GDK 520: I'm not that kind of person!
Over a broad, marshy plain, several thousand relatively high-level abyssal creatures battled their brains out. Among them were Triops standing nearly five meters tall, and high-level beings that looked just like Hemanna and Sylph, mounted on titanic, eight-clawed, one-eyed abyssal demons. It was evident that the Triops' forces were dominating the other side, rapidly diminishing the numbers of their opponents.
These abyssal creatures walked on the surface of the swamp as though treading on solid ground, not one of them sank through the crystalline layer into the swamp. Fresh blood of all colours splattered across the area. Fighting amongst abyssal creatures was extremely cruel, defeat usually a result of death from being ripped into pieces. It was a barbaric scene.
There were only a dozen or so Triops but they all played the role as leaders. Of these Triops, the strongest one had strength on par with Hemanna and Sylph. None of them was as powerful as the one Han Shuo had met in the spacetime discontinuum zone. Under the command of these Triops, big and small abyssal creatures swarmed at War Demon Valley's Shero regiment mounted on eight-clawed abyssal demons.
Hemanna and Sylph entered the battle and joined the few hundred men strong Shero regiment, resisting the attacks of the Triops with all their might.
Death and injuries occurred with each passing second. Han Shuo observed for a while and discovered that high-level beings, no matter whether they were Triops from Venomfang Castle or Hemanna and others from War Demon Valley, they were all able to skillfully utilize the elemental energy available in the world. It was only those massive, ugly, filthy low-level abyssal creatures who would attack merely with their bodies. Han Shuo learned from Hemanna and Sylph some interesting facts of the Abyss realm. Creatures that took on human forms were all abyssal creatures that had evolved to very high levels, possessing extreme strength.
Generally, big, ugly abyssal creatures were mostly lowly existences.
This was the first time Han Shuo had actually witnessed a battle between two forces of the Abyss world. Each side would always have low-level abyssal creatures taking the charge right ahead. Those low-level existences were basically cannon fodders. In every attack, they would always be the first to die. Even those who so luckily survived the initial clashing wouldn't be as lucky in the many assaults that come afterwards.
Their combat techniques were remarkable. Every part of their bodies could be used as lethal weapons. The tails of the Triops were chock-full of blades. Every strike left gaping wounds or would even slice straight through.
After a moment's worth of observation, Han Shuo noticed that even with Hemanna and Sylph added to the equation, the forces of the War Demon Valley were constantly dying and diminishing. After another while, all those eight-clawed, one-eyed abyssal demons, along with those mounted on them, were completely annihilated. It was only now that the Shero regiment seemed to consider retreat.
Severed limbs, broken arms, and internal organs were stripped off the bodies as the massacre continued. Some of the savage low-level creatures even began to feast on the organs of their enemies. Compared to battles on Profound Continent, this battle between abyssal creatures was just nauseatingly savage. However, these abyssal creatures were well-adjusted to such atrocities. Even Hemanna and Sylph, two beauties, revealed not the slightest trace of fear or disgust as they focused on fighting. Their attacks were no less vicious.
When they struck, lightning and fire element energy would surge into the bodies of those abyssal creatures, unleashing horrendous destruction within their bodies in a split second and causing instant death.
As the Shero regiment accumulated more and more losses, they finally decided it was time to break out of the enemy's enclosure. Han Shuo, who had been observing from the sidelines, felt that his time had come, and he marched step by step into the vicious battle.
Rows and rows of bone spears streaked across the sky before carving big holes in several of the abyssal creatures fighting for Venomfang Castle. Right in the center stood Han Shuo, deploying the Boundary of Fear and Weakness. He added a necromancy acid bog spell all over the swamp.
Han Shuo then used 'The Grand Disintegrator', a necromancy spell that Han Shuo had learned not too long before on these abyssal creatures as his practice targets. As the spell was deployed again and again, on successful occasions abyssal beings shrouded by the spell, regardless of whether they were filthy, low-level creatures, or humanoid Triops of high-level existences, would disintegrate into nothingness.
