When Han Shuo ascended to around 800 meters, suddenly, he felt as though he had fallen into a new dimension.
Other than the intense element of darkness, all other elements were nowhere to be found. In that new region of space, the pure element of darkness seemed to possess the energy to alter anything. Even the four edictal forces were affected in this region.
The Domain of Divinity! These were the effects of the Domain of Divinity!
Only those of lowgod strength and above could deploy a Domain of Divinity. For example, within this Domain of Divinity that this Demon King Manticole had deployed, only the pure element of darkness remained. Experts that relied on the presence of elemental energy, would have none to feed off when they stepped into his Domain of Divinity. They were no different from a tiger without claws or teeth.
Only true gods that possessed divine power in their bodies could stop relying on elemental energy entirely. But nonetheless, even for gods who possessed divine energy, when fighting inside an enemy’s Domain of Divinity without elemental energy available to them, they would still be at a great disadvantage.
When two experts who were both in a Domain of Divinity got into conflict, they would form a region of space around themselves that was beneficial to them. In close combat, their Domains of Divinity would interact with each other, and the domains would recklessly gather the elements that the caster cultivated in. The one with the mightier Domain of Divinity would have their element found in that space with greater intensity.
Divine power, Domain of Divinity, their understandings of their elemental energies or edictal forces, and how strong their bodies were, would all be crucial factors in determining the victor in a battle between two gods. The recovery of divine power would usually require utilizing the elements. The one with the stronger Domain of Divinity would have more elements at their disposal, and therefore, they could better recover themselves using the excess of elements available, thereby taking the higher ground in a battle.
In short, the presence of Domain of Divinity was not only extremely useful for a god, but it would also give this god the advantage in a battle. But, of course, the Domain of Divinity wasn’t the only deciding factor of the outcome of a battle between gods. Their understanding and comprehension towards the manipulation of their elements or edicts; the strength of their divine energy; the strength of their body; these were all crucial factors as well. However, if both sides were basically on the same level on these aspects, then the one with the mightier Domain of Divinity would naturally have a greater chance of winning.
Besides that, the presence of the Domain of Divinity had the ability to overwhelm people’s heart with shock. Even a basegod, without having truly formed their own divine power would, upon stepping into the Domain of Divinity of a lowgod, immediately notice that the elements around them had disappeared. They would have no elements that they could use. As they did not have divine power in their body, if they were attacked, they would have no power to resist, but stand and wait to be slaughtered.
When Han Shuo entered the Domain of Divinity released by Demon King Manticole, he discovered Bord sweating profusely while showing unconcealable fear. Han Shuo understood why in just one glance. Although Bord, a basegod cultivating in the element of lightning, could be considered an overlord anywhere else, once he stepped into this Domain of Divinity, he was nothing more than a peasant. Without the ability to utilize lightning elemental energy, he did not have any ability to resist.
Anyone accustomed to having mighty energy would feel a similar dread and sense of powerlessness bearing down on them like the weight of the world if they lost the energy they relied upon for survival. Every time Bord came to the summit of the Demon King’s Palace to meet Demon King Manticole, he would turn into an unarmed and defenseless commoner. If Manticole wanted to, within his Domain of Divinity, he could finish Bord in no time with the twitch of his finger.
Compared to Bord’s sweat-drenched, cowardly appearance, Han Shuo appeared much more unruffled. Han Shuo’s main body cultivating in demonic arts had the source of energy stored right within the demonic infant in his body. This Domain of Divinity didn’t have much of an effect on Han Shuo, a demonic arts cultivator. If Han Shuo wanted to, he could escape from this Domain of Divinity in no time.
But Han Shuo wasn’t completely immune to its effects. His two avatars, cultivating in two of the twelve fundamental forces, were affected by this Domain of Divinity. Among them, the avatar cultivating in the element of death, received the greatest effect. In this Domain of Divinity that was void of the element of death, the avatar would be just as weak as Bord.
As for the avatar cultivating in the edict of destruction, due to the unique circumstances of its formation, it would only receive a limited effect. Although the edict of destruction was somewhat altered in this Manticole’s Domain of Divinity, as this avatar of Han Shuo’s hadn’t delved much into the edict of destruction to begin with, and as the avatar’s body was the Demonslayer Edge, with most of the strength coming from the Demonslayer Edge itself, the effects were limited.
Although Han Shuo appeared very passive inside Manticole’s Domain of Divinity, this in fact wasn’t the case. If Han Shuo wanted to, he could use his demonic arts to leave this region at high speed. After leaving the Domain of Divinity, his two avatars would not receive the slightest effect. If Han Shuo’s three souls attacked at the same time, with his two avatars attacking from a distance, the power released would not be forgiving.
