Just as Sadius was observing events unfolding within the realm of Aether, Ignis finally completed his full fusion with the Destruction Edict of Heaven and Earth.
All of Ignis's divine clones dissipated, his soul returned to his body, which transformed into a vast source of Destruction.
At that very moment, five enormous illusory projections of the Five Overgods appeared between Heaven and Earth.
"The Overgod of Destruction, Ignis has ascended to his rightful place!"
A divine voice rang out across the universe.
In this instant, no matter where one was in the vast world, they could witness this sacred scene.
Ignis had become the second living being in all of existence to ascend to the level of an Overgod.
"Congratulations to Lord Ignis, the Destruction Overgod!"
Someone bowed deeply toward the projection.
One after another, cultivators and deities offered their congratulations to Ignis.
The most emotional among them was Uhtred, the Lord of Destruction.
Ignis had taken the initiative to contact him.
Upon becoming an Overgod, Ignis naturally became aware of the fact that Overgods are bound by the limitations of Heaven and Earth and could not act personally in many matters.
Thus, the best solution was to appoint a Sovereign Emissary, much like the relationship between Sadius and Zijing.
Ignis had chosen to form an equal contract with Uhtred.
The reason for choosing Uhtred was, first of all, that Ignis had previously served as Uhtred's Emissary—and Uhtred had always treated him well.
Moreover, Uhtred had not forced him to sign a soul contract to participate in the trial, and Ignis had always remembered this kindness.
Therefore, he now decided to form an equal contract with Uhtred.
Through this, Uhtred would gain access to Ignis's Destruction Source Essence, vastly enhancing his strength.
Uhtred was naturally more than happy to agree. Forming an equal contract meant that Ignis did not look down on him now that he had become an Overgod.
After the contract was signed, Ignis gifted Uhtred a wisp of his Destruction Source Essence.
When Uhtred fused it into his body, he finally understood why Zijing's power had increased so drastically.
He could feel that, with this Destruction Essence, his strength might increase a hundredfold.
At this moment, Uhtred believed himself to be the number one being below the Overgod level.
Of course, he was unaware of Orloff's true strength.
With three Overgod artifacts in his possession, even without an Overgod's essence, Orloff already stood at an invincible level beneath the Overgod.
As the celestial phenomena faded, Sadius appeared beside Ignis.
"Ignis, congratulations."
"Greetings, my lord," Ignis replied respectfully.
"There's no need for that, Ignis. You and I are now both Overgods. Just call me Sadius."
Ignis hesitated. After becoming an Overgod, he realized that Sadius' power was far above his own.
Because Ignis was an Overgod of Edicts, while Sadius was an Overgod of Laws—they were not the same.
At the Sovereign level, the Four Edict Lords were supreme.
But at the Overgod level, it was the Overgod of Laws who reigned superior.
Now as an Overgod himself, Ignis understood that the universe was home to seven Overgods.
Besides the four Edict Overgods and the Aether Overgod of Laws, there were two more Overgods of Laws who had yet to appear—the Time Overgod and the Space Overgod.
As for how those two Overgod would be born, Ignis had his own speculations.
Just then, both men felt a strange sensation rise in their hearts.
They simultaneously looked up toward the chaotic spatial currents outside the Aether Overgod Realm.
Ignis did not understand the nature of this summoning, but Sadius knew exactly what it was.
"Ignis, your luck is quite good. You and I may become the first beings in all of existence to leave this universe and visit other universes. You should know—Orloff had long wanted to explore what lies beyond the Heavens."
Having ascended to Overgod, Ignis now naturally knew that Orloff and Augusta were one and the same. But that was of no concern to him. No matter how powerful Orloff was, he couldn't threaten the Destruction Overgod.
"Sadius, are you saying that sensation we feel is summoning us to leave this universe? Then are we going to find out what lies beyond the Heavens?"
"Beyond this universe is simply another universe. I suspect that 'HE' has already finished creating the subsidiary universes of our new cosmic system, and now wishes to let us take a tour—offering us this special opportunity."
"He? Who do you mean? Could it be the Creator God? What exactly is a universe? And what are subsidiary universes?"
Ignis was completely stunned.
He had no knowledge of Hongmeng.
Even becoming an Overgod didn't grant one access to Hongmeng. Hongmeng could contact Overgods, but Overgods could not contact Hongmeng—it was a one-way link.
