Chapter 270: The Passage of Time

"Wan Jie Zunzhe!"

After the sparring session ended, Xiluo, an elder of the Jinjiao Zu, quickly said to Lu Qingshan, "I didn't expect that in such a short time after your breakthrough, you would already possess such astonishing strength!"

"I estimate that among the Zifeng Zunzhe of the medium universes, there are few who can match you!"

After sparring with Lu Qingshan, Xiluo was undoubtedly filled with deep sighs in his heart.

Previously, upon hearing that Lu Qingshan had killed Hei Lang Zunzhe of the Meng Yao Zu camp, he had thought Lu Qingshan relied on a precious treasure obtained through his background in the human faction.

For instance, a supreme treasure weapon could completely elevate a Zifeng Zunzhe's attack by one level, and for lower-tier supreme treasure armor, it could produce an effect similar to 'armor-piercing', causing unimaginable damage.

However, after sparring with Lu Qingshan, Xiluo discovered that the weapon Lu Qingshan used was very ordinary.

Let alone comparing it to his own Beast Divine Weapon, even among top-tier supreme treasure weapons, it was very ordinary!

Being able to unleash strength close to that of a high-level Zifeng Zunzhe using such an ordinary weapon is enough to demonstrate the terror of Lu Qingshan's power!

After all, if one possesses great strength relying on a supreme treasure, once one perishes and the treasure is lost, the strength would instantly drop drastically;

but if one possesses such strength relying on oneself, even after perishing, once resurrected again, the strength would not drop much.

Moreover, Lu Qingshan also possesses the ability of a clone; even if the clone perishes, the faction's high command need not reverse time and space to resurrect him.

Therefore, even though Lu Qingshan's strength was far inferior to Xiluo's, he did not dare to look down on Lu Qingshan in any way.

"Xiluo, you flatter me!"

Lu Qingshan quickly said with a smile, "Compared to you, my strength is still far lacking! What you just demonstrated was the Jin Kong Fusion Law, wasn't it? It is indeed extraordinarily profound!"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Xiluo also quickly nodded and said, "That's right!"

"Although I have also comprehended the complete Shi Shi Jian Ben Yuan Law, my understanding of the Time Origin Law is very forced! Fortunately, I have some talent in cultivating the Beast God Dao, that is, the Jin Kong Fusion Law, which allowed me to smoothly possess the strength I have today!"

Hearing Xiluo's words, Lu Qingshan also couldn't help but nod slightly.

Next, Lu Qingshan chatted with Xiluo and Krimans for a while, and only then did the two of them take their leave.

After Xiluo and Krimans of the Jinjiao Zu left, Lu Qingshan originally wanted to invite his fourteenth senior brother, Feiyu Zunzhe, to explore the Qing Kong Secret Realm with him, but Venerable Huoshen arrived at his residence within the Chaos City.

Seeing this, Lu Qingshan naturally quickly and enthusiastically invited Venerable Huoshen into the living room of his residence.

"Wan Jie!"

Venerable Huoshen, having entered the living room of the residence, did not engage in much small talk, but said directly, "The two treasures you handed over to me previously, I have already gone to the faction's treasure vault to have them appraised!"

"Among them, the two black arms, the faction's treasure vault gave a quote of 45 supreme treasure points per arm; as for those ore materials you named 'Star Stones', the quote is slightly higher; if contributed entirely to the faction, one can obtain 180 supreme treasure points!"

"According to the price I mentioned to you before, if you are willing to sell them to me, adding all these things together, I can give you a quote of 285 supreme treasure points!"

"No problem!"

After hearing Venerable Huoshen's quote, Lu Qingshan quickly nodded and agreed.

He was not a weapon refiner; the arms of the Star-Extinguishing Great Zunzhe and those Star Stones were of no great use to him at all.

He had originally planned to contribute them directly to the faction's treasure vault; now that Venerable Huoshen's quote was slightly higher, selling them to Venerable Huoshen was naturally no problem.

And upon hearing that Lu Qingshan agreed to his quote, a trace of joy quickly appeared on Venerable Huoshen's face: "Wan Jie, trading with you is truly refreshing!"

"Rest assured, when you purchase treasures from me in the future, I will certainly give you the most favorable price!"

Although Lu Qingshan did not think he would have the opportunity to purchase treasures from Venerable Huoshen in the future, he still quickly nodded and said, "Then I thank you, Venerable Huoshen!"

"Hahaha, this is simply what should be done!"

