"So Lord Beirut told me to focus my future cultivation on the Earth and Water Laws. Could it be...?"
Within the Skyrite Mountains of the Infernal Realm, after seeing Beirut, the Prefect of Indigo Prefecture, off, Linley returned to his room alone and fell into deep thought.
This trip to the Netherworld had yielded tremendous gains for him.
In terms of strength, his four-element soul mutation had granted him Will surpassing even that of an ordinary Paragon, making Linley's strength almost supreme even among Paragons.
Well...
That excluded the Paragons of Mount Nether's lineage.
After all, among Mount Nether's Paragons was Lady Nanessa, who had already comprehended a portion of the Laws of Time.
Under the mighty power of the Laws of Time, anyone below the Sovereign level simply couldn't even touch Nanessa.
Of course, although the increase in strength delighted Linley, the resurrection of his family and friends brought him even greater joy.
Likewise, through his exchanges with the Paragons of Mount Nether, Linley had also learned many secrets of this world that he had never previously come into contact with.
Including...
Some of the grudges between the Sovereigns.
For example...
The fall of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
The Godeater Rat Beirut had snatched the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses from the hands of the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta after Augusta had slain them, then became a Sovereign by refining their Sovereign sparks...
"Lord Beirut is a dual-element divine beast of Darkness and Wind."
"The Sovereign sparks left behind by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns belong to the Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire elements..."
"In other words..."
"Lord Beirut still possesses the Earth, Fire, and Water Sovereign sparks."
"I'm a four-element soul mutate of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire."
"If Lord Beirut wishes to nurture a Chief Sovereign capable of opposing the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta..."
"I'm undoubtedly the best possible choice."
"There's no Fire Sovereign spark left."
"From the fact that Lord Leylin's Earth divine clone possesses Will, it's obvious that Lord Beirut gave the Fire Sovereign spark to Lord Leylin..."
"And now..."
"Lord Beirut told me to focus my attention on the Earth and Water Laws."
"Is he hoping I'll use the faith energy contained within the Sovereign sparks to break through to the Paragon realm?"
After reaching this conclusion, it would have been impossible for Linley not to feel excited.
Of course...
His excitement wasn't because he might become a Sovereign.
It was because he had finally obtained an opportunity to challenge the Paragon realm.
During his trip to Mount Nether, through his interactions with those Paragons, Linley had deeply realized the gap between himself and true Paragons.
It wasn't a gap in strength.
It was a gap in their attitude toward cultivation.
Every single one of those Paragons possessed an immense passion for cultivation.
It was precisely because of that that they had reached the highest realm of the Laws.
And after learning of the path beyond the Paragon realm...
Those Paragons no longer regarded Sovereign sparks as especially precious.
After all...
They firmly believed that, as long as they continued cultivating diligently, one day they would fully comprehend ten percent of the Laws of Space and reach the realm of a Celestial Deity.
Mount Nether's lineage already had five examples of individuals who had reached the Celestial Deity realm.
They hoped to become the next.
At present...
Linley was merely a "pseudo-Paragon" who possessed the strength of a Paragon without actually possessing perfected Laws.
Nevertheless...
He was also extremely interested in the Laws of Space cultivated by Mount Nether's Paragons.
Even after becoming a Sovereign...
Comprehending the Laws of Space could still continue to increase one's strength.
According to those Paragons...
The four elemental Laws of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire were all lower Laws beneath the Laws of Space.
Each perfected elemental Law allowed one to touch twenty-five percent of the Laws of Space.
If he himself could become a Paragon in all four elements...
Would he be able to comprehend the complete Laws of Space?
After all...
According to those Paragons, Lord Locke had already fully comprehended the Laws of Space, reaching the realm of a Godking capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the Overgods.
"Celestial Deity..."
"Godking..."
Linley softly uttered those two cultivation realms of Mount Nether's lineage.
Longing filled his eyes.
As a cultivator...
After learning that even higher peaks existed...
How could he possibly resist the desire to climb them?
Of course...
Linley also knew that, at present, he wasn't even a true Paragon.
He simply wasn't qualified to ascend the summit of the Laws of Space.
If he failed to become a Paragon...
Then even if he eventually refined a Sovereign spark and became a Sovereign...
He would forever lose the opportunity to witness the magnificence of the Laws of Space.
Linley felt that if he ultimately failed to become a Paragon...
That regret would likely accompany him for the rest of his life.
"Cultivate!"
"At present, my Earth divine clone has already found the compatibility among the five Earth Laws Profound Mysteries."
"The greatest bottleneck remaining is the complete fusion of all five Profound Mysteries."
