Chapter 422: Unwilling to Accept Defeat
Shibai's attitude seemed sincere, but it was obvious that his words couldn't be fully trusted.
So at this moment, neither the Ōtsutsuki King nor Ōtsutsuki Aoshe—or even Uchiha Dali—said a word.
Seeing that the three ignored his proposal, Shibai said again, "Since you don't believe me, then just pretend I never said anything."
"You can leave on your own now. I won't stop you."
As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Uchiha Dali.
Uchiha Dali remained unmoved, while the Ōtsutsuki King and Ōtsutsuki Aoshe exchanged glances.
Then, instinctively, they both looked toward Uchiha Dali to gauge his reaction.
Right now, their greatest enemy was without question Uchiha Dali. Once this man returned to the universe, he would inevitably continue to threaten them.
The two hesitated—should they join forces against Uchiha Dali?
Seeing their indecision, Shibai revealed a meaningful smile. "You both know very well," he said slowly,
"At your level, if you don't break through the dimensional barrier and continue to stay in this universe, there's basically nothing left for you to do."
"Of course, it's not an absolute rule that once you reach the realm of a god, you must leave this universe for a higher dimension. But eternal life brings endless loneliness."
"Only gods who have truly experienced that feeling can understand what I mean."
"A day or two, a year or two—you might not feel lonely or bored. But live for ten thousand years, a hundred thousand, even a million years, with no one but yourself and the void for company… you'll crave entering a new dimension even more than I do."
As he said this, Shibai looked at Uchiha Dali again.
Then he added, with a knowing tone, "I can feel the power within your body. I've heard your comprehension is unparalleled—if that's true, then you should understand what I'm saying."
"After all, you're not like those two."
Those words immediately displeased the Ōtsutsuki King and Ōtsutsuki Aoshe.
Their expressions darkened, and they both glared at Shibai.
But Shibai only smiled and said nothing. The two dared not truly turn against him; after a few seconds of silence, the Ōtsutsuki King proposed, "Why don't we try again?"
"Someone must have held back just now. If we all go all-out with no reservations or hidden agendas and unleash our full power against the dimensional barrier, I think we can destroy it."
"After all, we were already close to succeeding before."
His words immediately won Ōtsutsuki Aoshe's agreement.
Then both of them turned toward Uchiha Dali.
"I don't mind," said Uchiha Dali calmly.
At that moment, he clearly saw a flash of cold light deep within Shibai's eyes—one of irritation and impatience.
It vanished almost instantly, but it made Uchiha Dali all the more wary of the man.
This guy might very well be a complete hypocrite—a smiling tiger hiding a dagger.
No telling when he might suddenly turn on them all.
"Since you're still not giving up," Shibai said with a faint smile, "then let's try again and see whether our combined strength can truly shatter this dimensional barrier."
As he spoke, he smiled nonchalantly and was the first to act, unleashing Divine: All-Killing Ash Bones.
The other three followed immediately.
Just like before, Shibai created a circular light ring in front of them, marking the exact point they all had to strike simultaneously.
Then the four of them attacked together.
However, just as they were about to strike, Uchiha Dali secretly held back a bit of power and focused his perception on Shibai, monitoring the energy fluctuations within his body.
There was no deafening roar this time either.
When the four chakra rods carrying destructive force struck their target, the darkness within the void dispersed, the light ring began to tremble, and the space warped violently.
The transparent dimensional barrier once again started to melt—
It looked as if they were just about to succeed.
Yet, at the exact moment the barrier seemed ready to collapse, Shibai suddenly retracted a third of his power.
His movements were extremely subtle; since he was far stronger than anyone else there, it was almost impossible to notice.
But this time, Uchiha Dali had deliberately been watching him. With his heightened perception, he sensed it clearly.
"So it really was this guy sabotaging us!" Uchiha Dali sneered inwardly.
Sure enough, the instant Shibai withdrew part of his energy, the dimensional barrier rapidly restored itself again.
Watching their near-success slip away, both the Ōtsutsuki King and Ōtsutsuki Aoshe were utterly disheartened.
They looked at each other helplessly, then turned their eyes toward Uchiha Dali and Shibai.
"Damn it! What is this dimensional barrier made of? Why is it so powerful?"
"We were so close! Why can't we break through? Damn!"
"Was it set up by someone? Whoever did must be far stronger than us!"
"…"
The two began grumbling one after another.
Meanwhile, Shibai stood calmly to the side, looking on as though watching a play, completely indifferent.
Uchiha Dali's face remained expressionless—neither joy nor anger.
He ignored the complaints of the Ōtsutsuki King and Ōtsutsuki Aoshe, turned around, and pretended to leave.
Seeing his movement, Shibai asked in surprise, "You're really leaving?"
"There's no point staying here. Might as well go back and sleep."
With that, Uchiha Dali actually opened a time-space portal, preparing to return to the universe below.
But at that moment, the Ōtsutsuki King suddenly said, "Lord Shibai, I think that Uchiha Dali must have held back on purpose. Why don't the three of us join forces to take him down and divide his energy among us?"
"In that case, we three Ōtsutsuki gods could definitely break through this dimensional barrier."
In truth, he still feared that once Uchiha Dali returned to the lower universe, he would come back to cause trouble for them.
So rather than let that happen, it was better to strike now—while Shibai was present—and let the three top-tier Ōtsutsuki gods fight together against Uchiha Dali.
That way, not only would they have the greatest chance of success, but they could also eliminate this dangerous threat once and for all.
His proposal immediately earned Ōtsutsuki Aoshe's approval.
Aoshe nodded and said, "If Lord Shibai is willing to join forces with us, I have no objection to going all out."
"With Uchiha Dali's energy, we might even be able to evolve further!"
Shibai showed no intention of rejecting their idea.
Instead, he looked at the two of them, then at Uchiha Dali, his eyes gleaming with amusement—as if to say, This is exactly what I wanted.
At that moment, it seemed Uchiha Dali had fallen into an absolute disadvantage.