Chapter 1: Cultivation Speed
“Crash~” The waves of the Star Mist Sea pounded against the shores of Luoluo Island. Under the watchful eyes of the Bagshaw clan’s patriarch, ‘Bokway’, and Ula, Linley and his group boarded a metallic lifeform, embarking on their journey to the Bloodpeak Continent.
The metallic lifeform transformed into a ship. On the bow deck.
“Finally left.” O’Brien sighed.
“Yes, left.” Cesar said with relief, “Forget this place. Forever!” Linley glanced at Cesar. Back then, Cesar had asked Linley to help investigate Cecily’s situation. Although Linley sensed something was off—whether Cecily was alive or dead was uncertain—he still told Cesar that Cecily was safe inside the clan leader’s mansion.
“Maybe this way, Cesar will be better off.” Linley thought to himself.
“Finally left. Father, we’ve finally left.” The eldest of the Six-Eyed Golden Lion, ‘Cleo’, was also extremely excited. In the past, neither he nor his brother knew that their father, Delin, had been under soul control. Only now did they learn the truth.
They also felt a lingering fear.
“Yes, left. Liberated.” Delin gazed into the southeast, not looking back. He probably wouldn’t return to Luoluo Island for the rest of his life.
“Screech!” A piercing sound suddenly tore through the sky.
Linley turned to look. It was Talossa. At that moment, Talossa was tilting his head back, emitting a strange, piercing noise. His entire body trembled slightly. It was a long while before he stopped roaring. Talossa turned to look at Linley, his eyes faintly red: “Linley. This great kindness, I won’t say much. Thank you.”
Those who have never been soul-controlled cannot understand the state of mind Talossa and Delin were in at this moment.
“Haha, let’s go. To the Bloodpeak Continent. To the Azure Prefecture.” Linley held Delia’s hand.
The journey across the Star Mist Sea was peaceful. Occasionally, they encountered some bandits and pirates, but with the strength of Linley’s team, they only needed to reveal a few Highgods, and those bandits would flee in terror.
This leg of the trip was uneventful.
Inside the cabin.
Linley sat cross-legged in a corner with his eyes closed. Both his main body and his three other divine clones were in cultivation. After this experience, Linley had discovered his greatest weakness—his soul!
It wasn’t that his soul defense profound mysteries were weak!
Now that he had fused the three profound mysteries of ‘Gravitational Space’, ‘Pulse of the Earth’, and ‘Elemental Earth’, he wasn’t weak in the ‘profound mysteries’ of soul defense. What he truly lacked was the foundation, which was the soul essence itself!
The soul essence of a Demigod was, in essence, far inferior to that of a Highgod. Even with his soul profound mysteries, Linley’s defensive ability could at most match the soul essence defense of the most ordinary Highgod.
Of course, Linley also had the incomplete soul defense Sovereign artifact. It was precisely because of this Sovereign artifact that Linley could dominate the Star Mist Sea, kill Gamontin, and kill numerous Highgods. Without the soul defense Sovereign artifact, how could a Demigod like Linley be so strong?
The Sovereign artifact was too powerful.
“My primary goal now is to quickly reach the Highgod level.” Linley understood his cultivation direction. “Once I reach the Highgod level, I can also refine a large amount of Amethyst again. These two aspects will allow my soul essence to increase dozens of times in quality! That way, with just a gap in the defensive Sovereign artifact, even a Seven Star Fiend skilled in soul attacks, I wouldn’t fear.”
Linley understood.
At the Demigod stage, fusing profound mysteries was easier. But reaching the Highgod level was much more difficult.
However, fusing a large number of profound mysteries at the Demigod stage would take an astonishing amount of time. The ‘Earth Travel’ profound mystery of the Laws of the Earth had not yet fused with any of the other three profound mysteries, let alone a complete fusion.
“I’ve now fused three profound mysteries. To fuse a fourth, it seems I’d be lucky to succeed within ten thousand years.”
“I’ve already gained insight into the ‘Power’ profound mystery. I need to quickly cultivate it to completion, then cultivate the final ‘Life Force’ profound mystery. Once all six are complete, I’ll become a Highgod, and my strength will greatly increase! Then, I’ll have no major weaknesses in either material defense or soul defense. I’ll have a good chance against ordinary Seven Star Fiends.”
Linley understood.
