Chapter 221

After leaving Venerable Yao Guang's residence, Lu Qingshan quickly sent emails to his third son Lu Hongwen and his disciple Huo Gesi.

His display of power on the Outer Battlefield and his fame throughout the universe far surpassed his earlier feat of passing the Eighteenth Level of the Heavenly Thunder Bridge, so the trivial matters he now needed to handle would naturally be extremely numerous.

Precisely because of this, Lu Qingshan first thought of his third son Lu Hongwen and his disciple Huo Gesi; Lu Hongwen's status could represent him in receiving visitors of strength, while Huo Gesi had worked within the Virtual Universe Corporation longer than he had and was naturally more familiar with such trivial matters.

With the help of Lu Hongwen and Huo Gesi, handling these trivial matters would certainly become much easier for him, and he estimated that merely appearing once at the banquet would suffice.

When he was weaker in the past, he naturally had to handle these trivial matters himself.

But now, with his current strength, having Lu Hongwen and Huo Gesi handle these trivial matters for him does not amount to disrespecting others.

On the other side, after receiving Lu Qingshan's email, Lu Hongwen and Huo Gesi quickly appeared at his residence.

"Son (disciple) humbly congratulates Father (Teacher) on your fame shaking the universe and countless races, and on attaining the power of an Invincible Sovereign!"

As soon as Lu Hongwen and Huo Gesi appeared at Lu Qingshan's residence, they bowed deeply to the ground in respectful congratulation.

"Enough, rise!"

Lu Qingshan waved his hand, then smiled and said, "I didn't expect you two to hear the news so quickly!"

You should know that not much time had passed since he obtained the treasure on the second extraterritorial battlefield, and Hoggus was now already a marquis-level undying of the Virtual Universe Company branch; it would be one thing if he could learn of this news.

【12】 You should know that not much time had passed since he obtained the treasure on the second extraterritorial battlefield, and Hoggus was now already a marquis-level undying of the Virtual Universe Company branch; it would be one thing if he could learn of this news.

【12】 It had not been long since he seized the great treasure on the Outer Second Battlefield; Huo Gesi, now a Venerated Immortal of the Sovereign Rank within the Virtual Universe Corporation, hearing this news was understandable.

But Lu Hongwen, his third son, was merely an ordinary Immortal; even holding a post in the Yanfeng Branch, it was very difficult for him to learn of this news so quickly.

"Father, the three branch directors—Yan Chihuo Hou, Mie Xin Hou, and Zi Lin Hou—told me about your affairs!"

Upon hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Lu Hongwen quickly explained: "I was working at the Lei Guang Hai Branch when Yan Chihuo Hou and the other two rushed over together!"

"At first, I thought you might have encountered some mishap, but Yan Chihuo Hou and the others treated me with even greater courtesy than before; only after listening to their words did I realize your strength had further increased!"

"Brother Hongwen!"

Upon hearing Lu Hongwen's words, Huo Gesi quickly interjected: "Teacher's strength isn't merely increased—it's now among the very top in our entire human race's countless Sovereign Immortals! Only those at the level of Cosmic Sovereigns can surpass him!"

"Otherwise, the three top leaders of the Yanfeng Branch wouldn't have treated you with such courtesy!"

As he spoke, Huo Gesi's face bore an expression of awe.

After all, when he first heard this news from others, he himself had been utterly stunned.

He remembered when Lu Qingshan had just broken through into Immortality and joined the Virtual Universe Corporation—he had personally handled all the arrangements.

Yet now, only over ten million years had passed, and Lu Qingshan's strength had become this terrifying!

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Huo Gesi would never have believed it!

"Cosmic Sovereign?"

Upon hearing Huo Gesi's words, Lu Hongwen stared at Lu Qingshan in shock: "Father, your strength has increased far too quickly!"

When Yan Chihuo Hou and the others told him about Lu Qingshan's deeds, Lu Hongwen had only heard the general outline—he knew Lu Qingshan had slain several Sovereign Immortals, even including a Sovereign-level insect queen.

But Lu Hongwen had never ventured onto the Outer Battlefield; most of his time was spent near the Lei Guang Hai Star Region, so he naturally had no idea how terrifying a Sovereign-level insect queen was, nor the true gap between ordinary Sovereigns, Sovereign Extremes, and Invincible Sovereigns.

