"The Grand Elder went to the battle platform?" Lin Lei was puzzled.
He followed Belutre, Poslo, and the others, flying together out of the great canyon. When they emerged, Geisleisen glanced at the elemental barrier that shrouded the entire Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, then barked at a group of patrol warriors along the dragon path: "Pass on my orders — take down the elemental barrier at once!"
"Uh... Yes, Patriarch!"
The patrol warriors were startled but quickly recovered.
Lin Lei gazed at the elemental barrier enveloping the entire Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range. "This is humiliation — the family's humiliation!" When others hurled insults, all they could do was plug their own ears, not daring to fight back. If that wasn't humiliation, what was?
Between the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range and the Eight Great Families, the battle platform stood scarred from countless fights, pocked and stained with dark red blood.
"Hah!"
An illusory claw pierced through her opponent's skull, then retracted. The Grand Elder, in her dragon-form state, cast an indifferent glance into the distance. "Hmph. Next!" This was the third person she had killed on the battle platform.
The first she killed had been an ordinary Highgod who had just won a battle.
The second had been nothing more than a Six-Star Demon level expert.
But the third — the one she had just killed — was an elder-level expert.
"Gaia! It seems you've come to die today." The experts from the Eight Great Families had arrived.
"Looking for death? I'd like to see which of you Eight Great Families can kill me today." The Grand Elder's icy gaze swept over them without a trace of fear. For over ten thousand years, she had truly been pushed to the brink of madness.
Her father's death had caused the Grand Elder unbearable pain.
During the family's flight, as they were hunted by other clans, her husband had perished.
And several hundred years ago, her only son, Fuhran, had also died — killed by her own hand.
The pain and suppression in the Grand Elder's heart — how could outsiders possibly imagine it? Yet she had always held the family in her thoughts, and for the family's sake, she had endured. But recently...
The Eight Great Families had been like flies — hurling insults and mockery, forcing the Four Divine Beast Families to erect a massive elemental barrier. That act of plugging their own ears was what truly made the Grand Elder feel the sting of humiliation.
She could endure no longer. She no longer wanted to hold herself back. She feared she would go mad!
Kill!
Kill without restraint! Only slaughter could release the grief and rage in her heart.
The Grand Elder stood proudly on the battle platform, a trace of blood staining her silver mask. "Who among you will fight me? No matter who comes, I'll take them on." Her gaze swept over the eight patriarchs who had arrived at the front, and she sneered.
The eight patriarchs found the situation somewhat troublesome.
The second-generation members of the Four Divine Beast Families all possessed God Artifacts. Geisleisen, for example, had a soul-defensive God Artifact. And the Grand Elder, Gaia, possessed a defensive God Artifact fused into her dragon scales.
While the Eight Great Families did not fear a defensive God Artifact, this Grand Elder was simply too troublesome to deal with.
"Patriarch Barbari, you should be able to handle her more easily. You go," Patriarch Bolin said.
Patriarch Barbari, his tiger-like eyes fixed on the platform, gave a slight nod. Then with a movement of his body, he flew up onto the battle platform.
"I knew it — if it wasn't you, it would have been De'en. The other six don't have the guts." The Grand Elder sneered. Possessing a defensive God Artifact meant that others' physical attacks were ineffective against her, while she could attack with her own formidable body.
Moreover, the Grand Elder's soul defense was also formidable. After all, she possessed the innate Azure Light as well as an ordinary soul-defensive divine artifact.
Of course...
She was powerful, but the eight patriarchs were also powerful.
"Gaia, today is the day you die." A deep, resonant voice rang out, seeming to echo from within a massive chest cavity. Patriarch Barbari, who stood over three meters tall, flicked his right hand and a massive azure whip appeared — dozens of meters long, like a great azure serpent.
"Who dies remains to be seen!"
The Grand Elder shouted fiercely, then her figure shot forward, crossing the battle platform in an instant. Patriarch Barbari took a massive stride, cracked his whip, and it formed loop after loop, ensnaring toward the Grand Elder.
When Belutre, the patriarch, and their group arrived at the edge of the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range, the Grand Elder and Patriarch Barbari were locked in a bitter struggle. However, the Grand Elder was at a disadvantage.
That whip was terrifyingly powerful.
"Th-this is the Grand Elder's true strength?" Lin Lei stared in shock. The Grand Elder and Barbari had both dissolved into two blurs of shadow, yet the deep, drum-like impacts and the sight of space shattering left Lin Lei in disbelief.
