A crimson demon moon hung in the sky.
A metal lifeform soared through midair, its entire surface glowing with a hazy red light. Lin Lei gazed out through the window. In the distant mountain forests, several castles could be faintly seen. Around those castles, enormous dragons took flight, alongside Undead Phoenixes and other Saint Realm magical beasts. All of these massive creatures were kept in captivity.
Inside the metal lifeform.
"Boss." Bei Bei held a wine glass, sipping fruit wine, and frowned. "Are we really going to that Nether Mountain? The book Grandpa gave us said that Nether Mountain is the most dangerous place in the entire Netherworld. I mean, I want some adventure too, but… I just get the feeling that what Seynt told us isn't trustworthy."
"Whether it's trustworthy or not, we can't determine that yet."
Lin Lei set down his glass and said with a faint smile, "We've only asked one domain lord so far. The Netherworld doesn't have just Seynt as its only domain lord. When we arrive at the next domain, we'll ask around. The more opinions we gather from different domain lords, the better our decision will be!"
Asking a few more domain lords would only cost an extra day or two. The journey to Nether Mountain itself would take decades.
Holding his glass, he walked to the front of the metal lifeform and gazed through the transparent metal at the vast, dark landscape of the Netherworld night. Lin Lei sighed, "Right now, what I hope for most is that Father, Yeru, George, Dikexi, and the others can hold on in the Land of the Dead."
From the North Corpse Domain to Nether Mountain, the route passed through six domains along the way. In two of them, the domain lords lived in relatively remote corners. If Lin Lei wanted to visit them, he would have to deviate from his path and detour by hundreds of millions of miles… so he gave up on those and skipped the visits.
He did visit the domain lords of the other four domains.
In two of those four, the domain lords were not at home—likely off traveling—and Lin Lei returned empty-handed. Of the two domain lords who did receive him, one, though residing in his own domain and having met with Lin Lei, had absolutely no idea where the Sovereigns lived.
The other domain lord who received Lin Lei, however, had some knowledge of the Sovereigns' whereabouts.
He told Lin Lei, "Lin Lei, from what I know, deep within the Nether Sea on 'Canglan Island,' there resides a Netherworld Sovereign. Of course, I also know about the 'Nether Mountain' that Seynt mentioned. It is indeed a place where a Sovereign dwells. However, Nether Mountain is far too dangerous. You would be better off going to Canglan Island!"
Upon receiving this information, Lin Lei expressed his gratitude and departed.
The Netherworld's landmass was a single contiguous continent, its area exceeding the combined size of all five continents in Hell. At the edge of the Netherworld's land lay a boundless ocean known as the "Nether Sea." The Nether Sea too was vast beyond measure, and Canglan Island lay deep within it.
"Canglan Island?"
Lin Lei shook his head inwardly. "Crossing the entire Netherworld continent alone would take nearly two hundred years. Then entering the Nether Sea and reaching Canglan Island would likely take another one to two hundred years. The journey to Canglan Island alone would require three to four hundred years!" He sighed to himself. "And even upon arriving at Canglan Island, there's no guarantee I'd be able to see a Sovereign! If I can't even meet a Sovereign, I'd have to turn around and head for Nether Mountain instead. That would take another three to four hundred years! The round trip alone would be close to seven or eight hundred years. Not worth it. Not worth it!"
Canglan Island might be less dangerous, but it was far too distant.
What he could least afford to waste was time. The sooner he could rescue his father and the others, the better. If he delayed too long, his father, Yeru, and the rest might already be dead.
"Boss, have you made up your mind? We're going to Nether Mountain?" Bei Bei asked.
"Mm, we're going to Nether Mountain. What does a little danger matter? At least I can be sure that Nether Mountain truly is a Sovereign's dwelling. If we fail at Nether Mountain, we can always head to Canglan Island afterward. Either way, we can't afford to waste time on detours!" Lin Lei said.
"Hey, Boss, look outside!" Bei Bei exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Lei looked out through the transparent metal as well. In the distance, atop a mountain peak, a pair of men faced each other in midair above an ancient castle. Both wore black robes. One had silver hair, the other purple. The purple-haired man crackled with lightning across his entire body.
The two clashed at lightning speed, their bodies crossing paths once.
Boom!
A massive fissure split open in the sky.
"Their strength is considerable. They should be at least Seven-Star Demon level," Lin Lei assessed.
"This journey has been so boring. All we've seen are mid-tier gods or weaker high-tier gods fighting each other. It's rare to see top-tier experts clash. Boss, let's stop for a bit! Let's see who wins!" Bei Bei's eyes lit up as he spoke eagerly. He was quite interested in battles between such powerful experts.
Lin Lei was exasperated.
"Just for a moment," he said, but still brought the metal lifeform to a halt.
In the distant sky, the two supreme powerhouses exchanged blows several times, each clash carrying the force to split heavens and rend the earth. But after only a brief exchange, the silver-haired man transformed his body into a phantom and fled at top speed into the distance. The purple-haired man immediately gave chase.
"Ugh, how boring. We didn't even get to see who died. He just ran off," Bei Bei said, disappointed.
"All right, never mind who lives and who dies. We're not far from Nether Mountain now—just a few more months. Let's press on." Lin Lei once again guided the metal lifeform forward.
"A few months? Ooh, I'm so excited. They say Nether Mountain is dangerous, but I wonder just how dangerous it really is." Bei Bei's eyes sparkled.
"We'll find out when we get there." Lin Lei smiled. At the same time, the book's description of Nether Mountain surfaced in his mind—
Nether Mountain: the tallest mountain in the entire Netherworld, rising over a million meters high, spanning more than ten thousand miles in circumference. Its body is wreathed in three-colored mist. On the surface of the mist, Heaven and Earth Chains form naturally, wrapping around the mountain. Under no circumstances must these chains be touched—those who touch them face certain death. Nether Mountain is filled with dangers throughout; one must never enter rashly!
"Three-colored mist? Heaven and Earth Chains?"
Lin Lei's mind was filled with confusion. The book's introduction to Nether Mountain was far too sparse, merely emphasizing that one should never enter and that it was extremely dangerous. As for the three-colored mist and Heaven and Earth Chains, no detailed explanation was provided.
Several months passed quickly amidst Lin Lei's quiet cultivation. Over the thirty-odd years of travel, his divine clone had been in constant cultivation, while his original body assisted his Earth Law divine clone in jointly studying the Laws of Earth. However, progress over those thirty-plus years had been modest. His Water System divine clone, for instance, had long since reached a bottleneck with its Sixth Profound Mystery, yet for all this time, it had never broken through to the Highgod realm.