The moment he was surrounded by the sea of flames, Lord Nianjiao already sensed something was wrong.
As a mortal enemy of the Human Race,
Lord Nianjiao was naturally thoroughly familiar with the information of nearly all Human Race experts.
And as the strongest expert of the Human Race, as well as a top powerhouse in the Universe Sea,
Lord Nianjiao was most familiar with Giant Axe's information.
Under normal circumstances, Giant Axe would not attack a Universe Master.
After all, this was an unspoken rule within the Universe Sea.
Almost all Universe Strongest who possessed clans would abide by it.
Only solitary Universe Strongest might violate this unspoken rule.
However, generally speaking, unless a Universe Master carried a supreme treasure of the highest tier or took the initiative to provoke, even solitary Universe Strongest would not attack a Universe Master.
Solitary Universe Strongest were unlike those with clans to care for.
They had no burdens.
In the Universe Sea, and even in the Primal Universe, Universe Strongest could easily gather a full set of peak-tier supreme treasures.
When a Universe Strongest broke through, they returned to their origin and no longer possessed clones.
As a result, solitary Universe Strongest only needed a single set of treasures.
Within the Universe Sea, although these solitary Universe Strongest and various factions could conduct trades,
at most they traded peak-tier supreme treasures.
Supreme treasures of the highest tier were never traded.
Therefore, even through exchanges, solitary Universe Strongest could only obtain peak-tier supreme treasures.
In other words, even if they had wealth, it was useless.
No one would trade a supreme treasure of the highest tier for a peak-tier one.
Thus, killing Universe Masters brought them little benefit.
Although they might obtain some supreme treasures,
those treasures were of little use to them.
Moreover, if those Universe Masters belonged to clans, it might offend the opposing clan's Universe Strongest.
This was why even solitary Universe Strongest in the Universe Sea would not casually kill Universe Masters.
There was little benefit, and it could invite unnecessary trouble.
Unless that Universe Master carried a supreme treasure of the highest tier or actively provoked them,
a solitary Universe Strongest would generally not take action.
Even against geniuses, solitary Universe Strongest had no reason to interfere.
They had no clans. What did geniuses matter to them?
Furthermore, after three reincarnation eras, these Universe Strongest might die.
If such a genius truly existed, they might even take the initiative to befriend them.
After three reincarnation eras, if that genius transcended reincarnation, they could rely on that relationship to enter the other party's Holy Land Universe and continue surviving.
As for a Universe Strongest like Giant Axe, who possessed a clan, he was even less likely to attack Universe Masters.
Even if he encountered Universe Masters of the Demon Race, Insect Race, or Mechanical Race, he would not casually act.
If today you could casually kill my clan's Universe Master,
tomorrow I could likewise kill yours.
If things escalated like that, in the end the Universe Masters of both races would not dare leave the Primal Universe.
Once they left, the final outcome might be that only two Universe Strongest remained, isolated commanders without subordinates.
However, there were several situations where Giant Axe taking action was normal.
The first was when the opponent possessed a supreme treasure of the highest tier.
In truth, a Universe Master who possessed such a treasure could be considered to stand at the same level as a Universe Strongest.
If one had the strength, killing to seize the treasure was normal.
Likewise, a Universe Master who possessed a supreme treasure of the highest tier would not casually kill weaker Universe Masters.
The second was active provocation.
Whether it was direct mockery, insulting someone's dignity, or competing for a newly emerged supreme treasure,
these all counted as provocation.
In a case like Lord Nianjiao attacking Luo Fan, Giant Axe coming to rescue him was entirely justified.
The third was assassinating a genius.
This too was normal.
Just as the three races had once sent experts to assassinate Luo Fan.
Thus, at this moment, sensing Giant Axe's arrival, Lord Nianjiao could not help but feel despair.
Though he was powerful,
before a Universe Strongest like Giant Axe, he was still utterly powerless.
Even if Giant Axe only displayed seventh-tier strength to the outside world.
Seventh-tier strength was not something a fifth-tier Lord Nianjiao could withstand.
Perhaps a seventh-tier True God could not instantly kill Lord Nianjiao in one strike.
But as long as he was entangled briefly, killing him would be very simple.
And very fast.
Lord Nianjiao knew he could not possibly last until Dream Demon Ancestor and the other two arrived.
The moment he sensed the sea of flames descend, he had wanted to flee.
But Luo Fan's domain supreme treasure had long been entangled with his own.
The surrounding space had already been sealed by both sides.
Without leaving the range of their domain supreme treasures, teleportation was impossible.
After all, Lord Nianjiao himself had not wanted Luo Fan to escape.
