"Even at this Metal Lifeform's speed, it'll take ten whole years to reach Redbud Prefecture. The Infernal Realm really is astonishingly vast." Echidna sat beside Luo Ao, looking curiously at the world outside through the transparent glass.
"There's more to the Infernal Realm than its size." Luo Ao also swept his gaze over the view ahead. He knew something of the chaos in the Infernal Realm. Flying through it in peace would not be so easy.
Without the deterrent of the Muja Army, their journey probably would not have been nearly so peaceful.
"Let's quiet our minds and cultivate first." Luo Ao was in no hurry to admire the scenery of the Infernal Realm. Instead, he began concentrating on cultivating the Profound Mysteries of the Laws.
The Mist Illusion Profound Mystery... I should be able to analyze this mystery through image magic like the Floating Shadow Technique... Luo Ao immediately began comprehending his third profound mystery of the Water Law. What he needed most urgently at present was, naturally, to break through to Highgod in the Water Element first.
He currently knew of five profound mysteries within the Water Law. Aside from the essence of water and Water Body Technique, which he had already mastered, the remaining three were Mist Illusion, sharpness of ice, and the Profound Mystery of Roundness.
As for the final one, the original novel had not mentioned it either. Luo Ao could only leave it for himself to comprehend in the future.
Flowers in a mirror, the moon in water-the essence of this Mist Illusion profound mystery lies in the principles of illusions. This mystery should primarily target the soul, though its influence on the soul is nowhere near as domineering as that of the other Laws.
Perhaps because the fluctuations of the Laws in the Infernal Realm truly were clear enough, Luo Ao soon gained an initial understanding of this mystery.
Floating shadows, images, illusions, clouds and mist... Luo Ao soon became completely immersed in the world of the Profound Mysteries of the Laws, though he was not entirely unaware of the outside world.
During those ten years, no one took the initiative to provoke the enormous black-tortoise Metal Lifeform carrying the Muja Army. Still, they encountered hundreds of battles along the way.
Yet even the most formidable experts fled in every direction in fright when they saw the enormous black tortoise flying toward them.
Faced with these people, the soldiers of the Muja Army generally could not be bothered to pursue them. After all, the bandits of the Infernal Realm could never be wiped out.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye in a Higher Plane.
"We've finally entered Redbud Prefecture!" The red-haired woman stood up, a hint of a smile on her face, and said to the blue-haired young man and the others, "Get ready to send them down."
The blue-haired young man rose at her words as well. "Everyone who has reached Deity Level, stand up now."
Are they about to hand out the Inkstones? Luo Ao opened his eyes.
Thirteen people, led by Luo Ao, immediately stood up.
The blue-haired young man, Zamir, flipped his hand, and thirteen finger-sized black stones appeared in it. "One for each of you. These Inkstones are good stuff, so keep them safe. You only get one if you've reached Deity Level before coming to the Infernal Realm." He then gave one to each of the thirteen.
The blue-haired young man chuckled. "You'll be dealing with these often as you make your way in the Infernal Realm, because they're our currency here."
"In the Infernal Realm, gold and silver are worthless. Only these Inkstones, manufactured by Sovereigns, can be used as currency." After hearing the blue-haired young man's words, everyone immediately put their little stone away carefully.
So this is an Inkstone?
Luo Ao studied the Inkstone in his hand for a while.
It was a cube, one centimeter on each side. It looked like a very ordinary piece of ore, but Luo Ao sensed a peculiar aura from it that made his heart tremble.
Whoosh!
A large hole suddenly opened in the black tortoise's belly, and a dozen or so experts from the Material Plane were thrown straight out.
"The journey's over. Hope you can survive in the Infernal Realm, hahaha." As everyone looked bewildered, the blue-haired young man secretly found it amusing.
After dropping that batch of Saint-level beings, the Metal Lifeform had already flown off into the distance. Every so often, it tossed out some more of the living beings aboard the metal tower ship.
The enormous black tortoise continued flying, throwing out another dozen or so people a little while later.
When it came to the final batch, it was at last Luo Ao and his group's turn.
