Somewhere in the northwest of the Pandemonium was a wild mountainous region. There, Han Hao, Han Tu, Han Jin, and Han Mu were undertaking construction work under the ground.
They had bored a large number of narrow, intertwining tunnels connecting more than a thousand big and small chambers at five hundred feet underground. Three of the mountains above them had their contents hollowed out and carved into enormous, spacious stoned chambers. However, there was no lighting, furniture, or electricity installed and none inhabited those spaces.
“Elder Brother, we are so exhausted. We have dug out one underground palace and three mountains – that was a really arduous project!” said Earth Elite Zombie whose face had taken on a mud-yellow shade. Perhaps it had something to do with him having used up most of his energy.
Metal Elite Zombie was in similar conditions. The originally golden armor on his body had turned dull and he looked very tired.
In the underground palace where only his brothers were around, Han Hao’s callous face went much softer than usual. He raised a brow before fishing out a rock that resembled dried mud and a shiny, jade-like rock with lights flowing within, and presented them to Han Tu and Han Jin.
As soon as Han Tu and Han Jin saw the two items, their eyes lit up like spotlights. Simultaneously, they bluntly snatched the items from Han Hao’s hands.
The unremarkable yellowish stone began to release a great amount of the Yuan Energy of Earth as soon as Han Tu grabbed it, as though it was dissolving into his hand. Weariness gradually lifted from Han Tu’s face and his eyes were once again glowing with energy.
Han Jin, meanwhile, was rapidly munching down the jade-like stone, crushing it with his teeth and swallowing it. After eating the stone, Han Jin put on a bright smile and asked, “Elder Brother, where did you find these treasures? I have traversed countless mountains and valleys but I never had the luck to find an Emperor Claystone or a Goldjade Stone. They are the most nutritious essences of Earth and Metal!”
“I got them by robbing,” answered Han Hao calmly.
“Hehe, Eldest Brother is indeed the best. Being able to burn, kill, and loot every day, that must be fun!” remarked Han Tu in his foolish smile.
“What about me? Little Gold and Little Earth each got a treasure. Where is mine?” asked Han Mu.
“I have not found anything suitable for you, but I will keep an eye out,” replied Han Hao after taking a glance at Han Mu.
“Then thank you in advance! Hehe, other than treasures, please also keep an eye out for beauties. As Elder Brother should know, I love making life!” said Han Mu in a lecherous grin.
“The three of you should return to the Pandemonium, my followers and I will handle the rest here. It would take us at least a year to install all the lightings and furnishings across the entire space,” said Han Hao.
“Understood, brother. I think I will bore another tunnel connecting this base to the Pandemonium on my way back. With the additional tunnel, we could easily reinforce each other’s bases,” said Han Tu smilingly.
“That’d be great,” said Han Hao after he nodded. Then, a thought entered his mind and he suddenly ascended to the surface.
Han Hao’s face had returned to the callous and unfeeling look upon reaching the surface. He looked at a henchman of his that was kneeling on the ground and asked, “What is it?”
“There is a message for you, my Chief,” the henchman bowed and handed Han Hao a scroll.
After reading the scroll, a sinister light flashed in Han Hao’s eyes. He burned the scroll into ashes, turned to his kneeling henchman, and instructed, “Tell every one of my Chiefs to assemble. We will be taking a trip away from the Fringe as soon as possible.”
The henchman of Han Hao’s was astounded. He did not understand why Han Hao would ask the godhunter chiefs scattered in every region of the Fringe to assemble and leave for seemingly no reason. However, the henchman did not ask any questions. He respectfully acknowledged Han Hao’s command and left.
Han Hao then returned to the underground and said to his brothers, “Father has a task for me. I will have to be away from the Fringe temporarily.”
“What task, brother?” Han Mu giggled and said, “Bring me along! I have been feeling quite bored recently.”
Han Hao shook his head and resolutely declined, “My godhunters and I will pretend to be those of the Godhunter Alliance. We are going to strike travelers and merchants in strategic places to alert the Dominions of the Godhunter Alliance’s gathering. We are also going to spread certain information. You are not suited for the task. Besides, Father will be returning to the Pandemonium soon and he might have tasks for you by then.”
“Oh, okay. Nevermind then…” replied Han Mu, slightly disappointed.
