I lived with Teacher I endured as well. I dreamed of one day standing at the pinnacle of the Infernal Realm, and trample down upon those bastards who looked down on me. Everything was for the sake of this!”  Salomon thought back to all of the past years.

He had been enduring this entire time. 

After receiving the news from the two servants that the Boyd clan had been destroyed, and that the only remaining person with the blood of the Boyd clan remaining was him, he hadn’t been heartbroken; instead, he had been wildly jubilant!

If they died, good! Those bastards deserved to die!

His chance had come!

Because those two servants had brought an enormous fortune with them, in accordance with the plans his father had laid prior to dying, Salomon had remained hidden with his teacher for a long period of time. After achieving success, he led the two servants and his ignorant little sister out towards the Jadefloat Continent!

On this trip, Salomon was planning to spread his wings and become without peer!

His plans had been very perfect. 

The two servants had been two chess pieces he had been prepared to sacrifice to begin with. When he first saw Linley transform, Salomon had guessed Linley’s identity. For the sake of drawing a closer relationship with Linley, he had revealed his own name. At that time, he had thought that Linley wouldn’t immediately know his true identity.

After all, it was just a single character.

Salomon had thought that in the future, after Linley learned more about the affairs of the Boyd clan, he would feel Salomon had behaved very sincerely to him. Salomon had been in such danger, and yet had still revealed his identity! This action was a bit risky, but in order to win Linley’s trust, it was worth it.

More importantly…

First, he felt that Linley wouldn’t immediately know about the affairs of the Boyd clan. Second, he could tell what sort of a person Linley was, especially from the way Linley had risked his own life to rescue Salomon’s little sister. This let him understand that Linley shouldn’t be the sort of person who would lust after a friend’s wealth. After all, Linley had been willing to risk his own life for Salomon’s little sister; would he care about a little money?

Salomon’s calculations had been very clear.

However, who would have imagined that the affair at the castle of sand had caused the Boyd clan’s affairs to be revealed. Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but suspect who Salomon was. In order to reduce their suspicions, Salomon had told Linley his true identity. As Salomon saw it…Linley shouldn’t have been able to reveal it.

First of all, Linley’s character. He shouldn’t have been the type to reveal it.

Secondly, Linley remained within the metallic lifeform. He shouldn’t have had a chance to reveal it. But now…

This black-robed man had immediately been able to recognize him.

“The Boyd clan was destroyed, and those two old servants died as well. Who else in the entire Infernal Realm knows who I am? It must be Linley. Right. It was Linley. It was Linley who must have sent a message with someone else at Yilan City through divine sense and revealed my secrets. That must be it!”

Salomon was absolutely enraged.

“That bastard, Linley. He really puts on quite an act. Even I was tricked by him. I was wrong about him!” Salomon’s mind was filled with hatred. As he stared at Linley, his eyes betrayed his desire to devour Linley and tear his life away.

His dreams! His goals for which he had struggled towards for countless years!

It was very likely that it was Linley who caused them to all come to naught!

How could he not hate Linley?

Linley was currently flabbergasted. Salomon was staring at him viperously, but he hadn’t revealed Salomon’s identity!

“Linley,  you…you  are  impressive!”   Salomon  ground  his teeth, his eyes turning red.

“I…” Linley felt completely wronged.

He could guess that this Salomon definitely believed that it was he, Linley, who had revealed the secret. But he had never spoken of it. “Salomon.” Linley wanted to speak.

“You  don’t  need  to  say  anything!”   Salomon’s  gaze  was viperous. By his side, even Nisse, so familiar with him, felt her heart quiver. Was this her warm, friendly big brother?

“Salomon, why are you staring at my Boss like that? What sort  of  look  is  that?  What  sort  of  attitude  is  that?”  Bebe shouted angrily. In Bebe’s mind, Linley was like his parents or like his older brother; he wouldn’t permit anyone to treat Linley like this, even if the person was the big brother of the girl he liked.

Within the cave, the golden magma continued to bubble and boil.

But the aura now seemed very strange.

“Child of the Boyd clan, stop wasting time. My patience has limits.”  The black-robed Elquin, carrying the golden kitten, laughed calmly as he spoke. 

Salomon immediately turned his head to stare at him.

“You want the fortunes of my Boyd clan. I’ll tell you this…” Salomon’s face was savage. “I don’t have it!”

The smile on Elquin’s pale face vanished, leaving behind only a cold emotionless look. He stared coldly at Salomon. “It seems you want to die.”

“Even if you kill me, I still don’t have it.” Salomon raised his head.

“Hmph.”

Elquin sneered coldly, and then he suddenly seemed to have teleported as a black blur appeared in front of them. Elquin himself appeared right in front of Salomon, casually slapping towards Salomon with a palm. It was still that sallow, yellow hand which was covered by a translucent glove.

Salomon’s eyes were savage. He retreated at high speed, while at the same time, an explosive, gloomy black light burst forth from his hands. “Rumble…” The air shuddered, and the gloomy black light shot directly towards that seemingly slow but actually incredibly fast right hand.

“Bang!”

A very gentle sound. Elquin’s right hand trembled, then he hurriedly retracted it. His right hand remained that sallow yellow color, and he hadn’t been harmed at all.

“You…this is…? Tell me, who is your teacher?” Elquin gave Salomon a surprised glance.

Salomon, who had retreated to the distant edges of the cave, snickered. “Why ask about my teacher? Can it be that you are already afraid after I used just a minor technique like this?” A hint of anger appeared within Elquin’s ashen face. He let out a cold snort. “I gave you a chance, but you didn’t take it!” Elquin’s right hand stretched out slowly, and it gradually began to turn blood-red, and it swelled in size as well.

The entire right hand was now even larger than an ordinary person’s head, and it was as scarlet red as a drop of blood.

Elquin placed the golden kitten in his arms down, then turned to stare at Salomon. “Did you think that you would be able to threaten me with those little tricks?”  As soon as he spoke, Elquin suddenly transformed into hundreds of shadows, filling virtually the entire cave.

Elemental Laws of Darkness – Shadowshape Doppelganger technique!

“Am  I  really  going  to  be  forced  to  use  that  technique?” Salomon hesitated. Suddenly, a fan-sized blood red hand came slapping down towards his head. The air around the blood-red hand was twisting and distorting like a vortex, while at the same time the vortex of space was faintly swirling with a black smoke.

Salomon’s face changed dramatically, and then turned savage. He actually shot out with his own twin hands, a black light covering his right hand which clashed directly with that blood red palm.

“BANG!” The cave itself trembled.

Salomon was knocked backwards like a bag of sand from the blow.  “Crunch!”   The  bones  of  his  arms  were  shattered, revealing red flesh and blood as well as white chunks of bone that went flying everywhere. Salomon himself was smashed into the wall, and he spewed out fresh blood from his lips, then slid down to the ground.

“Big brother!” Nisse called out in alarm.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe all frowned. 

“Linley, why did Salomon act that way towards you? Can it be that it is because of his identity, that he thinks you revealed it?” Delia asked through her divine sense.

Linley felt sourness in his heart, and he sent back, “It should be, but I…”

“I know.” Of course Delia knew that Linley wasn’t the person to reveal it. After all, in the Infernal Realm, how many people did Linley even know? Even if wanted to send someone a message, he didn’t have the ability to.

Linley looked at the heavily wounded Salomon. All he could do was to secretly shake his head. Most likely, no matter what he said, Salomon wouldn’t believe him.

“Don’t kill me.” Salomon stood up and hurriedly shouted.

“Oh, you don’t want to die now?”  The black-robed Elquin snickered, while at the same time, with a wave of his hand, that little golden kitten returned to his arms while the blood red color in his right hand returned to his normal dark color. “What, are you now prepared to give me the wealth of the Boyd clan?”

Elquin was worried as well. Worried that Salomon wasn’t actually carrying the treasure on him. This was why Elquin didn’t want to directly kill Salomon either.

“My teacher’s name is Elektra [Yi’lai’ke’te’la]!” Salomon said hurriedly.

Elquin frowned, a look of detestation appearing on his face. “So it really is that freak, Elektra. When I saw the destructive light you generated, I knew it. Child of the Boyd clan, for you to be his disciple means that you really have quite the capacity for endurance.” Elquin let out two chuckles.

Salomon’s face was gloomy. He thought back to the time he had spent by his teacher’s side, which was indeed extremely painful. “The  fortune  of  the  Boyd  clan?  Where  is  it?”   Elquin continued.

Salomon’s face turned rigid. Just now, he had been hoping that upon hearing the name of his teacher, this person would give up. However…it seemed as though this person didn’t care too much about his teacher.

Elquin, seeing the look on Salomon’s face, understood. Letting out a cold laugh, he said, “What, did you think that just because you reported your teacher’s name, I would be afraid? First of all, given your teacher’s temperament, even if you died, he wouldn’t come out to avenge you. In addition, even if your teacher did come, I, Elquin, wouldn’t be afraid of him, that old freak!”

Salomon hesitated a moment. Seeing that Elquin’s face was slowly growing more sinister, he hurriedly said, “Mr. Elquin, please give me a little time.”

“Fine.” Elquin nodded slightly. He didn’t want to force Salomon too much either. After all, who knew if Salomon had put the treasure somewhere else.

Right now, within the cave, aside from Linley’s group, there were several other Highgod Fiends who were maintaining their silence. These Highgod Fiends, upon hearing the dialogue between Salomon and the Elquin, could guess now what the treasure they were escorting on this mission was.

“So this fellow is actually a member of the Boyd clan.” Those Highgod Fiends all looked towards Salomon.

But Salomon himself was staring at Linley. In a low voice, he said, “Linley, do you know how many years I have waited for this day?”

“Salomon, I didn’t…”

“No need to speak.” Salomon shouted in a cold voice, and the gaze which he swept towards Linley carried within it a hint of viperous fury. “Linley, for this day, I have trained for over a million years! A million years! Do you know how long a period of time that is? In addition, I had to endure the torments of that old freak Elektra!”

Elquin’s eyes contained a hint of amusement within them. “A million years? This little fellow’s endurance really is pretty strong.”

Salomon’s eyes were glowing red. “I’ve been enduring this entire time. Waiting! The final hope of the Boyd clan, the final hope of myself, Salomon! I, Salomon, trusted you and told you my identity. But…I didn’t expect that you would actually reveal it! You, Linley, actually destroyed my one and only hope!”

“I misjudged you!”

Salomon ground his teeth. “You greedy, ravenous wolf, I misjudged you!!!”

Salomon turned to stare at Elquin. “Mr. Elquin, I truly am amazed that you were able to insert a spy like Linley into the escort squad of Fiends. I truly admire you. I admire you so much I could kowtow to you!” Every single word of Salomon’s contained boundless anger.

Elquin raised an eyebrow, then laughed. He didn’t deny it!

Elquin’s laughter, as Salomon saw it, was a self-delighted laugh. He became all the more enraged!

“Big brother Linley, it really was you?”  Only now did Nisse begin to understand. She stared at Linley in disbelief. “You actually belong to this Elquin’s side? It was you who revealed my big brother’s status?”  Nisse hadn’t understood how the other side had come to know of her brother’s identity.

But now, she understood.

Linley  felt  misery  in  his  heart.  He  spoke  out,  “Salomon, Nisse, if I told you that it wasn’t me who revealed it, would you believe it?” “Ninny!” Bebe’s handsome, delicate face was filled with rage. “My Boss said he didn’t reveal it, and that means he definitely didn’t reveal it. In addition, we don’t even know this black- robed guy! I can vouch for it with my life. Ninny, can it be that you don’t even trust me?”

“But, my big brother, he…” Nisse knew very well how hard her big brother had been striving.

Once he succeeded in this venture, her big brother would rise to the heavens in a single bound.

“Bullshit.” Salomon glanced coldly at Bebe. “Ninny, can’t you tell that this Bebe grew close to you, most likely as part of a pre-planned plot?” Upon hearing this, Nisse’s face couldn’t help but turn white. After speaking, Salomon turned to look at Elquin. “Mr. Elquin, I know that Linley belongs to your side, but…I hope that you will kill him! Otherwise, don’t even think about acquiring the treasures of my clan!”

Chapter 19, Kiss

When these words came out, Linley’s face couldn’t help but change.

If it weren’t because Salomon was worried about Elquin, he would have killed Linley long ago. After all, as Salomon saw it, Linley was someone who should have been on Elquin’s side. Naturally, he wouldn’t easily offend Elquin.

“Salomon, you asshole!” Bebe immediately bellowed in fury. “I told you, my Boss definitely did not reveal your secret. Why are you so convinced that it was my Boss who did it? And you want to kill him? You are a motherf*cking asshole, an asshole!!!”

Bebe actually wanted to kill Salomon right now, but his strength was far inferior to Salomon’s!

“Salomon, on this entire way over, Linley remained within the metallic creature. How could he have had the opportunity to reveal your secret?” Delia was frantic as well. She was afraid of Linley being killed. 

Linley just stared at Salomon silently. By now, Linley knew exactly what sort of person this Salomon was. He was the type of person who would pretend to be an extremely good person and to feign kindness for the sake of his goal, in a way which others would not be able to notice at all.

However, once he failed in his goals, a type of person like him would reveal his true, ferocious side! Far more terrifying and terrible than ordinary people!

“Die. You will die. Not just you, Linley. Also, your wife. And your brother, Bebe. All of you will die!!!”  Salomon seemed to have gone insane, as he pointed at Linley, Delia, and Bebe.

Hearing that her big brother wanted to kill even Bebe, Nisse immediately grew frantic.

“Big brother, Bebe, he…” Nisse said frantically. “Nisse!” Salomon shouted. “Haven’t you seen the true faces of these three yet? Bebe didn’t have any good intentions when he made friends with you!”

Nisse couldn’t help but to turn and look towards Bebe.

Bebe’s gaze was as ice, and he stared coldly at Salomon. “Salomon, I hate being slandered by others. Not only do you slander me, you want to kill my Boss and Delia. Then you…” Bebe glanced at the nearby Nisse. “Nisse, don’t blame me for what I am going to do.”

“Bebe, what are you going to do?”  Linley could sense that Bebe was behaving differently.

Bebe’s face was like ice. From within his hands appeared that black dagger, the dagger which Beirut had given him.

“This is…”  Elquin’s eyes lit up, and he glanced at Bebe in surprise. Bebe then opened his lips wide, and a round black pearl floated out from within his lips. This pitch black pearl actually flew into the handle of the dagger, fitting itself into an opening there which it was perfectly fitted for. And then, the surface of the dagger began to be covered with a blue aura.

“Crackle…” Space trembled.

Even though the dagger hadn’t moved, the blue aura was powerful enough to cause space to tremble.

“What  is  this?”  Salomon,  Nisse,  and  the  other  surviving Highgods including Sperry all were shocked. They could clearly sense the threat which this dagger posed to them. Not a single one of them dared to take on that dagger head on.

Linley and Delia were both puzzled as well. Even they hadn’t known that Bebe had been hiding this trump card, but the terrifying aura which emanated out from the dagger after the pearl entered it could be sensed clearly. “Too terrifying. That aura…most likely not even a Highgod can take it.” Linley had believed all along that given how much Beirut cared about Bebe, he definitely would have given Bebe a trump card for preserving his life.

And now, it seemed as though this was it.

“Bebe, don’t.” Nisse said hurriedly.

Bebe just stared coldly at Salomon. In an icy voice, he said, “Salomon, die.” The dagger in his hand suddenly flew out…

“Swish!”

A black light flashed, and a hole was easily torn in space, as though the space of the Infernal Realm was just a piece of paper. The power of this attack was simply astonishing and unheard of. Salomon’s face changed as well, but the speed of that black light was simply too fast. He wasn’t able to dodge! Suddenly, an enormous scarlet blood-red hand appeared, and space began to twist into a vortex.

“Bang!”

The black light and the scarlet blood-red hand collided.

The black light immediately flew back into Bebe’s hand. Bebe’s face had turned somewhat pale, and he stared in astonishment at Elquin.

Elquin was sent moving backwards by dozens of meters as well, and he stared in astonishment at the dagger in Bebe’s hands. He said to himself in shock, “As I thought. I didn’t expect that Beirut would actually give a treasure as precious as this to him. This little fellow and Beirut definitely have an extraordinary relationship.”

Elquin was secretly shocked. Elquin knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful Beirut was. Immediately, his thoughts turned, and Elquin made up his mind.  “Since  this  treasure  is  in  this  little  fellow’s  hands,  I cannot kill this little fellow. Otherwise…Beirut will definitely learn of it, and once he has me on his mind, I’ll be in for trouble.”

Linley and the others, including the Highgod Fiends and Salomon, were all greatly shocked. They all knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful Elquin was; the three Edward brothers weren’t able to resist at all when they had fought. But that queer dagger of Bebe’s had actually forced him backwards.

But how could they have known…

“Bebe,  that  technique  of  yours…?”   Linley  was  greatly surprised.

Bebe sent through divine sense, “I’m not that powerful. The person who forced that fellow to retreat was the power of Grandpa Beirut, which had been contained within that spirit- pearl. It can be said that it was Grandpa Beirut who defeated him.” Bebe, in truth, just followed the instructions in activating it.

Elquin glanced at Bebe, then turned to look at Salomon. “Salomon, in order to protect you, I lost a Highgod artifact which I have been using for a trillion years.”

Only now did Linley and the others realize…

That the translucent glove which had been on Elquin’s right hand had been torn apart!

“Beirut  really  lives  up  to  his  reputation.”   Elquin’s  heart shuddered. Although he was a reclusive expert, there was still a great gap when compared to the legendary and mighty figure, Beirut, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to prominence.

Elquin’s heart was filled with anger, and he stared at Salomon. A Highgod artifact which he had been nurturing for over a trillion years was incredibly precious to its user. After all, how could a purchased Highgod artifact compare to a Highgod artifact which you had been personally nurturing?

“I  told  you.  That  Delia  and  that  Bebe  all  have  to  die!” Salomon growled.

“I cannot kill that Bebe. The others can die! Salomon, don’t test my patience further.” Elquin said calmly.

“Fine.”  Salomon nodded. “That little rascal can be spared.” In his heart, Salomon still hated Linley the most.

“Phusro, handle it.” Elquin said calmly.

“Meow.” The golden kitten meowed gently.

It was extremely strange. The stone walls of the entire cavern suddenly came pressing down, and the space within the cave immediately shrank in size. The faces of Linley and the others changed dramatically. They saw the stone walls constantly press down towards them, and the other Highgod Fiends immediately began to bellow with rage and strike at the stone walls.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

Explosions could be heard nonstop, but their full strength blows could at most chop out a half-meter long hole which would immediately heal.

In but a few moments, the space of this cavern had shrunk to less than 30%. The mountain walls continued to press them towards that golden magma pool. In other words…every person within the cave no longer had enough space to stand. They had to hover in the air, hover above that golden magma pool.

Even Elquin and Salomon were hovering there. “Delia.  Hurry  up  and  use  your  Deathgod  Golem  to  block below you.” Linley was worried that Delia would be dragged into the golden magma pool.

“Right.” Delia nodded gently, and then glanced at Linley.

“Lord  Elquin,  Salomon,  we  didn’t  interfere.  Release  us.” Sperry and the other five Highods said hurriedly.

Salomon, his heart currently filled with fury, glanced at them coldly. “Hmph. All of you can die.”

“Phusro.” Elquin said calmly.

“Meow…” The golden kitten purred, a hint of joy seemingly contained within his voice.

Instantly… The previously calm and quiet golden magma pool beneath them suddenly transformed into a large number of giant liquid golden hands which snatched at the Fiends above. Dozens of enormous hands had erupted forth from this golden magma pool.

“Swoosh!”

All of the Fiends immediately tried to rely on their speed to dodge. The air above the golden magma pool was filled with countless figures as everyone frantically tried to dodge.

Only Elquin, Salomon, Nisse, and Bebe weren’t being attacked by any of the giant liquid golden hands.

“Bebe,   you   and   Delia,   stay   together.”    Linley   shouted mentally. “Got it, Boss.” Bebe immediately drew closer to Delia. Indeed, those giant liquid golden hands tried to avoid Bebe and moved away from him.

However, those giant liquid golden hands would still move in an arcing route to try and snatch Delia. 

By being next to Bebe, though, Delia was in less danger now.

“If this continues, it won’t end well.”  Linley had a terrible feeling, because he knew…that there were no corridors nearby. They could dodge for a time, but they couldn’t dodge forever. Eventually, they would be caught.

“Aaaah!” Suddenly, a Highgod was seized by one of the giant liquid golden hands.

Upon one giant liquid golden hand grabbing the Highgod, immediately, the many other giant liquid golden hands surrounded him, then dragged him directly into the golden magma pool. This scene caused the faces of Linley and the others to change.

“Boss!” Bebe’s frantic voice rang out in Linley’s mind.

Linley turned to look. It was Delia who was now surrounded by the giant liquid golden hands. Although Delia had Bebe helping out, her own power was simply too weak. In the end, she was still caught by that giant liquid golden hand, and once she was caught, there was no way she could break free.

“Crackle!” Delia was dragged directly into the golden magma pool. Her feet first entered the pool, and Delia continued to stare upwards towards Linley.

Linley seemed to have been gone dumb.

“Linley. Take care of yourself.” Delia’s divine sense echoed in Linley’s mind.

“Delia!”  Linley’s eyes instantly turned scarlet red. He shot down like an arrow, ignoring all else as he charged towards Delia. Linley stared at Delia, and Delia stared at Linley! In this moment, only Delia’s head remained above the surface of the magma pool.

The two were only ten meters apart from each other. Given Linley’s speed, that distance could be traversed in but the blink of an eye. 

But in that instant, one scene after another of the two being together flashed through Linley’s mind, as fast as lightning.

In his youth, the two had been class together at the Institute.

Ten years of parting, then their reunion.

The Anarchic Lands, their marriage, their child.

Their arrival in the Infernal Realm. Delia had followed him here without reservations, and they had adventured through the Infernal Realm. Silently, noiselessly, Delia had become the other half of his life. Neither of them could be without the other.

In the instant she was dragged down into the magma pool, seeing how Linley ignored everything else and immediately charged down, Delia’s tears began to fall. “Boom!” Magma sprayed everywhere!

Linley burrowed into the magma, clutching Delia’s already- submerging body. The earthen aura surrounding Linley immediately covered Delia as well, as a ‘Pulseguard Armor’ formed on Delia’s body. Only, the corrosive power of that golden magma was simply too great. The Pulseguard Armor couldn’t help but begin to tremble and melt.

Linley frantically used the divine power of his divine earth clone to maintain the Pulseguard Armor.

Within the magma pool.

The yellow earthen aura covered Linley and Delia, and a strange type of spiritual energy slowly circled around Linley and Delia’s consciousness. That strange energy was actually able to locate the flaw in Linley’s damaged soul-protecting Sovereign artifact and easily slip through.

Linley and Delia both begin to grow woozy. 

“Linley. You are such a fool.”  Delia’s eyes were filled with tears.

“We roamed the Infernal Realm together. Even if we die, we die together.”

Delia was on the verge of losing consciousness, but she still managed to smile. “Linley. I feel very satisfied with the life I have lived.” And then, she struggled hard to raise her head and kiss Linley on the lips, and Linley kissed Delia back. In the last moment before Linley lost all consciousness, one scene after another from his youth until now flashed through his mind like lightning.

His meeting with Grandpa Doehring.

Killing the king of the Kingdom of Fenlai.

His fame shaking the world in the O’Brien Empire. 

The founding of the Baruch Empire.

The adventure in the Necropolis of the Gods.

The destruction of the Radiant Church.

And then their adventuring in the Infernal Realm, where his wife had accompanied him until death. When they had arrived in the Infernal Realm, Linley had been mentally prepared to die. After all, in the constant slaughterfield that was the Infernal Realm, anybody could die. Even if he died…he would die happy.

He was dying alongside his beloved!

“Me too. I am very satisfied with my life!”

And then… His consciousness was gone.

Chapter 20, Talisman

“Drip, drip.”  The golden magma pool continued to bubble and boil. Those giant liquid golden hands now tried to snatch the three remaining Highgods.

Only three lucky survivors were left!

“Salomon, that bastard. Even if we die, we need to make him die with us.”  Sperry sent a message with divine sense to the other two. They could already feel that dodging was very difficult.

“Right. Make him die with us!”

The Fiends of the Infernal Realm were all mentally prepared for death. Only, they didn’t want to die, and even if they were to die, they wouldn’t let their enemies get off lightly!

“Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” The three Highgod Fiends simultaneously charged towards Salomon, but before they even drew near him, that sallow, charred yellow hand once again came slapping towards them. “BANG!”  One of the Highgod Fiend’s skull was smashed and exploded apart.

“Elquin!” The other two Highgod Fiends were shocked.

Clearly, this Elquin wouldn’t permit them to kill Salomon!

“Kill his little sister!”  Sperry and the other Highgod Fiend, knowing that death was nigh, in their fury decided that they would kill whoever they could lay their hands on. The two Fiends just barely dodged those giant liquid golden hands, then charged straight towards Nisse, hovering there in mid-air.

At this moment, Bebe was hovering there in mid-air, unmoving. When he saw Linley and Delia be dragged into the magma pool, he was stunned. But then…

“Boss…isn’t dead!” Bebe’s eyes were filled with surprised joy. “I can still sense the Boss’s soul!” The two were connected spiritually. As long as Linley was alive, Bebe would naturally be able to sense him.

The golden magma pool was only so big. Given the speed of these Highgod Fiends, Nisse was only able to move slightly before the Highgod Fiends arrived in front of her. A blurry, indistinct blade shadow came chopping down, and Nisse’s face instantly turned white.

“Clang!” A metallic sound could be heard.

Nisse felt that she was being tightly embraced, and she opened  her  eyes  in  shock.  “Bebe!”   It  was  Bebe  who  had embraced her and had taken this attack for her.

“Aaah!”   Because  of  the  counter-force  from  his  chopping attack, that Highgod Fiend was caught by those giant liquid golden hands. Although he frantically struggled, in the end, he was still dragged down by those giant liquid golden hands into the golden magma pool, and not a hint of life was left after that. 

“Crackle…”

The many giant liquid golden hands spread out like the petals of a floor, directly swallowing the final Highgod Fiend, Sperry, then pulling him into the golden magma pool.

“Bebe, are you alright?”  Nisse said, worried. But as soon as she spoke out, she immediately came to her senses. She realized that Linley had very possibly revealed her big brother’s secret, and that this Bebe had most likely intentionally made friends with her.

“I’m fine. That bastard actually even used a soul attack.” Bebe’s face was somewhat ashen, but then he was stunned as well. He noticed Nisse’s expression.

Bebe let out a bitter laugh, then gently release Nissed.

As Nisse left his embrace, for some reason, she felt her heart ache! 

Bebe rubbed his nose. “I was wrong to think my love was reciprocated.”  Nisse, hearing this, felt a miserable feeling in her heart, but this information about the secret being revealed was like a thorn in her heart. “But wait, if Bebe had truly lied to me, he wouldn’t have risked his own life to save me just now.”

“Take care of yourself, Ninny.”  The sound rang out next to her ears, and then…SPLASH!

Only now did Nisse realize that Bebe had already jumped into the magma pool. Nisse was instantly stunned! In her mind, she could still clearly see that rowdy, playful, but towards her always considerate straw hat wearing youth!

“Bebe…died?”   Nisse  felt  as  though  her  heart  was  being ripped apart.

“Nisse, what are you doing?!” Salomon shouted, while at the same time he flew to Nisse’s side. “Big brother, Bebe, he…”  Nisse’s eyes were beginning to be covered with a layer of mist.

Salomon shouted, “What are you thinking? That Bebe did it on purpose. His body is tough, so he knew he would be able to take that blow. He did that on purpose, because it wouldn’t pose any threat to him! You need to remember, Linley is our enemy. It’s a good thing that he died, because otherwise…”

Salomon’s heart was still filled with hatred.

“But, but if Bebe didn’t care about me, he didn’t have to save me.” Nisse argued.

“That’s exactly what he wanted you to think.” Salomon said coldly. “Nisse, that Bebe is extremely crafty and sly.”

With a rumbling sound, the four walls of the stone cave once more spread out, and the space of the cave expanded once more. Elquin, holding that little golden kitten, landed on the flat ground, and Salomon pulled his little sister to fly over as well. 

At the bottom of the golden magma pool, there was a place where the magma had naturally split open, forming a true, empty space. Linley and Delia were currently embracing each other there.

“What…what’s going on?” Linley and Delia both woke up.

Delia immediately used her divine power to repair her body while staring at Linley. Linley shook his head as well. “I don’t know either.”

And then, Linley and Delia both began to laugh.

“Linley. I thought I was dead.” Delia said gently.

“Me too. I thought I was going to die.”  Linley felt a warm feeling in his heart. With a wife like this in his life, what more could he ask for? After truly having walked on the fine line between life and death, this time, Linley had truly believed he was dead. But who would have imagined that he would survive? This sort of feeling truly was astonishing and shook his soul.

“Linley.”  In Linley’s arms, Delia looked up towards Linley. “After this experience, my heart is calm. Linley, although the Infernal Realm has many dangers, as long as you are by my side, I won’t be afraid no matter where I go.”

Linley held Delia, his heart filled with joy and bliss. He didn’t say a word.

“You two, husband and wife, are really enjoying yourselves.” A deep voice rang out in the mind of Linley and Delia.

Linley and Delia were both shocked.

“You are…?” Linley spoke. “Everyone else who entered this liquefied pool of Goldflame is dead, aside from you two. Even the Highgods are dead.” The deep voice continued.

Linley and Delia instantly understood who this person was.

“You are the Volcano Titan?” Linley said.

“Right. You may address me as Phusro.” The deep voice said.

“Phusro?”   Linley  thought  back  to  how  the  black-robed Elquin had held that golden kitten in his arms. Elquin seemed to have addressed the kitten as ‘Phusro’.

“You are a member of the Four Divine Beasts clan, but more importantly, the relationship between you and that Bebe is quite deep. Thus, Master ordered me to spare your lives when pulling you into the liquefied pool of Goldflame, so as to temporarily fool that Salomon.” “You can wait right here for now. I won’t claim your little lives. I imagine that you know that I can kill you at any time. Don’t go out.”

And then, the voice disappeared.

Linley and Delia exchanged a glance, then laughed. Delia said, “Linley, before this, I saw that Elquin was afraid to do anything to Bebe. He wanted to spare Bebe. I was wondering… why didn’t he spare us? So actually, that was this Elquin’s plan all along.”

Linley laughed as well.

Indeed, everyone else who had entered the golden magma pool had died, so as to give Salomon a false impression…that anyone who entered the golden magma pool would die.

Actually, the golden magma pool was under the control of ‘Phusro’. If he didn’t want someone to die of course that person wouldn’t die. 

“This Phusro’s power truly is terrifying.” Linley was secretly shocked. That spiritual energy had gone straight through the flaw in his soul defense. Linley had known all along that powerful Highgods were capable of this.

But now, he had actually encountered it.

“Plonk!”

Suddenly, a figured charged down at high speed through the pool, then straight towards him. Linley could clearly sense the ripples of that soul. “Bebe, what are you doing here?!”  Bebe quickly charged down into this area of land.

“Boss, so you really are alright!” Bebe saw Linley and Delia, and was instantly overjoyed.

“You guys really are a pain!”  Phusro’s voice rang out once more in the minds of the three. 

“Who is he?” Bebe’s face changed.

Linley explained, “He’s the Volcano Titan, Phusro.”

“Phusro? Can it be that he’s the kitten?” Bebe’s eyes lit up.

“DON’T MENTION KITTENS!!!”  Phusro’s voice exploded in fury. “Enough. The three of you, obediently stay here and don’t go out. The sound from outside will carry in here. Don’t worry, though…your voices won’t be able to transmit out.”

Linley, Delia, and Bebe were at the bottom of the golden magma pool. Indeed, they could hear the voices from outside.

Elquin, holding the golden kitten, laughed calmly as he looked at Salomon. “Salomon, all of them are dead now. I’ve given you face. You should give me the treasures of your clan to me now, right? Is it on you, or is it somewhere else?” Nisse appeared quite nervous.

Salomon laughed calmly. “Right. I admit that I am a member of the Boyd clan, but Mr. Elquin, I have to tell you something.”

“Speak.”  Elquin frowned. He felt as though something was amiss.

“The  amount  of  wealth  I  have  on  me,  and  in  fact  even including all the wealth I have in other places, amounts to less than ten billion inkstones!” Salomon laughed calmly.

Ten billion inkstones, to ordinary Highgods, was an enormous figure. But to Elquin, it was nothing at all. To the Boyd clan, it was comparable to a single hair on the body of nine bulls.

“You are playing me for a fool?” Elquin’s face changed. Salomon hurriedly said, “No, no, I’m not playing you. To tell you the truth, those two old servants of mine did in fact bring a vast fortune to me, but…I’ve already offered the fortune to someone else!”

“To who?” Elquin frowned. “You’d best not lie to me.”

“To Lord Aiken [Ai’ken]!” Salomon replied.

Elquin’s face changed. “Aiken?” Elquin couldn’t help but feel angered,  and  he  shouted  angrily,  “Salomon,  Lord  Aiken  is indeed powerful, and I, Elquin, don’t dare irritate him, but…do you think that just because you randomly report a name to me, that I will give up? Why don’t you say Beirut? Why don’t you go ahead and say that you gave it to the almighty Sovereign, the Redbud Ruler? Anybody can name names!”

With a flip of his hand, Salomon revealed a black talisman which was covered with complicated runes.

“You should recognize this talisman.” Salomon said. 

“Hrm?”

Elquin’s face changed, and he was instantly speechless. He could recognize it. This was indeed Lord Aiken’s talisman. Since Salomon had this talisman, then the relationship between himself and Aiken must be extraordinary, or perhaps…Aiken had ordered him to carry out something.

Aiken, without question, was one of if not the most powerful figure in the Redbud Continent. Some even suspected that he had reached the level of being a Paragon.

He had previously been an Asura, but then he had voluntarily stepped down and allowed another Seven Star Fiend to take over. Nobody believed that it was because Aiken wasn’t strong enough. Everyone knew exactly how terrifying Aiken was! Although he was not an Asura, his power was far greater than that of most Asuras.

Aiken of the Redbud Continent. Beirut of the Bloodridge Continent. They were all dazzling, legendary figures. 

“Drip, drip…”  The golden magma in the cave continued to bubble and hiss. Other than that, it was silent.

“Inigo, what say you? What should we do?” Elquin turned to stare behind him. Suddenly, a tunnel appeared in the stone wall, and a person came out. It was Inigo.

Inigo stepped out. He had been listening all along.

“Although this Salomon has the talisman of Lord Aiken, but, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the wealth of his clan on him.” Inigo said.

“You are…” Salomon and NIsse stared at him.

“I saw you before at the castle of sand.”  Nisse called out in surprise. Inigo was slightly startled. Right. When the castle of sand had collapsed, Inigo and the others had indeed been seen.

Inigo then smiled slightly. “Right. Salomon, I am the person who was pursuing and attacking you. What of it?”

“That time?” Salomon began to understand.

“Right. It was I who told Lord Elquin of your identity.” Inigo let out a chuckle. “Hmph. When you were at the Jingan Prefecture, you were kicked out by your Boyd clan. Although that was a minor matter, at that time, I just so happened to notice.”

Salomon was stunned.

“Pity that kid named Linley. He really was wrongly accused by you.” Inigo began to laugh.

Chapter 21, Sovereign’s Might

At the bottom of that pool of golden magma, Linley and the others could clearly hear the sounds coming from up above.

“Linley, they finally realize that you were accused wrongly.” Delia was very happy at this moment, but Bebe said fumingly, “That Salomon really is an asshole. After finding out that his identity was revealed, he ignored everything else and insisted on believing that it was you, Boss, who revealed it. This sort of person is absolute not worth treating as a friend!”

Ever since Salomon had asked Elquin to kill Linley, in the hearts of Delia and Bebe, they very much detested this Salomon.

“Salomon. It isn’t worth getting angry over him.” Linley shook his head. “Only, it’s a pity, Bebe. That Nisse was still a pretty good person.”

“Ninny?” Bebe was stunned. He thought back to how he had protected Nisse, but Nisse still seemed to somewhat distrust him.

Suddenly, the sound of sobbing came from up above.

“It’s Ninny.” Bebe raised his head, but all he could see from up above was the boiling golden magma.

The golden magma caused the temperature of the entire cave to be extremely high. Even the air in the cavern was twisted and distorted.

“Linley…was  wrongfully  accused?”   Salomon  stood  there, silent for a moment.

But the grief which Nisse had been suppressing for quite some time now exploded out. She actually ran straight towards that golden magma pool. Salomon was terrified, and he hurriedly  grabbed  Nisse  by  her  hand.  “Nisse,  what  are  you doing? Are you trying to die?” This was liquefied Goldflame.

Perhaps powerful Highgods could withstand it, but generally speaking, Gods who entered it would die.

“It was my fault. It was all my fault. I should have trusted Bebe. I should have trusted him!” Nisse was sobbing. Her heart was filled with boundless regret. Before this, when Bebe had charged into the golden magma pool, Nisse had felt agony in her heart as well.

But in her heart, at that time, there was another voice as well; the voice that said that Bebe had intentionally made friends with her, that he had been deceiving her!

That was the only reason Nisse had been able to remain standing there. But upon Nisse learning that Linley had been wrongfully accused, it was as though countless thunderbolts had suddenly gone off in Nisse’s mind.

She was wrong!!! 

Linley had been wrongfully accused, and Bebe had been sincere towards her!

“He didn’t lie to me. He’s never lied to me. In order to save me, Bebe ignored his own well-being, but I doubted him. I didn’t believe him.” Nisse’s face was streaked in tears. She wanted to draw closer to the golden magma pool, but how could Salomon just watch as his little sister threw her life away? He firmly grabbed her by the arm and said frantically, “Nisse,  Bebe  is  already  dead.  He’s  already  dead!!!  Regret  is useless.”

“Dead?”  Nisse was stunned…and then she collapsed, limp, next to the magma pool.

“Ninny, why are you so beautiful?”

“I’m beautiful so you’ll fall in love with me!” The teasing, flirtatious words the two had exchanged in past years seemed to echo in her ears. Nisse flipped her hand, and a straw hat appeared within it. It was Bebe who had given it to her.

“Ninny, I brought this straw hat with me from my homeland, the Yulan continent. You won’t be able to buy another one like it in the Infernal Realm. Take good care of it. I think that in the future, when the two of us have children, I’ll give our kid a straw hat as well. All three of us will wear straw hats, haha…”

The bygone words of Bebe lingered by her ears. Nisse looked at the straw hat in her hands, and her heart trembled.

In an instant, countless spears of regret gnawed away at her soul like locusts!

Suddenly, Nisse began to cry. Soundless cry.

Salomon, when he saw this, felt a strange feeling well up in his heart…regret! Seeing his little sister like this, Salomon felt regret as well. After all, his little sister was the only family he had. He could be calculating and vicious towards others, but he had always cared about his little sister.

“Nisse…” Salomon knelt down, stretching out with his arm to embrace Nisse by the shoulders, wanting to comfort her. “Don’t be sad. Bebe’s already dead. It’s too late. It was your big brother’s fault. I’m sorry.”

