Chapter 84: The Collateral Ants, the Heart of the Strong

“No problem!”

Seeing Lu Qingshan spend a large amount of Heavy Treasure Points to select items that would help the Realm Lord break through to Immortality, Zifeng Zunzhe felt deeply moved.

He had previously explained to Lu Qingshan just how precious Heavy Treasure Points were, yet Lu Qingshan still willingly spent a vast sum on his relatives—clearly, he was a person of deep emotion.

This even reminded Zifeng Zunzhe of himself in his own youth!

Back then, during his rise, he had been infinitely more dazzling than the Lu Qingshan before him; as a Primordial Secret Realm Lord, though he had never crossed the Primordial Ascension Mountain at the Realm Lord level, he immediately entered the King-tier upon breaking through to Immortality!

Unfortunately, his luck was far worse than this Lu Qingshan’s—he had never gained opportunities like today’s when he was weak, and by the time he broke through to Cosmic Zunzhe and gained the power to help his loved ones reach Immortality, they had long since perished from lifespan limits, even the intervention of a Cosmic Lord could not revive them!

Thinking of this, Zifeng Zunzhe regarded the Lu Qingshan before him with even greater respect, then continued: “The items you need total 72 Heavy Treasure Points. What do you plan to exchange with the remaining points?”

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

“Thankfully, it’s not too late yet!”

Lu Qingshan silently rejoiced, then quickly said: “Zunzhe, I wish to spend some Heavy Treasure Points to revive someone!”

“Oh?”

Hearing Lu Qingshan’s words, Zifeng Zunzhe smiled: “Looks like you know quite a bit—even that the dead can be revived by reversing time!”

“I heard of it from my Master!” Lu Qingshan replied quickly.

“I see.”

Zifeng Zunzhe nodded slightly, then added: “But know this—even the mighty Cosmic Lords who can reverse time are not omnipotent! Those who perished from lifespan limits cannot be revived, even by a Cosmic Lord’s intervention!”

As he spoke, Zifeng Zunzhe couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

“Replying to Zunzhe!”

Lu Qingshan answered quickly: “The person I wish to revive is a Realm Lord—he would be only a little over two million years old if he had not perished!”

“If that’s the case, there is still hope for revival!”

Zifeng Zunzhe continued: “Let me ask you—how did this person perish? Was his soul enslaved?”

“No!”

Lu Qingshan replied quickly: “He perished on the Outer Battlefield, and was not soul-enslaved!”

“Then reviving him is relatively simple. But…”

Zifeng Zunzhe’s voice turned solemn: “Lu Qingshan, know this—even I, as a Cosmic Overlord, cannot reverse time to revive the dead. At least a Cosmic Lord must act for success!”

“And beings like Cosmic Lords—I cannot simply summon them at will! I have some influence, but I cannot guarantee when a Cosmic Lord will act to revive the one you seek!”

“Of course, under normal circumstances, the wait will not exceed five million years—your intended one’s lifespan is still ample.”

“I understand!” Lu Qingshan nodded quickly.

“And…”

Zifeng Zunzhe continued: “Though reviving a Peak King-tier Immortal within our clan costs only 0.1 Heavy Treasure Point, the person you wish to revive does not meet our clan’s revival criteria, and a Cosmic Lord must travel to a specific location to perform the revival—so the cost will be higher!”

“I recall that over thirty million years ago, Qinglong Zunzhe once requested a Cosmic Lord to revive a common Immortal—he spent 10 Heavy Treasure Points. So you must spend at least 10, and only then do I have some confidence I can arrange this for you.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan had no objections.

Though reviving a Realm Lord should cost less than reviving an Immortal, to a Cosmic Lord, it was likely a trivial matter—the most important point was simply securing a Cosmic Lord’s personal intervention!

To achieve this with only 10 Heavy Treasure Points, Lu Qingshan was more than willing.

Thinking this, Lu Qingshan nodded quickly: “Replying to Zunzhe—I am willing to spend 10 Heavy Treasure Points to request a Cosmic Lord’s intervention!”

“Good!”

Zifeng Zunzhe smiled at Lu Qingshan, then continued: “What else do you need? By the way, aren’t you going to hand over your treasures?”

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan immediately extended both hands to offer the Heavy Treasures: “Zunzhe!”

“Mm.”

Zifeng Zunzhe nodded slightly, swiftly took the Heavy Treasures from Lu Qingshan’s hands, and immediately sent a thread of divine power into them.

His previous mark, left when he was slain by Yan Di, had naturally vanished—now that he had regained the treasures, he needed to re-embed his spiritual imprint.

But as Zifeng Zunzhe’s divine power penetrated the interior of the Heavy Treasure, he encountered resistance.

“Could this be the spiritual imprint this little one just left?”

Zifeng Zunzhe thought inwardly: “But he’s only a lowly King-tier Immortal—even if he imprinted it, my divine force should easily dispel it!”

“No!”

