Luo Feng felt the erratic shifting of the flow of time, much like traversing a cosmic passage toward the Origin Universe.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, everything became crystal clear.

"Where is this?" Luo Feng looked around. The trees and plants here were towering and magnificent, with ancient trees easily reaching over a hundred kilometers high.

Whoosh!

Luo Feng shot up, breaking through the void and ascending above the forest, surveying the surroundings from the high altitude.

At a glance, beyond this vast expanse of forest lay a plain. Even with Luo Feng’s vision, he could only clearly discern these two regions: the forest and the plain. Within both the forest and the plain stood colossal statues—monumental effigies of the legendary eight innate Beast Gods. There were countless statues of each innate Beast God, some depicted sleeping, others roaring defiantly with heads held high, and still others engaged in playful antics...

Statues of the innate Beast Gods rendered in every conceivable style, each one exuding a profound pressure, as if the true Beast Gods had manifested anew.

"Where am I?"

"The Ancestor of the Star Beast Alliance, said to be opening the stronghold of the Star Beast Alliance to me?" Luo Feng surveyed the area. "Is this their vital ground?"

"No!"

"The flow of time!" A look of shock washed over Luo Feng’s face.

He had just connected his consciousness with his true body on Earth and instantly perceived the immense disparity in the ‘flow of time’ between the two spacetime locations.

The difference was staggering, leaving Luo Feng shaken.

Just one second in the original universe equated to a full 10,081 seconds in the realm where Luo Feng now resided! This meant the time flow ratio was an absurd 1:10081.

"How is this possible? Such an exaggerated time flow ratio?" Luo Feng couldn't believe it. "This means spending ten thousand years here is only one year passing in the original universe! Even the ‘Time Palaces’ available for purchase by our human race only accelerate time flow by a few times, or perhaps dozens of times."

Treasures like the Time Palace could generally only be crafted by 'Universe Masters' who had fully comprehended the Laws of Time and Space.

A manufactured Time Palace was essentially just a place for cultivation, albeit with a faster time flow. Ten years of cultivation inside might only equate to a month outside. However, as far as Luo Feng knew, Time Palaces were incredibly expensive, with acceleration factors of ten or a hundred times being considered normal; accelerating a thousand times was already astronomically priced.

Accelerating by ten thousand times... the human race certainly did not possess any Time Palaces of that caliber.

"Luo Feng!" A hoary voice echoed through the heavens and earth.

Luo Feng whipped his head around sharply.

A mass of dark clouds flew directly towards him from the distance, radiating a pressure that suppressed the entire world. As the black cloud approached, it suddenly morphed into a Golden Horned Beast, and then, transforming again, it settled into the guise of a human—an old man dressed in white robes, sporting nine sharp horns on his head.

"Ancestor?" Luo Feng hesitated slightly.

"This is one of my avatars," the elder Ancestor said, stepping through the void. "The place you currently occupy is a universe held exclusively by our Star Beast Alliance!"

"Another universe?" Luo Feng was startled.

He had learned from his previous conversation with ‘Zhen’ that the Star Beast Alliance possessed its own universe! Luo Feng could somewhat accept that; after all, the Star Beast Alliance was on par with the Hong Alliance in strength, so it wasn't surprising that they maintained their own universe just as the human race had its Origin Universe.

"And this place," the Ancestor looked at Luo Feng, "is the Beast God Realm within that universe. It is a place specifically designed for cultivating experts of the Beast God lineage."

"The Beast God Realm?"

Luo Feng gazed upon this boundless, endless world. The pressure emanating from the various statues of the Beast Gods was infinite, vastly stronger than the pressure left by the statue of Xiroluo in the past.

"This is the true core stronghold of my Star Beast Alliance. Even geniuses within our alliance rarely get the chance to enter. Your teacher, Zuo Shan Ke, is quite generous to personally invite me to help," the Ancestor regarded Luo Feng. "However, I believe you will not succeed within 100,000 epochs."

"Ten thousand epochs in the Beast God Realm is only ten thousand years in the original universe," the Ancestor smiled. "One epoch per year... you probably haven't experienced anything like that, have you?"

"Indeed." Luo Feng was truly impressed by such methods.

"May I ask what exact requirements Teacher Zuo Shan Ke left behind?" Luo Feng pressed. "What must I achieve to leave?"

"The requirement is simple."

The Ancestor looked at Luo Feng. "Defeat me, and you may leave!"

"De-de-defeat... you..." Luo Feng’s eyes widened into perfect circles.

Defeat the Ancestor of the Star Beast Alliance?

Defeat a Universe’s strongest expert?

What a joke!

"I will maintain a divine body strength equal to yours," the Ancestor smiled, gazing at Luo Feng. "As long as you defeat me when my divine body is the same as yours... you can leave."

"How is that possible?"

Luo Feng shook his head repeatedly. "You are a Universe’s strongest expert; your secret techniques are inconceivable... even a Universe Master would likely be incapable of this. Forget a Universe Master; perhaps even a Universe’s strongest expert couldn't accomplish it."

"Correct, a Universe Master cannot," the Ancestor smiled. "But a Universe’s strongest expert can, because this is merely one of my avatars... it can at most suppress the strength of a Universe Master; facing a Universe’s strongest expert is still insufficient."

"Does that mean I have to become a Universe’s strongest expert to leave?"