Belutre glanced at Lin Lei and smiled faintly. "Lin Lei, don't be so shocked. Gaia has a defensive God Artifact fused into her dragon scales. Of course her fists and claws are powerful. As for her opponent, that whip is a God Artifact. When two God Artifacts collide, it's natural for the power to be immense."
Lin Lei took a deep breath.
"Lin Lei, your weapon is a bit lacking in power. Would you like one with more might?" Belutre said with a faint smile.
Lin Lei turned to look at Belutre, his eyes full of astonishment. Even someone as slow as he was could understand — Belutre seemed to be offering him a powerful weapon. What weapon? The first thing that came to his mind was a Divine Grade artifact!
"Crafting Divine Grade artifacts is no easy task either," Belutre said with a faint smile. "Work hard on your own first. The day you reach Highgod, I'll make one for you."
Lin Lei's heart surged with excitement.
With a Divine Grade artifact, he would at least have some means of standing against an opponent's God Artifact attacks.
"Work hard, and reach Highgod as soon as you can," Belutre said with a grin.
Lin Lei turned back to watch the fierce battle on the platform. The Grand Elder and Patriarch Barbari had reached the height of their clash, the single whip transformed into countless great serpents that circled and enveloped the entire battle platform.
"How did it become like this?" Lin Lei stared in amazement at the center of the platform. The more Patriarch Barbari fought, the more relaxed he became. A single whip was producing the effect of a thousand, wrapping around the Grand Elder in an endless cascade.
The more Lin Lei watched, the more he felt the profound mystery in it.
"This Water-style law — he's cultivated it quite well," Belutre praised.
"Hmm?" Belutre glanced at Lin Lei. "This kid really gets absorbed easily." Belutre was beginning to understand why Lin Lei cultivated so quickly.
While Belutre and his group watched the battle, the patriarchs and elders of the Eight Great Families on the opposite side stared in shock. "That Belutre has come — he actually came too!"
"Belutre won't interfere, will he?" A flicker of fear crossed Patriarch Bolin's eyes.
"We haven't violated his orders. He won't interfere," Patriarch Leinars said firmly. Though he spoke with certainty, all of them were worried inside.
The Eight Great Families held a trace of dread toward Belutre.
Those at the level of the Four Divine Beast Family patriarchs, the Eight Great Family patriarchs, or the Grand Elder — their strength rivaled that of Hell's Asuras! They were powerful, yes, but not overwhelmingly so.
In terms of soul defense and physical defense, they had no real weaknesses.
At their level, they did not fear each other. For one to kill the other was difficult. Just as it was now — Patriarch Barbari and the Grand Elder, the two of them could hardly determine life and death!
But Belutre was different!
Monstrosities like Belutre and Dannington stood at the very pinnacle of Highgods. They could kill Hell's Asuras. The deterrent power of any single one of them was terrifying.
If Belutre decided to go on a killing spree, he could slaughter the entire Eight Great Families. His terror could well be imagined!
"Endless and unceasing, unending and continuous... endless and unceasing, unending and continuous..." Lin Lei murmured, closing his eyes. In his mind, the profound and shifting images of the whip's movements played out...
The seven great elemental laws and the four great rules.
Though they had different names, they shared certain commonalities. The Earth Element, for instance, contained the "Essence of Earth" profound mystery, while the Fire Elemental Law held the "Essence of Fire" profound mystery. And some who had undergone soul mutations could fuse the profound mysteries of different laws together.
Why could they fuse?
Because there were points of compatibility, points of commonality!
Different laws were not entirely unrelated — they also shared profound connections. The Water Elemental Law had a thread of connection with the "Force of Life" within the Earth Law, and Lin Lei had just seized upon that thread...
Lin Lei was completely immersed in his cultivation, but Geisleisen was growing anxious. "Lord, my sister's condition is growing worse. Perhaps we should call a halt." Geisleisen wanted to pause the battle, but he lacked the ability to do so.
With two God Artifacts clashing, would he dare intervene?
"A battle like this truly serves no purpose," Belutre said with a light smile.
Whoosh!
His speed was so great it seemed like teleportation!
Belutre appeared in the center of the battle platform in an instant. Only a deep, muffled impact was heard, and then the battle came to an abrupt halt. There stood Belutre, one hand gripping the whip, the other seizing the Grand Elder's dragon claw.
"Wow..." Bei Bei's eyes went wide.