Chapter 459

"Creation" is a divine technique granted by the Primordial Universe to special lifeforms such as the Lord of Nine Heavens; even though Lu Qing has entered the fifth-rank realm, he cannot quickly grasp its essence in a short time.

While Lu Qing observed the many princes under the Lord of Nine Heavens wielding the "Creation" technique, his second avatar continuously advanced toward the Black-Striped Pillar space within the Cosmic Vessel.

The Black-Striped Pillar space lies deep within the inner region of the Cosmic Vessel; according to humanity’s current maps, reaching this area requires passing nearly a thousand dangerous zones.

There are no space wormholes inside the Cosmic Vessel; even some relatively safe regions can be traversed by instantaneous teleportation, but the dangerous zones can only be crossed by flight.

Thus, even a fifth-rank Cosmic Lord requires hundreds of years to safely reach the Black-Striped Pillar region.

Of course, a mere few hundred years mean nothing to Lu Qing, a powerhouse who has existed for eons.

Moreover, Lu Qing possesses other avatars; while his second avatar travels, his other avatars can continue cultivating.

……

The Black-Striped Pillar space is among the safer regions within the entire inner region of the Cosmic Vessel.

Aside from conflicts among powerful beings, this area holds virtually no danger.

The entire space is upheld by sixteen colossal Black-Striped Pillars, each towering over a thousand light-years high; except for the space immediately surrounding the pillars—completely solidified and impossible to teleport through—the rest is extremely safe and fully traversable by teleportation.

Etched upon each of these sixteen thousand-light-year-tall pillars are profoundly intricate black mystic runes.

The depth of these runes is so great that even the strongest beings in the universe cannot fully comprehend them!

Furthermore, each Black-Striped Pillar radiates immense power, constantly emitting terrifying willpower shocks; even the universe’s strongest beings cannot approach any single pillar.

Yet despite this, such a naturally observable special zone, rich with profound mystic runes, naturally draws powerful beings here.

Safe, teleportable, rapid time flow, and exquisitely advanced runes…

Combined, these factors make the Black-Striped Pillar region a resting and cultivation ground for many powerful beings venturing deep into the inner region of the Cosmic Vessel.

Mist shrouds the land, stretching endlessly.

Hum!

A towering figure clad in purple-gold armor suddenly materialized within the Black-Striped Pillar region—it was Lu Qing, who had spent centuries traveling.

"Hm?"

Sensing the stagnant space around him, Lu Qing’s mind stirred: "I can’t teleport further!"

"Hah! After four hundred years of travel, I’ve finally reached this Black-Striped Pillar space!"

Lu Qing then gazed ahead at the sixteen colossal pillars, and a sigh of relief escaped him.

For in those past four hundred years of travel, his second avatar had encountered numerous dangers.

Even now, with his strength, Lu Qing could escape even if confronted by a universe’s strongest being.

Yet the Cosmic Vessel’s interior is boundless; along the way, he passed countless perilous zones, even traversing regions long guarded by other forces in the Cosmic Sea.

Even with his current strength, he faced several life-threatening situations.

Once, he encountered a strange beast with the power of a universe’s strongest being and was hunted for years, barely escaping thanks to his immense spiritual energy reserves and extraordinary defense;

Another time, he accidentally entered an uncharted anomaly, sucked into a bizarre vortex; had it not been for his peak palace-level treasure, he would have perished there;

Even riding his peak palace-level treasure, Lu Qing spent decades to break free from that anomaly;

Once more, Lu Qing encountered a lone universe’s strongest being from the First Cycle Era—a ruthless, tyrannical figure who routinely bullied other Cosmic Lords with his power;

Having suffered defeat at the hands of the Axe Founder during a battle for a treasure, this universe’s strongest being immediately sought to kill Lu Qing and seize his belongings upon seeing him;

Fortunately, the being’s strength was merely seventh-rank, incapable of seriously threatening Lu Qing, who carried vast spiritual energy reserves; after tormenting him briefly, the being abandoned the pursuit.

For the remainder of the journey, Lu Qing became even more cautious.

Yet dangers still arose.

But conversely, amid these perils, he also discovered treasures and opportunities.

In just these four hundred years of travel, Lu Qing had already gained considerable rewards, the most valuable being a top-tier treasure weapon.

Of course, such gains were precious to ordinary Cosmic Lords, but to Lu Qing, now fully armed to the teeth, they meant little.

Additionally, during his journey, Lu Qing encountered numerous alien powerful beings.

Even those who had never met Lu Qing had heard of him through their respective factions.

Out of curiosity or other reasons, some of these beings actively challenged him; Lu Qing, of course, never refused such duels.

For fighting them was itself a form of refinement, greatly benefiting him.

Most memorable among them was a powerful being from the Eastern Emperor Sacred Universe he encountered over two hundred years ago: the Lord of the Wilds!

