Zovic was stunned. As far as he knew, only the Overgods who possessed the Quintessences could alter and rewrite the operation of the natural forces on all of Elysium.
The originally unexceptional concentration of elemental energy in the valley had suddenly skyrocketed. This was not something an ordinary god could do. Even the Five Sovereigns couldn't do something like this without the Quintessences.
Zovic took a moment to scan the surroundings. He was shocked again when he discovered that the concentration of all eight elemental energies had increased. An Overgod could only alter the concentration of the element he cultivated. This meant that no being could do what Han Shuo had just done without the eight respective Overgods joining hands.
Zovic was stunned and could hardly believe his senses.
Rose and Romon were also incredulous. Even for Rose, who knew a thing or two about Han Shuo's brilliance, it was unbelievable. She had seen Han Shuo use demonic formations with serious firepower, but she had never seen him use one that could gather elemental energies.
Any god who cultivated in a region with a higher concentration of elemental energy could progress many times faster than their counterparts in places with lower concentrations. In other words, those who cultivated in this valley could become stronger much faster than others. This would be a terrifying advantage.
But the transformation wasn't over complete!
While Zovic and the others were still in shock, the elemental energies everywhere continued to gather towards the valley. Han Shuo continued to smile, but said nothing other than to tell his servants to keep watching.
***Half an hour later...
The concentration of elemental energy continued to rise before finally stabilising - at thirty times the original concentration!
Zovic's mouth fell open. He flew around to survey the valley, muttering to himself, "How? How is this possible?!"
Of the group, only the four Elite Zombies were not surprised. The four little guys knew just how miraculous Han Shuo's demonic arts were. The places of Extreme Yuan where they were born had elemental energies even denser than this region.
After a long, long time, Zovic finally managed to calm down a bit. He asked Han Shuo, "How did you do that?" Zovic's gaze towards Han Shuo had completely changed to one of awe.
Han Shuo smiled and calmly replied, "Perhaps I'm no match for the Five Sovereigns for now, but the energy I've mastered has the potential to far surpass all of them. What I've done to this valley may seem unimaginable to you, but to me, it's just a normal day's work."
"Master, you must be more powerful than the Five Sovereigns! I doubt the Five Sovereigns could achieve what you can!" Romon admired Han Shuo even more after witnessing the transformation in the valley.
"As I said, the transformation you see now is not the final result. When my other son returns, we will be able to complete the whole thing and the valley will operate at a much higher capacity," Han Shuo said before walking over to the monolith engraved with the outline of the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon. He fiddled with a few things and the intense elemental energies gradually began to dissipate from the valley.
"We will leave the valley in its original state and go to the Omphalos. The next time we are here, we will complete the fortress." Han Shuo, Han Hao and Han Tu had an appointment at the Omphalos. In addition, Goron and the other experts Han Shuo had recruited would also be waiting for him at the Omphalos. Han Shuo wanted to gather them all in the centre of the Fringe and return to this valley.
By now, Zovic could not be more impressed by Han Shuo's wonderful skills. He felt that Han Shuo must have the power to fight against the Five Sovereigns.
After thinking for a moment, Han Shuo decided to hide the demonic formations in the valley. After the elemental energies had dissipated and returned to normal levels, the valley appeared quite ordinary, except for the unusually lush vegetation.
The group left the valley, which Han Shuo had temporarily named Pandemonium, and headed for the centre of the fringe.
*** The Empyrean Peak. The mountain piercing through the clouds was guarded by layers upon layers of boundaries. Brightly shining energy towers stood at each corner.
Near the top of the mountain was a majestic palace where a man three metres tall sat on a throne. His thick beard was meticulously woven into many small plaits that dangled from his chest. His eyes, as deep as the sea, looked straight ahead. He exuded a terrifying aura, though he was in a calm mood.
In the hall below his throne, several late-stage Highgod experts crouched before him. They were all characters of great power and influence in the periphery, but they were incredibly humble in the palace. One of them was an expert who had tried to recruit Han Shuo outside the Omphalos.
