Standing before the third layer of mist, Teresia's expression shifted repeatedly.
The might of a Sovereign was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Especially Sovereign Locke.
Judging from this third layer of mist, if Sovereign Locke wished, he could completely erase a Deity's memories and weave false memories to replace their original personality.
As for others, Teresia didn't know.
But Teresia knew that he couldn't even pass through the mist casually laid down by Sovereign Locke. If he truly stood before Sovereign Locke himself, he didn't dare guarantee that after coming down from Mount Nether, he would still be the same person he was now.
So then...
Should he still go meet Sovereign Locke?
Standing before the third layer of mist, Teresia pondered for a long time.
In the end, he still made up his mind.
He would go!
On one hand, Teresia wished to advance even further while still at the God level. He felt that only a Paragon could provide him with guidance.
He had a premonition that if he wanted to pursue the Paragon realm, it would be best for him to completely fuse seven Wind Laws Profound Mysteries while still at the God stage and raise his power to the level of a Seven-Star Fiend.
On the other hand, Teresia had learned from Loran that Sovereign Locke had long been paying attention to him.
If Sovereign Locke truly wanted to do something to him, then even if he became a Paragon, Teresia didn't think he could escape Sovereign Locke's grasp.
Since that was the case, he might as well meet Sovereign Locke now and see exactly what kind of person he was.
Having made up his mind, Teresia no longer hesitated. He quickly left the Nether Mountains and found Loran in the small town outside the mist.
At this moment, Loran was eating in a restaurant in the town. Beside him stood a burly man with the aura of a Highgod, his arms crossed over his chest.
Based solely on appearance, this man alone was enough to frighten many people away.
Teresia only glanced at the man once before no longer paying attention to him.
From his soul aura, Teresia had already recognized that this fellow was the turtle Loran rode.
Given Loran's strength, whether he used a metallic lifeform or flew himself, his speed would far exceed Little Black's.
Yet over all these years, Teresia had never seen Loran fly personally or use a metallic lifeform.
Whenever he traveled, he always sat atop this turtle.
Regarding this point, Teresia could only chalk it up to one of Loran's eccentricities.
"Back already, Teresia."
After swallowing the food in his bowl in one gulp, Loran smiled and asked,
"Well? How did it feel?"
"Terrible."
Teresia's face paled as he shook his head.
"I wouldn't want to experience that again even if you killed me."
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing Teresia's miserable expression, Loran burst into laughter.
Although the three layers of mist set up by Locke had no effect on Loran due to the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact in his soul, he still knew what abilities the three layers possessed.
The first and second layers merely caused people to lose their sense of direction, preventing Deities whose soul strength was insufficient from entering the Nether Mountains.
The third layer, however, not only robbed one of directional awareness, but also gradually stripped away the five senses and divine sense, causing people to slowly lose all perception of the outside world.
Although the sudden return of consciousness after leaving the mist would elevate one's affinity with the Profound Mysteries to an extreme level, not everyone could continue cultivating amidst the terror of gradually losing all their senses.
At least, if it were Loran, he knew he wouldn't be able to do it.
Because of that, Loran deeply admired those who cultivated year-round within the third layer of mist.
People like that, after joining the Sovereign Army, would receive exceptional treatment.
"Since you've made your decision, Teresia, then let's head out."
"Boss, the bill!"
After leaving the restaurant, Little Black very sensibly reverted to his original form, maintaining a size of around ten meters. Loran's body slowly rose as he sat cross-legged atop Little Black's shell.
"Let's go, Teresia."
Following behind Loran, the three of them passed through the first two layers of mist and arrived before the third layer.
"Lord Loran, is there no other path leading to Mount Nether?"
Looking at the circle of mist before him, Teresia seemed to once again feel that sensation of gradually losing all his senses. He shivered and asked Loran.
"There definitely is."
Loran turned back and smiled.
"These mists only envelop the Nether Mountains and don't extend beyond six thousand meters in height."
"If you fly over them from an altitude above six thousand meters, you can completely avoid the influence of the mist and directly reach the foot of Mount Nether."
"But Teresia, you should know that this is the residence of Sovereigns. Between each of the three layers of mist, portions of both Sovereigns' Sovereign Armies are stationed."
