Under cautious vigilance, Dongbo Xueying also unleashed his Void Illusion Domain to envelop the surroundings, deliberately avoiding the Black Monarch, Bonehowl Overlord, and the Hunter.
“Hmph.” Bonehowl Overlord glanced at Dongbo Xueying and sneered, “Don’t be in such a hurry, kid. It hasn’t even started yet.”
“When the tribulation descends, we’ll all be transported to a new space,” the Demon Sword Master transmitted mentally. “So, once we enter that space, *then* you can deploy your Void Illusion Domain.”
“Understood.” Dongbo Xueying realized he had made a blunder.
Well, he had no prior experience.
Two more days passed.
“Hmm?”
The ordinary garden around them suddenly twisted and transformed into a vast, dark starry void. The six Overlord-level experts, including Dongbo Xueying, now stood amidst the cosmos.
*Whoosh.* Without hesitation, Dongbo Xueying instantly activated his Void Illusion Domain through the Demon Emperor Robe, covering himself, the Grandmaster Pusu, and the Demon Sword Master, along with a vast expanse of the surrounding void.
“The enemies are here.”
All six Cosmos Gods spotted the sudden appearance of over a hundred peculiar warships in the distance. Each vessel teemed with humanoid beings. Inside one of them, a thousand experts sat cross-legged in the grand hall, with a white-haired elder seated at the center.
“Everyone, this is the ultimate challenge of the ‘Illusory Universe Game.’ As long as we successfully slay our designated target, the rewards bestowed by the Illusory Universe’s master will elevate our strength immensely. Our empire’s dominion will expand, and the sub-universes under our rule will multiply tenfold.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s fight!”
“The final boss.”
The elite forces of the Eternal Light Empire burned with fervor. They had endured countless trials, competing against other empires, just to earn the right to face this ultimate foe.
“With over a hundred warships, each representing a force that rules numerous sub-universes, none should be weaker than us.”
“Prepare! The Illusory Universe’s protection is about to lift.”
A faint, invisible barrier had shielded each warship. Those qualified to enter the ‘Illusory Universe Game’ were well-versed in their roles. As the seated experts began glowing—some dim, some bright—the central white-haired elder erupted with a terrifying radiance.
An invisible formation manifested within the warship’s hall, merging all the figures and lights into one, fusing them into the elder’s body.
His aura surged explosively.
*Whoosh.*
The protective barrier trembled.
“It’s time.” The elder, now brimming with overwhelming power, tensely awaited.
Finally, the barrier dissipated.
“Attack!”
Almost simultaneously, the hundred warships in the void struck.
—
Dongbo Xueying and the other five Cosmos Gods observed the distant warships, each shielded by an imperceptible barrier radiating an oppressive might that stifled any thought of resistance. They knew attacking now would be futile.
“The Heartworld Divine Palace must have a formation spirit controlling everything,” the Demon Sword Master transmitted to Dongbo Xueying.
He nodded.
Indeed, an unseen will governed the Heartworld Divine Palace—otherwise, how could the trials in the Primordial Tower be so precisely tailored? This will likely belonged to a formation spirit or a construct. The Primordial Chaos expert ‘Meta,’ who had transcended all constraints, wouldn’t personally oversee every trial.
At last, the warships’ barriers vanished.
“Hmph. Across countless sub-universes, the Astral Empire is invincible. Let’s see how formidable these monsters truly are.” A tall, stern man wielding a scepter on a silver warship glared coldly. The vessel’s formation flickered, and the space around Dongbo Xueying’s group compressed violently—into a flat painting! The force of this compression rivaled the perfected might of a ‘Picture-Perfect’ technique.
But among the six, only Dongbo Xueying wasn’t an Overlord. To the other five, this was a joke.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The Demon Sword Master, his divine sword still sheathed, unleashed a storm of sword light from his body alone, shredding the compressed space effortlessly.
Dongbo Xueying, the Demon Sword Master, and Grandmaster Pusu stood together, their surroundings reduced to shattered void. Though the distant space had been flattened, it couldn’t touch them.
“Everyone, unite! These six ultimate bosses are immensely powerful. We must combine forces against one.” The warships communicated via the Illusory Universe Game’s system.
“Who do we target first? Each of us has our own objective.”
