At Lilith's words, Desterie nodded, thinking to himself, You say what you want; I'll do what I want. Then he heard Lilith ask, "What happened between Orloff and Iluka? Orloff had been completely out of character before, wanting only to kill Iluka, but now he's changed his tune. What price did Iluka pay?"
Desterie shook his head and sighed. "My lady, I don't know either. Iluka and Orloff seem to have known each other for a long time. Something happened between them in the past, and Orloff's condition was that Iluka keep what happened hidden forever, buried in his heart. I'm puzzled too. What secret could be worth making Orloff give so much ground?"
He was even willing to help Iluka obtain a Sovereign Spark!
It was simply too bizarre to make any sense!
"Iluka himself is quite mysterious, though. He was very close to the Sovereign Komodo, who fell countless years ago. Perhaps Komodo told him a great deal about Sovereigns; Iluka certainly knows a lot about them. In the last Plane War, he spared me and my wife Dalayer because Dalayer had once been Komodo's Sovereign Emissary." Desterie added this because he wanted to see whether Lilith, a living record of history, could glean any clues from the story.
"Komodo?" Lilith recalled. "It was a long time ago, but I remember he was only an Earth Low-level Sovereign, and not particularly powerful. He didn't have any influential backers, either. The only strange thing about him was that he accidentally offended Hullei, yet Hullei didn't retaliate right away. It was many years later that he killed Komodo and refined his Sovereign Spark."
So Hullei's Earth Low-level Sovereign Spark had come from Komodo! Desterie had never imagined there could be a connection between them.
"But what connection could Hullei have to Orloff? And what does Iluka have to do with either of them? It's baffling." Lilith shook her head, unable to see how the three could be connected.
Desterie shook his head as well. There was no one he could ask about events from before his birth, and Iluka had never been willing to talk about them.
His conversation with Lilith hadn't lasted long. Before long, Desterie came down from Nether Mountain, planning to take his time traveling back to the Material Plane.
Meanwhile, on Aowei Island, deep in the Divine Prison Sea of the Radiant Divine Plane, Manlu, an Earth Low-level Sovereign, was alone in a room with Augusta, the Sovereign of Light.
"Your Excellency, you want me to lure Blood Peak Sovereign Pash away from Hell and even get him to attack me?" Manlu asked in surprise.
Augusta's solemn face softened into a kind smile. "That's right."
"But Your Excellency, Pash and I are both Lower Sovereigns, yet the Destruction Rule excels at physical and soul attacks. Pash's racial talent also makes his soul exceptionally powerful from birth, while the Earth Laws are weak in soul attacks. If I try to kill him, won't I just be throwing my life away?" Manlu protested.
Augusta smiled calmly. "Manlu, ever since Lord Orloff let Iluka go, several Fate Sovereigns led by Karin have been deeply dissatisfied with you. Lord Orloff hasn't said anything, but he's not as close to you as he used to be. If you don't make some contribution, who knows whether you'll end up like Komodo did, becoming a meal for the strong?
"You've thrown in your lot with me, and I need you. It's a win-win.
"As for why Pash: two of the four Lower Sovereigns of the Destruction Element have Divine Clones. If we act against them, we might not be able to cover our tracks, and word could get out. Pash happens to be one of the two who attained godhood internally." Augusta didn't mention that Pash also happened to be the one closest to the Four Divine Beasts.
Orloff had thought it through. If he was going to act, he might as well use the opportunity to provoke the Four Divine Beasts. Ideally, he'd wipe them all out in one fell swoop!
Manlu remained silent, consumed by worry. But if he turned Augusta down after Orloff had grown cold toward him, his future would be difficult.
A hundred years later, in the Spatial Turbulence outside the Mulan Material Plane, Desterie gazed at the fully formed Fate God Plane and sighed. In the end, he still hadn't managed to break through the barrier to Paragon by drawing on Faith Power and creating a divine plane. After building a plane gate between the newborn divine plane and the Mulan Material Plane, Desterie returned to the Material Plane.
Just then, a distant summoning force gathered. A message came from his Sovereign Spark, and Desterie was instantly alert.
The Sovereign Summoning Scroll—this was the first time anyone had activated his since he became a Sovereign!
His will followed the summoning force and smoothly crossed the distance, projecting itself into a faraway, unknown place.
In the Heavenly Realm, in a grand courtyard on the Skye Continent, a vast amount of Fate Sovereign Power suddenly appeared and condensed into a gigantic Sovereign face. In the courtyard, a blond, blue-eyed man in an ornate white robe knelt respectfully.
The giant face was Desterie's. He lowered his gaze and asked, "Bolin, what do you need?"
The blond man kneeling on the ground was the Bolin Clan patriarch who had replaced Edric.
He raised his head and said nervously and gravely, "Sovereign, after you assigned the task, I had the other clans each send a Highgod with several Divine Clones to serve as a liaison. Just now, among the images of Heaven and Earth Exotic Items recently collected by the Four Divine Beasts Clan, which the Renals Clan in Hell sent over, there was one that looked remarkably like the Black Pearl you showed us. The goods are currently on their way from the Teleportation Array in Iron Saber Gorge, Blood Peak Continent, to the Tianji Mountain Range in Youlan Prefecture."
It really was news of the Supreme God Token! Desterie was delighted. Ten drops of Fate Sovereign Power appeared before him once more. "Very good, Bolin. This is your reward. Once I've confirmed it, you'll receive even more."
Bolin was overjoyed and repeatedly bowed in thanks.
His consciousness returned to his true body. Desterie opened his eyes and immediately set off for Hell in person with his Sovereign Divine Clone. Based on the information he'd gathered over the years, the Four Divine Beasts Clan knew only that their core members were searching for Heaven and Earth Exotic Items; they had no idea what they were actually looking for. He had to get the Supreme God Token before the Four Divine Beasts did!
For this kind of task, even a Destruction Divine Clone comparable to a Paragon wasn't enough. Only his Sovereign Divine Clone could guarantee success!
He hurried to the Teleportation Array. Before teleporting, Desterie checked within himself. In his Soul Space, the Companion White Jade revolved slowly, radiating brilliant Starlight.
Hell, Blood Peak Continent, Iron Saber Gorge Teleportation Array.
Before the light of the Teleportation Array had even faded, a surprised voice came from within it. "I can't believe I got to Iron Saber Gorge on the very first try!"
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