Lord of the Mists

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  An ugly look was on the Chief Sovereign of Light’s face.

  He was indeed in the wrong in this matter!

  The other eight Paragons all had Sovereigns behind them. The struggle in the Okerlund Plane was a struggle for Deities; the Sovereigns shouldn’t interfere.

  If he were to intervene and threaten Linley, what if the other Sovereigns did the same? How would the Paragons be supposed to act?

  “Linley.” The Chief Sovereign of Light suppressed the anger in his heart as he looked at Linley. “I know that Dunnington was sent by the Chief Sovereign of Destruction. You, then, shouldn’t have been. Perhaps the Redbud Sovereign is your backer. How about this. You hand the red caltrop diamond to me! As for the Redbud Sovereign, I will speak to her on your behalf. If you give it to me, it can be said that I’ll owe you a favor. What do you say?”

  If he couldn’t use hard tactics, he would try soft ones.

  “A favor?” Linley was about to say something, but suddenly…

  “Haha, Augusta, your methods aren’t very good,” a deep, sonorous voice rang out, and an enormous surge of energy once more descended from the heavens. Unlike the light energy, this surge of energy was completely black and seemed to be filled with a murderous aura. It was Destruction-type Sovereign power. And then, it solidified into a blurry figure.

  The Chief Sovereign of Light, seeing the situation, couldn’t help but frown.

  “The Chief Sovereign of Destruction,” Linley mused to himself.

  “Linley. I notified the Chief Sovereign of Destruction,” Dunnington sent.

  Linley also knew that these Paragons all had methods by which they could communicate with the Sovereigns who stood behind them.

  “Linley and I are engaging in free-willed negotiations. What right do you have to stop us?” the Chief Sovereign of Light said.

  “Haha…” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction let out a clear laugh. “How can you call this ‘free will’? You are oppressing him with your power. You, Chief Sovereign of Light are verbally asking Linley to do this. But if I were to do the same? If the Chief Sovereign of Life, the Chief Sovereign of Death, the Chief Sovereign of Darkness, and the other Chief Sovereigns all acted in this matter? Tell me, how could Linley choose?”

  The Chief Sovereign of Light didn’t make another sound.

  His sudden manifestation of a projection clone had given others an excuse to point at the error in his actions.

  Actually, the reason he had done this was because he had believed that this item was already his. He had travelled such a long distance in chaotic space, and yet, he suddenly learned that his item had gone missing. Naturally, the Chief Sovereign of Light had been enraged and, in his anger, allowed a planar projection clone to descend.

  “This ‘Chief Sovereign’ isn’t much better than an ordinary person,” Bebe sent mentally to Linley.

  “Naturally. A Chief Sovereign is just a living creature who, after becoming a Highgod, was lucky enough to acquire a Sovereign spark then fuse with it, thus becoming a Sovereign. Just because they fused with Sovereign sparks doesn’t mean that their temperaments will change! Normally, these Sovereigns act high and mighty when dealing with us Deities; naturally, they can’t be bothered with us. This is a way of showing their superiority! But once there is a struggle that involves their own interests, such as this struggle over the Overgod talismans, their greedy or tyrannical natures will once more reveal themselves,” Linley sent back.

  “This Chief Sovereign of Light really is tyrannical.” Bebe, after having met the Chief Sovereign of Light several times, couldn’t help but come to this judgment.

  “The Chief Sovereign of Light is overbearing, but he always has been. Even Patriarch Gislason told me about this.” Linley still remembered the words Gislason had said to him.

  Gislason even suspected that the four ancestors of the Four Divine Beasts clan had been killed by the Chief Sovereign of Light. He had also described the Chief Sovereign of Light’s overbearing nature.

  While Linley and Bebe were chatting spiritually, the Chief Sovereigns of Light and Destruction were chatting as well.

  “Fine. Neither of us will force Linley. Linley will choose for himself, who he wishes to offer the red caltrop diamond to.” The Chief Sovereign of Light couldn’t help but look at Linley.

