In the time that followed, Locke once again entered seclusion.
He began refining the spatial innate bloodlines contained within the divine beast blood essences, while continuing to use his Water Laws at Great Perfection to probe the spatial laws concealed by Hongmeng, deepening his comprehension of space.
Compared to the beings of the Coiling Dragon universe, Locke understood something clearly—things like Overgod artifacts and willpower might allow one to dominate within this universe, but beyond it, they were meaningless.
Once one left the Coiling Dragon universe and entered the Hongmeng Space, Overgod artifacts and willpower alike would become nothing but illusions, completely dissolved by the Hongmeng aura.
None of these could allow one to survive there.
The Hongmeng Space was filled with boundless Hongmeng aura.
This aura was the most powerful force within the Hongmeng universe.
Outside the universe, it was so violent that it could decompose and dissolve all matter.
This was also why Locke did not place much importance on Sovereign sparks.
If not for the vast gap between himself and the four Rule Sovereigns—which left him feeling insecure—Locke would not have been particularly interested in fusing with a Sovereign spark at all.
Only by cultivating a Hongmeng Body—becoming one with the Hongmeng aura—could one resist its dissolution.
But Locke knew just how difficult it was to achieve such a body within the Coiling Dragon universe.
One needed affinity for—and only for—the four elemental Laws: earth, wind, water, and fire.
One also needed the talent to fuse at least one profound mystery from each of the four different Laws.
Additionally, one had to possess the Sovereign sparks of all four elements, becoming a Sovereign of earth, wind, water, and fire, and then fuse their divine powers back into their origin, forming Hongmeng energy.
Aside from this path, there was no other way.
Thus, upon realizing he lacked affinity for earth, wind, and fire, Locke abandoned this shortcut and instead began exploring a new path to transcendence.
Spacetime—that was Locke's chosen path.
The universe itself was, in essence, an expression of spacetime—perhaps even its highest form.
After all, while Hongmeng aura could dissolve all things, the membrane of a universe could resist it.
From this, Locke inferred that spacetime was born from Hongmeng aura, yet superior to it.
By fully fusing the laws of space and time, transforming them into a spacetime barrier, and using that barrier to resist the erosion of Hongmeng aura—that was Locke's path to transcendence.
Perhaps, in terms of sheer strength, a spacetime barrier could not compare to a universe's membrane and could not completely block the Hongmeng aura.
But Locke did not need complete resistance.
He only needed to enter the Hongmeng Space and survive long enough for Hongmeng to find him.
As long as his name appeared on the Hongmeng Golden List and he became a Hongmeng Controller, he would gain full control over the Hongmeng aura within that space.
At that point, whether it was a Hongmeng Body or the Xuanhuang Body formed from the primordial energy generated during the creation of a universe, both would be easily attainable.
Thus, in terms of priorities, even the fusion of water and fate Laws had to give way before spacetime.
Locke was very clear about this.
The water-fate fusion was merely a means to protect his path before he fully mastered spacetime.
At present, the fusion of his Water Laws and Fate Laws was being cultivated solely by his Fate Sovereign clone.
His Water divine clone, on the other hand, was using its Great Perfection understanding of water to touch upon and comprehend spatial laws.
As for Locke's true body, it was studying the spatial laws within his "Dijiang bloodline," cross-referencing them with the insights gained by his Water divine clone, thereby deepening his understanding of space.
…
Within the Water Estate, after completing a round of cultivation, Locke sat fishing with Lilia on a suspended bridge.
Suddenly, Lilia spoke.
"Locke, I see your Sovereign Legion has recruited quite a number of people. Have you thought about issuing any Sovereign missions?"
"Sovereign missions?"
Locke raised his head, puzzled.
"Lilia, I don't really have anything that needs my legion to do."
"Locke, you misunderstand."
Seeing his expression, the Death Sovereign realized he hadn't grasped her meaning.
"Sovereigns don't issue missions only when there's something that needs to be done."
"Once soldiers join a Sovereign Legion, they essentially become the private assets of that Sovereign."
"Compared to other factions, they are far more restricted."
"Then why do so many still choose to join a Sovereign Legion?"
"One of the main reasons is Sovereign missions."
"From time to time, Sovereigns issue tasks for their legion soldiers to complete."
