After continuing to study the Shadow Race Clone for a while, Bulieni told Luo Zhiyuan they were about to reach their destination: Qingyu Planet in the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom.
With a thought, Luo Zhiyuan made the Shadow Race Clone vanish, sending it into the Soul Space within his Consciousness Ocean.
He emerged from the World Ring, and the spaceship arrived at his destination as well.
It was a colossal planet, about a hundred times Earth's diameter. From space, its landmass looked far larger than its oceans. A dark red planetary ring encircled it, accompanied by three moons of varying sizes.
Thanks to the privileges of his five-star account, the spaceship bypassed the planet's public spaceport and headed straight for the landing port on the property Bulieni had purchased.
After Bulieni and the local control intelligence confirmed the details, the spaceship landed.
Luo Zhiyuan disembarked and watched the spaceship leave without a word. Then he began taking in his new home.
Before him stretched an enormous landing port. A dozen or so spaceships of different shapes and sizes were parked inside, though he had no idea what kind they were.
Beyond the landing port stood several rolling wooded mountains. The tallest peak rose steep and sheer into the clouds, while dense forests surrounded the port in every other direction.
Luo Zhiyuan stared blankly. Where was the house?
"Bulieni, didn't you buy property on Qingyu Planet? I don't see a house. Why is there nothing but mountains and trees?"
"Haha, you silly boy. You're already standing on your property! Fly up and take a look!"
Luo Zhiyuan rose into the air. Only when he reached a certain height did he understand what this property really was.
It was an enormous square estate covering an immense area, with those mountains right at its center. "What do you think?" Bulieni asked. "It's not a bad place for us to call home, is it?"
"Since Qingyu Planet doesn't allow larger properties, this estate is only ten kilometers long and wide. The entire estate was excavated from a pristine planet and moved here. The wooded area in the middle is our residential zone, with nine mountains in all."
"That main peak is over thirteen thousand meters tall. The other eight are all more than five thousand meters high. Their interiors have been refitted with defensive weapons. Under the control of the intelligent system, even a Peak Realm Lord Level brat won't be able to break in."
"As for the houses, they're all built inside the mountains, using E9-class materials for the exteriors and blending them into the mountainside. They can withstand attacks from an ordinary Peak Realm Lord. The materials used in the owner's rooms are F5-class, enough to safely withstand attacks from an ordinary Immortal. "
"Oh, I also bought some slave servants to handle daily management and maintenance. Your quarters are at the top of the main peak. The servants' quarters are inside these mountains, though their rooms are made of E9-class materials. Look, here they come."
A large group of people emerged from a spaceship in the landing port, led by someone wearing green armor. He was a Qingyu Planet native. All Qingyu Planet natives had a pair of blue-green bat wings and green scales covering their bodies, and stood about two meters tall.
When Luo Zhiyuan saw them come out, he descended to the ground.
The Qingyu Planet native walked over and bowed slightly to meet Luo Zhiyuan's height. With a professional smile, he said, "Esteemed client, I'm your liaison, Fuke. The one hundred Universe Level 9 slaves you ordered are all here: fifty Martial Artists and fifty Spirit Readers."
"You also ordered one thousand Star Level 9 Spirit Reader slaves. Our company has decided to include them as a gift, at no charge. We've also included one of our premium membership cards. It'll give you a 10% discount on your next purchase."
Fuke took a yellow metal box from his storage device. A transparent card made of an unfamiliar material rested on top of it.
As he handed the box and card to Luo Zhiyuan, Fuke said, "Inside are the control chips for this estate and the slaves. I'll transfer control to you now. Please wait a moment."
He tapped a few commands into his Auxiliary Optical Computer. The slaves behind him briefly looked dazed, then came to their senses and knelt before Luo Zhiyuan, all saying, "Greetings, Master."
After completing the transfer of control, Fuke exchanged a few pleasantries with Luo Zhiyuan and traded contact information with him. Then he turned and boarded a spaceship, which flew away from the estate.
Luo Zhiyuan went over to the slaves. The ones Bulieni had bought were a race that looked much like Earthlings, so they were easy enough on the eyes.
He had Bulieni scan for the highest-ranked Spirit Reader and Martial Artist among them, then called the two forward. After asking them a few questions, he learned that the Martial Artist was named Aoxiu and the Spirit Reader Dongji.
Facing all the slaves, Luo Zhiyuan said, "You aren't slaves here. You're my guards. You can think of this as a job. In two hundred years, I'll give you your freedom. Those who want to stay then will be welcome; those who don't can leave freely."
The slaves whispered among themselves. They couldn't quite believe such good fortune had fallen to them, but they still thought their master was exceptionally kind and wanted to do their best.
Luo Zhiyuan knew this was the misery of being controlled as a slave: they would sincerely believe their master could do no wrong and would never disobey an order.
