Chapter 440: Victory and Defeat (Part 2)

In a decisive battle between two factions, it was natural to deploy the most formidable Ancestors. Of the 89 Ancestors present, 39 were skilled in self-preservation, which was a considerable number. The remaining 50 excelled in various offensive techniques but largely depended on their comrades for survival.

The eight Lords' first attack targeted the most vulnerable Ancestor, causing a stir within the Innate Chaos Origin faction.

"The Dark Roc Ancestor was killed instantly? Would they be next?"

"Our formation's protective capabilities are still not perfect," some Ancestors transmitted amongst themselves.

The Infinite Snake Ancestor's heart skipped a beat.

He understood that when the Ancestors were rallied, they had been assured of the battle formation's perfect coordination, particularly its robust defensive capabilities, which convinced them to join. However, a string of sudden deaths could cause internal division among them.

There was no time to delay! They had to unleash their killing moves immediately!

The Infinite Snake Ancestor promptly sent out a telepathic message.

Ordinarily, battles between the two major factions could span hundreds or even thousands of epochs. Their initial plan was to gather more intelligence on the eight Lords before deploying their ultimate attacks. A hasty deployment might compromise their effectiveness.

But the situation was evolving too rapidly; they had no choice.

"Whoosh!"

The Infinite Snake Ancestor instantly transformed into a colossal, ethereal phantom. Unstoppable, its immense form enveloped all Ancestors and the eight Lords alike.

Then, the ethereal Infinite Snake Ancestor solidified in an instant! Its colossal serpent body naturally enveloped Yuan, trapping him inside its belly.

First becoming ethereal, then solidifying—this was one of the Infinite Snake Ancestor's signature moves to trap enemies. Across the vast Endless Chaos Origin Space, very few beings could escape this particular entrapment technique.

The expressions of Luo Feng and the other seven Lords subtly shifted.

Yuan was suddenly trapped within the Infinite Snake Ancestor!

Simultaneously, a terrifying wave of energy erupted from within the Infinite Snake Ancestor's body.

"Endless Light! Endless Might!" This assault was a combined ultimate attack by the Infinite Snake Ancestor and the Endless Ancestor. Since achieving 'Undying and Indestructible' status, the Endless Ancestor had also mastered a burst technique similar to Luo Feng's Grand Origin Destruction.

Such explosive techniques could only be unleashed by those who had achieved 'Undying and Indestructible' status.

It was omnipresent! Without any obstruction from the Infinite Snake Ancestor, it instantly manifested inside its body, drawing close to Yuan.

Within the serpent's form.

Yuan, unable to escape, could only watch as the Endless Ancestor appeared, instantly transforming into an incredibly dazzling light. This blinding radiance ripped apart and annihilated everything.

Even with the formation's resistance, Yuan's body was torn apart and obliterated at such close range.

"Among the eight Lords of the Cultivator faction, Yuan and Luo Feng are pivotal. Without Yuan, their coordination would suffer greatly, their strength would be severely diminished, and they would be unable to withstand our assault. Without Luo Feng, their threat level would plummet."

The Innate Chaos Origin faction had long understood this principle: to defeat the Cultivator faction, Yuan was the primary target, Luo Feng was the secondary target, and Xing Mang the third. Eliminating just one of them would guarantee victory in a direct confrontation.

"Boom—"

As Yuan's body was annihilated, the colossal battle formation of the other Ancestors from the Innate Chaos Origin faction swept over them.

At Luo Feng's side, even as Yuan's main body was trapped within the Infinite Snake Ancestor, a wisp of his consciousness instantly materialized as a weak clone. This clone rapidly grew in strength, fueled by Luo Feng's power.

As Yuan's main combat body was destroyed, his clone swiftly grew to 30-40% of its energy reserves. While growing, it also burned power to sustain the formation.

"Rumble..."

Although the battle formation was slightly weakened, the combined efforts of Wu Lan, Luo Feng, and Xing Mang managed to stabilize it. This allowed Yuan's clone to quickly reach sufficient strength.

"His weak wisp of a clone ascended to the level of a main combat body so quickly?" A chill spread through the hearts of the Innate Chaos Origin Ancestors.

