Watching the giant hammer gradually rise from the lava lake, Luo Fan began attempting to bind it as its master.
However, just as he expected,
the supreme treasure had not yet fully emerged, and binding failed.
Supreme treasures within the Universe Sea could only be bound after completely emerging.
Otherwise, the binding would fail.
As for entering the lava lake, Luo Fan had no such intention.
He had already tried earlier.
The moment he extended a hand into the lava lake, that hand was instantly annihilated.
Attempting to directly grab the hammer's handle and pull it out also proved impossible.
The giant hammer seemed fused together with the lava lake itself.
Only after it completely emerged would it be possible.
The avatar, currently transformed into water, floated beside the hammer's handle.
The instant the hammer fully emerged, the avatar would immediately bind it.
…
Above the abyss, Lord Yanhuo still had no idea that the supreme treasure he considered certain to obtain was already about to fall into someone else's hands.
He continued fighting fiercely with Luo Fan.
However, Luo Fan was no longer particularly interested in continuing the battle.
He had already become familiar with Lord Yanhuo's combat rhythm.
He had also experienced Lord Yanhuo's secret techniques many times.
It could be said that Luo Fan's objective in fighting had already been achieved.
If the supreme treasure had not yet emerged, and if his avatar were not waiting at the bottom of the abyss, requiring Luo Fan to stall here, he would have already left.
If Lord Yanhuo descended, the avatar would have no chance to bind the treasure.
Likewise, with Luo Fan present, Lord Yanhuo also could not bind it.
The two could only continue fighting desperately.
Unless one side withdrew first, ownership of the giant hammer supreme treasure could not be decided.
Otherwise, it would depend on whose reinforcements arrived first.
Or Luo Fan could reveal the avatar's strength.
None of these outcomes were what Luo Fan wanted.
The simplest solution was for Luo Fan to stall Lord Yanhuo above,
while the avatar remained hidden at the abyss floor.
The moment the treasure fully emerged, the avatar would bind it instantly.
After all, once the treasure emerged, even if Lord Yanhuo realized someone else was below, it would be useless.
Teleportation was impossible beneath the abyss.
To descend, one either needed a wormhole secret technique like Luo Fan,
or could only fly slowly.
A distance of 20,000 light-years-
even at ten thousand times the speed of light, the journey would still take two years.
…
Time passed.
Two days later, the lava lake beneath the abyss suddenly erupted.
Massive amounts of lava splashed outward.
The avatar was struck by some of it, causing a small portion of its divine body to be annihilated.
Not only that, even the armor supreme treasure it wore suffered partial damage.
Previously, to ensure the avatar could use armor regardless of its form, Luo Fan had forged armor similar to a shadow membrane type.
No matter what form the avatar assumed, the armor would perfectly adhere to it and provide protection.
Thus, the avatar had never stored the armor away.
He had not expected the emergence of a supreme treasure to create such violent disturbances.
Large quantities of lava splashed outward, even damaging the armor.
It would have to be repaired later by multiple avatars working together.
Yet the avatar had no intention of leaving.
Even as lava erupted everywhere,
because the giant hammer supreme treasure had completely emerged!
The violent eruption was caused precisely by this treasure.
At the moment of full emergence, the giant hammer rose entirely from the lava lake,
hovering silently above it.
A powerful aura erupted instantly.
Energy fluctuations spread through the surroundings,
which was why the lava had burst outward.
Ignoring the surrounding lava, Luo Fan stepped forward toward the giant hammer.
…
Lord Yanhuo also sensed the suddenly intensified aura of the supreme treasure.
He immediately realized the treasure had fully emerged.
At this moment, he no longer wished to waste time fighting Luo Fan.
After swinging another hammer strike toward him, he immediately plunged into the abyss without hesitation.
Facing the incoming hammer projection, Luo Fan unleashed the Annihilation Divine Light to weaken it.
The remaining force knocked him back slightly before dissipating.
Watching Lord Yanhuo descend, Luo Fan did not pursue.
It was already too late.
Although binding a supreme treasure required some time,
only a small amount was needed.
Lord Yanhuo, however, required years to reach the bottom.
…
At the abyss floor,
Luo Fan's avatar learned through the main body's perspective that Lord Yanhuo had begun descending.
There was no longer any need to hide.
