The cold, vacuum of space should be a desolate place where even light wouldn't bother to linger.
But at this moment, the void at the edge of this star field was in chaos—dark purple spatial rifts filled the field of vision, and violent energy turbulence surged and crashed, exploding into blinding bursts of light even when it touched interstellar dust. Those asteroids that were originally floating were either shattered into fragments by the energy flow or swallowed directly by the spatial rifts, leaving not even a trace.
"Wow, that's quite a grand affair."
Tsubasa spat out a mouthful of saliva streaked with golden blood. The saliva had barely left his mouth when it was frozen into a glittering ice bead by the extreme cold of the universe. It slammed into his tattered wings with a clang and bounced away. The pair of once radiant energy wings on his back now looked as if they had been gnawed by rats; the left side was mostly broken off, and only a few teetering feathers remained on the right side.
Orochimaru, who was next to him, was in a much worse situation than him.
Half of his body had been blasted away, leaving his left shoulder and below completely empty. The wound was crawling with countless tiny white snakes emanating a corpse-like aura, which intertwined and devoured each other, painstakingly piecing together bone and flesh. Orochimaru's face was as white as paper, with only one eye still able to move. The other eye socket was blocked by several small snakes, and he was still muttering something, sounding like chanting, yet with his characteristic sinister tone.
"Cough cough... This is truly an extremely pathetic state." Orochimaru's voice didn't travel through the air, but directly entered the two's spiritual seas, carrying a faint weakness, yet revealing a calm indifference to life or death. "I thought that being Saint Venerable Level was enough to overlook the universe, but I didn't expect that in front of True God, we are nothing."
Tsubasa was about to retort when a sudden surge of heat rose in his chest, and he spat out another mouthful of golden blood. He wiped his mouth, feeling the Saint Power within him receding like the tide, and used his supernatural abilities to heal his injuries. "Stop talking nonsense! If you have time to lament, you should think about how to survive! How to protect the Shinobi World!"
His Saint Level bloodline divine power was indeed domineering; no matter how severe his injuries, he could recover quickly. However, the Insect God's attacks carried destructive divine power. Each time he was shattered and reborn, it felt like countless steel needles were piercing his soul, causing him so much pain that he wanted to faint several times. But he dared not. If he fainted, not only would he not be able to regenerate, but his true spirit would also be devoured by the Insect God.
"Survive?" A strange light flashed in Orochimaru's remaining eye, and the small snakes that were reassembling their bodies moved even faster. " Tsubasa -kun, you didn't actually think we had a chance of winning from the start, did you?"
Tsubasa was stunned. Just as he was about to ask more questions, he felt a suffocating pressure coming at him, making him stop breathing.
Not far ahead, the Insect God was hovering there.
The creature's size was simply outrageous; its enormous body almost obscured the starlight of the entire star field, appearing from afar like a moving black world. It wasn't a single giant insect form; its entire body was covered in a carapace with a dark metallic sheen, covered with sharp barbs, from which dripped a dark green corrosive liquid. Instead of conventional eyes, its head was densely packed with hundreds of compound eyes, each gleaming with a cold red light, freezing even space itself wherever it swept across. Beneath its body were more than a dozen pairs of thick, segmented limbs, each pair ending in scythe-like blades that could slash through space with a single swing. Most terrifying of all was its mouth, filled with layers upon layers of sharp teeth, which made a piercing grinding sound as they opened and closed, as if capable of crushing anything.
What's even more despairing is that the Insect God is surrounded by a thick, dark green aura of divine power. That aura is filled with an aura of destruction, plunder, and corruption. Just by getting close, Tsubasa and Orochimaru felt their Saint Power rapidly draining away, and their bodies were burning hot, as if they were about to melt.
" True God... is this the power of True God Level?" Tsubasa clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm, golden blood dripping down between his fingers. "Our combined all-out attack didn't even scratch its carapace. The difference is just too great."
Both of them were top-tier Saint Venerable Level experts. Tsubasa, from the Senju Clan, was Saint Level expert in the universe, possessing two supreme divine abilities: the Golden Lotus Holy Light and the Will of Fire Formation. His ability to fight beyond his level and his recovery were among the best in the universe. Orochimaru, the Zombie Saint, relied on his immortality and forbidden ninja techniques to withstand the Insect God's attacks without dying. This time, the two of them joined forces to fight the Insect God. Originally, they should have been able to at least severely injure the Insect God, even if they couldn't defeat him. However, unexpectedly, they were easily defeated by the Insect God, leaving them questioning their existence.
