Chapter 72: Nether Serpent: You Are the Lord God? How Is That Possible?

After staying near Blood Dragon Valley for a short while and clarifying the current situation and needs, Shawn departed aboard a metal lifeform.

The same issue remains: he is a Great Perfection, and any action in the Netherworld could attract the Lord God's attention; this is why he spent the past hundred years wandering the Netherworld, pretending to travel for fun while actually covering this approach to Blood Dragon Valley.

If the Lord God's divine sense truly detected him, it would only be deemed a coincidence.

Otherwise, if he were to go directly to the Four Beast Clan's stronghold in the Netherworld, any method he later used to kill those people could be linked to his current actions; he must ensure that when the Death Sovereign protects him, he also has a reason to refute others' doubts.

After arriving at a nearby city, Shawn checked into a hotel and continued to ponder the subsequent issues carefully.

Since he cannot act directly on these matters, he must rely on others—ideally those who already bear a grudge against the Four Beast Clan and are peak masters; only such individuals would make an attack on the Four Beast Clan seem reasonable and unrelated to him.

Fortunately, as the most notorious Four Beast Clan in Panlong World, they have many enemies; after the Four Beast Clan's demise in the original work, families from various planes launched a furious counterattack, and seven families crossed from other planes into Hell. If it weren't for Berut invoking the Four Beast Clan's gratitude to protect them, they would have been exterminated long ago.

Of course, this may also involve the deliberate protection of the Destruction Sovereign Utreid; he needs to study the Four Beast Clan's combined innate divine skills and would not allow their extinction. Even without Berut, other peak masters would intervene.

Among the Eight Great Families besieging the Four Beast Clan, there is also the Nether Serpent Clan from the Netherworld.

"The Nether Serpent once gave me a heads‑up on a battlefield in another plane; regardless of the motive, it was a small help," Shawn thought, quickly set his bearing, and flew straight toward the city outskirts.

After emerging from that plane's battlefield, if he hadn't known the Four Beast Clan was arriving, he wouldn't have immediately pursued the elite they sent, and they might have realized he was a Great Perfection and then retreated.

He also couldn't give the Four Beast Clan a lesson, nor could he later provoke multiple Lord Gods to intervene and mediate the matter.

The Ashcroft family, one of the Netherworld's peak families, traces its ancestry to a supreme divine beast, the Nether Serpent; its innate divine skill Soul Annihilation is a terrifying technique targeting souls.

Another special point is that, like the Four Beast Clan, their divine‑beast descendants can also wield the beasts' innate divine skills, and the power is not weak; such capability is rare among all beasts in the world, and it is one reason the Nether Serpent Clan can become a dominant force in the Netherworld.

However, every powerful family in each plane clashes with the Four Beast Clan; even the Augustus family, which only develops in the Bright Divine Realm, is no exception, and the Nether Serpent Clan is naturally mistreated badly by the Four Beast Clan.

Netherworld's Yoming Continent: Hongfeng Manor,

Following the map's description, Shawn arrived at a massive lake about ten million li north of Hongfeng City, which is the headquarters of the Nether Serpent Clan.

"This serpent really does love water," Shawn thought as his divine sense spread and quickly pinpointed the secluding Nether Serpent clan leader, Bach Ashcroft.

"Bach."

The secluding clan leader Bach of the Nether Serpent Clan suddenly heard someone calling his name; startled, he immediately expanded his divine sense, finding no one within a thousand meters. This seclusion spot is a clan forbidden zone where no clan members may approach.

Being detectable by him while he cannot detect the source leaves only three possibilities: a soul‑mutated strong one, a Great Perfection ascended deity, or the Lord God.

Whichever it is, he must take it seriously and hurriedly spoke into the void: "Who are you, sir?"

"Come out and meet me; I am on Qingyang Mountain nearby,"

The voice continued; he asked nothing further and acted immediately, because he knew Qingyang Mountain lay ten thousand li away, and only a Great Perfection or the Lord God could achieve such a feat; others using Lord God power could not disperse their divine sense so far, and unfettered Lord God power at that distance would cause massive energy fluctuations.

After leaving his palace and flying for a short while, a clan elder happened to pass by; upon seeing the clan leader, he immediately asked, "Leader, what's wrong?"

"Don't ask yet; immediately arrange the most lavish banquet, a distinguished guest has arrived," the Nether Serpent Bach said earnestly.

In that brief moment, he analyzed and concluded it was unlikely the Lord God; if the Lord God wanted him, a mere energy avatar a hundred million li away could appear beside him, so why the trouble?

