CHAPTER 678: Overcoming Yourself

"Hello, my friends. Where are you from?" a hunchbacked old man with grey hair greeted Han Shuo and Akley enthusiastically. Many of the villagers standing behind the old man also looked at them with friendly smiles.

Their worship of the three Overgods of the Calamity Church was still going on in the distance. The ceremony did not seem particularly serious, nor did the villagers behave solemnly. In fact, they seemed quite at ease.

"We came from the interplanar transport facility in this valley. We are actually from another material plane. There is a place we want to go, but we don't know the direction or where we are. We were hoping you could help us find our way," Han Shuo replied, smiling and relaxed as if he were talking to an old friend.

"Ah, so that's the case. It's no problem at all. We have interplanar travellers passing through this village quite often. Haha, I could tell at first glance that you two are followers of the Calamity Overgods. We are more than willing to help you," the old man said with a smile. He did not seem shocked at all, and seemed to be used to this sort of thing.

"Akley, why don't you describe the place we're going to?" Han Shuo turned and said to Akley.

Akley, who had been walking behind Han Shuo, stepped forward and began to describe their destination to the older man. Since all the information about the Divine Essence Mine on the ancient scroll was archaic, so was Akley's knowledge of their destination. Perhaps there had been some alterations to the destination recorded on the scroll, the old man seemed rather puzzled and had to keep asking Akley for more details.

After exchanging words for some time, the elder pondered in silence for a long time before suddenly coming to his senses and saying, "Head south from this place. The journey will take about half a month. There you will find a remote mountain range. In the middle of the mountain range is a small mountain called Demon Mountain. I'm not exactly sure if this is the place you're looking for, but your words seem to describe it."

"Thank you!" Akley's voice was stifled. He immediately turned to Han Shuo and said, "Let's go, this should be the place!"

"Wait!" The old man suddenly shouted. When Han Shuo turned around and looked at him with a puzzled look, the old man explained, "You are new to Elysium. Perhaps you have yet to understand how things work here. Besides the human race, this plane of the gods is home to all sorts of intelligent species. The mountain range I just mentioned is considered off-limits. A group of non-humans live there, and the mountain range has been partitioned off for them. If you enter their territory without their permission, you could cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

""Understood, we will be careful. Thank you!" Han Shuo nodded and thanked the old man politely.

"You are welcome. Just be careful. Your allegiance is also to the three Overgods, and you are subject to certain restrictions. As long as you do not actively provoke them, you should be fine," the elder gave his last piece of advice.

Han Shuo expressed his understanding and thanked him again before leaving the village with Akley.

"It goes without saying that humans have the leading role on Elysium. As for the other races, some cultivate in the twelve basic elemental power, and others are innately gifted with strength. These non-human races would normally pledge allegiance to the Twelve Overgods and serve them in return for their divine protection. Since most of them do not like to live in crowded human cities, preferring remote mountains and lakes, they would only be called upon in times of war. The inhabitants of the mountain range should be one such group," Akley explained to Han Shuo as they left the village.

There were more than a few non-human races to be found on a material plane as small as the Profound Continent, so there would obviously be even more of them on this vast plane of the gods. Back then, Claude, a necromancer from the Church of Calamity, had summoned the three-eyed evil god Ansidesi. From Han Shuo's current understanding, he deduced that the three-eyed Ansidesi might be a leader of his race.

After thinking for a while, Han Shuo asked the important question, "How can you be so sure that Demon Mountain is our destination?"

"I am not entirely sure that Demon Mountain is what we are looking for, although I have a strong suspicion that it is. Based on the descriptions in the scroll, we are looking for a mountain that looks fierce and sinister from a distance, like a demon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. I explained it to the old man once and the first thing he came up with was Demon Mountain," Akley explained.

Han Shuo agreed with his judgement. It seemed very likely that Demon Mountain was their target.

Although the old man Han Shuo and Akley encountered had said that the journey from the village to the mountain would take about half a month, the duo needed less than half that time. Han Shuo, carrying Akley, took only three days to reach the mountain range.

Han Shuo and Akley came across many more villages on their journey. They discovered more and more people since they left the barren field. Halfway through their journey, Han Shuo spotted two well-hidden godhunters. Since they were both cultivating in the elemental energy of darkness, Han Shuo couldn't get much out of them, so he abandoned any thoughts of ambushing them. Instead, he avoided them.

For some reason, ever since Han Shuo had had the most pleasurable experience of consuming the old Godhunter's Divine Energy of Death, the temptation of having his strength rapidly increase had begun to nibble away at his willpower. It gave Han Shuo an irresistible urge - an urge to seek out and suck the divine energy of another!

This intense desire to act was like a voice that persistently seduced him at every moment, reminding him how easy, how fast the method was. Even Han Shuo couldn't help but think about it for a moment.