Han Hao then immediately departed, leaving the enormous construction project halfway done. Han Jin, Han Tu, and Han Mu then slowly made their way to the Pandemonium with Han Tu creating another tunnel along the way.
***Glacial Peak. Wasir, a cultivator of the energy of water, was sealed inside an enormous block of ice. It looked as though he had been frozen there for tens of thousands of years and was not revealing any trace of life.
The Glacial Peak was frozen all year and the average temperature was around negative seventy degrees Celsius. There were certain spots on the Glacial Peak where the air was especially cold and ice could form. The Frostcavern that Wasir had sealed himself in was the coldest spot on the Glacial Peak. It was so cold that it could even kill a highgod!
Wasir had selected the Glacial Peak as his base because of the extreme environment. By burying himself in the coldest spot, Wasir’s cultivation could be accelerated. The chilling ice around him could also inspire a deeper understanding of the frigid nature of the water element.
Outside the Frostcavern where Wasir was cultivating sat a row of highgods of water. They were covered in snow from head to toe and looked like snowmen. Only a minute flow of energy could be detected in their bodies.
Unlike Wasir, these highgods were too weak to cultivate in the extremely frigid Frostcavern and could only utilize the cold air blowing outside it. Despite being only a fraction as cold as the center of the Frostcavern, those highgods still benefited greatly from it. Their cultivation speed was more than three times greater than other water element cultivators.
The five ‘snowmen’, sitting cross-legged, had their eyes closed as they silently absorbed the cold air blowing from the Frostcavern. Suddenly, one of them opened their eyes. He saw that a shadow of indefinite shape was moving with the wind before it disappeared.
At first, the person thought that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But after taking a moment to sense the environment, he was shocked to discover that there were a few breezes of air blowing towards the Frostcavern. Cracking noises sounded from his head to toe as he started thawing his frozen body. He cried, “Oh no! We have an intruder in the cave! The wind should constantly blow outwards from the Frostcavern but just then, the wind moved in the opposite direction for a split second. Someone must have entered the Frostcavern at a high speed!”
The faces of the other four highgods also jolted and cracking noises also started sounding from their bodies. One of them asked in panic, “What should we do?”
“What else should we do? Inform His Lordship, of course! The Lord should still be cultivating in the ice. If he cannot come out from the ice in time, he could be in danger!” replied the person before hastily charging into the Frostcavern.
“Stay where you are!” a chilling voice suddenly sounded from the Frostcavern.
The five immediately halted their hasty footsteps when they heard the command and stared blankly at the person who discovered the intruder. The person was stunned for a moment before he returned to his spot and sat cross-legged on the ground. He said to his comrades, “The Lord has spoken. He is not in danger and we have nothing to worry about.”
His comrades nodded and also returned to their seats. One of them asked, “Ansett, do you have any idea who this visitor is?”
Ansett, the one who noticed the intruder, shook his head before he answered, “I did not sense any aura that I’m familiar with. He should be an expert on the same level as His Lordship. There are only a few of them in the Fringe. Lord Salas and Logue used to come here often. Could it be one of them?”
“I doubt it,” replied Ansett’s comrade, “They had always visited our Lord openly. Besides, Salas left the Fringe long ago and there is still no news of him. As for Logue, I heard he had a disagreement with our Sovereign recently, so I don’t think that it would be him.”
The five of them could not hear the conversation in the Frostcavern, giving them no clue of who the mysterious visitor could be.
Hours later, a faint shadow shot out from the Frostcavern in an instant and rapidly vanished into the horizon.
The five of them had been waiting for the visitor to leave so they had a chance at finding out who he was. Although they had used their full observation power, they were still unable to determine the person’s identity.
“It’s definitely not Sovereign Logue or Salas. Otherwise, instead of absolutely nothing, they would have left at least a slight trace of the elements of death or lightning in the atmosphere,” remarked Ansett long after the visitor left.
“Then who could it be?” one of the highgods was puzzled.
“The person’s silhouette seemed majestic and the air behind him stirred a trace of sinister aura. It felt rather similar to that someone who had recently thrust himself into the limelight,” remarked Ansett after thinking in silence for a moment.
“You mean, the one from the Pandemonium?” All four of Andre’s comrades cried out simultaneously with amazement.
“Ahem!” a disapproving sound suddenly came from the Frostcavern.
The five of them were jolted and terrified. They immediately shut their mouths tight, not continuing their chit-chat.
