Chapter 79

Upon learning that Ross was preparing to travel to the Ancient Wheel Cosmic Nation to protect Lu Xiusi's family, those around him quickly prepared gifts, and even Lu Qingshan gave away a thousand contribution points.

After all, over the past several hundred thousand years, he and Lu Xiusi had gotten along well enough to be considered friends.

Now that the man had perished on the Outer Battlefield, he had to at least show some respect!

"I thank you all on behalf of Lu Xiusi for your gifts!"

Having roamed the Outer Battlefield for so many years, Ross and Lu Xiusi held resources far beyond what Lu Qingshan and others could match, yet he did not disdain their offerings: "I just wonder if Lu Xiusi's vengeance can ever be carried out!"

Hearing this, Christopher quickly said: "I recall Lu Xiusi was a disciple of Lord Tianxing, right? With Lord Tianxing's peak King-Sealing strength, helping Lu Xiusi seek vengeance should be simple!"

"Lord Tianxing hasn't left the Chaos City in hundreds of millions of years!"

Ross quickly shook his head: "I once heard Lu Xiusi mention that one of his senior brothers also perished on the Outer Battlefield over thirty million years ago—and Lord Tianxing never once entertained the thought of avenging him."

"That's true!"

Christopher nodded: "For a powerhouse like Lord Tianxing, his greatest desire is surely to break through into the Cosmic Venerable realm—he wouldn't dwell on such matters. Moreover, Lu Xiusi perished on the Outer Battlefield; strictly speaking, it was merely due to insufficient strength. Lord Tianxing has countless disciples; ignoring this is perfectly normal."

"Indeed!"

Ross likewise nodded: "All we can hope now is that the Tiger Flame Marquis stirs up trouble with other powerful beings on the Outer Battlefield—otherwise, avenging Lu Xiusi will be nearly impossible!"

After chatting a while longer in Ross's mansion, everyone dispersed, and Lu Qingshan soon returned to his own residence on Lei Ting Island.

……

"Fate is truly cruel!"

In the mansion's parlor, Lu Qingshan poured himself a cup of fruit wine and sighed: "I never imagined Lu Xiusi would perish on the Outer Battlefield too!"

Ever since gaining his avatar, Lu Qingshan had once considered sending his avatar to the Outer Battlefield to hone himself.

But back then, his strength was insufficient, so he always planned to wait until he reached the Marquis-Sealing Immortal stage and gained immortality before going.

Yet after learning of Lu Xiusi's death, he hesitated.

After all, Lu Xiusi possessed a Marquis-Sealing-level auxiliary life shield—his strength far surpassed Lu Qingshan's current level.

Of course, Lu Qingshan had the ability to regenerate his avatar; even if it perished, he could recreate it—his survival capability was far beyond Lu Xiusi's.

"I fear encountering powerful soul masters!"

Lu Qingshan thought inwardly: "With my current willpower, combined with the Soul Defense Secret Art 'Zhen Hun Bell,' even a peak King-Sealing powerhouse could not enslave me through illusions—but I fear they might burn divine power to launch soul attacks that penetrate and annihilate me!"

"My willpower is strong, but my divine power base is undoubtedly a weakness!"

"I'll wait and see! I have endless time—even if I go to the Outer Battlefield, there's no need to rush!"

With this thought, Lu Qingshan quickly abandoned the idea of sending his avatar to the Outer Battlefield immediately and resumed his cultivation.

Thus, decades passed in the blink of an eye.

One day, after delivering a batch of resources back to the Virtual Universe Corporation's headquarters, Lu Qingshan suddenly heard the voice of the AI lifeform Hearing Shenlan: "Master, your third son, Lu Hongwen, has only thirty thousand years remaining before his lifespan limit!"

"What?"

Upon hearing Hearing Shenlan's words, Lu Qingshan froze slightly.

Thirty thousand years might be unimaginable to ordinary beings, but to an Immortal like Lu Qingshan, it was but the snap of a finger.

"Is my third son really reaching his lifespan limit?" Lu Qingshan felt a pang of sorrow.

Yes!