Whoosh! The seats beneath them vanished into thin air, and a powerful current of air appeared overhead, pressing Luo Ao and the dozen or so others down and flinging them out. Everyone quickly steadied themselves, then looked carefully below.
Beneath them lay an unbroken mountain range. Roars occasionally rang out from its depths. This was a place called the Sinking Fire Mountain Range.
A large group of black-armored warriors was patrolling the Sinking Fire Mountain Range. Their armor was thick, with spikes at the joints.
Meanwhile, some large, single-horned, long-haired beasts grazed halfway up the mountains of the Sinking Fire Mountain Range.
These long-haired beasts had two terrifying curved tusks that thrust skyward, as though poised to stab furiously into the heavens, gleaming with a chilling light. Their four legs were also extremely thick and sturdy, and even the earth trembled when they ran.
Just then, seemingly having noticed their arrival, a yellow-haired man flew out from among the mountains. He swept his gaze over the group, and his eyes suddenly lit up when he saw Luo Ao and Echidna.
He approached them of his own accord. "Would you two be willing to join our Sinking Fire Tribe? If you are, you only need to pay one Inkstone, and our tribe will take responsibility for your safety."
"The Sinking Fire Tribe?" Luo Ao nodded and did not refuse. It would not be a bad idea to cultivate peacefully in this tribe for a while first.
"We'd like to join your tribe too!" Seeing that the two Deity-level experts had decided to join this tribe, the others hurried over as well, hoping to join the Sinking Fire Tribe and gain its protection.
After all, the brutal battles they had witnessed along the way had told them that the Infernal Realm was not very safe.
"Sorry, our Sinking Fire Tribe has no need for Saint-level beings. Besides, I doubt you have any Inkstones." Faced with the others' pleas, the yellow-haired man refused without hesitation.
In the Infernal Realm, Saint-level beings were mere ants. Generally, no tribe would accept anyone who had not reached Deity Level. If they could not survive, they could only blame their own stupidity for daring to come to this Higher Plane before reaching Deity Level.
"This..." The Saint-level beings' faces immediately alternated between green and white. Without the protection of Deity-level experts, just how were they supposed to survive on their own in the Infernal Realm, where danger lurked on every side?
The yellow-haired man had already flown far away with Luo Ao and Echidna, heading toward the rolling mountains where the single-horned, long-haired beasts grazed.
Without permission, the Saint-level beings did not dare follow them on their own. In the end, they could only choose to huddle together for warmth, finding a place nearby where they planned to weather their difficulties together.
After Luo Ao and Echidna followed him to the so-called Sinking Fire Tribe, the man, who called himself Hansating, brought them before a black stone mountain and said with a smile, "Quite a few people have joined the tribe lately, so this is about the only spot still vacant. There are some building materials beside it. You can build your own house to live in."
Luo Ao looked down and saw a pile of black stones in front of the clearing halfway up the mountain. Scorching fire-element energy radiated from them.
"This is called sinking fire stone. It's also the mainstay of our Sinking Fire Tribe's industry." After introducing it to the pair, Hansating said, "You might have encountered this sinking fire stone in the Material Plane too. It counts as one of the materials that can be used to make Divine Artifacts."
"Of course, here in the Infernal Realm, sinking fire stone is nothing more than common building material you can find everywhere. What's truly precious is a kind of sinking fire stone essence produced inside this sinking fire stone mountain," Hansating continued.
"Even in the Infernal Realm, this sinking fire stone essence is fairly valuable. Many fire-attribute Deity-level experts choose this material to forge the Divine Artifacts they desire."
"You'll learn about all this later. This sinking fire stone essence can be considered a specialty of our Sinking Fire Tribe. It's thanks to this material that our tribe has been able to gain a firm foothold in the Infernal Realm. Still, gathering it isn't that simple."
What Hansating did not mention was that gathering sinking fire stone essence also came with a strict strength requirement. Weaker Deity-level beings might not even be able to withstand the harsh, high-temperature conditions in the mines.
But Luo Ao had not come here to mine for someone else. He had come simply because he felt that staying in a tribe should be considerably more peaceful than finding somewhere outside to cultivate on his own.