The Fringedwellers gathered around the Pandemonium vanished in a matter of moments. They had witnessed the battle between Salas and Ossora, and had seen Han Shuo use his dark energy to drive Salas away.
Soon, there was no one left in the Pandemonium but Ossora and Han Shuo.
Han Shuo smiled and thanked Ossora again, "I really appreciate your help. Without your help, the Pandemonium wouldn't have survived until now."
"Haha, you're welcome. We are friends, and friends should help each other," Ossora shrugged politely.
Back in the Omphalos, when Ossora had first met Han Shuo, Ossora had been polite, but nowhere near as friendly as he was now.
The Fringe was a place where the strong were honoured. The last time they met, Ossora did not consider Han Shuo to be his equal, and so it was inevitable that his arrogance as a mighty sovereign would show, directly or indirectly, when interacting with Han Shuo. But this time, Ossora did not show the slightest bit of pride when speaking to Han Shuo. By chasing away Salas, Han Shuo had proven that he had the strength to challenge any of the sovereigns, so Ossora was beginning to treat Han Shuo as an equal.
"I certainly owe you one," Han Shuo insisted before suddenly turning his eyes to the centre of the pandemonium and flying over.
At the same time, the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon flew out of Han Shuo's body in the form of greyish smoke and headed towards the monolith at the centre of the valley.
Tens of hundreds of wisps of thin grey smoke emerged from the monolith and flew into the Cauldron floating in the air. They were the divine souls of Salas' followers. Having lost their lives to the powerful demonic formations in the Pandemonium, they were sucked into the monolith and stored there for the Cauldron Spirit to collect later.
Ossora immediately felt the circulation of these bizarre energies. He stared at the hovering Cauldron in amazement, secretly guessing at the wondrous uses and energies of the strange-looking divine weapon.
In Ossora's eyes, everything about Han Shuo was shrouded in mystery. Even now, Ossora still couldn't figure out what kind of energy Han Shuo was cultivating. He was also very curious to know how Han Shuo was able to force Salas to flee in disarray. Ossora wanted to unravel the secrets of the inscrutable Han Shuo.
As the strands of soul energy flowed into the Cauldron, Han Shuo appeared calm and chatted with Ossora, "So, after today, do you think Salas can still stand tall in the Fringe as before?"
Ossora stared blankly for a moment before he chuckled softly and replied, "Unless Salas can somehow prove that he can defeat both of us, his reputation in the Fringe will take another nosedive. And most importantly, he fled the battlefield alone, leaving his followers behind. I think most people would think twice before signing up to serve a sovereign like him.
Han Shuo laughed out loud. He seemed to be in a savoury mood as he said, "It won't be easy for Salas to recover. I'm beginning to doubt if he'll even come back for me!" Han Shuo knew that he could defeat Salas even at full strength. Salas probably knew this as well. Therefore, Han Shuo doubted that Salas would be reckless enough to dig his own grave.
"Salas will have a hard time keeping his grip on the Fringe. Bryan, the Omphalos has always been under the joint control of the five of us. If Salas were to fall, would you be interested in filling the void?" the beaming Ossora asked.
Thanks to the unique partnership between the Five Sovereigns, Omphalos had remained a very special place in the chaotic Fringe. As the trading hub of the Fringe, almost every business and transaction was taxed, providing its leaders with a hefty income.
It was clear from Ossora's words that he wanted Han Shuo to overthrow Salas' position and take his share of Omphalos.
"Of course!" Han Shuo would never let such a great treasure slip through his hands. He smiled mischievously and said, "I will visit the Omphalos soon. I wonder if anyone will try to charge me an entrance fee."
"Very well. I will take my leave," Ossora said. He wanted to take care of things concerning Salas.
"Alright. Thank you, Ossora! I will remember your favour," Han Shuo assured him with a smile as he watched Ossora leave.
Then, after Ossora's figure disappeared, Han Shuo put on a scheming smile and muttered to himself, "Ossora, oh Ossora, how considerate of you!"
A few minutes after Ossora left, the Five Elite Zombies, Rose, Romon and Zovic emerged from the Pandemonium's underground palace. They were happy and relieved to see that the Pandemonium had suffered only minimal damage.
