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*****
The Master of the Netherworld fell silent.
He had only just broken through to the God Realm, so how could he have anticipated so much?
Upon encountering Planet Heavenly Jewel, he hadn't even known that this was one of the subordinate planes of the Douluo Divine Realm.
Or perhaps it could be said that when he invaded, this place wasn't yet a subordinate plane of the Douluo Divine Realm?
After all, back then, human Heavenly Jewel Masters were not yet the mainstream on this plane. It had still been a world ruled by various powerful races, and humans could only survive humbly under the oppression of those formidable species.
As time progressed, Heavenly Jewel Masters gradually flourished, eventually becoming the mainstream of this plane.
"You shouldn't be a powerhouse born natively here, right?" Su Wen looked at the Master of the Netherworld. There wasn't a trace of fear or wariness in his expression; instead, he spoke in a conversational tone.
This was also the first time the Master of the Netherworld had encountered someone like this. He had never expected Su Wen to be so unconventional.
After a long silence, he decided to have a chat with Su Wen first.
"That's right. I come from another planet."
"Is it a vast universe outside of Planet Heavenly Jewel? Are there many planets with life in the universe? Also, do the cultivators on other life-bearing planets know absolutely nothing about the outside world, just like the Heavenly Jewel Plane?" Su Wen asked curiously.
In reality, he already knew the answers. However, he couldn't just show up acting all-knowing right off the bat. If he did, what if the big crab completely shut down and refused to give him any specific details?
The information Su Wen possessed was merely conceptual. As for the specific systems on those life-bearing planets or the distribution of power within the universe, he knew absolutely nothing.
The Master of the Netherworld was at a loss for words.
This human had way too many questions.
However, had the current Heavenly Jewel Plane already begun exploring the starry sky?
Why did it feel like this guy was so incredibly curious about the universe?
"Not all life-bearing planets are disconnected from the rest of the universe. Those that truly live in isolation with no contact with the outside world, similar to the Heavenly Jewel Plane, are what we call indigenous planets."
"Of course, the Heavenly Jewel Plane is a bit different. It is one of the subordinate planes of the Douluo Divine Realm, so it cannot be strictly called an indigenous planet. After all, it has the protection of the Douluo Divine Realm, which connects it to the wider universe."
"Only those planets that truly lack the protection of a divine realm and have no connection to the outer universe are genuine indigenous planets."
"My hometown was an indigenous planet. Naturally, after it was discovered by a group of cosmic pirates, it ceased to be one. The native inhabitants of my hometown were bought and sold like slaves, and our homeland was occupied by them. During that process, I broke through. After devouring an immense amount of negative emotions, I advanced to the God Realm. Although I had accumulated energy for a very long time before breaking through, allowing my post-breakthrough power to stabilize immediately, I was still heavily wounded in that battle. I ended up drifting through the starry sky and ultimately arrived at Planet Heavenly Jewel."
Su Wen understood.
No wonder the Master of the Netherworld couldn't defeat the Dragon Emperor and the others back then.
It turned out he had been heavily wounded.
Drifting through the starry sky, he likely had no time at all to recover from his injuries.
"The distance between life-bearing planets is unimaginably vast. In the universe, two planets that have given birth to civilizations are like two grains of sand in a desert--utterly insignificant.
Drifting through the universe is entirely dependent on luck. My luck was good, as I encountered Planet Heavenly Jewel, but my luck also seems not to have been that great," the Master of the Netherworld said with a self-deprecating laugh.
His luck was good enough to actually stumble upon a life-bearing planet.
Yet his luck wasn't entirely good, because this Planet Heavenly Jewel actually possessed powerhouses close to the God Realm, and there was even a lunatic like the Dragon Emperor who was willing to risk his life just to seal him away.
Now, after so much difficulty, he was finally about to see the end of his imprisonment, only for someone like Su Wen to suddenly pop up.
Was the development of this Planet Heavenly Jewel really this fast?
Was it because the Douluo Divine Realm had taken over this plane?
The Master of the Netherworld truly hadn't known before that this place fell under the jurisdiction of the Douluo Divine Realm.
