Episode 12: Lord Luo Feng — A New Era

Within the Innate Primal Chaos Faction's towering hall, the thoughts of the Nine Sovereigns descended one after another.

"Everyone saw Luo Feng's battle with Shazhou, didn't they?" Infinite Serpent Ancestor spoke.

"That slash was truly terrifying!" Nirvana Ancestor sighed.

After completely mastering the Primal Chaos Blade Path, Luo Feng had combined two Primal Chaos-level paths and unleashed that horrifying strike! The slash had pierced through three entire layers of the Abyss of Destruction, startling many Ancient Existences.

"Never in history has anyone killed an Ancestor in a one-on-one battle," Infinite Serpent Ancestor said. "But Luo Feng's killing power has already surpassed Starlight and Shazhou! He stands at the very highest level in the entire Infinite Primal Chaos Space! I have a feeling that he may be capable of killing an Ancestor one-on-one!"

"Ancestors who have survived until now are not so easily killed," Mother of Space-Time said.

At the very least, among the futures it had seen, there was no scene of an Ancestor being killed one-on-one.

Any being capable of becoming an Ancestor had evolved its Life Core to a level akin to the origin of a Source World, and all possessed extremely powerful life-preserving methods.

Take the former three Lords of Blood Crane Territory, for instance. Blood Lord had mastered the highest level of 'Blood Power,' allowing him to transform into a sea of blood. In terms of energy reserves and life recovery, he was only a notch weaker than Luo Feng. Crane Lord had mastered 'Indestructible Power,' making him a weakened version of Wulan. Shadow Lord had mastered 'Power of Shadow,' and was equally troublesome.

Among the many Ancestors, those three were quite ordinary. They were not qualified to occupy even a single layer of the Abyss of Destruction, nor were they qualified to hold seats in the Eternal Land.

The stronger ones, such as Lotus Prison Mountain Master, were even more formidable! Even when all eight Lords of the Cultivator Faction joined forces, they could at most force him into a bedraggled retreat.

The even stronger ones were simply undying and indestructible.

As for those with major flaws in their life-preserving abilities? Such beings were rare. Over the long years of conflict between the various factions, Ancestors like that had always been the first to be eliminated. The Innate Primal Chaos Faction, the Ice Peak Faction, and certain major factions of the past had all lost numerous Ancestors.

"Mother of Space-Time, did you see it?" Giant God Emperor asked.

"Among some of the future scenes I saw, there was no scene of an Ancestor being killed one-on-one," Mother of Space-Time said. "But once he joins forces with Starlight, or with Yuan, they can kill an Ancestor! I saw that future possibility!"

The other eight tensed inwardly.

Previously, Ancestors generally only fell during large-scale wars!

"Two Lords joining forces can assassinate an Ancestor?" Yanhuo Progenitor worried. "Luo Feng can conceal all life fluctuations, and Starlight and Yuan can also conceal all fluctuations."

Concealing all fluctuations and rendering the Ancestors' many sensory secret techniques unable to detect them was extraordinarily difficult.

After all, probing techniques involving karma, vitality, and the like were far too hard to evade.

But the Cultivator Lords were all beings who had mastered Primal Chaos-level paths. Luo Feng, Starlight, Yuan, and Moman could all completely conceal themselves, making them impossible to spy upon by beings of the same level. Wulan, Jin, Minghuang, and Naigu, on the other hand, could not conceal themselves.

"Previously, they had no way to launch sneak attacks. Even if Starlight, Yuan, and Moman joined forces, the force they unleashed would have found it difficult to destroy an Ancestor in a short time. I could immediately descend through the 'Infinite World' to provide support," Infinite Serpent Ancestor said.

The Infinite Great Serpent Clan could all descend through the Infinite World. That was their special trait.

"Yes," Mother of Space-Time said. "But the might of Luo Feng's explosive attacks is simply too terrifying. By himself, he can destroy the vast majority of an Ancestor's power. Lord Starlight and Lord Yuan would only need to pursue and kill the remaining power. Therefore, if Luo Feng joins forces with either Yuan or Starlight, they may be able to kill an Ancestor in a short time."

