Gilbert was stunned by what he heard from Han Hao. He too realised the gravity of the matter and solemnly swore to Han Shuo, "I will not say a word about this to anyone!"
A quintessence shard was once a vessel that held the quintessence of an Overgod. They were astonished to hear that Han Hao possessed such a priceless artefact. They were also amazed and jealous of Han Hao after learning of the Shard's miraculous abilities.
This was the first time the group had heard of the existence of Quintessence Shards, even for Scarlett - someone born and raised on Elysium. Of the group, she was perhaps the most taken aback by the bombshell. She looked at Han Hao with dazzling light in her eyes, wondering how many more secrets Han Hao had.
"It seems to me that the reason the Netherworld attracts soul energies from the various material planes near it, and the high concentration of the element of death found in its surroundings, has something to do with this Quintessence Shard," Han Shuo put on a grave expression and remarked, "And the person you sense would undoubtedly be the Overgod of Death. It's lucky that he can't sense you while you're not using the Quintessence Shard. Otherwise, he would have caught you when you were in Ronson Canyon.
The Quintessence Shard was simply too special and powerful an object. Han Shuo knew that if the Overgod of Death discovered that Han Hao had the Quintessence Shard, he would spare no effort to find and kill Han Hao. He would either retrieve the shard or destroy it. Either way, he would not allow anything to threaten his position and power.
"Before I gained enough power, I was unable to collect the Death Element through the Shard. However, through the inscriptions on the shard, I had gained a deep knowledge and understanding of the element. It was only after I attained Highgodhood that I began to feel the presence of the being, constantly. Other than lightly studying it, I never used the Shard, as I felt it could threaten my life.
"But around last month, Dagmar suddenly appeared on a shared border between the Space Dominion and the Fringe. I had no choice but to activate the Shard, unleashing its power to defend against Dagmar. I immediately sensed that the being was coming for me from the Death Dominion, and my suspicions were confirmed... " With a furrowed brow, Han Hao explained in detail what he had understood about the Shard.
"I will double check and make sure that all the formations in the Pandemonium are active before modifying the gymnasium. Once everything is set up, you can focus on learning the Quintessence Shard without worrying. If you can master the full power of the Shard and fuse it with the demonic arts you have cultivated, I believe that one day you can overthrow the Overgod of Death and become the next owner of the Quintessence," Han Shuo said.
Han Shuo paused for a moment before instructing Han Hao, "Gilbert's cultivation path is quite similar to yours. He also fuses demonic arts with an energy found in this world. But he's obviously not as talented as you, and he's a bit stuck. You should guide him and enlighten him while I'm away."
Han Hao nodded, turned to the excited Gilbert and said, "Whatever questions you have, ask them. I will answer them as best I can."
Gilbert was overjoyed. He immediately went to Han Hao's side and began to explain the obstacles he faced in fusing the dark energy and demonic energy in his body, hoping that Han Hao could lead him to the solution.
Han Hao was indeed far superior to Gilbert in this regard. The energy of death and the demonic yuan in Han Hao's body were fused together in a harmonious manner, which required extremely deep mastery and insight. Han Hao had faced similar hurdles to the ones Gilbert was now facing. As a fellow member of the Han family, Han Hao helped Gilbert without hesitation, describing in detail how he had solved the problem long ago.
Sanguis, Bollands and even Scarlett gathered around the two and listened to their conversation. Although their cultivations were different from Gilbert's, they hoped to learn a thing or two from Han Hao. Besides, some of Han Hao's explanations would include his understanding of the demonic arts, which might be relevant to Sanguis and Bolland. Therefore, they listened to Han Hao's lecture as intently as Gilbert.
Seeing the few people who were seriously listening to Han Hao's lecture left a smile on Han Shuo's face. He left the gymnasium and quickly ascended to the surface of Pandemonium.
After standing on the round monolith engraved with the outline of the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon , Han Shuo transmitted to the Cauldron Spirit, "Given its current defensive power, is the Pandemonium capable of shielding itself from the senses of an Overgod?"
"Yes, of course," the Cauldron Spirit replied immediately and very confidently.
Han Shuo stared blankly for a moment before realising that he had not made his point clear. So he added, "I mean an Overgod with the Quintessence."
The Cauldron Spirit was silent for quite a while before he replied, "You mean the kind of god that possesses the purest source of a fundamental power?"
"Yes, that kind," Han Shuo replied.
The Cauldron Spirit hesitated for a moment before replying, "With my power alone, I don't think I can shield him. But with both of our powers, it should be possible."
