Chapter 79: Lifespan Limit, Ultimate Treasure Emerges

Upon learning that Luo Si was preparing to travel to the Ancient Wheel Universe Nation to protect the family of Lu Xiusi, those around him quickly prepared gifts, even Lu Qingshan giving a thousand credits.

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 other had perished on the Outer Battlefield, he at least owed him some gesture of respect!

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

Having roamed the Outer Battlefield for so many years, Luo Si and Lu Xiusi held resources far beyond what Lu Qingshan and the others could match, yet he did not disdain their offerings: “I only 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 royal-level power, helping Lu Xiusi seek vengeance should be simple!”

“Lord Tianxing hasn’t left the Chaos City in hundreds of millions of years!”

Luo Si quickly shook his head: “I once heard Lu Xiusi mention that one of his senior brothers perished on the Outer Battlefield over thirty million years ago—and Lord Tianxing never even considered avenging him.”

“That’s true.”

Christopher nodded: “For a powerhouse like Lord Tianxing, his greatest desire is surely to break through and become a Cosmic Sovereign. He naturally wouldn’t concern himself with 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.”

Luo Si 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 Luo Si’s mansion, the group dispersed, and Lu Qingshan soon returned to his residence on Thunder Island.

…

“What a cruel twist of fate!”

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

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

But his strength was insufficient back then, so he always planned to wait until he reached Royal-level Immortality and gained an immortal body before going.

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

After all, Lu Xiusi possessed Royal-level auxiliary life protection—his strength far surpassed Lu Qingshan’s current level.

Of course, Lu Qingshan had the ability to create clones; even if one perished, he could regenerate another—his survival capability was far beyond Lu Xiusi’s.

“I only fear encountering powerful soul masters!”

Lu Qingshan thought inwardly: “With my current willpower, combined with the Soul-Defending Secret Art ‘Zheng Hun Bell,’ even peak royal-level experts couldn’t 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—I don’t need to rush to the Outer Battlefield!”

With this thought, Lu Qingshan abandoned the idea of immediately sending his clone to the Outer Battlefield 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 Shenlan: “Master, your third son, Lu Hongwen, has only thirty thousand years left before his lifespan limit.”

“What?”

Upon 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.

When Lu Hongwen had first been told he had only three hundred thousand years left, Lu Qingshan had already been working for over two hundred thousand years since leaving the Chaos City—Lu Hongwen reaching his limit was only natural.

“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 elixirs, but these had no effect on Lord-level beings.

After all, the million-year lifespan limit for Lord-level beings wasn’t just a physical limit—it was also a soul limit.

Some extremely rare races in the universe were born with eternal bodies, their flesh never aging.

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

Moreover, even if such longevity elixirs could affect Lord-level beings, the few hundred extra years they granted would be like a drop in the ocean for Lu Hongwen!

“Third son…” Lu Qingshan sighed again, thinking of Lu Hongwen, 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 him the greatest help.

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

That’s why, after Lu Hongwen left the Initial Universe, Lu Qingshan had spent a fortune preparing cultivation resources for him, even securing a Immortal who had broken through using the complete Jin Zhi Principle to personally guide him!

Yet even now, Lu Hongwen had merely gained the recognition of the Jin Zhi Principle—breaking into Immortality was impossible unless a true miracle occurred.

“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 companions.

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.

Now, he intended to wait two more ten thousand years, to spend his final time with his third son, Lu Hongwen.

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

“Master!”

At that moment, 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 Mystery Realm in two years, and escort Yan Shen Clan’s super-genius ‘Gilbert’ to the Virtual Universe Corporation’s Universal Headquarters within the allotted time.”

“Yan Shen Clan genius?”

Hearing Shenlan’s reminder, Lu Qingshan sighed: “This is rare! I’ve cultivated for nearly ten million years and have never even been to the Yan Shen Mystery Realm!”