Venerable Huoshen laughed heartily and said, "Wan Jie, I have already transferred all the supreme treasure points to you. Those Star Stones in your hand are the first time I have seen them, so I am already impatient to try out their effects; I will not stay here any longer!"

"Good!"

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, and then very quickly saw Venerable Huoshen out of his residence.

After Venerable Huoshen left, Lu Qingshan quickly returned to his residence, and then began to count his gains.

"Initially, Master Bing Feng Zhi Zhu bestowed upon me 4 supreme treasure points; later, I spent part of it purchasing treasures to elevate the life gene level, as well as the Zi Dian Qing Shuang Sword and other supreme treasures; adding the 100 supreme treasure points bestowed by the faction later, I was left with only 3 supreme treasure points and 1419 supreme treasure points."

Lu Qingshan thought silently in his heart: "The gains from this exploration of the Qing Kong Secret Realm were quite large; adding the spoils obtained after killing Hei Lang Zunzhe, and the gains from selling the Star-Extinguishing Great Zunzhe's arms and the Star Stones, directly increased my assets to 3 supreme treasure points and 1957 supreme treasure points!"

Looking at the supreme treasure points in his hand, Lu Qingshan couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "This is truly spending money like flowing water, and earning money like climbing a mountain!"

In fact, if one only counted the gains from his exploration of the Qing Kong Secret Realm this time, it was merely 118 supreme treasure points, which included unexpected and astonishing gains such as Void Sand and Zi Ling Yun Xin Grass.

As for the spoils obtained from Hei Lang Zunzhe, adding them all together, they were worth only 135 supreme treasure points.

And in reality, under normal circumstances, it is very difficult for a Zifeng Zunzhe to possess such astonishing gains within such a short time when exploring a Secret Realm.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan couldn't help but sigh again at the difficulties a Zifeng Zunzhe faces when exploring the universe, and at the same time, he felt even more grateful to Venerable Yao Guang for his efforts in helping him become a disciple of Master Bing Feng Zhi Zhu.

After all, compared to the 4 supreme treasure points bestowed by Master Bing Feng Zhi Zhu, whether it was the 100 supreme treasure points bestowed by the faction for his breakthrough into a Zifeng Zunzhe, or the gains from the Qing Kong Secret Realm, the spoils from killing Hei Lang Zunzhe, or the gains from selling the Star-Extinguishing Great Zunzhe's arms and the Star Stones, they were all insignificant.

Moreover, if it were not for the bestowal of Master Bing Feng Zhi Zhu, Lu Qingshan would not have been able to spend over a thousand supreme treasure points to elevate his life gene level to fifty times that of ordinary life in the universe, nor purchase various supreme treasures for protection.

Then, after encountering that Hei Lang Zunzhe in the Qing Kong Secret Realm, there was a high probability he would not have been able to kill the opponent.

"Let's take it slowly!"

After various thoughts flashed through his mind, Lu Qingshan quickly thought silently: "Even the numerous resources in the hands of Master Bing Feng Zhi Zhu were surely accumulated by him over long years!"

"My cultivation time is still very short; naturally, there is no need to be too anxious. Next, I only need to accumulate wealth slowly by exploring Secret Realms while cultivating!"

"With the existence of the Infinite Divine Sea clone, compared to other Zifeng Zunzhe, I already possess a great advantage!"

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly headed to the residence of his fourteenth senior brother, Feiyu Zunzhe, located on the mid-slope of Lei Ting Island.

"Wan Jie Zunzhe!"

At the entrance of Feiyu Zunzhe's palace, two guards of the Immortal level, upon seeing Lu Qingshan appear, quickly bowed respectfully.

At the same time...

"Hahaha, junior brother Wan Jie, it is rare for you to come to your senior brother's place!"

Accompanied by a hearty laugh, Feiyu Zunzhe, wearing a set of ink-black, ancient-style battle armor, quickly came out smiling to welcome him.

"I haven't been to your place for a long time, so I came to take a look!" Lu Qingshan quickly said with a smile.

Subsequently, at Feiyu Zunzhe's invitation, Lu Qingshan quickly followed the other to the living room of the residence.

Feiyu Zunzhe smiled and poured a cup of fine wine for Lu Qingshan, then asked with a smile, "Junior brother, killing that Hei Lang Zunzhe of the Meng Yao Zu this time truly took your senior brother by surprise!"

"I never expected that after just breaking through to the Cosmic Venerable Realm, you'd already possess such astonishing strength! It won't be long before your power surpasses mine!"

