Chapter 41: High Spirits and Bold Ambition
The bitter cold wind cut like a knife across the desolate wilderness, sending sand and gravel flying wildly. Two blurry figures advanced through the landscape.
Not far ahead of them stood a towering mountain, several thousand meters high. Its peak was split open, the crack extending all the way down to the mountainside. From a distance, at first glance, it resembled a goat's horn. On the map of the planar battlefield, this "Goat Horn Mountain" was also a landmark location.
"We're here!" Linley, draped in a deep cyan robe, swept his gaze like lightning across some suspicious spots at the base of Goat Horn Mountain.
"It doesn't look like there's a cave," Bebe muttered.
"Even if Reisgem and the others are here, how could we tell from the surface? Let's carefully search along the base of this mountain," Linley said. As soon as he finished, he and Bebe transformed into two afterimages, shooting toward Goat Horn Mountain.
With Lei Hong around, even the most desolate mountain could be transformed into a magnificent cave dwelling.
Deep within the bowels of Goat Horn Mountain, in a cave palace that seemed naturally formed, the burly Lei Hong sat cross-legged in a corner, quietly cultivating. For these super experts, the endless, boundless time was mostly spent on training. Reisgem, however, was lounging in a chair with his legs propped up on the table, which was covered with a large amount of fruit and some food.
"That bastard Monterro," Reisgem growled, grabbing the thigh meat of some unknown beast and taking a vicious bite. "Acting so arrogant, just because he has numbers?"
Reisgem recalled the events of three years ago and still felt a surge of indignation.
He turned his head to glance at Lei Hong, who was still in cultivation, and couldn't help calling out, "Hey, Lei Hong, stop your stupid cultivation! It's not like you have to do it right this instant. Paragon status isn't achieved that easily. Come over, have a drink with me, and chat."
Lei Hong, who resembled an iron tower of a war god, opened his eyes, and a substantive gaze shot forth.
"Yes," Lei Hong said, standing up and sitting opposite Reisgem.
"I tell you to chat, so why don't you say anything?" Reisgem said helplessly. Seeing Lei Hong's expression, he could only add, "Fine. Ah, I should have brought a few more people. Even if they couldn't help in a fight, at least they'd relieve the boredom. Speaking of fighting... if I reach Paragon, I'll make that Monterro wish he were dead rather than alive!"
"He deserves to die," Lei Hong said in a low, rumbling voice.
Reisgem immediately grinned. "Right, he deserves to die!"
"Reisgem!" A cheerful voice came from the corridor ahead. "Hey, Reisgem. We're here!" A lively voice followed from the front corridor of the cave dwelling. Then came a loud *boom*, clearly indicating that the stone wall covering the corridor had been blasted open.
Reisgem and Lei Hong reflexively shot to their feet, exchanging glances with surprise and joy in their eyes.
"Linley and the others are here," Lei Hong said.
"Haha... let's go, quickly welcome them!" Reisgem was the first to dart out, with Lei Hong following close behind. When the two of them arrived at the front courtyard from the main hall, the courtyard gate had already been pushed open. Linley, in his deep cyan robe, and Bebe, in his black outfit, walked in side by side, smiling.
"Reisgem!" Bebe called out happily.
"Whoa, Bebe!" Reisgem rushed over excitedly and gave Bebe a bear hug. "Our ultimate team has finally reunited!"
"Linley," Lei Hong said, offering a faint smile. Linley nodded in return.
Lei Hong had now shrunk to a two-meter-tall form, matching Linley's height, while Bebe and Reisgem were also of similar stature. The four members of this hunting squad stood together, presenting an amusing sight.
"Damn it!" Reisgem turned to Linley and punched him in the chest. "Linley, you little bastard, you had me worried sick! Back when that bird-man was chasing you, I wasn't worried about Bebe, but I was worried about you! That bird-man couldn't do anything to Bebe, but you were a different story. You're my only disciple, you know! If you died, I'd be really upset."
