Somewhere in the northwest of Pandemonium was a wild mountainous region. There, Han Hao, Han Tu, Han Jin and Han Mu were working underground.
They had dug a large number of narrow, intertwining tunnels that connected more than a thousand large and small chambers five hundred feet underground. Three of the mountains above them had been hollowed out and carved into huge, spacious stone chambers. However, no light, furniture or electricity had been installed and no one inhabited these rooms.
"Elder Brother, we are so exhausted. We have dug out an underground palace and three mountains - it has been a truly arduous project," said the Earth Elite Zombie, whose face had taken on a muddy yellow hue. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he had used up most of his energy.
Metal Elite Zombie was in a similar state. The original golden armour on his body had turned dull, and he looked very tired.
In the underground palace, where only his brothers were present, Han Hao's cold face became much softer than usual. He raised an eyebrow before fishing out a stone that resembled dried mud and a shiny jade-like stone with light flowing inside, and presenting them to Han Tu and Han Jin.
As soon as Han Tu and Han Jin saw the two items, their eyes lit up like spotlights. At the same time, they bluntly snatched the items from Han Hao's hands.
The inconspicuous yellowish stone began to release a large amount of Earth Yuan Energy as soon as Han Tu grabbed it, as if it were dissolving into his hand. The weariness on Han Tu's face gradually disappeared, and his eyes once again glowed with energy.
Meanwhile, Han Jin quickly chewed the jade-like stone, crushing it with his teeth and swallowing it. After eating the stone, Han Jin smiled brightly and asked, "Elder Brother, where did you find these treasures? I have traversed countless mountains and valleys, but I have never been lucky enough to find an Emperor Clay Stone or a Goldjade Stone. They are the most nourishing essences of earth and metal!"
"I got them by robbing," Han Hao replied calmly.
"Hehe, Eldest Brother is indeed the best. Being able to burn, kill and loot every day must be fun!" remarked Han Tu with his foolish smile.
"What about me? Little Gold and Little Earth each have a treasure. Where is mine?" asked Han Mu.
"I have not found anything suitable for you, but I will keep an eye out," Han Hao replied after glancing at Han Mu.
"Then thank you in advance! Hehe, besides treasures, please also keep an eye out for beauties. As Elder Brother should know, I like to make a life," Han Mu said with a lecherous grin.
"You three should return to the Pandemonium, my followers and I will take care of the rest here. It would take us at least a year to install all the lighting and furnishings in the entire room," Han Hao said.
"Understood, brother. I think I will dig another tunnel connecting this base to Pandemonium on my way back. With the additional tunnel, we could easily reinforce each other's bases," Han Tu said with a smile.
"That would be great," Han Hao said after nodding. Then a thought crossed his mind and he suddenly rose to the surface.
Han Hao's face had returned to the callous and emotionless look he had when he reached the surface. He looked at one of his henchmen kneeling on the ground and asked, "What is it?"
"There is a message for you, my chief," the henchman bowed and handed Han Hao a scroll.
After reading the scroll, a dark light flashed in Han Hao's eyes. He burned the scroll to ashes, turned to his kneeling henchman and instructed, "Tell each of my chiefs to gather. We will leave the fringe as soon as possible."
Han Hao's henchman was astonished. He could not understand why Han Hao would ask the Godhunter Chiefs scattered throughout the Fringe to gather and leave for no apparent reason. But the henchman asked no questions. He respectfully acknowledged Han Hao's order and left.
Han Hao then returned to the underground and said to his brothers, "Father has a task for me. I need to be away from the Fringe for a while."
"What task, brother?" Han Mu giggled and said, "Take me with you! I have been feeling quite bored lately."
Han Hao shook his head and firmly refused, "My Godhunters and I will pretend to be those of the Godhunter Alliance. We will attack travellers and merchants in strategic locations to alert the Dominions of the Godhunter Alliance's gathering. We will also be spreading certain information. You are not suited for this task. Besides, Father will be returning to the Pandemonium soon, and he may have tasks for you until then."
"Oh, okay. Forget it then..." Han Mu replied, slightly disappointed.
Han Hao left immediately, leaving the huge construction project half finished. Han Jin, Han Tu and Han Mu then slowly made their way to Pandemonium, with Han Tu digging another tunnel on the way.
