Just as the shadow had expected, another Eternal Life arrived. Two against one, they surrounded the Thorn Civilization's ancestor. The ancestor tried to communicate, but the other side clearly had no interest in talking. The Thorn Civilization's ancestor believed the portal came from the other civilization, making this an invasion. The other side, meanwhile, believed the portal came from the Thorn Civilization, and that it was planning to invade them because it had an Eternal Life on its side. Who could have guessed they had two?
With no way to communicate, all that remained was war.
Only when they were evenly matched could they talk.
The shadow knew full well that the Thorn Civilization was doomed. For the Unknown to use a civilization, it had to understand it. Unless that civilization was too powerful to be fully exploited, in which case they would have to find another way.
As Lan Meng had put it, this civilization would attack madly as long as its opponent was weaker. It needed to reboot the universe and increase the number of Eternal Life beings.
In the end, it all came down to self-interest.
Not every living thing could break through to the Eternal Life level on its own. Such beings were exceedingly rare.
The Thorn Civilization's ancestor was being pushed back. Life Qi and Eternal Life Substance threw the surrounding Cubic Distance into chaos, and the shadow grew more and more excited. Almost there. Almost.
Just then, a sudden pang of dread struck. It whipped its gaze toward the other side of the Thorn Civilization and saw a familiar light. That was... the Unknown Portal had been activated. Though the Unknown Portal was small, once activated, it could be seen across a vast area—not just from one universe, but throughout the entire surrounding region.