Rhodes and his companions followed Lei Jialie and his wife straight into the Mist Sea. Some of the Alliance's Midgods returned to the castle to continue cultivating, while others entered the Mist Sea to search for amethysts to strengthen their souls.
The blood-red sunlight shone upon the gently rolling Mist Sea, bringing out wondrous colors that formed one beautiful sight after another.
"It's even more beautiful inside the Mist Sea than outside," Rhodes marveled. No matter how vividly the great Tomato had described it, it could not compare to seeing it with his own eyes.
In the distance, masses of white mist looked like galloping winged horses beneath the sunlight.
"Vast and boundless, stretching on forever. Just looking at it lifts the spirits. Lei Jialie, your Amethyst Mountains really are beautiful," Rhodes said with a smile.
"If you like the scenery, you brothers can stay here for a while, and we can exchange more insights. Beautiful as the Mist Sea is, ordinary Midgods can only see about a hundred meters within it. It's easy to get lost if you aren't careful," Lei Jialie said with a smile.
Pash and Rhodes listened carefully. After all, they were entering someone else's inner territory. If they let their guard down and were caught in a trap, leaving them imprisoned for thousands or tens of thousands of years, who could they turn to for justice?
Lei Jialie said casually, "You might spend years in the Mist Sea without finding more than a few amethysts. But since I've accepted you, I'll take you somewhere you can gather more. It's rather dangerous there, though. How much you can collect will depend on your own abilities."
Rhodes gave Lei Jialie a surprised glance. After fighting Pash and then matching auras with him, this fellow had become much easier to talk to. What a strange beast.
"Huh-is that..." A streak of purple light shot toward Rhodes from the distance. He darted sideways and caught it with a sweep of his hand. It was an amethyst.
Rhodes could not help laughing. "Looks like the Amethyst Mountains welcome me. They've given me an amethyst just as I entered the Mist Sea. Haha!"
"Rhodes, your luck really is good. Those at the Saint-level on the very edge of the Mist Sea might not encounter even one in decades," Lei Jialie said with a smile.
In truth, as two super Divine Beasts born within the Amethyst Mountains, the couple had no shortage of amethysts. Even now, as Midgods, they could already exercise simple control over part of the Amethyst Mountains. With that degree of authority, they could prevent anyone from entering its depths. Once they became Highgods, no deities would be able to enter even the middle reaches of the Mist Sea.
Of course, neither of them would tell Rhodes and Pash such a secret. The Amethyst Mountains were their greatest trump card. As long as they remained within them, no one could kill them.
The blood-red sun sank, and the purple moon rose.
When the night passed, the blood-red sun hung in the sky once more, heralding a new day.
The two followed the amethyst couple, flying slowly through the Mist Sea for an entire day and night. At last, as the blood-red sun rose again, the couple ahead stopped.
"Up ahead is where my wife and I cultivate. Let's first sample the wine produced here in my Amethyst Mountains. Its effects are extraordinary. We can exchange insights into the profound mysteries of the laws, and then I'll take you to gather amethysts. How does that sound?" Lei Jialie looked at them and spoke sincerely.
"Haha, Lei Jialie, I like you even more now. Let's have a few cups first. Once we've gathered the amethysts and I've finished cultivating, how about another spar?" Pash laughed heartily at the mention of fine wine.
Rhodes also smiled and nodded. "You're the host here. We'll follow your arrangements."
"Good! I like your spirit. We must drink a few extra cups today. Here, try my Amethyst Wine." Lei Jialie took out a wine jar and poured the purple wine for all three of them.
The moment Rhodes and Pash caught its fragrance, they felt their souls stir and realized that this wine could likely strengthen their souls. They dispensed with further courtesies, and all three raised their cups and drained them together.
"I still have one last jar of Life God Wine. Once we finish it this time, there really won't be any left. Lei Jialie, you're in luck." Reluctantly, Pash brought out the last jar of fine wine he had discovered in the Star Mist Sea. Over the years, he and Rhodes had drunk quite a bit during their occasional rests on the road. There had never been much Life God Wine, and this time they would finish it.
"Haha, try the specialty wine from my region too. All three of these wines are rare treasures, nurtured by heaven and earth. There certainly can't be much of them. Let's drink together!" Rhodes also brought out a jar of Thunder Jade Elixir. Feeling that its previous name had failed to convey its grandeur, he had racked his brains to give it a new one.
