Chapter 1: Desire
Linley merely listening to the Sovereign of Death’s account of the planar war knew it was extremely dangerous. Yet Linley still chose to go! After all, aside from the Sovereign of Death, no other Sovereign could help him!
“Whether you agree to go or not has nothing to do with me.” The Sovereign of Death looked down at Linley. “Anyone who represents my side of the Infernal Realm and renders meritorious service will definitely be rewarded by me. No matter who it is! I act according to the rules, not for your sake. I’m merely telling you about this method.”
Linley took a deep breath.
“Sovereign, how do I get to the planar battlefield?” Linley looked up and asked.
The Sovereign of Death said indifferently, “Whether it’s the Abyssal Realm of the Infernal Realm or the Nine Nether Domain of the Infernal Realm, both have spatial gates that lead directly to the planar battlefield. That planar battlefield is connected to all seven divine planes and the four supreme planes. The fastest way for you now is to go to my Infernal Realm’s Nine Nether Domain. Through the spatial gate, the planar battlefield!”
Linley frowned.
The Nine Nether Domain?
The book on Infernal Realm geography that Beirut had given him didn’t mention the Nine Nether Domain. Similarly, geography books on the Infernal Realm didn’t mention the Abyssal Realm either.
“Sovereign, I wonder about the Nine Nether Domain…” Linley began.
“Hmph.” The Sovereign of Death waved her hand.
Immediately, a very thin book, shimmering with black light, flew down from above until it reached Linley. The Sovereign of Death looked down at Linley and said, “Since you have the courage to go to the planar battlefield, I’m also very curious to see… whether you, Linley, will kill a few Commanders and come out alive, or be killed by another Commander and have them claim the credit!”
Linley, however, wasn’t angry at all. He took the book and bowed slightly: “Thank you, Sovereign.”
Then Linley quickly flipped through the book. The book was very thin, with a total of about a dozen pages. With Linley’s memory, a single glance was enough. In a few seconds, the contents of those dozen pages were all imprinted in his mind.
“This Nine Nether Domain is still deep within the Nether Sea?” Linley couldn’t help but look up at the Sovereign of Death.
It was too far!
To reach the Nine Nether Domain, he first had to travel completely to the edge of the Infernal Realm continent, then enter the Nether Sea. Then, he had to reach the remote depths of the Nether Sea before he could arrive at the Nine Nether Domain. If he took a metallic life form there, it would probably take two to three hundred years. That was too much time to waste, and… if he arrived just as the planar war ended, that would be unacceptable to him.
“Sovereign, how long does this planar war last?” Linley quickly asked.
The Sovereign of Death said indifferently, “Each planar war lasts a full thousand years! This planar war between the Divine Light Plane and the Divine Darkness Plane has already been going on for nearly a hundred years. There are still nine hundred years left. You have plenty of time to get there!”
Plenty of time?
The war had enough time left, but Linley didn’t want to waste too much. The longer it took, the higher the chance that his father and brothers might die. Moreover, the longer it took, the weaker Commanders in the planar war might die early. By the time he arrived, the surviving Commanders would likely be the extremely powerful ones.
Beirut, Dannington, Reisgem, Mosi…
These figures flashed through Linley’s mind.
“Sovereign, Bebe and I will set off now.” Linley bowed.
Bebe could only suppress his dissatisfaction and bow as well.
“Go ahead.” The Sovereign of Death said indifferently. “But I suggest you first become the Lord of the Nine Nether Domain in the Nine Nether Domain. That will be very helpful for you when you enter the planar battlefield. Asoth, go lead the way for Linley and them, and see them off Mount Nether!”
“Yes, Sovereign!” Asoth bowed.
“First become the Lord of the Nine Nether Domain, then enter the planar battlefield?” Linley was somewhat puzzled.
But Linley didn’t ask further. He and Bebe exchanged glances with Berleray, then strode directly out of the Sovereign’s palace. Led by Asoth, they flew away.
