Solanky immediately dashed toward the retreating Infinite Source God at terrifying speed. However, with Elishen's assistance, the god narrowly escaped his pursuit.
Elishen fixed his gaze on Solanky and said solemnly,
"We can't kill him. Our combined strength still isn't enough. Judging from the power of that flaming sword, if this battle continues, there are only two possible outcomes. Either one of us will be annihilated, or at least two of us will be severely injured by that sword."
Throughout their conversation, Solanky remained silent, calmly watching them from afar.
Elishen then transmitted his voice to the other three Infinite Source Gods.
"I have no choice. I'll share control of this world's Source Core with all of you. It's our best chance of surviving."
The three Infinite Source Gods were visibly stunned.
"Are you certain?" one of them asked.
At the level of an Infinite Source God, everyone knew the consequences of sharing control over a world's Source Core. Once another Infinite Source God gained authority over the core, its laws gradually became polluted and unstable.
The original owner would lose between thirty and fifty percent of their authority over the world, severely slowing or even halting future growth in strength.
Nevertheless, Elishen proceeded without hesitation.
He divided his authority over the Infinite Source World's Source Core among the three visiting Infinite Source Gods.
The moment they obtained partial control, they immediately understood why Elishen had been willing to make such a sacrifice.
The female Infinite Source God narrowed her eyes.
"So that's why..."
She silently observed the Source Core before continuing inwardly.
"I can only sense about seventy percent of this world's total power."
Her expression gradually darkened.
"And... he isn't this world's true creator."
"No wonder his control over the Source Core feels forced."
The other two Infinite Source Gods quickly reached the same conclusion.
From a distance, Solanky quietly observed everything.
Thanks to the memories and future experiences inherited from his Supremo Body, he knew that sharing a world's Source Core carried two possible outcomes.
The first was common knowledge among Infinite Source Gods.
Sharing authority polluted the world's laws and greatly slowed future advancement.
The second possibility, however, was considered sacred knowledge and remained hidden from almost every Infinite Source God.
Whoever possessed the greatest authority over the Source Core could forcibly absorb the Infinite Source Power of every other controller into the core itself.
By doing so, they would obtain not only the powers of those Infinite Source Gods but also merge multiple Infinite Source Cores together, creating a far stronger Super Infinite Source World.
Solanky narrowed his eyes.
"So... does Elishen know about that secret as well?"
He smiled faintly.
"I suppose there's only one way to find out."
"I'll simply let them continue sharing control."
"If my guess is correct..."
"Elishen is about to make his move."
Meanwhile, Elishen watched the other three Infinite Source Gods attempting to synchronize with the Source Core.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
The enormous Source Core materialized before them.
Feeling their control over the Infinite Source World deepen, they became increasingly excited.
Elishen calmly said,
"Touch the Source Core."
"Only then will your control over this Infinite Source World become complete."
Without hesitation, the three reached out.
The instant their hands touched the Source Core...
Elishen smiled.
At that exact moment, the invisible seal Solanky had secretly imprinted onto Elishen's back emitted a faint green glow before quietly disappearing.
No one noticed it.
Everyone's attention remained fixed on the Source Core.
Solanky smiled to himself.
"How treacherous."
"Thanks to that seal, I now know exactly what you're planning."
"You're going to sacrifice all of them to strengthen yourself."
"I wonder..."
"Will my Full-Body Armor Mode be enough to face the version of you that's about to emerge?"
Elishen's smile gradually turned sinister.
He slowly clenched his fist.
Instantly, the Source Core began violently draining the energies of the three visiting Infinite Source Gods.
Their expressions changed dramatically.
Only then did they finally understand his true intentions.
The two Infinite Source Gods who had fought Solanky earlier roared in fury.
"You planned to sacrifice us all along!"
"You wanted to use our Infinite Source Power to take another step forward!"
"You traitor!"
The female Infinite Source God also shouted angrily,
"I should have realized it the moment I discovered you weren't the true owner of this Source Core."
"We walked straight into your trap."
Although furious, she quickly regained her composure.
"You still can't refine us."
"We came here to help you."
"According to the laws of the Higher Plane beyond the Infinite Source Worlds, no one may betray those who came to their aid without first giving them some form of warning."
Elishen burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"Do you really think I overlooked something so simple?"