Fate was truly wondrous. People who had been fighting just a day earlier now sat at the same table, enjoying fine wine and exchanging insights into the profound mysteries of their respective laws. Though they cultivated different laws, another's insights could still help improve their own. Moreover, Lei Jialie had a Destruction Divine Clone, and his discussion with Pash was particularly animated as they shared their respective understandings.
More than ten days passed in a flash as they exchanged insights into the profound mysteries.
"Pash, let's stop here for now. I'll take you to gather amethysts first. I don't have many on hand. I generally use them as rewards for people in the Alliance, so there aren't enough for you two. I'll take you to gather some, and we can continue our discussion when we return. Then let me spar with Rhodes." Lei Jialie brought their exchange to an end, preparing to take Rhodes and Pash to find amethysts.
"All right. We'll continue when we get back. I feel I've made progress in the Laws of Destruction," Pash said directly.
Rhodes, meanwhile, stood right up, ready to follow Lei Jialie to "pick up" amethysts. Barring any surprises, they would be going to the "108 Big Pits" described in the original novel.
Sure enough, they had not flown far before they heard fierce winds. As the sound grew louder, they could see a large pit dozens of meters across on the ground a hundred meters away. At its center was a cavern opening roughly ten meters in diameter. Fierce winds howled from it, and purple streaks of light sprayed out.
The speed of those purple streaks was astounding.
"So this is where the amethysts fly out from?" Pash exclaimed in surprise. He did not know that there was more than one such place in the Amethyst Mountains.
Countless amethysts shot out in all directions without any order. Their different trajectories naturally scattered them everywhere once they flew out of the Mist Sea. Some, however, shot out at such shallow angles that they flew almost parallel to the pit. Since the pit was sunken, large numbers of amethysts struck its walls.
Many amethysts were embedded in the walls, but even more lay directly inside the pit.
The cavern opening occupied only the center of the pit. Countless amethysts lay everywhere else.
Seeing this also resolved a question Rhodes had had when reading the original novel. These amethysts were not produced by Sovereign Zijing, but were truly formed by nature, generated by the Amethyst Mountains.
"How... how many amethysts are there?" Pash said in astonishment. After all, amethysts were hard to come by outside, yet countless ones now lay before his eyes.
Lei Jialie had been observing them all along. He found little greed in their eyes, only surprise and a look of understanding. Hmm? What's with that look of understanding on Rhodes's face? Never mind. At least neither of them is greedy.
The wind suddenly stopped, and the amethysts ceased spraying out.
Pash looked at Lei Jialie. "Can we just go down and pick them up?"
Having read the original novel, Rhodes knew that once the wind stopped, the amethysts would no longer spray out. Instead, a terrifying suction would arise, one that Midgods could never resist. He also wanted to see what Lei Jialie would say. If the man harbored malicious intentions, Rhodes was prepared to use his Willpower to strengthen himself and kill him outright. So what if he was a future Sovereign?
"Pash, no! You can't go down now. Wait a little longer and watch carefully. When you come to collect amethysts in the future, you must be careful. Don't get careless!" Lei Jialie immediately stopped Pash. Rather than explain, he had Pash wait and observe for himself.
"Hiss... hiss..."
The cavern that had stopped spewing amethysts suddenly produced an utterly terrifying suction. It shook space itself, creating a vortex of spatial ripples. In an instant, the vortex within the cavern sucked in every loose amethyst in the pit.
"Hiss..." Seeing suction so powerful that it created spatial ripples, Pash could not help drawing in a sharp breath. A Midgod could not possibly withstand it.
Strangest of all, the astonishing suction swept through only the pit like a vortex. Beyond the pit, it had almost no effect.
"Hiss... hiss..." The cavern continued sucking.
Only the amethysts deeply embedded in the walls remained. Not a single one of those that had carpeted the pit was left.
Pash watched the scene, speechless for a long time. If someone didn't know about this, wouldn't they be throwing their life away???
PS: First chapter. Back to writing. Brothers, if you have votes, please send some recommendation votes and monthly votes my way. Thank you, everyone. May everything go smoothly for the brothers who vote, and may you strike it rich. Today is the first round of new-book recommendations. Let's see how the results turn out.
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