The key figures of the Cultivator faction were Yuan, Luo Feng, and Xing Mang, in that order of importance.

Luo Feng inherently possessed incredibly strong defensive capabilities and unparalleled combat power. The combined ultimate attack of the Infinite Snake Ancestor and the Endless Ancestor had no guarantee of harming him. In fact, the Infinite Snake Ancestor's body wasn't even confident it could restrain Luo Feng's blade!

As for Xing Mang, no method to entrap him had been discovered yet.

Therefore, among the three, Yuan was the comparatively easier target.

"Second Strike!"

Yuan swiftly recovered to his peak, and the eight Lords, without hesitation, jointly launched their second strike.

Empowered by his comrades, Luo Feng wielded his blade, effortlessly cleaving through the battle formation formed by numerous Ancestors. One 'Initial Ancestor' even attempted to block Luo Feng's blade with its own body.

While Luo Feng was intrigued to discover which was superior—his blade or the Initial Ancestor's body, akin to a spear versus a shield—this was a critical moment, and he could not afford to squander a tactical opportunity.

With a flash of his blade, he easily bypassed the Initial Ancestor.

The Initial Ancestor's enormous spherical body moved very slowly, utterly incapable of blocking Luo Feng's blade light.

Another Ancestor was struck: the Wind-Devouring Ancestor.

The instant the blade struck, multiple energies erupted. The Wind-Devouring Ancestor's power splintered into billions of forms, billions of 'winds' scattering to escape. It only needed one wisp of wind to survive.

However, an invisible ripple spread, instantly eradicating ninety-nine percent of its power.

Moreover, forces of lightning, annihilation, space-time, and life-severing power simultaneously followed the energetic trail, obliterating every escaping 'wind'.

Not a single one of the billions of winds could persist even for an instant.

All were annihilated!

After being assessed by the Lords' 'Ages Slaughter Array' and ranked by kill difficulty, the Wind-Devouring Ancestor's survival ability was deemed relatively weak and was completely suppressed by the Lords' combined attacks.

In a single move, it was annihilated. The other Ancestors had no time to intervene.

"The Wind-Devouring Ancestor is dead too," these Ancestors panicked.

"Third Strike—"

Luo Feng and his team mercilessly unleashed their third strike.

However, the third strike failed. That Ancestor possessed greater life resilience than anticipated, holding on for an instant and receiving salvation from other Ancestors. Five types of the highest-level life forces converged to rescue it simultaneously, and this Ancestor rapidly regained strength.

The fourth strike succeeded.

The fifth strike failed...

Luo Feng and the eight Lords unleashed eight consecutive strikes! Each strike was capable of cleaving through layers of defensive formations. Despite being weakened by these numerous layers, the residual blade light remained terrifying.

The final outcome was that three Ancestors from their group had fallen in battle.

"We underestimated Luo Feng's blade!"

"We had 39 Ancestors specialized in self-preservation, coordinating various life-saving abilities, yet his blade still cleaved through," stated the Mother of Space-Time.

"In the glimpses of the future I observed, Luo Feng's figure was absent. I had presumed that with such defensive coordination, we would be entirely capable of blocking the Lords' combined ultimate attacks."

"Luo Feng's blade is quite unique!" the Nirvana Ancestor transmitted. "I vaguely sense that it seems to be an embodiment of the 'Abyss of Destruction'."

The Nirvana Ancestor possessed the keenest perception of deathly crises.

From this blade, the Nirvana Ancestor felt a palpable threat of death, as if he himself might be absorbed into the Great Nirvana. "His blade also made me feel a trace of threat," the Initial Ancestor remarked.

The other eight Ancestors were astonished.

Who was the Initial Ancestor? The sole being in the Endless Chaos Origin Space capable of traversing the Wall of Fiery Hell, it could withstand all its flames. Yet, it felt a trace of threat from Luo Feng's blade.

"His blade can pierce through all formation obstructions and strike an Ancestor's body."

"Once he uncovers more details about our formation, more Ancestors might fall in battle."

The Nine Sovereigns all recognized this fact.

