Under such horrific torture, every living being around the third layer of the mist surrounding Mount Nether heard the agonizing screams of the four of them.
Simply hearing those screams was enough for one to imagine every imaginable form of torture being inflicted in succession. Only such unimaginable torment could force dignified Prefect-level experts to let out cries like that.
In the end, it was their companion who had remained outside pulling the rope who hurriedly dragged them back from the depths of the mist as quickly as possible.
There was no helping it.
Judging solely from their screams, Reisgem and the others were clearly suffering an extremely powerful soul attack.
Had he continued dragging them deeper inside, he feared their souls might have shattered.
In other words, Reisgem and the others had endured four to five hours of soul torture for nothing, only to ultimately fail to pass through the third layer of mist.
Although...
After recovering, the five of them had reviewed what happened. They all felt that if their companion hadn't pulled them back and had instead continued dragging them toward Mount Nether, they probably would have successfully crossed the third layer of mist.
Unfortunately, including Reisgem himself, none of the five ever dared challenge the third layer of mist again.
Instead, they obediently remained between the second and third layers of mist, waiting for Big Sis Rena's summons.
Sweeping his gaze across the area, Reisgem quickly discovered the chain they had left behind all those years ago.
Judging from the wear marks upon it, others had probably copied their method afterward and ventured into the depths of the third layer of mist.
He simply didn't know whether those people had ultimately succeeded in passing through the third layer and reaching the foot of Mount Nether.
Having personally endured that kind of torture, Reisgem felt that if someone truly managed to pass through the third layer using that method, earning an audience with a Sovereign wouldn't be surprising.
A divine light flashed through his eyes.
Without stopping for even a moment, Reisgem charged directly into the mist.
Compared to back then, the current Reisgem possessed a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
Naturally, the illusions within the mist posed no threat to him whatsoever.
Even the three levels of Hell from the Eye of Hell, which had left him psychologically scarred in the past, were completely blocked by his soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
This wasn't because Locke's Eye of Hell: Eighteen Levels of Hell could actually be defended against by a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
One had to remember that back when Locke wasn't even a Sovereign, he had already relied upon the Eye of Hell to intimidate the Blood Peak Sovereign Pashi into abandoning any attempt to hold Ryan, Rock Peak, and the others accountable for killing a captain of his Sovereign Army.
At that time, it was impossible for the Blood Peak Sovereign Pashi not to possess a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
Yet he had still yielded before the torment of Locke's Eye of Hell: Eighteen Levels of Hell.
The reason was naturally because the Eye of Hell used by Locke primarily functioned by creating resonance between souls, allowing the sensations experienced by Locke's own soul to be shared directly with the target.
Since it was merely a sharing of sensations rather than a direct soul attack, it didn't trigger the defensive capabilities of a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
In other words...
When used personally by Locke, the Eye of Hell: Eighteen Levels of Hell was an extraordinarily powerful soul attack that completely ignored defenses.
However, the Eye of Hell embedded within the mist by Locke lacked the illusionary ability of his Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water, which connected two souls together.
As such, it could only affect Deities who entered the depths of the third layer through conventional soul attacks.
That was precisely why the three layers of mist surrounding Mount Nether could be resisted through a Paragon's Will or a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
At this moment, with his soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, Reisgem moved through the third layer of mist completely unhindered.
Neither the illusions that blocked one's five senses nor the Eye of Hell's direct soul attacks could penetrate his soul-protecting Sovereign artifact or affect him in the slightest.
Whoosh!
Passing through the third layer of mist, Reisgem found a towering wall of lightning stretching endlessly into the clouds before him.
Without the slightest hesitation, he slipped through one of the gaps within the lightning barrier.
Crackle!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless streaks of Amethyst lightning burst forth from the chains of lightning, crashing down upon Reisgem.
The power of these bolts was tremendous.
Even a Prefect-level expert would likely suffer considerable injuries from being struck by a single bolt.
Now, with dozens of lightning bolts descending simultaneously, an ordinary Prefect would have no chance of survival.
However...
To Reisgem, these lightning bolts posed virtually no threat.
A suit of black armor materialized over his body.
The lightning capable of seriously wounding Prefects exploded against the armor, dispersing into countless arcs of electricity.
Yet not a single bolt was able to break through it.
It was a divine spark defensive weapon.
As one of the companions who had accompanied Rena throughout her journey, Locke had personally prepared a divine spark weapon for each of Rena's five companions.
