Even Ignis' strongest strike had been blocked—by Reisgem.
Ignis hadn't expected Reisgem's profound mysteries in defense to be this formidable.
"I've lost," Ignis admitted. "Reisgem, I didn't expect you to grow so fast."
"Haha, Ignis, don't feel discouraged," Reisgem laughed. "With our current strength, the only thing separating us from Paragons is the Authority of Will. If we can cultivate our profound mysteries to the Six-Fusion realm, we might even surpass Paragons!"
Ignis let out a quiet sigh.
Born at the dawn of Heaven and Earth, he had existed since nearly the same time as Uhtred. Yet even after countless ages, he still hadn't reached the Paragon level.
He had begun to suspect he'd reached the limits of his talent. Maybe he would never break through. At times, existence as a deity had begun to feel dull and meaningless.
Thankfully, just recently, he who lost his chance to stand at the pinnacle had witnessed the descent of the Four Supreme Overgods—and seen someone ascend to the Supreme Overgod level.
Then, Uhtred summoned him and told him about the Supreme Overgod Trial.
That was when Ignis felt hope again.
He was determined to become a Supreme Overgod. He wanted to ascend to that level to the point it became an obsession. From no hope for trillions of years to an actual chance that he and only a select few are qualified for? He was even willing to die just for a chance.
"Congratulations, Ignis," Reisgem said.
"You've passed the first trial."
Reisgem blew a breath toward the distance, and the fog in that direction began to clear.
"Go. The second trial awaits."
Ignis nodded and flew off in that direction. Not long after, he emerged from the fog zone.
Before him was a platform carved out of stone.
More than twenty people were already gathered there. These were the soul-mutated cultivators who had passed the first trial.
With Ignis joining, the count reached twenty-five. That meant eleven participants had permanently fallen within the fog zone of the first trial.
Just then, a girl flew in from the distance.
"Greetings, everyone," she called out. "I am the gatekeeper for this second trial. But don't worry—you don't need to defeat me. This trial is simple. You only need to use your fused divine power to refine the Divine Essences you obtained in the first round. Once your divine energy is fully saturated by the essence, you pass. If you don't have enough Divine Essence, you may return to the fog zone to hunt Amethyst beasts. You're given a time limit of one year. Anyone who completes it early may proceed to the third trial ahead of time. Also, fighting in front of me is strictly forbidden. Anyone who breaks this rule will be immediately disqualified from the trial."
This girl was Eunice.
Sadius had assigned her as the gatekeeper for this stage. Since there was no combat required here, the job was simple. It was also a way for Sadius to grant Eunice a small benefit—doing a favor for one of his own.
If Sadius wantonly gave out Overgod level benefits without contributions to the "ecosystem" so to speak; Hongmeng would not be pleased. But if like Eunice, his people contributed to assisting the universe in its elevation, then Hongmeng would have nothing to say.
Most of the gathered cultivators looked curious. Many of them had no idea what the so-called "Divine Essence" actually was.
Ignis was the first to act. He retrieved a Divine Essence from his interspatial ring.
He hadn't expected that fused divine power could actually refine Divine Essence.
But he quickly realized: this likely had a close connection to the process of becoming a Supreme Overgod.
He pulled out an essence infused with the Laws of Destruction and Fire. As he channeled his divine power into it, the essence inside the pearl reacted immediately; drawn in by the fused energy. A faint strand of dark red material was extracted and merged into his divine power.
Ignis instantly felt his fused divine power strengthen. It was faint, but the difference was real.
The others, seeing this, immediately pulled out the essences they'd acquired and began refining them. However, not everyone succeeded on their first try.
Many had Divine Essences that didn't match their attributes.
Lyle and Diana also tried to begin refining but soon discovered that their fused divine power had already been fully saturated by the Amethyst essence they'd absorbed in the first trial. As a result, they couldn't refine any further Divine Essences.
Disheartened, they thought they had no way to pass this second trial.
"Lyle, Diana," Eunice said, "your fused divine power has already been fully saturated—you may proceed directly to the third trial. Your next task is to make it through the Amethyst Caverns. Good luck."
The two of them brightened instantly, realizing they had already completed the second stage.
There were a total of 108 Amethyst Caverns scattered throughout the Amethyst Mountain Range. These caves would periodically erupt with high-speed Amethysts.
Getting through them wouldn't be easy.
In the past, the eruptions had followed a pattern. But after Sadius had modified the caverns, the crystals now erupted continuously.
And with his adjustments, the force of the Amethysts was now powerful enough to damage even Sovereign-level divine artifacts.
If someone tried to force their way through carelessly—even a top-tier Shura fully equipped with Sovereign artifacts might die in those caverns.
Clearly, Lyle and Diana were still unaware of how the caverns had changed. It wouldn't be long before they learned the harsh truth of ambition and betrayal.
"Excuse me, milady," someone asked, "why were those two allowed to skip straight to the third stage?"
Though Eunice only appeared to be a mid-level God, none of them dared offend her. She was, after all, a gatekeeper—and an assumed Emissary of a Supreme Overgod.
"Aside from Divine Essences," Eunice explained, "you can also extract Amethyst Origin from Amethysts. Only soul-mutated cultivators with affinities for Destruction and Earth can refine Amethyst Origin. If any of you have that capability, go ahead. Refining Amethyst Origin is much faster than refining Divine Essences."
Most participants sighed—they didn't have Earth clones.
Only one or two brightened in surprise.
They did have Earth clones! That meant they could refine Amethyst Origin and finish this stage faster than the others.
The two of them immediately took out Amethysts from their rings and began the process.
Sure enough, they swiftly extracted a thread of Amethyst Origin. Once refined with their fused divine power, their strength grew slightly.
Excited, they picked up the pace.
The others could only look on enviously.
Soon, everyone began to understand the key: Divine Essences could only be refined if they matched one's attributes.
Unfortunately, most of the essences they had received were random—and often didn't match their own elements.
So naturally, an exchange market formed.
Most people only traded with acquaintances, fearing strangers wouldn't return the favor.
After all, the fewer who passed this trial, the higher everyone else's odds of becoming a Supreme Overgod.
Time passed bit by bit.
It didn't take long before Ignis had refined all the essences that matched his attributes.
He went looking to trade for others.
He approached a Highgod who was also an Emissary of Uhtred, hoping to exchange essences.
To his surprise, the other cultivator refused him outright.
The reason was simple: Ignis was too strong.
If any future trials involved combat, no one would be his match.
Rather than risk being eliminated by Ignis later, they preferred to block his progress now—keep him stuck at the second stage.
That would benefit everyone else.
Enraged, Ignis nearly lashed out to kill the man. But he remembered Eunice's warning.
Grinding his teeth, he left with a cold snort.
He tried to trade with others, but met only rejection.
Furious, Ignis flung his sleeve and flew back into the mist.