“Dead?”  Nisse looked at the bubbling golden magma. She suddenly remembered how Bebe had been struck by the blade of a Highgod and had been unharmed. It seemed as though Nisse had suddenly thought of something, as she immediately turned to look towards Elquin. “Mr. Elquin, Bebe’s defensive power is so formidable, he definitely should be able to resist this liquefied Goldflame! He’s at the bottom of the lake, alive, right? Tell me that Bebe isn’t dead, Mr. Elquin!”  Nisse’s tear- stained face stared towards Elquin.

Nisse’s heart was filled with regret.

She wanted Bebe to be alive, to appear in front of her. But Elquin only shook his head. He calmly said, “Miss Nisse, I’ll tell you right now that the person named Bebe is dead! Those Highgods, that Linley and his wife, all of them who fell in are dead!”

“Nisse,  if  Bebe  were  still  alive,  wouldn’t  he  come  out?” Salomon urged.

Nisse lowered her head to look at the straw hat in her hands, unable to refrain from feeling agony in her heart.

At the bottom of the golden magma pool.

“Ninny!”  Bebe was crying as well. Hearing Nisse’s sobs and words, he cried.

Bebe, ignoring all else, suddenly charged towards the outside. “BANG!”  A powerful force appeared above Bebe’s head, and Bebe smashed against it, then was knocked backwards.

“Are you looking for death?!” The deep voice rang out in the mind of Linley and the other two once more. “I warned you that for now, you are not permitted to emerge from within this liquefied Goldflame pool. This is your final warning. If this happens again, all three of you will die!”

Bebe was completely stunned. He looked back towards Linley and Delia.

“Boss, sorry.”  Bebe said quietly. Bebe understood that right now, their lives were completely under the control of Phusro. Acting in such a way would be thrusting Linley and Delia into grave risk.

Linley patted Bebe on the shoulders, but didn’t know what to say.

“Bebe.” Delia consoled. “Don’t worry too much. Afterwards, when you go out, you’ll be able to meet with Nisse. You can endure for a while.”

“Right.” Bebe nodded slightly.

Linley, seeing how Bebe was acting, sighed to himself. “Nisse is a fine girl. But her big brother Salomon is…even if we went outside and met with him, the rift between us will still persist.” After all, Salomon had actually shouted arrogantly for Linley to be killed.

“Right. They are discussing the fortune of the Boyd clan once more.”  Linley raised his head. More voices were once more coming down from up above.

The cavern was extremely hot, but the people in the cavern were talking animatedly there.

Inigo looked at Salomon. In a cold voice, he said, “Lord Elquin, this Salomon does have the talisman of Lord Aiken, but that only means…that Salomon and Lord Aiken have some sort of a relationship. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he gave the fortune of his clan to Lord Aiken!” Salomon’s face was sinister. Inigo chuckled. “What’s more, Lord Elquin, do you actually believe that Salomon would be able to bear with parting with such a fortune and give it to someone else?”

“No, I don’t believe it!”  Elquin laughed calmly as he looked towards Salomon.

Salomon grew tense anew. Was he really going to be forced to reveal his final card?

Salomon said in a resolute, clear voice. “I’ve already made it clear. I gave my clan’s fortune to Lord Aiken, using this fortune in exchange for Lord Aiken’s trust. Lord Aiken has instructed me to go to the Rainbow Prefecture to take care of a major undertaking. If you truly kill me, then once Lord Aiken finds out, then…hmph!”

Elquin let out a disdainful sneer. Inigo snickered as well. “Salomon, Lord Aiken is powerful, but he isn’t so powerful as to be able to see the future. If we were to kill you and destroy your corpse and all evidence, how would Lord Aiken know that it was we who killed you?”

Salomon laughed calmly. “Right, right. I understand. The chances of Lord Aiken finding out are very low, but if he really were to find out, then you two would be finished. I can tell you clearly that the amount of money I have on me is less than ten billion inkstones. Can it be that for the sake of ten billion inkstones, you would be willing to incur the anger of Lord Aiken?”

“Ten billion inkstones?” Inigo said with a snickering laugh. “Who would believe you?”

Elquin stared at Salomon, then suddenly said, “Salomon, give me your interspatial ring and let me inspect it. If it truly is as you say, then I’ll let you leave. What do you say?”

“Fine! Let it be as you say!”  Salomon said clearly, but who would have thought that just as he agreed, Elquin would continue. “Oh, and also your interspatial belt. Give it to me for an inspection as well. I almost overlooked it. I didn’t expect that your belt is also a storage device!”

Interspatial storage devices could be made in the shape of rings; naturally, they could be made into other things as well.

However, because rings were convenient, interspatial rings were extremely common.

“Belt?” Salomon’s face changed.

Elquin and Inigo, seeing the look on Salomon’s face, began to laugh. Clearly…Salomon’s interspatial belt most likely contained the fortune of the Boyd clan.

“To give Lord Aiken face, all I will do is inspect your interspatial ring and belt. If it truly is as you say it is…then I will let you out.” Elquin smiled as he looked at Salomon. “I think…that my attitude is already very good.” Given Elquin’s level of power, how could he not have noticed that Salomon’s belt was special?

“What,  are  you  afraid  to  take  it  out  to  show  us?”  Inigo snickered.

By Salomon’s side, Nisse was beginning to worry for her big brother as well. Although in her heart, she still felt a bit of rage towards her big brother, no matter what, Salomon was still her big brother.

“Big brother…” Nisse said softly.

Salomon’s gaze turned sharp. Looking at the cat-holding Elquin and Inigo, he said, “Mr. Elquin, I truly don’t want to be enemies with you, but you continue to force me. Fine, then. I will show you the fortune of my Boyd clan!”

Elquin and Inigo’s eyes lit up. “Indeed, he is carrying it on him.” Elquin said to himself, and Inigo chuckled softly. “Lord Elquin, I told you long ago that this Salomon wouldn’t be able to bear giving his clan’s fortune to Lord Aiken.” Elquin smiled and nodded approvingly towards him.

At the same time, they both stared towards Salomon, seeing what he was going to take out.

But their features instantly froze. They stared in astonishment at an item held within Salomon’s hands.

“Do you see it? This is the entirety of the fortune of our Boyd clan!” Salomon was holding a single black drop of water within his hand. He laughed coldly as he looked at Elquin and Inigo. “I imagine the two of you should both know what this is!”

“Sov…Sovereign’s Might?!” Inigo stuttered.

Elquin’s face had become exceedingly ugly as well. Salomon stared at the drop of black water in his hand. His gaze became unfocused, and he said softly, “Right. This is Sovereign’s Might! A liquid drop of the power of a Sovereign. I trust that when combining this drop of Sovereign’s Might with my own profound mysteries of the Laws, I will have enough power to kill the both of you.”

Elquin and Inigo’s faces were very unpleasant.

“How do you have Sovereign’s Might? Could it be…Aiken?” Elquin instantly understood.

Salomon said softly, “I didn’t lie to you at all. I really did give my entire clan’s fortune to Lord Aiken. In addition, Lord Aiken previously owed my Boyd clan a favor. I gave that astonishingly vast fortune to Lord Aiken, and asked Lord Aiken to help me refine a drop of Sovereign’s Might! Thus…this is the entire fortune of my clan.”

Sovereign’s Might was divided into types as well. Earth, fire, water, wind. Darkness, light, lightning, Life, Destruction, Death, Fate.

“Although every single inkstone and azurite contains within it an extremely, extremely miniscule and almost negligible amount of Sovereign’s Might, when countless inkstones and azurites are put together and refined, in the end, a single drop of Sovereign’s Might can be forged!” Salomon said softly.

Sovereign’s Might in gaseous form would naturally dissipate.

Therefore, it had be refined into liquid form.

A drop was the smallest stable amount.

However, a single drop of Sovereign’s Might required the consumption of an astronomically large sum of inkstones and azurites. More importantly…it was extremely hard to refine Sovereign’s Might!

“In the entire Infernal Realm, there are very few experts capable of refining Sovereign’s Might. Fortunately, Lord Aiken has this ability.” Salomon said as he looked towards Elquin and Inigo. He didn’t want to take out this Sovereign’s Might at all. This was his one and only backup.

Once he used it, he would be unable to advance his plans. How would he, a single Highgod by himself, be able to resurrect the Boyd clan?

But even if he didn’t use it and if these two let him leave, the news that he had Sovereign’s Might would definitely spread out.

Every possible outcome was a bad one for Salomon!

Chapter 22, Water Drop, Sovereign’s Might?

Now that he had taken out a drop of Sovereign’s Might, he could either use it to either kill his opponents, or to cause the opponents to let him go out of fear. No matter what, he could leave safely! However, upon taking it out and revealing it, he had revealed his trump card, and it would no longer be a trump card.

Salomon felt rage whenever he thought of this!

Glancing sideways at Elquin and Inigo, he saw that clearly, the two of them were very desirous of this drop of Sovereign’s Might, but they also didn’t feel confident in being able to take it.

Salomon  said  softly,  “The  inkstones  and  azurites  of  the Infernal Realm are all created by the Sovereigns of Destruction. This drop of black water is in fact a drop of Destruction Sovereign’s Might, and I just so happen to train in the Way of Destruction. Destruction Sovereign’s Might, paired with the Way of Destruction…the power will be even greater.” Elquin’s face was truly terrible to behold.

In the Infernal Realm, Seven Star Fiends could be considered supreme experts, with Asuras being the greatest figures who could roam the entire Infernal Realm. However, there were 108 Asuras, many Seven Star Fiends, and retired Asuras. Throughout the course of the countless years of history, there were many powerful experts in the Infernal Realm.

To be able to stand at the very peak of even these experts, generally one of the below criteria had to be true.

1. Like Aiken, be capable of refining Sovereign’s Might! Who would dare do battle against someone who was capable of using a drop of Sovereign’s Might?

2. Be a supreme expert who possessed a Sovereign artifact! With a Sovereign artifact in one’s possession, naturally one would be far above the others. 3. Be a Highgod who had reached the level of being a Paragon, of completely fusing all of the profound mysteries in one of the Elemental Laws. Naturally, such a person would stand at the very peak amongst Highgods.

4. Of course, there were always some special cases.

Special cases being that the Seven Star Fiend’s original form was that of a divine beast which had an extremely monstrous divine ability, such as the ‘Godeater’ ability. With such a monstrous divine ability, then of course one would be exceedingly powerful. There were also soul mutations, and some other special circumstances.

In short, whether it was ‘Aiken’ whose fame overawed the Redbud Continent, or ‘Beirut’ of the Bloodridge Continent, these experts all had something they relied on.

But Elquin, in turn, could only be considered a rather talented Seven Star Fiend. He didn’t have Sovereign’s Might, nor a Sovereign artifact, nor had he reached the level of Paragon…naturally, it would be very hard for him to face Salomon. 

Using ‘Sovereign’s Might’ to attack, compared to using ‘Highgod divine power’ to attack, was as different as the heavens and the earth. Even if the understanding of the profound mysteries of the Laws were exactly the same, the difference in base power was simply too great.

It was comparable to an infant who was an expert in swordplay fighting with a giant who had boundless strength. How could the infant win, even if the giant didn’t understand swordplay?

Same logic.

Salomon, in terms of understanding the profound mysteries of the Laws, might only have 10% the level of attainment his opponent had, but the power of Sovereign’s Might was simply too great when compared to that of a Highgod’s.

“What, you want to try and acquire this drop of Sovereign’s Might?” Salomon chuckled. “Mr. Elquin?” Inigo turned to look at Elquin. Inigo’s personal power was weaker than Salomon’s to begin with. Once Salomon used the Sovereign’s Might, killing Inigo would only take an instant.

Elquin hesitated slightly, then let out a low sigh. “Sovereign’s Might…such a small drop of water which contains such exceedingly terrifying power.” Elquin’s words contained a hint of envy. He dreamed of himself possessing a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

Although it was a one-use item, even if he didn’t use it, he could use it to threaten others. At a critical moment, he might be able to use it to save his own life.

Linley stood there at the bottom of the golden magma pool as though thinking about something.

“What is the Boss thinking about?” Bebe and Delia both noticed that Linley seemed to be a bit strange. “There’s no need for the Boss to act like this just because he heard the conversation up above about ‘Sovereign’s Might’, right? Although I have to say, this Sovereign’s Might truly does make one envious.”

Delia said softly, “Envious. Didn’t you hear what Salomon said? Refining Sovereign’s Might is extremely difficult, and only an extremely few people in the entire Infernal Realm are capable of refining Sovereign’s Might. In addition, the amount of inkstones and azurites which would be consumed is absolutely astonishing. The entire fortune of the Boyd clan was only enough to forge a single drop.”

Linley’s spiritual energy was completely focused on entering the Coiling Dragon ring.

Within the Coiling Dragon ring, there were two drops of blue water remaining!

“Water drops? Water drops? Sovereign’s Might?” Linley felt rather numb. No matter how stupid he might be, he would still immediately connect the dots. “I’m an utter idiot. A single drop of blue water that is able to make my body transform and become so powerful that I can take on a Highgod artifact attack head on…such a monstrous water drop…aside from Sovereign’s Might, what else could it be?”

It had raised his body’s power so much that the amount of energy it had consumed was surely enormous as well.

A single water drop that was able to provide so much power? Only the legendary ‘Sovereign’s Might’ was capable of such a thing.

“Argh, I’m too foolish. When I received the Coiling Dragon ring, this damaged soul-protecting Sovereign artifact…it is a Sovereign’s artifact! Clearly, in the past, the master of this Coiling Dragon ring was a Sovereign! Since the master was a Sovereign, this water drop is naturally Sovereign’s Might.

Everything made sense.

Aside from a Sovereign, who else would leave behind three drops of Sovereign’s Might in the Coiling Dragon ring upon death? 

After all, if it was a Highgod, the Highgod would most likely have used up the Sovereign’s Might during the battle. Only to someone as mighty as a Sovereign would these drops of Sovereign’s Might not mean that much. After all, Sovereigns possessed boundless amounts of divine Sovereign power. Leaving behind three drops of Sovereign’s Might before death was normal.

“I used a drop. I still have two remaining. If I were to sell them, what sort of price would they fetch?”  Although Linley was curious about it, he wasn’t so stupid as to actually go do it.

A single drop of Sovereign’s Might was a priceless treasure!

The entire fortune of the Boyd clan, accumulated over countless years had to be expended, as well as the favor which Lord Aiken owed the Boyd clan, with the result being that Aiken had forged a single drop of Sovereign’s Might. In truth, to an expert on Aiken’s level, a debt was actually far more valuable than any treasure. If that wasn’t the case, no matter how much treasure had been offered to him, Aiken probably still wouldn’t have refined the Sovereign’s Might.

After all, if he made Sovereign’s Might for someone, it was very possible that one day, that drop of Sovereign’s Might could fall into the hands of an enemy.

“The black drop of water is Destruction Sovereign’s Might. My blue water drop should be Water Sovereign’s Might.” Linley could actually sense that the blue drop of water contained the aura of water. In the past, Linley had been curious…what sort of thing was this, that was capable of making his body so incredibly powerful?

Linley had never dared to imagine that it might be Sovereign’s Might.

But today, Linley understood.

“If I were to use this Sovereign’s Might when executing the ‘Bewildering  Shadow’   attack,  how  powerful  would  it  be?” Linley wondered to himself.

The strength of an attack was usually dependant on three factors; the divine artifact, the energy level, and the profound mysteries. Actually, if any one of the three factors were freakishly strong, the attack would be very powerful.

For example, if the understanding of the profound mysteries was at the Paragon level, then one would be nearly invincible.

If the energy level was at the Sovereign’s Might level, then naturally it would also be terrifying.

If the divine artifact was a Sovereign artifact, then one would also be able to dominate the Infernal Realm.

But of course, if one was strong in one aspect, one couldn’t be too weak in the other two aspects either. Linley’s divine artifact was a Highgod artifact, ‘Bloodviolet’. His energy source would be ‘Sovereign’s Might’. As for profound mysteries, he had fused two different ones. With the three combined, he might not yet be able to be much of a threat to a Paragon-level Highgod, but he should have some confidence in dealing with the likes of Elquin.

However…

It would be at the cost of expending a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

“Unless the situation is absolutely critical, I cannot use it. When used at a critical moment, this is a treasure that can save lives and alter fate.”  After having encountered so many life- and-death struggles, Linley naturally understood the importance of this Sovereign’s Might. Sovereign’s Might couldn’t be used wantonly; rather, it had to be used to preserve one’s life at a critical moment.

Linley returned to normal, and as he did, he discovered that Bebe and Delia were staring at him. 

“What are you looking at?” Linley laughed. Actually, Linley was currently in a fine mood.

Anyone in this dangerous Infernal Realm who suddenly acquired a monstrously powerful item such as this ‘Sovereign’s Might’ would be in an excellent mood. This was a true trump card!

“Boss,   you   were   standing   there   without   moving   and grinning. Did something good happen?” Bebe asked.

“I grinned?” Linley’s laughter became all the more brilliant. When something happened to someone, of course one would be delighted.

“Hm? Elquin has given up?” Linley suddenly raised his head, and Bebe and Delia heard the words from up above as well.

From within the cave, although Elquin was rather unwilling, in the end he still nodded. “Salomon, don’t worry. I, Elquin, am not so greedy as to try and seize your Sovereign’s Might. I trust you can’t bear to use it either.”

Of course he couldn’t! If he used it, it would be gone. This was something he had exchanged his entire clan’s fortune for.

“If you force me, then I will have no choice.” Salomon said.

“Phusro, open the tunnel of this volcano range. Let them out.” Elquin immediately ordered.

The little golden kitten in his arms let out a gentle call. “Meow….”   Immediately,  a  massive  valley  appeared  in  the middle of the entire volcano range, connected to this cavern. Salomon raised his head and looked up at the already darkening skies. Clearly, it was almost nightfall.

Salomon, in his heart, let out a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, Elquin didn’t force me to use this Sovereign’s Might.” “Nisse, let’s go.” Salomon turned his head to look at Nisse.

Nisse turned to look at that golden pool of magma. That golden pool of magma was still bubbling and boiling, emitting that astonishing heat. Nisse couldn’t help but once more begin to cry.

“Stop looking.” Salomon said softly.

“Bebe…” Nisse raised her head to look at the straw hat in her hands, then lowered her head. “Let’s go, big brother!”

And then, Nisse and Salomon immediately flew out through the enormous valley, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye into the desolate wilderness.

“All that work for nothing!”  Elquin let out a low snort. He had a belly full of suppressed anger right now. He had thought that the fortune of the Boyd clan was about to fall into his hands. Unexpectedly, the so-called fortune was a drop of Sovereign’s Might! This was indeed a treasure, but it was one that was hard to acquire. 

He could only watch as Salomon left with it.

Inigo suddenly set up his Godrealm, preventing any sound from leaving them. Elquin couldn’t help but glance suspiciously at him. Inigo said softly, “Lord Elquin, I know that the one called Bebe is currently within that pool of liquefied Goldflame. The weapon Bebe is wielding is a treasure. If we seize it, this trip won’t be considered a loss.”

Although Inigo hadn’t been present at the time, Phusro had informed Inigo of everything which had happened through innuendo.

Elquin now understood. No wonder Inigo had blocked out sound; he was afraid that Linley’s group would hear them.

“Bebe’s weapon? That is indeed a treasure.” Elquin let out a sigh. “That is a weapon which only Beirut is capable of forging…a weapon which is completely forged out of divine sparks. It is tough and sharp! Its power far surpasses any ordinary Highgod artifact. It’s only slightly inferior to a Sovereign artifact.”

A godspark weapon!

Beirut’s trademark, which only he, Beirut, could forge. Divine sparks were indestructibly tough, and only Godeater Rats were capable of digesting them. Currently, Bebe was only capable of digesting them and was not yet able to refine them, but Beirut was. In the Infernal Realm, a single godspark weapon had an astronomical price!

“But for Lord Beirut to give Bebe a weapon like this means that their relationship is extraordinary. If I killed him, then that would be offending Beirut. You should know how terrifying Beirut is.” Elquin was rather hesitant.

Inigo cursed inwardly.

How could he not know how terrifying Beirut was? Beirut, who had suddenly sprang to prominence out of nowhere, was someone which perhaps ordinary Deities might not be aware of, but those larger clans and those reclusive, hidden experts all knew about him. If one had to use a single word to describe Beirut, then that would be…

Brutal!

Many people believed that in the Bloodridge Continent, aside from the Bloodridge Ruler, the number one expert was Beirut.

“Milord, I know that Lord Beirut is terrifying, but even someone as mighty as a Sovereign can’t know the past or the future. As long as we kill this Bebe while destroying his corpse and all proof of his existence, how would Beirut find out that it was we who did the deed?”  Inigo said hurriedly. “If you are afraid that his godspark weapon is too dangerous to keep and runs the risk of Beirut finding out, then you can just go and sell it off at the Blacksand Castle. By then, nobody would know who the killer was. This godspark weapon is worth an astronomical price!”

Chapter 23, Execution

Faced with Inigo’s enticing suggestions, Elquin began to frown in thought.

“Lord Elquin. What are you worried about? Beirut definitely wouldn’t find out.” Inigo said hurriedly.

The little golden kitten in Elquin’s arms meowed as well. “Meow.  Master.  This  Inigo’s  words  have  some  logic.  Even someone as mighty as a Sovereign can’t possibly know the past or the future. If you kill Bebe, Beirut almost definitely will not find out.”

Elquin let out a low snort. “Kill Bebe? Your words do make some sense!”

“Phusro. Have Linley’s group of three come out first.” Elquin instructed. The little golden kitten’s eyes lit up as it immediately let out a delicate little cry. “Meow.” Immediately, the boiling, bubbling golden magma split apart into a tunnel, revealing at the bottom of the pool…Linley, Delia, and Bebe. Their eyes were filled with surprise.

“Boss, I wonder what they were discussing just now.”  Bebe sent mentally.

Linley was feeling concerned as well.

While they were at the bottom of the lake, they were able to listen to the conversation going on above them. Before this, they heard Elquin let Salomon and Nisse leave. Bebe was growing rather frantic at that time, but Bebe was unable to leave. He could only wait helplessly at the bottom of the pool.

But afterwards, there was no longer any sound at all from above.

Linley  immediately  was  certain:”Inigo  and  Elquin  are  up above there. They definitely wouldn’t just be standing there like fools, I wager. They blocked off the sound so we won’t be able to eavesdrop on them. Perhaps they are discussing something that has to do with us.”

“Discussing something that has to do with us. Can it be that they are discussing whether or not to kill us?” Delia said. Aside from this, Delia couldn’t think of anything else.

Delia and Bebe both felt rather worried.

After all, their lives were in the hands of others right now. Although the opponent temporarily hadn’t killed them, that didn’t mean that they were truly going to be released. Compared to Delia and Bebe, Linley actually felt a hint of confidence. Confidence that came from those two drops of Sovereign’s Might!”

“If we really are in life-threatening danger, even though I can’t bear to waste it, I’ll use one of the drops of Sovereign’s Might.” Linley said quietly to himself.

He had already made his preparations. 

As the golden magma split open, Linley spoke out. “Let’s go out.” Immediately, Linley’s group of three flew out from the pool of golden magma and landed on the flat floor of the cave. At this time, Linley’s group discovered a massive valley that had appeared at the side of the cave, one which led to the

outside world.

This valley was the one through which Salomon and Nisse had left through.

Linley’s group didn’t flee. If the opponents wanted to kill them, their speed would be far insufficient for fleeing.

“Mr. Elquin, thank you for showing mercy to the three of us.” Linley bowed slightly and said courteously.

Elquin was slightly startled, and then he laughed inwardly. “This young fellow named Linley is rather sly. The first thing he did was to thank me. If I was someone who cared about face, it would be rather difficult for me to kill him after that. Wait…I didn’t want to kill him anyhow.” Elquin couldn’t help but turn to glance at Inigo.

Kill Bebe. Steal the godspark weapon?

“Only if my brain was seized by a fever would I do such a thing!” Elquin chuckled in his heart.

Indeed. If he killed Bebe, Beirut might not know who the murderer was.

But…if Beirut was truly enraged and began to investigate and used all of his influence, in the end, it might not be impossible for him to discover who the killer was. At which point in time, he, Elquin, would definitely lose his life!

“A godspark weapon…even if I truly were to seize, I wouldn’t dare use it myself. If I used it, wouldn’t that be as good as admitting that I was the killer? Even if I sold it, I would at most be able to earn some money. A godspark weapon isn’t as valuable as ‘Sovereign’s Might’. It would be a bad bargain for me to lose my life in exchange for making a little bit of money.” Elquin’s calculations were quite clear.

When he wanted to kill Salomon, he wasn’t afraid; after all, Salomon himself had to spend the entire fortune of the Boyd clan and also a favor in order to have Aiken help out. This meant that Aiken didn’t actually care too much about Salomon. If Aiken had bequeathed Salomon a drop of Sovereign’s Might without asking for anything in exchange, that would mean that Aiken valued him highly.

“Killing Salomon doesn’t matter, but killing Bebe…although the chances are low, if I actually were to be discovered, I would definitely die.” Eqluin didn’t wish to anger Beirut.

“Lord Elquin.” Inigo warned, and the little golden kitten in Elquin’s arms wagged its tail gently.

Linley was still very much on guard. Right now, he had already drawn the drop of Sovereign’s Might into his body. “I hope you won’t force me to waste this drop of Sovereign’s Might,” Linley murmured to himself. 

Elquin might have some valuable treasures, but how could those treasures compare with Sovereign’s Might? Even the entire fortune of the Boyd clan was most likely less than a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

Elquin glanced coldly at Inigo, then turned to Linley’s group and laughed. “Linley and Bebe, right?” Elquin’s pale face had a rare smile atop it. “My apologies for getting you involved in this. The three of you can leave now.”

Inigo was flabbergasted.

The little golden kitten in Elquin’s arms raised its head to look up at its master as well.

“Lord Elquin?” Inigo said hurriedly.

“Hrm? Do you have an objection?”  Elquin looked towards him. Inigo had to force out a smile and say, “No objection.” In his heart, he was angrily cursing. “On this trip, I lost over a fortune of over ten billion inkstones and many subordinates, but I didn’t get anything in exchange. These bastards. They all deserve to die. They all deserve to die!!!”

Inigo wanted to vent his anger upon Linley’s group, but unfortunately, in front of Elquin, he didn’t dare act.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe were overjoyed.

“Then we truly must thank you, Mr. Elquin.”  Linley said hurriedly.

“No need to thank me. Be careful on your journey.” Elquin’s smile was very sincere, as he very much wanted to demonstrate his friendliness. This was the way some people simply were; if they didn’t want to offend you, they would go out of their way to be friendly to you. But once they decided to kill you for your treasures, they wouldn’t show any mercy.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe exchanged glances. “Let’s go.” Linley laughed.

He didn’t have to waste a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

Naturally, Linley was very happy.

Just as Linley, Delia, and Bebe were flying out, suddenly…“Swish!”  A black shadow of a sword scraped past Linley. The ripples in the air created by this sword shadow alone caused Linley’s draconic scales to emit a clear sound.

“What is this?” Linley was badly startled.

Linley’s group immediately came to a halt and looked to the side. In front of them, a tunnel appeared, split open by this sword shadow. A callous looking man dressed in a long robe wielding a longsword flew out. It was the long-missing Six Star Fiend…Learmonth!

Learmonth immediately discovered Linley’s group, while at the same time, as he lowered his head, he saw that below, Inigo and Elquin were standing there. 

“The others?” Learmonth asked Linley.

“All dead.” Linley immediately replied.

Learmonth shook his head slightly. However, seeing that Linley’s group was still alive, Learmonth still felt a hint of pleasure. After all, on the journey over, Linley’s hard work in training and his performance had caused Learmonth to feel appreciation for him.

“Swoosh!” Learmonth immediately flew downwards.

Linley’s group had just flown up; the distance between them and the cavern below was merely ten meters or so. They were able to see everything within the cave clearly.

“Boss, let’s take a look first.” Bebe said. Linley and Delia were in no rush to leave either. After all, neither side was interested in killing them. Why not watch? 

“It is you?” Learmonth frowned upon seeing Inigo.

Clearly, Learmonth remembered having previously seen Inigo before at the battle at the castle of sand.

Inigo, upon seeing Learmonth, couldn’t help but have his face change. However, remembering that Elquin was by his side, he still squeezed out a smile. “Inigo pays his respects to Mr. Learmonth.”

“Phusro!” Elquin let out an unhappy growl.

“Meow. Master. He’s very powerful. He’s able to easily breach the stone walls. I’ve already done what I could to guide him astray, but he still managed to make his way here.”  The little golden kitten said in a low, aggrieved voice.

Learmonth turned to look at Elquin. “I am Learmonth. Might I ask who you are?” “Elquin.” Elquin said calmly. He didn’t hold Learmonth in any regard, although he had heard from Inigo of Learmonth’s strength.

“Elquin?” Learmonth’s eyes lit up. “You are the former Seven Star Fiend, ‘Elquin’?” Learmonth knew the names of some of the ultimate experts of the Infernal Realm.

“Oh, you recognize me?” Elquin lifted an eyebrow.

Learmonth’s eyes were shining, and his entire body emanated a battle-ready aura. In a clear voice, he said, “I, Learmonth, am a Six Star Fiend. That which I desire the most is the chance to challenge a Seven Star Fiend!”

Elquin couldn’t help but frown. In the Infernal Realm, there was a group of people that dearly loved battle! They loved to challenge experts. Elquin very much disliked this type of person, because this type of person was very hard to deal with. However, this Learmonth in front of him was clearly this type of person. 

“Today, I’m in a bad mood. I don’t want to fight any longer.

You can f*ck off.” Elquin said.

“Meeting a Seven Star Fiend is a rare event. How could I give this chance up?” Learmonth laughed. “By your side, you have Inigo, who should be the mastermind behind the attack on us. Ever since I became a Six Star Fiend, I have never yet failed a mission.”

As soon as he spoke…

“Swish!”

An astonishing gray sword aura suddenly appeared, scraping directly past Elquin’s body. Inigo, shocked, immediately retreated at high speed, his own flexible sword appearing in his hand.

“Clang!”    The   sword   energy   and   the   flexible   sword intersected. 

Inigo’s face instantly turned ashen, and then he slumped powerlessly to the floor, before completely collapsing.

He was already dead!

Inigo’s eyes were filled with awe and a hint of unwillingness.

“Once again, that sword technique!”

Linley, secretly watching from above, felt his heart tremble. “In the past, Learmonth easily killed more than ten Highgods with this. Even this Inigo is unable to withstand this sword. It is too terrifying.” Although Linley had seen this sword attack more than once, he still felt awed and shocked.

Within the tunnel.

“You destroyed both of his souls with a single sword attack?” Elquin was slightly startled. 

Learmonth smiled as he wielded his longsword. “Elquin, I, Learmonth, a Six Star Fiend, today formally challenge you. Regardless of who lives or who dies!” Learmonth’s dream was to challenge an Asura, but he knew that his current level of power was not yet at that stage.

Elquin let out a cold snort. “Your Edict of Destruction has indeed reached an impressive level. But do you think that just by relying on that, you can defeat me?”

Elquin was smoldering!

He had sacrificed so much, but he had to watch as Salomon left. Not just that. The worst part of it was…he, Elquin, in order to block Bebe’s ultimate attack, had lost his Highgod artifact! A Highgod artifact which was suited to him had to be nurtured for many years.

A divine artifact such as that had been destroyed, and now, someone came to challenge him. How could Elquin not be furious? 

“Can it be you, Elquin, have lost your spine?”  Learmonth raised his head slightly.

“Hmph.” Elquin, who had a belly full of fire already, finally lost his temper. With a flip of his hand, a long black whip appeared. An expert generally wouldn’t have only a single offensive divine artifact. For example, Linley himself had Bloodviolet as well as his adamantine heavy sword. This Elquin naturally had other Highgod artifacts which he often used.

“Since  you  insist  on  dying,  then  I  will  send  you  to  your death!” The rage smoldering within Elquin’s breast was finally let loose.

“Haha…”

Seeing this, Learmonth began to laugh loudly with excitement. “Elquin, this place is too small. How about we go find  another  place  to  battle?”   “Fine.”   Elquin  sneered  in response. Immediately…

Learmonth and Elquin flew out into the shattered gorge, flying straight past Linley and the other two, immediately appearing in the horizon. One was a Six Star Fiend. The other, a Seven Star Fiend. Today, a true battle was about to occur.

From below, Linley and the other two watched intently, especially Linley, whose eyes were gleaming.

A battle between experts. How could he miss it?

Chapter 24, Insight

In the dark night sky, the Violet Moon’s hazy light was like a light layer of gauze covering the earth. In the air above the volcano range, Elquin and Learmonth were wielding their weapons, facing each other. Below them, Linley’s group and the little golden kitten raised their heads to watch.

“Linley, who will win?” Delia said softly.

Linley’s head was raised as he looked at the two in mid-air. “Hard to say. I keep on having this feeling that Elquin seems to be slightly stronger. However, no matter what, Learmonth’s attack is truly astonishing.”  Linley wasn’t blinking at all, for fear of missing any of it.

The little golden kitten, Phusro, just hovered there in mid- air, gently swaying its tail while raising its little head to watch.

“I, Learmonth, in countless years, have challenged a total of eighteen Six Star Fiends. In each battle, I was victorious! This will  be  my  first  time  challenging  a  Seven  Star  Fiend.” Learmonth hovered in mid-air and said in a clear voice. Normally, Learmonth was very emotionless and seemed to care about nothing.

But at this moment, Learmonth’s eyes flashed like lightning, and he was filled with battle intent.

Elquin’s battle intent had been aroused as well.

“Hmph. Those that you defeated were nothing more than Six Star Fiends. Today…I will let you know the difference between a Six Star Fiend and a Seven Star Fiend!”  Elquin’s long black robes fluttered, and the long black whip in his hand gently swayed like an agile viper.

Seven star missions were the hardest missions available in the Fiend Castle!

One star to two star, two star to three star, all the way up to the fifth star and sixth star, the increase in the difficulty of a mission wouldn’t be too extravagant. However, leaping to seven star missions was extremely difficult. This is why despite so many years having passed in the Infernal Realm, the number of Seven Star Fiends was still incomparably low.

Learmonth, despite having defeated eighteen Six Star Fiends, wasn’t certain in being able to defeat Elquin. But it was precisely because he wasn’t certain that this was all the more challenging and arousing!

“Haha…” Learmonth began to laugh loudly.

“Crackle…”  A  terrifying  gray  sword  energy  emanated  out from Learmonth’s body. In the blink of an eye, an enormous illusory sword that was over a hundred meters high appeared, while Learmonth himself was at the nucleus of this enormous illusory sword. The fierce sword energy had already caused space to tremble.

“You truly have trained the Edicts of Destruction to an extremely high level.”

Elquin let out a calm sigh in praise, but his face didn’t have a hint of concern on it at all. 

“Rumble…”  The  area  within  a  hundred  meters  of  Elquin instantly turned pitch-black, without a hint of light. At the same time, the entire area began to twist and distort. Even the light of the moon was completely sucked in within this area of a hundred meters of darkness around Elquin.

Only Elquin himself was visible.

“Hmph. Feel free to use whatever techniques you feel proud of. Otherwise, you won’t have the chance to do so after you die.” Elquin said calmly.

Learmonth  let  out  a  chuckle.  “Then…first  receive  my thirteen swords!”

Instantly, he unleashed the sword…

The sword shadow flickered, and suddenly, an awe-inspiring thirteen black sword shadows appeared, striking out through the air like thirteen viperous dragons. Multiple scars in space appeared as the thirteen sword shadows slashed out in different arcs, but came striking down at Elquin at the same time.

The thirteen sword shadows were incredibly fierce, like giant man-eating beasts, trying to chop Elquin into mincemeat.

“Hmph.” Elquin, faced with these thirteen extremely fierce sword shadows, only let out a calm snort while at the same time lightly waving the long black whip in his hands. This seeming thin long black whip began to dance, and it seemed as though it had transformed into an enormous black python.

In addition, this ‘large black python’ carried with it a fog that seemed like strips of black silk.

“Crackle….”

The black whip, transformed into the ‘large black python’, coiled about like an enormous buckler, and the ‘large black python’ which carried within it that black silken fog coiled firmly against the thirteen extremely fierce and aggressive sword shadows.

“Bang!”  “Bang!”  Many of the strips of black silk instantly collapsed upon touching the sword energy, but upon dissipating into black fog, they once more reformed.

There were simply too many strips of black silk, and as soon as they shattered they reformed.

In addition, that ‘large black python’ very firmly blocked the attacks of those thirteen sword shadows. Soon, the thirteen sword shadows dissipated.

Using soft to overcome hard. Despite being incredibly sharp, those thirteen sword shadows were still ground down.

“Is that the best you can do?” Elquin said calmly. “Excellent!”   Learmonth’s  eyes  lit  up.  “This  technique  of yours contains at least three different profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness! Elquin, of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness, how many have you fused?” Learmonth was an expert as well. With but a single glance, he was able to tell how many profound mysteries were contained within the enemy’s defense.

Elquin chuckled. “Why should I tell you? That was just the opener. That small attack of yours isn’t qualified for me to use my ultimate technique!”

Linley, quietly watching the battle, was trying to analyze the profound mysteries contained within Elquin’s technique. “Hm? Learmonth said that this technique contained three profound mysteries. Aside from the ‘Essence of Darkness’ and ‘Evil’, these two profound mysteries, what else is there?”  From the surface, Linley was only able to recognize these two profound mysteries.

Linley suddenly laughed. “Right. Learmonth’s attack contained a soul attack component. Since that was blocked, the third must be a spirit-type profound mystery.” A simple technique contained three different types of profound mysteries. This showed that Elquin had at least fused three of them.

“I’ve only fused two. It seems that I still have a long way to go.” Linley said to himself.

“Huh?” Linley’s eyes suddenly lit up.

In mid-air, Learmonth began to bellow in excitement. “Haha….” While laughing loudly, Learmonth began to move at high speed, transforming into countless shadows which surrounded Elquin, each one of which was carrying a sword shadow.

“Competing in speed? How laughable.” How could Elquin be afraid of this?

Elquin’s body flickered, then instantly transformed into hundreds of illusory shadows as well. IT was the Shadowshape Doppelganger technique. Elquin was capable of shifting to any one of those hundreds of shadows, making him completely unpredictable. Elquin’s loud laughter rang out. “Haha, there’s no way you can touch me!”

“I’m not competing with you in speed!”  Learmonth’s voice rang out, while at the same time, those moving shadows completely dissipated. Learmonth himself flew back at high speed, but then…

Countless sword shadows split the air apart.

“Crackle…”

Just as Learmonth began to move at high speed, he had already unleashed hundreds of sword shadow attacks, each one slightly different, whether in time of attack or location. Learmonth executed them all perfectly, and as he launched his final sword shadow…

Instantly, the countless sword shadows in mid-air formed into a single shape…a blossoming lotus flower. In this moment, as those countless sword shadows attacked, the ‘blossoming lotus flower’ came into full form, and at the center of it was Elquin.

“Hrm?” Elquin’s face instantly changed.

This sword lotus had already completely sealed off the area around him, giving him no place to flee. His only choice was to take it head on.

“This Learmonth truly is powerful.”  Elquin said to himself. And then, with a flip of his right palm, Elquin’s blackened yellow right palm instantly became as scarlet-red as blood while increasing to the size of a fan. Elquin let out a cold snort.

His right palm suddenly slammed upwards!

From above, many sword shadows were pressing down at him. “BANG!”

The sword shadows were completely dispersed, but blood was flowing on Elquin’s scarlet-red hand. He had been wounded!

