Ten years later, the Necropolis of the Gods reopened, and the Saint-level returned to the Yulan Continent after a decade of fierce fighting.
"It's alright, it's alright." Jason hugged his wife, finally relieved.
Veronica was quite dejected. "I had bad luck. I just found the entrance to the third level when I discovered the divine beast Ba-Serpent had awakened, so I had to go back to the second level, until the Necropolis of the Gods reopened."
Jason was even more pleased after hearing this. "That's good."
Of Jason's thirty Peak Saint subordinates, five died: two from the Rhine Clan, two from magical beasts, and one from the Purple Flame Warrior Clan.
Jason was initially incredulous upon hearing that a Violet Flame Warrior had died in battle, and that the eldest Hyde Clan was no exception. He could only say that even the best swimmers can drown.
Linda said with a serious expression, "Bebe-- "
"Waaah, don't eat me!" Bebe shrank back, searching for someone to shelter her.
"Stop looking! Monica has been in seclusion for over ten years and hasn't woken up yet. Hahaha--" Linda picked up Bebe and pretended to throw her into her mouth.
"Squeak!!!!"
"Alright, everyone, gather around and let's get down to business."
Jason's voice rang out, and Linda finally let go of the frightened Bebe, holding him as they sat back down in their seats in the hall.
"First of all, Linley, you've obtained three Divine Spark this time. What are your plans?" Jason asked directly.
"I want to give Grandpa Doehring one Divine Spark, another one with the attribute of destruction to Lord Jason, and I haven't decided on a Wind Element Divine Spark yet." Linley seemed a little afraid that Jason would snatch it away.
"There's no need for that; it's up to you to decide. However, Doehring Cowart should have the opportunity to break through on his own. Is he really preparing to Refine Divine Spark?"
Refine Divine Spark is essentially a process of merging the Divine Spark and the soul into one. Doehring Cowart's current state is not such that he is unable to Refine Divine Spark, but the process may be slower because he does not have a physical body.
Doehring Cowart's soul hovered to the side, bowing slightly. "My aptitude is limited, and the possibility of a breakthrough is very slim. Moreover, my Divine Power is currently unrecoverable; every bit used is a bit less, especially when trying to deduce Profound Mysteries, my Divine Power is consumed extremely quickly. In the current situation, I may be forcibly summoned to the Netherworld due to Divine Power exhaustion before I can break through."
Jason nodded. "You can make the decision yourself. This is a good opportunity to explain the important points to note when breaking through to the Deity-level."
First, Refine Divine Spark is very bad because the Divine Spark of another person is incompatible with one's own soul, making it almost impossible to continue cultivating. One can only continue Refine Divine Spark to break through. The Deity-level achieved through Refine Divine Spark Divine Spark can only inherit the laws recorded at the moment the godhead was formed, and the soul will not be improved like when one becomes a god independently. The Divine Power is also not as pure as that of Deity-level who breaks through independently. In short, it is very weak, and it is almost impossible to continue cultivating.
As for achieving godhood independently, one can break through once they comprehend the laws to a certain degree. The threshold for Deity-level is explained in the cultivation books I gave you. After achieving godhood independently, the Laws of Heaven and Earth and earth condense into Divine Spark. At this point, one can choose to achieve godhood External Godhood or Internal Godhood.
External Godhood involves the soul splitting into two parts under the protection of the Laws of Heaven and Earth. One part merges with Divine Spark Divine Clone returns to the original body. The divine clone can only cultivate the laws of Divine Spark attributes associated with the divine spark, while the original body remains unchanged, essentially giving the user an extra life. This is the method of Deity-level chosen by most gods who achieve godhood independently. The drawback is the split soul, which results in a period of soul weakness in the early stages of godhood, but this can be compensated for later.
Another method is to Internal Godhood, where the soul directly merges with the Divine Spark spark. The drawback is obvious: afterward, the individual can only cultivate the laws of the Divine Spark spark's attribute; there will be no further opportunity to achieve godhood through other laws. This method is practically unused.
Finally, there are Divine Artifact. Divine Artifact are originally ordinary weapons, but they are constantly cleansed and nurtured by Divine Power, fighting alongside their masters, and gradually developing a faint consciousness to become Divine Artifact.
After Jason finished speaking, he paused for a while before continuing, "There's one more very important matter. Now that you've all returned, it's time to formally annihilate the two major papal courts."
