"To kill someone like Korno just after breaking through... the Boya Continent is finally going to have another interesting figure." Xide stepped out of the shadows, unable to help feeling a little pleased.
"I'll go meet this genius after a while." Xide soon made his decision. He would meet this interesting newcomer, but that would have to wait until his rather entertaining stint as an adventurer was over.
And so, without anyone knowing, Xide once again became that slightly slow-witted newbie adventurer and returned to the campsite to rest.
When daylight came the next day, everyone would probably still think of him as nothing more than a somewhat "dense" novice adventurer.
Years later.
Probably none of these adventurers would ever know that, for a time, they had actually been adventuring alongside a Deity-level expert all along. Quite a few of them had even frequently scolded and threatened this deity.
"The world of Laws truly is as vast as a sea of mist." The more deeply Luo Ao comprehended and extrapolated the Laws, the more he appreciated how incredible the Laws themselves were.
Although they seemed as boundless as an endless ocean, there were still traces he could follow.
After all, the Laws of this element could be divided into six profound mysteries, and the various profound mysteries were connected, from the shallowest to the deepest.
It was precisely because the profound mysteries of the Laws progressed from shallow to deep and were interconnected that Luo Ao used this method of continual extrapolation. Of course, he did not extrapolate blindly. Instead, he contemplated the "Elemental Laws" themselves, and whenever something stirred within him, it would bring a breakthrough in his deductions.
Before long, more than ten years had passed.
On the mountain behind his residence, in the still of the night, Luo Ao was still cultivating quietly. Yet, at some unknown point that night, an uninvited guest had silently arrived.
Hidden within a space of shadows, a black-robed figure silently watched Luo Ao, a hint of curiosity on his face. Just as he decided to step out of the shadow space and meet him, suddenly-
"Whoosh!" Luo Ao, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up, thrusting the Crimson Annihilation Divine Sword backward!
Star Flame Thrust!
Scorching flames tore through the silent night sky, reaching the black-robed man in the flash of a spark!
This was Luo Ao's strongest killing move after fusing two profound mysteries. Executed with the Crimson Annihilation Divine Sword, this thrust possessed absolutely astonishing power!
When Luo Ao had first become a deity, he had probably fused only around a tenth of the two profound mysteries. But after more than ten years of continuous extrapolation, his "Fire Element" and "Fire Body Technique" profound mysteries were now nearly halfway fused.
Its power had increased four- or fivefold!
The scorching sword image easily pierced the black-robed figure. Even then, the thrust's remaining power did not diminish, piercing straight through the planar space ahead and leaving a pitch-black hole in space.
Yet there was not a trace of joy on Luo Ao's face. Instead, he looked as though he were facing a formidable enemy.
"A clone?" Luo Ao's gaze blazed like a torch as he swiftly looked up behind him.
"Correct! Unfortunately, there's no reward." The mysterious black-robed figure seemed to have a somewhat mischievous streak, but his strength could not be underestimated. The moment he acted, he produced more than a dozen Shadow Clones, surrounding Luo Ao.
"I didn't expect your soul perception to be so formidable. I was careless. But how will you deal with this move?" The dozen or so identical clones chuckled as they spoke to Luo Ao from every direction.
Waves of sound overlapped, and the scattered figures surrounded Luo Ao with virtually no blind spots.
"The Shadow Clone Technique? No, these aren't ordinary Shadow Clones." Luo Ao quickly noticed the difference between this man's move and Korno's.
Ordinary Shadow Clones relied primarily on the ability of the true body and the various Shadow Clones to switch positions at will.
For instance, when Luo Ao had attacked one of the black-robed man's clones just now, the man's true body could have shifted into another shadow, then switched back when he attacked Luo Ao.
But the Shadow Clones this black-robed man now displayed did more than simply switch positions. Their ability to "deceive" was also astonishing.
Even with Luo Ao's powerful soul perception, he actually could not immediately see through them and determine which was the man's true body.
"If I can't see through them, I'll wipe them all out at once!" Luo Ao swiftly made his decision. An astonishing sight followed as elemental energy of two types converged madly around his body-
The elemental energy rapidly gathered, forming a majestic flame divine dragon over a hundred meters long, with peculiar scales and horns. The flame divine dragon completely enveloped Luo Ao.
"Roar!" Luo Ao's entire body instantly became insubstantial, merging with the flame divine dragon.
As the flame divine dragon roared, a scorching current erupted outward. An ultimate firestorm instantly set ablaze the space occupied by every one of the black-robed man's clones.
"Bang, bang, bang-" One clone after another shattered beneath the scorching flames, yet in the very next instant, more than thirty new Shadow Clones appeared in the surrounding space.
Luo Ao froze. "Fused profound mysteries?!"
His expression instantly darkened. In truth, he had sensed something amiss when the black-robed man first used his Shadow Clones. But now that the man had produced so many clones, how could he fail to understand? This fellow had actually fused profound mysteries too.
"Who exactly are you?" The flame divine dragon Luo Ao had become suddenly spoke in a resonant voice. He was unsure how far his opponent had progressed in fusing profound mysteries, and felt somewhat wary, so he did not rashly continue fighting him to the bitter end.
"Huh? Not fighting anymore? How boring. As for me, my name doesn't really matter. You can call me 'Shadow.'" The fellow shrouded entirely in black robes spoke again, while Luo Ao continued to watch him cautiously.
"Are you from the Dark Church?" Luo Ao could not help frowning. That should not be possible. Among the religious factions on the Boya Continent, the Dark Church could only be considered middling, far inferior to the Church of the Fire God and the Church of the Earth God.
If they had such a powerful expert presiding over them, how could they possibly be in such decline?
During their brief exchange just now, he had already confirmed that his opponent was a God who cultivated the Darkness Law, and had also begun fusing profound mysteries.
Such an expert might be quite inconspicuous in the Infernal Realm, but on a Material Plane like the Boya Continent, he could practically be considered invincible.
"The Dark Church? I'm not with the church." The black-robed fellow who called himself "Shadow" seemed to have no intention of attacking again, and his tone was quite casual.
"I came here mainly to see you, the continent's newly risen expert, for myself. Now that I've met you, I'll be on my way." With that, the mysterious black-robed man turned and left, swiftly disappearing into the shadow space.
In the blink of an eye, Luo Ao could no longer sense his soul aura, a clear indication of just how fast he was.
"What exactly is going on with this fellow?" He had come out of nowhere, fought him, and then simply left?
"Still, I never expected there to be a second God on the Boya Continent." Although Luo Ao remained somewhat puzzled, he set the matter aside for the moment and resumed cultivating.
As long as he was strong enough, he would naturally no longer need to fear this "Shadow."