And now, he had shot himself in the foot.
Within the entangled domains, he could not teleport away.
As for flying away?
A Universe Strongest possessed the ability to turn words into law.
Although in the Universe Sea, exceeding the speed of light would not cause entry into the Dark Universe,
a Universe Strongest with such authority still flew at speeds far beyond Lord Nianjiao's.
At this moment, although Lord Nianjiao was still resisting with all his strength,
Giant Axe's sea of flames had already surrounded him.
His domain supreme treasure was compressed to the vicinity of his divine body.
"Twelfth!"
A massive axe phantom appeared within the sea of flames.
The moment it appeared, terrifying flames enveloped it as it cleaved toward Lord Nianjiao.
Lord Nianjiao attempted to unleash a secret technique, summoning a giant beast to resist.
But before Giant Axe, the terrifying beast seemed like paper and was instantly annihilated.
It caused almost no damage to the axe phantom.
The axe phantom, carrying terrifying flames, struck Lord Nianjiao directly.
He was sent flying instantly.
He tried to use the force of the blow to escape the sea of flames.
But Giant Axe would not give him the opportunity.
In an instant, Giant Axe teleported behind him.
Lord Nianjiao, surrounded by the sea of flames, could not teleport.
But the sea of flames imposed no restriction on Giant Axe.
Instead, it amplified his attacks and speed.
Because Lord Nianjiao's domain supreme treasure was completely suppressed by Giant Axe's flames,
he could not restrict Giant Axe from teleporting.
This was the suppression brought about by overwhelming domain superiority.
If one's domain supreme treasure was inferior, whether to fight or flee depended entirely on the opponent.
Unless one possessed overwhelming strength,
the initiative of battle lay in the enemy's hands.
This was why powerhouses pursued better supreme treasures.
A powerful treasure had enormous influence over battle.
Sensing the aura suddenly appear behind him, despair filled Lord Nianjiao's face.
He knew he had fallen today.
That previous strike had already cost him significant divine power.
Now, without hesitation, Giant Axe raised his peak-tier axe supreme treasure again and slashed downward.
"Twelfth!"
The enormous axe phantom appeared once more, wrapped in terrifying flames, charging at Lord Nianjiao.
Helpless, Lord Nianjiao could only unleash secret techniques again in a desperate struggle.
Though his techniques could only slightly weaken the axe phantom's power,
even a small reduction would allow him to lose a bit less divine power and endure slightly longer.
Though he knew he was likely doomed,
he still struggled.
The axe phantom struck him again, sending him flying backward.
This time, his aura visibly declined.
It meant he had already lost a great deal of divine power.
Giant Axe teleported again.
Without hesitation, Lord Nianjiao directly took out a palace supreme treasure and entered it.
This was the top-tier palace supreme treasure he carried.
Even if Giant Axe exerted full strength, it would be difficult to break it.
After all, Universe Strongest, or True Gods, were suppressed within the Universe Sea.
The power their divine power could exert was only equal to that of a Universe Master's divine power.
Compared to a true True God, it was a hundred times weaker.
To break a top-tier palace supreme treasure, one generally needed True God limit strength.
In other words, peak tenth-tier strength.
However, Lord Nianjiao knew that even hiding inside the palace supreme treasure was merely a slow death.
With Giant Axe outside, he could not control the palace supreme treasure to escape.
For a Universe Strongest, dealing with a Universe Master who possessed a palace supreme treasure was still very easy.
Giant Axe directly arrived before Lord Nianjiao's palace supreme treasure.
The surrounding sea of flames completely restricted the palace.
Then Giant Axe took out a small palace.
In the next moment, the palace rapidly expanded.
It was even larger than Lord Nianjiao's palace supreme treasure.
Lord Nianjiao could roughly sense what was happening outside.
When he realized Giant Axe had also taken out a palace supreme treasure, he did not become more despairing.
Instead, he felt a slight relief.
This meant Giant Axe did not intend to kill him immediately.
Otherwise, the best method would have been to drag him into a nearby dangerous region and destroy him there.
However, he could not relax completely.
Perhaps Giant Axe intended to seize the treasures on his body first.
After obtaining his treasures, he might then kill him.
After all, while Lord Nianjiao hid within the palace, Giant Axe could not obtain the treasures on him.
As a fifth-tier Universe Master, the total value of Lord Nianjiao's supreme treasures was equivalent to several peak-tier supreme treasures.
Although he knew he would not die immediately,
Lord Nianjiao still did everything he could to delay.
At the same time, he informed Dream Demon Ancestor of everything that had happened here.
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