“My glove was destroyed. Otherwise, how could I have been injured?” Elquin was filled with anger.

In this attempt to seize the treasure of the Boyd clan, Elquin had incurred a major loss. And now, he had been challenged by Learmonth, and even wounded. One detriment after another… Elquin was truly enraged now, and he no longer used one technique to counter another.

He actively attacked!

The sword shadows from above crumbled away, and Elquin himself charged straight through that hole, like a giant eagle in flight, charging straight towards the distant Learmonth while shouting explosively through divine sense, “Learmonth, you receive one of my attacks as well!” The long black whip in Elquin’s hands twisted about, instantly turning scarlet red and transforming into an enormous blood-red serpent as it coiled towards Learmonth. This enormous serpent even opened its mouth wide, revealing its black fangs.

The enormous red serpent’s sudden attack caused space itself to tremble.

“Rumble…”

“Excellent!”

Learmonth’s eyes were flashing like lightning, and the longsword in his hand suddenly stabbed outwards. This sword attack appeared ordinary, but in the moment when it stabbed outwards, a black ‘hole’ in space suddenly appeared. The longsword seemed to twist as it stabbed through that black hole, and wherever the longsword passed by, space itself split open. “Starpoint…EXPLOSIONS!”

Learmonth’s most powerful attack. The ultimate attack he had used to kill that green-robed elder at the castle of sand.

Elquin, seeing the power of this attack, couldn’t help but feel surprised. And then, Elquin gritted his teeth, his face savage. At the same time, the long whip in his hand which had transformed into a blood red serpent shuddered, then transformed into a nine-headed serpent, each one of which had its fanged maw open.

Learmonth’s seemingly unblockable sword pierced straight over…

“Crunch!”  It pierced straight through the throats of one of the serpentine heads.

“Clang!” The sword pierced through to the long whip contained within the nine blood red serpentine heads. Instantly, the entire blood red nine-headed serpent trembled, then with a ‘BOOM’ exploded, transforming back into that long black whip. At the same time, the serpent heads that had been block

off by that explosion continued to charge towards Learmonth.

One blood red serpent’s head after another charged towards him at high speed, savagely biting towards Learmonth.

A sword shadow flashed!

Eight explosion sounds occurred simultaneously, while Learmonth himself was sent flying backwards by the force of the explosions, landing onto the ground of the volcano range below. Immediately, Learmonth rose to his feet. Right now, Learmonth’s face was ashen, and there was a hint of blood at the corner of his lips.

“Formidable,   formidable.   You’ve   fused   four   types   of profound mysteries.”  Learmonth’s body had bloodstains on it as well, and he carefully glanced at Elquin. “Since you were able to withstand this attack of mine, I admit defeat.” Elquin’s face was paler than it had been in the past as well, but he hadn’t been as heavily injured as Learmonth had.

The onlookers, being Linley’s group and the little golden kitten, were all rather surprised.

“Learmonth lost?”  Bebe murmured. “He isn’t dead yet, but he admitted defeat?”

Linley continued to carefully watch the two combatants.

Elquin looked at Learmonth in surprise. “You…you actually managed to fuse Destruction divine power and fire divine power  together?  You…you  have  a  mutated  soul?”   When receiving this attack just now, Elquin just barely managed to detect the true energy source contained within this ‘Starpoint Explosions’ technique.

It wasn’t Destruction divine power. It was a fusion of Destruction divine power and fire divine power. 

“Right. Unfortunately, despite that being the case, I still am not your match.” Learmonth shook his head.

“A   mutated   soul.   How   truly   rare.”    Elquin   sighed   in amazement. “Generally speaking, only such a person is capable of fusing different types of divine power. Previously, I’ve only heard that when fusing different types of divine power, one’s strength would increase explosively. Today, I see that is indeed the case.”

Elquin glanced at Learmonth. “To be honest, your power should already be at the Seven Star Fiend level. However, you are still somewhat weaker than me. Then…die!” As he spoke, Elquin’s body suddenly transformed into an illusion, transforming into hundreds of illusory shadows which all attacked towards the heavily wounded Learmonth.

Laws of Darkness – Shadowshape Doppelganger technique!

Linley, watching this, was stunned. “Fusing divine power? Indeed. Right, Olivier had previously been able to simultaneously utilize darkness divine power and light divine power. Only, Olivier’s degree of fusion was not as great as Learmonth’s.”

Learmonth’s attack was hard to judge just from looking at it. When the person who received the attack, Elquin, had only just barely been able to detect it.

Thus, one could tell how deeply Learmonth had fused those two surges of divine power.

“When two different types of divine power are fused, the power of the attack is actually increased so much? How does one fuse divine power? From what Elquin said, it seems as though one’s soul has to mutate in order for divine power to be fused. Otherwise, it is impossible.” Linley’s thoughts suddenly came to a halt.

He looked towards the air. “Is Learmonth going to die, just like that?”

Chapter 25, A Trillion Years of Depression

Faced with Elquin’s attack, Learmonth naturally chose to flee for his life!

“Haha, you want to flee?”  Hundreds of shadowy illusions filled the area, and Elquin’s loud laughter seemed to come from the mouths of every shadow. Suddenly, an enormous serpentine whip shadow slashed down towards Learmonth, who with a ferocious look stabbed out once more.

The same technique!

Starpoint – Explosions!

The blood red whip shadow tore through the air towards the longsword anew.

“BOOM!” Elquin’s right hand trembled, and his body couldn’t help but be pushed backwards, while Learmonth himself was knocked flying before once more forcing himself to come to a halt in mid-air. His face was ashen, and he growled, “Elquin, don’t go too far!” Learmonth had realized that in terms of speed, he was

inferior to Elquin. There was no way he could flee.

Elquin’s face was sinister, and he snickered. “I didn’t expect that you had enough spiritual energy to execute that attack a second time. However, your technique is only enough to wound me. In terms of the profound mysteries of the Laws, you are far too weak compared to me. I want to see how many times you can execute it.”

Clearly, Elquin didn’t want to spare him.

Elquin had a belly full of rage right now and he wanted to find a place to vent it. How could he let Learmonth leave?

Especially since, as Elquin saw it, Learmonth’s future potential was unlimited. Elquin naturally would be delighted to kill such a genius as him.

“You want me to die?”

Learmonth took a deep breath, standing there in mid-air with his longsword raised. He said emotionlessly, “If you want to kill me, I will make you pay a price!”

“Pay a price?”  Elquin chuckled. He didn’t even know how many times he had heard these words before. Many people, before he killed them, had promised to make him pay a price, but unfortunately, they still died while he, Elquin, was living quite happily.

Learmonth seemed extremely calm. His entire aura had been drawn back into his body, and he stared coldly towards Elquin.

Suddenly…

Learmonth’s eyes suddenly lit up, and then he shut them. 

“Huh?” Elquin couldn’t help but feel stunned.

Not just him. Even the spectators below, Linley and the rest, felt stunned. At the critical moment in the battle, Learmonth actually shut his eyes?

“You want to try and scare me, just before dying?” Elquin laughed coldly in his heart. The long black whip in his hand once more spun out. Although in his heart, he felt disdainful, Elquin still used his most powerful attack. The long black whip instantly turned scarlet red and simultaneously transformed into a nine-headed serpent!

Instantly, a dark red sword flash appeared in front of Elquin.

Elquin’s face changed dramatically. Unable to dodge at all, all he could do was use his blood red, fan-sized right hand to slap towards it.

“Crunch!” The dark red sword light instantly pierced through his palm and entered his body.

“Urgh…ahhhhh!”   Elquin’s  entire  body  quivered,  and  his entire body emanated a red light.

“Boom!”  Elquin’s  entire  body  exploded,  and  two  Highgod sparks as well as an interspatial ring fell down from mid-air.

Linley and the other two, watching this battle, were all stunned, along with the little golden kitten. Clearly, just now, Elquin had the advantage, and Learmonth was actually trying to flee. But who would have imagined that Learmonth would suddenly snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

“What? Learmonth won?”

Linley was quite shocked. “And that dark red sword flash. Not only did it contain Destruction divine power, it also contained fire divine power. It was very obvious.”  Linley was completely puzzled. Previously, when Learmonth had attacked, Linley had only sensed the aura of Destruction, and hadn’t sensed the fire divine power at all.

The fire divine power was very weak.

However, why did it suddenly change just now?

“Haha…” Learmonth began laughing loudly in mid-air. “I finally completed this technique. Haha. I finally fused the Way of Destruction and the Elemental Laws of Fire. Indeed, only when both divine power fuses as well as the profound mysteries of the Laws fuse, will the power greatly increase. I’ve finally developed it!” Learmonth was extremely excited.

Hearing Learmonth’s excited voice in mid-air, Linley understood.

“Did he just say that he fused the profound mysteries of two different types of Laws together?”  Linley was tremendously shocked. 

Given his current level of training, Linley only knew that for example the six types of profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth could be fused. He had never, however, heard of different profound mysteries of different Elemental Laws as capable of being fused.

But hearing from what Learmonth was saying, it seemed as though the different Elemental Laws, such as the Laws of the Earth and the Elemental Laws of the Wind, were capable of having two of their profound mysteries fused as well.

“This, this, how is this possible?” Linley didn’t understand.

It wasn’t just Linley who was astonished. The other listeners, being Bebe, Delia, and the little golden kitten were all shocked as well.

Learmonth lowered his head to glance at Linley’s group, understanding their puzzlement. Laughing, he said, “Don’t overthink it. The different profound mysteries of different types of Elemental Laws can only be fused by people like me, with a mutated soul. There is no way for you to fuse your divine power, and no way to develop an attack like this.”

Linley began to understand.

Divine power and profound mysteries were paired together.

For example, when using earth divine power to use the profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth, the power would be great. If one was to use wind divine power instead, although one could still use it, the power would be much lower.

But fusing divine power, such as Learmonth…

Destruction divine power and fire divine power, upon being fused…if one was capable of also using a fusion of the profound mysteries of the Edicts of Destruction and the Elemental Laws of Fire…would have an absolutely terrifying amount of power once utilized. The fusion of divine power already resulted in an extreme increase in power. Once the profound mysteries were fused as well, then matched with the fused divine power…no wonder Learmonth had been able to kill Elquin!

“Whew.”  Learmonth’s face was very pale, but his eyes were still filled with jubilation.

Actually, after the repeated battles just now, his spiritual energy had been all but used up. As his power had increased dramatically, however, and as he had entered the realm of a Seven Star Fiend in power, Learmonth was indescribably delighted. “When I go back, I’ll immediately take on a seven star mission. When the time comes, I’ll challenge an Asura!”

“Just now, Elquin wanted to kill me. But now…”

Learmonth shook his head and sighed. Some things were very hard to predict. Actually, if Elquin hadn’t pushed him to the brink of death and cause him to gain an insight that he previously had not been able to understand, how could he have made this breakthrough? 

“This Elquin’s interspatial ring should have many treasures within it.” Learmonth flew straight down. Although he wasn’t greedy, this was something which belonged to the person he had killed; it was wealth which he deserved to have. Naturally, Learmonth wouldn’t reject it.

Right at this moment…

Very bizarrely, the entire volcano range suddenly vanished, and the interspatial ring of Elquin which had been atop the rocks of the volcano range vanished as well.

“You even want Elquin’s items?” A low, gravelly voice said.

The volcano range had vanished, but another person had appeared!

“Who are you?” Learmonth turned to look at the newcomer. He couldn’t help but be startled. This person was three meters tall, and was covered with a fiery red armor. His long scarlet hair fluttered unrestrained, and his craggy form was very clear. He was obviously a very muscular person.

The fiery haired man stared at Learmonth, then said clearly, “Actually, I need to thank you!”

“Thank me?”  Learmonth could sense that this person was extremely powerful.

The fiery haired man laughed. “Right. Thank you for killing my master!”

At this moment, Linley and the other two, floating in mid- air, were shocked. “Killed his master? Could it be that he is…?” Linley turned to look, and indeed, the little golden kitten was missing. “He is Phusro! He is that little golden kitten!”

“He is Phusro?” Bebe stared wide-eyed. “He  is  Phusro?  That  little  kitten?  How?”   Delia  couldn’t believe it either. Who would made the connection between that adorable little kitten and this muscular giant?

Linley felt astonished as well, that the adorable little kitten had actually transformed into such a bulky giant whose voice was so thunderous.

“To thank you for killing my master, you can die as well.” Phusro laughed loudly.

Learmonth’s face immediately changed, and with a flip of his hand, a Golden Soul-Pearl suddenly appeared in Learmonth’s hand, which he immediately swallowed. This Golden Soul- Pearl emitted a large amount of soul essence, capable of both nourishing and strengthening the soul, as well as recovering spiritual energy.

Phusro was in no hurry to attack.

“Are you done?” Phusro laughed calmly. 

Learmonth was extremely shocked. Could it be that Phusro was going to let him recover? His current level of power was definitely comparable to a Seven Star Fiend’s.

“I’m done.” Learmonth replied.

“Then you can die now.” In Phusro’s hands, an axe suddenly appeared with a volcanic image atop it. Phusro suddenly chopped down with the axe, and with a ‘RUMBLE’, repeated layers of explosions could be heard.

Wherever the axe passed, space itself blew apart. The spatial walls of the Infernal Realm seemed to be as thin as paper.

Absolutely irresistible force!

Learmonth was so terrified that his face changed, and he immediately executed his most powerful sword attack… The dark red sword flash also caused space to explode, flashing through the shattered space as fast as lightning, charging towards the heavy, oncoming axe as though it were a meteor shooting through the sky.

“BANG!”

The axe trembled slightly, and its power decreased dramatically, but at the same time, an enormous illusion of an axe flew out like an attacking ripple, shooting towards Learmonth.

“Swoosh!” Learmonth, after using his most powerful sword attack, immediately dodged backwards and fled at high speed, moving as though he had become a dark red illusion. Even though he was struck by two surges of the illusory axe ripples, Learmonth still frantically fled, and in the blink of an eye, Learmonth completely disappeared.

Phusro held his giant axe, pursing his lips helplessly. “He ran really fast. When his divine power fused, even his speed increased many times, while I just so happen to be a bit slow, unlike Elquin, that bastard, who specialized in speed. Otherwise, I definitely would have killed him…”

Watching this, Linley’s group was stunned.

“Delia, Bebe, this Phusro has some issues. Let’s hurry up and leave.” Linley, recovering to his senses, hurriedly led Delia and Bebe to flee.

“Huh? You want to flee?”

Phusro suddenly chased after Linley’s group. In terms of speed, Phusro was inferior to Learmonth, but Linley’s team was composed of Gods. How could they escape?

“Swoosh!” Phusro appeared in front of Linley’s team.

Seeing Phusro in front of them, Linley’s team had to come to a halt. Linley felt nervous. “This Phusro is too unpredictable. He’s extremely powerful, but before this he’s never intervened, nor did he help his master. His master was willing to let us go free, but who knows if he is.” Linley was very nervous.

“Why are you fleeing?” Phusro seemed rather disgruntled.

Linley’s group could only stand there in mid-air. Bebe murmured, “Who knows what’s going on with you. You were actually so powerful!”

“Powerful?” Phusro began to bellow angrily. “What the f*ck good does being powerful do? Can I be more powerful than a master-servant bond?”

Linley’s group was stunned. Master-servant bond?

What did strength and power have to do with a master- servant bond? Phusro bellowed, “When I was just a Saint, I was forcibly tamed by this Elquin and had a master-servant bond set up! I don’t even know how many countless years have gone past now. He’s grown all the way from being a Demigod to a Seven Star Fiend!”

“But I am more powerful than him. Of the six profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of Fire, I’ve already fused five of them. I am a Volcano Titan and extremely talented in the fire element. Killing him would be utter simplicity, and even becoming an Asura isn’t a problem!”

Phusro roared angrily, “But what good is being powerful? He was my master! I couldn’t resist him. The binding power of the master-servant bond is too terrifying!”

“But…” Bebe wanted to interject.

“Shut   your   mouth!   Listen   to   me!”    Phusro   bellowed indignantly. Linley’s group was terrified. Phusro was an utter madman.

All they could do was listen.

Phusro  continued,  “This  Elquin  likes  kittens.  F*ck  his grandmother, I’m a goddamn Volcano Titan, a valiant Volcano Titan. He actually had me transform into a kitten? And had me transform into an adorable little golden kitten? And every day, be in his arms and be petted by him?”

The muscles on Phusro’s face were twitching. “Aaaaaaargh! The days passed like years, and every day, he would pet me with those filthy hands of his. Pet me gently. AAAAAAAAARGH! I almost went insane! But he was my master. All I could do was endure it! Motherf*cker, I had to endure it all!” This bellow caused the entire world to echo with his voice.

Linley’s group was caught between terror and shock, but they also felt that this Phusro was rather pitiable.

Indeed, he was quite pitiable. A powerful, valiant Volcano Titan, forced to become a little kitten and allow others to pet him for trillions of years.

“Do you know what that felt like?” Phusro stared with wide eyes towards Linley’s group.

Linley’s group could only maintain their silence.

“But I managed to endure it. I hid my power, and on the surface only revealed a tenth of my true ability.” Phusro said coldly. “I always hoped for someone to be able to kill him! But he truly was a coward, while he was also a Seven Star Fiend. There were very few people capable of killing him, so I never had the chance. But this time, my chance came!”

“Originally, I wanted him to kill you, Bebe.”

Phusro pointed at Bebe. “When the time came, I would leak this information and have Beirut come avenge you and kill him. By then, I would be freed.” “Beirut?  You  know  my  Grandpa  Beirut?”  Bebe  was  very startled. As Bebe saw it, his Grandpa Beirut was only someone who stayed on the Yulan Plane.

“I don’t know him, but I’ve heard of him. Motherf*cker, I told you to shut your mouth. Why are you talking?” Phusro began to bellow at him again.

Bebe immediately shut his mouth.

“This madman.”  Bebe muttered to himself. “I, Bebe, won’t bicker with a madman.”

Phusro continued, “But Elquin, that coward, actually didn’t dare to kill you. He actually was going to release you, so I had to intentionally guide that Learmonth here to come deal with him.” Suddenly, Phusro began to laugh excitedly. “Haha, I originally didn’t expect Learmonth to be able to kill him, but who would have expected that Learmonth actually did in fact kill him? Haha…” Phusro suddenly grabbed Bebe. “Do you know? I really didn’t expect it, really didn’t expect Learmonth would kill him.” This grab of Phusro’s was very powerful. Fortunately, it was Bebe, as if it were Delia, most likely her body would have been torn apart.

“Uh, I know.” Bebe nodded hurriedly.

He was rather frightened of this seemingly insane Phusro.

Phusro suddenly raised his head. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”  A wild bellow rang out. It included no profound mysteries; it was a pure, simple roar, a roar which shook the heavens. A roar which included a trillion years of grief, depression, and rage!

A trillion years of depression!

This sort of torment had almost tortured him to death, and yet every day, Phusro had to pretend to be so adorable, and keep going ‘meow’, ‘meow’! 

“I!”

“HATE!”

“KITTEEEEEEEEEEEENS!”

Phusro’s face was savage, and he bellowed towards the heavens. “I WILL NEVER BE A KITTEN AGAIN! NEVER

AGAIN!!!”  Only after screaming for a long time did he calm down. Phusro’s facial expressions slowly returned to normal, and he took a deep breath, then let out a deep breath.

Turning his head, he looked back at Linley, Delia, and Bebe.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe were still utterly dumbfounded. None of them knew what this madman would do next.

“Whew. I feel much better now.” Phusro beamed at Linley’s group. 

Linley’s group couldn’t help but gawk. However, Linley could understand how terrifying the trillion years of depression had been.

“The  restrictive  power  of  a  bond  is  indeed  completely irresistible.”  Linley  said  to  himself.  “Even  for  someone  as powerful as Phusro, whose power had vastly exceeded Elquin’s, but who still had to transform himself into a little kitten.” When Linley imagined the life Phusro had lived, he could feel Phusro’s pain.

It hurt just thinking about it. He could fully understand what level of depression, rage, and grief Phusro had reached, after trillions of years.

“I couldn’t even give voice to the rage, grief, and depression in my heart. Can you imagine what that feels like?” Phusro was now completely calm and amiable. “Now, I’m finally free. I’ve also said everything I want to say. I feel much better now.”

Linley’s group nodded. 

“Haha…” Phusro laughed brilliantly. “I’m finally free. I’m finally free!”

Phusro  turned  to  glance  at  Linley’s  group.  “Thanks  for listening to me say so much. Actually, I’m usually very taciturn. Alright. We’ve killed so many Gods and Highgods this time. I imagine that these ordinary Highgods don’t have much wealth on them. I’ll give it all to you. Consider this your reward for listening to me complain!”

With a wave of his hand, Phusro immediately brought out over a hundred interspatial rings.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe were stunned.

But then, with a wave of his hand, Linley collected this interspatial rings. “Mr. Phusro, this…”

“Haha, in a trillion years, you are the first person to call me Mr. Phusro.” Phusro was exceedingly delighted. “Just based on this alone, you can take these toys with a clear conscience. Don’t think too much of it; these interspatial rings don’t have much wealth inside them. The most valuable two belonged to that Inigo and Elquin, which I will keep.”

“Alright. Take good care of yourselves. I, Phusro, am now free. I don’t want to stay in any one location. I will…roam the Infernal Realm!”  His voice still echoed in the air, but Phusro himself had already vanished.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe just looked at each other.

Chapter 26, Head Out, Stay Behind?

Phusro’s voice still echoed in their ears, but he himself was gone.

“This Phusro…really is weird.”  Bebe blinked his eyes twice, still feeling rather dazed.

Linley lowered his head to look at the hundred-plus interspatial rings hovering in his palm. Amongst them were mostly the interspatial rings of Gods, but also many of Highgods. “So many interspatial rings, with even Highgod interspatial rings amongst them. This is really a treasure that just fell down out of nowhere.”

Linley felt joyful.

“That Phusro actually gave us so many interspatial rings.” Delia sighed in amazement as well. “So like I said, that guy’s head isn’t working. However, it’s broken in a good way.” Bebe chortled.

Linley shook his head. “Bebe, you can’t say that. Phusro’s experiences and ours are different. A trillion years of depression, of silent endurance. Only an extraordinary person would be able to endure so much. After finally being released one day, he was just venting.”

Delia nodded slightly as well.

Whether it was his attack on Learmonth or his chat with Linley’s group, it was all a form of venting.

“Oh.” Bebe nodded in understanding, his eyes shining. “After venting, he casually tossed these little baubles to us. Phusro really is stingy though. Why didn’t he give us Elquin’s interspatial ring? That old fellow’s wealth is definitely astonishing.”

Linley and Delia were momentarily speechless. 

“Just  kidding.”   Bebe  chortled,  and  then  looked  at  the hundred-plus  interspatial  rings  in  Linley’s  hand.  “Boss,  so many interspatial rings. How many treasures do you think are you inside? I’ll take a look first.” Bebe clearedly seemed quite eager. “I love investigating the treasures within interspatial

rings.”

“Why the rush?” Flipping his hand, Linley stored away all of the interspatial rings.

“Right now, we need to first decide what we are going to do next. We can look at interspatial rings later.” Linley glanced at his surroundings. The volcano range had disappeared, causing this area to once more return to its flat surface. The hazy, dim light of the Violet Moon shone down from the night sky.

The gauze-like violet moonlight shone down, filling the world with an ancient, vast aura.

Delia frowned slightly. “Linley, the Infernal Realm is filled with countless dangers. It will be very hard for the three of us to rely on our own ability to reach the Rainbow Prefecture’s Bluemaple City.”

Linley agreed as well. The three of them were all Gods. Although a Fiend’s star rank could not be distinguished, others would still be able to distinguish someone’s general level of strength. They would know Linley’s group was at the God level and not the Highgod level! Highgod Fiends, bandits wouldn’t dare to irritate.

But God-level Fiends, bandits wouldn’t fear either.

“To take on a mission, we would have to go to a city. The distance between each city in the Infernal Realm is vast! There’s no way for us to take on a mission right now.” Bebe said resignedly as well.

Linley glanced at his surroundings, thinking back to some of the geographical information he had read before regarding the Infernal Realm. Moments later, he decided, “We are indeed in a bit of trouble. The closest city to us is at least eighty million kilometers away. Eighty million kilometers…who knows how many dangers we would encounter on the way over?” “Eighty million kilometers?”  Bebe and Delia both felt their heads ache as well.

Linley looked towards Delia. His mind couldn’t help but be filled with the scene of himself and Delia falling into the golden magma pool. In that moment, he had truly believed he was going to die.

“For the sake of Delia, we can’t keep on taking risks like this.” Linley said to himself.

Delia and Bebe looked towards Linley. At times like this, they left the decision to Linley. Linley stared into the distance, then spoke. “How about this. Up ahead there seems to be a large mountain range. Let’s go there and temporarily live there for a while and train quietly. When Delia completely fuses her Highgod spark, we will head out!”

“Live there?” Bebe was rather surprised. “What is it?” Linley looked towards Bebe.

Bebe immediately shook his head. “Nothing. Boss, your words have merit. Let’s wait until Delia is a Highgod. At least on the surface, others will see that she is a Highgod Fiend, which should be frightening enough. When we head out, it will be much safer.”

This was indeed Linley’s plan. Although Delia was only a One Star Fiend, who would be able to tell from the surface?

Others could only be certain that she was a Highgod Fiend!

Bandit groups didn’t want to deal with Highgod Fiends. Who knew how many stars the Fiend might have? It might be a Seven Star Fiend!

“Huh?” Linley suddenly noticed that Delia had taken his hand. He couldn’t help but to turn and look at her, and she gestured towards him with her eyes. Only now did Linley notice that Bebe was acting strangely. Instantly, Linley understood. “Bebe is most likely thinking of Nisse.” “Bebe.” Linley said.

“Huh?” Bebe raised his head, looking towards Linley.

Linley immediately said, “Bebe, how about, let’s travel as fast as possible. Perhaps we can first go to a city to take on a mission, or buy a metallic lifeform of our own. Either way, we can hurry to Bluemaple City of the Rainbow Prefecture as soon as possible.”

Bebe understood.

Salomon and Nisse, if they wanted to return to the Jadefloat Continent ,would first have to go to Bluemaple City of the Rainbow Prefecture. Linley’s suggestion…was to give Bebe a chance to catch up to Nisse.

However, this sort of hasty trip would definitely result in them meeting with many bandits on the way over. Who knew how many dangers they would face? Although Linley and Bebe were both strong, and would be able to deal with any ordinary bandit squads, if they were to encounter a bandit squad of thousands of Gods, what would they do?

It was too dangerous!

“Boss, thanks.” Bebe said gratefully, but then shook his head and sighed. “However, there’s no need.”

Linley and Delia exchanged a glance.

Bebe continued, “This sort of hasty travel is very dangerous to begin with. It’s best to do as Boss said at first, to first take up residence for a time…as for Nisse, to be honest, right now, I really hate that Salomon! Although I hate him, I believe that with Nisse by his side, at least her safety won’t be a problem. As for myself and whether or not I’ll be able to meet her again…I’ll leave that up to fate!”

Although Bebe wanted to be together with Nisse, this sort of hasty trip would result in danger to both Linley and Delia. Bebe naturally wouldn’t do that. 

Linley’s group headed towards the northeast, advancing roughly a hundred kilometers, at which point they discovered a very wide mountain range. In the ancient mountain range, enormous trees that were a thousand meters high and needed dozens of men to encircle could be seen everywhere. Wild grass

grew everywhere, and all sorts of strange creatures could be seen.

Every part of this place revealed its ancient heritage.

Although Linley’s group had discovered several small tribes while travelling those hundreds of kilometers of flat land, these small tribes were formed by the puny Saints of the Infernal Realm. Generally speaking, tribes formed by Deities were able to control an area of land spanning thousands of kilometers.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe casually chose an unremarkable mountain, and midway up the mountain, Linley utilized Bloodviolet to carve out a large hole, creating a deep cavern residence for them to temporarily live in. This cavern residence was newly made. Linley, Delia, and Bebe sat down and began to inspect those interspatial rings.

“So little. This one only has a few hundred thousand inkstones.  It  definitely  belongs  to  a  God-level  Fiend.”  Bebe seemed to have tossed Nisse to the back of his mind, and was excitedly  investigating  the  rings.  “Whoah-oh!  This  one  is badass. It actually has several hundred million inkstones. It definitely belongs to a Highgod Fiend!”

“I’ve  searched  seven  interspatial  rings  but  none  of  them exceeded ten million.” Delia spoke out as well.

“No rush. I expect that you have only been searching God- level Fiend rings. Whoah. This one is impressive. It actually has….twenty  billion  inkstones!”  Seeing  the  contents  of  this interspatial ring, Linley was shocked. This was the largest sum he had ever encountered.

“Twenty billion inkstones?”  Bebe and Delia looked over as well. Their prior total assets were only worth a hundred million inkstones. Twenty billion was definitely a shocking figure to them.

Actually, as Phusro had only taken away Inigo and Elquin’s rings, the remaining rings included the white-horned elder’s. Since the black-horned elder’s had contained over thirty billion, the white-horned elder’s ring naturally wouldn’t be much inferior either. As for the Edward brothers, they were all Five Star Fiends. All of them possessed astonishing wealth! Actually, tens of billions of inkstones to Five Star Fiends was a normal sum.

After all, ordinary Highgods would have more than a hundred million.

As for some Seven Star Fiends, their assets were most likely in excess of a trillion inkstones. Inigo, as the second young master of his clan, also had a terrifying amount of wealth. Thus, the two most valuable interspatial rings had been taken away by Phusro. “No rush. Let’s keep investigating. We haven’t even searched thirty. There are many left. Let’s keep going slowly.”

He had to admit that this sort of searching through the interspatial rings for wealth was indeed something that filled a man with excitement and hope. It wasn’t tiresome at all.

“Whoah, my heavens. This one has thirty billion inkstones.” Bebe cried out in shock.

“What’s going on with me? Up until now, the most I’ve found was around seven billion inkstones.” Delia laughed.

“I found another one that has nearly thirty billion inkstones.” Linley laughed as he put another interspatial ring to one side.

A few moments later, they completed their review of these hundred-plus interspatial rings. The fortune within the most valuable one was actually sixty billion inkstones, while the least valuable one contained a pitiful hundred thousand! The difference was truly astonishing. 

“All  together…let’s  calculate…”  Bebe’s  eyes  were  shining. “Wow, all together, we have two hundred billion!”

A truly astonishing figure!

“There were actually six rings which contained more than ten billion inkstones! I imagine that these six belonged to the three Edward brothers, the white-horned elder, Sperry, and those  other  two  Highgod  Fiends.”   Linley  said.  Actually, although they had more than a hundred interspatial rings, the most valuable ones were actually these six, which all contained over ten billion. These six combined alone neared two hundred billion.

The other hundred-plus interspatial rings, all combined, had a value of just barely ten billion, not even twenty billion.

“Quality, not quantity!” Bebe sighed. “These are all just Five Star Fiends and Four Star Fiends, but they already have such astonishing wealth. What about Six Star Fiends? Or especially the likes of Elquin, a Seven Star Fiend? Who knows how much wealth he has.”

Wealth was something which accumulated like a pyramid.

The more powerful a person was, the more extravagant the amount of wealth they had.

“I expect that even all our wealth combined is still nothing more than a rounding error in Elquin’s wealth.” Linley said.

One could imagine it just by thinking about it. Who knew how many experts Elquin had killed, and how vast a fortune he had built up?

Still, although a fortune of over two hundred billion inkstones was nothing to the likes of these ultimate experts or those major clans, it was still a massive amount of money to ordinary Highgods. Linley’s group of three began to quietly train within this cavern estate. Delia focused on fusing with her divine spark.

The cavern in which Linley’s group was living in was very large. In the Infernal Realm, generally speaking, every few thousand kilometers, there would be a tribe or a bandit group which would hold domain over that area. This mountain range where Linley lived in was no exception. It had bandit groups as well.

“Motherf*cker, it’s been a year since we’ve made money.” A long green haired man was flying in mid-air, staring into the distance while cursing in a low voice, “There’s too damn many bandit squads in the Infernal Realm. Those who dare to travel by themselves are increasingly rare. Even those who do come out, travel alongside a Highgod. It seems I wasted my time today again. Forget it. Time to go back.

The green haired man flew in the air, heading back towards his lair.

“Huh? Someone’s here?” The green haired man suddenly disappeared like a gust of wind, then re-solidified atop a tree below as he stealthily stared towards a location midway up a mountain. “Just now, I saw someone fly in there. Can it be that this cave has someone in it?”

“Since when did someone move into this mountain range?”

The green haired man revealed a smile on his face. “Who cares who it is. I’ll go inform the leader first. I hope it is someone   with   money!”    The   green-haired   man   didn’t investigate clearly, immediately flying back to his lair.

Chapter 27, Disaster Descending From the Skies

Within the dark caverns. In the empty main hall.

Three Linley’s were seated in the meditative position, dressed in a long yellow robe, a light green robe, and a sky-blue robe. The strange thing was, the yellow robed Linley actually seemed to be teleporting around, occasionally appearing in different areas throughout the main hall.

This cavern estate had been formed by Linley using his sword, and the walls and the floor all had sword scars.

While Linley and Delia were training, Bebe was extremely bored.

“Training is so complicated.”

Bebe sat there on the floor of the main hall, lying against the stone, his head upraised and carrying that straw hat. “Why is it that I can never settle down to train? It’d be wonderful if I could be like the Boss. He actually starts grinning mid- training!” Bebe mumbled as he looked at the three Linleys.

Bebe didn’t like to train. In the Forest of Darkness, even the easiest ‘Essence of Darkness’ mystery had taken him nearly twenty years to master, and that was with Beirut’s assistance!

Taking off his straw hat and looking at it, Bebe naturally began to think of Nisse, a hint of grief appearing in his eyes. “I wonder how Nisse is doing.”

Moments later.

With a flip of his hand, Bebe put the straw hat back on his head. “Forget it. No point to thinking randomly. Motherf*cker, the more I think about it, the more miserable I feel. Better to focus  on  my  training!”  Bebe  gritted  his  teeth.  “I  refuse  to believe that I have no talent in training in the Laws. I’m a Godeater Rat! Grandpa Beirut helped me so much. If it was the Boss, he probably would have easily gained insights into those three profound mysteries by now. I need to work harder. I can’t lose face. At the very least, I need to master those three types of profound mysteries.”

Bebe shut his eyes and began to quietly train as well.

A long time later, the light green robed Linley stood up as well. In his heart, he said to himself, “So the Profound Mysteries of Sound Waves could actually reach such a level. Not only could it create unique vibrations within the insides of something, it could also simultaneously attack from outside. Combining the inner and outer aspects is indeed a very powerful material attack. Only, how would one use the Profound Mysteries of Sound Waves to attack the soul?”

Linley was pondering this. Suddenly, he discovered that Bebe was training intensively as well. He couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s  rare  to  see  Bebe  working  so  hard.”  But  right  at  that moment…

“Boss, you finished your training?” Bebe immediately opened his eyes. “And I was just praising you at how hard you were working.” Linley laughed.

Bebe stood up. “Boss, you have no idea. When I’m training in the Laws of Darkness, I’m extremely sensitive to any nearby movements. As soon as you stood up, I immediately woke up as well. Right, Boss. Your divine earth clone keeps on flickering around. What’s that about?”

“Can it be that you have forgotten how in the past, Haydson was able to change his physical location with his technique?” Linley said with a laugh.

“Right, it does seem really similar. Boss, you figured it out?” Bebe said in pleased surprise.

“Not  even  close.  I’ve  just  started  with  the  basics.”  Linley laughed.

He had been training in this technique for quite some time. It belonged to the ‘Worldwalker’ profound mystery, one of the six profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of the Earth. Actually, getting a basic understanding of the Worldwalker profound mystery wasn’t that hard; the ‘Worldwalker’ profound mystery and the ‘Essence of the Earth’ profound mystery were actually somewhat linked.

In order to completely master the profound mysteries of the ‘Essence of the Earth’, one had to be able to reach an extremely high level of merging with the earth essence.

As for the Worldwalker mystery, it required a person to be completely merged into the earth essence, and then travel through the earth essence, instantly appearing somewhere else. From the outside, it looked like teleportation, but in reality, it wasn’t.

Upon reaching mastery in the ‘Essence of the Earth’, training in the ‘Worldwalker’ technique became much easier.

“Bebe, as I recall, when you were in the volcano range, it seemed like you used a technique which destroyed even that Highgod artifact of Elquin. What was that all about?” With regards to this, Linley hadn’t yet had a chance to ask in detail. 

Bebe pursed his lips. “This was a life-saving measure which Grandpa Beirut had given me. He said it was enough to deal with most Highgods. However, Grandpa Beirut originally told me that the energy in the black pearl was only enough to be utilized three times. I’ve already used it once, and I only have two more remaining.”

Linley nodded slightly.

The power of that attack had truly been astonishing. Even Elquin, when taking that attack head on, had his Highgod artifact destroyed. Most likely, an ordinary Five Star Fiend or Six Star Fiend would have perished.

“Huh?”

Bebe suddenly looked towards the outside of the cave. “Boss, I  feel  something  going  on  outside.”  Linley’s  face  changed. Instantly, his two clones merged with his original form. This time, Linley immediately used his original form, and his body became covered with the Pulseguard Armor. 

Right at this moment…

A surge of divine sense swept out, instantly encompassing the entire cave.

“Haha…just three Gods!” A loud voice rang out from outside the cave. “The three of you, hurry the f*ck up and come out.”

“Get the f*ck out here!”  Instantly, a large number of angry roars rang out.

Linley frowned. It seemed as though quite a few people were shouting from outside, but Linley’s current level of power was far greater than it had been when they had first come to the Infernal Realm, especially after his original body Dragonformed. Linley was confident in the shattered ‘soul- protecting Sovereign artifact’ against ordinary Highgods, especially when he had his trump card, those two drops of Sovereign’s Might. Of course he was not afraid!

“Let’s take a look.” Linley said.

Bebe, made bold by his talents, accompanied Linley towards the cave exit as well.

Linley headed out, and saw a large group of people floating directly outside. This group was formed into a surrounding circle which had completely sealed off the cave. Linley immediately spread out his divine sense, immediately encompassing all of them.

“Eighty two, three of them being Demigods, the rest being Gods!” Linley made up his mind.

All of them were Gods. The current Linley didn’t fear them at all. “Boss,  they  actually  stumbled  onto  us.”   Bebe’s  smirking mouth had a hint of amusement as well. He had been in a fairly bad mood recently. Salomon’s true face and Nisse’s departure had all caused Bebe to be in a foul mood. Only, in front of Linley and Delia, Bebe pretended to laugh and pretended as though nothing was amiss.

In truth, in his heart, he felt quite miserable.

After having stewed for so long, right now, Bebe wanted to let loose and vent!

The leader of this large group was a silver-haired, horned man. He laughed loudly. “What? Just the two of you came out? What about the woman inside? Have her come out as well. Or did you think you would be able to flee?”

“Haha, there’s a woman? Big brother, let me have her.”  A horned man with short silver hair next to him said loudly.

“No problem.” The leader laughed loudly. 

Immediately, the other bandits all began to laugh loudly.

Linley frowned, and Bebe rubbed his nose as well, their gazes turning cold.

“I will give you a chance.” The leader said arrogantly. “Since you are both Gods…how about this. Offer me your interspatial rings. I will permit you to join us. Don’t worry…in the future, you will have a share in the wealth which we take in the future.”

Linley secretly shook his head.

