The Lord of Banfu, possessed skin as pale as snow and a dazzling cascade of golden hair. His upper body was akin to a human form, yet his lower half was serpentine, reptilian. His gaze felt as warm as the sun, and his smile, as intimately kind as Mother Earth herself, drawing one irresistibly into that profound sense of benevolence.
“He is Luo Feng, the very human that the Three Great Peak Race factions are so eager to eliminate!” The Lord of Banfu observed the distant human youth, clad in silver armor and wings, standing perfectly steady beneath the crushing pressure of the endless seawater in the ‘Floating Mountain Sea.’
He still recalled the instructions given by the Insect Queen before her arrival: “Banfu, this time, killing Luo Feng primarily depends on you. Among the Insect, Monster, and Machine Race Alliances, you are considered the absolute pinnacle in illusionary techniques. This Luo Feng has risen too quickly; his growth is too astonishing. If allowed to continue unchecked, he will become a grave threat to the Insect Race Alliance in the future! If he keeps hiding in places like the Original Universe, we would have no recourse whatsoever. Luckily, he has appeared on the Primitive Star!”
The Insect, Monster, and Machine Races all knew this truth...
If Luo Feng self-destructed, all their efforts would amount to nothing, at best netting them a few treasures.
But even with the possibility of ‘wasted effort,’ they had to proceed. Because this was, after all, an opportunity! If Luo Feng remained hidden in the Original Universe, the Three Great Peak Race factions wouldn't even have a chance to eliminate him! Now that Luo Feng was present on the Primitive Star, it was a rare encounter, one they absolutely had to seize!
“This Luo Feng, rising so rapidly, must possess immense inner confidence! He wouldn't possibly self-destruct and die without even attempting a fight. If that were his plan, why bother entering the Primitive Star?”
“We must exploit his pride, his self-assurance! And deal with him!”
“Remember…”
“The primary objective is to gain soul control over him! If you can achieve soul control, then this genius of the Human Race is effectively lost to them, and might even be turned to serve our Insect Race Alliance. That is the greatest possible success! If you cannot achieve that… then penetrate his soul and extinguish him, destroying all his avatars.”
“For a human to become this powerful, to grow this fast, he must have encountered some incredibly heaven-defying, unique fortunes. And some of these unique fortunes, once revived through reversing time and space, can never be attained again.” The Insect Queen understood the mysteries of the universe well; certain special fortunes indeed operated this way.
For instance, the memories of the ‘Nine Tribulations Secret Tome’ could only be imparted to one person. Once that person perished, even if they were revived by reversing time and space, they could not bring the secrets of the Nine Tribulations Secret Tome back with them.
Similarly, Universe Masters, once fallen, were eternally dead, incapable of resurrection.
The same applied to certain extraordinarily heaven-defying fortunes.
Once dead, reversing time and space could not bring those fortunes back.
“Primary objective: Soul control.”
“If that fails, move to the secondary objective: Soul penetration and annihilation!”
“If even that fails, this entire operation is considered a failure. Then, the tertiary objective: Destroy this avatar of his and recover all his treasures. Perhaps among his treasures lie the secrets to his current strength.” The Insect Queen laid out three options, clearly prioritizing the direct soul control of Luo Feng.
Within the illusory space enveloping the Monster Race’s Dream Ancestor Secret Realm.
Around the long table sat numerous figures.
A silver-white serpent head occupied the main seat. The Monster Race was divided into two major factions: the Dream Ancestor faction and the Shock Ancestor faction, and those usually gathered here belonged to the Universe Masters of the Dream Ancestor faction. While usually populated only by Monster Race members, today an outsider, the Lord of Tongling, was present.
“The Lord of Banfu has already encountered Luo Feng,” the Lord of Tongling stated.
“We shall await the good news from the Lord of Banfu,” the immense silver-white serpent head issued its voice.
The assembled Universe Masters all nodded in assent.
A menace must be eliminated as soon as possible.
How much trouble had one City Lord of Chaos caused for the Human Race’s enemies! Many matters that even Giant Axe Creator didn’t need to handle personally were resolved by the City Lord of Chaos.
Adding another City Lord of Chaos?
That was more terrifying than adding three or four ordinary Universe Masters combined!
The Lord of Banfu looked at the distant Luo Feng and laughed, his voice incredibly deep, like the rumbling tremor of the earth: “To instantly shake off my influence—your will must be quite strong.”
“There is still some distance compared to the Lord of Banfu,” Luo Feng stood firm in the distance.
“Modest of you. In this short period, more than a dozen Universe Venerables from the Three Great Alliances have perished by your hand. Your methods astound me. However, possessing such strength, why resort to slaughtering the weak?” the Lord of Banfu inquired, seemingly in no rush to attack.
Luo Feng shook his head: “If they don't provoke me, I don't mind showing a modicum of mercy and benevolence. But if they insist on provoking me, then they deserve to die!”
“Haha, they deserve to die.”
The Lord of Banfu burst into laughter. “Well said!”
Luo Feng paused, glancing at the Lord of Banfu with surprise.
“Luo Feng, do you know which faction I belong to?” the Lord of Banfu asked with a smile.
“The Insect Race Alliance,” Luo Feng replied directly, though he was secretly wary, wondering what machinations the Lord of Banfu was truly attempting.
