Divine Power Potions

That really was rude.

Because scrolls like these were similar to magic scrolls in the Material Plane: one-use consumables.

If Hermes accidentally opened one, his loss would be considerable.

And afterward, the Demon Castle would have a hard time determining who was at fault, since the Demon Horn Merchant had agreed to let him inspect it beforehand.

"You can only look at the outside, though. The moment you tear open a scroll, it'll take effect!"

He added.

If Hermes hadn't bought more than a hundred Metal Lives without even blinking, including the latest model, the Starlight, Behdra would never have agreed.

After all, no one who could do business at the Demon Castle was a fool.

"Of course!"

Hermes nodded slightly.

He knew that in the Coiling Dragon Universe, owning a Teleportation Scroll could sometimes be more precious than any treasure.

His only concern was whether these Teleportation Scrolls could actually be trusted.

If they were really that useful, why bother fighting in the Plane Battlefield?

Everyone could just carry a pile of Teleportation Scrolls and shuttle back and forth between the two sides of the Star River Channel.

He casually picked up a scroll and sensed the fluctuations of the Magic Array within it.

"Good. I'll take all these Teleportation Scrolls!" Hermes said decisively.

Whether they could be used in the Plane Battlefield or not, the Magic Arrays inside the Teleportation Scrolls alone were worth studying.

"Haha, excellent!" The Demon Horn Merchant's face broke into a broad smile.

He hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary Middle God to be so generous.

Behdra hurriedly nodded.

"Of course, my lord. I'll pack them up for you right away."

As he smiled, Hermes smiled too.

A swindler,

and a big fellow who never made a deal without paying, yet always came away with something for nothing—they both felt like they'd made a profit.

So who had actually lost out?

While the demon merchant busied himself gathering the magic scrolls, Hermes's gaze shifted to the potion section nearby.

"Divine Power Potions~!"

That was the label on the display case.

Normally,

divine power carried the imprint of the life that possessed it, and no one could refine away that imprint.

Except for Sovereign Gods.

Even if someone stored divine power in advance, it could only be used by that person.

Besides, storing one's own divine power was a troublesome process to begin with.

Even Sovereign Power drawn by Sovereign Gods from the Divine Power Ocean wasn't something just anyone could use.

However, with their methods, Sovereign Gods could easily erase the life imprint from the Sovereign Power they drew.

A Sovereign Spark contained not only boundless Will Power, but also an endless wealth of knowledge.

Sometimes knowledge was no match for power, but at other times it was far more straightforward and effective than raw power alone.

If Sovereign Gods were willing,

they could also erase the imprint from High-level God Power for High Gods, allowing others to use it just like Sovereign Power.

The problem was, Sovereign Gods weren't willing!

What kind of standing did High Gods have to ask that of them?

Rather than go to such trouble, Sovereign Gods might as well make more Sovereign Power. Why bother with all that?

In the Coiling Dragon World,

only Sovereign Gods could absorb Sovereign Power and let others use it.

Even Paragons couldn't.

And it wasn't just Paragons. Even Linley, with his unprecedented Four-Soul Mutation, couldn't do it.

Before refining a Sovereign Spark, Linley could clearly sense Sovereign Power beneath the High-level God Power.

But no matter what he tried, he couldn't draw in the Sovereign Power.

A Sovereign Spark didn't just provide Sovereign Gods with boundless Will Power; it was also a unique way of granting them authority over the universe.

"Thank you for your business!"

Hermes put away the Space Ring the Demon Horn Merchant handed him.

He casually tossed it into his clothes.

In truth, he sent it into the Golden Space inside his main body.

"Those really are Divine Power Potions?"

When he saw bottle after bottle of potions gleaming with strange light on the Divine Power Potion counter,

he couldn't help asking.

This was yet another sight that defied everything he'd previously understood.

"Yes. Their effects on restoring divine power are no different from the real thing."

The potion merchant had three eyes on his forehead and was a High God.

He wasn't as formal as the Demon Horn Merchant, but he didn't look down on Hermes, either.

He couldn't afford to!

Hermes had bought so many goods without even blinking. He was clearly a big spender—who would dare slight him?

Strength?

Strength couldn't put food on the table. This was Yilan City, the Demon Castle. No matter how greedy someone was, they wouldn't dare rob anyone here.

"In other words, these aren't real Divine Power Potions."

Hermes objected.

"Customer, you're just being difficult now. No one ever said Divine Power Potions had to be made from divine power!"

The three-eyed merchant replied as if it were obvious.

"Damn, that makes so much sense I don't even know what to say!"

Hermes, who'd been deeply scarred by false advertising in his previous life, was instantly persuaded by the swindler.

"I..."

He wanted to say more, but then remembered that the Teleportation Scrolls he'd bought earlier were probably fishy too, so he decided not to.

Anyway, Hermes didn't expect the so-called Teleportation Scrolls to work the way the Demon Horn Merchant had described.

That was impossible!

"Let me read the labels~!"

After going through the labels on the Divine Power Potion counter, he understood.

"These are all extremely compressed elemental energy. They really do restore divine power in a similar way."

He didn't trust the swindler, but he trusted the Demon Castle.

If these could be sold here,

then the potions had surely been verified by the Demon Castle, probably by professionals, too.

Some of these so-called Divine Power Potions could restore divine power, while others could increase combat strength.

There were even a few rare potions that could temporarily improve the user's Law Comprehension.

But there were no precise figures for how much they could improve it.

A one-percent increase counted as an increase, and so did one ten-thousandth, didn't it?

With the senses of a God-level Expert, even a ten-thousandth of a difference would certainly be noticeable.

Also, the duration of the Talent Enhancement Potion wasn't clearly stated. It only said that the effect was temporary.

Wasn't that obvious?

Even Earth Flame Essence only temporarily improved one's cultivation talent. As long as the Earth Flame Essence hadn't been completely used up, the improvement in Law Comprehension remained.

Otherwise,

why would Earth Crystals be treasures worth ten trillion Earth Crystals?

Hermes's Golden Space was simply more miraculous.

It directly preserved the temporary effect.

"One bottle of each of these potions!" Hermes said to the three-eyed merchant.

Even he had no idea how miraculous the Golden Space was.

He naturally had to try every strange item he came across.

Back in the Great Earth God Realm, Hermes hadn't been able to refine Earth Crystals. But after arriving in Hell, it was as if he suddenly could.

The divine artifacts and other items he'd devoured along the way from Mirror Moon Cliff—

perhaps they'd all contributed.

Although "Refine Sovereign Power" was still just a guess, that didn't stop him from thinking that way.

"Coming right up~!"

The smile on the three-eyed merchant's face bloomed like a chrysanthemum. He knew he'd found a big customer.

As he answered,

the three-eyed merchant quickly gathered up the potions for Hermes.

Once all the purchases were complete, Hermes looked at his haul with satisfaction.

"In the past, I relied entirely on intercepting bandits. Maybe it's time to change that frugal way of thinking. Buying is better than intercepting!"

Given how poor the bandits out in the wilderness were, what good things could they possibly have?

As for Silver Moon, that had been pure chance. After that, he'd intercepted countless bands of robbers, and hadn't found anything worthwhile.