Chapter 199: The Startling Plume Spear
Jiang Zhe quickly regained his composure.
It could be done.
But not yet.
The supreme treasures he needed to sever off a final clone before breaking through to immortality were still in the hands of his Silver-Robe Primordial Spirit. He would have to wait until that clone found a replacement weapon before he could summon back Thunder and Aegis, and attempt to forge this last incarnation.
As for when he might finally step into immortality…
Jiang Zhe turned his senses inward, gazing at the inner world inside his core—a universe with a diameter of twelve light-years. A vague sense of hopelessness rose in his chest.
He sighed.
"Two paths. I'll pursue them both, to increase my chances of shattering this bottleneck."
"First, I could fully comprehend other lower origin laws, or even touch upon the higher laws of time and space, and use the connection with the universe's origin land to rupture my core from the outside."
"Second, I could create a secret art—at the Sovereign level, or even the Universe Lord level—and use an Origin Pearl's manifestation to break through from the inside."
Luckily, in this world's unique cultivation system, Domain Lords were even better suited to comprehend laws than immortals. The tradeoff, however, was that a Domain Lord's soul would decay, with a natural lifespan of around 1,000 eras. But after Jiang Zhe's latest transformation, he possessed a staggering lifespan of over 10.08 million eras.
"If pushed to desperation, I'll simply try to grasp time and space directly… and leap straight into becoming a Universe Lord."
Jiang Zhe flipped his right hand, flicking out two streams of yin and yang energy.
Black and white serpents intertwined in the air, forming a scroll painted with a Taiji diagram.
"Heh, an innate supreme treasure—my Taiji Diagram!" (Dense fog)
With a thought, he removed his Panling Armor, leaving only a layer of origin-force combat suit, and guided the Taiji Diagram to drape over himself. The scroll unraveled, the black and white energies swirling around him, merging into a robe of contrasting shades.
"Not bad at all. Its defensive power is extraordinary."
Though it was merely formed from two strands of primal qi, the resulting garment offered protection even superior to the Panling Armor.
As Jiang Zhe's thoughts shifted, the robe transformed into an ink-black and pale-white suit of battle armor. After cycling through several styles, he was quite pleased.
Speaking of new "toys," there was still one more.
A golden cocoon suddenly appeared in his palm.
"A Godking-grade life embryo. Its quality far exceeds similar embryos. If I end up completely hollowing it out, that would truly be outrageous!"
Right now, it was still an intact embryo, albeit much more mundane. It no longer possessed the same lively, mystical aura—after all, Jiang Zhe had already stripped away its most crucial Yanying innate pattern diagram.
"It needs a new secret pattern imprinted inside. Even without it, though, its quality still surpasses most supreme treasures."
Life embryos were treasures even immortals could use.
After studying it with his world force for some time, Jiang Zhe understood its function.
"It's basically a 'troop factory.' For mechanical races or insectoids, it's irreplaceable… but for me, it's almost completely irrelevant. This path diverges wildly from my own cultivation."
"I'll train in spear arts, soul secret techniques, controller arts—but never 'overwhelm with sheer numbers.' This embryo was originally designed for swarm tactics, even back when it was just a ghostly blood egg."
His creation of life within the Thunder Prison Realm was meant for the future—when he reached the Universe Lord stage and began cultivating divine power, he could birth new species and assemble armies of bio-warriors or machines. But to Jiang Zhe, such tactics were always side roads.
"Fun for the occasional diversion. As a main cultivation path? Never."
He stroked his chin.
"Maybe I should just donate it to the clan…"
Suddenly, Orianna spoke up.
"Master, could you give this life embryo to me? I'd like to rely on your insights into the laws to try creating my own peerless art—a path uniquely mine."
"It's a cultivation road you're unwilling to walk, but it suits me perfectly."
"It will become my Sanctum of Spirits, gathering various armies within. It will be your most powerful arm of support."
Jiang Zhe didn't hesitate. He smiled.
"Perfect. Saves me the trouble of preparing another supreme treasure for you. This embryo will fulfill all your needs."
Orianna, though planted into the Thunder Prison Realm, had gained new life from it, just like Jiang Yuanjun, becoming an independent being. She could freely leave the realm, move away from Jiang Zhe's side, and even wield all kinds of treasures.
"Anna, give it a new name."
"Master, let's call it the Hall of Heroes."
The embryo—Hall of Heroes—was like an insectoid hive mother. It could rapidly spawn troops, and its shell was tough enough to serve as a mobile palace. Essentially, it was a palace-type treasure.
The Calendar of Hanxia, Year 2485, March
In the whirlpool world within his inner universe—
"I didn't follow the original plan and ended up staying on Earth an extra 85 years. But it was worth it. Now that all mundane affairs are settled, it's time to return to Chaos City."