Soon enough, the Triops noticed Han Shuo's presence behind them. One of them, perhaps the boss, pointed at another Triops expert behind it, indicating to it to finish Han Shuo.
The expert then brought over two hundred abyssal creatures of assorted ranks and charged towards Han Shuo. But before they could get anywhere close, their bodies began to melt away when they came into contact with the acid bogs.
However, a number of particularly mighty abyssal creatures, possibly able to spray corrosive toxins themselves, displayed extreme resistance to the corrosive substances. Several dozens of green-skinned, not-so-bulky abyssal creatures emerged from the acid bogs unscathed, still relentlessly charging at Han Shuo.
Previously in the spacetime discontinuum zone, Han Shuo resisted the abyssal creatures for quite a while with only necromancy magic. These abyssal creatures were not much stronger than those Han Shuo had encountered in the spacetime discontinuum zone, and they naturally were no match against him. Limited to all forms and types of just necromancy magic, Han Shuo slaughtered all two hundred something abyssal creatures that came at him.
Not even that Triops expert who attacked after receiving a command could escape from Han Shuo's hand. It was slain by the Demonic Blades.
Somehow, in this Abyss realm, Han Shuo had a certain thirst for blood. Throughout his spirited killing spree, Han Shuo's mind was in tranquility. It was as though his actions were being influenced by the principles of the Carnal Realm.
Having slaughtered well over two hundred creatures of the Venomfang Castle in one go, Han Shuo felt completely unrestrained. He chuckled as he charged around violently like a demon. He unleashed the demonic arts to their greatest extent. Any abyssal creature that got close to Han Shuo was sliced and julienned by his Demonic Blades, with not a single lucky survivor.
In just the blink of an eye, Han Shuo had opened a path to the Shero regiment where Hemanna and Sylph were. Those of Shero regiment had obviously been taught by Hemanna and Sylph that Han Shuo was no foe but a friend as they all revealed cheerful looks when they saw Han Shuo's astonishing performance.
Even then, Han Shuo had yet to reveal his full potential. Had he summoned the huge number of undead creatures, he could have even captured the entire force of Venomfang Castle. But he understood that in such an unfamiliar environment, some modesty was wise. Keeping at least a few aces up his sleeves would better ensure his own survival.
"All of you had better evacuate. I will hold them back!" Han Shuo said in a most heroic manner after making his way to Hemanna and Sylph.
The two alien ladies observed Han Shuo barging through the densely packed forces of Venomfang Castle and noticed the huge difference from when he previously fought with the two. The cruelty and savagery of his attacks caused them a tremendous shock. It was not until now that they realized that Han Shuo had clearly not taken them as his opponents.
The law of constant cruel competition in the Abyss realm had directly resulted in the phenomenon where the females would worship the mighty and strong. Han Shuo's image had suddenly swollen in the eyes of Hemanna and Sylph when they saw him, insolent and callous, slaughtering his way through as though nothing was stopping him It seemed that the more Han Shuo displayed his cruel, cold-blooded side, the more passionate they were for him.
"Brother, from this day onwards, I, Nambrough, shall be your friend," a big, tusked man from the Shero regiment with python-like arms pledged to Han Shuo with heroic spirit.
This bulky alien Nambrough was two meters tall. His back was covered with spikes similar to a hedgehog, and his huge palms packed with rows of teeth.
He seemed to be cultivating in the element of darkness. With every strike he made, there would be minute dark element flickering. His snakehead hands with forked tongues flicking about could spit large doses of destructive elemental energy of darkness.
Compared to Hemanna and Sylph, Nambrough was much more powerful. The dark element had accumulated in his body to a level where even Han Shuo was somewhat astonished. There was no question on Han Shuo's mind that the element of darkness would fill every cell in his body if he went any closer, and he could form the Body of Dark Element once the impurities in his body were removed.
