Inside Shen Mu's Primal Nucleus.
The void space that had once contained only energy and soul had undergone a complete transformation, and a lake more than two thousand meters in diameter had appeared.
At the center of the lake, a vortex roughly a meter across slowly spun, like a bottomless abyss devouring the surrounding waters. At the deepest point of the vortex, the soul-origin light cluster radiated a faint, clear glow.
"Roar!"
A resounding dragon roar echoed through the lake as Shen Mu's Azure Dragon Avatar appeared directly within the Inner World.
After obtaining an Inner World, Shen Mu could finally carry his avatar with him like Luo Feng did.
Splash!
The sounds of flowing water rang out as dense water-element energy gathered toward the Azure Dragon Avatar.
As the Inner World opened up, the Azure Dragon Avatar also began to change. Its body and scales rapidly adjusted, while the tips of its pair of dragon horns completely turned a crystalline ice-blue, as though carved from frost.
Countless intricate pale-blue patterns spread from the dragon horns, winding across its entire body.
"Roar!"
The exhilaration of life evolution flooded the Azure Dragon Avatar, making it instinctively let out joyous dragon roars.
The transformation lasted only two or three minutes, yet the East Sea Azure Dragon seemed to have undergone a complete metamorphosis.
It was not merely its appearance that had changed. Its former savage, ferocious aura faded, replaced by a vast and majestic presence as deep as an abyss and as boundless as the sea, making it resemble the true dragons of myth and legend even more.
"Domain, unfold!"
A hazy water-blue glow spread outward, faintly taking the shape of a marshland phantom.
Buzz!
The ice-blue dragon horns faintly lit up, causing the countless intricate secret patterns across its body to shine as well.
As Shen Mu calmed himself, he vaguely sensed that the operation of his Domain was responding to a strange fluctuation.
This fluctuation filled the space of the entire universe, incomparably vast and majestic.
Yet in Shen Mu's perception, it was incredibly indistinct, like falling into a sea of mist and trying to view flowers through fog.
This was the fluctuation of the Water Source Law, one of the universe's ten fundamental laws.
"Ordinary humans need at least an Eighth Level Domain, perhaps even a Ninth Level Domain, before they can vaguely perceive law fluctuations."
"Even elite humans with Cosmic-Level or Domain Lord-Level bloodlines need a Third or Fifth Level Domain to sense law fluctuations. Those with peak bloodlines only need a First Level Domain."
Relying on the law talent granted by his peak bloodline, Shen Mu directly touched that profound and mysterious law fluctuation. Although comprehending it would still require a great deal of effort, at least he was now capable of doing so.
"Good. My next goal is to comprehend the Domain and the laws, and strive to grasp a trace of the mysteries of the laws as soon as possible."
From that day onward, Shen Mu's Azure Dragon Avatar never appeared outside again. It remained in the Inner World, constantly sensing the fluctuations of the Water Source Law.
Guided by that indistinct yet vast fluctuation, he integrated his own understanding of water and tides, attempting to comprehend some genuine ultimate truths.
Shen Mu had already possessed an extremely deep understanding of water and tides. Unlike Luo Feng in the original story, who had forcibly acquired a Domain without the slightest comprehension of gold, Shen Mu was not starting from scratch.
It was only that Shen Mu had previously been unable to perceive law fluctuations at all. Like a headless fly, trying to comprehend the mysteries of laws had been nothing more than a fantasy.
But now that he had vague law fluctuations to guide him, Shen Mu entered a state where accumulated knowledge burst forth. He fused together his understanding of water and tides, gaining new insights every day.
In the blink of an eye, the date arrived: January 13, 2060.
According to the original course of fate, this should have been the day Hong and Thunder God joined forces to battle the Golden Horned Beast. But because of Shen Mu, this butterfly, fate had changed.
"Shen Mu, Shen Mu! The Black Dragon Mountain Spaceship has been repaired! We can head into the universe now!"
Half a year ago, after the Golden Horned Beast incident came to an end, Babata had begun to worry.
They were running out of resources. Shen Mu's Mu Ya Crystals had been used to feed that deceased beast tamer, leaving no extra resources for cultivation. Luo Feng, who had Body Snatched the Golden Horned Beast, also needed to consume a massive amount of metal to evolve.