He had no way to change that now, nor did he want to. In two hundred years, he figured he wouldn't need these guards to protect him anymore. When the time came, they would see. He continued, "For now, though, I have a few orders. Aoxiu will lead all the Martial Artists, and Dongji will lead all the Spirit Readers."
"You two will each select nine Universe Level 9 companions to lead as my personal guards. They'll protect me at all times."
"As for the remaining Universe Level 9 guards, mix them with your Star Level 9 teammates to guard the estate. Arrange patrols, security, and all kinds of daily duties. Start choosing your teams now. Aoxiu and Dongji, you go first."
Aoxiu and Dongji went among the group and chose several people they knew to be their teammates. Then Luo Zhiyuan took them away, leaving the remaining guards to pair off by themselves.
Luo Zhiyuan flew toward his quarters atop the main peak with the twenty personal guards.
About a hundred meters below the peak, the mountainside opened into a passage as Luo Zhiyuan approached. He led his guards through the winding, five-hundred-meter passage, passing a variety of rooms along the way. Bulieni said those were the guards' quarters and training areas. Only at the end did they reach Luo Zhiyuan's own room.
Luo Zhiyuan's quarters weren't very large. They had two rooms: a hundred-square-meter bedroom and a training room a hundred meters long, wide, and high.
Luo Zhiyuan found the room a little strange and asked, "Bulieni, the training room is only a hundred meters in each direction. There's barely any room to move around!"
Bulieni scoffed. "Of course. Did you think this was really where you'd train? It's just big enough to hold the Time Chamber. Old Mystic fused a Space Fragment into the Time Chamber. The space inside is even bigger than your World Ring. That's where you'll train."
So that was it. Luo Zhiyuan understood. It seemed that from now on, the Time Chamber prepared by his teacher would be his main training ground.
Returning to his bedroom, Luo Zhiyuan entered the World Ring again. There was something he had planned to do on the way to Qingyu Planet but hadn't gotten around to. Since it would improve his safety, he wanted to do it first: establish ownership of the Star-Eating Grass and cultivate it.
Inside the World Ring, beside the Secret Realm Spirit Marrow, Luo Zhiyuan carefully opened a metal case under Bulieni's guidance.
Inside lay two little white plants, each sixty centimeters tall. Their stems and roots were silver-white. They were Star-Eating Grass, reputed to be "the toughest offensive plant life one could buy."
After Bulieni explained how to cultivate it, Luo Zhiyuan decided to start with one plant and leave the other in the metal case.
He took out one of the Star-Eating Grass plants with his right hand. Using a blade detached from the Lightning Shuttle, he cut open his left wrist and sprinkled his blood over the whole plant.
The Star-Eating Grass's leaves quivered as it absorbed all the blood. Luo Zhiyuan then enveloped it with his Spiritual Force, constantly soothing it and communicating with it.
Gradually, a warm, trusting feeling came through in Luo Zhiyuan's consciousness. He had successfully established ownership of the Star-Eating Grass!
Luo Zhiyuan placed it against his chest. The plant began to merge with his skin from its roots upward, and soon it had completely fused with him.
A wave of warmth enveloped Luo Zhiyuan from head to toe. It felt like putting on a set of thermal underwear in his previous life. He sensed the Star-Eating Grass's trusting emotions, like those of a clever pet that clung to its master with utter devotion.
With a thought, Luo Zhiyuan's mind connected with the Star-Eating Grass's. It immediately understood what he wanted, floated up from his body, and dropped into the nearby Secret Realm Spirit Marrow.
Watching the Star-Eating Grass, Luo Zhiyuan saw the part submerged beneath the surface change color rapidly, turning from white to deep blue. Then the rest of the plant changed color as well. The little plant quivered as one Vine Leaf after another grew from it. At last, a faint, twinkling light shone across its entire body, making it look like a starry sky.
Seeing that the Star-Eating Grass had stopped changing while its energy continued to increase, Luo Zhiyuan immersed himself in the Secret Realm Spirit Marrow again, continuing to strengthen his body's energy and Spiritual Force.
This time, once he submerged beneath the surface, Luo Zhiyuan didn't fall straight into a trance. He remained conscious and asked Bulieni, puzzled, "Bulieni, why didn't I fall into a soul trance this time when I soaked in the Evolution Fluid? Does it only work once?"
"Of course it doesn't only work once. Until you reach Immortal Level, every time you soak in the Secret Realm Spirit Marrow, it'll strengthen your soul as your body's energy grows."
"Then why can I stay conscious now?"
"You really are slow! It's because your soul and consciousness have already reached Universe Level 7! Your soul was still weak last time, and couldn't withstand the stimulation of the increase. That's why you fell into a soul trance. Now you can handle it, so you stay conscious."
"Uh... All right. In that case, let's keep training in the Virtual Universe. Didn't you say the Lightning Shuttle still had room for improvement? Then let's keep going."
With that, Luo Zhiyuan logged into the Virtual Universe and entered the Killing Field to continue training with Bulieni.
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