As one of the Sovereigns, Salas was indeed extremely powerful. Few demonic formations could really hurt him. With his brute strength, Salas was able to quickly overcome and destroy three demonic formations.
However, not all of the demonic formations in the Pandemonium were created equal. After destroying three small formations, Salas stepped into a large formation powered by the Five Yuan Elemental Energies, with a formation core of five Highgod demon generals.
The elemental energies in the Pandemonium were much more concentrated than in any other region. Salas noticed this as soon as he entered the valley. He was able to access more lightning elements, which increased his power. But for the moment, Salas was disconnected from the surrounding Lightning Elements.
A bizarre wave spread out as soon as he stepped into the formation. Five energies surrounded him before quickly dispersing all the Lightning Elements in the area. Salas knew immediately that he was in trouble.
Unable to access the lightning energy in the valley, Salas had no choice but to use the divine energy in his body to defend himself against any attack. He felt as if he had entered a strange world. All kinds of attacks he had never seen before bombarded him like thousands of tsunamis.
Inside this space, completely isolated from the outside world, Salas could neither sense the auras of his followers nor see anything through the barrier. He could only passively defend himself against the constant bombardment of the Five Yuan Elemental Energies, consuming the divine energy in his body to protect his divine body and soul from harm.
Ossora, about to enter the fray, was astonished once again when he discovered that Salas was not invincible to the Pandemonium. Looking high into the sky, he saw Salas suddenly sitting cross-legged in a region filled with brilliant light. He had a grave expression on his face, as if he were in deep trouble.
Ossora had not expected the Pandemonium to pose a real threat to Salas. Seeing the sudden change in the situation, Ossora stopped on his way and decided not to rush to be a hero. He hid again and continued to watch the battle.
"Salas has fallen into a formation designed to drain the enemy's energy. He is being blasted by the Yuan Energies that the Pandemonium has collected. Inside the large formation, he cannot use the lightning energy around him and is forced to use his divine energy to defend himself," Han Mu explained to the group.
"I am sure that before Salas could break out of the formation, more than half of his troops would have died. That is the price of trying to invade Pandemonium," Han Huo said.
Han Jin sighed and instructed Rose and the group, "Please get ready, it looks like we will have to evacuate the Pandemonium after all. Sigh, I wonder how Father is and why he hasn't returned yet.
"Huh? Isn't Salas still trapped in the formation? Why do we have to evacuate?" Rose asked confused.
"Yes, look at Salas' serious expression. It's clear that he's under a lot of pressure. It could trap him indefinitely!" Romon also did not understand why they were asked to evacuate.
"If the Pandemonium had existed for hundreds or even thousands of years, the formation could keep Salas trapped until he used up all his energy. But alas, the Pandemonium was only built two years ago and had only managed to accumulate a tiny amount of Yuan energy. The energy accumulated so far could only hold Salas for half an hour at most," Han Jin explained disappointedly.
"There is nothing more we can do. In half an hour, the Yuan Energies in the Pandemonium would be exhausted and most of the formations would cease to function. But as long as we are alive, there is hope. We will take revenge when Father reappears," Han Tu said before turning to Goron and instructing, "I will open a tunnel that will go a hundred metres deeper into the ground. Tell your men to prepare for evacuation."
After hearing Han Jin and Han Tu's explanations, Romon, Rose and the others had no more doubts. As the co-architects and builders of Pandemonium, the Five Elite Zombies knew the demonic formations inside and out. Rose realised the gravity of the situation after hearing their explanation.
"Ok, right away!" replied Goron before hurriedly leaving the command centre.
"Sigh, it's been many months. Why hasn't there been any news about father?" sighed Han Shui. He knew that if Han Shuo was in the Pandemonium, using the available Yuan Energy and the thousands of Demon Generals in the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon , Salas would probably never step out of the great formation.
"Father will return! And when he does, it will be the death of Salas!" said Han Huo, gritting his teeth. The five of them had put a lot of effort and energy into building the Pandemonium. They were very reluctant to leave the Valley, knowing that Salas would soon destroy it.
"Everyone, get ready, we are leaving soon," Han Mu said as he gestured around. Then his mind suddenly jerked. He closed his eyes and felt carefully for a moment before opening them in alarm. He shouted, "Evacuate immediately! There is a very powerful life aura hiding nearby and he is no weaker than Salas!"
