During his previous battle with the Nether Serpent, Jason made a significant breakthrough in his Edicts of Death. He has been intermittently comprehending these rules for some time now, and Jason estimates that once this breakthrough is fully stabilized, his individual Death Clone will be at the peak level of Seven Star Fiend.
However, the Water Clone remained silent, just a hair's breadth away from fusing "Profound Mysteries of Ice" and "Mist Illusion," but it just couldn't get past that hurdle.
"I was planning to use it at the very last moment of the Water Element, but forget it. The fact that these six Profound Mysteries are beginning to fully merge is enough for the Heavenly Waterfall Pearl to be used now." Jason took the transparent pearl, whose interior seemed to be surging with torrents, and swallowed it.
It was as if a waterfall had appeared out of nowhere in his mouth, the enormous force rushing straight to his throat, the icy sensation reaching Jason's mind, causing his soul to momentarily freeze.
In the valley where the Yulan Branch of the Tianji Skyrite Mountains was settled, Jason entered a state of enlightenment.
Time flies, Four Divine Beasts Clan finally decided to close down their clan and preserve their last bit of power.
As in the original story, the Eight Great Clans launched a final surprise attack on Linley, but he managed to dodge Linley. What followed was a shouting match between the Eight Great Clans and a ring battle between the two sides.
Because his son was still alive, the Azure Dragon Clan's Grand Elder did not resist going up to the arena this time.
Jason had just emerged from seclusion, arrived at the arena and saw a member of the Nether Snake Family who had just won shouting insults at him.
Monica, along with Talina and Wade, were watching the match when Jason arrived. She greeted him, "Dad, are you done with your seclusion?"
"It ended a while ago, but I stayed a little longer to see if there were any lingering inspirations." Jason looked at the two children.
Monica explained, "Let these two children see the horrors of the Infernal Realm. Oh, and by the way, Bebe and Clear Spring's child was born, named Ina, and she's nine years old."
"Oh, I'll go see them later." Jason looked at the two "kids" and noticed their unusual emotions, likely influenced by the insults from the Eight Great Clans: "You two still need more training."
Jason Rhein!
A shout interrupted their conversation. Jason looked over and saw it was someone from the Nether Snake Family.
"You killed my ancestor!" The other party glared angrily, seemingly wanting to devour Jason alive.
Jason took a few steps forward. "If I were you, I'd leave Infernal Realm right now and find Material Plane to lay low, otherwise you might not be able to leave after a while."
He had previously gathered information that the Nether Snake Family's ability to cause trouble was not much less than that of the Azure Dragon Clan, except that they hadn't offended the Sovereign. Now that the Nether Serpent is dead, instead of quickly hiding, they actually dared to block the door of the Four Divine Beasts Clan along with the other seven clans!
The other person merely stared at Jason, their gaze trembling slightly.
"It seems the Nether Snake Family is prepared to fight me to Undying death," Jason thought to himself.
During this time, Jason kept all his clones together, even the Death Clone, which was still in a state of enlightenment, in his sea of consciousness, just in case the other party was willing to fight to the death. Beirut's prohibition was for those who didn't want to die. If the other party didn't want to live, and several Seven Star Fiend came to exchange their lives with Jason, it would be quite dangerous.
Until a figure flew over.
A middle-aged woman arrived. "I, Nolan Edric, head of the Edric Clan, challenge Jason Rhein!"
People around gasped in surprise.
Even though the Eight Great Clans are now in an alliance, the clan leaders cannot be met at will; many of them are seeing Nolan Edric for the first time.
The Edric Clan, originating from the Divine Life Realm, is a family born from the union of a divine beast and a human. However, their original divine beast ancestor perished long ago.
Nolan Edric is exceptionally gifted. Not only did he become Sovereign's Emissary by relying on his demigod beast talent, but he also developed an incomplete version of the ancestral baptism. The Edric Clan's ancestral baptism can only give members life attribute talents, but cannot manifest supernatural powers.
The ancestors of the Edric Clan did not possess strong divine beast talents, far inferior to super divine beasts like the Nether Serpent. The overall strength of the Edric Clan was also relatively weak among the Eight Great Clans.
