Chapter 317

Natural Empire, Northern Polar Continent.

Hum~~~

Deep underground, a fusion nuclear explosion occurred, with a yield of about 500,000 tons TNT, its scale forty times larger than the previous one.

The reason for using this is that, first, the Empire has a deuterium extraction factory with high deuterium output.

Second, it is cleaner than fission bombs and has greater power.

After the explosion, Luosen waited a while, then inspected the artifact furnace.

The result was nothing.

Bad luck, the first synthesis failed.

What to do? Of course, continue exploding.

Hum!

Failure!

Hum!

Failure!

This time the Goddess of Fortune wasn't by Luosen's side; he only began to have luck after detonating five fusion bombs in a row.

After the sixth fusion bomb exploded, Luosen opened the artifact furnace and saw, to his amazement, a life tree branch three meters long and as thick as a thigh lying inside.

No, this should be called a life tree trunk.

Testing its performance, he found the trunk's quality was also excellent, clearly better than that produced by fission bombs.

It's just too bulky to be convenient to use.

'We need to modify the artifact furnace's structure to make the product smaller.'

As for this life tree trunk, it will be sent to the Cavendish Laboratory for use.

After the modifications were completed, Luosen continued crafting life tree branches.

He detonated another five fusion bombs, setting off all the fusion bombs brought this time.

His luck also exploded, directly producing nine life tree branches, all of excellent quality.

After finishing, he calculated that the total cost was six million Ogre, meaning each life tree branch cost an average of six hundred thousand Ogre.

'This artifact crafting method is really inefficient, wastes too much energy, and has poor controllability.'

'We need to develop a better artifact furnace.'

This matter has already been put on the agenda in the Natural Empire, but the difficulty is great, and it's unknown when it will actually be realized.

Carrying one life tree trunk and nine life tree branches, Luosen returned to Swan Fortress.

Naturally, the best one is for his own use.

The remaining nine branches, Luosen gave to the domestic top Magic Method Laboratory.

The Cavendish Laboratory gave one, the Beier Laboratory gave one, the High-Energy Magic Method Laboratory gave one, the Potion Laboratory gave one—overall they were all distributed.

Artifact users are not fixed; whoever needs it for an experiment writes an application.

Once the evaluation passes, temporary usage rights to the artifact can be obtained.

The first life tree branch, also the poorest in quality, was taken out to exchange with Adela.

When Adela last left, the two had agreed on a means of contact.

So, after everything was ready, Luosen took the life tree branch and, following the plane coordinates Adela gave, directly performed a plane transfer.

After the transfer was completed, he arrived at Adela's Life Plane.

More precisely, he came to an uninhabited desert island on the Life Plane.

He first waited patiently for three hours, letting his soul's turmoil settle so he could perform another phase transfer; then, according to the agreement, he set up a communication device on the ground and activated it.

After about half an hour, he felt the magic ring tremble slightly, and beneath a nearby tree, a strange light cluster appeared out of nowhere.

Luosen made ample preparations before stepping into the light cluster.

After passing through the light cluster, light and shadow shifted.

The desert island transformed into a splendid palace, and on its throne sat an alluring woman in an orchid-white off-shoulder low-cut long dress—none other than the Life Goddess Adela.

She looked down at Luosen from above and smiled, saying, 'Compared to last time, you've become stronger again.'

That is natural.

Because Luosen is constantly optimizing his body and also constantly enhancing the performance of the Supreme Crown.

Whenever the Empire has any new research findings, if they can be used, he can use them right away.

Thus, his soul strength has reached 15.1, and the gap in soul scale between him and Adela has narrowed considerably.

He also couldn't be bothered to talk more, handing over a life tree branch and saying, 'I've brought the item; what about you?'

Adela reached out and produced the Endless Compass.

This item looks like a disc twenty centimeters in diameter and two centimeters thick, silver-white in color, with a faint platinum gleam rippling across its surface.

Luosen gazed at it intently and immediately felt a bit disappointed: 'It's only a first-tier artifact.'

Adela raised her eyebrows: 'Heh~~~ Even His Majesty the Emperor is being picky?'

Luosen didn't hide it either: 'I've received word that Atumen plans to use a second-tier attack artifact against me.'

Adela understood, but showed a hint of helplessness: 'The Extinction Law Sword, you know? I also know that, outside the Abyss, only three second-tier artifacts currently exist.'

'Among them, Godfall is the most mysterious—no one knows what it is—but seven Void Gods, six powerful gods, and one great god have died by it.'

'Among them, Godfall is the most mysterious—no one knows what it is—but seven Void Gods, six powerful gods, and one great god have died by it.'

Luosen frowned: "Since you know about the Extinction Law artifact, you even specially came to warn me earlier, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because the power you displayed earlier is not enough to let A Tu Men use the Extinction Law Sword. Moreover, A Tu Men is not in the Na Wa Te plane, right?" This is also true.