Jiang Zhe looked at Lei Lei and Qiao Lin.
"Are you two sure you want to leave with me? Let your second divine spirits stay on Earth and maintain your social connections?"
Qiao Lin hugged Jiang Zhe's neck from behind, giggling sweetly.
"Happy? Our main bodies will stay in your inner world from now on, always by your side."
Lei Lei was casually copying the Thor Codex, her tone indifferent.
"Zhe, just tell outsiders we sought higher achievements and used the opportunities you gave us to transform into energy-based lifeforms… this way, we can swap the plum for the peach, letting our second spirits handle our relationships, studies, and adventures."
Qiao Lin laughed again.
"While we watch the Thor Codex here, our second spirits receive lessons from Saint Spirit King… the cultivation conditions we enjoy aren't worse than the core princes of your Virtual Universe Company, right?"
Worse! Lacking resources… also lacking trials…
Jiang Zhe muttered inwardly, but didn't show it on his face. He didn't worry too much; the essential tempering they needed, Saint Spirit King would arrange. Their second spirits would undergo plenty of honing.
He nodded lightly, accepting his two wives' proposal.
Soon after, he took their second spirits out of his inner world and made arrangements according to their wishes.
Three years earlier, the second spirits of the Four Little Ones, along with Jiang Yuanjun, had been secretly sent into the universe by the insectoid queen Catherine to begin their adventures.
"No towering trees grow in a greenhouse…"
Over Eighty Years Later
When Lei Lei and Qiao Lin met with Dream Sovereign and Saint Spirit King again, the two elders were stunned.
What incredible fortune could transform two ordinary humans into energy lifeforms with a genetic level a hundred times higher?
Absurd. Utterly absurd!
And why did they even switch elemental affinities?
Lei Lei went from lightning to fire.
Qiao Lin went from fire to lightning.
Respecting Jiang Zhe's privacy, neither elder asked. Instead, they doubled down on teaching the pair.
With their current talent, once they broke through to immortality, they'd at minimum possess King-level combat power. Even if they never reached the Sovereign stage, a King who pushed their path to the limit would be an invincible King, with the strength of ten million Domain Lords.
Among the human race, there were only about 100,000 King-levels.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say Lei Lei and Qiao Lin's second spirits could now stand alongside Earth's Four Giants and enter the core of the Virtual Universe Company as top-tier geniuses.
Calendar of Hanxia, 2485, Early April
After saying his farewells to his grandfather, parents, grandchildren, and other loved ones—and exchanging a few words with Luo Feng—Jiang Zhe boarded the Jade Tiger, leaving Earth behind.
His two wives stayed in the whirlpool world, where even the will of the primal universe couldn't interfere, let alone Chaos City Lord's control over time and space.
Via divine kingdom teleportation, Bermington sent Jiang Zhe directly to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company.
Afterward, Bermington would lead the guards back to the Primal Secret Region to disband, as Jiang Zhe had reached the peak of Domain Lord and by regulation no longer required a guard corps.
Jiang Zhe joined other immortals aboard a Virtual Universe Company starship and entered the Initial Universe.
A Universe Still Forming
The evolving cosmos unfolded across the heavens. The Initial Universe was a small cosmos in its early stages of development. Space cracks abounded, with strands of law weaving through them, tirelessly repairing the tears—only for new cracks to form again and again, an endless cycle.
"Bluntly speaking, it's lucky for humanity that the Original Ancestor was suppressed, halting this cosmos's evolution—otherwise we wouldn't have such a sacred place to comprehend the Dao."
For example, the small universe of the Axe Founder had already perfected its evolution. The origin laws there were hidden away, unlike the exposed wonders of the Initial Universe.
"Then again… if the Original Ancestor hadn't been suppressed, humanity would be the supreme overlord of the universe sea by now."
Just thinking about universe evolution gave Jiang Zhe a headache.
His Silver-Robe Primordial Spirit's Thunder Universe was also evolving—but at an agonizing pace. Naturally waiting for it to reach destruction and rebirth would take who-knew-how-many epochs.
And the degree of its evolution directly impacted the Silver-Robe Primordial Spirit's divine body tempering—his power.
So it couldn't be left to evolve naturally. He had to artificially accelerate it.
"And after it finishes, the Earth Universe is next in line…"
This was one of the main reasons he'd come to Chaos City.
Chaos City
The only ancient city within the Initial Universe.
After entering the city, Jiang Zhe didn't immediately pick a cultivation residence. Instead, he first went to visit the Four Little Ones.
They had been cultivating in Chaos City for over 2,400 years, with 15 years left—about four years by the Initial Universe's time flow.
They were all doing well, having hunted enough chaos beasts to fill their bodies with chaos true spirits, now immersed in law comprehension.
Jiang Zhe didn't disturb them. He watched from afar, then left.
