The instant the phantom appeared, Tristan felt his movements slow considerably, as though the space around him had been frozen.
No, it wasn't space. It was time!
Tristan could clearly feel the flow of time around him slow in an instant. It wasn't just him-even Laius and Bowen's movements had grown sluggish.
Feeling their movements slow, Laius and Bowen exchanged a glance. Recalling the methods Redding had used when they sparred, neither showed the slightest surprise. Their eyes held only pity for Tristan!
As time froze around them, a white figure appeared beside Tristan.
A refined young man in white robes, with short black hair, stood before Tristan.
Redding raised a hand and gripped Tristan's cheeks. He studied Tristan with his brown eyes, his gaze as cold and sharp as a knife scraping against bone. His voice held not a trace of emotion. "You seem eager to die?"
Feeling the presence emanating from Redding, Tristan trembled uncontrollably. He couldn't understand it. Redding's presence was clearly only that of a Midgod, yet it left him without the strength to strike back.
Forcing down his fear, Tristan asked Redding, "Who are you?"
If Laius and Bowen felt like powerful opponents to Tristan, then Redding felt more like an insurmountable mountain.
That pressure was as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea, leaving Tristan unable to muster the slightest thought of resistance.
Holding Tristan by the cheeks, Redding said evenly, "My name is Redding."
As he spoke, Redding launched a soul attack. A powerful impact poured into Tristan's sea of consciousness, instantly erasing his soul.
Redding raised a hand and drew a crystal radiating black light from Tristan's forehead.
Villains died because they talked too much. Although Redding didn't consider himself a villain, he wouldn't make that mistake. There was plenty of time to talk after a battle ended; wasting words during a fight was practically gambling with his life.
"Hmm, a Darkness Element High Godhead. Not bad!" Redding deftly stored the crystal in his storage space.
"Redding! I'll remember you!"
In the Infernal Realm, the Chaotic Sea was its outer sea, where the slaughter was even fiercer than on the continents.
On an island in the outer sea.
Tristan's Water Element Divine Clone abruptly opened his eyes, the killing intent in them almost tangible.
The intense killing intent lasted only an instant before vanishing.
Tristan knew that, with his current strength, he was no match for Redding.
His strongest clone, his Darkness Element Highgod clone, had now been killed by Redding. His Water Element Midgod clone couldn't possibly match Redding.
However, with that thing, he might still have a chance at revenge.
A deep-blue light flashed, and a blue fruit appeared in Tristan's palm.
The azure fruit also gave off a strange fragrance, though its color was vastly different from that of the crimson fruit.
Tristan had found a strange fruit tree in the outer sea. It bore red and blue fruits, but there were few of them, and each one was exceedingly precious.
Eating a crimson fruit could increase the consumer's strength for a short time, while eating an azure fruit could speed up the consumer's comprehension and fusion of the Profound Mysteries of the Laws.
Tristan's bloodline was inferior to that of Super Divine Beasts like the Four Divine Beasts, and he didn't have memories of a previous life like Redding. The reason he had been able to quickly break through to Highgod was the help of the azure fruits.
Now, having witnessed Redding's strength and lost his strongest Divine Clone, Tristan decided to lie low. When the day came that his strength surpassed the Four Divine Beasts, he would seek Redding out for revenge.
In the Skyrite Mountains, a crimson figure flew out above the mountains.
Nemo transformed into her true Vermilion Bird form, spread her crimson wings, and climbed steadily higher.
Redding sat cross-legged on the back of Nemo's Saint Domain True Body, comprehending the Profound Mysteries of the Laws. White Tiger Laius was on his left, and Black Tortoise Bowen was on his right.
"Big brother, where are we going now?" Nemo asked Redding through Soul Transmission as she flew.
Redding slowly opened his eyes and replied, "Let's head northwest across the continent."
Unlike becoming gods with their true bodies, the four siblings had all chosen External Godhood. Splitting their souls would put their soul defenses at a disadvantage in battles against opponents of the same level.
Redding planned to go to the Zijing Continent and use the vast quantities of Amethyst in the Amethyst Mountains to strengthen the souls of all four siblings.
Drawing on the memories of his previous life, Redding vaguely recalled that the Zijing Continent seemed to lie due north in the Infernal Realm, while the Blood Peak Continent, where the Skyrite Mountains were located, was in the southeast.
Having received Redding's instruction, Vermilion Bird Nemo hesitated no longer. She beat her wings and circulated her Fire Element divine power, shooting like a cannonball toward the northwest of the continent with Redding and the other two aboard.
At present, life across the entire continent was still evolving.
Although, after several thousand years of development, there were hundreds or thousands of times more new life forms on the continent than when the plane had first been created, their numbers were still somewhat insignificant across the vast continent.
Vermilion Bird Nemo wasn't flying at full speed, but compared to the later era ruled by Sovereigns, when God Level bandits were everywhere, Redding and the others were still traveling quite quickly.
After all, the Four Overgod Planes were all sparsely populated at present. People hadn't even finished developing their own territories, so how could they have the spare effort to go out and seize more?
The vast majority of powerful Divine Beasts were accustomed to acting alone. Only some of the weaker ones chose to band together.
Groups like the Four Divine Beasts, who had cultivated to a level of strength comparable to Highgods in such a short time and then gone out roaming, were rarer still.
After they had flown toward the Zijing Continent for more than a month, White Tiger Laius took over from Vermilion Bird Nemo in carrying everyone.
As a Wind Element Super Divine Beast, Laius was at least as fast in flight as the Vermilion Bird.
They flew over a mountain range like a fierce wind. After more than a month on the road, all of them had grown somewhat tired of the scenery around them.
Under Redding's influence, the Four Divine Beasts now devoted nearly all their efforts to cultivation.
Besides, the Infernal Realm was still almost a wilderness. Cities had yet to appear, let alone the food, drink, and entertainment that would later captivate countless God Level beings.
Sitting on Laius's broad back, Redding kept his eyes closed, comprehending the Profound Mysteries of the Laws.
At present, Redding had completely fused three Profound Mysteries of the Water Law and had already completed more than half the fusion of a fourth. His Lightning Law was slightly behind, but he had already begun fusing a third Profound Mystery.
By Redding's estimate, even if he wasn't the strongest in all the Four Overgod Planes, his current strength put him at least in the top ten.
Beside Redding, Nemo also sat cross-legged, comprehending the Profound Mysteries. Bowen's Earth Elemental System Divine Clone sat facing the two of them, forming a triangle.
Just as Laius was flying at full speed toward the Zijing Continent with his siblings, a thunderous voice burst from the mountains beside them. "Pash, hand it over!"
The thunderous roar interrupted Redding's contemplation of the Profound Mysteries.
Redding slowly opened his eyes. Not far away, streaks of violet lightning flashed across the sky, accompanied by rumbling peals of thunder.