"So..."
"For now, I'll focus my cultivation on the Water Laws."
"As for searching for the Nine Spirit Pearls and completing the Overgod Mission..."
"I'll leave that to my Wind divine clone."
"Once all nine Spirit Pearls have been gathered..."
"It won't be too late for my original body to act."
As a soul mutate...
All four of Linley's divine clones could utilize fused divine power.
However...
Only the soul within his original body possessed Will.
If he wished to display strength surpassing that of a Paragon...
His original body had to take action.
...
Roar—!
Roar—!
Screech—!
Howl—!
Within the Elemental Planes...
The fissure Locke had torn open leading toward the Hongmeng Space had still not healed.
Of course...
This wasn't because the magical universe's natural Laws had failed to repair the planar membrane.
Rather...
Locke himself stood directly before the fissure, using his Space-Time power to isolate this region from the outside world.
He prevented the magical universe's natural Laws from repairing the planar membrane.
At the same time...
He also prevented excessive Hongmeng energy from pouring through the fissure and damaging the magical universe.
Within Locke's Space-Time Barrier...
The Four Divine Beasts evolved from Hongmeng energy possessed auras far more powerful than those of the true Four Divine Beasts within the magical universe.
Furthermore...
Compared to the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns...
The Four Divine Beasts evolved by Locke from the Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire essences transformed from Hongmeng energy all possessed perfect, complete auras.
Perfected Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
Every time they unleashed their fused innate divine ability...
They caused a certain amount of damage to the embryonic universe Locke had created, continuously revealing to him the profound mysteries of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.
Originally...
Before coming to the Elemental Planes, Locke had believed that creating a technique comparable to Transcending Reincarnation would be extremely difficult.
However...
After evolving the Four Divine Beasts from Hongmeng energy and observing the profound mysteries of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire they displayed...
Only then did Locke realize that the essence of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability was nothing more than using Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire to reverse-evolve the powers of Space and Time.
He had already completely comprehended both the Laws of Space and the Laws of Time.
Thus...
To Locke, the Space and Time Laws within the magical universe held no secrets whatsoever.
As for Transcending Reincarnation...
It was merely a fused technique combining the Laws of Space and the Laws of Time.
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff required a magic formation to assist the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability before he could execute this move.
But for Locke...
As long as he understood the underlying principle...
A casual wave of his hand would become Transcending Reincarnation.
However...
Although he had already completed his analysis of Transcending Reincarnation...
Locke still didn't stop.
Instead, he continued using the Four Divine Beasts' Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire essences to evolve the embryonic universe.
The primary universe of the Hongmeng Universe had been created through the Five Elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
As a result...
Hongmeng's primary universe was more than one hundred times larger than the subsidiary universes.
The magical universe, on the other hand, was evolved from the Four Symbols of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.
Naturally...
Its level was somewhat inferior to that of the Five Elements.
Of course...
Precisely because it was one hundred times smaller than the primary universe...
Locke, with only his current Celestial Exalt cultivation, was able to glimpse the mysteries of universe creation.
After comprehending the essence of Transcending Reincarnation...
Locke advanced another major step in the fusion of the Laws of Space and Time.
At present...
The evolution of the Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire essences within his Space-Time Barrier had already begun displaying some of the mysteries of a true embryonic universe.
That achievement alone made this journey worthwhile.
Furthermore...
Now that Locke could create an embryonic universe...
Every transformation of Hongmeng energy into Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire brought him even greater insights.
This also greatly aided his efforts to reverse-fuse the four elemental essences back into Hongmeng energy.
If this continued...
Perhaps he wouldn't even need to reproduce the scene of Linley fusing the four elemental Laws.
Locke himself might be able to accomplish it within one hundred thousand years.
By then...
Obtaining a Hongmeng Body and a Hongmeng Spirit would simply be a matter of course.
The smooth progress of his cultivation finally lifted a great burden from Locke's heart.
Regardless of whether he could independently create a primary universe in the future...
One position among the First-Level Hongmeng Controllers would undoubtedly belong to him.
...
"Hurry!"
"Faster!"
Within the spatial turbulence...
Beirut carried Linley as they sped toward the Yulan Plane.
Several Sovereigns pursued closely behind him.
"Beirut!"
"Hand Linley over, and we'll let you off this once!"
"Heh."
"Let me off?"
"What arrogance."
"If I weren't carrying Linley..."
"I'd beat you to death with a single staff strike!"
Hearing the Sovereigns behind him, Beirut immediately mocked them in return.
If the one speaking had been that Intermediate Sovereign...
Beirut might have shown a little caution.