As for Great Perfection, there are only a few; after a moment of thought he guessed it was Shawn, and only this newly‑promoted Great Perfection would seek him.

On Qingyang Mountain, inside a pavilion, Shawn was simultaneously admiring a bandit raid on a caravan a million li away and sipping the high‑grade tea he had purchased in the city.

A black figure swiftly approached, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Mr. Shawn."

"Please sit," Shawn gestured casually. "These are tea leaves and fruits I bought at a high price from merchants of the Supreme Life Plane; you may have a taste."

"Thank you, Mr. Shawn."

Bach smiled, sat down, and began sampling the delicacies;

The food meant little to him, but sharing it with a Great Perfection was probably an honor.

After a moment, Bach said, "Mr. Shawn, why not sit inside my Ashcroft family's inner hall? I will receive you with the most splendid ceremony."

Shawn's divine sense also spread, perceiving the interior of the family, but he shook his head and said, "I appreciate the kindness, but I still won't go; I came to see you for an important matter."

"Please give your orders, Mr. Shawn," Bach replied hastily.

Serving a Great Perfection ascended deity is both an honor and a highly rewarding undertaking;

Great Perfection ascended deities are very proud; if they entrust you with a task, you can later ask them for a similar favor. Though it may not be worth a personal favor, it is at least not difficult, and Great Perfections generally reciprocate.

Thus, even the Lord God family, when commissioned by a Great Perfection, will exert their utmost; often the Lord God finds it inconvenient or beneath a god‑level matter to appear, but a Great Perfection can.

Shawn immediately used his willpower to gather Lord God power, encircling the two, and transmitted, "If it concerns the Four Beast Clan, see whether you dare to act."

Bach's complexion changed dramatically upon hearing, and after long thought asked, "Mr. Shawn, what do you want us to do?"

Shawn smiled faintly, "First, swear in the name of the Supreme God; whatever I tell you today, if you do not agree, you may not tell anyone;

But I will not let you keep the oath for nothing; these one hundred drops of Death Lord God power will serve as compensation for your compliance."

Supreme God oaths are quite loophole‑prone, yet sometimes very useful; although many oaths can be circumvented, they are still far stronger than none, and the simpler the oath, the lower the chance of loopholes.

"Fine." After a moment's thought, Bach agreed and swore, "I, Bach Ashcroft, swear in the name of the Supreme Death God that the matter Shawn discussed with me today I will not tell any other being; should I break this oath, I willingly let my soul and body scatter instantly."

Shawn nodded after hearing the oath and transmitted, "I need you to help me kill some members of the Four Beast Clan."

"Kill people?" Bach hesitated, then asked via transmission, "Mr. Shawn, can't you handle it yourself?"

Shawn replied, "If I could act myself, would I still need you?"

"This…" Bach seemed troubled, finally saying, "Mr. Shawn, although my Nether Serpent Clan harbors a deep hatred for the Four Beast Clan and has clashed with them, even killing some of their members;

but you also know the Lord God's power is vast; my side has suffered heavy losses in repeated engagements, my sons have died at their hands, and even with great hatred I must endure, lest a clan‑annihilation disaster occur."

"You need not worry about Lord God power; whatever the Four Beast Clan has, you will have the same amount."

As a Lord God, one never lacks Lord God power; the Zijing Lord God can fill a pond with it, and Shawn can do the same. When the Lord God created the divine plane, the extracted Lord God power was as vast as a sea.

"This…" Bach was surprised that Shawn dared say such a thing; it differed from his understanding of Great Perfection, yet he asked nothing further: "Mr. Shawn, I'm sorry, I cannot agree to this. Take back those 100 drops of Lord God power; I will strictly honor the Supreme God oath."

"Don't you want to avenge your son?" Shawn asked coolly.

Shawn also knew some of the conflict between the Nether Serpent Clan and the Four Beast Clan;

The Nether Serpent has nine offspring; one daughter was coveted by a Seven‑Star Demon elder of the Four Beast Clan. Though the match seemed suitable, the serpent's daughter was already married.

Thus the Four Beast Clan forcibly seized her. The Lord God family's strength may not match that of peak families on the divine planes, but Lord God power is possessed by everyone; under these circumstances the Nether Serpent Clan was naturally outmatched, and one of its branches was wiped out, the serpent's daughter also harbored resentment.

Nevertheless, the Nether Serpent himself was a peak Asura, and ultimately he saved the last remaining offspring.

