Metal Lifeform

"Metal Lifeform?"

These bandits had thought disaster was about to strike, but who would have expected this High-God not to attack them, instead asking for a Metal Lifeform?

The bandit leader reacted quickly. "Please wait a moment, my lord. I'll go fetch the Metal Lifeform right away!"

"Hmm?"

Ailin looked at him, his brow furrowing slightly.

Afraid that Ailin might misunderstand, the bandit hurriedly explained, "My lord, you may not know this, but the Metal Lifeform is kept in the tribe. We do not carry it with us."

They were bandits. When they went out to rob people, aside from their weapons, they did not carry anything else with them. They could not guarantee that they would not fall during a robbery. If their Space Rings were destroyed because of that, wouldn't it be a loss?

Moreover, their tribe did not have many Metal Lifeforms. Unless they were traveling somewhere relatively far away, they had no use for one, so the Metal Lifeforms were usually kept in the tribe.

"Tribe?"

Ailin glanced at the bandits and understood. It seemed they were a small tribe. Just as he had learned before, aside from those tribes guarded by High-Gods and possessing industries that brought in steady income, the primary source of Nether Stones for smaller tribes was 'robbery.'

They were both a tribe and bandits.

"If you are in a hurry, my lord, why not come with us? We can prepare the Metal Lifeform for you in advance, and you can set off directly afterward."

The bandit extended the invitation cautiously.

Big Brother.

Hearing their leader's words, the other bandits nervously sent voice transmissions. What if this guy...

They were afraid as well. What if this High-God killed them afterward? If they died now, some of them still had Main Bodies, but if the tribe's location was exposed, then being killed would mean truly falling.

Don't worry. High-God experts care about their reputations. Since this High-God lord didn't kill us just now, it means that as long as we don't deliberately provoke him, he probably won't do anything to us.

The bandit analyzed, Besides, we took the initiative to offer. This shows our attitude. Then this High-God lord will have even less reason to kill us.

Hearing this, the other bandits said nothing more.

"Fine. Lead the way."

After thinking it over, Ailin nodded.

Rather than wait here, he might as well go with them and leave directly afterward.

"Please follow us, my lord. It will take roughly half a day."

The bandit leader let out a deep breath, then led the other bandits carefully into the valley. Their dwelling place was not particularly close to where they carried out their robberies.

Following behind, Ailin observed the surroundings.

The terrain within the valley was extremely complex, filled with steep cliff faces and all kinds of dense vegetation. An ambush here would be difficult to spot without careful observation.

Especially at night, with the restrictions of the blood-red clouds and mist, it was even more concealed. Whether one flew above the valley or traveled stealthily within it, this area was under their watch. It truly was an excellent place for robbery.

Those of relatively weak strength, like the skinny human from earlier, would not fly while traveling. That would expose them. They would generally travel stealthily instead. However, without sufficient strength, even stealth was not absolutely safe.

"Are there many bandits around here?"

Ailin suddenly asked.

Hearing the question, the bandit leader hurriedly replied, "I would not dare conceal it from you, my lord. This valley is mainly our territory. But within roughly a hundred li outside the valley, there are other bandits as well. The farther south one goes, the more bandits there are."

They sometimes joined forces with other bandits, or fought them over various conflicts. They were fairly familiar with the bandits in the surrounding area.

Ailin nodded and did not ask further.

At this point, he also suspected that he had passed through some bandits' territories earlier. Most likely, they had seen that he was a High-God and did not dare show themselves.

Before dawn, Ailin arrived with the bandits at the central area of the valley. There were quite a few buildings of varying sizes here. If he had not known these people were bandits, he might truly have taken them for an ordinary tribe.

As soon as this group of bandits returned, many people emerged from the tribe.

Everyone was extremely cautious. Clearly, they had already learned what had happened from some companions who possessed Divine Clones.

The bandit leader also had a Saint Domain Main Body, which was below at the moment. Beside his Main Body stood a Low God woman who appeared to be his wife.

"Please follow me, my lord."

After extending the invitation, the bandit leader flew down first and merged with his Main Body.

Seeing his worried wife beside him, the bandit leader squeezed her hand in reassurance and gently sent a voice transmission. It's fine. Don't worry.

It was not only the bandit leader. The other bandits with Main Bodies merged with them as well.

Ailin swept his gaze over them and discovered that aside from these Mid-level Gods, the rest of the tribe consisted only of Low Gods and Saint Domain beings. In the Netherworld, they were truly insignificant.