“Master, that Linley seems very confident. It looks like he doesn’t know much about the planar war.” The silver serpent, Ina, was beaming with joy. Ina knew very well the brutality of the planar war. Commanders fought each other, and it was a war! Not a one-on-one duel!
Sometimes, several Commanders from the same side might even gang up on a single enemy Commander!
“Thank you, Sovereign.” The silver serpent, Ina, smiled and bowed. She believed that the Sovereign of Death’s arrangement was to send Linley and the others to their deaths, avenging her.
“Thank you, Sovereign.” The golden serpent and its nine children all bowed gratefully.
The Sovereign of Death glanced down indifferently: “Alright. You may all withdraw now. Berleray!”
Berleray’s eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly walked to the center of the hall. The Sovereign of Death was finally going to make him a Sovereign’s Emissary.
“Linley, before you leave, I must tell you something.” Asoth said solemnly. “You probably don’t know this, but the Sovereigns have an agreement: they can grant their Emissaries, or their children, at most one Sovereign artifact! No matter which Sovereign’s Emissary, they can be granted at most one Sovereign artifact.”
“One?” Bebe frowned.
Linley was stunned: “One?”
Yes, that was indeed the case!
For example, the Patriarch of the Azure Dragon clan, Gaisrein, only had a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. The Grand Elder, Gaia, only had a defensive Sovereign artifact fused into her scales. Each had only one. Given how much the Azure Dragon Sovereign cared for his children, why did he only give them one? Now Linley understood somewhat.
“Because the Sovereigns don’t want too great an imbalance to appear among Highgods.” Asoth continued. “Suppose a Highgod had a defensive Sovereign artifact fused into their body, a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, and an attacking Sovereign artifact. Tell me… even if this person’s own insights were weak, how terrifying would they be?”
Linley was taken aback.
Material defense, soul defense, and attack—all Sovereign artifacts! Such a person would indeed be monstrous!
“Then they’d be invincible.” Bebe muttered.
“Peak experts, with one Sovereign artifact, will also want another! But Sovereigns cannot grant them arbitrarily. Even if you kill a Sovereign’s Emissary and take their Sovereign artifact, even if you can kill them, the Sovereign… though they won’t lower themselves to take revenge, will still reclaim the Sovereign artifact!” Asoth said.
“What, they reclaim it?” Bebe’s eyes widened.
Linley was also surprised.
But it made sense.
A Sovereign painstakingly refines a Sovereign artifact for their Emissary. If the Emissary is killed and they don’t take revenge, that’s one thing, but how could they not take back the Sovereign artifact?
“So, the only way to obtain another Sovereign artifact without Sovereign interference is to participate in the planar war! To earn military merits! Kill ten Commanders, and you can request one Sovereign artifact of your choice. Kill twenty, and you can request two!” Asoth said.
“Asoth, what do you mean?” Linley frowned.
Asoth said solemnly, “The stronger one is, the more one seeks perfection! The planar war happens once every trillion years! Some peak experts, through military merits, have obtained a second Sovereign artifact. Then they’ll want a third. These people are extremely strong! So you must be extremely careful, without any carelessness. Among them, there might even be Paragon Highgods! After all, they’ve fully comprehended the profound mysteries, but their Sovereign artifacts are still incomplete!”
Linley’s mouth felt bitter.
He could fully understand. If he himself reached the Paragon Highgod level, he would also covet having three Sovereign artifacts at once! If he encountered such a monstrous person in the planar battlefield, he would have no ability to resist at all.
“These people are too greedy, aren’t they?” Bebe also felt a chill.
“It’s not greed. It’s desire!” Asoth said with a faint smile. “With desire and goals, there is motivation! Those who reach the peak all have firm goals. Without desire? Those who dominate the planar battlefield are all supreme experts! True kings of slaughter! Although I’ve become a Sovereign’s Emissary, I’ve never once participated in the planar war. There… it’s a killing ground of desire! A place where the strong fall! And a birthplace for even stronger beings!”
Linley shook his head with a smile.
