Clashing with Wumengta
Divine power erupted within Rog's body, and he appeared in an instant before the elderly Wumengta. His purple saber was wreathed in divine power brimming with lightning as he slashed down without hesitation.
He had used pure lightning divine power for this attack, but the seemingly simple slash was in fact Tribulation Lightning Slash, a technique developed by fusing two profound mysteries.
Because his fusion of the two Lightning Element profound mysteries had only just reached ten percent, the attack was not yet particularly powerful. But Wumengta was only a Lowgod, and if he took the slash head-on, he would be seriously injured at the very least.
Faced with Rog's simple, direct attack, Wumengta's white brows furrowed slightly. His lips moved, and he uttered a single word: "Condense."
A peculiar fluctuation appeared, instantly condensing an extremely hard silver shield in the inch or so of space before him. The shield carried a peculiar rebounding force that sent Rog flying straight back the way he had come.
As expected of the Edicts of Fate. They really are bizarre, Rog marveled inwardly. The method of condensing the shield was simple enough, no more than a means of forming objects much like an elemental behemoth did. But the "rebounding" force the shield released was far too strange; Rog could not begin to guess how it worked.
"Again!" Rog attacked once more, charging forward with tremendous wind pressure in his wake. This time, he slashed with his saber halfway there, unleashing a streak of purple blade light.
Wumengta shifted slightly, his seemingly frail body moving some distance to the side and dodging the blade light outright.
Strange movement technique, Rog judged. Changing direction repeatedly, he sent out three more streaks of blade light in quick succession. Wumengta summoned a silver shield the size of a large door in front of him, blocking all three.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Like arrows striking a tree, the three streaks of blade light left several marks on the shield, but failed to break through its defenses or threaten Wumengta behind it.
"It's my turn to attack. Be careful, Rog," Wumengta warned in advance. His right foot stepped lightly on the air, and Rog had only just reacted when a figure appeared behind him in an instant. A withered right hand struck Rog's back like lightning, unleashing a surge of divine power.
The palm struck Rog's back, but there was no muffled thud of flesh meeting flesh. The surging divine power shattered the "Rog" standing there, and he dissipated into the air.
An afterimage? Wumengta was somewhat surprised. He had just used Fate Attraction, the technique he was best at, yet Rog had broken free? That shouldn't have happened.
Rog, who had shifted position, was also inwardly alarmed. Wumengta's abilities truly were bizarre. Just now, both his soul and body had felt a powerful restraining force. It had acted mainly on his soul, but had also significantly restrained his body.
Fortunately, as a soul mutator, his soul was relatively powerful, and his own research into the soul was considerable as well. Thus, he had broken free of the restraint immediately. An ordinary Lowgod would definitely have been seriously injured at the very least by that attack. But since Wumengta had only used his palm and had not brought out a divine artifact, he had evidently not intended to kill.
"Your strength really isn't what I'd expect from a Lowgod who just broke through. For the rest of this fight, I'm going to use my divine artifact." With that, Wumengta took out a strangely shaped weapon: a silvery-white chain with a sharp, spearhead-shaped point at one end. Perhaps the weapon could be called a "chain spear."
"Again!" This time, Wumengta's usually narrowed eyes were more than halfway open. He had brought out the divine artifact he had nurtured for nearly thirty thousand years-the Fate Chain Spear.
When Wumengta produced the strange chain spear, Rog's expression grew much more serious. It was a genuine divine artifact, one Wumengta had nurtured for over ten thousand years.
"Go!" Wumengta swung the chain spear and once again used Fate Attraction.
But the result did not change. Rog was as slippery as a "loach," breaking free of his restraints again and again. Rog also struck back with slash after slash. But without revealing his Fused Divine Power, he really could do nothing to Wumengta. His opponent's seemingly ordinary priestly robe was actually a Defensive Divine Artifact, and Rog's red copper saber could not breach its defenses at all.
On the desolate plain, the two continually attacked and defended against each other. A once remarkably flat stretch of barren grassland was pounded full of craters by the energy spilling out from their fight. Such destructive power was comparable to a walking natural disaster; fortunately, the two had chosen this place for their clash.
