Sadius swung his sword at the giant earth-elemental dragon.
Yet the dragon seemed alive, charging toward Sadius, nimbly dodging his attack, then fluidly whipping its tail at him with precise timing.
"This elemental creation feels as if it's alive—far more formidable than those clumsy stone statues summoned by divine magic."
Could the Profound Mystery of Vitality truly give elemental constructs life?
Not exactly.
But it could indeed grant greater spirituality and responsiveness, making the elemental creation behave as if it were truly alive.
What if this same concept were applied to swordsmanship? What would happen…?
Sadius focused, channeling both the Profound Mystery of the Earth Element and the Profound Mystery of Vitality simultaneously into his sword.
The divine blade moved with newfound fluidity as he struck at the elemental dragon.
Leylin, watching, nodded secretly in approval.
Sadius' comprehension ability truly wasn't ordinary.
With a wave, Leylin dispelled the elemental dragon.
Then, he began to demonstrate the third application of the fusion.
"When I created the Leylin Continent, you saw it from afar. Now, I'll show it to you again."
Earth-elemental divine power surged around Leylin.
He manipulated the surrounding terrain itself.
The once-ordinary mountain peaks began to shift and transform under his control.
Hidden underground streams slowly emerged, their waters flowing outward to nourish the land.
A gentle wind swept through the mountains.
Under the divine power's urging, long-dormant seeds buried in the earth quietly sprouted, until a lush green slowly spread before them.
Then, a wisp of flame appeared in Leylin's hand.
It floated toward the verdant growth.
"Watch closely."
Where the flame passed, green leaves were reduced to ash.
Yet before long, from the charred blackened soil, new sprouts pushed forth, stronger and more tenacious than before.
"Wildfire cannot destroy it; when the spring breeze blows, life returns again."
Sadius softly recited the saying as he watched.
He immediately thought of what Leylin had said earlier—how if fire-elemental divine power attacked his divine armor, the defensive effects would actually be even more pronounced.
This scene… was the very same principle.
"Well said! Wildfire cannot destroy it; the spring breeze brings new life!"
Leylin laughed heartily.
"What I can show you ends here. Whether you can break through depends entirely on yourself."
In truth, Sadius was already entering a state of enlightenment.
His Earth God clone was stepping into the final stage of fusing the profound mysteries.
"Many thanks, Mister Leylin."
"Haha! I can only help you this far. When your three divine clones all become Midgods, then come see me again—I'll give you a gift."
Sadius was curious.
What gift would Leylin give?
Could it be… a Sovereign artifact?
When all three of his divine clones reached Midgod, his fusion divine power would become a true three-element Midgod fusion divine power.
His combat strength would undergo a qualitative leap.
With the addition of his cross-element fusion profound mystery ultimate techniques, even Five-Star Fiends would no longer be his match.
For context:
Most ordinary Highgods who simply refine Divine Sparks are at the level of a Three-Star to Four-Star Fiend.
Independently cultivated Highgods, aside from wind-elemental specialists, generally need to fuse two profound mysteries to reach the Five-Star Fiend level.
Fusing three profound mysteries corresponds roughly to Six-Star Fiend strength.
Those who can fuse four profound mysteries are among Infernal Realm's top-tier experts, often Seven-Star Fiends.
Anyone who can fuse five profound mysteries is fully capable of becoming a Prefecture Lord, reaching the general apex of the higher planes—minus a few exceptions.
Sadius was confident.
Once his three divine clones became Midgods and he fused the power of different rules and mysteries he could easily slaughter ordinary Highgods.
Of course, he would keep that as a hidden trump card, only to be used at the most critical moments, lest others discover his true potential.
Meanwhile, within the metallic lifeform traveling toward Ziyang Prefecture in Infernal Realm—The divine energy fluctuations on Sadius' body were growing more and more intense.
In the next moment, the Heaven and Earth laws descended.
Everyone inside the metallic lifeform stared at Sadius in disbelief.
Even the Midgod from the Redbud Army who was guarding them turned his head, surprised.
"This one's talent is quite good. He must have been close to a breakthrough to Midgod even before coming to Infernal Realm."
A Divine Spark floated out from within Sadius' body.
It underwent the cleansing baptism of the Heaven and Earth laws.
The Lowgod spark metamorphosed into a Midgod spark, then returned to his body.
In the next instant, Sadius' spiritual power surged madly.
In his true body, the Azure Dragon soul slowly opened its eyes.
Sadius restrained the instinctive dragon's roar that threatened to escape.
This wasn't the place to reveal such things.
At that very moment, even his innate divine ability underwent a transformation.
If Sadius now used Azure Dragon Transformation, he would directly wield Midgod-level strength, able to freely unleash the Profound Mystery of the Water Element and the Profound Mystery of Water Body Technique.
The Azure Dragon bloodline within him also intensified, far richer than it had been at the Lowgod level.
Naturally, the commotion of the Heaven and Earth laws descending also attracted the attention of the Redbud Army soldiers stationed in the forward cabin of the metallic lifeform.
But they didn't pay it too much mind—after all, it was only a breakthrough to Midgod.
They themselves were all at least Midgod.
"My lord, congratulations."
The others from the Yulan Plane sent their divine sense to congratulate Sadius.
"Work hard. Like this one here—only by becoming Midgods will you truly have a foothold in Infernal Realm."
The guarding Midgod of the Redbud Army spoke coldly.
The Saint-levels in the group began cultivating even harder after hearing that.
Time passed again.
Several more years went by.
"Ziyang Prefecture—arrived. All deities, come forward."
The Highgod captain appeared before the group.
Sadius gathered the other deities from the Yulan Plane.
A few other deities from other planes also came over.
"Here are inkstones. Anyone who has reached Divinity will receive one. These are issued by the Sovereign Army—they are the unique currency of the Infernal Realm. You'll need inkstones to purchase anything in Infernal Realm. For example: A single Lowgod artifact costs ten inkstones and a single Lowgod spark costs one hundred inkstones."
The Highgod briefly explained, then distributed the inkstones.
"Alright. Next, you'll exit in batches from the metal lifeform's mouth. Wherever you land…that's where your journey in Infernal Realm begins."
"Everyone, stay close to me. We're leaving."
Sadius sent a divine sense transmission to his companions.
Then, the entire Yulan Plane group followed him out.
"My lord, there seems to be a situation below!"
Sadius had already noticed what was happening on the ground.
Two groups of divine-level experts were locked in battle.
Material attacks and soul attacks were flying back and forth.
"Be careful. There are several Midgods below. Change direction."
Just as Sadius spoke—an arrow suddenly shot toward them from below.
Sadius instantly drew his Violet Blood Sword, slashing the arrow aside midair.
"They've noticed us. Seems they're taking us for enemies. Fly farther away."
Everyone nodded.
Under Sadius' protection, they flew away from the battle.
After a long while, the group landed behind a distant mountain ridge.
"My lord, those people down there were using God Slaying Arrows."
Dylin, who had seen more of Infernal Realm's affairs than the others, explained.
Naturally, he knew of the God Slaying Arrows.
Sadius had only read about God Slaying Arrows in the original Coiling Dragon story.
This was his first time seeing one in person.
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