At the time, Babata had considered heading into the universe and planned to build a spaceship by hand.
Then Shen Mu had offered a timely hint. For example, Ancient Civilization Ruins No. 12 was a crashed massive spaceship. If they could repair it, they would not need to go through all that trouble.
"Good. I'll inform Brother Hong. We'll set off for the universe in a couple of days."
Luo Feng had yet to nurture an Earthling Avatar, so naturally, he could not go.
Half a year ago, Hong and Thunder God had become disciples of Yunmo Star. Over the past half year, Thunder God had been immersed in secret teachings related to the lightning Domain and had no time to learn the universal language. Thus, only Shen Mu and Hong could depart together.
"No problem!" Babata gave Shen Mu an OK gesture.
Shen Mu connected to Hong's communication channel. Two seconds later, Hong's holographic projection appeared.
"Ah Mu, why are you suddenly calling me? Don't tell me you've broken through to the Third Level Domain?"
Hong looked at Shen Mu with a faint smile in his eyes.
Over the past half year, Shen Mu had advanced at a tremendous pace. Four months ago, he had already stepped into the Second Level Domain, and now he had even touched the threshold of the Third Level Domain.
Such terrifying progress had made Babata repeatedly cry that it was unscientific.
"Not yet, but soon. This time, I'm informing Brother Hong of some good news. The spaceship has been repaired, and we can head into the universe."
Hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared on Hong's face before he said, "Entering the universe... should we make more preparations? After all, we're only Planet-Level. In the universe, we're simply not worth mentioning."
The next instant, Babata appeared with his hands on his hips. "Tch, tch. Hong, are you doubting the great Lord Babata? I've already prepared everything."
"As for identity, both you and Shen Mu possess Domains. Pretending to be elite members of a major power won't be a problem."
"As for strength, with the Quicksilver Guard, we can ignore all attacks below Cosmic-Level. It's also a symbol of status, so even Cosmic-Level beings won't dare attack us casually."
After Babata finished speaking, Hong nodded slightly.
"Alright, then. We can't miss this opportunity to enter the universe. I'll first make arrangements with my second brother. Once we leave for the universe, he'll have to remain behind and guard Earth."
Two days later, in Earth's outer space.
Inside the Black Dragon Mountain X81 spaceship, Shen Mu and Hong surveyed the starry sky through the perfect exterior-view simulation.
Suddenly, the spaceship AI's voice rang out.
"The spaceship will reach light speed in twelve seconds. Ten, nine, eight..."
"Get ready. The spaceship is about to travel through space into the Dark Universe. There may be some discomfort then," Babata said with an excited expression.
Outside, the Black Dragon Mountain Spaceship, already transformed into a black streak of light, abruptly blurred.
The next instant, the space around the spaceship changed, and it vanished directly from the cosmic starry sky.
The Dark Universe differed from the Original Universe. Traveling one light-year in the Dark Universe meant that, upon returning to the Original Universe, one would already be 10.08 million light-years away.
In the Original Universe, matter could not exceed the speed of light. Once it reached light speed, it would directly undergo universe traversal and enter the Dark Universe.
But in the Dark Universe, there was no light-speed limit. As long as the spaceship's performance was good enough, it could fly as fast as it wanted.
Babata looked at Shen Mu and Hong. "At our spaceship's speed, it'll take less than ten days to reach Qiulong Star. Once we're there, we'll first register for Black Dragon Mountain Empire citizenship and obtain citizen status."
Shen Mu nodded slightly. When it came to information about the universe, Babata might not necessarily know more than he did.
As for Hong, Babata had also briefed him before their departure, so he knew the primary goal of this journey into the universe.
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
After crossing a distance of 320,000 light-years, the spaceship arrived at Qiulong Star, located within the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Through the spaceship's exterior-view simulation, Shen Mu and Hong looked down upon this living planet. Its atmosphere was filled with multicolored currents, appearing incomparably magnificent and dazzling.
Beyond the planet's atmosphere was an enormous artificial star ring, the docking port for spaceships arriving at Qiulong Star.
"Qiulong Star, here we come!" Babata shouted excitedly, then controlled the spaceship and slowly descended according to the guidance signal.
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