Chapter 863: Zhou Huai’s Plan

On the broad back of Abyss Dragon Xiao Hei, the violent winds were entirely blocked by an invisible barrier of dragon might.

Zhou Huai sat cross-legged, his eyes lowered slightly as he fell into silence.

In his mind, he was rapidly deducing the current situation.

Now, Mr. Duan had successfully escaped his predicament and absorbed the core Origin of the Sea God.

After his High-Dimensional divine persona was further completed, the extent to which his strength had expanded was immeasurable.

According to the intelligence transmitted by Anubis, the coordinates of The Eighth Ruin had been completely exposed, hidden beneath the glacier fault in the Far North, inside that abyssal cage known as "The Throne of Despair".

Zhou Huai knew very well that Mr. Duan would never allow this power to revive.

At this moment, the other party must have already set off towards the ruins of The Eighth World.

If he rushed to the Far North with Chun right now, he would likely run head-on into Mr. Duan at The Throne of Despair.

By then, it would probably be a life-or-death final showdown.

With his current half-step detachment Realm, coupled with the one billion Karma value he had just obtained and the guaranteed SSS-grade Clone, although he had the strength for a battle, his chances of winning against the unfathomable Mr. Duan remained an unknown.

More importantly, Zhou Huai knew deeply that he still had a crucial task unfinished.

Save his mother.

In this world intertwined with digitization and High-Dimensional Law, his mother's death and disappearance had always been an obsession deep in his heart, as well as his core driving force in fighting the High-Dimensional deities.

With a thought from Zhou Huai, he summoned the System panel.

A dark gold special quest floated at the very top of the list.

[Ultimate Main Quest: Save Mother!]

[Quest Time Limit: 100 Days]

[Current Remaining Time: 48 Days 11 Hours 36 Minutes]

Looking at the countdown on the panel, Zhou Huai's eyes darkened slightly.

The System had initially given a 100-day limit.

Along this journey, in order to fight Mr. Duan, he had rushed about in various ruins, and before he knew it, less than fifty days remained of the time limit.

Time had become extremely urgent.

Most crucially, the System had once given a subtle hint that the hidden clues involving his mother were the key to defeating Mr. Duan.

Even now facing the crisis of The Eighth Ruin being seized, Zhou Huai must divide his energy to hold this trump card in his hands.

Back then, to catch a big fish by letting out a long line, Zhou Huai had planted an Alien Parasite inside the Ancient Remnant Clan.

Now it was an absolutely perfect locator.

As long as the host was still alive, no matter where they fled, they could not escape the perception of Void Omniscience.

Calculating the time, after experiencing a disastrous defeat, those Ancient Remnant Clan members should have already fled back to their base camp—the Free Federation.

"The Free Federation…"

He could just use the Parasite for precise positioning, follow the vine to unearth their lair, and uproot the secret regarding his mother's whereabouts.

Just as Zhou Huai was calculating his next plan.

"Zhou Huai?"

A cold voice rang in his ear.

Chun looked at Zhou Huai, who had been sitting on the Dragon's back without speaking for a long time, and finally couldn't help but speak out.

Zhou Huai raised his head, restraining his murderous intent.

"What is it?" Zhou Huai asked.

Chun frowned slightly, asking Zhou Huai with a solemn expression what he was thinking.

"Anubis has already determined the specific coordinates of The Eighth Ruin, and Mr. Duan may descend upon the Far North at any time."

Chun paused, her gaze fixed tightly on Zhou Huai's eyes, "Time is tight. Should we go and rendezvous with Anubis right now? We must enter The Throne of Despair before Mr. Duan."

In her view, this was already the only and most urgent option at present.

However, unexpectedly, Zhou Huai shook his head decisively.

"No."

"I have more pressing matters."

Looking at the stunned Chun, Zhou Huai added calmly, "I need to part ways with you temporarily."

As soon as these words were spoken, the air seemed to grow quiet for an instant.

"Us?"

Chun opened her eyes slightly, a trace of astonishment flashing through her cold eyes.

"What? Are you going to abandon me?"

Having experienced so many life-and-death bloody battles, from the alliance in the ruins to the killing trap at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, she had always thought the two of them were already inseparable comrades-in-arms.

Looking at this once high-and-mighty Goddess of Nature of the First World showing this stunned expression, Zhou Huai's originally tense nerves relaxed slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

He raised an eyebrow and teased,

"Are you reluctant to part with me?"

This sudden banter left Chun stunned for a moment.

"You… what are you babbling about!"

"I thought that after experiencing so much together, we were already a community of shared destiny."

She bit her lip, her tone carrying a hint of self-mockery: "It seems I was just being unrequitedly sentimental."

Listening to Chun's somewhat petty words, Zhou Huai put away his joking expression.

He knew Chun's worries; splitting forces at this critical juncture was undoubtedly extremely risky.

"You can't put it that way."

Zhou Huai looked straight into Chun's eyes, his tone turning serious.

"I have my reasons for doing this, of course."

He did not explain the matters of his mother and the System quest in detail; that was his most core secret, but the firmness in his eyes explained everything.

"Over in the Far North, that old fox Anubis has deep thoughts, and someone needs to keep an eye on him so he doesn't defect or drop the ball at a critical moment."

Zhou Huai paused and continued, "And the matter I am going to handle on my end is likewise related to whether we can ultimately defeat Mr. Duan. If this move fails, even if we gather all the powerhouses of The Eighth World, we might not win."

Chun did not speak.

She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes slightly to scrutinize Zhou Huai for a long time, trying to find his true intentions beneath his calm expression.

Violent winds howled around the two of them.

Abyss Dragon Xiao Hei also seemed to sense the subtle atmosphere, steadily flapping its fleshy wings without making a sound.

After a long time, Chun sighed helplessly.

She understood Zhou Huai; once this man made a decision, no one could change it.

Moreover, he never did things he wasn't confident about. Since he said there was something more pressing, there must be his reasons.

Chun put down her hands.

"In that case, I respect your choice."

Her tone returned to being cold, but there was a hint of care in her eyes.

"I will go rendezvous with Anubis and stabilize the situation in the Far North first."

Chun turned around, her figure slowly ascending into the air, "When you finish your business, come to the Far North to rendezvous with us in time."

"Don't die out there."

Zhou Huai nodded.

Afterwards, he gently patted Xiao Hei's hard scales.

"Let's go."

Abyss Dragon Xiao Hei let out a low dragon roar, its huge body carving an arc in the air as it turned around and left.

A dark gold light tore a channel through the clouds, speeding toward the direction of the Free Federation and turning into a tiny black dot in the blink of an eye.

Chun hovered in mid-air, gazing at Zhou Huai's departing back for a long time without speaking.