Within this silent, ancient expanse of starry sky, an overwhelming pressure seemed to have frozen everything in place.

Four immense phantoms, manifestations of four supreme Wills, were arrayed across three distinct locations.

The colossal silver-white serpent head and a monstrous beast encased in a serrated shell shared one quadrant.

A graceful, slender silhouette occupied another.

A gigantic, perfectly dark elliptical sphere phantom held its solitary position in the final area.

"The situation is clear to all," the voice of the slender silhouette, the 'Bug Race Empress,' was as gentle as ever, brimming with infinite allure. "Luo Feng unleashed the ultimate secret technique of a Universe Master, instantly forming a Miniature Universe. Within that domain, over six thousand Universe Venerables perished, and he repelled Lord Banfu, escaping back into the Qian Bao River Domain of his teacher, City Lord Chaos."

"Empress, Lord Banfu was your choice!" the dark elliptical sphere phantom boomed with anger.

A voice, aged and hoarse, issued from the mouth of the beast with the serrated shell. "Bug Race Empress, this operation was executed by Lord Banfu of your Bug Race Alliance, and it culminated in this outcome. Your Bug Race must shoulder a greater portion of the responsibility."

"You all consented," the Bug Race Empress's tone grew subtly frigid. "Moreover, who could have foreseen Luo Feng capable of employing the ultimate secret technique of a Universe Master? It was entirely unexpected. Even if your Monster Race Alliance or Machine Race Alliance had dispatched Universe Masters, would they have performed any better?"

The two Monster Ancestors and the Machine Race Father God understood the logic, yet the losses sustained this time were undeniably massive.

Though some of the six thousand-plus perished Universe Venerables possessed the ability for cloning, they were a scant minority. Including those Luo Feng had killed previously, the number of Universe Venerables requiring resurrection was approximately Qìn Lì individuals! And every single one was, at a minimum, a High-Level Universe Venerable!

This was a terrifying figure.

The ensuing dispute centered on the allocation of responsibility—which of the three parties would bear the greatest burden. Thus, right from the start, the Monster Race and Machine Race brought up the 'ineffective execution by Lord Banfu,' clearly preparing the groundwork for future demands.

"Hmph!"

The Bug Race Empress let out a cold snort. "Of the three parties, each Alliance will resurrect its own fallen Universe Venerables! Neither of you harbors any hope that my Bug Race Alliance will assume a greater share."

"Empress," the enormous silver-white serpent head finally spoke. "This action saw our Monster Race Alliance dispatch the largest number of Universe Venerables. On that original star, the Universe Venerables from our Monster Race Alliance constituted more than half! More than half of the deceased Universe Venerables also belonged to our Monster Race Alliance! We contributed the most to the operation; yet now, you expect us to shoulder the most responsibility? This is unfair!"

"I didn't force your Monster Race to send so many Universe Venerables," the Bug Race Empress retorted. "You did so purely voluntarily. Since so many died, you naturally must bear the cost. Besides, we all agreed at the time... the fallen Universe Venerables would be the responsibility of their respective Alliances."

None of them had anticipated such a vast casualty count beforehand.

They had expected very few Universe Venerables to perish. It was only when Luo Feng's Demon Kill Clone appeared that the Three Great Alliances realized their miscalculation, though even that was thought to be within the scope of tolerable losses.

It was the final, massive eradication that truly pained the hearts of the Three Great Alliances.

Even among supreme beings as lofty as Universe Supreme Masters, when tribal interests were at stake, neither side would easily yield. Because the stakes involved this time were indeed extraordinarily high: resurrecting a single High-Level Universe Venerable would severely injure a Universe Master! Only those Universe Masters with exceptionally advantageous physiques, like World Tree or Mountain Giant, whose divine bodies were extraordinarily vast, could manage to resurrect more.

The number of Universe Venerables one could resurrect had nothing to do with sheer power, but everything to do with the size of the divine body!

The more enduring the vessel, the more resurrections could be performed!

But the sheer quantity this time—nearly seven thousand! Merely the fallen Universe Overlords alone placed immense pressure on the four Universe Supreme Masters. How many Universe Masters did the Three Great Alliances possess in total? If all their experts were severely injured, they lacked the capacity to resurrect so many Universe Venerables.

"In my view," the dark elliptical sphere phantom proposed, "there is no need for further contention. Our Three Great Alliances should jointly petition the Nine Nether Lord! Let the Nine Nether Lord perform the resurrections... His Nine Nether Sea is comparable to an ultimate treasure. It is entirely capable of resurrecting seven thousand Universe Venerables!"

"The greater the number resurrected, the fiercer the backlash from the universe's punishment," the silver serpent head countered. "With the Nine Nether Lord's capabilities, his Nine Nether Sea can indeed withstand increasingly terrifying backlash. However... the vast majority of those Kǒu Míng Universe Venerables have never been to the Nine Nether Sea, and the Nine Nether Sea cannot be moved. Relying solely on a single divine body split off by the Nine Nether Lord..."

"Initially, one of his divine bodies could resurrect one Universe Venerable. Even if he continuously teleported a divine body over each time, by the later stages, as the backlash intensified, his single divine body’s divine power might not even resist the retribution... making it impossible to resurrect even a single Universe Venerable."

Silence descended again upon the three parties.

Resurrecting strong beings by reversing time violates the laws governing the universe's operation. Violating it once, twice, or thrice is tolerable... but violating it too frequently constitutes a provocation against the universe's fundamental source! The punishment would grow increasingly severe! Of course, with the seemingly infinite depth of the Nine Nether Sea, it could withstand it all.