His eyes turned cold.
"When I was trapped by those blue flames..."
"...did I mention any of your names after I was freed?"
The battlefield instantly fell silent.
Not only were the three Infinite Source Gods horrified...
Even Solanky was shocked.
Everyone immediately understood the implication behind Elishen's words.
Within the countless future timelines he had experienced inside the time loop...
Those three Infinite Source Gods had never existed.
That could only mean one thing.
In every future Elishen had witnessed...
He had already absorbed their powers and taken over their Infinite Source Worlds.
Even Solanky was deeply shaken.
From what Elishen had just revealed, it meant that even after activating his Full-Body Armor, he had still battled this strengthened Elishen for more than a hundred years.
The three Infinite Source Gods had only five percent of their power remaining.
Elishen slowly raised both hands.
The Source Core immediately swallowed their bodies whole.
He then grasped the Source Core itself.
Crack!
He crushed it in his hand.
The tremendous power contained within the core surged directly into his body.
The entire Infinite Source World shook violently, as though it would collapse at any moment.
Without even looking at Solanky, Elishen casually waved his hand.
A crimson blade slash appeared.
Wherever the slash passed, space, time, causality, and every surrounding law were cleanly severed.
The slash instantly struck Solanky's chest.
Boom!
For the first time since the battle began...
Solanky was blasted backward.
He eventually stabilized himself before lowering his gaze toward his chest.
A deep wound had appeared.
He quietly calmed his breathing.
The wound rapidly healed.
Only then did Solanky speak.
"So even a casual slash managed to injure my body without the armor."
He smiled.
"That means your current strength is roughly fifty times greater than before."
"Excellent."
"Now I finally have a reason to fight you seriously."
"It's time to unleash my Full-Body Armor."
Elishen's eyes lit up with excitement.
Earlier, even the combined assaults of four Infinite Source Gods had failed to leave so much as a scratch on Solanky's body.
Yet his own casual attack had successfully wounded him.
Although the injury healed almost instantly, the result filled Elishen with confidence.
Still, he quickly composed himself.
He understood that if the same attack had landed on any ordinary Infinite Source God...
They would have been annihilated without question.
Elishen immediately formed another series of hand seals.
Far beyond the boundaries of their current Infinite Source World...
Four additional Infinite Source Worlds slowly appeared.
They surrounded the battlefield like four colossal stars.
Those worlds had belonged to the Infinite Source Gods whom Elishen had just betrayed and absorbed.
Elishen looked directly at Solanky.
"Let's begin."
He disappeared.
Wherever he passed, time itself collapsed beneath the overwhelming pressure of his newly enhanced power.
Solanky smiled.
He simply took one step forward.
The instant his foot landed...
The surrounding laws and the fabric of time were crushed beneath it.
A black-and-silver metallic substance slowly spread across his body.
Beginning at his foot, it rapidly climbed upward until it completely covered him.
His Full-Body Armor had finally manifested.
The moment the armor was completed...
Reality itself began slowly crumbling around him.
Even Elishen's expression changed.
Simply looking at the fully armored Solanky filled him with overwhelming danger.
Solanky smiled to himself.
"The moment you launched that crimson slash..."
"...you destroyed the future you witnessed within the time loop."
Without another word, Solanky charged.
Elishen met him head-on with a full-powered palm strike.
Solanky answered with a single punch.
The moment their attacks collided...
The entire Infinite Source World collapsed.
The only exception was the Sky Hybrid Sect, protected by the presence of Solanky's Supremo Body.
Before the war had begun, the Supremo Body had already gathered the entire Lower Realm, a region spanning several trillion light-years, into the palm of its hand.
He had done so to protect his reincarnated sister on Earth, Elisa, along with everyone else within the Lower Realm.
The terrifying collision forced Elishen back more than a dozen steps.
Solanky, clad in his black-and-silver armor, remained exactly where he stood.
He had not moved even a single inch.
Elishen's eyes widened in disbelief.
That strike had contained every ounce of his current strength, power equivalent to nearly eighty Infinite Source Gods combined.
For the first time since absorbing the other Source Cores...
He realized the battle was no longer in his favor.
Unless he drew upon the full power of the newly acquired Infinite Source Worlds, victory would be impossible.