Chapter 264: Victory or Defeat

Luo Feng truly had no other choice. Under the erosion of those nine strange forces, he could hardly display much of his strength at all. Without using a secret treasure, he had absolutely no chance of winning the wager battle against the Thunder Ancestor.

Only by using the Star Tower for protection could he handle his opponent with more ease.

Of course, if he hid in the tower all the time without counterattacking, it would still count as a loss! He had to gain the upper hand in direct combat — only then would it be a true victory in the wager battle.

“This is that nine-storied tower?” The Thunder Ancestor, having learned of Luo Feng’s duel with Emperor Qing, already knew of this tower’s existence.

“Thunder Ancestor, in this wager battle, I have no choice but to use a secret treasure if I want even the slightest chance of victory,” Luo Feng said. “Be careful.”

“I’ve cultivated for several eras longer than you — this is already the strong bullying the weak.” The Thunder Ancestor smiled. “Use whatever secret treasure you wish. As long as you can gain even the slightest upper hand, I’ll admit defeat.”

Swish swish swish——

In an instant, Luo Feng’s body turned into an endless river of blood. The most fundamental life form within this Life Blood River remained the “multi-hooved clawed creature form.” It was only that, on the outside, his existence had transformed into a flowing river of blood.

The Blood River instantly engulfed the Thunder Ancestor.

“Hm?” The Thunder Ancestor could feel the immense heaviness of the Blood River’s waters, forming a spatial prison attempting to bind him. A power also tried to infiltrate and strangle his body.

Yet the Thunder Ancestor merely stood there unmoving. The formless power flowing around his body was perfect beyond measure — no external force could penetrate or shake it.

Luo Feng had once, on his own, suppressed eight Emperors working together!

Compared to that time, the fundamental energy composing this Blood River had evolved from the “Twenty-Four Phases Form” into the “multi-hooved clawed creature form.” Luo Feng’s realm had also risen immensely.

“Interesting.” The Thunder Ancestor playfully stirred the Blood River with his hand, causing the entire endless river to violently quake and explode in places.

“Go!”

Transforming into the Blood River, Luo Feng instantly released the Star Tower, unleashing his killing move.

After obtaining the Eye of Life and Death, and gaining deeper insight into the twelve-colored bloody scale within, Luo Feng finally comprehended a secret art from the Life-and-Death Path’s nine branches — the technique known as “Meteor”! With the help of the Star Tower’s secret patterns, this move could be elevated to an unimaginably terrifying level.

Boom—

The Star Tower streaked across the Universe Ocean’s void like a meteor.

“Hm?”

Both the Thunder Ancestor and the distant Flame Wind Ancestor’s faces changed. With their vast experience, they could tell — as the Star Tower streaked across the void like a meteor, time itself froze, and space naturally split apart.

At that moment, the Star Tower was truly indestructible.

The Thunder Ancestor could not even evade the strike — the instant he saw the meteor, it had already simultaneously struck his body.

Rumble—— The mighty figure of the Thunder Ancestor staggered back several steps. The power of the Supreme Laws acted as shackles, completely binding his strength.

Of course, the Star Tower’s power was also heavily suppressed.

Under equal restrictions, the Star Tower had still forced him back.

“An extremely powerful secret treasure! It must be of the highest tier!” The Thunder Ancestor was certain. “That strike froze time and split space, condensing matter to the utmost limit — it’s truly indestructible! It must be one of the precious secret treasures refined by the senior Yuan and his peers.”

“To repel Thunder despite such a great difference in realm — that must be a treasure worth over a hundred thousand reward points in Infinite Space,” thought the Flame Wind Ancestor.

Only treasures of that level could create such miracles.

“Hahaha…”

The Thunder Ancestor laughed loudly, and from far away in all directions, eight Thunder Figures appeared.

Nine Thunder Ancestors naturally formed an enormous formation, which rapidly suppressed time, space, matter, life — countless Origin Paths! Luo Feng’s endless Blood River quieted significantly, while only the Star Tower, like a meteor, continued to tear through the formation again and again, striking the Thunder Ancestor’s true body and clones.

But under the suppression of the formation, the Star Tower’s power was greatly reduced.

“Without using a treasure, I can’t suppress that nine-storied tower.” The nine Thunder Ancestors watched the Star Tower crashing through the formation again and again, a faint greed flashing in their eyes.

He coveted such a treasure, yet he knew the Galaxy Ruler would never give him the chance — the tower would never leave the Origin Continent.

With a wave of his hand, the Thunder Ancestor threw out an ancient stone pillar.

The pillar became the core of the formation, strengthening it further — its suppression over time, space, matter, and life became even more terrifying.

At that moment, Luo Feng was completely restrained. The Star Tower could still charge, but it was lost within the formation, unable to reach the Thunder Ancestor.

“To think Thunder was forced to use a secret treasure.” The Flame Wind Ancestor was astonished. The Thunder Ancestor was a half-Primordial Lifeform; even without any treasure, he should have been able to suppress the Galaxy Ruler.

Yet now he was forced to use one!

That alone showed how special that nine-storied tower truly was.