Because even when he landed on this plane back then, he hadn't felt any intervention from the deities of the Douluo Divine Realm.
"Actually, even if you were to attack me, you wouldn't be able to pose any substantial threat to me." Su Wen asked a few more common-sense questions about the universe. Seeing that the Master of the Netherworld had stopped speaking, he instantly changed his strategy.
Suddenly, Su Wen unleashed his Holy Dao Power. Various elemental forces blended around his body, merging into the Holy Dao Power to condense a massive palm that slammed down toward the Master of the Netherworld.
The Master of the Netherworld never expected Su Wen to strike so abruptly. Incensed, a burst of destructive energy erupted from him.
Boom!
The two forces collided.
Within the Master of the Netherworld's destructive power, Su Wen comprehended the profound mysteries of destruction. He even intercepted and sealed a large portion of the Master of the Netherworld's power, suppressing it within his Heavenly Book to save for future comprehension and verification.
In front of him, he and the Master of the Netherworld engaged in a fierce, back-and-forth battle.
With his eleven-piece Consolidated Equipment Set donned, his aura expanded rapidly.
Of course, the armor's amplification was only one aspect; what mattered more was how the Heaven and Earth Set enhanced his control over his power.
The two sides fought a grand battle.
It lasted for three days and three nights.
Eventually, the Master of the Netherworld stopped attacking.
He genuinely could not defeat this monster who hadn't even broken through to the God Realm yet.
The big crab felt deeply sorrowful.
So this was what a true genius looked like.
Because his hometown had been an indigenous planet that was enslaved, even though he possessed extraordinary talent and had broken through to the God Realm, he had never actually seen the true monstrous geniuses of the universe. Nor had he ever witnessed an existence like Su Wen, who could cross major realms to defeat a God Realm opponent.
The Dragon Emperor had been an exception.
Back then, the Dragon Emperor had joined forces with numerous existences at the peak of the Heavenly God Stage.
The ecosystem of Planet Heavenly Jewel back then was also much stronger than it was now, making the amplification from heaven and earth far more pronounced.
Coupled with the assistance of the Elven Queen, who had merged with the core of life, the Ancient Tree of Life, the Dragon Emperor had been empowered and boosted by half a realm at the time. Meanwhile, the Master of the Netherworld had been suppressed by the plane itself. With one side buffed and the other debuffed, he was ultimately defeated and sealed.
It was also during that time that the Dragon Emperor had sensed the threshold of the half-step Heavenly Change Stage. Afterward, through the endless years of suppressing the Master of the Netherworld, he slowly elevated himself to this level. Utilizing the environment of the subterranean magma beneath the sealed grounds, he had kept the Master of the Netherworld firmly suppressed.
As for the Elven Queen, she had also leveraged the Dragon Emperor's power from back then, along with the assistance of the Ancient Tree of Life that erupted during the foreign invasion, to catch a glimpse of the opportunity to reach the half-step Heavenly Change Stage.
They were the two strongest individuals on the entire Planet Heavenly Jewel, both at the half-step Heavenly Change Stage.
If placed in the Douluo Continent, this would actually equate to a Demigod.
They hadn't reached the level of a Quasi-God yet; they were still a bit short.
Perhaps with the amplification of the subterranean environment, the Dragon Emperor could reach the level of a Quasi-God, and the Elven Queen could also achieve a Quasi-God's level with the backing of the Ancient Tree of Life.
Seeing that the Master of the Netherworld had stopped attacking, Su Wen did not continue to strike either.
Through the battle, he had already sensed the uniqueness of the Master of the Netherworld's God Realm status, gaining a fundamental understanding of the God Realm.
However, it was merely an ordinary God Realm.
Within the universe, God Realm living beings certainly existed.
Yet, a deity and a God Realm being were two entirely different concepts.
Only a God Realm powerhouse who had integrated with a God Seat could be considered a true deity.
Merely breaking through the shackles of life to reach the God Realm only made someone an ordinary God Realm entity. Only the True God Realm above that represented a genuine god, corresponding to a Third-Class God of the Divine Realm--though it only corresponded to a Third-Class God without the amplification of a God Seat.