Chapter 699 — Hollow Ancestor’s Plan

The universe has become corrupted...

If anyone else were to hear such words, they would be both shocked and doubtful.

How could the Cosmic Universe possibly be corrupted?

One had to know that this world could sustain Rank 13 existences and perhaps even beings beyond that.

Its nature was at least comparable to a Princess of the Demon World.

Who could possibly corrupt such a world?

Yet despite this shocking news, Liora seemed surprisingly calm. If anything, she seemed to have already guessed it.

As such, Anna didn’t get the reaction she wanted.

"Sure enough, you’ve already suspected something." Anna shook her head lightly, seemingly disappointed.

"But it makes sense. After all, this can be said to be related to you..."

These words all but confirmed Liora’s suspicion.

"Has the Hollow Ancestor possessed the Will of this Universe?" she asked straightforwardly as the power of time grew thicker, turning this place into an inescapable seal and preventing any information from getting out.

"Hollow Ancestor... Is this what you call that being?" Anna muttered before nodding her head.

"Indeed. The universe has been corrupted by what you call the Hollow Ancestor."

"According to what the powerhouses of humanity have discovered, this being managed to possess the Will of the Cosmic Universe near the end of the last Era."

"Just as the universe had grown weaker and was in the process of reconstruction, that person appeared and clashed against the Will of the universe. "

"Since then, the two have been engaged in a fierce battle, fighting to decide who will become the true Will of this universe."

Anna’s subsequent explanation gave Liora a thorough understanding of what this meant.

Effectively, the Hollow Ancestor had descended into this world during the destruction of the past Era. Using his status as an Ancient Devil, he took advantage of the Will of the Cosmic Universe’s weakness and launched an attack, trying to take over its "body".

In this case, the "body" referred to the universe itself.

Although he didn’t succeed, he didn’t fail either.

Since then, the Hollow Ancestor and the Cosmic Universe had been fighting against each other, waiting to decide the winner.

And now, that time was drawing nearer.

"Based on everything that has happened, the Hollow Ancestor holds the advantage in their confrontation. He will soon refine this universe..."

Liora couldn’t help but sigh.

He truly deserved to be an Ancient Devil.

She believed that her own speed of progress was already fast.

From a relatively strong Archdevil, she had become a powerhouse that could contend against Primordial Devils. Even against the so-called Rank 13 Awakeners of this universe, she had the confidence to remain unscathed.

Yet the Hollow Ancestor had not developed any less quickly.

As a Primordial Devil, he had attempted to possess the Cosmic Universe and was very likely to succeed.

Once managed to refine this world, he would have the opportunity to leap two stages, giving him a chance to become a Prince of the Demon World!

Such a speed of progress was even more shocking than Liora’s own.

"I’m afraid that this is not a coincidence. He can’t have arrived in this world so much earlier than me."

"The Hollow Ancestor must have used his status as an Ancient Devil to find the weakness of the Cosmic Universe the moment he was born."

"Then, he traveled to the past and began his grand plan..."

Had Liora been an Ancient Devil back then, she might have been able to stop him.

However, she had not, while the beings native to this universe had no control over the power of time.

Even Anna merely had the ability to split her consciousness into other timelines by leveraging her status as the Information World.

This was enough to protect herself against attacks directed at her own past. But saving other people was impossible, let alone the universe.

Countless thoughts raced through Liora’s mind.

In a split second, she felt that everything made sense.

It was no wonder that she had failed to find any traces of the Hollow Ancestor, merely discovering his puppet disguised as the real him.

It was no wonder that a power had arrived when she had been born into this universe and tried to wipe her out.

More importantly, it was no wonder that her journey had been so unexpectedly smooth.

Yes!

In Liora’s opinion, the Hollow Ancestor’s decision to try to take over the Cosmic Universe had actually helped her during her growth.

Most likely, the true Will of the Cosmic Universe had bet on her! Bet that once she became powerful enough, she could lend it a hand in its confrontation against the Hollow Ancestor.

That was indeed the best option that was currently available to her.

Her focus soon shifted back to reality. She looked at Anna, who was waiting for her to digest everything.

Then, much to the other party’s surprise, Liora lightly shook her head.

"What’s the point of telling me all this?"

"Yes. That person and I have a certain level of enmity. However, there is no reason for me to risk my life to fight against him."

"I’ve already recovered my strength and even went on to make further progress. There is no reason to stay in this universe any longer if it’s bound to be destroyed."

Liora directly refused!

This caught Anna off guard. She and the human race had never expected such an answer.

They had anticipated her trying to hide her relationship with the Hollow Ancestor. They had even expected her to ask for benefits in exchange for fighting against him.

However, they had never expected that she would directly refuse, not giving them any chance to bargain.

This...

Upon thinking about it further, Anna felt that it made sense!

Indeed! Liora had no reason to risk her life to fight against the Hollow Ancestor.

She had already achieved her goal. Even if she left now, she would lose nothing.

Of course, Anna did not fully believe this just yet. After all...

"Didn’t you say that you two are enemies?"

"Aren’t you afraid that he will seek revenge once he refines this universe? By then, his strength will have long transformed," she asked.

What met her question, however, was a chuckle.