You had to remember, just a few days ago, Zhang Dong had been a Domain Lord.
And now his soul was already terrifyingly powerful. He must have come across some extraordinary opportunity.
"It was the right choice not to open a divine sea." Zhang Dong read the two men's expressions and thought, If I'd opened a divine sea, become a World God, and then possessed this body, that would've been far too terrifying.
A mere First Stage Realm Lord, with a soul comparable to a Universe Master?
The two of them would probably be stunned. Even Origin Ancestor, the greatest soul master of the three Reincarnation Eras in the Cosmic Sea, couldn't have been so outrageous as a Realm Lord.
"Buzz~~~"
Bitter Snow Vine realized that it was about to be possessed and could only let out a mournful cry.
Both men present were Universe Masters. What could it possibly do to resist? As a Special Lifeform, it had encountered a powerful Alien Race before it could mature. It could only blame its bad luck.
The universe was simply this cruel.
The strong preyed on the weak, and the fittest survived. There was no right or wrong—only strength mattered. If it had become an Immortal God, it wouldn't have ended up in such a state.
A vast soul force pierced into Bitter Snow Vine's tendrils, instantly annihilating its original consciousness. Zhang Dong then devoured every fragment of its soul.
After the possession came the absorption of its memories, including its Innate Secret Techniques and more.
The Jade Green Bubble followed the soul into Bitter Snow Vine's body.
"What a strange feeling." Though Zhang Dong's realm was high, possessing this body still felt awkward.
Bitter Snow Vine was enormous. Even at the First Stage Realm Lord level, its body was thousands upon thousands of times larger than a human's.
If an ordinary person suddenly became a giant dozens of meters tall, they would be extremely uncomfortable.
And now Zhang Dong's body was far larger still, nothing like what he had been used to.
Thud!
Zhang Dong tried to raise one of his tendrils, but he clearly used too much force. It shot high into the air before crashing back to the ground, sending dust billowing.
"You'll get used to it in time," Dark Lord said with a smile. "It's normal to feel awkward at first when a human possesses a plant lifeform."
"Mm." Zhang Dong examined himself from within. After confirming that his Rule Profound Mystery System was still intact, he began sensing each individual particle.
The soul was the essence of life. No matter how many times he possessed a new body, and with the Jade Green Bubble as well, his system wouldn't disappear.
Only devouring-based systems and bloodline-based systems would suffer a sharp drop in power if the body was changed or destroyed.
He sensed the particles and learned to control their movements. He also took time to apply the techniques from Great Extinction. After just two hours, Zhang Dong had already grown much more accustomed to the body.
He could actually take on a human form now, but he would be strongest in battle while using his true form.
So he had to get used to controlling countless tendrils.
Fortunately, the memories he'd inherited also contained all kinds of combat methods. Zhang Dong learned quickly, and in just three days, he had completely mastered Bitter Snow Vine.
He was even stronger than its original consciousness had been.
Only after fully mastering it did Zhang Dong take on a human form. He adjusted his appearance somewhat, standing nearly two meters tall, his whole body suffused with a jade-green glow.
It was a vast aura of life, as if it could give birth to all things. Standing beside him felt like basking in a spring breeze.
Chaos City Lord and Dark Lord had quietly watched from nearby for three days.
"Your aura is much stronger than Bitter Snow Vine's was before you possessed it," Dark Lord said, satisfied. "A Special Lifeform needs an enormous amount of energy to reach the Ninth Stage Realm Lord level. You don't need to go through the hassle of applying to the Primordial Realm. Your teacher will take care of it."
Bitter Snow Vine had a thousandfold genetic level, not to mention its enormous size.
The Nutrient Solution needed to soak in a Nutrient Pod until it reached the Ninth Stage Realm Lord level would amount to an astronomical sum, and it would waste a great deal of time.
"Thank you, teacher." Zhang Dong thought that it wouldn't have been much trouble anyway—just a trip to the Boundary Heart Continent.
With the Boundary Heart Continent's boundless energy, he could get everything he needed by taking a few breaths. The Primordial Universe was far too impoverished.
Dark Lord took out a piece of Star Tear Gold.
Star Tear Gold was a G-Grade Metal. Though it was only G-grade, it was extremely useful. This special metal formed only when a supermassive star reached the end of its life and collapsed into a black hole.
A Star Tear Gold sphere 21,000 kilometers in diameter could restore the divine body of an Overlord more than a thousand kilometers tall to eighty percent.
Though Dark Lord had brought out only one piece of Star Tear Gold, it contained enough energy to help Zhang Dong advance.
"This Star Tear Gold will be enough for you to advance. Also, since you'll be going out to adventure and gain experience, I've decided you should have a Supreme Treasure," Dark Lord said softly.
Without a Supreme Treasure, there was no way to conceal the aura of a Realm Lord.
Even if Zhang Dong mastered two cultivation systems, he couldn't imitate the aura of an Immortal God.
As he spoke, Dark Lord took out a Dark Red Armor and a treasure shaped like a skull.
"I specifically exchanged for this armor," Dark Lord said. "You can look up how to use it within the race."
The Dark Red Armor was only an Ordinary Supreme Treasure.
Dark Lord didn't have anything of that level on hand, so he'd had to exchange for it within the race.
But to Zhang Dong, it made no difference whether it was an Ordinary Supreme Treasure or a higher-grade Treasure Armor. They weakened attacks to the same degree, and no enemy could possibly hit hard enough to breach the Treasure Armor's threshold.
What mattered was that the Supreme Treasure could conceal his aura. No one would guess that he was a Realm Lord.
Zhang Dong nodded obediently.
He was being given a Supreme Treasure! In an ordinary battle among Venerable-level experts, just having a Treasure Armor would let someone dominate the battlefield.
Such a treasure was incredibly precious even to a World God.
"As for this skull, it's a Soul-type Heavy Treasure," Dark Lord said softly. "One armor and one soul treasure will give you the greatest chance of survival."
Originally, Chaos City Lord had asked Dark Lord to prepare an armor, and that would have been enough.
But when Dark Lord saw Chaos City Lord's face, he thought of Ke Di. And when he thought of Ke Di, he thought of souls.
No matter how powerful a physical attack was, Dark Lord could easily revive Zhang Dong if he died.
And after possessing a Special Lifeform, Zhang Dong had a Clone, too. Even if he died, it wouldn't matter.
But if he were enslaved through his soul, that would be the end of everything. Dark Lord had thought the matter through more carefully. Treasure Armor could weaken Soul Attacks.
But it normally only weakened their power by ninety percent.
If an attack came from someone as powerful as a Cosmic Venerable, what could Zhang Dong, a mere Realm Lord, do against the remaining ten percent?
"A Soul-type Heavy Treasure?!" Zhang Dong was deeply moved.
A Soul-type Heavy Treasure was no less valuable than a Supreme Treasure. Dark Lord had practically prepared two Supreme Treasures for him.
Their value far exceeded the entire fortune of Ganwu Kingdom Master.
"Also, these are tokens from your senior brother, Dark Marquis Lord, and your Uncle Master, Chaos City Lord."
Dark Lord took out two tokens. One bore the image of the Youhou Thorn, and the other, Chaos City. "I rarely stay in the Primordial Universe. If you ever face a mortal danger, crush one of these. Your senior brother or Uncle Master will arrive as quickly as possible."
Before you continue