Seclusion

Carlson had originally exposed Aier's deal because he wanted to use West to get rid of Aier.

But now that he had calmed down, Carlson realized in despair that as long as Aier was inside Caeles City, he was safe.

And with his vast fortune in Inkstones, all Aier had to do was buy an Earth-element Mid-God Spark and a High-God Spark. Once he refined them, he would be a High God for sure.

For all he knew, Lord Olga might even hand him over to Aier to vent his anger, just to curry favor with him.

And that was only if Carlson managed to live that long.

The look Lord West had just given him made Carlson realize that Lord Carlson had set his sights on him, too.

For all he knew, this trip back would be the end of him!

But Carlson didn't have enough Inkstones on him to stay in Caeles City. Once he left the city, without the Overgod's prohibition in place, Lord West could do whatever he wanted to him.

"It's over!"

In an instant, Carlson fell into despair.

Meanwhile, Aier had no intention of continuing to associate with West and the others. After successfully exchanging for the items he needed, he left Bauhinia Castle with more than fifteen million Inkstones.

After paying a thousand years' rent and registering, Aier had finally settled in Caeles City.

He shut the door and entered the cultivation room in the courtyard. Looking at the more than a hundred thousand Low-God Sparks and over a thousand Mid-God Sparks in his Space Ring, Aier couldn't stop smiling.

For ordinary people who refined Godheads to advance, the only way was to exchange for Mid-God Sparks and High-God Sparks of the same element.

A Low-God Spark cost one hundred Inkstones.

A Mid-God Spark cost ten thousand Inkstones.

A High-God Spark cost a whopping ten million Inkstones!

But Shier was different. His Equipment Slot could refine and absorb the laws within Godheads. So, if he was lucky, Aier would need to refine only five more Low-God Sparks to become a High God.

The total cost would be less than a thousand Inkstones.

Incredible value for money!

Aier had also bought Mid-God Sparks to see whether he could refine the original owners' Fusion Laws from them.

If he succeeded, Aier would take off like a rocket!

"This time, I'll cultivate in seclusion until my body is strong enough to match a Godhead!"

With more than ten million Inkstones, Aier could exchange them for over a million Low-God Sparks. That many would be enough to raise his body's strength until it could match a Godhead.

By then, Aier's strength would increase tremendously.

His physical defense would be maxed out, and his attack power would increase nearly a hundredfold.

"Before that, I should raise my soul power to its limit!"

Suppressing his excitement, Aier turned his gaze to the pile of Amethysts in his Space Ring.

With a thought, an Amethyst appeared in Aier's hand.

"Equip!"

The Amethyst vanished from Aier's palm. Then he felt his soul power recovering at an extremely slow pace.

"Refine!"

At Aier's command, the Amethyst's boost disappeared, and he learned how long it would take to refine one.

"Thirty-four days!"

"Not bad. Just over a month."

To increase his strength and keep anyone from setting him up, Aier had hung a "Cultivating in Seclusion" sign on the courtyard gate as soon as he moved in, refusing all visitors.

Even when West and the others came to say goodbye, Aier didn't meet with them.

Although West had said at Bauhinia Castle that Aier hadn't stolen the Blood-Red Source Crystal, the Crimson Blood Tribe was the only one in a radius of ten million kilometers with a Crimson Blood Mine.

The Blood-Red Source Crystal was a treasure born from Crimson Blood Essence Ore.

To Olga and West, who considered the Crimson Blood Tribe their private property, it didn't matter how Aier had obtained the Blood-Red Source Crystal. They could still consider it stolen from them.

Unless something unexpected happened, when West and the others returned, Olga would be waiting for Aier outside the city.

"Absorb!"

Aier's thoughts stirred, and the purple mist inside the Equipment Slot instantly merged with his soul.

His soul absorbed the purple mist, and his soul power rapidly increased. Once all the mist had merged into his soul, Aier could feel that the weakness had completely left it.

Without hesitation, Aier placed another Amethyst in the Equipment Slot.

"Refine!"

"Twenty-eight days?"

Aier raised an eyebrow. He remembered that refining the last Amethyst had taken thirty-four days.

Now it took six days less.

"Looks like the Equipment Slot's refining speed really does depend on my soul's strength."

After becoming a God, Aier had also felt that the Equipment Slot refined things much faster.

At the Saint Realm stage, refining one Godhead had taken more than sixty years.

He wondered how fast it would be once his soul reached its peak.

Three months later, Aier looked at the purple mist drifting through his Soul Space, completely satisfied.

During this time, he had successfully refined five Amethysts, raising his soul power to its current limit.

"Next, I'll refine Godheads and increase my strength!"

Aier sent his divine sense toward the four piles of Godheads in his Space Ring.

In the Coiling Dragon Universe, Linley had already completed the Path of Transcendence.

By undergoing a Four-Element Soul Mutation in Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, fusing the Profound Mysteries of different laws from all four elements, and drawing on the power of all four elements, one could return to the origin and fuse Hongmeng Energy.

So Aier planned to refine only Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire Godheads, giving himself Divine Clones of all four elements.

Now, he was going to refine Earth-element Godheads.

Since the Equipment Slot's refining speed depended on his soul strength, after advancing to Mid-God, it would surely refine Godheads faster than gaining another Divine Clone would.

"Too bad the Equipment Slot is only in my true body's Soul Space..."

"If my Divine Clones had Equipment Slots in their Soul Spaces, I could increase my speed several times over."

Aier couldn't help but feel that he was being greedy.

He took out an Earth-element Godhead and silently thought—

"Equip!"

Then—

"Refine!"

"Oh-ho, eighteen years?"

When Aier realized that refining a Godhead now took only eighteen years, he raised an eyebrow.

"By the way, how long does it take Beirut to devour a Godhead and refine its essence?"

"For all I know, by the time I become a High God, I'll refine Godhead essence even faster than Beirut."

The God-Slaying Rat's Innate Divine Ability, "God-Slaying," could instantly kill deities of the same level. It could also refine Godheads, using their essence to strengthen its body or forge Divine Spark Weapons.

In terms of toughness, Divine Spark Weapons could rival Sovereign Artifacts.