A decisive and utterly crushing battle has begun.
At first, they could barely put up a fight, relying on Tsubasa's godlike combat power with the God Tree Will of Fire Formation Orochimaru 'Corpse Saint various bizarre Ninjutsu. But before long, the Insect God became impatient and casually struck Orochimaru, severely injuring him. Tsubasa's internal organs were also displaced by the shock. From then on, they were completely on the defensive, only able to run for their lives and barely protect themselves.
"Heh... Interesting, truly fascinating." Orochimaru Corpse Saint, suddenly laughed, his voice hoarse yet filled with a strange excitement. "To be able to feel the power of True God up close and observe the way divine power combines with the physical body—this 'accident' is far more valuable than any experiment I've conducted before."
"What kind of time is this? You're still thinking about experiments?" Tsubasa was almost laughing in exasperation at Orochimaru. "If we don't come up with a solution soon, we'll both be devoured, and then you won't even have anyone to inherit your experimental data!"
"Devour? That won't do." Orochimaru's body had almost completely reassembled; his left arm, though still somewhat ethereal, was already mobile. "I haven't yet witnessed firsthand whether a True God Level being could be killed by another True God."
Tsubasa's heart skipped a beat. "You mean... the backup plan?"
"Otherwise what?" Orochimaru licked his lips, a mad yet rational light flashing in his remaining eyes. "The two of us combined aren't even enough to fill this giant worm's teeth. To kill it, we'll have to rely on external forces."
Just then, the Insect God seemed to finally lose patience.
Its hundreds of compound eyes simultaneously locked onto Tsubasa and Orochimaru, the red light becoming even more dazzling, filled with indifference and a hint of anger at being provoked by ants. It slowly raised its foremost pair of limbs, the ends of which were tightly joined together, and dark green divine power began to frantically converge there, forming an ever-expanding energy ball.
The energy ball started out as small as a fist, but within seconds it grew to the size of a planet. The destructive energy contained within the ball made both Tsubasa and Orochimaru feel threatened with death. They could clearly sense that if the energy ball exploded, even if they were immortal, they would be completely annihilated, leaving not even their true spirits behind.
"No! We can't stop it! We absolutely can't stop it!" Tsubasa's pupils shrank sharply, and the wings on his back flapped wildly, trying to pull Orochimaru away, but the pressure from the energy ball was too strong, making even moving extremely difficult for them.
"Don't rush to escape, Tsubasa- kun." Orochimaru, instead of running away, calmed down. He quickly formed several hand seals, and the corpse energy within his body formed a weak barrier. "Proceed according to plan, provoke it, and take it to 'that place'."
Tsubasa took a deep breath. He knew that Orochimaru was talking about the only feasible solution at the moment. He gritted his teeth and suddenly mobilized all the remaining Saint Power in his body. The tattered wings on his back suddenly burst out with dazzling golden light, illuminating the entire void even though it was only for a moment. He quickly condensed a golden spear in his hand, which was covered with complex patterns and contained his godlike power.
But instead of shooting the spear at the Insect God, he suddenly turned around and hurled the spear fiercely into a distant void—where, hidden were the coordinates of an extremely secret star field, which was the direction of the Ōtsutsuki Star Region.
Having done all this, Tsubasa opened his mouth and roared with all his might. His voice, transmitted through mental vibrations, transformed into a sharp thought that directly entered the Insect God's spiritual world, "Ugly monster! You think you can catch up with us? Let me tell you, your dead Holy Mother Insect were long ago devoured and refined by me! Now they are part of my power, and you'll never get them back in this lifetime!"
Tsubasa deliberately released a faint trace of the Ōtsutsuki aura, which was his innate life force as a member of the Senju Clan. It was originally useless, but now it became the best bait.
Sure enough, upon hearing the words " Holy Mother Insect," the Insect God's body trembled violently, and the dark green divine power around him instantly became violent.
