Within the inner ring of the Netherworld Mountain Range's mist-covered region, several small cottages sat atop a mountain.
This was Oakes's residence within the Netherworld Mountain Range.
Ordinarily, the ones living here were Oakes's water divine clone and his wife, Yagonia.
Although Oakes's water divine clone had only fused three Profound Mysteries, with the augmentation of fused divine power, it still possessed the strength of a Seven Star Fiend-level expert.a
At this moment, aside from Oakes and Yagonia, their son Figaroa was unexpectedly here as well.
"Father, Mother, stop looking at me like that…"
Before Oakes and Yagonia, Figaroa desperately curled himself into a ball, trying to reduce his presence.
"How was I supposed to know that someone casually killed in a material plane would eventually grow into a Paragon…"
Smack!
Yagonia slapped Figaroa across the face, her eyes somewhat swollen and red.
"You don't know this, don't know that—then why did you know to follow others into a material plane?"
"If Lord Locke had a mission, wouldn't he directly tell your father?"
"Since Lord Locke didn't assign the mission to you, why did you follow another Sovereign's Sovereign Emissary there to join in the excitement?"
"Now you've caused a huge disaster. Are you happy now?"
At this moment, Yagonia still looked deeply shaken with lingering fear.
Among the three of them, only Oakes appeared relatively calm, his expression unchanged.
Several thousand years ago, Oakes had received a divine sense transmission from the Death Chief Sovereign, informing him that his son Figaroa had provoked a terrifying enemy. If they did not wish to permanently lose their son, then it would be best to have Figaroa's Saint-level original body hide away for a period of time.
Over the years, Oakes had often wondered just what kind of terrifying enemy Figaroa had provoked for a Sovereign to personally warn him about it.
What happened on Lotus Rock Island today answered that question.
A Paragon—and a Paragon backed by a Chief Sovereign.
If not for the Death Chief Sovereign's earlier warning, their family would likely already have been separated by life and death.
"Enough, Nia."
Oakes stood up and pulled Yagonia into his embrace.
"It's over now. This matter has already been resolved."
"Now that Roa's strongest divine clone has been killed by Dunnington, as long as Roa doesn't show himself for a while, everything will be fine once this matter settles down."
"And Roa, for now, don't refine a divine spark to recover your strength."
"I already stored away your strongest divine clone. Later, if you refine the divine spark from your own divine clone and your soul becomes completely compatible with the divine spark, perhaps there may still be hope for further improvement."
"You saw today's events yourself."
"If you provoke a Sovereign, with Lord Locke as your backing, the Sovereigns wouldn't dare casually act against you."
"If you provoke most enemies, then your father and your status as a Sovereign Army soldier can intimidate most of them, forcing them to suppress their anger."
"But you provoked a Paragon…"
"I hope you learn a lesson from this matter and strive to raise your strength another level during this period of time."
"I've already lost you once. I don't want to lose you a second time."
"Mm. I understand, Father."
…
"What? After being gone so long, you don't even dare enter your own home anymore?"
At the summit of the Netherworld Mountain, as Locke paced back and forth outside the Death Chief Sovereign's palace for several hours, the annoyed voice of the Death Chief Sovereign rang out by divine sense transmission.
"Hehehe…"
Hearing the Death Chief Sovereign's divine sense transmission, Locke awkwardly stepped into the palace and gave a dry laugh toward the Death Chief Sovereign.
Although when the Death Chief Sovereign transmitted to the Water Divine Plane, Locke had already known her memories had likely returned—
the scene from several thousand years ago, where he had nearly died at the Death Chief Sovereign's hands, still left Locke somewhat fearful of her.
Fortunately, this time, Locke not only had his original body present, but also had the Sovereign spark of his Fate Chief Sovereign true body within his original body. Even if the Death Chief Sovereign had not recovered her memories and attacked him, Locke was not completely without the ability to resist.
"Hmph!"
Seeing the expression on Locke's face, how could the Death Chief Sovereign not understand that her previous actions had hurt him?
Clearly, moments earlier, she had spoken of her absolute trust in Locke. Then Locke helped her recultivate the Edicts of Death and erase the influence of faith energy upon her.
But what about her?
The moment she opened her eyes she had nearly killed Locke.
Thinking back, before becoming a Sovereign, Locke had always lived in fear.
After becoming a Sovereign, he had finally become the strongest Sovereign and no longer feared anything—yet she had nearly ruined his future with her own hands…
Thinking of this, the Death Chief Sovereign's heart softened. She stepped down from her throne and reached out to gently stroke Locke's face.
"Sorry. I must have frightened you that day, right?"
"Heh…"
Locke gave a bitter smile.
It would have been better if the Death Chief Sovereign hadn't brought it up.
The moment she mentioned it, Locke immediately felt uncomfortable all over in front of her.
The feeling was just like back when he had still been a Paragon standing before the Death Chief Sovereign.
Fortunately, the Death Chief Sovereign, who had known Locke for tens of millions of years, was absolutely the person who understood Locke best.
The instant Locke began feeling uncomfortable, the Death Chief Sovereign's figure transformed.
