Return to the Holy See

"I only just became a god recently," Sean said with a faint smile.

"Congratulations, my lord," Ram said quickly and obediently.

A god—he had dreamed of becoming a god his entire life, but it was simply too difficult. Not to mention him, even those Saint-level magical beasts in the Dark Forest that could crush him with a single blow had lived for countless tens of thousands of years, yet they had never managed to become gods.

He never expected that the human he had only been following for a few years would actually become a god just like that.

But thinking about it, it made sense; when he first met Sean, he had been subdued in a single move.

If he hadn't happened to be cultivating the same Profound Mystery that Sean was practicing, he likely would have lost his life back then.

During the few years he spent cultivating alongside Sean, he had seen with his own eyes just how fast the man could comprehend Profound Mysteries. Now that he had become a god, it wasn't all that surprising.

He just wondered, since Sean was already so powerful when they first met, whether he had achieved even higher accomplishments in other Profound Mysteries.

"Hmm," Sean nodded, then asked with a smile, "Ram, do you want to become a god?"

"Become a god?" Ram's voice immediately began to tremble.

"This is a Lowgod-level Godhead with the darkness attribute. As long as you refine it, you can become a god." A Godhead radiating the darkness attribute suddenly appeared in Sean's right hand.

This was one of the many darkness-attribute Godheads he had manifested from the original Coiling Dragon novel.

Although a Lowgod-level Godhead wasn't enough for Sean to refine, after careful consideration, he had kept a few dozen of them, just so he could have an extra helper by his side in the future.

However, this was only suitable for those who had no way of becoming gods independently.

In any case, there were quite a few Lowgods on the Zhongyuan Continent. As long as he dealt with that Midgod of the Death Law, obtaining Lowgod-level Godheads would be an easy task.

Currently, the only Saint-level being he knew well enough and who was suitable for refining a Godhead was this Black Tiger, Ram.

"Lord Sean, you want to give this Godhead to me?" Ram still found it hard to believe.

A Godhead—on the Zhongyuan Continent, this was a supreme treasure. If a masterless Godhead appeared, it was hard to say how many Saint-level experts would go mad and risk their lives for it; even god-level experts wouldn't let it go.

"Yes, but I must tell you first: there are some drawbacks to refining a Godhead," Sean added.

"Drawbacks?" Ram had no idea.

"Every one of us god-level experts has a Godhead inside our bodies. The knowledge of the Profound Mysteries we comprehend is contained within that Godhead. When a Saint-level expert refines a Godhead, they can comprehend the Profound Mysteries contained within it, and after slowly understanding them, they become a god-level expert," Sean said unhurriedly.

"However, because it wasn't comprehended by your own efforts, although you become a god, your understanding of the Profound Mysteries cannot compare to those who become gods independently through the heavens' bestowal. Your strength will naturally be inferior as well.

Furthermore, once you refine a Godhead, your soul will no longer match the Godhead. In the future, it will be almost impossible for you to cultivate into a Midgod or even a Highgod on your own. You will have no choice but to continue refining Godheads; there is basically no other way!"

"I choose to refine the Godhead, Lord Sean," Ram said without the slightest hesitation.

"I have been at the Saint-level for one hundred thousand years. Aside from some progress in the first ten thousand years, I have been stagnant ever since, without the slightest improvement. It's not just me; most Saint-level humans, magical beasts, and even those in the ocean on the Zhongyuan Continent are the same.

Those who can become gods are one in ten thousand among the Saint-level. In that process, I don't know how many Saint-level experts have been killed or, unable to bear it any longer, left for the Higher Planes.

There are too many Saint-level experts stronger than me who couldn't become gods, let alone me. Besides, even if I spent countless more tens of thousands of years and truly became a god independently, I likely wouldn't have the chance to cultivate into a Midgod anyway.

Lord Sean, a genius like you cannot understand the suffering of people like us."

"Fine, I only informed you. Since you have decided, then refine it." Sean tossed the Godhead over.

In reality, unless one was a genius among geniuses like Linley or Olivier who had absolute confidence in themselves, ninety-nine percent of Saint-level experts would likely choose to refine a Godhead to become a god.

Relying on cultivation to become a god independently was too difficult. Saint-level experts were already the top geniuses of their era, yet in such a vast material plane, there were only so many god-level experts.

Most of the super geniuses of the material plane stopped at the Saint-level. Whether they could become gods independently, or even Midgods or Highgods, was entirely a matter of luck combined with top-tier talent.

Moreover, the process was extremely dangerous. According to the original story, there were only twenty or thirty Grand Perfection experts in countless trillions of years, yet there must have been many who possessed such talent and potential.

It was just that most of them had fallen on the path toward becoming a Grand Perfection or a peak Asura.

For a Saint-level expert in a material plane, choosing to refine a Godhead was not a mistake, because it was highly likely they would never be able to become a god independently, or even if they had the ability, they might not live long enough to see that day.

Not to mention, even if they truly became a god independently, if they lacked a powerful faction or stronger friends to protect them, the Godhead within them would become the most coveted treasure for others.

After receiving the Godhead, Ram quickly forced a drop of blood from its claw and dripped it onto the Godhead.

"Do you know what Profound Mystery is inside?" Sean asked. If the Profound Mystery was the same as what Ram was cultivating, it would be easier to become a god quickly.

However, not even a Sovereign could know what Profound Mystery was contained within a Godhead; only the person refining it would know.

Ram sensed it for a moment and said, "My lord, it is not the Shadow Clone Profound Mystery, nor is it the Darkness Element Profound Mystery. I don't know what it is, but it feels similar to the terrifying mental magic found in human darkness magic."

"Oh, that might be the Evil Profound Mystery. Not bad, that counts as a high-level Profound Mystery. Once you comprehend it, it might even be of help to me," Sean laughed.

A god who refined a Godhead generally had average combat power; their main use was to help arrange certain tasks. However, if Ram could comprehend the Evil Profound Mystery within, even if it was just a shallow understanding, it might be of some small help to him, as he knew nothing about it.

"It is my honor to serve you, Lord Sean," Ram said quickly.

Although it knew it was about to become a god, it also guessed that even as a god, it would likely be far inferior to Lord Sean.

"Hmm, let's go. We're heading to the Radiant Church!" Sean said again.

"Understood, Lord Sean," Ram replied.

To avoid being discovered by that Midgod from the Darkness Church, Sean specifically took a long detour toward the southeastern corner of the Zhongyuan Continent. Currently, the Radiant Church had been forced into this area by the Darkness Church; if they retreated any further, they would be in the South Sea.

Just as they approached the new headquarters of the Radiant Church, Sean sensed massive energy fluctuations in the distance.

These were definitely the fluctuations of a battle between god-level experts, and there were quite a few of them.