  “Linley, you can choose for yourself which Sovereign you wish to offer it to. You don’t have to take any attitude from any Sovereign. After all, there’s only a single red caltrop diamond, while there are tens of Sovereigns!” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction looked towards Linley.

  The Chief Sovereign of Light stared at Linley, his eyes containing a silent signal.

  “Sorry, Chief Sovereign of Light.” Linley smiled.

  The Chief Sovereign of Light’s face immediately changed.

  “Hmph. You don’t know what’s good for you.” The Chief Sovereign of Light gave Linley a cold glance, and then his planar projection clone suddenly disappeared. Linley’s face, however, didn’t change. He stood there quietly in midair, and his face once more had a hint of a smile on it.

  “Haha, Linley, well done.” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction laughed easily. “You can choose who to give this red caltrop diamond to. Naturally, giving it to me would be good, but I won’t force you.” And then, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction’s planar projection clone suddenly disappeared as well.

  The world once more returned to normalcy.

  The waves of the sea continued to swell forward, and the other eight Paragons flew over, laughing.

  “Haha, Boss, that Chief Sovereign of Light’s face just now was so amusing,” Bebe celebrated.

  “I already offended the Chief Sovereign of Light once. Now, I’ve offended him again.” Linley sighed helplessly.

  “That’s the sort of temper the Chief Sovereign of Light has.” Clementine laughed. While speaking, Clementine stretched his divine sense out to close off the surrounding area. Clearly, he didn’t want the other Highgods to hear the words between them Paragons.

  “Hmph. That group of Sovereigns. Don’t be fooled by that superior attitude they always have. When any minor matter occurs that they care about, or even something that costs them the tiniest bit of face, they will be enraged.” The Paragon of Fire, Ballmer, snickered. “Actually, it’s understandable. They are so high and lofty that if anyone was to irritate them, they would probably let their fury descend upon the offender.”

  “However, only a minority of Sovereigns are so bad-tempered,” Dunnington said with a smile. “The majority of Sovereigns are decent fellows.”

  “Hmph. They were simply born earlier, shortly after the planes were formed. They were just one of the first batches of Highgods, then were lucky enough to acquire Sovereign sparks and fuse them,” the Paragon of Life said calmly. “In terms of the profound laws, the vast majority of Sovereigns are inferior to us, even though they enjoy vast amounts of faith energy!”

  “I’ve seen quite a few Sovereigns, but the Chief Sovereign of Light is still the most overbearing of them all,” Linley said.

  “Haha, the Chief Sovereign of Light is legendary for his overbearing manner. Even in material planes, amongst the various churches, the churches of light tend towards total hegemony. However, the Chief Sovereign of Light is powerful; he’s qualified to act so tyrannically!” The Paragon of Earth, that four-meter-tall azure-haired fellow, laughed.

  “The Bonerock Sovereign of Death, before the previous Planar War that occurred countless years before, personally attacked a pair of commander-level experts.”

  This group of Highgod Paragons leisurely chatted about the various Sovereigns.

  This was a material plane; there was no need to fear that the Sovereigns would discover it through divine sense.

  After chatting for a long time, Linley learned quite a few things regarding the Sovereigns. The more he heard, the more clearly Linley felt that the Sovereigns were nothing special; they, too, felt joy, rage, g
rief, and amusement. It was much like how… to mortals, Deities were creatures who were far above them. But in the Infernal Realm, Deities formed into bandit groups and acted in ways that were even more nakedly selfish and aggressive than in the mortal world.

  Perhaps…

  Only the four Overgods who were the personifications of the Edicts were truly emotionless and unfeeling.

  “Alright, everyone. The matter here in Okerlund Plane has come to an end. I’ll leave now.” The Paragon of Wind, Bayer, laughed.

  After this friendly discussion, all of the people present had grown much closer to each other.

  “Let’s leave together. We need to leave as well.”

  Dunnington and the other Paragons were nearby as well.

  “Boss, time to leave,” Bebe said hurriedly.

  “Everyone, you can leave first. I have something to take care of,” Linley suddenly said.

