The surging waters of the Nine Roar River swept across the cosmos, plunging the three Universe Hegemons into a mire, instantly halving their flight speed.

"What now?"

"He possesses a Domain-type supreme treasure; we can't even get close to him," Venerable Ce Tian urgently transmitted, while Venerable Ba Jian frowned, "Lord Yu An, can you use your illusions to deal with him, to reduce his flight speed as well?"

"No! His will and consciousness are too strong. I can only influence him slightly; simple matters like flight and evasion, he can still manage perfectly," Lord Yu An replied with resignation via transmission. Under the interference of soul illusions, deploying certain exquisite, top-tier secret techniques becomes incredibly difficult.

But merely flying remains effortless for him.

"Forget it. Since he has a Domain-type supreme treasure and we can't kill him, let's spare his life this time. Let's go," Venerable Ba Jian declared.

"Good."

"We have no choice."

Venerable Ce Tian, Venerable Ba Jian, and Lord Yu An immediately split up, flying off in three different directions, each heading toward their respective planets.

"Trying to flee?" A furious roar erupted as the Golden Horned Beast shot directly toward Venerable Ba Jian, who was at the forefront.

"Hmph. I spared you death, and you dare to pursue me?" Venerable Ba Jian coldly looked back at the Golden Horned Beast chasing him through the void. "I couldn't catch you while trapped in your domain, but since you delivered yourself right to me, don't blame me!"

"It sounds like my life and death are within your grasp. Hahaha... How utterly ridiculous! Venerable Ba Jian, let's see who dies!" The Golden Horned Beast flapped its wings and charged forward. With its divine power burning, the Wu-Slaying Feather Wings slashed directly toward Venerable Ba Jian! Even the nine monstrous beasts within the Nine Roar River frantically swarmed and attacked Venerable Ba Jian.

The power of the nine monstrous beasts was immense; driven by the divine power and divine body amplitude of a being like the Golden Horned Beast, they were enough to severely injure a Middle-Tier Universe Venerable. While they couldn't harm a Universe Hegemon, they could certainly suppress his speed.

"Seeking death," Venerable Ba Jian responded with cold disdain.

Venerable Ba Jian, deep in his bones, held utter contempt for this Golden Horned Beast. "So weak in strength; he was completely suppressed before. It's only because of his noble origin—being part of the Star Beast Alliance, one of the Nine Great Superforces of the universe—and being gifted a formidable supreme treasure that he managed to cling to his pathetic life... You don't even have the strength to fight back, yet you dare to contend with me?"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Venerable Ba Jian and the Golden Horned Beast clashed within the endless golden river, exchanging blows that resulted in continuous, thunderous impacts.

...

Since the Golden Horned Beast had to focus on only one target, Venerable Ce Tian and Lord Yu An could watch the battle easily from a distance.

"Truly seeking death. Possessing a Domain-type supreme treasure, yet this Golden Horned Beast doesn't flee. Instead, it chooses to engage."

"Watch, see how Venerable Ba Jian deals with him."

Venerable Ce Tian and Lord Yu An observed.

The battle raged on...

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes! It was a fierce, desperate struggle. To be precise, the Golden Horned Beast relentlessly entangled Venerable Ba Jian. Although he was consistently overpowered during their exchanges, the Golden Horned Beast never retreated, continuously trading blows with Venerable Ba Jian.

Venerable Ce Tian and Lord Yu An watched this scene, utterly dumbfounded.

"This, this..."

"Given Venerable Ba Jian's divine body strength, after such a long duration, he should have burned through about 3% of it," Venerable Ce Tian exclaimed in shock. "But that Golden Horned Beast shows no change in its aura whatsoever."

"He has burned for so long, yet his divine body hasn't weakened even slightly," Lord Yu An shuddered as well.

Venerable Ba Jian lost all traces of his former aloofness and cold disdain. Instead, he was filled with profound shock and rage. "Fighting me for this long, completely suppressed by me... My divine body's normal consumption from burning should already be 3%, yet he shows no change? That High-Tier Supreme Treasure Armor is truly terrifying!"

Because the Golden Horned Beast felt weak during their initial encounters, he had assumed the beast's supreme treasure armor hadn't been activated to its third form.

