Crafting Soul Defense Divine Artifacts

A night passed.

The three of them got out of bed feeling refreshed.

They headed outside the castle.

Thousands of years had passed.

The teleportation array still had not appeared.

Roger guessed that they might have to wait quite a while longer before it appeared.

"Shelly, has anyone come to cause trouble over the years?" Roger asked, looking at Shelly as she clung to him.

"After we killed a few groups two thousand years ago, hardly anyone came to cause trouble anymore." Shelly smiled sweetly. "But more and more powerful people have been appearing over the years."

Shelly tilted her head and thought for a moment. "The patrol teams have also started finding unfamiliar Highgods in the surrounding area noticeably more often."

"Yes, Master. When I led patrols over the years, I often saw Highgods traveling alone or in groups. Fortunately, they were all fairly average in strength. With my powerful divine body and innate divine ability, I could easily handle them."

"It looks like this world is becoming less peaceful." Roger gazed at the vast landscape beyond the mountaintop with a sigh.

This was still the period shortly after the Netherworld's birth. At first, powerful beings such as Highgods had been exceedingly rare.

But as time went on, there would be more and more Highgods.

As the number of powerful beings increased, the killing would intensify.

The conditions for survival would grow ever harsher.

That brutal environment would temper even more powerful beings.

And those powerful beings would make the environment harsher still...

The cycle would repeat endlessly.

Until teleportation arrays leading to the four Higher Planes appeared in the countless material planes.

This process would accelerate further,

so that the later it became, the faster powerful beings would emerge, and the more numerous they would be.

In the end, to "use up" these powerful beings, Hongmeng had even specifically created the "Planar Battlefield," where supremely powerful beings were continually consumed, keeping the number of top-tier experts in the Coiling Dragon World within a reasonable range.

Over the years, Roger's Water Clone in Netherlo City had personally experienced the first half of that process.

As more and more tribes joined Netherlo City,

the city's expansion grew faster and faster.

By now,

its sphere of influence encompassed tens of millions of li in every direction.

Every tribe living within that area had nominally placed itself under Netherlo City.

After all, Roger had acted several times over the years, overwhelmingly killing the invaders in an instant every time.

This had spread Roger's reputation far and wide.

People in more distant lands learned that a supremely powerful man named Roger presided over an enormous city called Netherlo City in the northern Netherworld.

With a permanent population now numbering in the tens of millions, Netherlo City certainly qualified as an enormous city in the Netherworld of this era.

Although over ninety-nine percent of its residents were at the Sanctuary stage,

the relatively stable cultivation environment gave those Sanctuary cultivators a very high rate of ascension to godhood.

There were now over a million Lowgods under Netherlo City's administration.

Most of them had emerged from among those Sanctuary cultivators.

It was easy to foresee that,

as Netherlo City continued expanding toward its planned size,

the population it could accommodate would increase further.

And even more divine-level experts would emerge.

With this force at his disposal, Roger would receive more and more information.

That way,

he would hold a considerable initiative during this period when the world had only just begun.

This was also why Roger had gone to such lengths to establish his own force.

"Mia, have you found the heavenly soul crystals I asked you to look for over the years?"

Roger suddenly asked.

"We've found quite a few. Master, could you be planning to...?"

"Yes. After these years of secluded cultivation, I feel I can try crafting Soul Defense Divine Artifacts. Give me all the heavenly soul crystals you've collected."

"Yes, Master!"

Mia happily handed him an Interspatial Ring.

"Once I've finished crafting them, I'll replace yours and Shelly's with them. That will give you another safeguard when you go out."

"Thank you, Master!"

Mia and Shelly were delighted.

They were supreme divine beasts, with naturally powerful divine bodies. Their soul defense was bolstered by innate energy, so ordinary soul attacks posed no threat to them.

But against an Asura-level expert as proficient in souls as Roger, their soul defense would fall short.

If they could wear Soul Defense Divine Artifacts personally crafted by Roger using his own understanding of souls, their ability to stay alive would soar.

After obtaining the heavenly soul crystals that would serve as the vessels for the Soul Defense Divine Artifacts, Roger finished his inspection of the Undead Sacred Mountain and returned to his secluded chamber to begin crafting them.

Soul Defense Divine Artifacts were very special.

Not only did their creator need to reach the Asura level,

they also required special crystals such as heavenly soul crystals, which existed between illusion and reality, to serve as vessels.

The latter requirement was manageable.

With a certain investment of manpower and resources, they could be found.

But reaching the Asura level was difficult.

Fortunately, Roger had already fully entered that realm.

He looked at the ten heavenly soul crystals lying quietly on the stone table.

Each crystal was only the size of a thumb. Their translucent bodies shone with dazzling colors, while clear, crystalline threads drifted within them, appearing and vanishing.

How beautiful...

Roger picked up a heavenly soul crystal and examined it closely, carefully extending his powerful soul force into it.

Immediately,

the transparent threads inside the heavenly soul crystal instinctively gathered toward Roger's soul force, fluctuating along with it.

As expected, these threads are the key to crafting Soul Defense Divine Artifacts.

Over the years, Roger had asked Mia and Shelly to make inquiries everywhere, and with Allen's efforts in Netherlo City as well,

they had finally obtained information about Soul Defense Divine Artifacts.

Mia had also gone to great lengths to acquire these heavenly soul crystals.

Next,

Roger gradually imprinted his insights into the soul-defense aspects of the death edict onto those threads.

As the imprints deepened,

the threads gradually formed a translucent barrier, as though they possessed a consciousness of their own.

This barrier was none other than the soul barrier that protected the space above Roger's soul ocean!

At last,

when the final thread solidified,

a complete Soul Defense Divine Artifact was finished.

Feeling his mind fully connected to the artifact,

Roger knew

that for someone else to truly use it, he would have to sever this connection, then let the user establish a new connection with the artifact.

In other words, bind it to a new owner.

Only the creator could perform this step.

That was why Soul Defense Divine Artifacts were so rare.

Even during the original story's timeline, this remained true.

After he successfully crafted the first one, the rest went smoothly.

Ten days later,

Roger looked at the ten completed Soul Defense Divine Artifacts on the stone table.

"At last, they're finished. I'll call them 'Netherlo Rings.'"

After giving them a simple name, Roger drew one into his soul ocean, adding another layer of protection around his sea of consciousness.

This was by no means redundant.

If he encountered an overpowered innate divine ability such as "Soul Bewilderment" that rendered him unconscious, he would be unable to actively organize his soul defense in that state.

At such a time, he would have to rely on the Netherlo Ring, already crafted into a divine artifact, to protect his soul.

"With a Netherlo Ring capable of withstanding Asura-level soul attacks, I have one more safeguard."

Roger rose, put away the other nine Netherlo Rings, and mentally called Mia and Shelly over.

A short while later,

the two women arrived at the secluded chamber.

Roger handed the completed Netherlo Rings to them.

"Master, is this a Soul Defense Divine Artifact?"

Mia took the ring and examined it carefully in her palm.