Chapter 302: Eons Flow On

After exchanging numerous treasures to enhance the level of his life genes in the human race's treasure vault, Lu Qingshan quickly began using these treasures to elevate the life gene level of his main body.

Yet this time, when raising his life gene level, no unexpected events occurred, and his main body's divine form showed no increase in size.

But Lu Qingshan felt no disappointment, for his main body's divine form suddenly surging to two hundred meters tall had been an unexpected gain—under normal circumstances, a divine form rarely grows larger.

Within Lu Qingshan's divine domain.

Above the Infinite Divine Sea avatar, Lu Qingshan silently sensed the vast divine power contained within his main body.

"A hundredfold increase in life gene level!"

Lu Qingshan thought inwardly: "Unlike Luo Feng in the original novel, I cannot cultivate the Nine Catastrophe Secret Scripture, nor have I nurtured a special life avatar—this hundredfold life gene level must be my absolute limit in the Cosmic Venerable stage!"

"Since my life gene level cannot rise further, my peak strength in the Cosmic Venerable stage will likely match only the main body of Tian Shi!"

"But I possess the Multiverse Chat Group, and can use its Enlightenment Boost function—my future cultivation path should face no bottlenecks, so I won't remain in the Cosmic Venerable stage for long!"

"Once I break through to the Lord Realm, neither my divine form nor my life gene level will be bound by the laws of cosmic operation!"

"But speaking of this now is still too early!"

Lu Qingshan's mind swiftly flashed through many thoughts: "I haven't even fully comprehended the Sixth Layer of the Beast God Dao—I still have a long road ahead before reaching the Lord Realm!"

Next, Lu Qingshan resumed his deep cultivation.

First, the Infinite Divine Sea avatar remained within the divine domain, cultivating while chatting online to earn points; the second avatar, on Zushen Sect's Purple Thorn Island, continuously meditated on the Thunder-Time Fusion Law using the sect's unique environment; as for his main body, he leveraged his formidable strength to occasionally venture into the Cosmic Secret Realm.

During this time, occasional Cosmic Sovereigns invited him on adventures into the Cosmic Secret Realm, but Lu Qingshan now possessed many precious treasures like the Nine Dragon Soaring Armor, so he carefully weighed his personal safety before embarking on any expedition.

Although warriors below the Lord Realm could no longer inflict fatal harm upon him, Lu Qingshan knew the cosmos was treacherous and unpredictable—he would never act recklessly, only joining others when he deemed the situation relatively safe.

Thus, time continued to flow.

In the blink of an eye, another ten billion eons had passed!

……

Virtual Universe, Lei Ting Island's peak.

Endless chaotic currents filled the area, and amid these boundless chaotic flows stood several towering palaces.

These majestic palaces all belonged to the Cosmic Lords of the Virtual Universe Corporation, one of which was Lord Bingfeng's residence.

Inside the palace of Lord Bingfeng, within a virtual training ground.

The training ground had been simulated into a vast starry sky, and at its center floated a middle-aged man clad in purple-gold battle armor, his face resolute—it was Lu Qingshan, Lord Bingfeng's youngest disciple.

"Damn Jinjiao, I'm back!"

Lu Qingshan activated his intent, and immediately before him in the cosmic starry sky appeared a terrifying figure, over ten kilometers long, covered in golden scales, its head resembling a wolf's yet bearing a single horn, with complex secret patterns engraved into its scaled skin.

It was Zifeng Zunzhe, the supreme elder of the Meng Yao Zu royal bloodline, the Golden-Scaled Beast, who had once slain Lu Qingshan in the Cosmic Secret Realm.

Lu Qingshan had never anticipated that the two-thousandth opponent Lord Bingfeng had designed for his Sixth Ultimate Secret Art would be Zifeng Zunzhe, the very one who had killed him before.

It must be said that creating an Ultimate Secret Art for a Cosmic Sovereign is an extraordinarily difficult feat.

Long ago, Lu Qingshan had already fully comprehended the Sixth Layer of the Beast God Dao, yet he had never yet created an Ultimate Secret Art for a Cosmic Sovereign.

Now, Lu Qingshan had been stuck at this final hurdle against Zifeng Zunzhe for hundreds of millions of eons, yet he could only suppress the opponent—he still fell short of defeating him.

Of course, this was also why Lu Qingshan had never used the Enlightenment Boost function to study his self-created art.

After all, the time flow in the Swallowed Star Universe was countless times faster than that within the Chat Group, so his point accumulation was extremely slow.

These hard-earned points were mostly needed to meditate on the Thunder-Time Fusion Law—there was no point wasting them on researching self-created secret arts.

"Roar!"

The Zifeng Zunzhe, radiating overwhelming aura, roared, and instantly a long blade emitting boundless dark light appeared in his foreclaw; then, gripping the blade, he charged toward Lu Qingshan with a furious roar.

"Yinming Slash!"

Seeing Zifeng Zunzhe roaring toward him, Lu Qingshan showed no panic, but slowly swung his purple-gold longsword.

