This black circular platform was covered in all sorts of intricate magical markings, their patterns so complex they seemed to reach the utmost limits of complexity. A magic array had been laid out across the platform, and it was only slightly less complicated than a Plane Teleportation Array. Otherwise, it could never have trapped a powerhouse like Bluefire, who was close to becoming a Paragon.
Hodan was a god, and the first thing he had comprehended was the Thunder Element. He didn't damage anything. Instead, he transformed directly into Thunder Element and slipped through a crack in the rock, entering the top of the cavern. He came to a stop beside the black circular platform.
At the center of the platform, a purple longsword had been driven point-first into the ground. This was the target of Hodan's trip: the Purple Blood Fiend's weapon, the Purple Blood Soft Sword.
Hodan carefully sensed the longsword embedded in the center of the magic array on the black platform. "Such a restrained aura of darkness."
Hodan took the Sword-type High-Artifact his parents had left him from his Space Ring and gave it one last look.
Then, holding the sword in his left hand, he slashed the index finger of his right hand. The bloodied finger immediately touched the purple longsword, whose age was unknown.
The purple longsword, coated in dust and sealed away for who knew how long, easily drank up the drop of blood like a sponge. At the same time—"Vmmm..." The sword suddenly rang out and began to tremble.
All the dust clinging to its surface flew off. An eerie blood-red sheen rippled across the purple blade, as if blood were flowing over it.
Hodan first used his Divine Domain to completely envelop the platform, doing his best to prevent its aura from escaping.
Once everything was ready, Hodan grabbed the purple longsword and yanked it free. "Clang!" Its clear ring seemed to brim with joy.
At the same time, Hodan thrust the Sword-type High-God Artifact in his hand into the spot where the Purple Blood Soft Sword had been.
The Purple Blood Soft Sword was away from the magic array on the black platform for only an instant before Hodan replaced it with his Sword-type High-God Artifact. With his Divine Domain suppressing everything, it didn't cause any disturbance. Seeing that all had gone well, Hodan breathed a sigh of relief. He might have been taking a risk for a great reward, but he still wanted to live.
After that, Hodan quickly put the Purple Blood Soft Sword into his Space Ring. He also reinforced the area around the platform. At least a Saint-level attack would only slightly damage the surrounding rock; it would take multiple full-force attacks to expose the magic array.
That would make things look more natural. If even a Saint-level expert couldn't damage it, people would certainly suspect there was something hidden inside and investigate.
This was the best way to reduce the risk of anyone discovering that Hodan had replaced the Purple Blood Soft Sword. As for Dylan? What did Hodan care about him? Let him stay locked up in the Plane Prison forever.
As for whether Linley might later die at the hands of the Radiant Church because of this, Hodan didn't care in the slightest. As a Person of Uncertain Fate, Linley wouldn't die so easily. If he really did die like that, Hodan could only say he was sorry.
He swiftly transformed into Thunder Element and flew away from Mist Valley, heading for the Arctic Icefield. Once he returned to the Arctic Icefield, Hodan didn't plan to leave his ice hut again. He would go into seclusion there for good. Even if he wanted to observe Linley, the protagonist, he would do so only through his divine sense.
Back in his ice hut, Hodan didn't take out the Purple Blood Soft Sword. He had been so excited when he got the Coiling Dragon Ring last time that he'd wanted to claim it as his own right there on the Yulan Continent. Luckily, Beirut hadn't noticed him. This time, however, Hodan wasn't going to take that risk.
He planned to have his Fate God Clone come over and receive it through a Space Ring, then sell it in Hell and exchange the proceeds for cultivation resources.
Hodan's Fate God Clone bought some good wine, then flew back to the Plane Teleportation Array.
The same golden-haired, muscular man, Peg, was on duty. When he saw Hodan, he greeted him warmly. Clearly, this friendly fellow still remembered him.
"Hey, Hodan, what brings you here?" Peg looked at him. "Aren't you serving as the Plane Overseer on the Yulan Continent? Is this your Divine Clone?"
"That's right, Brother Peg. I'm just bringing some supplies to my Divine Clone on the Yulan Continent," Hodan replied. "Here, brother, this good wine's for you."
As he spoke, Hodan took several bottles of good wine from his Space Ring and handed them to Peg. Of course, he didn't forget to share some with the others on patrol with him. Everyone smiled and greeted Hodan as they received the wine. Peg was even friendlier, but he put the wine straight into his Space Ring—they were still on patrol. They'd have to wait until their break to drink it, or the army would punish them.
Hodan's Fate God Clone stepped into the teleportation array and traveled to the Yulan Continent.
Hodan's Thunder Element Divine Clone had already been waiting there. The instant the Fate God Clone appeared, Hodan quickly handed him the Space Ring containing the Purple Blood Soft Sword. In turn, the Fate God Clone gave Hodan an empty Space Ring to make it look like a routine exchange. Then he promptly activated the Plane Teleportation Array and returned to Hell.
The disturbance caused by the Plane Teleportation Array couldn't escape Beirut's notice. The instant the Fate God Clone arrived, Beirut's divine sense descended upon the array. But when he saw Hodan's two Divine Clones exchanging Space Rings, he paid it no mind. Beirut assumed this was the supplies transfer that Plane Overseers were allowed to make once every ten years.
From then on, Hodan's Thunder Element Divine Clone began a long period of seclusion in the ice hut on the Arctic Icefield. Apart from occasionally using his divine sense to check on the Baruch family, he never set foot outside the hut.
Hodan's Fate God Clone hurried straight to his residence in Silvermoon City. In Hell, Hodan could only guarantee his safety inside a city.
In the small bamboo house, Hodan took out the Purple Blood Soft Sword. Looking at the Purple Blood Soft Sword he had obtained, he burst into laughter. After all his careful planning, he had finally acquired something he could exchange for resources.
This also proved that even the fate of someone like Linley, a Person of Uncertain Fate, could be changed. In the original story, Linley had obtained the Destruction Divine Weapon in Hodan's hands—the Purple Blood Soft Sword. But now, even if Linley obtained it, it would only be a relatively powerful Sword-type Thunder Element High-God Artifact. This realization had also greatly improved the Fate God Clone's comprehension.
Hodan looked at the soft sword in his hand. Two square characters, made up of many strokes, were engraved on its purple hilt. They were written in Hell's common language: "Purple Blood."
Hodan studied the "Purple Blood" Soft Sword carefully. It was as thin as a cicada's wing, and that extreme thinness made it very light despite its unusual material. It weighed only about five pounds. A five-pound soft sword was no burden at all to Hodan.
Although the Purple Blood Soft Sword was flexible, Hodan knew that channeling battle qi, magic power, or any other kind of force into it would make the blade go rigid. It could be soft or hard!
Hodan channeled divine power into the sword. The "Purple Blood" Soft Sword immediately straightened, and wisps of spatial blades appeared out of nowhere along its edge. A faint blood-red glow rippled over its body as it rang out in an unbroken series of clear notes.
To Hodan, the ringing sounded ordinary. But anyone below the god level who heard it could even lose their life.
Hodan took out a piece of Hell-mined ore. Its only notable quality was its hardness, and it was often used to forge divine artifacts and armor.
Hodan slashed at the ore. The "Purple Blood," thin as a cicada's wing, sliced through it with ease.
Hodan looked at the cut surface of the ore. "So smooth." There wasn't a rough spot anywhere on it. The weapon was so good that Hodan was almost reluctant to sell it for cultivation resources.
But he couldn't focus only on the present. He needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Once he became stronger, he would naturally obtain even better weapons—Sovereign Artifacts, or perhaps even something beyond them.
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