The Lord of the Wilds was one of the rare sixth-rank Cosmic Lords in the Eastern Emperor Sacred Universe, wielding the supreme treasure armor, "Wilds Divine Armor"; his strength was truly astonishing.

Lu Qing encountered him while a top-tier treasure armor was emerging; the two naturally clashed over it.

Lu Qing had assumed the opponent’s supreme treasure was armor, implying weaker offensive power—but he was utterly wrong.

Beyond the power of his supreme treasure, the Lord of the Wilds had reached the absolute limit in his understanding of space-time Dao; had he been born in the Primordial Universe, he could have broken through to the universe’s strongest realm.

Unfortunately, he was born in the Sacred Universe, where the master’s power barred him from ever ascending to the universe’s strongest level.

Thus, in their battle, Lu Qing was completely dominated, and the treasure was ultimately taken by the Lord of the Wilds.

Yet with multiple treasures protecting him, the Lord of the Wilds could not harm Lu Qing.

After a battle lasting a full day and night, the Lord of the Wilds acknowledged Lu Qing’s strength, and a bond formed between them through combat.

Lu Qing deeply admired the Lord of the Wilds’ power; the Lord of the Wilds, in turn, took great interest in Lu Qing, the rising superstar of the Cosmic Sea.

For over a year afterward, they trained together, exchanged insights, and got along well.

Through these exchanges, Lu Qing gained deeper understanding of the Cosmic Sea.

After all, the Lord of the Wilds hailed from a Sacred Universe and had lived through countless cycles; his experience far surpassed Lu Qing’s.

Naturally, he refused to speak of any secrets tied to his race.

After conversing with the Lord of the Wilds for some time, Lu Qing took his leave and continued toward the Black-Striped Pillar space.

Today, Lu Qing had finally arrived at his destination: the Black-Striped Pillar space.

"After hundreds of years of travel, I’ve finally reached the Black-Striped Pillar space!"

Lu Qing gazed at the distant pillars and thought: "My willpower is nearly ready to break through to the universe’s strongest level; I hope the trials here will let me break through at once—this will accelerate my future cultivation!"

With that, Lu Qing instantly transformed into a streak of light and flew toward one of the Black-Striped Pillars.

But just then…

"Hm?"

Lu Qing, flying at high speed, suddenly turned his head toward a distant figure.

Though the Black-Striped Pillar space was relatively safe, Lu Qing—having endured countless hardships on his journey—had continuously extended his domain to scan his surroundings.

"So it really is the Lord of Swallow-Eagles!"

Seeing the figure rapidly approaching, Lu Qing’s face broke into a smile.

On his way to the Black-Striped Pillar space, Lu Qing often communicated with powerful beings in the Hong Alliance via the Virtual Universe.

Upon learning Lu Qing was coming to the Black-Striped Pillar space, the Lord of Swallow-Eagles had persistently contacted him through the Virtual Universe to strengthen their bond.

The Swallow-Eagle race had always been humanity’s most steadfast ally, joining the Hong Alliance since the time of the Ancestor’s rise.

After the Ancestor was suppressed by the Primordial Universe’s will, though humanity still had the Axe Founder as a universe’s strongest being, their influence waned; some powerful races withdrew from the Hong Alliance—but the Swallow-Eagles remained unwaveringly loyal.

Since the Lord of Swallow-Eagles dared venture into the inner region of the Cosmic Vessel, his strength was undoubtedly formidable, comparable to the Ice Peak Lord or the Dragon Traveler, merely lacking slightly in protective treasures.

After centuries of interaction, Lu Qing and the Lord of Swallow-Eagles had grown much closer.

Learning of Lu Qing’s imminent arrival, the Lord of Swallow-Eagles had come specifically to greet him.

"Lord of Myriad Realms!" A voice directly echoed into Lu Qing’s mind through the domain.

The Lord of Swallow-Eagles was a peculiar avian creature, entirely blue, with golden feathers atop his head; his wings spanned over a hundred thousand kilometers—far larger than Lu Qing’s form.

"Lord of Swallow-Eagles!" Lu Qing smiled and flew toward him.

"I sensed a domain presence and guessed it might be you, Lord of Myriad Realms, so I came straight away!"

The Lord of Swallow-Eagles spoke in the common human tongue: "To meet you here in the Black-Striped Pillar space is truly delightful!"

Recall that when Lu Qing escaped unscathed from the three Ancestral Clan Cosmic Lords, he had already begun gaining fame across the Cosmic Sea.

Though some powerful beings doubted his strength, over the past few hundred years, Lu Qing had fought many fifth-rank Cosmic Lords and occasionally even gained the upper hand.

Especially after escaping the First Cycle Era’s universe’s strongest being, his reputation gained broader recognition.

That’s precisely why the Lord of Swallow-Eagles treated him with such warmth now.

"It’s a pleasure to see you, Lord of Swallow-Eagles!"

Lu Qing smiled: "When I roamed the Outer Battlefields, I once interacted with your Swallow-Eagle clan’s warriors."