"Although neither army has a Commander stationed here, I've heard that the Vice Commanders left behind are also Prefect-level experts."
"If you're confident you can escape from two Prefect-level experts, then flying over from above isn't impossible."
Teresia's face immediately turned green.
What kind of joke was this?
At present, he only possessed Six-Star Fiend-level strength.
Even if he ignored his future and directly broke through to Highgod, he would merely reach Seven-Star Fiend level.
Of course, as a genius, the amplification effects of the techniques he created were extraordinary, allowing him to rank among the stronger experts of his level.
But at best, he could only preserve his life before an ordinary Prefect-level expert.
Against two Prefect-level experts, he would undoubtedly die!
Besides, he had come to seek an audience with Sovereign Locke. If he acted so arrogantly and displeased Sovereign Locke, what then?
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing Teresia's expression, Loran laughed heartily.
As the son of the Chief Sovereign of Death, Loran had inherited a bit of that mischievous personality as well.
However, since Teresia was someone Father paid attention to, Loran naturally wouldn't make him experience something he disliked again.
Immediately, with a flip of his hand, a blue droplet radiating tremendous pressure appeared in Loran's palm.
He then handed the droplet to Teresia.
"Here, use this."
"To pass through this layer of mist, one must either be a Paragon or possess a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact."
"However, using this thing can also barely resist the mist's power."
Taking the droplet into his hand, Teresia took a deep breath.
"This... is Sovereign power, isn't it?"
Although he had never personally seen Sovereign power before, anyone who knew of its existence would recognize it immediately upon seeing it.
"That's right. But this is Water-element Sovereign power, so it isn't very compatible with your Wind affinity."
"Even so, after using it, your strength will increase by at least a hundredfold. Combined with the soul protection provided by Sovereign power, you'll have no problem passing through the mist as long as you're fast enough."
Gulp.
Teresia swallowed hard.
He had never imagined that merely meeting Sovereign Locke would first require expending a drop of Sovereign power.
Had Loran not vouched for him, Teresia felt that even knowing Sovereign Locke resided on Mount Nether would have given him no chance of ever meeting him.
After all, according to the conditions Loran had described for passing the third layer of mist, before becoming a Paragon, Teresia would never have had the opportunity to see Sovereign Locke.
And by the time he became a Paragon—or became stuck at the final barrier before Paragonhood—meeting Sovereign Locke would no longer hold much meaning.
"Let's go!"
Seeing Loran ride Little Black directly into the mist, Teresia stopped speaking. He absorbed the drop of Water Sovereign power into his body and immediately entered the mist as well.
Blue flames of Sovereign power flickered around Teresia's body.
Under the effects of the Sovereign power, not only had Teresia's strength risen to the Prefect level, but more importantly, the flames formed by the Sovereign power wrapped around his soul.
Protected by this layer of Sovereign power flames, Teresia became immune to most of the illusions within the mist.
However, as he penetrated deeper into the mist, he gradually felt the illusions beginning to affect him.
"So even Sovereign power can't completely isolate these soul attacks?"
Feeling the slight discomfort in his soul, Teresia could only marvel at the greatness of Sovereigns.
Fortunately, although Sovereign power couldn't fully block the illusions, the remaining effects were still within Teresia's tolerance.
Increasing his speed, Teresia finally burst out of the third layer of mist just as the pain within his soul became unbearable.
Rumble—
As he emerged from the mist, Teresia's eyes lit up.
Violent flashes of lightning entered his field of vision.
Looking ahead, countless streams of lightning descended like heavenly waterfalls from the towering Mount Nether, surrounding the entire mountain.
These purple bolts crisscrossed one another, forming a giant web.
At first glance, the gaps between the lightning grids seemed rather large.
It almost appeared as though the lightning net's defense was merely decorative.
After all, even Saint-level magical beasts could freely alter the size of their bodies. How could Deities be unable to do the same?
By shrinking themselves, they could simply slip through the gaps and enter Mount Nether.
But Teresia knew that the defenses established by a Sovereign could never be so simple.
Otherwise, why was Lord Loran, who had emerged even earlier than he had, standing here just like him?
(End of Chapter)
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