The Map

Compared with the unease among the many factions of the Primal Universe, the powerful beings of the Universe Ocean were much calmer. After all, they had no grudge against the Time Beast God, and the Universe Ocean had far more powerful beings than the Primal Universe. An Eighth-Order True God was a force to be reckoned with, but still nowhere near enough to shake the balance of power in the Universe Ocean.

Most Universe Ocean races chose to wait and see, but... a few were already itching to act.

"A Natural Beast God who has reached the realm of a Universe Supreme Being?"

The God Eye Race was now the greatest force in the Universe Ocean. It had a full seven True Gods and eleven Supreme True Treasures. Its leaders, God Eye True Master and Star True Master, possessed the absolute strength of a Ninth Order and a peak Eighth Order, respectively, making the race an undisputed hegemon of the Universe Ocean.

Inside the Miniature Universe of First True Master, God Eye True Master, all seven True Masters of the God Eye Race had gathered, either in person or as Divine Power Avatars.

"This is truly unheard of. God Eye, as I recall, in the two Reincarnation Eras before ours, we never heard of a Natural Beast God who could take this step, did we?" Third True Master, Star True Master, asked God Eye True Master.

The God Eye Race belonged to the current First Universe Reincarnation Era. When they had still been flourishing in the Primal Universe, two even older Reincarnation Eras had already existed in the Universe Ocean.

Thus, among the current factions, the super-races of the First Reincarnation Era, such as the God Eye Race and the Skeleton Race, were undoubtedly the most knowledgeable. They understood the circumstances of five whole Reincarnation Eras, though they could not compare to the East Emperor Holy Land and Purple Moon Holy Land, whose existence spanned an unknown number of Reincarnation Eras.

But the fact that nothing like this had been heard of in five entire Reincarnation Eras was proof enough of how rare it was for a Natural Beast God to reach the True God realm.

"Indeed, I've never heard of one. Natural Beast Gods are born naturally and are carefree by nature, so making a breakthrough should be exceedingly difficult. This Time Beast God must be unusual in some way." God Eye True Master spoke slowly.

"Teacher, this Time Beast God is extraordinary. Perhaps we can use him to glimpse the secrets of reincarnation! Even if we can't, the complete corpse of a Natural Beast God at the level of a Universe Supreme Being would still be quite a prize." Sixth True Master, Green Eye True Master, made his suggestion directly to God Eye True Master.

The seven True Masters exchanged glances and quickly reached an agreement.

"Once the Time Beast God begins adventuring in the Universe Ocean, we'll try to surround and kill him. Perhaps we'll gain something.

"Seventh Elder, sorry for the trouble, but contact the youngsters in the Primal Universe and see if we can get detailed information about the Time Beast God, especially from Monster Race's Demon Ancestor Zhen.

"Also, notify the Universe Masters from our race exploring the Universe Ocean. If they encounter the Time Beast God, they must inform us immediately." God Eye True Master made the final decision.

"Yes, Teacher (God Eye)!"

The limit of the three Reincarnation Eras was drawing near, and the seven True Masters had long since come close to madness. To them, nothing mattered more than their race transcending the cycle—not even the vastness of the universe. They would not let go of even the slightest, uncertain hope.

Other races might not be able to surround and kill an Eighth-Order True God, but the God Eye Race had the strength to do so.

A year passed quickly.

Once the year was up, Shi Yan visited the Monster Race and received the two Peak Supreme Treasures they had promised him.

This time, Demon Ancestor Zhen did not try any tricks. It faithfully gave Shi Yan two treasures worth as much as a Peak Domain-type Supreme Treasure: the Peak Domain-type Supreme Treasure Thunder Punishment Prison and the Peak flying-palace Supreme Treasure Holy Sound Ship.

These treasures accounted for a considerable portion of the Monster Race's wealth. Demon Ancestor Zhen had even handed over its own treasure, the Holy Sound Ship, and felt a sharp pang of regret.

But there was no choice. The Monster Race was weaker than ever and could not withstand another blow.

"Once Meng Cha and Lord of Starry Sky break through, I'll go to the Universe Ocean with them. You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs..." Demon Ancestor Zhen spent a long time trying to convince himself before he finally felt a little better.

Seeing the pained look on Demon Ancestor Zhen's face, Shi Yan was delighted inside, but he did not stint on the praise. "Excellent, Zhen Jiao. You truly have the bearing of a race leader. As agreed, the grudge between the Monster Race and me is settled. I won't stay any longer."

"Beast God, please." Demon Ancestor Zhen turned his head away. Just looking at Shi Yan now made him ache.

Shi Yan was even more pleased, but he did not keep needling him. With a single Teleport, he left the Demon Ancestor Secret Realm.

"Zhen Jiao..."

After Shi Yan left, Meng Cha and Lord of Starry Sky appeared in Demon Ancestor Zhen's Divine Temple.

"Phew..." Demon Ancestor Zhen let out a long breath, then turned to the two of them. "Meng Cha, Old Beast God, you need to break through as soon as possible. Then the three of us can go together and gather more Supreme Treasures in the Universe Ocean."

