Blocking Bead

"Blood drop to claim ownership?"

Staring at the bead in his hand, Hermes couldn't help recalling the scene when he obtained 'Silver Moon'.

That moment, even now when he thought back, remained vivid before his eyes.

He would never forget it!

That High God bandit who silently delivered the treasure to him, though most likely one who became a god by refining a divine core.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so weak.

Just one punch, Hermes only threw one punch, and that fellow shattered directly into powder and dregs.

Hermes sometimes wondered, if he had attacked that High God bandit with soul-based means back then, could the man have withstood it?

This was also a bit of morbid curiosity!

Mainly, Hermes wanted to figure out the upper limit of 'Silver Moon's soul defense.

Until this mission at Zhelan Fort, Basim, whose strength was at least a Five-star Demon and who cultivated the Death Law—the most adept at soul control means—

combined with Bamer's soul attack, yet failed to shake Hermes in the slightest.

Although Bamer indeed wasn't skilled in soul defense, his Fire Element Law soul attack was by no means weak.

The two worked together, and 'Silver Moon' still blocked everything.

Fortunately, Hermes hadn't used soul attacks; otherwise, he might have truly lost Silver Moon.

But that was only a possibility.

Given Hermes' state of being addicted to killing bandits at the time, it was unlikely he would have let go of someone preparing to rob him.

That was a matter of principle.

"Drip~!"

Blood like liquid metal dripped onto the earthy yellow bead.

Blood drop to claim ownership—this was an ancient and mysterious method that could establish a special connection between an item and its master.

Hermes remembered that when he first obtained 'Silver Moon', it was also through this method.

The canopy formed by Silver Moon had become an indispensable treasure to him.

Without it, his fate at Blocking Castle last time would not have been good.

And now, facing this earthy yellow bead, Hermes naturally wanted to try this ancient method first.

Perhaps it would be another brand-new gain.

"Buzz~!"

The earthy yellow bead trembled lightly, breaking free from Hermes' palm.

It floated up gently.

"There's a way!"

Before he could be astonished, the earthy yellow Yellow Sand Domain enveloped the entire courtyard.

Hermes quickly used his will to control it to retract, eventually forming a miniature castle several meters in diameter.

With his Spiritual Sense connected, all its secrets were no longer secrets.

He couldn't help but sigh—it turned out that the secret of Zhelan Fort was hidden within this unremarkable bead.

"No wonder that huge Blocking Castle disappeared—it had shrunk back into this Blocking Bead!"

With his experience from 'Silver Moon', he no longer found it strange that a Heaven and Earth Treasure could be claimed by ownership.

Similarly, there was no other content, only an extremely brief piece of information.

"Blocking Bead!"

Hermes had heard Bamer say, that he had once read in a book about Heaven and Earth Treasures shaped like weapons.

There were even legends, that Heaven and Earth had given birth to Heaven and Earth Treasures with life.

But legends were just legends; no one could tell truth from falsehood.

Nor did they have the ability!

Unless it was a Sovereign God.

Because an extremely long time had passed since the dawn of Heaven and Earth.

Any intelligence or information, after being passed down through endless ages, would be distorted beyond recognition even if it were true.

Normal intelligence, if passed through multiple ineffective transmissions, can evolve into absurd rumors.

Let alone a Heaven and Earth Treasure?

Only Sovereign Gods!

And even then, only those born in the earliest era of heaven and earth.

Only they could possess information about that chaotic period.

"Boom~!"

Realizing he could mentally control the 'Stone Castle' suspended in midair, Hermes began to study it.

"Gravity Space, Earth Element, and it seems there's something else..."

Hermes closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into the Blocking Bead's interior, attempting to establish a deeper connection with it through soul force.

As his awareness delved deeper, he sensed more Mysteries.

These Mysteries were obscure and hard to understand!

They were intricately linked to the Great Earth Law he was familiar with, yet also different.

More ancient, more profound!

As if the tiny Blocking Bead contained the secrets of the universe's birth.

Back then, the first time he saw the Yellow Sand Domain enveloping Blocking Castle, he had already sensed something unusual.

The Yellow Sand Domain contained the Earth Element and the Mysteries of Gravity Space.

Hermes had thought that a Five-star Demon cultivating the Great Earth Law was hidden within Zhelan Fort.

But until he punched the gatekeeper Basim to death, that supposed Earth-type Five-star Demon never appeared.

Not a single trace.

Though they had reappeared in the outside world from deep underground, as long as he released his Spiritual Sense, no one could evade detection within a short distance.

Besides, Bamer's Demon Squad had already cleared the area once.

They truly hadn't found any Five-star Demon expert cultivating the Great Earth Law.

If there had been one, Basim wouldn't have needed to sacrifice all his Yellow Armored Men and Black Heavy Armored Men.

In the end, he had to rely on soul control to ambush Saba successfully.

Otherwise, with the cooperation of his subordinate Star Demons, Bamer wouldn't have fallen for it.

Hermes had been puzzled before, but now wasn't it all matching up?

"Could it be that Heaven and Earth Treasures are all born in the earliest era of heaven and earth?"

Besides the Mysteries of Gravity Space and Earth Element, he also perceived several obscure and mysterious fluctuations.

He didn't know what they were.

"Could it be Life Force?"

Unable to distinguish, Hermes began to guess wildly.

For the Great Earth Law, the Mystery of Life Force was an extremely special one.

In terms of rank, Life Force could only be considered a mid-level Mystery within the Great Earth Law.

The power of comprehending Life Force alone was far inferior to the Mysteries of Gravity Space and Earth Pulse.

It also couldn't compare to the Mystery of Power, another mid-level Mystery; without fusion, it didn't even increase strength.

Unless one comprehended it and immediately broke through to Middle God or High God.

But precisely this Life Force was one of the most difficult Mysteries to comprehend within the Great Earth Law.

Not that it was the hardest, but rather there was absolutely no clue.

Life Force had a sense of incompatibility with the other Mysteries of the Great Earth Law.

Yet it could still fuse.

"Boom~!"

The Golden Thread covering Hermes suddenly expanded, enveloping the current courtyard.

At the same time, Hermes didn't put away the Blocking Bead in his hand.

"Let me try, can the Yellow Sand Domain of the Blocking Bead and my Mist Shadow Heavy be used simultaneously?"

"Press down for me~!"

Extreme gravity descends.

"Boom crackle~!"

The Mist Shadow Heavy covered the area, and the decorative mountain in the courtyard—hard as a divine artifact—shattered, yet not a single sound escaped.

Such a massive disturbance had no effect on Bamer, who was immersed in cultivation outside the courtyard.

Sound needs a medium to propagate!

But the air that should have served as the medium for sound waves was crushed to the bottom by the extreme gravity, turning the entire Mist Shadow Space into a vacuum.

"Hiss~!"

Seeing this, Hermes drew in a sharp breath. "To have such gravity—within my Mist Shadow Heavy range, the gravity has increased by at least several times."

The three profound mysteries of Earth Element, Power, and Gravity Space had yet to be fused to completion, but he wasn't too concerned.

Because Hermes' material attack was already at the Seven-star Demon level. Did he lack offensive power?

Not at all!

What he lacked was a hard-control trump card.