At the edge of the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, the patriarchs of the Four Great Beast Families and their elders gathered, talking secretly. This move from the Eight Great Families wasn't particularly clever, but it was insidious enough, venomous and ruthless.
The Four Great Beast Families had already made the painful decision to retreat, gritting their teeth to accept it. But now, with the Eight Great Families openly mocking and ridiculing them like this, it was like throwing oil on the fire. This stung even more than direct combat, making the Four Great Beast Families feel enraged, furious, and filled with resentment. The four patriarchs and the elders discussed how to respond, while Lin Lei's thoughts were elsewhere. "What exactly is the reason those Eight Great Families want to kill me so badly? Why would those two patriarchs go so far as to join forces against me, abandoning all dignity?" Lin Lei was filled with confusion and doubt.
At the same time, he looked across, but suddenly furrowed his brow in puzzlement. "Huh? What are they doing?" From the side of the Eight Great Families, several warriors were working together to transport a small, low mountain from the distance. It was nearly a thousand meters long and wide, and close to a hundred meters high. The weight of stone from the Divine Realm was astonishing, and for a small mountain of this size, the weight was unimaginable.
"Why are they bringing a small mountain over?" Bei Bei also looked on, confused.
Gaistrasen and the other three patriarchs, along with the other elders, all turned to look, everyone equally puzzled. They watched as those warriors exerted their strength in unison. The massive small mountain was lifted and hurled through the air, finally plummeting down. "BOOM!" It crashed heavily into the open area between the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range and the Eight Great Families.
That cold, stern man with the green eyebrows flew towards the mountain.
"Is that him?" Lin Lei wouldn't forget this man; he had just attacked Lin Lei with a God Artifact.
The stern man with green eyebrows flipped his hand, and instantly, a multitude of cyan-green wind blades fluttered forth. The wind blades swept across the small mountain, and large swathes of stone were ground into fine powder. A gale howled, stone dust flew everywhere, and in just a short time, the small mountain's appearance changed drastically.
Eight hundred meters long and wide, fifty meters high. A large battle stage!
"Whoosh!" A thin young man with a cold gaze suddenly appeared on the stage. He swept his gaze towards the opposite side and declared in a clear voice, "You talked about group battles? Fine, today we'll fight one-on-one. Individuals battle, and no one else may intervene. Lin Lei, you killed my big brother. Today, I challenge you right here. Lin Lei, do you dare accept?"
"Lin Lei, do you dare accept?"
The loud voice echoed throughout the entire Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, reverberating between heaven and earth, producing wave after wave of echoes. Even Dilia and Wendi, who had been in the canyon below, couldn't rest easy after hearing the call to Lin Lei and flew up as well.
Many people looked towards Lin Lei, waiting for his answer.
"Don't go fight, Lin Lei," Gaistrasen said in a low voice.
"Lin Lei." Dilia had already flown over. Lin Lei nodded and smiled at her.
Then that voice took on a mocking tone: "Can't even dare to fight one-on-one, hmph!" It was filled with provocation and disdain. Although he said that, many people on the opposite side still stared at Lin Lei, watching for his reaction.
"Bei Bei, Dilia, Wendi, let's go back." Lin Lei simply turned with a faint smile and walked away.
Lin Lei could see that the Eight Great Families clearly wanted to provoke him into coming out to fight. But after the previous ambush by the six experts, Lin Lei understood perfectly in his heart. The Eight Great Families were extremely eager to kill him. "Going out to fight now wouldn't be bravery. It would be foolish."
Seeing Lin Lei fly back towards the interior of the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, the patriarchs and elders of the Eight Great Families felt somewhat helpless. "When you attacked just now and failed to kill Lin Lei, I knew he would definitely become wary. Now making him come out won't be easy!" a deep voice stated.
"It's too late to say that now!"
The eight patriarchs also felt some regret; they had missed such a good opportunity. Now, if they wanted to kill Lin Lei, he wouldn't impulsively give them the chance.
Inside the great canyon of the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, it had been a full three days since the Eight Great Families had moved nearby. During these three days, the Eight Great Families had a dedicated group take turns insulting and mocking the Four Great Beast Families. Of course, they occasionally paused, but for more than half of the day, the insults and ridicule continued.
It seemed they treated mocking the Four Great Beast Families as a form of amusement. Naturally, they would specifically name some elders and patriarchs, like the four patriarchs including Gaistrasen, and Lin Lei, who were frequently named and ridiculed. Even knowing the other side had a scheme, Lin Lei still felt furious hearing it.
"Lin Lei, during this time, you absolutely must not go out," Gaistrasen instructed solemnly.
Lin Lei smiled bitterly and nodded. "Don't worry, Patriarch, I understand. But honestly..." Lin Lei could clearly hear the insults and ridicule drifting down continuously from above. The forces of the Eight Great Families had moved beside the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range and had been there for three full days.
"With such insults, even the most patient person would be filled with rage," Lin Lei said in a low voice.
"Over these three days, quite a few clansmen couldn't bear it and went to that battle stage to fight the Eight Great Families," Gaistrasen sighed. "Driven to the extreme by anger, those clansmen couldn't hold back, disregarding even the family's orders to go fight. Surprisingly, the Eight Great Families kept their word; they fought one-on-one. However, our people held a slight advantage in the battle outcomes." Even as he said this, Gaistrasen's tone was somewhat powerless.
The clansmen fought desperately, but the family's strong fighters couldn't match the opponents. In the battles of this hellscape, it all depended on peerless experts.
Lin Lei also knew the topic was somber, so he changed it. "By the way, Patriarch, that day when you saved me and blocked that curved saber God Artifact, the black gloves you wore—are they a God Artifact?"
"No." Gaistrasen shook his head. "I don't have an offensive God Artifact. Those black gloves were given to me by the Mansion Lord. They are Divine Grade artifacts."
"Divine Grade artifacts?" Lin Lei's eyes lit up. Bei Bei also had one. Divine Grade materials were practically indestructible, so Divine Grade artifacts were naturally extraordinary.
"God Artifacts, after being nurtured by High Gods, contain incredibly powerful energy within themselves, and their offensive power is terrifying. Divine Grade artifacts don't have such energy. However, they have one advantage—hardness!" Gaistrasen smiled. "Relying on this Divine Grade artifact, I dared to block a God Artifact. But that day, that wind-element attack God Artifact was too terrifying. I could only deflect it using force, not block it head-on. After all, Divine Grade artifacts are still slightly inferior to God Artifacts."
Lin Lei nodded. Perhaps in terms of hardness, Divine Grade artifacts weren't weaker than God Artifacts. But God Artifacts, formed through the nourishment of vast amounts of High God power, had terrifying offensive capabilities.
"When you get the chance, you should also ask the Mansion Lord for a Divine Grade artifact. I believe the Mansion Lord would likely give you one," Gaistrasen said with a smile. "Your 'Blackstone Space' is powerful, but your attack strength is still a bit lacking. Having a Divine Grade artifact would make you much stronger."