  The eight Paragons, although puzzled, didn’t say anything. They bid Linley farewell, and then the eight of them began to fly towards the Fogdeep continent.

  “Boss, what is it?” Bebe said.

  Linley frowned as he sent with worry, “Bebe, when I acquired the red caltrop diamond, I was too excited. I didn’t think about things in detail. But now… now that I’ve calmed down, I’ve realized that I absolutely cannot go back through the teleportation arrays!”

  “Can’t go back through the teleportation arrays?” Bebe stared.

  “Right. The teleportation arrays will take me to the Divine Planes or the Higher Planes. You should know that the Sovereigns all very much want to acquire the red caltrop diamond. In the Okerlund Plane, they aren’t able to fight with me at all. However, if I teleport to a Divine Plane or a Higher Plane, then perhaps I’ll find… that a Sovereign will be there at the array, waiting for me!” Linley laughed sourly.

  If, as soon as he teleported somewhere, he immediately saw a Sovereign…

  He would be finished. There would be no chance of escape.

  “Each of the planes have a varying number of teleportation arrays. The Infernal Realm has many, but the Netherworld only has two teleportation array locations. There are, however, quite a few Sovereigns in the Higher Planes and Divine Planes. The chances of one of them lying in wait are quite high! Even if Lesser Sovereigns have no need for it, they might give it to a Chief Sovereign so as to gain a favor.” Linley felt quite frustrated.

  “Boss, where should we go, then?” Bebe now knew that the situation was, indeed, terrible.

  “Right. Where shall we go?” Linley felt completely lost.

  It was true that the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes had many teleportation locations, some of which wouldn’t have Sovereigns nearby. But Linley couldn’t take the risk! If he failed, he wouldn’t even have the chance to feel regret.

  “I’ve acquired the red caltrop diamond, but I don’t know how to return to the Yulan Plane.” Linley laughed bitterly.

  “Can it be that we’ll have to take the chance?” Bebe muttered.

  45

  BEIRUT’S TRUE POWER!

  Many colored streams of light flowed about randomly, collectively forming the vast and endless region of chaotic space.

  Chaotic space could be said to be the most dangerous place of all!

  Even ordinary divine artifacts that were brought in would be torn asunder by the terrifying chaotic energy streams. Only experts who had defensive Sovereign artifacts or Highgod Paragons would be able to just barely stay alive in the face of the repeated clashes of energy in chaotic space. But despite that being the case, Highgod Paragons would be completely helpless in chaotic space.

  The explosive streams of energy clashed against each other. When trapped within, the only choice was to allow the energy streams to take you where it willed.

  Right at this moment…

  A hazy white glow covered a large figure and the area around him. This large figure was dressed with a long white robe that was embroidered with golden patterns. His long gold hair fluttered loosely in an eye-catching manner. He stood there in the center of the vast, endless flows of chaotic energy. The rainbow colored chaotic streams clashed against him, but weren’t able to budge him at all. This person was the greatest experts amongst the seven Sovereigns of Light… the Chief Sovereign of Light.

  The Chief Sovereign of Light’s eyes stared coldly into the distance.

  “The red caltrop diamond was already in my hands. I didn’t imagine…”

  The Chief Sovereign of Light’s eyes held a hint of anger in them. “However, even if that woman, the Redbud Sovereign, is the one behind him, when he moves from the Okerlund Plane to the Infernal Realm, he will be randomly teleported to one of the teleportation arrays. Perhaps the red caltrop diamond will fall into the hands of the other Sovereigns.

  He immediately send the word through a clone he had left behind in the Divine Light Plane. “Derry, keep an eye on Linley. See which teleportation array Linley travels through and which plane he goes to.”

  “Yes, Chief Sovereign.”

  Although Clementine had led a large group of Highgods away, in truth, those Highgods actually obeyed the orders of Derry, because Derry was one of the two individuals who maintained contact with the Sovereign. Those Highgods immediately spread out their divine senses, locking upon Linley and Bebe, located above the ocean.

