Infernal Realm, Amethyst Mountains.
A little girl of seven or eight, her hair tied into twin buns, skipped happily through the mist of the Amethyst Mountains while holding a candied hawthorn skewer in her hand.
(Appearance reference: Song Zu'er as Nezha.)
Following behind her was a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties.
From time to time, Amethysts would shoot out from the depths of the Amethyst Mountains. Their speed and power were so great that even some Gods would be injured if caught off guard.
However, whenever those Amethysts approached the little girl, they were silently shattered by flashes of lightning.
"Sister Ninisha, the mist here in the Amethyst Mountains is so much weaker than the mist back home."
"Was this really created by a Sovereign?"
As they walked deeper into the Amethyst Mountains, the little girl with the twin buns curiously asked the woman beside her.
Had any other Deity heard her words, they would probably have laughed at her.
The Amethyst Mountains stretched across millions of kilometers, all of it shrouded in dense mist. Furthermore, the mist possessed the ability to confuse the soul.
If it hadn't been created by a Sovereign, how could anyone produce a soul-affecting mist covering such an enormous area?
Not even a Paragon Highgod could accomplish even a fraction of that.
Moreover, judging from the little girl's tone, she didn't seem particularly respectful toward Sovereigns.
"Rena, there's no doubt that this mist was created by a Sovereign."
"At the very least, it's far beyond anything I could accomplish."
The two strolling through the Amethyst Mountains were naturally Rena, who had come down the mountain to temper herself, and Ninisha, who had been secretly assigned to protect her.
Although Rena was the descendant of Sovereigns and Lord Locke's most beloved junior, in Ninisha's eyes, Rena was still just a little girl.
While she was Rena's protector, that didn't mean Ninisha would treat her like some pampered young miss.
After all, Ninisha herself was a Lightning Paragon, someone whom even the Sovereigns treated as an equal.
Thus, calling Rena by name and behaving as her elder was perfectly appropriate.
"Also, Rena, the mist the Sovereign placed throughout these mountains wasn't meant to kill those who enter."
"It's meant to screen them."
Having traveled throughout the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes before becoming a Lightning Paragon, Ninisha was naturally very familiar with the Amethyst Mountains.
"Deep within the Amethyst Mountains live large numbers of Amethyst Beasts."
"Although these Amethyst Beasts possess no divine sparks and aren't Deities, the strength of their bodies is comparable to divine artifacts."
"Deities who aren't strong enough simply aren't a match for them. Anyone who rashly ventures too deeply into the mountains is very likely to be killed."
"Keeping those weaker Deities outside the mountains is the Sovereign's mercy."
"Oh? They're not Deities, yet they can kill Deities?"
Hearing Ninisha's explanation, Rena's eyes lit up.
"There are actually such interesting creatures in this world?"
Within the Magical Universe, there was only one criterion separating a Deity from a non-Deity.
That criterion was the divine spark.
Even if a Sovereign's original body wasn't a Deity, it could only be called a Saint-level original body.
Although the difference between Saint-level experts and Deities was merely the final step of comprehending the Laws...
The gap in power between them was worlds apart.
Just like the difference between a Paragon and an ordinary Highgod, no matter how many Saint-level experts there were, they were all ants before a Demigod.
Yet the existence of the Amethyst Beasts overturned that truth.
Amethyst Beasts possessed no divine sparks and comprehended no Laws. In terms of lifeform, they could only be considered Saint-level magical beasts.
However, because their bodies were as tough as divine artifacts, both their attack and defense were no weaker than those of Deities.
Some Amethyst Beasts even possessed bodies tougher than Highgod divine artifacts. If a Highgod was careless, they could easily be killed by them.
Saint-level creatures capable of killing Deities...
Perhaps only the Amethyst Beasts possessed such an ability throughout the entire Magical Universe.
"Let's go, Sister Ninisha."
"I want to see whether these Amethyst Beasts can actually kill me."
As the newest descendant of Locke's lineage, Rena had been deeply cherished by Locke since childhood. Nearly all of her willful requests had been granted.
However, having grown up listening to her grandfather, great-grandfather, and father recount their experiences tempering themselves throughout the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes, Rena had naturally longed for such adventures herself.
If Patriarch Locke hadn't forbidden it, she would have left Necropolis Mountain the moment her Wind divine clone became a Demigod.
During the hundred-plus years since leaving the mountain, she had already fused two Wind Laws Profound Mysteries and advanced to the God level.
Her next goal was to raise both her Lightning divine clone and her Fate divine clone to the God level as well.
"Alright. There's no harm in trying."
"It'll also give you a better understanding of your current strength and allow you to judge yourself more accurately."
