Deep within a cave inside the Purple Crystal Mountain Range, only Lin Lei and the purple beast pup remained.
"When I first entered, this cave was clearly empty. I'm absolutely certain there was no purple beast pup here. How did it suddenly appear without me sensing a thing?" Lin Lei was flooded with disbelief, but no matter how incredible it seemed, this was the reality!
Standing before him was the leader of all those Purple Crystal Beasts — the small purple beast pup.
"What should I do?" Lin Lei pondered, searching for a way to escape.
The walls and floor of this vast cave all shimmered with a faint purple glow. Even if he used the Earth Movement technique, he would never be able to break through this barrier and meld into the rock.
There was no escape!
"Hey, brat, what are you thinking about? Don't tell me you're still planning to run?" The purple beast pup's clear eyes locked onto Lin Lei, the corners of its mouth curving upward. "Give it up. Once upon a time, there was an extremely powerful highgod — probably around what you'd call a Seven-Star Demon. But even he had to behave himself in front of me!" The purple beast pup tossed its small head proudly.
Lin Lei's heart lurched. Even a Seven-Star Demon was no match for this purple beast pup?
"My name is Lin Lei. May I ask who you are?" Lin Lei adopted a more respectful tone.
The purple beast pup deliberately cleared its throat. "Listen carefully. My name is Reis Crystal. I once went out into the world and fought in Purgatory. I was a great commander there!"
"Purgatory commander?" Lin Lei was confused.
What was Purgatory?
He had once read a book about the geography of the Underworld, but he had never come across any place called "Purgatory."
"You don't know about Purgatory?" The purple beast pup glared, then nodded in sudden realization. "Oh, right — you're only a midgod. Even plenty of highgods don't know about that place. It's natural that you don't... Hmph, talking to you is a waste of breath. You wouldn't understand what 'Purgatory commander' means either. Hmph!"
The purple beast pup was clearly displeased.
Lin Lei could only smile helplessly. He genuinely had no idea — what was the point of this creature bragging?
"So, how should I punish you?" The purple beast pup stood upright, its chubby little paw rubbing its chin as it paced back and forth through the cave, the very picture of contemplation. "Rock-tossing game? Same as last time — end up crushing him to death?"
Lin Lei's heart shuddered.
Rock-tossing game? Crushing him to death? He could well imagine what this purple beast pup might do.
"No, no good," the purple beast pup muttered, still pacing. Listening to its rambling, Lin Lei felt a chill creep through his heart.
"This purple beast pup called Reis Crystal is nothing short of a terrifying existence — possessing overwhelmingly powerful strength yet with the temperament of a mischievous child." Lin Lei shuddered and glanced down at the ground, where a faint purple glow was continuously flowing.
This was nothing more than some sort of substance that Reis Crystal had casually spread across the walls and floor, unnoticed. Yet Lin Lei couldn't budge it in the slightest. Just from this alone, he could gauge how powerful this purple beast pup was. Moreover... he had witnessed it attack before, when it had effortlessly dispatched a formidable highgod.
"Now I only have my Earth God clone here. My strength is far too weak." Lin Lei sighed inwardly.
His primary divine power and his weapons were all with his true body. The Earth God clone didn't have a single one of them. Right now, he had absolutely no means of resistance.
"This purple beast pup..." Lin Lei studied it carefully. The creature looked very similar to the "Purple Crystal Beasts" — entirely purple, with numerous spikes covering its head and back, totaling 108 in all. The Purple Crystal Beasts had the same arrangement.
The purple beast pup suddenly brightened with excitement, leaping into the air. "Haha, I've got it!"
Then —
Its expression froze. It muttered a few words under its breath. "Can't even let me have any real fun." It then looked up at Lin Lei, its face turning cold. "Brat, I'm in a foul mood right now, so you're going to be my outlet. Hmph — if you turn out to be too useless, I'll just kill you."
"Lord Reis Crystal, you don't even care about Seven-Star Demons — why bother with a mere midgod like me?" Lin Lei sensed that things were looking bad. This purple beast pup was unlikely to come up with anything pleasant.
The purple beast pup snorted. "Shut your mouth! Damn it all — if I hadn't been ordered to stay in this Purple Crystal Mountain Range for billions of years without leaving, who would spare a thought for a midgod like you? You may be weak, but at least you're a living being who can play with me." As it spoke, the purple beast pup flipped its little paw, and suddenly a small black stone radiating purple light materialized before it.
Lin Lei couldn't help but study the black stone closely.
It was very small, only about the size of a fingertip, yet it emitted a soft purple luminescence. Waves of a strange aura radiated from within.
"Go!" The purple beast pup flicked its little paw.
The black stone immediately floated above Lin Lei's head, and then streams of purple divine power shot out from it, descending like chains — a total of 108 strands.
These 108 strands of purple divine power, all emanating from the black stone, followed curved arcs and eventually converged at Lin Lei's feet. The 108 bending strands of purple divine power formed a sphere, with Lin Lei himself trapped at its very center.
"Haha, let's begin!" The purple beast pup flashed a wide grin.
Instantly, the 108 strands of purple divine power began flashing at blinding speed. In a moment, they were moving too fast to distinguish individually — Lin Lei could only see a spherical purple barrier surrounding him. He was sealed inside the purple light sphere.
*Hssss hssss~~~*
Inside the purple sphere, sparks of purple light crackled like arcs of electricity.
A strange force was being born.
"Ahhh~~~" Lin Lei cried out in pain, curling up instantly. He floated helplessly at the center of the purple sphere as an eerie hissing filled the air. His skin and bones were being compressed, forced inward.
Lin Lei could clearly feel that the surrounding purple barrier was generating an uncanny "repulsive force" — every point along the barrier emanated repulsion, all of it directed at his entire body.
From every direction, it pressed against Lin Lei.