This time, the Monster Race had lost a full five Peak Supreme Treasures and the Monster Beast Progenitor. It had only avoided losing its status as a peak race because Demon Ancestor Zhen, a Universe Supreme Being, was still holding the fort.

But there was no doubt Demon Ancestor Zhen needed some uplifting news to raise the race's morale. It was also a warning to the other peak races: even badly weakened, the Monster Race was not to be trifled with.

"We'll do our best. We should be able to make it within a few hundred years," the two replied after exchanging glances.

"That's good. Don't waste any time. It's fortunate that Original Ancestor has been suppressed, otherwise..." Demon Ancestor Zhen sighed.

Supporting such a vast race alone had put it under considerable pressure. But if Demon Ancestor Zhen had to choose again, it would still have severed ties with the Monster Beast Progenitor.

What the Monster Race needs is a leader who truly belongs to the Monster Race, not a so-called Progenitor who only looks out for himself.

After leaving the Monster Race, Shi Yan went straight back to the Hulan Secret Realm and called over his little apprentice.

"Teacher, what did you call me here for?" Qing Huan looked at Shi Yan with his three large eyes.

Shi Yan waved his hand, and dozens of enormous boxes appeared before him, packed full of black books.

"These are some notes on my breakthrough to True God. You can use them as a reference, but remember, you mustn't blindly imitate me. On the True God Path, you can only rely on yourself." Shi Yan instructed him.

The books he left behind contained not only his breakthrough experience but also some insights from his tentative explorations of the Divine Power Path. There were not many, but they pointed the way toward the Divine Power Path.

In the current Primal Universe, these insights were absolutely one of a kind.

I have no chance to pursue the Divine Power Path any further, but it would be nice if Qing Huan could achieve something on it. Shi Yan felt a pang of regret.

Not being able to continue exploring the Divine Power Path was one of his great regrets.

"Teacher? What is a True God?" Qing Huan gratefully accepted the books, then asked with some confusion.

"A True God is a Universe Supreme Being." Shi Yan smiled. "Study them carefully. If both of us, master and apprentice, can become True Gods, or even..." He trailed off. "That would make a fine story."

"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll work hard," Qing Huan said firmly.

"Good. Focus on your cultivation. Remember, if you ever decide to explore the Universe Ocean, tell me beforehand." Shi Yan nodded.

"I understand, Teacher."

Waving Qing Huan away, Shi Yan rubbed his brow and thought to himself, Most matters in the Primal Universe have been settled. There's just one last thing...

Before long, the various races of the Primal Universe received a "visit" from the Time Beast God.

"Whoosh."

Outside Shi Yan's Miniature Universe in the Universe Ocean, a silver-haired young man suddenly appeared.

"Given how quickly my Miniature Universe devours Chaos Airflow, my Divine Power should accumulate quickly. It's a pity that this Divine Body of mine is so weak. All that Divine Power can only be stored in my Miniature Universe." The silver-haired young man glanced at the Miniature Universe beside him and shook his head helplessly.

The one who had appeared there was naturally Shi Yan. At the moment, he was using a human form that no one in the Primal Universe had ever seen.

No powerful being in the Universe Ocean recognized Shi Yan's life aura, and no race knew his fighting style. So as long as he deliberately changed his appearance and did not show himself in his Beast God True Form, it would be difficult for the Universe Ocean's powerful beings to identify him anytime soon.

Though Shi Yan wore a look of regret, he was actually in an excellent mood.

The Monster Race's compensation had reminded him that he could also fleece the other races of the Primal Universe.

So before heading to the Universe Ocean, Shi Yan had paid "visits" to several major factions in the Primal Universe.

He had not asked for any Supreme Treasures, only the maps these races had made while exploring the Universe Ocean.

These maps were undoubtedly important secrets to the major races, and by rights, they should have defended them to the death.

But since these races had been in the wrong, and Shi Yan was a lone wanderer, they eventually agreed to share their maps after he promised never to leak them to any other faction.

Of course, while sharing them with him, those fellows had probably cut them down and simplified them to some extent.

That was only natural. In the original story, the maps the Human Race shared with the Universe Masters of the Hong Alliance were only about thirty percent the size of the ones the Human Race kept for itself, and had also been simplified.

As for forging maps, those races probably didn't have the nerve. With a True God's strength, the Inner Domains of the Three Great Forbidden Lands were basically no threat to his life. Besides, the races hadn't coordinated beforehand. If the same region was recorded in completely contradictory ways, the forgery would inevitably be exposed.

If Shi Yan discovered the maps were fake, he would naturally make trouble for them.

"Too bad. These fellows' maps don't contain a single detail about the Core Regions." Shi Yan curled his lip.

The current Reincarnation Era of the Primal Universe was still very young, so Shi Yan believed that the major factions had explored relatively little of the Universe Ocean's maps, particularly the Core Regions. But to have no information at all was just nonsense.

Still, Shi Yan was fairly satisfied to have gotten maps of the Inner Domains. After all, every peak race had True Gods. If he pushed them too far and they joined forces, they could become a major headache. So Shi Yan chose to quit while he was ahead.