Shadow God ignored the others, his ocean-deep eyes locked onto Ice Talker. His voice was as cold as ice. “Ice Talker, you dare to defy the pact set by our Lord God? Do you really think I wouldn’t dare to strike against the Nature Clan?”
“Hmph, it was you who attacked me first,” she replied icily, standing firm before the Lord God, unafraid.
The Absolute immediately retorted, “Nonsense! You were the one who plundered resources from our planet first!”
“I did no such thing!” Ice Talker shot him a frosty glare.
Shadow God, observing this exchange in silence, shifted his gaze away from Ice Talker, his piercing eyes settling on John, filled with a murderous intent. “Human, you have repeatedly provoked the Shadow Clan. For that alone, you deserve death!”
With a roar, the earth trembled, and chaotic space currents appeared all around them. “Hmph, I’d like to see just how strong you really are!” John gritted his teeth, suppressing the fear within him as he gathered his Chaos Force and unleashed his Nine Heavens Sword.
The colossal sword energy tore through the void, but against Shadow God’s vast form, it seemed no more than a pinprick.
Still, John controlled the sword energy, directing it at the Lord God.
Suddenly, a figure shot up and intercepted the massive sword energy-it was Ice Talker.
Boom!
A violent explosion rang out, and powerful energy waves surged. Ice Talker coughed up blood as she was thrown backward.
Regaining her balance, she glared at John. “Kid, what the hell are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” he replied, frowning, unable to understand why Ice Talker would use her body to shield the Lord God from his attack.
“You really don’t know?” Ice Talker swallowed a mouthful of blood and snarled, “The Overseer is protected by the laws of The Heaven. The Lord God can’t kill you. As long as you don’t provoke him, he can’t touch you.”
Shadow God’s expression darkened, his disappointment barely concealed.
Just a bit more, and if John had managed to wound him, Shadow God could have broken free from his constraints and struck him down openly.
John was taken aback, surprised by the level of protection granted to the Overseer.
Then his eyes lit up, and he asked, “So, can I at least provoke this guy?”
“I guess…?” Ice Talker hesitated. Theoretically, as long as no actual harm was caused, it would be allowed. But who would dare to provoke the Lord God?
Besides, as the Overseer, wasn’t it a bit improper?
John didn’t care at all; he had clawed his way up from the bottom and had never cared about such formalities.
He even considered releasing Tony. With that guy’s venomous tongue, he’d surely drive Shadow God to the brink of madness.
But Tony wasn’t the Overseer; he wasn’t protected by the laws of the heavens. The Lord God could obliterate him easily.
So, instead, John looked straight at the towering figure in the sky and raised his middle finger, making a universally understood gesture.
Shadow God’s brows knitted together, his gaze puzzled as he asked, “Peace? Boy, are you begging for mercy?”
“Peace? Hell no!” John retorted angrily. “Old geezer, that’s my middle finger. It means I despise you, you idiot!”
Boom…
Thunder rumbled as the skies darkened. Shadow God’s glare at John was filled with unrestrained fury.
But such a gesture was merely an act of defiance, a mental taunt without any physical harm, leaving the system unable to intervene.
“You brat, you’re asking for death!” The Absolute couldn’t contain himself. Shadow Lord God, seated high above, had never endured such humiliation. With an angry shout, he prepared to charge forward to avenge Shadow Lord God.
John looked at him with disdain; killing this guy wouldn’t break the laws of the heavens protecting him.
“Stand down!” Shadow Lord God’s furious voice commanded, stopping The Absolute in his tracks.
With his immense, chilling gaze fixed on John, Shadow Lord God took a deep breath, stirring fierce winds around them as he struggled to suppress his fury. “Boy, you’ve done well,” he said icily.
Then, with a sinister power, he sent both John and Ice Talker hurtling out of the Spirit Stone mine’s range.
This power, however, caused no harm-it simply sealed off the entire Spirit Stone mine, making it impossible for anyone to enter or leave.
It seemed Shadow Lord God was fully aware of the unique nature of this Spirit Stone mine.
After completing the seal, he withdrew without further action.
Shortly after, three system-wide announcements rang out.
[Shadow Lord God Announcement: Public bounty on Godslayer and Gale. Anyone who kills either will be rewarded with a Holy artifact and one entire planet.]
…
Everyone on Shadow Star heard the system announcement, and excitement surged across the realm, especially among the Overseers.
“Kid, you’re in a dangerous position now,” Ice Talker said, glancing at John with a hint of
pity.
“My lord, an entire planet,” Terran muttered, staring at John, swallowing nervously.
A Holy artifact was a rare and valuable item that held great appeal to god-level powerhouses. But a planet as a reward? That was enough to drive every Overseer mad with ambition.
John frowned, looking confused.
He’d heard Behemoth Quagmlier mention Holy artifacts before, though he had never seen one. It seemed these artifacts held incredible power.
But it was the reward of an entire planet that surprised him the most.
He looked at the two of them, puzzled, and asked, “Planets can be given as rewards?”
Ice Talker nodded and explained, “Yes. For the Overseers, it’s possible to refine and fully control a planet. But only a select few Overseers, those who’ve pledged loyalty to the Lord God, have managed to obtain a planet. An Overseer who fully controls and refines a planet becomes a being as powerful as a Lord God.”
