"..."
Lord Jueyun gritted his teeth at the sight, but he knew the other three members of the God Eye Race had temporarily held off fourteen Universe Masters for him, including a formidable powerhouse like Devil Lord Nightmare.
That left four opponents for Lord Jueyun to handle on his own.
"You won't stop me!"
Lord Jueyun turned and roared. Thirty-five of the thirty-six gray ribbons lashed toward the four Universe Masters.
The gray ribbons whipped through the air. At first glance, they seemed incredibly fast, but a closer look made them appear almost motionless.
The blurred overlap of extreme speed and slowness made the four Universe Masters feel distinctly uncomfortable.
Lord Jueyun was powerful, but the four had broken through the other three God Eye Race members' layers of obstruction. They wouldn't be so easily disrupted by a mere trick of his.
"Jueyun, you might be a little stronger than me in a one-on-one fight, but thinking one hand is enough to take on all four of us? You're far too arrogant."
The speaker was a Universe Master from the Dream-Eater Race.
His voice boomed beside Lord Jueyun's ears like thunder, and its steel-needle sharpness seemed to pierce straight into his soul.
Lord Jueyun first felt a sharp pain in his head. The next instant, he found himself beside the Black Ruyi, with the Supreme Treasure seemingly within reach. He was laughing heartily.
"Hahaha! I finally got it!"
Looking around, he saw the bodies of Universe Masters from the other races strewn everywhere. Even the Heaven-Binding Ribbon was wrapped around Devil Lord Nightmare, whose body had gone completely lifeless.
"Jueyun? What are you waiting for? Take the Supreme Treasure," Lord Ying'ai's voice called from behind him.
"Me?" Lord Jueyun stared in surprise.
Lord Pure Eye's face was pale, but he smiled faintly and said, "Jueyun, there's no need to be modest. You contributed the most to this operation, so the Supreme Treasure naturally belongs to you."
Hearing this, Lord Jueyun instinctively felt that Lord Pure Eye and Lord Ying'ai had a point. He waved the Heaven-Binding Ribbon and drew the Black Ruyi over to him.
But as he reached out and grasped the Black Ruyi, a faint sense of unreality suddenly rose in his heart.
Was it really that easy?
"No! I'm still fighting!"
Lord Jueyun suddenly snapped awake.
The scene around him twisted and vanished. He realized that he had somehow closed his eyes, and that his body had returned to the Spire Castle.
Lord Jueyun's expression darkened instantly.
Clearly, he had fallen victim to the Dream-Eater powerhouse's illusion. The other Universe Masters had likely taken the opportunity to attack him, and Lord Wuliang must have pulled him into the Supreme Treasure Palace.
"Whoosh! Whoosh..."
Lord Pure Eye and Lord Wuliang appeared inside the Supreme Treasure Palace one after another.
Both of them looked rather battered.
Though they had attacked nearly twenty Universe Masters at once and managed to hold the group of powerhouses back for a short time, those Universe Masters were no pushovers.
When the others struck back, it took only one round of attacks to force the two Universe Masters skilled in soul techniques to retreat into the Palace Supreme Treasure for safety.
Only Lord Ying'ai, who excelled at close combat, was still fighting outside with all his might.
But the God Eye Race had clearly provoked everyone with their earlier actions. However one looked at it, Lord Ying'ai didn't seem likely to hold out much longer.
The atmosphere inside the Palace Supreme Treasure grew heavy. Lord Jueyun, who had just suffered a humiliating defeat, looked especially grim.
After a long pause, Lord Wuliang finally broke the tense silence. "We failed, so we failed. If all else fails, we can ask the Sixth True Master for help."
As he spoke, he glanced at Lord Jueyun. "Don't take it too much to heart, Jueyun. That Universe Master from the Dream-Eater Race was skilled in soul techniques. It's only natural to slip up once in a while."
Lord Wuliang wasn't merely trying to comfort Lord Jueyun.
The Dream-Eater Race was, in truth, a species much like the Starry Sky Giant Beasts. Its members were born with gene multipliers slightly higher than those of ordinary races, but they didn't qualify as Special Lifeforms. They were called Dream-Eater Beasts.
Dream-Eater Beasts existed in the current Reincarnation Era of the Primal Universe too, but they were only an ordinary race without even a single Universe Master.
The Dream-Eater Race of the Second Reincarnation Era had become a peak race entirely thanks to Golden Brilliance Demon God, a mighty being from the early Second Reincarnation Era who had been born into the Dream-Eater Race.
Dream-Eater Beasts fed on dreams as a means of devouring souls. They often lurked on a living planet, and within a few days and nights could consume every soul on it.
Naturally, once they became powerful, most Dream-Eater Beasts excelled at soul techniques.
The Universe Master from the Dream-Eater Race was also a Fifth Order Peak powerhouse. It was perfectly normal for his illusion technique to affect Lord Jueyun.
"Indeed." Lord Pure Eye had recovered a little by now, and he nodded in agreement. "All right, we can discuss this later. I'll inform the Sixth True Master of the situation first."
As he spoke, Lord Pure Eye started to contact the Sixth True Master. But just as he took out his Communication Tablet, Lord Jueyun, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Let's get out there. A few Universe Masters are coming to help us."
"Help us?"
Lord Pure Eye and Lord Wuliang stared at him in surprise. The God Eye Race often encountered situations like this.