"Master, this is not good enough, you cannot go on like this. I've noticed that your heart and mind have become more and more chaotic over the past few days!" the Cauldron Spirit suddenly communicated as they reached the mountain range.

"I know. I know what the problem is, but I have no way to fix it for now!" Han Shuo took a deep breath and transmitted to the Cauldron Spirit.

"This power of temptation is indeed something, but you should not let it get the better of you. Demonic Arts cultivators also do this occasionally, but they must not recklessly hunt others just to increase their own power. In most cases, if a cultivator of the demonic arts were to increase his strength by relying solely on absorbing someone else's energy, he would lose his self-control and end up going mad. This type of cultivator who deviates from the essence of the demonic arts will never reach the ultimate realm," the Cauldron Spirit explained.

Han Shuo trusted the Cauldron Spirit's judgement and asked, "What should I do?"

"This kind of temptation is like a drug addiction. It's deviant and corrupt, not something you should have, and it's certainly very different from the cravings at the bottom of your heart under normal conditions! What you need to do is control this addiction and have a clear idea of what you are doing, instead of thinking about how to hunt others to increase your own strength! The Cauldron Spirit solemnly advised Han Shuo.

"I understand what I have to do now!" Han Shuo was no fool and quickly came to his senses after a brief moment of thought. He turned to Akley and said, "Let's not go into that mountain range just yet. You need time to recover from some of your injuries so that you will no longer be a burden to me!"

"Isn't it easier for you to keep me under your control if I stay in this state?" Akley asked in surprise.

"We are in a cooperative relationship, I do not wish to control you completely in my hands, nor am I afraid that you will turn against me at critical moments. So give yourself some time, at least a period that will allow you to fly again!" Han Shuo replied, but inwardly he thought, "If I were to use the power of my main body against a Lowgod of destruction like you, you would undoubtedly be dead. What is there about you that I need to worry about?

""All right, then. Let's find a place and do this." All this time, thinking that their relationship was just one of mutual exploitation, Akley was always on guard against Han Shuo. It was only after this point that Akley began to look at Han Shuo with a certain amount of trust.

The intention behind Han Shuo giving Akley time to recover wasn't actually just out of benevolence. In fact, he needed it more than Akley did in order to overcome the greed and compulsion in his heart and stabilise his mental state.

After finding a quiet cave, Han Shuo sealed Akley in and opened a separate cave for himself.

He calmed his mind and immediately, following the Cauldron Spirit's instructions, began his attempt to conquer the insatiable addiction at the bottom of his heart that was slowly growing more and more intense.

Han Shuo had learned from Donna that the Godhunters were a bunch of perverted lunatics. Once a person had the experience of absorbing someone else's divine energy, they would no longer be able to control their craving. Just as the Cauldron Spirit had said, these people were pretty much drug addicts. They would constantly hunt and kill to satisfy the insatiable greed in their hearts. There were few who could overcome such an addiction.

The reason why Godhunters in every single Overgod Dominion were killed instantly and without trial was because they knew that the Godhunters would never recover. They would spend the rest of their lives hunting down others who cultivated in the same energy. They were beyond redemption, and the only cure seemed to be death.

After absorbing the old woman's divine energy, Han Shuo had also experienced that wonderful feeling. The thrilling sensation of seeing everything that another person had gained through hundreds or even thousands of years of painstaking cultivation pour into one's body in a matter of minutes, fueling one's rapid increase in power, for these gods serving the Church of Calamity, who were evil to begin with, this was indeed a very deep temptation that could not be resisted.

Inside the cave, Han Shuo opened his soul using only his tenacious willpower. He emptied his mind and struggled to resist the corrupting thoughts that were constantly passing through his mind.

The entire process of demonic arts cultivation had always been a battle against oneself. Since the day Han Shuo began cultivating in the demonic arts, he had constantly pushed the limits of his endurance to endure all kinds of inhuman pain. The tenacity of his will was beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine. Every time a cultivator of the demonic arts undergo a transformation, he would have to endure a long period of inhuman pain. After surviving the transformation process time and time again, Han Shuo had amply demonstrated his strength of will.

Inside the cave, Han Shuo used his extraordinary willpower to hold back the waves of distorted desire that kept surging through his mind. He would shake from head to toe, or perhaps beat his chest from time to time. However, as time passed, he gradually managed to calm down.

After five days, Han Shuo's mind was like the surface of a still lake, calm and still without the slightest ripple. He had successfully conquered this abnormal desire.

"Congratulations, Master! I feel that you have made some breakthroughs in the Omen Realm as well! By the way, in the future, you can continue to use demonic arts to absorb other people's energy. Because you have completely controlled and contained this perverse desire, it will no longer tempt you in the depths of your soul. You have conquered yourself once again!"

"Understood!" Han Shuo stood up cheerfully. He was relaxed and at ease.