Chapter 228: Eight Hundred Years

In the dark deep space of the Original Universe, three massive consciousnesses converge here.

"Zhen Jiao, what business summons us here?"

A black oval sphere transmits the voice of the Mechanical Race Father God.

"It concerns Zhou Yang."

Zhen Yao Zu speaks gravely, "My subordinate Universe Lord reports that Zhou Yang has appeared on the Universe Boat."

"Universe Boat?"

The alluring Insect Race Empress furrows her brow, "Didn't Meng Tu report last time that Zhou Yang was blocked in the Qingfeng Realm? How did he end up on the Universe Boat?"

"What's going on?" the Mechanical Race Father God asks as well.

"Two possibilities."

Zhen Yao Zu says, "One is that Zhou Yang has mastered an extraordinarily god-defying concealment or teleportation escape technique; once used, even the Universe Strongest cannot detect it. The other possibility is that Zhou Yang's true self remains confined by Meng Tu in the Qingfeng Realm, and the one appearing on the Universe Boat is a doppelganger of his."

"But if it's a doppelganger, a single strike killed a Fourth-Tier Universe Lord; that doppelganger is absurdly strong."

"A single strike killed a Fourth-Tier Universe Lord?"

The Mechanical Race Father God and the Insect Race Empress are both stunned; they have just learned this news.

"At minimum it would require an extremely powerful Fifth-Order Universe Lord to achieve that. Zhen Jiao, who has fallen?"

The Mechanical Race Father God asks.

"It is the Main Battle Original Body of our Xuanjiu Master, with power just entering the Fourth Tier."

Zhen Yao Zu says calmly.

"Even for a newcomer to the Fourth Tier to kill in one strike, it would require at least the strongest Fourth-Tier Top to accomplish it."

The Mechanical Race Father God and the Insect Race Empress fall silent involuntarily.

Both possibilities, whichever it is, are hard for them to accept.

If the first possibility holds, Zhou Yang possesses a concealment escape method undetectable even by the Universe Strongest, and their hunt can be declared over outright.

If it's the second, even Zhou Yang's doppelganger possesses at least Fourth-Tier Top strength. That unsettles them even more! Remember, back when Zhou Yang fought Yan Di on the Primordial Star, he displayed hundreds of doppelgangers! That means, with enough Supreme Treasures, a single Zhou Yang could field hundreds of Fourth-Tier Top Universe Lord doppelgangers. The consequences would be terrifying!

Know that among the Three Great Races, even counting all Universe Lords—including doppelgangers and subordinate races—their total may not even reach a hundred! "The Original Universe's will should not permit such god-defying life; likely only a limited few of his doppelgangers possess genuine combat power," they think.

Each of the three peak beings of their respective races thinks likewise, yet for some reason they feel a vague unease. "Mechanical, Empress, I seek your opinion on Zhou Yang—should we continue the hunt or what?"

Zhen Yao Zu breaks the silence first.

"Kill—must kill!"

The Mechanical Race Father God looks at the alluring Empress, "Empress, your Soul Attack is the strongest among us; now it seems only you can act, to see if you can directly permeate and annihilate Zhou Yang with soul penetration!"

The Empress's exquisitely enchanting face shows a hint of hesitation, but after a moment she nods and says:

"Very well, I'll try once. However, I declare beforehand that if this strike fails again, the Insect Race will no longer partake in actions against Zhou Yang; several attempts have yielded nothing, and I won't waste more time." "Then it's a burden on you, Empress."

Zhen Yao Zu and the Mechanical Race Father God both speak.

In fact, without the Empress's reminder, if this action fails again, their resolve to continue dealing with Zhou Yang is essentially gone.

After all, even the Strongest One cannot succeed; they have no other recourse. Time rushes by, never lingering for any special being.

Across the vast Universe Sea—Original Universe, countless Small Universes—myriad beings are born and countless lives perish; for the strong, it is merely a period of contemplation, perhaps the entire lifespan of other lives.

Although the Original Universe's Insect Race Empress has set out for the Universe Boat, the Original Universe's journey to the Boat also demands a great deal of time.

Moreover, it does not know Zhou Yang's route; along the way it must constantly mobilize its race's forces to scout Zhou Yang's movements, so catching up with Zhou Yang inevitably consumes massive time.

But for a being like the Insect Race Empress, such a time cost is negligible…

Guided by the map in his hand, Zhou Yang advances toward the depths of the Universe Boat.

Along the way he traverses numerous hazards and clashes with some powerful Universe Lords active within the Universe Boat, making his experiences far richer than those in the Qingfeng Realm.

After all, the Universe Boat, as the sole 'artificial' peril among the Three Great Forbidden Lands, draws countless strong ones with its unique cultivation sites and high treasure spawn rates.

Thus, compared with the Qingfeng Realm Inner Domain, this place feels slightly more bustling.

Zhou Yang keeps moving forward; when he encounters treasure spawns he joins the scramble, and meeting First Reincarnation Era or Second Reincarnation Era strong ones often sparks battles.

Thus, his true self fights continuously in the outside world, while his doppelgangers remain in the New Universe Time Acceleration Zone silently contemplating, advancing in secret technique research at a pace of a thousand miles per day.

It is the 320th year since Zhou Yang entered the Universe Boat.

At this moment, the region where each New Universe doppelganger resides has already passed nearly 3.2 million years.

After prolonged research, Zhou Yang appears to have entered a stage of accumulated strength ready to burst forth.

In that year, he not only made another breakthrough in Fusion Law research, but also, based on his insights, successfully created a soul defense secret technique that greatly satisfied him!

It should be noted that in his continual study of Fusion Law, Zhou Yang's research into the Eight Lower Laws' profound meanings has reached a very deep level.

Having mastered the fundamental essences of the Eight Major Fundamental Laws, creating a secret technique naturally yields double the result with half the effort.

Now, for him, forging a Universe Lord's Strongest Secret Method poses no difficulty; with time, it can be created effortlessly.

The reason it pleases him so is that its power has reached the level of the Universe Lord's Strongest Fusion Secret Method! This technique evolved from his comprehension of water's encompassing nature, echoing the ancient Chinese saying 'Water benefits all things without contention,' so he named it "Shan Shui."

Now his soul strength rivals that of an ordinary Universe Strongest, and with this technique, his soul defense reaches a monstrous level.

"If only there were another top-tier soul defense Supreme Treasure, then unless a Universe Strongest wields a supreme soul-type treasure, no one could kill me with just a Soul Attack."

Zhou Yang keeps advancing; soon another four hundred plus years rush by, and his time inside the Universe Boat nears eight hundred years.

Finally, on that day, after another ultra‑long‑range teleportation, a colossal dark canyon—over ten thousand light‑years long, dozens of light‑years wide, and unfathomably deep—appears in Zhou Yang's sight.

(End of Chapter)