Simon was the same. When he had first transmigrated here, he had been wholly focused on cultivation. Even in the Loya Empire, Simon had resisted the temptations of all kinds of beautiful women.
From the very beginning, he had sworn that he would never live off a woman...
But now that he had met Fanny, seen her star-bright eyes that seemed to speak and her playful, adorable nature, Simon realized that he seemed to have fallen...
Whether it counted as living off a woman could wait until later...
Fanny had fallen as well. Having never felt such a flutter in her heart before, she was both excited and afraid.
"Simon, do you believe in fate?"
Fanny asked lazily as she lay on the grass.
Traveling Through the Shadow Continent Together
"Fate? Perhaps I do."
"I think that, looking from the end, all the people and events one encounters in life are destined. But from the beginning, everything is full of the unknown. Perhaps our fate lies somewhere between the unknown and the destined."
Simon said as he leaned against a tree.
"Like our meeting. Before coming here, I did not even know you existed, Fanny. But looking at it now, our meeting had long been destined."
Those philosophical words struck deeply at Fanny's heart.
"Yes, the future is full of the unknown, but from the ending, everything happening now had already been destined."
Fanny had always harbored resentment toward her family for sending her to a Material Plane as its plane guardian. Yet at this moment, she felt incomparably fortunate. The heart that had long been silent seemed to have come alive the instant she met Simon.
Back then, Fanny's family had claimed that they were sending her here to temper her character and willpower. But lively and restless as she was, she had spent a long time adapting to this completely unfamiliar environment.
Over these hundreds of thousands of years, Fanny had gone from being unable to adapt, to giving up on herself, to gradually growing accustomed to it. In the end, she had fully adapted to living alone and completed her duties as a plane guardian. She had indeed matured greatly, transforming from an unruly young lady of a great family into the slightly mischievous beautiful girl she was today.
And she had met Simon here as well. Fanny could only feel that this was fate's guidance.
"Thank the Supreme God of Fate."
Fanny believed that once she returned to the family, her grandfather, who had once worried endlessly over her, would surely see her in a completely different light.
Over these hundreds of thousands of years, she had gained an initial understanding of the Laws of Fate and cultivated them to the Lowgod level. Her Law of Fire had also advanced from the early Midgod stage to just one step away from breaking through to Highgod.
She had also successfully fused Profound Mystery of Fire Element with Profound Mystery of Explosion. Once she fully mastered Profound Mystery of Scorch and broke through to Highgod, Fanny would immediately possess the strength of a Five-Star Fiend.
After returning, she would be able to venture through Hell on her own. Fanny was very proud of that.
The two chatted about many things. Though Fanny was already over a million years old, she felt like a little sister to Simon.
Born into a great family in Hell, she had always lived carefree under her family's protection. That was until her doting grandfather realized that if things continued this way, Fanny would sooner or later be spoiled, picking up the habits of those wastrels and eventually falling completely into decadence.
Thus, Grayson, Fanny's grandfather, a powerful Chief God Envoy who roamed freely through Hell, had resolved to send Fanny to this Material Plane that he managed on behalf of a Chief Sovereign.
Chief Sovereigns had been born long, long ago. They no longer valued the faith of Material Planes as much as they once did. The only reason they still managed them was because they had expended great effort in creating magic to compete for faith in the past, and now did not wish to simply abandon it all.
As for how faith was spread and how a plane was governed, that depended entirely on the personal professional ethics of the plane guardian.
Since the Rayast Plane was one of the many Material Planes Grayson managed on behalf of a Chief Sovereign, and was suitable in every regard, Grayson gave Fanny a great number of treasures and tossed her here.
"Hell must have countless powerful experts and all kinds of treasures, right?"
Simon said enviously.
"There really are many powerful experts and treasures, but the battles and slaughter in Hell are brutal. I rarely leave the city, and even when I do, the family sends powerful experts to protect me. Still, I know that only cities are safe in Hell. Out in the wilderness, anyone below Highgod is barely able to survive from one day to the next."
Fanny sighed with emotion. After coming to a Material Plane, she had leaped from being rather ordinary in strength to becoming the strongest person in the entire plane. It had taken her a long time to adapt to that too.
"Yes, it was you who spread the truth that Supreme Planes are so cruel, wasn't it, Fanny?"
"That's right. I couldn't bear to see these powerful experts who had risen through hardship in Material Planes rush off to Hell on an impulse, only to have bad luck and die within a few days."
So it really had been kind-hearted Fanny who spread the news. Simon had previously found it strange that the Rayast Plane, which had no truly top-tier experts, was actually quite familiar with the situation in Supreme Planes. So it had been the work of this unqualified plane guardian.
"Then the many locals really should thank you, Fanny. It saves them from going to the Heaven they dream of, only to discover that it is truly Hell."
"No need to thank me. I entered the Saint Realm shortly after I was born, and with my family's help, becoming a god was not difficult either. Of course I couldn't bear to watch these poor people, who fought desperately to cultivate to the Saint Realm on their own, go off to die."
"You're really kind, Fanny."
"Hehe~"
After staying on the island for a month, Simon unusually did not have his main body cultivate as well. Instead, he let his Wind Element Divine Clone and Water Element Divine Clone cultivate on their own, while his main body spent time playing with Fanny.
On a bright and breezy day, Simon felt that he could not continue wasting away like this.
"Fanny, I'm leaving. How about I come find you again after I finish exploring the Shadow Continent?"
"Simon, you're leaving? Stay and play with me a little longer. You're already a god, so why do you still cultivate so diligently?"
The moment Fanny heard that Simon was leaving, she became anxious.
This month had been the happiest month of her million-year life. Before she had even realized how much time had passed, Simon was already leaving.