Luosen handed over the branch of the Tree of Life, took back the Infinite Compass: "Can you tell me who holds these three second-rank divine artifacts?"

Of course, this isn't any great secret.

The first two belong to Gao Mi Le Er. The last one belongs to the witch Pa Luo Mei Na Si. This is also why Gao Mi Le Er fears the witch.

Do you understand the attack method of the Extinction Law Sword?

Adela spread her hands: "Sorry, I don't know this either; probably no one knows, because those who knew are dead."

Luosen had it figured out; having asked what he needed to ask, he returned to the main topic.

Then what use does the Endless Compass have?

Adela smiled and said: "Sorry, I still don't know."

?

This answer could hardly satisfy Luosen; it also made him feel Adela was just brushing him off.

You are the wielder of a divine artifact; how could you not know?

Adela showed a hint of embarrassment: "To be frank, I snatched this artifact from the Lost Plane; I've studied it for 50 years and still haven't figured out its use."

I call it the Endless Compass because it is shrouded in endless mist, making its true form impossible to see.

Luosen turned the Endless Compass over and over, tried pouring magic into it, but there was no abnormal reaction—it was just like an ordinary stone.

Really, really random naming; I thought this thing was extraordinarily powerful.

He felt somewhat cheated, but he respects contracts above all.

Since the other party strictly followed the contract, he had nothing to say.

He carefully stored the Endless Compass: "Then I'll take it back to study it thoroughly."

Having said that, Luosen prepared to leave.

Wait.

Adela called out to him.

She rose and walked slowly toward Luosen: "I've heard you've mastered the ability to manipulate the magic ring?"

Luosen replied vaguely: "I've done some exploration in this area, and indeed achieved some insignificant results."

Adela shook her head: "This is not an insignificant achievement; it is a great achievement, and a necessary one."

"Because this ability is required to enter the star realm, and even to enter the abyss."

"Currently, aside from you thinking so, no one else has mastered this ability."

She walked up to Luosen, circled him once, then from behind leaned close to his ear and whispered: "The abyss won't stay sealed forever, because the beings inside always want to get out, and they will eventually find a way to open it."

Luosen raised the alert level of the Heart of the War God to maximum: "I anticipated this long ago, and I am doing my best to promote related research."

Adela sniffed behind Luosen's ear and chuckled: "I smell Sha'er's scent; it seems you've already tasted her—how is it, isn't it much better than ordinary women?"

Luosen shrugged: "Each has its own charm."

Spirit essence is livelier than elemental energy, so the stimulation intensity is indeed high. Anyway, it's just very stimulating.

"Haha~~ truly a flirtatious emperor."

Adela turned to face Luosen, her back to him, her slender waist swaying as she walked back to the palace throne: "Go back, but don't forget the trip to the Lost Plane in three years."

"I certainly won't forget."

Luosen's gaze swept over Adela's back: "Well, I'll take my leave now."

He exited the magic ring, immediately activated phase shift, and headed straight for the High-Energy Magic Method Laboratory with the Endless Compass.

On the other side, Adela watched Luosen leave, but did not leave right away; instead she waited patiently.

After a dozen minutes, a figure appeared in the spacious, splendid palace.

At first, the figure was enveloped in a mass of purple light mist; after he took a few steps forward, the mist dissipated, revealing a peculiarly shaped woman.

The woman wore a pointed wide-brimmed hat, a ferocious fang mask on her face, an outer gray cotton loose long robe, inner tight shiny black leather armor, and high-heeled leather boots on her feet.

She walked with a seductive catlike step; the heels lightly tapped the palace floor, making a crisp "ka-qiao~ka-qiao~ka-qiao" sound.

"Is this the great mortal you spoke of?"

Her voice was soft and alluring, like a cat begging for affection.

Adela nodded: "From a mortal's perspective, isn't he already great enough?"

The peculiar woman shrugged slightly: "That's true enough. But you really like to meddle; I was planning to go have some fun with him, yet you insist on stopping me."

"He's very busy, has no time to play with you."

"Of course, I know this won't convince you. My real reason is: if you truly want to kill Gordimer, he will be your greatest aid."

The woman spread her hands: "What a moving reason. All right, I won't disturb him from his proper business."

"However, if I catch you idle, I'll surely find myself some fun."

Adela sighed: "The gate of the abyss is about to open again; do you still have leisure to play around?"

The woman had already turned and left, waving her hand as she went: "I'm not like you."

"You like to plan everything, wishing you could calculate a hundred years ahead."

"But we mortals can't possibly figure everything out."

"Better to enjoy life in time, lest one day we meet our fated death without having enjoyed even a single day of happiness."

Having said that, she waved farewell to Adela; a mass of purple light mist surged around her body and then vanished instantly.

(End of chapter)