Chapter 84: The Ants Caught in the Crossfire, The Heart of the Strong

"No problem!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan spend a vast amount of Importance within to select treasures that would allow a Domain Lord to break through to Immortality, Zifeng Zunzhe felt deeply moved.

He had already explained to Lu Qingshan how precious Importance within was, yet Lu Qingshan was still willing to spend a large amount of it on his relatives, showing that he himself was a person who valued emotions greatly.

This even made Zifeng Zunzhe recall himself from back then!

In his initial rise, he had been countless times more dazzling than the Lu Qingshan before him; as a Domain Lord of the Primordial Secret Realm, although he had not cleared the Domain Lord-level Primordial Sky-Piercing Mountain, immediately after breaking through to Immortality he had entered the Hei Fengwang level!

Unfortunately, his luck was far worse than that of the Lu Qingshan before him; when his strength was weak, he had not obtained an opportunity like today's, and by the time he broke through to become a Universe Venerable and had the ability to help those close to him break through to Immortality, those close to him had already perished due to the limit of their lifespans; even if a Universe Master were asked to reverse time and space, they could not be resurrected!

Thinking of this, Zifeng Zunzhe naturally held the Lu Qingshan before him in even higher regard, then continued speaking: "The items you need total 72 Importance within; what do you plan to exchange the remaining Importance within for?"

Hearing Zifeng Zunzhe's words, Lu Qingshan quickly thought again of his seventh son, Lu Hongyuan, who had perished in an accidental battlefield while gathering resources for him.

"Fortunately, it is not too late now!"

Lu Qingshan secretly rejoiced in his heart, then hurriedly spoke: "Zunzhe, this subordinate wishes to spend some Importance within to resurrect a person!"

"Oh?"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Zifeng Zunzhe smiled and said: "It seems you little one know quite a lot, even that the dead can be resurrected by reversing time and space!"

"This subordinate heard it from my teacher!" Lu Qingshan quickly said.

"I see!"

Zifeng Zunzhe nodded slightly, but soon spoke again: "But you must know, even the lofty Universe Masters who can wield the means to reverse time and space are not omnipotent! For those who perished due to the limit of their lifespans, even if a Universe Master acts, it is impossible to resurrect them!"

Speaking to this point, Zifeng Zunzhe could not help but sigh inwardly in his heart.

"Replying to Zunzhe!"

Lu Qingshan quickly answered: "The person this subordinate wishes to resurrect is a Domain Lord; if he had not perished, he would now be only over two million years old!"

"If that is the case, there is still hope for resurrection!"

Zifeng Zunzhe spoke again: "I ask you again, how did the person you wish to resurrect originally perish? Were they soul-enslaved by anyone?"

"No!"

Lu Qingshan quickly said: "He perished on the Outer Battlefield and was not soul-enslaved by anyone!"

"Then resurrecting this person is relatively simple! However..."

Zifeng Zunzhe's voice suddenly became quite solemn: "Lu Qingshan, you must know that to reverse time and space to resurrect the dead, even I, such a Universe Hegemon, cannot do it; at least a Universe Master must act for it to succeed!"

"And for an existence like a Universe Master, even I cannot simply say 'please' and have them come! Although I have some confidence, I am not certain when a Universe Master will act to help you resurrect the person you wish to resurrect!"

"Of course, under normal circumstances, this time will not exceed five million years; the lifespan of the person you wish to resurrect is still very sufficient!"

"I understand!" Lu Qingshan quickly nodded and said.

"And also..."

Zifeng Zunzhe continued: "Although the cost for the clan to resurrect a Hei Fengwang peak Immortal is only 0.1 Importance within, the person you wish to resurrect does not meet the clan's resurrection conditions, and it also requires a Universe Master to travel to a specific area to resurrect them, so the cost will definitely be higher!"

"I remember that over thirty million years ago, Qinglong Zunzhe once asked a Universe Master to resurrect an ordinary Immortal; at that time, he should have spent 10 Importance within, so you must spend at least 10 Importance within for me to have some confidence in doing this for you!"

Hearing these words, Lu Qingshan had no objection in his heart.

Although resurrecting a Domain Lord would certainly cost fewer resources than resurrecting an Immortal, for an existence like a Universe Master it would probably be a trivial matter; the most important point of this matter is being able to persuade a Universe Master to make a special trip for this!

