The man smiled and explained, “We really owe it to those Beast Clan folks from the Skyline Continent. Especially that Tony—he even managed to grasp Immortal Art, unaffected by the Undying Flame, and transported a large amount of Spirit Stone ore.”
“Good, keep a close watch on those guys. The mines and the Immortal Herb Garden had issues one after another; we can’t afford any problems with the Spirit Stone mines!” the young man said, furrowing his brow slightly.
It wasn’t the Nature Clan who were the main suspects behind the problems at the mines and the Immortal Herb Garden; it was that Godslayer.
However, he quickly dismissed the idea.
The Godslayer had just become The Overseer and likely only possessed the power of one star at best. With that level of strength, he certainly wouldn’t stand a chance against a top-tier upper god from the Shadow Clan. There was no way someone so weak could have ransacked so many mines and the Immortal Herb Garden.
The crowd dispersed, ready to make a move against the Nature Clan.
John had no idea that his actions were putting the blame on The Overseer of the Nature Clan.
Not that he would have cared, even if he had known.
As the sky darkened, John finished his workload for the day.
With his help, Dumas had also managed to complete his tasks early.
There were still about twenty cubic units of ore left for Quagmire to process, which would be finished soon.
John assisted both him and Quagmire, infusing a bit of the power of life laws, and then signed out with Dumas.
…
Nightfall had settled, and people were gradually returning to John’s novice village.
He had already arrived at his thatched hut, sitting cross-legged, carefully sensing his surroundings.
The old village chief wasn’t in the village, so John decided to enter the World-in-Hand with his true form to perform Memory Extraction on that upper-tier god.
To be safe, he summoned his Beast Clan double, disguising it with his own aura to ensure nothing could go wrong. Only then did his true self enter the World-in-Hand.
Buzz!
With a ripple of spatial power, John appeared.
A few individuals noticed and immediately approached.
“My Lord, when will we make a move against the Shadow Clan?” Lincoln asked expectantly.
These past few days, they had stayed here in relative peace, but they hadn’t forgotten the torment they had suffered at the hands of the Shadow Clan. They hadn’t even been able to focus on cultivation and were itching for revenge.
“No rush. Where’s the upper-tier god from the Shadow Clan? Bring him to me,” John said, wanting to first rescue Cand-Dragon and locate the Blues Family disciples before acting against the Shadow Clan.
“Understood.” Lincoln signaled to two Angel Race subordinates and continued, “My Lord, we might not be in a rush, but those guys are incredibly disrespectful. They truly think they own this place. A few have even tried to get close to the Tree of Life, and some dared to mess with your World-in-Hand.”
“Oh?” John’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the distant gathering of strong figures from other races.
These individuals weren’t from the Skyline Continent. They had suffered who knows how long under the Shadow Clan’s torture, and instead of being grateful, they had the audacity to eye his World-in-Hand.
“If they don’t behave,” John said icily, “just kill them.”
He had no sympathy for them; while they had decent strength and could cause trouble for the Shadow Clan.
He couldn’t afford to let them go yet. If they left now, his plan against the Shadow Clan would be exposed. A direct confrontation wasn’t in his interest-not yet.
Soon enough, two Angel Race warriors dragged a figure over like a lifeless dog and threw him down at John’s feet.
“My Lord, this one’s tough,” said one of the angels, giving the prisoner a hard kick. “We used every method we could think of, but he refused to give us any useful information.”
The Shadow Clan upper-tier god lay there, battered and bloody, his life force barely flickering.
Regaining a bit of consciousness, he glared at John, voice hoarse and faint, “Human, if you have the guts, kill me! The Shadow Clan will never forgive you.”
“Shut up!” snarled one of the angels nearby, slapping him hard enough to knock out two of his teeth.
John crouched down in front of the man and said evenly, “I’m giving you a chance. Tell me everything you know about the Shadow Clan, and I’ll make it quick for you.”
The captive spat out blood, a cold smirk twisting his face, and forced out, “Keep dreaming.”
“Quite the tough one,” John remarked with a hint of respect before wasting no further words. He immediately activated his soul skill, Memory Extraction.
His Soul Technique was at over fifty thousand-a level far beyond an average upper-tier god.
Buzz!
The air vibrated as John’s soul easily penetrated the captive’s deepest memories, ruthlessly digging for any information about the Shadow Clan.
The captive’s brows knit tightly, his face contorted in pain as guttural screams tore from his throat.
In no time, John completed the memory extraction, with a flood of information pouring into his mind, giving him a clearer picture of Shadow Star.
Shadow Star housed 108 main cities, each ruled by upper-tier god elites, peak-level powers blessed by the Lord God and far surpassing the strength of typical upper-tier gods.
Beyond these cities, there were thousands of smaller towns scattered across Shadow Star’s many regions.
He also gleaned some details about the Spirit Stone mines and a mysterious snow-capped
mountain.
The Spirit Stone mines were sacred ground for the Shadow Clan, guarded by the Undying Flame, with only upper-tier gods at peak strength able to enter.
