This was tantamount to someone being equipped with tanks and cannons yet didn’t have enough gunpowder with them. While they had the weapons, they couldn’t use them!
How torturous!
Therefore, everyone wanted to do something about the situation. The best way to replenish one’s power of divinity was to spread their faith and collect power of divinity.
Unfortunately, they evidently didn’t own enough existential planes at the moment. Even though the migration process for the 48 existential planes had long since concluded, and the populations on all 48 existential planes were multiplying dramatically every year, this still wasn’t enough!
The amount of power of divinity that a higher deity needed was simply too harrowing. 100 existential planes’ worth of power of faith domains could only barely provide a higher deity with the amount of power of divinity they needed.
Yet, they had so many higher deities among them. How would 48 existential planes possibly be enough? Therefore, they needed to expand their territories and extend their reach beyond what they currently had arisen. But the problem was...
“What are all of you arguing so intensely about?”
A familiar voice suddenly rang out in the hall in the midst of their heated debate, causing a huge jolt to go through everyone.
“Master!”
“Meng Lei!”
“Boss!!”
Meng Lei quietly appeared in the hall and gazed at all of them with a big smile.
“Greetings, Master!”
Overjoyed, everyone quickly bowed in greeting. Even Ol’ Amos was so elated that he kept stroking his beard.
“Rise, everyone!”
Meng Lei dismissed them with a wave and asked with a smile, “What were all of you arguing about just now? What is it about the Earth Divine Realm?”
“This is what happened, Master,” Puhaman suppressed his feelings of agitation and answered with a bow, “A space-time rift suddenly appeared above Black Cloud Continent half a month ago. Upon investigation, we’ve found out that the space-time rift leads to one of the ten major Divine Realms, the Earth Divine Realm.”
“The Earth Divine Realm?”
His response surprised Meng Lei. Black Cloud Continent was one of the 48 existential planes he had seized previously, so he naturally aware of its existence. Even so, little did he think that the space-time rift above Black Cloud Continent actually led to the Earth Divine Realm!
“Yes, Master!”
Puhaman continued his explanation and said, “Upon investigation, we’ve confirmed that the space-time rift does indeed lead to the Earth Divine Realm. On top of that, we’ve also exchanged blows with some of the experts from the Earth Divine Realm...”
Chapter 372: Arriving At The Divine Realm, Pronouncing The Death Sentence
Earth Divine Realm, Double Realm Mountain.
The undulating Double Realm Mountain stretched on for several light-years. Dense forests filled the mountain grounds, the sight completely one of primeval forests covering the area.
Added to this the rich magic elements and distinct laws of nature there, Double Realm Mountain was undoubtedly a cultivation sanctum for both Magical Beasts and cultivators.
Yet a perfect cultivation sanctum like that had instead been taken over by a den of bandits. They acted like the kings of the mountain, robbed deities and trade caravans passing by, committed various acts of arson and pillage, and acted without any care or restraint. All the Divine Realm residents within dozens of light-years of the area were severely troubled by them, yet they didn’t dare to speak up despite their fury.
On this day, the Double Realm Mountain bandits were hiding in their den, drinking and enjoying themselves as usual. They admired the singers and dancers whom they had looted and abducted from the vicinity as they sang and danced, totally leading the good life.
“C’mon, let’s drink!”
“Bottoms up, my brothers!”
“You first, my lord!”
“Reporting!”
A piercing shout suddenly rang out, and then, a bandit carrying a large saber rushed into the room. He said, “My king, we’ve found the cause for our brothers’ recent unexplained disappearances!”
The bandit chief sitting on the throne gave a small wave and dismissed the singers and dancers. Then, he said, “Tell me, why have our brothers gone missing?”
“My lord, the brothers have discovered a space-time rift at the bottom of Heartbroken Cliff. Our missing brothers likely entered the space-time rift,” replied the bandit respectfully.
“A space-time rift?” The bandit chief’s eyes lit up at once. A shrewd glint flickered in his eyes as he asked, “Have you investigated where the space-time rift leads to?”
All the other bandits were also looking at the reporting bandit excitedly. A space-time rift! The Divine Realm’s dimension was incredibly stable, so space-time rifts typically didn’t form there.
This also meant that once one entered the Divine Realm, they could basically forget about ever leaving.
Thus, the appearance of a space-time rift had naturally piqued the bandits’ interest. In the event that the space-time rift led to other existential planes...
“My lord, none of the brothers that entered have returned, and neither did we hear anything from there.”
The bandit shook his head and said, “But what we can be sure of is that the other end of the space-time rift lies a low-end existential plane. However, that existential plane is fairly a dangerous place. There are existences that are at least an intermediate deity there.”
“A low-end existential plane?”
The bandits let out a soft exclamation. While the Divine Realm was known to be a beautiful place, it was simply too dangerous there, especially for bandits like them. If they could find a low-end existential plane and use it as a hiding place, then life would practically be perfect!
The bandit chief got to his feet and ordered, “Ready the horses and our men! I’m going to take a good look at what kind of world the existential plane on the other end exactly is!”