However, Nolan Edric is very strong, and his personal characteristics are a good counter to Jason.
Jason glanced at the figures behind him; they were several high-ranking members of the Eight Great Clans. He wondered who the current patriarch of the Nether Snake Family was.
"Okay." Jason left the border of the Skyrite Mountains.
A battle between the Sovereign's Emissary obviously cannot take place on the Black Yu Arena used by ordinary Deity-level; the two moved a little further away, and the other members of the Eight Great Clans did not take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
"You and Ashcroft are on good terms?" Jason asked.
"No, I just felt that as an ally, I should do something for him."
Of the Eight Great Clans, the remaining seven patriarchs were unsure which Sovereign Artifact Jason possessed. Apart from Nolan Edric, the others were either skilled only in physical attacks or only in soul attacks.
Jason and Nolan faced each other. Nolan held a bright silver staff and was a master of the Life Law. He was strong in physical and spiritual attacks and defense, but his speed was his only weakness.
Jason's Sovereign Artifact is still the physical defense Sovereign Artifact "Frost Chill". In fact, unless facing the Nether Serpent's "Soul Annihilation" or the God-Eater Rat's "God-Eater", Jason's soul defense is enough to deal with ordinary Asura.
Keep in mind that he now has the Azure Dragon Clan's "Azure Light" protecting his soul, coupled with his own soul cultivation and Soul Defense Divine Artifact, making him powerful enough.
Jason didn't use the Blood Blade; instead, he charged straight at the enemy.
In previous battles, he had realized that his Blood Blade, which was not yet fully formed, was not capable of going head-to-head with Sovereign Artifact. Perhaps he could fight it again in tens of thousands of years, but for now, it was better to use his fists protected by Frost Chill.
Nolan directly unleashed his "domain-like" ability, a skill common among powerful beings who Life Law. Nolan's domain, however, was a sprawling vine.
This is also what gives her the courage to confront Jason. This vine possesses strong physical attack capabilities and is highly effective against Water Element and Earth Element Divine Power.
Jason, unaware of the name of this realm, directly opened his Crystal Space to compare their strengths.
The Crystal Space transformed into ice, Icebound the vines that tried to spread outwards. However, they did not completely lose their vitality and continued to fight tenaciously.
Jason dissolved into the ice wall, appearing before Nolan; Nolan, now enveloped in vines, repelled the surrounding ice walls, preventing Jason from launching a sneak attack using Water Body Technique.
The Power of Death permeated the air as Jason, imbued with Corrosion energy, charged into the core of Nolan's vines; Nolan did not directly confront Jason, but instead manipulated the vines to try and entangle him.
"This kind of domain can also suppress divine sense?" Jason realized this after entering, but it was too late to retreat at this point. The dense vines around him were like tentacles, constantly rubbing against Jason. Little by little, they accumulated and had considerable physical attack power.
At the same time, he could no longer determine his location.
Seeing the vines surrounding him that blocked his vision and divine sense, Jason once again used the Crystal Space within, unleashing a torrent of frost in an attempt to Icebound the vines.
To Jason's surprise, the dense vines spread along the ice wall, causing countless cracks to appear in the solid Crystal Space.
"So this vine isn't afraid of Icebound; she was just feigning weakness." Jason realized that the ice-form Crystal Space couldn't seal the vine, and the other three forms were naturally useless as well.
The Power of Death emanated from his body, combined with the solid ice of the Crystal Space, constantly pushing away the surrounding vines. Jason knew how disadvantageous it was to fight in someone else's territory, so he naturally wanted to escape the danger first before trying to find Nolan's location.
However, Nolan won't let Jason escape so easily.
A long staff suddenly appeared out of Jason's sight, carrying the Sovereign’s Might and striking Jason directly on the back of the head; the powerful impact caused Jason to stumble forward, and even through the Frost Chill, blood still seeped from Jason scalp.
However, these are all secondary attacks; the most powerful attack lies in the soul.
Nolan had already noticed that Jason was carrying a physical defense Sovereign Artifact, with most of his attacks focused on his soul.
