"Damn it..."
As soon as he started fleeing, the Monster Beast Progenitor's heart sank. Shi Yan controlled the surrounding domain, its pressure making it almost impossible for him to move. By now, he could barely even break the speed of light.
"I should never have returned the Holy Sound Ship to that bastard Zhen Jiao!" The Monster Beast Progenitor was filled with regret.
Peak Palace Treasures were extremely rare, and the Monster Beast Progenitor didn't have one of his own. When he had pursued Shi Yan, he'd borrowed the Holy Sound Ship from Demon Ancestor Zhen. After the pursuit failed, naturally, he'd returned the treasure to him.
Now, without a Palace Supreme Treasure to protect him, the Monster Beast Progenitor was in mortal danger.
Although Shi Yan had deliberately led them here earlier, the place where the three had fought was still not very far from the Primal Universe.
But under the domain's influence, the Monster Beast Progenitor's speed was pitifully slow. Demon Ancestor Zhen had even released the white flying vessel Holy Sound Ship, trying to suck the Monster Beast Progenitor inside and seal him away. With layer upon layer of restraints weighing him down, a distance he could have crossed in moments now seemed impossibly far.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
The Monster Beast Progenitor tried again and again to activate the Black Wind Realm, but it had no effect whatsoever.
"Bang!"
Shi Yan brought another claw down, shattering the Monster Beast Progenitor's lower body. This time, however, he didn't repair his Divine Body. His divine power had dwindled to a pitiful tenth of its original amount, and he was still dozens of minutes' flight from the boundary of the Primal Universe.
"No!"
The Monster Beast Progenitor's eyes were filled with despair.
He had never imagined that, as one of the oldest True Gods of this era in the Primal Universe, he would meet his end this way.
"Zhen Jiao! I'm the ancestor of the Monster Race! Why did you betray me?" Knowing there was no hope of escape, the Monster Beast Progenitor turned and screamed at Demon Ancestor Zhen.
Even if he had to die, he wanted to know why.
Faced with the Monster Beast Progenitor's fury, Demon Ancestor Zhen remained cold. "You're the ancestor of the Monster Race, but the Monster Race doesn't need an old ancestor who holds the power of life and death over everyone. Since you don't care about the lives of the Monster Race's descendants, why should we care about yours?"
"Nonsense! I led the Monster Race to rise! Giving their lives for me is their natural duty!" the Monster Beast Progenitor roared in outrage. To him, Demon Ancestor Zhen's words were utter nonsense.
Demon Ancestor Zhen sneered. "That's why you can die in peace. The Monster Race will have a better future only when it's led by a true powerhouse who belongs to the Monster Race."
With that, Demon Ancestor Zhen fell silent, but his attacks grew even more ferocious. Shi Yan, standing nearby, gave a scornful laugh and brought another claw down.
"You two! You'll die with me!"
Seeing that death was inevitable, the Monster Beast Progenitor stopped trying to flee and turned to make a desperate last stand.
"Dream on!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
After several clashes, the Monster Beast Progenitor's divine power ran dry. Shi Yan seized the opportunity to whip his tail across the Monster Beast Progenitor's head.
"Bang!"
His mighty head exploded, and his Divine Body was blasted into a pulp.
Demon Ancestor Zhen took the opportunity to strike while he was down.
"Ah..."
A black whirlwind blew what remained of the Monster Beast Progenitor's Divine Body into dust.
The Monster Beast Progenitor had fallen.
"..."
With the Monster Beast Progenitor's death, the treasures that had belonged to him fell free.
The golden drill Demon Ancestor Drill, the Crimson Armor Fire Scale, and the black wine gourd Black Wind Realm all dropped from the sky.
Shi Yan waved a hand, and the three treasures flew before him. His divine power seeped inside, forming Life Imprints, and he successfully claimed them.
Demon Ancestor Zhen, meanwhile, moved away from Shi Yan without making it obvious. "Congratulations, Time Beast God, on avenging your great grudge. There are still some matters to attend to within the Monster Race, so I'll take my leave."
"Wait!"
Shi Yan spoke, and with a thought, his surrounding Space-Time Domain began to suppress Demon Ancestor Zhen. Of course, he didn't bring its full power to bear. The slight pressure was merely a warning.
"Beast God, what do you mean by this?" Demon Ancestor Zhen's expression shifted.
"Don't be alarmed, Zhen Jiao. I'm just reminding you that I'll come to the Monster Race for the Supreme Treasure you promised me a year from now. If I don't see it when I arrive, I can't say what I might do." Shi Yan smiled at Demon Ancestor Zhen.
"Beast God, weren't there three Peak Supreme Treasures on the Monster Beast Progenitor's body? The weapon and armor are worth less than a Domain-type Supreme Treasure. The Monster Race can make up the difference afterward." Demon Ancestor Zhen forced a smile.
"That's not how it works." Shi Yan shook his head. "The Monster Beast Progenitor's treasures are my spoils of war. What you promised me is separate. What, are you thinking of going back on your word?"
The Beast God's tail swayed slightly, and the surrounding space and time stirred with it, growing ever more turbulent.
"..."
After a brief silence, Demon Ancestor Zhen finally backed down. "What are you saying, Beast God? Since the Monster Race made a promise, we naturally won't break it. Come visit the Monster Race a year from now, and we'll present the Supreme Treasure to you."
"Good." A smile returned to Shi Yan's face, and the surrounding space and time settled down.
After giving Demon Ancestor Zhen a warning, Shi Yan went his separate way.