The avatar transformed directly into Luo Fan's humanoid form-
his most familiar combat state.
Otherwise, the avatar's hundred-million-kilometer body length was unsuitable for combat.
Looking at the giant hammer before him, Luo Fan grasped it with one hand.
Vast amounts of divine power poured into the treasure like an endless flood.
His divine power flowed into every corner of the hammer.
Each strand carried Luo Fan's soul imprint and life imprint.
…
While rapidly descending, Lord Yanhuo's expression suddenly changed the moment Luo Fan's avatar revealed itself.
Because Luo Fan no longer concealed it, Lord Yanhuo clearly sensed an aura at the abyss floor.
Since binding required focus, hiding the aura was inconvenient.
And even if discovered, Luo Fan did not care.
Still, he slightly altered the aura so it differed from both his true body and Space Worm avatar.
Sensing the unfamiliar presence below, Lord Yanhuo grew anxious.
He desperately hoped there was no alternate exit beneath the abyss.
If not, he might still intercept the opponent.
Even if the treasure were already bound, he might still seize it.
He could tell the distance between them was immense.
If not for the opponent currently binding the treasure, he might not have sensed the aura at all.
Teleportation was impossible here.
Reaching the opponent would take considerable time.
By then, the binding would certainly be complete.
If another exit existed below, pursuit would become impossible.
These underwater abysses were actually cavern systems within Inkling Peak World.
After the mountain collapsed, water flooded the caverns, forming vast aquatic regions.
Some passages interconnected in complex ways, even linking to the core region of Inkling Peak World.
This unpredictability made the abysses extremely dangerous.
No one knew where another passage might lead.
Knowing urgency was useless, Lord Yanhuo expanded his Flame Sea supreme treasure domain to its maximum extent,
allowing full detection of the surrounding area.
Though the abyss was deep, the passage diameter was limited, making full coverage possible.
Afterward, he accelerated downward at full speed.
…
At the abyss floor,
Luo Fan's avatar had already been binding the treasure for some time.
Immense divine power wrapped around the giant hammer.
Many regions within it were already branded with Luo Fan's imprint.
Finally, several hours later...
"Mission complete!"
The familiar system voice sounded in Luo Fan's mind.
This meant the giant hammer supreme treasure had fully acknowledged him as its master.
With a thought, Luo Fan instantly restrained the treasure's aura.
The surrounding energy storm subsided.
The lava lake calmed and returned to normal.
The erupting magma settled once more into stillness.
Without hesitation, Luo Fan summoned the Zhouji Tower and stored the giant hammer within it.
He then placed both the hammer and the already slightly damaged Zhouji Tower into system storage.
Even brief exposure here had begun damaging the tower.
This alone demonstrated how terrifying the abyss environment was.
Next, Luo Fan completely concealed his aura.
He transformed once again into ordinary water identical to the surrounding domain.
A wormhole appeared before him.
Without hesitation, the water he had become slowly flowed into it.
Once all of it transferred through, the wormhole instantly vanished.
…
Sensing the complete disappearance of the aura below-
not only the unfamiliar Universe Master's presence, but even the supreme treasure's aura-
Lord Yanhuo's anger surged.
The prize he believed already in hand had slipped away.
He originally believed only Luo Fan was present.
Given Luo Fan's displayed strength, and with his avatars already on the way,
he had planned to stall Luo Fan while allowing an avatar to descend and bind the treasure.
To him, the treasure had already been secured.
That was why he continued delaying Luo Fan above.
If the treasure had not fully emerged before his avatars arrived, he would never have descended personally.
Yet once it emerged, he had no choice but to go down first.
Even if Luo Fan followed, his avatars could later handle the binding.
He never expected another person to already be below.
Now, no aura remained.
Unsure whether another exit existed, Lord Yanhuo still decided to continue downward to investigate.
…
Lord Yanhuo was destined never to obtain the giant hammer.
The moment binding completed, the Space Worm avatar opened a wormhole and retrieved Luo Fan's avatar.
Because the avatar had transformed into water identical to its surroundings, Lord Yanhuo never noticed the additional presence passing above him.
As for the treasure, Luo Fan had already stored it together with the Zhouji Tower inside system space.
After recalling the avatar, Luo Fan immediately opened another wormhole,
rapidly departing the region.
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