Two Universe Overlords materialized in the void.
Dance Spirit Venerable!
Sun Piercing Venerable!
Both Nine Swords Venerable and Kandeli's expressions darkened immediately. No longer conserving their divine power, they unleashed devastating attacks that annihilated all the Mist Maggots in a single coordinated strike. Immediately afterward, Nine Swords Venerable and Kandeli simultaneously transmitted urgent messages directly into Han Jue's consciousness.
"Han Jue, if Dance Spirit Venerable makes a move against you, don't hesitate, self-destruct immediately!"
"That's right. You have a clone. You can survive self-destruction. Even if the treasure is lost, as long as you aren't enslaved through soul manipulation, your race can help you retrieve it!"
"These top Universe Overlords in the Eternal Lake Secret Realm might seem powerful, but in reality, they're nothing compared to the human race's true strength. They have nowhere to run. Without a Universe Master backing them, even if they seize your treasure, they can't bypass human territory and flee to another race's camp!"
Nine Swords Venerable and Kandeli transmitted urgently, their messages overlapping in Han Jue's mind.
The core message was simple and absolute: Don't let Dance Spirit Venerable enslave your soul!
Once enslaved, there would be no hope of recovery.
Han Jue possessed the Star Stream Sea clone. As long as that clone survived, his main body could be reborn, and the Six Eyes wouldn't disappear. Retrieving the treasure afterward wouldn't be insurmountably difficult, the Virtual Universe Company's power could accomplish that much.
"Don't worry. I understand," Han Jue nodded grimly, his jaw setting with determination.
"Good that you understand." Hearing this confirmation, both Nine Swords Venerable and Kandeli breathed subtle sighs of relief.
They knew that geniuses like Han Jue often possessed extremely strong pride and might refuse self-destruction even when facing death, making them vulnerable to the enemy's designs. Furthermore, Dance Spirit Venerable was exceptionally skilled in soul manipulation techniques, if Han Jue were enslaved through soul control, he would be completely finished.
The two Venerables didn't particularly fear death themselves. Nine Swords Venerable possessed a clone, while Kandeli would be resurrected by his clan even if killed, so the loss of combat power wouldn't be catastrophically severe.
As long as they weren't Universe Venerables like the bankrupt Ganwu Kingdom Lord, who owed enormous debts after resurrection, they didn't need to fear death as much as others might.
"Dance Spirit, is this the little genius you were discussing?" Sun Piercing Venerable looked down at the three below with an expression of playful amusement.
"These people are from the Virtual Universe Company, aren't they?"
"You were so arrogant back then! What happened? With Ripple Venerable gone, you've fallen to this pathetic state?" Sun Piercing Venerable's voice dripped with mockery.
"Heh, you clearly know we're from the Virtual Universe Company. Do you actually dare make a move against us? Aren't you afraid that a Universe Master from the Virtual Universe Company will personally take action and obliterate you both?" Nine Swords Venerable sneered in return, refusing to show weakness.
The Star Belt, a High Arcana treasure, bound them tightly, making escape nearly impossible for the three of them. Dance Spirit Venerable's presence discouraged even attempting to flee.
If it were just Sun Piercing Venerable alone, there might have been some chance of escape.
"Heh, just a Universe Master? Who among us hasn't encountered one!" Sun Piercing Venerable sneered dismissively.
Dance Spirit Venerable, standing beside him, seemed somewhat surprised by his lack of confidence and noticed the slight tremor in his voice.
She asked telepathically, "What? Didn't you want to discuss with me how to deal with that one? Is this the solution you came up with?"
"More or less. With the Virtual Universe Company's involvement, we have some hope of success," Sun Piercing Venerable replied quietly.
Even though Sun Piercing Venerable relied primarily on his innate advantages as a special lifeform to reach his current cultivation level, he wasn't stupid, he knew how to leverage the Virtual Universe Company's power.
"That one... has he truly broken through to Universe Master level?" Dance Spirit Venerable asked with genuine curiosity.