***Glacial Peak. Wasir, a Water Energy Cultivator, was sealed inside a huge block of ice. It looked as if he had been frozen there for tens of thousands of years, showing no signs of life.
The Glacial Peak was frozen all year round and the average temperature was around minus seventy degrees Celsius. There were certain places on the Glacial Peak where the air was particularly cold and ice could form. The Frost Cavern that Wasir had sealed himself in was the coldest place on the Glacial Peak. It was cold enough to kill even a Highgod!
Wasir had chosen the Glacial Peak as his base because of its extreme environment. By burying himself in the coldest place, Wasir's cultivation could be accelerated. The chilling ice around him could also inspire a deeper understanding of the frigid nature of the water element.
Outside the Frost Cavern where Wasir was cultivating, a number of Water Highgods were sitting. Covered in snow from head to toe, they looked like snowmen. Only a tiny flow of energy could be detected in their bodies.
Unlike Wasir, these Highgods were too weak to cultivate in the extremely cold Frost Cavern, and could only use the cold air blowing outside. Despite being only a fraction as cold as the centre of the Frost Cavern, these Highgods still benefited greatly from it. Their cultivation speed was more than three times that of other Water Elemental cultivators.
The five Snowmen were sitting cross-legged, their eyes closed as they silently absorbed the cold air blowing out of the Frost Cavern. Suddenly, one of them opened his eyes. He saw a shadow of indeterminate shape move with the wind before disappearing.
At first, the person thought it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But after taking a moment to sense the environment, he was shocked to discover that a few gusts of air were blowing towards the Frost Cavern. Cracking sounds echoed from head to toe as his frozen body began to thaw. He shouted, "Oh no! We have an intruder in the cave! The wind should always be blowing outwards from the Frost Cavern, but for a fraction of a second, it shifted in the opposite direction. Someone must have entered the Frost Cavern at high speed!"
The faces of the other four Highgods were also shaken, and cracking sounds emanated from their bodies. One of them asked in panic, "What are we going to do?"
"What else can we do? Inform His Highness, of course! The master should still be cultivating in the ice. If he cannot get out of the ice in time, he could be in danger!" the person replied before rushing into the Frost Cavern.
"Stay where you are!" a cold voice suddenly sounded from the Frost Cavern.
The five immediately stopped their hasty steps upon hearing the command and stared blankly at the person who had spotted the intruder. The person was stunned for a moment before returning to his place and sitting cross-legged on the ground. He said to his comrades, "The Lord has spoken. He is in no danger and we have nothing to fear.
His comrades nodded and returned to their places. One of them asked, "Ansett, do you have any idea who this visitor is?"
Ansett, the one who had noticed the intruder, shook his head before replying, "I didn't sense any aura I'm familiar with. He must be an expert on the same level as His Lordship. There are few of them in the Fringe. Lord Salas and Logue came here often. Could it be one of them?"
"I doubt it," Ansett's comrade replied, "they have always visited our Lord openly. Besides, Salas left the Fringe a long time ago, and there is still no news of him. As for Logue, I heard he had a disagreement with our Sovereign recently, so I don't think it would be him."
The five could not hear the conversation in the Frost Cavern, so they had no idea who the mysterious visitor might be.
Hours later, a faint shadow shot out of the Frost Cavern and quickly disappeared into the horizon.
The five of them had waited for the visitor to leave so that they would have a chance to find out who he was. Despite using all of their observation powers, they were still unable to determine the identity of the person.
"It is definitely not Sovereign Logue or Salas. Otherwise they would have left at least some trace of the elements of death or lightning in the atmosphere instead of absolutely nothing," Ansett remarked long after the visitor had left.
"Then who could it be?" one of the Highgods was puzzled.
"The person's silhouette seemed majestic, and the air behind him stirred a trace of sinister aura. It was very similar to someone who had recently come into the limelight," Ansett remarked after a moment of thought.
"You mean the one from Pandemonium?" All four of Andre's comrades exclaimed in amazement at the same time.
"Ahem!" a disapproving sound suddenly came from the Frost Cavern.
The five of them were startled and frightened. They immediately closed their mouths tightly and stopped chattering.