“Yes, my lord!”
A flurry of activity immediately went through the whole den upon his orders. In no time, the bandit chief had already led a group of underlings over to the Heartbroken Cliff.
They moved with great momentum, the lines of men stretching on and undulating for miles.
The masses of men were densely packed and could practically blot out the sun.
One must admit that the Double Realm Mountain bandits did indeed hold great influence. They had as many as a million members, and even the weakest among them was a lesser deity.
With strength like theirs, they could pretty much wipe every low-end existential plane out there!
“So, that’s the space-time rift?” asked the bandit chief with some excitement as he gazed at the deep, dark fissure at the bottom of Heartbroken Cliff.
“Yes, my lord!”
“Old Third, bring some men with you and go check it out,” said the bandit chief to another bandit with a python head and human body.
He was ranked third among the bandits and was a pinnacle-level intermediate deity.
“Yes, Big Brother!”
The python-headed third-in-charge assembled a small team right away and prepared to enter the fissure. However, it was at this exact moment that a figure unexpectedly darted out of the fissure. Then, as though someone had stirred a hornet’s nest, people started to dart out of the space-time rift one after another.
“That’s—”
The bandit chief and the rest of the bandits stared blankly at the dozens of figures that had just darted out of the space-time rift.
We haven’t even gone over, yet you’re already coming over so eagerly? Aren’t the lot of you afraid of death?
“So, this is the Earth Divine Realm?”
The group of people that had just come out of the space-time rift was naturally Meng Lei and the others. They stood proudly in the sky and sized up their surroundings
with curiosity and novelty in their eyes. Come to think of it, none of them had ever been to a high-end existential plane yet!
“What rich magic elements!”
“It’s at least 10,000 times richer than Heaven’s Vault Continent’s!”
“And the laws of nature, too!”
“They are simply too distinct!”
“As expected of the Earth Divine Realm! Surely even a pig can break through to become a half-deity here...”
All of them were totally astounded.
Meng Lei was also astonished. This was also the first time that his real body had stepped into a high-end existential plane. One must admit that be it magic elements or laws of nature, the Earth Divine Realm wasn’t something that mid-end existential planes like the Boundless Plane or the Dark Hell Continent could compare to, let alone low-end material planes like Heaven’s Vault Continent.
There was practically a world of difference between them!
There was no comparability between them at all!
“Feh! Where are those aboriginals from?”
A furious shout suddenly rang out next to their ears while everyone was admiring the environment around them. At once, they noticed a group of people shooting into the sky and surrounding them on all sides.
“Eh?”
Aside from Meng Lei, everyone else’s expressions changed dramatically. With a wary look on their faces, they watched the Double Realm Mountain bandits, who were all deities. There were a fair number of intermediate deities among them. As for higher deities...
Where were the higher deities?
Everyone’s gazes swept across the bandits, only to realize in the end that there was only one higher deity there!
“Only one higher deity?”
Ol’ Amos, Puhaman, Bubbles, and the others exchanged looks with one another, all of them not quite knowing whether to laugh or to cry.
And here they were wondering just what kind of powerful experts had surrounded them, too. As it turned out, it was just a bunch of unsavory thugs!
It was just a false alarm!
“How bold of you, you lowly aboriginals! We haven’t even gone to you, yet you’ve come all the way to us instead. You’re courting death, indeed!”
The third-in-charge pointed at Meng Lei and the rest with his saber and shouted furiously, “Come on, kids! Take down those foolish aboriginals!”
“Yes, Third-in-charge!”
The bandits let out a shout and lunged toward Meng Lei and the others right away. At the sight, Puhaman couldn’t help but snort and released the aura around himself.
Boom!
A surging wave of pressure swept through the surroundings like tidal waves, instantly weighing down on the bandit chief, the third-in-charge, and every single bandit’s hearts. Apart from the bandit chief himself, all the other bandits unsurprisingly... fell onto their knees!
Thud, thud, thud!
Horror-stricken, all the bandits were shaking like leaves. “A h-higher deity! That’s a higher deity! Oh my god! Why is there a higher deity among them?”
It was then that the bandits realized that they had run into a wall this time. This wasn’t the end of it yet, however, because Bubbles and the others also followed suit and released their own auras.
Boom!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Tremendous divine power overlaid on top of one another and wantonly ravaged the bandits’ fragile souls. The weak ones passed out from fear right away, while the slightly stronger ones sank into despair as fear and horror took over them.
“H-higher deities!”
“They are all higher deities!”
“Oh my god! To think they are all higher deities! How are we supposed to fight them?”
Despair came over the bandits. Realization also dawned upon the bandit chief who had stayed silent all this time in this instant. No wonder he had felt like he couldn’t tell how strong the group of people were from the very moment he laid eyes on them and was being totally perplexed!
Little did he think that... They were all higher deities!
He understood everything now, but he had also lost all hope.
The bandit chief knew that with the Double Realm Mountain bandits’ combat strength, they were no match at all for so many higher deities.
“How should we handle those people, Master?”
Puhaman bowed and requested for further instructions.