Doing it for merely 10 Importance within, Lu Qingshan was naturally extremely willing.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly nodded and said: "Replying to Zunzhe, I am willing to pay the cost of 10 Importance within to ask a Universe Master to act!"

"Good!"

Zifeng Zunzhe smiled and looked at Lu Qingshan, then continued: "What else do you need to exchange? By the way, can you hand over the treasures in your hand to me?"

Hearing these words, Lu Qingshan hurriedly extended both hands to offer the Importance within treasure in his hand: "Zunzhe!"

"Mm!"

Zifeng Zunzhe nodded slightly, quickly took the Importance within treasure from Lu Qingshan's hand, and then instantly separated a wisp of divine power to penetrate into it.

Since he had been killed by Seeing Yan Di before, the brand left in the treasure had naturally all dissipated; now that he had regained the Importance within treasure, he naturally needed to re-imprint his own spiritual mark upon it.

However, after Zifeng Zunzhe's divine power penetrated inside the Importance within treasure, it encountered an obstruction.

"Could it be the spiritual mark this little one just imprinted?"

Zifeng Zunzhe thought inwardly: "But he is just a small Fenghou Immortal; even if he imprinted a spiritual mark, my divine power should have shattered it with a slight shock!"

"No!"

After feeling a quite powerful resistance, Zifeng Zunzhe suddenly understood in his heart: "This is Seeing Yan Di's mark! Didn't my teacher say that the supreme treasures held by Seeing Yan Di are far more precious than those of most Universe Masters? Previously, him snatching Liuguang Zhiyi was one thing, but I didn't expect him to even imprint a life mark on such a small Importance within treasure!"

Thinking of this, Zifeng Zunzhe could not help but snort coldly in his heart: "Seeing Yan Di, although I am not your match, can I not deal with the spiritual mark you imprinted in the treasure?"

Knowing that, as a Universe Hegemon, Zifeng Zunzhe's will had long reached the limit of the Venerable Realm, and he was already not far from crossing into the Universe Master level; breaking the spiritual brand Seeing Yan Di left in the treasure was still quite simple.

Immediately, Zifeng Zunzhe quickly began to break the spiritual brand Seeing Yan Di left in the black cubic Importance within treasure.

And as he broke it, Seeing Yan Di, who was relying on the Calamity Armor to hard-resist the attack of Bing Feng Zhi Zhu in the void far away, immediately felt a connection!

"A little bug dares to snatch my treasure?"

With a thought from Seeing Yan Di, an invisible constraint instantly covered Zifeng Zunzhe, who was over ten light-years away.

With the strength of Seeing Yan Di and Master Bingfeng Zhi, their power could instantly reach any area within the Yan Shen Secret Realm, which had a diameter of only several hundred thousand light-years; previously, they had simply deliberately avoided the area near Yan Shen Star during their clash.

Now that Seeing Yan Di was angered by Zifeng Zunzhe, he could naturally act against him instantly.

"Not good! It's Seeing Yan Di!"

In the starry void of the universe, after feeling that terrifying constraining force, Zifeng Zunzhe immediately began burning his Immortal divine power to resist it, but the constraining force around him continued to increase.

If he were in his full state, such a constraining force would naturally be very difficult to pose a fatal threat to him, but now that he had just been resurrected by reversing time and space, he did not even have a single piece of Importance within armor on his body; resisting this constraining force was naturally extremely difficult, and he could only watch helplessly as his own divine power was constantly consumed.

And in front of him, Lu Qingshan's divine body instantly exploded.

"Right, there is also this little one!"

Noticing the shattered divine power scattered in the void, Zifeng Zunzhe's divine power instantly spread out, protecting the remaining divine power of Lu Qingshan.

Lu Qingshan belonged to the same lineage as Master Bingfeng Zhi as he did, so naturally he could not stand by and do nothing: "Seeing Yan Di's sudden strike must have annihilated at least seventy or eighty percent of this little one's divine power, right? I hope this little one's will can remain clear!"

In fact, even if Yan Di merely displayed a sliver of his power, it would be enough to completely annihilate a peak Hei Fengwang Immortal.

