Han Shuo travelled to Venomfang Mountain and searched around, but he could not find Han Hao either. His senses picked up nothing and he discovered no traces of him. From the information Rose had given him, if anything happened to Han Hao, it was safe to assume that Sovereign Salas was the person responsible! So Han Shuo made his way to Empyrean Peak.
Many of Salas' direct disciples were on the mountain. The Empyrean Peak was like a broadsword that had pierced the blue dome of the sky. It was protected by all sorts of defences. It was impossible for even Han Shuo to sneak into the peak silently.
As Han Shuo gazed at the Empyrean Peak with his head raised high, his consciousness gradually expanded. One by one, the divine souls were registered by his consciousness.
After a while, Han Shuo let out a gentle cry of surprise. Based on the surveillance of his consciousness, he sensed more than a thousand divine souls on the Empyrean Peak. There were tens of Highgod Fringedwellers, among which were seventeen Late-stage Highgod experts.
Even though Salas wasn't on the Empyrean Peak, the forces gathered on the mountain top could not be defeated by an average power. Han Shuo threaded carefully after sensing from the mountain's foot. He continued to try to locate Salas.
Moments later, Han Shuo's brows bunched deeper. He could not sense Salas' presence on the Empyrean Peak at all. As long as Salas, an expert who had exceeded Highgod strength, was on the Mountain, Han Shuo would have been able to at least sense something.
Han Shuo had in fact employed the Soul-searching Technique. It was so powerful that even Sovereign Ossora, who was excellent at concealing his aura, could not hide from Han Shuo's senses if he used the Technique. However, at this moment, Han Shuo sensed not a trace of Salas' aura.
Could it be that Salas just happened to be away? Han Shuo weighed in his mind whether he should visit the mountaintop.
Although Han Shuo had killed many since he entered the fringe, he had avoided offending any of the rulers. Han Shuo had tried to avoid conflict with them for as long as possible because he had no certainty of defeating any of them.
If Han Shuo were to enter the Empyrean Peak that day, it would be tantamount to declaring war on Salas. Salas would wage war against him and attempt to destroy him and his followers. Han Shuo had to consider his next move carefully.
After hesitating and debating with himself for ages, Han Shuo finally made up his mind.
"Who is it?" Han Shuo heard a cry as soon as he entered the mountain. A squadron of Empyrean Peak guards came out of their posts vigilantly. They aimed their weapons at Han Shuo.
"I want to see Salas. Go deliver the message," Han Shuo ordered calmly after looking at the guards.
"How dare you address His Lordship so disrespectfully!" The Empyrean Peak guards, used to being scorned, commanded without thinking, "Catch him!"
The squadron of ten Midgods attacked Han Shuo together. But unfortunately for them, they were nowhere near able to harm Han Shuo with the little power they had. They had absolutely no chance against him.
Han Shuo could not imagine how much worse the others would be if even these tiny, weak followers of Salas were so arrogant and condescending. He began to understand why Han Hao would kill this follower of Salas.
Knowing that he had crossed the point of no return, Han Shuo showed them no mercy. Before the guards could even get close to him, they were trapped by an enormous bone flower. The Cauldron of the Myriad Demon left Han Shuo's body, emitting a blinding light. The divine souls of the ten guards just flew into the Cauldron.
The power of the Cauldron Spirit grew as the number of demon generals in the Cauldron increased. At this point, the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon was capable of sucking a midgod's divine soul right out of his divine body in the blink of an eye. Han Shuo did not even have to lift a finger.
Ten puffs of greyish smoke floated into the Cauldron. The small Cauldron made a circle around Han Shuo, hovering over his shoulder instead of returning to his body. It climbed up the Empyrean Peak with Han Shuo.
Brilliant blue lights erupted simultaneously from the tops of three energy towers, forming an azure barrier in Han Shuo's path. But before Han Shuo could reach the barrier, a great swarm of shadows burst from the Cauldron, tearing holes in the barrier.
The Cauldron of the Myriad Demon went behind the barrier and suddenly grew to the size of a man. It struck somewhere between the three energy towers, and they instantly shattered with a rumble. Clouds of dust and debris were sent flying.
"Who dares seek trouble at Empyrean Peak?!" a loud, angry roar was heard from the waist of the mountain as several silhouettes quickly descended. However, Han Shuo and his Cauldron completely ignored them and continued their journey upwards.
None of the barriers and energy towers Han Shuo encountered on his way up could withstand the power of the Cauldron Spirit. The Cauldron took care of all the obstacles for Han Shuo, paving the way for him and giving him an unhindered path to the top.
It was only now that Han Shuo truly realised just how much the Cauldron's power had increased after devouring hundreds upon thousands of divine souls. The Cauldron of the Myriad Demon was the ultimate weapon in the demonic arts. Not only did it know all kinds of demonic formations, but it also clearly understood the barriers and shields of this universe. It seemed like destroying the barriers was a piece of cake for the Cauldron.
