At this moment, Shen Mu felt incredibly wonderful; the breakthrough in his power had elevated his life's essence.
Now, Shen Mu could truly be considered a Cosmic God!
Previously, even with the Sun God Power, he could barely be called a God, but in the eyes of some ancient Gods, Shen Mu was still a native God, completely unworthy to walk alongside them.
Even if Shen Mu possessed power not inferior to an average Cosmic God, his life's essence not reaching their level made it difficult for him to catch their attention.
Now, it was completely different; having broken through that boundary, Shen Mu's life's essence was already on the same level as theirs.
Furthermore, in terms of combat power, Shen Mu was only stronger, not weaker, than them.
Because most Cosmic Gods followed the path of magic or divine power, or integrated dimensions to become Dimension Lords, and what they valued most was an immortal soul.
To them, the body was merely a shell to house the soul.
However, Shen Mu was different; his Kryptonian Bloodline granted him the purest physical potential.
Using solar radiation as a driving force, every cell in his body became the foundation of his immense power.
Although Shen Mu later acquired Sun God Power, his body remained his absolute core.
The greater function of the Sun God Power was still to promote the development of Shen Mu's body in a stronger direction.
As long as the ancient kryptonian bloodline grew to a terrifying extent, then in front of Shen Mu, all technology, magic, and divine power would be mere fleeting clouds, all capable of being shattered with a single punch.
However, the time required to reach that level would be measured in millennia at the very least.
And Shen Mu, in order to quickly compensate for his own shortcomings, embarked on some paths of magic and divine power.
"Under the amplification of the power of the Twelve Zodiacs, I actually crossed the threshold of a single Universe so easily."
Shen Mu opened his eyes, looking at his body with some disbelief.
One must know that an old God King like Odin, who had lived his entire life, was still only at the Sky Father level.
Although with the blessing of various powers and artifacts, his strength might be stronger than an average single Universe God, he would still die of old age, constrained by a lifespan of less than ten thousand years.
And those true Cosmic Gods in the Universe, any random one you pick out would be an old fossil who had lived for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.
"Shen, congratulations on crossing that threshold!"
"You truly are the greatest miracle I have ever witnessed in my life."
At this moment, the Ancient One emerged from a portal, looking at Shen Mu with a gaze filled with emotion.
As the Sorcerer Supreme who had protected Earth for hundreds of years, her power had long surpassed all previous Sorcerer Supremes.
However, even so, she still could not cross that barrier.
The Vishanti thought highly of the Ancient One, and even wanted her to become the fourth face of the Vishanti once she crossed that barrier.
However, according to their calculations, for the Ancient One to truly become a Cosmic God, it would require at least several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of years of cultivation.
The Ancient One herself knew how difficult it was, so now, seeing Shen Mu so easily cross the barrier that countless powerful beings could not even touch, her heart was indeed filled with endless emotion.
Just now in Kamar-Taj, she also saw the twelve pillars of light and the twelve animals faintly appearing within them.
As someone who grew up at the foot of the Himalayas, she was not at all unfamiliar with those animals.
The Twelve Zodiacs of the ancient Eastern country, or rather, the Twelve Yuan Chen.
The moment they disappeared, Shen Mu broke through his limits; no matter how she thought about it, there had to be some connection.
However, with her personality, it was unlikely she would ask Shen Mu for a clear explanation.
But now, she was even more curious about Shen Mu's origins!
Possessing a name like "Shen Mu," which clearly carried an Eastern aura, yet he was a true dragon from Vanaheim, outside of Earth.
No matter how she thought about it, it was baffling.
"Is the Sorcerer here specifically to congratulate me?"
"But, isn't it a bit inappropriate to come empty-handed! After all, you are the dignified Sorcerer Supreme."
"I see that the eye of agamotto hanging around your neck is very fated with me; why not give it to me as a gift!"
Shen Mu was in high spirits at this moment and joked with the Ancient One.
"Alright! If you truly need it, I can indeed give it to you!"
"However, the gem is an important power protecting Earth; if you take it, you might have to bear the responsibility that the gem carries!"
After hearing Shen Mu's words, the Ancient One still did not forget to try to pull him into the camp of Earth's protectors.
"Let's not bother with that!"
"Anyway, it will belong to me sooner or later."
Shen Mu was determined to acquire these gems; for now, he was just letting the Ancient One temporarily keep them!
"Oh, by the way, I originally wanted to warn you to be careful, but now it seems completely unnecessary!"
"With your strength, those Hellish bugs won't be able to stir up any trouble!"
Hearing the Ancient One's words, Shen Mu was somewhat curious about what new tricks the demons of Hell were playing.
"Mephisto created the Ghost Rider with Hellfire and the Penance Stare to find you, and his son, Blackheart, has also come to the human world from Hell."
The Ancient One revealed what she had originally intended to warn Shen Mu about.
It turned out that during the time Shen Mu was away, Hell was not peaceful either.
Because Mephisto's beloved son, upon seeing his father actually give the soul of Zarathos, which he had desperately sought, to a mortal, his heart was filled with jealousy and resentment.
"Why? You'd rather give the power of Hellfire to a pathetic human than to me!"
"I will make you pay a heavy price for your distrust, my dear father."
"You want to seize that guy's body as a vessel for your descent, so I will completely destroy him."
"You want your created toy to help you find the contract of san venganza, so I will steal your contract."
"As long as I devour the fallen souls of those thousands of saints, I will be unstoppable."
"By then, my era will arrive! The position of Hell Lord should be taken by a stronger demon!"
With this unwillingness, resentment, and ambition, Blackheart communicated with cultists, having them perform a sacrifice ritual to appear on Earth in his true form.
Compared to his father Mephisto, a Dimension Lord who could not descend in his true form, he had fewer restrictions.
Therefore, purely on Earth, his power was even stronger than his father's.
The first thing Blackheart did upon arriving on Earth was to summon all his loyal subordinates from Hell.
He had three objectives for his trip to Earth: first, to kill Shen Mu; second, to seize the contract of san venganza and devour the souls within it; and third, to reclaim the power of Hellfire within the Ghost Rider, which rightfully belonged to him.