Given a little more time, Locke was confident he could create a technique comparable to the Destruction High Sovereign Wodred's Time-Space Chaos.
"What I mean," Locke said, "is the secret contained within the bodies of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns."
As he spoke, he drew out a faint trace of the Four Divine Beasts' Sovereign blood essence—something he had long sealed within himself using his will.
In an instant, four miniature phantasmal figures—the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—materialized around him.
The moment those tiny projections appeared, the surrounding space seemed to freeze.
It was as though the very fabric of reality had been locked in place.
Because Locke had already grasped a portion of the spatial laws, even though he had yet to fully decipher the fused innate ability of the Four Divine Beasts—or recreate a technique like Time-Space Chaos—the mere precursor effect of that fusion, a spatial binding force, was already stronger than the original.
A moment later, the four phantasms dissipated, and the frozen space returned to normal.
"You felt that, didn't you?"
"If I can use their blood essence to comprehend their fused innate ability, then other Sovereigns could do the same."
"While the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns are alive, it's not a major threat to you."
"But if they were to die… and their blood essence fell into the hands of Sovereigns skilled in research…"
"Once those Sovereigns unravel the same secret…"
Locke's gaze grew more serious.
"They could pose a real threat to you."
"And if someone of your level were to master such a technique… it's entirely possible they could kill you."
Despite the gravity of his words, Lilia simply smiled.
"Then tell me, Locke," she said lightly, "would you just stand by and watch me be killed?"
Locke rolled his eyes.
"How could I possibly just stand by and watch?"
A beat passed.
"I wouldn't even be able to watch."
He gave a helpless shrug.
"Don't forget—I'm just a Paragon. Without a Sovereign's protection, I can't even move within the spatial turbulence."
"Unless the battle takes place in a Divine Plane or a Higher Plane, I probably wouldn't even know when you died."
Lilia was momentarily stunned.
Then she sighed softly.
"…That's true. Without being a Sovereign, you can't even act in the spatial turbulence…"
A thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Should she… prepare a Sovereign spark for Locke?
Even she was startled by the idea.
Not long ago—just over a hundred thousand years—she had been relieved there were no vacant Sovereign positions, unwilling for Locke to ascend.
And now…
She was already considering how to make him a Sovereign.
Seeing her sigh, Locke misunderstood.
He reached out and ruffled her crimson hair.
"Relax, Lilia."
"In the past, I did think about pursuing a Sovereign spark."
"And even now, I haven't given up on that."
"But even without one… given enough time, I can still reach a level comparable to a Sovereign."
"And besides—didn't you say you'd protect me?"
"As long as you're here, as long as the Death High Sovereign remains the strongest among the Sovereigns… who would dare defy her will?"
He smiled faintly.
"So don't worry. I won't let you die."
"Once I fully integrate the Four Divine Beasts' fused innate ability, I'll create a technique tailored to you—one no weaker than theirs."
"That way, you'll remain the strongest High Sovereign."
Lilia looked at him quietly.
"…Promise?"
"Promise."
From the moment he spoke those words, Locke knew something had changed.
Somewhere along the way… he had begun to care for Lilia.
When had it started?
He couldn't say.
But if he had to guess—
It was likely the moment she had stopped him from swearing that oath… and handed over her own blood essence without hesitation.
Without that trust, he would never have opened his heart.
Even so, neither of them had taken things any further.
Time stretched endlessly ahead of them.
As for what Lilia truly felt, Locke didn't know.
But for himself—
He believed that at the very least, he needed to surpass the Death High Sovereign in strength before allowing that feeling to deepen.
Perhaps it was pride.
Or perhaps, buried deep down, there was still a trace of caution—a lingering wariness toward someone as powerful as her.
Whatever the case, now that he had acknowledged his feelings, Locke did not waver in his path.
Aside from dedicating an extra portion of his focus to analyzing the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence, he continued his cultivation as before.