The Domain of Divinity would be different in its might and coverage area following the rank of the god as well as their strength. This Domain of Divinity deployed by Manticole only covered the radius of a dozen or so meters. From the standard that Han Shuo knew of, he reckoned that this Manticole was merely a lowgod.
The Domain of Divinity of a lowgod could only extend as far around their body. A midgod could cover ten times the range, while a highgod could do even greater. Their Domain of Divinity would normally extend thousands of meters. Needless to say, an overgod was able to cover well beyond necessary. According to legends, the Domain of Divinity of an overgod could reach every corner of a material plane!
“Mister Han Shuo is a magical person indeed. Please come up alone,” called out a gentle voice from the summit of the Demon King’s Palace.
Bord, who had been in great trepidation, suddenly let out a sigh of relief. In a most respectful manner, he said, “Your humble servant will dismiss himself!”
“Right, you may leave. Make sure to receive Mister Han Shuo’s friends properly. They are not to be treated with neglect,” Manticole’s mild voice sounded once again.
“Yes, my Lord,” Bord replied. He gave Han Shuo a fawning smile and left the region that the Domain of Divinity covered, cowering and speedy. Inside Manticole’s Domain of Divinity, absent of the energy he was familiar with, Bord felt like a newborn baby, and his heart never ceases to feel unease. When Manticole said those words, it was as though he had been pardoned, and he immediately left the region.
As Bord departed, Han Shuo put on a faint smile and walked unruffled, step by step towards the apex of the Demon King’s Palace along the black stone steps.
It was an empty and spacious room made of stone. At the center of the room was a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged. He had short hair and an unextraordinary face. He was wearing a gentle and innocent smile as he curiously looked up and down at Han Shuo who was walking inside.
Han Shuo looked all around in a peculiar manner, then turned to Great Demon King Manticole sitting cross-legged before him, and smilingly said, “Your dwelling is noticeably plain and undecorated.”
“Those who come here do not have the qualifications to sit. Besides, I cultivate here and sit year-in-year-out. What for would I install worldly possessions here?” Manticole was much easier to deal with than Han Shuo had imagined. He always had a soft smile on his face, much like an amiable elder.
However, Han Shuo understood that this was just how he appeared on the outside. Each and every one of the five Great Demon Kings of the Abyss realm was a despot with blood all over their hands. In this Abyss realm where competition was cruel, if this Demon King had truly been this gentle in every aspect, it would be absolutely impossible to make Black Jade Guards like Bord and Zinia respect him. Besides, Han Shuo could sense that concealed ferocity in Manticole’s body.
“That is true indeed,” Han Shuo smiled after thinking for a short while. Han Shuo, who was no saint either, and whose hands were no less daubed in blood, wasn’t at all reserved before this Manticole.
“I sensed a lot of wonderful things on you. If I have not guessed it wrong, apart from some energy I am unfamiliar with, you also cultivate in the energy of death and destruction. I am able to sense the aura of these two energies on you. This is truly strange. I never thought that anyone could simultaneously cultivate in two different energies. Truly inconceivable!” Manticole exclaimed in admiration as he squinted at Han Shuo.
Practically every character standing at the pinnacle of strength specialized and absorbed themselves in one of the eight elemental energies and four edictal forces. The universe was incredibly vast. There were also some beings who could divide their souls, use other substances as their physical body, and thereby cultivate in two different types of energies simultaneously.
However, the souls of these existences weren’t as independent as the avatars formed using demonic arts. They had often too many fatal flaws and weaknesses. More frequently than not, they couldn’t simultaneously attend to two cultivations because of a lack in mental strength or a cluttered mind. They would get nowhere and forever be incapable of climbing to the pinnacle of strength.
Hence, although there were all kinds of talented characters from various planes of existence, they all solely cultivated in and studied one type of energy with practically not one exception. An existence like Han Shuo who cultivated in three different energies at the same time, one of them being the mysterious demonic arts, was something incredibly rare!
The two avatars achieved through demonic arts were miraculous, allowing Han Shuo’s cultivation to break free from the binding of the twelve fundamental forces while smashing conventional understanding. Although Han Shuo’s three souls had a single shared and common memory, the integrity of each soul was not compromised. From this aspect, although Han Shuo was just one person, he had the memories and mental capacities of three people, therefore he wouldn’t face the issue of having insufficient mental strength to cultivate different energies simultaneously; three bodies and three souls, each specializing in one type of energy.
When Manticole noticed that Han Shuo wasn’t talking and revealed a pensive expression, he waited until Han Shuo turned his gaze towards him, and smilingly said, “I know that you want to leave the Abyss realm. However, the interplanar portal of our Abyss realm is inside the Void. The Void is the most terrifying and mysterious place on our material plane. Even we, the five Great Demon Kings, need to wait until it is opened before we may carefully and cautiously enter. Are you sure that you wish to enter the Void?”