OAA raised his hand, and golden divine light spilled down. Arishem's wounds healed at an astonishing speed.
Lu Chen did nothing to stop him. Instead, he watched OAA with interest.
A moment later, OAA turned to Lu Chen. After a brief pause, he said, "Lord of the Ming Realm, I mean you no harm, and neither do the Celestials. How about sparing Arishem? His combat strength is considerable even in the Multi-Universe. He has suppressed uprisings launched by several Dimension Demons. He simply happened to run into you."
Lu Chen sneered. "I don't believe Arishem came here without your authorization. Heh, does OAA, the Above All who transcends everything and rules the entire omniverse, tell jokes this bad too?"
The gods began gloating.
"Who would've thought the arrogant Celestials would be forced into a corner like this!"
"They brought it on themselves!"
"Exactly! After Knull, the God of Symbiotes, Cyttorak, the lord of the Crimson Cosmos, and Gorr the God Butcher, a fourth ruthless powerhouse has appeared who dares to confront the Celestials head-on!"
Perhaps in the mortal world, Planetary Level false gods who could casually destroy planets were already supreme beings.
But in the eyes of the Celestials across the various universes, even gods at the Single-Universe-level Peak were mere ants.
Only those at Multiverse-level could attract even a little of their attention.
And whenever a Multiverse-level god appeared in a universe, the Celestials would immediately mobilize.
Once the Celestials set their sights on someone, there were only two possible outcomes.
First, sign an agreement and submit to the Celestials.
Second, die.
Watching Lu Chen confront OAA head-on, some gods whose homeworlds and civilizations had been destroyed felt immensely vindicated.
OAA asked, "What are your terms?"
"The Primordial Space Stone," Lu Chen said without hesitation.
The Primordial Infinity Stones were by no means low in standing. At the very least, they were on par with the Ming Realm's ten great laws: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, light, darkness, wind, lightning, and ice.
Thus, obtaining one of the original Infinity Stones would greatly enhance Lu Chen's strength.
Of course, that applied only to the Primordial Infinity Stones. The Infinity Stones in other universes were merely inferior fragments split off from them. To truly powerful beings, they were no different from ordinary rocks, just a little prettier.
The Primordial Infinity Stones controlled the six great laws of the entire universe.
They were the Time, Space, Reality, Power, Mind, and Soul Stones.
They were the earliest things to exist in the universe, as well as its most powerful weapons.
They had been formed from Nemesis. Once gathered together, they would grant omniscience, omnipotence, and power that transcended everything. At that point, their standing would be second only to OAA, the Above All.
However, another theory circulated widely throughout the greater cosmos.
There were actually more than six Primordial Infinity Stones!
There was a seventh, called the Ego Stone.
Once all seven Primordial Infinity Stones were united, they would summon Nemesis in her most complete and powerful form.
That theory was hardly credible, though. Who knew where someone had picked up that unofficial history? It was certainly unofficial, and certainly crap.
OAA considered it for a moment, then said, "I can give you the Primordial Space Stone, but only for a hundred years."
"Deal."
Lu Chen accepted immediately.
A hundred years was extremely short on a cosmic timescale, but it was more than enough to analyze the stone.
Besides, within the Ming Realm, he could manipulate time at will.
So never mind a mere hundred years. If Lu Chen wished, he could have a hundred thousand years, or even a billion.
OAA naturally knew this. At Multiverse-level, time had already become meaningless to them. They could alter it at will.
But all that mattered was that a hundred years passed outside the dimension.
After a hundred years, he would return punctually to reclaim the Primordial Space Stone.
As for the Dimension Demons?
Heh. Once they completely devoured the remaining half of the First Firmament's standing, the Colored Celestials would descend directly into the physical universe.
When that happened, those so-called Dimension Demons could wait for their reckoning.
Even if OAA's opposite, the One-Below-All, came, it would make no difference. He would still be killed instantly.
Hum!
Layer upon layer of spatial barriers overlapped and undulated, rolling like enormous waves!
Every splash of spray marked the birth of a single universe.
Every falling splash marked a single universe heading toward destruction.
All the gods were stunned by the sight.
As the tide rose and fell, universes went from birth to death in mere instants.
Meanwhile.
At Knowhere, countless light-years away.
Knowhere was actually the head of an ancient god. After that god fell, the Collector had acquired his head and refined it into his own private planet.
The Collector gazed at the Primordial Space Stone as it stirred up spatial tides, his eyes filled with greed.
"The Primordial Space Stone... It's so beautiful. If only I could have it..."
"Huh?"
"Damn it!"
"The lord of the Ming Realm is attacking me!"
Lu Chen sensed the Collector's greedy gaze. He imbued the Fire Punishment Sword with the law of gold and unleashed a terrifying slash with a backhand swing!
Boom!
The sword energy tore through the entire universe, sweeping toward Knowhere!
"No!"
A piercing scream rang out. Sword energy engulfed all of Knowhere, reducing it directly to nothingness!
The Collector was dead!
At the same time, a massive hand blazing with divine light descended and swept away everything the Collector had amassed over his lifetime.
The gods were terrified.
That was the Collector, a man capable of traveling through space and time and going toe-to-toe with Thanos wielding all six stones. Yet he had died just like that beneath the lord of the Ming Realm's sword...
It was horrifying!
Lu Chen coldly put away the Fire Punishment Sword, then suppressed the Primordial Space Stone's power and took it.
"Come ask me for it back in a hundred years."
With that, Lu Chen vanished from the spot.
Divine light surged in OAA's eyes, as though he were trying to locate Lu Chen's dimension.
A moment later, he shook his head. He could not deduce its location.
He then left the single universe with Arishem.
The gods who had watched the battle inexplicably felt as though they had survived a catastrophe.
And just like that, the great battle came to an end.
The lord of the Ming Realm had utterly crushed Arishem the Judge!
The Multi-Universe Celestials' leader had intervened, only to be forced into making a deal!
After returning to the Multi-Universe, the gods spread the news.
For a time, the name of the lord of the Ming Realm resounded throughout the entire Multi-Universe.
Lu Chen, the man at the center of it all, was now inside his own dimension.
He tossed the Collector's collection aside and took out the Primordial Space Stone.
Hum!
Freed from suppression, the Primordial Space Stone immediately erupted with deep blue energy.
The heavens and earth of the Ming Realm began to fluctuate.
The creatures that had naturally arisen within the Ming Realm were instantly terrified, with no idea what had happened.