Waiting

"Liu Yan, what did you say? The Flowing Cloud Sea is sealed?"

Inside a Flowing Cloud Vortex, Lord Banyan Fire and Lord Ripple Crystal, who had been earnestly exploring, now stared at Qing Huan, their expressions filled with bewilderment.

"That's right. I just received the news myself. I imagine those Universe Masters with better information channels knew even earlier."

Qing Huan's expression was also quite grave.

He had just learned from a few friends that, some time ago, two Universe Masters had tried to leave the Flowing Cloud Sea, only to discover that at its outermost edge, a vast amount of Eternal Freeze Cold Qi had surrounded the entire sea, forming a natural Storm Barrier.

How terrifying was Eternal Freeze Cold Qi? Universe Masters without Peak Treasure protection wouldn't dare touch it at all.

And now, a massive amount of Eternal Freeze Cold Qi had formed a Storm Barrier?

Those two Universe Masters realized something was wrong and quickly spread the news.

At first, the impact of this news wasn't too great. In fact, teams with Peak Palace Treasures or Peak Treasure Armor were even a bit pleased.

After all, unusual occurrences in the Three Great Forbidden Lands usually heralded the emergence of extremely precious treasures.

As for the Eternal Freeze Cold Qi, though indeed fearsome, teams with Peak Palace Treasures or Peak Treasure Armor weren't overly concerned.

That was until a Universe Master tried to drive a Peak Palace Treasure through the barrier, only to be repelled by the endless Eternal Freeze Cold Qi the moment they charged into the Storm Barrier.

That Universe Master refused to accept it and tried multiple times, gradually discovering that the Storm Barrier seemed to have formed some kind of special force field. Entering it with a Peak Palace Treasure caused no injury and left the treasure unharmed, but it also made leaving the Flowing Cloud Sea impossible.

By then, the news had finally caused an uproar across the Universe Ocean.

"What in the world is going on? Has this ever happened in the history of the Flowing Cloud Sea?" Lord Banyan Fire pressed repeatedly.

"Of course not." Qing Huan shook his head. "No one knows what's happening now. But what's certain is that, at the Universe Master level, it's hard to leave the Flowing Cloud Sea on one's own. Still, I suspect a Universe Supreme Being might be able to break through the natural barrier."

The Flowing Cloud Sea was, after all, just a dangerous area in the Inner Domain of the Universe Boat. Whether this natural barrier could even stop a Sixth Order Universe Master was debatable; the chance of it blocking Universe Supreme Beings was almost nonexistent.

"..."

Lord Banyan Fire and Lord Ripple Crystal exchanged glances, both feeling incredibly unlucky. They had come to the Flowing Cloud Sea to try their luck, only to run into something like this.

Universe Supreme Beings could break out? They didn't know any Universe Supreme Beings. Were they going to be trapped here forever? What about their races?

The two could only pray in their hearts that this natural barrier would dissipate after the treasure emerged.

Compared to the bewildered Lord Banyan Fire and Lord Ripple Crystal, Qing Huan was far calmer and more composed—after all, he had a Universe Supreme Being backing him.

His teacher would arrive at the Flowing Cloud Sea in at most sixty or seventy years. Then he could simply ask his teacher to take him away.

In fact, Qing Huan even felt a hint of secret delight, not because of the treasure, but because...

"Universe Masters can't get out? Then Universe Supreme Beings will have to step in, right? I wonder who the God Eye Race will send. I hope it's not those with Supreme Treasure Palaces..." Qing Huan thought gleefully.

The several Universe Masters from the God Eye Race were no ordinary beings. The God Eye Race couldn't abandon them, especially since this unprecedented situation in the Flowing Cloud Sea meant the treasure emerging couldn't be ordinary. As long as the treasure was valuable enough, it would be easy to lure more God Eye Race True Masters.

After all, other peak races weren't pushovers either. If only one God Eye Race True Master came, it wouldn't be easy to seize the treasure. Unless the First True Master himself showed up, they couldn't intimidate anyone.

Regardless, the treasure hadn't emerged yet, and the Flowing Cloud Sea had temporarily become a place where no one could enter and no one could leave.

Aside from a few Universe Masters hiding at the edges of the Flowing Cloud Sea, unwilling to get involved, the other sixty or seventy Universe Masters continued exploring within the Flowing Cloud Vortexes.

As time passed, the Flowing Cloud Vortexes kept collapsing. Over sixty more years went by, and of the original twelve Flowing Cloud Vortexes, only three tornadoes still raged on.

Nearly seventy Universe Masters from various races had long since lurked nearby, waiting for the Peak Treasure within the Flowing Cloud Vortexes to emerge.

"Banyan Fire, watch out!"

Lord Ripple Crystal's voice exploded, and Lord Banyan Fire quickly retreated, a special cold Qi grazing the spot where he had been sitting.

"Thanks, Ripple Crystal... Staying in this Flowing Cloud Sea for so long is truly a torment." Lord Banyan Fire thanked him while couldn't help complaining, his voice full of exhaustion.

It wasn't just him; Lord Ripple Crystal beside him also looked somewhat weary.

Maintaining such vigilance in the Flowing Cloud Sea for nearly a hundred years was indeed mentally draining. Even Universe Masters found it extremely tiring.

