That day, heavy snow fell over the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Everywhere the eye could see, a thick blanket of snow covered the ground.
All kinds of footprints were clearly visible in the snow, left by magical beasts of different sizes.
Atop the mountain, three Saint-level Bone Dragons guarded Kolan with unwavering loyalty.
Kolan sat cross-legged beneath a tree, cultivating.
The tree, once lush with leaves, had long since shed them all. Its branches stood bare.
Snowflakes continued to fall, settling on Kolan.
He looked just like a snowman.
After who knew how long, Battle Qi surged from Kolan, shaking the snow from his body.
One of Kolan's eyes glimmered green, while the other glimmered gray.
They represented the Life Law and the Death Rules.
After a long while, the green and gray faded, and his eyes returned to their usual black.
The Life Law isn't suited to material attacks, and neither are the Death Rules. I've made a lot of progress in both, but my material attacks still can't match those of the Saint-level Tyrannosaurus, Kolan thought.
There was no keeping track of time in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Kolan had no idea how long he had been there.
He had made great strides in comprehending the Life Law and the Death Rules.
But his attacks with either law alone still fell short of the Saint-level Tyrannosaurus.
The Life Law excelled at soul attacks, defense, recovery, and healing, but was less suited to close-quarters combat.
The Death Rules likewise excelled at soul attacks and soul defense, rather than material attacks. Their strength lay in their unpredictability!
As a result, unless he used a spiritual attack, a soul attack, or fused Battle Qi, he couldn't defeat the Saint-level Tyrannosaurus in a head-on fight.
The Saint-level Tyrannosaurus was a Dark Element Saint-level magical beast. Dark Element attacks weren't suited to material attacks, either. But its powerful body and terrifying scale armor made its material attacks fearsome.
In that regard, Kolan was somewhat similar.
He wasn't good at material attacks only in comparison to the Saint-level Tyrannosaurus. His own powerful body made his material attacks quite terrifying.
With a thought, he sent all his Saint-level Undead Lifeforms back to the Undead Realm.
Kolan took to the air and began searching the Mist Valley.
The Mist Valley had to be here somewhere.
The concentration of elemental energy there was a hundred times greater than outside, making it an ideal place to cultivate. Naturally, Kolan intended to claim such a treasure for himself.
After ten days and nights of searching, Kolan finally found the Mist Valley.
"This really is a cultivation paradise. The elemental energy is so dense! Whether you're a warrior or a mage, you can save a great deal of time cultivating Battle Qi or magical power," Kolan exclaimed.
Then he looked at the Sealing Magic Array. The Violet Blood Soft Sword served as its core, forming an array that sealed this weak point in space and prevented the experts in the Plane Prison from entering the Yulan Plane through it.
"The sword of the Seven-Star Fiend of Hell, the Violet Blood Demon—a Highgod Artifact of exceptional quality. A fortune beyond measure!" Kolan gazed at the Violet Blood Soft Sword, unable to stop a flicker of greed from crossing his eyes.
Seven-Star Fiends were powerful figures who commanded respect throughout Hell.
The Violet Blood Demon was even considered a match for an Asura. His sword was among the finest Highgod Artifacts, and a single Violet Blood Soft Sword was probably worth tens of trillions of Ink Stones.
How could Kolan not be tempted by such a fortune? How could he not feel greedy?
Still, he forced himself to suppress the urge.
First, he was in the Yulan Plane. If he took the Violet Blood Soft Sword and a god-level expert escaped from the Plane Prison to the Yulan Continent, he would be the first to die. Even if that didn't happen, any god-level expert who escaped later would make his life miserable. He would be in danger.
Second, Beirut had set up this Sealing Magic Array. Linley had taken the Violet Blood Soft Sword and destroyed the array without trouble, but that didn't mean Kolan could do the same. Linley had Bebe; Kolan didn't.
Beirut might kill him with a single slap.
Better to play it safe and keep a low profile while he grew stronger.
His Soul Mutation gave him far greater potential than other people.
He needed time to grow stronger, step by step.
Kolan summoned three Saint-level Undead Lifeforms to guard the various entrances, keeping other magical beasts from disturbing his cultivation.
Winter turned to spring, and before long, several years had passed.
As Kolan cultivated, half his body was filled with the aura of life and the other half with the aura of death.
His aura had grown much stronger than before.
He opened his eyes. One was green, the other gray.
They represented life and death.
"I wonder how long I've been in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Time to get out and walk around!" Kolan had had enough of sitting still and didn't want to keep cultivating.
He left the cave. Just as he was about to leave the Mist Valley, a ring caught his eye.
"What's this ring?" The ring was gray and carried an aura of death. Even though who knew how many years had passed, its aura still made Kolan uneasy.
He walked over and picked it up.
Kolan placed a drop of blood on it, and at once, he felt a connection form.
"A Space Ring!" Kolan was surprised. He hadn't expected to find one here.
Space Rings were priceless treasures on the Yulan Continent.
They were extremely rare, and no one would be foolish enough to sell one. Once a Space Ring had absorbed its owner's blood and recognized them, no one else could open it. It was the perfect portable treasure vault.
Kolan already had a Space Ring, inherited from his teacher before the latter's death.
His own Space Ring wasn't very large. It was one meter long, wide, and high—a volume of one cubic meter.
"What an enormous space! It must be over a hundred thousand cubic meters!" Kolan was stunned when he examined it.
It was a hundred meters long and wide, and ten meters high—a full hundred thousand cubic meters.
Kolan had never heard of, let alone seen, such a large Space Ring.
"A Space Ring from a Divine Plane or Supreme Plane!" Kolan was certain its owner had been a god-level expert from one of those planes.
Kolan was thrilled. He couldn't believe his luck: he had found a Space Ring, and an enormous one at that.
Kolan carefully inspected its contents.
"This is... a Soul Gold Bead!" Kolan grew excited.
Soul Gold Beads weren't particularly valuable in the Supreme Planes or Divine Planes. There were many god-level experts there, but even more Saint-level beings, so using Saint-level souls to refine Soul Gold Beads was presumably common.
But in a Material Plane, a Soul Gold Bead was a treasure.
Only god-level experts who cultivated the Death Rules could refine Soul Gold Beads. Few people cultivated the Death Rules to begin with, and becoming a god through them was almost impossible.
And for a god-level expert who cultivated the Death Rules to refine Soul Gold Beads, they had to slaughter countless people, collect their souls, and use them to make the beads. On the entire Yulan Continent, even if every person below the god level were slaughtered, that might not be enough to refine ten Soul Gold Beads.
That showed just how precious a Soul Gold Bead was.
My earlier books were never signed, so they were taken down after a certain amount of time. I still haven't received a signing message for this book, either. Once I'm able to sign, I'll see if I can ask the editor to put the earlier books back up.
Before you continue