The City Lord's Mansion
Jiang Zhe stopped before an ancient side hall. The hundred-meter-wide bronze doors rumbled open, and he stepped inside.
Far away in the Chaos Ruins, a fierce man in dark red armor with two blazing horns on his forehead withdrew his gaze.
He had just used his control over time and space to inspect Jiang Zhe's condition.
"A perfect genetic lifeform. Willpower at the Universe Overlord level. With brute strength alone, he's stepped into King level. And my junior brother says he has a heaven-defying clone… Jiang Zhe, you are the greatest Domain Lord in the history of the Primal Universe."
"But how will you break through to immortality?"
Chaos City Lord frowned, his expression a mix of joy and concern.
No one in the human race—no, in the entire Primal Universe—could help Jiang Zhe with this. He could only rely on himself.
Inside the Side Hall
The hall was vast, with a giant stone disc in the center. Placing treasures on it, the Virtual Universe system would run a detailed inspection.
Jiang Zhe flipped his hand, twelve colorful treasure orbs floating out. He used his world force to lift them into the stone disc.
"Ah, the hardships of life… selling off my 'children' to survive."
Buzz—
Green threads rose from the stone disc, wrapping around the twelve treasure orbs, carefully scanning the entire heavy treasure set.
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the hall.
"A telekinetic and sealing-type heavy treasure set. If you donate it to the race, you will receive 2,200 heavy treasure points. Jiang Zhe, do you wish to contribute this treasure set?"
"How much?" Jiang Zhe jolted, eyes wide.
He knew that selling a single heavy treasure orb yielded 35 points. With twelve, he'd get 420 points. But donating a complete set brought 2,200 points—over five times more.
"Damn… thinking of the orbs I already sold individually… that stings."
The good news was, none of the scattered ones could have formed a complete set anyway.
A loss, yes—but not a total one.
Jiang Zhe shook his head.
"Forget it. The treasure orbs inside my Mixed-Origin Umbrella regenerate anyway. No need to fuss."
The gentle voice asked again.
"Jiang Zhe, do you wish to contribute this treasure set?"
"I do." Jiang Zhe waved dismissively.
Ka—
The stone disc cracked down the middle, splitting apart. The twelve orbs slowly descended under an invisible force. The stone closed again, returning to its original state.
A moment later, a massive light screen appeared overhead, listing the human race's precious treasure exchange catalog—divided into supreme treasures, heavy treasures, materials, and special resources.
Jiang Zhe did need to exchange for some items, but his needs were varied, and he was too lazy to gather them himself.
He glanced at his balance:
90 supreme treasure points, 2,213 heavy treasure points, 3.58 billion regular points…
He didn't care much for the regular points or Mixed-Origin units.
"Time to pick out two handy supreme treasures for the Silver-Robe Primordial Spirit. Can't keep letting him hold onto Thunder and Aegis forever."
"High-grade supreme treasure spear."
"High-grade supreme treasure armor."
With his command, the filtered catalog appeared.
Spears ran 9–35 points, armor 12–60 points.
"90 points… exactly enough for a weapon and armor to make a matched set."
In the end, Jiang Zhe left the hall without exchanging anything.
The New Plan
Less than a thousand kilometers from the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Jiang Zhe chose a quiet cultivation chamber. Reclining on a white fur sofa, he logged into the Virtual Universe.
Inside his hanging bamboo study, he video-called his personal procurement agent—Little Deer.
The screen lit up with her face.
"Your Highness, what do you require?"
"Little Deer, I just deposited a large amount of heavy treasure points. Use them to collect all materials in the Primal Universe related to the lightning attribute—gas, liquid, metal, flesh, plants, rocks… no matter how insignificant. As long as it's tied to lightning, get me a sample."
"Start with low-value items. Only go up to heavy-grade materials. Nothing over 0.5 heavy treasure points each, understood?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I've recorded it all."
She didn't question his odd request.
"Is there a deadline? Where shall I deliver them? Chaos City?"
"Timeframe… just gather what you can before I leave Chaos City, then ship it here."
Collecting these materials was for the Silver-Robe Primordial Spirit to devour, accelerating the Thunder Universe's evolution.
The Hall of Shockplume
Rainphase Mountain, Primal Sector, Estate No. 101.
Jiang Zhe, now the 101st Domain Lord of the Primal Secret Region, had his estate number automatically updated after his breakthrough.
In the training grounds, he examined a massive case brought by his Ninth Senior Sister. Inside lay a complete set of peerless secret art manuals.
"Junior Brother, this is the pinnacle secret art I created. It's called 'Shockplume Spear,' expounding on the fusion of lightning and time laws."
"Because I derived it while observing three Beast God Tablets on the 'Path of the Beast God,' it's also known as 'Tri-Aspect Shockplume Spear.' You brought the fourth Beast God Tablet…"
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