A Desperate Gamble

He turned back time by several dozen seconds.

Shi Yan had no idea who was pursuing him, but he knew that Blood Orchid Ancestor wouldn't be hunting him so openly without something to rely on.

In the Divine Fire Prison, where endless gray flames blazed, two mighty beings clashed without pause. Vines stretching for millions of kilometers whipped about, continuously reaching to wrap around the white flying ship. Any gray flames they touched were easily scattered.

Yet the countless vines, which seemed to possess boundless power, would sometimes twist and snap, and at other times wither rapidly. Countless thick bolts of lightning, each dozens of meters in diameter, also crashed down from above, leaving vine after vine hanging limp.

Even so, Blood Orchid Ancestor spared no divine power, and the endless vines continued surging toward Shi Yan, one after another. He felt as helpless as someone trying to stop a flowing river by striking at it with a blade.

"Blood Orchid Ancestor, expending your divine power like this might be fine for a short while, but if this goes on, won't you inevitably lose?" Shi Yan asked, probing her.

"Hahaha... Three-Life True God—or should I call you Time Beast God? You're right. Fighting like this does consume divine power, but with my Divine Body, I can keep it up for ten days or more without trouble. Do you think you'll still be alive ten days from now?" Blood Orchid Ancestor's voice was sharp, and her killing intent soared.

"Damn it!"

Shi Yan cursed inwardly. Blood Orchid Ancestor's confidence confirmed that she had an ally. There weren't many forces in the Universe Ocean capable of killing an Eighth-Order True God. Shi Yan searched his memories. Could it be the God Eye Race?

Shi Yan knew that, in the future, the God Eye Race would kill Kong Luo, a True God of the Second Reincarnation Era, and hunt down Kong Luo's companion, Thunder Robe Demon God, until he fled in disarray and was forced to escape into the deepest core region of the Universe Boat. That would bring about the emergence of the Duan Donghe Lineage inheritance.

The God Eye Race would also lose two True Gods, Second True Master and Seventh True Master, as well as two Supreme True Treasures. It would be a classic case of trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice used to lure it.

Do I have to flee to the Universe Boat Core Region, too? Shi Yan frowned. He had planned to explore the Universe Boat Core Region, but being chased there in a desperate escape was clearly not part of that plan.

The Universe Boat Core Region was no paradise. Even a True God could lose their life through a moment's carelessness or suffer the Disaster of Getting Lost. And for someone like Shi Yan, who had no map of the core region, exploring it would require even greater caution.

If he fled into the core region in a panic, whether he survived would come down to luck.

Should I flee to the core region or not? Shi Yan was torn. Blood Orchid Ancestor's ally might not be the God Eye Race or another superpower. If it isn't, I might still have a chance to escape...

But before he could deliberate for long, he suddenly felt a strange force descend around him. It was as if someone were peering into his future.

"Who's there?"

By instinct, Shi Yan twisted the timelines around him, disrupting the future. Yet that force still forcibly seized the futures of nine timelines surrounding him.

"How is this possible? They can forcibly seize my timelines?" Shi Yan was stunned. He was a genuine Eighth-Order True God, with a realm that had truly reached this level.

He wasn't like the more common True Gods in the Universe Ocean, who relied on Supreme True Treasures to forcefully unleash Eighth-Order power despite having a realm that was only Peak Seventh Order, or even Seventh Order.

With Shi Yan's realm, forcibly seizing his timelines would require at least a Ninth-Order realm, or an Eighth-Order realm combined with a Supreme True Treasure. Shi Yan suspected it was the latter.

If someone with a true Ninth-Order realm were peering into my timelines, I might not even have noticed... Shi Yan made his assessment, but then felt an immense pressure bearing down on him.

An Eighth-Order realm combined with a Supreme True Treasure still meant Ninth-Order combat power. Only two beings in the entire Universe Ocean currently possessed such strength: God Eye True Master of the God Eye Race and Skeleton Master of the Skeleton Race. Both were supreme beings of the First Reincarnation Era.

Of course, the suppressed Original Ancestor was a level stronger than either of them.

Shi Yan was certain that God Eye True Master had made the move. His divination was renowned throughout the Universe Ocean, while Skeleton Master was known for his extraordinary ability to stay alive.

"The God Eye Race... Blood Orchid Ancestor really is bold, working with just about anyone." Shi Yan was utterly exasperated. He had barely arrived in the Universe Ocean, and now he had to face its greatest power. It was practically hell mode.

"I can only try my best..." Shi Yan steered the Holy Sound Ship onto a new course.

Blood Orchid Ancestor was startled when she saw this. After comparing the map with the Universe Boat's layout, she quickly realized that Shi Yan was heading for the Universe Boat Core Region.

"God Eye True Master, the Time Beast God is fleeing toward the Universe Boat Core Region," Blood Orchid Ancestor immediately informed him.

"Don't worry. I'm already heading over to intercept him," God Eye True Master replied, thinking to himself that it was just as he had expected.

Of the nine timelines he had glimpsed, three pointed toward similar futures in which Shi Yan fled to the Universe Boat Core Region. God Eye True Master had accordingly chosen to head there in advance and intercept him.

"You're a ruthless one. If you make it to the Universe Boat Core Region, you might become a threat someday." A hint of murderous intent flickered in God Eye True Master's gaze.