They all had specific missions.
For the Astral Empire:
**Mandatory Task:** Slay the ultimate boss, ‘Emperor Flying Snow.’ Failure means the entire chain quest ends!
**Optional Tasks:** Slay the ‘Demon Sword Master,’ ‘Bonehowl Overlord,’ ‘Black Monarch,’ ‘Hunter,’ or ‘Grandmaster Pusu.’ Each kill doubles the reward.
—
The mandatory task was non-negotiable. Even if the Astral Empire killed other bosses, failing to eliminate Emperor Flying Snow would void all progress. The stakes were immense—the final reward for completing the chain quest was monumental.
Every faction prioritized their own target.
*Boom—*
The five Overlords and Dongbo Xueying stood amid shattered space as attacks rained down.
With a thought, Dongbo Xueying extended his Void Illusion Domain to every warship assaulting their trio. He ignored those targeting Bonehowl and the others—he wasn’t obligated to help them.
“Hmm?”
“The ultimate boss ‘Emperor Flying Snow’ is using an illusion!”
Instantly, the leaders of over half the warships felt the terrifying soul illusion descend. Their Illusory Universe Game system warned them—even fused with their forces and shielded by their vessels, they had to divert most of their focus to resist. Some techniques became unusable.
Meanwhile, devastating attacks homed in on Dongbo Xueying.
Grandmaster Pusu stood calmly, his body radiating a hazy light that swirled around Dongbo Xueying, nullifying all incoming strikes.
*Sizzle.*
A strange rune bypassed the light and shot toward Dongbo Xueying.
*Swish.*
The Demon Sword Master’s blade flickered, slicing the rune apart effortlessly. His strikes carried the might of a Cosmos God at the apex of mastery. Though the warships’ attacks were diverse and esoteric, their strongest only reached the second-tier Cosmic God level. Individually, they were manageable—but their sheer variety made them a nuisance.
“Perish.” The Demon Sword Master’s sword light spanned millions of miles, cleaving into a warship and cracking it apart.
The Hunter, standing afar, drew his bow and loosed an arrow.
*Whoosh.*
A colossal arrow phantom eclipsed the void before converging onto a single warship—*Boom!* The vessel shuddered, fissures spiderwebbing across its hull. One more shot would finish it.
“We’re too scattered! The Hunter is too deadly—focus on him first!”
“Agreed! Eliminate the Hunter!”
—
A barrage of attacks targeted the Hunter, but his form flickered like a mirage. Most strikes passed through him harmlessly, only a few causing faint ripples.
He smirked.
His evasion skills surpassed even the other three Overlords—only Grandmaster Pusu, master of time, could rival him. Against these disjointed, second-tier Cosmic God assaults, he was untouchable.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Three warships soon crumbled.
“Useless! He’s untouchable!”
“Switch targets—the Emperor Flying Snow! His soul illusion cripples us!”
“But the Grandmaster Pusu and Demon Sword Master protect him. Especially Pusu—most of our attacks just vanish!”
—
The warship commanders strategized rapidly via soul transmission.
Yet no matter their tactics, this was only the eighth trial of the Eighteen Tribulations!
They focused on Dongbo Xueying’s group, but the others were all Overlords—each strike earth-shattering. Though Bonehowl Overlord, the weakest in defense, suffered minor injuries, he retaliated by annihilating warships in rage.
Against Dongbo Xueying, Grandmaster Pusu, and the Demon Sword Master?
Hopeless.
Under Grandmaster Pusu’s domain, over 95% of attacks dissipated. The few remaining were effortlessly deflected by the Demon Sword Master’s blade.
Dongbo Xueying merely maintained his Void Illusion Domain, crippling the enemies.
As warships fell one by one, resistance crumbled—until none remained.
“We failed.”
“The chain quest… just one step short. Now the Illusory Universe’s rewards will be pitiful.”
“Damn it! How could it be this hard?”
“This *is* the legendary ultimate challenge. But still… where do these monsters even come from? Which universe breeds such terrors?”
They knew.
The Illusory Universe Game mirrored reality. These ‘monsters’ existed somewhere—real, terrifying beings.
—
The starry void twisted once more.
Dongbo Xueying and the other five reappeared in the garden.
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