However, even the second form of a High-Tier Supreme Treasure Armor generally reduces incoming power by a thousandfold.

"Even the High-Tier Supreme Treasure Armor is useless."

"Break for me."

A verdant sword light suddenly flickered to life, tearing through the endless golden river and striking the Golden Horned Beast.

"Pffft!" "Pffft!" "Pffft!" "Pffft!" "Pffft!" "Pffft!"...

Nine consecutive slashes.

Like a cage of swords, they struck the Golden Horned Beast's divine body repeatedly, each strike stronger than the last. In fact, the ninth strike alone consumed 2% of Venerable Ba Jian's divine body... After unleashing these nine strikes, Venerable Ba Jian's divine body plummeted from 97% down to 89%.

"What!" Venerable Ba Jian stared at the Golden Horned Beast in shock, disbelief, and terror. "His divine body hasn't weakened at all?"

"Roar~~~" The Golden Horned Beast roared, flapping its wings, and its massive wings, sharp as blades, cleaved down fiercely once more.

"The secret techniques contained in his attacks are quite ordinary; his comprehension of the Laws is clearly not high, so he shouldn't be able to activate the third form of the High-Tier Supreme Treasure Armor!" Venerable Ba Jian was completely thrown into panic and bewilderment. "And this is my High-Tier Supreme Treasure Divine Sword, wielding my ultimate move perfected over endless eons in deadly peril—even a Universe Hegemon possessing a High-Tier Supreme Treasure Armor should have been severely wounded by now."

Boom!

The Golden Horned Beast tumbled backward, then flapped its wings, breaking through the waves to charge back toward Venerable Ba Jian.

"Venerable Ba Jian, I told you... Let's see who dies in the end!" the Golden Horned Beast roared.

A flicker of terror finally appeared in Venerable Ba Jian's eyes. He understood. He grasped the Golden Horned Beast's plan.

"Damn it."

Venerable Ba Jian turned, a streak of light, attempting to flee. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~ Under the oppressive force of the endless golden river, his speed was agonizingly slow, while the Golden Horned Beast was ten to a hundred times faster, catching up instantly.

"Even at 42%, my divine body still possesses the power of six hundred million Sector Lords, a divine body that stretches over a thousand kilometers—that's 42% of it! A million, tens of millions of times greater than yours! Furthermore, my Tribulation Armor is a Peak Supreme Treasure; even Universe Masters struggle to reach its maximum capacity. Even if you wield a Top-Tier Supreme Treasure Divine Sword and your secret techniques possess heaven-shattering power, they will be weakened to one ten-thousandth under the protection of the Tribulation Armor..."

"If I can't kill you, I will wear you down until you perish."

"Beneath the Nine Roar River, you have no escape. Death is your only path!" The Golden Horned Beast threw its head back and let out a heaven-shaking roar. Gone was Venerable Ba Jian's previous cold arrogance; only panic, anxiety, and fury remained. He wanted to flee but found it impossible.

...

"Hurry, flee."

"Quickly."

Venerable Ce Tian and Lord Yu An finally understood what was happening and immediately flew out of the Nine Roar River region, putting significant distance between themselves and the conflict.

"What a terrifying Golden Horned Beast," Lord Yu An murmured, shaken.

"His methods for resisting us earlier were clumsy; he seemed like just a Middle-Tier Universe Venerable. I always assumed his supreme treasure armor was only activated to its second form," Venerable Ce Tian's aged voice sounded. "We thought that once Venerable Ba Jian deployed his ultimate move, the Golden Horned Beast would certainly be severely wounded... but we were wrong. Venerable Ba Jian's divine body weakened significantly, yet that Golden Horned Beast showed! Showed absolutely no change!"

Lord Yu An and Venerable Ce Tian were both stunned.

"He's done for."

"Venerable Ba Jian is finished."

Lord Yu An and Venerable Ce Tian exchanged a look, both filled with shock.

They both realized that the Golden Horned Beast was a terrifying entity that couldn't be beaten down by brute force. While its offensive methods might be lacking, under the oppression of the Domain-type supreme treasure, Venerable Ba Jian could not escape and was forced into continuous combat. If Venerable Ba Jian maintained the burning of his divine body, his essence would continuously diminish... until the moment he fell into slumber! If Venerable Ba Jian stopped burning his divine body, his strength would instantly weaken by a thousandfold! At that point, the Nine Roar River alone could inflict repeated injuries upon him, and each injury would further consume his divine body...