Immediately, countless purple threads spread across the blade's surface, then converged in midair to form a terrifying beast silhouette radiating immense pressure.

This secret art was the Sixth Art created by Lu Qingshan using the complete Sixth Layer of the Beast God Dao.

Though this art had not yet fully reached the Ultimate tier, among the strongest secret arts created by Cosmic Sovereigns, it ranked among the upper-middle tier.

After all, many Cosmic Sovereigns had not even created an Ultimate Secret Art—such as Xiluodu of the Jinjiao Clan, or Lu Qingshan's senior brother, Venerable Yao Guang…

"Roar!!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan unleash his ultimate technique, Zifeng Zunzhe, roaring from afar, swung his blade and activated his own self-created Cosmic Sovereign Ultimate Secret Art.

"Cut!"

Lu Qingshan activated his intent—the colossal beast silhouette before him instantly transformed into a brilliant swordlight, which slammed into the river of blades Zifeng Zunzhe had unleashed.

Boom!

The brilliant purple swordlight collided with the blade river, yet despite its seemingly modest power, it swiftly shattered the river and continued forward, carrying residual force toward Zifeng Zunzhe.

When Lu Qingshan first encountered Zifeng Zunzhe, he had always been suppressed—even once killed by him.

But as his secret art's tier steadily rose, Lu Qingshan gradually achieved parity with Zifeng Zunzhe, then began to suppress him.

And this time…

Whoosh!

The purple swordlight, after shattering the brilliant blade river, kept its momentum and surged straight to Zifeng Zunzhe's throat.

Then…

Puch!

Terrifying power erupted instantly—before Zifeng Zunzhe could react, the purple swordlight decapitated him outright!

In real combat, Zifeng Zunzhe would suffer no real harm from a severed head if his divine power remained intact;

But this was within the Virtual Universe, a training ground designed solely to compare secret art tiers!

Thus, after being decapitated by Lu Qingshan's purple swordlight, Zifeng Zunzhe immediately lost all life signs.

"Hahaha! After over three hundred million eons, I've finally slain Zifeng Zunzhe!"

Seeing the Golden Venerable before him completely lose all life energy, Lu Qingshan finally allowed a faint smile to cross his face, and inwardly he couldn't help but anticipate: "I wonder when I'll be able to kill the Golden Venerable in reality?"

But at this moment, Lu Qingshan merely entertained the thought briefly!

He could kill this Golden Venerable in the virtual battle only because it proved that, under equal conditions (with comparable protective treasures), he now had a chance to defeat the Golden Venerable.

Yet the Golden Venerable's divine body stretched over ten kilometers, and with the high-grade ultimate treasure armor he wore, he could withstand attacks from even some weaker Cosmic Lords for a long time, let alone face Lu Qingshan at his current state. Although Lu Qingshan could leverage his Infinite Divine Sea's ability to split his divine body and wage a war of attrition against the Golden Venerable, the Golden Venerable possessed domain-type ultimate treasures and flying palace-type ultimate treasures—he might not be Lu Qingshan's match, but he could easily escape from him.

So Lu Qingshan knew clearly: to seek revenge on the Golden Venerable, he would have to wait until he broke through to the Cosmic Lord Realm.

But with the chat group and the Enlightenment Boost function, Lu Qingshan believed that day would come sooner than he thought.

And just then…

As the surrounding space trembled, a figure radiating a chilling aura appeared before Lu Qingshan—it was his master, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu.

Seeing Bing Feng Zhi Zhu appear, Lu Qingshan quickly bowed respectfully: "Disciple greets Master!"

"Qingshan, you've done well!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan kill the Golden Venerable—the two-thousandth opponent—Bing Feng Zhi Zhu's face broke into a rare smile: "After creating the Cosmic Lord Ultimate Technique, your strength is already among the very top in our human clan's Cosmic Lords!"

"Among all my disciples, only two before you had ever created a Cosmic Lord Ultimate Technique!"

"I know you possess clones, and you've often ventured into Cosmic Secret Realms with other powerhouses—have you gathered enough resources to exchange for a high-grade ultimate treasure weapon?"

"Yes, Master!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan nodded quickly: "Disciple has gathered enough resources to exchange for one high-grade ultimate treasure weapon!"

"Then go to the clan's treasure vault and exchange it for a high-grade ultimate treasure weapon!"

Bing Feng Zhi Zhu nodded swiftly: "You already possess a high-grade ultimate treasure armor; if you now acquire a high-grade ultimate treasure weapon, only the top-tier Cosmic Lords will surpass you!"

"Disciple understands!" Lu Qingshan nodded quickly.

"Qingshan, your creation of the Cosmic Lord Ultimate Technique proves your talent and comprehension are exceptional!"

Bing Feng Zhi Zhu continued smiling: "Therefore, I hope you continue to strive in your cultivation, without any slack—perhaps one day, our human clan will produce another pillar!"

At this moment, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu clearly held Lu Qingshan in high regard.

After all, when he first took Lu Qingshan as a nominal disciple, he didn't even know whether Lu Qingshan could ever break through to the Venerable Realm.