“The gap is too large,” said Emperor Qing, watching from afar. “Even with the nine-storied tower, Galaxy Brother still can’t win. To force Thunder to use a secret treasure is already remarkable.”

…

“Galaxy, do you have any other tricks?” the Thunder Ancestor asked. “If not, just admit defeat.”

The endless Blood River gathered into Luo Feng’s form again. He looked at the Thunder Ancestor admiringly. “Thunder Ancestor, your realm is indeed far beyond mine. So, I must use a forbidden move.”

“A forbidden move?” The Thunder Ancestor was surprised, then smiled. “Go ahead — use whatever you have.”

Luo Feng nodded, and his mind entered the Star Tower. The Eye of Life and Death at his brow opened!

He peered deep into the Star Tower at the twelve-colored bloody scale. In his observation, there was no weakness — only perfection and immense power.

Yet he could see the place where its life force was strongest. Over the long years, he had experimented repeatedly.

“Though I don’t fully understand it, through the Eye of Life and Death, I can channel a sliver of this bloody scale’s terrifying power.” Under its gaze, Luo Feng rapidly activated the deep-layer secret patterns of the Star Tower.

Before, he could only use the shallow ones — he hadn’t understood the deep layers.

But with the Eye of Life and Death, he could now perceive where the vitality was strongest, and after countless attempts, he finally discovered how to draw out a sliver of its power. This was the very reason he dared to gamble with the Thunder Ancestor.

Hum— As he activated it, a thread of crimson light spread from the twelve-colored bloody scale, staining the entire Star Tower.

The Star Tower turned into a Blood Tower.

“Hm?”

The Thunder Ancestor and Flame Wind Ancestor both felt a vague oppression upon seeing its color change.

“I’ve heard that treasures worth over a hundred thousand reward points are sometimes forged using materials from world-level Primordial Lifeforms, and some even use the corpses of Primordial Ancestors.” The Thunder Ancestor watched the Star Tower, feeling that its aura belonged to something far beyond confinement itself. “This tower must be one of those.”

“Go.”

The Star Tower once again streaked across the void of the Universe Ocean.

This time, everything in its path was pierced through — time, space, and the formation itself — all shattered as it struck the Thunder Ancestor’s true body, sending him flying miserably.

“Thunder World, Tenfold Absolute Array!” The Thunder Ancestor could no longer hold back and released his most powerful formation.

As a Source World cultivator, if one of his external avatars perished, he could simply send another!

Thus, he still kept his most precious treasures within the Source World. Among them were two sets of his strongest array — the Thunder World Tenfold Absolute Array. One set he carried, and one remained in reserve.

Now, he had no choice but to use it with full force.

He had never expected to be forced into this state on the Origin Continent.

Rumble——

Ten thunderous figures appeared around him, each controlling a great array. The ten formations merged perfectly into one, forming a Thunder World, whose natural operation suppressed all foreign powers.

“Suppress!” The Thunder Ancestor roared, attempting to subdue the Star Tower.

Rumble——

The blood-red Star Tower still pierced through the array, unrestrained.

“This Tenfold Array is like a maze,” Luo Feng thought with a frown. The Star Tower charged through one formation after another, yet could not touch the Thunder Ancestor.

“The realm difference is too vast. Even if the Star Tower is strong, I can’t reach him,” Luo Feng thought.

He then used the Eye of Life and Death to carefully observe the Thunder World.

Through its gaze, the structure of time and space, the energy flows, the junctions of the ten arrays — all became clear. He could now see dozens of shifting weaknesses in the formation.

“Go.”

Once he had discerned them, Luo Feng willed the Star Tower to move.

In an instant, it followed the weak points, piercing through layer after layer of spatial barriers, and smashed into the Thunder Ancestor’s body hidden deep within the Thunder World, sending him staggering back once more.

“How is that possible? How could he find me?” The Thunder Ancestor was stunned.

Though he was of Primordial Bloodline, this formation had been refined by a half-Primordial-level enlightener. To break it was no easy feat.

He stepped aside, instantly moving to another corner of the Thunder World.

Whoosh.

Resisting the suppression, the Star Tower again pierced through the weak points, striking the Thunder Ancestor’s body.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Again and again, he was hit.

On the Origin Continent, where all power was restricted, no one could truly injure another — the wager battle was purely about who could gain the upper hand. And now, the outcome was clear.

“I’ve lost,” said the Thunder Ancestor, dispersing the formation and looking at Luo Feng with a complicated expression.

He had said before that the Galaxy Ruler had a sliver of hope, but deep down, he never believed he would lose! In his mind, even with a supreme treasure, Galaxy could not possibly win.

“A youngster who has never even left the Source World… and yet, with a treasure, he’s managed to surpass me?” The Thunder Ancestor felt conflicted.

“The Origin Continent’s restrictions on power levels allowed me to fight on equal footing with you,” Luo Feng said. “If this were outside, I wouldn’t even stand a chance.”

Absolute strength crushed all techniques.

Luo Feng knew well — if the difference in power were too vast, even the Star Tower would be taken away.

“Victory is victory.” The Thunder Ancestor shook his head lightly. “I can afford this loss. I’ll handle Lando personally.”

With that, the Thunder Ancestor took a single step and departed.