Chapter 1105: Brothers, Retreat

At this moment, Xu Zhi was getting a headache.

The Three Pillar Gods were slacking off, secretly consuming people to strengthen themselves, which incidentally aligned with Xu Zhi's plans. As they grew stronger, he could convert them all into Insectoids, giving him the confidence to resist the impending cataclysm of galactic civilization.

"But Emperor Qi slacked off after fighting for a bit, secretly observing from within the ice sculpture. What was happening there?" Xu Zhi felt helpless but was too lazy to bother with it; it was just buying time anyway. He simply turned his attention to the battle between Caroline and a Venerable Yuanlan.

Entities of this caliber were entering the fray too quickly.

This was truly not good news.

Xu Zhi quietly stared at the battlefield. "Too fast, simply too fast..."

The first one had entered; could the others be far behind?

A massive melee could erupt at any second!

If they couldn't hold back and directly broke through to Tenth-Tier Ultimate, that would be problematic!

Which of these high-level beings wasn't decisive and swift?

Which one wouldn't act ruthlessly?

When they moved, they shook heaven and earth. It was perfectly normal for them to enter the fray instantly, unleash all their trump cards, and go straight for the kill.

"The situation is completely unfavorable. We need to contract our forces and have the scattered ones retreat first."

Xu Zhi murmured, "We should first order the majority of the powerful Insectoid Sandbox members to strategically retreat. Otherwise, if an outbreak occurs, they won't have time to react and won't be able to escape... let alone hide in a protective shield and watch from the sidelines."

If it truly came down to it, with four Tenth-Tier Ultimates descending and battling each other, who could withstand that?

And then, if the ultimate beings from the high-dimensional void fully descended, that would be even more terrifying.

Running then would be a little too late!

Soon, mid-tier combatants throughout the Six Paths of Reincarnation, including the Asura Path warriors, quantum life forms from the Tower World, and Emperor Dongqing, all received messages from the Ancient God.

"We need to evacuate the main forces quickly!"

In the command center, when Qiunaming Mountain Speed heard this news, his expression flickered.

"Indeed, the entry of an entity like Venerable Yuanlan means that the battle deciding the future of the entire galactic domain might truly erupt."

"Our tactics have achieved some results. The Three Pillar Gods have now infected nearly fifty percent of the Ninth-Tiers in the lower ranks. What does that signify? More than three thousand Enlightened Beings, even if they are all corrupted ordinary Enlightened Beings!"

This number was truly terrifying!

Because almost no one was paying attention to the Three Pillar Gods anymore.

The higher-ups of the Corrupted Civilization no longer cared much for the lower-tier corrupted Enlightened Beings. At this critical juncture, they could be treated as expendable pawns.

They were useful before, serving as the foundational bedrock of the civilization, undertaking missions, repairing mechanical starships, expanding territory, and increasing influence. But now... their usefulness had vanished!

Their top Inspectors were busy with the final battle; after all, in their eyes, whoever won would control the future, and even break through to Tenth-Tier Ultimate.

If they achieved Tenth-Tier, how useful would it be if Buddhism had infected even more?

They could simply settle accounts later!

They could even re-enslave and command the "Buddhist Faction," making them serve their purpose. This way, even the infected corrupted Enlightened Beings would still be loyal to them, making no difference, and their influence could even expand.

"Qiunaming Mountain Speed truly is an elite of our think tank. He accurately predicted the mindset of these top Inspectors to implement this plan, then used Witch's Night to draw fire. It was indeed a huge success!"

"Their lower-tier Inspectors have almost been hollowed out by us! The Three Pillar Gods need to redouble their efforts and continue proselytizing! Snowball! (Excited)"

Everyone around was thrilled.

These were over three thousand ordinary Enlightened Beings, representing a significant portion of the accumulated power in this vast cosmic galaxy over countless years!

Qiunaming Mountain Speed, however, shook his head. "They're not fools. While we've gained a huge advantage doing this, whether we can keep it depends on the top-tier combat power. Below Tenth-Tier, everyone is ultimately an ant! Do you think they don't know what the Three Pillar Gods are doing? They just don't care! They're busy with the Tenth-Tier battle, and once they break through, they'll come back and settle accounts with you!"

Hearing this, the players immediately sobered up.

Indeed, they might let you run wild now, only to settle accounts with you later.

Tenth-Tier was the true decisive factor.

Although they seemed to be gaining a lot in secret and infecting many, the other side didn't actually care. For a Tenth-Tier Ultimate, where could you hide? Could they not find your true form?

Wanting to clean up and leave was just a joke; they could find you anywhere.

"Yes, it still depends on the Ancient God's performance; that's the level of the final decisive battle."

"This is the limit of what we can do right now. We can't help with anything else."

"Yes, the gap is just too big."

The surrounding players discussed animatedly.