Originally, Lu Hongwen had only three hundred thousand years left before his lifespan limit—and since Lu Qingshan left the Chaos City, he had worked over two hundred thousand years; it was only natural that Lu Hongwen was now nearing his limit!

"It's a pity—I've had my golden finger for over a million years, yet still lack sufficient strength!" Lu Qingshan sighed.

He had previously exchanged with Han Li for some longevity-extending herbs and pills, but these had no effect on a Realm Lord.

After all, the ten-million-year lifespan limit of a Realm Lord was not merely a physical limit—it was also a soul limit.

Some extremely rare races in the universe were born with eternal bodies that never aged.

Yet even such eternal bodies still had a ten-million-year lifespan limit, because their souls still aged and died!

Moreover, even if those longevity pills and herbs could affect Realm Lords, the few hundred extra years they granted would be like a drop in the ocean for Lu Hongwen!

"Hongwen…" Lu Qingshan sighed again, thinking of his third son, who had accompanied him for nearly ten million years.

Among all his children, Lu Hongwen had spent the longest time with him—and during those endless years, he had offered Lu Qingshan the greatest help.

If possible, Lu Qingshan would never wish for Lu Hongwen to perish from his lifespan limit.

That was precisely why, after Lu Hongwen left the Initial Universe, Lu Qingshan had spent a vast fortune preparing cultivation resources for him—and even secured the guidance of an Immortal who had broken through using the complete Jin Zhi Principle!

Yet even now, Lu Hongwen had merely gained the Jin Zhi Principle's acknowledgment; to break into Immortality, he would need a true miracle—otherwise, it was utterly impossible!

"Qingqing…" Lu Qingshan thought of his first wife.

Originally, Situ Qingqing had met him in humble beginnings, accompanying him through the Planetary, Stellar, and Cosmic stages—they were childhood sweethearts.

And Lu Hongwen was the last child born to Lu Qingshan and Situ Qingqing—and now he too was about to leave him.

With this thought, Lu Qingshan quickly decided to alter his cultivation plan.

His original plan had been to work for ten thousand years, then travel to the Chaos City to cultivate for three thousand years.

But now, Lu Qingshan intended to wait two more decades, then spend his final years with his third son, Lu Hongwen.

After all, as time passed, the number of his loved ones would inevitably dwindle.

"Master!"

At that moment, Hearing Shenlan's voice echoed again in Lu Qingshan's mind: "A new mission has arrived: you must arrive at Yan Shen Star in the Yan Shen Secret Realm in two years, and escort the Yan Shen Clan's supreme prodigy 'Gilbert' to the Virtual Universe Corporation's Universal Headquarters within the allotted time!"

"Yan Shen Clan prodigy?"

Hearing Hearing Shenlan's reminder, Lu Qingshan marveled: "That's rare! I've cultivated for nearly ten million years and have never once visited the Yan Shen Secret Realm!"

This Yan Shen Secret Realm was not the one from the original novel—it was a vast Cosmic Secret Realm located within the Human Domain's Yan Shen Cosmic Nation.

According to data Lu Qingshan had accessed, before Seeing Yan Di rose to power, the Yan Shen Clan originally lived on Yan Shen Star within the Yan Shen Cosmic Nation, and their strongest member was Yan Shen Zunzhe of the Axe Fighting Arena lineage—who was also the ruler of the Yan Shen Cosmic Nation.

Only after Seeing Yan Di rose to become a Cosmic Master did he relocate the Yan Shen Clan to a secret realm within the Yan Shen Cosmic Nation for reproduction and growth—and that realm was renamed the Yan Shen Secret Realm.

Although Cosmic Secret Realms might contain relatively richer resources, humans born within them possessed significantly lower potential.

Just as plants need sufficient sunlight to grow, if they grow too densely, all of them will develop poorly.

The same logic applies to the formation of life!

Whether flesh-and-blood life, energy-based life, or rock-based life, and so on... as long as it is life, it will absorb the 'essence' existing throughout the entire universe during its gestation.