Jason felt countless emerald green light spots surging towards his soul in his sea of consciousness. The Soul Defense Divine Artifact, Ink Soul, blocked most of the light spots, but the light spots, empowered by the Sovereign’s Might, exploded one after another, leaving dents on the solid outer wall of Ink Soul.
The protection of the Ink Soul is not foolproof. When Linley used it before, the Nether Serpent's supernatural power left a small hole in it, Jason has not yet repaired.
One of the points of light released by Nolan happened to pass through this hole and approach Jason's soul.
Under the illumination of the Innate Azure Light, the green specks of light quickly dissolved.
Nolan hid among the vines, having also expended a great deal of energy in that attack. Seeing Jason's reaction, Nolan's heart sank. "He didn't use the Sovereign’s Might for defense, so is he using a damaged Soul Defense Divine Artifact? Or is his own soul cultivation quite strong—"
According to Wenna and the others' recollections, Linley was able to block the attack from the Nether Serpent most likely by using Jason's Soul Defense Divine Artifact; if Jason is currently using a physical defense Sovereign Artifact, then it is highly probable that he is also using this damaged Soul Defense Divine Artifact.
Clearly, the higher-ups of the Eight Great Clans had not expected that Jason would possess the Azure Dragon Clan's Innate Azure Light; under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for them to have thought of this.
Seeing this, Nolan stopped observing and directly manipulated the vines to attack Jason.
Jason was still trying to break free from the vines. He didn't use the Sovereign’s Might, since the Sovereign’s Might was still a precious and non-renewable consumable, and he wanted to conserve it as much as possible.
But at that moment, the surrounding vines lit up, like a large net shimmering with green light; Jason, who had been cautiously observing, saw countless spots of light drift out from the vines and surge toward Jason.
Clearly, Nolan realized that physical attacks were ineffective against Jason, so he abandoned even direct combat and attempted to use the countless light spots to grind down Jason's Soul Defense Divine Artifact, killing Jason from the soul.
Jason dared not be reckless and engage in a war of attrition with Nolan, after all, the Life Law are known for their endurance; in desperation, a drop of the Light Element Sovereign’s Might surged from his body, and Jason relied on the Sovereign’s Might to use the power of solid ice and Corrosion to dispel the vines, attempting to break free from the encirclement.
Due to the mismatch in attributes, Jason's Crystal Space could only improve to a limited extent. The vines, carrying a large amount of soul attack, did not dodge or evade, but instead pierced directly into the solid ice and traveled through the ice layer. Fortunately, Jason's Edicts of Death was still effective, eliminating the nearby vines and preventing his soul from being overwhelmed by Nolan's soul attack.
Jason was very frustrated. He thought that by using the Heavenly Waterfall Pearl, he had finally overcome the bottleneck he had been longing for and could fight a great battle with the Sovereign's Emissary. However, he did not expect that he could not even determine the location of the opponent. This was also the first time that his Crystal Space had been completely suppressed, and he was trapped in the domain by the enemy and could not move.
"Sigh, forget it, this stalemate is pointless." Jason sighed inwardly, then manipulated the Crystal Space with his consciousness.
The ice wall, which had been struggling to suppress the vines, suddenly shattered, bursting into countless ice crystals. Then, as if baked by high temperatures, the ice crystals instantly vaporized into a large amount of white mist, which rapidly expanded and exploded violently in the small area.
This is a new move developed based on the Crystal Space after the initial fusion of the profound Profound Mysteries of Ice and the Mist Illusion.
In reality, after Jason overcame this bottleneck, the strength of his Water Clone did not increase much; rather, their potential was even greater.
From the outside, the giant sphere, originally wrapped in vines, rapidly expanded before shattering and spewing out a large amount of white mist; under the cover of the moisture, several bolts of lightning shot out, and Jason's figure Arc Flash.
Aside from Soul Mutation, different Divine Power cannot be fused. However, once Divine Power Divine Power leave the body, they can coexist according to a certain order. For example, water vapor conducts electricity, and ice crystals transmit light. Clearly, the underlying laws of this world are compatible, but living beings cannot grasp them.