After observing Nambrough's body using his consciousness, Han Shuo immediately came to a revelation. Magi on Profound Continent cultivated mental strength, and used that mental strength to appreciate and understand the elemental energies. Over time, as their souls grew stronger and stronger, they would form a Soul of Element. Subsequently, with the Soul of Element, they would try to form a connection with elemental energy to fuse them into their bodies in order to form a Body of Element.
It was only when a magus had successfully formed both Souls of Element and Body of Element that they could be considered as having laid the foundation to becoming God. The way they did it in the Abyss realm, however, seemed to be the exact opposite. They paid more attention to fusing elemental energies with their bodies first. Based on Nambrough's body, Han Shuo concluded that their cultivation path was to first fuse their bodies with the elements and gradually form a Body of Element.
Without the help of an Origin Crystal, an outstandingly skilled magus on Profound Continent would spend perhaps hundreds of years to gradually form a Soul of Element by carefully sensing the elemental energy with their souls to come to certain comprehensions towards it. Although there were some magi on Profound Continent who could form a Soul of Element, very few could form a Body of Element.
The reason being that right from the start, they mostly emphasized on the use of their souls and mental strength, manipulating elemental energy through the soul. After tens or even hundreds of years of connecting to elemental energy with their souls, once they comprehended it to a profound level, they would then be able to form a Soul of Element without relying on an Origin Crystal.
However, as they had not been cultivating their bodies right from the start, nearly every magus was clueless on how to form a Body of Element, not a clue on how to even set about the task. To Han Shuo's knowledge, magi on Profound Continent who could form a Soul of Element had a difficult time forming a Body of Element.
On Profound Continent, it was practically an unsolvable problem for a magus to form a Body of Element. Even those few experts who became gods by mere luck would never disclose the secret of how they managed to accomplish the feat. Well, perhaps they hadn't a clue themselves. This leap was just too difficult to cross, and many magi forever remained at this step without ever knowing how to become a god.
Looking at Nambrough before him and thinking of Hemanna and Sylph, Han Shuo came to a startling realization that the cultivation path they took was opposite to those of Profound Continent, and therefore, they should know better how to form a Body of Element. However, as they placed particular emphasis on cultivating their physical bodies, it would likely be just as difficult for them to form a Soul of Element.
Both worlds had a completely different approaches to putting elemental energies to use. Han Shuo actually had some understanding of the magus side of things. If he were to learn the ways of this world and how they cultivated the body to form a Body of Element, then wouldn't that mean Han Shuo had found the definitive answer to becoming God?
Abruptly, a thought crossed Han Shuo's mind. He recalled the secret waiting at the next layer of the Cemetery of Death. Han Shuo learned from the skeletal staff that unlocking the secret would turn him into a god. This had to be the secret he had been waiting for; to combine the two different methods of the two worlds.
If the fact was indeed so, then could the original owner of the Cemetery of Death have once come to this Abyss realm? Did he come to comprehend the true secret to becoming God from the different ways the two worlds utilized the elements? The deeper Han Shuo thought, the more excited he became. Somehow, Han Shuo felt that this conjecture of his might actually be true. Perhaps the original owner of the Cemetery of Death truly had come to Abyss realm before, or perhaps a plane of existence similar to the Abyss realm, then, by gathering the wisdom of two worlds, came to understand the means of becoming God.
Hemanna grew slightly concerned as she watched Han Shuo gaze at Nambrough with a glimmer in his eyes, "Han Shuo, Han Shuo, are you okay?"
Nambrough's heart grew colder and colder after being stared down by Han Shuo with his sparkling eyes for a while. The two-meter-tall burly alien put on a smile uglier than cries and said to Han Shuo, "Friend, sorry but I'm not the kind of person you're imagining! If you really have such thoughts, I can introduce you to a few others with the same preference. But, please, don't look for me. I beg you, please stop looking at me like this!"