In this initial engagement, neither side possessed a deep understanding of the other's formations, yet three Ancestors were killed. If the battle were to prolong, perhaps two or three more Ancestors could be slain.

"Is there any certainty of breaking through the Lords' battle formation?" inquired the Endless Ancestor.

"I see no hope," replied the Mother of Space-Time.

"Even if one of the Lords is severely wounded, Luo Feng can swiftly restore his companion's clone to full strength."

Yuan and Luo Feng were the critical points!

They had already attempted to target Yuan. As for Luo Feng, they didn't even dare to try.

The remaining 86 Ancestors suddenly retreated slightly, completely withdrawing their power, while the Nine Sovereigns positioned themselves at the very front.

The eight Lords also temporarily reined in their power.

Both sides observed a temporary ceasefire.

This scene was witnessed from afar by Ancestors from various factions, who regarded it with a mixture of awe and lament.

"This exchange, the Innate Chaos Origin faction lost."

"It cannot be considered a complete defeat. The three fallen Ancestors had weak self-preservation abilities. As for the remaining 86 Ancestors, aren't they beyond the Cultivator faction's reach? Furthermore, the Innate Chaos Origin faction still has over thirty Ancestors who haven't even participated in the battle."

"Most of the Ancestors who haven't participated are weaker ones."

Various parties debated the outcome. Regardless, in this initial engagement of the war, the Cultivator faction had gained the upper hand.

The numerous Ancestors, led by the Nine Sovereigns, and the eight Lords stood facing each other from a distance.

"You eight Cultivator Lords," the Infinite Snake Ancestor boomed, "tell us, what exactly do you intend? Are you still unsatisfied after forcibly occupying the Southern River territory, and do you wish to expand further?"

"Even if we occupy the Southern River territory, it only accounts for twenty percent of the Endless Chaos Origin Space," Yuan stated. "Even without the Southern River territory, you still control forty percent, which is double our own."

"Yuan," the Titan Sovereign interjected, "we, after all, have over a hundred Ancestors, not to mention countless World-level and High-level Chaos Origin Beings. You Cultivators only have eight Lords, and your World-level and High-level Chaos Origin Beings are exceedingly rare. You simply don't require such vast resources, so why quarrel with us?"

The Titan Sovereign was fundamentally against war, but the immense resources needed by the Titan race compelled him to step forward.

"I can make the decision to cede the Southern River territory to your Cultivator faction," the Titan Sovereign said, looking at Yuan. "However, you must promise never to expand again from this point onward."

The Infinite Snake Ancestor, the Blazing Fire Ancestor, and others remained silent, indicating that this concession was evidently part of their contingency plan.

If they couldn't win the confrontation, they would relinquish the Southern River territory!

"You want us to promise never to expand?" Yuan gently shook his head.

"At the very least, you must not encroach upon the territory of our Innate Chaos Origin faction again," the Titan Sovereign clarified. "As for your dealings with the Ice Peak faction or other powers, that is naturally beyond our concern."

Yuan, Luo Feng, and Xing Mang exchanged glances.

"In the endless eons to come, our Cultivator faction may very well give birth to a ninth, tenth, or even more Lords," Yuan stated. "And you expect us to promise never to expand towards you, merely for this one Southern River territory? The Southern River territory is already ours. Are you trying to leverage our own dominion to extort a promise from us?"

"What is it that you truly desire?" the Infinite Snake Ancestor asked in a low tone, realizing that the Cultivator faction's willingness to negotiate stemmed from a desire for greater concessions.

Yuan calmly replied, "While our need for resources is indeed not as immense, all sentient beings from the Origin Worlds are our kin. We have but one demand!"

"From this day forward, all Origin Worlds within your territories shall forever be under the dominion of our Cultivator faction."

"Should you agree, we can promise never to invade your Innate Chaos Origin faction."

Luo Feng, Xing Mang, Wu Lan, Ming Huang, Jin, Naigu, and Moman, the seven Lords, all nodded slightly in agreement.

This was their collective decision.

"All Origin Worlds?"

The Nine Sovereigns and numerous other Ancestors were shocked.

"Delusional!" The Infinite Snake Ancestor could no longer contain his fury.