Luo Feng shook his head. "Impossible! That can't be this absurd!"

No matter how confident Luo Feng was, he dared not claim he could become a Universe’s strongest expert within 100,000 epochs! He believed Teacher Zuo Shan Ke wouldn't be so foolish. Furthermore, even if this stronghold of the Star Beast Alliance was the finest training ground, it couldn't elevate Luo Feng to the level of a Universe’s strongest expert—and besides, Universe’s strongest experts cannot be cultivated!

The Way of the Beast God, the Laws of Time and Space, and so on, could only be cultivated up to the level of Universe Master! That was the absolute limit. There was simply no fixed method to become a Universe’s strongest expert! To reach that level, one had to rely entirely on oneself. This was something Zuo Shan Ke had told Luo Feng long ago.

"Rest assured."

"Your teacher gave you a sliver of hope," the Ancestor smiled reassuringly.

Luo Feng secretly sighed in relief; indeed, the requirement couldn't be that preposterous.

"When you are Immortal level, I can only employ peak ultimate secret techniques at the level of a Universe Master," the Ancestor smiled at Luo Feng. "When you reach the Universe Venerable level, I can use the ultimate secret techniques of a Universe Master. And when you become a Universe Master, I can unleash my strongest ultimate skills."

"Regardless of whether you are Immortal, Universe Venerable, or Universe Master, this avatar of mine will always maintain the same divine body strength as yours," the Ancestor smiled. "It’s just that as your comprehension of the laws improves, I can employ more secret techniques."

Luo Feng was stunned.

Peak ultimate secret techniques at the Universe Master level?

"Of course, when I use peak ultimate secret techniques..." the Ancestor smiled, "I will certainly be employing ones that are incredibly close to the 'Ultimate' tier of peak ultimate secret techniques."

Luo Feng felt a sense of despair.

Preposterous!

Utterly ridiculous!

He, a mere Immortal, was expected to fight the Ancestor of the Star Beast Alliance? Even though the Ancestor could only use secret techniques at the Universe Master level that were infinitely close to Ultimate, that still nearly counted as an Ultimate secret technique.

"Defeat you? You mean for me, an Immortal, to create the Ultimate Secret Technique of a Universe Master?" Luo Feng shook his head. "What a farce!"

An Immortal creating the Ultimate Secret Technique of a Universe Master?

He had never even heard of such a thing!

Absolutely impossible!

"If I break through to become a Universe Venerable, then the Ancestor will use the strongest Ultimate Secret Technique of a Universe Master. Given the Ancestor's mastery... perhaps his strongest Ultimate Secret Technique of the Universe Master level is even stronger than Chaos City Lord's," Luo Feng felt despair. "And when I become a Universe Master, the Ancestor can unleash his full strength."

No hope.

Relatively speaking... the hope was greater when he was at the Immortal level.

For an Immortal to create the Ultimate Secret Technique of a Universe Master? This was pure fantasy.

"Yes, I believe you won't accomplish it in hundreds of millions of years," the Ancestor smiled at Luo Feng. "That's why I am so confident in the bet of 100,000 epochs with your teacher, Zuo Shan Ke. I am full of assurance."

"Hahaha... to meet this requirement, you actually only have two paths."

"One: Create the Ultimate Secret Technique of a Universe Master while still at the Immortal level."

"Two: You can become a Universe’s strongest expert within this Beast God Realm of mine."

"Only these two paths. So forget about trying to become a Universe Venerable or a Universe Master, because the moment you divert your focus to improving your law comprehension, the time spent will continuously accumulate! From Immortal level to the peak of Universe Venerable, comprehending the laws alone requires vast eons... so achieving success within 100,000 epochs is even more impossible."

"You only have these two paths, both offering a slim chance."

"One is becoming a Universe’s strongest expert. That holds a tiny possibility."

"The other is creating the Ultimate Secret Technique of a Universe Master at the Immortal level; that also holds a tiny possibility," the Ancestor smiled. "Of course, it's only a sliver. I believe you may never achieve it, and you will be eternally trapped in the Beast God Realm."

Luo Feng felt powerless.

No wonder this 'Ancestor,' standing at the apex of the universe, dared to make such a wager; no wonder he was so self-assured.

A sliver of possibility?

This was purely theoretical; the actual probability was likely one in billions.

"This Beast God Realm is opened to nurture you," the Ancestor gestured to the surroundings. As he did, countless statues in the distance began to glow brightly. Some sections of the plain in the distance also radiated light, and in even further regions, beams of light shot toward the sky. "The statues, the ground, the mountain rock faces in the distance—some hold inscribed secret laws, others hold ultimate secret techniques. Divine body amplification secret techniques, soul amplification secret techniques, combat secret techniques, close combat secret techniques, soul attack secret techniques, psionic weapon secret techniques... they are all here, varying in strength and power. There are even dozens of sets of Ultimate Secret Techniques at the Universe Master level."

"You may learn any of them."

"This Beast God Realm is entirely open to you," the Ancestor smiled. "You can research all these ultimate skills to your heart's content, harness your talent, and create a miracle. Haha, you can challenge me anytime you wish. Of course, if you become a Universe’s strongest expert, you succeed without needing a challenge."

"Explore freely."

"Study to your heart's content. I await your challenge... Hahaha... 100,000 epochs. Haha, interesting, interesting..." The Ancestor laughed, then vanished into thin air.

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