Nolan did not appear with Jason after he escaped; instead, he moved the vines in an attempt to trap Jason again.
Jason quickly retreated, moving towards the Skyrite Mountains.
The Sovereign’s Might was almost dissipating, and since Jason had no life-or-death feud with Nolan, there was no need for him to continue wasting his precious Sovereign’s Might in a stalemate with Nolan.
A blurry light flashed, and Beirut appeared between the two.
"Alright, let's wrap this up," Beirut said calmly.
Jason looked at Beirut, his home in the North, and realized that the original plot had been triggered. He sighed, "I never thought I'd end up fighting against the Eight Great Clans on behalf of the Grand Elder from the original story."
The four patriarchs of the Four Divine Beasts Clan had already heard about the battle between Jason and Nolan and were standing nearby. They flew to Jason's sides, while Nolan dispersed his vines, wanting to say something but not daring to, and could only wait for the seven people behind him to arrive before speaking.
On both sides of the Eight Great Clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan, countless experts were watching "Beirut" positioned at the center of the battle stage.
"Lord of the Manor, why didn't you inform us of your arrival?" Chief Bolin said with a smile, appearing very friendly. Few families dared to provoke freaks like Beirut and Dennington.
Back in their heyday, the Four Divine Beasts Clan, backed by Sovereign, were not afraid of Paragon High-God, but they were unwilling to provoke someone of that level.
"Oh, I'm here today to settle the score between the two of you," Beirut said with a faint smile.
The patriarchs and elders of the Eight Great Clans couldn't help but freeze in shock.
"For over ten thousand years, I've witnessed your bloodshed in my Indigo Prefecture. Now, the Four Divine Beasts Clan have lost enough elders and suffered greatly in reputation. The punishment is enough! I think you Eight Great Clans should go back to where you came from," Beirut said lightly.
Go back to where you came from.
The eight clan leaders were so angry their faces turned red, and the elders of the Eight Great Clans were also furious.
"Lord of the Manor," Chief Edric said, barely containing his anger, "For so many years, our Eight Great Clans have never disobeyed you, nor have we invaded the Skyrite Mountains. You said back then... that as long as we didn't invade the Horizon Mountains, you wouldn't interfere. Why are you interfering again today?"
The eight clans have a long-standing grudge.
They hate Beirut for breaking its promise. They are indeed afraid of Beirut, but no matter how powerful Beirut is, it cannot break its promises.
Beirut simply smiled and remained silent.
The hoarse voice of the Bolin clan chief also rang out. "Lord of the Prefecture, the Four Divine Beasts Clan has suffered many deaths. But have the Eight Great Clans suffered few as well over the years? Moreover, when the four Sovereign were alive, the Four Divine Beasts Clan owed us countless blood debts. My son was killed by someone from the Four Divine Beasts Clan. And the reason? They coveted my son's wife!"
"Beirut," Reynalds said in a low voice, "You and I are both envoys under the Blood Peak Sovereign. You must know my story... Tell me, can I easily give up this grudge?"
The eight clan leaders roared in unison.
Jason looked at a figure, who should be the new patriarch of the Nether Serpent Clan, whom he did not recognize; the other party was just staring intently at Jason and the four patriarchs of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
"I know that all Eight Great Clans have a deep-seated grudge against the Four Divine Beasts Clan. But the Four Divine Beasts Clan has lost nearly 90% of its elders, and its reputation has been severely damaged... I estimate that the entire Infernal Realm will know about this. The Four Divine Beasts Clan has lost its honor, and so many elders have died... That's enough!"
Beirut said calmly, "Besides, they didn't exterminate your entire race back then."
"Lord of the Prefecture, you said back then that you wouldn't interfere unless we stormed into the Skyrite Mountains. Why are you doing this today?" Chief Bolin couldn't help but ask. The other seven chiefs and a large group of elders also looked at Beirut.
The members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan also looked at Beirut.
The members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan are nearly driven mad; each one is in extreme pain. Their greatest wish now is... for the conflict between the two sides to end!
"I did make that promise!" Beirut said with a faint smile. "And you certainly didn't storm into the Skyrite Mountains. But... today, it's not me interfering in this matter, but... the great Sovereign!"