To him, even a mere Sovereign was an immensely powerful being.

"I merely encountered some opportunities that allowed me to attain this strength now!"

Lu Qingshan said calmly: "Enough about that. I called you two here because since I revealed my power, many powerful experts have come to visit me, so I need you to help me receive them and properly organize a banquet."

"Rest assured, Teacher!"

Upon hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Huo Gesi quickly assured him: "Disciple will assist Brother Hongwen in handling all these trivial matters, ensuring you have no worries whatsoever!"

In his early cultivation days, Huo Gesi had also hoped to become a supreme powerhouse in the universe—Sovereign, Venerated, even Cosmic Venerable.

But as he continued cultivating, he realized his talent was limited, so he changed his aspirations and focused instead on rising in status within the Virtual Universe Corporation.

He began emulating Lu Qingshan's earlier path—cultivating relationships with core-tier prodigies he had escorted, and so on.

Especially after Lu Qingshan broke through into Sovereign Immortality, Huo Gesi gained a Sovereign-level teacher, naturally elevating his own status within the Virtual Universe Corporation.

But now, he harbored even greater expectations.

He hoped Lu Qingshan would enter the Venerable Realm; then, even as a Venerated Immortal, his status as a disciple of a Cosmic Venerable would roughly rival that of Sovereign Immortals.

"Last time, after you passed the Eighteenth Level of the Bridge, you two handled things very well!"

Lu Qingshan reiterated: "This time, do the same—pay attention to all my friends; even ordinary Immortals must not be slighted. Invite them all to the banquet."

"Son (disciple) understands!" Lu Hongwen and Huo Gesi replied quickly.

"Good!"

Lu Qingshan waved his hand and immediately produced numerous fine wines and delicacies: "Come, have a drink with me!"

"Son (disciple) obey!"

Lu Hongwen and Huo Gesi nodded promptly, stepped forward, and began pouring wine for Lu Qingshan.

As Lu Qingshan drank with Lu Hongwen and the others, he also instructed them on key contacts.

Such as Hei Fengwang from the Transport Department, Kalista, Mo Kexun, and others…

And also Yan Chihuo Hou and the others from the Yanfeng Branch, as well as Marsis, as Lu Hongwen had mentioned…

As for those at the Cosmic Venerable level, he would personally invite them!

…

While Lu Qingshan drank with Lu Hongwen and the others, his second body on the Outer Battlefield swiftly moved into action.

But he did not immediately leave the Outer Battlefield as Venerable Yao Guang had instructed; instead, he headed directly for the Snowfield Star River region of the Outer Third Battlefield.

Long ago, before he reached Sovereign level, he had once been killed there by a mechanical race powerhouse, "Jin Ming Wang."

After his strength surged, he had sought revenge on those who had once killed him, but had temporarily abandoned this target because Jin Ming Wang was a disciple of the top-tier powerhouse "Jin Wu Wang."

Now, those who had once slain him—Shi Jia Wang, Fei Yan Wang, Qing Yu Wang, Ci Tian Wang, Xuan Feng Wang, and even the insect queen Hongyu—had all fallen before him; only Jin Ming Wang remained.

He was about to leave the Outer Battlefield, but before departing, he naturally intended to deal with this final foe.

As for Jin Ming Wang's master, Jin Wu Wang, he had previously participated in the struggle for the great treasure spear in the Tian Sha Sea region and had already witnessed Lu Qingshan's strength.

Though mechanical races inherently lack souls and Jin Wu Wang might not fear him greatly, he surely would not fight to the death over a single disciple.

If the man truly appeared, Lu Qingshan currently carried the Infinite Divine Sea body with him—the one at a disadvantage would certainly be the opponent.

Just like that, after Lu Qingshan arrived within the Snowy Plain Star River region, he quickly confirmed the coordinates of the Mechanical Race powerhouse Jin Ming Wang through information from allies of the same camp.

When he arrived before Jin Ming Wang, the latter was remotely controlling mechanical puppets to attack a team of powerhouses from the Insect Race camp.

After Lu Qingshan revealed himself, Jin Ming Wang naturally quickly confirmed Lu Qingshan's identity through the aura of divine power.

However, Mechanical Race powerhouses possessed no soul at all, so this Jin Ming Wang felt no excessive fear toward Lu Qingshan; instead, he left a vicious threat before calmly self-destructing.