"Yes, I can confirm it. But He hasn't fully awakened yet," Sun Piercing Venerable said gravely.
The telepathic exchange lasted only a moment.
The three below were also exchanging hurried transmissions.
"Is there actually a Universe Master within the Eternal Lake Secret Realm?" Nine Swords Venerable frowned deeply.
"If so, that's extremely troublesome," Kandeli said, his face equally grave.
Outside the Eternal Lake Secret Realm lay human territory!
If a Universe Master from this place appeared in the outside universe, the entire Hong Yu Universe Kingdom, along with several surrounding universe kingdoms, might be completely destroyed!
The power of a Universe Master was truly terrifying.
"I contacted my teacher, but he hasn't replied yet," Han Jue said, shaking his head. "However, Uncle Chaos said he would arrange for a Universe Master to come help us, but we don't know who it is yet."
"That's good!"
With definite confirmation of reinforcements, the three felt considerably more confident.
"So what if there's a Universe Master? Can he resurrect you?" Nine Swords Venerable continued mocking openly. "I think your so-called Eternal Lake Lord is just a coward. When something actually happens, he doesn't dare show himself!"
Sun Piercing Venerable wasn't certain if the Eternal Lake Lord had heard Nine Swords Venerable's words through his surveillance network.
But he was absolutely certain that the Eternal Lake Lord was probably in the process of awakening right now!
Sun Piercing Venerable was about to engage in some proper verbal sparring with Nine Swords Venerable, to demonstrate his loyalty to the Eternal Lake Lord, when he was suddenly interrupted by Dance Spirit Venerable.
"What are you three searching for here?" Dance Spirit Venerable asked with obvious interest, her mature beauty radiating charm.
"Is it this?"
With a casual wave of her hand, Dance Spirit Venerable telekinetically pulled a massive red sphere, over a million kilometers in diameter, from among the surrounding asteroid debris.
Han Jue, Kandeli, and Nine Swords Venerable all looked toward Nine Swords Venerable simultaneously, only to see him nod solemnly in confirmation.
This was it!
The third component of the Cliff Palace!
Logically, something of such immense size shouldn't have remained hidden for over ten days of searching.
Most likely, Dance Spirit Venerable had concealed it within this spatial region using advanced space manipulation techniques. Only someone with complete mastery of the fundamental Laws of Space could have found it through meticulous searching.
"This object appeared here over ten thousand epochs ago," Dance Spirit Venerable said with a charming smile, her pink tongue briefly touching her lips. "I never understood its purpose, so I used it to cultivate those Mist Maggots. Now that you've slaughtered all the Mist Maggots I so carefully raised, you'll naturally need to pay a price if you want to take it away."
"What do you want?" Nine Swords Venerable asked directly.
"I want... him!" Dance Spirit Venerable pointed.
"Me?" Kandeli was completely stunned.
Not only was Kandeli shocked, but Nine Swords Venerable and Han Jue were also taken aback.
Did Dance Spirit Venerable really have such peculiar tastes?
Both Sun Piercing Venerable and Kandeli appeared as elderly men!
"What? You don't want it? Then you can exchange it for a High Arcana treasure instead." Dance Spirit Venerable's expression shifted, and she retracted the red crystal sphere.
Nine Swords Venerable looked at Kandeli. Kandeli looked back at Nine Swords Venerable. The two stared at each other in silent communication.
"Old friend..." Nine Swords Venerable finally spoke first, his voice trailing off awkwardly.
"Fine. Consider this my sacrifice to help you this time," Kandeli said through gritted teeth, his jaw tight with resignation.
There was one critical detail the others didn't know.
Kandeli's clone was essentially an energy-based construct, just like the clone split from Han Jue's Star Stream Sea form. It couldn't be enslaved through soul manipulation techniques.
"That's more like it!"
Dance Spirit Venerable licked her crimson lips and smiled with evident satisfaction.
Only Sun Piercing Venerable's face remained gloomy and dissatisfied.
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