Beirut flipped his hand, and a piece of parchment with intricate magical runes appeared in his palm.
"Hiss~~" The parchment burst into flames, emitting a peculiar aura.
The eight clan leaders were stunned.
"The Sovereign?" They couldn't believe it.
But at that moment, a strange energy began to gather in the heavens and earth. Black energy Extreme Speed condensed in the sky; this black energy was none other than the "Destruction Sovereign Power." To gather the Sovereign’s Might out of thin air—what kind of technique was this?
A massive amount of Destruction Sovereign Power condensed together high in the sky, eventually transforming into a gigantic black face tens of meters tall.
A terrifying pressure spread out.
"Sovereign!" Reynalds was the first to kneel down devoutly. He recognized him at a glance... this was the Blood Peak Sovereign he served.
A gigantic black face appeared high in the sky, looking down at the clan leaders, elders, and millions of people from both sides. Everyone held their breath. "Whoosh!" A large number of people knelt down, each one extremely tense.
"Sovereign." Beirut bowed.
The massive black face smiled slightly at Beirut, then Leiming voice boomed. "The matter of the Eight Great Clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan ends here. Go back to where you came from."
"Yes!" Reynalds was the first to respond.
Although the other seven were unwilling, they still respectfully replied, "Yes!"
They feared even Beirut, let alone the Sovereign. For the Sovereign to annihilate their Eight Great Clans would be far too easy. The Sovereign's power... was unparalleled.
"Beirut." The black, gigantic face's gaze, like a beam of light, was fixed on Beirut.
"Sovereign." Beirut bowed.
"Who's that young man standing over there?" the black-faced giant asked. "Besides you, he's the only other young man standing here." The Sovereign's gaze turned to the distance. With the Sovereign's arrival, who would dare to stand so arrogantly? Beirut also turned his head in confusion, and Gaiseresen and the others glanced over as well—
Linley stood there motionless with his eyes closed, a slight smile on his face.
"Linley?" Beirut was also somewhat surprised.
Upon seeing the Sovereign, Gaiseresen and a large group of people knelt down nervously, listening to the Sovereign's pronouncement. Who would notice Linley standing nearby...? Even if someone did notice, they dared not utter a sound.
"Boss." Bebe was so anxious that he even tried to communicate with Linley telepathically, but Linley didn't respond at all.
"Sovereign, he is Linley, the one I mentioned to you," Beirut said in a low voice.
"Oh." The Sovereign looked at Linley with interest, the beam of light from his eyes falling on Linley. "In all these years, when I descend, someone has actually been immersed in enlightenment. This has never happened before."
Right now--
"Boom~~~"
A peculiar fluctuation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth descended, a fluctuation that was all too familiar to those present. This was precisely the fluctuation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth signifying godhood, or the metamorphosis of Divine Spark spark. A Divine Spark emitting an earthy-yellow light flew out from Linley's body.
The Laws of Heaven and Earth were also reshaping this Divine Spark, and at the same time, its soul was undergoing a transformation...
The Sovereign, the Four Divine Beasts clan leaders, the Eight Great Clans leaders, hundreds of elders, and countless clansmen all watched Linley ascend to godhood. This was probably the most remarkable time in the Infernal Realm for someone to become Highgod.
for a long time...
Linley opened his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Linley was startled by the stares of so many people.
Immediately, Linley sensed a terrifying aura and looked up—he saw a giant black face staring at him from high above, the gaze of those enormous eyes sending chills down Linley's spine.
Having witnessed the Floating Shadow of the Sovereign, Linley instantly understood.
"The Sovereign? When did the Sovereign arrive?" Linley was completely astonished.
The giant black face curled its lips slightly upward. "Interesting, very interesting." Then, the giant black face vanished with a roar, and the immense Destruction Sovereign Power disappeared as if it had never existed.
Beirut flew over, looking at Linley with a wry smile, "Linley, I told you, even if you were given a Divine Spark Weapon upon reaching the Highgod, you wouldn't need to break through at this time."
"I..."
Linley was speechless.
This sudden realization came unexpectedly, even to myself.