Dire Straits

The countless shattered particles rapidly coalesced into a winged human powerhouse, Yechen King. Yechen King's aura was weak, a sight that startled Luo Feng, who was about to escape the cabin. Judging from the energy fluctuations, Cangjin King's attack, fueled by burning his immortal body, had caused Yechen King to lose approximately half of his immortal body! 50%! Losing half his soul meant that even with 50% of his divine body remaining, Yechen King could only exert a mere tenth of his previous peak combat power. The soul was truly crucial. “Cangjin King, don't push me!” Yechen King, his body just reformed, glared at Cangjin King with madness in his eyes, transmitting his voice. Cangjin King was currently in his most ferocious state. Even if Yechen King burned his immortal body, he wouldn't escape... he could only hope Cangjin King would spare his life. “If you push me too far, I'll...” Yechen King focused solely on Cangjin King. “Self-destruct? Haha, you self-destruct... do you think I'd be afraid? My immortal body won't suffer a single loss from your self-destruction! Haha, I've already destroyed half of your immortal body. Destroy the remaining half, and you'll fall. Why would I let you go? Die!” Cangjin King showed no more mercy. “Remember... remember... I will return for revenge!” Yechen King roared, transmitting his voice. “Explode! Explode! Explode!” Yechen King roared. His remaining 50% immortal body was completely detonated at this moment. Previously, when Cangjin King's strike destroyed half of his immortal body, it was due to the mutual annihilation of Cangjin King's immortal divine power and Yechen King's divine body, which didn't create an overly terrifying explosion. At this moment, Cangjin King could have withstood it alone, but no one was that foolish. Cangjin King had only one choice—to retreat rapidly! “Rumble, rumble, rumble~~” The self-destruction of a peak King-tier powerhouse unleashed immense power, shocking and enraging everyone present except Cangjin King—Zizhong King, Ice Blade, Huci King, and Luo Feng. A peak King-tier self-destruct! Its power was comparable to the combined might of a million Sector Lord King-tier army! It could annihilate high-tier King-tiers! Severely wound peak King-tiers! And even potentially cause a peak King-tier to fall, though that would require luck... Although... Yechen King only had 50% of his immortal body left, it still possessed half the power of a perfect peak King-tier's self-destruction. Unlike Cangjin King's attack, which involved mutual annihilation, this was a complete detonation, spreading in all directions. In a self-destruction, there was no way to control the attack direction; the divine being would fall, and the energy would spread everywhere! “No!!!” Ice Blade, who had been entangled with Huci King at the cabin door, his face completely changed. “Cangjin King, you've doomed me!!!” Ice Blade fled in terror. “Bang~~” The powerful shockwave instantly struck him, and the high-tier King-tier 'Ice Blade' was instantly pulverized into dust before this shockwave. Even the dust was then completely annihilated. “Yechen King, even in death, you have to drag me down with you!” Huci King, also terrified, rushed into the cabin. “Bang!” The shockwave, like an endless flood, swept over Huci King. Huci King's armor shimmered, and then his entire body exploded, only to re-coalesce immediately. “Bang!” The shockwave impacted Zizhong King. Zizhong King gritted his teeth, his body faintly shimmering with a hazy bell-shaped shadow, resisting slightly. But immediately after, with a thunderous boom, his body was completely pulverized, and simultaneously, the fragments re-coalesced! “Bang!” Luo Feng folded his wings, once again enduring the blow! ......Cangjin King, Zizhong King, Ice Blade, Huci King, and Luo Feng all suffered the full-range attack from Yechen King's self-destruction. Some were completely unharmed, some were injured, and some directly fell! It wasn't just the five of them. Even the Sacrificial Tower couldn't remain stable under the self-destruction of a peak King-tier. The sacrificial secret patterns on the corridor walls and cabin walls of the Sacrificial Tower continuously flickered, then shattered with a thunderous crash. Even the walls themselves collapsed and broke apart, with the shockwave spreading in all directions. Each layer of walls flickered and trembled, then shattered. However, after breaking through layer after layer of walls, the power continuously weakened and eventually subsided. A spherical area with a diameter of 60 kilometers was completely reduced to ruins! The Sacrificial Tower itself was a special law-based weapon refined from F-grade metals. Just like many weapons can expand and contract, this Sacrificial Tower could also change size. However, it was somewhat similar to weapons like 'Divine Being Bases' or 'Star Fortresses,' with varying degrees of defense in different internal areas. The two most important treasure rooms, the 'Inheritance Chamber' and the 'Second Treasure Chamber,' had the strongest defenses. The entire outer shell of the core area also possessed extremely strong defenses. As for many of the cabin walls inside, they were less costly to construct. Even with the assistance of the mysterious sacrificial secret patterns... Yechen King's self-destruction still destroyed an area with a 60-kilometer diameter. ......Silence. Within the Sacrificial Tower, amidst the ruins, there was complete silence. Luo Feng and Huci King exchanged glances, communicating silently. “Yechen King's self-destruction actually cost me 6% of my immortal body, what a loss,” Huci King transmitted. “But, Yang, we're in trouble. With Yechen King fallen, our side has suffered a great loss in strength. Although they also lost an Ice Blade... Ice