These bandits truly were interesting. They wanted to take his valuables and also have him join them? However, this was a fairly common sight in the Infernal Realm.

The leader said. “Have you finished consid…” “Motherf*cker,  are  you  done  with  the  bullshit?!”   Bebe shouted angrily.

The bandits were all stunned, and then the face of the leader turned cold. “Brothers, since they don’t want their lives, finish them!” The leader waved his hand, ordering his subordinates to charge. Clearly…he didn’t hold these three Gods in high regard.

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

Transforming into blurs or streaks of lightning or flashes of fire, dozens of figures charged forward like a swarm of wasps.

Bebe stored his straw hat into his interspatial ring, while at the same time wielding that black dagger. Glancing sideways into the swarm of charging bandits, he grinned savagely, then wildly began to execute his Shadowshape Doppelganger technique, immediately transforming into dozens of images which charged up. “Haha, die.” A God-level Fiend stabbed into Bebe’s true body, but when the divine artifact sword in his hand struck him, it gave out a ‘Clang!’ sound, not harming Bebe at all.

Bebe delivered a backhand blow with the dagger.

“Swish!” He stabbed directly into the head of that God-level Fiend. Bebe’s eyes were filled with a light of bloodlust.

“Next.”

Bebe’s dagger then stabbed out towards another person, while Bebe himself didn’t even bother to dodge the enemy’s attacks.

A large group charged towards him, stabbing towards Bebe from every area, while the rest charged towards Linley.

Linley wielded Bloodviolet and just stood there. Seeing the group of bandits charge over, Linley’s hand suddenly began to flash with a hazy violet shadow moving at an exceedingly high speed. If one looked carefully, however, one would have a slow sort of feeling.

A visual misperception!

“Slash….”

Two heads were chopped off simultaneously, while the rest of their body was shaken by vibrations into muddy flesh. Two divine God sparks fell down from mid-air, and the violet illusion vanished.

“Too weak.” Linley said to himself quietly. His most powerful physical attack, ‘Bewildering Shadow’, was an attack capable of threatening a Highgod. Against these Gods, it was effortless.

Instantly, eight people on the bandit side had died. The attacking bandits as well as the leader watching behind were all shocked. They hadn’t expected that this time, they had rammed into an iron board. The leader immediately shouted loudly, “Brothers, launch group attacks!” Instantly, the bandits flew back, gathering together.

Linley and Bebe each stood at one side of the entrance to the cave.

“You  killed  eight  of  my  brothers.”  The  leader’s  gaze  was savage. “Brothers, all together.”

Depending on if they were fighting against experts or weaklings, these bandits would use different methods. The bandits once more swarmed forward like wasps, but in truth, this time was different. They were all moving in an organized, concerted manner.

At virtually the same time, the bandits brandished their weapons.

After having seen the chaotic battle between the Black Dragon Tribe and the other tribes, Linley and Bebe knew exactly how terrifying this sort of concerted group attack could be.

“Bebe,  let’s  kill  them  together.”   Linley  almost  instantly entered his Dragonform.

His body became incredibly powerful, and was endowed with astonishing speed and strength. The power in his body exploded forth, and at the same time, he utilized his Profound Truths of Velocity. Linley was like a ray of golden-azure illusory light, charging towards the group of bandits, who weren’t at all surprised by Linley’s transformation.

In the Infernal Realm, there were simply too many races and lifeforms of various types.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

Almost instantaneously, over twenty soul attacks struck out, some which contained material components as well. This was the joint attack launched by the seventy four surviving bandits, but Linley’s speed was simply too fast, and his body was too small. He was only struck by two of the soul attacks.

The two soul attacks were merely God-level soul attacks.

They did nothing to Linley at all.

As for those five material attacks which struck him, they didn’t break a single draconic scale.

Not just Linley; the same was true for Bebe!

“Not good!” Seeing this, the leader’s face changed.

Linley, his face sinister, let the devilish Bloodviolet sword land its first attack upon the horned man with short silver hair. The horned man didn’t have any chance to flee at all. Bloodviolet swept straight past his head, and his head instantly was shaken into muddy flesh.

“Bang!” Linley’s right leg struck out like a meteor carrying trillions of kilograms of force, smashing against a green-haired man’s waist. “BANG!”  The explosive force caused the green-haired man’s body to completely explode, leaving behind only a God- level divine spark.

This kick contained the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ as well as the massive strength of Linley’s Dragonform. It was extremely powerful.

“Swoosh!”   A  man  chopped  straight  downwards  with  his warblade through the air, directly towards Linley’s head.

“Swish!”

A golden-azure light flashed. It was Linley’s draconic tail. The fierce tail struck out with a ‘Clang!’, sending the warblade flying while also crushing the God’s head into a pile of pulp. The Dragonformed Linley was nothing short of a man- shaped weapon, even more terrifying than a Deathgod Golem. After all, not only was Linley’s defense tough, he also knew profound mysteries!

However, Linley’s slaughtering speed was only on par with Bebe, who was in the middle of letting loose to his unhappiness.

Chapter 28, The Essence of Fire

“Slash!”

Crimson blood splattered across the dusty yellow cliffs, and shards of flesh fell down from the skies.

“All of you, die.”  Bebe’s face was savage, and his dozens of shadows were everywhere. Through relying on the Shadowshape Doppelganger technique, Bebe was occasionally here, occasionally there as he entered a wild killing spree. Bebe’s eyes were filled with madness. “That bastard Salomon. That bastard!”

“If Salomon hadn’t intentionally caused chaos, how could Ninny  and  I  have  been  separated?”  As  he  thought  this,  he stabbed out with the dagger in his hand towards an opponent’s divine artifact, chopping it into two pieces while simultaneously cutting through the opponent’s head, which exploded.

“Ninny, Ninny!” Bebe’s mind was full of thoughts of Ninny, but as he thought of Salomon, the speed at which he killed grew even faster.

A massacre. Bebe wildly vented his anger. How he wanted to be together with Nisse. Each time he saw Linley and Delia together, he would think of himself and Nisse. Only, this Infernal Realm was utterly vast, and Nisse was heading towards the Jadefloat Continent.

Who knew when they would meet again?

“Kill, kill!!!”

Bebe killed wildly, ignoring all else.

“Flee, flee!!!” The bandits who were not yet dead all began to scream in terror while fleeing in all directions. The leader of the bandits, in particular, had turned ashen pale. He had never imagined that Gods could be this monstrously powerful. 

They were being easily demolished!

“Finished. My men are all finished.” The leader felt grief in his heart, but although he grieved, whenever he looked at Linley and Bebe, these two fiendish gods, he was so frightened that his heart trembled. “No matter what, I need to first save my own life.”

The leader ignored everyone else and immediately fled.

After Linley and Bebe killed those closest to them, they discovered that the other bandits had started to flee in every direction. Linley couldn’t be bothered to chase them, but Bebe, caught in the grip of his bloodlust, howled angrily and them emitted a high screech which echoed throughout the heavens.

An enormous illusory Godeater Rat appeared behind Bebe. Bebe opened his mouth wide, staring at the distant bandit leader as well as a man next to him. “Aaaaaah!”  The  bandit  leader,  in  mid-flight,  suddenly  felt that he couldn’t move. Not just him; the God next to him couldn’t move either.

Suddenly, the God-level divine sparks of the two men floated out. Two divine sparks actually flew out of the leader, while another flew out from his subordinate’s head. These three divine sparks flew directly towards Bebe’s mouth.

The two corpses fell down from mid-air.

Linley looked at Bebe with some concern. Very clearly, Bebe was acting rather strangely.

“Bebe?” Linley flew over.

Bebe turned, then shook his head a few times and laughed, “Boss, don’t worry. I’m fine. Just now, I was feeling rather peeved, and so I wanted to give vent to my anger. I feel much better now. These bandits really were blind. They actually dared to come waylay us. They really were looking for death!” Linley, seeing the look on Bebe’s face, finally sighed in relief.

“These bandits will most likely not dare annoy us again.” Linley laughed as well.

Actually, Linley had been prepared long ago for this day. Every single place in the Infernal Realm was controlled and occupied by a force. In some desolate areas, it was normally just common bandits or small tribes, while in bustling areas, greater forces and powers would be in control.

The mountain range which Linley had chosen was very ordinary.

Linley expected that there shouldn’t be many experts here. After today, in the future, most likely nobody in the area would dare make trouble for them again.

“Oh! I forgot to take the interspatial rings of many of those corpses. Although there wasn’t much money there, we shouldn’t let it go to waste.” Bebe immediately flew down, and Linley couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing Bebe in a better mood, Linley felt happy as well. “Bebe, wait for me.” Linley flew down as well.

This slaughter did indeed awe and frighten the people nearby. The bandit group, originally 82 strong, had only less than thirty survivors after this disaster. This small bandit group frantically began to recruit others, but they didn’t dare to come disturb Linley’s group again. They didn’t even dare to draw near.

And just like that, one year after another passed by like water as they trained quietly.

“Rumble…”

In the sixteenth year of Linley’s training here, the natural Laws descended.

Within the cavern estate, Delia and Bebe both watched with nervous, surprised joy. Linley himself was floating in mid-air, completely surrounded by the strange energy of the natural Laws, while at the same time, powerful fire elemental essences swirled above him, then solidified into a fire-type divine spark.

“The Boss has become a Deity in the fire-element as well.” Bebe said in delight.

Delia was filled with excitement and joy as well.

In training, talent was critically important. If one didn’t have talent in something, no matter how long one trained, one would find it hard to succeed. Linley was exceedingly talented in the wind and earth elements, and thus he trained very quickly in them. As for the fire-element, he wasn’t bad either. Only, compared to the wind and the earth, it was rather weaker.

However, given how incredibly powerful his soul currently was, and the fact that he had been training on the metallic creature previously, giving him a total training time of over twenty years… Linley had finally mastered the simplest type of profound mystery of the Elemental Laws of Fire – ‘The Essence of the Fire’.

This time, Linley once more chose to have his soul split apart. After all, Linley was currently in possession of a large number of amethysts and a large amount of wealth. To strengthen his soul wouldn’t be too hard.

“Crackle…”

A Linley dressed in a fiery red robe and with fiery long hair suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Linley’s divine fire clone.

Moments later, the ripples of the natural Laws disappeared, and the divine fire clone merged into Linley’s original body. Within the sea of consciousness in Linley’s original body, his powerful spiritual energy was gently flowing like waves of the ocean, while a rainbow-colored sword-shaped soul hovered above it. Beneath the rainbow-colored sword-shaped soul, on the surface of his sea of consciousness, three Linley’s hovered. They were a Linley who emitted by an earthen light, a Linley who emitted a light green aura, and a Linley who emitted a fiery red aura. The three Linley’s formed a triangle exactly beneath the sword-shaped soul.

Linley opened his eyes, looking at the delighted Delia and Bebe.

“Boss, you now have three divine clones. With your original body included, that makes four.” Bebe rubbed his nose as he spoke. “Compared to you, I, Bebe, really feel embarrassed. Up till now, I still only have two bodies, my original body included.”

“Bebe, you at least have two. I only have one. Shouldn’t I be even more embarrassed?” Delia teased with pursed lips.

Linley couldn’t help but laugh. Right now, both Delia and Bebe were exceedingly happy for Linley. With an additional divine clone, that meant he had another life, while at the same time meant that his future accomplishments would be even greater.

“This divine fire clone is only a Demigod clone. It is still very weak. Right now…I still need to rely on my earth and wind clones.”  Linley himself knew that for now, four bodies was most likely his limit. After all, Linley didn’t know a single thing about the other Elemental Laws.

Lightning, water, light, darkness, etc. Linley didn’t understand anything about them.

“Without any talent, I’m not even able to sense the Elemental Laws. How could I train in them? Even if I trained for a million years, I would still find it hard to succeed.”  Linley began to understand why the more one advanced in training, the harder it became.

Currently, in his understanding of the Laws of the Earth, he had already reached mastery in the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Essence of the Earth. Over the past sixteen years, his Worldwalker had advanced as well.

“The Laws of the Earth have in total six profound mysteries. I’ve only trained in three. Right now, although it seems like I am advancing quickly, the more I advance, most likely the slower  it  will  become.”   Linley  understood.  After  all,  the ‘Essence of the Fire’, the simplest profound mystery of the Elemental Laws of Fire, had taken twenty years, despite his soul being so incredibly strong.

When he had trained in the Essence of the Earth, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Linley was merging it with the Throbbing Pulse of the World, two years probably would have been enough for mastery.

And at that time, Linley’s soul was much weaker than it was now.

This was a difference in talent! Perhaps in training and comprehending, a person’s hard work and spiritual sensitivity determined everything. Some people, upon seeing a scene, would instantly and naturally make the mental connections and perhaps suddenly breakthrough. This didn’t have anything to do with elemental affinity; it was related to a person’s pondering and logic, to one’s spiritual sensitivity.

But with regards to how clearly or how unclearly one would sense the Elemental Laws, that was a matter of natural talent.

“Boss, what are you thinking about?”  Bebe suddenly woke Linley from his pondering.

“Nothing. Just some random things. Let’s go. We’ll go to our living room to celebrate.” In all those interspatial rings, quite a few had stored fine wine. Linley turned to look at Delia. Suddenly, he asked, “Delia, how has your fusing of the divine spark progressed?”

“I’ve fused with eight of the profound mysteries. I expect that in a few more years, I should be able to comprehend the ninth one as well.” Delia smiled as she spoke. 

“In a few more years, we can finally head out.” Bebe said rather hopefully.

Linley glanced at Bebe. In his heart, he felt rather guilty. Bebe had essentially been keeping them company here for sixteen years, while Nisse and her elder brother Salomon had most likely already reached Bluemaple City, and perhaps had even headed out on their journey to the Jadefloat Continent.

Who knew when Bebe and Nisse would meet again?

“Bebe, let’s go drink some wine.” Linley rested his right hand on Bebe’s shoulders. The two brothers headed together towards the outside.

In the blink of an eye, nearly five more years passed. Delia finally completely fused with that Highgod spark, reaching the Highgod level. From the outside, especially upon seeing Delia’s Fiend medallion on her chest, it was clear…that she was a Highgod Fiend! Highgod Fiends had quite a frightening reputation.

“We’ve been in this place for over twenty years. I feel rather attached to it.” Linley turned to look at the cave estate, while the nearby Delia couldn’t help but laugh. Jokingly, she said, “What, you want to keep living here? How about…we stay for a few more decades?”

“Haha, let’s go.”

Linley waved his hand, and suddenly, a black panther shaped metallic lifeform appeared in mid-air. Linley’s group flew into it. The metallic lifeform immediately transformed into a ray of light, flying towards the east. By now, Linley had over ten metallic lifeforms.

These metallic lifeforms had been discovered within those hundred-plus interspatial rings. After all, quite a few Highgods had purchased metallic lifeforms.

Within the metallic lifeform, Linley and the other two were seated on chairs, looking outside through the translucent ‘window’ to look outside. They drank wine as they headed forward.

“Boss, this metallic lifeform is so bizarre. Generally speaking, humans and magical beasts can’t be stored in interspatial rings, but metallic lifeforms can. Also, I feel as though their intelligence is very low.” Bebe said.

Linley nodded slightly. He had noticed this as well.

“Perhaps metallic lifeforms are rather special.” Linley said.

Actually, what Linley didn’t realize was that all the metallic lifeforms bought in sold in places like Redbud Castle had undergone some special modifications. They were already essentially transportation tools who only had very basic thought processes.

Seated within the metallic lifeform, Linley’s group of three continued to advance. The metallic lifeform once more halted, and Linley chuckled towards Delia. “Delia, sorry. We’re going to have to trouble you to go out again.”  Delia laughed helplessly. “There really are quite a few bandits here, and they are all so annoying. They can’t find me with their divine sense, but as soon as I head out, they go ‘whoosh’ and disappear.”

Indeed…

As soon as Delia exited the metallic lifeform, those hundred- plus Gods, upon seeing someone whom they couldn’t find with their divine sense, and in particular someone with a Fiend medallion…

“A Highgod Fiend!”

The bandits were so terrified, they immediately scattered.

Delia headed back into the metallic lifeform. “Let’s continue going forward.” Bebe laughed loudly. “Haha, Delia, Highgod Fiends really are quite frightening to people!”

Delia nodded and said, “Actually, it makes sense. The Fiend trials are so very hard. Survival of the fittest! Also, the Fiend missions are fairly dangerous. In battles, it is Highgod against Highgod, God against God…generally speaking, after multiple missions, the surviving Highgods are all rather powerful ones.”

Linley, hearing this, nodded slightly. This made a lot of sense.

“But of course, there’s another situation; a Highgod who is weak,  but  has  a  team.”  Delia  laughed.  “Only  then  can  that Highgod undertake multiple missions without dying. No matter what though, when bandits encounter Highgod Fiends, they will generally flee immediately.”

Chapter 29, The Amethyst Mountains

In the desolate chain of mountains, there were almost no signs of human life.

People familiar with this place knew that this was a territory claimed by bandits. Normally, people didn’t dare to halt here. At the edges of the chain of mountains, halfway up a mountain, there was a large amount of rattans and wild grass, with the mountain cliffs behind them.

The strange thing was…

The rattans separated, and a head popped out from between them. This was a youth who was slightly fat and whose gaze was very innocent.

Raising his head, he looked towards the sky. It was late at night, and the sky was covered with dark clouds, making the entire world pitch black. Even Deities would only barely be able to see a few hundred meters away. The youth nodded slightly. “The weather today is excellent. It is time to head forward.” “Swoosh!”

The youth transformed into a graceful gust of wind, heading towards the east silently. Soon, he had travelled thousands of kilometers.

“Huh?” The gust of wind came to a halt, and the youth returned to his normal form. He lay hidden on the ground, quietly staring into the distance. Just now, he seemed to have noticed some movement. Paying careful attention, he noticed a long-tailed beastman fly past.

“So it was just a Saint.”  The youth let out a hidden sigh of relief.

The youth once more transformed into a silent gust of wind. While it was dark, he pressed forward, occasionally coming to a halt. Like this, he carefully advanced. Suddenly, he realized that a metallic lifeform was flying at high speed. Instantly, a look of joy appeared on the youth’s face. “Swoosh!”

The youth’s speed instantly exploded, and he flew into the air, chasing after the metallic lifeform. In terms of short- distance speed, Deities were generally capable of catching up to metallic lifeforms. When the youth drew near the metallic lifeform, he immediately spread out his divine sense, finding only a few Gods within.

“Everyone, I’m just a God. Please help me and give me a ride!” The youth immediately said through divine sense.

But the metallic lifeform paid him no mind.

“Milords, please help me.” The youth once more spread out his divine sense and messaged.

“F*ck off. If you keep jabbering, I’ll kill you.” A divine sense message came out, and the youth immediately lowered his speed. Shaking his head with a sigh, the youth once more transformed into a gust of wind, landing down and continuing to advance eastwards. In this pitch black night, he encountered three metallic lifeforms, all filled with many people, but his three entreaties were all refused.

Since he was refused, he had to rely on himself to travel. He managed to travel two hundred thousand kilometers before daybreak. By the time the skies slowly brightened, the youth stopped advancing.

The place he came to a halt in was within a flat area where wild grass was growing.

“Crackle…”   The  youth  summoned  his  divine  power  and immediately dug out a tunnel within the wild grass. It was a very secretive, hidden place.

“Whew.”

The youth sat down calmly within the tunnel, frowning in thought. “Given this speed, it’ll most likely take me decades before arriving at the Amethyst Mountains. I didn’t expect that I, Jenkin [Zhan’jin], would fall to such a state. This Infernal Realm…it really isn’t an easy place to roam.”

When thinking back to the life he had lived upon arriving in the Infernal Realm, Jenkin’s heart was filled with sourness. He sighed.

However, moments later, Jenkin’s mind returned to calmness.

“No matter what, my top goal right now is to hurry to the Amethyst Mountains. The Amethyst Mountains will be the place where I, Jenkin, make my first mark!” Jenkin’s eyes were sharp and fierce. No matter how much he had to suffer, he wouldn’t give up.

Undaunted despite countless setbacks. Self-confident!

This was why Jenkin was able to become a Deity and able to stay alive up till now. 

“Fortunately,  in  the  Infernal  Realm,  the  area  of  a  divine sense is very small. If this was in a material realm, where a divine sense could spread across a vast area, those bandits would be able to easily locate their targets.”  Jenkin smiled slightly. “Alas, but only once or twice a month will I encounter a night like last night, where there is no moonlight at all.”

Jenkin knew very well that if he were to travel by day, he would definitely be discovered.

Once he was discovered, given his power as a new God, he definitely wouldn’t be able to flee.

All he could do was travel during this sort of dark night, but a completely black night like the previous night only appeared once or twice a month. The chances were too low. Also, the complete darkness persisted for only a third of the day, during night. Thus, he only had a short period of time to hurry forward. “All I can do is carefully move forward. Perhaps I’ll be able to encounter a kind-hearted person who will give me a ride.”

Jenkin understood.

Generally speaking, those who travelled aboard metallic lifeforms couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to others. If they encountered bandits, they wouldn’t chase after them and attack, as that took too much time and energy and wasn’t worth it. They couldn’t be bothered to even act against bandits; naturally, when they encountered someone like Jenkin who begged for a lift, they would ignore him as well.

“All I can do is continue to wait.” Jenkin immediately acted, using the earth to cover the hole above him, revealing only a small opening which would allow a bit of sunlight in.

This sort of wide flatland was mostly inhabited by ordinary Saints, and bandits wouldn’t be present on literally every inch of land, unless they were utterly bored.

He waited. 

After roughly twenty seven days, yet another pitch black night came.

Jenkin silently pushed aside the grass, staring at his surroundings. After ascertaining no one was nearby, he once more came out of the tunnel, transforming into a gust of wind and silently advancing towards the east. This time, roughly two hours later, he encountered yet another metallic lifeform.

But when he flew over at high speed and sent an entreaty, he was once more refused and shouted at angrily.

Jenkin didn’t feel any disappointment in his heart at all, and didn’t even feel much of an emotional impact at all. As Jenkin saw it, every single chance had to be treasured. Failure was nothing. If he didn’t even try, then he would definitely fail. Jenkin continued to stealthily travel forward.

After roughly an hour, yet another metallic lifeform flew over towards the east. Jenkin immediately raised his head, once more chasing over at high speed. Up ahead was a fairly small metallic lifeform. Clearly, there were very few people inside. Generally speaking, if there were few people within a metallic lifeform, the people within would be fairly close family or friends who usually wouldn’t allow a stranger to join them.

However, without at least making an attempt, Jenkin wouldn’t give up.

Immediately spreading out his divine sense, Jenkin found two Gods within. “Milords, I am only a God. I hope you can help me and give me a ride.”  If he was refused and yelled at again, Jenkin wouldn’t mind at all, nor would his mental state be disturbed.

However…

This metallic lifeform actually came to a sudden halt.

Jenkin immediately halted as well, nervously looking at the metallic lifeform, afraid that the people inside would come out to kill him. However, Jenkin consoled himself, “That won’t happen. People who ride metallic lifeforms will encounter bandits and shout at them to leave. They’ve already become accustomed to not killing people who don’t pose a threat to them.”

“Boss, this fellow is quite interesting. He actually asks people to give him a ride.” A voice rang out from within, while at the same time, an entrance to the metallic lifeform opened up.

“Then let him in.”

A gentle yet ordinary voice rang out, but this voice caused Jenkin’s calm heart to instantly swell with emotion. A look of shock and joy suddenly exploded forth from his eyes. Jenkin was certain that he would never forget this voice for the rest of his life.

“My Boss is letting you in. Hurry up and come in.” A figure wearing a straw hat appeared at the entrance. “Thank you, milord.” Jenkin immediately flew over, entering the metallic lifeform.

The internals of the metallic lifeform was very soft and comfortable. Aside from several rooms in the back, there was a living room in the center, with wine, tables, and chairs. There was even a place to view the outside scenery. Jenkin said to himself, “This is what the upper class of the Infernal Realm live like!”

At the same time, Jenkin saw a young couple in front of him.

The young man had a head of long brown hair and wore a sky-blue robe, and his eyes contained a hint of a smile. He appeared fairly friendly and amiable. The woman behind him caused Jenkin to be shocked. This woman was beautiful, but… Jenkin couldn’t sense her aura at all.

“She is a Highgod, and a Highgod Fiend?”  Jenkin instantly noticed the Fiend medallion, while at the same time he noticed the Fiend medallions of the other two. Jenkin now began to understand why this metallic lifeform dared to roam the Infernal Realm without danger. 

Because a Highgod Fiend was present.

With mild interest, Linley glanced at this slightly pudgy yet very friendly looking youth.

“Hey, you can sit over there.” Bebe said casually.

Delia asked, “Why did you ask us to give you a ride?”  Not only was Linley curious; Delia and Bebe were curious as well.

Jenkin said hurriedly, “Milords, my name is Jenkin. As to why I asked you to help out, actually, this story starts from when I first entered the Infernal Realm. When I entered the Infernal Realm, I was tossed out by the Redbud Army, and I joined a very ordinary tribe. I imagine you all know that earning money in a tribe is a very slow affair. In ten thousand years, you’d probably only earn a few dozen inkstones.”

“A few dozen?” Linley frowned slightly. 

When he had lived in the Black Dragon Tribe, every ten thousand years, there was more than a thousand inkstones to be earned. However, Linley immediately realized that this was because of the Gerrard Black Dragons. Otherwise, other tribes wouldn’t have allied to attack them either. Ordinary tribes who had to rely on forging divine artifacts or divine gems to earn money really were limited to just a few dozen inkstones every ten thousand years.

“Also, in the Infernal Realm, battles are very frequent. An ordinary tribe might survive for a million years or even longer, but it also might be destroyed in just a few thousand years.” Jenkin said bitterly. “If I was an ordinary citizen, perhaps after defeat in battle, I could join another tribe. But I am a God. I was forcibly recruited to become a warrior for the tribe. In every battle, the majority of the casualties occurred amongst the warriors!”

Linley nodded slightly.

When he had been in the Black Dragon Tribe, a tribe with a fairly powerful backer, whether or not one became a warrior was a matter of choice. Clearly, they didn’t care too much about warriors. But for many of the weaker tribes, Gods were forcibly recruited to become soldiers.

“Within ten thousand years, I experienced being in two tribes.”   Jenkin  shook  his  head.  “I  realized  that  this  can’t continue. I was barely lucky enough to survive the first battle, but would I have that sort of luck again? After planning for a long time, I quietly slipped out of the tribe and began to head towards the Amethyst Mountains. However, my tribe was tens of millions of kilometers away from the Amethyst Mountains, and there are a very high amount of bandits on the way. All I could do was wait for the skies to become completely dark before carefully advancing.”

Linley, hearing this, began to understand.

At the same time, he could imagine how much hardship this Jenkin had suffered on the way over.

“Why  are  you  going  to  the  Amethyst  Mountains?”  Bebe asked. Jenkin said hurriedly, “I heard of them and learned that the Amethyst Mountains have ‘amethysts’ in them. I wanted to go harvest amethysts. Amethysts are very valuable. I can make six or seven thousand inkstones by selling one. This is much better than just staying in a tribe.”

Linley immediately began to laugh. “You’ve heard of it? But do you know about the regulations regarding mining in the Amethyst Mountains?”

Linley had read some general information regarding the Infernal Realm. Naturally, he knew about the famous ‘Amethyst Mountains’ of the Redbud Continent. Because of this, Linley was actually planning to make a tourism trip while passing through the Amethyst Mountains.

The Amethyst Mountains had a circumference of hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It was the only area in the Redbud Continent which produced amethysts.

“Requirements?”  Jenkin shook his head. How could people in the tribes learn of these things? 

“How could just anyone be allowed to mine in a precious place like this? These areas are jointly guarded by multiple major clans.” Linley said with a calm laugh.

Jenkin’s face became unsightly, but he said hurriedly, “Impossible. The Amethyst Mountains is such a precious area and so vast. How could a few clans completely seal it off?” Many people were still able to sneak into some precious areas at the risk of losing their lives.

“Of course, there is another method. Pay five thousand inkstones, and you can enter to go mine.”  Linley said with a calm laugh.

Harvesting amethysts was extremely hard. Sometimes, a thousand years would pass without being able to encounter any. But of course, if you were lucky, you might find several on one trip.

“Five thousand inkstones?”  Jenkin’s face turned ashen. He had only been in the Infernal Realm for ten thousand years. His entire networth was less than a hundred inkstones.

Chapter 30, The Fog Sea

The metallic lifeform moved like a flash of light, streaking at high speed towards the east.

Within the living room of the metallic lifeform, Linley and Delia were seated facing each other, while Bebe and Jenkin were seated facing each other. Everyone was chatting casually.

“My homeland? It is a far more complicated place than yours.” Jenkin’s face was all smiles right now, so very different from the look of dread it had when he had been fleeing and travelling. “In addition, my homeland’s continent is fairly large. From the north to the south, it stretches at least a hundred thousand kilometers.”

Linley nodded slightly. The Yulan continent, from north to south, stretched only twenty or thirty thousand kilometers. Jenkin’s homeland was indeed much larger than the Yulan continent.

“Our place was primarily divided into three forces. The first type included the human societies, the second included the beastmen clans, and the final one included the aquatic races! There’s all sorts of religions there. Haha, I’m afraid you are going to laugh at me when I say this, but I actually had my own church amongst the humans and amongst the beastmen!”

Jenkin laughed. “Those beastmen had no idea that the Deity they worshipped was actually a human.”

Linley, Delia, and Bebe had been bored with their journey, and so they were happy to listen to Jenkin tell them some tales from his own material plane. It had to be said that Jenkin’s material plane, although not having as many complicated secrets as the Yulan continent, had far more people, Saints, and religions, all of which engaged in battle, while the various races warred against each other as well.

“Oho!  I  had  no  idea.”   Bebe  chortled.  “So  in  your  own material plane, you were actually such an amazing figure.”

Jenkin’s story did indeed have a rather ‘legendary’ feel. “Alas.” Jenkin sighed. “But when one stands at the pinnacle of the continent, one feels lonely!”

Linley nodded slightly.

Actually, the vast majority of the experts who left the material planes for the Higher Planes did so out of loneliness!

“I knew very well how dangerous the Infernal Realm was, but I still chose to come. However, the degree of danger here in the Infernal Realm is far greater than I ever imagined.” Jenkin said gratefully, “If it hadn’t been for you three helping out, I wouldn’t even have been able to come up with five thousand inkstones.”

Jenkin wasn’t able to scrounge up five thousand inkstones, but to Linley’s group, five thousand inkstones was like a single hair on the body of nine bulls. While chatting with him, Linley’s group had felt that Jenkin was a fine fellow, and so Bebe had magnanimously agreed to help Jenkin pay that five thousand inkstone fee. The tens of millions of kilometers passed without incident. Roughly a month or so later, Linley’s group arrived at the legendary Amethyst Mountains!

“This is the Amethyst Mountains?”  Linley stood in front of the metallic lifeform. Peering through the metallic lifeform’s translucent windows, he could clearly see the vast, borderless Amethyst Mountains.

The Amethyst Mountains covered a great expanse of land, with a circumference of hundreds of thousands of kilometers. In the Infernal Realm, a circumference of hundreds of thousands of kilometers actually wasn’t too extravagant an amount of land, but it still stretched as far as one could see with the naked eye. In a single glance, all one could see was endless mountains, stretching off into the distance.

At the same time, a white fog floated above the Amethyst Mountains.

The strange thing was, it was only possible to see the fog. It wasn’t possible to see the Amethyst Mountains. 

“Indeed,   as   it   was   said   in   the   books,   the   Amethyst Mountains, despite being a mountain range, is also known as the ‘Fog Sea’. From the outside, one can’t see so much as a single rock. All one can see is an endless amount of white mist.”  Linley  sighed  as  he  spoke,  while  the  nearby  Jenkin, Delia, and Bebe all stared, spellbound, at the beautiful sight before them.

An area of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, completely covered by coiling white mists. The light of the Blood Sun shone down from the skies into the white mist, creating brilliant scenes and colors that were indeed pleasing to behold.

“How  strange.”   Delia  exhaled  in  surprised.  “This  large mountain range of hundreds of thousands of kilometers is actually completely wrapped by countless amounts of white mist, in a way which is so tight. The mist has persisted for countless years without dissipating. It truly is odd.” Delia couldn’t understand it at all.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe had at least learned some things from books regarding the Amethyst Mountains. 

As for Jenkin, he was completely lost.

“This  is  the  Amethyst  Mountains?”  Jenkin  still  couldn’t believe that this fog-shrouded area was the Amethyst Mountains.

“Let’s go. We’re heading down now.” Linley, with a thought, made the metallic lifeform disappear into thin air. Linley, Delia, and Bebe all flew downwards, while Jenkin was caught slightly offguard at first, but he then quickly stabilized himself and also hurried downwards.

The surface of the Amethyst Mountains was covered by the Fog Sea.

Outside the Amethyst Mountains, however, there was a veritable flood of people flying about. The number was so staggeringly high that it could be described as shocking to hear. Many Deities remained at the borders of this Fog Sea, hoping to be lucky enough to encounter amethysts. On the surface area in the perimeter outside the Amethyst Mountains, within Linley’s line of vision, there were at least three ancient castles.

As Linley’s group of four drew near, immediately, two middle-aged men dressed in black uniforms flew over. They couldn’t help but glance in Delia in surprise, clearly noticing that she was a Highgod Fiend. In their hearts, they were puzzled. “A Highgod Fiend would come here to harvest amethysts?”

Highgod Fiends, when serving as escorts, would receive compensation far greater than what they could receive by mining amethysts. Generally speaking, only Demigods and Gods would come harvest amethysts.

After realizing that Delia was a Highgod Fiend, the two immediately put on a noticeably better attitude. One of them, a golden-haired man, smiled and said, “Might I ask why you have come?”

Bebe laughed and said, “The three of us are just going in to take a look. This kid here is coming to harvest amethysts.” “Oh?”   The  golden-haired  man  nodded.  “The  Amethyst Mountains are jointly governed by our eighteen clans. But of course, we won’t stop outsiders from going in. Whether for the purpose of tourism or for mining amethysts, all who enter will each pay five thousand inkstones.”

Linley nodded slightly. The rule of paying an entrance fee of five thousand inkstones was a rule that had persisted for countless years. Even the record books had noted this.

“What if you don’t have inkstones?” Jenkin suddenly asked.

“Don’t have them?”  The middle-aged man glanced at him sideways, then laughed calmly. “If you don’t have any, that’s fine as well. We can still let you in, but we won’t give you a writ of passage, so when you come out…you will have to pay us three amethysts!”

“Writ of passage?” Linley raised an eyebrow. The golden-haired man nodded. “Right. Everyone who pays five thousand inkstones can receive a writ of passage. When you come out, as long as you return the writ of passage to us, you can leave.”

Linley’s group now understood.

“If you want to pay five thousand inkstones, please come to the centralized entrance point.” The golden-haired man pointed to a distant, gaudily built palace gate.

Actually, the Amethyst Mountains were very vast. One could enter them by any point through the air or the land.

“Remember.  The  writ  of  passage  you  receive  has  to  be returned.  If  you  want  to  flee….”   The  golden-haired  man smiled. “Then you will suffer the attacks of the experts of our eighteen clans. Heh heh. Just a reminder, that’s all.”

Linley laughed calmly. “Thank you.” Immediately, he led Delia, Bebe, and Jenkin towards that entrance.

“Boss, that fellow seems to be rather arrogant. He keeps on saying ‘eighteen clans’ this and that.” Bebe muttered.

“Bebe, don’t mind him.”  Linley himself knew exactly how powerful these eighteen clans were. “The Redbud Continent has only a single amethyst mining area. This is an astonishing treasure site. You know how much an amethyst is worth. Can you imagine how many amethysts the Amethyst Mountains produce?”

Bebe was startled.

Amethysts? Every single Redbud Castle and Blacksand Castle had a large amount of amethysts for sale, so many that one couldn’t even count them all.

“The     ‘Amethyst     Mountains’,     which     produces     an inexhaustible amount of amethysts, is truly a treasure site! The wealth of any of the eighteen clans is far greater than that of the  Boyd  clan’s.”   Linley  sighed  in  amazement.  “For  the eighteen clans to be able to monopolize this treasure site, the Amethyst Mountains, has to mean that they have the support of an Asura. And what’s more, most likely there is more than just one Asura behind them!”

The Amethyst Mountains was the only amethyst production site within the Redbud Continent, but the Redbud Continent had nearly twenty prefectures, which meant nearly twenty Asuras.

If one just spent a little bit of time thinking about it, one would understand that the power of these eighteen clans had to be so great that not even a Seven Star Fiend like Elquin, much less an ordinary Highgod Fiend, would dare cause trouble for them!

At the entrance to the Amethyst Mountains.

“Alright,  twenty  thousand  inkstones!”  With  a  flip  of  his hand, Linley retrieved two long azurite strips. The lady dressed in the long black uniform casually brought out four identical looking seals, giving one to each person in Linley’s group.

“Thank you, Mr. Linley.” Jenkin said gratefully. Actually, on the way over from the metallic lifeform, Jenkin had discovered…that amongst Linley’s group, the one who made the decisions was not the Highgod Fiend, Delia, but rather it was Linley.

“Let’s go.”

Linley flew directly into the air, heading alongside Delia and Bebe towards the foggy sea.

The light of the Blood Sun shone down on the gently flowing sea of fog, creating dazzling colors and one beautiful scene after another.

“So  beautiful.”   Delia  laughed  in  a  very  happy  manner. “Linley, look at that!”  Delia pointed deeper into the Fog Sea, where tufts of white mist, under the light of the sun, formed winged horses that were galloping in the air.

“Vast and endless…it is so comfortable just looking at it all.” Linley laughed. “Let’s go take a look inside.”

As he spoke, Linley began to fly deeper in, but right at that moment…

“The four of you, halt.” A voice rang out.

Linley’s group of four came to a halt, puzzled. Turning, they saw a youth dressed in a black uniform armor fly over. “Can it be that you don’t know how dangerous this Fog Sea is? Why are you running rashly towards the Fog Sea?”

“Danger?” Puzzled, Linley pointed towards the others in the distance. “Aren’t there people in the Fog Sea already?” As Linley saw it, if others could enter, then he should be fine to enter as well. In addition, those books he had bought regarding the Infernal Realm had given a brief description of the Amethyst Mountains. But of course, those books were not very thick, and they only devoted a few pages to each

prefecture.

“Let me give you a warning.” The youth said solemnly. “The ‘Fog Sea’ of the Amethyst Mountains is very bizarre. Visibility within it is very low. Generally speaking, Gods only can see for a hundred meters within it. Therefore…no matter what, within the Fog Sea, everyone will stay only in the outer reaches. If you are a God, you cannot enter more than a hundred meters!”

Linley’s group began to listen carefully.

The youth said solemnly, “Everyone who goes in deeper, so deep that they can no longer see the outside, will never be able to come out again!”

Linley’s group was greatly shocked. 

“Unable to come out?”  Bebe called out in surprise. “How is that possible? It’s just white mist. Although visibility is low, if we fly in a straight line from within, why can’t we fly out?”

“You won’t be able to fly out!” The youth said solemnly. “As long as you are within the outer perimeter of the Fog Sea and can still see the outside world, you will be able to fly out. But if you are unable to see the outside world, you’ll be finished. Therefore, you must be careful when mining amethysts!”

