Chapter 878: Torment

Su Che had expected to be chased by that unicorn monster, but he thought it would take at least three to five days. Unexpectedly, it took less than a day before he…
Lao He still carried Su Che and the others, flying at high speed through chaos, as his speed was even faster than Manzi’s. Yet, just over ten hours after crushing House’s head, Su Che’s expression changed, and he said in a low voice to the others, “He’s coming.”
Millions of miles behind them, the unicorn monster appeared within Su Che’s perception range at an extremely terrifying speed.
Manzi had also noticed him. Though she said nothing, she frowned deeply.
“He was able to revive House so quickly—his strength is far greater than I imagined,” Tian Yin sighed softly.
“Stop. Running is pointless.” Su Che could tell that the unicorn monster’s speed was at least twice that of Xiao He.
The five of them stopped and lined up, waiting quietly.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the unicorn monster appeared right before them. Fortunately, he was alone, with no allies, which gave Su Che and his group some relief.
Of course, this also showed that the unicorn monster had full confidence in his own strength—he believed he could handle all five of them alone.
“Meeting again.”
From afar, he spoke in a gloomy tone.
“Indeed fast, beyond my expectations,” Su Che nodded calmly and asked with undisguised admiration, “May I ask your name, sir?”
His strength was truly admirable—there was no denying that.
“Ao Zu!”
The unicorn monster replied in a deep voice, “I can tell you the truth. I have no blood relation or master-disciple bond with House. We simply come from the same universe. Or rather, I am the ancestor of all cultivators in that universe. I entered chaos hundreds of billions of Chaos Eras ago.”
Su Che was stunned. What kind of concept would hundreds of billions of Chaos Eras be in their universe’s time scale?
Meanwhile, Lao He muttered in the Immortal Prison, “Tch! What’s so great about him? My master isn’t even ten thousand years old yet and is already at this level. Without overstatement, it seems he only needs a million years of growth to instantly kill you old bunch.”
Su Che asked again, “Senior Ao Zu, do you plan to avenge House by killing us all?”
“I do have such an intention.”

Ao Zu nodded. “However, if you tell me in detail everything that’s happened on Magic Island recently, and if I believe it’s possible for us to establish a cooperative relationship, then House’s matter won’t be important anymore.”
Su Che understood the meaning behind his words. These travelers had only two greatest desires: either to become the strongest being in chaos or to create their own vast universe.
One cannot live without a goal. Without it, living for too long becomes a torment, leading to a loss of interest in everything and turning one into a numb corpse.
Many years ago, Ao Zu had already gone to Magic Island and successfully obtained more than three amethyst fruits, which meant he must have seen the Chaos Tree. He might even have guessed that it was one of the greatest treasures in chaos, possessing the potential to create universes and countless beings.
He must have paid close attention to the Chaos Tree. It seemed that Ao Zu’s constant presence near Magic Island wasn’t really to take care of House, but rather for a greater opportunity he desired.
If he could subdue the Chaos Tree completely and turn it into his servant or a magical artifact, he would, just like Su Che with the Immortal Prison Pagoda, truly have the ability to create universes.
Through Ao Zu’s hints earlier, Su Che could fully grasp all this.
The so-called cooperative relationship meant nothing more than helping Ao Zu scheme against the Chaos Tree.
Was that possible?
Su Che shook his head without hesitation. “I’m sorry. I can only say that there’s no possibility of cooperation between us. If Senior Ao Zu refuses to give up, then war will be inevitable.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ao Zu said with a strange smile. “I have many ways to make you agree. It shouldn’t be difficult for me.”
Su Che shook his head lightly and said nothing more. Since this battle was unavoidable, there was no need for further words.
Swish!
The five of Su Che scattered, allowing them to launch a joint attack on Ao Zu from all directions while avoiding being hit by his attacks at the same time. Su Che stood in the center, facing Ao Zu head-on.
“One last thing. Since you refuse to cooperate voluntarily, I’ll only keep you alive. The other four will die. Do you understand?”

Ao Zu’s expression and tone suddenly changed, as a fierce brutality emanated from him. The chaotic mist around him was stirred, creating spiral waves of energy. The dark golden unicorn on his forehead flickered with light, and a layer of dark golden scales gradually appeared on his face and hands. In this state, he truly no longer resembled a human. Clearly, he was about to attack, but Su Che didn’t like to be on the defensive when the enemy struck first, so…

Times ten thousand!

