Setting out

Time was cheap in the Infernal Realm. A hundred years was no more than a brief stint in seclusion for Rhodes.

He had long since fused the Wind Element's Profound Mystery of Speed and Profound Mystery of Slowness, and over a hundred years ago, he had found the point where the Windwalk Technique meshed with the Speed Profound Mystery. Now, fusing the three Profound Mysteries into one was a matter of course.

The Amethyst Mountains were as peaceful as ever.

Amid this tranquility, Rhodes's understanding of the Laws of Wind gradually deepened, and his fusion of the three Profound Mysteries steadily progressed. Time slipped by without a sound, and over a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

Rhodes sat cross-legged on the rocky ground. Despite sitting there for over a hundred years, not a speck of dust clung to him. After all, he was comprehending the Laws of Wind, and breezes rose from time to time during his comprehension, brushing the dust from his body.

"Whew, I've finally fused the three Profound Mysteries. Even though they'd meshed long ago, it still took so many years." Rhodes opened his eyes and spoke excitedly.

Although, because he was deep within the Amethyst Mountains, he could not release his Wind Divine Clone to cultivate the Profundity of Sound Waves and the Sound Profound Mystery, leaving him unable to fuse them despite having found their point of convergence years ago.

Even so, Rhodes was in a good mood.

After all, he had fused three Profound Mysteries. Compared to when it had only fused two, his Wind Divine Clone's strength had increased more than tenfold.

An "irregular crystal" flashed briefly in his hand.

"Soon. Once the Profundity of Sound Waves and the Sound Profound Mystery are fused too, your strength will barely be enough to venture into a Supreme Plane."

A voice no one could hear rang out, then miraculously vanished a meter away from Rhodes. This was a small trick he had derived from comprehending sound waves and sound.

Previously, because Rhodes's Wind Divine Clone had been on the verge of fusing three Profound Mysteries, he and Pash had remained in the Amethyst Mountains for over another hundred years. During that century, Pash had also advanced to Highgod. As his comprehension of the Destruction Rule deepened, he had been unable to hold it back and became a Highgod outright.

Lei Jialie's Amethyst Alliance had also grown increasingly powerful. It now had over a dozen Highgods, and after absorbing six other factions, its number of Midgods had surged past ten thousand.

Under the leadership of the Alliance's Highgods, the Amethyst Continent had absorbed all the newly emerged factions and achieved unification once again.

The Amethyst Alliance had also made a resounding name for itself in the Infernal Realm. Meanwhile, something had provoked the Demon King over the years, and he had been frantically slaughtering factions that refused to submit to him.

The Demon Alliance alone occupied two continents of the Infernal Realm, while the Amethyst Alliance held its own continent. The other two continents were also filled with experts, with alliances and clans emerging one after another.

The most famous included the Demon Alliance, the Light Alliance, and the Amethyst Alliance. There were also plenty of unaffiliated experts. For instance, a Highgod named Watrod in the Sea of Chaos had also repelled the Demon King.

As time passed, the Infernal Realm grew ever more eventful.

System, Rhodes softly called to his "bare-bones" system in his mind.

Host: Rhodes (Wind-Thunder Divine Roc)

Realm: Midgod (Lightning Element Midgod, Wind Element Midgod)

Innate Divine Ability: Heaven and Earth Extreme Speed, (????)

Willpower: 0.5 portions

Soul: Midgod limit

Profound Mysteries of the Laws-Lightning: Lightning Element, Profound Mystery of Judgment, Lightning Speed Profound Mystery (three fused), Profound Mysteries of Thunder

Profound Mysteries of the Laws-Wind: Profound Mystery of Speed, Profound Mystery of Slowness, and Profundity of Wind-Walking fused; Sound Profound Mystery and Profundity of Sound Waves have meshed

Overall strength: Six-Star Demon level ~~ half Seven-Star (strength of a Highgod who has fused three Profound Mysteries but fewer than four) (Innate Divine Ability excluded, Willpower excluded)

??? Half Seven-Star? That means my strength has completely surpassed a Six-Star Demon's. If my Lightning Element advances to Highgod now, I reckon I should fully reach the Seven-Star Demon level. The Demon King has fused two great rules, so he must be at the Seven-Star level. Watrod, who repelled him, must be pretty strong too. I still can't go completely wild!!

Rhodes could not help marveling as he looked at the change in his strength on the system.

The system panel had not changed much. After his soul could no longer absorb amethyst, a "Soul" entry had appeared, but nothing had changed since.

Rhodes had grown used to the system changing from time to time. "Other than tallying my strength, it's not much use. It doesn't even have system storage. I really suspect this lousy system hasn't finished evolving."

"Rhodes, you've finally finished cultivating. Are we ready to leave?" Pash had been waiting a long time for this day.

Ever since he had broken through to Highgod, Lei Jialie had been the only person in the Amethyst Alliance who could spar with him. None of the other Highgods could last more than a few moves against him.

