Chapter 382 - 223: The Hunt of the Ancient Gods (2)

The Shadow Ancient God Belial wasn’t in a hurry. He just waited quietly.

This time, the three top-tier Ancient God powerhouses of their Jade Realm had specifically mobilized the power of the "Cosmic Cage."

It could completely seal off a World within the Cosmic Cage.

Its effect would be especially potent within this independent Star Realm District.

Once this Star Realm District was sealed by the Cosmic Cage, then within that independent pocket of the universe, even with his Resurrection Power, the Evil God Zorn would find it difficult to escape.

To be safe, the Jade Realm had even deployed the Ancient God Artifact, the [Chain of Death].

This Ancient God Artifact, possessing the "Ancient Death Chain" attribute, could further imprison Zorn’s soul after killing the Evil God Zorn, preventing him from resurrecting.

A moment later, the Shadow Ancient God Belial’s brow furrowed slightly.

’By all rights, Zorn should have resurrected by now.’

But there was no sign of Zorn.

He reached behind him and grasped.

The Ancient God Artifact [Chain of Death], which had been gestating in the Shadow, was caught in his hand.

A Scythe of Death, woven from pure Death energy, carried with it what seemed to be an endless number of Death God’s Chains.

As the scythe entered his hand, the Chains of Death crisscrossed densely around him.

Belial lightly gripped one of the Death God’s Chains and gave it a tug.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

The surrounding chains flowed like vines, complex yet orderly.

Although some Heroic Spirits were imprisoned within them, the Evil God Zorn was nowhere to be seen.

It was as if... he had died for good.

Even if he had truly died, there should still be a Wandering Soul.

But now, there was not the slightest trace of the Evil God.

Belial’s expression flickered between light and shadow.

Immediately, Belial swept his Cosmic Suppression across the entire World sealed by the [Cosmic Cage], searching every meticulous corner for any trace of the Evil God Zorn.

But no matter how meticulously he searched, he could not find a trace of the Evil God or his departed soul.

’Did the Evil God Zorn just... escape like that?’

This time, their Jade Realm had united with the Ancient Gods of two other realms, deployed the core projection power of two Ancient Gods, and used one Ancient God Artifact.

Most critically, they had used the power of the Cosmic Cage itself.

And yet, after a confident opening where they killed the Evil God Zorn once, there was no follow-up.

After a moment of thought, an incredulous Belial once again used the Ancient God Artifact [Chain of Death] to draw out souls from the dimension of Death, checking to see if Zorn was hiding deep within it.

After all, Zorn was an Evil God; it wasn’t out of the question for him to hide in the depths of Death.

The eighteen Upper Rank Gods watched as the Ancient God tried various methods to capture the Evil God Zorn.

They all looked at each other in dismay.

"Even though the Evil God Zorn has Resurrection Power, he shouldn’t be able to stay dead this long in front of an Ancient God!"

"Are you saying... the Evil God Zorn escaped?"

"Escaped? That can’t be right. The Ancient God contacted us for this, so he was clearly well-prepared. For the Evil God Zorn to escape when he was caught off guard... that’s just too..."

"Hmph! Don’t you all get it yet? With Zorn’s methods, he’s most likely already escaped. Otherwise, that Ancient God wouldn’t be so frantically unleashing his Cosmic Suppression to scour the entire Star Realm District."

"He escaped? But this was a trap, a cage painstakingly laid by the mighty Ancient Gods! That Zorn..."

As the various Upper Rank Gods spoke, their voices grew heavier and heavier.

The pressure of confronting the Evil God Zorn had already been mounting.

They had finally gotten Ancient God powerhouses to join forces to eliminate Zorn.

If this attempt failed, the Evil God Zorn would only become more arrogant in the days to come.

And their own realms would suffer from the Evil God Zorn’s frenzied retaliation.

After employing several methods and repeatedly searching more than a dozen times, the Shadow Ancient God Belial finally clenched his jaw, unwilling to accept the outcome as frustration and vexation welled up inside him.

Their plan to encircle and kill the Evil God Zorn had failed after only the first step.

The Evil God Zorn had escaped.

Although Belial was filled with indignation, there was nothing he could do now.

After scanning his surroundings one last time, Belial finally sighed, gathered his power, and began to retreat.

This was the border of the Star Dust Plateau; it was not a place to linger.

"Lady Aphrodite, the Evil God Zorn has escaped."

"Escaped?"

Aphrodite, who had been waiting for good news, felt a slight stir in her heart.

"Yes. I deployed the Cosmic Cage and even used the Ancient God Artifact [Chain of Death] to kill the Evil God Zorn, but he still escaped through his Resurrection ability."

"It seems... the measures we prepared are not very effective against the Evil God Zorn."

The Shadow Ancient God Belial’s tone was thick with frustration.

Even though this hunt had ended in failure, Aphrodite showed no signs of great regret.

"Just ensure a safe retreat. We will discuss everything in detail after you return."

"Yes, Lady Aifuro."

...

’Hm? They’re retreating?’

High in the Starry Sky, the three Ancient Gods from the Calamity Court, who were locked in a standoff, felt a stir as they sensed the projection of the Jade Realm’s Ancient God dissipate.

At the same time, the four enemy Ancient Gods from the opposing realms also withdrew their majestic power and returned to the Tree of the Magic Ring.

But now, the expressions of the three Ancient Gods from the Calamity Court darkened.

This time, the enemy had suppressed them and made a move on Zorn.