Chapter 4049: Encirclement

Awe Gate threw a palm strike to restrain the humanoid Verdant Sage. Overhead, beyond the rift, a massive water droplet had silently formed and started plummeting.

The droplet creature was trying to shatter the rifts. Since they were all Immortals, it should be impossible for the human to be that much stronger than it. Her actions thus far had been a sudden burst of strength.

The droplet slammed into the rifts and pressed down, compressing them.

Awe Gate looked up and gave a contemptuous snort before attacking upwards. Another rift opened with a roar. This was the sixteenth.

The sixteenth rift blasted the colossal droplet away, scattering the immense amount of Immortal matter that had been fused into it.

The droplet creature recoiled as it stared in shock.

She wasn’t going all out?

The humanoid Verdant Sage then crossed Awe Gate’s path, a card in their hand. Both individuals vanished into the card.

The rifts faded away, and the warped region of space slowly returned to form.

The droplet Immortal’s antennae twitched as it stared at the empty space.

She’s been drawn into the card

.

It exhaled in relief. The pressure that the human woman gave off had been monstrous, but since she had been sealed, she should not appear again anytime soon.

Luo Chan had been watching from the distance, and it was also utterly stunned.

It had never imagined that Awe Gate could unleash such terrifying might. She had almost overpowered two Immortals at the same time.

This was even more shocking to Luo Chan than when Jiang Feng had wounded the droplet creature.

Luo Chan had expected the war to result in the inexorable annihilation of the human civilization from this region of the Aevum Inch, only for variables to appear.

The droplet creature’s gaze swept over, and Luo Chan vanished. It reappeared at the rear of the battlefield, and a swarm of insects surged forward to flood the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

This was the moment that countless cultivators in that megaverse had been waiting for.

As the swarm of insects descended, the human cultivators stepped forward.

The war began in earnest. Cries of death rang across the stars, and the universe was stained red.

A towering figure appeared. “Emperor's Gaze: ‘All is beneath me. My gaze can never be directly met.’”

Shan Xiao immediately attacked, and two beams fell from the giant figure’s eyes, targeting countless cultivators below.

Another figure appeared before those cultivators, and they looked up and smiled at Shan Xiao. “We meet again, bug.

“Thousand Sails Celestial Mirror, Nine Heavens Transformation, Cosmic Needle Art.”

Countless mirrors appeared, each of them reflecting light in the same direction before they converged to blast at one of the descending beams. As that happened, Xing Fan alone rushed towards the other, unleashing the Nine Heavens Transformation and her Cosmic Needle Art.

Shan Xiao was surprised to learn that Xing Fan was still alive, but when she saw that the woman was charging into a beam of Emperor’s Gaze on her own, Shan Xiao just sneered. “Courting death.”

But the very next instant, Xing Fan’s power spiked. The two beams from the Emperor’s Gaze card were both stopped.

She... she stopped them head-on?

Shan Xiao gaped in disbelief.

Impossible. How could this happen?

The last time they clashed, the human woman had not even been able to withstand one beam, but now she had just blocked both!

How was that possible?

Xing Fan had fused with two peak Dukkhan spirit seeds through the Nirvana Tree Path, which caused her strength to soar beyond her previous peak. She stopped the beams from the Emperor’s Gaze card and then raised a hand towards Shan Xiao to unleash the Cosmic Needle Art.

A needle pierced through the void as it flew at Shan Xiao.

Shan Xiao pushed across the universe with the power of the Third Rampart.

The Cosmic Needle Art pierced that bulwark, and if Shan Xiao had not evaded in time, she would have been wounded.

She glared down at Xing Fan. “You?”

Xing Fan sneered. “Bug, you will never be able to comprehend humanity’s potential. Die!”

She reached down, causing the universes of the Spirit Nidus to quake. She was reaching down to the spirit threads there.

Shan Xiao’s expression turned icy. “You’re a mere human, a wretch who has already been defeated. How dare you think that you can beat me?”

