Chapter 506: The Mountain Watcher: Intriguing

“Demon Ancestor!”

The Warden bowed slightly in greeting, then asked: “I heard the Beast Clan suffered a major defeat at the hands of the human race?”

“Correct!”

The Warden’s Demon Ancestor spoke swiftly: “The human race recently stormed into the core territories of the Beast Clan, slaying five Beast Clan Cosmic Masters—including Niujiao Lord and Qingming Lord—and even one of Xue Qin Lord’s avatars perished!”

“What?”

Upon hearing this, the Warden’s face betrayed shock.

After all, Xue Qin Lord’s power was no weaker than his own—yet the man had perished even within the Primitive Universe.

Still, the Warden was not overly concerned, for due to the nature of his life essence, his physical form possessed traits of supreme treasures, rendering it nearly indestructible; his survival capability far surpassed that of Xue Qin Lord.

“Warden!”

The Warden’s Demon Ancestor turned again toward the Warden and said seriously: “The Beast Clan and the human race will surely erupt into another great war; even the Insect Clan and the Mechanical Clan may intervene. This presents an opportunity for our Warden Clan!”

“I understand!”

The Warden bowed quickly: “Demon Ancestor, give your orders—I’m ready!”

“Good!”

Hearing this, the Warden’s Demon Ancestor smiled with delight: “Recall all our Cosmic Masters immediately—you will lead them!”

“When the right moment comes, our Warden Clan must also claim a share of the core territories!”

“No problem!” the Warden nodded swiftly.

…

In the Crystal Clan, within a magnificent, translucent palace.

The great hall was circular, with fifteen crystal thrones arranged evenly—no hierarchy was discernible in their layout.

Upon these crystal thrones sat the Crystal Clan’s supreme elites.

Each of these Crystal Clan elites possessed near-perfect faces; both male and female bore bodies forged of crystal, as if condensed from the essence of the universe itself, appearing utterly flawless.

Moreover, each bore a golden eye at their forehead, continuously radiating overwhelming pressure.

Fourteen Cosmic Masters, and one Supreme Cosmic Being—these were the highest-ranking elites of the Crystal Clan!

The Warden Clan and the Crystal Clan had waged war for eons, both once merely powerful tribes among many.

At that time, the Warden Clan’s strongest was the Warden himself, while the Crystal Clan’s strongest was the Crystal Saint Lord, still at the Cosmic Master level.

Later, during endless slaughter, the Warden’s Demon Ancestor was the first to break through to the Supreme Cosmic Being level, and he sought to utterly annihilate the Crystal Clan.

But at this critical juncture of survival, the Crystal Saint Lord also broke through to the Supreme Cosmic Being level, allowing the stalemate to continue.

“Word has come from our clan’s elites!”

The Crystal Saint Lord gazed around at the Crystal Clan’s Cosmic Masters, then spoke gently: “The Beast Clan has just suffered a major defeat at the hands of the human race—five Cosmic Masters perished outright. What are your thoughts?”

“Saint Lord!”

One of the Crystal Clan’s Cosmic Masters spoke quickly: “Though we occasionally clash with the human race and the Beast Clan, we’ve never had major conflicts with either.”

“I believe that whether the human race or the Beast Clan wins this war, it will have no real impact on us.”

“I see this as an opportunity for the Crystal Clan!”

Another Crystal Clan Cosmic Master spoke up: “If the human race and the Beast Clan go to war, regardless of who wins, both will suffer catastrophic losses!”

“The Four Peak Clans hold the universe’s most core territories—this may be our chance to claim a share!”

“Black Tide, you’re wrong!”

Another Crystal Clan Cosmic Master immediately countered: “Though the territories we hold are more remote than those of the human race, the Beast Clan, and the other Four Peak Clans, they are perfectly suited to us—we have no need to fight them for land!”

“Indeed! The Four Peak Clans are still too dangerous to provoke. If we intervene, we risk their united retaliation!”

“I think we should remain still.”

“We should focus our attention on the Warden Clan—lest we suffer great losses at their hands!”

“Correct! Compared to the Four Peak Clans, the Warden Clan is our greatest enemy!”