Reaching the Highgod level didn’t mean he couldn’t fuse profound mysteries; it just became more difficult.
“Once I reach the Highgod level, I can take my time fusing them.”
“As long as one becomes a god independently, there is hope for fusion.”
“I should also thank that Mosi. If not for his hammer strike, I don’t know when I would have gained insight into the ‘Power’ profound mystery.” Linley then calmed his mind. His main body and his earth divine clone devoted themselves entirely to cultivating the ‘Power’ profound mystery.
Linley was now focusing on the Laws of the Earth.
As for the Laws of the Wind, Linley had only just cultivated five profound mysteries, but there were still four more to cultivate, which would take an astonishing amount of time.
As for the Laws of Fire, Linley’s fire divine clone had yet to reach the Demigod level.
“Cultivating the Laws of Fire is too slow.” Linley also felt the importance of talent.
With high talent.
The Laws of the Earth and the Laws of the Wind also cultivated quickly. In less than a thousand years, Linley had cultivated the fifth profound mystery of the Laws of the Earth.
With low talent.
Although there were no bottlenecks, the Laws of the Fire were so slow that he was still cultivating the second profound mystery.
Breaking through bottlenecks required sudden enlightenment, opportunities, and personal comprehension.
However, this normal cultivation speed depended on one’s talent.
Linley’s ‘Earth’ elemental affinity, as tested in his childhood, was supreme! His fire affinity was only average, and the others were very low.
Clearly, the divine clone with the most hope of reaching the Highgod level first was his earth divine clone. Moreover, his earth divine clone was clearly the strongest. Naturally, even his main body was comprehending the Laws of the Earth to speed up cultivation.
The Star Mist Sea was boundless, with islands appearing from time to time.
“Whoosh~” The metallic lifeform cut through the waves.
Linley and Delia stood side by side, gazing into the southeast. Beside them were Olivia, Bebe, O’Brien, Delin, Talossa, Cesar, and the others. Everyone had smiles on their faces.
In the distance ahead, a coastline appeared, stretching extremely long.
“The Bloodpeak Continent, we’ve finally arrived!” Linley’s heart surged with excitement.
Setting out from Luoluo Island, after traveling for twenty-three years, their group had finally reached the Bloodpeak Continent.
“The Bloodpeak Continent is here. The Azure Prefecture is also close.” Bebe’s eyes lit up. “Boss, I remember on that map, the Azure Prefecture isn’t too far from this coastline, right? Damn, it’s been nearly seven hundred years, and we’re finally almost there.”
Linley and Delia’s hands were tightly clasped as they gazed at the coastline.
“Linley, now that we’ve reached the Bloodpeak Continent, should we go directly to the Azure Prefecture, or should we take on an escort mission to the Azure Prefecture?” Olivia looked at Linley. After all, that was what Linley had done before.
“No need.”
Linley shook his head and said, “In the past, we were weak and feared trouble. Now, we’ll go directly to the Azure Prefecture. We’re not afraid of anything happening along the way.” Linley was now quite confident. There were several Highgods in his team.
Moreover, Talossa was considered a Six Star Fiend level expert.
The metallic lifeform moved very fast and soon reached the shore. Immediately, the ship-shaped metallic lifeform transformed, taking the form of a leopard, flying above the Bloodpeak Continent.
The Bloodpeak Continent was similar to the Violet Continent.
Tribes were scattered everywhere, and bandit forces were also scattered around. Battles and conflicts happened at any time. Of course, no bandit force dared to provoke Linley’s team.
“Linley, how’s the cultivation going?” Talossa asked with a smile.
During the journey, Talossa and Delin learned that Linley was only a Demigod. As for how a Demigod could display such astonishing strength, Linley only gave a vague explanation.
Talossa and the others understood that it had something to do with the Amethyst Mountains.
“Not bad. The ‘Power’ profound mystery has also reached the late stage.” A smile appeared on Linley’s face. “It’s just a pity that I can’t even gain insight into the ‘Life Force’ profound mystery.” What troubled Linley the most was ‘Life Force’.
According to the book he had read explaining the profound mysteries of the Laws, ‘Life Force’ should be considered the most special profound mystery of the ‘Laws of the Earth’, and it was extremely difficult to comprehend.
