"What a beautiful place."
With their strength, Luo Ya and the others quickly steadied themselves in the air.
Below them lay a spectacular sight: a magnificent canyon bursting with flowers.
Thick vines covered the rocks throughout the canyon, while clusters of flowers swayed in the breeze along its walls. Pink, snow-white, orange, and deep red blossoms of every kind adorned the cliffs like an enormous mural. A gentle breeze carried their sweet fragrance, filling the air.
All kinds of strange plants stretched almost as far as the eye could see. Just then, an elf with pointed ears flew swiftly up from the canyon.
She was dressed lightly. Smiling, she said, "The three of you just arrived in Hell, didn't you? Welcome to the Soth Tribe! If you'd like to join us, each of you must hand over one Moshi. We'll protect you. If you don't want to join, you'll have to fend for yourselves in Hell!"
"The Soth Tribe?" Luo Ya looked at the elf.
"That's right," the elf said with a smile. "This area is under our tribe's control. You came down from the Bifu Army's Metal Lifeform, so you've probably already seen for yourselves that Hell is full of endless, brutal slaughter. Killing is common here!"
"I've met plenty of people like you, who came from the Material Plane. Your best option is to join a tribe like ours." As she spoke, the elf glanced again at Luo Ya, who seemed to be leading the group.
"Sir, even though you're already a Midgod, you won't last long in Hell without a tribe to protect you."
Hearing her words, Luo Ya didn't argue.
There were indeed many bandit groups in Hell. Although he had some Moshi Laura had given him in his Spatial Ring, he didn't have a Metal Lifeform.
If they wanted to reach a city in Hell, their best choice was to travel with the Soth Tribe's Metal Lifeform.
"I'd like to ask: when will your tribe next head to a city?" Luo Ya's question surprised the elf a little, but she quickly answered.
"See all those unusual flowers and plants in the canyon? They're extremely rare and valuable. They can be refined into expensive Life Potions, and some of their seeds even come from other Divine Planes... Our Soth Tribe is probably the largest tribe in this area, and our chief is a powerhouse with the strength of a Five-Star Fiend!"
"A Five-Star Fiend?" Luo Ya was a little surprised.
Five-Star Fiends were usually Highgods who had fused two profound mysteries. Even in Hell, they could be considered powerful figures.
"Oh, you might not know what Fiends are yet. Fiends..." The elf seemed to love talking, and soon she was sharing all sorts of information.
As a large tribe that regularly went to the cities to sell mature plants, the Soth Tribe traveled there fairly often. Their next trip would be in six months.
"We agree to join the Soth Tribe." Since they could hitch a ride on a Metal Lifeform in six months, Luo Ya gladly accepted.
"A wise choice." The elf was pleased, and immediately led the three of them into the canyon.
The seven or eight Saints scattered in the distance, too afraid to approach, drew no attention from them.
In Hell, Saints were nothing but ants. Unless they reached godhood, the tribes wouldn't take them in, leaving them to fend for themselves.
After they reached the canyon, where flowers and plants covered the mountainsides, the elf, who introduced herself as Jenny, led them to a Tree Fortress. Smiling, she said, "This Tree Fortress was built by a god who cultivates the Life Law. The place is quite nice, isn't it?"
Luo Ya and the others looked around. There were plenty of similar Tree Fortresses in the distance. It seemed the Tree Fortresses were one of the Soth Tribe's distinctive features.
"The plants in this Supreme Plane are quite unusual. Even experts who cultivate the Life Law can't make them mature early; they can only wait for them to grow naturally." Milia looked at the beautiful flowers and plants growing in the canyon, curious.
"There's nothing strange about that," Jenny said casually. "Even in your Material Planes, you occasionally come across unusual plants. They may just be rare. But here in Hell, you can find plants like these everywhere. Only a few have extraordinary value."
"All right, I won't keep you any longer today. If you need anything, you can ask your neighbors..." After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Jenny left.
Three days later, Jenny returned and asked if Luo Ya was interested in joining the tribe's army as a warrior.
Midgods were quite popular in a tribe like this. Once they became warriors, they could earn far more than the other residents.
But Luo Ya was planning to leave the tribe in six months, so he had no interest in becoming a warrior.
Although the Tree Fortress looked plain, it had three bedrooms and a living room, with everything they needed.
In the master bedroom, Luo Ya and Milia discussed their plans.
"Hell's 'Fiends' sound like an interesting challenge. But to take the Fiend Assessment, I'll need to become a Midgod first." Milia thought she could fully fuse Wind Movement Technique and Clone Technique in another two or three years.
By then, she would become a Wind Midgod, and her strength would be half a step above that of an ordinary Midgod.
The reason she would be half a step stronger was that the Laws of Wind had more profound mysteries than most, with nine in total.
Generally speaking, a Wind expert needed to fuse three profound mysteries to match an expert in another law who had fused two.
"Don't worry. The Moshi Miss Laura gave us last time wasn't much, but it'll be enough to register." Besides, the two Midgod Godheads and several Midgod Artifacts were a small fortune in themselves.
"Now that we're in Hell, I'll have to be careful when using Willpower." If he were a Highgod, it would be fine; he could simply pretend to be a Paragon High-God.
The problem was that he was only a Midgod. A Midgod with Willpower would stand out far too much. If some bored Chief Sovereign happened to notice him, they might grab him and cut him open to study him.
"From now on, I'll rely on my own strength in ordinary battles. Unless I'm in mortal danger, I should use Willpower as little as possible." Of course, that only meant using it sparingly. He wouldn't stop using it altogether just because of the risks.
Time flowed by like water as they cultivated in peace...
"Vmmm~~~"
Three months after they arrived at the Soth Tribe to cultivate, the Laws of Heaven and Earth descended.
Inside the Tree Fortress, Milia and Morti watched the scene before them with delight. Luo Ya floated in the air, wrapped in the strange energy of the Laws of Heaven and Earth. Intense water elements gathered above him, then condensed into a Water Godhead.
"Congratulations, sir. You've attained godhood in the Laws of Water as well." Morti's face was filled with respect.
Milia was excited and happy, too.
Talent was crucial in cultivation. Without an aptitude for a particular path, no amount of cultivation could guarantee success. Luo Ya had the greatest talent in Darkness, and his cultivation there had progressed quickly. But he was also quite talented in Water; he simply hadn't devoted much effort to it before.
Now, with his powerful soul and their location in Hell, focusing on the Laws of Water had quickly brought him major progress.
During the ten years he had spent cultivating aboard the Metal Lifeform, he had actually been just a little short of breaking through.
Now, after another three months, he had finally mastered the simplest profound mystery of the Laws of Water, the Element of Water.
This time, Luo Ya once again chose to split his soul in two.
"Ffftt~~~"
A Luo Ya wearing a water-blue robe, with short hair of the same color, appeared out of nowhere. It was Luo Ya's Water God Clone.
A moment later, the ripple of the Laws of Heaven and Earth faded, and the Water God Clone merged into Luo Ya's original body.
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