A Damaged Artifact

Kolan eagerly dripped his blood onto the artifact to bind it to himself!

He examined the Highgod Artifact, a soul-defense artifact.

"So it's a damaged soul-defense Highgod Artifact. What a cheapskate." Kolan noticed a small gap in the protective barrier and couldn't help grumbling to himself.

A complete soul-defense Highgod Artifact should have an intact protective barrier.

The small gap meant that the artifact had once been breached by a Soul Attack.

It was damaged!

He silently grumbled about Beirut.

He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Given the quality of this soul-defense Highgod Artifact, if it had been intact, it would have been worth at least a hundred million Ink Stones, perhaps even over a billion.

Kolan steadied himself and began absorbing the Soul Gold Beads.

He absorbed all fifty Soul Gold Beads.

Afterward, Kolan began absorbing Amethyst.

Each Amethyst contained about as much Soul Essence as a Soul Gold Bead. Amethyst was a specialty of Hell; only the Amethyst Mountain Range in Hell produced it.

An Amethyst cost about ten thousand Ink Stones, only a tenth of the price of a Soul Gold Bead.

The reason for the tenfold price difference was that Amethyst and Soul Gold Beads were different. Soul Gold Beads could be absorbed easily, but Amethyst had to be refined. Refining and purifying it was troublesome. Someone who didn't know how to refine it would probably lose eighty percent of the soul energy inside.

It was also extremely slow and time-consuming.

Kolan began refining and purifying the soul energy inside the Amethyst, and soon discovered the difference.

Though he was a little unhappy, something was better than nothing. He wasn't in a hurry to go to the fifteenth layer.

His Saint Domain True Body, Life God Clone, and Death God Clone refined the Amethyst simultaneously.

It took nearly eight years to finish refining all one hundred Amethyst.

As for the soul energy he absorbed, it was only forty percent. The remaining sixty percent had dissipated.

After absorbing the last Amethyst, Kolan burped.

After absorbing so many Soul Gold Beads and Amethyst, his soul was almost at its limit.

Even if he could absorb more, he wouldn't be able to absorb much.

Afterward, Kolan patched the soul-defense Highgod Artifact.

Though it was damaged, patching it would still greatly improve Kolan's soul defense.

After all, from then on, he only needed to guard the patched area carefully.

His opponent would have to break through the soul-defense Highgod Artifact before they could attack his soul.

And Kolan was confident that he could repair the artifact in a few hundred years.

Then Kolan stood up and headed for the fifteenth layer.

The fifteenth layer was an ocean world.

Below Kolan stretched a vast blue ocean, its waves surging as far as the eye could see.

At the center of the boundless ocean lay a quiet, green island.

"The fifteenth layer is pretty strange," Kolan muttered to himself.

He knew that everyone imprisoned in the Necropolis of the Gods would do everything they could to kill anyone attempting the trials. If they killed a challenger, they could leave the Necropolis of the Gods and earn a chance to attempt its trials themselves.

So Kolan remained on his guard.

Kolan flew toward the island.

"Crash, crash..."

The waves gently lapped at the sandy shore. Fine sand covered the beach as the waves flowed over it, then receded. The sea breeze blew softly, rustling the tall trees and plants on the island.

It was a very peaceful place.

On a hill in the middle of the island, beside a large tree, stood a wooden cabin. A stone table and chair sat in front of it.

A woman in a green dress smiled warmly at Kolan.

"Since arriving at the Necropolis of the Gods, I haven't had a visitor before. If you don't mind, come over and have a glass of fruit wine." The woman's voice was lovely and pleasant to the ear.

Kolan raised an eyebrow.

He stared at the woman and said sternly, "I came to take the trial. Let's skip the pleasantries."

"Ah, what's so good about fighting and killing? I'm Sophia. Why not have a drink, chat, and play a game with me? Wouldn't that be lovely?" The woman looked at Kolan mournfully.

Kolan sneered. "I want to kill you for the reward, and you want to kill me to regain your freedom. Why bother with these tricks?"

The woman's expression turned cold. Her Divine Domain as an Upper God spread out. "You're just a Mid-God, and you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. I was going to let you die comfortably. Since you don't know what's good for you, then die!"

Kolan immediately unleashed the Divine Domains of his two Mid-God bodies, canceling out the woman's Divine Domain as an Upper God.

"So you have two Mid-God clones. No wonder you made it to the fifteenth layer!" The woman looked at Kolan in surprise. "But even so, you're still going to die."

As an Upper God, killing a Mid-God was a simple matter.

After all, Upper Gods had more than just their Divine Domains to give them an advantage over Mid-Gods. They also had superior divine power and artifacts.

"We'll see who lives and who dies," Kolan said with a cold laugh.

By now, he had switched the weapon in his hand to the Phoenix Wing Scythe Spear.

Of his three weapons, the Phoenix Wing Scythe Spear was the highest quality and the most powerful.

Kolan used Fused Divine Power and thrust his spear at the woman.

"What? You're using Life Divine Power and Death Divine Power at the same time? You're a Soul Mutant!" The woman quickly retreated, her expression changing dramatically.

As an Upper God, she naturally knew about Soul Mutants.

They were one in ten thousand.

Even in Hell, Soul Mutants were exceedingly rare.

The woman had lived for countless billions of years and had only ever met one Soul Mutant.

"So what if you're a Soul Mutant? I, Sophia, will kill you today and snuff out a genius before he can grow!" The woman's eyes glinted viciously.

If Kolan were an Upper God, she would have fled at once, as far as she could.

But Kolan was only a Mid-God.

Even if he was a Soul Mutant, how powerful could he be?

A jade-green staff appeared in the woman's hand, radiating a powerful aura.

Kolan's expression changed slightly.

A Life Law Upper God!?

Experts who cultivated the Life Law were known for their powerful vitality, rapid recovery, and formidable Soul Attacks.

He had to be careful of her Soul Attacks.

Kolan considered his strategy.

His main priority was to guard against her Soul Attacks.

Kolan thrust the Phoenix Wing Scythe Spear at Sophia. The terrifying whistle of its passage showed just how powerful the attack was.

Sophia swung her wooden staff, sending out streaks of green light. It was as if countless vines were reaching to bind Kolan.

Kolan quickly retreated, sweeping the Phoenix Wing Scythe Spear sideways to deflect the vines.

But Sophia had no intention of letting Kolan go. As Kolan had said, they were sworn enemies. She had to kill the challenger to regain her freedom; otherwise, she would remain imprisoned in the Necropolis of the Gods for who knew how long.

Even Upper Gods had to obey the rules of the game set by the Sovereign. They couldn't defy them.

Anyone who defied a Sovereign's will was doomed.