The Holy Mother Insect is the core of the Insect Race's Reproduction, essentially Insect Race lifeline. If even one is lost, the Insect Race's Reproduction rate will be greatly reduced, and they may even face extinction. Previously, three Holy Mother Insect were killed by Tsubasa. The Insect God never expected that this human could briefly possess divine power. Now that Tsubasa has released the life force of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, it has completely realized that everything was a conspiracy by the God of Ōtsutsuki.
At this moment, Tsubasa not only possessed the faint aura of the Holy Mother Insect, but also the aura of the Ōtsutsuki. Coupled with this blatant provocation, the Insect God's pent-up anger of ten thousand years was instantly ignited!
"Hiss--!!!"
A piercing screech erupted from the Insect God's mouth. This screech did not travel through sound but directly affected the mental level. Tsubasa and Orochimaru felt a sharp pain in their heads, as if they were being torn apart. The surrounding space trembled violently with the screech, and countless new spatial rifts appeared out of thin air. The violent energy flows were suppressed by this rage and dared not approach.
The red light in the Insect God's eyes became incredibly intense, filled with a world-destroying killing intent. It abandoned the energy ball that was only half-condensed, and its massive body moved suddenly, tearing through space with a speed that completely defied the laws of physics, chasing after Tsubasa and Orochimaru.
Its speed was simply too fast. Despite its enormous size, it was as agile as a cheetah, leaving a series of black afterimages behind it. Its dark green divine power trailed a long tail flame, and even starlight was swallowed up wherever it passed.
"It's done!" Tsubasa was overjoyed. Without thinking, he grabbed Orochimaru, whose body had just been completely reconstructed. The wings on his back burst into light again, turning into a golden streak of light. He used all his strength to flee desperately towards the Ōtsutsuki Star Region.
"Hehe... Run faster, Saint Venerable Tsubasa." Orochimaru, his arm gripped by Tsubasa, wore an excited smile. Though his face remained pale, his eyes grew brighter. "Being chased by a True God, this is a rare experience indeed."
"Shut up! If you say another word, I'll throw you down to feed the bugs!" Tsubasa said through gritted teeth, his pace quickening even further.
He was just saying it in anger; now they're interdependent, like lips and teeth, and neither can live without the other.
This chase, spanning several galaxies, has thus begun.
Tsubasa and Orochimaru fled desperately, with the Insect God chasing after them frantically.
Every obstacle encountered along the way became a target for the Insect God's venting of anger. Occasionally, when it came to a meteorite belt, the Insect God would simply wave its hand, and countless meteorites would instantly be reduced to cosmic dust. When it encountered a small, uninhabited planet, the Insect God would crash into it head-on, and the planet would instantly explode into a huge fireball, with fragments flying everywhere, but none of them even touched the Insect God's carapace.
"This Insect God is completely enraged! Can't it calm down?" Tsubasa cursed as he dodged the flying debris from the planet.
They've already been caught once.
The Insect God's energy attack was withstood by the Corpse Saint Orochimaru. The two cooperated, with Tsubasa focusing on escaping and Orochimaru focusing on tanking damage, actively drawing the Insect God's attention. As a result, Orochimaru was hit countless times by the Insect God's corrosive energy, half of his body was melted, and it took a great deal of effort to regenerate. The Insect God launched an area attack, with countless dark green energy rays shooting towards them. The two of them fought with all their might to ensure that Orochimaru took full damage, but Tsubasa also suffered considerable injuries.
At this moment, Tsubasa's condition had deteriorated to the extreme, while Orochimaru's corpse energy had once again reconstituted the Corpse Saint body.
Tsubasa could only rely on the Saint Power within his body to forcibly fly through the spatial passage. His Saint Power was nearing depletion; each flight felt like overdrawing his life force. Golden blood continuously flowed from the corners of his mouth, nostrils, and ears, forming a long trail of icy beads behind him. His consciousness was beginning to blur, and his vision was turning black intermittently; he was only sustained by a will to not die. He even somewhat admired Orochimaru's immortality.
Orochimaru's regeneration speed had clearly slowed down. The areas where his skin had been corroded had taken on an eerie dark green hue, and the small snakes of corpse energy were moving much more sluggishly as they reassembled their bodies. He leaned against Tsubasa's back, his breath weak and his voice feeble, but the excitement in his eyes remained undiminished.
