Yulan Continent.
With the recent crisis resolved, Sadius considered sending his Dark God clone to Infernal Realm to reunite with his true body.
By now, Reyna had already reached the level of a Saint Magus of both the Life and Light elements.
If she went to the Infernal Realm alone, it would surely be extremely dangerous.
But with Sadius accompanying her, there would be no danger at all.
So, Sadius explained his plan to Reyna.
"Milord, I think it would be better to wait until your true body reaches Blood Ridge Continent and completes the task assigned by the Sovereign. After that, you can let your divine clone go to Infernal Realm. That way, your true body can hold the Sovereign's token and meet us at any teleportation array."
Sadius nodded, feeling that Reyna's reasoning was sound. His true body wasn't far from arriving at Blood Ridge Continent anyway.
Infernal Realm, Starry Mist Sea.
Since Sadius' strength had advanced, he hadn't encountered any major crises.
Traveling together, they crossed the Starry Mist Sea and soon neared the vicinity of Miluo Island.
Miluo Island—of course, Sadius knew it well. It was the territory of the top-tier Shura-level expert, Mo Si.
This man and his family had used soul seed techniques to control a large number of powerful deities.
Because of this, his Blood-Pattern Titan Clan had become one of the top families in Infernal Realm, even on par with the current Four Divine Beast clans.
Sadius found nothing strange about that.
The Infernal Realm was a place where the strong preyed on the weak. If he had such power, he would've already controlled countless deities to serve him.
Initially, Sadius hadn't planned on entering Miluo Island. But after spending so long in the Starry Mist Sea, having a city to purchase supplies from was a good opportunity.
Before landing on the island, Sadius reminded the others not to wander off or visit the island's Battle Arena.
They all agreed, and their metallic lifeform slightly adjusted its flight course, heading toward the distant, massive island.
Half a day later, their metallic lifeform spotted Miluo Island from afar.
If placed in a material plane, it would be much larger than most continents.
Unlike ordinary cities, entering Miluo Island didn't require a fee. The group quickly stepped onto the island.
Within Miluo Island, Sadius and his companions entered the city.
This was the first time Sadius had seen such a vast city in Infernal Realm. Compared to Miluo Island, the earlier Blackcloud City was like a tiny child before a giant.
Everyone was full of curiosity.
"Milord, even the weakest of these island guards are Midgods. Miluo Island truly has a powerful force."
"It's more than that," Sadius explained calmly. "Among Midgods, these are all top-tier elites."
The others were surprised—how did Sadius know so much?
Soon, the group arrived at Freedom Castle, the largest trading hub on the island. It contained far more treasures than Blackcloud City's Violet Castle or Blacksand Castle combined.
"You all can have a good feast on Dylin's fortune. He gathered piles of amethyst from the Amethyst Mountain Range," Sadius said with a slight smile.
Dylin also laughed heartily. The value of the amethyst in his ring was greater than the wealth of some major clans in Infernal Realm.
Soon after, the group bought several divine artifacts.
Sadius wandered around but didn't find anything he truly needed.
"…I can at least buy some beautiful clothes for Reyna," he thought.
He noticed a clothing exhibition hall within the castle. Indeed, the top-tier clothes in Infernal Realm were far superior to those on the material planes. Each piece was made from rare materials gathered from the four Higher Planes and the seven Divine Planes.
Sadius bought some clothes and stored them in his spatial ring.
Then another thought crossed his mind—since this Freedom Castle was so vast, could it have the rarest of all treasures—Soul Defense Artifacts?
Although he possessed the damaged Coiling Dragon Ring, which was a main soul-defense artifact, it was incomplete.
Against a perfected Shura who specialized in soul attacks, they might be able to strike through its gaps and damage his soul.
So, if he could acquire another soul defense artifact, his safety would increase significantly.
Sadius went to the counter selling divine artifacts and inquired if they had any soul defense artifacts.
The staff explained:
"Normally, those proficient in the soul arts take an extremely long time to refine a soul defense artifact. Even if they produce extras, they're given to their closest people first. Almost no one sells them. If a soul defense artifact truly appears on the market, it will be purchased immediately."
The staff paused, then added,
"However, if you truly want one, there is a way…"
Sadius raised a brow. Was there actually a way to obtain one?
"If you're a Highgod, you can participate in Miluo Island's Highgod Battle Arena and achieve one hundred consecutive victories. Or, if you're willing to serve the Five Great Families here, you might be rewarded with a soul defense artifact."
Sadius felt speechless.
So they first plant a soul seed in you, then reward you with a soul defense artifact—to prevent outside soul attacks from breaking their soul control?
Still, this confirmed one thing: there were indeed experts on Miluo Island capable of refining soul defense artifacts.
After all, there were quite a few controlled deities on this island.
Sadius wasn't too bothered. Even without a soul defense artifact, he was confident enough.
After finishing their purchases, the group gathered for a fine meal.
"If there's nothing else, let's prepare to leave," Sadius said.
No one objected—they were only here to shop anyway.
But then…
"Sadius, I want to try the Battle Arena," Lomio suddenly said.
Sadius frowned. What is Lomio trying to do?
Lomio secretly sent Sadius a mental transmission:
"Sadius, have you noticed? Almost all the island guards here are Midgods who achieved a hundred straight victories in the Battle Arena. And the Highgods who joined the Five Families are also top tier, with extremely high win streaks. From what I have learned, many of these people originally just passed through Miluo Island, intending to move on—but in the end, they willingly stayed and pledged loyalty to the Five Families here."
Sadius replied quietly,
"I know what you're thinking. But this isn't our concern. My advice? Don't interfere. The waters of Miluo Island are far too deep. Even a Shura can easily fall here."
How could Miluo Island's waters not be deep? Mo Si, a top-tier Shura, personally oversaw it—a being with virtually no rivals unless a Great Perfection Highgod appeared.
Behind him might even be the Seven Sovereigns of Infernal Realm, because Mo Si controlling so many powerful deities likely had something to do with preparations for the Planar Wars.
Lomio fell silent.
He hadn't expected that even after becoming a Shura, there would still be so many things he couldn't touch.
"…Sadius, I still want to try."
But just then, someone else's voice distracted Sadius.
"Father, I saw Uncle Tarossa!"
Clio pointed outside to a group of island guards.
The others looked.
Within that squad of guards was a familiar face—the Basilisk Tarossa from the Yulan Plane.
Sadius also saw Tarossa.
"Lomio, didn't you want to test the depths of Miluo Island? I agree."