Zerg Mother Queen, Irene!

The Lion-Head Demon's last shred of consciousness twisted in the flames as it stared fixedly at Yan Ning.

Yan Ning watched coldly, his right hand lightly flicking the battle blade.

"Perish."

A red-gold blade light swept out, utterly shredding the last remnants of the Lion-Head Demon's divine power!

"Boom!"

With a dull thud, the Lion-Head Demon's body exploded completely, scattering into countless specks of light that dissolved above the blood-colored lake.

Yan Ning sheathed his battle blade and vanished back into the void.

Like a ghost, he wove through the Star Tower, one forbidden space after another flashing past behind him.

He passed through ten more forbidden spaces.

When he crossed the node of the tenth forbidden space, the scene before him abruptly changed.

It was an endless golden desert, scorching sunlight baking the sand grains hot, with dunes rising and falling like frozen waves in the distance.

The moment Yan Ning set foot in this space, he sensed something was off.

"This is—!"

His pupils contracted sharply. In his divine sense, deep within the desert, fifty-seven powerful auras were gathered! Among them, the three factions—human, Mechanical Clan, and Zerg—stood clearly separated in three positions, facing each other in tense yet eerily balanced stalemate.

"So many."

Yan Ning immediately suppressed his aura, his form melting into the shadow of a dune.

In the distant sand valley, the three factions were locked in a tense standoff.

The human camp was led by a white-robed man carrying twin swords on his back, with eighteen Kings;

The Mechanical Clan side had twelve metal lifeforms of various shapes;

Most terrifying was the Zerg camp—twenty-seven Zerg Kings flanked a Mother Queen shrouded in black mist.

He could sense that this Zerg Mother Queen...

Peak King!

No, close to Invincible King.

That's right, this Zerg Mother Queen's strength was definitely nearing Invincible King.

No wonder—with just one Mother Queen, none of the three factions dared to make a move.

"Who!"

One of the Mechanical Clan immortals glanced toward Yan Ning.

Yan Ning frowned. He'd been spotted.

He had no choice but to fly out.

He landed among the human camp.

"It's Demon Flame King!"

"Demon Flame King is here—another Peak King. Our combat power just got a boost."

The twin-sword man nodded at Yan Ning.

"Silver Sword King."

Silver Sword King was also a Peak King of the Virtual Universe Company.

Counting it out, he was from the same faction as Yan Ning.

In the air, the three-way standoff grew even more tense.

No one dared to make the first move.

Just then.

The Zerg Mother Queen's figure, veiled in black mist, swayed gently, letting out a silvery laugh: "Hehehe, everyone, I don't think there's any need for us to stay deadlocked here."

Her voice carried a strange rhythm, as if it could pierce straight through the soul: "The Sealing Star is about to appear soon. Wasting time here isn't a wise move, don't you think?"

Silver Sword King frowned slightly, the twin swords in his hands gleaming with cold light: "The Mother Queen speaks lightly. Who knows if your Zerg will stab us in the back?"

The Mechanical Clan camp also fell silent.

Clearly, staying here in a standoff was unwise.

Yan Ning stood in the human camp, his gaze lingering on the Zerg Mother Queen for a moment.

He could feel that this Mother Queen's strength was unfathomable. Her personal power alone should already be close to Peak King, and with Zerg coordinated attacks, she had likely touched the threshold of Invincible King.

"I agree to a temporary truce."

Yan Ning suddenly spoke.

"But..."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes: "If we meet in the lower-level space, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

The Zerg Mother Queen let out a light laugh, her exquisite silhouette faintly visible within the black mist. "Little brother, you carry quite the killing intent~ But... I like it~"

After a brief exchange among the three factions, the Mechanical Clan moved first.

Twelve metallic lifeforms ignited their thrusters simultaneously, transforming into streaks of light that shot toward the distant spatial node.

"Let's go too."

Silver Sword King nodded to the human Peak Kings.

"Execute the plan as agreed."

Yan Ning was about to follow the group when he suddenly sensed the Zerg Mother Queen's gaze locked tightly onto him.

That gaze held an indescribable depth, as if it could see through the Chaos Clock within his sea of consciousness.

"Demon Flame King~"

Her voice rang directly in his mind.

"Your secret... is quite enticing~"

Yan Ning's heart tightened, but his expression remained calm. "If the Mother Queen is interested, feel free to come and take it yourself."

"Hehehe~ There will be a chance~"

Her laughter faded into the distance as the Zerg camp vanished entirely through the spatial node.

"Let's go too."

Silver Sword King arrived beside Yan Ning.

"This Sealing Star's emergence is bound to bring a fierce battle."

Yan Ning nodded and rose into the air alongside Silver Sword.

The group flew as streaks of light across the golden desert, with Silver Sword King deliberately slowing his pace to keep level with Yan Ning.

"Demon Flame King, I've long heard of your reputation."

Silver Sword King transmitted.

"I didn't expect to fight alongside you this time."

Yan Ning gave a slight nod. "Silver Sword King, your name thunders in my ears as well."

Silver Sword King's expression turned grave as he looked toward the direction the Zerg had departed. "That Zerg Mother Queen just now is named Irene. She's the most dazzling genius the Zerg Alliance has produced in nearly ten thousand epochs."

Yan Ning raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Her strength is immense, especially in soul attacks and soul enslavement techniques."

Silver Sword King lowered his voice.

"Rumor has it that she's even enslaved a Peak King-level powerhouse under her command, though she didn't display it just now."

A flicker of surprise crossed Yan Ning's eyes. "Peak King?"

"Indeed."

Silver Sword King nodded.

"That's why we didn't dare act rashly earlier. Her personal strength is already close to King Invincible, and with the many slaves she controls, her combat power is formidable."

Yan Ning pondered for a moment and nodded.

That was also why he hadn't made a move just now.

After his previous battles, he had a deep understanding of the combat prowess of Zerg Mother Queens.

Though she hadn't reached the true King Invincible level—capable of matching a Venerable—

Among Immortals, she was undoubtedly at the pinnacle!

Just now, without a doubt, she had withdrawn her entire Zerg army and slaves into her World Ring.

If he had to put it bluntly, Irene's strength was invincible below the Venerable level.

Against a true Venerable, she would still have no power to resist.

If he didn't use the Chaos Clock, Yan Ning admitted to himself that he was no match for her.

Of course, that was also without using the Black Hole Clone.

If he did use the Black Hole Clone, the outcome would be uncertain.

"Found it, over there!"

Silver Sword King spoke.

Yan Ning looked ahead—sure enough, another spatial node.

"Let's go. We'll keep moving forward, and our group will only grow larger. This Sealing Star's emergence will gather at least tens of thousands of Peak Kings."

Yan Ning nodded.

He also decided that from now on, he would stick with the team and act together.

Originally, I had only planned to enter the Star Tower to kill the alien races.

Unexpectedly, I happened to encounter the Sealing Star emerging into the world.

Under these circumstances, acting alone would be nearly impossible.

If I were to encounter too many alien races banding together, the danger would be far too great.

As long as enough enfeoffed kings gathered, working together, even a universe venerable would have a hard time of it.