Not burning meant death!

Burning meant death!

Fleeing was impossible!

Not fleeing meant certain death!

"Golden Horned Beast, grant me a path to live," Venerable Ba Jian ground out, unwilling to accept defeat, and transmitted one last time.

"Dream on!" the Golden Horned Beast roared, shaking the heavens. "Prepare for your demise."

"You are forcing my hand," Venerable Ba Jian said, furious and desperate.

"I am forcing your hand. Didn't you try to kill me just now? My Law comprehension might be weaker than yours, but the outcome is still your death!" The Golden Horned Beast attacked again and again. The oppression of the Nine Roar River ensured Venerable Ba Jian could not escape. If it weren't for the 'Nine Roar River,' Venerable Ba Jian would have long since fled.

This is precisely why Domain-type supreme treasures are so precious.

If you hold the advantage, they can trap the enemy.

If you are at a disadvantage, they allow you to escape.

And they can easily annihilate crowds of weaker foes.

"You, you, you..." Venerable Ba Jian roared in anger.

"Prepare to fall," the Golden Horned Beast continued its relentless assault. Even though Venerable Ba Jian's combat power was several levels above the Golden Horned Beast's, his divine body was constantly eroding! Moreover, he dared not stop burning his divine power; if he ceased, his defense would plummet to one-thousandth... leaving him vulnerable to easy destruction, and his divine body would consume itself even faster. Burning it was equivalent to constantly consuming his life essence.

60%—50%—40%...

As his divine body level dropped, his strength also diminished. As his strength decreased, the consumption rate of his divine body accelerated.

"Golden Horned Beast," Venerable Ba Jian roared, "If I reverse the flow of time to resurrect, I swear I will reach the Universe Lord realm and slay you to avenge this humiliation."

"Then I will kill you again!" the Golden Horned Beast roared back. "Remember me. It was me. Don't look for the wrong opponent... What a pity, as a Universe Hegemon, it will be difficult for you to even earn a chance at resurrection through time reversal."

"Just wait, just wait," Venerable Ba Jian grew increasingly hateful. He hailed from the Nine Regions Alliance, and the Nine Regions Alliance lacked a Universe's Strongest Being! Once a Universe Hegemon perished, if the Nine Regions Alliance wanted to resurrect him, they would have to request help from another power or a solitary Universe's Strongest Being for the resurrection—a cost that would be astronomical.

Venerable Ba Jian was uncertain if the Nine Regions Alliance would pay such a price.

"32%." Venerable Ba Jian felt the weakness of his divine body, his rage mounting.

If he didn't self-detonate, he would fall into slumber and likely be soul-controlled into becoming a slave, never to rise again.

If he self-detonated, he would perish, with no guarantee of resurrection—perhaps eternal death.

"If I don't self-detonate, I certainly die. If I self-detonate, there's still a chance of revival."

"Damn Golden Horned Beast."

"Ahhhhhh..." With a roar of irrepressible resentment, Venerable Ba Jian self-detonated.

Boom!

Venerable Ba Jian instantly exploded into an endless, surging wave of energy that swept out in all directions, causing the golden Nine Roar River spanning the cosmos to churn up waves tens of thousands of kilometers high before annihilating them.

"Hmph," the Golden Horned Beast watched this scene with cold indifference. "I originally wanted a good talk, but you insisted on trying to kill me for my treasures. Pity, the treasure is now mine."

With a sweep of his hand...

The two treasures in the distance flew over: one was a dark green armor, and the other was a verdant supreme treasure divine sword.

"Such a powerful Universe Hegemon, possessing only two supreme treasures?" The Golden Horned Beast collected the treasures.

Venerable Ce Tian and Lord Yu An, who dared not approach the golden Nine Roar River in the distant cosmos, were struck with shock and sighed as a Universe Hegemon met his end.

"Whoosh, whoosh~~~" The golden waves rolled, and the Golden Horned Beast stepped upon the waves in the cosmic void. His divine power transmission swept out mightily: "Venerable Ce Tian, Lord Yu An, do you still intend to oppose me?"

: Two chapters concluded! RO