"Alright. Then let's start by activating all the demonic formations in the Pandemonium. Then we will use our energy to strengthen those formations to block the soul probes. I will also divert some of my consciousness and energy to assist you. We must block all possible soul probes," Han Shuo instructed after thinking for a moment.
At Han Shuo's command, the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon flew out of his body and slowly sank into the heart of the Pandemonium - the monolith with its outline engraved on it.
Han Shuo then sat cross-legged, diverted a portion of his consciousness to the Cauldron Spirit, and began to inject the Demonic Yuan in his body into the monolith beneath him.
At the same time, Han Shuo's Avatar of Destruction flew out of his main body. He took a moment to watch the mist around the Pandemonium grow thicker and the energy field grow stronger. Satisfied with what he saw, the avatar nodded and returned to the underground palace, back to the gymnasium where Han Hao and the others were.
Han Hao was carefully explaining his experience of fusing two energies from different universes. Apart from Gilbert, whose questions were being answered, Bollands, Sanguis and Scarlett were listening to his explanation with full attention. They all wore pensive expressions, as if they had learned something from Han Hao's lecture.
Seeing that they were learning seriously, the Avatar Han Shuo decided not to interrupt the class. He stood silently at the entrance and listened to Little Skeleton's understanding of these energies.
Little Skeleton's cultivation path was different from Han Shuo's. Since Little Skeleton had only inherited a portion of Han Shuo's memories of the demon arts, and since he was a non-human life form, he could not cultivate the orthodox school of the Demonic Arts in the same way as Han Shuo.
However, being a non-human life form does have its advantages. Because Little Skeleton was an undead creature of the underworld, he was gifted in the cultivation of Death Energy and had improved at an extraordinary rate. At the same time, Little Skeleton did not abandon the cultivation of demonic arts. Since his life force was different from a human's, even if he cultivated the same demonic arts as Han Shuo, he could only unleash a portion of the full power of the demonic arts.
If Little Skeleton stuck to that cultivation way, it would only limit his potential. But luckily, Little Skeleton was unusually talented and somehow managed to fuse the energy of death with the demonic arts, forging his own unique cultivation path and continuing to grow in strength. He was currently the strongest member of the House of Han after Han Shuo.
Gilbert seemed pleased, as if he had found the solutions to many of his cultivation obstacles from Han Hao. After a long time, Gilbert suddenly interrupted, "Pause! Please pause." Under Han Hao's puzzled gaze, Gilbert gave a rather embarrassed look and said, "You have said enough to solve not only my current hurdles, but many more to come. That's a lot of information, and I'm afraid my brain doesn't have room for more. Besides, I wouldn't be able to understand anything you were saying if I hadn't reached the higher realms. I might as well stop listening and get back to you when I'm ready.
Han Hao nodded and replied calmly, "Ok."
Han Shuo, who had been watching at the entrance, nodded proudly. Despite the temptation, Gilbert remained aware of his abilities and did not bite off more than he could chew. It was one of those things that was harder than it sounded. It showed that he had become much more mature than he had been back on the Profound Continent.
"Sanguis, Bollands, Gilbert, and, um, Miss Scarlett, please leave the gymnasium and stay out," Han Shuo instructed as he summoned the five elite zombies with his mind. Han Shuo explained, "Things might get a little out of hand when Han Hao delves into the Quintessence Shard. Having your auras and life force in that region could have undesirable effects."
"Understood." Bollands nodded and was the first to leave. He knew that staying in the gymnasium could indirectly affect Han Hao.
"Good luck!" Sanguis and Gilbert did not hesitate either and happily followed behind Bollands.
Scarlett, however, was a bit worried. She had felt uneasy after learning what the object in Han Hao's chest really was and that the Overgod of Death might be hunting him. It was common knowledge among the Elysians that Overgods with the Quintessence were invincible beings. She was genuinely worried that Han Hao would be harmed.
Han Hao furrowed his brow when he saw that Scarlett was reluctant to leave. Suddenly, a strange, indescribable feeling rose from his heart. He took a moment to feel and digest the emotion before reassuring Scarlett in a tender voice, "My father is here, I will be fine. Wait for me outside."
Scarlett's heart would melt whenever Han Hao spoke to her like that. She nodded obediently and said, "Be careful," and left silently.
Soon after, the Five Elite Zombies arrived at the gymnasium and cheerfully greeted Little Skeleton.
"Form a pentagon around the gymnasium. Deploy the Penta-elemental Undead Formation and isolate this area!" instructed Han Shuo. Once they were in position, he said to Little Skeleton, "Alright, let's get started.