“Haha… Asoth, thank you for telling me this. I’m mentally prepared now.” Linley said with a smile.
“Don’t worry.” Bebe said. “If anyone wants to kill us brothers, they’d better see if they’re qualified! Me and Big Brother, using our innate divine ability at the same time… Hmph!”
Asoth glanced at Linley and Bebe.
“Remember! You’re not the only ones with innate divine abilities. Across the countless planes, there are many unique divine beasts. Their abilities are also terrifying. And those who stand at the very peak all have their own advantages.” Asoth smiled. “Alright, I won’t say more. Good luck to you both.”
“Thank you.”
Linley and Bebe then bid farewell to Asoth and, transforming into two streaks of light, flew away.
From Mount Nether to the Nine Nether Domain was an extremely long distance. Shortly after flying away, Linley said apologetically, “Bebe, if we take a metallic life form to the Nine Nether Domain, it would probably take two to three hundred years. I don’t have time to waste, so… I’ve decided to fly there myself with all my strength. I’ll have you fly with me too.”
“Hehe, flying, I love it the most.” Bebe understood Linley’s thoughts.
Flying with full concentration was exhausting, consuming mental energy. Especially long-distance flights; few people chose to fly using their own bodies. Flying oneself was indeed faster, bursting far beyond metallic life forms. But it was too tiring. However… Linley was in a hurry, so he had no choice.
“Sssss—” Linley instantly dragonized.
Then, utilizing the laws of the wind element, he shot southward like a streak of cyan rainbow. If he flew at full speed, Linley at this moment was even faster than Bebe, but Linley also used wind-type divine power to slightly assist Bebe.
“Big Brother, did you tell Grandpa about this?” Bebe asked during the flight.
“My fire-type divine clone has already gone to the Forest of Darkness to ask your grandfather. We’ll have an answer soon. I wonder what your grandfather will say.” Linley was also uncertain about this journey. Fortunately, his fire-type divine clone was still in the Yulan continent, making it convenient to ask Beirut.
A moment later—
“Your grandfather has replied.” Linley said.
“What did he say?” Bebe quickly asked. “He should allow us to participate in the planar war, right? Actually, even if he doesn’t agree, it’s useless. He’s not in the Infernal Realm anyway.”
“Your grandfather agreed.” Linley smiled. “According to your grandfather… be careful, don’t be greedy. He also said that Bebe should experience some danger, gain some insights, and improve his understanding of the profound mysteries of the laws.” Linley remembered Beirut’s tone.
According to Beirut’s meaning…
A man should go out and explore. If he’s always afraid of danger, it will be hard to succeed.
“Yeah, Grandpa has done enough for me. Time to work hard.” Bebe shrugged.
A streak of cyan rainbow flew at extreme speed across the sky of the Infernal Realm. At this speed, even if bandits saw it, they wouldn’t dare to stop them. Even if someone was foolish enough to try, they couldn’t catch up.
“Whoosh, whoosh—” The vast, surging seawater rippled gently. The endless, cold sea was like a man-eating beast.
This was the Nether Sea! A sea even more vast than the Chaos Sea in the Infernal Realm!
Suddenly—
A cyan light streaked across the sky above the ocean, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
“Big Brother, are we almost at the Nine Nether Domain?” Bebe asked.
“Based on the islands we just saw, we’ll reach the Nine Nether Domain area in a little while.” Linley’s mood also improved greatly. He had been flying with all his strength for over thirty years. During these thirty-plus years, Linley’s main body had not rested at all. Fortunately, having reached his level, he could endure it.
And during these thirty-plus years, Linley’s divine clones had remained in cultivation. However, in just over thirty years, there wasn’t much improvement in strength.
Fortunately, the gap in the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, which had been broken by the golden serpent, had been repaired over thirty years. The defensive power of the gap had increased somewhat.
“Big Brother, look, an island!” Bebe cheered in surprise.
Linley looked ahead. In the extremely distant haze, land appeared: “We’ve finally reached the Nine Nether Domain!”