"I've finally reached the Saint-level," Sean thought, overjoyed. With the Zhongyuan Continent in such a state of chaos, reaching the Saint-level meant he finally had some means of protecting himself. Even if the Darkness Church was hunting him, as long as he didn't run into a god, his chances of escaping would be much greater—even if he couldn't necessarily win.
But having only just reached the Saint-level, he wasn't yet familiar with the power inside him. He also needed to create techniques suited to his current level.
Becoming Saint-level had little to do with the Mysteries of the Laws. It was simply the energy cleansing the body and elevating it to the Saint-level, as well as laying the foundation for beginning to comprehend the Laws of the World.
As for Shadow Clone, he could now split into four bodies, but he seemed to know how to use the technique only by instinct and didn't understand it at all. His next task was to gradually comprehend its Mysteries.
"My lord." A black, phoenix-like magical beast, wreathed in black flames, approached.
"Aidis, what is it?" Sean asked.
Ninth-level magical beasts were generally quite intelligent, though they couldn't speak human languages. But Sean's soul was highly developed, and over the past year or so, he had learned the languages these magical beasts spoke.
The area of high elemental concentration created by the sealing Magic Array extended only a few miles, but over time, it had still attracted many magical beasts.
However, without any Saint-level beasts among them, they were no match for Sean, who could wield the Purple Blood God Sword.
Once a balance had been established, factions began to form. Most of the magical beasts kept out of Sean's way, while a small number had effectively pledged themselves to him. Aidis was one of them. Sean had claimed the spot closest to the Magic Array, where the concentration of darkness elements was highest.
"My lord, I have some bad news. The secret of this place may have reached a Saint-level magical beast living deep in the Dark Forest," Aidis said.
"A Saint-level magical beast? How would it have found out?" Sean asked, frowning.
He hadn't expected to keep this place secret for very long. He just needed a little more time. In fact, after spending more than a year absorbing the dense darkness elements here, he had already reached the Saint-level and more or less accomplished his goal. He was only staying to improve further. Although a Saint-level's main strength came from comprehending the Mysteries of the Laws, in the early and middle stages, the amount of energy within the body still mattered. Besides, the more energy one had, the greater one's advantage should be in comprehending the Laws in the future.
There were many Saint-level magical beasts in the Dark Forest, but most lived deep in its core. Given the forest's vast size, even in its inner regions it was hard to encounter one.
"It's the offspring of a Saint-level magical beast with a Darkness Attribute. It came here earlier and had been quietly cultivating alongside us, so we didn't pay it any mind. But it suddenly disappeared some time ago. I'm worried it went back to inform that Saint-level beast," Aidis said, concerned.
For ninth-level magical beasts like them, becoming Saint-level was a lifelong dream. But the odds were tiny—out of a hundred ninth-level beasts, there might not even be one that reached the Saint-level. And unlike humans, magical beasts couldn't pass down their cultivation methods. Their methods also varied by species, so even if they got their hands on the cultivation methods of humans or other magical beasts, they couldn't use them.
So when these ninth-level magical beasts discovered this unusual area, none of them reported it to any Saint-level beast. After all, reaching the Saint-level themselves was what mattered most.
Still, there was no guarantee that one of them wouldn't betray the others once their numbers grew.
"What is that Saint-level magical beast's true form?" Sean asked.
"It's a tiger-type magical beast with a Darkness Attribute. It's extremely vicious," Aidis said.
"That's fine. Let it come," Sean said, not too concerned.
"Very well, my lord. I won't disturb you any longer." Aidis knew that the human before him had reached the Saint-level and didn't dare bother him for long.
Sean nodded and resumed his secluded cultivation. He still needed to take advantage of the excellent conditions here to absorb more darkness elements. At the same time, he was trying to understand the Darkness Element Profound Mystery and the Mysteries of Shadow Clone.
As for the treasures he could bring into existence, once he reached the Saint-level, he could exchange for any unowned item that had appeared before Linley became a god. But before Linley entered the Necropolis of the Gods, nothing that had appeared in the Yulan Material Plane was particularly valuable.
After Linley entered the Necropolis of the Gods, a great many treasures did appear, including artifacts and several Lowgod Sparks, but they weren't very useful to Sean. He already had the Purple Blood God Sword, so he didn't need another offensive weapon. He did, however, have a Material Defense Artifact, which he had already brought into existence and refined. He had also obtained the Life Source Pearl from the Necropolis of the Gods, a treasure that was invaluable to Saint-level fighters and could rapidly restore the body—even regrowing severed hands and feet.
With a Lowgod Material Defense Artifact, a damaged Soul-Protecting Sovereign Artifact, a Highgod Artifact for offense, and the Life Source Pearl, plus his rudimentary understanding of Shadow Clone and the Darkness Element, as well as the formidable body of a God-Eater Rat, Sean was practically in no danger—as long as he didn't run into a god.
Another half month passed. Sean was still absorbed in comprehending the two Laws of darkness when a huge black tiger suddenly emerged from the depths of a nearby shadow and slashed at him with a paw.
A smile tugged at Sean's lips. He casually slapped out with his left hand, and his palm met the tiger's paw. Boom! The earth-shaking impact sent a powerful shock wave hundreds of meters away. All the trees in its path were blasted to pieces, and the tiger that had just launched its sneak attack was hurled away as quickly as it had arrived.
"Damn it! What do you mean, he only just reached the Saint-level?" The Saint-level Black Tiger realized it had been deceived. It wasn't particularly powerful in the Dark Forest, but there were few who could send it flying with a single move. Someone like that—especially a human—had to have reached an extremely high level of mastery.
It wasn't stupid. It knew that if it didn't flee from an expert like this, it would die. So it immediately shrank and burrowed underground.
This was its signature move. Although it wasn't an Earth Element magical beast, its Saint-level power let it burrow extremely quickly after shrinking. Once it reached the depths underground, even its powerful enemy would be helpless.
In moments, the Black Tiger had reached deep underground, and it finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as it was about to choose another direction and escape, it suddenly heard a voice beside it. "You sure can burrow fast. If I didn't know Earth Walk, I really might not have been able to do anything about you."
The Black Tiger was scared out of its wits. The speaker was none other than Sean, the person it had just tried to ambush. Black light flashed around it, and four tigers appeared at once. They were identical in size and aura, making it impossible to tell which one was real.
"Hm? Shadow Clone?" Sean's eyes lit up. This tiger seemed to have a stronger grasp of the Mysteries of Shadow Clone than he did.
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