Chapter 286: The Scheming of Lord Liu'an of the Star

At the very moment Lu Qingshan and the others were opening a new battlefield beyond the stars...

"Father!"

In a remote corner of the universe's starry void.

On a desolate planet within this starry void, a burly giant over ten meters tall, clad in gray-brown battle armor with a pair of fleshy wings on his back, was furiously pounding his own chest, his eyes filled with boundless sorrow and rage.

At this moment, his mind was constantly replaying scene after scene from the past!

From the moment he first began cultivating, his father had always been his most solid backing.

When he was merely a small Universe-level cultivator, his father had already broken through to become a Hei Fengwang Immortal, holding a very high status throughout the entire Qiji Clan.

With the help of the many cultivation resources provided by his father, he, who already possessed excellent talent, likewise broke through to become an Immortal Deity, and upon breaking through, he reached the High Marquis level.

In the years that followed, his father even broke through to the Venerable Realm, becoming one of the six great leaders of the Qiji Clan.

Later, with his father's help, and through his own diligent cultivation, he too reached the Hei Fengwang level!

The companionship of endless ages had long since made the bond between him and his father surpass everything, even surpassing his own life.

His father was the most important thing in his life!

But now...

With the emergence of many powerful figures from the Human Race, his father had directly perished at the hands of Human Race warriors.

Even before his father perished, the message left for him was to lead the remaining clan members to live well and not seek revenge against the Human Race!

"Humans! Damn humans!"

At this moment, the burly giant's expression had completely twisted: "Why? Why destroy my Qiji Clan?"

You must know, our Qiji Clan usually lived within the Black Pepper Secret Realm, always keeping to ourselves and avoiding conflict.

Although many strong ones from the Qiji Clan went to the outer battlefield to gain experience, for the most part they only fought against other alien races, and generally kept their distance from the powerful figures of the six peak races.

Just then, another powerful figure from the Qiji Clan suddenly arrived before this burly giant, 'Bradley', and respectfully said: "Teacher, the clan members have all been settled within my Divine Kingdom!"

"Hmm!"

The burly giant Bradley nodded slightly, and his expression then softened a bit: "Steinbeck, from now on, the clan members are in your hands!"

"Teacher, you are..."

Sensing the change in Bradley's expression, Steinbeck, standing nearby, quickly said with concern: "Teacher, now that all the clan elders have perished, and the other Hei Fengwang Immortals in the clan are of unknown life or death, our branch now has only the two of us as Hei Fengwang Immortals. You must not act rashly!"

"I am not acting rashly!"

Bradley quickly spoke in a low voice: "My father is gone; I no longer care about anything else!"

"Moreover, your talent far surpasses mine. Perhaps in the future you will have the chance to break through to the Venerable Realm. With you leading the clan members, I am still very at ease!"

Speaking thus, Bradley waved his hand, and a black suit of armor and a world ring instantly appeared before Steinbeck.

"Steinbeck!"

Bradley quickly said: "These are treasures I accumulated over long ages, and a heavy treasure armor bestowed upon me by my father. Now they are all yours!"

"With the help of these items, I imagine it will make things a bit easier for you."

"As for me..."

Bradley gave a self-mocking smile, then said: "Forgive my escape; I entrust the future of the clan to you!"

"Teacher..."

Steinbeck wanted to persuade him further, but Bradley had already opened a temporary Divine Kingdom teleportation channel, stepped into it, and vanished completely.

"Teacher!"

Watching Bradley's vanishing figure, his disciple Steinbeck was weeping uncontrollably; then he knelt directly in the void: "Teacher, this is not escape!"

"If not for your entrustment, if not for the sake of the remaining clan members, I would definitely have made the same choice as you!"

After kneeling in the void for a long time, Steinbeck finally rose, put away the heavy treasure armor and world ring left by Bradley, then likewise opened a temporary Divine Kingdom teleportation channel, stepped into it, and vanished.

Now that the Qiji Clan has been destroyed, he must be even more cautious in his actions while leading the remaining clan members in the future.

On the other side, within the territory of the Human Race, inside the Yanfeng Universe Kingdom.

