Healing

One strike landed!

Hodan was overjoyed. Without Taier, killing the remaining Five-Star Fiends would be much easier.

"Boss!" When they saw Taier killed, the others' faces changed drastically, and their fighting spirit vanished.

They had banded together to attack Hodan because of Taier and the promise of wealth. Now that Taier, the strongest Seven-Star Fiend, had fallen to Hodan, they knew they stood no chance. They unleashed their strongest attacks at him, filling the sky with dazzling, multicolored energy blasts.

After launching their attacks, the bandits scattered and fled.

"Die!" Hodan sped to Clisi and punched him in the head. Clisi's head exploded.

Though badly wounded, Hodan knew the other fiends might escape him, but he would never let Clisi get away. Given the chance, a man like that would keep coming after him.

Hodan wasn't afraid of Clisi's revenge, but leaving an enemy alive was a grave mistake. He wouldn't make it. He had chosen to kill Clisi first.

Boom!

After killing Clisi, Hodan released a terrifying aura. A hazy, phantom longsword appeared around him, and he seemed to become its core as fierce divine power coiled around him.

Hodan would never let anyone who dared attack him walk away alive.

Its edge continued to gather power. This was the first time Hodan had unleashed the full sharpness of Zhengdu.

Sss!

Even with Hodan standing still, its sharpness tore the surrounding space apart.

Everyone's expression changed at the sight. Hodan was clearly about to use some kind of ultimate move. The bandits who had been watching hurriedly urged their divine power to carry them away from this dangerous place. They cursed their own slowness.

"He's gone mad! Run..." The bandits watching from afar were terrified. They called to one another to get away before they were caught in the fallout.

They had never seen such a terrifying battle. It would leave a deep impression on them, and some even found inspiration in what they witnessed.

Buzz~!

Countless sharp blades appeared out of thin air within a thousand meters of Hodan. Streaks of blade light sliced across the sky. It looked like Li Xiaoyao wielding the Sword God's form in the Legend of Sword and Fairy. The only difference was that Hodan had summoned blades of energy.

As countless flashes of blade light swept past, tiny cracks appeared in space. The air rippled like a disturbed pool of water. More than a dozen bodies fell from the sky, some bursting apart before they hit the ground.

Pfft!

Hodan held Zhengdu across his chest, standing proudly in midair. He held the pose for more than a dozen breaths before spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face turned pale, and his aura faded.

Sensing that the divine power in his Fate God Clone was completely depleted, Hodan couldn't help but smile bitterly. After that battle, not a trace of Fate Divine Power remained in his clone. If another Five-Star Fiend showed up—or even just a Highgod—Hodan would be killed.

Hodan waved a hand and collected more than a dozen Space Rings. Then he looked toward the Black Mountain Range. After a moment's thought, he flew toward it. After traveling a few hundred miles, he found the vast range. In the ancient mountains, trees a thousand meters tall and too wide for dozens of people to encircle grew everywhere. Weeds and all sorts of strange plants covered the land.

Everything spoke of the range's ancient history. A remote place with such lush vegetation was perfect for Hodan to hide and recover.

Hodan found a cave and blocked the entrance. He then took out cloaks that could block divine sense and attached them to the cave walls. For the time being, he would stay in the mountains.

"I went too far this time." Hodan sat cross-legged and used his Godhead to reach the ocean of Fate Divine Power, drawing it in bit by bit. "That was the fiercest battle of my life, and I've never been so badly hurt."

He had Huoxie to thank for his equipment. Without the Defensive Divine Artifact Huoxie had given him, a single combined attack from those Five-Star Fiend-level bandits would have killed him.

Or a single soul attack might have made him falter, giving Taier the chance to kill him in an instant. After all, a Material Defense Artifact wasn't a Sovereign Artifact; it couldn't protect his entire body.

Taier was a powerful Seven-Star Fiend of the wind element. His attack was at the bottom of the Seven-Star Fiend rank, not much stronger than Hodan's, but his speed was second to none. If Hodan hadn't risked taking the bandits' combined attack to kill Taier, Hodan would have been the one to die.

Hodan was now incredibly glad he had followed through on his plan. If he hadn't sought out the Purple Blood Soft Sword, he wouldn't have met Silvermoon. He wouldn't have met Huoxie through Silvermoon, either. And Huoxie wouldn't have reached Paragon because of him, nor would Hodan have earned Huoxie's friendship and received his gift.