The one Reisgem had chosen...
Was a divine spark defensive weapon.
It was precisely because he possessed a divine spark defensive weapon that Reisgem had later asked his mother, the Amethyst Sovereign, for a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
With those two pieces of equipment...
Reisgem had participated in numerous Planar Wars, eventually collecting ten Commander Medallions and exchanging them for an offensive Sovereign artifact, raising his strength to the level of a "suspected Paragon."
Of course...
Although his strength had reached that level, other Prefects still wouldn't refer to Reisgem as a "suspected Paragon."
The term "suspected Paragon" referred to someone capable of matching a Paragon in one aspect without relying upon Sovereign artifacts.
A supreme Prefect like Reisgem, equipped with three Sovereign artifacts, naturally wouldn't be described that way.
Naturally, the Sovereigns residing upon Mount Nether immediately became aware that an outsider had entered the mountain.
Their divine senses swept over the intruder.
Upon discovering his identity, however, they simply ignored him.
He was Rena's companion.
Naturally, Rena herself would receive and deal with him.
They were all Rena's elders.
Appearing at a gathering among the younger generation would be rather inappropriate.
...
"It's been a long time, Reisgem."
As soon as Reisgem passed through the lightning barrier and entered Mount Nether, a voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.
The sudden appearance of that voice startled Reisgem.
However, after recognizing its owner, he immediately relaxed.
"Yes..."
"It really has been a long time."
"It seems that after all these years, the gap between us has widened even further."
Reisgem turned around and looked toward the man sitting upon the branch of a Netherfruit tree beside him.
"Bomer."
Looking at the red-haired man, a complicated look appeared in Reisgem's eyes.
During Rena's journey, Reisgem had been the first person to follow her and acknowledge her as his big sister.
But he certainly hadn't been the last.
Throughout those hundreds of thousands of years of traveling, some people came while others left.
In the end...
Only five remained by Rena's side.
After entering Mount Nether, they all received an audience with Lord Locke.
Each of them was granted a single opportunity to receive his guidance.
Among them...
After receiving Lord Locke's guidance and cultivating for one hundred thousand years, Bomer finally broke through and reached the realm of a Paragon.
As for the other four, including Reisgem...
They had no choice but to leave Mount Nether in disappointment after one million years.
Only Sovereigns and Paragons were qualified to establish residences upon Mount Nether and remain there cultivating.
Otherwise...
The only way to stay was by joining a Sovereign Army or becoming a Sovereign Emissary through a Sovereign's special permission.
Of the remaining three...
Two had joined Rena's Sovereign Army, serving respectively as Commander and Vice Commander.
The last had become one of Rena's Sovereign Emissaries and had enjoyed an exceptionally carefree life all these years.
As for Reisgem...
With a Sovereign mother, he lacked neither Sovereign artifacts nor Sovereign's Might.
There was naturally no possibility of him becoming Rena's Sovereign Emissary.
Thus, he became the only one among the five who had drifted away from Rena.
Of course...
To experts above the level of Deities, time held little meaning.
Although Reisgem hadn't seen the others for over a hundred calendrical eras, the bond between them hadn't faded in the slightest.
Hearing the unmistakable jealousy in Reisgem's voice, Bomer merely smiled.
Before becoming a Paragon, Reisgem had been the strongest among their group.
But only after becoming a Paragon did Bomer truly understand the enormous gulf separating Paragons from everyone else.
Why were Paragons known as "Little Sovereigns"?
Because a Paragon who wasn't using Sovereign's Might already stood at the absolute pinnacle of Deities.
Once a Paragon did use Sovereign's Might...
The only beings capable of matching them were Paragons of the same level.
Furthermore...
By now, Bomer had naturally already obtained the cultivation methods used after becoming a Paragon from Locke's lineage.
Over the course of more than a hundred calendrical eras, although the amount of Four Divine Beast Sovereign blood essence available to him had been limited, Bomer had successfully taken the first step into the Laws of Space.
Although he had merely begun...
As the Higher Law above the four elemental Laws of earth, fire, water, and wind, the Laws of Space still granted him an enormous increase in strength.
At the very least...
Bomer believed he could now effortlessly defeat his former self before he comprehended the Laws of Space.
At the same time...
He also knew that once he comprehended ten percent of the Laws of Space, his strength would advance to the level of a Sovereign.
This was a path already proven by Locke's lineage.
Looking across the Sovereigns of Locke's lineage...
