The Pretty Red-haired Girl Fishing by the Lake

The Netherworld.

Nether Mountain.

After confirming that the Four Divine Beasts were still only Midgods, Roger breathed a deep sigh of relief.

He had already explored more than half the foot of Nether Mountain. Only the northern side remained.

There was also just one day left until the night of the full moon.

Roger planned to finish exploring before heading to Undead Sacred Mountain to take the Teleportation Array to the Infernal Realm.

The Four Divine Beasts were unlikely to become Highgods anytime soon, anyway, and traveling from here to Undead Sacred Mountain would take two years.

Spending a few extra days at Nether Mountain was nothing.

As usual, Roger flew along the foot of the mountain at the speed of an ordinary Midgod.

He occasionally encountered other divine experts. If they left him alone, Roger ignored them. If they tried to attack, he showed no mercy, instantly killing them with a single Soul Annihilation Blade.

Fortunately, there were few people like that, so his exploration went quite efficiently.

Splash, splash, splash...

Suddenly.

Roger heard the sound of rippling water.

He flew over to look.

At once, he spotted a pretty girl with a head of red hair fishing beside a lake.

Beside her stood a beautiful woman in silver robes.

"My lady, someone is coming," Inawei, the woman in silver robes, said softly.

The pretty red-haired girl, Lilith, turned to glance at Roger, then returned her attention to the lake. "Just a Midgod. Leave him alone as long as he doesn't come close."

"Yes, my lady."

Inawei answered softly and respectfully, then turned to watch Roger.

This should be Lilith's companion, that great silver serpent. Roger met her gaze.

Their eyes locked.

Inawei's gaze sharpened. Although Roger looked like an ordinary Midgod, he gave her a faint sense of danger.

As a divine beast, Inawei possessed a powerful Innate Divine Ability and a keen sense for danger.

Even she did not know why a Midgod would make her feel this way.

Whoosh!

Inawei flew straight toward Roger. "My elder sister is fishing up ahead. You'd best go another way."

"All right..."

Roger glanced at Lilith, who was wholly focused on fishing, then turned and left without hesitation.

Because just a moment earlier...

Roger had silently placed two Tracking Marks on Lilith and Inawei.

Once the right opportunity arose, he could silently merge those marks into their Soul Oceans, allowing him to monitor them perfectly.

Even now, Roger could use the Tracking Marks to observe their surroundings, but he could not yet turn the marks into Soul Leeches to invade their souls.

Roger was waiting.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity.

After leaving the lakeside, Roger continued exploring.

Discovering Lilith here was undoubtedly good news for him.

If Lilith remained here afterward...

Then, when the Sovereign Sparks descended, an upper Death Sovereign Spark would most likely appear here!

Hurry up, full moon. Once I've finished setting things up here, I still have to head to the Infernal Realm.

Roger sat quietly on a large boulder.

He weighed the possibility of enslaving Lilith.

Lilith had already become a Highgod. Her mastery of the Death Edict was unknown, but it was unlikely to be poor.

After all, she was the first life born in the Netherworld.

Even if she could not cultivate as quickly as Wette, she should have had no trouble reaching the level of a Seven-Star Demon or an Asura by now.

Moreover, as a supreme divine beast, she was certain to possess Innate Energy within her Soul Ocean that could resist Soul Control.

Even as a Paragon, Roger had no absolute confidence that he could enslave Lilith.

If he failed and put Lilith on her guard, things would turn ugly.

Roger still wanted to use this Tracking Mark to follow the trail and obtain information about the Sovereign Sparks.

But then again...

If he successfully enslaved Lilith...

The reward would be no less than what he would gain from enslaving the Four Divine Beasts!

What should I do? Should I gamble?

Roger began wrestling with himself.

Success would naturally be ideal.

But if he failed and exposed himself, and Lilith later became the Sovereign of Death and obtained the Heart of the Netherworld, Roger would have nowhere left to stand in the entire Netherworld...

Roger had not been born in a Material Plane. If he failed to seize another Sovereign Spark by then, he would face Lilith's endless pursuit.

The risks and rewards are both enormous. What should I choose?

Roger was genuinely torn.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Only then did Roger make his choice: leave Lilith alone for now...

Whew... sometimes you have to give something up to gain something else. The Four Divine Beasts are my safest bet right now. Even if I fail to enslave them, it won't matter. I can bear the consequences. As long as I keep a close eye on them, my strength as a Paragon gives me a very good chance of seizing their Sovereign Sparks.

But if I fail to enslave Lilith, the consequences might be more than I can bear. In that case, there's no need to take the risk.

Roger was cautious.

He was now a Paragon, truly invincible among deities.

Not even the Innate Divine Ability of a supreme divine beast could threaten him.

But what about later?

If Roger had terrible luck and failed to obtain even a single death-attribute Sovereign Spark, he would be in real trouble...

Forget it. That's the decision for now. I won't make a move against Lilith yet.

By then, the sky had gone completely dark.

An eerie blood-red moon hung overhead.

Endless, faint blood-colored moonlight shrouded the land.

Roger looked up.

Sure enough, the moon was now perfectly full.

The mist blanketing the entire mountain had also begun to thin.

"Now!"

Gray divine power surged around Roger, and he shot into Nether Mountain.

Once he was fully inside Nether Mountain, Roger instantly felt slightly dizzy, but with a turn of his thoughts, that trace of discomfort vanished.

At the same time, Roger felt a heart-stopping pressure.

It was so powerful that even Roger could barely extend his divine sense beyond his body, covering only a few hundred meters around him.

That was nowhere near the five hundred kilometers he could easily cover outside.

And he was a Paragon, a being who possessed Willpower!

This meant that something within Nether Mountain could drastically suppress the divine sense of divine experts.

Anyone below the Paragon level would not even be able to extend their divine sense beyond their body.

Even Roger was shaken. What treasure in the entire Netherworld could possess such power?

Roger cautiously surveyed his surroundings while reasoning through the possibilities.

Suddenly.

A name appeared in Roger's mind: the Heart of the Netherworld!

As far as Roger knew...

In the entire Netherworld, the only thing capable of this...

Might be that supreme treasure governing the reincarnation of souls throughout the Coiling Dragon World.

If this really is the Heart of the Netherworld, then I'll have to explore Nether Mountain thoroughly!

Roger put himself on full alert and began carefully searching from the foot of the mountain.

To leave no gaps in his search, Roger chose the simplest method: circle after circle, spiraling upward!

With his divine sense covering several hundred meters around him, his search was still quite efficient.

The White Mist Zone covered a considerable area.

It took Roger three full days to finish searching it.

He was so slow partly because there was no gravity within Nether Mountain, and it was easy to lose his sense of direction.

Even with his exceptionally powerful soul, Roger could only search back and forth within the White Mist Zone.

Yet, unsurprisingly...

Roger found nothing in the White Mist Zone...