At present, his training revolved around three main aspects.
First—
the fusion of the Water Laws and the Edict of Fate.
After his soul advanced into the "Soul Core" state, his affinity for both had risen dramatically.
He had already found the point of convergence between a third Water Law profound mystery and the Edict of Fate.
At this rate, it might take another million years before he encountered a true bottleneck.
Of course, any further insights along the way could shorten that time.
Second—
his comprehension of the spatial laws, and the fusion of Water and Space.
Just like with Water and Fate, he used the Water Laws as a bridge to touch upon space, then fused his understanding of space into water to strengthen his power.
Since Water was a lower-order law of space, the early stages of this "Water-Space" fusion progressed even faster than his Water–Fate fusion.
However, this path was limited by his understanding of space itself.
Without further breakthroughs in spatial laws, the fusion would eventually stagnate.
Third—
and most important of all—
the creation of the supreme spatial divine beast bloodline: Dijiang.
At present, Locke was already in the process of fusing his third strand of spatial innate bloodline.
As his own bloodline strengthened, the speed of fusion increased as well.
The first strand had taken him seventy thousand years.
The second, just over sixty thousand.
The third… he estimated would take around sixty thousand years as well.
These bloodlines were not chosen at random.
He had carefully selected them based on the proportion of spatial affinity they contained, proceeding step by step—from weak to strong.
As for the bloodlines of the White Tiger Sovereign and the Black Tortoise Sovereign—
those, he had deliberately reserved for the very end.
If he began with the strongest bloodlines and then incorporated weaker ones afterward, the final result might not even surpass those original divine beasts.
But by refining his own bloodline gradually, building upward—
then finally integrating the strongest at the end—
there was a real possibility he could create something that surpassed even the Four Divine Beasts.
This was not merely cultivation.
It was the foundation of his path.
Of these three aspects, Locke's original body—still at the Saint level—served as the primary vessel for the Dijiang bloodline.
His Water divine clone focused on bridging Water and Space, and advancing their fusion.
Meanwhile, his Fate divine clone—having already begun merging Water's third profound mystery with the Edict of Fate—was tasked with analyzing the Four Divine Beasts' fused ability.
After all, in matters of research, the Edict of Fate was practically cheating.
Odin—no, Orloff—had been able to create the Cycle of Reincarnation technique largely thanks to the guidance of Fate.
It had to be said—
while the outside world was engulfed in war, Locke, secluded within Mount Nether, remained completely untouched.
As time passed, the Faith War spread further and further.
Eventually, even the Sovereigns of the Four Higher Planes could no longer remain indifferent.
Reports came in:
Amid the war, countless divine beings were generating vast amounts of faith energy.
Many Sovereigns had already harvested enough to fully fuse five profound mysteries of their respective laws.
They stood just a step away from complete fusion.
War, rather than diminishing faith—
had amplified it.
Fear, destruction, salvation… all of it drove mortals to worship the gods with even greater fervor.
And the Sovereigns reaped the rewards.
After learning this, the six Sovereigns of the Infernal Realm gathered and went together to the Chaotic Sea to seek an audience with the Destruction High Sovereign, Wodred.
"My Lord," one of them said respectfully, "according to the other Sovereigns, war among the Divine Planes greatly increases the harvest of faith…"
"So," Wodred interrupted lazily from his throne, "you want the Infernal Realm to launch a war against the other Higher Planes as well?"
He looked down at the six Sovereigns before him.
To Wodred, the entire world held only one true point of concern—
that woman in the Underworld.
As for the rest…
They were nothing more than ants.
Faith energy might be precious to other Sovereigns.
But to him—who had already reached Paragon in the Edict of Destruction—
it was little more than a triviality.
The moment they spoke, he already knew their intentions.
He did not care about competing for faith.
But…
If this war could be used as an opportunity—
to probe the strength of that woman—
then perhaps it would be worth it.
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