Alas, the Nine Nether Sea could not be moved.

"For all the Universe Masters of our Three Great Alliances to perform the resurrections is impossible," stated the dark elliptical sphere phantom. "This would cause our Three Great Alliances to weaken unprecedentedly. But neither can we avoid resurrection nor delay it indefinitely... We made a promise, and we must fulfill it."

"I propose we specifically invite the Universe Masters with exceptionally large divine bodies," the dark elliptical sphere continued. "Our Three Great Alliances have several such beings, and within factions like the Northern Border Alliance and the Ancestral God Sect, there are even more special life-form Universe Masters. If we invite them, each one can resurrect hundreds of Universe Venerables or more! After resurrecting the Universe Overlords, we can likely manage to resurrect a few more Universe Venerables."

The Universe Supreme Masters conferred rapidly. Their minds operated with astonishing speed, quickly devising a meticulous plan.

This was already the least costly option available.

The Three Great Alliances would share the burden equally!

Each Alliance effectively suffered the loss of one pinnacle domain-type ultimate treasure, a cost that squeezed the hearts of all four Universe Supreme Masters.

"The resurrection plan is set. Now, let us discuss Luo Feng," the dark elliptical sphere phantom said.

"Luo Feng must be killed!" declared the Bug Race Empress.

"He possesses talent in clone techniques, and his strength is formidable. Universe Masters likely cannot handle him. Unless we intervene, but there are only four of us—it would be a joke if we all had to act! And if we move individually, even one of us cannot possibly catch him on the original star alone," the aged voice from the serrated-shelled beast noted. "However, I agree with the Empress's assessment. Our Three Great Alliances' plan failed spectacularly, and we suffered immense losses. If we simply let it end here, our Three Great Alliances will become the laughingstock of all other major forces in the entire universe! Even killing just one of his clones would serve as a proper conclusion to this affair, ensuring we avoid total ridicule!"

"Agreed," the massive silver serpent head concurred.

"By eliminating his clone and seizing his ultimate treasures, we salvage some pride. If we let him escape arrogantly after humiliating the Three Great Alliances, we risk becoming an even greater jest," the dark elliptical sphere phantom stated.

"Luo Feng’s Demon Kill Clone moves extremely fast; we might not catch him," the aged voice expressed concern.

"Even if he escapes the original star," the Bug Race Empress said coldly, though still dripping with seduction, "we will continue the pursuit. We must strike him down at least once and seize his ultimate treasure; this will serve as a meager offset to the shame of this failure."

These four supremely powerful beings understood the gravity of the situation...

From the moment Luo Feng annihilated over six thousand Universe Venerables, the Three Great Alliances had inevitably lost face. Even concluding the affair by killing just one of Luo Feng’s clones would still feel like a significant humiliation. But if they failed to kill even a clone, allowing Luo Feng to act with impunity after striking such a blow against the Three Great Alliances, the resulting shame would be far greater—it would make them an outright cosmic joke!

"Instruct the other Universe Masters to track Luo Feng's movements, ideally to hold him in place!"

"Meng Cha, you shall take action this time."

"Understood."

Original Star No. 02933.

Within the Qian Bao River Domain, a faint, hazy figure of City Lord Chaos materialized before Luo Feng. In reality, City Lord Chaos's true body was situated over thirty billion kilometers away from Luo Feng.

"Teacher, are you sending me to my death?" Luo Feng was shocked.

"What you did this time was thrilling; the entire Hong Alliance cheers your actions. If your Teacher were in the same position, I would have done the same," City Lord Chaos's phantom explained. "But while your action was justified, since the Three Great Alliances were in the wrong for initiating the attack against you, your counterattack makes it difficult for them to lash out excessively..."

Luo Feng nodded. With his Super Divine Power, Universe Masters generally refrained from mass slaughter; such actions were seen as provocation toward the other side and could easily lead to war.

However, since the three factions tried to kill Luo Feng first and were defeated by him, it naturally wouldn't trigger an all-out war.

"Even if they cannot unleash full fury, they must save face! Having suffered such a devastating loss at your hands, if the Three Great Superpowers remain silent, they risk being ridiculed across the entire universe," City Lord Chaos’s phantom cautioned. "They will certainly strike back, perhaps even with a Universe Supreme Master descending personally."

Luo Feng’s heart stirred.

"They need an end where you are killed, to preserve their honor. Even if it’s only the death of one of your clones." City Lord Chaos continued, "You have your ultimate treasures placed with your other clones. You can simply send one out—say, your Demon Kill Clone—to be sacrificed! A mere Demon Kill Clone, possessing no ultimate treasures, would only cost you a negligible amount of divine power. This way, the Three Great Alliances can publicly claim to have killed you, bringing a semblance of closure and recovering a little of their lost prestige."

"What do you think?" City Lord Chaos looked at Luo Feng.

Luo Feng pondered silently.

He was not a fool. If he hadn't orchestrated a complex series of plans beforehand, he might have agreed instantly; after all, having a Demon Kill Clone perish at the hands of a Universe Supreme Master wasn't too humiliating. However, accepting this path meant his other, Blood Cloud, plan could not be executed.

"Teacher, I will not tangle with them unnecessarily, but I am also unwilling to march directly to my death," Luo Feng stated plainly. "Teacher knows my capabilities; I can easily escape the original star."

"Even if you escape the original star, they will continue the pursuit," City Lord Chaos replied. "If you send your Demon Kill Clone to take the blame, this matter can be considered settled."

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