“Even if there are amethysts just ten meters in front of you, no matter what, don’t pass through into that dangerous region! As soon as you enter it, you won’t be able to leave!”

The youth said solemnly.

Linley frowned as he looked towards the large number of Deities hovering at the borders of the distant Fog Sea, and he immediately began to understand. “Right. If the Fog Sea wasn’t dangerous, then these Deities probably would’ve charged deep into it long ago to find more amethysts. Why are they still at the border then?”

Linley was now certain that the Fog Sea definitely did have dangers within.

“Remember. At all times, make sure you don’t go into the forbidden area, even if there is a heap of amethysts hovering in front of you. Don’t go in.” The youth finished, then left.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe looked at each other. They couldn’t help but feel amazed at the marvels of nature.

“Delia, we aren’t here to harvest amethysts, just to take a look  around.  Come.  Let’s  go  to  some  other  places.”  Linley didn’t care too much. He immediately led Delia and Bebe to fly around the borders of the Fog Sea, while Jenkin temporarily continued to follow Linley’s group.

Linley’s group walked for a while. “The   captain’s   luck   isn’t   bad.   He   actually   discovered amethysts just now. I’ve been here twenty years, but I haven’t found a single one yet. Hey, Olivier, have you gotten anything yet?”  At this moment, there was a small team of ten or so people gathered together.

His hair was black mixed with white, and his robe was gray.

It was Olivier, who had also come from the Yulan continent.

Olivier shook his head. “Bad luck.”

“Don’t be discouraged. Come, let’s go drink a few cups. My treat.” Their leader, the captain, said with a laugh.

The team flew towards the outer regions of the Fog Sea, drawing near the entrance, where a number of restaurants were located.

Chapter 31, Blessing, Curse

Olivier’s group had in total twelve people. They entered a restaurant, then headed to a corner of the restaurant and sat down at three round tables.

“Captain, you found an amethyst. Don’t be stingy.” Someone called out.

“Same  old  rules!”   The  leader,  the  big-bearded  captain, laughed loudly. “Each person a bottle of Norcha [Nuo’si’sha]. If you want to drink more, buy it yourself.” Immediately, the big- bearded captain called out in a high voice, “Hey, hurry up! Twelve bottles of Norcha!”

Norcha was a fairly good brand of wine. One bottle cost around ten inkstones, while twelve cost a hundred and twenty.

Generally speaking, whoever amongst them found an amethyst would invite others to celebrate with them. After all, mining amethysts was a matter of luck. If your luck was good, you’d find one every few days. If your luck was poor, a thousand years could pass without one. 

Seizing the bottle of wine, Olivier took a gulp, but his forehead was faintly creased in a frown.

“Almost thirty years, but I haven’t found a single amethyst!” Olivier was very annoyed. Raising his head, he took another large gulp.

After arriving in the Infernal Realm, Olivier’s luck had been pretty good at the start. After reaching the level of God, he had managed to scrape up ten thousand inkstones to take the Fiend trials, and had been lucky enough to pass, becoming a One Star Fiend. But who would have thought that he had failed on his very first mission?

In addition, while fleeing wildly, he had become accidentally separated from his good friend Bachelor.

Olivier had originally been travelling with Bachelor. After having worked hard to scrape up ten thousand inkstones to take the Fiend trials, he had planned to accept missions, but he failed in his very first one. Thus, in reality, Olivier hadn’t made any money at all. After having failed, his total wealth all together was just a pitiful few hundred inkstones.

Use a few hundred inkstones to return to a city? Impossible!

Fortunately, at that time, the mission point was fairly close to the Amethyst Mountains, and he had heard of the place before, and so he had carefully spent decades to stealthily make his way here. Per the rules of this place, as he had been unable to pay the five thousand inkstone fee, he had to pay three amethysts before departing.

“Forget about three amethysts. I haven’t even found one. It’s been almost thirty years.” The more Olivier thought about it, the more miserable he felt. Raising his head, he took another large gulp of wine, draining half of it. “This damn place… there’s no way to take on missions here either.”

If he wanted to go back safely, he would have to have enough money. To have enough money, for Olivier, currently only a God, the only choice was to harvest amethysts.

“Olivier, hey. You aren’t the only one to not yet find a single amethyst, you know.” Someone nearby said. “Don’t be discouraged. Last time, didn’t we run into that unlucky fellow who had been here for ten thousand years without finding an amethyst?”

Olivier forced out a smile.

He had to stay on good terms with these people.

Harvesting amethysts in the Amethyst Mountains wasn’t necessarily safe. This wasn’t a city, after all!

In the Amethyst Mountains, if one was lucky enough, one might acquire a pile of amethysts all at once, but many people, upon seeing this fortune, might kill the person who acquired it and rob them of it. This was very normal. Thus, many Gods would form into small teams. 

Olivier’s group of twelve was one such team. At least, they were able to protect themselves.

Tens of thousands of kilometers away from Olivier, Linley’s group of four was traversing the boundaries of the Fog Sea. Linley’s group hadn’t come here to harvest amethysts, just to enjoy the scenery.

“Jenkin, you don’t have to follow us. You can go harvest your amethysts. We’ll just stroll around the Amethyst Mountains for a time. In a day or two, we’ll probably leave.” Linley turned to glance at Jenkin and said casually.

Jenkin felt gratitude in his heart towards Linley’s group.

“Mr. Linley, the three of you have shown me, Jenkin, such benevolence. I truly don’t know how to repay you. In addition, after you leave, who knows how long it will be before we meet again? What’s more, mining amethysts is purely a matter of luck. Perhaps by staying alongside the rest of you, Mr. Linley, I’ll be able to run into some amethysts.” Jenkin jested. 

“Not bad, kid. You are a loyal friend.” Bebe slapped Jenkin on the shoulders, pretending to be wizened and experienced.

Linley laughed and nodded. “Fine, then. We’ll accompany you in mining amethysts. I want to see if in the next day or two, we’ll be lucky enough to acquire one.”

The white mist billowed about, and Linley glanced at the boundless white mists. “Let’s go. Let’s go inside the white fog. Remember, everyone. No matter what, keep your eyes peeled on the outside. Make sure that you are able to see the outside.” As he spoke, Linley, Delia, Bebe, and Jenkin all entered the white fog.

Linley stared into the white mist in susprirse. “This white mist is so cool and refreshing.” The temperature in the white mist was very low. When it encountered the skin, it felt like ice cubes.

But Linley’s group didn’t mind. “Boss, hurry up.”  Bebe actually walked backwards into the mist, his eyes focused on the outside. “I can still see the outside. Keep heading in…” Bebe chuckled as he constantly flew backwards, and Linley and the other two naturally followed him in.

Everyone flew very slowly. After flying only roughly eighty meters, Linley’s group unconsciously came to a halt.

“Huh? How strange!”

Linley couldn’t help but begin to frown.

“Whooooosh.” In the boundless white fog, there was a gentle sound of blowing wind, but although the sound of the wind was very quiet, Linley still felt his head begin to grow dizzy. Linley furiously shook his head, forcing himself to stay clearheaded.

Delia and Bebe were trying hard to stay clearheaded as well As for Jenkin, he was already beginning to grow dizzy and was unable to tell the directions. Linley immediately grabbed him while retreating slightly.

Only now did Jenkin become clearheaded again. Upon becoming clearheaded, Jenkin was shocked. “What happened just now? I thought I heard a ‘whoooshing’ wind sound, and then I felt the world begin to spin. I felt so dizzy.” Jenkin felt shocked and terrified.

“This Fog Sea is extraordinarily bizarre.”  Bebe muttered in praise.

“Linley, we’d best be careful. We’re just here to look around, not to harvest amethysts. Don’t let anything happen.”  Delia pulled at Linley’s hand as she spoke.

Linley held Delia’s hand and looked at the concern in Delia’s eyes. After having experienced the golden magma pool, Linley didn’t want Delia to be in any more danger again, and so he immediately laughed and nodded, “Don’t worry, we won’t go any deeper into the Fog Sea.” “Hey, you guys.”  Suddenly, a muscular man with short jade hair flew over. Laughing, he said, “You guys, be careful. Don’t get trapped inside. You won’t be able to get out.”

“Excuse me, friend.” Jenkin smiled as he spoke. “I’m curious about one thing. Why is it that if one goes deep into the Fog Sea, one won’t be able to come out? If I leave my clone outside while I go inside, since I can sense the direction and location my clone is in, shouldn’t I be able to come out?”

Hearing this, Linley’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.

His words made sense.

If one’s clone was outside, one wouldn’t lose all sense of direction. There shouldn’t be any problems.

“Hey, don’t ask me, I don’t know either. You can talk all you want, but reality is what matters.” The jade-haired man pursed his lips and laughed. “If you aren’t afraid, you can place your clone outside and use your own body to go inside and test it. But in every case I’ve ever heard of, not a single person who went in has ever made it out alive, regardless of what method was used.”

The jade-haired youth, finished with his words, said, “Alright,  you  guys,  best  of  luck.”  After  speaking,  the  jade- haired youth flew off into the distance.

Linley turned his head, once more staring into the boundless white mist.

Suddenly, Linley was startled. “Hey, that’s…”  From afar, a ray of violet light flashed out, and Linley immediately moved over there. Sweeping out with his hand, he grabbed that ray of violet light. It was an amethyst. Linley couldn’t help but laugh.

He hadn’t expected that he would be so lucky.

“Boss, is that an amethyst?” Bebe immediately drew near as well. 

“Right. Jenkin, here you go.” Linley, with a flip of his hand, tossed the amethyst over to Jenkin. Linley already had a large number of amethysts. He wouldn’t care about one or two.

Jenkin knew that Linley was very rich. How could an ordinary person buy a metallic lifeform?

Jenkin didn’t waste any time with words, immediately storing the amethyst, then laughing, “Mr. Linley, your luck really is excellent. As soon as you arrived, you acquired an amethyst. I’ve heard of people who’ve spent a thousand years without finding one.”

“That’s only for people with bad luck. For those with good luck, they’ll find one every few days.” Linley said disdainfully.

“Boss, since your luck is good, I refuse to believe mine will be bad.” Bebe’s eyes were shining as he stared at his surroundings. “I’m going to harvest amethysts as well!” “I’ll try my luck also.” Delia laughed.

As Linley’s group began to tour and explore the Fog Sea, Olivier’s group had flown back to the borders of the Fog Sea once more. The twelve of them separated slightly, maintaining a distance of less than a hundred meters. Everyone quietly waited…waited for amethysts to fly out.

“Amethysts? Who knows how long it will be before I get one.”

Olivier was currently controlling his ‘divine darkness clone’ by making it train. His divine light clone had already reached the God stage, but his divine darkness clone was still at the Demigod stage. Olivier was hurriedly trying to increase the power of his divine darkness clone.

“The current level of darkness-style divine power I have is too low. Once it rises and becomes on par with my light-style divine power, with my fusion of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’, how could any ordinary God be a match for me?” Olivier thought to himself, while at the same time carefully inspecting the Fog Sea. 

The Blood Sun set. The Violet Moon rose into the skies.

When night passed, the Blood Sun once more rose into the skies. A new day had arrived.

During this entire day, Olivier’s group of twelve had stayed in their original positions, virtually not moving at all. Those who came to harvest amethysts were all extremely patient. It was normal for them to wait up to a hundred years or a thousand years in the same location.

“Huh?” Olivier looked suspiciously at a distant spot of violet light.

“Swoosh!”   A  ray  of  violet  light  rapidly  flashed  towards Olivier. Olivier was instantly overjoyed, and almost immediately, he charged forward. After having been in the Fog Sea for nearly thirty years, Olivier knew what the safe distance was. The others were all farther away from the violet flash. How could they get there faster than Olivier?

“Is that?”

While drawing closer, Olivier found himself stunned. It wasn’t a single amethyst flying towards him; it was an entire collection of amethysts, fused tightly into a dense cluster…a small pile of amethysts!

“There has to be at least ten thousand here!”  Olivier was stunned.

In the Fog Sea, it was true that occasionally, a pile of amethysts would fly out. There had even been cases of a million amethysts flying out all together in one clump. However, that had caused a massive slaughter to erupt. After all, a million amethysts represented billions of inkstones.

To Gods, this was an enormous fortune. “So  many  amethysts?”  With  a  wave  of  his  hand,  Olivier collected all of the amethysts into his interspatial ring. In the moment he stored it, he became clearly aware of the number. There was exactly eighteen thousand amethysts, worth over a hundred million inkstones! This was a true fortune!

“I hope no one else noticed.” Olivier prayed silently.

But when Olivier turned his head, he felt shock in his heart.

Because those eleven people were staring at him!

“Olivier, your luck wasn’t bad.”  The captain pursed his lips and grinned. “Although I couldn’t see exactly how many there were, I expect there were at least over ten thousand. The finder gets a share, but shouldn’t you take it out so we twelve brothers can divide it equally?”

Olivier’s face changed. Twelve people divide it equally?

This was something he had gotten himself. Olivier ground his teeth. “How about this. Each of you can get eight hundred amethysts! The rest are mine. You also know that there were roughly ten thousand. With twelve people, I shall get just a bit more.”

“No need for you to divide it up. Remove the blood binding on your interspatial ring and let us inspect it, and then we can divide it up.” Immediately, some spoke out.

“Remove  the  blood  binding?”   Olivier  understood  in  his heart.

The people of the Infernal Realm wouldn’t truly be so fair.

“Alright,  Jenkin.  No  need  to  accompany  us  any  further. You’ve already accompanied us so far. Continue with your amethyst harvesting. We’ll leave now.” From not too far away, a voice rang out. When this voice entered Olivier’s ears, it caused Olivier to have a very familiar feeling.

This was a familiar person’s voice! 

“Mr. Linley, be careful on your journey.” Another voice rang out.

Olivier was instantly shocked. “Linley?”  Olivier turned to look at the source of the voice, and within the hazy white mist, Linley, Delia, and Bebe were currently flying together. Bebe glanced over towards him as well, and then chuckled, “Boss, look, a group of people are surrounding one person, and, hey, that guy…hey, boss, that’s Olivier!!!”

Chapter 32, Violet Light Rising to the Heavens

Surprised, Linley turned to look as well. “It really is Olivier!” But currently, Olivier was surrounded by a group of people. Sweeping them with his gaze, Linley felt quite calm. “These eleven are all Gods. Nothing to fear. However, why are they all staring at Olivier? Can it be that Olivier has received some sort of treasure?”

While thinking this, Linley began to fly towards Olivier, and Delia and Bebe were naturally by his side.

“Haha, Olivier, what’s going on?” Bebe chortled. “Need us to help out?”

Olivier saw Linley’s group of three fly over, and he immediately  recognized  them.  “Linley,  his  wife,  and  that Bebe.” Olivier couldn’t help but laugh bitterly to himself. As he saw it, Linley in the past had only been a Demigod. After dozens of years had passed, Linley would at most be a God. “The three of you came at such a time!”  Olivier sighed to himself.

At such an urgent moment, Olivier hadn’t carefully inspected the strength of Linley’s group. After all, in Olivier’s mind, Linley’s group of three consisted of just three Gods. But there were eleven Gods surrounding them!

“The three of you!” Suddenly, a God came to stand and block in  front  of  Linley’s  group.  “This  affair  is  between  us  and Olivier. The three of you had best leave.”

Suddenly…

“Swoosh!”

A figured flashed by, and a blurred leg shot out like lightning, smashing viciously against the chest of that God. The ribs splintered and caved downwards, while that God was knocked flying deep into the Fog Sea like a sand bag. It must be understood, that was the Fog Sea! 

One couldn’t enter the Fog Sea beyond the ‘danger area’. That kick sent him flying dozens of meters, but at the critical moment, that God immediately let out a furious roar and forced himself to come to a halt.

“You…!”  The God pointed angrily at the straw-hat wearing Bebe.

“Me what, me?” Bebe stared at him, then barked back. “Me and my Boss were flying over, minding our own business, when you suddenly blocked our way. Who else was I supposed to kick besides you? Punk, I showed mercy just now. Otherwise, I would’ve kicked you to death with one kick!”

The eleven Gods couldn’t help but feel enraged, and yet at the same time, they felt shock as well.

Bebe’s kick had simply been too fast! Although it was at a close distance, the man hadn’t been able to block at all. Actually…Bebe himself was naturally talented at the Shadowshape Doppelganger technique, and he was also a divine beast Godeater Rat, with an extremely powerful body and who was naturally fast.

“Aren’t the three of you going a bit too far?” The leader, their ‘captain’, said.

Linley and Delia didn’t speak, but Bebe glanced sideways at him. “Too far? Can what I did be considered going ‘too far’? I was actually extremely courteous just now. If I really wanted to go too far, do you think any of you eleven would still be alive?” Bebe swept his gaze across the eleven, as though looking at eleven prey animals.

“Captain, that woman, that woman is a Highgod Fiend!”  A divine sense suddenly rang out in the captain’s mind.

“Highgod Fiend?” The captain was greatly shocked.

Because it was clear from the manner in which Linley’s group had flown over that Linley was the leader, many of them hadn’t paid attention to that seemingly fragile woman. But when they carefully inspected her, they discovered…that they couldn’t sense any aura from Delia at all.

A Highgod! And a Highgod Fiend!

Not just the captain; the others discovered this as well.

“Hey, how come you all went mute?” Bebe, as a divine beast ‘Godeater Rat’, was naturally filled with savagery and battlelust. He was hoping for a good fight, and he stared viciously at the eleven. “Didn’t you guys say I was going too far? C’mon, I’ll show you what going too far really means!”

“No need!” The captain immediately called out, while at the same time, the look on his face turned humble.

“Huh?” Bebe glanced at him.

The captain forced out a smile. “Since the three of you know Olivier, we won’t disturb Olivier in the midst of his reunion with you.” And then, the captain looked at the others. The eleven Gods, as though by tacit agreement, immediately flew away at high speed.

In the twinkling of an eye, only Linley’s group and Olivier remained.

“They fled really fast!” Bebe pursed his lips as he spoke.

Olivier  was  greatly  shocked.  “They  fled?”   That  pile  of amethysts, to Gods, was very enticing, as Olivier well knew. Three mere Gods definitely couldn’t make eleven Gods flee. Olivier swept Bebe, Linley, and then Delia with his gaze.

Olivier was greatly shocked. “This Delia, she has actually become a High, Highgod?”

“Olivier, long time no see.”  A warm, gentle voice rang out.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe flew towards Olivier. “Olivier, it seems as though you’re in pretty sorry shape.” Bebe teased.

Olivier recovered from his astonishment. His face filled with gratitude, he said, “Linley, I truly do need to thank you this time. If it hadn’t been for you, I really would have been in trouble this time!” Olivier knew very well that if it hadn’t been for Linley’s group, the other eleven definitely would have attacked.

At this point, he had only reached the God level in his divine light clone. In terms of power, there were some amongst the eleven who were more powerful than him.

“Can it be that you received a priceless treasure, causing them to feel greedy and so join forces against you?” Linley asked.

Thinking  of  this,  Olivier  let  out  a  low  sigh.  “Just  now, suddenly, a pile of amethysts flew out from the Fog Sea. This is an enormous fortune. However, blessings and disasters come together. I acquired this pile of amethysts, arousing their murderous intent.” Linley nodded in understanding.

Linley  suddenly  thought  of  a  person.  “Olivier,  you  know Bachelor, right?”

“Bachelor? You met him?”  Olivier was overjoyed. “How is Bachelor doing? He should be doing better than me. During our last mission, we were separated.”

Seeing the look on Olivier’s face, Linley understood that Bachelor and Olivier definitely were on very good terms.

“He is dead.” Linley said directly.

“Dead?” Olivier was startled.

Linley let out a low sigh. “Roughly twenty years ago, the two of us accepted the same escort mission. We got to know each other during the mission. However…while escorting, we suffered an ambush from an expert, and Bachelor was struck by an attack and killed.”

Linley still clearly remembered the scene of how Bachelor had been smashed to death by a boulder. Now, thinking back to it, it all seemed a matter of course. That Volcano Titan was Phusro, an ultimate expert with the power of an ‘Asura’. Using some boulders to kill Gods was simplicity itself.

Olivier was silent for a moment, then let out a low sigh. “Yet another one dead!”

Linley, Delia, and Bebe’s hearts trembled. Although this phrase, ‘yet another one dead’ was a simple one, this phrase contained within it many stories, which they could easily imagine.

“The  Infernal  Realm  is  a  place  of  survival  of  the  fittest. Battles  and  slaughters  are  normal  in  the  Infernal  Realm.” Linley said. “From the smallest tribes and bandit groups to the most powerful Six Star Fiends, Seven Star Fiends, and even Asura-level experts, struggles continue unabated.” “Right. Survival of the strongest.” Olivier nodded.

“Linley, the three of you seem to have done much better than me in the Infernal Realm.” Olivier laughed. He had also noticed the Fiend medallions on their chests, and knew that Delia was a Highgod Fiend. “However, what are you doing here?”

Olivier didn’t believe that Linley’s group was here to harvest amethysts.

“We helped someone on the way over, so we brought him here. At the same time, we wanted to do some sightseeing in the Amethyst Mountains. I’ve heard that the Fog Sea is extremely beautiful and is one of the great marvelous sights of the Infernal Realm.” Linley laughed.

“You came here for sightseeing?”  Olivier didn’t know what he should say. When even staying alive was a problem for a person, one would force himself to come up with ways to grow stronger. Only when one was in no danger would one think about sightseeing.

Just based on the fact that Linley had come from sightseeing, Olivier was certain that Linley’s life was a rather leisurely one these days.

“Right. The scenery here really is excellent.”  Olivier could only agree.

“Huh, what’s going on?” Linley turned his head, puzzled. From afar, violent energy ripples were spreading out. Delia, Bebe, and Olivier all looked over. Even angry roars could be heard coming from there, as well as bellows.

“Kill that white-robed punk. He has a pile of amethysts!” That roar rang out from afar.

Instantly, many people nearby were drawn forward. 

“Everyone, quick, kill that white-robed punk!”

“Ah, it was seized by the red-robed guy!”

From afar, angry roars continued unabated. In an instant, over a thousand people flooded over, causing utter chaos.

Even Linley’s group of four was shocked.

“A  pile  of  amethysts?”   Olivier’s  expression  was  rather priceless. He himself had acquired a pile, after all.

“Come, let’s take a look.” Bebe said eagerly.

Linley nodded. Most of the people here harvesting amethysts were Gods or Demigods. His power was enough to not fear the likes of them. By the time Linley’s group of four drew near, the violent battle sounds had died down, as a pursuit had begun instead! A group of people were chasing after a green-robed man who wielded a long black spear, who was frantically fleeing at high speed.

Linley’s group swept this many people flying about in front of them.

“It seems that pile of amethysts was taken by the green-robed man.” Linley said with a calm laugh.

“It really is quite insane.”  Bebe muttered. “It’s just a pile of amethysts. Is it worth getting so worked up?”

Olivier said, “That pile of amethysts…each amethyst is very small, and so a small pile represents more than ten thousand amethysts. That’s worth seventy or eighty million inkstones. To Gods, this is indeed a huge fortune.”

Bebe was utterly disdainful. 

With a networth of over two hundred billion, how could he care about an amount like that?

“But of course, that bit of money isn’t much in the eyes of a Highgod Fiend.” Olivier continued.

“Ah!  A  pile  of  amethysts!  Him,  kill  him!”   In  another direction, yet more angry shouts could be heard, and instantly, from afar, a wild series of battles could be heard to start.

“Bang!”  From yet another direction, exploding sounds rang out.

Linley frowned. “Wait. Something’s wrong here.”

Linley could clearly sense that right now, there were many different areas which were emanating with the sounds of violent energy ripples. Clearly, battles were going on everywhere. Generally speaking, one, two, or even dozens of amethysts couldn’t cause these Gods to battle like this. Only if a large pile of amethysts appeared would this happen!

Acquiring amethysts was a matter of luck.

But now, battles were occurring in many areas.

“What is going on?” Delia was puzzled and frowned. “Can it be that there are many areas with piles of amethysts flying out?”

Delia’s guess was correct!

Right at this moment, the entire Amethyst Mountains seemed to suddenly become generous. In multiple areas, large numbers of amethysts flew out, sometimes by the piles. Each pile had at least a thousand amethysts, while the largest had more than a million amethysts flying out in a clump.

Utter chaos! 

So many amethysts caused the Gods to go insane.

The Amethyst Mountains covered a circumference of hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Around the Amethyst Mountains, there were eighteen ancient castles scattered in different locations, each of which was the base for one of the eighteen clans. But right now, there were people hovering in the air above all eighteen castles.

“Milord, so many amethysts have charged out. The Amethyst Mountains seem to have gone wild.” In the air above a castle, a black-robed man and a violet-robed man were hovering in the air, staring at the Fog Sea. The black-robed man spoke respectfully.

The violet-robed man stared at the Fog Sea, a look of delight appearing  on  his  face.  “Haha…violet  light  rising  to  the heavens! It truly is violet light rising to the heavens! After so many years, the ‘Fog Wave’ of the Amethyst Mountains has finally once more descended, haha…” The violet-robed man was overjoyed. Right now, looking at the Fog Sea from outside…

Deep within the Fog Sea, an eye-piercingly brilliant violet glow had risen into the skies, piercing straight through the foggy clouds. It was incomparably dazzling.

“Rumble…”

The ‘Fog Sea’ covering the entire Amethyst Mountains suddenly exploded wildly, crashing outwards in every direction like bellowing waves. In but the blink of an eye, the wild waves violently expanded by nearly ten kilometers, expanding all the way outwards until they nearly reached those eighteen castles.

As for those people who had originally been at the borders of the Fog Sea harvesting amethysts, they weren’t able to react at all before being ‘devoured’ by the Fog Sea.

Chapter 33, The Strange Fog Sea

The Fog Sea had a circumference of hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It must be understood that Linley’s homeland, the ‘Yulan continent’, had a circumference of only thirty thousand kilometers. It was less than a tenth of the Fog Sea in size!

The people who had been originally harvesting amethysts at the borders of the Fog Sea, all together, were over a hundred million in number. But of course, a hundred million Deities, in the vast, endless Infernal Realm, was nothing at all.

These hundred million people were all swallowed up, leaving behind only the overseeing staff of the eighteen clans at the outer perimeter, as well as the staff of those eighteen castles.

“Haha…one can harvest for a trillion years without getting as much as we will today!” A violet-robed figure standing in the air above one of the castles was filled with eagerness, and he barked  towards  the  people  below,  “Send  the  order.  All oversight squads are to go collect amethysts. Any who take them for themselves, upon being discovered, are to be put to death!” “Yes, milord!”

From within this castle, a flood of people flew out, numbering more than a thousand. They dispersed into the air around the Amethyst Mountains. The uniformed oversight squads also began to quickly harvest amethysts in accordance with the order. The staff members of the eighteen clans all began to wildly harvest.

Whoever harvested more and faster would earn more!

Outside the roiling fog banks, a large number of figures could be seen scurrying about, and many amethyst stones which flew out at high speed were collected into interspatial rings.

“So  many  amethysts?”  A  bald  man  dressed  in  a  uniform muttered, while waving his hand, snatching a flying pile of amethysts into his interspatial ring. “Is this harvesting? This is just grabbing money. I really want to get some for myself.” The subordinates of the eighteen clans were all astonished and envious, but they didn’t dare to take any for themselves.

Because after each harvesting, their interspatial rings would be inspected. They weren’t permitted to take so much as a single amethyst for themselves.

“How many amethysts will the clan acquire this time? I’ve already collected more than a hundred thousand amethysts by myself. Our clan alone has at least a hundred thousand people like me. Good heavens, doesn’t that mean there will be more than ten billion amethysts? That represents more than a hundred  trillion  inkstones!”  A  simple  calculation  made  by those uniformed harvesters frightened them out of their minds.

What’s more, they had only been harvesting for a short while.

The Fog Sea continued to roil about, with large amounts of amethysts shooting out at high speed everywhere. It was indeed a fact that the rewards the eighteen clans had reaped over a trillion years would not be as much as they would reap from the Fog Wave of today.

“All  of  you,  hurry  up!”  Those  higher  level  staff  members shouted. “Hurry up and harvest them! Don’t let the other clans take  them  away!”   As  they  shouted  loudly,  they  would occasionally deign to reach out and snatch some amethysts as well. After all, sometimes a single pile of amethysts had hundreds of thousands of amethysts in them.

That represented a fortune of trillions of inkstones!

Grabbing money! This money making speed was simply too ridiculous.

No wonder the eighteen clans were so excited about this ‘Fog Wave’.

The Fog Wave brought the eighteen clans enormous wealth, but at the same time, the Fog Wave swept those pitiable Gods and Demigods all into the depths as well. Because of the sudden expansion by nearly ten kilometers, the people who had been within the Fog Sea’s borders were all now nearly ten kilometers within it.

A hundred meters was the danger line. Ten kilometers?

None of them would be able to return!

Linley, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier had been chatting and laughing about going to a restaurant to eat. But who would have expected that the Fog Sea would suddenly expand?

It must be understood that normally, the Fog Sea constantly roiled about, and Linley’s group was within the borders of the Fog Sea. They weren’t able to notice that the Fog Sea had expanded. In addition, the actual expansion of the Fog Sea was simply too fast. In but an instant, Linley’s group of four entered the danger zone!

They didn’t actively go in, but the Fog Sea had expanded. Ten kilometers deep into the Fog Sea? 

At a hundred meters distance, their heads would go dizzy.

Ten kilometers?

“Whoooooosh.”  That  low,  rumbling  wind  constantly  rang out, and one attack after another hammered against their souls. Most Gods, upon falling into this environment, would immediately have their minds turn chaotic, but as Linley has a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, he was able to remain clear- minded.

Linley had trained for twenty more years after parting with the Volcano Titan, Phusro.

During these twenty years, Linley had refined a large amount of amethysts and further strengthened his soul, while at the same time he had worked diligently to repair the flaw in the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. By now, the strength of the ‘patch’ over the flaw was excellent. “What’s going on?” Linley fought to stay clear-minded.

“Boss, my head feels miserable.”  Bebe frantically shook his head.  “However,  I  can  still  maintain  my  awareness.”  Bebe suddenly closed his eyes, then opened them again, trying to keep himself awake.

Linley turned and saw that although Bebe had been able to maintain his clear-mindedness, Delia and Olivier…

Although Delia had reached the Highgod level, Delia didn’t have a soul-protecting divine artifact, and what’s more, she had fused with a divine spark to become a Deity. Although she had absorbed some Golden Soul-Pearls, under the attack of the strange sound of the wind, she was beginning to turn woozy.

“Lin…Linley….I….my head hurts…”  Delia forced out a few words from her lips.

Linley immediately grabbed Delia by the hand. He understood what Delia was going through. In this sort of environment, staying clear-minded was already very hard, much less using divine sense to speak. Delia was only just barely able to say a few words. Even her eyes were occasionally clear, occasionally lost.

“Boss, Olivier has lost consciousness.”  Bebe grabbed Olivier by the hand, afraid that Olivier would drift away from their position.

“Olivier  isn’t  able  to  stay  conscious?”  Linley  was  secretly shocked. Olivier had a mutated soul, and yet even he wasn’t able to stay awake?

Linley stared at the surroundings. The visibility within the Fog Sea was very low, and Linley’s group was only able to just barely see past a hundred meters. Linley forcibly suppressed his dizziness as he looked around himself, but no matter where he looked, all he saw was white fog.”

“Boss,  there’s  white  fog  everywhere.  We  can’t  see  the outside.” Bebe called out in alarm. Linley couldn’t help but think back to what that person had said when they had arrived: “If you go so deep in as to be unable to see the outside world, you won’t be able to leave!”

“Boss, will we be unable to leave?” Bebe also suppressed his dizziness as he spoke. Bebe had a soul-protecting divine artifact. Although its level wasn’t as high as Linley’s, at least Bebe’s soul-protecting divine artifact was an undamaged one.

“Unable to leave?”

Linley’s face suddenly changed. “Bebe, have you realized that something’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” Bebe didn’t understand.

“Haven’t you noticed that even if we don’t use our divine power to control our bodies, we still won’t land?” Linley said. Just now, Olivier had been unable to stay conscious, and yet he was still floating. This was because this area had no gravity at all. 

“There really is no gravity.” Bebe immediately realized.

Linley ground his teeth, forcing himself to ignore the pain and sense the strength of the wind around him. “All I can feel is that there are surges of wind gently pushing us around, constantly drawing us in.” Linley pointed towards their front. “If we don’t resist, we will probably enter the dangerous area.”

“Therefore,   we   need   to   move   towards   the   opposite direction.” Linley said.

“Boss, the direction of the wind just changed.” Bebe suddenly called out in alarm.

Indeed…

The direction of the wind was chaotic and disordered. Sometimes it would be here, other times it would push there. This immediately caused Linley and Bebe to feel stupefied. 

“Swish!” Suddenly, a violet light flashed over.

“Amethysts.”  Bebe reached out, storing the violet light into his interspatial ring. “Boss, this pile of amethysts, although not large, has at least several thousand within it.”

Linley didn’t care about amethysts. He was pondering how to leave!

Linley’s face suddenly turned ashen. “No one who has entered the Fog Sea has ever been able to leave! If one really was able to so easily exit the depths of the Fog Sea, there probably would have been an entire pile of Highgods harvesting amethysts within it, but even those eighteen clans just quietly wait outside. Clearly, this is a place where you can enter but cannot leave!” Linley immediately deduced this fact.

But this deduction caused Linley to feel miserable, because the strange wind sounds were still causing Linley’s head to feel woozy and extremely painful. “Bebe, forget about everything else. Let’s charge straight in front.” Linley ground his teeth.

At this time, nothing else mattered.

“Alright.” Bebe nodded.

Immediately, Linley held Delia’s hand while Bebe pulled Olivier along. The two headed straight forward. The white fog was hazy…and there was no gravity. Linley’s group wasn’t even able to determine where ‘up’ and ‘down’ was, much less the four cardinal directions. They could only blindly charge forward.

“Amethysts!”   From  afar,  some  more  amethysts  flew  out. When they drew near Linley, Linley waved his hand and drew in the amethysts, immediately storing ten amethysts into the Coiling Dragon ring while the rest were stored into his interspatial ring.

The Coiling Dragon ring instantly refined those ten amethysts. 

“Hey?”  Linley’s  face  revealed  a  hint  of  delight.  “I  didn’t expect that while absorbing soul essences, the wooziness would weaken!”

However, after flying for a while, the ‘whoooshing’ wind came to an end.

“We finally flew out of that strange area.” Linley and Bebe all had small smiles on their faces, while at this moment, Delia and Olivier woke up as well.

“Linley,  what  happened?”   Delia  asked.  “Just  now,  even thinking was difficult. Um, the surrounding area is all white fog. I can’t see the outside!” Delia was shocked as well.

As they were speaking, Linley’s group flew several dozen more meters.

Suddenly… “BANG!”   Very  suddenly,  a  terrifying  gravitational  force enveloped them. This gravitational force was applied to every part of their body, including their blood vessels, heart, and even…soul!

Linley, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier all suddenly suffered this terrifying gravitational force. For a moment, they were stunned. At an astonishing speed, the four of them were all drawn deep into the Fog Sea. Moments later, the four regained consciousness.

“This  is  the  Supergravity  Field!”   Linley  hurriedly  said through mental messaging. “More precisely speaking, this is the Law of the Earth’s Profound Mysteries of Gravitational Space.”  This sort of gravity was simply too ridiculous. Linley hadn’t been able to resist at all. At most, he was able to reduce his speed. All four of them were working hard to reduce their speed.

“Gravitational Space?” Delia looked towards Linley. “It’s slightly different.”  Linley said hurriedly. “Gravitational Space is just one type of powerful gravity which generally applies throughout one’s body. It doesn’t have any effect on the soul. But this damn place…” Linley couldn’t help but shake his head as he spoke.

It seemed as though that surge of strange energy even had a strange, strong attractive force to souls.

“A gravitational affect that works on souls?” Linley felt that this was utterly senseless.

The white fog was everywhere. Linley’s group was only able to see so much. Right at this moment, however, an amethyst flew over at such high speed that Linley wasn’t able to react at all. In the same instant it arrived at Linley, suddenly…

“CRUNCH!”

The amethyst actually pierced directly through Linley’s ‘Pulseguard Armor’, then just barely pierced through Linley’s body. After having pierced through, though, the speed of this amethyst dropped dramatically, and it didn’t have sufficient momentum to resist that gravitational field. Immediately, the terrifying gravitational force caused it to halt, then reverse direction and move faster.

Linley was astonished. A single amethyst passing through his body hadn’t caused too much damage, but…“The speed of this amethyst was too astonishing. This sort of striking power caused even my ‘Pulseguard Armor’ to be unable to withstand it.”

“Boss, there’s people over there.”  Bebe sent through a soul message.

Linley’s group of four struggled to resist the attractive force and slow down, but someone next to Linley flew past them at astonishing speed, not resisting at all. Because…his skull had been riddled with gaping wounds.

“He’s dead.” Olivier sent through a mental message. Linley nodded slightly. “He should have been killed by those suddenly appearing amethysts, which shot through his head!” In the white fog, visibility was lowered to a hundred meters. Given the astonishing speed at which the amethysts shot out at, capable of resisting that gravitational effect and also piercing through the ‘Pulseguard Armor’, not even Linley was able to react in time.

Linley was lucky. He had been struck in the chest.

But the other person had been struck on the head by a pile of amethysts, instantly dying!

“Delia, behind me!” Linley immediately barked, while at the same time Dragonforming!

“Olivier, you hide behind me as well.” Bebe said.

Linley’s face was grave. This Fog Sea was an extraordinary place. First, that bizarre wind, which should have been present within the ‘chaotic region’, but now it was the ‘gravity region’. The gravity was so powerful that not even Highgods were able to resist it. More importantly…

Both of these regions were able to affect the soul.

“The place where amethysts are formed. How many secrets are contained within these Amethyst Mountains?” Linley was puzzled, but suddenly Linley’s face changed dramatically. “Amethysts!”   From  afar,  a  fairly  thick  ray  of  violet  light appeared, instantly striking towards Bebe’s body.

Chapter 34, Highgod

Within the Fog Sea, Linley’s group of four was flying at high speed. They were still only able to just barely see within a hundred meters of themselves. This ray of violet light’s sudden appearance caused everyone to be alarmed.

A hundred meters distance, at the speed the violet light travelled, was not enough to allow one to dodge.

“Boom!” A low, rumbling collision sound.

The violet light smashed viciously against Bebe’s waist, and Bebe was knocked flying backwards. This fairly thick ray of violet light was actually an entire pile of amethysts, and the collision force from the pile of amethysts actually caused Bebe to temporarily hurtle downwards at high speed, pulling away from Linley’s group.

Olivier had been right behind Bebe, but Bebe had smashed right into him. This sudden collision caused Olivier’s body to shudder and a hint of blood spurt out from his lips. 

“Bebe!” Linley and Delia both turned to look.

Bebe was holding his stomach. Following the gravitational pull, he flew back towards them, and Olivier did the same. They came to a halt alongside Linley. Baring his fangs, Bebe pursed his lips and said, “Boss, the striking power of those amethysts really is quite strong. It smashed straight into my stomach! Ouch!”

Olivier wiped away the blood from his lips in astonishment.

Just now, that amethyst had easily pierced through Linley’s body, and what’s more, it had been travelling at such speed despite the gravitational pull. One could imagine how astonishing the speed was. And yet, an entire pile of amethysts had struck onto Bebe’s stomach, but hadn’t harmed Bebe at all.