Ninisha didn't stop Rena from seeking out an Amethyst Beast to test herself.
Granted, Rena was currently at the weakest stage she would experience for quite some time.
But no matter how weak she was, she was still a God who had fused two Wind Laws Profound Mysteries.
At the very least, she possessed strength comparable to an ordinary Highgod.
As long as she didn't encounter a pack of Amethyst Beasts, ordinary ones would pose no problem.
Besides...
Ninisha glanced toward the depths of the Amethyst Mountains.
The Amethyst Mountains were the territory of the Amethyst Sovereign.
If Rena ever encountered danger severe enough to require Ninisha's intervention, there was no way the Amethyst Sovereign wouldn't notice.
When that happened, the Amethyst Sovereign would probably be even more concerned for Rena's safety than Ninisha herself.
After all...
This was Lord Locke's most beloved great-granddaughter.
Forget Rena encountering danger.
Ninisha even suspected that if Rena simply had an unpleasant time here, Lord Locke might personally come to the Amethyst Sovereign to have a discussion.
Having decided what they wanted to do, Rena and Ninisha continued deeper into the Amethyst Mountains.
Like the mist surrounding Necropolis Mountain in the Netherworld, the mist of the Amethyst Mountains became increasingly effective at influencing the souls of Deities the deeper one ventured.
The difference was that the mist created by the Amethyst Sovereign, even at its deepest point, was only slightly stronger than the second layer of mist within Necropolis Mountain.
As long as one's soul had reached the level of a Highgod, one could resist the soul attacks hidden within the mist without much difficulty.
As a three-element soul mutate, and with her original body's soul having undergone the baptism of the Laws upon becoming a Deity three separate times, Rena's soul strength was no weaker than that of an ordinary Highgod.
Thus, the soul attacks within the mist had virtually no effect on her.
As for Ninisha...
There was even less need to mention her.
She was a Lightning Paragon Highgod who had comprehended a trace of the Laws of Time.
Even if a Sovereign wished to kill Ninisha, they would have to personally appear.
The soul attacks hidden within the mist of the Amethyst Mountains were utterly incapable of affecting her.
Boom... Boom... Boom...
As Rena and Ninisha advanced, they soon felt vibrations traveling through the ground.
Clearly, some enormous magical beast was walking nearby.
Rena's eyes brightened.
Green divine power surged around her body, transforming her into a gust of wind as she flew toward the source of the disturbance.
"So this is an Amethyst Beast?"
The Amethyst Beast before her stood over twenty meters tall and was nearly forty meters long.
Its entire body was composed of diamond-shaped amethyst crystals, and it closely resembled an armadillo.
Roar!
Upon seeing Rena, the beast let out a thunderous roar before charging toward her with astonishing momentum.
The Wind Laws naturally excelled in speed.
Among the seven elemental Laws, only the Light and Lightning Laws could rival them.
Although Rena had yet to comprehend either the Profound Mystery of Fast or the Profound Mystery of Slow, the Amethyst Beast's attack still wasn't fast enough that she couldn't react.
Boom!
Rena leaped gracefully into the air.
The Amethyst Beast charged straight past her and smashed violently into the enormous boulder behind her, instantly reducing it to rubble.
"Haa!"
After dodging the beast's attack, Rena gave a crisp shout.
With a flick of her index finger, she released a crescent-shaped arc of energy toward the Amethyst Beast.
Buzz!
The attack struck the Amethyst Beast directly.
Amid a series of humming vibrations, the beast suddenly froze before shattering into countless crystal fragments.
Slowly descending from the sky, Rena wrinkled her nose proudly.
"I thought these Amethyst Beasts would be much stronger."
"So that's all they amount to."
"How did those Deities ever get killed by creatures like this?"
Having effortlessly slain an Amethyst Beast, Rena found it difficult to understand just how weak those Deities barred from entering the Amethyst Mountains really were if they could die to such Saint-level creatures.
She raised her head and looked even deeper into the Amethyst Mountains.
Floating in the air, Ninisha didn't answer.
Most of the Deities prevented from entering the mountains were merely Demigods.
Even Gods were relatively rare.
As for Rena...
Although she was currently at the weakest point she would experience for a long time, her Wind divine clone had already completely fused two Profound Mysteries.
Her strength simply wasn't comparable to ordinary Demigods or Gods.
Highgods—even those who had become Highgods by refining divine sparks—were already considered the backbone of the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes.
Meanwhile, this Amethyst Beast was merely one of the weaker magical beasts inhabiting the outer regions of the Amethyst Mountains.
Its body was only comparable to a Demigod divine artifact.
Given Rena's current strength, destroying a Demigod divine artifact was hardly something worth being surprised about.
...
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