Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

In just a few seconds, Luo Yinglong's purple and green twin swords clashed thousands of times with the crystal dagger whose wielder was impossible to discern. The surging, dissipating energy converged into a destructive storm, with countless scorching and violent bolts of lightning appearing and disappearing within the vortex. Even the spatial structure itself developed thousands of unstable points during these clashes. Just before they were about to spread and trigger a spacetime storm powerful enough to destroy this entire celestial realm and tear a hole in the world, the Tai Chi diagram floating behind Luo Yinglong rotated once more. This time, all traces of destruction vanished in the shifting of the poles.

"Life and death are but fleeting illusions, the two realms are but dust. This is the Yin-Yang Dust Array. And though I, as the array's core, am not invincible, I can unleash the full power of this grand array to its limit." Luo Yinglong said softly, his gaze sweeping aimlessly. He casually formed a jumbled sword incantation, and the purple and blue light around him suddenly began to spin, completely surrounding him. Then, as his protective barrier was completed, a gigantic black sun descended from the sky!

Self-created spell: Seal the Dark Sun!

Silently, the entire celestial realm where the battle raged was filled with boundless darkness. All light and sound were swallowed up by the darkness released from the black sun. And in this space where sound and light were completely devoured, and the surrounding area was covered by extreme heat, the dancing purple and green swords and the crystal dagger hidden in the darkness clashed a thousand times once again!

The next moment, the darkness receded. Light shone brightly once more between heaven and earth.

Luo Yinglong still stood in the airspace where he had originally stood, the purple and green twin swords hovering around him shining as brightly as ever. His combat uniform had somehow transformed into a loose Taoist robe surrounded by pure white clouds, and several rips that had been torn open were healing at a visible speed, emitting gray gas from them. His complexion remained unchanged from the beginning of the battle.

"The combined power of fire and darkness, and the dagger is coated with a deadly poison specifically designed to slay gods. If I hadn't been inside the Yin-Yang Dust Array, this attack would have been enough to take most of my life. And even with the Yin-Yang Dust Array and numerous sect treasures as protection..." Luo Yinglong raised an eyebrow slightly, and with a shattering sound coming from under his Taoist robe, a clump of jade dust, stained gray-black by an unknown curse, fell from his sleeve.

"...My defeat shouldn't be too far off."

He looked towards the opposite airspace, about six kilometers away, where Zhao Yingkong, her form manifested amidst swirling black smoke, watched him. Zhao Yingkong's figure flashed by in the smoke behind Yingkong, and then the second wave of attacks was about to begin.

It's coming soon, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Luo Yinglong glanced at the watch on his wrist—the watch worn by the Supreme God occasionally served the function of keeping time.

“There are less than three minutes left, and you have no way to kill me in those three minutes. Since our goal is only to delay rather than win, we will not reveal any weaknesses, nor will we risk fighting you to the death—you can't kill me, and your captain can't kill Song Tian either. So I think there is no need for us to continue fighting.”

"...Underestimating your enemy will come at a price." Zhao Yingkong's voice drifted intermittently from the fireworks, and the curse lurking in her words became apparent as it reached Luo Yinglong's ears.

It was an interesting ability, one that could even be surprisingly effective at times, but at this moment, it was completely useless. The sound of something breaking came again from beneath Luo Yinglong's Taoist robe, followed by another cloud of black jade dust falling silently.

He wasn't angry. Or rather, he was hoping the two assassins would continue wasting his time with these fancy little tricks.

"Disdain? I don't think so. The forces that your Central Plains team can mobilize are limited, and the native forces are useless. The native gods are isolated from you. Melkor is dead, and one of your witches is currently using Melkor's divine power to advance her ascension, and she can't stop now. As for your other extraordinary combatant who can truly influence the battle... I think she shouldn't have had time to come here while her partner's advancement was being interfered with."