"Father, you are back at last!" exclaimed Han Jin excitedly.
"Where is Salas? Father, where did he go?" asked Han Huo as soon as he emerged from the underground palace.
"He has disappeared! I believe that even after he fully recovers, he will think twice before trying to attack us again," Han Shuo smiled unruffled and said to the group, "From today, you will not be afraid of anyone in the Fringe!"
Even without Han Shuo's explanation, the Five Elite Zombies, Rose and the others could sense that there was something different about Han Shuo, even if they couldn't put their finger on it. The new Han Shuo seemed as intimidating as a great mountain and as mysterious as the sea.
Although they could not pinpoint exactly what had happened to Han Shuo, they knew that Han Shuo must have made another breakthrough in his cultivation and his strength must have taken another giant leap.
Han Shuo was not one to speak empty words or exaggerate. When he said that they had no one in the fringe to fear, it meant that he was no longer afraid of the Five Sovereigns.
"Father, you mean you have enough power now to fight the Sovereigns?" asked Han Mu excitedly.
Han Shuo smiled and replied, "That's right."
"Wonderful!" Han Huo laughed wildly and said, "Then we can stay in the Omphalos as long as we want. No one will charge us!"
"All right, let's not talk about that now. Where are Goron and the others?"
"Don't worry, Father, they are fine, hiding in the evacuation tunnel I made. I think they will soon realise the situation here and come back," Han Tu explained.
"Excellent." Han Shuo looked around before he said, "The Pandemonium is not destroyed, but it is still damaged to some extent. Alright, let the six of us work together and repair our hideout!"
Han Shuo paused for a moment before grinning and saying, "I suppose I should continue to increase the power of the Pandemonium. That way, if one day Salas or another sovereign comes to destroy the Pandemonium, hehe, he will have to peel off his skin first!"
When Han Shuo built the demonic formations of the Pandemonium, he was still in the Omen Realm. And now that Han Shuo had entered the Skybreak Realm, he possessed greater power and a deeper understanding of demonic formations. This meant that the Pandemonium would become even more deadly than it was now.
"Wonderful!" the Five Elite Zombies cheered in unison. They were in high spirits.
The father and sons then spent another period repairing and upgrading the Pandemonium. Together, they worked tirelessly to make Pandemonium even more terrifying...
***
"Say what?" asked Han Hao as he stared at a stringer by a lake.
"Salas was defeated. That outsider called Bryan defeated Salas. They all left the Pandemonium," the unlucky stringer replied in a terrified voice. He was trembling as he was surrounded by a large group of fierce godhunters.
Sensing the turmoil over in the Pandemonium, Han Hao dropped everything he was doing and started running towards the valley. And when he was a third of the way there, he met this stringer who was selling the latest news about the Pandemonium. Han Hao's subordinates easily captured the stringer and brought him back to Han Hao.
"Tell me everything in detail and I will not kill you," Han Hao was pleasantly surprised by the news. Hearing that Han Shuo had defeated Salas, Han Hao knew that his father had made a monumental breakthrough. He was more excited than anyone else.
"Salas tried to invade the Pandemonium, and his forces suffered heavy casualties before they could capture it. They found no one inside..." The trembling Stringer knew this was his last hope for survival. He tried to calm himself and explained everything he knew to Han Hao.
Han Hao listened patiently until the stringer had finished. He nodded and instructed his subordinates, "Let him go.
"Chief, this guy is cultivating the energy of darkness. May I...?" one of the Godhunters asked Han Hao as he stared droolingly at the stringer.
"Spare me! Spare me, sir! I've told you all I know! Please!" the terrified stringer cried in tears as he knelt before Han Hao.
Han Hao gestured at the stringer and said, "You may go," before glaring at the dark energy subordinate and reprimanding, "One must do as one is told!"
"Understood, Chief," the Godhunter replied as he bowed his head.
"Turn around. We are going to visit Salas' camps," Han Hao ordered. He was no longer heading for the Pandemonium. He had set his sights on destroying the rest of Salas' forces and plundering the wealth that Salas had amassed during his countless years of rule over the Fringe.