Two days later, Luo Zhiyuan emerged from the Secret Realm Spirit Marrow. Both his body and Spiritual Force had evolved to Universe Level 8, while the strength of his soul and consciousness had also increased to Universe Level 8. His Mental Power Amplitude had risen to 58.
He didn't dare keep soaking in the Evolution Fluid. He was afraid that if he accidentally advanced beyond the Star Level in the next couple of years, it would completely disrupt his plans.
After evolving for two days, the Star-Eating Grass had also reached Stellar Level Three. It now had a hundred main vines, each a hundred kilometers long, and its intelligence had improved as well.
It could now speak simple phrases directly to Luo Zhiyuan, such as "I'm very happy," "I want more of that," and "Soaking feels nice." Most of its sentences were simple expressions of how it hadn't had enough time in the Secret Realm Spirit Marrow and wanted to keep soaking in the Evolution Fluid.
Luo Zhiyuan comforted the Star-Eating Grass and gave it a name. Since it was now covered in deep blue and glimmered with a faint light, he called it "Xingxing." It liked the name very much.
At Brieni's reminder, Luo Zhiyuan left his room. The spaceship sent by the Virtual Universe Company to deliver his auction purchases had arrived. He flew from the main peak with ten personal guards and headed to the landing port.
A sword-shaped spaceship landed. Three people disembarked, and Luo Zhiyuan now knew they were all Peak World Lords. Brieni had told him that the marks between their brows signified that they had been acknowledged by the Origin Law.
He didn't feel the pressure of Peak World Lords, so they must have been suppressing it. After all, he was a five-star client. The three World Lords completed the handover with smiles, then turned and boarded their ship to leave.
After returning to his room, Luo Zhiyuan entered the World Ring again. He let Xingxing soak in the Evolution Fluid on its own while he and Brieni looked over the treasures he'd won at auction.
He took out a Space Ring given to him by the Virtual Universe Company, preparing to retrieve the treasures inside.
"Luo, never mind the rest for now. Get my body out first. I want to control it and see how it feels."
Luo Zhiyuan grinned and deliberately teased him. "Brieni, there's no rush. The spaceship belongs to us, and it can't run away. Let's look at the other things first."
Brieni shrieked, "No! Look at the spaceship first! That Old Mystic kept me cooped up for who knows how many eras. I'm going stir-crazy! I can't wait any longer!"
"Haha, all right. I've never seen you this impatient before. I was just teasing you." Laughing, Luo Zhiyuan took out the Machine Race Spaceship.
A silver-white, pyramid-shaped Machine Race Spaceship, fifteen hundred meters tall, appeared beside him.
"Quick, get inside. Let's see the control room."
Luo Zhiyuan shook his head as he walked into the ship. After following a long, winding passage, he entered the control room.
He took out a transmitter Brieni had given him and installed it on the control console. Then he stepped aside and waited for Brieni to take control of the ship.
"Wahaha! My little darling, I'm coming!"
The spaceship's power system suddenly activated, and it silently lifted into the air. The instruments on the control console flashed in a dazzling array, accompanied now and then by brief alarm sounds.
"Hey, Brieni! Don't get carried away and break the ship. We won't be able to find a better one anytime soon."
After a while, the control console fell quiet. Luo Zhiyuan heard a sigh.
"Alas, this ship is still too weak. It can't fully withstand my consciousness. I can only transfer part of my consciousness into the ship to control it. At most, that's barely on the level of a Marquis Immortal's consciousness. I expected too much."
"Marquis Immortal? Brieni, how can your consciousness be that powerful? And that's only part of it?"
Brieni fell silent for a moment, then said, "A long time ago, I had a body of my own, too."
"Back then, the Old Mystic killed a little Machine Race fellow who was competing with him for food. As it happened, he got an Evolution Heart, so he made me a body. That let me cultivate and evolve like a normal life-form."
"Then the Old Mystic asked the Old Drunkard for a pot of wine. After I drank one cup, I advanced straight to the Immortal Level, and then cultivated all the way to Universe Venerable level!"
Luo Zhiyuan was shocked. Never mind that his teacher had drunk yet another treasure capable of advancing an ordinary life-form directly to the Immortal Level, which made him terribly envious. The Universe Venerable level was a far more powerful level than the Immortal Level. How could...
"Then why are you still in the form of an Intelligent Life, when you reached Universe Venerable level? That's the same level as the lords of the 1,008 high-level human Universe Countries."
"Hmph. Don't compare me to your human Universe Country Lords. I was one level stronger than them. Few of them can reach the level of a High Universe Venerable. I was a Universe Overlord! I was known as... Hmph, never mind. There's no point bringing it up now."