“Incorrect. I belong to the Northern Frontier Alliance.” The Lord of Banfu shook his head. “I secretly withdrew from the Insect Race Alliance long ago and joined the Northern Frontier Alliance. My true purpose here today is to invite you, along with your Earth-origin lineage, to join the Northern Frontier Alliance. I know… Earth is a mysterious planet that nurtured the Earth lineage, yet the Human Race occupies your homeland. If you are willing, our Northern Frontier Alliance is prepared to help you reclaim Earth…” As he spoke, the Lord of Banfu paused, silently watching Luo Feng in the distance. At this moment, Luo Feng’s expression had gradually dimmed.
But only for a fleeting moment—
“Get out!”
Luo Feng suddenly gritted his teeth and roared.
Rumble~ Whoosh~
The formless spectral divine power actually caused the surrounding black seawater to ripple violently.
“Good! Good! Good! I am impressed!” Luo Feng glared at the Lord of Banfu, his smile cold and forced through gritted teeth. “You truly live up to your name, Lord of Banfu, master of illusionary attacks. Conversing with me, you managed to gradually lead me into an illusion without my knowledge. I have truly witnessed the methods of a top-tier illusionist among Universe Masters.”
“This fast… Even against a true Universe Master, they would usually be affected by me for a moment. He broke free even faster than some Universe Masters. This is troublesome,” the Lord of Banfu thought inwardly with alarm. The moment he penetrated Luo Feng’s defenses and guided him into the illusion, Luo Feng detected it and swiftly shattered the illusion, repelling the spectral divine power.
“Truly admirable.”
Luo Feng gripped the hilt of the Blood Shadow Blade on his back, instantly drawing it, and fixed his gaze on the Lord of Banfu. “Lord of Banfu, allow me to show you some of my capabilities as well.”
Boom!
Luo Feng moved instantly, his speed terrifying.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~ Hiss~ But the surrounding black seawater surged violently, suppressing Luo Feng layer after layer. Even with the assistance of the Shi Wu Wings, his speed was severely restricted. Meanwhile, the Lord of Banfu retreated like lightning. As Luo Feng suffered the suppression of this ‘Floating Mountain Sea’ domain, the Lord of Banfu actually received aid.
“Queen, soul control failed,” the Lord of Banfu immediately reported the message. “His willpower and consciousness are immensely powerful, extremely resolute, comparable to a normal Universe Master. I suspect he possesses a soul-type supreme treasure.”
While reporting, the Lord of Banfu understood… the primary objective could not be achieved.
He could only rely on the secondary objective.
“Die!!!”
The Lord of Banfu gazed from afar at Luo Feng, his eyes incomparably azure and piercing. Suddenly, his eyes seemed to transform into two blue crystals, and a wave of formless soul impact drilled rapidly into Luo Feng’s mind. Within his mind… two gigantic blue spirals spun madly…
Bang!
As the two blue spirals collided with each other, occasional sparks of blue crystal light were born, shooting directly toward Luo Feng’s divine power.
“Sizzle sizzle sizzle~ Hiss!” Luo Feng felt the life imprint within his divine power react as if his skin were doused in sulfuric acid. A sharp pain pierced his soul. Yet Luo Feng’s expression remained unchanged. Having endured the trials of Life and Death Inheritance, how could he possibly collapse so easily?
“Yu Xiang!”
“Defend!”
Luo Feng roared silently in his heart.
The purple crystal-like trigonal prism at the center of his chest immediately burst forth with countless threads of laws, connecting every bit of his divine power, encasing the life imprint as if fitting it with a layer of armor. Simultaneously, strange beast roars emanated from the trigonal prism, transmitting throughout his body, swiftly weakening the pain. Meanwhile, Luo Feng rapidly manipulated his own divine power to furiously assault the two huge blue spirals, intending to expel them entirely, or even annihilate them directly.
“Annihilate! Annihilate! Annihilate!” The Lord of Banfu stared intently at Luo Feng from a distance. The two blue orbs in his eyes spun continuously, sending ceaseless invisible impacts.
“The first objective failed earlier. I refuse to believe I cannot succeed with soul annihilation! Fall for me!” The Lord of Banfu poured forth all his strength.
Soul annihilation was entirely different from material annihilation.
After soul annihilation, only the life imprint would completely vanish; Luo Feng’s divine body would remain, he would simply collapse, much like the Master of Mo Sphere.
“Boom!”
A tremor echoed in front of Luo Feng.
“You failed,” Luo Feng stared at him. Relying on the dual defense of the Jie Armor and Yu Xiang still made him struggle this much… The Lord of Banfu, dispatched by the alliance of the Monster, Machine, and Insect Races, was indeed supremely powerful in illusion and soul attacks. Unfortunately, it was still far from enough to soul-annihilate Luo Feng.
“You… what…” The Lord of Banfu couldn't believe it, but he could only report back to the Insect Queen. “Second objective failed! Luo Feng likely possesses an extremely powerful soul-type supreme treasure. His resistance speed is too quick. I suspect he may possess a top-tier soul-type supreme treasure!”
The supreme beings of the Insect, Machine, and Monster Races received the news, immediately feeling a surge of anger and unwillingness.
But their anger was useless now.
Soul control, soul annihilation—both had failed!
“Banfu, execute the third objective. Kill Luo Feng for me! Recover all the treasures taken from the Universe Venerables he slew, as well as his own supreme treasures. If we can secure a top-tier soul-type supreme treasure and several other treasures, this operation will still be worthwhile,” the Insect Queen commanded.
“Yes.”