Not only Rose, Romon and Zovic, but also the other four Elite Zombies were terrified to hear this news. Facing one Sovereign was bad enough. Two Sovereigns would be catastrophic.
There were many rumours about Salas in the Fringe. One of the rumours was that Salas had gone to Logue and Wasir and that the Sovereigns had come to some sort of agreement. Rose and the others who had heard this rumour automatically assumed that the powerful being in hiding was one of the two Sovereigns.
Evacuate at once or we will suffer great casualties!" shouted Han Tu as he pointed to a deep, dark tunnel beneath his feet.
"Wait!" Han Mu shouted again with a raised hand, gesturing for the group to stop. Han Mu stood still and closed his eyes. Everyone in the room froze and stared at him in dead silence.
After a while, Han Mu opened his eyes again and said to the group with a puzzled face, "It's Ossora. He has just cast his soul energy towards the valley to find out if Father is here. I made contact with him and he said he would help us fight Salas. Do you think we can trust him?"
Han Mu cultivated the energy of life and had a wonderful connection with all the trees and plants in the Pandemonium. His soul was also completely different from that of an ordinary vital energy cultivator. Therefore, Han Mu could sense Ossora's soul and communicate with him through soul transmission.
Outside the Pandemonium, Ossora was surprised again. When he first received a response from Soul Transfer, he thought that Han Shuo was hiding in the Pandemonium. The soul energy he sent towards the valley was very weak. No one but another expert of his class should be able to detect the tiny energy waves.
However, when Ossora received the 'Who are you' soul message, he immediately realised that the being he had detected wasn't Han Shuo. He had met Han Shuo once and knew that Han Shuo's soul felt much more sinister and dark, very different from Han Mu's energetic and joyful soul.
The two communicated with their souls and Ossora revealed his intention. He had not expected Han Shuo to have an expert with such a great ability to sense souls. This made him even more determined to help the people of Pandemonium.
"Ossora?" Zovic raised an eyebrow and explained, "Master had a meeting with him once in the Omphalos. He also gave Master one of his Sovereign Shops. He seemed determined to make friends with us. If this Sovereign would stand up for us, we might not have to evacuate."
"But can he be trusted?" Han Mu seemed sceptical. He asked, "What is his reputation in the Fringe?"
"Hmm... He's relatively inconspicuous, and of the Five Sovereigns, Ossora is the most polite. I think he is sincere in wanting to help us," Zovic replied.
"We cannot take that risk. Proceed with the evacuation," Han Jin said after thinking for a moment, "Little Wood, tell Ossora that we are evacuating. If he really wants to help us, stop Salas from destroying the Pandemonium."
"Got it!" Han Mu closed his eyes and communicated with Ossora. A dozen seconds later, Han Mu opened his eyes and said smiling, "Ossora has agreed. Let's go!"
The group was quite perplexed. They did not understand why Ossora would go to such lengths to help them. But being in a hurry, they did not discuss the matter. The Pandemonians began to fly into the underground tunnel that Han Tu had built.
***
Inside a mountain range, several thousand miles from Empyrean Peak, lay a piece of scaly, dry land.
Only a few months ago, the land had been saturated with water and mud. Any beast or man who accidentally stepped on it would sink into the mud. But now the land was bone dry.
Under the cold night sky, strange cracking sounds began to emanate from beneath the earth. Moments later there was an explosion. As if a stick of dynamite had been planted under the ground and ignited, earth was sent flying in all directions and a crater was formed.
As the dust settled, a majestic, male naked figure emerged. He had a pair of cold, sinister eyes, but a faint, gentle smile on his face. He had a demonic yet enchanting demeanour.
He raised his head and looked into the clear, cold sky and said to himself, "Even though the state of the realm is unstable and I have yet to fully grasp my new power, it is enough to take care of Salas!"
Upon finishing these words, Han Shuo shot into the sky and flew towards the Empyrean Peak at an unfathomable speed.
The Empyrean Peak was thousands of miles away, but it only took Han Shuo a few moments to complete the journey.
However, Han Shuo discovered that there wasn't a soul on the mountain. He stood on the mountain and thought for a moment. Suddenly, his face shook and he immediately rushed towards the Pandemonium.