It was just that Yan Di's attention was entirely on Zifeng Zunzhe just now, paying absolutely no mind to Lu Qingshan beside him, which allowed him to escape this calamity.

Yet even so, more than eighty percent of Lu Qingshan's divine power was completely annihilated in the aftermath of Yan Di's casual strike this time; if not for his strong will, he would likely have fallen into a deep slumber by now.

Buzz!

Under the protection of Zifeng Zunzhe's divine power, the remaining divine power of Lu Qingshan, scattered in the void, finally stopped being annihilated, then slowly gathered together, reappearing as Lu Qingshan's figure, though his aura had now become extremely weak!

Of course, while this matter sounds long, it actually happened in an instant.

And the Master Bingfeng Zhi, who was currently pressing Yan Di in battle, seeing that Yan Di actually dared to strike at his disciple, felt even more furious; after waving his hand to break Yan Di's restraint on the disciple, he quickly accelerated his attack speed.

On the other side.

"Zunzhe!"

Lu Qingshan, who had just condensed his divine body, quickly asked, "Just now that was..."

Lu Qingshan asked this not out of fear, but to confirm the identity of the one who struck, so he could repay them double later!

Seeing this, Zifeng Zunzhe, whose divine power had now stopped burning, said somewhat awkwardly, "Little one, you need not worry! The target of that attack just now was me; you were merely caught in the crossfire! Rest assured, I will bear the loss of all the divine power you lost this time; after we leave the Yan Secret Realm, I will help you restore your divine body to its perfect state!"

"Moreover, now that my teacher has intervened, we should not encounter any more danger!"

"It truly is Yan Di!"

After hearing Zifeng Zunzhe's words, Lu Qingshan immediately confirmed the identity of the one who struck!

"Caught in the crossfire?"

Lu Qingshan thought silently to himself: "I'm afraid that even striking at Zifeng Zunzhe was something Yan Di did casually!"

Having been severely injured and near death by the aftermath of a casual strike from Yan Di, a hint of anger inevitably rose in Lu Qingshan's heart!

To Yan Di's eyes, he now probably didn't even count as an ant!

"Indeed!"

A thought inevitably flashed through Lu Qingshan's mind: "Since crossing into the Immortal Spirit realm and joining the Myriad Heavens Chat Group, I have rarely fought desperately like a Domain Master!"

"In these over one million years, I have merely been relying on opportunities within the Chat Group, cultivating step by step!"

"Back when I was still a Domain Master, I dared to venture into the Outer Realm Battlefield for resources! How is it that now, having become Immortal and even possessing the ability to create clones, I have instead become timid!"

"Furthermore, staying within the Human Territory is not necessarily safe either!"

"If I can encounter Yan Di and Master Bingfeng Zhi fighting now, I might encounter other dangers in the future! Even someone as strong as the Great Axe Founder could fall; what does a Marquis Immortal like me amount to?"

"The path of the strong is not one anyone can walk! I was originally just an ordinary genius who barely became Immortal after expending countless efforts; even with the Chat Group's help, there is still a very long road to walk to become a true strong one!"

At this moment, Lu Qingshan's heart became incomparably firm: "A true strong one, besides various external resources, more importantly, must have the heart of a strong one!"

"Become stronger!"

"Seize every opportunity and chance to become even more powerful!"

"It is time to go to the Outer Realm Battlefield! Only by experiencing true life-and-death tempering can I become stronger faster!"

"Yan Di, just wait!"

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; once my strength is sufficient, I will definitely make you taste the feeling of being treated as an ant!"

Lu Qingshan's will was already extremely strong, and this time being viewed as an ant by Yan Di...

No, it should be said he didn't even count as an ant!

This experience also caused a slight sublimation in his will, and even his weak divine body became somewhat stronger!

Of course, this was merely Lu Qingshan's illusion.

The reason he felt his divine body had become stronger was entirely because his will had improved, thereby giving him greater control over his current divine body, which was less than twenty percent!

Of course, Zifeng Zunzhe beside him had no awareness of everything that happened to Lu Qingshan.

At this moment, Zifeng Zunzhe merely waved his hand, sending a world ring before Lu Qingshan, and asked at the same time, "This is your world ring, isn't it?"

Looking at the world ring before his eyes, Lu Qingshan, coming to his senses, couldn't help but sigh at the luck of Deloris and the others.