  They were watching Linley’s movements.

  Linley naturally used his own divine sense to prevent the other Highgods from tracking him.

  “Take the chance? No way! There are too many Sovereigns paying attention to the Overgod talismans. I imagine that the vast majority of teleportation arrays have Sovereigns nearby. Although I am powerful, in the face of a Sovereign, I won’t be able to fight back at all.” Linley shook his head. “I can’t make any mistakes when it comes to this red caltrop diamond.”

  “Then… what should we do?” Bebe was rather irritated and upset as well.

  Linley pondered for a while, but still wasn’t able to come up with a completely secure option. Although there were Sovereigns in the Infernal Realm who seemed to be on good terms with Linley, in reality, that was just some special attention that they paid to him, a junior. If it involved the red caltrop diamond… although the planar projection clone of the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had spoken quite nicely, things wouldn’t necessarily remain that way once Linley returned to the Infernal Realm.

  After all, in the Okerlund Plane, his projection clone wasn’t able to do anything to Linley, and so trying to force him was pointless.

  But once they arrived in the Infernal Realm, wouldn’t the Sovereign want to take the Overgod talisman?

  “Boss, let’s go ask my Grandpa Beirut. Perhaps he has a way,” Bebe suddenly suggested.

  “That’s our only choice.” Linley nodded slightly.

  THE YULAN PLANE. The Baruch Empire. Dragonblood Castle.

  In recent days, Beirut had been living in Linley’s Dragonblood Castle, while Linley’s divine clone would often chat with Beirut regarding the advancement of matters in the Okerlund Plane. They often spent time together recently, causing Linley and Beirut to feel even closer and more friendly with each other.

  “Swoosh!”

  A figure flashed forward and arrived within the empty garden. It was Linley. Within the garden, Beirut was teasing two young children of the Baruch clan quite happily.

  “The two of you, go play over there for now,” Linley said while laughing calmly.

  “Yes.” The two children, upon seeing Linley, didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. They immediately left obediently.

  Within Dragonblood Castle, Linley’s status had long ago risen to an extreme. In the hearts of the descendants of the Baruch clan, Linley was the most supreme exalted person alive.

  “What has you in such a hurry?” Beirut laughed calmly.

  Linley said helplessly, “Lord Beirut, the situation right now is quite grim.”

  “
Oh?” Beirut frowned, staring solemnly towards Linley.

  “This is the situation. I’ve already acquired the red caltrop diamond, but I am quite frustrated about how I should return to the Yulan Plane! After all, the Okerlund only has eleven teleportation arrays which lead to the Seven Divine Planes and the Four Higher Planes. There are so many Sovereigns… I’m worried that most teleportation arrays probably have Sovereigns watching them. Once I appear, they will probably come to seize it.”

  Beirut nodded slightly.

  “Linley, you wish to keep the red caltrop diamond for yourself?” Beirut suddenly said.

  “Yes.” Linley nodded.

  If Linley had to offer the red caltrop diamond to a Chief Sovereign, for example the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, he could just teleport to the Infernal Realm. Most likely, the other Sovereigns of the Infernal Realm wouldn’t dare fight over something of the Chief Sovereign’s. If Linley lied and said that he gave it to the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, then moved to teleport back somewhere else…

  This wasn’t very practical.

  First of all, if he were to lie and use the Chief Sovereign of Destruction to deceive others, that would be deceiving the Chief Sovereign of Destruction.

  Secondly, if there were any other Sovereigns nearby, they surely wouldn’t just watch as Linley arrived, then teleported back to the Yulan Plane right away! Most likely, as soon as Linley told the teleportation staff members where he was going, his lies would be seen through.

  “Describe what happened in the fight over the red caltrop diamond in detail to me,” Beirut said solemnly.

  “Alright. Back then, the eight Paragons and I all arrived at Lionheart City. We were all trying to guess at the real meaning of the three words, ‘Lion Heart City’, and what they meant…” Linley began to describe in detail everything, including how the Chief Sovereign had descended a projection clone.