After Zhu Ang left, Bai Muye carefully studied the fifth-tier weapon and realized he still couldn't unleash its full power. To use it perfectly, he would need at least a trace of World Force—the kind of power only a World Master possessed.
He entered the Virtual Universe and simulated the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, setting up several opponents. After familiarizing himself with the weapon, he finally left, satisfied.
During their last battle, Xiao Si had devoured quite a few World Masters and Domain Lords. Although he couldn't yet fully assimilate their memories, he quickly skimmed through them all. As usual, there were no surprises.
"You said before that once I reached Domain Lord Rank, I could start cultivating that body-refining secret technique. Can I begin now?"
Inside the Singularity, Bai Muye asked eagerly.
"I suppose you can," Xiao Si said hesitantly. "But you haven't prepared enough energy. What will you use to recover if something goes wrong during cultivation and your genes collapse?"
"..." Bai Muye had forgotten about that. But even if he had remembered, it wouldn't have helped—he had no money.
"Then give me the secret technique first. I'll study it before I start. If I understand it thoroughly, there'll be less chance of something going wrong."
"Besides," Bai Muye suddenly recalled, "I don't actually need to prepare the energy myself. If you devour more energy during our battles, couldn't you use that?"
"Uh... yes."
"Haha, exactly. Come on, show me the secret technique first."
"I can set aside enough energy for you to recover, but that would slow down your future cultivation..."
"As long as it's faster than normal cultivation, that's fine." Bai Muye chuckled. "This works out perfectly. Zhu Ang may seem friendly, but that's because I serve under him. The stronger I am, the more it benefits him..."
"But," he continued gravely, "if I cultivate at an abnormally fast pace without any treasures, gaining a level after every battle, don't you think he'll get suspicious? And then it might not just be him—even that Army Lord might come investigating..."
"You do have a point," Xiao Si muttered. "You humans are so devious..."
One of its tendrils reached out, its tip beginning to glow with a golden light. The glow quickly expanded, and a page of text imbued with a faint pressure appeared before Bai Muye.
He was just about to say he couldn't read it when the countless golden characters suddenly toppled toward him like a collapsing wall, flooding straight into his Consciousness Sea.
Even Bai Muye's soul, at the first level of Domain Lord Rank, was briefly stunned by the impact. Only after all the characters had arranged themselves into a secret technique inside his Consciousness Sea did he come to his senses.
The characters of the secret technique formed an exquisitely intricate Secret Pattern Diagram, as if it had been created by nature itself. Just gazing at it inspired awe.
Immersed in the perfect Artistic Conception of the Secret Pattern Diagram, Bai Muye remained silent for a long time.
"I found this Hunyuan Body Refining Technique by chance in the Infinite Hunyuan Space. Unfortunately, only flesh-and-blood lifeforms can cultivate this kind of body-refining secret art. A plant lifeform like me can't..." Xiao Si said ruefully. "If I could cultivate it too, maybe I wouldn't even need to reincarnate. I could just cultivate straight to a level comparable to a Lord..."
Bai Muye pulled his mind away from the Secret Pattern Diagram. Though he didn't recognize the characters, he could understand their meaning as soon as he focused his mind on them.
"The difference between the beginning and the end of this secret technique is enormous!"
The Hunyuan Body Refining Technique had nine levels. Completing the first increased one's life gene level tenfold; the second, a hundredfold; the third, a thousandfold; the fourth, ten thousandfold; the fifth, a hundred thousandfold; the sixth, a millionfold; the seventh, ten millionfold; and the eighth, a hundred millionfold. Completing the ninth level granted one an Infinite Divine Body!
A true Infinite Divine Body, not one capped at a hundred thousand times the normal level. Once the ninth level was complete, as long as one's will could control it, one could make one's Divine Body as large as one wanted!
"That's just how it works. The beginning is easy, but it gets harder the further you go. The energy and resources you need keep increasing..."
"If you really cultivate this secret technique to perfection, then even setting everything else aside, your defensive abilities alone would make you virtually indestructible..."
"I can't wait to get back out there and fight..."
Bai Muye rubbed his hands together, his thoughts brimming with bloodlust. The secret technique had truly fired him up. He didn't need to go far—even completing the fifth level would give him a hundred-thousandfold life gene level. That should be enough to make it through the cycle of reincarnation.
After cultivating for a few days, he attended the team's regular gathering at Zhan Qiu's summons. Zhan Qiu and the other members were startled to see Bai Muye. They hadn't expected him to break through after only a few days.
When they heard about Zhu Ang's arrangements, Zhan Qiu was delighted, and so were the other team members. Their squad now had two Domain Lords. Bai Muye was only at the first level of Domain Lord Rank, but with his strength, he could hold his own against ordinary early-stage Domain Lords.
The disc-shaped spacecraft flew through the Black Meteor Mountain Range. Some of the peaks rose high into the sky, while others were low and flat as millstones.
Between the mountains lay deep pools and lakes, but the water in all of them was black.
The spacecraft slowly descended through the air toward a spot near the summit of a mountain range that stood dozens of kilometers high.
"Everyone, out of the spacecraft."
Dongluo's cool voice rang throughout the vessel. Led by the World Masters, all the warriors flew out.
"Captain, do we have a target?" Feng Yi asked through a mental transmission. "The Army Lord didn't specify one..."
"We don't have a target." Zhan Qiu shook her head. "We can't stay in the spacecraft forever, waiting for the Army Lord to find one for us..."
This was normal. Dongluo wasn't their caretaker. She couldn't keep finding suitable opponents for these Domain Lords and Universe Ranks while also making sure they didn't run into an opponent with Immortal Level combat strength.
"This is how it should be," Bai Muye transmitted softly. "Otherwise, how would we get any real training out of it?"
Having browsed through Tan Youming's memories, he had expected this.
Most of the time, they would operate in a particular area until they encountered another team. If it was an ally, they could travel together or split up.
If they encountered an Alien Race, then naturally, they would fight.
Another crucial point was that different Immortals had different Detectors. Generally speaking, the Immortals of the Four Peak Races had better Detectors, but even theirs were limited if they ranked below Marquis.
The main reason was that good Detectors were extremely expensive.
But if they encountered an Immortal from an Alien Race whose Detector was better than theirs, they'd be in serious trouble. The enemy might surround them before they even noticed, leaving their warriors trapped inside the spacecraft as the enemy destroyed it with everyone aboard.
Even if the Immortals or World Masters survived such an attack, the Domain Lords and Universe Ranks would likely perish along with the spacecraft.
Dongluo left the spacecraft and waved a hand, storing it in her World Ring.
"Everyone, stay connected to the Virtual Universe at all times. Report immediately if you spot the enemy."
She gave the usual reminder, then rose high above the clouds to admire the bleak, black landscape.
Zhu Ang and the other World Masters spread out to explore the surrounding area. The Universe Ranks traveled in squads, each led by a Domain Lord captain.
With tens of thousands of people spread out, they still didn't cover much ground. But all the captains were experienced, carefully maintaining their distance and speed so they never strayed too far from the main force.
Bai Muye and Zhan Qiu led the other nine Universe Ranks as they flew along at an unhurried pace. The two occasionally spoke through mental transmissions, with Zhan Qiu mostly sharing her experience with Bai Muye.
Two days later.
"Hm?" Bai Muye and Zhan Qiu turned to look in almost perfect unison. A disturbance came from far to their right, and a voice rang throughout the entire force:
"We've encountered an Alien Race squad!"
Before you continue