At first, Han Shuo was rather worried that the barriers and energy towers all over Empyrean Peak would greatly hinder his ascent. However, after seeing the Cauldron's performance, Han Shuo's worries were not only alleviated, but he also felt the desire to shed blood.
It was only a matter of time before he clashed with the Five Sovereigns. Besides, since Han Hao had killed one of Salas' followers, given Salas' vengeful temperament, Han Hao and Salas were destined to be enemies, and so was Han Shuo. As things stood, the key to future victory was to wipe out Salas' forces as much as possible. He knew that once he made the first move, there was no stopping him and he had to inflict as much damage as possible.
One by one, the barriers and energy towers were destroyed by the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon . Han Shuo was soon a quarter of the way up the mountain.
By now, the experts of Salas who had come from the base of the mountain had reached Han Shuo. Some of them were Early and Mid Stage Highgods. They were filled with rage and it was obvious that they wanted to tear Han Shuo to pieces.
Although the Five Sovereigns fought each other constantly, never before had any of them personally invaded the base of their rivals. The Five Sovereigns would only let their followers fight each other. It was extremely rare for any of the Sovereigns to attack the followers of another Sovereign.
Thus, although the Five Sovereigns were in constant conflict, the Empyrean Peak had never been attacked. An average Fringedweller would avoid a place like the Empyrean Peak, let alone attempt to invade it and risk their lives.
After all, Empyrean Peak was the home of Sovereign Salas. Apart from the other four Sovereigns, who would dare to invade his property?
The minds of the followers of Salas were filled with a spontaneous feeling of extreme rage when they noticed the enormous disturbances coming from the base of the mountain. Seeing the energy towers and barriers shattered, they felt as if someone had pissed on their heads.
As they flew down the mountain, they were a little concerned when they saw that there was only one attacker. But when they got closer and saw that the ruthless intruder wasn't one of the other four Sovereigns, they immediately forgot their worries and boldly attacked Han Shuo.
"Good! Just in time!" exclaimed Han Shuo with a malicious smile. With a single thought, the seventeen flying swords shot out of his body. Those in front of Han Shuo were immediately pierced by the seventeen flying swords and turned into bloody liquid in a fraction of a second.
At the same time, Han Shuo spread his fingers and the demonic blades erupted. Han Shuo flew into the wave of defenders and began to dance with the blades while laughing loudly. The Demonic Blades sliced through the divine bodies of his enemies without the slightest resistance. Severed limbs, flesh, organs and blood were sent flying.
Han Shuo had now reached the pinnacle of the Omen Realm. With the power of the Cauldron Spirit at his side, no Highgod could not stop him. Han Shuo suddenly had an epiphany - given his current circumstances, the only way to make a breakthrough was to fight an expert of equal or greater strength to the death!
And Salas was the opponent Han Shuo needed!
Han Shuo made up his mind. There was not a single shred of fear or hesitation left. In fact, Han Shuo began to desperately hope that Salas would appear and fight him. Even if he could not defeat Salas, as long as he could escape from Empyrean Peak, Han Shuo had a great chance of making a breakthrough. And if Han Shuo could step into the next realm in his cultivation of demonic arts, he would have the power to rewrite the rules of the fringe!
Han Shuo was determined to take this risky chance!
"Salas! Where are you?! Show yourself right now, coward!" shouted Han Shuo as he grew increasingly angry. The cold demonic blades mercilessly shredded divine bodies as he climbed up the mountain.
Under the insanely powerful defensive power of Invincible Omen Body, the attacks coming from all directions had no effect on Han Shuo. These incredibly sharp divine weapons bounced off Han Shuo's body, leaving him without a single wound.
Han Shuo charged around violently while laughing like a maniac. He slaughtered every living thing in his path.
Greyish puffs of smoke continuously flew into the Cauldron. In a matter of moments, it gained several dozen more divine souls. The man and the Cauldron fought side by side in great harmony. They climbed the mountain with unstoppable force.
There was a constant stream of fierce experts coming forward to stand in Han Shuo's way. However, none of them could stop Han Shuo from advancing. They all fell to Han Shuo's attacks. The Cauldron of the Myriad Demon hovered all around. Although it seemed harmless, it had been very useful to Han Shuo.
"Watch out, Master! This barrier is very powerful!" the Cauldron Spirit suddenly transmitted.
Han Shuo focused his attention on the last barrier to the top of the mountain. He discovered that the huge sphere surrounding the peak was filled with terrifying lightning energy. These bouncing electrical sparks seemed to be alive.
Undoubtedly, this last barrier on the Empyrean Peak had been erected by Salas himself!