“Give up,” Luo Yinglong said softly. “Consider it me doing a good deed. I know your Zhongzhou team has the means to end this cycle of reincarnation early. It’s not too late to contact your captain and carry it out. But if we wait any longer…”

Before he finished speaking, the ten stars sealed by the tree-like diagram in the sky completely dimmed. A brand new extraordinary life was being born from the top of the Tree of Life. And accompanied by a beam of light descending from the heavens, the billions of souls in the sea of ​​blood covering the entire land rose into the sky like countless stars!

The ceremony has now moved on to the next stage.

A transcendent being who had not been able to participate in the war was captured by the ritual, and then the gathered torrent of souls swallowed her up in an instant!

"...So it didn't even take five minutes. That Adam guy tricked me here." Luo Yinglong looked at the center of the tree-like diagram at the top of the sky, a bitter smile creeping onto his lips. With a wave of his hands, the two separate purple and green swords suddenly merged into one as they swirled.

"Looks like even if I wanted to do something good, you guys would probably start fighting tooth and nail. After all, you're a very united team..." He suddenly waved his hand, assuming a fighting stance. "Come on!"

The next moment, destructive energy erupted from all directions and covered the sky!

..........................................

Meanwhile, somewhere, in a solitary cage.

Neos had been imprisoned in this cage for several days. And not only him, but the entire Southern Flame Continent team and the Fellowship of the Ring had also been kept in this hidden prison. It seemed the Central Continent team's reincarnators had completely forgotten about them after capturing them. For days, aside from the uninterrupted supply of food and water, Neos's only contact had been with the clueless Central Continent team rookies.

The Fellowship of the Ring attempted to escape, but failed. They simply couldn't get out of the cage constructed of force fields.

The reincarnators from the Southern Flame Continent team also attempted to escape, but failed as well. Their powers were sealed, preventing them from passing through the force field wall and leaving.

They struggled for a long time, but ultimately had no choice but to give up. While they were making futile efforts or complaining hopelessly, Neos continued to think.

It was late at night, and everyone except him was fast asleep.

What exactly is the Middle-earth team's purpose? Why did they defeat them, capture them here, and then abandon them? Information from the Supreme God's wristwatch indicates that Sauron has been dead for several days, the Middle-earth team has gained a decisive advantage, and their possession of the One Ring has not been interrupted. And now, the end of this cycle of reincarnation is actually very short.

Hard to understand.

Neos pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer. He couldn't even imagine how they could survive against the Central Continent team... Last time in the team battle, their side attacked first but most of their members still survived because the Southern Flame Continent team was of use, while the Central Continent team was a benevolent team that kept its promises. But this time... their so-called use was probably gone.

[There's no other way... Even if we sold off all the team's assets, it probably wouldn't compare to what they'd take directly from our corpses. Our only chance now is to exploit the kindness of the Central Continent team captain... Yes! Only he can do it. We have to find a way to contact him, and then use persuasive tactics to make him acknowledge that our Southern Flame Continent team still has some value. Otherwise, we'll all die here... Not a single one of us will escape!]

But how can I convince them...?

He racked his brains, analyzing the situation. Suddenly, a sharp jolt jolted him awake—he saw a stern-faced, bespectacled man appear outside the cage. His gaze, as detached as an anatomist's, was fixed on him, a gaze that chilled him to the bone!

"Chu...Chu Xuan!" He practically spat out the name through clenched teeth. He knew who this man was, and he knew the profound terror this man represented. The chill that spread to his very bones instantly brought him to his senses, making him realize what was truly important at that moment.

Neos looked around; everyone else was still fast asleep.

Weren't they here to get rid of us...?

He gritted his teeth, secretly relieved. "What do you need our Southern Flame Continent team for?"

He asked, looking at Chu Xuan. However, the latter simply stared at him quietly, without saying a word.

"I will persuade our team captain to fight for you. Our Southern Flame Continent team has at least one Tier 4... Tier 4! All the spoils of this team battle are yours. You can even kill the newbies; no matter how treacherous the mission, we will do our best to complete it. And..."