Another card appeared. “Di Shang: all above me, Reversal.”

The two cards merged. Shan Xiao’s expression grew reverent, yet also proud. She looked like the princess of an entire world. “Emperor of all.”

A pill burst from the void, descending behind Shan Xiao. Dan Jin’s voice followed, “Dan Method.”

Boom

.

The Emperor’s towering figure merged with Shan Xiao, but just as she was about to wield the universe-shattering power, she was struck by a pill. It was no ordinary pill, but rather one forged from a universe. The blast was like the detonation of an entire parallel universe.

Even the grand silhouette of the emperor staggered back multiple steps, and the two cards separated.

Shan Xiao turned around, just as another pill appeared before her.

Both Xing Fan and Dan Jin had been taught the Nirvana Tree Path. Xing Fan, even after accepting a Seed Transfusion, had surpassed her former peak, while Dan Jin’s strength had surged even further. Her alchemy had transformed to a level that qualified her to duel an Insect Lord.

If she had possessed such strength when assaulting Unbroken Time, Lu Yin and the Great Master might not have become that creature’s primary targets.

Dan Jin’s pills could obliterate an entire swarm of insects.

Shan Xiao had not expected two of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s top experts to appear and be capable of fighting against her. She had already dismissed Xing Fan, as the two merged cards could deal with that woman. However, Dan Jin radiated a sense of danger. Not only that, but the two were also working together against Shan Xiao.

They also only occupied a single corner of the battlefield. The entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse was fighting a war.

The battle was far more brutal than before.

The attacking swarm of insects surpassed the previous horde by more than a single tier of power. Luckily, a number of people in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had received the Nirvana Tree Path. To avoid drawing the droplet creature’s attention, they were acting independently and concealing their full power. However, any time a region of the battlefield faltered, one or two Nirvana adepts would appear with enough strength to reverse the tide.

This time, the Nest’s Immortals were not restraining themselves. They were ready to slay the human experts, though only by carefully selecting their targets. Immortals could not afford to kill too many.

At the moment, the droplet creature was focused on Xing Fan and Dan Jin. They were holding back Shan Xiao, and there was no denying that the two human women were top masters.

A drop of water emerged from the void, crashing towards Dan Jin.

The woman felt a sudden chill, and she spun around, a pill ready to be released.

Boom

.

The sky twisted as the pill clashed with the droplet. Dan Jin was forced back again and again. She glared at the droplet creature with wary eyes.

Although this Immortal bug had been thoroughly suppressed by Awe Gate, it was still an Immortal. Aside from Awe Gate, very few in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were capable of fighting against the bug.

Even Jiang Feng had failed to save the Tianyuan against the creature’s killing strike.

An Immortal would always be an Immortal. Too few were capable of transcending mortal limits to challenge an Immortal.

The universe roared. Through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Lu Yin observed the droplet creature, and he dropped down a karmic wall to block one of its attacks against Dan Jin.

The droplet creature looked upwards. Even from so far away, that human could still interfere. He wasn’t even an Immortal, yet his karmic control over such a span of the Aevum Inch was terrifying. But since Greater Sancte Green Lotus was not taking action, the Immortal Lord’s true body would not move, either.

If he doesn’t act, then the Immortal Lord’s true body will not either.

Let’s see how long these humans can last.

Just as the Immortal bug started to move again, the card that had swallowed both the humanoid Verdant Sage and Awe Gate started to shudder. Cracks tore through the void, splintering in all directions.

The droplet creature stared, its eyes quivering for a moment before it rushed over. Without any hesitation, it plunged into the card as well.

In the Tianyuan, Lu Yin let out a breath as he remained focused on the card. Awe Gate was ferocious. She had completely crushed the droplet creature in the first moments of battle, and now, she was suppressing the humanoid Verdant Sage even after being pulled inside a card. If not for that, the droplet creature would have never rushed in to help.

A moment later, and the card would have been torn apart.

Lu Yin had met many fierce women in his life, but Awe Gate stood above them all.

