Now that he had reached a depth of about eight meters, Evan could already see quite a few mid-grade Violet Cloud Crystals and even some upper-grade ones. The pressure here was immense—he was certain that even the spatial domain of a late-stage God-Lord couldn't compare. This pressure was likely equivalent to, or even greater than, that of an early- to mid-stage God-King.
If outsiders learned that Evan, a mere mid-stage Heavenly God, could withstand spatial domain pressure on par with an early- or even mid-stage God-King, the entire God Realm would be shaken. It was simply unbelievable—but he had done it.
Evan discovered a new phenomenon: the more Chaos Divine Power he consumed, the faster the newly absorbed Chaos Divine Power circulated within his body. By now, the God Stones in his ordinary storage ring were nearly depleted, so he could only absorb those from the Coiling-Dragon Ring—where even the lowest grade was upper-grade God Stone.
Fortunately, there were still plenty of God Stones left in the Coiling-Dragon Ring. At Evan’s current absorption rate, even ten thousand years might not be enough to use them up. The higher the quality of the God Stone, the greater its energy—and the slower the absorption speed.
In fact, the so-called 'slowness' referred only to the rate at which the God Stones were depleted; the actual energy absorbed into his body didn't decrease. As his strength improved, absorption would only get faster.
Another half year passed, and Evan smiled. "Late-stage Heavenly God Realm at last. Now, taking down a late-stage God-Lord is no problem—and I can even put up a fight against a God-King. Maybe, if I catch one off guard, I could even slay them."
In the God Realm, Evan didn’t dare to kill across two major realms. The higher the cultivation, the stronger the power—especially in a place like the God Realm, where experts were everywhere. Every move had to be cautious; a single misstep could mean death.
After breaking through to late-stage Heavenly God Realm, Evan could now dive ten meters underground. Here, almost all the Violet Cloud Crystals he saw were upper-grade, though their numbers were still limited. Evan wasn’t disappointed—in fact, he was delighted, because he knew the deeper you went, the higher the quality of the Violet Cloud Crystals.
That day, Evan stopped his descent and dug out several upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals from the soil—his harvest from the past two years. More importantly, he needed to give Elder Lee an explanation; if he’d spent two years here without any results, Elder Lee would be disappointed.
To reach the mine core of the Violet Cloud Crystals, he’d have to push Earthshift to the third or even fourth layer. That meant he urgently needed powerful earth-elemental energy. He’d thought that simply resisting the pressure underground would raise his Earthshift level, but it turned out to have no effect—the technique was still stuck at the second layer.
But his physical defenses had skyrocketed. Evan was certain that even if a late-stage God-Lord struck him with full force, he could stand there unmoving and still come out unscathed.
His Starforge Body had reached the eighth layer—defense was now more than enough. Evan walked out of Mine Tunnel No. 19, planning to return and ask Elder Lee about earth-elemental energy sources. He figured Elder Lee could also help check on other elemental energies; in the God Realm, Evan believed he could find every type of elemental energy if he looked hard enough.
Back at the City Lord’s Mansion in All-Stars City, Evan went straight to Elder Lee’s room. Elder Lee was meditating, but when he saw Evan enter, he immediately stood up. “Young master, you’re back! How was the harvest?” That was Elder Lee’s first question upon seeing him.
Evan smiled faintly, then took out several upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals from his storage ring. “The harvest was average; I didn’t focus on mining. The past two years were mainly spent boosting my defenses. I’ve come back because there’s something I need you to handle.”
“Young master, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Just say the word—if it’s within my power, I’ll give it my all. My whole life and everything I own are yours.” Elder Lee declared.
To be honest, Evan wasn’t quite used to Elder Lee’s old nickname. He was, after all, a true elder—being called 'Little Lee' by a youth didn’t really fit. “From now on, I’ll just call you Elder Lee. It’s more natural. You’ve been in the God Realm for years—do you know where to find strong earth-elemental crystals? Other elemental crystals would help too; I urgently need these resources.”
“Crystals? Young master, elemental crystals are plentiful in the God Realm, but they’re extremely expensive. Many cultivators use them to boost their strength, so elemental crystals are also divided into ranks here.
There are two main categories: rare-element elemental crystals and Five-Elements elemental crystals. As the names suggest, rare-element crystals cost at least half again as much as Five-Elements crystals.
Each type of elemental crystal is split into nine ranks. The lowest are seventh to ninth rank—those are lower-grade crystals. Then there are fourth to sixth rank, the mid-grade crystals. Lower- and mid-grade are common, but upper-grade crystals—first to third rank—are extremely rare. If someone gets one, they almost never sell it.
Once you absorb the elemental energy inside, your strength skyrockets. So, young master, what grade of crystal do you actually need?” Elder Lee asked.
Evan hadn’t expected elemental crystals to have such complicated ranks. What he needed were at least fifth-rank crystals. “I need crystals of fifth rank or higher—the better the quality, the greater the benefit. Where can I buy these?”
Lower-grade crystals are easy to find in All-Stars City. Mid-grade ones are a bit harder—there aren’t many for sale, so you’ll need some luck.
You can only buy mid-grade crystals in large first-tier cities, while upper-grade crystals are only available at auctions. Of course, the Treasure Pavilion also sells them, but the conditions are very strict. Besides a huge payment in God Stones, you have to do them a favor. That’s why Treasure Pavilion is one of the top ten powers in the God Realm,” Elder Lee explained.
“Got it. Right now, earth-elemental crystals are what I need most. Do you have time to come with me to a first-tier city?” Evan asked.
Elder Lee looked at Evan, puzzled. “Why are you so set on earth-elemental crystals? Earth is the weakest for offense—among the Five-Elements crystals, it’s also the cheapest. You might actually find some for sale.”
“I have my reasons. If I can get earth-elemental crystals, maybe I’ll be able to dig up top-grade Violet Cloud Crystals from the mine. There’s a good chance the mine core is hidden beneath Mine Tunnel No. 19. If I find it, Violet Cloud Crystals will be limitless,” Evan replied with a smile.
Elder Lee gave Evan a curious look. “Are you planning to use those Violet Cloud Crystals to rebuild Frostbane Divine Palace?”
“That’s a ways off—let’s talk about it later. Why don’t we look around All-Stars City first? I’ve been here over two years and haven’t really explored it.” Evan laughed.
“If you’re in the mood, then Little Lee will accompany you!” Elder Lee smiled. The two left the City Lord’s Mansion and headed out into the streets…