Su Che rushed forward first, while Lao Hei and Xiao Hei attacked from the other two directions. Tian Yin and Man Zhi weren’t suited for close combat; they used their sonic powers and soul control techniques to launch invisible attacks from afar. With all five of them working together, it was unclear whether Ao Zu would resist with his defensive powers or dodge.

Boom!

A ferocious smile appeared on Ao Zu’s face. Centered around him, a crimson shockwave burst outward, spreading instantly and forming a huge sphere with a radius of tens of thousands of feet in the chaos. Inside the sphere, there was complete vacuum—not even a trace of chaotic energy remained, either driven away by the shockwave or completely vaporized.

The speed was extremely fast. Su Che and the others didn’t even have time to react before they were enclosed within this massive spherical space.

“Time Domain!”

Su Che and the others were shocked. They realized this was a highly unusual time domain. Within it, their sense of time would slow down countless times, meaning every movement would also slow down immensely. It was a strange feeling, hard to describe. Even though they knew their punch carried a power amplified a thousand times, they could still clearly see it moving forward slowly, inch by inch.

Super slow motion—unbelievably slow. At such a speed, not even a turtle could be hit! Su Che grew anxious but couldn’t speed up in the slightest. Even Tian Yin’s sonic waves, which should have been invisible and undetectable by anyone but her, could now be clearly seen as semi-transparent cone-shaped waves almost frozen in midair due to the extreme time slowdown.

Man Zhi’s control characters, Lao Hei’s attacks, and Xiao Hei’s axe swings—all appeared almost stationary, with only slight movements visible after a long time. Yet, Ao Zu, at the center, slowly drifted toward Su Che.

His speed wasn’t fast either, as if he were strolling leisurely, but compared to the pitifully slow progress of Su Che and his four companions, it was a thousand times, even ten thousand times faster.
Ao Zu’s sinister smile remained on his face, seemingly conveying to Su Che the message: “Wait, I’m coming for you soon. I’ll pick you off just like a fruit from a tree, at my own pace.”
At that moment, Su Che couldn’t help but think: Back then, on Mo Li Island, must he have also picked the Purple Crystal Fruit so casually and effortlessly?
Ao Zu was far stronger than Su Che and his group had initially imagined. Just with this time domain skill alone, he was invincible.
At least within this time domain, no matter how many people there were, it was useless against him—unless one’s cultivation level surpassed his, allowing them to ignore the effects of this time domain.
Su Che and his four companions were all far inferior to Ao Zu in cultivation. Not to mention five people, even fifty or five hundred people trapped within this time domain would be killed one by one by him as if it were nothing.
No wonder he dared to pursue them alone—with such a powerful skill, he truly didn’t need any help.
Huhuhuhu…
Within the spherical time domain, strange fluctuations surged continuously, allowing Su Che to faintly grasp some profound truth, seemingly offering some remarkable benefits to his Eighth Layer of Immortal Prison…
Ao Zu slowly drifted toward them. Though he was the controller of this time domain, this was already the fastest speed he could achieve.
Initially, he was about ten thousand feet away from Su Che, but now he had closed half of that distance.
However, it seemed the speed of mental communication wasn’t greatly affected. Strolling through the void, Ao Zu said slowly, “Have you gained some understanding of my time domain? That’s not surprising. Everyone trapped here will feel the same. I can give you another chance. If you’re willing to cooperate willingly, not only will you not be harmed, but I’ll also teach you this ability to control time.”
Of course, by “cooperate willingly,” he didn’t mean just verbal agreement. Su Che would have to seal his own cultivation and surrender completely to show the utmost sincerity.
Su Che didn’t respond directly. Instead, he sent a mental signal urging him, “Please hurry up. You know, such a slow process is simply torture.”
What did that mean?
Did Su Che really want Ao Zu to come quickly and capture him at once, seeking a swift end?
“Torture?”

Ao Zu drifted a few hundred feet further forward, shaking his head with a smile. “Young man, I assure you, you have no idea what true torment is. I, Ao Zu, have lived for countless years, yet it was only recently that I understood the true meaning of the word ‘torment.’ If you remain stubborn, I certainly don’t mind sharing this experience with you.”
Su Che still maintained his punching stance, like a statue suspended in midair, looking somewhat comical—and certainly in a pitiful situation.
The four members of Tianyin were extremely anxious as they watched Ao Zu get closer and closer to Su Che. During this seemingly endless process, they couldn’t think of any effective way to resolve the crisis. As Su Che had said, this was indeed a mental ordeal, a form of torment…