What a troublesome kid. Having spent a full fifty thousand years at the Lowgod level, Wumengta naturally had a trump card or two. But if he used that move, he would no longer be able to hold back.
"Rog, this next move is my strongest. Be careful." With that, Wumengta directed the chain spear once more. The silvery-white chain and its sharp spearhead shot toward Rog at high speed, like a giant python suddenly ambushing its prey. Rog had no time to react.
Hmm, what's this? Besides feeling a restraint on his soul, Rog found his body surrounded and entwined by the chain spear on all sides, without a single opening. It looked as though he was about to be wrapped up like a mummy.
He had not expected this move to be a combined material and soul attack. Wumengta's strength truly could not be underestimated. An ordinary Lowgod might have been completely at his mercy by now.
"Break!" At this critical moment, Rog naturally stopped hiding his strength. He unleashed his Fused Divine Power and struck out with a Tribulation Lightning Slash at full force. Although his mastery of the profound mysteries was still at the same level as before, the Fused Divine Power behind the attack gave it astonishing force!
Bang! The force carried by the saber scattered the silvery-white chain. Rog successfully slashed open the chain spear's encirclement just before it closed around him, then instantly pulled back.
"Wumengta, your Edicts of Fate really are bizarre. How about we end our spar here?" To have forced him to use Fused Divine Power, Wumengta truly ranked among the best of the Lowgods.
"Very well. I didn't expect you to possess such strength so soon after your breakthrough, Rog. I, Wumengta, am impressed." Though the elderly foxman was deeply puzzled by the peculiar divine power Rog had unleashed at the end, he wisely refrained from asking. After all, they had only just met. Who would tell someone else their secrets?
"You flatter me, High Priest. I only came to spar and exchange pointers with you. Now that I've accomplished what I came for, I'll take my leave." Although Wumengta's strength was considerable, Rog had no intention of developing a close relationship with him.
Compared with these native god-level experts, who were still rather "ignorant" about the path of cultivating the Laws, Rog's path of cultivation was clearly more "scientific." In the fight just now, he had simply sparred with Wumengta to get a feel for how god-level experts fought.
If it had truly been a fight to the death, Rog could have easily killed Wumengta, whether he used his Soul Attack or his Fused Divine Power directly.
"This Soul Gold Bead really is a fine thing. It's just a shame that refining one is so troublesome." After absorbing a Soul Gold Bead, Rog's soul felt as though it had drunk a bottle of ice-cold cola on a scorching summer day. The refreshing sensation was utterly captivating.
"Resources really are too scarce in the Material Plane. If I went to a Divine Plane and refined Soul Gold Beads from the souls of Saint-level beings, it would be much faster. Besides, Dimont's ability to strengthen his body can only truly be put to use in a Divine Plane." Rog had previously had Dimont absorb some precious metals, but now that Dimont had become a god, only metals at least on the level of black jade or red copper would have any effect.
But these unusual metals were relatively scarce in the Material Plane. Even if Rog put effort into finding more, the quantity would be very limited-a drop in the bucket for strengthening Dimont's body.
All of this would naturally cease to be a problem once they reached a Divine Plane. After all, even the stones used to build houses there were comparable to black jade.
The unusual metals prized in the Material Plane were nothing more than ordinary stones in a Divine Plane. When the time came, obtaining an entire vein of Black Jade Stone for Dimont to absorb would be no great difficulty.
"When all's said and done, I still need to go to a Divine Plane. There really isn't much future in staying in the Material Plane." Rog naturally looked forward to the Higher Planes and Divine Planes, where countless races and all kinds of Divine Beasts and magical beasts gathered.
But Divine Planes were quite dangerous. Even an ordinary Midgod would find it hard to ensure their survival there. Lowgods were among the lowest of the masses, and a Saint-level being going there would be courting death; it was hard to say whether one could even survive three days.
"I need to break through to Midgod sooner. In particular, once my Lightning Law cultivation reaches the Midgod level, I'll have fully fused two profound mysteries. By then, even using lightning divine power alone, I'll be comparable to an ordinary Highgod. If I reveal my Fused Divine Power, I can unleash strength on the level of a Five-Star Fiend, and my chances of survival will increase greatly." Ultimately, he still needed to cultivate the Laws.