But a mere Fire Lesser Sovereign daring to threaten him?
What a joke.
"You!"
The Fire Lesser Sovereign flew into a rage.
Yet he couldn't refute Beirut's words.
Before becoming a Sovereign...
Beirut had already possessed an enormous reputation.
Although his innate divine ability, Godeater, was useless against Paragons and Sovereigns who possessed Will...
His ability to refine divine sparks and strengthen his body through their essence remained completely unaffected.
In other words...
Beirut's body was comparable to a divine spark.
Its durability rivaled that of a Sovereign artifact.
Among Lesser Sovereigns...
No one could break Beirut's physical defense.
Even an Intermediate Sovereign could only injure him.
Killing Beirut was virtually impossible.
"Then stop running if you've got the guts!"
"Hmph!"
Beirut snorted coldly but didn't slow down in the slightest.
What a joke.
If only one or two Lesser Sovereigns had been chasing him...
He would have gladly turned around and taught each of them a lesson with a few swings of his staff.
But among the pursuers was an Intermediate Sovereign.
No matter how confident Beirut was...
He wouldn't allow himself to become entangled in a prolonged battle with one.
After all...
The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta was still watching covetously from the Light Divine Plane.
The only reason Augusta hadn't emerged was because he believed it impossible to catch Beirut before Beirut returned to the Yulan Plane.
If Beirut became tied down by an Intermediate Sovereign...
The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta would undoubtedly rush over immediately to capture and kill him, venting the hatred in his heart.
That was also the primary reason these Lesser Sovereigns dared attempt to surround Beirut.
However...
They didn't dare press too closely.
After all...
The Linley being carried by Beirut had only just completed the Seventh Overgod Mission, obtaining a Life-type offensive Overgod artifact.
That Overgod artifact was currently in Linley's possession.
If they pressured Beirut too much and Linley handed the Overgod artifact to Beirut...
Then forget the three Lesser Sovereigns present.
Even the leading Intermediate Sovereign would probably be killed by Beirut.
To Sovereigns...
The power of an Overgod artifact was equivalent to the difference between a Sovereign artifact and ordinary divine artifacts for Deities.
No...
It was even more terrifying than that.
Only another Overgod artifact could contend with an Overgod artifact.
Hadn't the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns been effortlessly slain by the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta using his Overgod artifact?
Boom!
Just as the four Sovereigns continued pursuing Beirut...
They suddenly sensed an unfamiliar aura rapidly approaching from ahead.
It belonged to a Fire Lesser Sovereign.
"Zarachias!"
"I'll leave that Intermediate Sovereign to you!"
Much to the surprise of the pursuing Sovereigns...
This red-haired Fire Sovereign didn't move to block Beirut.
Instead...
He flew directly toward the four pursuers.
"Heh."
"Beirut."
"You don't actually think one extra Lesser Sovereign is enough to help you escape, do you?"
The Sovereign who had previously mocked Beirut sneered upon seeing Zarachias Leylin flying over.
He feared Beirut...
Because Beirut possessed a body comparable to a divine spark.
But if every random Lesser Sovereign could frighten him...
Then all his years as a Sovereign would have been for nothing.
As soon as he finished speaking...
The aura of Sovereign's power erupted around the Fire Sovereign.
His speed instantly increased as he charged directly toward Zarachias Leylin.
"Hm?"
Seeing the Fire Lesser Sovereign's actions...
Zarachias Leylin's eyes lit up.
"Beirut."
"Keep taking Linley and draw the attention of the other Sovereigns away."
"I'll see whether I can kill this Fire Sovereign."
"If I succeed..."
"Linley will gain another Fire Sovereign divine clone."
"His strength will increase another hundredfold!"
"Excellent!"
Upon hearing Zarachias Leylin's soul transmission...
Beirut was instantly overjoyed.
If they could obtain another Fire Sovereign spark...
There would be no need to wait for Linley to become a true Paragon.
They could immediately have him refine three Sovereign sparks and become a Sovereign.
With Linley's current strength...
Refining one Lesser Sovereign spark would already elevate him to the level of an Intermediate Sovereign.
Refining two Sovereign sparks would grant him fused Sovereign power along with another portion of Will, increasing his strength a hundredfold and allowing him to reach the level of an ordinary Law Chief Sovereign.
Refining three Sovereign sparks would increase the power of his fused Sovereign power another tenfold.
Combined with yet another portion of Will...
It would allow Linley's strength to enter the realm of an Edicts Chief Sovereign.
Adding the Overgod artifact in Linley's possession...
His strength would then exceed even what the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta had displayed by another tenfold.
(End of Chapter)
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