"The Monster Beast Progenitor is finally dead."
After killing the Monster Beast Progenitor and taking so many treasures, Shi Yan felt exhilarated.
"It's a shame they're only Peak Supreme Treasures."
Though he'd gained quite a few treasures, allowing him to escape the predicament of being even poorer than the Universe Masters, he was still badly short of Supreme Treasures.
Peak Supreme Treasures were of limited use in battles between True Gods. The Monster Beast Progenitor was a perfect example.
In battles at the Universe Master level, a Universe Master wearing Peak Supreme Treasure Armor was basically impossible to kill with physical attacks.
Its protection could reduce damage by as much as one hundred thousandth or even one millionth, letting Universe Masters rest easy.
But that wasn't enough in battles between True Gods.
A Seventh Order attack could exceed the limit a Peak Supreme Treasure Armor could withstand, greatly reducing its defensive effect. Against an Eighth Order attack, wearing ordinary Peak Supreme Treasure Armor was little different from wearing nothing at all. Only top-tier Peak Supreme Treasure Armor like the Mad Demon God-Extinguishing Armor could still provide some protection.
If the Monster Beast Progenitor had possessed even a single Supreme True Treasure during this battle, he wouldn't have fallen so easily today.
"I still need Supreme True Treasures..."
Shi Yan sighed. Even the cheapest Supreme True Treasure weapons could usually extend to form protective armor, with an effect no worse than the Mad Demon God-Extinguishing Armor and a far higher limit for how much damage they could withstand. These were the treasures that True Gods ought to use.
"Never mind. I gained quite a lot from this battle. I'll return to the Primal Universe and recover first. Once I've collected the treasure from the Monster Race, I'll head to the Universe Ocean to seek adventure." Putting aside his scattered thoughts, Shi Yan quickly made his decision.
His strength was now close to the Eighth Order, and he excelled at speed and domain Secret Techniques. He was among the stronger True Gods. To advance further, he naturally needed to seek opportunities in the Universe Ocean.
The Three Great Forbidden Lands of the Universe Ocean were full of opportunities. The Universe Boat in particular was the remnant of an entire army belonging to the Origin Continent's superpower, Wu Kingdom. Even a tiny scrap of opportunity from it could help the True Gods of the Universe Ocean rise all the way to Void Level.
"Whoosh."
Shi Yan broke through the Primal Universe's boundary and returned to the Primal Universe, though his thoughts had already flown to the Three Great Forbidden Lands.
The Hulan Secret Realm of the Primal Universe.
This was one of Shi Yan's old bases in the Primal Universe. It lay in one of the more desolate regions, and even the weakest races had no desire to settle there.
After the resources in the Hulan Secret Realm were gradually plundered and exhausted by various powerhouses, the place became completely deserted. Only lone powerhouses still appeared there.
Of course, when the Monster Race had pursued him, Shi Yan had been staying at another base. But now that place had been exposed, and was naturally less important to him.
Of his undiscovered bases, the Hulan Secret Realm was the closest to his Miniature Universe. So Shi Yan planned to build a Universe Passage there.
"Let's begin."
Shi Yan drew upon the origin of his Miniature Universe and resonated with his True God Heart, while also entering the Space Interlayer.
Under Shi Yan's guidance, the Space Fragments in the Space Interlayer quickly gathered, and a Universe Passage gradually took shape.
After ten days of work, Shi Yan built a Universe Passage there. The Hulan Secret Realm officially became his most important base in the Primal Universe.
"There's the Ancestral God Sect, too. I need to make a trip there."
After making a few preparations at his base, Shi Yan set out once more, heading for the Ancestral God Sect.
The Ancestral God Sect was located in the Ancestral God Secret Realm, which was unquestionably the foremost secret realm in the Primal Universe. Its diameter was a full 160 million light-years. It was the most prosperous of all the Primal Universe's secret realms and contained the most treasures. In addition to producing many Peak Supreme Treasures, it was also home to the only Domain-type Supreme True Treasure in the Primal Universe: the Five-Colored Aurora Lake.
That said, the Ancestral God Secret Realm was a gift from the Origin Will of the Primal Universe to its proxies. It was no use envying them; no one else could claim it.
Of course, the Ancestral God Secret Realm was also the most dangerous secret realm in the Universe. Some perilous areas could easily kill Universe Venerables, while in the most dangerous regions, even weaker Universe Masters had to be careful.
But to Shi Yan, who had long since advanced to True God, the Ancestral God Secret Realm was little different from a playground.
As one of the Ancestral God Sect's Eight Great Beast Gods, Shi Yan should, in theory, have belonged to the Ancestral God Sect.
But the Sect had stood by and done nothing when the Eight Natural Beast Gods were hunted. Now that Shi Yan was the only surviving Natural Beast God, he no longer felt any attachment to the Ancestral God Sect.
After crossing the Black Scorching Whirlwind Zone on the outskirts of the Ancestral God Secret Realm, he entered its Inner Domain. Ordinary powerhouses had to wait there for spatial teleportation, but Shi Yan didn't. With his mastery of space, he easily crossed into the Inner Domain of the Ancestral God Secret Realm.
The boundless void stretched before him as always, but a surging river of color had appeared in the distance: the Five-Colored Aurora Lake, the Domain-type Supreme True Treasure controlled by the Ancestral God Sect.
"Shi Yan, it's an honor to have you visit us. Please forgive us for not welcoming you sooner."
The Ancestral God Sect's Three Ancestral Gods were already waiting for Shi Yan in the void.
Before you continue