This Yan Shen Mystery Realm was not the one from the original novel—it was a vast cosmic mystery realm located within the Human Domain’s Yan Shen Universe Nation.

According to data Lu Qingshan had accessed, before Yan Di rose to power, the Yan Shen Clan had lived on Yan Shen Star within the Yan Shen Universe Nation, and their strongest member had been Yan Shen Zunzhe of the Axe Combat Arena, who was also the ruler of the Yan Shen Universe Nation.

Only after Yan Di rose, breaking through to Cosmic Lord, did he move the Yan Shen Clan into a secret realm within the Yan Shen Universe Nation to reproduce—and that realm was renamed the Yan Shen Mystery Realm.

Yet although cosmic mystery realms might contain richer resources, humans born within them possessed far lower potential.

Just as plants need sufficient sunlight—if too densely packed, all plants grow poorly.

The same principle applied to life formation.

Whether flesh-based, energy-based, rock-based, or any other form of life—all life absorbed the universe’s “essence” during its gestation.

In the vast expanse of the Original Universe, if only one life existed within a thousand light-years, all the “cosmic essence” in that vast region would nourish only that single life-bearing planet.

A “cosmic mystery realm,” however, was merely a landmass several light-years in diameter—yet capable of sustaining a population rivaling an entire universe nation. Its density was countless times higher than the outer domains, meaning each life received a pitiful fraction of the “cosmic essence.”

Thus, humans born in cosmic mystery realms could normally break through to Immortality, but their chances of becoming Cosmic Sovereigns were vanishingly small.

Of course, most people didn’t know this—Lu Qingshan knew only because of the original novel.

But Yan Di, as one of humanity’s supreme beings, surely knew this—and yet he still led the Yan Shen Clan into the mystery realm to reproduce. His motives were obvious.

In Lu Qingshan’s view, Yan Di feared that someone from his own clan might surpass and replace him, so he deliberately restricted the Yan Shen Clan’s development.

“Yan Di’s vision is too narrow—no wonder in the original novel he abandoned the Human Clan and, after countless eons of cultivation, never reached the fourth-rank Cosmic Lord tier!”

Lu Qingshan thought inwardly: “I wonder when Yan Di will abandon the Human Clan?”

Lu Qingshan, familiar with the original novel, knew Yan Di was utterly selfish—otherwise, he wouldn’t have stolen treasures from fellow clan members.

He had even considered stepping on his own master, Zuo Shanke!

But he didn’t know Zuo Shanke was a reincarnated Divine King—even if Yan Di became the strongest cosmic being and transcended reincarnation, crushing Zuo Shanke would still be impossible.

Of course, Yan Di had already taken a wrong path; even reaching fourth-rank Cosmic Lord would be extremely difficult for him, let alone becoming the strongest.

“Enough thinking. Why bother? These matters are beyond the reach of a mere Royal-level Immortal like me—I’ll just go and fetch Gilbert.”

With this, Lu Qingshan immediately ordered Delilah and his subordinates, then boarded Blood Red No. 3 and headed toward the Yan Shen Universe Nation.

…

As Lu Qingshan traveled toward the Yan Shen Mystery Realm, on Original Star No. 09781:

“Over two hundred thousand years already!”

A towering man over a hundred meters tall, with a pair of silver wings on his back, sat cross-legged atop a massive mountain, murmuring: “After so long, the components of Liuguang Zhiyi still haven’t appeared—could my assumption be wrong?”

Anyone passing by would recognize him: he was Zi Feng Zunzhe, one of humanity’s Cosmic Tyrants.

As a veteran Cosmic Tyrant of humanity, Zi Feng Zunzhe possessed several ultimate treasures and had raised his life gene level to the cosmic rule’s maximum limit of one hundred times.

Especially recently, he was rumored to have mastered an incredibly terrifying movement technique—when fully unleashed, even top-tier Cosmic Tyrants struggled to catch him.

Yet since this Original Star’s opening, Zi Feng Zunzhe had remained on Original Star No. 09781.