"Later, I went exploring alone in a Universe Secret Realm and faced a life-or-death crisis. The Old Mystic foresaw that something would happen to me and rushed over in time. He tried everything he could and barely managed to preserve a small part of my divine body and consciousness."
"He used a secret technique to seal my divine body inside this World Ring. As for my consciousness, an extremely rare treasure let me attach myself to his Auxiliary Optical Computer. If he hadn't kept me sealed for so long, my divine body might have recovered almost completely by now."
"But that bastard Old Mystic sealed me away for who knows how many eras. Without my consciousness to help restore my divine body, it could barely absorb any energy on its own."
"Now that my consciousness has recovered, the old man still hasn't prepared any other treasures to help restore my divine body. It may take a few dozen eras before it recovers."
Luo Zhiyuan hadn't expected Brieni to have such a "background." He had once been a Universe Overlord, just one step below a Universe Master.
No wonder he was always calling others little fellows. It wasn't just because of his age; his strength was another reason.
Oh, right. The last time he suppressed Babata so thoroughly, it was probably because of his powerful consciousness.
Luo Zhiyuan consoled him. "Brieni, once I grow stronger and enter the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company, I'll see if I can buy a treasure to restore your divine body. If I can, you'll be free to move around instead of being confined to this World Ring."
"Yeah, there's no rushing this. Even after you reach the Immortal Level, you might not be able to get your hands on a treasure that can restore my divine body. No need to worry about it. At least I can use this Machine Race Spaceship to stretch my legs a little. Haha."
Brieni laughed again, then said, "This Machine Race Spaceship isn't all that bad. It has a few things going for it."
"The eighteen E5-Grade Laser Cannons aboard the ship are spread across the hull. I can control them individually and use attacks imbued with laws. That'll greatly increase their power. Ordinary Immortals won't pose any threat at all."
"When we find a suitable moment that won't draw attention, we'll go for a ride. I can show you just how powerful those laser cannons are when they're imbued with laws. Haha!"
"Great. I'll look forward to that day. I can't wait to see what they can do."
Luo Zhiyuan continued taking out the other treasures he'd won at auction and examined them one by one.
He set aside those he couldn't use for now and put the ones that could be useful soon on the other side. Brieni sorted them into categories, and the whole process took quite a while.
Holding one of the Nine Great Divine Weapons of the Controller, the Shadow Divine Weapon, in one hand, and the Illusionist's Telekinetic Weapon, the Divine Illusion Bead, in the other, Luo Zhiyuan felt as if each hand were supporting a mountain. They were incredibly heavy.
The Shadow Divine Weapon was a thick, black disc of light. Its outer ring was 1.5 meters in diameter, its inner ring one meter, and it was 30 centimeters thick. Its inner and outer surfaces were carved with intricate white Law Secret Patterns. White streams of light constantly raced along the patterns, making it glow with white flames.
The Divine Illusion Bead was an oval, milky-white sphere about the size of his palm. It gave off only a faint, alluring glow, like a huge pearl, and had no other unusual features.
At that moment, Luo Zhiyuan was staring blankly at the two Telekinetic Weapons.
Brieni took one look at him and knew he was struggling to decide which Telekinetic Weapon to practice with first. He said, "Luo, both of these Telekinetic Weapons can serve you all the way to the World Lord Level. In fact, if your talent isn't good enough, you might not be able to unleash their full power."
"But I don't think you need to worry about it at all. Don't forget—you have another Innate Secret Technique, External Incarnation!"
Luo Zhiyuan's expression brightened. Right! How could he have forgotten about his other Innate Secret Technique?
"Haha, you're right, Brieni. I can use External Incarnation to make several more incarnations, then have them separately practice the Controller's and Illusionist's Combat Secret Techniques. I can even have my Shadow Race Clone practice the Martial Artist's close-combat techniques."
"Even if each one makes slower progress, their numbers can make up for it. After all, they're all me, and we share the same insights."
"With my current consciousness strength and Mental Power Amplitude, I can have one clone study close-combat Martial Artist techniques, then create five more incarnations. Together with my original body, they can study the Controller's and Illusionist's Combat Secret Techniques. That'll maximize my research efficiency."
As he spoke, Luo Zhiyuan's eyes lit up.
Brieni added, "And don't forget the Time Chamber your teacher prepared for you. Hehe, with time moving a thousand times faster, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can accomplish in three years."
Luo Zhiyuan didn't hesitate any longer. He carried both the Shadow Divine Weapon and the Divine Illusion Bead on him and began using his Spiritual Force to nurture them, preparing to imprint his Spiritual Imprint on them. Once the two Telekinetic Weapons truly acknowledged him as their master, he could begin practicing with them in earnest.
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