Linley gave a wry smile.
Disciple?
"Hey, Reisgem, we're brothers," Bebe said, slinging an arm around Reisgem and tilting his head. "We're on the same generation level. How can you be my boss's teacher?"
"Uh..." Reisgem was taken aback.
"Fine," Reisgem said, glancing at Linley with a haughty look. "Anyway, you figured out the secrets of the Amethyst Space, and my mother made me do all that! So you can be considered my mother's disciple. That puts you on the same generation as me." Reisgem started grinning as he spoke. Linley's heart stirred at this: "Oh? So back then, Reisgem's actions—nominally a punishment but actually a lesson—were arranged by a Sovereign. But why would a Sovereign do that? I've never even met that Amethyst Sovereign."
Bebe, however, looked puzzled. "Hey, Reisgem. Your mother, a Sovereign, arranged that?"
"Yeah. My mother even gave Linley the most important Soul Stone," Reisgem muttered. "I was really reluctant to part with it."
"Soul Stone? You mean the Blackstone?" Linley asked quickly.
"Yeah," Reisgem nodded confidently. "It pains me just to talk about it. This Soul Stone... my mother has never given one to any outsider. You're the first! Do you know, even some Sovereigns have tried to ask my mother for a Soul Stone, but she refused to give them one."
"Sovereigns wanted it?" Linley asked, puzzled. "Is it useful for Sovereigns?"
"It's not very useful for Sovereigns," Reisgem shook his head. "But it's incredibly useful for Highgods!"
Bebe asked in surprise, "Reisgem, this Soul Stone thing, compared to the 'Netherworld Fruit' from the Infernal Realm, which is better?"
"Netherworld Fruit?" Reisgem sneered. "The Netherworld Fruit is indeed a treasure, but even ten Netherworld Fruits can't compare to a single Soul Stone. It might not mean much to a Sovereign, but for a Highgod, the Soul Stone is a true treasure. Linley, don't look at me like that. In the future, you'll understand how precious the Soul Stone is! Although countless planes only have me and my mother as the two Amethyst Beasts, this Soul Stone can only be given to someone by my mother."
Linley and Bebe exchanged a glance.
It sounded like this 'Soul Stone' was something extraordinary. Indeed, during battle, Linley had noticed the Blackstone's effects, but it didn't seem as exaggerated as Reisgem made it out to be.
"My mother probably felt guilty, which is why she gave you one. Otherwise, how could she possibly have given it to you?" Reisgem sighed.
"Guilty?" Linley pressed.
"Uh..." Reisgem quickly covered his mouth, looked around, and shook his head. "Don't ask. Pretend I didn't say anything! And don't you two ask either!"
Linley and Bebe were a bit stunned, but Reisgem quickly changed the subject, laughing. "Haha, Linley, Bebe, now that you're here, my chance for revenge has come! For the past three years, I've been wanting to go after Monterro for revenge, but relying on just me and Lei Hong wasn't nearly enough. Going would just mean getting bullied. But now that you're here, it's different."
"What do you mean?" Bebe raised an eyebrow. "You want to go get revenge on Monterro?"
"Of course!" Reisgem snorted indignantly. "I've been wanting revenge every moment for three years. Now that the opportunity is here, how could I not go?"
"Yeah, let's go kill Monterro and the others," Lei Hong said, his gaze cold and filled with hatred.
Linley frowned, a hint of doubt in his mind. "Reisgem, last time we fought them, they had a full eight people, and we only had four. And that bird-man I fought, he was extremely strong. Even Bebe using his innate divine ability couldn't do anything to him. Are we going for revenge?"
"Yeah, that bird-man is a tough nut to crack," Bebe added.