“Even if the chance is slim, I must wait—Liuguang Zhiyi means too much to me!”

Zi Feng Zunzhe thought inwardly: “Just one pair of Liuguang Zhiyi lets me escape from top-tier Cosmic Tyrants. If I obtain new components, I could easily flee even from several top-tier Cosmic Tyrants!”

Zi Feng Zunzhe never dreamed of escaping Cosmic Lords—he knew their power too well, being a disciple of one.

Even newly awakened Cosmic Lords could control entire spacetimes—something that was his natural counter.

Correct!

Zi Feng Zunzhe’s speed surpassed many top-tier Cosmic Tyrants not because he invented a terrifying movement technique, but because he obtained a flight-assisting ultimate treasure during a previous Original Star opening: Liuguang Zhiyi.

After defeating three Cosmic High Sovereigns in tandem and claiming Liuguang Zhiyi, he received no detailed information upon claiming it. He initially assumed its creator had left none—but later discovered it was because Liuguang Zhiyi was incomplete.

At first, he was deeply disappointed. But after experiencing its full power, he became ecstatic.

Because even in its incomplete state, Liuguang Zhiyi’s power rivaled a complete flight-assisting ultimate treasure!

Thus, after obtaining Liuguang Zhiyi, Zi Feng Zunzhe had remained at the site of its emergence, hoping to find its missing components.

But the Original Star was about to close, so he had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

In the long years since, he had crafted movement techniques suited to Liuguang Zhiyi while searching the vast universe for news of its other components.

Yet until this Original Star’s opening, he had found nothing.

So after the Original Star reopened, he returned to Original Star No. 09781, waiting once more for the other components to emerge.

“The Original Star opens for a full thousand eons—only two hundred thousand years have passed. There’s still plenty of time.”

Zifeng Zunzhe sat cross-legged atop the peak, silently thinking: “I have enough patience to wait. If a million years isn’t enough, then ten million. If that still fails, I’ll wait until the next Primordial Star cycle begins—after all, I can wait here while other supreme treasures emerge nearby!”

“As long as I have enough patience, I will one day find the other components of the Flowing Light Wings!”

Even as Zifeng Zunzhe’s mind raced with various thoughts…

Hum!

The Flowing Light Wings on his back began to tremble slightly.

“This is…”

Zifeng Zunzhe first blinked in surprise, then his face instantly lit up with ecstatic joy.

Soon, the trembling of the Flowing Light Wings grew faster and faster, even slipping beyond Zifeng Zunzhe’s control, as if some strange source far away was wildly pulling at him.

“It must be the other components of the Flowing Light Wings!”

A thought flashed through Zifeng Zunzhe’s mind: “But I don’t know if they’re in the hands of other powerful beings—or if they’ve just emerged!”

“But no matter what, the components of the Flowing Light Wings are mine! If all else fails, I’ll inform my Master and ask him to act!”

With this thought, Zifeng Zunzhe instantly transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the direction the Flowing Light Wings had sensed.

…

Dozens of thousands of kilometers ahead of Zifeng Zunzhe’s path, three High Cosmic Zunzhe from the Beast Clan also sensed a peculiar aura.

Having experience, they immediately realized: “It’s a set of supreme treasures—or perhaps a regular supreme treasure! And this aura seems quite close!”

These three Cosmic Zunzhe were utterly electrified!

After all, they had already been on the Primordial Star for over twenty thousand years, and their greatest gain had merely been a top-tier supreme treasure armor.

Now that a set of supreme treasures—or even a supreme treasure—was emerging, they would never let it slip away!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three Cosmic Zunzhe instantly became streaks of light and surged toward the direction of the supreme treasure.

…

On another front, two High Cosmic Zunzhe from the Hong Alliance also sensed the aura of the emerging supreme treasure.

Having dared to venture onto the Primordial Star, their strength was certainly formidable, and they too swiftly raced toward the treasure’s location.

(End of Chapter)