Chapter 578: Breaking the Mutual Exhaustion
Chapter 578: Breaking the Mutual Exhaustion
The massive star gods and the gigantic, lifeless figures wrestled with each other, stirring up vast star regions. Qin Muye watched with a bewildered expression.
Why does this look like a brawl between hooligans, pulling hair and gouging eyes? It doesn’t seem like an 8th-rank battle at all, but rather a brute-force fight.
"The idea that the three major forces were defeated by the star gods is just ridiculous."
"But those 8th-rank monsters that were spawned on the spot are indeed quite absurd, almost as if they can't die."
"Alright, they aren't invincible, but they are constantly repairing themselves in a world that is already dead, essentially fighting to the death?"
If this continues, Qin Muye isn't sure who will be the first to be exhausted.
The dead world has a significant advantage, as it doesn’t lack logistical support and is pushing forward with full force.
The star gods are powerful and have local support, but their vitality is insignificant compared to a world that is already dead. Qin Muye has already seen many star gods being dragged into the darkness and disintegrated into countless fragments.
From this situation, it's clear that both sides are evenly matched, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage.
This is quite rare, as it seems there is no immediate loss, but both sides are consuming resources at an alarming rate.
The cosmic will is using the star gods as expendable assets, pure 1st-generation star gods with 8th-rank strength.
The dead world, on the other hand, is using itself as the expendable asset. When the dead entities are damaged or killed, they must use their own reanimation essence to revive and repair themselves. Even pulling the star gods into the darkness to disintegrate them consumes a large amount of essence.
Otherwise, one might think that 8th-rank entities would die easily. Even if they die instantly, there must be some consumption; it’s impossible to win without any cost.
However, if we talk about reserves, the cosmic will is definitely more profound. As long as it can hold out, once the 2nd-generation star gods develop, they will form a new fighting force, sufficient to exhaust the essence of the reanimated world.
"Following this rate of consumption, things might get dicey."
Qin Muye's perception continuously covered the entire Shining Universe Server. With the enhancement of the star array, he finally managed to reach into the darkness.
"It's not a pleasant feeling, like having a clump of rotten matter stuffed into my brain." Qin Muye complained about the perception feedback from the dead world, which left him feeling quite helpless.
But his perception continued to spread. After removing the dead world's awareness, Qin Muye finally reached the boundary of the entire Shining Universe Server.
"Ugh~"
"I can't handle this, I need to isolate this dead world!"
Qin Muye retracted his perception and came to his senses. He originally thought that whether it was the cosmic will or the dead world, he could wait for them to exhaust each other and then reap the benefits.
But after perceiving, he realized one thing: he and this dead world are not compatible.
He simply can't bring himself to consume it; the taste is too strong. If he were to eat it, he would suffer from food poisoning, and while ordinary people might just need a trip to the hospital, his food poisoning could lead to the entire Endless Abyss collapsing.
"Indeed, expired things shouldn't be eaten." Qin Muye gained a lot of data from this perception, which helped him investigate a small part of the unknown star regions.
That thing is indeed dead, and it's dead through and through. Its reanimation isn't for revival but to drag the Shining Universe Server down with it.
The idea is simple, so simple that Qin Muye is considering how to destroy the opponent.
Reanimation isn't a problem; just burn the corpse to ashes, bury it, and pour a few hundred tons of cement over it. Not even a zombie or a drought demon could come out.
Qin Muye's approach to dealing with this dead world is similar. The first step is to cremate the opponent.
But he can't do it alone, as he truly can't bring himself to consume it. If he could, he would have directly devoured it. Since he can't, it's a bit troublesome.
So, he can only ask the omnipotent Jishan to help. It's simple: just use Jishan to crush the opponent into a pulp.
As for the Dead Hand, it can handle 8th-rank entities without much trouble and can even take on 9th-rank entities, making them experience what it means to be in an energy vacuum. However, it is still limited when facing a vast world, especially a dead one.
Qin Muye had considered making use of the situation, but the current state of affairs was insufficient for him to devise a plan. Since the Star Gods and the cosmic will involved his 9th-rank strength, he definitely needed to protect the Shining Universe Server.
"The world barrier has likely been eroded to the point of extinction, so now this dead world is serving as the Shining Universe Server's external defense. If it were to disappear, the entire Shining Universe Server would be exposed to various terrifying entities in the void."
"So there's a time gap. If I cremate this dead world, and the Star Gods can't reorganize the cosmic will in time, wouldn't I be wasting my efforts?"
Without an external defense, who knows what might happen.
"But if I don't handle it, the Star Gods won't be able to develop, and the plan will be indefinitely delayed."
"What a bizarre deadlock. How can I solve this? Should I drag out the dead world to buy time for the Star Gods to develop?"
"That's ridiculous."
After much deliberation, it seemed Qin Muye had to take action himself.
The sudden situation caught Qin Muye off guard as well. Moreover, he was highly unlikely to reach a consensus with the cosmic will. After all, to the cosmic will, he was just as much of a threat as the dead world, merely a matter of who would cause the destruction.
Both sides were coveting the body of the cosmic will.
"Relying on others is not as reliable as relying on oneself. Negotiating with the cosmic will is out of the question, but if I can bypass it, won't that solve the problem?"
The current cosmic will was scattered, and it could only be controlled through the Star Gods' mental network. This mental network was actually under Qin Muye's control due to the Star Gods being infected and turned into avatars, though he hadn't used it yet. If he were to intervene, he could bypass the cosmic will.
However, this would likely expose him, and he would need to force the cosmic will to form a gestalt consciousness, which would be quite challenging.
After all, the cosmic will wasn't a mere puppet; it had its own self, even if it was vague and intangible. It couldn't be ignored.
This would introduce unnecessary variables into his future plans.
If he had simply launched a surprise attack, he could have taken the cosmic will down with one blow. But if it became a public confrontation, what if the cosmic will retaliated with a fatal move?
Thus, he faced a difficult decision.
"If there's no other way, I'll take a middle path and intervene subtly. I'll start by blocking the dead world."
"Fortunately, the data I obtained from the dead world is somewhat useful. It can make the Star Gods overlook my actions, though I'm not sure if it will work."
Qin Muye knew the current state of the cosmic will. All its perceptions were relayed through the Star Gods, and while it could influence the Shining Universe Server to some extent, this influence was indirect, similar to how Wang Wei used to operate. It couldn't directly affect things like throwing a fireball or creating a black hole out of thin air.
Because of this semi-paralyzed state, Qin Muye thought a middle path might be feasible.
If it failed, he could always revert to his original plan of bypassing the cosmic will. He wanted to see if he could salvage the situation; if it succeeded, it would be a close call, and if it failed, he had a fallback plan.
"This dead world is really ruining the scenery. It has no sense of timing, coming out to spoil things."
Qin Muye's mind raced, and his Abyssal body began to emerge.
Such a massive undertaking required his true form, as the Xuanjun avatar wouldn't suffice. After all, he needed to span the entire Shining Universe Server, which required a sufficiently large body.
"Fortunately, I completed the folding state with the Endless Abyss, or it might not have been possible."
"I'm not sure if the anti-primordial force field can be used on the dead world. If it can, it would save a lot of time."
"And the avatar in the Homeland, you must hold on. I'm counting on you to serve as a coordinate for remote strikes."
(End of Chapter)
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