Feeling the strong resistance, Zifeng Zunzhe suddenly realized: “This is Yan Di’s mark! Master said Yan Di possessed treasures more precious than most Cosmic Lords! He stole the Flowing Light Wings, but I never expected him to imprint a Life Mark even on such a minor Heavy Treasure!”

Thinking of this, Zifeng Zunzhe sneered inwardly: “Yan Di, though I am no match for you, do you think I cannot break your spiritual imprint on this treasure?”

As a Cosmic Overlord, Zifeng Zunzhe’s will had already reached the zenith of the Zunzhe realm, nearing the threshold of Cosmic Lordhood—breaking Yan Di’s imprint was simple.

Immediately, Zifeng Zunzhe began unraveling the spiritual imprint Yan Di had left on the black cube Heavy Treasure.

As he did so, Yan Di, far away in the void, relying on his Tribulation Armor to withstand the Ice Peak Lord’s assault, immediately sensed it!

“A mere insect dares steal my treasure?”

Yan Di’s thought flared, and an invisible restraint instantly enveloped Zifeng Zunzhe, over ten light-years distant.

With the power of Yan Di and the Ice Peak Lord, their energy could reach any point within the ten-thousand-light-year-wide Yan Mystery Realm instantly—they had merely avoided the Yan God Star during their battle.

Now enraged by Zifeng Zunzhe, Yan Di struck without delay.

“Bad! It’s Yan Di!”

In the cosmic void, Zifeng Zunzhe felt the terrifying restraint and immediately burned his Immortal divine power to resist—but the pressure around him continued to intensify.

In his full state, such restraint would pose little threat, but he had just been revived by time reversal and lacked even a single Heavy Treasure armor—resisting this force was extremely difficult, and he could only watch helplessly as his divine power drained.

Before him, Lu Qingshan’s divine body instantly shattered.

“Ah, and this little one too!”

Noticing the scattered fragments of divine power, Zifeng Zunzhe’s divine force instantly spread out, shielding Lu Qingshan’s remaining divine energy.

Lu Qingshan belonged to the same lineage as him—the Ice Peak Lord—he could not stand by and let him die: “Yan Di’s sudden strike must have annihilated eighty to ninety percent of this little one’s divine power—I hope his will remains clear!”

In truth, even a fraction of Yan Di’s power could utterly annihilate a Peak King-tier Immortal.

But Yan Di had been entirely focused on Zifeng Zunzhe, paying no attention to Lu Qingshan beside him—this was why he escaped death.

Even so, Lu Qingshan’s divine power had been obliterated by over eighty percent in the residual shockwave of Yan Di’s casual strike; had his will not been strong, he would already have fallen into unconsciousness.

Hum!

Under Zifeng Zunzhe’s divine protection, Lu Qingshan’s scattered remaining divine energy ceased dissolving and slowly coalesced, reforming his figure—but his aura was now extremely weak!

Of course, this sequence of events, though lengthy to describe, occurred in an instant.

Meanwhile, the Ice Peak Lord, who had been overpowering Yan Di, saw that Yan Di dared strike his disciple—his fury surged. After shattering Yan Di’s restraint, he immediately accelerated his assault.

…

On the other side.

“Zunzhe!”

Lu Qingshan, having just reformed his divine body, asked: “That just now—”

He asked not from fear, but to confirm the identity of the attacker, so he could repay them tenfold later!

Seeing this, Zifeng Zunzhe, who had ceased burning his divine power, replied awkwardly: “Little one, don’t worry! That attack targeted me—you were merely caught in the crossfire! Don’t fear: I will bear full responsibility for your lost divine power. After leaving the Yan Mystery Realm, I will restore your divine body to perfect condition!”

“Besides, my Master has already intervened—we should no longer face danger!”

“So it was Yan Di!”

Hearing Zifeng Zunzhe’s words, Lu Qingshan immediately confirmed the attacker’s identity!

“Caught in the crossfire?”

Lu Qingshan thought inwardly: “Even targeting Zifeng Zunzhe was probably just a casual flick of Yan Di’s wrist!”

Severely wounded and nearly dead by the residual shockwave of Yan Di’s casual strike, Lu Qingshan could not suppress a surge of anger!

To Yan Di, he was now less than even an ant!

“Indeed!”

A thought flashed through Lu Qingshan’s mind: “Since entering the Immortal realm and joining the Celestial Chat Group, I’ve rarely fought as desperately as I did when I was a Realm Lord!”

“For the past million years, I’ve merely relied on opportunities from the Chat Group, cultivating steadily and passively!”

“When I was still a Realm Lord, I dared venture into the Outer Battlefield for resources! Now that I’m an Immortal, even with a body-splitting ability, why have I become timid?”

“Besides, even within Human Territory, safety is not guaranteed!”

“I encountered Yan Di and the Ice Peak Lord clashing today—tomorrow, I might face other dangers! Even the mighty Axe Creator could perish—what am I, a King-tier Immortal, compared to that?”