“When making plans, there’s actually no need to interfere too much with the overall situation, because what needs to be changed is only one or two key points.” Chu Xuan suddenly interrupted him, his words carrying an ambiguous meaning. “Do you agree with this view?”

“I admit you won this time, but…” Neos’s cheek twitched, and he couldn’t help but want to express his opinion. However, just as he was about to state his theory while trying to soften his stance, a word that didn’t belong to him came out of his throat.

"Yes, I agree."

Neos's expression froze. In that instant, he understood everything that had happened to him, everything that had happened to the Southern Flame Continent team. Why he had been defeated, why he had lost so decisively, why the Central Continent team had captured the Southern Flame Continent team and then ignored them, and why Chu Xuan had appeared before him at the end of the Lord of the Rings world.

“So…” He raised his hand, watching his palm transform from its characteristically rough masculinity to a delicate, fair, feminine form. He heard his voice change from a deep, magnetic male voice to a soft, melodious female voice. “I, Neos… I was already dead from the very beginning…”

The next moment, his form collapsed and dissolved. Then another completely different female body took his place.

"All things in the universe, movement sixty-six: The Transformation of Existence." Altair opened his eyes, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he felt his body regain its vitality. "It feels so good to be reborn. And..."

"Let us complete our final covenant."

........................

The next section is at the end of this volume; let's see if we can release it today.

Section 96 - The Revised Covenant [8/19]

From the moment of rebirth, Adam opened his eyes. The upper part of the tree diagram ritual was complete, and he could clearly sense that he now possessed the full power of the Four Beginnings.

He stretched out his limbs, and beneath the tree diagram, almost every change in the entire Lord of the Rings world was reflected in his perception. He could clearly see the two battlefields within the Yin-Yang Dust Array under the tree diagram ritual. He saw Song Tian, ​​who had used all his skills, being forced back step by step under the suppression of Zheng Zha and Sirin. He saw Luo Yinglong barely holding his own against the Zhao siblings with the combined power of the Purple and Green Swords.

They will be defeated soon, they will die soon.

But before that, I will reverse all of this.

His gaze shifted slightly, a hint of surprise creeping into his eyes as he looked at the Great Library—the Celestial Team's reincarnators hadn't managed to breach its defenses. Even with the anti-barrier technology he'd provided, they were still held back at the outer edge of the aerial fortress—a group of Central Continent Team's secondary reincarnators had appeared outside the Great Library and repelled their attack. The combat strength of both sides was, strangely enough, perfectly even after calculating their equipment and terrain advantages. The possibility of a decisive victory in the short term was practically zero.

It was a minor incident, but it didn't affect the overall situation.

After this ceremony, Song Tian and I should both have a high chance of advancing to the middle of the fourth tier. Luo Yinglong... should be at roughly the same level as us. Although he has no chance of overcoming his inner demons, I can use the tree diagram to forcibly raise his life level, and then throw him into the Shu Mountain world to give his sect a headache.

[After all, they are a native force with combat strength at the fourth, or even fifth, level. This is a perfect opportunity to thoroughly investigate their strengths. They say white people can't touch the secret treasures of their Chinese nobility… I want to see if you'll save them when their foundation of inheritance is compromised.]

He closed his eyes, recalling everything he had done since arriving in this world, to ensure there were no oversights in the final stages—from the very beginning, neither he nor his Celestial Team had intended to focus on the main or side quests given by the Supreme God. After confirming the arrival of the Central Continent Team and secretly obtaining some information about them from the Southern Flame Continent Team, he became even more certain of his plan.