Near a very prosperous life planet, a hazy light suddenly flared up, and then a burly figure appeared on the spot; it was the Qiji Clan warrior Bradley, who had teleported through a Divine Kingdom channel.

"Damn Human Race!"

At this moment, Bradley's face was filled with madness: "Even if I die, I will make you pay the price!"

Thinking thus, Bradley instantly ignited his Immortal Divine Power, then directly attacked that prosperous life planet.

That life planet was the capital star of a medium-level universe civilization nation, and even a common Immortal Deity lived there.

Yet under Bradley's frenzied attack after igniting his Divine Power, this originally very prosperous life planet exploded directly; the common humans living on it were almost entirely killed, and even that Immortal Deity did not escape.

Then this Bradley quickly rushed to another prosperous life planet of the Human Race!

Just as Bradley was about to destroy the third prosperous life planet...

Boom!

Ripples suddenly rippled through the starry void, and then a pressure descended, as if a divine dragon was looking down upon ants.

That pressure, which left no room for resistance, instantly spread throughout the surrounding endless void; Bradley, who had been raging with power after igniting his Divine Power, was immediately suppressed, and even the secret techniques he had already cast were forcibly terminated.

Immediately after, a blurred figure gradually materialized; it was the Yanfeng Kingdom Lord, responsible for guarding the Yanfeng Universe Kingdom.

"A Human Venerable?"

The Qiji Clan warrior Bradley looked at the figure ahead emitting a terrifying aura, yet there was not a shred of fear in his eyes.

"A Hei Fengwang Immortal from the Qiji Clan? Daring to venture deep into the interior of our Human Race territory to launch revenge, truly laughable!"

The Yanfeng Kingdom Lord sneered coldly, then with a mere thought, this Bradley did not even have time to self-destruct; his eyes went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

Hiss!

The Yanfeng Kingdom Lord waved his hand and directly stored Bradley's sleeping divine body.

"Why bother? Do you wish to take revenge on our human race?"

King Yanfeng shook his head and said, "Then I will simply put you up for auction inside Hong Alliance City, forcing you to serve our human race for the rest of your life!"

For this Qiji Clan Hei Fengwang Immortal, King Yanfeng's thought was absolutely the most despairing.

But with different standpoints, thoughts naturally differ!

As the saying goes, 'If they are not of my kind, their hearts must be different'; King Yanfeng did not directly kill this Qiji Clan powerhouse, but rather to put them into a deep slumber, so that in the future he could both weaken the alien races and enhance the overall strength of the human race.

Although one Hei Fengwang Immortal was insignificant compared to the overall strength of the human race, a rope saws through wood, and water drips through stone.

Accumulating bit by bit like this, as time passed, the strength of the human race could also continuously improve.

Just as Bradley, suppressed by King Yanfeng, fell into a deep slumber...

Outside the Hei Jiao Secret Realm, in a void of the universe's starry sky.

Two towering figures emitting terrifying auras stood in this universe's starry sky, as if they were the core of this starry sky.

Majestic, not to be offended!

One of the figures appeared to have an extremely beautiful figure; one could vaguely see her slender form, and even endless starlight surrounded her body. From afar, she looked extremely noble, not to be offended;

The other figure was a plant life form resembling a black lotus, with a body incomparably huge. Numerous petals gathered together, with a diameter of fully several million kilometers. If these were all fully extended, they would absolutely be enough to block the sky and hide the sun!

These two figures could both be considered supreme existences in the universe.

One was the Long Xingzhu of the top power, the Lord Liu Lan Alliance; the other was the Peng Gong Zhi Zhu, the leader of the six plant life races.

Whether it was Long Xingzhu or Peng Gong Zhi Zhu, both were Universe Masters with Fifth-Rank combat power, and in terms of strength, they were in no way inferior to the Hun Dun Chengzhu, Peng Gong Zhi Zhu, and others of the human race. "Lord Liu Lan!"

The stamen of Peng Gong Zhi Zhu trembled slightly, then asked calmly, "You invited me here; is there something you need?"

"Naturally, there is a major matter to discuss with you!"

Long Xingzhu quickly said, "This matter concerns the rise and fall of our respective races. You and I once shared life and death in the Sea of the Universe, so naturally I must discuss it with you!"

