Undercurrents Surge

The silver light swirled several times before fading into invisibility.

Shi Yan's realm had already reached the pinnacle of the seventh stage, only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the eighth stage.

"A pity, if not for that bastard..." After the initial excitement, Shi Yan grew somewhat resentful.

If not for the Monster Beast Progenitor's interference, he would have had a strong chance of breaking through to the eighth stage.

An eighth-stage True God, if he could also obtain a suitable Supreme True Treasure, comprehend its secrets, and push the Secret Patterns to their limit, would be able to unleash ninth-stage power—such strength would place him among the very pinnacle of existence in the Universe Ocean.

But now, although he had reached the pinnacle of the seventh stage and was only a hair from the eighth, when that hair would finally break was anyone's guess.

"Once I create a suitable Secret Technique, I'll make the Monster Race pay dearly." Shi Yan snorted coldly.

The Monster Beast Progenitor was not particularly strong among True Gods—merely seventh-stage strength, and without a Supreme True Treasure to wield, he was essentially at the bottom of the barrel among True Gods in the Universe Ocean.

But Shi Yan had only just broken through. His realm had reached the seventh-stage pinnacle, yet he had not created an appropriate Secret Technique. If he were to fight the Monster Beast Progenitor now, he might not even gain the upper hand.

With this thought, Shi Yan lost all interest in observing his newborn Miniature Universe. Suppressing the rage in his heart as best he could, he simply sat cross-legged and began creating a Secret Technique best suited to his current realm, while also savoring some insights from the Chaos Evolution, hoping to break through to the eighth stage.

Just as Shi Yan began to consolidate his realm, the Monster Beast Progenitor, who had been relentlessly bombarding Shi Yan's Miniature Universe from outside, also stopped.

"It's been this long, the Chaos Evolution should be about over by now." The Monster Beast Progenitor tilted his massive head, then grinned viciously: "Since we're already enemies, you can't blame me. Missing out on the Chaos Evolution is your own bad luck... Without the insights from the Chaos Evolution, I doubt that old fellow Time Beast God can even break through to the seventh stage."

Thinking this, the Monster Beast Progenitor laughed all the more heartily. He had great confidence in his attacks. Most True Gods would probably need to devote twenty to thirty percent of their willpower just to completely block out the tremors of their Miniature Universe.

But what the Monster Beast Progenitor didn't know was that the structural stability of Shi Yan's universe far exceeded his imagination. His attacks required hardly any willpower to block, and for Shi Yan, they were easily suppressed.

"Hmph, my goal is achieved, no point wasting time here. What rotten luck, running into this Time Beast God..."

The Monster Beast Progenitor shook his head and flew away from the vicinity of Shi Yan's Miniature Universe, preparing to return to the Primal Universe to discuss with the Universe Masters of his race how to deal with the inevitable retaliation from the Time Beast God.

Shi Yan went into seclusion to create his Secret Technique, falling temporarily silent.

Meanwhile, the Monster Beast Progenitor hurried back to the Primal Universe, returning to the Monster Race's stronghold.

"Ancestor, how did it go?"

At this moment, the Monster Race's stronghold was packed with powerful beings of the race, each at least a Universe Master—seventeen mighty existences in total.

Leading them, besides the Monster Beast Progenitor, was another strange beast with a serrated shell—the Monster Race's other Universe Supreme Being, Zhen Demon Ancestor.

"I've already interfered with the Time Beast God's Chaos Evolution. I reckon it'll be hard for him to even break through to the seventh stage. As for anything else..." The Monster Beast Progenitor shook his head: "After all, breaking through to become a Supreme Being, the sixth-stage pinnacle is the bare minimum."

At the Monster Beast Progenitor's words, all the Universe Masters frowned deeply.

The sixth-stage pinnacle was still absolutely invincible in the Primal Universe. Though they had anticipated this, it still gave most of the Universe Masters a headache.

Few among them had even reached the fourth stage; most were only at the third stage. Facing a sixth-stage pinnacle Universe Supreme Being with such strength, they would likely be killed in three to five moves.

"Alright, everyone."

At this moment, a being who looked quite similar to the Beast God spoke up: "No one could have predicted the Time Beast God would break through to True God. Since things have come to this, we need only be cautious in the Primal Universe from now on. As for the Universe Ocean... I imagine the various forces there will be very interested in a Natural Beast God with the strength of a Universe Supreme Being."

"The Lord of Starry Sky speaks wisely."

The Monster Race's Universe Masters may not have fully agreed with the Lord of Starry Sky, but since this operation was spearheaded by the Monster Beast Progenitor, they didn't dare say much.

The Monster Beast Progenitor swept his gaze around, sensing the dissatisfaction among the Universe Masters, and grew somewhat irritable: "Enough, this matter ends here! It's just one Time Beast God—the Monster Race won't be destroyed over this."

The Monster Beast Progenitor forcefully ended the meeting, and the Monster Race's Universe Masters had no choice but to disperse in twos and threes.

"Hmph!"

The Monster Beast Progenitor vanished in a flash, heading off to who knows where.

But what he didn't know was that after he left, the seemingly low-key and silent Zhen Demon Ancestor secretly exchanged a meaningful glance with the silver-white serpent "Meng Cha" and the Lord of Starry Sky, who played the peacemaker.

"Meng Cha, Old Beast God, how much longer do you two need? And Old Beast God, now that the Time Beast God has broken through, it won't affect you, will it?"

At the edge of the Monster Race's territory, in a desolate region of space, three powerful beings suddenly appeared and began conversing.