One moment earlier, she had been the arrogant, invincible, domineering Death Chief Sovereign.
The next moment, she became the gentle and elegant water-style Lilia, delicate and refined.
"Locke…"
Seeing Lilia before him gazing at him timidly with watery eyes, the frustration in Locke's heart instantly surged forth…
After a period of intimacy, Locke finally erased the shadow the Death Chief Sovereign had left in his heart.
Naturally, Lilia's efforts played no small part in that process.
"Oh right, Locke…"
"Several thousand years ago, Dunnington came here once."
Over the next period of time, the Death Chief Sovereign told Locke about Dunnington coming here and the arrangements she had made regarding the timing of his revenge.
"After Dunnington left, I sent a divine sense transmission to Oakes, telling him not to let Figaroa's original body and strongest divine clone stay together during this period."
"Although Figaroa himself isn't much, Oakes is still your Sovereign Emissary."
"And conveniently enough, aside from his water divine clone, Figaroa also had a Saint-level original body."
"So, I planned to use Figaroa's water divine clone to calm Dunnington's hatred, while using Figaroa's original body to console Oakes."
"So that's how it was."
After hearing the Death Chief Sovereign explain everything that had happened on Netherworld Mountain during his absence over the years, Locke finally understood.
He had previously wondered why Oakes did not appear especially grief-stricken after Figaroa's death. So, it turned out they had long known a great enemy would come knocking and had already hidden Figaroa's original body within the Netherworld Mountain Range.
"You handled this matter very well, Lilia."
Locke praised Lilia.
This praise was completely sincere.
After all, Locke himself truly had not thought of such a relatively perfect solution.
If he had known earlier that this could be done, why would he have pushed Dunnington toward the Chief Sovereign of Destruction's side?
Of course, although that was true, if Dunnington had ultimately disagreed and insisted on completely annihilating Figaroa, then it would only have damaged the favor and goodwill between Locke and Dunnington.
For Locke, Dunnington had contributed a complete Paragon-level Edicts of Death, enabling Locke to successfully help the Death Chief Sovereign recultivate and break free from the shackles of faith energy, giving her the possibility of once again reaching the Paragon level.
Not to mention that recording complete Paragon-level Edicts held tremendous significance for expanding Locke's future path of cultivation.
This point alone was enough for Locke to owe Dunnington a favor.
However, Locke did not want anyone learning that he possessed the ability to record complete Paragon-level Edicts. Thus, he attributed the credit for the Black Demon Robe to Dunnington instead, making the other Sovereigns believe that Dunnington had exchanged the Black Demon Robe for Locke's favor.
When it came to secrecy, aside from the Death Chief Sovereign, Locke trusted no one.
In fact, regarding certain especially sensitive matters, Locke only contemplated them internally and never spoke them aloud.
"Oh right, Lilia."
"Since we've already gathered the three Overgod mission artifacts, let's convene a Sovereign meeting, publicly reveal the matter of the Overgod artifacts, and summon the Death Overgod before everyone."
"Alright. I have no objections."
The Death Chief Sovereign nodded. The Overgod mission had continued for tens of millions of years since she first obtained the Overgod talisman. It truly was time to bring this mission to an end.
"However, Locke, do you have any wish?"
Lifting her head, the Death Chief Sovereign asked Locke.
According to the information left behind in the Overgod talisman, the person who gathered the Overgod mission artifacts could make one request of the Overgod. As long as it remained within the rules, the Overgod would fulfill it.
The Death Chief Sovereign herself did not care much about this request.
After all, whether in strength or status, she already stood at the pinnacle among Sovereigns.
Thus, she wanted to give this request to Locke.
"Hahaha, Lilia, my wish is simply to have a quiet cultivation environment free from disturbance."
"And haven't you already fulfilled that wish for me long ago?"
Naturally, Locke understood the Death Chief Sovereign's thoughts.
However, as someone who wished to transcend beyond the Coiling Dragon Universe, Locke could only rely upon his own cultivation to break free from the shackles of the Coiling Dragon Universe.
Relying on Hongmeng's assistance made it impossible to transcend into the Hongmeng Space.
Otherwise, why would Hongmeng have remained alone within the Hongmeng Space for nearly two thousand kalpas?
As for the Celestials within Hongmeng's primary universe, Locke did not believe Hongmeng had never attempted to help them transcend.
But the fact remained that until more than a thousand kalpas later, when Linley successfully transcended the Coiling Dragon Universe and entered the Hongmeng Space to become a Hongmeng Controller, Hongmeng had always been alone.
"So, you should use that request yourself instead."
"However, have you thought about what request to make to the Death Overgod?"
"To grant you additional willpower, or perhaps an Overgod artifact stronger than a Sovereign artifact?"
"Or perhaps asking the Overgod to help you raise your Edicts of Death to the Paragon level?"
The three requests Locke mentioned could all be considered the most cost-effective choices.
Among them, receiving additional willpower would at minimum grant one portion of Paragon-level willpower, increasing one's overall strength tenfold.
(End of Chapter)
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