"Hahahaha, Locke, Locke! I really am luck's favorite child!"
The Death Sovereign strode up to Locke, waving a dark yellow strip of cloth in her hand.
"What is it, Lilia?"
"Hehe, take a look."
With a casual flick of her wrist, she tossed the cloth over. Locke reached out and caught it—and the moment it touched his hand, his expression shifted.
This material…
A suspicion rose in his heart, but he still unfolded the cloth and read what was written on it.
Just as he had guessed.
This dark yellow strip of cloth was an Overgod Talisman.
And not just any talisman—it was the Death Overgod Talisman.
There were only three images and a few lines of text inscribed upon it:
Black Demonic Robe, Bloodshadow Flame, Soul-Extinguishing Pearl.
Gather all three, and using the Overgod Talisman as the medium, one could summon the Death Overgod and make a single wish.
So, this was probably the first Overgod mission in the Coiling Dragon Universe, wasn't it?
"An Overgod mission?"
"Mm. I yawned today and accidentally tore space open. Then this thing just fell out of the spatial turbulence."
"Heh."
Looking at the Death Sovereign's carefree expression, Locke could only laugh.
As expected of Hongmeng's favored daughter—this kind of treatment really was beyond comparison.
"Lilia, this Overgod Talisman contains information about an Overgod mission."
"Judging by its nature, the three items depicted on it are at the very least treasures on the level of natural divine wonders."
"The fortunate thing is that unless someone has seen this talisman, no Sovereign would ever guess that these three items are the Overgod mission's objective items."
"So that's our advantage."
"How about this—don't make any moves for now. I'll mobilize my own forces first and have them gather rare treasures in secret. We'll see if we can collect all three."
The Death Sovereign had already convened two Sovereign gatherings, thoroughly establishing her supreme authority among the Sovereigns. Every move she made was now watched by the others.
But the forces under Locke's command had barely drawn any attention at all.
If they worked from the shadows and gradually funneled the treasures into Locke's hands, then as long as the three items still existed somewhere in the Divine or Higher Planes, there was a high probability they would eventually end up with him.
"Mm, that works."
"Then keep the Overgod Talisman with you for now. Once all the mission items have been gathered, give it back to me."
"That's fine. After all, this thing only works once all the mission items have been assembled anyway."
Hearing that, Locke didn't overthink it and directly stored the Overgod Talisman inside his interspatial ring.
Neither he nor the Death Sovereign felt that there was anything inappropriate about this arrangement.
Next, Locke's divine sense moved, sending a message to Oakes within Mount Netherworld's surrounding range.
Not long after, Oakes transformed into a streak of wind and arrived outside the Water Palace.
The dense mist parted into a passageway, and following it, Oakes entered the palace.
"Oakes greets Lord Locke. Greetings, Sovereign."
Dropping to one knee, Oakes bowed respectfully to both Locke and the Death Sovereign.
"All right, rise, Oakes."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
"Oakes, I have a mission for you."
"I need you to make a trip to the other planes."
With a wave of his hand, the three items depicted in the Overgod Talisman were projected before Oakes through an illusion spell.
"Oakes, I need these three natural treasures collected in secret."
"Next, go once more in my name and contact the forces that have already established ties with us. Have them begin gathering rare treasures for me."
"As for any other treasures they find, handle them however you like."
"But these three—no matter what means you use, the moment one appears, it must be secured for me. Understood?"
"No problem, Lord Locke."
"I guarantee the mission will be completed."
Oakes responded immediately.
"Oakes, this mission may bring you into conflict with some very powerful enemies."
"In that case, I'll give you some Sovereign's power as well. Don't hesitate to use it when necessary. Once you run out, come back to me for more."
As he spoke, Locke raised his hand.
Sovereign's power flowed out from his Fate Sovereign clone, condensing into a fist-sized sphere of white light that resembled a glowing drop of water.
"Thank you, Lord Locke."
Bowing, Oakes received the sphere with both hands and carefully stored it within his interspatial ring.
"Then, Lord Locke, please tell Niya for me."
"I'll set out immediately."
"There's no need to rush quite that much."
Although Locke admired Oakes's habit of carrying out missions the instant he received them, he was not some heartless master who only knew how to squeeze his subordinates dry.
"Oakes, you can leave your water divine clone here at Mount Netherworld."
"You can explain everything to Yagonia and Figaroia yourself."