Even before the self-destruction, just like many Mechanical Race powerhouses do before self-destructing, Jin Ming Wang detonated all the various models of Divine Source Crystals he carried on his person.

Although the explosive power of such a self-destruction was utterly insufficient to cause any harm to Lu Qingshan wearing the Thunder Dragon Shaking Heaven Armor, it did cause his gains to be much less.

"Damn Jin Ming Wang!"

After casually annihilating that team of Insect Race powerhouses who felt fortunate to have escaped death, Lu Qingshan thought silently in his heart: "Even if you do not wish to leave me any spoils of war, what I am entitled to will be obtained regardless!"

At the same time Lu Qingshan killed Jin Ming Wang, the Golden Crow King, far away in the Second Battlefield of the Outer Regions, also received the distress message from his disciple Jin Ming Wang.

But just as Lu Qingshan had predicted, although he did not worry about Lu Qingshan's powerful soul attacks, he was also unwilling to provoke Lu Qingshan for the sake of a disciple, even though Jin Ming Wang was his most outstanding disciple under his command.

"That Ten Thousand Worlds King possesses the ability of clones; even if I went over and fought him, I would be utterly unable to cause him any harm!"

The Golden Crow King thought silently in his heart: "Moreover, his material attacks are also very powerful; if I were to be even slightly careless, I am afraid I would suffer a great loss!"

"Simply report this matter to the clan's high leadership; if that Ten Thousand Worlds King continues to be so arrogant in the future, the clan's high leadership will naturally dispatch other Invincible Hei Fengwang powerhouses to deal with him!"

Lu Qingshan naturally did not know the Golden Crow King's plan.

However, even if he knew, he would not care too much.

After all, since he left the Outer Regions Battlefield this time and would not return for a short period, how could he care about the targeting by the Mechanical Race's high leadership?

After leaving the Outer Regions Battlefield, Lu Qingshan quickly returned via the Divine Kingdom teleportation to a universe starry sky relatively close to the Universal Headquarters Continent of the Virtual Universe Company.

After flying in a universe spaceship for more than half a day, Lu Qingshan quickly returned to his residence on the Headquarters Continent.

After resting briefly in the residence, Lu Qingshan quickly hurried to the residence of Venerable Yao Guang.

At this time, Venerable Yao Guang happened to be in the residence, so after Lu Qingshan walked into the living room of the residence, he quickly saw Venerable Yao Guang wearing silver, ancient-style battle armor.

"Disciple greets Grand-Grandmaster!" Lu Qingshan said respectfully very quickly.

"Qingshan!"

Venerable Yao Guang, sitting on a soft sofa, quickly said with a smile: "I have been waiting for you here for over two months; why did you return so late?"

In Venerable Yao Guang's view, for Lu Qingshan to return from the Outer Regions Battlefield, he could have directly teleported from the barracks base to the logistics base, and then teleported from the logistics base back to the Headquarters Continent; it should have taken less than half a day.

"This..."

Lu Qingshan quickly said: "Grand-Grandmaster, this disciple did not know you were waiting for this disciple, so I handled some trivial matters before leaving the Outer Regions Battlefield..."

"I didn't expect you, little one, to be so vindictive; that actually suits my taste!"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's explanation, Venerable Yao Guang joked with a smile: "However, you did not consider this matter well at all! The Mechanical Race is naturally soulless, so it is basically very difficult to completely annihilate them; even if they are killed, they will later be resurrected by the Mechanical Race's high leadership through time reversal, unless they are directly suppressed!"

"If you had given me a heads-up beforehand, I could have lent you a heavy treasure of the suppression and sealing type!"

Hearing these words, Lu Qingshan could not help but be slightly stunned.

He originally thought he was already quite vindictive, but compared to Grand-Grandmaster Venerable Yao Guang, he was nothing more than a small wizard compared to a great one.

Using a heavy treasure of the suppression and sealing type to deal with a High Hei Fengwang is simply using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken!

"Alright, let's not talk about these things for now!"

Venerable Yao Guang quickly continued to ask: "Qingshan, do you know why your Grand-Grandmaster is specifically waiting for you here?"

Hearing these words, Lu Qingshan quickly took out the two heavy treasures he had previously been allocated, and then said: "Grand-Grandmaster, these are the two heavy treasures this disciple obtained previously!"