"Brother Fei Yu, you're too modest!"

Lu Qingshan quickly smiled and said: "Your famed reputation as Venerable Fei Yu—among the countless tribes of the cosmos, who doesn't know it?"

"Actually, I came to find you, Brother Fei Yu, because I heard from Venerable Yao Guang that you're planning to venture into the Cosmic Secret Realm—so I've come to invite you to explore it together!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing Lu Qingshan's invitation, Venerable Fei Yu immediately became interested: "Venerable Yao Guang spoke truly. Last time the Original Star opened, I went with Ninth Senior Brother into the Original Star—we gained nothing, and lost a great deal of divine energy!"

"At the very start of the Original Star's opening, Ninth Senior Brother and I planned to rent a primordial-class treasure to quickly restore our divine energy and re-enter the Original Star—but we found every primordial-class treasure had already been rented out, and even the clan's divine energy recovery artifacts were nearly all exchanged away, leaving only those of exorbitant value!"

"So Ninth Senior Brother and I could only choose to slowly restore our divine energy—by the time my divine body recovered, the Original Star had already closed!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

The Original Star was a supreme event across the entire Original Universe—a tremendous opportunity for any cultivator strong enough to be at least a High Cosmic Venerable.

Yet most cultivators in the cosmos, when venturing into the Original Star, did not fight relentlessly like Luo Feng in the original novel, fearlessly burning divine energy.

Even primordial-class treasures, rarely sought after in ordinary times, operated at full capacity during the Original Star's opening—many cultivators had to queue just to rent them.

At this point, Venerable Fei Yu continued: "Now that I've rested for a while and borrowed a top-tier palace-class heavy treasure from Second Senior Brother, I truly intend to venture into the Cosmic Secret Realm!"

"Wan Jie, you inviting me to explore the Cosmic Secret Realm together—I shouldn't refuse, but I must first ask: which Cosmic Secret Realm do you plan to enter? If it's too ordinary, I won't go!"

Hearing Venerable Fei Yu's words, Lu Qingshan quickly replied: "Brother, the one I'm inviting you to is the Qingkou Secret Realm—the very one where I killed Hei Lang Zunzhe!"

Upon hearing Lu Qingshan's answer, Venerable Fei Yu's face showed a trace of disappointment.

The Qingkou Secret Realm was still far too low-tier for him—especially now that he'd borrowed a top-tier palace-class heavy treasure, he could easily venture into higher-level Cosmic Secret Realms.

But before he could refuse, Lu Qingshan continued: "Brother Fei Yu, this is the thing!"

"The reason I clashed with the Meng Yao Zu forces in the Qingkou Secret Realm was because we discovered three Void Sands in Mountain Range No. 0745!"

"And Void Sands never form alone—I suspect Mountain Range No. 0745 may still contain more, which is why I invited you to explore it together!"

"Void Sands?"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's explanation, Venerable Fei Yu's face quickly lit up with delight.

Though he was a disciple of Lord Bingfeng, the treasure bestowed upon him by Lord Bingfeng when he broke through to the Cosmic Venerable Realm had been lost when he perished.

Though his current wealth far exceeded that of Kuang Dao Zun Zhe and others, it totaled barely over two thousand heavy treasure points—enough to acquire even an ordinary treasure was extremely difficult.

Thus, even a single Void Sand represented a considerable fortune to him.

With such an opportunity now before him, he naturally had no intention of letting it slip away.

Thinking this, Venerable Fei Yu quickly said: "Wan Jie, I never expected you'd encounter such an opportunity!"

"If Void Sands truly appeared in the Qingkou Secret Realm, I have no objection to exploring it with you—but have you invited anyone else?"

"No, I haven't!"

Lu Qingshan quickly nodded: "I previously explored the Qingkou Secret Realm with Kuang Dao and Tie Ying—but after that battle, both lost a great deal of divine energy, so they can't venture again for a long while. If you feel you need to invite others, I'm fine with it!"

"No need!"

Venerable Fei Yu quickly said: "Though my strength isn't exceptional, I just borrowed a top-tier palace-class heavy treasure from Second Senior Brother—we could still escape even if we encountered a Cosmic Overlord. No need to invite anyone else!"

"In my view, let's just go together, you and I—how about that?"

"No problem!" Lu Qingshan quickly nodded.

Venerable Fei Yu's strength was still formidable, and with that top-tier palace-class heavy treasure, the chance of danger was minimal.