Even Qiunaming Mountain Speed felt that the infections were merely icing on the cake, just a bit of help the Ancient God allowed them to do when they had nothing else to occupy their time.

The one tipping the scales for civilization's victory was the Ancient God!

But the players had no idea, nor did even the three Venerables Yuanlan, that these infected Enlightened Beings were precisely the critical, life-saving factor at the moment.

If I seize all their assets, can they pursue me?

If I pull up the protective shield, what can a Tenth-Tier Ultimate do?

They'd still be utterly bewildered, staring blankly at the desolate land. Are they going to carpet bomb to find a hiding spot?

That's simply impossible!

The universe is too vast; even carpet bombing an entire galaxy is unrealistic.

However, Qiunaming Mountain Speed was unaware of this at the time. He simply did everything within his power.

"Now, indeed, we've ordered them to start retreating. All lower-tier combatants are to bypass, and all players who are gods or above are to withdraw, leaving only one special envoy to observe the battle through a camera and report the live situation to us!"

Everyone nodded.

The withdrawal of personnel quickly began.

Even a group of players secretly took Ryos of the Great Octopus clan and retreated to their territory.

"Wait, don't rush. Have Ryos the Great Octopus go directly, use his identity as a high-ranking Inspector to pull a group of Inspectors into the Buddhist faction for conversion, and make a big move at the last minute!"

Everyone gasped; they were going to target Inspectors?

They had already infected over three thousand ordinary Enlightened Beings; what remained were just a few stragglers. The rest were basically Inspector-level combatants. With ancient awakenings and over a thousand contemporary Inspectors, the number could be three to four thousand, couldn't it?

Qiunaming Mountain Speed said, "Ryos is also a high-ranking Inspector. Let him persuade as many as he can. Tell them that our Buddhist faction can find a way to complete their Dao foundations! And offer various benefits like social security, heaven-defying bloodlines, powerful resources—excellent welfare! In short, whatever it takes to complete them!"

Everyone was speechless. Would that even work?

But they had to try. Talking cost nothing, and what if it actually worked?

Ryos the Great Octopus still held some prestige. Besides, the Buddhist faction was now powerful and mysterious; becoming a member of this faction might not be worse than joining the grand family of the Corrupted Civilization.

Qiunaming Mountain Speed: "Also, while you're at it, try to get a Cloud Star Dao Fruit bloodline gene from those powerful high-ranking Inspectors."

Everyone instantly realized Qiunaming Mountain Speed was after the Cloud Star Dao Fruit.

After all, this thing was literally a lifesaver!

For Mengmei, and even other players like Qiunaming Mountain Speed, it was a crucial item.

If they could obtain the genetic bloodline, understand its structure, and research it, they might even be able to evolve one themselves and mass-produce it!

After all, evolution is the mystery of life's origin, holding infinite possibilities.

If they could mass-produce Origin Matter, why couldn't they mass-produce Cloud Star Dao Fruits?

Others considered even one a treasure, not trading it for countless galaxies, but here, with hybrid rice and genetic optimization, a yield of a hundred catties per mu was possible.

How could they manage without a dream?

"Mengmei: So my illness could be cured?"

"If we could really solve this century-old problem, that would be amazing!"

Everyone was excited.

But some players said, "Doesn't it feel like we're acting like bandits, secretly carving up the spoils while their big tree falls? Like we're just waiting to pluck every feather from a passing goose? I'll discuss this with Ryos here."

Soon, the player received a reply:

"He can handle recruiting people into the Buddhist faction, but the Cloud Star Dao Fruit's bloodline is in the hands of the Corrupted Civilization's supreme beings. They can't get it. When they usually exchange for Cloud Star Dao Fruits, they consume them on the spot... giving no opportunity to steal the bloodline."

Upon hearing this, Qiunaming Mountain Speed's expression grew serious.

Indeed, the bloodline of such a precious species wasn't allowed to flow out. If others integrated and cultivated it, they wouldn't be able to maintain their monopoly.

Although this bloodline seemed to lack combat power, its heaven-defying nature meant its strategic significance was no less than that of extraordinary bloodlines like Yusa or Pampas.

"Then there's no other way. We can only let the Ancient God figure something out." Qiunaming Mountain Speed said, "I have to say, the Yuanlan clan's foundation for internal conflict is truly profound. If you count it, their number of heaven-defying extraordinary bloodlines is almost half of ours!"

"Yes, the kind with rather uncouth power."

The players said, laughing, but were actually still worried.

Although the three Venerables of the Yuanlan Divine Realm and the masterminds behind the Corrupted Civilization indeed seemed unsophisticated in their eyes and certainly insignificant before the Ancient God, the most troublesome challenge was facing the mysterious high-dimensional entity that had descended, the ancient ultimate being that once shattered the Cosmic Garden.

The outcome was unknown.

If the Ancient God acted, could he truly win?