Bebe had only been knocked into Olivier, and yet the force of that collision had caused Olivier to vomit blood. One could imagine how powerful the concussive power of those amethysts were! Linley actually laughed and joked, “Bebe, your belly hurt for a moment, but you got an entire pile of amethysts out of it?” Linley naturally knew how powerful Bebe’s defense was.

Olivier stared in astonishment at Bebe. “Bebe, the striking power of those amethysts was so great, and yet you…?”

Bebe delightedly raised an eyebrow. “What, is it so strange? Are you kidding? Don’t you know who I am? I’m Bebe! Hey, Olivier, who told you to stand over there? Hurry up and get behind me.”  Bebe suddenly barked. After having seen what happened just now, Olivier understood how powerful Bebe was, and he immediately moved to stand behind Bebe.

Linley and Delia were in a line, while Bebe and Olivier were in a line.

In the boundless Fog Sea, Linley’s group was unable to truly resist the gravitational force. All they could do was allow it to carry them in deeper.

“Mountain peak!” Bebe cried out in surprise. 

Linley turned his head. Indeed, an entire mountain peak was smashing towards him.

A mountain peak smashing towards him?

Linley suddenly twisted his body, managing to force himself to one side. “Hey, how did I dodge this?”  Linley was rather surprised. If it had been amethysts shooting at him, he wouldn’t have been able to resist at all. But Linley instantly realized. “This mountain isn’t moving!”

“We  arrived  at  the  Amethyst  Mountains.  So  we  were dropping  this  entire  time!”  Linley  only  now  realized  what direction they had been going in.

Under the pull of the gravitational force, Linley’s group brushed past the mountain peak and continued to drop at high speed. This astonishing gravitational force caused all of them to drop astonishingly quickly, and the further down past the mountain peak they went, the vaster the mountain became. Linley suddenly, clearly noticed a large mountain rock flash past his eyes.

No time to dodge!

“Bang!” Linley’s group smashed straight into this mountain boulder, halfway down the mountain. Although they had smashed into the mountain, the astonishing gravitational force still dragged down at them. The four were sent tumbling downwards by the gravity.

As their bodies continuously rolled downwards, Linley felt dizzy, especially after his head had hit the mountain rock.

“Delia!”    Linley   immediately   grabbed   the   downwards tumbling Delia, while at the same time he viciously clawed at a protruding mountain rock, fixing himself onto the mountain.

Bebe immediately grabbed a mountain rock as well, no longer rolling downwards. As for Olivier, he continued to roll downwards, quickly disappearing. 

“Pant, pant!”  Linley panted a few breaths, then raised his head to look at Bebe. “Bebe. Where’s Olivier?”

“He fell down.” Bebe said hurriedly. “I didn’t have the chance to catch him.”

Linley turned his head to glance at Delia. Delia wasn’t injured either. Only now did Linley calm down and look at his surroundings. At the moment, the three of them were halfway down this mountain, and the area around them was covered in white fog. Linley’s group couldn’t see the bottom of the mountain at all.

“Olivier  probably  fell  down  into  the  bottom.”  Delia  said. “Let’s go down?”

“Down. Let’s go down.” Linley could still sense that astonishing gravitational force. “Be careful. The gravity is too powerful. However, the stones of these Amethyst Mountains are sturdy as well.”  Linley gripped the protruding stone and sighed in astonishment as he spoke. The rocks of the entire Amethyst Mountains were all a dark red color.

Previously, when Linley had smashed head on against the mountain rocks, the mountain rocks actually hadn’t shattered!

“Linley, look. Amethysts!” Delia laughed. Halfway down the mountain, there were one or two amethysts scattered about as well.

“This place is the Amethyst Mountains. Naturally, there’s many amethysts here.” Bebe muttered, while at the same time punching hard against the mountain rocks. The dark red mountain rocks only shuddered, and a small crack appeared. Bebe stared in astonishment. “My full force punch wasn’t able to smash it apart!”

As he spoke, Bebe withdrew that black dagger with a flip of his hand.

“Crackle…”  The black dagger forced its way down into the rock, cutting a large scar into the stone. Within the rock, aside from the dark red stone debris, there were scattered amethysts as well.

“So  there’s  actually  amethysts  within  these  rocks.”   Bebe laughed.  And  then,  he  shook  his  head.  “Only,  it’s  so complicated. My dagger can even break through Highgod artifacts, but this rock…I was only able to chop a chunk of it off. What’s more, the amethysts are embedded into the rocky fragments. Getting them out will be complicated.”

“Let’s go. Forget about the amethysts. Let’s go down first.”

Linley led them downwards.

The Amethyst Mountains were completely covered by white fog.

However, the outside world had never been able to know what the true appearance of the Amethyst Mountains was like. This was because no one who passed into the Fog Sea and entered the Amethyst Mountains had ever been able to escape. Linley’s group was currently walking on the Amethyst Mountains, and had even arrived at the base.

“It seems the white fog is thinner here!” Bebe said, looking around himself.

The density of the white fog at the base of the mountains was lower. Linley’s group was now able to see to a distance of two hundred meters.

“Olivier!” Linley immediately saw that nearby figure. “Bebe, Delia, let’s go over.”

Olivier was currently looking around in concern. He was surrounded by that bewildering white fog. He had rolled all the way down, in the end landing at the base of this mountain peak. However, in the nearby area, he wasn’t able to see any people at all. All he could see was some bloodstained corpses, their bodies shattered from the fall.

“Best to wait here for Linley and them.”  Olivier didn’t run about wildly. After all, the area around him was covered with white fog. If he ran about, he would very possibly be separated from Linley’s group.

“Olivier.” Linley’s voice rang out.

Olivier felt a surge of joy in his heart. He immediately turned and saw Linley’s group of three running over. In this damnable place, being together with friends and helping each other made one feel more confident.

“Why aren’t there any others here?” Bebe looked around as well, saying in a disdainful manner.

“Don’t be impatient.” Linley laughed.

“Swoosh!” Suddenly, from above, multiple figures descended at high speed.

“Bang!”  “Bang!”  These multiple figures didn’t stop at all, smashing viciously against the ground with a hollow, deep thudding sound. One could imagine how strong the collision force was. Linley’s group of four looked at these five newcomers.

Bebe covered his mouth, beginning to laugh.

The five of them had fallen in terrible condition. Even their faces were scratched open. The five woke up after a while, then hurriedly began to use their divine power to repair their wounds while rising to their feet.

“Did the four of you enter from the outside as well?”  The leader of the five, a green-haired man, spoke out.

“Of  course  we  came  from  outside.”   Bebe  laughed  as  he responded.  “Just  like  you,  we  fell  down  from  up  above. However…we were a bit better off than you. We weren’t so unlucky  as  to  smash  into  the  ground.”  As  he  spoke,  Bebe continued to cover his mouth and laugh.

The five couldn’t help but have awkward looks appear on their face. 

“Bebe.”  Linley couldn’t help but bark out. Bebe was simply too talented at causing trouble.

However, the five weren’t too angry either. In this strange place, it was better for everyone to remain united. They, too, had discovered that Delia, a Highgod Fiend, was present. Their attitude naturally became all the more friendly towards Linley’s group.

Linley glanced at the surrounding area. “Let’s go. We can’t always stay here. Let’s go to some other areas and take a look.”

Linley’s group of nine began to walk through the Amethyst Mountains. In but a short while, they encountered over a hundred people. Everyone had entered from within the Fog Sea. Naturally, they formed into a unit. This small unit was actually led by Delia.

Because…Delia was the only Highgod! This grand group of a hundred-plus people carefully made their way through the Amethyst Mountains.

“The  gravity  here  really  is  powerful.  Even  walking  is  so difficult.” A voice came from behind.

“It really is weird. Even the ‘Gravitational Space’ of a Highgod would at most be at this level, but this gravity is in effect throughout the entire Amethyst Mountains. That’s weird. Even the most powerful of Highgods can’t set up such an enormous, large-scale ‘Gravitational Space’.

A conversation was going on in the rear. Walking in the front, Linley agreed. This sort of gravity truly was too astonishing.

“Huh?”  Linley’s face changed. “Everyone, halt!”  Linley said loudly. Immediately, the hundred-plus people came to a halt.

“What’s going on?” A question from behind. But Linley just looked up ahead. In front of them, two figures could be seen. Just now, those two figures had flown past them, but when they reached a few dozen meters away from Linley, they suddenly came to a halt.

“So fast.” Linley was secretly surprised. “Under the gravity of the Amethyst Mountains, they are still able to travel so quickly. These two are very powerful.”

The two hesitated a moment, then began to draw near. The two both wore long black robes. Only, one of them was a man with long silver hair, while the other was a woman with long brown hair.

“You came from the outside world?” The brown haired woman said coldly.

“Highgod?”   Linley’s  group  was  astonished.  There  were virtually no Highgods amongst the amethyst harvesters. However…the two in front of them were actually both Highgods. Linley was secretly startled. “Who are these two people?”

The brown-haired woman and the silver-haired man were both studying Delia, especially upon seeing the Fiend medallion on Delia’s chest. Immediately, the brown-haired woman said, “My name is Garlan [Jia’lan]. I don’t know who this Highgod Fiend is…?”

“My name is Delia.” Delia said with a smile.

The  silver-haired  man  laughed  as  well.  “Delia,  hello.  My name is Jarrod [Jia’luo’de]! The Amethyst Mountains are extremely dangerous. Since you, Delia, are a Highgod Fiend, how about you join with us? With the three of us joining forces, the chances of us staying alive will be higher.”

“Staying alive?” Delia was stunned.

Linley couldn’t help but be startled as well. So the situation really was dire! “These Amethyst Mountains are filled with many dangers. Even  these  two  Highgod  speak  of  ‘staying  alive’…”   Linley couldn’t help but feel a sense of pressure. At this moment, the group of Gods behind Linley immediately grew nervous and started chatting amongst themselves. None of them were idiots.

Hearing the words of the silver-haired man, they understood that the Amethyst Mountains definitely were very dangerous.

“Might I ask if I can bring a few people into the group?” Delia asked.

“You  cannot.”  The  brown-haired  woman  said  with  utter decisiveness. “It is very dangerous right now. We aren’t even certain of our ability to protect ourselves. How can we take on these additional nuisances? Delia, hurry up and choose. If you are willing to join us alone, with the three of us joined together, we should be able to survive this crisis.”

“No need.” Delia shook her head and refused politely. The two Highgods couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Travelling with them, the only thing that will happen is that they will slow you down. They will be your doom!”  The silver-haired man, Jarrod, said hurriedly.

“Hey, why all the pointless chitchat?” Bebe barked unhappily. “So what if she doesn’t join you?”

The silver-haired man couldn’t help but glance at Bebe.

“There’s no need. Thank you for your good intentions.” Delia said in refusal.

The silver-haired man and the brown-haired woman glanced at each other, shaking their heads.

“If you aren’t willing, then forget it. I just want to warn you of  one  thing.”   The  brown-haired  woman  looked  at  Delia. “Beware  the  amethyst  beasts!”  After  speaking,  the  brown- haired woman and the silver-haired man immediately flew away at high speed, instantly disappearing into the mist.

Chapter 35, Amethyst Beasts

The brown-haired woman, ‘Garlan’, and the silver-haired man, ‘Jarrod’, flew away side by side at high speed.

“That Delia is truly an idiot.” Jarrod cursed softly. “A venerable Highgod Fiend who spends her time with a group of Gods and is unwilling to leave them. She is absolutely looking for death.”

“Enough talk. That Delia wants to die. What can we do about it?”

Garlan shook her head. “What’s more, it’s hard to say if even we ourselves will be able to endure this crisis. Let’s hurry up and go far away from those monsters.”

Jarrod seemed to have just remembered the monsters as well. He couldn’t help but shudder, then hurriedly said, “Right, let’s hurry up and leave.”  The two increased their speed still further. Linley’s group of people was currently in a state of chaos.

“Just  now,  those  two  Highgods  said  that  the  Amethyst Mountains are very dangerous. Are we going to actually keep going forward? As I see it, let’s not run about wildly. Let’s halt here.”

“Just because we don’t run about, does that necessarily mean we’ll be safe here? Didn’t you see those two Highgods run away? If it was safe here, why wouldn’t the two Highgods stay here?”

Linley was currently frowning as he stared into the white fog. “Amethyst beasts? Those two said ‘beware the amethyst beasts’. Even Highgods are so frightened of them that they flee. Then we…” Linley turned to look at Delia, Bebe, and Olivier.

“Let’s separate from this group of people.” Olivier said. “If we stay with them, we’ll have a great deal of trouble.”

Linley turned to look at those people. 

“Mr.  Linley,  are  you,  are  you  going  to  abandon  us?” Immediately, someone spoke out.

“Lord Delia, we are all under your command. No matter what, don’t abandon us.”

“Lord Delia…”

These Gods and Demigods were afraid that Delia would leave. If she did, who then would protect them? With a Highgod Fiend by their side, they would feel safer.

“Shut your mouths.” Bebe snarled at them. “Quiet down.”

In the Infernal Realm, when a lethal crisis had descended, who would be so bored as to waste time protecting others?

“Why are you shouting towards us? You are just a God. On what basis are you causing such a ruckus?” Many people looked at Bebe unhappily.

Bebe was instantly enraged.

“Quiet!” A low growl rang out.

Everyone turned to look at the speaker. It was Linley! Linley was currently frowning as though trying to hear something. These Gods and Demigods slowly began to hear a low, growling sound, but the sound was very weak.

But moments later, the growling sound grew stronger.

Clearly, some monsters were drawing near at high speed!

“Beast growls?” Many people began to feel astonished.

Linley immediately sent out with his divine sense, “Delia, Bebe, Olivier, let’s flee!” As Linley spoke, he immediately began to flee, and Delia, Bebe, and Olivier didn’t hesitate, immediately following Linley and flying at high speed. 

“Follow Lord Delia!”  Immediately, people began to call out while chasing after them.

The hundred-plus people nervously began to gallop forward at high speed from behind.

However, Linley’s group of four were extremely fast. Despite the astonishing gravity, Linley and Bebe’s tough bodies were able to resist the gravitational pull while still running at high speed. Delia was a wind-style Highgod, also very fast. The slowest was Olivier, but he was a light-style God, adept at speed!

The hundred-plus others were slowly falling behind them.

However…

“Roaaaaaaaaar!” “Roaaaaaaar!” The angry roars reverberated in the skies, while at the same time drawing near at high speed. The speed was so fast that it was actually far faster than the likes of Linley and the others.

“Such astonishing speed.”  Linley felt greatly shocked. The monster, when running, actually was causing the earth to tremble. Those powerful earth vibrations caused his heart to grow panicky. “Roaaaaar!” “Roaaaaar!” The bestial roars grew closer and closer, as though coming from directly behind them.

“Aaaah! What sort of a monster is that?!”

“Kill the monster, kill it!”

“Aaargh, die!”

“Aaaaah!”

“Lord Delia, save us, aaaaah!” Bellows and fierce screams rang out from behind them.

Linley, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier couldn’t help but turn to look. As they did, they were shocked.

Its body looked like that of a ferocious lion. It was four meters tall and more than ten meters long. This ferocious beast’s entire body was made out of metal and stone, and its entire body glistened with a violet light. The divine weapons of those Gods, when landing on its body, weren’t able to harm it at all!

The strange thing was…

On its head, there were three sharp horns that were positioned in the shape of a triangle, while on its back, there were over a hundred sharp spikes that covered its entire back!

“108 spikes!”  Linley could immediately tell. “And its entire body emanates an amethyst aura. Its entire body glistens with a violet light, and in coloration and aura, it seems very similar to amethysts. Can it be…that its entire body is made out of amethysts?”

While fleeing, Linley was guessing to himself.

The amethyst beast chased after them; two of them, in fact. These two amethyst beasts opened their vicious maws, as though wanting to ‘crunch’ and bite these Deities in half, then swallow the upper half of their bodies into their bellies.

“Roaaaaaar!”   The  amethyst  beast’s  blood-red  eyes  swept across the area, and it swept out its fierce claws casually.

“Bang!”  A  divine  artifact  was  smashed  aside,  and  then  a Deity’s body was smashed as well. The Deity’s head wanted to fly away, but under the powerful gravity, it was extremely hard to fly. The amethyst beast opened its maw to devour the head, directly swallowing the Deity’s head into its stomach.

In the blink of an eye, nearly twenty people had died. 

“Flee!”

“The monster isn’t afraid of soul attacks, and it isn’t afraid of material attacks either!”

The short battle had caused the hundred-plus men to no longer have the courage to fight back. They had delivered full- force blows to the bodies of those amethyst beasts, but hadn’t been able to injure them at all. These amethyst beasts didn’t respond at all to soul attacks either! At the same time, the amethyst beasts were easily slaughtering them.

Flee!

They only had this choice left.

The lucky survivors frantically fled in every direction. No matter how powerful the amethyst beasts were, there were only two of them. With so many people fleeing in every direction, how many of them could the amethyst beasts kill? 

“Bang!” “Bang!”

The two amethyst beasts suddenly spat out quite a few divine sparks from their mouths. Clearly, these divine sparks belonged to those people they had killed and devoured.

“It seems the two amethyst beasts are unable to digest divine sparks. Thus, they had to spit them out.” Linley guessed to himself.

The crimson eyes of the two amethyst beasts stared around the area, and violet steam came out from their nostrils. Their gaze then fixed upon the distant, fleeing Linley and the other three. “Roaaaaaaar! Chase!”  A low, indistinct voice rang out, and the two amethyst beasts immediately charged towards Linley’s group.

They flew like the wind, they moved like the thunder! Despite the powerful gravity of the Amethyst Mountains, the two amethyst beasts still moved as fast as lightning, drawing closer and closer to Linley’s group with astonishing speed.

Linley, who had been paying attention to the amethyst beasts at all times, couldn’t help but feel startled. “Those two beasts. There’s so many people here, so why are they focused on us?” Through his earlier observations of the battles between the amethyst beasts and the Gods and Demigods, Linley had become certain that these beasts were not easy to deal with!

Material attacks and soul attacks were all ineffective.

“But it’s hard to say if it’s just that those material attacks and soul attacks weren’t strong enough.”  Linley understood this principle. “However, even the combined attacks of those Gods hadn’t been able to wound the two beasts. Even if I were to attack, I probably still wouldn’t be able to deal enough damage.”

“Boss,  those  two  beasts  are  drawing  near.”   Bebe  said frantically. 

“Don’t worry about me.”  Olivier said frantically through a mental message. He was the slowest of the four, dragging them down.

“Shut your mouth!”  Bebe growled, then suddenly reached out and clutched Olivier. And then, Bebe’s speed rapidly increased.

Linley and Delia increased their speed as well.

Linley still remained nervous. “Those two beasts are still slowly  drawing  near  us.”  The  two  beasts,  emanating  violet steam from their nostrils, continued to gallop forward at high speed, constantly reducing the distance between them and Linley’s group. Fifty meters. Forty meters. Thirty meters…

“Less than ten meters now.” Linley seemed to be able to sense the hot steam coming from the nostrils of the beasts.

“Roaaaaar!” Suddenly, one of the two amethyst beasts rapidly increased its movement speed, instantly jumping forward and moving like a bolt of violet light, instantly arriving in front of Linley’s group. Two amethyst beasts, one behind them, one in front of them. Linley’s group was caught.

Linley’s group was forced to come to a halt, and Bebe placed Olivier down as well.

“The situation seems grim.” Delia frowned.

“Boss, let’s split them up. One for each of us.” Bebe actually licked his lips as he spoke.

“Fine.” Linley nodded.

But the two amethyst beasts were actually both staring at Delia. One of them let out a growling, stuttering sound. “High…Highgod…eat!”  And then, one of the amethyst beasts transformed into a ray of light, pouncing directly towards Delia.

Delia wielded the Spear of Cortez in her hands. Bowing suddenly, her entire body seemed to arc like that of a longbow, and then with a massive thrust, the longspear shot forwards.

“Swoosh!”

The longspear thrust out, moving at maximum speed, causing even space to crack around it.

Elemental Laws of the Wind – Dimensional Attack.

“Crunch!”  The  Spear  of  Cortez  actually  stabbed  into  the amethyst beast’s body, and the amethyst beast fell down from the skies. The Spear of Cortez immediately returned to Delia’s hands, leaving behind a hole in the body of the amethyst beast. “Crackle…” The hole quickly healed, as though it had never been wounded.

“Roaaaaar!”  The amethyst beast immediately began to roar angrily, while the other amethyst beast did the same.

Linley and Bebe exchanged a glance. At virtually the same instant, they leapt off from the ground. Their two powerful bodies exploded forth with astonishing strength, shooting out like arrows towards each of the amethyst beasts. Linley’s right fist, carrying boundless power, smashed towards the amethyst beasts.

The amethyst beast roared angrily, swiping out with its fierce claws.

“Bang!”  Linliey’s draconic scale covered right fist and the sharp claws collided violently.

Linley and the amethyst beast were like two colliding meteors. Both of them were actually sent flying back by that astonishingly powerful counter-force from the collision. The amethyst beast was knocked to the ground, and its scarlet eyes were filled with astonishment. As for Linley, the very instant he landed on the ground, he leapt up and shot out like a gust of wind.

“Haha…” Linley’s dark golden eyes were filled with a hint of excitement.

Ever since he had absorbed that drop of Sovereign’s Might, Linley hadn’t encountered a foe whose body was comparable to his.

Linley’s entire body was filled with tens of thousands of tons of power. His draconic claws were like blades. Covered by dimly glowing blue light, his palm slashed down, transforming into countless illusions and creating clear ripples in space. The amethyst beast bellowed, immediately using the horns on its head to charge towards Linley!

Linley’s eyes exploded forth with power, and he howled with rage… “BANG!” His palm collided with one of the spikes, which was forcibly shattered as Linley’s palm continued to chop down towards the amethyst beast’s skull.

Profound Truths of Velocity – Bewildering Shadow!

Linley was knocked flying backwards by the force of the collision, while with a ‘boom’, the amethyst beast was knocked down to its knees by the power of the blow.

“What a tough horn.” Linley looked at his right hand. The draconic scales covering his right hand actually showed a hint of blood beneath them.

This amethyst beast had been completely enraged. “You…you will…die!”  Its low, gravelly voice echoed out from its bestial throat, while at the same time, the broken horn on the amethyst beast was slowly regrowing. However, clearly, the damage to the broken horn wasn’t as easily repaired as the damage to the other parts of its body.

“It seems I underestimated you.” With a flip of his hands, Linley wielded the adamantine heavy sword in one hand and Bloodviolet in the other.

“Come!”  Linley launched off the ground, charging forward once again.

Olivier was currently watching this go on, stunned. Linley and the amethyst beast were battling each other as though they were two meteors smashing into each other time and time again. As for Bebe, his battle with the other amethyst beast was also as wild and as exciting to watch.

“They…they…”

Chapter 36, The Storm Caves

These amethyst beasts had easily slaughtered those Gods and Demigods. This was enough for Olivier to understand how powerful they were. When they had been wrapped into the fog, Bebe had been struck by a pile of amethysts, and from this, Olivier had already gotten a sense of how powerful Bebe’s body was.

Bebe was a divine beast, and he had a connection to Beirut.

Olivier could understand why he was so powerful

But Linley?

“Linley is also…his body is actually able to go head on against that amethyst beast.”  Olivier watched this scene, completely dumbfounded. He had originally believed that as he himself had spent a few short decades of hard work to reach the God stage, he should be considered fairly impressive and perhaps had even surpassed Linley.

But in reality… The difference between him and Linley was very great!

“This  monster  doesn’t  fear  soul  attacks!”  Linley’s  furious roars rang out. He was thrown far away, but he then immediately flipped up and climbed to his feet. In disbelief, Linley said, “My full strength attack, ‘Voidwave Sword’…this beast had no reaction to it at all!”

“Boss, just use physical attacks!” Bebe called out.

“Fine.” Linley stored away his adamantine heavy sword and once more leapt forward, pouncing towards the amethyst beast like a giant eagle charging downwards. Linley’s Bloodviolet once more executed the ‘Bewildering Shadow’ attack, chopping down with no mercy whatsoever towards the amethyst beast.

The amethyst beast, afraid of that attack, dodged. “Bang!” Bloodviolet struck against the amethyst beast’s flank, chopping down at least half a meter.

However, as soon as Linley withdrew the sword, the wound immediately regenerated.

“Boss, this freak isn’t afraid of soul attacks, and even when I use physical attacks, it will recover from it, no matter how heavy  the  injury  was.”   Bebe  was  helpless  as  well.  Linley couldn’t help but glance at the horn he had shattered, but the amethyst beast’s shattered horn was now already completely regrown.

Linley couldn’t help but to laugh bitterly.

“Even the most powerful of Highgods, when receiving my ‘Voidwave Sword’, would at least have a response to it, even if he didn’t fear it. But this amethyst beast didn’t react to it at all, while its body is so hard, it can compare to a Highgod artifact. And it can rapidly regenerate!” Linley was utterly speechless. This sort of freak was completely invincible!

“No wonder even those two Highgods chose to flee instead.” Linley thought to himself, while at the same time, once more clashed viciously against the amethyst beast.

With a sword chop, Linley shattered one of the spikes of the amethyst beast, while he himself was sent flying away by the amethyst beast’s claws. In mid-air, his body twisted, and he landed on the ground on his feet.

The amethyst beast roared in agony. Clearly, the broken spike caused him great pain.

“Roaaaar!” The beast currently battling Bebe came to a halt, raising his head and emitting a roar.

The amethyst beast currently battling Linley also came to a halt. After staring at Linley for quite some time, it seemed to have finally realized that Linley hadn’t been wounded at all. In the end, it finally gave up, emitting the same low angry growl. 

The two amethyst beasts glanced at each other, then the amethyst beast who had been battling Linley looked at Linley. In a low, gravelly voice, it said, “Body, not bad!”

The amethyst beast battling Bebe also glanced at Bebe.

“Swoosh!” “Swoosh!”

The two amethyst beasts transformed into two rays of violet light, running far away at high speed.

“Linley,  are  you  alright?”  Delia  walked  over,  and  Linley smiled and said, “Of course I’m alright. However, I must say, those two amethyst beasts really were formidable. They are utterly without flaw. But of course…they don’t know soul attacks.”

“Linley,  what  happened  with  those  two  amethyst  beasts?

Why did they leave?” Delia asked, puzzled. 

The nearby Olivier spoke out. “Perhaps, the two amethyst beasts realized that fighting with you had no benefit for them at all, and instead they continuously were injured. Thus, they gave up and left.” Olivier reasoned.

Wasn’t that the case?

Linley and Bebe hadn’t been injured at all, and even if they were slightly nicked, they could use their divine power to heal it. Naturally, the two amethyst beasts had no interest in continuing in this sort of battle.

“Boss, I knocked a few rocks loose from its body. They seem to be amethysts.” Bebe grabbed up a few violet jewels from the floor. While Bebe had battled the amethyst beast, he had been using his black dagger to chop down on it. This was a godspark dagger. Naturally, it was able to chop a few jewels apart.

Hearing this, Linley immediately looked towards those two broken spikes on the ground. He absorbed them directly into his Coiling Dragon ring, and indeed, those two violet jewels were immediately refined, and a large amount of soul essence was withdrawn, leaving behind only some detritus.

“Indeed, these amethyst beasts are completely made out of amethysts.”  Linley  felt  stunned.  Amethysts  were  filled  with soul essence. These creatures completely made out of ‘amethysts’…how much soul essence did they contain?

“Boss, what are the results of your investigation? Are they amethysts?”   Bebe  asked.  He  held  that  violet  jewel,  not completely certain of its identity.

“It is indeed an amethyst.” Linley nodded.

Bebe, Delia, and Olivier, although expecting this answer, were nonetheless surprised.

Delia frowned. “Where did this freak come from? It doesn’t fear soul attacks, and its entire body is so tough. What’s more, it immediately heals from any wounds.” It had to be said that this sort of monster could be described as unbeatable. Or perhaps, more accurately, as extremely hard to kill.

“But I noticed that the creature’s intelligence seems to be very low.” Bebe said.

“It is indeed low. When we were fighting, all it knew how to do was to use its fierce claws and its fangs to launch basic attacks. It didn’t know any profound mysteries at all.” Linley had  noticed  this  as  well.  “However,  they  are  capable  of speech!”

Everyone nodded slightly. The amethyst beast had afterwards said the words, ‘body, not bad’. Everyone remembered this.

“Let’s go. Let’s take a look and see if there’s a way for us to leave these Amethyst Mountains.” Linley recommended.

Immediately, they all headed out once more. However, the area around them was covered in white fog, and Linley’s group didn’t know what places were dangerous. Still, by walking on the ground, at least Linley’s group knew the general direction they were moving in. They continued moving forward in a straight line.

As Linley’s group of four was moving forward, Jenkin was following three other Gods, carefully traversing these Amethyst Mountains. His luck had been excellent. He had safely arrived within the Amethyst Mountains, and up till now, he hadn’t encountered any amethyst beasts.

“I wonder how Linley and the other two are doing.” Jenkin said to himself quietly.

“Whoooosh.” A powerful wind sound could be heard from up ahead.

“Let’s go. Let’s go take a look together.”  One of the Gods immediately called out. All four of the Gods, Jenkin included, drew closer to the origin of the sound. Moments later, Jenkin’s group saw the source of that violent wind sound.

“This is…” Jenkin and the other three stared, slackjacked.

A hundred meters away, on the ground, there was a straight crevice that was dozens of meters long. Deep within the crevice, there was a cave that was roughly ten meters long. A howling wind was emanating from within this cave, and countless flashes of violet light were also spurting out from within the cave.

The speed at which the violet light moved was simply astonishing.

“So  the  amethysts  flew  out  from  here.”   Jenkin  said  in amazement. However, he didn’t realize…the Amethyst Mountains had more than one location like this one.

The countless amethysts were blasting in every direction. Because they all moved in different directions, when they flew into the Fog Sea, they naturally covered the entire area. However, because their directions were different, some actually flew in slanting lines that were virtually parallel to the walls of the crevice, which was sunken in.

Thus, many of the amethysts smashed directly into the walls. Many of them embedded themselves deep into the crevice walls, but many others just lay there at the bottom of the crevice.

The cave was at the center of the crevice. There were countless amethysts lying everywhere else.

“How…how many amethysts is this?”

The four Gods stared, slackjacked. Amethysts usually weren’t very large, and so a small pile of just a few dozen centimeters could contain over ten thousand. However, this area that was littered with trenches definitely had to calculate the number of amethysts in the ‘hundreds of millions’. Every single amethyst was already very valuable. How much would so many amethysts be worth? The four Gods were all stunned when they calculated the wealth.

“We…we’re rich!” A God suddenly regained his senses.

“Haha, we’re rich!” Jenkin was excited as well.

One of the four Gods hurried straight towards one of the straight trenches below. The other three, reacting slightly slower, also immediately ran downwards. The four didn’t want to kill the others . After all, the amount of amethysts was simply too great…so great that their greed was completely satisfied!

But as they drew near the trench, the four came to a halt.

Because…

Large numbers of amethysts were slamming against the walls of the crevice, knocking loose the amethysts already embedded in the walls of the crevice, which fell back into the crevice. These amethysts were shooting out at a speed that was simply astonishing. If the four of them were to fly down, they would most likely be shot full of holes by those amethysts.

“What to do?” The four Gods all hesitated.

When they had fallen downwards, they had witnessed that shooting power of the amethysts. It must be understood that by then, the amethysts had already flown for a period of time, and their shooting power was actually lower than at first. But these amethysts that were shooting out from the cave were at the peak of their power and speed.

If they jumped into the crevice, they would definitely die!

“Use divine artifacts.”  One God advised. With a flip of his hand, he retrieved a whip. Lashing the whip out, the whip instantly elongated, coiling down like a python towards the cave.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!” A large number of amethysts smashed into the whip, and the divine artifact was actually cracked apart by the force of the collisions.

The God’s face couldn’t help but turn white. The divine artifact had been destroyed!

It must be understood that the amethysts were even capable of breaking through Linley’s ‘Pulseguard Defense’, and that was when they had already travelled a long distance. For the amethysts that were shooting out from the cave, even Highgod artifacts would be shot through! How could a God artifact possibly withstand them?

Jenkin and the other three were stunned.

“Motherf*cker, so many amethysts are in front of us, but we can’t take them.” One of the Gods cursed. Actually, there were amethysts scattered everywhere throughout the Amethyst Mountains. Only, the amount that was scattered about was fairly small; the amount that the four had picked up was only around a hundred amethysts. Within the crevice, however, there were thick layers of them.

A random grab would pick up an enormous amount of them.

“Forget it. Life is more important.”  Jenkin shook his head helplessly.

The other three sighed helplessly as well.

As the four of them were about to give up, suddenly…

The ‘cave’ which had been constantly blasting our amethysts suddenly stopped, and the sound of the wind came to a halt as well. In the entire crevice, not a single amethyst was blasting out, leaving behind only a floor full of amethysts. “This….this…” Jenkin and the other three were stunned.

“Ah! Down, go down!” The four Gods excitedly hopped into the crevice.”

“With these amethysts, I, I…” Jenkin’s mind was in a tumult. At the same time, he wildly began to collect large amounts of them into his interspatial ring.

“Hey, Jenkin?” A voice rang out.

Jenkin turned. It was Linley’s group of four.

Linley’s group had been attracted by the sound of the wind as well, but as they drew near, the sound of the wind had abruptly halted. As Linley drew near, they had discovered the crevice full of amethysts as well, as well as Jenkin and the other three, who were wildly collecting amethysts.

“So many amethysts?” Linley was shocked. 

Bebe, Delia, and Olivier were stunned as well.

“Goddamn, compared to these amethysts, a fortune of two hundred billion is nothing!” Bebe’s eyes were shining.

But just as Bebe was about to jump down into the crevice…

“Rumble…”

The cave, which had already stopped shooting amethysts out, suddenly gave birth to a powerful gravitation attraction force. The strength of this gravitational force actually caused space to tremble, creating a spatial vortex. The spatial vortex within the cave instantly absorbed all of the amethysts within the crevice, along with Jenkin and the other three Gods as well.

“Lord Linley…”  Jenkin, in that instant when he was being sucked into the cave, stared straight at Linley, his eyes filled with a hint of despair and resignation. However, he wasn’t able to resist at all. 

The strange thing was, this astonishing gravitational force really was like a whirlpool. It only affected the entire crevice, but outside of it, it didn’t have any influence at all.

“Crackle…” The cave continued to swirl and absorb…

Within the crevice, the only things that were remaining were those amethysts that had been deeply lodged into the sides of the walls. As for amethysts which had been knocked loose, not a single one remained.

Seeing this scene, Linley couldn’t speak for a long, long moment.

Chapter 37, The Rescue

The cavern whirlpool continued to swirl, its powerful sucking force enveloping the entire area near the crevice. As for Linley and the rest of the four who were outside the crevice, they watched with blank stares and slack jaws. Jenkin and the other three Gods had actually been swallowed into the cave, unable to resist at all. This sight was simply too astonishing.

Linley stared at the cavern whirlpool, his face turning solemn.

Olivier’s eyes narrowed, and he said softly, “Linley, just now it seemed as though the cavern was completely inactive, and just moments ago, there was a thick layer of amethysts in the crevice. How come, all of a sudden, such a powerful, bizarre suction force appeared?

Linley  felt  similarly  stunned  and  frightened.  “This  is  the Infernal Realm. If I were to use my ‘Bewildering Shadow’ attack at full strength, I too can cause space in the Infernal Realm to ripple, but…the simple suction power of this cave created a spatial whirlpool. This devouring power…” When a sword chopped down, a spatial crack or ripple would appear, focused on the sword.

Simple suction which resulted in a spatial whirlpool…this sort of suctioning force was simply too frightening.

“Most likely, not even a Highgod could resist that sort of suction force.” Linley said to himself.

“Hey,  Boss,  why  were  there  so  many  amethysts  in  that crevice just now?” Bebe said, puzzled. “Also, there’s quite a few amethysts embedded deep into the walls of the crevice. Where did all those amethysts come from?” Bebe and the others hadn’t witnessed the cave spewing forth amethysts.

“Let’s stay far away from this place.” Delia said, gnawing on her lips. “I keep on having the feeling that this place is a bit too weird.”

“Well spoken. Let’s move farther away.” Linley led Delia and the others farther away from the crevice, but after travelling dozens of meters, Linley’s group came to a halt. Linley suddenly turned his head to stare towards the crevice.  Frowning,  he  said,  “Hey?  How  come  that  suction sound is gone?”

“Right, there’s no sound any longer.”  Bebe directly headed back, moving closer to the crevice, then turned his head towards Linley and said in surprise, “Boss, hurry over and take a look. The suction in the crevice ended. It’s calm again.”

Linley, Delia, and Olivier’s eyes were filled with puzzlement, and they drew near as well.

Indeed…

The large crevice was very quiet and seemed very ordinary. If they hadn’t seen what they had seen earlier, Linley’s group wouldn’t have suspected that this crevice was dangerous. “It is as though there is no danger here.”  Delia said after looking for a while.

“Rumble…” Very suddenly, like the roaring of a vicious beast, a terrifying howling sound instantly exploded forth, while at the same time, countless flashes of violet light came out in dense clusters from the cave hole. The dense clusters of amethysts sprayed wildly in every direction.

Some rose to the heavens, some shot towards the horizon. Countless rays of violet light disappeared past the white mist above.

However, many amethysts scraped the sides of the walls as they shot out. Because the angle was too narrow, they struck the sides of the crevice, and then with metallic clanging sounds, many amethysts collided with the amethysts already embedded into the walls, and then fell backwards, landing into the crevice.

Moments later… The crevice was covered with a thick layer of amethysts.

This sudden scene caused Linley’s group to be shocked as well. Soon, they began to understand many things.

“Oh. I get it. Those Gods and Demigods who were harvesting amethysts at the edges of the Fog Sea…those amethysts most likely flew out from and came from this type of cavern.” Bebe immediately  said  in  a  jubilant  voice.  “There  are  so  many amethysts flying out in such density. Look. That ditch is filled with a thick layer of them.”

Linley kept his silence.

Ever since they had entered the Amethyst Mountains from the Fog Sea, Linley had gotten a thorough lesson in the astonishing gravitational power held within the Amethyst Mountains. This was a gravitational force which even Highgods would find hard to resist, but those amethysts had been able to withstand it and then fly out. They had even been able to pierce through his Pulseguard Armor, and that was after they had already flown for a long time and slowed down.

“What secrets are held within these Amethyst Mountains?” Linley looked towards the cave, continuously spewing forth amethysts. “Whether blasting out or swallowing in, the power is monstrous…if a Highgod was capable of such explosive power and shoot his energy with such force, he would be utterly invincible.”

An expert capable of such explosive power could, with a casual toss of an amethyst, riddle the opponent’s head with holes.

“Deities are not capable of such great power, but the world is.

It exists in nature!” Linley sighed in his heart.

Olivier, Bebe, and Delia were also sighing in amazement. But, right at this moment, from afar, an angry howl could be heard. This angry howl, to Linley’s group, was an extremely familiar sound, because…it was the angry howl of an amethyst beast! 

“Amethyst beast!” Linley’s face changed, along with the faces of the other four. At the same time, they turned to stare towards the direction the sound came from.

From afar, two figures were fleeing with great difficulty, while behind them was a ten-meter long, mighty amethyst beast. The amethyst beast bellowed continuously as it used its sharp claws, fangs, and horns on its head to attack wildly. The two fleeing figures were in dire straits!

