Primordial Universe, Ancestral God Secret Realm.
This was one of the most dangerous secret realms in the entire Primordial Universe. It was also incomparably vast, spanning a full 160 million light-years—comparable in size to a Universe Country. Even ordinary dangers could cause a Cosmic Venerable to fall.
Whoosh!
The Dark Lord appeared, dressed in black. His aura spread, and he took control of space and time. Endless darkness fanned out around him, making him seem like the ruler of the universe.
Though the Ancestral God Secret Realm was said to be extremely dangerous, and even Universe Masters had to proceed with caution, the other dangers posed no threat to the Dark Lord—as long as he stayed away from Nine Nether Time-Space and didn't force his way into the Ancestral God Sect.
Even those Special Lifeforms who were Peak Cosmic Overlords had to steer clear of him.
Black Flame Cyclones swept through the realm in clusters, each stretching hundreds of millions of kilometers and cutting across the starry universe. An ordinary Cosmic Venerable would surely die if caught in one.
But before they could even touch the Dark Lord, every Black Flame Cyclone vanished, annihilated by his will.
A Fifth-Order Universe Master could face even a True Deity one-on-one in the Primordial Universe without fear. Joining a pinnacle faction would immediately make him one of its highest-ranking members.
Whoosh~
The Dark Lord seemed to be strolling leisurely, but every step carried him several light-years away.
Space could no longer restrain him. Each stride seemed to cross layers of space and time, while endless darkness enveloped an area nearly a hundred light-years wide, exploring everything with overwhelming force.
"Wuuuu."
Some lifeforms sensed the darkness, but a mere touch filled them with terror, and they let out mournful cries.
The Ancestral Gods in the Ancestral God Sect knew the Dark Lord had entered the Ancestral God Secret Realm. But as long as he didn't trespass into restricted areas, they wouldn't pick a fight with a Fifth-Order Universe Master.
It wouldn't matter even if he took a Special Lifeform, as long as he didn't come too often.
Though the Ancestral God Secret Realm was enormous, with a diameter of 160 million light-years, it didn't give birth to many Special Lifeforms. Those with high gene multipliers were especially rare—one might not be found in tens of millions of years.
The Dark Lord soon explored half of the outer region. Then he continued deeper into the Ancestral God Secret Realm.
In the other Cosmic Secret Realms, human Universe Masters had also arrived wherever the danger level was high.
Chaos City Lord, Dark Marquis Lord, Ice Peak Lord, Dragon Travel Lord, Void Gold Lord...
Even Giant Axe Founder, a True Deity, had personally gone out to search for Special Lifeforms. This showed just how much the Human Race valued Zhang Dong.
But they acted very discreetly, making sure the other races noticed nothing.
Otherwise, if the other races learned about Zhang Dong's background, a Universe Master—or even a Universe Strongest—might really come to assassinate him.
A First-Class True Intent transcendent was indeed a peerless prodigy, one who could make a Mighty Expert set aside all dignity and strike early to eliminate him. Fortunately, the Primordial Universe had no means of manipulating cause and effect.
Otherwise, a single thought from one of those Universe Strongest would be enough to kill Zhang Dong.
Three years later...
"What astonishing progress." In the Virtual Universe, the Dark Lord could practically watch Zhang Dong improve with the naked eye.
He demonstrated the laws and explained the principles behind Dead Object Teleportation to Zhang Dong.
But Zhang Dong immediately began drawing further conclusions from the lessons. His Law Comprehension soared, and before long, he had advanced from the twelfth level of the Heavenly Bridge to the fourteenth.
He was just one step away from comprehending Dead Object Teleportation and reaching the fifteenth level.
What incredible comprehension.
The Dark Lord had seen many geniuses. Origin Ancestor's disciples had all been peerless prodigies, as was Dark Marquis Lord.
Yet compared to Zhang Dong, they all seemed like ants. He had never seen anyone progress so quickly.