Soon, each Crystal Clan Cosmic Master voiced their opinion.

“Enough!”

After hearing his clan’s Cosmic Masters, the Crystal Saint Lord spoke: “We shall sit and watch the tiger and leopard fight.”

“But during this time, we must constantly monitor the Warden Clan’s movements—lest we be outmaneuvered by them!”

“Understood!”

All the Crystal Clan Cosmic Masters nodded in response.

If the wars and hatred among the Four Peak Clans stemmed primarily from territorial disputes, the feud between the Warden Clan and the Crystal Clan arose from their very natures.

Just as water and fire cannot coexist, so too can the Warden Clan and the Crystal Clan not tolerate each other—there is no major territorial or economic conflict between them, yet their hatred rivals that of the Four Peak Clans.

…

The war between the human race and the Beast Clan had stirred nearly every faction within the Primitive Universe.

Among them, superpowers like the Warden Clan, the Crystal Clan, the Star Beast Alliance, the Northern Frontier Alliance, and the Ancestor God Cult were capable of serious deliberation, for their collective strength was no weaker than that of the human race or the Beast Clan.

Yet beyond the Warden Clan’s desire to seize a portion of the core territories, the other major powers had little interest.

The Ancestor God Cult and the Star Beast Alliance held no territory at all, so they were content to watch.

As for the Northern Frontier Alliance, though they wished to seize the universe’s core territories during this chaos, they lacked the power to do so.

After all, the Northern Frontier Alliance was merely a coalition of countless factions bound by shared interests; when facing foreign invasion, they could unite—but when it came to outward expansion, their motives diverged.

Within the entire Northern Frontier Alliance, aside from the Alliance Lord, the strongest faction was only the Liu Lan Clan.

Yet the Liu Lan Clan currently possessed only six Cosmic Masters—just like the human race today, if angered, they could erase the Liu Lan Clan from the Primitive Universe outright. How could they dare provoke the Four Peak Clans over territory?

As for weaker top-tier factions—such as the Ci Huan Alliance, the Sanshan Alliance, the Piaomiao Alliance—none dared intervene at all.

After all, their entire faction might number fewer than ten Cosmic Masters; involvement could easily lead to total annihilation.

Of course, there was one exception: the Nine Realms Alliance, led by Yan Emperor!

At this moment, the high leadership of the Nine Realms Alliance had gathered to deliberate.

“This is our opportunity!”

Yan Emperor gazed at the Nine Realms Alliance’s Cosmic Masters and said solemnly: “The Beast Clan’s Mojin Lord contacted me, inviting our Nine Realms Alliance to join forces against the human race!”

“If we help the Beast Clan defeat the human race, we will have access to all treasures and resources!”

“Even peak-level treasures, normally impossible to obtain, could be within our reach!”

Even peak-level treasures, usually impossible to obtain, are fully within reach!

Hearing this, Jue Feng Lord could not help but speak: “You are my friend. When you left the human race, it was I who convinced the others to accept you into our Nine Realms Alliance!”

“And I know you harbor deep grudges against the human race—so when your Yan Shen Clan entered the Outlands to fight them, we turned a blind eye.”

“But now you wish to bind our Nine Realms Alliance to the Beast Clan’s war chariot, becoming their vanguard against the human race—that is absolutely unacceptable!”

But you now wish to bind my Nine Realms Alliance to that demonic race’s war chariot, making us their vanguard against the human race—this is utterly impossible!

Another Cosmic Master of the Nine Realms Alliance spoke quickly: “The human race has just invaded the Beast Clan’s territory and eliminated five Cosmic Masters—including Niujiao Lord—and even destroyed one of Xue Qin Lord’s avatars!”

“Our Nine Realms Alliance has eleven Cosmic Masters, yet our strongest is only on par with Niujiao Lord—how could we possibly stand against the human race?”

“The human race’s strength is truly terrifying!”

Another Cosmic Master added: “My clan has only me as a Cosmic Master—if I fall, my entire clan will be wiped out. I cannot risk it.”

Soon another Universe Master said: “My clan has only me as a Universe Master; if I perish, my clan will face extinction, so I absolutely cannot take such a risk!”