"Dao Palace Divine Treasury corresponds to the cycle of the five elements. Since I entered the Dao through the Law of Fire, I should naturally begin cultivating with fire, one of the five elements. The heart belongs to fire, so I'll cultivate the heart's divine treasury first."
Ling Xuan sat cross-legged as red-gold flames rose around him, sketching ancient totems across the cabin.
"The essence of the innate nourishes life; the essence of the acquired sustains it."
Guided by the Void Sutra, his consciousness sank into his body, like a lone boat rowing upstream.
The innate essence was a chaotic flame that had lain dormant in his spiritual aperture since the beginning of life; the acquired essence was like a blazing fire, tempered again and again in a furnace.
As he circulated his technique, the two crashed together with a roar, transforming into nine phantom suns that slowly revolved through his meridians.
"Man and heaven are one. Heaven has its sun, and man has one too. The sun is the yang of the sovereign and father..."
Ling Xuan's eyes were half-closed, yet he could "see" the divine treasury in his heart, shaped like a lotus that had yet to bloom.
As Genetic Origin Energy transformed into fiery essence and surged into it, the lotus-shaped deity's surface took on a lustrous, glasslike sheen. The surrounding mist was driven away by the blazing fire in his heart.
Boom! A scorching force of the Dao burst from the heart's divine treasury, like lava flooding parched land.
Every pore on Ling Xuan's body opened. This was the powerful life essence that naturally emanated after the heart's divine treasury had been cultivated.
"Fire generates earth. Next is the spleen's divine treasury..." Ling Xuan didn't stop. The nine suns revolved faster, and streams of Genetic Origin Energy transformed into life essence and flowed into his spleen.
Ling Xuan spent the next half month in seclusion, cultivating the Zhetian Method with the vast reserves of Genetic Origin Energy available to him at Star Level.
The aura around Ling Xuan surged. The pressure of his peak Dao Palace cultivation made the protective barrier around the cultivation pod hum.
Just as he was preparing to seize the moment and charge into the Siji realm, Puff's cheerful voice rang out: "Master! I've detected an unusual energy fluctuation ahead and scanned an unidentified piece of metal! Spectral analysis shows its material is at least E-grade!"
"Then I'll take a break first. Scan for signs of life nearby. Are there any powerful monsters or humans?" Ling Xuan opened his eyes and left the cultivation chamber.
"Master, how's your cultivation been going these past few days? You look so different!" Puff came over and circled around him.
"I've made good progress. Tell me what you found."
"Master, there are only a few Universe Level monsters within several thousand kilometers. There are humans ten thousand kilometers away, though. If we move quickly, we can get the fragment without any trouble."
"Then let's go."
The Crimson Flame swiftly approached the target area.
The hatch opened, and Ling Xuan stepped out of the ship. He went to the fragment and picked it up. It felt heavy in his hand, and its surface was covered in spiderweb-like cracks and charred burn marks. A large piece was even missing from one corner.
Still, the intact parts bore engraved Law Secret Patterns.
Puff's little hands flew across the virtual screen, and her eyes widened in shock. "Match confirmed! It's a fragment of a fifth-tier Origin Force battle armor! A complete fifth-tier Origin Force battle armor averages nearly a hundred billion Universe Coins, but this fragment is so badly damaged that its effective protective area is less than one-fiftieth of the complete armor."
She smacked her lips, her tail swaying listlessly. "Although it still contains Starfall Black Iron, one of its core materials, fragments are discounted on the market. I estimate it's worth three million Universe Coins. It seems to be debris from a battle that took place some time ago!"
Ling Xuan drew a sharp breath. He usually had only a few hundred Ganwu Coins for pocket money, so this was an incredible surprise. If he told his two older sisters, they'd be green with envy.
But then he remembered that his upcoming cultivation might require a large sum of money, and he quickly calmed down. Three million Universe Coins wasn't all that much.
"Puff, keep exploring."
The Crimson Flame's engines suddenly roared louder. Puff nimbly flipped back to the control console, her tail curling around a stream of data as she gave it a playful flick. "Roger! The universe's number-one treasure hunter is scanning now. Those treasures won't escape our clutches!"