"Concerning the rise and fall of our races?"

After hearing Long Xingzhu's words, Peng Gong Zhi Zhu quickly frowned, then asked, "Lord Liu Lan, what do you mean by saying this?"

"Black Lotus!"

Long Xingzhu quickly asked, "Do you know that the Peng Gong Zhi Zhu of my Lord Liu Lan Alliance has perished in the Sea of the Universe?"

"Of course I know that!"

Peng Gong Zhi Zhu immediately replied, "Speaking of it, the strength of that Peng Gong Zhi Zhu was actually quite good. Back then, I even acted together with him in the Sea of the Universe for a period of time! Unfortunately, he encountered the madmen of the Divine Eye Race. The strength of that Five Hun Zhi Zhu and the Jingyan Zhi Zhu was even slightly stronger than the two of us, and since they were approaching the limit of their lifespan, their actions were naturally a bit mad!"

"However, the perishing of that Peng Gong Zhi Zhu should have no relation to the rise and fall of our races, right?"

"Black Lotus, you know only one thing, not the other!"

Long Xingzhu quickly continued, "After the Peng Gong Zhi Zhu perished, the Peng Gong race had the protection of my Lord Liu Lan Alliance, so for a time things were relatively peaceful! Originally, they intended to contract their territory and then cede part of their territory to other races within my Lord Liu Lan Alliance!"

"But just a short while ago, the four top races—Humans, Meng Yao Zu, Insect Race, and Mechanical Race—suddenly sent a large number of powerhouses to the Hei Jiao Secret Realm, wanting to open up the Hei Jiao Secret Realm as their eleventh Foreign Battlefield between their four camps!"

Hearing Long Xingzhu's words, Peng Gong Zhi Zhu on the side could not help but be slightly stunned, then continued, "Lord Liu Lan, did the four top races not discuss with you before opening up the Foreign Battlefield?"

"Of course not!"

Long Xingzhu had endless resentment in his heart: "If they had discussed with me in advance, I would definitely have arranged for the Peng Gong race to leave the Hei Jiao Secret Realm!"

"But the four top races only informed me after they had already begun opening up the Foreign Battlefield, and then proceeded to open up the Hei Jiao Secret Realm as if no one else existed!"

"If I had a choice, I would really like to fight those powerhouses among the four top races, to see if their so-called powerful strength is truly worthy of the name!"

"Lord Liu Lan, do not be impulsive!"

Peng Gong Zhi Zhu quickly spoke up to advise, "What those four top races did was indeed very excessive, but their strength is truly too powerful. If we rashly make them our enemies, it would truly be an unwise thing!"

"I understand!"

Long Xingzhu nodded slightly, then continued, "Black Lotus, regarding the fate of the Peng Gong race, have you not thought that your own race might suffer the same in the future?"

"Although our strength is slightly greater than that of the Peng Gong Zhi Zhu, who can guarantee that we will not perish?"

"Once we perish, the fate of our races in the future will surely be as miserable as that of the Peng Gong race!"

"Therefore, the main reason I invited you here this time is to discuss a major matter with you!"

"What major matter?" Peng Gong Zhi Zhu quickly asked in confusion.

"This time I invited you over because I want to form a super-alliance with you!"

Long Xingzhu quickly said, "An alliance that can rival super-powers like the Starry Sky Giant Beast Alliance and the Zushen Sect! Only in this way will our races not be bullied by those top races; only in this way can we occupy more resources in this vast universe!"

"Lord Liu Lan, I understand what you mean!"

Peng Gong Zhi Zhu quickly said, "But forming a super-alliance is not as simple as you imagine! You must know that the reason the Eight Great Super-Powers are super-powers is because they all possess the existence of the Universe's Strongest!"

"Every Universe's Strongest is an invincible existence in this Primordial Universe; even in the Sea of the Universe, it is very difficult to encounter fatal danger! Moreover, the Universe's Strongest can reverse time and space to resurrect any powerhouse below the level of Universe Master. This is the true confidence of the Eight Great Super-Powers!"