Starlight and Yuan were both exceptionally skilled at pursuing residual power.

"The era has changed."

"Luo Feng's rise signifies that the entire Infinite Primal Chaos Space has entered a new era," Mother of Space-Time said. "In this new era, the fall of Ancestors has become easier."

All Nine Sovereigns understood. In the previous era, only large-scale wars would occasionally cause Ancestors to fall.

But from now on, if Luo Feng joined forces with either Yuan or Starlight, concealing all fluctuations, they could appear beside an Ancestor without warning! They could assassinate an Ancestor in a short time.

"Our strategy against the Cultivator Faction must change as well." Endless Ancestor was also extremely solemn. Though it was undying and indestructible, it still did not wish to see the Innate Primal Chaos Faction weaken.

If the faction weakened, it would possess fewer resources. As one of the Nine Sovereigns, it would receive fewer resources as well!

"Giant God Emperor, if you still refuse to act, then once the entire faction weakens, your Giant God Clan's resources cannot be guaranteed either." Infinite Serpent Ancestor looked at Giant God Emperor. "We cannot be risking our lives while you enjoy the resources to your hearts' content, can we?"

Giant God Emperor nodded lightly. "I understand. Our Giant God Clan will not evade its responsibilities."

The Giant God Clan had more than ten Ancestors, along with numerous World-level and high Primal Chaos-level clansmen. As the second-largest clan in the entire faction, its resource consumption was enormous.

"The strategy for future wars should change as well." Yuan suddenly spoke. "I suggest prioritizing survival, with killing enemies as a secondary objective."

"I agree." Mother of Space-Time said, "In previous wars, we always pursued the killing of enemies! We even treated the Cultivator Faction as a whetstone. Even when one or two Ancestors occasionally died, we regarded it as 'eliminating' the weak."

"Future battle formations must place greater emphasis on Ancestors with strong life-preserving abilities, using them as the core."

"Only then can we ensure an absolute advantage," Mother of Space-Time said.

Battle formation coordination focused on killing enemies—for example, combining several Ancestors capable of launching soul attacks simultaneously—could increase offensive power. But their life-preserving abilities would be much weaker.

"For example, we could use as the core certain Ancestors who have mastered the highest levels of 'Life Power,' 'Defensive Power,' 'Water Power,' 'Earth Power,' 'World Power,' 'Material Power,' and 'Domain Power,' ensuring that they cannot be shaken," Mother of Space-Time said as it looked upon certain future possibilities.

Though what it saw was far less than Starlight saw, it could at least glimpse some successful directions and avoid many detours.

An ordinary Cultivator Lord generally matched two or three Ancestors joining forces.

Previously, when the Cultivator Faction's seven Lords joined forces, even with Yuan's formation increasing their combat strength severalfold, they had still been at an absolute disadvantage! They had relied on Starlight observing countless future possibilities, on Yuan's formation to sustain them, and on the exquisite coordination of the Lords' paths, focusing on 'defense' and only occasionally counterattacking... Even so, they had failed time and time again, their territories falling again and again.

After Luo Feng became a Lord, Giant God Emperor and the other two had joined the war! The three led by Giant God Emperor had directly captured Luo Feng, while Infinite Serpent Ancestor and the others had directly trapped Wulan.

Only Luo Feng's Primal Chaos Great Destruction, with the devastation it caused, had stirred panic among certain Ancestors. They had felt that, for the mere 3,600 world clusters, it was not worth risking their lives to continue fighting a group of undying and indestructible Lords. Only then had the war finally ceased.

"If we still fail to ensure the Ancestors' safety, I fear many of the weaker Ancestors will be unwilling to participate in battle," Nirvana Ancestor said.

"Who would have thought that we, too, would be forced to arrange battle formations centered on survival?" Yanhuo Progenitor sighed.

Who were they?

They were the number-one faction, occupying half the territory of the entire Infinite Primal Chaos Space!

The Cultivator Faction, the Ice Peak Faction, and the many unaffiliated forces combined occupied only the other half of the territory.

