Black Jade City. A magnificent castle in the east.
Han Shuo, his three ladies and Sanguis temporarily resided in this castle in the Black Jade City. It was considered one of the finest and most luxurious residences for Manticole's most honourable guests. It wasn't as grand as the Demon King's palace, but it didn't pale in comparison.
For several days in a row, Han Shuo and his ladies had stayed in this castle. There was an abundance of servants and maids to help with their daily chores. They were enjoying life to the fullest.
Sanguis, this Demonic Arts Apprentice who finally possessed power, skipped sleep and meals to cultivate the Bloodgod Mantra. With Han Shuo's guidance, Sanguis's understanding of the Bloodgod Mantra was progressing rapidly. He had progressed at a rate that had baffled Han Shuo.
During the days he spent with Jasper, Hemanna, Sylph, and even Bord and Zinia, Han Shuo gradually came to understand the relationships between the great demon kings of the Abyss Realm. The five of them were divided into three sides: Leviathan and Manticole on one side, and Cecrops and Golander on the other. Bechymos, however, was a lone wolf. He had little dealings with the other Demon Kings.
Manticole's and Golander's respective sides had practically never stopped fighting each other. The battle between the four Great Demon Kings had spread to their territories, which accounted for eighty percent of the land in the Abyss Realm. War Demon Valley and Venomfang Castle were testaments to their constant conflict.
Of the five Great Demon Kings, Bechymos was the most mysterious. Legends of this demon king had spread throughout the Abyss Realm since the beginning of time. Of the five, Bechymos had been on this plane the longest, and he had the deepest understanding of the Abyss. He was also the most retiring and quiet of the demon kings, and seemed content with the status quo. He would never send expeditions to conquer the territories of the other four Demon Kings in search of more power.
However, the other four great demon kings wouldn't take the initiative to provoke this demon king who was the first to become a god. For it was Bechymos who told them of the existence of the Void. Besides, the four of them had long since learned from their exploration of the Void what a terror Bechymos was!
There was no denying that Han Shuo had an intense desire for the Divine Weapon, Divine Essence and Divine Soul within the Void. In addition to the fact that the Interplanar Transportation Matrix and the secrets to the Cemetery of Death might be inside, Han Shuo was determined to take a trip into the Void. With his mind made up, Han Shuo began to gather information about the Void through every possible channel and method.
Whenever the Void opened, it wasn't just the five Great Demon Kings who entered. High-level demons like Bord and Zinia would also follow their master into the Void. Because of this, Han Shuo was able to learn a thing or two about the situation inside the Void from Bord and Zinia. He came to understand that the Void was indeed an extremely terrible and chaotic place.
Time passed like a gentle wind as Han Shuo tried by all means to understand the connection between the five great demon kings of the Abyss. After studying the state of the Void as much as he could, he began to make his own preparations for the expedition. He separated his three souls and began to cultivate in one of the castle's many secret chambers.
One day, while Han Shuo was cultivating in seclusion, carefully understanding all the wonderful uses of his consciousness, he suddenly sensed a joyful message coming from Little Skeleton, who was in the netherworld. With a single thought, his soul, which was attached to the Skeleton Staff, immediately descended to the Netherworld through the wonderful ability of the Skeleton Staff. Inside the magnificent palace of the undead, a continuous, terrible, loud roar filled the boundless sky.
Intense elements of death from all directions were converging on the palace. Little Skeleton, sitting on his high white bone throne in the centre of the palace, was astonished. The eye socket where the Purple Demon Eye used to be now glowed with an eerie green light. The miniaturised tombstone on his chest was like a whirlpool that could consume anything in its path as it condensed the Element of Death all around it.
Clean and pure Death Element covered the ground. There seemed to be some kind of mysterious magnetic field in the room, drawing in more and more Death Element, making it more and more intense. Sitting on the white bone throne at the centre of his palace, Little Skeleton exuded the imposing grandeur of the king of the undead. Inside his glittering jade skeleton, some kind of bizarre liquid seemed to be circulating rapidly.
In front of the small skeleton, a number of undead creatures lay prostrate on the ground. They included a bone dragon, a skeleton king and a zombie king. They seemed to be waiting for something as they crouched on the ground in fear and trepidation.
Little Skeleton, sitting proudly on his white bone throne with some kind of liquid flowing through his body, suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a lump of pale green mist. The mist seemed to contain an extremely abstruse brand of necromancy. Like tiny snakes, they bored into the bodies of those mighty undead creatures before Little Skeleton's eyes.
Suddenly, strands of thread-like energy began to flow from those mighty undead creatures back into Little Skeleton's body. As Little Skeleton's master, Han Shuo could sense a bit of Little Skeleton's understanding. He discovered that those strands of energy were like the fine threads of a spider's web. They were flowing into Little Skeleton's body in a way that could not be understood visually.