Bach remained silent for a while, then transmitted, "Mr. Shawn, I dream of revenge, but opposing the Lord God family would inevitably cause the death of all our clan members;"

"You want me to act here, also because you considered this aspect, right?"

He isn't foolish either; he naturally knows Da Yuanman's purpose in letting him step forward.

"You're absolutely right." Xiao En did not press further and immediately pushed back the bottle of 100 drops of Lord God's Power: "Keep this Lord God's Power, but I need you to go to the Qing Yuan Material Plane; when you get there, you can obtain more Lord God's Power."

"More Lord God's Power?" Ba He was very puzzled.

Xiao En smiled faintly and said, "I could still try to deceive you, couldn't I? If there isn't any, you can ask me for it whenever you meet me in the future."

"Then there's no need." Ba He naturally dared not disbelieve Da Yuanman's ascended deity.

Xiao En added, "Let's set out now; once we arrive, perhaps there will be an answer that can solve your current problem."

Ba He felt a bit confused, but he dared not refuse Da Yuanman's request, so he said, "Yes, Mr. Xiao En."

"The cost of your trip to the Material Plane will be repaid when you reach the Qing Yuan Plane." Xiao En's figure vanished, leaving only a lingering echo.

Ba He looked at the empty surroundings and couldn't help but frown, "What to do on a Material Plane?"

Decades later, the teleportation array of the Qing Yuan Material Plane flashed with a burst of light, and the dark serpent Ba He emerged within the array;

"Greetings, sir," the plane guardian Jin Huo bowed respectfully and said;

As the Divine Plane's descriptions of Da Yuanman's ascended deity Xiao En increased, he, being a member of the Lord God's army, also learned that the Xiao En in his own plane was the same individual;

And over these years, some experts from the Divine Plane have come to seek Da Yuanman.

The dark serpent glanced at the midplane deity before him, naturally indifferent, and as he contemplated his next move, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his mind: "Ba He, meet me in Qing Yuan City."

"Xiao En?" Ba He was startled, because after his divine perception dispersed he did not detect the other party, nor did he sense any distant Lord God's Power fluctuations.

"Could it be that Mr. Xiao En's Da Yuanman divine avatar returned to this plane ahead of schedule?"

Ba He thought his analysis made sense; it seemed the only possibility.

He then asked the midplane deity beside him, "Where is the direction to Qing Yuan City?"

"To the south, about thirty million li from here," Jin Huo replied.

Following the guidance, Ba He soon arrived at the Qing Yuan City palace; his eyes had long noticed Xiao En sitting on the palace lawn, and even after approaching, he still could not sense any aura from the other side.

"Sure enough, it's Da Yuanman's divine avatar; it's much faster than me," the dark serpent was puzzled. Since he came to the Material Plane to discuss matters, perhaps to avoid the Lord God, why didn't he bring me along?

But that's a minor issue; after reaching Xiao En's side, he bowed and smiled, "Mr. Xiao En, I've arrived."

Xiao En first smiled and asked, "Are your Death Rule divine avatar and Sanctuary True Form both here?"

"Yes, both are here." Ba He didn't understand Xiao En's meaning, but still replied.

For a divine beast to unleash its maximum combat power, the Sanctuary True Form must be placed together with the divine avatar; only then can it wield its innate divine abilities;

However, there's a drawback: once killed, the Sanctuary True Form is gone, and attempting to restore strength by refining the divine nature becomes virtually impossible.

Xiao En asked again, "Do you have any other divine avatars?"

Ba He replied, "Yes, there's also a water‑type divine avatar in the Underworld; Xiao En first asked what this was for?"

"Just a casual question; this is the Lord God's Power I promised you." Xiao En waved his hand, and a larger bottle flew toward the dark serpent;

The dark serpent took it, and seeing that it contained 500 drops of Lord God's Power, he immediately marveled at Da Yuanman's generosity, yet without merit he would not accept reward; he still said, "Mr. Xiao En, I could never take more of this Lord God's Power; regarding the matter you entrusted, I am powerless."

Even if hatred runs deep, when facing the Lord God family, one can only endure; truly fighting head‑on would be certain death;

"I understand your concerns," Xiao En smiled faintly, then with a "Boom" sound;

Terrifying might radiated from Xiao En, and a massive surge of Death Lord God's Power instantly enveloped the surrounding space; the dreadful pressure instantly suppressed the dark serpent, whose whole body trembled: "Y‑you are a Lord God? How is this possible?"

Xiao En immediately withdrew the surrounding Lord God pressure and said calmly, "Now we can talk peacefully, right?"

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(End of chapter)