"The cultivators have established their foundation," Infinite Serpent Ancestor said. "From this day onward, they have surpassed the Ice Peak Faction and become our greatest opponents!"

Although the Ice Peak Faction had twelve Undying and Imperishable beings, it also had another twenty-six ancestors.

Yet in the eyes of the Innate Primal Chaos Faction, with its group of more than 120 ancestors, the Cultivator Faction now posed a greater threat.

"Countless Innate Primal Chaos Lifeforms will continuously give rise to World-tier Primal Chaos beings, and even ancestors," Mother of Space-Time said. "As long as we prioritize survival and value the life of every ancestor, the Cultivator Faction will find it very difficult to kill even a single ancestor! For the foreseeable endless ages, we will remain the strongest force!"

"We can no longer suppress them."

After witnessing Luo Feng's slash, the Undying and Imperishable beings of the Ice Peak Faction understood this.

At this moment, the Cultivator Faction had officially surpassed the Ice Peak Faction!

"What a terrifying slash!"

Blood Lord, Crane Lord, and Shadow Lord of the Blood Crane Territory clan also watched this battle from afar.

They bore a grudge against Luo Feng! First, Shadow Lord had led his subordinates in raiding cultivator territory. Then Luo Feng had forcibly refined the Blood Crane Territory and taken it away. The enmity between the two sides was impossible to resolve.

"Our survival abilities may be strong," Blood Lord said as he watched from afar, "but Luo Feng is far too terrifying now. If five or six cultivator lords joined forces to hunt us down, they could possibly kill us. We must join one of the major factions."

Previously, relying on their formidable survival abilities, they had not been in a hurry to join any faction.

"We do need to join a faction." Crane Lord and Shadow Lord agreed as well. Luo Feng was far more terrifying now than when he had refined the Blood Crane Territory! Had Shadow Lord known Luo Feng could become this terrifying, he would never have dared raid Cultivator Faction territory.

"The Innate Primal Chaos Faction is the strongest, and they have always invited us," Blood Lord said. "We'll join the Innate Primal Chaos Faction."

"They are mortal enemies with the Cultivator Faction. They will certainly protect us," Shadow Lord agreed.

Once the three of them had made their decision, they soon led the entire Blood Crane Territory clan to join the Innate Primal Chaos Faction.

The Innate Primal Chaos Faction was currently establishing battle formations with survival as its foremost priority. Naturally, it greatly welcomed ancestors like Blood Lord and the other two, whose survival abilities were so strong.

Luo Feng did not know that this slash of his had cleaved open a new era.

A level of power uniquely above Shazhou! It gradually made ordinary ancestors lose their sense of security.

In truth, as the upper limit of individual strength rose higher and higher, ordinary ancestors were indeed placed in greater danger! In the years to come, ancestors would act with greater caution instead of as casually as they did now.

Even the mighty Innate Primal Chaos Faction had immediately chosen to establish ancestor battle formations centered on survival, showing just how keenly aware these ancestors were.

"Shazhou, thanks." Luo Feng left the twenty-seventh level. His figure, like a blade, directly tore through the barriers of space-time and arrived at the twenty-eighth level of the Abyss of Destruction.

Shazhou watched as the thirty World Envoys on the twenty-eighth level joined forces, their might terrifying. Shazhou and Xingmang had both attempted it before, yet neither had been able to break through this level. But Luo Feng carried blade light capable of destroying everything, forcefully cleaving through every World Envoy's obstruction and easily leaving his life imprint upon the Primal Chaos Shadow of the twenty-eighth level.

After taking control of the twenty-eighth level, Luo Feng did not hurry onward. Instead, he temporarily remained there and began creating a complete combat technique based on his Primal Chaos Blade Path.

At this moment, the seven lord avatars in the Initial Land were all smiling brightly.

"The era has changed," Xingmang said with a smile.

From this day onward, the balance between offense and defense had changed!

The final arc, "Lord Luo Feng," has begun updating. As for Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent, if you think Tomato still has any unresolved threads, feel free to leave a comment.

Finally, thank you to the new alliance leader, Gentle Dragon Meow, for the reward!