But this captive, of low rank, didn’t even know the exact location of the Spirit Stone mines.
The snow-capped mountain, however, was even stranger.
Even the Shadow Clan regarded the snow-capped mountain as a myth; from beginning to end,
no one had ever found it.
John felt disappointed. He had captured this guy in hopes of finding the whereabouts of Cand-Dragon and the others.
But this prisoner didn’t even know the exact coordinates of the Spirit Stone mines.
And as for the mountain-if even the Shadow Clan believed it to be a legend.
Then it seemed he’d have to capture a peak-level upper-tier god to get any closer to finding Cand-Dragon and the others.
He did, however, manage to obtain several coordinates for various Shadow mines.
One more piece of information surfaced: the Shadow Lord God had issued an order to temporarily refrain from attacking him. There seemed to be another agenda at play. This left John puzzled, with no clear understanding of their intentions. “What did you do to me, human?” The prisoner, now conscious, glared at John from his position slumped on the ground.
He could distinctly feel that this human had invaded the depths of his soul.
John stood up, brushing it off. “He’s useless now. Do with him as you please.”
“I got this! Us demon race folks have plenty of ways,” Beelzebub interjected, seizing the prisoner and tossing him back to the waiting demon crowd.
Ignoring the scene, John decided to proceed with plundering resources from those Shadow
Clan mines.
“Hmm?” Just as he was about to leave, he noticed something amiss. Turning to a few women
nearby, he frowned and asked, “Where’s Sini?”
The women looked uneasy.
Tracy quickly responded, “Sini’s probably still in her room, likely cultivating.”
“Tell the truth!” John snapped, annoyed. He had absolute control over World-in-Hand, yet
he couldn’t sense Sini’s presence anywhere.
Startled, the women hesitated, looking down nervously. Instinctively, they took a small step
back, pushing Tracy forward.
Buzz!
At that moment, spatial power rippled, and a graceful figure appeared-it was Sini.
“Oh, John! You’re here?” She smiled, though her eyes flickered evasively, as she approached
him.
“Did you leave World-in-Hand?” John asked, surprised.
World-in-Hand was entirely under his control. Although he had granted the women some power of the laws, none of them should be capable of breaking through the boundaries of this
space.
Even the Split Void ability wouldn’t work here; it was governed by a completely unique set of
laws.
Tracy hurriedly added, “I warned her, but Sini wouldn’t listen.”
Sini shot her a fierce look before turning to John, her gaze faltering. “I was just a bit bored…
thought I’d take a little walk.”
“How did you get out?” he asked, puzzled. Could there be a flaw in his World-in-Hand?
Seeing that John wasn’t angry, Sini relaxed and explained, “Do you remember when I mentioned that I felt a powerful, dark energy calling to me from The Immortals’ inheritance? At the time, I couldn’t grasp it, but after receiving your abilities, I finally understood it. This energy is somewhat similar to the strength of the Shadow Clan-violent, bloodthirsty, with a unique trait: it can break through space.”
“Break through space?” John was surprised. Wasn’t this similar to the divine skill he’d comprehended, Creation and Destruction?
Sini nodded eagerly. “But don’t worry; I won’t destroy your world. I’m not capable of it
anyway. I can only use the power of the laws you granted me to open a path in space, allowing
me to come and go freely.”
John frowned slightly, still impressed despite her reassurances.
Looking at Sini, he said, “Show me what you’ve mastered.”
“Alright.” Without hesitation, she focused, and wings unfurled from her back, shifting into a dark, ominous color, radiating a powerful and sinister energy.
Her aura transformed as well, filled with a chilling bloodlust.
She blinked mischievously, taunting, “I call this power Nine Nether. Wanna give it a try,
John?”
“Sure!” John stepped back, intrigued.
Those around them quickly backed away, clearly wary-they’d all experienced Sini’s wrath
before.
“Watch out, John, it’s a soul attack!” she warned with a smirk, her tone smug.
Suddenly, black mist surged from her, spreading ominously and ignoring the laws of World-
in-Hand.
John allowed the black mist to engulf him, feeling it attempt to corrode his soul.
With a thought, he summoned the Golden Lotus Hellfire, dispelling the mist effortlessly-it
couldn’t even scratch him.
Sini was taken aback. This was the first time her newfound ability had failed her.
“Hmph, I’ve got more up my sleeve. Dream Ensnarement!” she shouted, a wicked grin on her
face.
Powerful soul energy wove itself into a dream, pushing into John’s mind.
The technique was reminiscent of his own soul skill, Nightmare.
But his soul was stronger, rendering her dream powerless.
He glimpsed the scene she’d woven-a rather vivid image of him and Sini entwined, entirely
unclothed.
To make matters worse, in the dream, she was the one in control.
He chuckled darkly, activating his Nightmare skill to flip the scene, pushing the vision straight back into Sini’s mind.
“Mmm…” She flushed instantly, her face burning with embarrassment and fury. “You bully! I’m not playing anymore!” She stomped her foot in frustration, feeling utterly
defeated yet again.