With the droplet creature joining the fight between the other two Immortals, the pressure on Dan Jin and the others instantly dropped significantly. They immediately threw themselves fully into battle against Shan Xiao and the other more powerful insects.

Lu Yin searched for Luo Chan again, as that bug was a wild card.

Luo Chan was once again targeted by the Great Master, but without Awe Gate’s assistance, the Great Master could not chase after the bug. Luo Chan rampaged across the battlefield, reaping multiple lives. It even managed to eliminate several of the Nirvana adepts who had fused with multiple spirit seeds. The Great Master could only watch on, helpless.

The Great Master might not be able to catch Luo Chan, but Lu Yin could.

When the insects attacked the Tianyuan, Luo Chan had freely slaughtered whoever it wanted by taking advantage of its ability. Only Lu Yin’s karmic walls had been able to block the bug, and he was using that same tactic once more.

There was a bang as Luo Chan smacked into an unseen barrier. It stared ahead, but there was nothing to be seen.

Again? Karmic power, again?

Seething, it glared up at the sky. Once again, that human was boxing it in with karma.

The bug vanished and reappeared, ready to kill another cultivator, only to slam into another karmic wall when it was less than a meter from its target.

Cursed human! Again!

Lu Yin kept blocking the bug. With the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, he could observe the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse, provided that Luo Chan stayed within the main universe. It was impossible for the bug to escape his sight.

At this moment, much like Awe Gate, Lu Yin was able to fully control the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Still, things could not continue like this forever. While Lu Yin was borrowing the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, he had already spent too much of his own Karmic Dao. Repeatedly raising karmic walls to block Luo Chan was also quickly draining his reserves. Without being able to replenish his karma, Lu Yin did not know how long he could continue for.

“Die, bug! Behave.” The Great Master swept her oar sideways, but Luo Chan dodged.

Bang!

The bug went right into another karmic wall. Furious, it was not able to recover before it was struck by the oar from behind and sent flying.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

This was the first time since the battle had begun that the Great Master had actually managed to strike Luo Chan. Elated, she gave chase.

The fighting was just as fierce in the Spirit Nidus. There, the battle centered on the Arcanum Domain, though it was spread across all thirty-six domains, as people tried to hold back the insect tide.

Both the Rift of Suffering and the Four Commands Sword Sect fought tooth and nail against the bugs.

Everyone’s prime objective was the Gate of Laws.

The Morrow Behemoth in the Spirit Nidus roared. The Ascendant Hall shook as the creature raised its paw and swatted scores of insects dead.

Across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Morrow Behemoths that slept beneath the Night Pillars emerged, one after another.

From beneath the Mother Tree’s skyswings, more Morrow Behemoths charged out to meet the swarms.

Battlefields raged in both the sky above and the earth below.

The endless fighting shattered cities. Countless people fled in despair as cultivators fought to the end. Blood rained from the sky.

Rivers ran red.

Bang

.

Luo Chan had lost count of the number of times it had run into an unseen barrier. All it knew was to keep moving. That human could not use karma without limit. Definitely not.

Outside the Tianyuan, Lu Yin’s expression turned grim. His Karmic Dao was about to run out. If he failed to deal with Luo Chan, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would be on their own.

There were many cultivators in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, but there were only so many top elites. Luo Chan only needed to eliminate a few such experts to sway the balance of the war. On top of that, its mere existence forced everyone to restrain their power in fear of an ambush. Luo Chan’s presence was a tactical disaster.

Was there really no way to deal with Luo Chan?

At just that moment, the Great Master shot into the sky, looking upwards. “Lu Yin, you can hear me, right?”

The rumble of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm was her answer.

The Great Master gritted her teeth. “Keep it pinned down. I’ll grab something that will deal with it.”

Lu Yin frowned. Was there something in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that could counter Luo Chan? If so, why had it not been used earlier?

Still, he could not ask that question at this moment. All he could do was reply with another rumble of karma.