Although God-Eater Rats were born capable of becoming deities, the process of growing stronger still took time. Sean had only been Saint-level for a little over a year. Even though divine beasts' Mysteries were embedded in their bloodline and souls, they still had to be gradually comprehended. The faster he understood them, the sooner he could become a deity.
But this wasn't something you could achieve just by going into seclusion and deciding to comprehend or fuse the Mysteries.
What Sean hadn't expected was that a Saint-level magical beast who understood the same Laws would appear. Although its talent couldn't match that of a God-Eater Rat, it might have lived for a very long time, and its grasp of the Mysteries of the Laws was surely much greater than his own.
Sean didn't waste words. He drew the Purple Blood God Sword and casually swung it. A terrifying blade of energy split into four and struck the four tiger clones like lightning.
"Pfft." Three of the clones burst apart under the blade of energy. The fourth, however, was a living body of flesh and blood. The attack easily broke through its defenses and left the Black Tiger gravely wounded.
Sean had held back and hadn't intended to kill it. Otherwise, at such close range, a peer wielding a Highgod Artifact could have killed it with ease.
The strength of the Shadow Clone Profound Mystery lay in making it impossible to tell which body was the original. When opponents were evenly matched, failing to figure that out meant becoming locked in a fight to the death. You could attack your opponent, and they could freely switch between bodies, but when they attacked you, their blows were real. Against an equally matched opponent, it was a nightmare.
But when faced with someone whose attacks were too powerful, it wasn't much use.
Of course, no matter what the Mystery was, even a high-level one, the advantages it provided meant nothing against overwhelming strength.
"Spare me, sir. I'm willing to serve you as my master," the Black Tiger hurriedly said, lowering itself and turning into a small, entirely black kitten. At a time like this, it had none of the pride of a Saint-level magical beast. There was no shame in yielding to overwhelming strength.
"Stay by my side," Sean said calmly.
Even without his various divine artifacts, his God-Eater Rat body and Saint-level strength alone would have been enough to beat this Black Tiger with ease. A God-Eater Rat's body was absurdly powerful even at Saint-level; attacks from anyone of the same rank could hardly break through its defenses.
The reason he'd spared the tiger-like magical beast was that it also cultivated the Shadow Clone Profound Mystery of the Darkness Laws. That might be a great help to him in comprehending the Mystery.
Cultivating the Mysteries was difficult, so he had to seize every opportunity that might help him. Fighting someone who cultivated the same Laws was one of the best ways.
"Thank you, sir." The Black Tiger was clever and knew when to yield. It had to survive first. If it displeased the man before it, one move would be enough to kill it, and it wouldn't be able to escape.
"Good. Let's go up." Sean nodded, then flew upward. He didn't tunnel through the ground; instead, he merged with the earth. This was the Earth Walk technique of the Earth Laws. It was also how Sean had caught up with the Saint-level Black Tiger as it burrowed underground. If he'd relied on brute strength to dig through the earth, he wouldn't have been able to catch it.
Sean's Earth Walk magic was fairly mediocre, though. He could merge with the earth for only a short while before reappearing. With Saint-level power, he could survive underground for a short time and even fight there, but not for long. So his capture of the Black Tiger had depended on several factors. Otherwise, subduing a Saint-level beast that had comprehended some of the Mysteries would not have been easy.
Whether in the original Yulan Material Plane or this Material Plane of the Zhongyuan Continent, generally only Saint-level experts at the peak could subdue ordinary Saint-level magical beasts. They needed an overwhelming advantage. Otherwise, if a Saint-level beast wanted to run, there was little you could do to stop it.
The man and tiger soon emerged from the ground. Their fight had startled the nearby magical beasts, who had been absorbing Darkness elements.
The Black Tiger realized it had become a spectacle. Thinking of how it had just submitted, it knew that while yielding to a powerful opponent was no shame, it was different in front of these onlookers.
"Get lost, all of you!" The Black Tiger roared in the language of beasts, its Saint-level aura surging. Most of the magical beasts scattered like startled birds, fleeing in every direction without a thought for the excellent spot to cultivate Darkness elements.
Sean didn't care. Now that he was Saint-level, he no longer needed to maintain peaceful relations with these eighth- and ninth-level magical beasts. The fact that he hadn't killed them was already an act of mercy.
"What's your name?" Sean asked after the area within several miles had cleared out.
"My name is Ram," the Black Tiger replied.
"I have a few questions. Are there any deities in the Dark Forest?" Sean asked. This was something he'd been curious about. The Dark Forest lay roughly in the middle of the Radiant Church's former territory. Why would the Church allow a place so suitable for cultivating dark magic to exist?
Ram replied, "They say that countless years ago, there was a divine magical beast here. While it was around, it had a good relationship with the Radiant Church and made a peace agreement with them.
"On top of that, the Dark Forest is shrouded in heavy miasma and naturally gathers Darkness elements. It isn't suitable for humans to cultivate or live in. So even after that divine magical beast went to the Higher Planes, the Dark Forest was left untouched.
"But humans often come to hunt magical beasts and seek adventure. To avoid conflict, we Saint-level magical beasts settled in the depths of the Dark Forest."
"I see. How long have you been alive?" Sean asked.
"About a hundred thousand years," Ram replied.
"A hundred thousand years?" Sean nodded. It sounded like a long time, equivalent to the lifespans of ten emperors.
But in the Coiling Dragon World, Saint-level beings could live forever. A mere hundred thousand years was nothing. Still, if Ram hadn't become a deity in all that time, its talent was probably only average. Of course, that was by the standards of the Higher Planes. In the Material Plane, most people who were considered prodigies as children might still become ordinary after reaching Saint-level.
"Most of the magical beasts in the Dark Forest have lived about that long," Ram said. "But quite a few have been unable to break through to the divine level for a long time, so they've gone deep into the South Sea to look for the Plane Guardians. They've gone to the Higher Planes or the Divine Planes."
"Plane Guardians? Have you ever seen one?" Sean asked.
"Only once. About every ten thousand years, he comes to the Zhongyuan Continent to look for Saint-level beings and ask whether they want to go to the Higher Planes. Judging by the timing, it should be about time for him to come again." Ram then asked, "Does sir want to go to the Higher Planes too?"
"Go as a Saint-level being? Wouldn't that be asking for death?" Sean chuckled. "Your Shadow Clones are pretty well cultivated. Come on, let's spar."
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