Chapter 487: The Gathering: Master of the Pig and Fish

After accepting the invitation from the Lord of Haoshan, Lu Qing naturally set out immediately for the Zi Yang Realm.

Among Lu Qing’s many incarnations, his main battle body was currently roaming within the Qing Feng Realm, his second incarnation had long remained in the Black Stripe Pillar space aboard the Cosmic Vessel refining his will, and his newly spawned third incarnation was cultivating in seclusion within the Original Universe.

Of the three incarnations, the one located in the Original Universe could reach the Zi Yang Realm fastest.

However, this journey to the Zi Yang Realm to compete for the ultimate treasure would inevitably bring conflict with the Cosmic Beasts Alliance’s Cosmic Lords, and Lu Qing’s third incarnation carried a treasure of relatively weak power; furthermore, the time agreed upon with the Lord of Jinhorn was still ample, so Lu Qing ultimately decided to send his main battle body, currently roaming in the Qing Feng Realm, to the Zi Yang Realm.

Three years later, Lu Qing finally arrived at the Zi Yang Realm.

At this time, the Lord of Haoshan and the Lord of Qingsang had already been waiting there.

In a hidden region within the Zi Yang Realm, the Lord of Haoshan had long ago retrieved a lavish palace, where he and the Lord of Qingsang now awaited.

“Lord of Myriad Realms!”

“Lord of Myriad Realms!”

Seeing Lu Qing appear, the Lord of Haoshan and the Lord of Qingsang both hurried to the palace gates to warmly welcome him.

“Haoshan! Lord of Qingsang!”

Lu Qing smiled and greeted the two.

The Lord of Haoshan and the Lord of Qingsang were actually of comparable strength, each having created supreme secret arts at the highest level of Cosmic Lords.

But the Lord of Haoshan had cultivated for a shorter time and accumulated fewer resources, resulting in inferior treasure potency and life gene levels—he possessed only top-tier third-rank strength;

whereas the Lord of Qingsang, having cultivated longer and possessing the ability to spawn incarnations, accumulated resources far faster, and had already crossed into the fourth-rank tier—his defensive treasures merely slightly weaker than those of human race’s Ice Peak Lord or Void Gold Lord.

After exchanging greetings, Lu Qing quickly entered the palace hall at the Lord of Haoshan’s invitation.

The palace hall was already filled with various fine wines and delicacies, yet their types differed greatly.

After all, the three of them belonged to flesh-based life, rock-based life, and plant-based life respectively—they naturally could not share the same tastes in wine and food.

“Lord of Myriad Realms!”

Once all three were seated, the Lord of Qingsang promptly raised a cup of wine toward Lu Qing, his voice sincere: “Though I’ve been roaming the Cosmic Sea lately, I’ve often heard of your illustrious reputation, Lord of Myriad Realms!”

“To meet you in person now is truly a joy!”

Long before Lu Qing rose to prominence, the Lord of Qingsang had already been one of the leading figures of the Three Mountains Alliance, a famed supreme powerhouse in the Original Universe.

Yet over the past several hundred billion eons, Lu Qing had surged forward with unstoppable momentum: first entering the Cosmic Lord realm, then slaying numerous Cosmic Lords, subduing the Demon Wolf Lord of the demonic race, and finally ascending to the fifth-rank tier!

Such an unimaginable growth rate left even a powerhouse like the Lord of Qingsang deeply shaken.

Moreover, Lu Qing not only possessed immense strength but also stood behind the peak human race—the Lord of Qingsang had long wished to befriend him, yet had never found a suitable opportunity.

Now that such an opportunity had arisen, the Lord of Qingsang naturally intended to forge a strong bond with Lu Qing.

“Hahaha!”

In response to the Lord of Qingsang’s overture, Lu Qing likewise raised his cup in salute and smiled: “Lord of Qingsang, your strength has long been known to me!”

“I’m equally delighted to meet you in person within the Cosmic Sea!”

“You two, stop with the formalities!”

The Lord of Haoshan, beside them, also sounded excited: “Lord Qingsang excels in support, while Lord of Myriad Realms possesses overwhelming power—this time, if the three of us cooperate fully, we will surely claim the greatest fortune within that strange palace!”

“As we previously agreed, the spoils will be divided thus: Lord of Myriad Realms takes half, and the remaining half is split evenly between me and you, Lord Qingsang—what do you both say?”

The Lord of Haoshan knew well that both Lu Qing and the Lord of Qingsang were immensely powerful.

The Lord of Qingsang, as a fellow leader of the Three Mountains Alliance, was a known quantity; and Lu Qing was their greatest safeguard—his ability to escape unscathed from the hands of the universe’s supreme being ensured that even if they secured no treasure, they could still retreat safely.

Thus, despite discovering this fortune himself, he harbored not the slightest thought of claiming a larger share.

After all, the Jinhorn Lord who discovered this treasure alongside him was backed by the entire Cosmic Beasts Alliance; to gain anything, he needed to invite powerful Cosmic Lords like the Lord of Qingsang and the Lord of Myriad Realms.

In fact, had it been possible, he would have wished to invite two fifth-rank Cosmic Lords to join them.

Though he had met several fifth-rank Cosmic Lords, the only one he truly trusted was the one standing before him—the Lord of Myriad Realms.

“I have no objections!”

Hearing the Lord of Haoshan restate the division plan, Lu Qing nodded promptly.

Though he held first pick, he would not care overly much about any treasure that wasn’t exceptionally precious.

For him now, even a peak palace-tier treasure had become commonplace.

But for the Lord of Haoshan and the Lord of Qingsang, even a peak treasure weapon or top-tier domain treasure would be worth fighting to the death for.

This was the normal reality for powerful beings without backing—without extraordinary fortune, they could never match peers from peak factions like the human race.

“I agree!” the Lord of Qingsang immediately nodded.

For him, traveling with Lu Qing meant virtually no mortal danger—only the quantity of spoils varied.

Lu Qing’s strength justified his taking half the spoils;

though the Lord of Haoshan was slightly weaker, this fortune was his discovery, so splitting the remainder equally with him was only fair.

“This is the token to enter that strange palace!”

Seeing Lu Qing and the Lord of Qingsang agree to his division plan, the Lord of Haoshan waved his hand and produced two milky-white crystals covered in intricate secret patterns.

Lu Qing’s gaze fell upon the milky-white crystals, and he could not help but be slightly startled.

For he suddenly realized that the strange patterns on the crystals were utterly incomprehensible—even he could not grasp a single clue.

“Could this fortune also have been left by a universe’s supreme being?”

Lu Qing wondered inwardly: “But how could a universe’s supreme being leave a fortune in a place like the Zi Yang Realm?”

“Both of you, imprint your spiritual essence into these tokens to claim them!”

As Lu Qing pondered, the Lord of Haoshan spoke again: “Only by holding these tokens can you enter the core region of the strange palace—otherwise, even a universe’s supreme being would be unable to enter!”

Of course, the claim that even a supreme being could not enter was merely the Lord of Haoshan’s speculation.

Lu Qing promptly reached out and took one token, then infused a thread of divine power into it, instantly completing the claiming; the Lord of Qingsang beside him did the same.

“Then let us depart!”

Seeing both Lu Qing and the Lord of Qingsang had claimed their tokens, the Lord of Haoshan spoke again: “This location is far from the palace’s position, and teleportation is impossible in this region—even a Cosmic Lord requires over a month to reach it!”

“Good!”

“I’m ready!”