"If our two powers truly unite, our strength will naturally increase considerably, but no matter how many Universe Masters or how many Zifeng Zunzhe we have, as long as there is no Universe's Strongest to guard us, we can never be called a super-power!"

"Of course I understand that!"

Long Xingzhu's voice quickly became excited: "Without a Universe's Strongest, we can simply find a way to create one!"

"The two of us are now only one step away from the realm of the Universe's Strongest. Once we can take this step, there will naturally be a Universe's Strongest to guard the alliance!"

"Even if the two of us cannot break through, we can fully invite a lone Universe's Strongest to guard the alliance!"

"Invite a Universe's Strongest to guard the alliance?"

After hearing Long Xingzhu's final words, Peng Gong Zhi Zhu's heart could not help but stir.

He did not pay too much attention to what Long Xingzhu had said earlier about the two of them breaking through to the realm of the Universe's Strongest.

After all, becoming the Universe's Strongest was truly too difficult. Although he had a slight confidence in his heart, it was not something that could be achieved in a short time.

Compared to that, inviting a Universe's Strongest to guard the alliance was actually a good choice.

Thinking of this, Peng Gong Zhi Zhu quickly asked, "Lord Liu Lan, which Universe's Strongest do you plan to invite to guard the alliance?"

"I have not thought it through yet!"

Lord Liu Lan quickly said, "Among the many strongest lone wolves, the Primordial Beast should be the easiest to invite! However, the Primordial Beast loves holding power. In the past, the Meng Yao Zu and the Starry Sky Giant Beast Alliance broke away from his control precisely because his desire for control was too strong. If we invite the Primordial Beast to preside over the alliance, we might just be making a wedding gown for him!"

"And apart from the Primordial Beast, inviting other universe's strongest ones will be much harder! However, I have some acquaintance with Zuo Shanke, the Void True Demon God, the Northern Border True God, and the Founder of the Black Universe; I can try to invite some of them then!"

"If any one of them is willing to preside over the alliance, we will surely become the ninth supreme power in the Primordial Universe!"

"That is indeed a good idea!"

The Lord of the Black Lotus quickly nodded and said, "However, those lone universe's strongest ones are not so easy to persuade; this matter still needs to be carefully planned!"

"That is of course!"

Lord Liu Lan's voice had by now completely calmed down: "Besides inviting a universe's strongest one to preside, I also plan to invite the Lord of the Star River to join the alliance!"

"Although the Lord of the Star River is a special life form, he is extremely skilled at reversing time and space to resurrect the strong; many universe Zifeng Zunzhe from ordinary races have been resurrected by him through reversing time and space, so those ordinary races are very grateful to him!"

"If we can invite the Lord of the Star River to join the alliance, the might of our alliance will naturally become even greater!"

"The Lord of the Star River is indeed a good choice!"

The Lord of the Black Lotus quickly nodded and said, "However, inviting the other party to build an alliance with us is absolutely not an easy matter!"

"Moreover, these matters must be conducted secretly; once people from other supreme powers learn of it, they will surely find ways to obstruct us, after all, no one is willing to see another supreme power emerge in this universe!"

"I certainly know that!"

Lord Liu Lan said somewhat regretfully, "Actually, I have not mentioned this matter to anyone yet; between you, Black Lotus, and me, there is a life-and-death friendship, so naturally there is no harm!"

"And if the two of us can reach an agreement on our opinions, then it will be even simpler to persuade others to join the alliance in the future!"

Hearing Lord Liu Lan's words, the Lord of the Black Lotus could not help but feel somewhat hesitant.

"Liu Lan!"

After hesitating, the Lord of the Black Lotus quickly spoke in a deep voice, "According to reason, between you and me there is a life-and-death friendship, and I indeed should support your approach!"

"But behind me stand six plant life races, and moreover, you have not yet even thought of exactly which universe's strongest one to invite, so I cannot possibly stand out and support you directly for now!"

"I can only guarantee that once you truly invite a universe's strongest one and the Lord of the Star River, I will definitely join the alliance as well!"

"I understand!"

Lord Liu Lan quickly nodded and said, "However, this matter is not something to be rushed; it still needs to be planned slowly!"

"But I believe that this day will eventually arrive!"

(End of this chapter)