“It’s actually them.” Linley couldn’t help but be surprised.

Those two people were actually the two Highgods which Linley had met earlier when first arriving at the Amethyst Mountains; Garlan and Jarrod.

The brown-haired woman, Garlan, and the silver-haired man, Jarrod, currently appeared to be in extremely sorry shape. They were very unfortunate. They had actually encountered an amethyst beast. But of course, they were also very fortunate. After all, they had only encountered a single amethyst beast.

“Roaaaar!” The amethyst beast opened its maw wide, biting down towards Garlan.

Jarrod let out a furious shout, and a black flaming longsword in his hands struck down viciously towards the amethyst beast’s mouth. The amethyst beast, despite not being afraid of material attacks, would still find it painful to be struck by a divine artifact on the mouth.

The amethyst beast immediately shut its mouth, at the same time lowering its head, using its horn on its forehead as it gored towards Garlan.

“Clang!”  The flaming longsword stabbed into the amethyst beast’s forehead, but it only sank a little bit in.

“Roaaaaaar!”  The  amethyst  beast  was  only  all  the  more maddened, and its two eyes were like scorching red flames. It actually only gored towards Garlan even faster. “Chiiiiiiiiii…” As its speed increased, the horn tore through the air and created an ear-piercing whistle. The amethyst beast was actually trying to use its horn to smash Garlan’s head apart.

Garlan’s face changed dramatically.

“Bang!”  A warblade suddenly appeared, smashing viciously down upon the amethyst beast’s forehead. The attacker was Jarrod, who grabbed Garlan and borrowed the bounceback force of this blow to flee at high speed.

“Run faster. Stop wasting time with that beast.” Jarrod said mentally.

“I know we can’t waste time with it, but you know how fast that thing is. Its speed is faster than us. I don’t want to waste time with it, but it keeps on bothering me.”  Garlan felt both furious and helpless. She wasn’t able to find any weaknesses in the amethyst beast.

Jarrod felt helpless as well. 

The beast didn’t fear soul attacks or material attacks, and it was extremely fast. How could there actually be a creature like this in the world? It was completely unbalanced. Fortunately, however, this sort of amethyst beast possessed a very low level of intelligence, and wasn’t capable of using any profound mysteries of the Laws.

“Roaaaaar!”

A violet blur flashed towards Jarrod and Garlan in pursuit, and the two of them could all but sense that extremely heated breath of the creature making contact with their skin.

“This amethyst beast is too fast.” Jarrod and Garlan both felt helpless.

Suddenly, a surge of wind came.

“Dodge!”  Jarrod  pushed  Garlan  hard,  making  the  two  of them dodge in separate directions. 

“Slash!”   A  fierce  claw  slashed  past  Jarrod’s  body,  and instantly, half of Jarrod’s arm was ripped off as blood sprayed everywhere. The amethyst beast immediately raised its head and bellowed in excitement. “Roaaaaaaar!”  At the same time, the amethyst beast bounded into the air, planning to seize the opportunity to kill Jarod.

Jarrod’s shattered left arm was rapidly regrowing.

“Motherf*cker,  how  can  this  monster’s  speed  be  so  fast.” Jarrod was almost at the point of tears.

When Garlan saw this, without hesitating at all, she immediately scurried forward, and Jarrod also immediately moved at high speed towards Garlan. When the two of them joined forces, they actually were able to just barely keep themselves alive, but if they were to try and fight solo, if one of them were to die, the other would be unable to stay alive either. “Garlan, what should we do? This monster is even capable of telling the difference between me and the doppelgangers that I created. Can it be that I’m going to have to sacrifice a divine clone?” Jarrod frantically sent a mental message.

“Unless all other choices are gone, don’t use that technique that will make you sacrifice a divine clone.” Garlan sent back.

Using the ‘Doppelganger’ technique in front of an amethyst beast was useless. The amethyst beast was actually able to tell the original body from amidst the hundreds of doppelgangers. This was simply inconceivable.

Thus, generally speaking, amethyst beasts were indeed very hard to deal with and very troublesome.

“Someone’s here!” Garlan and Jarrod instantly noticed from the corner of their eyes the nearby group of four. Linley’s group. Upon seeing Delia in particular, their eyes immediately lit up. “It’s that Highgod Fiend named Delia!”  Garlan and Jarrod were overjoyed. Not hesitating at all, they immediately flew at high speed towards Linley’s group. As they saw it, if a Highgod Fiend were to join forces with them, the situation would be much better.

“This Delia is actually still with those Gods. Those Gods are quite lucky to still be alive.” Garlan and Jarrod, while charging towards Linley’s group, couldn’t help but think this.

Garlan and Jarrod’s speed was inferior to that of the amethyst beast.

Thus, when running and fleeing, they naturally suffered one ‘caress’ after another from the sharp claws of the amethyst beast, causing Garlan and Jarrod’s bodies to be covered with bloodstains and wounds.

“What a pain.” Bebe muttered.

“Bebe, come, let’s shoo the amethyst beast away.” Linley sent. 

Linley and Bebe almost simultaneously moved forward, quickly moving past Garlan and Jarrod’s forms, causing the two to be shocked. “Are these two Gods looking to die?”  As they dodged past, they turned to look…

They saw a devilish purple sword shadow slash through the air and land on the amethyst beast’s horn, forcibly chopping through it! “Slash!” It chopped down into the amethyst beast’s tough skull, causing the amethyst beast such pain that it howled in agony.

At that same moment…

“Slash!”  Bebe’s black dagger also forcibly rammed into the amethyst beast’s chest, carving out a large chunk of amethyst.

In great pain, the amethyst beast wildly clawed down with its two ferocious front claws towards Linley and Bebe’s heads, as though by reflex. It was as though it wanted to make Linley and Bebe’s heads explode. However, Linley and Bebe both immediately moved to dodge. 

With two thudding sounds, the sharp claws still clawed down upon their shoulders.

Linley and Bebe’s bodies shuddered, and they were knocked backwards multiple meters.

The amethyst beast stared in astonishment towards Linley and Bebe with its big red eyes. Linley and Bebe actually hadn’t been wounded at all. The amethyst beast’s sharp claws hadn’t been able to leave behind any damage on Linley’s draconic scales or Bebe’s body.

The amethyst beast stared at Linley and Bebe in confusion. It actually let out a growl, then turned and immediately fled.

Garlan and Jarrod, these two Highgods, stared slackjawed at this scene. “The monster…fled?” They had never heard of an amethyst beast being forced to flee. When battling against amethyst beasts, it was always the Highgods who got the worst of it. After all, how many people had bodies as tough as Linley and Bebe’s?

Garlan and Jarrod exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with amazement. They had never before held Gods in much consideration, but just now, these two Gods had actually forced that amethyst beast to flee.

“Thank you, the two of you, for helping us. The two of us definitely will not forget this kindness you showed us.” Garlan immediately said sincerely.

Bebe glanced at her sideways, muttering unhappily, “Helping you? You ran all the way over to us. If we didn’t do something, the amethyst beast would have started to attack us next.”

Garlan and Jarrod couldn’t help but let out awkward laughs.

When they had run over to Linley’s group, they had been hoping for Delia to assist them. After all, the amethyst beast would attack humans whenever they found them. By dragging others down with them, everyone would work together to face the threat. In this regard, they had indeed acted wrongly, and so Garlan and Jarrod naturally felt embarrassed.

“We were forced to do so and had no other options. I hope you won’t blame us.” Jarrod hurriedly said.

Jarrod and Garlan knew that in the Amethyst Mountains, Linley and Bebe would be of much greater use in the Amethyst Mountains than Highgods like themselves. Jarrod and Garlan, while speaking, also secretly inspected Linley and Bebe’s shoulders. They couldn’t help but feel astonished.

“These two actually took the attack of an amethyst beast head on without suffering any wounds? What sort of bodies do they have?!”

Chapter 38, Juvenile Beast

Although they were astonished, Jarrod and Garlan, in dread of the power of Linley’s group, behaved extremely properly.

“Hey, Garlan. You two should have been in these Amethyst Mountains for quite some time, right?” Bebe laughed as he asked. Garlan and Jarrod glanced at each other, their eyes revealing a look of resignation.

Garlan let out a sigh. “Right. We have been here a long, long time. At least a hundred million years.”

“Over a hundred million years?” Linley’s group was stunned.

A hundred million!

A simple phrase, but a truly extravagant figure. Linley was only in his second century, and was a very long distance off from a hundred million years. Jarrod said sourly, “In the past, Garlan and I also encountered the ‘Fog Wave’ situation, and thus we were unwillingly brought into the Amethyst Mountains. That day, the amethyst beasts were also very excited. They killed many people, but the two of us were lucky enough to survive. Back then, I was a God, while Garlan was a Demigod…after so many years, Garlan and I have both reached the Highgod level. But because too much time has passed, the two of us couldn’t be bothered to calculate it exactly. However, the hundred million year mark passed long ago.”

Linley was shocked.

To grow from a Demigod to become a Highgod, for most people, an extremely long period of time would be needed.

“Can it be that you don’t want to leave?”  Linley looked at them as he spoke solemnly. “Or can it be that these Amethyst Mountains really are, as the legends have it, a place where one can only enter but not leave.”

When he had heard people speak of this at the edges of the Fog Sea, Linley had only half-believed it. 

As Linley saw it, none of the amethyst harvesters had entered the Fog Sea. How could they know what the situation was for the people inside of it? Even though he himself had entered the Amethyst Mountains, Linley still clung to a few shreds of illusory hope.

He believed that he still had a chance to leave.

“Right. Once you come in, you cannot leave.”  Jarrod said with great certainty.

“You really can’t leave?” Linley was stunned.

Was he to forever be trapped here?

The nearby Delia glanced at Linley, knowing that Linley wanted to go to the Indigo Prefecture and visit the elders of the Baruch clan. Delia immediately asked, “Jarrod, why are you so certain? The Amethyst Mountains are so enormous. There definitely are many people here. Not a single person has ever left?”

The brown-haired woman, Garlan, said consolingly, “I know you aren’t willing to accept this, but this is the truth.”

“First of all, the gravity in the Amethyst Mountains is very powerful.”  Garlan  said.  “Generally,  Highgods  aren’t  able  to resist the gravity at all.”

Delia and Linley both nodded slightly.

Delia was a Highgod, but she was unable to resist this gravity. Although Linley’s body was tough, he still couldn’t resist the gravity and fly outside.

Garlan continued, “The Amethyst Mountains have existed for so long. Many of the people who entered this dangerous area early on have already reached extremely high levels of power, most likely comparable to Five Star Fiends, Six Star Fiends, or even more. There once was an exceedingly powerful Highgod who was actually able to resist the gravity and fly towards the outside.

Linley frowned.

“He was able to resist the gravity, but when he reached the area filled with those strange winds, he was affected and his head went dizzy. Although he was able to maintain his clarity, he stayed in mid-air for decades without being able to find a way out!” Garlan said.

Bebe  said  in  astonishment,  “Decades?  In  that  area  which made the mind go dizzy?”

“Right. However, that area is very bizarre. It isn’t just a simple confusion; even the soul is affected, and so there’s no way to fly out.” Garlan shook her head as she spoke.

Linley couldn’t help but feel his heart clench. Even an expert who could resist the gravity couldn’t fly out.

What could Linley do?

That  Jarrod  asked,  puzzled,  “Afterwards,  it  was  quite strange. That expert abandoned leaving the Amethyst Mountains, but not long after that, he completely disappeared for no reason.”

“Disappeared  for  no  reason?”  Linley’s  group  of  four  was shocked.

Garlan nodded. “Right. Not just him. Afterwards, everyone who reached an exceedingly high level would suddenly disappear. Nobody knows if they died or fled, or if something else happened.” Garlan and Jarrod were very mystified as well.

Linley frowned. These experts who were at the Six Star Fiend or Seven Star Fiend level of power wanted to leave but had failed. There’s no way they could have left under their own power. “Whether they died, left, or were controlled, there has to be some sort of mechanism here behind the scenes controlling everything.” Linley said to himself.

Linley stared at the Amethyst Mountains.

Linley kept on having this feeling that the Amethyst Mountains, in and of themselves, were very strange. ‘Soul essence’ was one of the most important components of a soul, but the Amethyst Mountains actually produced amethysts. This was inconceivable.

In addition, there was that white fog which perpetually covered the area, that strange wind sound, that astonishing gravity…

And also, that cave which occasionally suctioned in and occasionally blasted out!

All of these things made him uneasy. “Garlan, Jarrod.” Bebe suddenly pointed towards the distant crevice. “Do you see that place which constantly blasts out amethysts? What’s going on with the cave in that crevice? Occasionally it blasts things out, and occasionally it stops, and then occasionally it starts swallowing things in. What is that about?”

“Don’t go to that place.” Garlan said hurriedly. “Those places are what we call ‘Demonic Amethyst Lairs’. In total, the entire Amethyst Mountains have 108 of these Demonic Amethyst Lairs.

“108 total?” Bebe stared. “This strange place actually has so many?”

Garlan said hurriedly, “Right. These Demonic Amethyst Lairs is the source for blasting out amethysts. They’ll normally blast out amethysts as well, only in fairly small numbers, unlike today where they blasted them out in extravagant numbers. Also, when the Demonic Amethyst Lairs stop blasting out, don’t be greedy and try to enter the crevice to snatch amethysts.” “I know.” Bebe snorted. “I personally watched those four be swallowed into the cave. That poor Jenkin…” Bebe’s eyes were filled with a hint of sadness.

“Someone was swallowed in?”  The nearby Jarrod let out a surprised  sigh,  then  immediately  said,  “Those  who  were swallowed in were definitely newcomers who didn’t know these things. Of the three ‘blasting’, ‘resting’, and ‘swallowing’ stages of the Demonic Amethyst Lairs, the ‘blasting’ stage is the longest, the ‘resting’ stage is the shortest, while the ‘swallowing’ stage is in the middle. Not only is the ‘resting’ stage short, the length of each rest is different. There’s no pattern or regularity at all, and no one who knows how dangerous it is would dare to jump in.

Linley’s group of four nodded slightly.

They themselves had witnessed this. The ‘blasting’ stage was quite long, while the ‘resting’ stage was mere seconds.

“To harvest amethysts isn’t too hard. During the ‘resting’ stage, all you need to do is use an ‘Elemental Doppelganger’ or an ‘Elemental Hand’ in order to snatch some up.” Garlan laughed calmly.

Linley immediately understood.

Right. For example, the ‘Essence of the Earth’ could form a long hand to snatch some up. Even if the ‘swallowing’ stage suddenly began, there wouldn’t be much of a loss.

“Jenkin and those three…ugh.”  Linley sighed in his heart. “But at that time, they didn’t know anything about these Demonic Amethyst Lairs. When they saw the blasting halt, they were overjoyed and went to collect amethysts.”

“Haha…actually, what’s the point of collecting amethysts?” Jarrod chuckled, shaking his head. “No matter how many amethysts you have, they are nothing but a waste of time, here in the Amethyst Mountains. None of us will go and do so…it isn’t as though we can exchange them for azurites and inkstones.”

Linley’s group was stunned. 

“Right. If you can’t get out, what’s the point of having all those  amethysts  here  in  the  Amethyst  Mountains?”  Olivier shook his head as well.

For experts like Linley and Olivier who weren’t content with normal lives and who liked to challenge powerful foes, having them forever stay in one place and never leave was an absolute torture.

“Whooooosh.”  The faint sound of a blowing wind could be heard.

Linley’s group of four, along with Jarrod and Garlan were resting at a spot halfway up that very same mountain peak.

None of them knew where amethyst beasts might be located, so they figured they might as well stay and rest where they were. Just as Linley’s group was chatting regarding the Amethyst Mountains, suddenly….

“Roaaaaar!” “Roaaaaar!”

“Aaaaah! Kill!”

A large number of bestial roars and battle sounds rang out, constantly echoing within the mountain forests. Upon hearing the roaring sounds, the faces of Linley’s group of six changed.

“Very  many  amethyst  beasts!”  Linley  looked  towards  the origin of the sounds. Just from the sounds alone, Linley was certain that there were an extremely high number of amethyst beasts.

“There’s  at  least  a  few  dozen  of  those  amethyst  beasts.” Jarrod said hurriedly. “We need to leave immediately.” Linley instantly chose a direction. “We’ll go that way.” None of them wanted to encounter those amethyst beasts, and they immediately followed Linley at high speed. If two or three amethyst beasts came, Linley’s group could just barely fight them off when working together.

But if several dozen came…

They would definitely be finished. Even Linley and Bebe, when faced with the group attacks of those amethyst beasts, would be in peril.

“Hurry up.” Linley urged them, as the faint sound of furious roars could be heard from the white fog behind them.

“You are so slow.”  Bebe immediately grabbed Olivier by the hand, and Olivier, borrowing Bebe’s strength, caught up.

“They  really  are  fast!”   Jarrod  and  Garlan  were  greatly shocked. The speed of Linley’s group wasn’t the slightest bit slower than the two of them, a pair of Highgods. Linley and Bebe in particular…when their powerful bodies exploded forth to maximum speed, they were actually slightly faster.

They ran the entire time. A long time later, the furious roars could no longer be heard behind them.

“Whew. We’re finally safe.” Bebe waved his hand, putting on his straw hat, crouching onto a nearby boulder. “Hey, let’s rest here. The amethyst beasts went in a different direction from us. They won’t be able to catch us.”

Linley and Delia sat down on one side as well, next to each other. Olivier casually found a place to stand.

Jarrod and Garlan had smiles appear on their faces. Garlan laughed, “Everyone, don’t be impatient. The Fog Wave will only last one day. That’s today. These amethyst beasts will just wildly run around. After today, the amethyst beasts will go back, and we will be able to live for countless years in peace.”

“If every day was like today, life would be utterly miserable.” Bebe muttered. 

“Bebe. Even you’re afraid.” Linley pursed his lips, grinning.

“Anybody would feel a headache when faced with these unkillable freaks.” Bebe said helplessly.

Just as everyone was chatting casually…

“Hey,  everyone,  look.  What’s  going  on  over  there?”  Bebe pointed into the distance.

Linley’s group stared into the distance, and saw that in the distance, the boundless white fog was actually moving towards one direction at high speed. The white fog disappeared, increasing Linley’s line of sight and visibility distance. In the blink of an eye, all of the white fog within several meters of here completely disappeared.

Linley, Bebe, and the rest of the six stared, slack-jawed. The six of them, halfway up that mountain peak, could clearly see to a distance of three or four kilometers. There were actually countless clusters of amethyst beasts now filling their gaze. The ones they could see numbered over a thousand, while others were deeper into the white fog.

“This…this…” Linley’s group was scared silly.

Two amethyst beasts were already so hard to deal with. A thousand amethyst beasts?

“There’s people! Oh, they’ve been surrounded.”  Jarrod and Garlan’s faces changed. Linley looked carefully as well. Indeed…

Within an encirclement of amethyst beasts, there were hundreds of people.

Within the group of amethyst beasts, there was a larger one that was seven meters tall and twenty meters long; an amethyst behemoth. But what was most eye-catching wasn’t the enormous amethyst beast, it was that there was another amethyst beast that was standing on the amethyst behemoth’s head.

This juvenile amethyst beast was just one meter long. Compared to the amethyst beasts, it was nothing more than a speck.

When Godeater Rats battled, they might increase in size a bit, at which point they would be about on par with this juvenile amethyst beast. Logically speaking, this sort of juvenile beast should be hidden away and protected in a lair.

However, upon seeing the juvenile amethyst beast, Linley’s group shuddered, and not from the cold.

Because at this moment in time, the juvenile amethyst beast’s mouth was wide open. Boundless amounts of white fog were being swallowed into the mouth of this juvenile amethyst beast. Moments later, within an circumference of ten kilometers, there was no white fog left at all. The strange thing was…the white fog in the other area didn’t come fill the gap. The juvenile amethyst beast rubbed its little stomach, and then its clear voice shook the world. “Haha, humans, the surrounding white fog is under my control. If you want to enter the white fog and flee, that will no longer be possible. All of you, prepare to become food.” The voice was as clear as that of a child’s, but the words were so fluid.

Linley’s group was shocked.

This was because the amethyst beasts they had encountered, when speaking, only stuttered. Their intelligence was low as well. But this juvenile amethyst beast was different.

“Haha,  kiddos,  kill  them  for  me!”  The  juvenile  amethyst beast shouted delightedly.

Immediately, the countless amethyst beasts all began to roar while charging towards those hundreds of surrounded people. Those hundreds of people all wildly executed their most powerful attacks. Linley could immediately tell that these hundreds of people were, amazingly, all experts. Those attacks they launched and the profound mysteries contained within caused even Linley to be astonished. 

For a moment, the entire world was filled with thunderclaps, angry roars, and constant sounds of battle!

“Monster, die!”  One man, a short silver-haired person who wielded a longspear, transformed into a ray of white light, glowing like the sun itself as he pierced through the air, striking straight towards the adorable juvenile amethyst beast.

The juvenile amethyst beast grinned wickedly. Casually waving a hand, a ray of violet light shot out, striking into the silver-haired man’s body. The silver-haired man fell down from mid-air, immediately dying!

“Oh, you were looking for death?”  The juvenile amethyst beast said disdainfully.

Linley’s group was shocked.

“A soul attack!” Bebe said, stunned. “And it contains strange profound mysteries within.” “This  amethyst  beast  is  capable  of  using  the  Laws  in  its attacks?” Linley’s face changed.

The juvenile amethyst beast definitely was no ordinary creature. It was completely different from those other ordinary amethyst beasts.

“Those  humans  should  all  be  Highgods.  Like  me,  they’ve been here a very long time.”  Garlan said, stunned. “The one who was killed just now by that small monster was a very powerful Highgod. And he was killed in one stance. That small monster’s power…” Garlan found himself at a loss for words.

What sort of power was this?

The power of an Asura?

“Let’s hurry up and leave.” Linley said hurriedly. “Too monstrous. Let’s go.” Bebe agreed.

Immediately, Linley’s group turned and left.

In the distant battlefield, that little juvenile beast who stood atop the head of the amethyst behemoth waved his hand, and a ray of violet light shot through the body of another powerful Highgod, killing him right away. And then, he suddenly turned his head to look towards Linley’s direction, muttering, “Oh? I was preparing to deal with you later. I didn’t expect that after watching for just a short period of time, you’d be so scared that you’d run.”

And then, the juvenile amethyst beast called out loudly, “Kiddos, pursue!” The clear voice shook the heavens.

Instantly, countless amethyst beasts immediately began to roar, and countless amethyst beasts began to gallop at high speed in the direction in which the little juvenile beast was pointing its claw at. On the ground, the only thing left was a few corpses. Those hundreds of Highgods were all dead!

Chapter 39, Fleeing For Their Lives

Countless amethyst beasts galloped forth, and even the mountains they galloped past began to tremble and shake. Countless bellows rang out, echoing like thunder. The loudest voice, however, was a clear call which filled the heavens. “Kiddos, quick, catch them, quick!!!”

Linley’s group couldn’t help but turn their heads. They all knew that was the voice of the juvenile amethyst beast.

Linley ran as fast as lightning, running forward like a meteor as he scurried through the empty landscape of the Amethyst Mountains, occasionally leaping down from mountain cliffs, occasionally using his draconic claws and feet to quickly rappel up mountains. Due to the powerful gravity of the Amethyst Mountains, there was no way one could fly at all.

“Quick, quick!!!” While sprinting forward, Linley frantically shouted through divine sense.

Of the six of them, the back of the pack was led by Olivier and Garlan. Olivier was, after all, just a God, and his body wasn’t as strong as Linley’s to begin with. Garlan, meanwhile, trained in the Elemental Laws of Fire, and thus didn’t have any advantage in speed.

“Haha,  you  won’t  be  able  to  flee!”  The  juvenile  amethyst beast said delightedly.

Linley’s group ignored all else, frantically charging towards the white fog. As long as the opponents weren’t able to see them, they would be safe.

“Swish!” As it opened its mouth, the juvenile amethyst beast swallowed a large amount of white fog into its belly, and the area Linley’s group was in had no white fog at all now. The juvenile amethyst beast said delightedly, “Haha, I want to see how you will keep running. Hey, kiddos, move faster!”

The group of amethyst beasts had been many kilometers away from Linley’s group. After chasing for so long, though, they were less than a kilometer away.

After all, the amethyst beasts were astonishingly fast. 

“Whoosh!”

Moving like the wind, flashing like lightning, Linley’s group continued to sprint at high speed. However, behind them, those rays of violet shadows flashed towards them in pursuit, giving Linley’s group a sense of pressure.

“These amethyst beasts really run fast.” Bebe said frantically.

“There’s people up ahead.” Linley’s eyes suddenly lit up. Up ahead, roughly a hundred meters away, ten-plus figures were fleeing in panic at high speed while looking backwards occasionally. It seemed as though they were terrified. In terms of speed, Linley’s group was much faster than them.

Linley immediately understood. “These people have probably heard the roars of the amethyst beasts and want to flee. Only, their speed is too slow.” At the same time, Linley suddenly had a plan. “Turn!” Linley suddenly sent a mental message.

After speaking, Linley leapt off from the ground, shooting out like an arrow from a bow towards the distance. Delia, Bebe, and the others naturally followed Linley, turning slightly as they continued to spring. The direction in which Linley was sprinting was different from those ten-plus distant figures.

As for the amethyst beasts, they were continuing to chase and press the attack.

Part of the amethyst beast wave charged towards those ten, who had also just arrived in the Amethyst Mountains today. Most of them were Gods, with the rest being Demigods. In the face of the amethyst beasts, that bit of power was nothing, rendering them unable to resist.

“Roaaaaaar!”

“Roaaaaar!” The wild amethyst beasts roared while sprinting forward on their four sturdy limbs. The speed of those ten was simply too slow, and they were trampled flat by those many amethyst beasts. The amethyst beasts intentionally trampled them, stepping directly on their heads.

“Crunch!”  Their  heads  were  trampled  and  shattered,  and their divine sparks rolled out.

This made those amethyst beasts all the more excited, and they roared while continuing to gallop. Only on the day of the Fog Wave were they given a chance like this. Once this day came to an end, they wouldn’t have this chance again. Naturally, they would have to go a little crazy today.

“Haha, you can keep running, but let’s see who runs faster!” The juvenile amethyst beast stood atop the head of the amethyst behemoth, delightedly laughing.

Currently, Linley was less than a hundred meters away from the amethyst beast wave behind them. Moments later, the distance was reduced to fifty meters.

Thirty meters….

Twenty meters…

“What should we do?” Jarrod said frantically through divine sense. He could sense the heat of those scorching breaths reaching his body, and could smell that thick, odorous body odor. The odor of the amethyst beasts. Jarrod hated this sort of smell.

“Shut your mouth!” Bebe shouted back through divine sense. “Keep running for your life! Flee if you can!”

Linley silently continued to sprint at high speed. The Amethyst Mountains were extremely broad, and there were many mountain peaks. Naturally, this sort of road was not easily traversed. Occasionally, there would be a mountain range, while occasionally there would be a gorge. Linley’s group climbed the mountains upon reaching them and charged down cliffs upon reaching them. When they reached the end of the gorge, they would then clamber back up.

In short, they couldn’t hesitate!

If they hesitated, they would be caught.

“Haha, you are about to die!”  The juvenile amethyst beast was very excited.

The amethyst behemoth he was mounted on waved its sharp claws, swiping towards the fleeing Garlan, at the back of the pack. This seven meter tall amethyst beast was the most powerful of those countless amethyst beasts, capable of easily breaking apart Garlan’s Highgod artifact.

“Garlan.” Jarrod frantically grabbed Garlan.

But the speed of those sharp claws was simply too fast. At the moment of death, Garlan’s body suddenly released another ‘Garlan’. Clearly, this was Garlan’s divine clone. With a ‘slash’ sound, one of the Garlan’s was ripped apart by the claws, and a divine spark flew out wildly.

Jarrod couldn’t help but feel astonished and furious.

“I lost a God-level divine clone.” Garlan didn’t have time to feel sad. Right now, it would be wonderful if she could even survive.

Sprinting at the front, Linley knew how dangerous the situation had become. He could all but sense the shadow of that amethyst behemoth drawing near. Suddenly, Linley saw what was coming up ahead, and he couldn’t help but feel surprised. “There’s a gorge up ahead!”

He didn’t hesitate at all!

Moving like the wind, Linley, Delia, Bebe, Olivier, Garlan, and Jarrod, the six of them, threw themselves forward into the fog-shrouded gorge. Even though they didn’t know what the situation was inside the gorge, none of them hesitated at all. 

“Chase,  chase!!!”   The  juvenile  amethyst  beast  was  very excited. Mounted on the amethyst behemoth, he leapt down as well.

The many amethyst beasts wildly leapt into the gorge, which was extremely wide. From one side of the gorge to the other was a distance of dozens of kilometers. In the white fog, it was completely impossible to see the other cliff.

“Whoosh!”    “Whoosh!”    The   wind   howled   as   they   all descended.

Linley’s group of six not only didn’t resist the astonishing gravity, they actually intentionally used their divine power to accelerate their descent. The six of them descended lightning- fast. This gorge was dozens of kilometers deep, but given the astonishing speed of Linley’s group, they arrived at the bottom in almost an instant.

The ground of the gorge was made from tough rocks. Not only had they resisted the impact of gravity, they had even accelerated. Smashing into such hard rocks at such speed…even the body of a Highgod would be injured.

“Swoosh!”  When they were only ten meters away from the ground, Linley suddenly, frantically slowed down, landing on the ground like a gust of gentle wind. As for Delia, she gracefully disappeared, her body transforming into a gust of wind, then reforming into a solid body.

Olivier, Jarrod, and Garlan had their own tricks as well to slow down. This was very ordinary.

But Bebe? Bebe ignored everything, viciously smashing straight into the ground.

“Bang!”  The  ground  trembled,  and  Bebe  sank  twenty  or thirty centimeters into the ground. Given the toughness of the rocks of the Amethyst Mountains, one could imagine how strong the smashing force was for him to sink so deep into the ground. But Bebe was completely unharmed.

Nobody praised Bebe, because there was no time!

“Flee!” Linley’s group of six wildly sprinted forward.

The amethyst beasts didn’t have any divine power, nor did they know any profound mysteries of the Laws. Thus, they dropped down at a very normal pace and did not accelerate. By the time they landed, of course they smashed hard into the ground.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

Like meteors slamming down, each amethyst beast smashed hard into the ground, then immediately began to chase forward, as though the impact of the collision hadn’t had any effect on them. The juvenile amethyst beast was constantly shouting in anger, “Quick! The distance between us and them just increased!” When descending, Linley’s group of six had been faster, and thus the distance between the two groups had increased to fifty meters again.

Linley’s group of six, hearing the smashing sounds, could imagine in their minds the terrifying scene of those countless amethysts beasts pursuing them. Their hearts couldn’t help but tremble, and all of them continued to sprint for their lives. If they truly were caught, just the trampling of those countless amethyst beasts would be enough to finish them off.

“There’s  a  lake  up  ahead!”   Linley  immediately  saw  that within the white fog, there was a lake.

Linley’s group of six didn’t hesitate at all, immediately entering into the waters of the lake. When being pursued, even if there was a mountain of knives or a sea of flames in front of them, they would still charge through. After all, if they hesitated and tried to find an alternative route, they would slow down and thus be caught by the amethyst beasts behind them.

In that instant… Many amethyst beasts appeared at the sides of the lake. Standing atop the head of the amethyst behemoth, the juvenile amethyst beast frowned and said unhappily, “They went into the water? Could it be that they know that I hate water? Hmph, none of these will be able to escape.”

Immediately, the juvenile amethyst beast said loudly, “Kiddos, all of you go down and seize those people!”

“Roaaaar!” “Roaaaar!” “Roaaaar!”

Immediately, countless amethyst beasts began to roar in anger, and the ones in front threw themselves into the lake. With repeated ‘plop’ ‘plop’ sounds, they went in, while at the same time, many other amethyst beasts, including the juvenile one, surrounded the shores of the lake.

“Surround this entire lake.”  The juvenile beast ground its teeth. “Hmph, I want to see how they can possibly escape. Not a single plaything I set my eye on has ever been able to escape!” As it spoke, it wrinkled its little nose. 

Linley’s group of six, entering the lake, had actually discovered a narrow underwater path. They continuously advanced through it. This little narrow pathway was actually headed upwards. The first part of it was underwater, but the second part was above water. Linley’s group quickly reached the end of the pathway.

This little pathway was a canal that led to a mountain cave.

“I didn’t expect someone would be capable of carving out such a large, meticulous cave.” Jarrod was overjoyed.

Only now did Linley’s group let out sighs of relief. Carefully inspecting the cave, they saw that this had clearly been excavated out by others. Linley couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.  “The  stones  of  the  Amethyst  Mountains  are incomparably tough. What sort of power would be necessary for someone to carve out such an enormous cave, and how much time must it have taken?” Bebe, using his godspark dagger, had only just been able to break apart that rock.

“Linley, will the amethyst beasts be able to discover us here?” Delia was still somewhat worried.

“It’s fine.” Linley said consolingly.

Garlan’s face was covered with a smile that was born from having escaped a crisis. She said, “Delia, don’t worry. Although those amethyst beasts are very powerful, they don’t understand any profound mysteries or natural laws, and they don’t appear to know how to use divine sense either. These small pathways which are hidden within the wild grass in the bottom of the lake are so well-hidden, they won’t easily be able to discover them.”

Linley’s group nodded slightly as well.

After they had charged into the water, they had naturally immediately spread out their divine senses to investigate the surrounding area. When they had passed by that hidden little pathway, the divine senses of the group had naturally discovered it.

“Right. What have we to fear? Even if they discovered that hidden little passageway, the passageway is so narrow, while those amethyst beasts are so huge. Would they be able to fit?” Bebe said disdainfully. The amethyst beasts were physically quite large. There was no way they would be able to squeeze in.

“Bebe speaks the truth. It’s fine. Everyone, we can rest here.” Linley said.

“No,  it’s  useless.”  Jarrod  shook  his  head  helplessly.  “No matter how small the tunnel is, the amethyst beasts will still be able to enter. Amethyst beasts are capable of changing their bodies.”

“Changing  their  bodies?”   Linley  couldn’t  help  but  feel shocked.

If they really were able to change their bodies, it would be terrible. 

Garlan nodded somberly as well. “Right. However, amethyst beasts can’t freely change their size to expand or contract. Rather…for example, they can make themselves shorter, to a height of one meter, but their length will multiply. To be more precise, their total body size doesn’t change.”

Linley began to understand.

These amethysts beasts were like ‘water’, capable of changing into multiple configurations, but the overall size remained the same.

Linley stared at the tunnel and said slowly, “All we can do is hope that we won’t be discovered. Once we are, we won’t even have a place to run.”

“Don’t  worry.”  Garlan’s  laughter  was  very  brilliant.  “We won’t be so easily discovered. In addition, once the Fog Wave ends, these amethyst beasts will all disappear. By then, we won’t be in any danger, and will be able to live a long, leisurely period of time.” Linley blew out a breath, saying quietly to himself, “I hope that today will pass safely. Once today passes, it will be safe.”

Chapter 40, Life in the Amethyst Mountains

Within the gorge, a large number of amethyst beasts were surrounding the shores of the lake, and the juvenile amethyst beast was standing atop the head of the amethyst behemoth, staring at the lake.

One amethyst beast after another left the waters of the lake and returned to the shore, all of them hanging their heads.

“All of you are idiots. You can’t even find a few people who fled in there.” The juvenile beast was furious.

Not a single amethyst beast dared to make a sound.

The juvenile beast considered things. “We’ve wasted a great deal of time by the lake already. The Fog Wave day is about to come to an end. We can’t keep wasting time like this.”  The juvenile amethyst beast immediately let out a loud shout. “Kiddos, let’s go. We’re leaving this place. Let’s keep killing humans.” “Roaaaaar!”   Instantly,  countless  amethyst  beasts  let  out excited roars.

They wanted to kill as well. After all, countless years would pass before a Fog Wave, and only on such days were they permitted to come out. Their time on this day was very valuable. If they wasted it all here, they would feel that it hadn’t been worth it.

Roaring, the countless amethyst beasts followed the juvenile amethyst beast away.

“Hmph. Hmph. I’ve memorized those people. I hope you are still alive when the next Fog Wave comes. At that time, I’ll definitely take good care of you.” The clear eyes of the juvenile amethyst beast had a hint of craftiness flash through them.

While continuing on their path of carnage, the many amethyst beasts spread throughout the area. Many humans were caught and killed. Many Deities had been brought in by the Fog Wave, numbering over a hundred million, but they were slaughtered to the point where less than one in ten survived. The survivors, even including those who had originally already been present within the Amethyst Mountains, numbered less than ten million.

After the Blood Sun went down and the Violet Moon rose, the day of the Fog Wave ended.

But of course, because the Amethyst Mountains were perpetually shrouded by that white fog, nobody could see the Blood Sun or the Violet Moon.

However, the Amethyst Mountains operated as if by clockwork. The number of amethysts being blasted out by those 108 Demonic Amethyst Lairs dropped down, returning to their normal state. The forces of the eighteen great clans outside the Amethyst Mountains came to a halt, while feeling excited for the number of amethysts they had procured.

Within the Amethyst Mountains, those amethyst beasts immediately headed back, quickly disappearing within the amethyst mountains. There had been so many amethyst beasts, but now, there were very few Deities remaining. 

Linley’s group, due to being within that cave, wasn’t certain of the passage of time. They waited for well over ten hours. Not until the next day did they emerge from the lake.

By the shores of the lake in the gorge, Linley’s group of six sat there, resting.

Jarrod’s face was covered in excitement. Gratefully, he said, “The day of the Fog Wave has finally ended. After this day, we’ll be able to live for yet another hundred million years in peace. I didn’t expect that I, Jarrod, would be able to survive two Fog Wave days in a row.”

“To be able to survive, even losing a divine clone is worth it.” Garlan felt very happy as well.

Linley looked at Jarrod and Garlan. He could tell that the joy they felt sprang from the bottom of their heart. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled, and he asked, “Jarrod, within these Amethyst Mountains, our visibility is limited to one or two hundred meters. It’s always covered by white fog, and we can’t go out. Don’t you care about this at all?”

Linley’s words caused a feeling of agreement in the hearts of Bebe and Olivier.

In the Amethyst Mountains, aside from the day of the Fog Wave, there was virtually no danger at all. But to forever be bound by that powerful restrictive force and not even be able to fly, while at the same time only being able to see to a distance of a hundred meters? To be limited to this situation for a long time would indeed be very boring and painful!

Jarrod and Garlan exchanged a glance. Both of them began to laugh.

Jarrod looked at Linley. “Linley. It isn’t that we don’t want to go out. It’s that there is no way out of this damnable place. Since we can’t go out, what else can we do? We’ll just quietly enjoy life. At least I still have Garlan.” Garlan’s face turned slightly red. From the gaze she shot at Jarrod, the deep love she bore could faintly be seen. After all, after having been with each other for almost an eternity, they were no longer able to be separated from each other.

“I refuse to believe we can’t leave.” Bebe harrumphed. “Let’s head straight out. If we can’t fly, then we’ll walk to the ends of the Amethyst Mountains. Keep walking! I refuse to believe we can’t walk out. If we walk to the ends, I’ll burrow into the ground and leave by the ground!”

The ground outside the area of the Amethyst Mountains wouldn’t possibly be so hard.

