"Besides, I've almost used up all my Lowgod Sparks. I'll have to go out and find some more." Sean clenched his fist, feeling the strength in his body as he thought to himself.
Though secluding himself in this Miniature Plane Space had let him cultivate incredibly quickly—perhaps more than a hundred times faster than on the Zhongyuan Continent—it was devouring divine sparks and strengthening his body that had truly sent his power soaring.
No matter how heaven-defying his talent was, it couldn't compare to a Super Divine Beast like a God-Eater Rat. Once they reached Highgod, it took them only a few thousand years to strengthen their bodies until they were nearly on the level of a Sovereign Artifact.
In the original Coiling Dragon novel, there weren't many Lowgod Sparks that could be materialized. That count included those found in the Spatial Rings of many Highgod experts who had died on the Yulan Material Plane.
For example, there was Sadis, who had come from Hell, and O'Gavin, Adkins, and others, who had escaped from the Plane Prison.
Once these people were described as dying in the original text, their Spatial Rings became ownerless—whether Linley, Bluefire, or someone else obtained them. Before anyone claimed them by dripping blood on them, they could be materialized.
Even so, there weren't many Lowgod Sparks in their Spatial Rings. In particular, the ones belonging to those who had come out of the Plane Prison didn't add up to as many as Sadis's, who had come from Hell.
Over the years, he had consumed hundreds of Lowgod Sparks. He could clearly feel that his body was growing stronger and stronger, and his physical attacks were improving just as much.
Still, he couldn't say exactly how strong he was, since he lacked experience fighting divine-level experts.
But with his half-fused Mysteries, he could easily crush a Lowgod. And that was without even mentioning God Devour, his Innate Divine Ability that could instantly kill anyone at the same level.
The one thing he was worried about was the middle god of the Darkness Church who cultivated the Laws of Death. Those laws excelled at soul attacks, making them what Sean feared most.
If his opponent had cultivated the Wind, Earth, or Water Laws, Sean wouldn't have been too concerned, even as a Lowgod.
But he had a Soul-Protecting Sovereign Artifact. Though damaged, it might still be able to block some soul attacks. On top of that, the Soul Golden Bead and Amethyst he had materialized from the original novel in his mind would also be major assets.
Aside from when he had first become a god, when the slow recovery from splitting his soul in two had led him to refine two Amethysts with the Coiling Dragon Ring to restore his soul, he had never touched the rest. He had kept them in reserve in case his soul defenses proved inadequate in a future struggle against the Darkness Church or other divine-level experts.
Of course, his final trump card for staying alive was the three drops of Sovereign's Might. But he wouldn't use them unless he had no other choice.
As for the drop of Azure Dragon Essence Blood, he didn't dare absorb it. It would most likely make him burst apart.
Now that he had reached a bottleneck and could no longer advance, Sean acted decisively. He stepped out through the passage leading to the Zhongyuan Material Plane and returned to the Zhongyuan Continent.
He had returned as a god, one of the most powerful beings in this world.
"Eh, Magic Crystal Cores?" The moment Sean came out, he spotted hundreds, even thousands, of Magic Crystal Cores nearby. The highest-grade ones were Grade 7.
Magic Crystal Cores were treasures that formed naturally after the energy of heaven and earth accumulated underground for a long time. Like the Magic Crystal Cores of magical beasts, they could help humans cultivate.
But naturally formed deposits took a long time to develop. They were often buried deep underground, making them hard to find even for Saint-level experts. The ones that occasionally appeared at the surface would draw a scramble among the nearby major powers.
Sean had originally just picked a safe spot to materialize Beirut's Miniature Plane Space. There had been nothing around it before, yet now there was.
The energy must have leaked out of the Miniature Plane Space. Beirut hadn't been a Sovereign when he created it, so naturally, he couldn't completely isolate all its energy.
It was a good thing he had been cautious. Otherwise, if he had put it in the Dark Forest, the place might have been discovered before he even became a god.
After a moment's thought, Sean moved his divine sense and collected all the nearby Magic Crystal Cores into his Coiling Dragon Ring. Now that he had become a Lowgod, he had finally claimed the Coiling Dragon Ring completely and could use it as a Spatial Ring.
Unfortunately, just like the Plane Sealing Magic Array, the Miniature Plane Space couldn't be moved once it had been materialized. Even becoming a god hadn't given him a way to change that.
The Kahali Desert was still nothing but sand and soil. Almost no life below the Saint-level could survive there.
For Sean, who had already become a god, a desert stretching more than a hundred thousand miles was nothing. Before long, he reached Laiyang City, a city near the desert.
Though the Kahali Desert was a deadly place, it held many rare ores and often drew powerful experts.
After all, even among deadly places, others had all sorts of dangers that might attack you. Here, the only problem was the heat. You just had to bring enough water—and make sure you didn't get lost.
"A glass of fruitwood wine and something to eat." Once he entered an inn, Sean found a seat in the corner and casually ordered a common fruit wine from the Zhongyuan Continent. It tasted good and wasn't expensive.
"Coming right up. Please wait a moment," the server said cheerfully. Sean looked like a wealthy man.
The food and wine arrived before long. Sean paid a single gold coin and told the server to keep the change. The server hurriedly thanked him.
Now that he had become a god, money was meaningless to him. The only exception was Inkstone, the currency of the Higher Planes. Sean had materialized some earlier, but only to take a look at it.
What he had to consider now was what to do next.
If he had become a god by cultivating the Earth Element, returning to the Radiant Church would have been no problem. But it would be hard to explain how he had become a god by cultivating the Darkness Laws. It wasn't that the Radiant Church refused gods who cultivated the Darkness Laws; there were no restrictions on that. Even a Radiant Church Lowgod who had cultivated the Darkness Laws could join without any trouble.
The only problem was that he hadn't had an affinity for darkness when he was young. Even more than ten years ago, when he had still been an eight-ranked mage, he hadn't had any talent for the Darkness Laws. Now, though, he had become a god through them. That was a little strange.
While Sean was still eating and thinking, a divine sense suddenly swept across all of Laiyang City. He immediately realized it belonged to a Lowgod.
The other party had also noticed him.
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