The Central Continent team is very strong, extremely strong, so strong that only by combining the strength of all four Reincarnation teams could they possibly defeat them. But even if they did defeat them, they would pay a heavy price—the East America team is not a suitable partner, and the Southern Flame Continent team, due to their past contact with the Central Continent team, might be hesitant or even defect at the last minute. Even if their own Celestial Team successfully formed this alliance, the possibility of defeating the Central Continent team while maintaining a basic advantage is extremely slim. Therefore, wasting time on this would be pointless.

Therefore, he allowed the East American team and the South Yan Continent team to freely advance the main storyline. He had originally prepared for the situation to become a mess, but the strategist of the South Yan Continent team was not as clever as he had expected—the main storyline didn't change much, so he was happy to relax and focus his energy on other areas.

Finding traces of the Tokai team was an unexpected bonus. However, Altair's exposure was an even greater gain. Through Adam's machinations, Setsuna Shimazaki, whom Altair needed to protect, was quickly captured by the Tenjin team. Using this as leverage, the Tokai team was soon brought under Adam's control.

With the help of Altair, he obtained Melkor's summoning medium. He also saw through the true value of the One Ring in this world. All that remained was to lure the Middle-earth forces down from the heavens, so that the ten elements of the Tree of Life ritual could be correctly constructed.

Just as he had predicted, by deliberately feigning weakness, forgoing the main storyline rewards, and refraining from building an anti-Central Continent team alliance, the reincarnators of the Central Continent team quickly turned their attention to the background forces of this world, the hidden benefits, and the Celestials, the Vera. And when Alice's Apocalypse was completed, and one of the possibilities in his contingency plan came to fruition, the Celestial Team's plan entered its final stage of completion.

Adam slowly opened his eyes.

"The plan is flawless. Everything is going according to my expectations." He took a deep breath, gazing at the restraining light born from the ritual's reaction. Just as Alice was able to pull the gods from the outer realms and seal them above the heavens with an apocalyptic ritual, the long-prepared tree diagram ritual could similarly capture her from the earth and pull her into the ritual.

Everything is ready. Now all that needs to be done is the final step of the ritual. As long as he, the 'Adam,' successfully makes contact with Alice, the 'Lilith,' the ritual will instantly drain the Ten Primal Elements and all the souls of the entire world, allowing himself, Luo Yinglong, and Song Tian, ​​who are in the midst of the ritual, to advance to a new stage.

The Central Plains Team won't be destroyed, because this isn't the final battle of the Reincarnation World. They have a high chance of escaping as long as they possess resurrection items. However…

“You will die here, Miss Alice Margot Lloyd.”

His gaze was fixed ahead, at the edge of his field of vision. The witch, captured by the beam of light from the ritual, had appeared before him, within his sight!

....................................

Alice flexed her fingers, feeling the restraint throughout her body. She glanced at Adam, who was suspended in the center of the tree diagram, surrounded by light, and a cryptic smile appeared on her lips. "This is the scheme you painstakingly devised? Adam of the Celestial Team, it's quite something that you could be so despicable."

"It's nothing more than primal human desire. As 'Adam,' it's only natural for me to crave contact with 'Lilith.' Of course, you can call it lewd if you want." Adam's smile remained as bright and sunny as ever. He remained vigilant, but he didn't believe Alice had any chance of turning the tables. "After all, the ritual is about to begin, and Adam is destined to come into contact with Lilith. I can't change that, and neither can you. When the ritual is complete, I will become even stronger, but you—with your mind not yet fully liberated—can you even survive after the ritual ends?"

"It is only natural for a person who becomes powerful because of love to die because of love. I had a rather unpleasant meeting with your clone, and it is precisely because of this that I know you so well."

He sensed the shift in the ritual; Lilith, bound in the air by the ritual, was slowly approaching him. At the same time, billions of souls emerging from the sea of ​​red blood surged forward, completely surrounding 'Lilith'!

He heard a low, painful groan emanating from the tide of souls, knowing it was a step in the ritual. 'Lilith' would act as a vessel to receive the souls of all the living and the dead in this world, absorbing and transforming them. Then, during the ritual, she would come into contact with 'Adam,' merging the purified tide of souls into 'Adam' who was being drawn into the vessel. And a new god, with 'Adam' as its core, would then be conceived and born into this world.