Thanks to the God Eye Race's strength, Universe Masters from smaller powers who had no hope of winning a Supreme Treasure in the Universe Ocean sometimes chose to help the God Eye Race instead.
The God Eye Race was happy to accept their help. If the operation succeeded, they would reward those Universe Masters afterward.
And if they later encountered these Universe Masters in the Universe Ocean, the God Eye Race's powerhouses generally wouldn't provoke them.
But this only happened occasionally when the groups were fighting over Supreme Treasures that weren't particularly valuable.
This time, a Supreme Treasure second only to a Supreme True Treasure had appeared. Those who could reach the Black Ruyi were all powerful Universe Masters, each carrying a valuable Supreme Treasure and backed by a Universe Supreme Being.
The four God Eye Race powerhouses hadn't even considered the possibility that other Universe Masters might help them seize the Supreme Treasure this time. They would have been grateful if the others simply didn't gang up on them.
But the Domain Supreme Treasure belonged to Lord Jueyun. Though Lord Pure Eye and Lord Wuliang couldn't sense anyone entering the domain, Lord Jueyun could feel it clearly. He had already communicated with the newcomers as well.
"All right, Wuliang. Hurry up and get us out there," urged Lord Jueyun.
"You two go first. I'll inform the Sixth True Master," Lord Pure Eye said, quickly sending a message to the Sixth True Master.
"All right."
Lord Wuliang was surprised for a moment, but didn't dwell on it. He then used the Spire Palace to move himself and Lord Jueyun outside the Palace Supreme Treasure. A short while later, he brought Lord Pure Eye out too.
The battle outside had already reached a fever pitch.
The God Eye Race's earlier indiscriminate area attack had provoked everyone, but with the Supreme Treasure right there, even the Skeleton Race wouldn't keep chasing the God Eye Race and let someone else reap the rewards.
So after the three God Eye Race powerhouses retreated into the Palace Supreme Treasure and Lord Ying'ai was forced back, the temporary alliance between the other factions immediately fell apart.
The Human Race, which had earlier used its domain to help the Skeleton Race hold off Lord Jueyun's Domain Supreme Treasure, even turned around and began suppressing the Skeleton Race.
Devil Lord Nightmare and the other three Skeleton Race powerhouses were furious. But faced with the suppression of a Peak Domain-type Supreme Treasure, Devil Lord Nightmare could only withdraw the domain he had formed with the Gray Divine Axe and turn to fight the humans.
At this point, apart from the God Eye Race and the Tree Race, who were still hurrying to the scene, the other factions were all about the same distance from the Black Ruyi. The chaotic battle between six factions was in full swing.
"Whoosh!"
"Jueyun, where are the reinforcements?" Lord Wuliang asked, looking at Lord Jueyun beside him.
"Look, over there." Lord Jueyun pointed, and Lord Wuliang and Lord Pure Eye followed his gesture. They saw three figures hurrying toward them.
They were Qing Huan, along with Lord Banyan Fire and Lord Ripple Crystal.
"Jueyun, who are these three?" Lord Pure Eye frowned. He usually cultivated in the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space and rarely ventured out, so he wasn't familiar with the life signatures of Qing Huan and the others.
But in his eyes, not all Universe Masters were equal. Ordinary Third-Order Universe Masters were toys to him. He doubted these three unfamiliar faces could do much to help his side.
Lord Jueyun, however, smiled faintly. "That blue-armored Universe Master is Lord Liuyan, who's recently made a name for himself in the Universe Ocean. He has Fifth Order strength. The other two are probably only Third Order Peak, but they're skilled at combined attacks and can reach Fourth Order strength when they join forces."
"Fourth Order? Fifth Order?"
At this, Lord Pure Eye and Lord Wuliang's eyes lit up.
At the Universe Master level, strength like that was already formidable. Even without any coordination with the four of them, the three could still make a difference.
"Excellent." Lord Pure Eye, the leader of the God Eye Race group, sent a message to Qing Huan, the foremost of the three. "Lord Liuyan, if we succeed this time, the God Eye Race will reward you handsomely."
A handsome reward?
Qing Huan sneered inwardly. The reward I want is quite a lot. I wonder if the God Eye Race can afford it.
Of course, outwardly, Qing Huan replied humbly, "The God Eye Race is in trouble. We'll do everything we can to help."
With that, the group quickly plunged into the chaotic battlefield. Lord Ying'ai, who had been struggling to hold his ground and looked rather battered, hurried to rejoin them as well.
"Pure Eye, Jueyun, Wuliang! You actually dare come back?" Devil Lord Nightmare was the first to notice the God Eye Race's return. He looked furious.
Lord Jueyun only sneered. "Nightmare, why don't you deal with the humans first before saying that to us?"
At that moment, the three human powerhouses were entangled with the four Skeleton Race members, while Universe Masters from other races kept interfering from time to time.
Even so, the four God Eye Race members drew attacks from a full ten Universe Masters as soon as they rejoined the battle.
But with Qing Huan and the others joining them, the God Eye Race's already formidable group became even more powerful.
"You go for the Supreme Treasure. I'll block this attack!"
Qing Huan roared as his bronze-colored Divine Body rapidly expanded, soon reaching a full hundred thousand kilometers in height.
Before you continue