"I still need to cultivate. After staying here for too long, I found that my cultivation progress had slowed down. I still want to break through to Midgod within a hundred years and win the bet."
"Ah, do you really have to leave?"
Fanny pouted her little lips in grievance.
"Of course I do. I still want to see the sights of the Shadow Continent and, while I'm at it, see if I can find any treasures that can help ordinary people cultivate."
"Treasures? Simon, you should have told me earlier! Before I came here, my grandfather gave me an entire Spatial Ring full of treasures. Just tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you directly. Stay with me a little longer, okay?"
"Those are treasures your grandfather worked hard to obtain. How could you just give them away?"
Simon politely declined. Even if he wanted them, he intended to ask only after winning the bet.
A man had to stand tall...
He would absolutely never live off a woman...
"Hmph~ He didn't work hard at all. Other people practically rushed to give him these things. I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Haha, let's talk about the treasures after I win the bet. Fanny, you can leave the Teleportation Formation and move around freely, right?"
"Of course. I'm very free. I can go wherever I want. When I first arrived, I found Material Planes rather novel, so I traveled everywhere. Later, I realized there wasn't much to see, so I rarely went out."
"Then you can travel through the Shadow Continent with me, Fanny."
"That's right, I can go with you! Ugh, why did I suddenly become so stupid?"
"Haha, you're so smart and adorable, Fanny. How could you be stupid?"
"Hehe~"
Thus, the two flew toward the Shadow Continent while chatting and laughing.
Simon had previously learned from Fanny that the Endless Sea to the north was not much different from the south. The only difference was that a Lowgod-level Divine Beast lived there, ruling the entire northern Endless Sea, while the south was tacitly regarded as Fanny's territory.
According to Fanny, Simon also learned that it was a relatively common Water Element Divine Beast—the Ba Serpent. Its Innate Divine Ability was Swallow and Absorb.
Once Simon learned the Divine Beast's specific information, he lost interest in it. Previously, he might have wanted to see what kind of Divine Beast it was, but now Simon was clearly more interested in Fanny. Perhaps he would visit it on the way back. If it was not on the way, he could not be bothered.
In any case, Simon now held a Godhead in hand, enough for his family's needs.
Breaking Through to Midgod
At Simon and Fanny's speed, they reached the East Coast of the Shadow Continent after several days of flying at full speed.
The two restrained their auras and landed while disguised as ordinary people.
"Simon, there are so many people!"
Fanny smiled happily.
"Yes. Bonn City, the capital of the Harry Empire, is a massive city with a population of tens of millions. Naturally, there are a lot of people."
Because the continent was rich in resources, even commoners did not have to worry about going hungry. Thus, the empire's central city naturally had a large population.
With more people came all kinds of commerce and entertainment.
Simon spent the day wandering around Bonn City with Fanny. He accompanied her as she ate many local delicacies, admired the proud works of master stone sculptors, and listened to distinctive music.
In the end, Simon found a luxurious hotel and took Fanny inside to stay.
It was Fanny's first time staying in a luxurious hotel on a Material Plane, and she was extremely curious. She looked around and touched everything, lively and restless as ever.
"Fanny, you can stay in that room inside. I'll stay outside."
Simon had booked a luxurious suite. There were several rooms of varying sizes inside, as well as huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sea. It was more than spacious enough.
"Okay."
After settling in, Simon faced the sea and once more immersed himself in cultivation.
The moment Fanny saw Simon cultivating so diligently, she instantly lost interest in playing. Obediently, she sat cross-legged beside Simon and began cultivating as well.
Wind was formless and shapeless.
When swift, it could sweep through everything with ferocious force.
When still, it could stagnate motion and bind all things.
At that moment, Simon's Wind Element Divine Clone was using the Wind Element spell, Vacuum Binding Art, as a foundation in an attempt to comprehend Wind Space.
In truth, Simon had vaguely sensed Wind Space back when he created the Domain Ultimate Technique, Ice Wind Space. But at that time, he had been immersed in fusing Profound Mystery of Speed and Profound Mystery of Slow, so he had not pursued the insight further.
Later, while studying Profound Mystery of Wind Element, that feeling had become even stronger. Until now, when Simon recalled the Vacuum Binding Art he had once cast and carefully experienced the mysteries contained within the spell, inspiration suddenly surged forth, and Profound Mystery of Wind Space became incomparably clear.
This terrifying single-target spell was said to allow a Level 9 Magician to kill someone in the Saint Realm across ranks, so long as there was an unlimited supply of magical power. In the past, Simon had only sensed traces of Profound Mystery of Wind Element, Profound Mystery of Speed, and Profound Mystery of Slow within it. Now, in his state of enlightenment, he also comprehended the profound mystery of affecting space.
"This must be Profound Mystery of Wind Space."
Simon was excited. The Speed Profound Truth had long refused to reach mastery, yet he had unexpectedly gained an initial understanding of Wind Space instead.
"What powerful compressive binding force."
"No wonder a Level 9 Magician can briefly trap someone in the Saint Realm with it. Even if it can only trap an ordinary Saint Realm expert who has just comprehended Momentum of Heaven and Earth, that is still incredible. What's more, it also carries powerful Strangulation force."
"As expected, as long as there is enough magical power, it really can kill ordinary Saint Realm experts."
The deeper Simon studied it, the more amazed he became. The magic created by the Chief Sovereigns through endless time and the power of faith truly was astonishing.
This seemingly ordinary Vacuum Binding Art had clearly fused at least four Profound Mysteries: Profound Mystery of Wind Element, Profound Mystery of Speed, Profound Mystery of Slow, and Profound Mystery of Wind Space. Its method of application was also filled with ingenious ideas.
Though becoming a Chief Sovereign depended more on luck, it could not be denied that the Chief Sovereign who created the Vacuum Binding Art had still been a genius.
Before you continue