“Is it that powerful?” John asked curiously. “Do you have a planet of your own?”
Ice Talker smiled faintly, looking proud. “I do, though I haven’t refined it yet.”
John was taken aback; it seemed her relationship with the Nature Lord God was more complex
than he’d thought.
Moreover, the bounty announcement issued by Shadow God listed only him and Sini,
indicating that Shadow Lord God wasn’t willing to openly make Ice Talker an enemy.
He looked at the Spirit Stone mine. They had all been cut off from it by that strange power,
unable to enter.
Of course, the peak upper-tier gods trapped inside the Spirit Stone mine couldn’t leave either, but they didn’t seem to mind.
With the mine’s vast supply of Spirit Stones, they’d willingly remain there for tens of
thousands of years if needed.
Ice Talker looked at him and said, “This is a restriction placed by Shadow Lord God. Unlike a seal, only someone of Lord God’s level could break it. You’d best give up on it.”
“Is that so?” John felt a bit reluctant; he had a strong sense that if he could merge the snow
mountain and Spirit Stone mine into his World-in-Hand, his strength would receive a
substantial boost.
Ice Talker continued, “I have some matters to attend to. Be cautious in the meantime. Try to stay hidden—there are plenty of Overseers, and even some peak upper-tier gods who are fully
capable of killing you.”
With that warning, she left with Terran.
Once they were gone, John concealed his presence, hiding near the Spirit Stone mine before retreating into his World-in-Hand.
“Godslayer, how did it go?” Cand-Dragon and Tony immediately came over as soon as they
saw John appear, concern evident on their faces.
Inside the World-in-Hand, they were completely isolated from Shadow Star, so they hadn’t heard the system announcement.
John replied, “For now, things are stable. But Shadow Lord God has sealed off the Spirit Stone
mine.”
“Sealed by the Lord God?” Both of them looked stunned. Though they were top-tier fighters
on Skyline Continent, they were still as insignificant as ants compared to a mythical Lord God.
“We might have to stay hidden for a long while,” John said, offering a brief explanation, then went to find Chris.
He wanted to know how the Blues Family members had accessed the snow mountain world.
They couldn’t have entered through the Spirit Stone mine; the Undying Flame there would have been far too intense for them to withstand.
He speculated they had entered through the snow mountain first and then accessed the sealed
mine through it.
Chris looked puzzled and replied, “It’s near the Shadow Clan’s Immortal Herb Garden, not far from here. Wait-didn’t you enter from there?”
The Blues Family members had indeed been confined within the Immortal Herb Garden, which John had thoroughly searched at the time without finding anything unusual. “Senior, do you still remember the entrance?” John asked, since he couldn’t enter through the
Spirit Stone mine. His plan was to use the Immortal Herb Garden’s entrance to reach the snow
mountain world.
“Yes, I remember it,” Chris nodded. His impression of the place was clear. Even if the snow mountain’s pull had diminished, he could still easily locate it.
“Good. Once night falls, take me there,” John said, glancing at the sky. He decided to wait
until darkness before making a move.
…
When night arrived, John and Chris exited the World-in-Hand, using his Split Void ability to reach the area where the Immortal Herb Garden had once been.
The garden itself had long been absorbed into the World-in-Hand, leaving the place
desolate.
John turned to Chris and asked, “Can you still find the entrance to the snow mountain?”
“Yes,” Chris replied, carefully sensing the area until he located the entrance. “It’s right here.” With that, he effortlessly opened a pathway leading to the snow mountain.
The connection here turned out to be even weaker than the link between the snow mountain
and the Spirit Stone mine.
John was puzzled. The Immortal Herb Garden was tens of thousands of miles away from the Spirit Stone mine, so there was no way they could be part of a single unified structure.
He couldn’t understand why the snow mountain had another entrance here. Setting aside his doubts, he entered the snow mountain with Chris.
There were still over three hundred Blues Family members in the snow mountain. After a moment’s thought, John decided to bring them all into his World-in-Hand.
With Chris having already obtained the snow mountain’s legacy, there was nothing left here
for them to gain. The harsh environment of the snow mountain wouldn’t contribute significantly to their strength either.
John made his way to the point where the snow mountain world connected with the Spirit
Stone mine. This connection was far more stable compared to the entrance near the Immortal
Herb Garden, and could only be broken by force.
Gathering his Chaos Force, John wielded his Nine Heavens Sword, effortlessly breaking open
the pathway to the Spirit Stone mine.
But when he tried to enter the spatial rift, he was immediately repelled.
It was Shadow God’s sealing power.
He hadn’t expected Shadow God’s methods to be so formidable-Shadow God had even
sealed off the passage between the snow mountain world and the Spirit Stone mine.
Without access to the Spirit Stone mine, he couldn’t merge and refine the snow mountain
world.
Unwilling to give up, John’s thoughts turned to Sini.
The Power of the Nine Nether was rumored to be the nemesis of all binding and restrictive
forces.
With a sudden idea, he summoned Sini out from his World-in-Hand.