"Haha..." Reisgem laughed confidently. "Eight people, so what? Out of those eight, only two have soul-defense Sovereign artifacts: one is the bird-man, and the other is Shaswi. The other six, even if five of them have Sovereign artifacts, don't have soul-defense Sovereign artifacts! Last time, we were caught off guard. This time, as long as we're prepared, Bebe, you can use your innate divine ability right away and take out two of them first! Once your innate energy recovers, we can keep wiping them out... Hmph. Eight people, it won't be hard to deal with!"
"Dealing with these eight won't be easy," Linley said, frowning.
"It's a pity we can't use innate divine ability continuously," Bebe said helplessly.
Linley nodded slightly. It was the same for him. Using innate divine ability was different from soul attacks!
Soul attacks only consumed mental energy. Even if mental energy was completely depleted, it could be quickly restored using Soul Gold Pearls or by continuously using Sovereign power, without worrying about running out.
But innate divine ability consumed not only mental energy but also innate energy.
For example, when Linley used 'Dragon Roar', it consumed innate azure light. This innate azure light recovered very quickly, but even so, it took time! Bebe could use his innate divine ability 'Soul Devourer' twice in a row, but for a third use, he would need to wait a short while for the innate energy to recover to a certain level.
"With eight people, we have to take out the two most troublesome ones first," Reisgem immediately planned. "Bebe, when we encounter them, you take out the silver-robed woman, Lanasha first! Then, take out Monterro! Once those two super experts are dealt with, only two will remain as threats to us."
Although the enemy had eight people, only four were truly powerful. The other four were weaker, at the bottom of the Commander level.
"Linley, Bebe, are you two tired? Do you want to rest before we set out, or leave immediately?" Reisgem asked.
"Let's leave immediately," Linley said with a smile. He and Bebe had only recently parted ways with Qinghuo and had been resting before that. They weren't tired at all; in fact, they were looking forward to a big battle. "If this battle goes as smoothly as expected, I'll be able to get enough Commander badges."
He was only one badge short of his plan.
"Alright, then let's set off now." Reisgem's eyes lit up. "That Monterro, I'll make him stop being so smug and arrogant! Hmph. He would never expect that I still have Bebe as a trump card."
In terms of soul power, Monterro was on par with Reisgem. Even a Paragon would need to put in some effort to kill them. But... encountering Bebe's innate divine ability, they were as good as dead.
"Let's go." Lei Hong, who was determined to avenge his brother, and Linley and Bebe, who wanted to obtain enough Commander badges, left the cave dwelling with Reisgem.
They left the cave with high spirits and bold ambition. But just three days later, Reisgem was feeling somewhat dejected and helpless.
In the desolate wilderness, the wind howled.
The four figures walked side by side. Reisgem said helplessly, "I thought this planar battlefield wasn't that big, but now I realize it's enormous. Finding Monterro and the others in here is too difficult." The planar battlefield was a million miles in diameter, and its binding force was even stronger than that of the Infernal Realm or the Netherworld.
Even for Linley and the others, traveling a million miles would take a day or two. And that was just a straight line. Searching for someone wasn't the same as traveling; it required searching every location.
"Even if we use Sovereign power to search, without decades or even a century of effort, it will be very hard to find Monterro and the others," Linley said, shaking his head.
Finding someone on the planar battlefield required using Sovereign power to form a spiritual sense scan. Using Sovereign power for searching extended the range significantly.
"Hmm, there's another way," Bebe muttered.
"What way?" Reisgem was taken aback. "Is there another way to find Monterro and the others?"
"We don't necessarily have to go looking for them. They can come looking for us," Bebe said with a grin. "You want revenge on Monterro, and Monterro wants to cause trouble for you too, Reisgem. All you need to do is start a fight, make a big commotion, and even use your innate divine ability! Let people discover from thousands of miles away that it's you, Reisgem, fighting. If Monterro is nearby, he'll rush over to deal with you."
Reisgem's eyes lit up.
"It's that simple? Why didn't I think of that!" Reisgem immediately burst out laughing. "This time, I'll make that Monterro walk right into the trap!"