“The path of the strong is not for everyone! I was once just an ordinary genius who barely became an Immortal through countless efforts—even with the Chat Group’s aid, I still have a long way to go to become a true strong one!”

At this moment, Lu Qingshan’s will hardened utterly: “True strength requires more than external resources—it demands a strong heart!”

“Grow stronger!”

“Seize every opportunity, every chance, to become even stronger!”

“It’s time to go to the Outer Battlefield! Only through true life-or-death trials can I grow faster!”

“Yan Di, wait!”

“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—when I am strong enough, I will make you taste what it feels like to be treated as an ant!”

Lu Qingshan’s will had always been strong, and now, being regarded by Yan Di as an ant—

No, not even an ant!

This experience elevated his will slightly, and even his weakened divine body felt marginally stronger!

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

He felt his divine body had strengthened because his will had improved, granting him greater control over his now less-than-twenty-percent divine body.

Naturally, Zifeng Zunzhe beside him noticed none of this.

At this moment, Zifeng Zunzhe merely waved his hand, sending a World Ring before Lu Qingshan, and asked: “Is this your World Ring?”

Looking at the World Ring before him, Lu Qing regained his composure and couldn’t help but marvel at Deloris’s luck.

He had originally carried two World Rings and three Space Rings!

But now, under a casual strike by the Flame Emperor, all other storage spaces had been utterly destroyed, their treasures completely annihilated—only the World Ring where Deloris and the others hid remained intact.

“By the way, what do you plan to exchange your remaining Heavy Treasure Points for?” Master Zi Feng asked again.

At that moment, Lu Qing had already made up his mind: “Master, I wish to exchange for a Heavy Treasure that can guard the soul!”

“A soul-type Heavy Treasure?”

Master Zi Feng paused briefly, then said: “Your willpower is quite strong—I doubt a soul-type Heavy Treasure would benefit you much. Why not choose another treasure instead?”

“For instance, a suit of armor-type Heavy Treasure that can reduce enemy attacks to one-tenth. Then, as long as you don’t face a Sovereign-level Immortal, even a Peak Marquis-level Immortal burning their divine power couldn’t harm you!”

Hearing this, Lu Qing had no intention of changing his decision.

After what had just happened, he had already decided that once he left the Flame Emperor’s Secret Realm, he would send his second avatar to the Outer Battlefield to hone himself.

While exchanging for a Heavy Treasure armor would make him immune to Marquis-level enemies, should he encounter a powerful Sovereign-level Immortal, he might be killed and his treasures stolen!

But a soul-type Heavy Treasure was different!

In Lu Qing’s view, with his ability to split into avatars, if he used a soul-type Heavy Treasure to guard his Infinite Divine Sea avatar, even a Peak Sovereign-level Soul Master attempting soul infiltration to destroy him could only kill his main body and second avatar—the Infinite Divine Sea would remain unharmed, allowing him to regenerate both bodies and return stronger!

In other words, as long as Lu Qing possessed a soul-type Heavy Treasure to guard his Infinite Divine Sea avatar, he would face no true mortal danger on the Outer Battlefield—worst case, he’d lose an avatar and some resources.

Thinking this, Lu Qing quickly bowed respectfully again: “Master, I’ve always feared being enslaved by alien souls, so I still wish to exchange for a soul-type Heavy Treasure to guard my soul!”

“Very well.”

Upon hearing Lu Qing’s answer, Master Zi Feng did not press further: “Since you insist on exchanging for a soul-type Heavy Treasure, I won’t dissuade you.”

“But soul-type Heavy Treasures are always among the most precious. Though I last visited the Clan Treasury and saw one priced at 110 Heavy Treasure Points, it may already have been exchanged. I’ll check the Clan Treasury for you later—if your remaining Heavy Treasure Points can afford a suitable soul-type Heavy Treasure, I’ll arrange the exchange; if not, you’ll have to choose another treasure.”

“Thank you, Master!” Lu Qing nodded quickly.

Lu Qing, familiar with the original story, understood well what Master Zi Feng had said.

After all, the Human Clan’s Treasury wasn’t omnipotent—it could only offer treasures that actually existed; otherwise, the price was meaningless.

For instance, while the Human Clan’s Treasury listed Supreme Ultimate Treasures as an option, it currently held not a single one.

Though the Treasury held more Heavy Treasures than other categories, with limited resources, finding one suited to you was still difficult.

For example, a Cosmic Sovereign who had mastered the complete Law of Time had 1,000 Heavy Treasure Points and wished to exchange for a top-tier soul-type Heavy Treasure.

Perhaps the cheapest top-tier soul-type Heavy Treasure in the Treasury cost 1,100 points—or perhaps one worth exactly 1,000 points existed, but it was space-affiliated…

“With insufficient resources, it all comes down to luck.”

Lu Qing thought to himself: “If I’m unlucky, I’ll have to ask Master Zi Feng to arrange for someone to forge a Heavy Treasure for me—but that would surely take time.”

(End of Chapter)