Setting Off, Yulan Plane

"This, this is the Crown of Wutie?"

Ren carefully examined the crown inside the Spatial Ring with his divine sense. He was stunned for a moment, but quickly composed himself and began to observe it in detail.

Inside the Spatial Ring, the crown, which was entirely gray, contained a powerful surge of life energy. There was a depression at the center of the crown meant for a core, and along the edge of this center, there were nine distinct circular grooves.

As someone with memories of Blue Star, Ren knew that this was the place to house the Red Diamond Crystal and the nine Spirit Beads. As long as one obtained the three artifacts, they could assemble the Crown of Life and summon the Supreme God of Life to make a single request.

In his Blue Star memories, when Linley obtained the Crown of Wutie, it contained life energy, but only a tiny amount. It vanished immediately after Linley absorbed it, appearing far weaker compared to the other two items that kept Molder alive and allowed Bludi to slaughter his enemies.

Therefore, Ren guessed that the crown must have originally contained a vast amount of life energy, but this energy was consumable—the more one absorbed, the less remained. It had likely been used by many people across the divine planes, and by the time it was depleted, it had drifted into the Spatial Turbulence before being found by Linley.

What Ren hadn't expected was that Alfred, the Prefect of Liang'an, had actually once possessed this artifact. It had ended up being his gain instead.

Ren had considered intercepting the Supreme God artifacts before, but the information from his Blue Star memories only stated that the nine Spirit Beads eventually fell into the hands of Molder, the Prefect of Tianshan. Exactly when and how Molder obtained them remained unknown.

The Red Diamond Crystal was something Bludi had obtained by chance. Bludi might not have even arrived in Hell yet, and besides, who knew where the Red Diamond Crystal was before he picked it up? It could have been in the Spatial Turbulence, or perhaps in the hands of someone on the Muya Continent.

"Perhaps I can plan for the Supreme God artifacts after some time, but for now..."

Ren put away the Crown of Wutie. Muttering to himself, he decided to temporarily suppress the urge to hunt for the Supreme God artifacts.

Not to mention whether the nine Spirit Beads were currently in Molder's hands, even if they were, having just offended the Sovereign of the Four Divine Beasts, it would be unwise for him to head to the Blood Peak Continent right now.

As for the Red Diamond Crystal, even if it were on the Muya Continent, with Ren's current strength, searching for it would take a massive amount of time and might even attract the attention of a Sovereign.

Ren had to temporarily abandon the idea of collecting the Supreme God artifacts and began to consider his next move.

With the strength of a Paragon Highgod, there were few directions left for further improvement. A Paragon was the true peak of cultivation in this universe; the power of a Sovereign was merely Willpower, and in terms of the profound mysteries of the laws, they were not necessarily superior to a Paragon.

For the current Ren, there were only two ways to become stronger: become a Sovereign, or undergo soul mutation. The latter could be almost entirely ignored; after researching soul mutation for so many years, Ren had to admit that it was purely a matter of luck. Oufu, the Fate Overlord, was known as a madman who had studied every possible method to grow stronger, yet he had never seen him undergo a soul mutation.

"A Sovereign Spark?"

A sharp glint flashed in Ren's eyes as he quickly contemplated his next course of action. The first place that came to mind was, naturally, the Yulan plane.

The Sovereign Sparks were the seventy-seven greatest opportunities in the universe, existing since the dawn of time—there were no others like them. Only those born at that time could obtain a Sovereign Spark and become a Sovereign. The number of Sovereigns was fixed; only when a Sovereign fell could a new one be born.

After the Sovereign War, the most a newborn life could achieve was to become a Paragon Highgod. In front of a Sovereign, they were still just a god. For countless years, Paragons had acted as if they looked down on certain Sovereigns, feeling they were just lucky, but wasn't that just jealousy?

If it were a Paragon themselves who obtained a Sovereign Spark, they would undoubtedly refine it without hesitation. Because that was a Sovereign. Beirut had dared to snatch spoils of war from the Radiant Overlord, even at the cost of potentially never daring to leave the Yulan plane again, and he had done so recklessly—all because it was a Sovereign.

The current Sovereigns were almost set in stone. To obtain a Sovereign Spark, one could only wait for a Sovereign to fall. In Ren's memory, the only event that was definitely not a coincidence was the battle between the Four Divine Beasts and the Radiant Overlord.

"Perhaps, it is time to go and take a look at the Yulan Continent."

Ren moved slightly. After leaving behind his water and fire divine clones, his true body and wind divine clone flew toward the direction of the teleportation array.

Although so many things had happened, Ren did not know if the Sovereign Sparks of the Four Divine Beasts and the Radiant Overlord would still appear near the Yulan Continent, but there was no harm in trying.

On the Bifu Continent, at Lan'er Canyon, a turquoise palace stood on the edge of a cliff, exuding an ancient aura.

"Splash!"

The seawater of the Star Fog Sea constantly lashed against the shore. From time to time, spray would land on the edge of the castle, yet the castle on the cliff remained unchanged, no matter how much time passed.

A massive, primitive magic array was located in the center of the palace, and a dozen soldiers in green robes were patrolling it with boredom.

"Old Third, can you stop toying with those Saint-level ones?" A middle-aged man, who appeared to be a squad leader, looked at a young man, his tone filled with helplessness.

"Big Brother, I'm teaching them the rules of Hell. Saint-levels are just cannon fodder when they arrive in Hell. If they don't learn to keep a low profile, they won't survive a single day!" the young man replied righteously, his tone full of mockery.

"You... fine, whatever!" Seeing the young man like this, the middle-aged man didn't say anything more. After all, they were just a few Saint-levels. As members of the Bifu Army guarding the teleportation array, they had at least that much authority.

"Teaching" some ignorant Saint-levels was a tradition of the Sovereign's army. Generally, young people who had just joined would be interested in it for a long time.

However, after a while, it always became boring, and over time, veterans like them lost interest.

"Still young, truly full of energy. Sigh! I wonder when I'll be able to save up enough Inkstones." The middle-aged man shook his head and sighed softly. Even as a squad leader of the Bifu Army, it would take endless years to save up enough for a house in the city.

"Swish!"

When the middle-aged man regained his focus, a black-haired young man had already landed in front of the teleportation array.

"Such speed! Is this? A Seven-Star Demon?" The middle-aged man felt a jolt in his heart, but his reaction was not slow at all. He immediately lowered his head and bowed, asking:

"My Lord, may I ask what your instructions are?"

"Yulan plane."

Ren took out a blood-red token that radiated the aura of a Sovereign and spoke.

"Yes, My Lord!"

The middle-aged man's pupils constricted violently. After quickly answering, he signaled his men to activate the teleportation array.

Ren didn't say anything more and walked straight into the teleportation array. As the light of the magic array flashed, he soon disappeared from the spot.

"Phew! I didn't expect to run into a Sovereign Envoy. I wonder what this Lord is doing going to a material plane? Forget it, that's not something I should know." After letting out a sigh of relief, the middle-aged man shook his head. As a qualified member of the Bifu Army, he knew that it was best not to pry into things he shouldn't know.