Previously, the Pope of Light and several others Icebound in the Radiant Temple by Jason, and after no one reminded him, Jason forgot about it.
"The Saint-level shouldn't starve to death, right~~~"
Jason, filled with self-reproach, said, "I will unseal the Radiant Temple, and I will also destroy the Dark Church's Deity-level avatar projection array. As for annihilating the Saint-level of both churches, and how to wipe out both churches, that's up to you."
"Yes, Lord Jason."
That evening, Jason took some time to demolish the Dark Temple, then spent some time with his wife, and finally took one last look at his daughter.
The next day, Jason, guided by Beirut, entered the Necropolis of the Gods.
"I thought it would start from the twelfth floor, but it turns out it's the fourteenth."
Jason had already parted ways with Linda and the others. Looking at the distant village and castle, he had no idea that there was a small kingdom on the fourteenth level of the Necropolis of the Gods!
"A Necropolis of the Gods has eighteen levels in total, with eleven levels being Saint-level. Beirut's arrangement is rather unreasonable." Jason blended into the village as if he were invisible.
Listening to the dialect that sounded like a language from Higher Planes, yet with some variations, Jason roughly understood the state of this small kingdom.
It is a closed and primitive place where the lower classes only have Battle-qi but no magic, and there is not even Saint-level. There are five castles that each rule the entire kingdom. The important figures in the castles will periodically select a group of people with good looks to enter the castle and only return when they are old. In addition, they will lose their memories.
"The Deity-level being should be inside the castle. Should we just charge in? No, there might be a magic array inside. We should be more cautious."
Having experienced the Netherworld, Jason dared not presume to trespass into the territory of a Deity-level, even if the other party was only Midgod.
In a direct confrontation, he could protect himself even against Five-Star Fiend, but he truly dared not trespass into Deity-level territory that had been cultivated for thousands of years. As Deity-level who had been imprisoned in the Necropolis of the Gods for thousands of years, he was capable of anything, and would do anything to escape.
"Those assigned to the Necropolis of the Gods by Beirut must be the best of their class, especially since the checkpoints guarded by Midgod only have fourteen or fifteen levels. These five castles should belong to five Midgod at the Three-Star Fiend level. It's a pity we don't have the Earth Travel Technique, otherwise we could sneak in and probe their strength."
Jason gazed at the distant castle, then looked back at the entrance he had just come through.
The entrances to the fourteenth and thirteenth floors were sealed off by Beirut, allowing only entry to higher floors and no return. However, there was a fairly long passageway there where one could stay.
According to O'Brien and the High Priest, the passages to the twelfth and eleventh floors are similar to this one. The guardians of the passages cannot enter, and they were able to survive by hiding there during their previous visits to the Necropolis of the Gods —the two of them could only barely hold their own against the guardian of the twelfth floor for a dozen or so moves.
"Let's check the area around the entrance first, set up a few small magic arrays, and secure an escape route." Jason flew back to the hill near the entrance and quickly cleared away the surrounding rocks and vegetation.
Jason can now barely draw a few small magic circles, enough to provide early warnings.
He pulled out some materials he had accumulated over the years: magic cores, Mithril, and branches of the Tree of Life—all very basic items in terms of magic arrays, which were just right for Jason's magic array skills.
Just then, the shadow of a small tree behind Jason twisted slightly, and suddenly a figure wielding a rapier darted out!
The slender rapier drew a thin spatial rift in the air, heading straight for Jason's back.
Jason was surrounded by a transparent film of water. As soon as the other party appeared, the film reflected the other party's Reflection, immediately alerting Jason to the sudden sneak attack.
This is a skill he initially developed by fusing Water Element "Reflection" and "Water Element". It consumes very little energy and can serve as an early warning as long as it can reflect the opponent's image.
As one of the two High-level Profound Mystery of the Water Element, the "Reflection" Profound Mysteries, once mastered, possesses multiple functions such as reflecting attacks, confusing enemies, detecting and warning, and soul attacks. Jason can currently only initially utilize its functions of confusing enemies and detecting and warning.
The water shield opened directly, and the sharp tip of the rapier could only penetrate a few inches before it could not go any deeper; seeing the water shield shake as if it was about to counterattack, the figure holding the rapier conjured a path paved with shadows and flashed directly to a hundred meters away.
Once they were both standing still, Jason could finally see the other person clearly.
Pale skin, handsome face, wings on his back, a pair of canine teeth at the corners of his mouth, and his whole body was shrouded in blood.
"Vampire?"