Puff had only just been reborn, and faced with this vast, bountiful secret realm, she was even more excited than Ling Xuan. She frantically searched every inch of land they passed, finding plenty of valuable materials along the way.
With the D9-class Spaceship's scanners, they could detect and avoid powerful monsters and opponents well in advance, so they didn't get into any conflicts.
The more expensive finds could sell for over a hundred million Ganwu Coins, while the cheaper ones were worth a few million. But they hadn't found anything else comparable to the fragment.
Ling Xuan smiled, his eyes full of satisfaction.
During the trip, he had tested the Void Secret Technique in the Virtual Universe and discovered that the version improved by the Heart of the Martial God could be used there too.
Or rather, the Virtual Universe was a reflection of the Primal Universe. Anything he had learned with his own consciousness that worked in the Primal Universe could also be used in the Virtual Universe.
Innate Secret Techniques, on the other hand, were engraved on the Origin Core and activated by secret patterns.
An Innate Secret Technique was equivalent to a treasure. Without an Origin Core in the Virtual Universe, it was as if he didn't have that treasure, so he couldn't use the technique.
Of course, if the Virtual Universe System recorded that he had an Origin Core and an Innate Secret Technique, then his avatar in the Virtual Universe would have an Origin Core just like the one in the real universe, and he could use the Innate Secret Technique.
"This is an incredible haul." Ling Xuan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. "Puff, stop searching for treasures for now. Let's take care of the mission first. Find a few Universe Level monsters. I want to test the results of my cultivation."
"Roger, Master!" Puff gave a playful salute, her ears twitching with excitement as she quickly adjusted the ship's course.
"There's a Universe Level 7 Iron-Backed Giant Bear ahead. Should we make it our target, Master?"
"Universe Level 7?" Ling Xuan's eyes lit up. "Its strength is neither too high nor too low. Let's choose that one."
In the Virtual Universe's Killing Field, Ling Xuan had already fought Universe Level monsters, so he had a rough idea of his own combat strength.
"Closing in on the target now." Puff finished operating the ship with a couple of quick taps, then lightly hopped up and sat on Ling Xuan's shoulder with her arms crossed. Her milky-white fur brushed against his cheek.
An Iron-Backed Giant Bear nearly a hundred meters tall was digging at the ground with its claws.
Dark metal scales covered its broad back, giving off a faint phosphorescence in the light.
Suddenly, its keen nose twitched twice. It had caught a scent that didn't belong in this secret realm.
The giant bear slowly raised its head. Its murky, vertical pupils reflected a silver-gray spaceship bursting through the eerie clouds and plummeting straight toward it.
Damn humans!!!
Roar! The giant bear bellowed furiously, sending dust billowing into the air and waves rippling across the ground. It slammed its two barrel-thick paws together. The earth for hundreds of kilometers around it instantly split apart, and countless jagged rocks burst from the ground, hurtling toward the ship like a forest of stones blotting out the sky.
Through the ship, Ling Xuan saw the giant bear's fearsome attack below, and a surging battle lust rose within him.
"Just what I wanted!"
He kicked open the hatch. Dark-gold flames surged around him as he shot toward the giant bear like a burning meteor.
The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear traced a brilliant Arc Light in his hand. As flames flowed along its blade, countless fiery blades clashed against the incoming boulders. Sparks flew; some rocks were sliced into dust, but the crushing pressure of many more bore down on him.
In the blink of an eye, Ling Xuan was in front of the giant bear.
The giant bear swung its tower-like arm, the gale it stirred up threatening to blow Ling Xuan away.
Ling Xuan flashed aside and darted through the gaps in the giant bear's attacks like a wraith, thrusting the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear at the soft flesh behind its knee.
The giant bear reacted swiftly. Its thigh muscles bulged, and its mountain-like kneecap slammed into the blade. Clang! Metal struck metal, sparks flying. The powerful recoil split Ling Xuan's palm at the base of his thumb and sent him flying dozens of meters.
"What a force! Excellent, excellent!" Ling Xuan grew even more excited. He put away his second-tier Origin Force battle blade and took out the fifth-tier Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear he had just acquired—the Fire God Absolute Domain Blade.
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