In the vast expanse of the Primitive Universe, if there is only one life form within a thousand light-years, then the 'cosmic essence' within this huge territory will all be used to nurture the life on that single life planet.

And the so-called 'Cosmic Secret Realm' is merely a landmass several light-years in diameter, yet it is enough to nurture a massive population comparable to a Universe Kingdom; the density is countless times higher than the territories outside, so the 'cosmic essence' they can share is naturally pitifully small!

Precisely for this reason, humans born in the Cosmic Secret Realm can normally break through to the Immortal Realm, but the chance of becoming a Universe Zifeng Zunzhe in the future is pitifully small.

Of course, most people are unaware of this news; Lu Qingshan knows it only because of the original work.

However, Seeing Yan Di, as one of the peak existences of humanity, naturally could not be unaware of this news, yet he still led the Yan God Clan to breed and multiply within the Cosmic Secret Realm; his intentions are self-evident!

In Lu Qingshan's view, Seeing Yan Di undoubtedly fears that a successor in the Yan God Clan lineage might surpass him and replace him, which is why he is trying every means to restrict the development of the Yan God Clan!

"Seeing Yan Di's vision is truly too small; no wonder he broke away from the human race in the original work, and even after cultivating for endless eons, he never stepped into the ranks of a Tier-4 Universe Master!"

Lu Qingshan thought silently to himself: "I just don't know when Seeing Yan Di will break away from the human race?"

Lu Qingshan, familiar with the original work, naturally knew how selfish Seeing Yan Di was; otherwise, the other party would not have acted to seize the supreme treasures of fellow clan members in the original work.

Furthermore, Seeing Yan Di had even thought of trampling his teacher, Zuo Shanke, under his feet!

But what he did not know was that Zuo Shanke's true identity was a reincarnated God King; even if he broke through to become the strongest in the universe, or even transcended the cycle of reincarnation, it would be impossible to trample Zuo Shanke under his feet!

Of course, Seeing Yan Di should have already walked onto a wrong path by now; even breaking through to become a Tier-4 Universe Master in the future would be extremely difficult, let alone becoming the strongest in the universe!

"Forget it, why think so much? These are matters a mere minor Marquis Immortal like me cannot participate in; I should just honestly go pick up that Luo Bote!"

Thinking this, Lu Qingshan quickly began to give orders to Dolores and others under his command, then led them to board Crimson No. 3 and fly towards the direction of the Yan God Universe Kingdom.

At the same time as Lu Qingshan was rushing to the Yan God Secret Realm, on Primitive Star No. 09781.

"It has been over two hundred thousand years!"

A tall man over a hundred meters tall, with a pair of silver wings on his back, sat cross-legged on a huge mountain peak and couldn't help but sigh softly: "It has been so long, yet I haven't waited for the parts of Liuguang Zhiyi to appear; could my idea be wrong?"

If anyone passed by here, they would surely discover this person's identity; it was none other than Zifeng Zunzhe, one of the Universe Hegemons of the human race!

As an old-established Universe Hegemon of the human race, Zifeng Zunzhe not only mastered several supreme treasures but also elevated his life gene level to the hundred-fold limit allowed by the universe rules!

Especially recently, Zifeng Zunzhe was suspected of mastering an extremely terrifying movement technique; once fully unleashed, even among top-tier Universe Hegemons, few could catch up to him!

However, after this Primitive Star opened, Zifeng Zunzhe had been staying on Primitive Star No. 09781.

"But even if the chance is small, I must wait; after all, Liuguang Zhiyi is of too great help to me!"

Zifeng Zunzhe thought silently to himself: "Just a pair of Liuguang Zhiyi is enough to let me survive in the hands of top-tier Universe Hegemons; if I can obtain new parts, even if I encounter several top-tier Universe Hegemons, I should be able to escape easily, right?"

Zifeng Zunzhe did not even think about surviving in the hands of a Universe Master; after all, as a disciple of a Universe Master, he was relatively clear about the strength of a Universe Master.

Even a newly broken-through Universe Master possesses the ability to control a region of space-time; for him, who specializes in speed, this is simply a natural counter!