Every step had depended on the one before it. If even one had been missing, Hodan would already be a corpse—or still struggling to survive on the Yulan Continent.

With that realization, Hodan's understanding of the Fate Rule took another step forward.

But this wasn't the time to contemplate the Fate Rule. His urgent priority was to heal his injuries and restore his divine power. Otherwise, even a bandit who was merely a Highgod could kill him while he was badly wounded and drained.

Hodan's equipment was worth a fortune. Even Seven-Star Fiends would covet it. How could bandits pass up an easy target like him?

Hodan hurriedly took healing pills and Golden Clarity Wine from his Space Ring. He needed to recover as quickly as possible. The Black Mountain Range was crawling with bandits, and only by regaining his strength could he ensure his safety.

Time passed slowly.

Hodan's true body comprehended the Death Rule, while his Fate God Clone focused on recovering. His Thunder Element Clone continued fusing its Mysteries, and his Destruction God Clone absorbed Soul Golden Beads while comprehending the Destruction Rules.

Three months later.

The vast Black Mountain Range teemed with bandits, and the shockwaves from Hodan's battle had spread throughout the mountains.

"Ah, I haven't had any luck all year." A brown-haired man flew through the air, gazing beyond the mountain range as he muttered, "People in Hell are far too cautious. Not one of them dares to travel alone. Forget it. I'm heading back."

The brown-haired man flew over the mountains, heading straight for his hideout.

"I heard there was a battle between Seven-Star Fiends in our range three months ago. If I'd been there to watch, maybe I could've broken through to Highgod." The brown-haired man felt a pang of envy and frustration. "Borton's really lucky. He struck it big—not only did he get a High Godhead and a guaranteed path to becoming a Highgod, he also got dozens of High-God Artifacts. He bought a courtyard in Silvermoon City right away."

Borton had once been a Mid-God who lived in these mountains, and he had been much weaker than the brown-haired man. That was in the past, though. Borton might already be a Highgod now—and a wealthy one at that.

The brown-haired man thought of Borton's courtyard, worth over a hundred million Inkstones, and his harem of beautiful concubines. Jealousy and resentment welled up inside him.

If only he hadn't gone to Silvermoon City that day. Then all that wealth would have been his!

A High Godhead and more than a dozen high-quality High-God Artifacts—that was an astonishing fortune, enough to make anyone envious.

Borton had also settled in Silvermoon City. He no longer had to live in constant fear like the brown-haired man. He could enjoy life, refine a Godhead to become a Highgod, or cultivate to that level himself. Either way, he would naturally rise into Hell's upper class.

In short, that encounter had sent Borton's life down a path completely different from his own. That was what made the brown-haired man so jealous and resentful.

"Hm? I remember there's a cave around here." The brown-haired man had roamed this area for years and knew its geography well. His life depended on it.

Suddenly, the brown-haired man vanished like a gust of wind, then reappeared on a tree below. He quietly watched the cave where Hodan was hiding.

Thinking of the battle, the brown-haired man couldn't help smiling excitedly. "Could that wounded powerhouse be hiding in there to recuperate?"

After being besieged by five Five-Star Fiends and a Seven-Star Fiend—and fighting such a fierce battle—the brown-haired man couldn't believe Hodan had escaped unscathed. He had to be seriously injured.

The brown-haired man gave a cruel smile. "I can't believe that powerhouse was hurt so badly and hasn't even left the Black Mountain Range. And I just happen to stumble across him! Let him become the stepping stone to my rise. Don't blame me for killing you. That's just how Hell works."

The brown-haired man leaped up and appeared in front of the cave entrance. A longsword appeared in his hand, and without hesitation, he unleashed his ultimate move at the cave.

Boom! The boulder blocking the entrance crumbled to dust under his attack, but the force didn't let up. It shot into the cave like a beam of light.

After doing all this, the brown-haired man smiled excitedly, like an angler about to reel in a big catch.

But contrary to his expectations, his attack didn't explode. It was swallowed up, vanishing like a stone sinking into the sea.

Hodan then walked calmly out through the swirling dust. Seeing him emerge from the cave unharmed, the brown-haired man's heart lurched. Realizing things had gone wrong, he tried to flee.

But how could Hodan give him the chance? Anyone who attacked him had to be ready to die. A blue-green light shot from Hodan's eyes, streaked into the brown-haired man, and then plunged into his mind, devouring his soul.

The brown-haired man hadn't even begun to flee before his eyes turned gray and lifeless. His body fell to the ground and hit the earth.