Chapter 23: Sadista
Deep within the Arctic Icefield of the Yulan Continent plane, atop a towering iceberg that pierced the clouds, resided the plane overseer, Hodan.
At the summit of this iceberg, there were eleven complex hexagonal magic arrays.
When Berut of the Dark Forest looked northward, Hodan was standing before one of the magic arrays. That intricate array was glowing with dazzling light, beams of radiance shooting into the sky. The center of the array appeared dreamlike and surreal.
Hodan’s face showed barely suppressed excitement.
“They’re here,” Hodan said, his eyes lighting up. He saw blurry figures of a group of people appear in the center of the magic array. Gradually, the array’s light faded, revealing several dozen individuals standing within it. The aura naturally emanating from these people was enough to make one’s heart tremble.
All were Deity-level experts!
The leader, wearing an ornate black robe embroidered with gold trim, looked like a gentleman preparing to attend a banquet. Upon seeing Hodan, he smiled and said, “Hodan, it’s been several thousand years. You’ve worked hard all these years.”
Hodan immediately bowed respectfully: “Lord Sadista, it is my honor to serve the family!”
Sadista clasped his hands together in front of his chest, occasionally rubbing the faintly glowing red ring on his finger, and said with a faint smile, “Hodan, the information you sent to the family was very brief. You should explain the current situation on the Yulan Continent in more detail.”
“Yes,” Hodan replied, as humble as a servant before this Sadista. “Lord Sadista, not long ago, there was an issue with the passage between the Yulan Continent plane and the plane prison, causing a large number of Deity-level experts to escape. Although Lord Berut went to seal the passage, many Deity-level experts still managed to flee.”
“Aside from a few experts who have already gone to the Higher Planes or Divine Planes, most are still staying on the Yulan Continent plane. I’m afraid they are all coveting entry into the Necropolis of the Gods!”
Sadista nodded slightly.
“Hodan, are there any Highgod-level experts?” Sadista asked.
“Yes, one! His name is Adkins. Lord Adkins currently resides in the O’Brien Empire. It’s clear that Lord Adkins also has his sights set on the Necropolis of the Gods,” Hodan replied respectfully.
“Adkins?” Sadista frowned.
He didn’t care about other experts, but the fact that Adkins was a Highgod was enough to put Sadista on alert. Although Sadista himself had experienced many battles in the Higher Plane of Hell, he knew well that someone who could survive in a prison plane and cultivate to the level of a Highgod was not comparable to those Highgods in Hell who had been forcibly cultivated by major forces or families using divine sparks, lacking real combat experience.
A follower behind Sadista immediately said, “Lord Sadista need not worry. That Adkins is no match for you.”
“Shut up,” Sadista said with a frown.
His follower immediately fell silent.
Hodan then said respectfully, “Lord Sadista, some time ago, Adkins’ four subordinates, who are Demigods, engaged in battle with the Dragonblood Castle in the current Baruch Empire.”
“Oh?” Sadista looked at Hodan with some confusion.
He didn’t understand why Hodan was bringing up Demigods. But Sadista knew that Hodan wouldn’t speak without reason.
“However, Adkins’ subordinates suffered a crushing defeat!” Hodan said with a smile. Seeing Sadista’s surprised expression, he continued, “The Dragonblood Castle also has Demigods. More importantly, it is a place under Lord Berut’s protection!”
“This time, Adkins’ side took a heavy loss, but Adkins didn’t dare to provoke Lord Berut,” Hodan said.
Sadista nodded slightly. “Adkins is wise not to provoke Berut. But this is also a bit troublesome. If Adkins were arrogant enough to anger Berut, we could have used Berut’s hand to eliminate him. But now, it’s difficult.”
“Uncle, is this Berut really capable of killing Adkins?” a young man behind Sadista asked.
Sadista was well aware of Berut’s power. He said with a faint smile, “Berut’s strength is far more terrifying than you can imagine. Ten thousand years ago, during the War of Destruction on the Yulan Continent, do you know who participated? The legendary Purple Blood Demon who once roamed Hell, the twelve-winged Highgod angels from the Divine Plane of Light… any one of them was at the peak of Highgod level.”
“The Purple Blood Demon?” the young man exclaimed in awe.
In the Higher Plane of Hell, the Purple Blood Demon was already a legendary figure. Many experts in Hell even believed that the Purple Blood Demon had the strength to earn the title of ‘Asura’!
Asura!
In Hell, it was a highly revered title, one only given to the absolute pinnacle among Highgods.
“The result of that battle? All the Highgod-level experts fell! Not a single one survived. The only one who lived through it was Berut alone!” Sadista said with a sigh. “Although I’m not entirely clear on the details of that battle, based on this alone, Berut is likely even more terrifying than the Purple Blood Demon! Tell me, would there be any doubt that such an expert could kill an Adkins?”
When Sadista said this, everyone behind him was filled with awe.
They were only Demigods or Gods, and many secrets were not something they were qualified to know even within their family.
“By the way, Hodan, this Yulan Continent should be one of the branch locations of the Four Divine Beasts clan, right?” Sadista suddenly asked. “Does the Four Divine Beasts clan still have descendants on the Yulan Continent plane?”
“Yes, and quite a few,” Hodan replied.
Sadista’s expression changed.
“Hmph, they still exist!” Sadista’s face suddenly turned cold, as if covered in frost. “Kill them all. Leave none!”