Exactly!

The reason Zifeng Zunzhe could surpass many top-tier Universe Hegemons in speed was not because he created a terrifying movement technique, but because he obtained an auxiliary flight-type supreme treasure, Liuguang Zhiyi, when the Primitive Star opened last time!

Back then, after Zifeng Zunzhe repelled the combined attack of three Universe High Zifeng Zunzhe and obtained Liuguang Zhiyi, he received no detailed information when claiming it as his own; he originally thought the creator of Liuguang Zhiyi had not left any message within it, but later he discovered it was because Liuguang Zhiyi was incomplete.

At that time, Zifeng Zunzhe was quite disappointed upon first discovering this, but after experiencing the full power of Liuguang Zhiyi, he became overjoyed again.

Because even the incomplete Liuguang Zhiyi, its power was already not inferior to a complete auxiliary flight-type supreme treasure!

Precisely for this reason, after obtaining Liuguang Zhiyi, Zifeng Zunzhe had been staying at the place where Liuguang Zhiyi appeared, hoping to obtain new parts of Liuguang Zhiyi.

However, at that time the Primitive Star was about to close, so he could only leave helplessly in the end.

In the long years that followed, Zifeng Zunzhe created movement techniques suitable for Liuguang Zhiyi to unleash while searching the vast universe for news of other parts of Liuguang Zhiyi.

But until this Primitive Star opened, he had not found any other parts of Liuguang Zhiyi.

So after the Primitive Star opened, he came again to Primitive Star No. 09781 to wait, hoping to wait for other parts of Liuguang Zhiyi to appear.

"After all, the Primitive Star will remain open for a full thousand epochs; only over two hundred thousand years have passed so far, it is still early!"

Zifeng Zunzhe sat cross-legged on the mountain peak and thought silently to himself: "I have enough patience to wait; if one million years is not enough, then ten million years; if that really doesn't work, I will wait until the next Primitive Star opens; anyway, I can also wait here for other supreme treasures in the surroundings to appear!"

"As long as I have enough patience, one day I will find the other parts of Liuguang Zhiyi!"

Just as various thoughts flashed through Zifeng Zunzhe's mind...

Buzz!

The Liuguang Zhiyi on his back actually began to vibrate slightly.

"This is..."

Zifeng Zunzhe was first slightly stunned, then immediately a look of wild joy appeared on his face.

Afterwards, the amplitude of Liuguang Zhiyi's vibration began to become faster and faster, even becoming uncontrollable by Zifeng Zunzhe, as if a strange source far away was crazily attracting him.

"It must be other parts of Liuguang Zhiyi!"

A thought instantly flashed through Zifeng Zunzhe's mind: "I just don't know if it is in the hands of other powerful ones, or if it has just appeared?"

"But no matter what, the parts of Liuguang Zhiyi must be mine! If it really doesn't work, I will tell my teacher and ask my teacher to act!"

Thinking this, Zifeng Zunzhe instantly turned into a streak of light and flew towards the direction sensed by Liuguang Zhiyi.

Just tens of thousands of kilometers away in the direction Zifeng Zunzhe was advancing, three Universe High Zifeng Zunzhe of the Meng Yao Zu camp also sensed a special aura.

Experienced as they were, they immediately reacted: "It is a set of heavy treasures, or a common supreme treasure! Moreover, this aura seems quite close to us!"

These three Universe Zifeng Zunzhe were thoroughly excited!

You must know, the three of them had already come to the Primitive Star for over two hundred thousand years, yet their greatest harvest was merely snatching a top-tier heavy treasure armor.

Now encountering a set of heavy treasures, or even a supreme treasure appearing, they naturally would not let it go!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

These three Universe Zifeng Zunzhe immediately turned into streaks of light and rushed towards the direction where the supreme treasure was located.

On the other side, two Zifeng Zunzhe of the Hong Alliance camp also sensed the aura of this supreme treasure emerging.

Since they dared to venture into the Primordial Star, their strength was naturally not weak, so they likewise rushed rapidly toward the direction where the supreme treasure lay.

(End of this chapter)