This type of energy was extremely weak and minute. But gradually, the entire mountain was enveloped in this green mist. Thousands upon thousands of undead creatures were releasing this kind of faint energy, which then fell into Little Skeleton's body as he sat upright on his throne.
Han Shuo's Death Basegod soul happened to land inside the palace. He found the tantalising and bewitching energy in the green mist to be extremely familiar. In the next moment, Han Shuo had a startling realisation. This energy was similar to the one that had lured him into returning his soul when he had absorbed spiritual energy in the subterranean layer of the Cemetery of Death.
"Father, you have come?" Little Skeleton's voice suddenly sounded. The green mist around Han Shuo cleared.
"You, you have truly become a god?"
Han Shuo finally awoke from his stupor.
That space around Little Skeleton, where the pure element of death was converging, Han Shuo understood that it was the Domain of Divinity that only a lowgod could possess. The liquid circulating in Little Skeleton's glistening white bones must be divine power. As for the silky, tiny energy flowing into Little Skeleton from the thousands upon thousands of undead, it was the power of faith that those undead creatures were offering Little Skeleton!
Divine energy, the Power of Faith, and the Domain of Divinity, these three characteristics of a lowgod were all possessed by Little Skeleton. From this, Han Shuo was absolutely certain that Little Skeleton had indeed become a lowgod of death. It was an undeniable fact.
"I have, Father," Little Skeleton replied with great joy.
"How can you do that so quickly?" Han Shuo was puzzled. Logically, given that Little Skeleton's soul did not possess a deep understanding of the element of death without spending a long time slowly understanding it, it was simply impossible for him to become a true god in such a short time by relying on his own strength.
"Um, it's all thanks to this," Little Skeleton pointed at the tombstone on his chest and explained cheerfully, "Father wanted me to take a close look at what's inside this thing. I discovered many secrets. Then, unconsciously, I came to possess divine energy and the Domain of Divinity. It really is a wonderful treasure. Thank you, Father!"
Han Shuo was astonished. With a face of pure shock, he stared at the tombstone on Little Skeleton's chest that seemed to serve as Little Skeleton's power source. Han Shuo had never expected that this stone engraved with cryptic patterns could cause such a huge transformation in Little Skeleton! After integrating into Little Skeleton's chest, it allowed Little Skeleton to become a lowgod of death in such a short time!
"Unbelievable, truly unbelievable!" Han Shuo exclaimed as he rejoiced at Little Skeleton's lucky encounter.
"This is all thanks to Father's favour," Little Skeleton said as he scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. In front of Han Shuo, he still acted very much like a child.
Among the sea of undead creatures, only the five elite zombies were unaffected by Little Skeleton's energy. The five elite zombies were not only different in appearance, but also possessed wonderful energy. Their origin was similar to that of Little Skeleton. They were all primed with Han Shuo's blood and took shape after absorbing the five elements. Among them, the wood, fire, and metal elite zombies possessed treasures of their respective attributes. Since they had developed enough strength, just like Han Shuo, they wouldn't be affected by Little Skeleton's energy.
While Han Shuo and Little Skeleton were talking, the five elite zombies walked over to Han Shuo. The simple and honest looking earth elite zombie tugged at the corner of Han Shuo's robe, pointed at the attribute treasures that the wood, fire, and metal elite zombies were wielding, and said to Han Shuo with a sullen face and a pitiful voice, "Father, the three of them have this, even Little Water has received a lot of energy. But I have nothing, even though I've been with Father the longest. Father, you are prejudiced!"
Han Shuo was speechless.
For some time now, the five elite zombies had attained robust intelligence. After listening to the Earth Elite Zombie complain, Han Shuo was torn between laughter and tears. It was obvious that the Earth Elite Zombie already possessed an extremely high intelligence. However, Han Shuo really did not know how to respond to his protest.
"Me too, I don't have any toys," the Water Elite Zombie, who was gentle and reserved in temperament, shyly demanded of Han Shuo when he saw his brother taking the lead.
Han Shuo suddenly felt a slight headache. Looking at the hopeful faces of the earth and water elite zombies, Han Shuo had no choice but to promise, "Don't worry, father promises, father will find treasures suitable for both of you."
The Earth Elite Zombie and the Water Elite Zombie were pleased. They squealed, "Yay! Thank you, Father!"
The headache Han Shuo had no choice but to force a smile and make them a promise. He thought to himself, "When these little guys gain higher intelligence, problems follow. And now they've even learned to make nasty comparisons... It really makes my head swim...
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