"Haha, sorry, Pash. I happened to gain a little insight. Let's tell Lei Jialie and get ready to leave the Amethyst Alliance. We've gathered plenty of amethyst in our spatial rings over the years. We can slowly refine it on the road." Rhodes laughed.

"Let's go, let's go! Hurry! Once we tell Lei Jialie, we're off. I've been cooped up for far too long. I hear a lot of experts have appeared in the Infernal Realm. This time, I'm going to fight to my heart's content. Last time the Demon King came, I wasn't at my peak. Now I'm a Highgod too. If I run into him again, we'll have a battle."

"All right, let's see what the other experts of the Infernal Realm have to offer. Let's go!"

Two figures passed through the Mist Sea toward the Amethyst Alliance's headquarters.

Rhodes looked at Pash flying beside him and smiled. During his years of cultivation, Pash had spent most of his time not far from his cultivation spot, guarding him. He truly was a good brother.

Flying out of the Mist Sea and seeing how much the Amethyst Alliance had changed, he could not help remarking, "Lei Jialie's forces have grown stronger and stronger over the years. I thought that after holding off the Demon King, he'd at least be able to occupy a few continents. I never expected the Infernal Realm to have such an endless supply of experts!"

"Yeah. Mainly, most of these Highgods became Highgods by refining divine sparks. Their strength hasn't grown at all over the years. Those who become Highgods on their own are still in the minority. Do you think everyone's a freak like you? You kill Highgods as a Midgod as easily as crushing Saint-level magical beasts."

Pash, beside him, spoke as soon as Rhodes finished his remark. He was also utterly puzzled. Rhodes had clearly only fused three Profound Mysteries, so why was he so much stronger than Lei Jialie, who had likewise fused three earth law profound mysteries?

The four great rules did not have such clearly defined Profound Mysteries; everything depended on individual comprehension. But Lei Jialie's strongest Divine Clone, his Earth Divine Clone, had also fused three Profound Mysteries, yet he could not fight the Demon King. It truly defied explanation.

Rhodes did not say much in response and merely smiled at Pash. He would tell Pash the secret of Willpower, but not now.

"Rhodes, you've finished cultivating. There happens to be something I need to tell you. The Alliance has encountered a problem in the north of the Amethyst Continent. Deities from another continent have arrived. I need to guard the Alliance's main base, and Zijing isn't strong enough on her own, so I wanted to ask you..."

"Ah, Lei Jialie, I'm sorry. I might not be able to help you. Pash and I are planning to continue traveling through the Infernal Realm and have a look at the eastern continent. We'll also visit the Sea of Chaos to meet Watrod, who repelled the Demon King single-handedly. I can't help you with this."

Without waiting for Lei Jialie to finish, Rhodes interrupted him and told him that he and Pash were leaving.

Lei Jialie was a little slow to react. After all, they had been there for several hundred years, so it was only natural for him to struggle to react when they suddenly announced their departure. At the same time, he felt a little uncomfortable.

"Rhodes, when are you planning to leave? Let's have another drink before you go!"

"No, Lei Jialie. Pash and I have decided to leave right now. The Infernal Realm is so vast, and there are three other Overgod Planes, not to mention the countless Material Planes. Having come here, it would be such a pity not to see them. You don't need to try to persuade us to stay. Since we've run into you, the two of us won't go over to see Zijing."

Rhodes smiled and declined Lei Jialie's invitation for another drink. For some reason, he felt that Lei Jialie had undergone an indescribable change, as though something had been added to him. Thus, Rhodes did not intend to delay any longer. If they had that drink, who knew what might happen?

It was better to leave sooner.

Seeing that Lei Jialie still wanted to say something, Rhodes added, "Say goodbye to Zijing for Pash and me. We won't go to your main base. Let's go, Pash."

"Lei Jialie, keep cultivating hard. When we come back, let's spar again. We're off!"

With that, Pash turned into a streak of blood-colored light and chased after Rhodes.

Lei Jialie's expression looked rather unpleasant. In the end, however, he said nothing and instead turned back toward the Alliance.

Not far from the Amethyst Alliance's main base, Rhodes stopped and waited for Pash.

With a wave of his hand, a palace bearing a statue of the Demon King appeared. Rhodes flew straight inside, and when Pash arrived, he too flew straight into the palace.

This was the Metal Lifeform the Demon King had ridden when he attacked the Amethyst Alliance. Because he had kept his Innate Divine Ability active while leaving, the Metal Lifeform had ultimately fallen into Rhodes's hands.

Over the years, he had thoroughly studied this Metal Lifeform. It had no intelligence, but it was indeed alive-a special form of life that could be stored in a spatial ring. It was utterly marvelous.

The castle lacked no kind of room and even had a large garden. It was truly the best vehicle for traveling.

It had belonged to the Demon King before, but now Rhodes had reaped the benefit.

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