He had merely accepted Lu Qingshan as a nominal disciple because of Venerable Yao Guang's recommendation, and because he had some prior impression of him.

Later, when Lu Qingshan broke through to the Venerable Realm, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu began to take this disciple with cloning ability seriously, even granting Lu Qingshan wealth exceeding that of most other disciples.

But he never imagined that, after only a hundred billion eons, Lu Qingshan's strength had already surpassed nearly all his disciples—including Venerable Yao Guang—and ranked among the top fifty in the entire human clan.

After all, Lu Qingshan had now created the Cosmic Lord Ultimate Technique; only the Axeman Founder, a dozen Cosmic Lords, and four top-tier Cosmic Lords surpassed him.

As for other Cosmic Lords who had created the Cosmic Lord Ultimate Technique, they were merely equal to Lu Qingshan in strength, at most possessing slightly more refined protective treasures.

But Lu Qingshan possessed the cloning ability, so his future speed of acquiring resources would certainly surpass those Cosmic Lords without clones.

Thus, even if Lu Qingshan's realm never advanced further, his overall strength would continue to grow gradually over time.

"Disciple will strive!" Lu Qingshan nodded quickly.

In truth, Lu Qingshan was already on the verge of fully comprehending the Seventh Layer of the Beast God Dao.

But the Seventh Layer of the Beast God Dao differs from the first six layers!

For the first six layers, even if Lu Qingshan hadn't fully comprehended them, he could still create peak techniques based on his current understanding of each layer—though he couldn't reach the ultimate tier.

But the Seventh Layer of the Beast God Dao is the highest achievement of the path; before fully comprehending it, one cannot create any technique based upon it.

Otherwise, if one tried to create a peak technique based on it, it might even qualify as a Cosmic Lord Peak Technique!

Furthermore, the other bottleneck of the Beast God Dao—the elusive "Beast God Heart"—Lu Qingshan had not yet comprehended.

Once he fully comprehended the Seventh Layer of the Beast God Dao and attained the Beast God Heart, he could break through using the Beast God Dao and ascend to the exalted rank of Cosmic Lord.

"Hmm!"

Bing Feng Zhi Zhu gave a slight nod, then continued: "Qingshan, your attack techniques have already reached the highest level; before you break through to the Cosmic Lord Realm, you likely won't be able to improve further. What are your plans now?"

"Disciple wishes to further study movement techniques and soul attack methods!"

Lu Qingshan nodded quickly: "If I can elevate both movement and soul attack techniques to the ultimate tier, I believe my strength will increase further!"

"That's acceptable."

Hearing Lu Qingshan's answer, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu nodded slightly, then added: "But Qingshan, understand this: most powerhouses in the universe possess soul-type heavy treasures—or even ultimate treasures—for protection, so it's nearly impossible for you to kill equals with soul attacks; at best, you can only slightly hinder their combat effectiveness."

"As for movement techniques, they're merely auxiliary methods. Though they can enhance your strength somewhat, the improvement is minor—so don't place too much hope in them."

"Disciple understands!" Lu Qingshan replied quickly.

"Actually, Qingshan, your best choice is still to focus your energy on comprehending the Beast God Dao."

Bing Feng Zhi Zhu quickly advised: "I recall you entered the Seventh Layer of the Beast God Dao over forty billion eons ago. Though fully comprehending the entire Beast God Dao is extremely difficult, I believe your talent on this path gives you a chance to succeed."

"If you truly break through to the Cosmic Lord Realm, it will hold great significance—for both yourself and our entire human clan."

"Disciple will strive, and will never disappoint Master's expectations!" Lu Qingshan nodded again in agreement.

"Enough!"

Hearing Lu Qingshan's reply, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu waved his hand: "You may withdraw now."

"Yes, Master!"

Lu Qingshan bowed deeply once more, then respectfully withdrew from Bing Feng Zhi Zhu's palace.

…

Within the majestic palace, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu gazed into the distance, as if piercing through time and space.

Watching Lu Qingshan's departing figure, he thought inwardly: "I wonder if my disciple will one day take this final step and successfully enter the Cosmic Lord Realm?"

Of course, Bing Feng Zhi Zhu merely harbored some hope.

After all, breaking from the Venerable Realm to the Cosmic Lord Realm was exceedingly difficult.

In truth, according to cultivation progress, most high-level Venerables and many Cosmic Lords in the human clan could be said to be on the verge of breaking through to the Cosmic Lord Realm at any moment.

After all, they had already fully comprehended all three branches of their less-favored higher primordial laws; once they fused these three branches and comprehended a second higher primordial law, they could break through to the Cosmic Lord Realm via the Space-Time Dao.

But unfortunately, over the long span of human history, thousands of Cosmic Zunzhe have been born, yet only a little more than twenty have truly taken this final step.

Excluding those who have perished, there are now only a dozen or so Cosmic Lords still alive among the human race!

"But…"

Lord Bingfeng silently thought to himself: "If one of my disciples truly breaks through to the Lord Realm, then I will have reclaimed some ground against Brother Hei!"

(End of Chapter)