“You  won’t  be  able  to  make  it  out!”  Garlan  urged.  “The gravity of the Amethyst Mountains isn’t just ‘up’ or ‘down’. It is as though the entire Amethyst Mountains is exerting gravity in every direction. No matter whether you are on the ground, underground, or in the air, you’ll still be affected by the gravity of the Amethyst Mountains!”

“What?!” Linley was shocked. 

He himself had read the descriptions of the profound mysteries of the Laws in that book. With regards to the ‘Gravitational Space’, he knew that it was equivalent to creating a ‘Gravitational Space’ in a certain area. But Linley had never heard of causing an entire area to have a gravitational pull in every direction.

The Amethyst Mountains were like a giant magnet.

No matter whether one was under, to the side of, or above the mountains, one would still suffer the gravitational pull.

“Also, aside from gravity, there’s that strange wind region. There’s no way at all you can leave that region.”  Jarrod said, then laughed. “Delia, Linley, thank you so much. Garlan and I will leave now.”

After Jarrod and his wife left, Linley, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier didn’t give up. Although they had heard what Jarrod had said, until they had witnessed it for themselves, they wouldn’t give up. Immediately, the four of them began to head out through a straight line.

The gorge which Linley was in was tens of thousands of kilometers away from the borders of the Amethyst Mountains.

The gravitational power of the Amethyst Mountains was simply too great, and Linley’s group didn’t travel that quickly either. It took them half a month before they reached the edges of the Amethyst Mountains. However, as Linley’s group tried to continue travelling forward, a terrifyingly strong gravitational force immediately affected their entire body, instantly pulling them back into the Amethyst Mountains.

It was very bizarre!

Standing on the stones at the border of the Amethyst Mountains, Linley’s group felt fine. But as soon as they took a single step towards the front, they would suddenly sense that gravitational force tug them back to the Amethyst Mountains.

Linley had never heard of such a bizarre gravitational pull. 

Within a Gravitational Space, the power of the gravity would pull downwards. But this gravity actually centered around the Amethyst Mountains and pulled in every direction.

They couldn’t even take a single step outside the Amethyst Mountains. How would they leave?

Linley’s group racked their brains, spending an entire month at the borders, but with nothing to show for it. In the end, helpless, they had chosen to give up. The four chose a mountain hollow that was only a few hundred kilometers away from the border and began to live there.

Within the mountain hollow, Linley’s wind, earth, and fire clones were all training, while Linley’s original body accompanied Delia.

Linley was casually seated on the ground, his back resting against the stone wall. Delia was resting against Linley’s side as well. Delia raised her head to look at Linley. Delia, in her heart, understood that Linley had always desired a life full of excitement. If they truly had to spend eternity here within the Amethyst Mountains…this was simply unimaginable.

Delia still remembered that month they had spent at the borders of the Amethyst Mountains, constantly testing.

Actually, simple tests could have been completed in a month.

However, because Linley and Olivier didn’t want to give up, they had frantically come up with one idea after another to test things out. They all wanted to leave here and return to the Infernal Realm. However, after persisting for a month, Linley had finally given up. Delia understood that in his heart, however, Linley still couldn’t accept it.

“Linley,  do  you  truly  want  to  leave?”   Delia  said  softly. “Perhaps you can use a drop of that blue water drop?”

Linley turned to look at Delia, shaking his head slightly. Linley had told Delia and Bebe about the ‘Sovereign’s Might’ over the course of the twenty years they had spent in training after the Volcano Titan, ‘Phusro’, had departed. They all knew…that Linley’s final trump card was the ‘Sovereign’s Might’.

By using the Sovereign’s Might, he definitely would be confident in his ability to resist the gravitational pull.

But how could he use it?

Linley shook his head. “Even by using Sovereign’s Might to resist that gravitational pull, it’s hard to say if I’d be able to fly out of the chaotic region. Delia, you should know as well that there were previously Highgods who could resist the gravitational pull, but upon reaching that chaotic region of strange sounding wind, they still were unable to fly out.”

“If I use the Sovereign’s Might and am still unable to get out?

That would be disastrous.” “In addition, Sovereign’s Might is extremely precious. We can’t waste it. Unless something extremely important happens, it can only be used at the point of death.”  Linley understood that if used at a critical moment, the Sovereign’s Might could not only save him, it could also save Delia and the others.

This was a game-changing treasure. How could he easily use it up?

“But being here for a trillion years…can you withstand it?” Delia said softly.

Linley stretched his hand out, taking Delia into his arms. Gently, he said, “Delia, it’s just a trillion years. Jarrod was able to withstand it. Why can’t I? By your side, even if I have to spend eternity here, I would be willing.”

Delia felt moved in her heart, and Linley held her all the more tightly.

“Linley, what do you think Sasha and Taylor are like now? What is going on in the Yulan continent?”  Lying in Linley’s arms, Delia said softly.

Thinking about his son and daughter, Linley couldn’t help but smile. “They should be doing quite well. Who knows if they are missing me.”

Delia laughed as well. Lifting her head up, she looked at Linley. Pursing her lips, she said, “Of course they miss you, their father. However, most likely Taylor and Sasha won’t have imagined…that their powerful, almighty father is trapped inside a mountain range in the Infernal Realm, and will most likely be here for countless years.”

Linley couldn’t help but laugh as well.

But then, it turned into a sigh. He turned his gaze towards the white fog, as though seeing through it to the Yulan continent. “We are living in the Infernal Realm now. The Yulan continent is too far away from us.”

Living in the Amethyst Mountains, Linley’s mind was very calm. His original body didn’t need to train in any Laws, while Delia had reached the Highgod realm and thus didn’t train. Linley spent every day with Delia, and the two of them lived a leisurely, quiet life.

But of course, Linley’s earth, wind, and fire divine clones continued to train.

Bebe and Olivier were training as well, while occasionally sparring.

Linley’s ‘Elemental Laws of the Wind’, due to focusing on gaining insights into the ‘Sound Waves’ and ‘Music’ profound mysteries at the same time while fusing them, improved at a very slow rate. As for the ‘Elemental Laws of Fire’, this was Linley’s weakest aspect, and so naturally he trained very slowly.

Only in the ‘Profound Laws of the Earth’ and its ‘Worldwalking’ profound mysteries, which Linley wasn’t fusing with any other profound mysteries, did his training speed improve rather quickly. Living peacefully like this, fifty years quickly passed. Over the course of these years, because he was living in the Amethyst Mountains and constantly was affected by the gravity here, Linley had begun to master the basics of the ‘Gravitational Space’ profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. However, ‘Gravitational Space’ was an extremely difficult profound mystery, and so Linley primarily continued to focus on Worldwalking.

Before entering the Amethyst Mountains, Linley had spent nearly twenty years on Worldwalking.

Now that he had spent fifty more years, Linley finally reached the level of mastery in Worldwalking.

Within the mountain hollow, Linley’s divine earth clone, Bebe, and Olivier were together.

“Boss, you really are formidable. You even achieved mastery in Worldwalking!” Bebe said in celebration. “The Worldwalking profound mystery is naturally connected to the ‘Essence of the Earth’, and it belongs to one of the simpler types of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. Despite that, however, I still had to spend over seventy years before breaking through.” Linley sighed.

In the past seventy years, Linley’s greatest improvement had been in the soul!

In the Amethyst Mountains, there was no lack of amethysts!

Even on the grounds of the Amethyst Mountain, if one went in serious search of amethysts, in a single day one would pick up more than ten thousand. If one went to the Demonic Amethyst Lairs, even though they didn’t spew out as many amethysts as they did during the Fog Wave day, when they were in the ‘resting’ phase, the number of amethysts in the crevice weren’t that many, but if one used a giant elemental hand to grab some, most likely in a short period of time, one would be able to seize a million.

Once, when Olivier and Bebe were bored, they had made a trip to the crevice and had spent half a month there, pulling out over a hundred million amethysts. Afterwards, bored, they had come back. In the Amethyst Mountains, these amethysts were simply too worthless.

Others found it hard to refine amethysts, but Linley was different.

After constantly refining amethysts and strengthening his soul, Linley was far more powerful than he had been fifty years ago. After all, during these fifty years, his soul had been continuously growing.

“Now that you have the Worldwalking ability, the Amethyst Mountains are even safer than before.” Olivier sighed. “These rocks are still part of the world. By using the Worldwalking ability, you can fuse with the rocks and pass through them. When the next Fog Wave comes, due to having the Worldwalking ability, you will be better able to preserve yourself.”

Linley nodded slightly. Only a tenth of Deities trained in the Laws of the Earth, and in that portion, fairly few mastered ‘Worldwalking’. Jarrod and Garlan were unfortunate; neither of them had trained in the Laws of the Earth. They knew that training in Worldwalking was excellent for staying alive in the Amethyst

Mountains, but training wasn’t something you could do just because you wanted to, even if you had all the time in the world.

“Boss,  give  it  a  try.  How  does  Worldwalking  work  out?” Bebe’s eyes were gleaming.

Linley laughed. “I wanted to give it a try to begin with.”

Immediately, Linley let himself calm down, then executed the Worldwalking ability. Linley could sense himself completely merge into the boundless elemental essences of the earth. The stones here were naturally filled with earth elemental essences. Linley easily passed through the stone, moving at high speed through it.

“The Boss disappeared. Worldwalking really is interesting.” Bebe laughed. 

In  Olivier’s  heart,  he  sighed  with  praise.  “Linley  truly  is formidable. He has three divine clones, and now he has mastered Worldwalking.” However, in Olivier’s heart, he didn’t feel too bad, because in the past few years, he had finally reached the God level in the Laws of Darkness.

The first time using Worldwalking was indeed extremely marvelous.

Linley willingly allowed himself to pass through the stone. “Using  Worldwalking  really  is  interesting.  However…the Amethyst Mountains is filled with gravitational force. Even when using Worldwalking, my speed is still not fast enough.” Even though his body had completely merged with the earth elemental essences, he was still affected by the power of the gravitational pull.

Linley continued to move forward, traveling for several thousand kilometers.

Suddenly… “Hey?”   Linley  suddenly  discovered  that  deep  within  the rocks of the Amethyst Mountains, there was an empty cave. This cave had no exits at all, but it was within the center of a mountain. It was quite strange.

With but a thought, Linley’s body re-solidified within the cave.

“The cave is quite large.”  Linley carefully inspected it. The cave was over ten meters tall and tens of meters wide, but it didn’t have any tunnels nearby. This cave was completely sealed off. Linley could also sense that this cave should have been naturally formed.

There wasn’t a single hint of carving or structuring!

“Naturally   formed.   How   curious.”     Linley   sighed   in amazement. “Hey, kid of the Four Divine Beasts clan, why’d you end up running over into my place?” Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. Linley’s soul shuddered in fright, and he turned…

That adorable juvenile amethyst beast was standing there, raising its little head and staring at Linley, eyes filled with guile. “I didn’t expect this at all. I thought I’d have to wait until the next Fog Wave before I’d have the chance to come make trouble for you. But you actually ran over to my place.”

“Flee!”  Linley didn’t hesitate at all, immediately using the Worldwalking ability.

“Bang!”

Linley slammed hard into the wall, unable to leave.

“You came on my turf, and you thought you would leave, just like that?” The juvenile amethyst beast snorted, eyes filled with self-delight. “Hmph, hmph. Countless of years of boredom, but today, a fun toy has arrived. How should I play with him?” Linley felt misery in his heart. He had only come to this completely sealed off cave through using the Worldwalking ability. How had he ended up running into this little juvenile amethyst beast?

Chapter 41, Trapped Five Hundred Years

Within the cave inside the Amethyst Mountains. Only Linley and the juvenile amethyst beast were present.

“Just now, when I entered, there clearly was nobody inside this cave. I am certain that this juvenile amethyst beast definitely wasn’t present. How could he have suddenly appeared without me not sensing anything at all?”  Linley’s heart was filled with disbelief. He didn’t dare to believe that this was all real!

What he was now facing was the leader of those countless amethyst beasts – the little juvenile amethyst beast.

“What should I do?” Linley was pondering on how to flee.

The walls of this large cave, as well as the floor, were faintly circulating with a violet light. Even if he were to use Worldwalking, he wasn’t able to go through this barrier at all so as to merge with the stone. 

No way to run!

“Hey, kid, what are you thinking about? Are you actually still thinking about running away?”  The juvenile amethyst beast’s clear eyes stared at Linley, and his lips curved upwards slightly. “Forget it. Once, an extremely powerful Highgod, roughly at the level you would consider a ‘Seven Star Fiend’, came here. In front of me, though, he still behaved obediently!” The juvenile amethyst beast raised its little head arrogantly.

Linley was secretly shocked. Even a Seven Star Fiend was no match for this juvenile amethyst beast?

“My  name  is  Linley.  Might  I  ask  who  you  are?”  Linley’s attitude was very respectful.

The juvenile amethyst beast coughed on purpose, then said, “Listen  up.  My  name  is  Reisgem  [Lei’si’jing].  I’ve  previous adventured in other planes, and I’ve also engaged in battles in Purgatory. I am a mighty Commander in Purgatory!” “Commander of Purgatory?” Linley felt utterly lost.

What was a Purgatory?

When he had read the books regarding the geography of the Infernal Realm, Linley had never heard of a place called ‘Purgatory’.

“You don’t know about Purgatory?”  The juvenile amethyst beast stared, and then nodded in understanding. “Oh, right. You are just a God. Even many Highgods don’t know about that place. It makes sense that you don’t know…hmph, talking to you really is a waste of time. You don’t even know what being a ‘Purgatory Commander’ represents, hmph!”

The juvenile amethyst beast was very unhappy.

Linley could only smile helplessly. He didn’t even know why this juvenile beast named Reisgem was talking about these things. “Now,  how  should  I  punish  you?”  The  juvenile  amethyst beast stood up, his meaty little paws rubbing his chin as he strode back and forth within the cave, appearing to be in deep thought. “Play the game of smashing stones? Same as the last guy, who I smashed to death?”

Hearing this, Linley’s heart trembled.

The game of smashing stones? Smashed to death? Linley could completely imagine what this juvenile amethyst beast was capable of doing.

“No,  no  good.”   While  still  walking  back  and  forth,  the juvenile amethyst beast continued to mumble. Hearing the mumbling of the juvenile amethyst beast, Linley’s heart was very cold.

“This juvenile amethyst beast named Reisgem is a terrifying figure who possesses enormous power and yet the heart of a child.” Linley’s heart was panicking. Lowering his head to look at the floor, he saw the faint violet light circulating through it. This was just a layer of something which Reisgem had silently covered the floors and the walls of the cave with, but Linley couldn’t budge the violet light at all. Just from this, Linley was certain of the great power of this juvenile amethyst beast. In addition…he had watched the juvenile amethyst beast personally attack, and easily kill a powerful Highgod.

“Right now, I only have my divine earth clone here. I’m far too weak.” Linley secretly sighed.

The Sovereign’s Might and his weapons were all on his original body. He didn’t have a single thing on his divine earth clone. At present, he didn’t have any ability to fight back at all.

“This juvenile amethyst beast…”  Linley carefully inspected this juvenile beast. Compared to the amethyst beasts, he was very similar. His entire body was violet, and his head and back also were covered with a large number of spikes, in total 108 spikes. The same was true for the body of the amethyst beasts.

The juvenile amethyst beast suddenly was jubilant, and excitedly began to jump around. “Haha, I have it!” Suddenly…

The juvenile amethyst beast’s face froze, then out of the corner of his mouth, he muttered, “I’m not even allowed to have fun.” And then, the juvenile amethyst beast raised his head to look at Linley, his face turning cold. “Kid, I’m in a really bad mood right now, so I’ll have to vent it out on you. Hmph. If you are too useless, I’ll just kill you.”

“Mr. Reisgem, you don’t even care about Seven Star Fiends. Why must you act against me, a mere God?” Linley had a very bad feeling. This juvenile amethyst beast most likely didn’t have any good intentions.

The juvenile amethyst beast snorted. “You shut your mouth! Screw your mommy, if it weren’t for the fact that I have been ordered to remain in the Amethyst Mountains for countless years before being allowed out, why would I care about a mere God like you? Although you are a little weak, at least you are alive.  You  can  play  with  me.”   As  he  spoke,  the  juvenile amethyst beast flipped his little claw out, and immediately, a black stone that was emanating waves of violet light appeared, hovering in front of him. 

Linley couldn’t help but carefully inspect that black stone.

The black stone was very small, only the size of a finger, but it emanated with lines of violet light. Waves of an unusual aura spread out from within it.

“Go.” The juvenile amethyst beast waved its little paw.

Immediately, the black stone hovered to above Linley, and then one ray of violet divine power after another flew out from the black stone, landing down like multiple chains. There were, in total, 108 rays of violet divine power.

The 108 rays of violet divine power all flew out from within the black stone, forming circles and reconnecting at the ground beneath Linley’s feet. The 108 curved lines of violet divine power formed a complete globe, while Linley was right in the center of it. “Haha, let’s begin.” The juvenile amethyst beast cracked his lips into a grin.

Immediately, the 108 rays of violet divine power quickly began to flash and move at high speed, and it was no longer possible to tell that there were 108 rays of divine power. Linley could only see that the area around him was a globe of violet light, while he himself was within it.

“Crackle…”

Within the globe of violet light, it was as though electric sparks were flashing with violet light.

One surge after another of strange power was being created.

“Aaaaaah!” Agonized, Linley immediately curled into a ball, hovering in the center of that violet sphere. With a strange ‘crackle’ sound, Linley’s skin and bones were pressed down so hard, his body was caving in. Linley could clearly sense that the surrounding violet light was creating surges of ‘repulsive force’. Every single part of the violet light was generating that repulsive force, and all of it was focused on his body.

Repulsive force was pressing down on Linley from every side.

It was as though Linley was being constantly compressed, as though the sphere was trying to compress Linley himself into a ball. This sort of terrifying pressure carried with it extreme pain.

“This Reisgem has mental issues!” Linley cursed in his mind.

Working to raise his head, he saw that roughly two meters away, that black stone was hovering. The source of this violet light was that black stone.

“Kid,  given  my  usual  temper,  you  would  definitely  die. However, today, I suddenly feel benevolent and merciful.” The juvenile amethyst beast stared at the violet globe as well as Linley,  who  was  being  compressed.  “I’ve  supplemented  the divine power of that black stone. It should be able to roughly maintain this ‘Gravitational Space’ for ten thousand years. If in ten thousand years, you are able to leave that place, I’ll spare your life. But, if you wait until the divine power is exhausted without being able to leave, then I will…” The juvenile amethyst beast stretched out his meaty claws. “Kill ya!”

Within the globe of violet light.

Even his bones were cracking from the pressure. The massive agony was causing Linley’s entire body to twitch, but Linley could still clearly hear the words of that juvenile amethyst beast. Linley immediately struggled to hiss out, “Gravitational Space?  This  is  a  Gravitational  Space?  Impossible!!!”   That terrifying repulsive force was so strong that Linley found it hard to even open his mouth.

Only, Linley truly didn’t understand it. Because, he had never heard of a Gravitational Space capable of generating a repulsive force.

A Gravitational Space should have a terrifying attractive gravitational force! 

“Right, this is a Gravitational Space, one of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. There’s nothing ‘impossible’  about it!”  The juvenile amethyst beast snorted. “But of course, this is a ‘Gravitational Space’ that was created after fusing the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and the ‘Gravitational Space’, and it also has a little something special added into it…let me remind you, if you want to escape, all you have to do is be able to grab that black stone.”

After speaking, the juvenile amethyst beast lay down on the ground, then suddenly raised his little head to stare at Linley. “Oh, right. Even though it might hurt, don’t make any noise. If your noise wakes me up, I’ll kill you.”

Linley could only forcibly endure the pain wracking his entire body, not daring to make a sound.

“Huff!” “Huff!” …..

A soft snoring sound filled the cave. Linley was in a great deal of pain. The repulsive force wasn’t any weaker than the astonishing attracting force from the Amethyst Mountains. When applied throughout his entire body, he was in so much pain he could die. In addition, this wasn’t his original body, capable of Dragonforming.

He was in such pain, yet he couldn’t make any noise…and the juvenile amethyst beast was just lying there, sleeping!

“He’s just toying with me!”  Linley cursed in his heart, but moments later, Linley tried to force himself to calm down. “What I need to do right now is to escape this violet globe. To leave, I have to first take that black stone.”  Linley raised his head to stare at the black stone that was emanating those rays of violet light.

“But this repulsive force is too great, while I’m squeezed in the  center  of  this  violet  globe.  I  can’t  move  at  all.”  Linley laughed miserably.

Linley then gritted his teeth, struggling to raise his hand upwards. 

“Crunch!”  The powerful repulsive force from above forced Linley’s right arm down, smashing it against Linley’s shoulder, causing the bones in both the shoulder and the arm to shatter.

“Let’s see of the ‘Essence of the Earth’ will work.” Linley gave it another try.

One try after another. Linley did everything he could think of, but was completely unable to overcome the repulsive force, which was simply too strong.

“It seems I’ll have to use that final method.”  Linley forced himself to calm down.

In magic, once someone understood the art of gravity, if one fell into another person’s Gravitational Space, if the opponent’s mastery was weaker than one’s own, one could ablate the gravitational force. “This repulsive force is very powerful because it relies on fusing the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and the ‘Gravitational Space’. Then if I am able to fuse those two profound mysteries, I should also be able to ablate the repulsive  force  and  retrieve  the  black  stone.”  Linley,  after thinking through this, immediately tried to ignore the pain wracking his body and force himself to lose himself within the ‘Laws of the Earth’.

Linley only had a basic understanding of the Profound Truths of Gravitational Space.

He had already achieved mastery in the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’.

Linley immediately focused all his attention into this, beginning to struggle to gain insights on how to merge these two profound mysteries. Only, both the ‘Gravitational Space’ and the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ were extremely difficult profound mysteries, and the amount of time it would take would definitely be very long. Within the mountain hollows, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier were in a state of shock.

“Boss, your divine earth clone was captured by that juvenile amethyst beast?” Bebe said frantically. “Then what should we do?”

Delia was worried and frantic as well.

“Nothing else I can do.”  Linley shook his head, looking at Delia. “Delia, for now, I won’t be able to accompany you. My original body also needs to completely focus on gaining insights into the Laws of the Earth and work hard along with my divine earth clone.”

Delia immediately nodded.

Linley’s divine clone was in a life-threatening crisis. How could Delia be so selfish as to have Linley keep her company? “Ten thousand years?”  Linley mused. “Can it be that this amethyst beast thinks that I won’t be able to merge these two profound mysteries, even in ten thousand years?”

Linley’s original body immediately began to train, while at the same time, it also constantly absorbed the soul essences from amethysts, constantly strengthening his soul.

This was because due to his soul being simply too powerful, in terms of visualization speed, Linley’s original body was actually slightly faster than his divine earth clone. The original body and the clone were completely focused on the Laws of the Earth and on visualization…

“Fuse. How should I fuse the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and the ‘Gravitational Field’?”  Linley’s understanding of the ‘Gravitational Field’ was constantly rising, but as for fusing, Linley didn’t even have a basic idea of how to accomplish that.

…………………. Within the mountain hollow, Delia and Bebe looked at the distant Linley, seated in the meditative position. They were both worried.

“The Boss has been training for nearly five hundred years now. Why hasn’t he reacted at all?” Bebe said.

“Don’t be impatient. Linley will definitely succeed.” Over the past five hundred years, although at first, Delia was frantic with concern, by now, although she was still worried, she had calmed down.

This was because, as Linley had said, if he truly was unlucky and failed, at most he would just lose a divine earth clone.

Chapter 42, 108

Linley’s divine earth clone and original body were both absorbed in training in the ‘Laws of the Earth’. Although he constantly increased his understanding with regards to ‘Gravitational Space’, he hadn’t been able to even find the initial steps of fusing the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and the ‘Gravitational Space’!

The most important part of fusing two profound mysteries was in the initial steps. Once one found the initial steps, everything else was just a matter of time. But if one hadn’t even found the initial steps, then no matter how much time you spent, it would be useless.

Linley exhausted all his mind and efforts on trying to decipher the way through which he could fuse these two profound mysteries.

But the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and ‘Gravitational Space’ were both high-class profound mysteries. It wasn’t too hard to fuse the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ with the ‘Essence of the Earth’, but fusing the ‘Gravitational Space’ with it was extremely hard. 

“This doesn’t work!” After having spent thirty years without even finding the first steps to fusing these two profound mysteries, Linley started to panic. “If I’m just stuck here, I can spend ten thousand years without being able to improve at all. I can’t let this continue!”

“The conditions this juvenile beast has set truly are not easy ones.” Only now did Linley understand how difficult a task this was. Grinding his teeth, Linley immediately made his decision. “Then I’ll try doing it in a roundabout way!”

His divine earth clone continued to train hard in attempting to fuse the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and the ‘Gravitational Space’.

As for Linley’s primary body, he attempted to let the Gravitational Space and the Essence of the Earth fuse!

The Essence of the Earth had been fused with the Throbbing Pulse of the World long ago. If he could fuse Gravitational Space with the Essence of the Earth, then it might be possible for him to use that fusion to then draw the Gravitational Space and the Throbbing Pulse of the World closer to each other.

By drawing them closer together, he would begin to be able to take those first steps.

Upon having broken through the first few steps, a wide road would lie ahead of him!

The 38th year of Linley’s bitter training.

“Letting Gravitational Space and the Essence of the Earth fuse is much simpler.”  Linley had spent eight years time in allowing these two profound mysteries to gradually fuse.

Because the Essence of the Earth and Throbbing Pulse of the World were already completely fused, through the Essence of the Earth, Linley felt some confidence in his ability to fuse the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Gravitational Space. The 46th year of Linley’s bitter training!

“This roundabout method has finally succeeded.” Linley had finally begun to fuse the Gravitational Space and the Throbbing Pulse of the World . With a beginning, it would be much easier in the future.

Although he had begun to fuse them, and his original body and divine clone were simultaneously training, Linley would still have to take an extremely long amount of time and break through the bottleneck in order to fuse the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Gravitational Space, these two profound mysteries.

This year was already the 206th year of Linley’s training!

In addition, the reason why it was so fast was because Linley’s original body’s soul had absorbed a large amount of amethyst soul essences and had become extremely strong.

On the 206th year of Linley being trapped here. Within the cave in the Amethyst Mountains. 

“Snooooore. “Snooooore.”

The gentle nasal sound echoed in the room. The juvenile amethyst beast still lay there, occasionally wrinkling his nose in his sleep, appearing quite adorable.

In the middle of that violet globe, Linley’s entire body was covered with bloodstains from that tremendous pressure, but currently, a look of delight was on Linley’s face. “I’ve finally fused those two profound mysteries.” After having spent fully 206 years, and with his original body and divine clone training together, he had finally fused those two profound mysteries.

At present, Linley could actually completely fuse the Throbbing Pulse of the World, the Gravitational Space, and Essence of the Earth together, because the three profound mysteries already had a common element connecting them together.

“However, I still have to wait to actually get out before being happy.” Linley didn’t waste any time. 

Raising his head to look upwards, he stared at the black stone glowing with violet light which hovered above him.

“Repulsive force?” Linley frowned.

Although he had already begun to fuse the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Gravitational Space, Linley still didn’t quite understand how repulsive force could be generated!

“What is it all about? How to counter this repulsive force?” Linley felt quite frantic. To be able to counteract this repulsive force, at the very least, he himself would have to be able to generate a Gravitational Space filled with repulsive force. Only when he had completely understood this would he be able to counteract!

But how?

Linley didn’t know! 

“That ‘Reisgem’, the juvenile amethyst beast, said that as long as those two profound mysteries fuse…” Linley suddenly was stunned.

He remembered the words that the juvenile amethyst beast had said; “This is a ‘Gravitational Space’ that was created after fusing the Throbbing Pulse of the World and Gravitational Space, with a little special something mixed in…”

“A little special something mixed in?” Linley murmured.

The attack power of a certain technique depended partially on the profound mysteries themselves, but how to apply the profound mysteries was also very important.

For example, in the Infernal Realm, there might be two Seven Star Fiends who had both fused four types of profound mysteries, but they might use them in different ways. Naturally, their attacks would be different! A particularly ingenuous way in which they used the attacks might cause the power of the profound mysteries to increase many tenfold! 

“To be able to cause gravity to generate a repulsive force? How?” Linley carefully inspected the violet light surrounding himself.

However, no matter how much time he spent looking, all he saw was violet light. Linley couldn’t see anything at all.

“What is it, exactly?”  Linley repeatedly pondered. “How to use gravity and change it into a repulsive force?” An attractive force and a repulsive force were completely separate types of force. No matter how he pondered it, Linley couldn’t understand how to change between the two.

How could Linley have known?

That when the juvenile amethyst beast said ten thousand years, it was because he was confident that for an ordinary God, it was virtually impossible to exit the violet sphere within ten thousand years. To fuse two profound mysteries in ten thousand years wasn’t too hard!

Some geniuses could do it in a century.

However, this violet sphere had a special quality. It wasn’t the profound mysteries! Rather, it was a very special type of usage of the profound mysteries, something which Reisgem felt the most proud about.

“How to use it, exactly?”

Ignoring the agony, Linley shut his eyes and constantly visualized and hypothesized in his mind.

His divine earth clone and his original body were completely absorbed into this. They constantly analyzed and pondered, time and time again…and time flowed on.

The 482nd year Linley had been trapped here! 

After two centuries of painstaking thought, Linley had already come up with quite a few powerful ways of using and fusing the Throbbing Pulse of the World and Gravitational Space. However, Linley still couldn’t come up with a way to convert the ‘attractive force’ to the ‘repulsive force’.

“What to do?”

Linley was extremely frantic. After pondering for two hundred years, he still hadn’t come up with the way by which a repulsive force could be generated.

“I’ve  already  thought  of  everything,  but  it’s  useless.  I’ve thought of everything. What to do? What to do?” Linley stared at the violet light around him. He couldn’t help but feel angry. “Can it be that it really will have to be as I told Delia, that I’ll just give up this divine earth clone?”

Linley didn’t want to give up his divine earth clone! It wasn’t because the divine earth clone represented a life, and it wasn’t because of the divine earth clone’s powerful soul attack.

It was because…

“The vast Earth!”  In Linley’s mind, the image of that man, dressed in long white robes, with a long white beard. “Grandpa Doehring…”

It was Grandpa Doehring who had guided Linley onto the path of training in earth-style magic. Linley also knew that Grandpa Doehring had always wanted to break through the Saint level to become a Deity. Only, Grandpa Doehring didn’t have the chance to. Linley himself had trained so hard and had finally become a Deity in the Laws of the Earth, and now had entered the Higher Plane of the ‘Infernal Realm’!

Linley sometimes thought to himself: “Grandpa Doehring, if he knew that I had become a Deity of the earth-element and had entered the Higher Planes, he would definitely be very happy.” His divine earth clone didn’t just represent a life to him.

It was something which Linley felt Grandpa Doehring had entrusted him with!

He didn’t want to give it up!

“No, I cannot give up! The Laws of the Earth. I will continue to train in them. I definitely will not permit the divine earth clone  to  die.”  Linley  constantly  told  himself  this,  and  then stared at the juvenile amethyst beast. “It’s been less than five hundred years. The juvenile amethyst beast gave me ten thousand years. I still have more than nine thousand years left. I will definitely succeed, definitely succe…”

Midway through his sentence, Linley came to a halt. He stared at the sleeping juvenile amethyst beast.

Or, to be precise, he was staring at those 108 spikes on the back of the juvenile amethyst beast! 

Linley stared, stunned, as though he had lost his wits. He muttered to himself, “108? Flat?”

Linley’s mind suddenly had thoughts flash through like lightning, and then, Linley shut his eyes. At the same time…

Within Linley’s mind, he visualized rays of divine power forming, exactly 108 rays of them. First, he organized them in sequence like the way those 108 spikes on the juvenile amethyst beast’s back were organized, and then constantly visualized rearranging them, trying to see what special effects might be generated.

The 108 rays of divine power were simply too complex.

After spending fully half a month visualizing, Linley felt overjoyed. “Indeed. With a different sequence, the power of the gravity will increase a hundredfold.” Linley knew very well that while normally using a ‘Gravitational Space’, at most one would be able to impact another person’s movements, but the impact wouldn’t be extravagant. 

But by organizing the power in such a manner, the maximum limits of the attractive force had increased a hundredfold! Most likely, even Highgods would be rendered unable to fly.

“That’s not right. It’s still not as powerful as the gravity here in  the  Amethyst  Mountains.”  Linley  refuted  this  mentally. “And wait. The gravity of the Amethyst Mountains isn’t focused downwards. Rather, it is like a sphere, absorbing in all directions. No matter where one is, one will be drawn towards the Amethyst Mountains.”

Linley opened his eyes, and in front of him appeared the violet light which had formed into a sphere. He just looked at it…

“Flat?  Sphere?”   Linley  murmured,  but  slowly,  a  light appeared in Linley’s eyes. “Right! Sphere!!! It isn’t a simple flat surface!”

“Crunch!” The ‘shackles’ binding Linley’s thoughts just shattered.

“Haha, so that’s how it works. Haha, how could I have not realized this? However…to mentally go from visualizing a flat surface to a sphere is incomparably more difficult.” Linley could completely imagine how difficult that must have been. If visualizing the effects on a flat surface had to be done a thousand times, then the visualization and hypothesizing needed for a sphere would be a thousand to the third power! A billion times!”

A thousand versus a billion!

The difference was too great.

What’s more, Linley had spent far more than just a thousand times visualizing all sorts of possible scenarios for a ‘flat surface’. Thus, the number of visualizations needed for the complicated sphere would naturally also be far more.

“If I truly had to blindly exhaust all possible calculations on ways to align the 108 rays of divine power, even if I spent a trillion years, I might not be able to finish it.” Linley understood using this sort of technique wasn’t just a matter of calculating everything out; it required certain insights.

“However, fortunately I know that the true trick of it lies in the sequence of those spikes on the juvenile amethyst beast’s back.” Linley opened his eyes, carefully inspecting the 108 spikes on the back of the juvenile amethyst beast, working hard to memorize the lengths and locations of those 108 spikes.

The 108 rays of divine power in Linley’s mind were constantly changing, while at the same time, Linley also began to circulate 108 rays of divine power around his body.

All sorts of calculations and visualizations. Linley’s divine power around his body began to be ordered as well. As time went on, the repulsive force actually began to lessen, or, to be precise…the repulsive force didn’t lessen, but Linley was able to counteract part of the repulsive force. As Linley’s calculations and visualizations came closer and closer to the true path, the amount of repulsive force counteracted increased even further. “Huh?” The juvenile amethyst beast suddenly opened his eyes, staring at Linley. He was tremendously shocked. “This… this kid actually…?”

The violet amethyst beast immediately stood up, so angry that his nose was crooked. “It’s only been five hundred years, but this punk has actually begun to approach a basic understanding of the ultimate technique of myself, Lord Reisgem.” The juvenile amethyst beast watched as the earthen light around Linley’s body circulated, the profound mysteries of the Laws contained within the light.

“Right. That’s how you do it!” Linley, overjoyed, opened his eyes.

In the instant he opened his eyes, he saw the juvenile amethyst beast staring at him, filled with anger.

“Mr. Reisgem, I’ve finally reached your requirements.” Linley smiled. Although at present, some repulsive force remained, that was primarily because the juvenile amethyst beast was using ‘Highgod’ level divine power. While the type of technique they used was the same, of course the juvenile beast’s would be somewhat more powerful.

But after the counteracting, the remaining amount of repulsive force no longer had much power.

Linley easily flew up and stretched out with his hand, snatching the black stone emanating the violet light. Immediately, the violet sphere of light collapsed.

The juvenile amethyst beast stared furiously at Linley. “You little punk. You actually were able to understand this technique of mine?”

“Actually, I must thank you, Mr. Reisgem. If it hadn’t been for the spikes on your back, I wouldn’t have been able to break through so quickly.” Linley was currently in quite a good mood. The juvenile amethyst beast instantly understood. “Your mommy! So it was I myself who helped you!” But the juvenile amethyst beast also understood…that even though Linley had seen the spikes on his back, how many people would have been able to connect them with Gravitational Space? 

The juvenile amethyst beast knew very well that this sort of unique Gravitational Space was his innate ability. Combined with the spikes on his back, the power was extremely great.

“I’ll keep my promise. Kid, you can leave now.” The juvenile amethyst beast said discontentedly.

“Then,  Mr.  Reisgem,  I’ll  leave  now.”   Linley  was  very courteous.

“Ugh, after you leave the Amethyst Mountains, I won’t be able to see you again. I was planning on spending some time messing with you.” The juvenile amethyst beast curled his lips as he spoke with resignation.

“Leave the Amethyst Mountains?”  Linley was stunned. He turned to look at the juvenile amethyst beast.

The juvenile amethyst beast glanced at him, snorted, then said, “I might as well tell you. You’ve already mastered my ultimate technique. This Gravitational Space technique is capable of nullifying the gravitational pull of the Amethyst Mountains. As for the soul-affecting influence of the wind sound, hmph, with that stone, you won’t be afraid either.”

“The black stone?”  Linley lowered his head to look at the stone in his hand.

“All you need to do is bind it with blood…argh, your mommy! The more I talk about it, the angrier I get. I’m not wasting any more words on you. Hurry up and beat it.” The juvenile amethyst beast was very unhappy.

Linley’s heart was filled with questions. “Bind the black stone with blood?” But although puzzled, Linley still dripped a drop of blood onto the black stone. After doing so, the black stone merged into Linley’s body, fusing directly with Linley’s soul. Linley could now feel the strange, marvelous properties of this black stone.

“This black stone…?” Linley could sense that the black stone contained within it an extremely dense power. Only, the power was too deep and hidden. Aside from that, Linley could also sense 108 rays of spiritual energy circulating within it, constantly changing positions.

Linley realized, to his astonishment…

That the technique he had developed after spending so much time pondering was just one of the most basic, superficial types of techniques.

“What on earth is this black stone?” Linley was astonished. At the same time, he glanced in amazement at the juvenile amethyst beast. “Although this juvenile amethyst beast said he was going to torment me, he actually gave me this black stone. This  black  stone  definitely  isn’t  an  ordinary  item.”  Linley didn’t understand it at all.

Why did the juvenile amethyst beast do this? “Thank   you,   Mr.   Reisgem.”    Linley   immediately   said gratefully.

“Hmph.” The juvenile amethyst just turned his head away.

Linley didn’t waste any more words. He immediately executed the Worldwalking ability and left the cave.

The juvenile amethyst beast sat down onto the floor of the cave. Suddenly…the stones of the cave walls began to move transforming into an enormous face.

“Gem-Gem,  what,  are  you  mad?”  The  stone  face  actually opened its mouth and spoke.

“Hmph. Right. I’m mad.” The juvenile amethyst beast, ‘Reisgem’, said angrily. “Also, don’t call me Gem-Gem! I finally got a toy, and I had just come up with all sorts of ideas to torment him, but you actually didn’t let me, and then even gave him such a gift.” The lips of the stone face moved slightly. “Gem-Gem, don’t be mad. Back in the day, I owed a debt to the clan leader of the Four Divine Beasts clan…” But halfway through the sentence.

“I  told  you,  DON’T  CALL  ME  GEM-GEM!”   The  juvenile amethyst beast bellowed, and then let out a snort and slammed straight into the wall, merging into the wall and disappearing.

“After all these years, he’s still like a little kid.”  The stone face on the wall said helplessly, and then disappeared, the wall returning to its normal appearance.