Redding and Leiyuan fought each other in their true divine beast forms for over a thousand exchanges before both finally withdrew their true forms and called a truce.
Once the fight was over, Redding gradually steadied his breathing and calmed the roiling blood and energy within him.
To be honest, Redding rarely fought using his Saint Domain True Body. It was not that his Saint Domain True Body was weak. With a body as hard as a Highgod Artifact, divine power borrowed from his Water Element Divine Clone, and his Innate Divine Ability, Dragon Roar, Redding could take on a Highgod who had fused four Profound Mysteries using the power of his Saint Domain True Body alone.
But Redding rarely used his Saint Domain True Body in battle, mainly because his true form was too large. Unless he encountered a divine beast like the Amethyst Divine Beast, which was enormous and tough-skinned, Redding generally did not fight using his Saint Domain True Body.
To God Level experts, time was the least valuable thing of all.
In the blink of an eye, fifty thousand years passed.
An obscure aura descended upon the Amethyst Mountains, and the light of the Laws of the Universe came down on schedule.
Enveloped by the Laws of the Universe, Redding's Fate Element Divine Spark flew out from between his brows and underwent a transformation in their light.
A dozen or so breaths later, the light of the Laws of the Universe faded. Redding opened his eyes, and a trace of emotion flashed through them.
"My Fate Divine Clone is a Highgod now."
Over those fifty thousand years, the Divine Clones of all his other siblings had broken through to become Highgods one after another. Even the weakest among them was comparable to a Highgod who had completely fused four Profound Mysteries.
For most of the first thirty thousand years, Redding had devoted his energy to fusion with his Water Element Divine Clone.
He had to admit, the further he progressed, the harder it became to fuse Profound Mysteries. While fusing the fifth, Redding felt his rate of progress plummet.
If fusing two Profound Mysteries was as fast as flying, then fusing three was running, fusing four was walking at a normal pace, and fusing five was no faster than a tortoise crawling.
As for fusing the sixth Profound Mystery, Redding still had not found the slightest point of compatibility.
Redding had originally planned to find a point of compatibility for the sixth Profound Mystery before having his Water Element Divine Clone break through to become a Highgod. But progressing with the fusion was so difficult that he had fully comprehended the sixth Profound Mystery before finding a point of compatibility for it.
Over those fifty thousand years, Redding had used the vast quantities of Amethyst in the Amethyst Mountains to strengthen his soul power to an exceptionally solid level.
A hundred years ago, Zijing and her husband and Nemo had simultaneously unleashed soul attacks on Redding. Facing the soul attacks of three experts of the same level who specialized in such attacks, Redding had thought that even if his soul was not severely injured, it would still suffer considerable damage. Instead, the attacks vanished like clay oxen sinking into the sea.
Redding's soul had easily resisted all three attacks. Having taken them so effortlessly, he gained some understanding of his soul's strength.
As soon as Redding broke through to become a Highgod, several figures flew over from the distance: Laius, Pash, Nemo, and Zijing and her husband. Aside from Bowen, who was still fusing Profound Mysteries, everyone was there.
Leiyuan laughed heartily and patted Redding on the shoulder. "Redding, congratulations on your breakthrough!"
Redding chuckled in response. "My Fate Element Divine Clone was fortunate enough to gain some insight."
After they exchanged a few modest remarks, Laius turned his palm over and took a flask of wine from his interspatial ring, pouring a cup for each person present. "Have a taste. A hundred years ago, outside the Amethyst Mountains, I traded a Midgod Artifact to a God Level expert for it."
To them, a Midgod Artifact was not worth much, but trading one for a flask of fine wine was an exceptionally high price. Only because they were so powerful could they do so; an ordinary Highgod might not have been willing to trade a Midgod Artifact for a flask of wine to satisfy his palate.
Redding took the cup Laius offered and had a small sip. The wine melted in his mouth, releasing the fresh sweetness of fruit in his throat.
"Not bad. Good wine!"
Redding praised the wine Laius had brought out, after which Leiyuan turned the conversation elsewhere. "A hundred years ago, a beam of light shot straight into the sky outside the Amethyst Mountains. Some God Level experts went to investigate, and it seemed that some kind of wonder had been born within the pillar of light. Interested in having a look?"
Leiyuan's words immediately piqued Redding's interest. After tens of thousands of years of friendship, Redding and the others were not yet close enough to entrust their lives to Zijing and her husband, but they were at least partners they could trust.
Leiyuan and the others also knew how obsessed Redding had been with collecting Heaven and Earth Wonders over the years.
Looking at Redding, Leiyuan continued, "The divine light from the birth of that Heaven and Earth Wonder has remained for a hundred years. Stranger still, it not only blocks divine sense, but physical attacks cannot penetrate it either. A Highgod who had fused two Profound Mysteries of the Laws once attacked it with a physical attack at full strength, but the divine light showed no reaction whatsoever."
Leiyuan's words immediately aroused the interest of everyone present.
They had seen plenty of Heaven and Earth Wonders, but this was the first they had seen that could block attacks.
Whatever kind of Heaven and Earth Wonder was taking shape within that light, at least one thing was certain: what the divine light was nurturing was definitely something extraordinary.
After some deliberation, they set out at once. Aside from Bowen, who stayed behind to comprehend Profound Mysteries, everyone went.
Five days later, several streaks of light swept through the air, and Redding and his five companions came to a stop.
Pointing into the distance at a strange pillar of light that stretched between heaven and earth, Leiyuan said to the others, "That's the divine light given off by the wonder. Quite a few God Level experts have probably gathered there already."
Laius sneered. "Given our strength, how many people on this continent could be a match for us?"
Laius was not merely boasting. Judging by their strength, they were probably among the very best not just on this continent, but in the entire Infernal Realm.
Redding, the strongest among them, had already completely fused five Profound Mysteries with his Water Element Divine Clone. Even the weakest of the others had fused at least four Profound Mysteries of the Laws. A lineup with such strength could only be called lavish.
Even Uhtred, the future Sovereign of Destruction, would probably be beaten into a panicked retreat if he dared challenge them alone.
By the time they reached the pillar of light, at least a hundred God Level experts had already gathered before it.
Every one of them was a Highgod. They gathered in groups of as few as two or three and as many as seven or eight; few traveled alone.
A party like Redding's, with six Highgod experts, was already a force to be reckoned with.
Their arrival naturally drew the attention of every God Level expert present.
A group of six Highgod experts was not the largest force present, but it was no small number either, enough to make the God Level experts there take notice.
Redding paid no mind to their wary attitude. Though his group was not the largest present, in terms of combat power, if all six of them fought with everything they had, probably none of the Highgods there would be a match for them.