Hodan shook his head and said, “Lord Sadista, the Dragonblood Castle I mentioned earlier is now the headquarters of the Four Divine Beasts clan’s descendants. Many Undying Warriors and Dragonblood Warriors have gathered there. In particular, there is one named Linley, who has an extraordinary relationship with Lord Berut.”
“Linley?” Sadista frowned.
“Linley is a descendant of the Dragonblood Warrior clan, but he has a magical beast. Most importantly, this magical beast is the legendary ‘God-eating Rat’—the only one besides Lord Berut in countless planes! Lord Berut dotes on this God-eating Rat the most. If you move against Linley and his people, you would be directly opposing Lord Berut,” Hodan said urgently. “Lord, please prioritize the bigger picture.”
Sadista’s face darkened.
Hodan knew in his heart that Sadista desperately wanted to kill the descendants of the Four Divine Beasts clan.
“Lord, this is just a branch. It won’t affect the overall situation. What’s important now is the Necropolis of the Gods,” Hodan urged.
Sadista knew well what was important. He also had some vague understanding of Berut’s background. Opposing Berut was something he was unwilling to do. Sadista let out a long sigh. “For now, I won’t touch those people. This Linley actually managed to get involved with a God-eating Rat. What luck.”
Sadista looked at Hodan and asked, “When is the next opening of the Necropolis of the Gods?”
“Probably about a thousand years from now,” Hodan replied.
“Good,” Sadista nodded. “Hodan, you stay here. Everyone else, follow me.” With that, Sadista turned into a blur as he flew off the iceberg heading south, with the dozens of experts behind him closely following.
Sadista led his group across the North Sea and arrived at the Yulan Continent.
Although Sadista brought a group of subordinates to the Yulan Continent, they caused no disturbance. The Yulan Continent remained as peaceful as ever. Amidst this calm, time flowed like water, year after year…
At Dragonblood Castle.
Twenty years had passed since Bernice led the attack. During these twenty years, Linley’s main body had focused on cultivating ‘Earth Pulse’. After spending six years, Linley finally advanced from ‘Earth Pulse, Eightfold’ to ‘Earth Pulse, Lotus’.
Then, after another twelve years, he advanced from ‘Earth Pulse, Lotus’ to ‘Earth Pulse, Twofold’.
But after that, Linley could not make any further breakthroughs no matter what. To advance ‘Earth Pulse’ to the level of ‘Unity’, his previous methods of insight, verification, and deduction were no longer effective. This was the final breakthrough.
In other words, a bottleneck.
From ‘Earth Pulse, Twofold’ to ‘Onefold’, one could comprehend it in an instant, or one could be stuck for a thousand or even ten thousand years without progress. Linley was confident in himself and wasn’t anxious. Instead, he began to relax, spending time with his wife, Delia.
Apart from his progress in Earth Pulse, Linley had also made considerable strides in the ‘Speed Essence’.
However, what made Linley happiest was not his own progress, but the successive breakthroughs of his family and friends.
“Delia was the fastest to reach the Deity level, then Barker, then Desri, followed by Sesslar… Hei Lu was the slowest,” Linley said, looking at the black-haired young man before him. He smiled and said, “Hei Lu, congratulations.”
Indeed, Hei Lu had finally become a Deity.
Several people at Dragonblood Castle had become Deities one after another. The War God and the High Priest had also refined Demigod divine sparks and stepped into the Demigod level. Everyone’s strength had improved, so it was a cause for celebration.
“It is all thanks to the master’s gift,” Hei Lu said, still respectful even in human form.
Linley laughed. “Hei Lu, don’t be so formal. You can go wherever you want now.” Delia, standing beside Linley, chuckled, “I bet Hei Lu will go show off in front of that Three-Headed Golden Dragon. Am I right, Hei Lu?”
Hei Lu could only smile sheepishly.
Thinking about the future, Hei Lu couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Who would have thought that he, a level-nine magical beast, the Blackstriped Cloud Leopard, would one day become a Deity?
After Hei Lu left, Linley thought for a moment and said to Delia, “Delia, I plan to leave Dragonblood Castle for a while.”
“Oh?” Delia was a bit surprised.
Linley explained, “My cultivation of Earth Pulse has hit a bottleneck. I think traveling around and experiencing more things might help me suddenly gain some insight and finally make a breakthrough.” Earth Pulse was a relatively advanced profound mystery within the Earth Laws.
Understanding it was truly difficult.
“I’ll go with you,” Delia said, reluctant to part.
“Haha, I’m not going to another plane. I’m just staying on the Yulan Continent. I can always send you a telepathic message,” Linley said with a smile. Delia smiled too. Now that she had become a Deity, the Yulan Continent was small enough that her divine sense could easily find Linley.
“Alright,” Delia nodded and smiled. “When do you plan to leave?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Linley said.
“What about Bebe?” Delia asked.
“He’s coming with me,” Linley replied with a smile. “Back then, Bebe and I spent three years together in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. It was there that I first began to grasp the threshold of Earth Pulse.”
The next morning, as the sun rose, Linley didn’t tell anyone about his departure except Delia. After saying goodbye to her, Linley and Bebe quietly flew away from Dragonblood Castle, beginning a journey of cultivation and travel across the Yulan Continent.
“Boss, where are we going?” Bebe asked, facing the strong wind.
“I’ve never properly explored the Far East Prairie. Let’s go there first,” Linley said with a smile.
Linley and Bebe turned into two streaks of light, disappearing into the southeastern horizon.