"Could my disciple Zhang Dong have the makings of a Universe Strongest?" The thought occurred to the Dark Lord. "If I take that step, I can become one too. Then master and disciple will both be Universe Strongest—what a wonderful tale for the Cosmic Sea."
Divine Eye True Lord of the Divine Eye Clan had a Universe Strongest as his disciple. That clan had a full seven Universe Strongest. What a glorious sight.
With that thought, the Dark Lord began demonstrating Dead Object Teleportation to Zhang Dong with even greater enthusiasm.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
An urgent alert sounded.
It was a call request from the Dark Lord. He answered it in front of Zhang Dong, and Ice Peak Lord's icy face appeared on the screen. He spoke briefly. "Found it. It's the plant life Bitter Snow Vine. I'm heading back to the Initial Universe now."
"Bitter Snow Vine?!" The Dark Lord was overjoyed. "Excellent, excellent! It's actually Bitter Snow Vine."
Bitter Snow Vine was also a rare Special Lifeform in the Primordial Universe. By Luo Feng's era, only five were known to exist. Fanuonuo Fort Lord was one of them, a Peak Cosmic Overlord.
Plant lifeforms had a distinctive trait: their gene multipliers weren't especially high, but their bodies were enormous.
It could grow over a million kilometers long, had a thousandfold gene multiplier, and, most importantly, possessed the Innate Secret Technique—Transplantation.
It could have two clones, making three bodies in total when counting its true body. Even if its true body died, it could cultivate another Bitter Snow Vine by relying on its other clones.
"Bitter Snow Vine? That's far better than Barking King." Zhang Dong was quite satisfied too. "Better than seizing the Golden-Horned Beast."
Though Barking King was a Special Lifeform with a two-thousandfold gene multiplier, its body wasn't very large.
It also lacked Clone Talent. After Luo Feng killed it, it had truly died. Once Zhang Dong thought of Barking King, an idea suddenly occurred to him. He immediately split off a thread of consciousness to look up its records.
When the Giant Axe Meeting had been held for him, Zhang Dong's access level had been raised considerably, to nearly that of a true Cosmic Venerable.
He could look up most records.
"Hmm, I couldn't find anything about Barking King. That means it either hasn't been born yet or hasn't become an undying being."
Zhang Dong planned to ask the Dark Lord to look for it.
If they found Barking King, he would use one of his clone slots on it.
Seizing a high-gene Special Lifeform wasn't easy, and Barking King was already a good choice. Bitter Snow Vine was also a lifeform with a huge body, so there was no need to search for Blood Sea as well.
The Dark Lord looked at Zhang Dong. "After you return from the Feather Slaughter Clan, you can prepare to seize a body. Don't rush it; taking a hundred years won't matter. And don't reveal your level to Gao Li."
He wasn't questioning Gao Li's loyalty. The other races stopped at nothing to achieve their aims, and once Zhang Dong became a Realm Lord, Gao Li would need to be placed somewhere safe as well.
"Yes. I'll wait a hundred years before defeating those Realm Lords," Zhang Dong said respectfully. "Teacher, since Bitter Snow Vine can have clones, do I still need to find another Special Lifeform for a clone?"
"I'll keep looking for you in the Ancestral God Secret Realm." The Dark Lord was now doing everything he could to meet Zhang Dong's requests.
Who wouldn't like a disciple who advanced just by receiving resources and lessons on the laws?
Zhang Dong smiled. "Thank you, Teacher. I'm sorry for all the trouble you're going to for my sake."
The Human Race's upper ranks had just dealt with a major matter, but the Feather Slaughter Clan knew nothing about it.
Elder Xu Jin assumed Zhang Dong was preparing for the mission, since the target he had to kill was exceptionally powerful.
He remained in Huoyi Palace, cultivating in seclusion. Most of the time, he practiced secret techniques in the Virtual Universe. Although the Source World system was different, combat methods and techniques could still be applied across both.
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