"These tasks can be anything—finding a particular item, or even searching for a flower in some material plane…"
"Of course, most Sovereign missions involve suppressing or eliminating extremist factions."
"After all, a legion is still a military force—combat is inevitable."
"These missions aren't particularly difficult, but the rewards are substantial."
"The rewards can be powerful artifacts, treasures that aid cultivation, or natural treasures with unique effects…"
"Or, if none of those are available, you can simply offer a drop of Sovereign power as the reward."
"The existence of these missions serves two purposes."
"On one hand, it reassures the soldiers that the Sovereign remembers them and hasn't forgotten them."
"On the other hand, it allows the Sovereign to strengthen their legion through rewards, making it more powerful."
"I see."
After hearing Lilia's explanation, Locke finally understood.
So Sovereign missions had such significance.
However…
Locke frowned, beginning to consider what kind of mission he could assign to his legion.
In truth, Locke had no shortage of tasks he wanted completed.
But collecting divine beast blood essences was tied directly to his path—it could not afford any risk.
He would rather proceed slowly than expose himself, especially to the other three Rule Sovereigns.
Thus, that task could only be entrusted to people he trusted completely, handled discreetly through independent connections with various factions.
Then there was the task of gathering natural treasures.
This was also important—it might provide clues about future Overgod talismans.
But clearly, this was a long-term endeavor and unsuitable as a Sovereign mission.
"If you don't have anything suitable, I do have a task you might find interesting."
Seeing Locke's hesitation, the Death Sovereign suddenly spoke.
"Oh?"
Locke turned to her, raising an eyebrow.
So, this topic hadn't come up by chance—Lilia had planned it.
"Go on," he said. "Let's see what kind of task you think would interest me."
At this point, Locke was genuinely intrigued.
Even he himself didn't think he had many interests outside of cultivation.
If Lilia believed he would be interested, then the task must truly suit him.
"If I just tell you, it won't leave much of an impression."
"Why don't you extend your divine sense to the Nether Sea and take a look?"
"The Nether Sea?"
Locke raised an eyebrow.
Many might not recognize the name "Nether Sea."
But if called by another name, far more would know it.
The Nether Sea was also known as the Nine Nether Domain, or the Nine Nether Sea—the largest ocean in the Netherworld.
At its deepest region lay eighty-one islands, each a million li in size, arranged in a ring around the central Flamebone Island.
After the Planar Wars began, one of the requirements for entering as a commander was to become a Nine Nether Lord.
And those Lords were precisely the rulers of these eighty-one islands.
Of course, at present, less than a trillion years had passed since the creation of the Seven Divine Planes, and the Four Overgods had not yet established the Planar Battlefield.
Thus, the eighty-one islands of the Nine Nether Sea had not yet gained such significance.
Even so, the Nine Nether Sea still occupied one-fifth of the Netherworld's area, and had once been the domain of the mid-level Death Sovereign, the Nine Nether Sovereign.
Unfortunately, during the previous Sovereign War, the Nine Nether Sovereign had perished.
Its legion, having lost reinforcements during the war against the Life Divine Plane, had nearly been wiped out.
With no new soldiers and no word from their Sovereign for years, the remaining troops came to believe they had been abandoned.
Not only them—even other factions thought the same.
To ordinary Deities, it was inconceivable that exalted Sovereigns could fall.
No—rather than inconceivable, it was something they simply did not dare to imagine.
Under such circumstances, remnants of factions once suppressed by the Nine Nether Legion launched frenzied retaliation.
Although the legion, under Commander Algenis, repelled wave after wave of enemies, their losses were heavy.
To replenish supplies and manpower, Algenis ultimately led the remaining troops to plunder hundreds of tribes, becoming the infamous "Nine Nether Bandits"!
After seizing control of these tribes—along with countless Deities and tens of millions of Saint-level beings—Algenis returned to the Nether Sea and established the Nine Nether Pirate Crew, preying upon all life within the sea.
As Algenis transitioned from "Nine Nether Legion" to "Nine Nether Pirates," various bandit groups began to flock under his banner.
At present, of the eighty-one islands in the Nether Sea, at least ten had fallen under the control of the Nine Nether Pirates.
(End of Chapter)
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