"With Sovereign's power in hand, it hardly matters whether you have your fused dual-element divine power with you or not."
"And if you run into a powerful enemy and have to flee into spatial turbulence, your divine clone can help guide me to your location."
Oakes paused, then nodded.
"I understand, Lord Locke."
Indeed, at Oakes's current level, his fused divine power could still amplify his strength tenfold, allowing him to rival some Asuras who possessed Sovereign artifacts.
But any Asura who possessed a Sovereign artifact was almost certainly a Sovereign's Emissary—and thus definitely carried a few drops of Sovereign's power.
Now that Oakes himself also possessed a Sovereign artifact, he no longer feared the artifacts of other emissaries.
However, if the other side used Sovereign's power, then Oakes would likewise need to use Sovereign's power just to contend with them.
Under those circumstances, his fused divine power became somewhat redundant.
So, Oakes accepted Locke's suggestion without objection.
After leaving Mount Netherworld, his body split in two.
His wind divine clone flew outward toward the mountain range's edge, while his water divine clone headed back toward his residence within Mount Netherworld's misty domain.
"We're here."
"That's Mount Netherworld's surrounding mountain range ahead."
The moment he saw the mountain range shrouded in dense mist, Celes spoke.
"Mm."
"Senior Celes, I can sense a large settlement of life forms ahead through my divine sense. Let's go there first and gather some information."
"All right."
Celes didn't object.
When arriving somewhere unfamiliar, gathering local intelligence first was simply common sense.
If they happened to find Locke here, all the better.
Though that thought only flickered through his mind for an instant before he dismissed it.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way they would run into Locke here.
After all, according to Covell, Locke was living on the same mountain as a Sovereign.
The Sovereign resided at the summit.
Locke lived halfway up the mountain.
To dwell upon the same mountain as a Sovereign—what an incredible honor.
And…
Raising his head, though they were still far away, Celes and Mila could clearly see the towering peak that pierced the clouds.
Mount Netherworld.
The mountain was completely engulfed in brilliant lightning, making it stand apart from every other peak in the surrounding range.
After entering the town, Celes and Mila casually found a tavern, ordered some food, and quietly listened to the surrounding conversations, picking out whatever information might prove useful.
The gods in the tavern made no effort to lower their voices.
Because of that, by the time they finished their meal, Celes and Mila had already learned a great deal more about the region.
First—
once one entered the mist surrounding Mount Netherworld, one would lose all sense of direction and become unable to fly.
Only those possessing a soul-protecting divine artifact, or those with exceptionally powerful soul force, could distinguish direction within the mist and continue deeper into the mountains.
Second—
after passing through the outer layer of mist, there was a commander of a Sovereign's army recruiting soldiers there.
Anyone who successfully crossed the outer mist could apply to join this commander's army.
Those unwilling to join could continue onward into the deeper reaches of the range.
However, the further inward one went, the stronger the mist became.
If the outer mist could be crossed by an ordinary God with sufficient caution, then the second layer was something even Highgods might fail to pass through.
Those who succeeded were either elite Gods or self-trained Highgod experts.
Third—
it was possible that more than one Sovereign resided within Mount Netherworld.
According to those who had passed through the second layer and entered the inner region, there was another Sovereign's army recruiting there.
Only this one had much stricter requirements.
Even Highgods had only just reached the threshold.
Only those who had independently crossed the second mist layer were qualified to join.
Furthermore, according to some well-informed gods, the commander of this army was none other than the former Prefect of Shadowmoon Prefecture—
Oakes.
Although Oakes had rarely made a move after becoming Prefect, every challenger Asura who had gone to test him had been crushed with virtually no power to resist.
Rumor had it that Lord Oakes ranked among the top ten strongest experts in the entire Netherworld.
And that ranking even included Sovereign's Emissaries equipped with Sovereign artifacts.
That alone spoke volumes about his strength.
Now that Oakes had also become a Sovereign's Emissary and undoubtedly obtained a Sovereign artifact, his power must have risen yet another level.
No one would dare call him the absolute strongest in the Netherworld—
but placing him in the top three?
Very few would object.
If Locke were here to hear these gods speak so highly of Oakes, he would probably only smile and shake his head.
At the end of the day, Oakes's fearsome reputation was still largely built upon one thing—
fused divine power.
(End of Chapter)
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