For a profound mystery, gaining insight and finally breaking through the bottleneck to completion were two hurdles. It could be fast with sudden enlightenment, or slow, taking millions of years, which was normal.
“Don’t worry. You might suddenly comprehend it at any time.” Talossa laughed.
Linley smiled and nodded. That was true. His ‘Power’ profound mystery had also been gained through a sudden insight.
“Your speed is already very fast. You’ve been cultivating for less than a thousand years, and you’ve already comprehended the fifth of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. Most importantly… you’ve also fused three profound mysteries.” Talossa admired Linley very much.
Because he himself had only fused two profound mysteries. It was only by combining them with his innate divine ability that he had the strength of a Six Star Fiend.
“Hmph, Talossa, you don’t need to say that. My boss is naturally formidable.” Bebe walked over and said proudly. “Look at you. You’ve been cultivating for who knows how many years, and you’ve only fused two profound mysteries. Hmph.”
Talossa couldn’t help but laugh: “Bebe, don’t be so smug. You cultivate the Laws of Darkness, right? Let me ask you, how many of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness have you cultivated, and how many have you fused? I remember you’ve been cultivating for about the same time as Linley.”
“Haha…” O’Brien, Cesar, and the others laughed.
Linley also couldn’t help but look at Bebe with a smile.
Everyone knew that Bebe didn’t have the patience to cultivate. He would at most focus on cultivation for a year or two before starting to wander around. With this kind of attitude, no matter how good his talent was, how could he improve without serious cultivation?
“Talossa, you know Bebe is like this, and you still ask?” Delin said.
Bebe was so angry that his nose was crooked: “Yes, I haven’t fused a single profound mystery!”
“Bebe, alright, don’t be angry.” Linley patted Bebe on the shoulder with a smile. But Bebe continued to raise his head and say, “But of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness, I, Bebe, have now comprehended four!”
The entire cabin hall fell silent for a moment.
Linley suspected he had misheard and looked at Bebe: “Bebe, what did you just say?” Linley remembered that Bebe hadn’t spent much time on cultivation. He usually played and only cultivated occasionally.
“Bebe, say that again. I think I misheard.” Talossa also said. Even Delin and Olivia looked at Bebe.
Neither Delin nor Olivia had yet cultivated four profound mysteries.
“You all heard me clearly.” Bebe raised an eyebrow proudly and said loudly, “Although I, Bebe, haven’t fused a single profound mystery, I have completed four of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness, and I’m now comprehending the fifth!”
Linley himself had only comprehended four profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth and was currently comprehending the fifth.
“Bebe, it’s fine if you’re slow, but don’t brag.” Cesar spoke up.
“I’m bragging?” Bebe glared angrily.
Bebe flipped his hand, and dark elemental essence gathered, forming a black snake that coiled around Bebe’s arm, emitting a ‘hissing’ sound, as if it were real.
“This is the profound mystery of ‘Darkness Element’.” Bebe said proudly. “See?”
“You already knew how to do that.” Olivia laughed.
Bebe moved, and instantly, dozens of afterimages of Bebe appeared in the cabin hall. Everyone still didn’t care. They all knew Bebe could use the ‘Shadow Clone Technique’.
“Hmph.” Bebe suddenly let out a cold snort.
Then, strange black tentacles emerged from Bebe’s body surface. In an instant, Bebe looked like an octopus, with dozens of cold, long tentacles around his body, emitting black mist, extremely eerie.
Linley was also shocked. The others were stunned too.
Laws of Darkness – Profound Mystery ‘Evil’.
“That was the third. Now for the fourth.” Bebe moved, and the evil tentacles disappeared. Bebe extended his right hand, and a vortex appeared above it, wantonly devouring everything around it. Even the sunlight was devoured. The dark area grew larger and larger.
Laws of Darkness – Profound Mystery ‘Devour’.
Everyone in the cabin was stunned. Olivia, up to now, had only comprehended two profound mysteries of the Laws of Darkness, and was still studying the third. As for Delin, he had only comprehended three, and was still studying the fourth.
This Bebe was actually faster than them.
“How is that possible?” Everyone found it hard to believe.
“Hmph. You didn’t believe me, Bebe. I’m telling you, maybe tomorrow, I’ll comprehend the fifth.” Bebe proudly adjusted his straw hat and said with his head held high.
“Bebe, what’s going on?” Linley was completely baffled.