He originally carried two world rings and three space rings on his person!

But now, under Yan Di's casual strike, the other storage spaces were completely destroyed, and even the treasures within them were all annihilated; only the world ring where Deloris and the others were hiding remained intact.

"By the way, what do you plan to exchange for the remaining heavy treasure points?" Zifeng Zunzhe asked again.

At this time, Lu Qingshan already had an idea in mind: "Zunzhe, this subordinate wishes to exchange for a heavy treasure capable of guarding the soul!"

"A soul-type heavy treasure?"

Zifeng Zunzhe thought for a moment, then said, "I see that your will is quite strong, little one; a soul-type heavy treasure probably won't help you much. Why not choose some other treasure?"

"For instance, a heavy treasure of the armor type could help you weaken an enemy's attack to one-tenth; in that case, as long as you don't encounter a Hei Fengwang Immortal, even a peak Marquis Immortal burning their divine power would be unable to do anything to you!"

Hearing Zifeng Zunzhe's words, Lu Qingshan had no intention of changing his decision.

After all, after experiencing what just happened, he had already decided that after leaving the Yan Secret Realm, he would send his second clone to the Outer Realm Battlefield to temper himself.

And while exchanging for a heavy treasure armor would allow him to fear no enemies at the Marquis level, once he encountered a powerful Hei Fengwang Immortal, he might be killed and robbed of his treasure!

But exchanging for a soul-type heavy treasure is different!

In Lu Qingshan's view, he has the ability to create clones; as long as he uses a soul-type heavy treasure to guard the Infinite Divine Sea clone, even if a peak Hei Fengwang Soul Master attempts to penetrate and annihilate him with soul techniques, they could at most annihilate his main body and second clone, while the Infinite Divine Sea would surely remain safe, allowing him to once again nurture the main body and second clone to return!

This means that as long as Lu Qingshan can possess a soul-type heavy treasure to guard the Infinite Divine Sea clone, he will not encounter any truly fatal crises on the Outer Realm Battlefield; at most, a clone will fall, and he will lose some resources!

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan quickly said respectfully again, "Replying to Zunzhe, this subordinate has always worried about being enslaved by alien souls, so I still wish to exchange for a soul-type heavy treasure to guard my soul!"

"Very well!"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's reply, Zifeng Zunzhe did not persuade him further: "Since you insist on exchanging for a soul-type heavy treasure, then I will not persuade you!"

"However, soul-type heavy treasures have always been the most precious among many treasures; although when I last went to the Clan Treasury, there was still one soul-type heavy treasure priced at 110 heavy treasure points, it might have already been exchanged by someone else by now. How about this: I will go back to the Clan Treasury to check for you; if your remaining heavy treasure points are enough to exchange for a soul-type heavy treasure suitable for you, I will exchange it for you; if your heavy treasure points are insufficient, then you can only exchange for other treasures!"

"Thank you, Zunzhe!" Lu Qingshan nodded hurriedly and said.

Regarding the matters Zifeng Zunzhe mentioned, Lu Qingshan, familiar with the original work, was quite knowledgeable.

After all, the human race's treasure vault is not all-powerful either; one must have corresponding treasures in order for people to exchange them, otherwise it would just be a price tag.

For example, supreme treasures—although the human race's treasure vault does have this option, there is currently not a single supreme treasure in the human race's treasure vault!

Although the number of heavy treasures in the human race's treasure vault is somewhat greater, given the limited resources, finding a treasure that suits oneself is also no easy task!

For example, a universe Zunzhe who has mastered the complete law of time's origin has 1,000 heavy treasure points in hand and wishes to exchange them for a top-grade soul-type heavy treasure.

Perhaps the cheapest top-grade soul-type heavy treasure in the human race's treasure vault costs 1,100 heavy treasure points, or perhaps the human race's treasure vault happens to have a top-grade soul-type heavy treasure worth exactly 1,000 heavy treasure points, but it is of the space attribute…

"With insufficient resources on hand now, I can only see whether my luck is good!"

Lu Qingshan secretly thought to himself: "If my luck is bad, I can only see if I can ask Zifeng Zunzhe to commission someone to craft a heavy treasure for me, but doing so would inevitably delay some time!"

(End of this chapter)