"The Seven Divine Planes… and the Four Higher Planes…"
"After offending all the Sovereigns of Hell, going to any of the other planes would be extremely unsafe."
"If Utrede, the Destruction Overlord, personally intervenes, the other Overlords would likely give him face. None of them would want him fighting within their planes and causing massive destruction."
"But the Netherworld is different."
"The Death Overlord of the Netherworld isn't a Paragon, but she possesses the supreme treasure—the Heart of the Netherworld. With it, she can draw upon the power of the entire plane."
"Within the Netherworld… she is invincible."
"Because of that, even the other three Overlords of the Edicts—who have all reached Great Perfection—have never stepped foot into the Netherworld. They're afraid the Death Overlord might kill them there."
"For me, the Netherworld is absolutely the safest place."
Having reached his decision, Locke's water divine clone wasted no time.
He flew toward the interplanar teleportation array at Ironblade Gorge on Purple Thorns Continent.
Meanwhile, in Hell
The momentum of Fiend Castle had already become unstoppable.
The Sovereigns of Hell were patiently waiting for Locke to visit them.
After all, Locke had clearly stated that he would not monopolize the faith gathered by Fiend Castle.
Yet even after Fiend Castle had spread throughout Hell for more than a thousand years…
Locke never appeared.
The first Sovereign to lose patience was Bloodpeak Sovereign Pax.
Among all the Sovereigns, Pax had invested the most into Fiend Castle.
He had even sacrificed one of his Sovereign Emissaries and transferred a large amount of faith power to Muya Sovereign, leaving his own cultivation stagnant for years.
Among Hell's seven Destruction Sovereigns, Pax valued Fiend Castle's faith power the most.
After waiting for a thousand years, he finally reached his limit.
One day—
Pax spread his divine sense across the entirety of Hell, instantly alerting the other Sovereigns.
"Pax! What the hell are you doing?"
"I was cultivating!"
The first to snap in anger was Muya Sovereign.
Over 2,500 years ago, Muya's lightning divine clone Yamu had challenged Locke for the title of "Legendary Shura."
In the end, Muya lost.
However, even in defeat, Yamu earned everyone's recognition.
Locke had personally bestowed upon him the title "Thunder Punishment Shura."
As one of only two Shuras in Fiend Castle, Muya had also gained a share of the faith power after Fiend Castle spread throughout Hell. He had been using it to further comprehend the Edict of Destruction.
Being interrupted during cultivation naturally irritated him.
Meanwhile, the other Sovereigns extended their divine senses as well, curious about what Pax was doing.
"My apologies, Muya," Pax said.
"But I think we've all been tricked."
"The founder of Fiend Castle—Locke—never came to discuss the distribution of faith."
"He's escaped from Hell."
"I've scanned the entire plane several times with my divine sense. I can't find him anywhere."
"What?!"
The Sovereigns were shocked.
The faith harvested by Fiend Castle came from all divine-level beings across Hell.
The quality and quantity far surpassed the faith gathered from insignificant mortals in the material planes.
Moreover—
Locke had promised that once Fiend Castle spread throughout Hell, he would negotiate with them about the distribution of faith.
Yet the moment the system was complete and began harvesting faith…
Locke disappeared.
Without Locke, how could they seize control of Fiend Castle's faith?
Were they supposed to dismantle everything he had built and create an entirely new system to replace Fiend Castle?
But by now—
The concepts of Fiends and Fiend Castle had already taken root deeply in the hearts of Hell's inhabitants.
The system was fully accepted.
The only way to replace it would be to exterminate all life in Hell, allow new life to evolve, and then rebuild the system from scratch.
But…
Even Sovereigns had taboos.
Above them stood the Four Overgods.
If Sovereigns committed acts that disrupted the balance of the universe, they would face punishment from the Overgods.
The mere thought of annihilating Hell's population made every Sovereign feel a chill.
Clearly—
They had already drawn the attention of the Overgods.
Rules existed everywhere.
And therefore, the Overgods existed everywhere as well.
"Muya, what do you think?" someone asked.
"You said Locke was someone like you. Do you know which Sovereign his true body belongs to?"
For Sovereigns, even their divine clones were treated as their true selves.
Muya shook his head.
"I only know that Locke is the divine clone of some Intermediate-Sovereign or Overlord."
"I don't know exactly who."
