What was Sadius lacking the most right now?
Without a doubt—soul gold beads.
After experiencing two soul splits, his soul had become significantly weakened. It only seemed stronger than his peers because his mutated soul possessed a total soul volume far exceeding others of the same level. In truth, it had never fully recovered.
Now, with the soul gold bead left behind by that mid-level Death-type deity, his strength would quickly return to a true peak.
There was also Doehring Cowart—could he absorb soul gold beads as well? If he could, then he might finally have hope of becoming a God.
"The passage to the fourteenth layer should be within that castle. I plan to head there for a look. But there's no rush—we'll first return to the twelfth layer."
With that, Sadius led the two of them back to the twelfth layer.
Along the way, he stored the ten Death Puppet corpses into his spatial ring.
Passing through the corridor, the trio returned to the twelfth layer.
"Usor, did you see O'Brien?"
Upon arriving, Sadius swept his divine sense across the area but didn't detect any trace of O'Brien.
"Lord, are you referring to that Fire-element lower God? After he returned from the thirteenth layer to the twelfth, he kept cursing you nonstop. So I simply stomped him to death."
Usor spoke angrily. He despised those who would curse behind another's back.
Sadius was momentarily speechless.
O'Brien cursing him was understandable.
After all, he had promised to let him face only a single opponent, yet three Death Puppets had besieged him at once. That was, in a way, his own fault.
Still, with O'Brien dead, Sadius didn't feel any particular guilt.
In the Necropolis of the Gods, the probability of death was always extremely high. Besides, he and O'Brien already had some personal grudges. The fact that he hadn't killed O'Brien directly was already giving him enough face.
Now that the man was dead, it was simply his misfortune.
"Usor, since you killed O'Brien, then you should only be missing three Divine Sparks now, correct?"
Sadius took out three Divine Sparks and tossed them over. Usor hurriedly caught them, a smile spreading across his face.
"Thank you, Lord."
With these three Divine Sparks, he finally had enough to leave this damned place.
Sadius then produced three more Divine Sparks and a Death Puppet.
"Catherine, this Divine Spark is what you deserve. This Death Puppet also belongs to you now. Just drip your blood on it to refine and bind it."
Catherine accepted the Divine Spark and offered heartfelt thanks.
Though the Divine Spark was useless for herself, she could let her subordinates refine it and become Gods. That way, she could shed her burdens and head for the Divine Realm of Life, to pursue the broader path of life itself.
"Dylin, these two Divine Sparks are yours."
Dylin looked at Sadius with gratitude. With these two sparks, his remaining two sons would finally have the chance to become Gods.
"Next, I plan to train for a few more years. Once my cultivation improves further, I'll consider heading to the fourteenth layer. The fourteenth layer is likely to be extremely dangerous. You should all remain here until the ten-year limit is up."
"Lord, if you're not confident, don't force yourself."
Dylin's form of address had shifted from "Sir" to "Lord," showing that his respect for Sadius had reached absolute submission.
Sadius nodded. He naturally wouldn't recklessly charge into the fourteenth layer.
His plan was to become a God in the Laws of Darkness first, thus possessing three types of divine power before venturing onward.
His comprehension of the profound mysteries of darkness had already nearly reached its limit. Within ten years, he would have a great chance of becoming a God.
On the twelfth layer, everyone settled into focused training. Sadius continuously refined the soul gold beads.
The soul, previously weakened by two splits, gradually recovered. As his soul power increased, Sadius felt his insight and comprehension growing sharper.
This was what people called spiritual perception.
Some would train for countless years and remain at the Saint-level, while others would become Gods in just a hundred years. This had much to do with one's innate spiritual perception.
Clearly, Sadius' spiritual perception was exceptional.
With his soul restored to fullness, all three of his souls simultaneously meditated on the profound mysteries of darkness.
This was the advantage of a mutated soul—even his Earth-element God Clone could comprehend the Laws of Darkness.
With three souls comprehending together, the aura of darkness around Sadius grew wildly intense.
The three onlookers couldn't help but be amazed.
Time flowed quietly.
Sadius' understanding of the profound mysteries of darkness finally reached its ultimate limit.
After a full five years of enlightenment—
"Finally, before fully completing the comprehension of darkness, the Profound Mystery of Evil merged into it!"
Then, Sadius opened his eyes. The dark elements in the world surged madly toward him.
Complete comprehension of the Laws of Darkness—the rules of Heaven and Earth descended.
The other three watched in awe. In just five short years, Sadius had become a God in the Laws of Darkness.
As the heavenly laws descended, a lower Divine Spark of darkness was born. Then came another soul split.
A new Darkness-element God Clone emerged. Fortunately, Sadius had beforehand sealed the area with Earth-element magic; otherwise, his divine clone would have been fully exposed to the others.
At last—all three elements had reached Divinity.
When the clones merged back into his body, Sadius felt the fusion of three types of divine power coursing within him.
Powerful. Incomparably powerful!
Sadius felt that with a single sword strike now, he could easily slay the mid-level Death-type God he had once struggled against.
He refined a few more soul gold beads, fully restoring his soul. Only a few beads remained; Sadius planned to leave them for Dylin.
Afterward, Sadius appeared before the three.
"Congratulations, Lord."
"You all stay here on the twelfth layer. I'm heading to the fourteenth."
The three nodded.
Sadius passed through the corridor into the thirteenth layer, then arrived once again at the castle he had seen before.
A sweep of his divine sense easily revealed the location of the hidden passage.
He entered the castle.
Inside were various mechanisms—deadly enough that a lower God might fall if they blundered in.
But Sadius felt no fear. His threefold divine power carved the way forward; every mechanism crumbled like paper.
Soon, Sadius reached the passage leading to the fourteenth layer.
The Fourteenth Layer.
The entire layer was a massive lake—or rather, more fittingly, an inland sea.
Sadius flew from an island, scanning for the passage leading to the fifteenth layer.
Suddenly—A gigantic fish leapt out from the waters, maw gaping as it lunged to devour him.
A lower God–level giant whale.
Sadius didn't even bother to dodge. Wielding the Violet Blood God Blade, he pierced straight through the whale's massive body.
The whale, enormous as it was, retreated instantly into the depths after being wounded.
Sadius' strike had destroyed a large portion of its flesh, but it hadn't killed it outright allowing it to escape.
"You run fast enough. But you're probably not the guardian of the fourteenth layer."
In the blink of an eye, the whale vanished into the waters. Still, Sadius' divine sense had already locked onto it. But he wasn't in a hurry to kill it.
Because—he had already located the passage to the fifteenth layer.
—
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