Blade was only a high-tier King-tier, losing him has almost no impact on Cangjin King and Zizhong King's side.” “What a pity for Yechen King,” Luo Feng transmitted. “Pity what? Isn't he human? You humans... you place great importance on powerhouses among the King-tier Immortals. Even if they fall, they will be revived by reversing time and space in the future,” Huci King transmitted. “Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of fortune. Although I'm also a member of the Hong Alliance, if I want to get such an opportunity... I need to earn more military merits and raise my status.” Luo Feng sighed inwardly. Great beings like Universe Masters possess incredible abilities. They can directly reverse time and space, reversing to the moment before the target's death... to revive powerhouses by twisting time and space. Among humanity, the peak existences like Giant Axe Creator, Chaos City Lord, Long Xing Master, Xu Jin Master... At some point, they will collectively revive large numbers of human powerhouses! Those revived would either be extremely powerful, have made significant contributions, or have teachers and others helping to pay for the revival materials... However—revival was not without cost. For Universe Masters, reviving someone of Yechen King's strength incurred a very small cost. But this 'very small cost' was relative to Universe Masters themselves. Universe Masters would never suffer a loss; these costs would ultimately have to be repaid by the revived powerhouses themselves, either by fighting for humanity or by acquiring treasures to offer to humanity. “Poor Yechen King, even if he's revived, he'll likely be fighting desperately for humanity for a very long time,” Luo Feng thought. “But being able to be revived is already very fortunate. Other alien races... some alien races don't even have existences like Universe Masters. Even for those alien races that join the Hong Alliance, the conditions and costs required for revival are much higher than for humans.” No one wanted to fall! The stronger one was, the higher the cost required for revival. Chaos City Lord once said that reviving a Universe Venerable would cause him to be severely injured by the backlash from the universe's operational laws. If he were to revive Universe Overlords like Xiluoduo or Sky Eclipse Palace Master, Chaos City Lord would fall due to the backlash from the universe's operational laws! One must know that Chaos City Lord's strength far surpassed Xiluoduo and the others, yet he would fall from reviving Xiluoduo... clearly, the intensity of the backlash was terrifying. Yechen King would be revived in some distant future! The price he would have to pay was imaginable. ......“Cangjin King, Yechen King was already trying to escape, why did you force him to his death?” Zizhong King was both anxious and furious. “Ice Blade even fell because of it!” Ice Blade was also a member of the Qichang Race. As a fellow clansman, although Zizhong King didn't think highly of Ice Blade, Ice Blade had always adventured with him, and being of the same race, they naturally trusted each other. “I was also injured by the shockwave from Yechen King's self-destruction,” Zizhong King said angrily. “Moreover, humanity is one of the four peak races, and among humans, there are great existences like Universe Masters. One day in the future, Yechen King might very well be revived.” “Shut up,” Cangjin King transmitted, snapping. “Revival? When will that even happen? Even if he's revived, he still won't be my match. All I know is... I killed him, and I can claim his wealth.” With a wave of his hand, Cangjin King directly collected all the world rings and other artifacts left behind after Yechen King and Ice Blade fell. “Don't let that human escape,” Cangjin King roared suddenly. Whoosh! In the distance, Luo Feng's wings vibrated, and he unleashed his 'Three-Shake Universe Shuttle' technique. His speed rapidly soared, and he shot like lightning into a distant corridor. “Don't think of escaping!” Cangjin King pursued him from behind. “Hmph.” Zizhong King also quickly followed in pursuit. Huci King, however, stood silently in the air amidst the ruins, watching the scene. He then gave a cold smile, thinking, “They've gone mad fighting for the Sacrificial Tower's treasures, either falling or burning their immortal bodies... With Cangjin King in a rage, I'd better keep my distance. Going there would just be suicide.” Huci King then swiftly flew down another corridor. ......Inside the Sacrificial Tower's core control room. Elder Qiu Chika, Divine Master Pue, Menbu, and Latimo—the four native powerhouses—all stared at the surveillance virtual projection. When they saw Yechen King self-destruct, injuring other powerhouses and causing Ice Blade to fall, these natives each showed expressions of pleasant surprise: “Look, the token.” “It's the token.” With Yechen King and Ice Blade fallen, the tokens that had been integrated into their bodies indeed dropped into the ruins. “Go, go, hurry and leave, you alien invaders, just leave the tokens behind.” Elder Qiu Chika silently hoped. But who would have thought that Cangjin King, with a wave of his hand, directly swept up all the relics of the two fallen King-tier Immortals, including the tokens, taking everything. This instantly changed the expressions of Qiu Chika and the others. “They're escaping towards the outside of the Sacrificial Tower!” “But they've taken the tokens with them,” Divine Master Pue transmitted anxiously. “Third Brother, once they escape and teleport away, we'll never be able to open the Inheritance Chamber again.” Elder Qiu Chika gritted his teeth and transmitted, commanding, “Listen to my orders.” Pue, Menbu, and Latimo's eyes lit up, and they all listened intently to the Elder's command. They knew... they had to act!