The first to speak was Zhen Demon Ancestor, but now he had shed all pretense of humility before the Monster Beast Progenitor, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness.

The silver-white serpent "Meng Cha" flicked her enormous forked tongue, then rasped: "Becoming a Universe Supreme Being is no easy feat. Even if you've found the path, reaching the final step takes time, Zhen Jiao. You should know this well."

The Lord of Starry Sky beside him nodded, his voice low: "Indeed. Pushing the Path of Fusion Laws to the level of a Universe Supreme Being is extremely difficult. Fortunately, the Time Beast God likely did not take the Beast God Path. Now that he has broken through, I do not feel that my own path is cut off."

"Good... The Monster Beast Progenitor fancies himself the guide of all strange beasts and Starry Sky Giant Beasts, arrogant and headstrong. Back then, he insisted on opposing the Original Ancestor, costing the Monster Race dearly. And now he's recklessly provoked a great enemy like the Time Beast God. If this continues, he may doom himself, but the Monster Race won't be buried with him." Zhen Demon Ancestor's deep voice echoed through the void.

"The Monster Beast Progenitor calls himself the progenitor, yet he cannot devote himself to the race the way the human Original Ancestor or the Machine Race's Father God do. Naturally, we cannot let him continue to lead the Monster Race." The silver-white serpent's gaze turned cold.

"Once the two of us break through, that will be the time for the Monster Beast Progenitor to get lost. Perhaps we can even reconcile with the Time Beast God and pin all the blame on the Monster Beast Progenitor alone," the Lord of Starry Sky suggested.

"Heh, that's a good plan. It's best not to make enemies of a lone Supreme Being. Even if we have to offer some treasures as compensation, it's no great loss."

"Then it's settled. You two break through as quickly as possible."

"Agreed."

The three mighty beings settled their plans and departed separately.

"Heh heh, the Monster Race..."

Watching Zhen Demon Ancestor and the silver-white serpent leave, the Lord of Starry Sky, who had lingered a step behind, let his gaze grow somewhat profound before vanishing into the void as well.

The undercurrents among the top experts of the Monster Race did not affect the ordinary Universe Masters. To them, the threat of the Time Beast God was the most immediate reality.

A lone pinnacle powerhouse becoming a mortal enemy of the race kept these Universe Masters on edge for several hundred years. But as time passed, the Time Beast God never showed himself.

Gradually, some Universe Masters began to move about in the Primal Universe once more, though more Monster Race Universe Masters chose to remain in hiding and observe. After all, lying low for even a few thousand epochs was a trivial matter to a Universe Master.

On the other side, Shi Yan, who had been cultivating in seclusion within his Miniature Universe for several hundred years, suddenly opened his eyes.

"..."

In Shi Yan's left eye, time flowed and eons passed at a glance, while in his right eye, endless space seemed to be born and collapse in an endless cycle.

But the next moment, all these visions vanished without a trace.

"The Beast God Path has reached its limit at this stage." Shi Yan stood up, then transformed into his Beast God True Form. Around his platinum-white body, time and space raged wildly for a time, while the Eight Great Elements—gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and light—intertwined and rampaged without cease.

After a moment, the Eight Great Elements faded, and time and space calmed. Yet pure time and space alone seemed even more profound, unfathomable, and ever-changing.

"The fusion of the Ten Great Laws, with time and space as the core, drawing upon the eight lower laws as nourishment for time and space—this is essentially manifesting the Chaos Law through the medium of time and space... If one truly reached that step, they would likely be worthy of being called a Saint." The platinum-white Beast God stood at the center of shifting time and space, observing in silence.

Several hundred years of secluded cultivation had been a period of rapid advancement for Shi Yan.

Even before becoming a True God, he had successively mastered the Wind-Time and Thunder-Time Beast God Paths belonging to the two time laws, as well as the Beast God Paths belonging to the five space laws. Only the Water-Space Beast God Path had eluded his complete grasp.

Now, his realm had reached the peak of the Seventh Stage. After all, the Beast God Path was merely a law at the Universe Master level. Once his realm advanced, cultivating it became much easier.

After fully mastering all Eight Great Beast God Paths, Shi Yan began attempting to completely integrate the eight lower laws into time and space.

If he could accomplish this fully, it would be the realm of a Saint. Naturally, Shi Yan was still far from that point. But merely by embarking on this path, he had already created several peak Seventh Stage Secret Techniques, and he also had a feeling...

"Just one opportunity, and I can fully enter the Eighth Stage realm." The platinum-white Beast God transformed back into the silver-haired youth with sharp brows and starry eyes. "Perfect timing. I should go out for a walk and make the Monster Beast Progenitor pay the price."

"Unfortunately, it's not convenient to manifest the Beast God body at will for now. I'll temporarily walk outside in human form." Shi Yan examined his own form.

As a Natural Beast God, the Beast God True Form was the body he was most familiar with. But a Natural Beast God was also a natural target—a piece of living treasure meat. Even though Shi Yan had become a True God, he still had to be cautious when moving through the Universe Ocean. Though he didn't know how long he could keep it hidden, every extra moment he could buy was precious to him. The day he possessed Ninth Stage combat power would be the day he truly roamed the Universe Ocean unchallenged.

Having inherited that alien soul, Shi Yan's recognition of the human form was second only to his Beast God True Form. Thus, he decided to appear in the Universe Ocean in human shape.

With a flicker, Shi Yan's figure appeared outside his Miniature Universe.