"There are only eleven Overlords and twenty-two Intermediate-Sovereigns."
"If we really investigate, it wouldn't be hard to figure out."
"But even if we do…"
"What can we actually do?"
The Violet Thorn Sovereign shook her head.
After hearing Muya's guess—that Locke's true body might belong to a Mid-Sovereign or even an Overlord—she lost interest in competing for Fiend Castle's faith.
Her husband, however, was still interested.
"We don't need to investigate Locke's identity yet," he said.
"But we can investigate when he left Hell and what he left behind."
"I agree."
"Sounds reasonable."
"Locke's last known location was Tianshan Prefecture on Bloodpeak Continent."
"Pax, that's your territory."
"You should go take a look."
Pax felt a surge of irritation.
These people all wanted to share the benefits but none wanted to risk offending an unknown Mid-Sovereign.
Instead, they pushed the risk onto him.
But Pax had little choice.
Despite all his schemes, his strength placed limits on him.
In the end, he had contributed the most while gaining the least.
"Fine," Pax said coldly.
"I'll go ask around in Tianshan Prefecture."
Tianshan Prefecture
BOOM—
An enormous amount of Sovereign's Power gathered in the sky.
Within moments, it formed a massive divine face above Tianshan Prefecture.
The overwhelming pressure forced every god below to kneel.
"Greetings, Sovereign!"
"Greetings, Sovereign!"
No one dared speak loudly.
The authority of a Sovereign was deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts.
"Who is responsible for the Fiend Castle branch in Tianshan Prefecture?"
The booming voice echoed across the sky.
Everyone froze.
The Sovereign had descended… to look for someone from Fiend Castle?
Had something happened?
A moment later, a man stepped forward.
"Sovereign, I am Ismail, Prefect Lord of Tianshan Prefecture."
"I am a registered Six-Star Fiend and the manager of Tianshan Prefecture's Fiend Castle."
"How may I serve you?"
"I ask you this," Pax said coldly.
"Where is Locke, the master of Fiend Castle?"
"When did he leave?"
"Looking for Lord Locke?"
The crowd was stunned.
None of them expected the Sovereign's arrival to be for Locke.
"Forgive us, Sovereign," Ismail replied respectfully.
"Lord Locke usually cultivates in seclusion at the top floor of Fiend Castle."
"We rarely see him."
"So, we don't even know whether he is still there… or when he might have left."
The giant face fell silent.
Pax knew Ismail was telling the truth.
With Locke's strength, he could leave unnoticed by everyone here.
"Before he left," Pax asked, "did he say anything?"
Ismail hesitated.
But in the end, he told the truth.
"Sovereign… the only person who saw Lord Locke about a thousand years ago was Lord White."
"Lord White is Lord Locke's most trusted subordinate."
"If Lord Locke left instructions, Lord Bai would know."
Hearing that, Little White's heart turned cold.
The moment the Sovereign appeared, he realized he had ruined Locke's plan.
A thousand years ago, Locke had instructed him to issue a mission:
Deliver a violet crystal to Muya Sovereign on Muya Continent.
The reward was one drop of Sovereign's Power.
Tempted by that reward, Little White had not posted the mission.
Instead, he contacted Ryan, claiming it was Locke's direct order for him to personally deliver the crystal.
But Ryan had been in deep cultivation at the time.
By the time he received the message—
Nine hundred years had passed.
"T–Greetings, Sovereign…"
Standing before Pax, Little White didn't dare conceal anything.
"Sovereign, a thousand years ago Lord Locke gave me a violet crystal."
"He ordered me to find someone trustworthy to deliver it personally to Muya Sovereign."
"A hundred years ago I finally found a suitable Fiend and sent him to Purple Thorns Continent."
"The crystal is currently on its way to Muya Continent."
"Oh?"
Pax's voice turned icy.
"You spent nine hundred years finding someone trustworthy?"
Even traveling by the slowest metal lifeform, the journey from Tianshan Prefecture to Muya Continent should take no more than two or three hundred years.
Yet this man had wasted nine hundred years.
Thunder rumbled across the sky.
The terrifying pressure made Little White tremble in fear.
"Sovereign, spare me!"
"I was blinded by greed. I wanted to keep the Sovereign's Power meant for the mission reward for myself…"
"Hmph."
"Deceiving a Sovereign… is a crime worthy of death."
(End of Chapter)
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