"Haha…that one's name cannot be spoken. But I can explain what universes and subsidiary universes are. Let's head to the edge of the chaotic spatial flow first."
For Sovereigns, the chaotic spatial flow appeared boundless.
But Overgods could clearly perceive its boundary.
As long as that boundary was pierced, one could enter the Hongmeng Space.
Unfortunately, the boundary of the Coiling Dragon Universe was currently impenetrable, even to Overgods due to its elevation to a main universe.
Sadius and Ignis vanished. When they reappeared, they had arrived at the outer edge of the chaotic space.
Although this place didn't appear to be the end of the spatial flow, both of them knew—it was the end.
"The Heaven and Earth we dwell in—including the current Four Higher Planes, the Overgod Plane, the Seven Divine Planes, countless Material Planes, and the endless chaotic spatial flow—together constitute one universe."
Ignis nodded. The term "universe" was just another way of saying "Heaven and Earth"—easy to understand.
"In the past, there were a total of five universes, consisting of one Main Universe and four Subsidiary Universes. The one we reside in now was once one of the four Subsidiary Universes—called the Magic Subsidiary Universe."
"Our universe is just a subsidiary universe? But I remember that when you became an Overgod, Sadius, the four Overgod projections descended and declared that the Magic Universe had been promoted to the Main Universe, didn't they?"
Back then, when Sadius became an Overgod, all had witnessed that celestial phenomenon.
However, the specifics of the Magic Universe's promotion were never explained, so no one paid it much attention.
Now, recalling it, Ignis quickly asked.
"That's right. Because I created the Aether Source, the Magic Subsidiary Universe was promoted to a Main Universe. However, a complete universal system can only contain one Main Universe and four Subsidiary Universes to maintain cosmic balance. So our universe was separated from the original system and became the core of a new universe. But with only a Main Universe and no Subsidiaries, the system was incomplete. Unstable. That's why 'that one' created four new Subsidiary Universes around us. This time, we are being invited to go tour them."
Ignis's curiosity was piqued.
Just what kind of existence could create an entire universe?
At the same time, he felt deep admiration for Sadius—who had created the Aether Source from nothing. That was far more difficult than refining the Destruction Edict.
His admiration for Sadius peaked and his awe of the Creator blossomed.
Though deep in his heart he started to ask,
"Couldn't the Creator have…?"
Before the thought was complete, Ignis ceased his line of thinking. He felt it was blasphemous for a new Overgod to question too much.
In time, he may learn more about the Creator and the wider universes.
He wanted to ask why the Creator didn't simply create the aether source to begin with and have another main universe.
The answer was simpler than he realized.
Hongmeng didn't know.
The current cosmos and universes functioned like an egg.
Hongmeng energy formed the outer shell, giving the universe its structure and protection. Beneath it lay Aether, the unseen membrane that sustained and regulated the flow of energy between the inner realms.
At the center, the yolk, the core of life, which was made up of the Four Foundational Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. These were anchored by the Three Stabilizing Elements: Light, Darkness, and Lightning which helped to maintain balance and order.
Surrounding all of this was the egg white, representing the Four Supreme Edicts: Life, Death, Fate, and Destruction, each one supporting and preserving functions of the whole.
When Hongmeng first created the universe, he instinctively used Hongmeng aura as the membrane, following the guidance of the Golden List, unaware that Aether, a refined derivative of that aura, could fulfill the same role with far greater efficiency.
Sadius inadvertently created Aether that covered this oversight, although he himself did not know this. By using Aether in place of Hongmeng aura, entire universes could be created while conserving vast reserves of Hongmeng energy. That efficiency translated into power and with it, the ability to forge more cosmoses.
For the time being this had nothing to do with the new Overgods.
"It's appeared. Let's go in." Sadius said, unaware of how critical his role was.
A gateway appeared before them—visible only to them.
The two stepped through the gate and entered a spherical bubble. What met their eyes was still an endless sea of chaotic spatial flow—but they could clearly sense the limits of this bubble.
Then, the gate vanished. Their connection to the Coiling Dragon Universe was completely severed.
Back in the Coiling Dragon Universe, at the location where they had disappeared, their figures appeared once again.
As embodiments of the universe's laws, they were omnipresent by nature. The ones who had left the universe were merely avatars.
Once the avatars left, the true bodies could no longer remain connected.
After all, they were no longer in the same universe. How could any connection be maintained?