This was a ritualistic union, a forced union that could not be changed or resisted. And Adam, as the beneficiary, was prepared to reap the rewards.

“Do you have any last words, Lady Margot Lloyd?” Adam said softly, watching with smug satisfaction as Alice, enveloped by the tide of souls under the influence of the ritual, drew ever closer to him. “You cannot resist this ritual, nor can you die before it ends. And after the ritual concludes, you will be punished by your own soul and beliefs.”

“You will regret what you have done.” He heard this voice from the tide of souls.

“Then I look forward to it, Ms. Margot Lloyd,” Adam replied. And the next moment, 'Lilith,' enveloped in the tide of souls, abruptly merged with him at the coordinates!

His eyes widened suddenly!

Right before his eyes, the witch's appearance suddenly changed. She transformed swiftly from a young girl into a pale woman covered in stitched wounds. Her scarred arms suddenly wrapped around him, trapping him within them!

"No! You're not Margot Lloyd! But why... your demeanor, your language, your thoughts just now... they were clearly Margot Lloyd herself... and how could there possibly be a 'Lilith' in this world who fits the bill better than her!"

"I'm sorry, but everything you've heard from the beginning until now has just been a message." A lifeless voice with the same tone as Alice's came from the pale, stitched-up female body. "I told you you'd regret it, and now I think you understand. This soul has qualifications that better fit the 'Lilith' standard than I do. However, unfortunately, it's just a fake, and fakes only last a very short time."

"So, with Lilith's status already determined and locked, what will become of you, Adam, who no longer possesses Lilith, during the ritual?" From the pale female body, a destructive glow burst forth from every stitch.

“I’m looking forward to it, and…” The female body disintegrated before Adam’s eyes. “Goodbye, Adam of the Celestials.”

Adam's eyes shrank to a tiny dot.

He knew perfectly well what would happen if the ritual failed—the tree diagram would backfire, and Adam, having lost Lilith, would be devoured and absorbed by the tree diagram due to the imbalance of the ritual. And even if he took the tree diagram, nothing would change!

The tree-shaped ritual was already in operation, having become independent. The existence of the array itself only determined the ritual's effectiveness, not its success or failure. He sensed the tearing sensation within his body and the collapse and imbalance of the external ritual almost instantly!

“Well done, Ms. Margot Royd. You truly are the biggest obstacle to our Celestial Team’s victory in the final battle.” He glanced at the pale Lilith, now reduced to rubble and ruins. He knew in his heart that this ritual could not be completed. The only result of staying here was to be caught up in the ritual, losing his life and possibly even losing the rank he had painstakingly acquired!

"You won this time, but we can't say we've completely lost. You'll have to bear the consequences of the ritual going out of control."

He snorted coldly, pulled a strange amulet from his pocket, and crushed it violently. The next moment, Adam, Song Tian and Luo Yinglong, who were engaged in battle, and the newcomers who were besieging the Great Library all vanished in the same instant—they had directly abandoned the main quest and used the item to return directly to the Main God Space.

Then, the Yin-Yang Micro-Dust Array, whose core had died, collapsed. The Life Tree Ritual, stirred and conflicted by endless energy, appeared unobstructed before the reincarnators of the Central Continent Team.

Chu Xuan suddenly appeared beside Zheng Zha.

"Gah..." Zheng Zha, who was fighting Song Tian just a second ago, stared blankly at him, his sword, which had been raised in mid-air, barely managing to turn after several seconds. "Chu Xuan, this..."

"There's no time to explain. There's a chance to advance to the fourth tier without any losses. The price you'll have to pay is to cheat on Lori and Zhan Lan with her. If you're willing, let Alice prepare the rank replacement for you right now. I can take care of what happens with Zhan Lan."