Sovereign Loran...
Sovereign Veer...
Sovereign Grant...
And even Sovereign Rena...
All had attained Sovereign-level strength through the Laws of Space.
However...
Unlike the outside world's habit of calling Rena and the others "Sovereigns," within Rena's circle, those who had reached Sovereign-level strength through comprehending ten percent of the Laws of Space were called Celestial Deities, distinguishing them from Sovereigns who had refined Sovereign sparks.
"Come on, Reisgem."
"It's been so long."
"I'm sure you've missed Big Sis Rena."
"Mm."
Following behind Bomer, Reisgem nodded.
"I heard from Mother that Sovereign Beirut placed the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' Sovereign sparks inside the Divine Plane he created and is allowing Deities to compete for them there."
"The reason I came to see Big Sis Rena this time isn't just because I wanted to see her."
"My mother also wants me to go to the Yulan Plane and secretly help the Four Divine Beasts clan."
"So..."
"I wanted to ask Big Sis Rena what Lord Locke actually thinks about the Sovereign sparks in the Yulan Plane."
Hearing Reisgem's question, Bomer smiled.
"Reisgem..."
"Do you really think Lord Locke would care about a mere four Lesser Sovereign sparks?"
"Forget Lesser Sovereign sparks."
"Even Chief Sovereign sparks aren't worth Lord Locke's attention."
"Lord Locke surpassed the realm of Sovereigns long ago."
"You're asking what Lord Locke thinks about the Sovereign sparks left behind by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns."
"How is that any different from asking a Sovereign what they think about a few Demigod divine sparks?"
"O(╯□╰)o"
Reisgem's face immediately stiffened in embarrassment.
Faced with Bomer's comparison...
He found himself completely unable to refute it.
More shocking still...
Was Bomer's statement that Lord Locke had already surpassed the realm of Sovereigns.
Having spent hundreds of thousands of years together in their youth, Reisgem naturally knew Bomer wouldn't lie to him.
What existence lay beyond a Sovereign?
The Four Overgods!
In other words...
Lord Locke had already reached the realm of an Overgod?
Still...
Just as Bomer had said earlier...
Before an existence like Lord Locke, asking about a few Sovereign sparks really was rather inappropriate.
Following Bomer's reasoning...
Forget Lord Locke.
Even if someone came to ask Reisgem how four Demigod divine sparks should be distributed...
Reisgem would probably regard it as an insult and slap that person to death.
Thinking of this...
Reisgem shivered.
Thankfully Bomer had stopped him.
Otherwise...
If he had really asked Chief Sovereign Locke such a question...
Forget Lord Locke.
If Big Sis Rena didn't beat him half to death, it would already be proof of how deeply she cared for him.
Looking at Bomer, another question suddenly surfaced in Reisgem's mind.
"Oh, right, Bomer."
Looking up at him, Reisgem asked curiously,
"As far as I know, among the four Sovereign sparks left behind by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns in the Yulan Plane, aside from the wind-element Lesser Sovereign spark refined by Beirut, there are still fire, water, and earth Sovereign sparks remaining."
"Aren't you tempted at all?"
"With your current strength, as long as you went to the Yulan Plane, the fire-element Sovereign spark would undoubtedly be yours."
"So why aren't you going to compete for it?"
"Compete for the Sovereign sparks left behind by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns?"
Bomer glanced at Reisgem, inwardly rather helpless.
It seemed that after leaving Mount Nether, not only had Reisgem's strength stopped improving...
Even the sources of his information had fallen far behind.
No...
It wasn't merely that his information lagged behind.
It was incomplete.
Of course, Bomer also understood why.
Because none of the Sovereign sparks that appeared this time matched Reisgem's affinity, the Amethyst Sovereign hadn't explained to him the true significance hidden behind the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' Sovereign sparks.
"We're here."
Looking toward the Sovereign's Palace ahead, Bomer said,
"Big Sis Rena will answer your questions."
"As for me..."
"I need to return to my cultivation."
After patting Reisgem on the shoulder, Bomer didn't accompany him to seek an audience with Sovereign Rena.
Instead, he headed toward a palace near Rena's Sovereign's Palace.
That was Bomer's residence on Mount Nether.
It was also where he secluded himself for cultivation.
Had he not sensed Reisgem's arrival this time...
Bomer wouldn't have interrupted his cultivation just to come out and greet him.
(End of Chapter)
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