In contrast, the factions with Peak Palace Treasures had it much easier. Several Universe Masters could rest and conserve their strength inside the treasure palace, completely ignoring external dangers.

Fortunately, Lord Banyan Fire and Lord Ripple Crystal could take turns resting. Those Universe Masters who had come alone were suffering even more.

"Bear with it a little longer. If my guess is right, the treasure should emerge soon." Qing Huan, sitting cross-legged beside them, heard their conversation and opened his eyes to console them.

"I hope so." Lord Banyan Fire couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Lord Ripple Crystal also looked somewhat dejected.

With so many Universe Masters gathered near the Flowing Cloud Sea and all these anomalies occurring, how could they have foreseen this before setting out?

Before departing, the two had thought that with their combined Fourth Order strength and Qing Huan's Fifth Order power, they wouldn't be fearless in the Flowing Cloud Sea, but at least they could protect themselves.

Now, with so many strong experts in the Flowing Cloud Sea, the two had lost their confidence. As for obtaining the treasure about to emerge, they no longer held any hope. Just leaving safely would be a success.

At this moment, the two even felt somewhat fortunate that they had invited Qing Huan to join them. Otherwise, with their strength alone, even a safe retreat would be difficult.

"At least no Universe Supreme Beings have come yet... I suppose the Supremes look down on this Peak Treasure." Lord Ripple Crystal tried to find some comfort.

Lord Banyan Fire nodded in agreement, but Qing Huan, sitting cross-legged in meditation, thought otherwise.

A lone True God might truly not care about a Peak Treasure, but True Gods with races were a different matter. Moreover, the treasure emerging this time was likely more than just a Peak Treasure.

The reason no True God had come yet was simply that too many Universe Masters from various factions were present, and many True Gods were involved behind the scenes.

So the True Gods tacitly stayed behind the scenes, letting the Universe Masters step forward to keep the battle from escalating too quickly.

Even so, there were likely some True Gods hidden near the Flowing Cloud Sea. Given their mobility, they could rush over from the vicinity in no time, and at a critical moment, they would absolutely be in time to intervene.

Qing Huan paid no attention to the whispers between Lord Banyan Fire and Lord Ripple Crystal. At this moment, he was recalling in his mind the Universe Masters from various races he had encountered over the past century.

"First Reincarnation Era—the God Eye Race, of course they're here, and the Skeleton Race too... Well, other races probably don't dare to compete with the God Eye Race. Second Reincarnation Era—the Dream-Eater Race, Humanity, the Bug Race, the Tree Race... Did only the Monster Race come from the Primal Universe?"

These were the Universe Masters from the peak races that Qing Huan had seen. These seven peak races from different Reincarnation Eras had dispatched a total of twenty-five Universe Masters. The remaining fifty or so Universe Masters all came from some powerful races.

Of course, the powerful races of the First and Second Reincarnation Eras also had True Gods backing them. In fact, the many Universe Masters involved over twenty True Gods behind the scenes.

"The easiest to provoke into conflict with the God Eye Race is definitely the Skeleton Race. I'll prioritize stirring up a fight between the Skeleton Race and the God Eye Race."

Qing Huan made his decision inwardly.

In the First Reincarnation Era, there were only two peak races: the God Eye Race and the Skeleton Race.

The Skeleton Race was an old power in the First Reincarnation Era, more ancient than the God Eye Race and rising earlier. It was only later, when the First True Master proved too heaven-defying, that the God Eye Race overtook them.

Since the God Eye Race's rise, they had aggressively occupied vast territories in the Primal Universe to multiply, suppressing all other races. As a result, no third peak race had been able to emerge. Only the Skeleton Race, more ancient than the God Eye Race, could still be called a peak race, but their situation was far from easy.

Still, suppression aside, the Skeleton Race was not afraid of the God Eye Race at the Universe Master level. Even in True God-level battles, the God Eye Race could only rely on their combined attack techniques to defeat the five allied Skeleton Race True Gods, and they couldn't even threaten their lives.

After two Reincarnation Eras of mutual conflict, the Skeleton Race and the God Eye Race were already locked in a deep sea of hatred. Stirring up conflict between them was very easy, but the key was to use this to provoke a True God-level struggle between the two races. That required some skill in fanning the flames.

"Besides the Skeleton Race, there's the Dream-Eater Race of the Second Reincarnation Era. That Golden Brilliance Demon God is exceptionally arrogant, and under his influence, most of the Dream-Eater Race's strong ones are the same... Maybe I can list the Dream-Eater Race as a backup." Qing Huan's mind flashed with the images of several Dream-Eater Race Universe Masters.

Although the Dream-Eater Race only had one True God, the Golden Brilliance Demon God, his strength was formidable, and he possessed a palace-type Supreme True Treasure. With his power alone, he had elevated the Dream-Eater Race to the ranks of the peak races of the Second Reincarnation Era, making them perpetually arrogant.

The other peak races of the Second Reincarnation Era might not be too impulsive, but the Dream-Eater Race had that potential.

"My teacher will also return soon. I'll have him come directly to the Flowing Cloud Sea to close the net." Having made up his mind, a sinister smile flickered across Qing Huan's face before he calmed down again, patiently waiting for the treasure to emerge.

Time continued to flow. About half a year later, the entire Flowing Cloud Sea began to tremble faintly.