"Culver, are you sure about what you just said?" the godly and muscular man sitting on the throne asked curiously as he looked at those cowering beneath his feet.
Culver raised his head, revealing his reverential eyes. He replied respectfully, "Lord Salas, I've seen it with my own eyes. Although this boy appears to have ordinary strength, his true power is very formidable," Culver paused for a moment before continuing, "I suspect his true power exceeds that of a Highgod.
Tiny electrical sparks suddenly began to meander in Salas' pupils, as if he were thinking. A moment later, Salas nodded. He spoke in a very calm voice, "According to your report, this boy should have powers beyond the realm of Highgods. But you said you couldn't tell which energy he was cultivating in. Strange... very strange..."
After a short pause, Salas instructed, "Culver, drop all your work for now and investigate everything about this boy. His appearance could potentially upset the status quo. The five of us have been recovering our strength for some time now, and we are about to enter a great battle. This youngster could be a game changer. If he does not stand with me, I will finish him myself."
"Yes, my lord! Your humble servant will investigate this person thoroughly!" Culver promised hastily.
Salas nodded, gestured with his hand and said: "You are dismissed. Then Salas suddenly remembered something. His eyebrows knitted together, he instructed, "The trace I left on Kage is gone. He's been killed. Find out who did it."
"Yes, My Lord!" replied Culver respectfully.
"Now go," Salas said after nodding. A huge bolt of lightning suddenly appeared on the throne and shot straight up as Salas disappeared. Densely packed bolts of lightning suddenly appeared all around the Empyrean Peak.
***
"Brother, why hasn't Father returned yet?" the bored, stiff Han Tu asked Han Hao. The two of them had been waiting for Han Shuo and the others in the Omphalos for several days.
"They were probably delayed by something," Han Hao replied casually. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in a secluded corner of the Omphalos. He was as still as a statue.
"Do you think Father has run into some kind of trouble? The Fringe has Five Sovereigns who are more powerful than Highgods. Are they able to capture Father?" asked Han Tu again out of boredom.
"No," Han Hao replied even more succinctly.
Seeing that Han Hao was not interested in conversation, Han Tu sighed and stopped asking.
"Excuse me, are you Han Hao?" A faint, hesitant voice suddenly sounded. Several Midgod teenagers looked at them nervously from a distance. It looked like they wanted to talk to Han Hao but were too shy.
Han Hao opened his dark eyes slightly and glanced at the teenagers before closing them again. He replied indifferently, "Yes. The teenagers only had Midgod powers and Han Hao considered them too weak to hurt him or Han Tu.
The teenagers seemed somewhat excited to hear Han Hao acknowledge his identity. They exchanged glances and enthusiastically approached Han Hao. One of them said hastily, "We have heard of your exploits and admire you greatly. We have all been banished from our family clans and have nothing but black crystal coins. We do not wish to spend the rest of our lives trapped in the Omphalos. Will you please accept us as your followers?"
The other teenagers also expressed their willingness and excitement.
But Han Hao did not even look at them before he replied, "Nope, you lot are too weak.
The teenagers seemed embarrassed and discouraged after hearing this answer. They looked at each other, momentarily at a loss.
"You know, the Fringe has five Sovereigns. Why don't you look for them?" asked Han Tu with a grin. Unlike Han Hao, he was bored and interested in conversation.
"They don't care about the lives of their followers. We're afraid we'll be sent on a suicide mission or killed just because they don't like us," a pretty and innocent-looking lady replied shyly.
She did not look evil, and the Fringe did not look like the place for her.
The Fringe was a place where the strong were honoured and the Five Sovereigns upheld the law. For characters of her strength, serving a Sovereign was no guarantee of safety.
Even if they did not die in the constant fierce battles with their opponents, they could lose their lives to their own superiors for accidentally offending them.
A large number of fierce gods from all over Elysium travelled to the Fringe every day. These gods would try to become servants of the Sovereigns in order to survive in the Fringe. As a result, the Sovereigns would always have plenty of experts to spare. "How many black crystal coins do you have?" Han Hao, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes and asked the youngsters.