Afterwards, Lu Qingshan and Venerable Fei Yu discussed loot distribution and agreed to split it evenly, fifty percent each.

Though Lu Qingshan provided the information about the Void Sands, Venerable Fei Yu's strength surpassed his, and he carried the top-tier palace-class heavy treasure—so this split was entirely reasonable.

Thus, after reaching agreement, Lu Qingshan and Venerable Fei Yu prepared for just over half a month before returning to the Qingkou Secret Realm, beginning their exploration of Mountain Range No. 0745 once more.

But this time, their exploration lacked the good fortune they'd enjoyed when Lu Qingshan had adventured with Kuang Dao Zun Zhe and Tie Ying Zunzhe.

Lu Qingshan and Venerable Fei Yu explored Mountain Range No. 0745 for three million years without encountering a single Void Sand.

Fortunately, they gained other rewards along the way—accumulating treasures worth roughly twenty heavy treasure points, so it wasn't all for nothing.

It wasn't until the three hundred and sixtieth millionth year of their exploration in Mountain Range No. 0745—when they were nearly finished mapping the entire range—that they finally encountered their first Void Sand.

Though only one Void Sand, it delighted Venerable Fei Yu immensely.

After all, even if he ventured into higher-level Cosmic Secret Realms, he might not gain such a remarkable return in such a short time.

Moreover, they encountered no complications when claiming the Void Sand—it was effortlessly secured.

Yet after fully exploring the entire Mountain Range No. 0745, they found no trace of a second Void Sand.

Afterward, Lu Qingshan had planned to explore other regions of the Qingkou Secret Realm—but ultimately, at Venerable Fei Yu's invitation, they departed for another, higher-level Cosmic Secret Realm.

Naturally, since this new Cosmic Secret Realm was far more dangerous and advanced, Venerable Fei Yu invited another Cosmic High Venerable—the ninth disciple of Hun Dun Chengzhu, Jin Fu Zunzhe.

Though both Venerable Fei Yu and Jin Fu Zunzhe were stronger than Lu Qingshan, when discussing loot distribution, they agreed to split it evenly into three equal shares—a fair concession to Lu Qingshan.

Of course, Lu Qingshan possessed the ability to manifest clones, and when encountering particularly dangerous zones, he often volunteered to scout ahead—so he certainly didn't gain any unfair advantage.

Thus, Lu Qingshan and the two others explored the higher-level Cosmic Secret Realm for over two million years, accumulating nearly thirty heavy treasure points in loot—a modest return.

It wasn't until the two hundred and fortieth millionth year of their exploration that they finally encountered an extremely precious treasure—one valued at 850 heavy treasure points in the Human Clan's treasure vault.

Unfortunately, they were a step too slow—the treasure had already been seized by two Cosmic Venerables from the Machine Clan.

Faced with such an invaluable treasure, Lu Qingshan and the others refused to let it go, immediately burning divine energy to fight desperately against the two Machine Clan cultivators.

Both Machine Clan cultivators were High Cosmic Venerables; one was ordinary, but the other was a Machine Clan Cosmic Venerable wielding a weapon of immense power.

After a fierce battle, both sides lost considerable divine energy.

Though the Machine Clan forces were at a disadvantage, reinforcements arrived—and Lu Qingshan's trio ultimately retreated aboard Venerable Fei Yu's top-tier palace-class heavy treasure.

In this battle, all three of Lu Qingshan's party lost significant divine energy—and gained nothing.

Yet such situations were common in the cosmos, so while they felt regret, they weren't overly discouraged.

Still, after this battle, both Venerable Fei Yu and Jin Fu Zunzhe had suffered severe divine energy losses and could not continue exploring the Cosmic Secret Realm for a long while.

After Fei Yu Zunzhe and Jin Fu Zunzhe returned to the human race to restore their divine power, Lu Qingshan, who could rapidly replenish his divine power through the Endless Divine Sea clone, soon set out with several other familiar Cosmic Zunzhe to explore a new Cosmic Secret Realm.

Thus, time continued to pass.

Relying on the advantage of the Endless Divine Sea clone, Lu Qingshan constantly joined new squads of powerful cultivators to explore and adventure in various Cosmic Secret Realms.

Of course, while adventuring in the various Cosmic Secret Realms, both his original body and the Endless Divine Sea clone were also diligently cultivating.

If enough points accumulated in the chat group, he would activate the Dao-Comprehension Enhancement function to cultivate; if the points were insufficient, he would simply cultivate slowly on his own.

(End of this chapter)