"Almost there... Just ahead is... the boundary of the Ōtsutsuki Star Region..." Tsubasa murmured to himself, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.
He could sense an ancient, majestic, and vibrant power emanating from not far ahead. This power was completely different from the destructive aura of the Insect God, carrying a superior sense of control—the very aura unique to the Ōtsutsuki Star Region.
Orochimaru slightly raised his head, following Tsubasa's gaze, a strange smile playing on his lips, "Heh... We've finally arrived. Leading one True God True God to the territory of another... Tsubasa- kun, do you think the God of Ōtsutsuki will welcome our 'guest'?"
Tsubasa didn't answer; he no longer had the strength to speak. He simply gritted his teeth, summoned the last bit of Saint Power within him, and increased his flight speed.
The view ahead became clearer and clearer.
The star field, permeated with an ancient aura, finally appeared in its entirety before their eyes.
The star field is extremely vast, stretching as far as the eye can see. Within it, only one enormous planet is teeming with life, radiating abundant life energy. And at the very center of the star field planet stands a colossal God Tree that reaches the heavens and touches the earth.
That God Tree was truly enormous. Its trunk was unimaginably thick, seemingly capable of supporting the entire universe. Its branches extended in all directions, covering nearly half the planet. The leaves shimmered with a faint golden light, and among them lay God Tree Fruit, like tiny suns radiating warm and powerful energy. Its roots were deeply embedded in the planet, extending to an unknown destination. Countless energy veins could be faintly seen flowing through the roots, nourishing the entire planet.
This God Tree is the very essence of the God of Ōtsutsuki and the foundation of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
" The God of Ōtsutsuki..." Tsubasa's voice carried a hint of awe.
Although he had briefly clashed with the God of Ōtsutsuki, he was well aware of the power of this True God. The God of Ōtsutsuki was one of the oldest True God in the universe, controlling the power of life and creation, and his strength was unfathomable; even the Insect God had to be wary of him.
The Insect God seemed to sense the presence ahead as well. It slowed down slightly, and its hundreds of compound eyes warily stared at the Ōtsutsuki Star Region ahead, flashing red light, clearly weighing the pros and cons.
The hatred of the Holy Mother Insect made it want to tear Tsubasa and Orochimaru apart immediately, but the power of the God of Ōtsutsuki also made it dare not easily invade the other party's territory.
"Hiss..." The Insect God let out a low hiss, its voice filled with hesitation and anger.
Seeing Tsubasa, Tianyi's heart tightened. He knew that if the Insect God retreated, they would both be finished. He mustered his strength, released the aura of the Ōtsutsuki Clan again, and shouted at the Insect God, "What? You don't dare to come in? You cowardly insect, you only dare to bully the weak! If you have the guts, come on over! I'll be waiting for you to die in the Ōtsutsuki Star Region. If I don't die today, your Insect Race will never have peace!"
He deliberately used mental shockwaves to convey a strong sense of provocation, intending to completely enrage the Insect God, causing it to lose its mind and invade the territory of the God of Ōtsutsuki.
As expected, upon hearing Tsubasa's provocation, the hesitation in the Insect God's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by an even more ferocious rage. It was clearly provoked by Tsubasa's words; it no longer hesitated, its massive body suddenly accelerating, charging towards the Ōtsutsuki Star Region with a world-destroying momentum.
"Great!" Tsubasa felt a sense of relief, his tense nerves instantly relaxed, and a strong feeling of exhaustion surged into his heart. He could no longer hold on, and with Orochimaru in tow, he broke straight through the domain of the God of Ōtsutsuki and rushed towards the Ōtsutsuki Planet.
Behind them, the figure of the Insect God drew ever closer, its dark green divine power colliding with the golden energy of the Ōtsutsuki Star Region, unleashing a blinding light that caused the entire void to tremble violently.
The giant God Tree in the center of the star field sensed the intruder's presence, gently swayed its branches, and a cold intent swept across the entire star field like a tidal wave.
"Outsider... trespassing on my territory... die."
The cold voice, devoid of any emotion, yet imbued with undeniable authority and killing intent, instantly resounded throughout the entire Ōtsutsuki Star Region, reaching the ears of Tsubasa, Orochimaru, and the Insect God.