"My lord, this is the finest Metal Lifeform in our tribe. It has already been fitted with the latest God Crystal."

At that moment, the bandit leader held a palm-sized bird in his hand and offered it to Ailin.

The shape and size of a Metal Lifeform could both be changed, somewhat like a Divine Weapon. However, this was not a Divine Weapon, but something created by alchemists.

Like Magic Arrays, alchemy was a special discipline outside the seven elemental laws and four edicts. There were far too few beings with talent in either of these two fields. As a result, Metal Lifeforms were actually quite valuable.

Ailin did not stand on ceremony. With a slight gesture of his hand, the 'little bird' flew into his palm on its own.

Controlling a Metal Lifeform did not require acknowledging an owner as with a Divine Weapon. A trace of soul power was enough to control it.

As a trace of Ailin's soul power entered the 'little bird,' it rapidly grew at his thought, directly transforming into something the size of a small building. Its wings flapped as it flew into the air. At a glance, it looked no different from a real avian divine beast.

However, beneath the avian Metal Lifeform was an entrance.

Ailin glanced at the bandit, then entered the Metal Lifeform directly through the opening. Shortly afterward, the avian Metal Lifeform swiftly flew in the direction of Blood Nether City, as originally planned.

Before long, the avian Metal Lifeform vanished into the night.

Only after watching the avian Metal Lifeform fly away did the bandits present truly breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's finally gone."

One of the bandits still felt lingering fear. Although that High-God had not taken his anger out on them earlier, they had remained on edge the entire time.

The bandit leader also let out a quiet breath before saying to his wife beside him, "Wait a little longer. Once we're sure everything is safe, have the others come back."

"Mm."

The Low God woman nodded as well. "All right."

Clearly, to guard against unforeseen circumstances, they had already relocated some of the tribe members and hidden them away.

"This time, we really were unlucky. Not only did we fail to obtain that God Divine Spark, we even lost the Metal Lifeform we stole before."

The earth-yellow giant from earlier spoke helplessly. That Metal Lifeform had also been stolen by them. After all, it was quite valuable, and they generally would not buy one.

"Being able to keep our lives is already incredibly lucky."

The bandit leader said, "No robberies for the next two years. Let the brothers rest for a while, recover their divine power as soon as possible, and then relocate our settlement."

High-Gods were rarely encountered, but every time he encountered one, he relocated their settlement afterward. He could not be certain whether the High-God would settle nearby. It was precisely because of such caution that their tribe, though small in number, had survived all this time.

"Mm."

The others answered in agreement. They had long since grown accustomed to relocating.

Inside the Metal Lifeform, Ailin sat by the window. Compared to traveling by flight, the time saved by relying on a Metal Lifeform could be used for cultivation.

Once its direction was set, so long as the God Crystal still contained divine power, the Metal Lifeform would fly on its own. Of course, if he wanted to change direction, stop, accelerate, or otherwise hasten the journey, he needed to control it manually.

Ailin was in no hurry to reach his destination, so he did not actively control the Metal Lifeform.

Looking at the moonlit Netherworld outside the window, Ailin felt somewhat reflective. Those bandits could rob passing beings in the area, yet before him, they could do nothing. The Netherworld truly was a place where the strong preyed upon the weak.

If he had come to the Divine Plane while still a Mid-God, he likely would not have been able to act as freely as he did now. Setting aside anything else, even encountering bandits like these would probably have meant grave danger.

It had to be said that Pavlos's attempt to use a Soul Seed to control him had not necessarily brought him only bad consequences.

After acquiring the Metal Lifeform, Ailin encountered no further trouble along the way. Although he spotted quite a few other bandits and merchant caravans, once they discovered he was a High-God, none of them dared approach him.

Only after leaving Blood Spirit Island and reaching the skies above the Nether Sea did he stop a traveler to ask for Blood Nether City's exact location, then head straight toward it.

More than ten days later, a towering mountain rising from the seabed appeared upon the distant sea.

From afar, all kinds of shops, inns, and similar buildings could be seen across the mountain. In addition, High-God "soldiers" in uniform constantly patrolled the area.

No Metal Lifeform or powerful expert approaching the mountain landed directly upon it. Instead, they all headed to the so-called "city gate" areas to ascend the mountain.

However, there were many "city gates" through which people could enter and leave, and every one of them was packed with people, showing just how bustling this place was.

This entire mountain was Blood Nether City.