As the first lifeform born after the creation of the Netherworld—and arguably the first lifeform across the Four Higher Planes—the Death Sovereign was deeply favored by the heavens.
Or rather… favored by Hongmeng itself.
The Netherworld Heart was her innate supreme treasure.
Her Sovereign spark was her innate divine artifact.
Though she wasn't a divine beast, as a special plant lifeform, Lilia's physical body surpassed all divine beasts in strength.
Among the Four Edict Sovereigns, before Orloff created the Reincarnation Golden Body, the Death Sovereign's body was unquestionably the strongest.
So, when Lilia spoke so seriously just now—
Could it be…
She intended to give him part of her Sovereign essence blood?
"Don't look at me like that…"
Lilia lifted her chin slightly, feigning indifference.
"This is just a reward for keeping me entertained all these years."
"Of course, it's not free."
"If you really manage to develop a method to raise the body to the level of a Sovereign artifact…"
"You must give me a copy."
"Haha, of course."
"Thank you for the reward, Lilia."
After clinking cups with her, Locke's expression turned solemn.
"I, Locke, swear in the name of the Death Overgod—if I ever lose or expose the Sovereign essence blood given to me by Lady Lilia, then may I—"
"Stop!"
Before he could finish, a powerful force froze his body in place.
"You don't need to go that far. I trust you."
It was the Death Sovereign herself.
The moment Locke invoked the Overgod, she had rushed out of her palace to stop him.
Essence blood contained the deepest secrets of a being.
If it fell into enemy hands, it could be used to uncover hidden weaknesses—even ones the owner didn't know about.
Yet at that moment, Lilia realized something—
She would rather risk her essence blood being exposed…
…than see Locke die for breaking an oath.
That was why her true body had intervened immediately.
Looking at the Death Sovereign who had rushed out so urgently to stop him, something stirred in Locke's heart.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the ripple within.
"Don't worry, Lilia."
"I won't let you down."
The Death Sovereign froze slightly.
She sensed it—
Something about Locke had changed.
Before, he always addressed her as "Sovereign."
This was the first time he called her Lilia.
"…Mm."
With a flick of her hand, she produced forty drops of her Sovereign essence blood.
"That's too much!"
Locke shot to his feet in alarm.
A divine beast or special lifeform typically only had around a hundred drops of essence blood.
When he had asked the Four Divine Beasts for theirs, he only dared request twenty drops each.
Yet now—
The Death Sovereign had given him forty.
That was nearly the maximum she could provide without damaging her foundation.
"Lilia, twenty drops are enough. This is too much."
"It's fine. Essence blood can be regenerated over time."
"And even if I lose a few drops…"
"I'm still the strongest of the Edict Sovereigns."
Her tone was calm—but utterly domineering.
Locke couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.
"As expected of a Sovereign. Impressive."
Since she had already said this much, Locke no longer refused.
He carefully stored the essence blood.
"Alright," Lilia said, rising. "I can see you're not in the mood to drink anymore."
"We'll end it here for today."
"When you make real progress, I'll come celebrate with you again."
"Mm."
After seeing her off, Locke returned to his water estate.
"…I owe her a big one."
Looking at the forty drops of essence blood, he shook his head.
Beings with bodies comparable to Sovereign artifacts were rarer than Paragons.
Yet now—
He possessed essence blood from three such sources:
Azure DragonBlack TortoiseDeath Sovereign (special lifeform)
With a thought, a drop of Lilia's essence blood floated out.
His soul power probed into it—
Boom!
Now that his soul had reached the Soul Golden Core level, his analytical speed had increased dozens of times.
Very quickly—
He uncovered Lilia's greatest secret.
Her true form…
Was a Netherworld Fruit Tree.
A twin-born, conjoined existence, like a pair of lotus stems.
Innately governing both Death and Life.
The so-called "Netherworld Sovereign" wasn't merely her companion—
But her other half.
Like Orloff and Augustus.
Because of this dual existence, her strength rivaled the other Edict Sovereigns—even without being a Paragon.
Locke fell silent.
She had known he would discover this.
Yet she still gave him her essence blood.
That trust…
Was heavy.
"…Still not enough."
"But soon."
"The War of Faith is about to begin."
"Before that…"
"I need to complete the method to elevate my body."
"With three Paragon-level bodies…"
"I refuse to believe I can't seize a Sovereign spark!"
Yes—
Three Paragon-level bodies.
Including his original body.
After reaching Soul Golden Core, he had fused a second Water Profound Mystery with the Edict of Fate.
Though he hadn't gained new Will, his base strength now rivaled a Paragon.
Combined with his overwhelming soul—
Even Paragons were no longer beyond him.
In fact—
With Mirror Flower, Water Moon perfected, his original body had already surpassed his two divine clones.
Time passed unnoticed.
One hundred thousand years flew by.
All Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes remained eerily calm.
But everyone could feel it—
A storm was coming.
Then, suddenly—
War broke out.
And the first to ignite it were:
The Light Divine Plane vs. The Dark Divine Plane.
A squad from the Dark Sovereign's Darkmoon Army infiltrated the Light Divine Plane—
Slaughtered the garrison at a teleportation array—
And seized it.
Soon after—
Endless Darkmoon soldiers poured through.
Other squads struck different teleportation arrays simultaneously, securing footholds.
The Light Sovereigns reacted instantly—
Deploying their own armies.
But it was too late.
All seven Sovereigns of the Dark Divine Plane committed their forces.
The war escalated instantly.
And like a chain reaction—
Fire vs. WaterWind vs. Lightning
All-out war erupted across the planes.
This… was the War of Faith.
A backlash born from belief itself.
For countless years, the gods had manipulated faith:
Water deities demonized fire.Fire deities condemned floods.Light deities vilified darkness.Darkness deities exposed hypocrisy.
Now—
Those narratives had become reality.
Only the Earth Divine Plane remained uninvolved.
And the Four Higher Planes—
Under the suppression of the Four Edict Sovereigns—
Stayed silent.
For now.
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