In Lu Qingshan's eyes, Venerable Yao Guang waiting for him here was naturally to help him use these treasures to exchange for resources to improve his life gene level.

"This is merely a small matter; it is not worth your Grand-Grandmaster specifically waiting for you here!"

Venerable Yao Guang casually put away the two heavy treasures Lu Qingshan had placed down, and then said solemnly: "The reason I am waiting for you here this time is to take you to see my teacher, one of the greatest existences in our Human Race, the Master Lord Bingfeng Zhi!"

"Master Lord Bingfeng Zhi?"

After hearing Venerable Yao Guang's words, Lu Qingshan could not help but be slightly stunned.

Venerable Yao Guang had previously told him about trying to get him to become a disciple under Master Lord Bingfeng Zhi, but that required him to create a third form of peak-level secret technique!

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly said: "Grand-Grandmaster, this disciple has not yet created a third form of peak-level secret technique!"

"No matter!"

Venerable Yao Guang said with a smile: "This time you made quite a name for yourself on that Outer Regions Battlefield, so I also took this opportunity to see my teacher!"

"My teacher, upon learning that you killed that traitor, the Hundred Flowers King, for our Human Race, was also quite happy, so he wishes to meet you; he is estimated to be willing to accept you as a nominal disciple!"

Hearing Venerable Yao Guang's words, Lu Qingshan did not feel any dissatisfaction because of being a nominal disciple.

After all, a Universe Master accepting disciples definitely requires an assessment.

Although he now possesses the strength of an Invincible Hei Fengwang, in the eyes of a Universe Master of that level, he is no different from a genius of the World Master level, and might even be inferior in potential!

"Let's go!"

Venerable Yao Guang waved his hand, and then quickly led Lu Qingshan out of the residence: "My teacher's Divine Temple is located within the Primordial Secret Realm!"

After arriving in the void outside the Headquarters Continent, Venerable Yao Guang quickly waved his hand to produce a silver triangular spaceship, and then directly led Lu Qingshan to step inside.

The silver triangular spaceship advanced continuously through the Dark Universe; Lu Qingshan followed Venerable Yao Guang to the spaceship's control room.

"Qingshan!" Venerable Yao Guang called softly.

"Grand-Grandmaster!" Lu Qingshan responded respectfully.

"This time, your becoming a disciple under my teacher is only as a nominal disciple, and since you also gained much on the Outer Regions Battlefield, my teacher probably will not bestow treasures!"

Venerable Yao Guang asked slowly: "However, do not worry; once you become my teacher's nominal disciple, as long as you can break through to the Venerable Realm in the future, my teacher will definitely bestow precious treasures!"

"This disciple understands!" Lu Qingshan nodded and said quickly.

For him, the most important thing was obtaining guidance from Master Lord Bingfeng Zhi after becoming a disciple; whether Master Lord Bingfeng Zhi would bestow treasures was merely secondary!

With the help of the Dao-Enlightenment Boost function in the chat group, once he receives personal guidance from Lord Lord Bingfeng Zhi Zhu, whether comprehending the Source Laws or researching self-created secret techniques, it will surely be much faster than before.

Half a month later, Lu Qingshan felt the entire starship tremble slightly, obviously having traveled back to the original universe.

"External Scene Simulation!" Venerable Yao Guang commanded directly.

Lu Qingshan felt a flash of light before his eyes, then the surrounding scenery instantly changed; he felt as if he were immersed in the vast starry sky.

Yet this universe of stars was empty, not a single speck of cosmic dust existing; the only thing present was a palace of immense grandeur in the distance.

This palace was entirely crystalline, majestic in momentum, with a unique design, carved with endless secret patterns, and faintly emitting a cold aura.

Venerable Yao Guang looked into the distance and introduced to Lu Qingshan: "This palace is an incredibly powerful treasure—the Bingshan Palace. For endless ages, countless alien experts have perished beneath this Bingshan Palace. Now, one of my teacher's avatars resides within!"

Having spoken these words, Venerable Yao Guang shifted his mind and instantly brought Lu Qingshan into the cosmic void outside.

"Teacher!" Venerable Yao Guang stood in the void and called out respectfully.

Boom!

Space and time instantly twisted, then Lu Qingshan and Venerable Yao Guang immediately vanished from this cosmic void.

(End of this chapter)