Although most beings in the Universe Ocean thought that anyone who fled into the Universe Boat Core Region in such a panic had virtually no chance of survival, God Eye True Master had led the God Eye Race in rising from under the Skeleton Race's oppression to become the Universe Ocean's greatest power. The words "root out the weeds" had been etched into his instincts.

As he raced toward the core region, God Eye True Master also sent word to Third True Master and Second True Master, ordering their two groups to head there as well. But judging by their respective speeds and positions, the other two groups of God Eye Race powerhouses had little chance of intercepting Shi Yan. God Eye True Master was the only one with a real chance.

"Almost there. I'll reach the Universe Boat Core Region in five more days." Shi Yan sat cross-legged inside the Holy Sound Ship, controlling his domain to fight Blood Orchid Ancestor while monitoring the area around him for more than a hundred light-years.

If any God Eye Race powerhouse came near, he would spot them in advance.

With Blood Orchid Ancestor interfering, Shi Yan could only maintain a speed of roughly thirty thousand times the speed of light. At that speed, he had no confidence he could avoid being intercepted.

If he could travel at full speed, it would take him only a day to get from the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space to the Universe Boat Core Region. Of course, if his speed truly weren't being hindered, Shi Yan could simply leave at full speed. He wouldn't need to seek survival in the deadliest place of all, the Universe Boat Core Region.

Four days passed quickly. As they drew closer to the Universe Ocean Core Region, the surrounding environment grew increasingly hostile.

The Inner Domain of Universe Boat covered a vast area, and its dangerous regions naturally varied in severity.

Broadly speaking, the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space marked the dividing line. Outside it, Fourth-Order Universe Masters had to proceed with great caution, while Fifth-Order Universe Masters could move about more freely.

Beyond the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space, further inward, even Fifth-Order Universe Masters could easily lose their lives. Ordinary True Gods had to be careful as well, and the closer one got to the core, the more dangerous the perilous regions became.

After crossing the Divine Fire Prison, Shi Yan passed through more than a dozen other perilous regions. The environment around them shifted violently without pause, but it had little effect on the two True Gods in battle.

The Silver Flying Ship, entangled in countless vines, flew into a forest. Unlike the lush green forests seen in most places, the trees here were all black, white, and gray.

A dense aura of death and decay spread from the trees, as if it would turn everything around them to dust.

This was the Forest of Decay, a famous perilous region deep within the Inner Domain of Universe Boat.

"..."

Blood Orchid Ancestor frowned. As a plant life-form, even after cultivating to the True God stage, her innate instincts still affected her to some extent. The Forest of Decay was exactly the kind of place she hated most.

And the Forest of Decay lay deep within the Inner Domain of Universe Boat, where even Seventh-Order True Gods could find it troublesome. Although Blood Orchid Ancestor possessed Eighth-Order strength, she still couldn't ignore it.

"Ch-ch-ch..."

The blood aura permeating the vines fought against the surrounding force of decay, easing some of the pressure on Shi Yan.

The Forest of Decay affected Shi Yan far less. The lightning of the Thunder Punishment Prison weakened somewhat under the influence of the decaying aura, but Space-Time Control remained unaffected.

Besides, Blood Orchid Ancestor's vines were outside the ship. In a sense, she was protecting Shi Yan from the Forest of Decay.

With one side weakened and the other strengthened, Blood Orchid Ancestor's hindrance became a little less effective.

"Hmph. This place may affect me somewhat, but don't dream of escaping my restraints anytime soon." Blood Orchid Ancestor was confident in herself.

Just then, Shi Yan appeared on the bridge of the Silver Flying Ship.

His white-gold Beast God True Form emerged, and killing intent swirled in his dark eyes. Since things had come this far, Shi Yan no longer tried to conceal his Beast God True Form.

"Blood Orchid Ancestor, die!"

Shi Yan roared. The Secret Patterns on the horns above his head began to flow, and a massive phantom enveloped his pair of cloven hooves as he swiped directly at the vines covering the area.

"You don't even have a single Supreme True Treasure. How could you possibly be my match?"

Blood Orchid Ancestor was furious too. Her countless vines blazed with green light, weaving together into a thick whip that lashed straight at him.

But Shi Yan made a feint. The phantom Beast God Claw dodged Blood Orchid Ancestor's vine whip and swung toward the other vines around them instead.

"What?!"

Caught off guard, Blood Orchid Ancestor watched as countless vines were scattered by the blow and fell limp.

But in return, Blood Orchid Ancestor's full-force strike landed squarely on Shi Yan's white-gold body.

"Pfft!"

Like a hot knife through butter, the vine whip sliced Shi Yan's Divine Body in two.

Although Shi Yan's figure was already blurred and he was doing everything he could to control space and time to evade the strike, Blood Orchid Ancestor's full-power blow, bolstered by a Supreme True Treasure, was brutally powerful.

Space and time? Shattered completely!

His past body? Smashed to pieces!

For the first time, Shi Yan experienced firsthand the power of an offensive Supreme True Treasure.

If not for his incredible defensive techniques and his domain weakening her attack, that single blow might have ruptured his Divine Body and cost him half his divine power.

As it was, although his Divine Body had been sliced in two, repairing it wouldn't cost him much divine power. And besides...

"Blood Orchid Ancestor, farewell!"

Shi Yan had been wounded, but after the countless vines around him were knocked aside, there was a brief gap in Blood Orchid Ancestor's interference. That was already enough for him.

"Time Acceleration!"

Shi Yan's speed surged instantly, breaking through Blood Orchid Ancestor's obstruction.