“Kill the weak ones and subdue the strong ones.”
With a single sentence, Meng Lei had pronounced the death sentence upon the Double Realm Mountain bandits.
“Yes, Master!”
Chapter 373: Divinity Crystal Mine, A Change of Mindset
With a single sentence from Meng Lei, the Double Realm Mountain bandits became total history. All one million bandits died, leaving behind only the bandit chief dragging out an ignoble existence.
“Kill the weak ones and subdue the strong ones.”
Puhaman and the others carried out Meng Lei’s order excellently. In their eyes, only the bandit chief, who was a higher deity, counted as someone strong by a stretch.
The rest... They were all weaklings!
“Thank you for sparing my life! Thank you for sparing my life!” The frightened bandit chief kowtowed incessantly and said his thanks loudly.
“Tell me, what is this place?” Meng Lei ordered, “Tell me everything you know, and I’ll consider sparing your life.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll definitely tell you everything I know and withhold nothing at all!”
How would the bandit chief possibly dare to keep anything a secret from Meng Lei? He quickly told him everything he knew, wishing that he knew more so that he could continue speaking.
“Double Realm Mountain?”
“Dragon-Elephant City?”
“The Caesar Dragon-Elephant Gods?”
As the bandit chief narrated everything he knew, Meng Lei and the others gradually also got to know about the area.
This particular mountain range was known as the Double Realm Mountain and was a small mountain range near Dragon-Elephant City, while the Caesar Dragon-Elephant Gods built Dragon-Elephant City itself.
The Caesar Dragon-Elephant Gods!
The Caesar Dragon-Elephant Gods were a third-rate godly clan in the Earth Divine Realm. Said to simultaneously possess both the Giant Elephant and the Colossal Dragon bloodlines, they occupied territories that stretched for a radius of 10,000 light-years. The clan boasted innumerable experts where just higher deities alone already numbered as many as over 10,000. They were the most powerful force in the vicinity.
“What do we do next, Master?” asked a slightly uneasy Puhaman for further instructions while the others also gazed at Meng Lei. All of them felt immense pressure after understanding the situation.
The Caesar Dragon-Elephant Gods!
They were just a small, third-rate force in the Earth Divine Realm, yet they boasted over 10,000 higher deities among the clan and occupied territories that spanned 10,000 light-years in the surroundings.
With even a third-rate force being this powerful, what more the second-rate forces, first-rate forces, top-class godly clans, and the ten major godly clans? How powerful must they be?
“What do all of you think?”
Meng Lei asked instead of replying.
“I think we should go about things steadily and surely, and do things step by step.”
Puhaman said respectfully, “I’d suggest that we use Double Realm Mountain as our base for now and manage these few light-years of territory around Double Realm Mountain well before we then extend our reach to the outside step by step and take over more territories.”
The others nodded upon hearing his suggestion.
The Earth Divine Realm was simply too big. Just the Double Realm Mountain alone was already bigger than all the existential planes that they currently owned. They mustn’t let such vast territories go to waste! They had to manage it properly.
Expansion?
They had better just manage this bit of land properly before talking about anything else!
“Oh, you guys, your mindset has become too fixed.” Meng Lei shook his head and said, “To think you’re still thinking of managing territories, spreading your faith, and slowly harvesting power of faith!”
“Uhh... Shouldn’t we?”
Puhaman scratched his head, somewhat sheepish.
Meng Lei shook his head. Then, he pointed at the bandit chief in front of them and said jokingly, “All of you are stronger than this guy, yet your mindsets aren’t even as quick-witted as his. Why don’t you ask this guy whether or not he’s ever spread his faith?”
Perplexed, all of them turned to the bandit chief.
“S-sir...!”
Frightened, the bandit chief braced himself and said, “You’re awfully astute indeed, sir! I’ve never spread my faith before. All the power of divinity that I needed were... were... stolen from others!”
“Stolen?”
Everyone was taken aback.
“Sirs, you may not know this, but the common currency in the Divine Realms are Divinity Crystals.”
The bandit chief had no choice but to press on and explain, “The deities and trade caravans passing by here carry a substantial amount of Divinity Crystals on themselves, so you need only to just snatch them and use them for yourselves. W-who would spend so much time and effort to spread their faith, collect power of faith, and slowly form power of divinity?”
“Snatch and use them straight away?”
“You can actually do that?”
Puhaman and the others widened their eyes in shock. They suddenly felt as if poverty had limited their imagination. All they had in mind was spreading their faith, but little did they know that there was also such a method of obtaining power of divinity.
Ol’ Amos suddenly raised a question. He asked, “If everyone relies on robbery to maintain their day-to-day power of divinity needs like you, then where do the Divinity Crystals come from?”
“There’s more to it than meets the eye, sir!”
The bandit chief hastily explained, “As the Divine Realms’ common currency, Divinity Crystals are also the most common and most important strategic resource in the Divine Realms. All the deities naturally come up with all sorts of ideas and ways to obtain Divinity Crystals. There are typically two ways to obtain Divinity Crystals.
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