"A twelve-winged divine angel?" Lin Lei let out a slight sigh of relief.
The lower-ranked the angel, the faster they perished.
"It's extremely rare for a twelve-winged divine angel to be born. The ones that exist among the angel race these days have accumulated purely through the passage of limitless time. The Light Highgods wouldn't easily send a twelve-winged divine angel on missions — sometimes not a single one has been dispatched in millions of years. Your mother has only been a twelve-winged divine angel for less than ten thousand years. The probability of her death is virtually negligible," Belute said with a smile.
Lin Lei was finally completely at ease.
"Haha, Grandpa Belute, your reasoning puts my mind much more at ease." Lin Lei now had ample confidence in rescuing his mother.
"Oh, right, Grandpa Belute." Lin Lei flipped his palm, and a Highgod Spark radiating an earthen-yellow glow appeared in his hand — the Earth Highgod Spark. "This is my bonus harvest from this trip."
"A Highgod Spark?" Belute was startled.
Lin Lei nodded and smiled. "I went to the Light Divine Realm with that Augustus, and who would have thought that the Lightning Ruler, 'Huer Lei,' followed me as well. There were even five other Law Rulers trailing behind from a distance. When I made my move against Augustus, that Huer Lei actually ambushed me — he wanted to kill me and seize this supreme divine artifact. I struck back with a single sword!"
Belute burst out laughing. "And so... you ended up with this Highgod Spark?"
"That's right. Huer Lei's Lightning Ruler clone managed to escape quickly enough. I merely taught him a small lesson — destroyed his Earth Highgod Spark clone." Lin Lei furrowed his brow. "I've been thinking about who to give this Earth Highgod Spark to. What do you think, Grandpa Belute?"
"The Earth Highgod Spark..."
Belute frowned. "Greenfire could use it. But giving it to him would only raise his strength slightly — he'd reach the mid-tier Highgod level at most. It wouldn't affect the balance of power much. Ideally, you'd find a Highgod who practiced the Earth Laws. But Highgods of the Earth attribute... among your Baruch Family, it's hard to find one right away."
Lin Lei smiled helplessly.
There were quite a few Highgods in the Baruch Family, but they had all ascended by refining divine sparks. One who had truly cultivated step by step to the Highgod level through their own efforts, and in the Earth Laws at that — there really wasn't a single one.
Refining a Highgod Spark had one prerequisite: one had to have independently cultivated to the Highgod realm.
"What's the rush?" Belute said with a smile. "Just keep it in your possession for now. When the right candidate comes along, you can give it to them then."
"Haha, alright. I'll treat this Highgod Spark as a Baruch Family heirloom," Lin Lei said with a grin. "Grandpa Belute, while you're at it, pass along the word — anyone in Dragon Blood Castle who wants to come to the Underworld, let them come." Lin Lei could now fully guarantee the safety of his loved ones in the Underworld.
The Rule Rulers whose strength surpassed Lin Lei's bore him no grudge. And even those who did, they wouldn't shamelessly threaten to annihilate his family the way the 'Light Ruler' had.
"Very well," Belute agreed with a nod. "These past five thousand years, they've been thoroughly bored in the Yulan Plane. After all, when it comes to powerhouses, the Underworld has far more. There's also a great deal more to explore and experience there."
Lin Lei did not rush to open his own Wind Divine Realm. Instead, he remained in the Underworld, receiving his relatives and friends. During this time, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the fusion of Laws. Occasionally, he spent time with his family and brothers.
The year after Lin Lei's great battle with Augustus was also the year his reputation spread most explosively.
Lin Lei had gravely wounded the Light Ruler and, with a single sword strike, slain the Earth Highgod Spark clone of the Lightning Ruler 'Huer Lei,' sending Huer Lei fleeing in terror.
This feat was naturally spread by those five Law Rulers.
The news was so staggering that before long, virtually every Highgod had learned of it.
Lin Lei's status soared to become a supreme powerhouse surpassing the seven Law Rulers, ranking just below the four Rule Rulers.
In that single year alone, more than ten Highgods came to pay Lin Lei a visit. When Highgods met, it was simply a matter of eating fruit, drinking fine wine, and chatting casually.
About a year after the battle with Augustus.
The Underworld. Blood Peak Continent, Azure Manor, Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range — the location of Lin Lei's Highgod estate.
In a quiet courtyard, upon soft grass, Lin Lei sat cross-legged in a loose robe as the breeze occasionally swept through, lifting strands of his hair.
As if teleporting, a figure gradually materialized before Lin Lei.
Lin Lei opened his eyes and looked at the visitor. The newcomer wore a blood-red robe — it was the Blood Peak Highgod, 'Pash.' Lin Lei smiled. "Pash, what brings you here?" Not long ago, Pash had visited Lin Lei, and Lin Lei had addressed him as 'Mr. Pash,' but the Blood Peak Highgod had flatly refused to accept the formality.
He wanted to call Lin Lei 'Lord' instead. After all, Lin Lei's strength spoke for itself — among rulers, he was already a formidable existence.
In the end, they had each taken a step back, treating each other as friends and addressing one another by name.
"What, I can't visit without a reason?" the Blood Peak Highgod said with a smile, sitting down on the grass as well. "I actually do have something very important to discuss today."
"Go ahead," Lin Lei said, listening attentively.
The Blood Peak Highgod smiled. "You don't have a Highgod Emissary yet, do you?"
"Uh... where did that come from?" Lin Lei said, caught between laughter and exasperation. "Whether or not I take on a Highgod Emissary — that's your concern too, Pash?"
"No." The Blood Peak Highgod shook his head. "I'll be straightforward with you. Once every trillion years, a Planar War takes place, consisting of five battles in total. So far, three have already been fought, and in roughly six hundred years, the fourth Planar War will begin."
"Which two planes are fighting?" Lin Lei asked with interest.
"Our Underworld and the Higher Plane," the Blood Peak Highgod said gravely. "Lin Lei, the upcoming fourth Planar War is critically important. Because... in the previous nine rounds, the Higher Plane has won nine victories in a row."
"What?" Lin Lei was shocked.
Lin Lei knew that after becoming a Highgod, there were only three ways to obtain the Will of the World. One was to refine a Highgod Spark, the second was to achieve Grand Completion, and the third was to have one's own Divine Realm win ten consecutive victories in a Planar War.
Of course, soul mutants like Lin Lei were an exception. But such a special case did not apply to all Highgods.
"If I recall correctly, the Higher Plane once won ten victories in a row, a very, very long time ago," Lin Lei said, frowning.
"That's right," the Blood Peak Highgod continued quickly. "The seven Highgods of the Fate Laws have already received that reward once. So the Highgods of all other Law systems do not want to see the Fate system receive another reward! Especially since they don't want the Fate Ruler growing any stronger — he's already powerful enough."
Lin Lei nodded slightly.
"Since the birth of the world, whenever a plane approaches nine consecutive victories, the other planes generally unite to prevent that side from winning the tenth," the Blood Peak Highgod explained. "In such cases, the combined effort succeeds most of the time. But across the countless ages, there has been one failure — that one time, the Higher Plane won, and the seven Highgods of the Fate system received the boon."
The Blood Peak Highgod said solemnly, "This time, no matter what, they cannot be allowed to win again. This is an order given personally by the Destruction Ruler."
Lin Lei couldn't help but smile.