The Dark Lord's Preparations (Seeking Follow-ups)

Consider that just a few days ago, Zhang Dong had only been a Domain Lord.

Yet his soul had grown terrifying to such a degree—he absolutely possessed a heaven-defying opportunity.

"I was right not to open the Divine Sea." Zhang Dong read their expressions, noting the looks on Dark Lord and the other. If he had opened the Divine Sea to become a Realm God and then performed possession, that would have been far too horrifying.

A mere Realm Lord at the first stage, with a soul rivaling a Cosmic Venerable?

Those two would probably be dumbfounded. Even Origin Ancestor, the strongest soul master in the three reincarnation eras of the Cosmic Sea, could not have been that monstrous during his Realm Lord period.

"Wooom~~~"

The Bitter Snow Vine realized it was about to be possessed and could only let out a mournful cry.

Both present were Universe Masters—what could it resist? As a Special Lifeform, encountering a powerful being from another race before it had grown, it could only blame its own misfortune.

The universe was this cruel.

The weak are prey to the strong, survival of the fittest—there was no right or wrong. Strength was what mattered. If it could have become an Immortal God, it would not have fallen to this state.

A vast surge of soul power pierced into the Bitter Snow Vine's tendrils, instantly annihilating its original consciousness. Then, Zhang Dong devoured all the soul fragments.

After the possession came the absorption of memories, including innate secret techniques and the like.

The Jade Green Bubble followed the soul into the Bitter Snow Vine's body.

"What a strange feeling." Though Zhang Dong's realm was high, performing this kind of possession still felt very awkward.

The Bitter Snow Vine's volume was immense. Even at just the third stage of Realm Lord, it was thousands or tens of thousands of times larger than a human body.

An ordinary person suddenly turning into a giant tens of meters tall would be extremely uncomfortable.

Let alone such a colossal size, far beyond anything before.

Thump!

Zhang Dong tried to lift one of the tendrils, but he clearly exerted too much force. The tendril shot high into the air, then crashed back to the ground, sending dust flying.

"Take some time to adapt." Dark Lord laughed. "It's normal to be uncomfortable when a human possesses a plant lifeform."

"Mhm." Zhang Dong looked inward, confirmed that the system of rule mysteries was still intact, and began to perceive every particle.

The essence of life was the soul. No matter how many times he possessed a new body, and with the Jade Green Bubble, the system would not disappear.

Unless it was a devouring-type system or a bloodline path, where changing or damaging the body would cause a sharp drop in strength.

Perceiving particles, then manipulating their movement, and applying techniques from the Great Extinction—in just two hours, Zhang Dong had already adapted considerably.

He could now take human form, but in combat, he still had to use his true body to be strong.

So he had to get used to the state of countless tendrils.

Fortunately, the inherited memories also contained various combat methods. Zhang Dong learned quickly, and in just three days, he had fully mastered the Bitter Snow Vine.

He was even stronger than its original consciousness.

After fully mastering it, Zhang Dong transformed into human form, adjusting his appearance slightly. He stood nearly two meters tall, his entire body flowing with a jade-green life radiance.

It was a surging life aura, as if it could nurture all things. Standing beside him, one felt like a spring breeze.

Chaos City Lord and Dark Lord had stayed by the side, silently watching for three days.

"Your aura is even more vigorous than the Bitter Snow Vine before possession." Dark Lord said with satisfaction. "Special Lifeforms need enormous energy to advance to the ninth stage of Realm Lord. You don't need to bother applying to the Primordial Realm for that—your teacher will handle it."

The Bitter Snow Vine alone had a thousandfold gene level, plus its massive volume.

Soaking in a nutrient pod to reach the ninth stage of Realm Lord would require an astronomical amount of nutrient fluid and waste a lot of time.

"Thank you, Teacher." Zhang Dong thought it wouldn't actually be troublesome—just a trip to the Boundary Heart Continent.

With the vast energy of the Boundary Heart Continent, a few breaths would give him everything he needed. The Primordial Universe was too barren.

Dark Lord took out a piece of Star Tear Gold.

Grade G metal Star Tear Gold. Though only Grade G, its function was immense. It was a special metal produced only when a supermassive star reached the end of its life and collapsed into a black hole.

A Star Tear Gold planet 21,000 kilometers in diameter could restore up to eighty percent of a overlord's divine body spanning thousands of kilometers.

Even though Dark Lord only took out a single piece of Star Tear Gold, the energy within was enough for Zhang Dong to advance.

"This Star Tear Gold is enough for your advancement. Also, for your adventures and training, your teacher has considered it and should grant you a treasure." Dark Lord said softly.

Without a treasure, a Realm Lord's aura could not be concealed at all.

Even if Zhang Dong had mastered two cultivation systems, he could not simulate the aura of an Immortal God.

With that, Dark Lord produced a piece of Dark Red Armor and a Skull Treasure.

"This armor I specially exchanged for." Dark Lord said. "How to use it, you can look up in the clan."

The Dark Red Armor was merely an ordinary treasure.

Dark Lord didn't have anything of this level in his possession—he had to exchange for it from the clan.

But for Zhang Dong, an ordinary treasure or a high-grade treasure armor made no difference. The damage reduction was the same, and no enemy would ever hit the treasure armor's threshold.

The important thing was that the treasure could conceal his aura. No one would ever guess he was a Realm Lord.

Zhang Dong nodded obediently.

This is a gift of a Treasure Armor—in an ordinary Venerable-level battle, having a Treasure Armor lets you walk right through.

Such treasures are extremely precious even to Realm Gods.

"As for this Skull, it's a Soul-type Heavy Treasure," the Dark Lord said softly. "One armor, one soul—these maximize your chances of survival."

Originally, the Chaos City Lord had only asked the Dark Lord to prepare a suit of armor.

But seeing the Chaos City Lord's face, the Dark Lord thought of Ke Di, and thinking of Ke Di, he thought of the soul.

No matter how strong the material attack, if a person died, the Dark Lord could casually resurrect them.

Even Zhang Dong, after seizing a Special Lifeform, had a Clone—death was no big deal.

But soul enslavement was the end of the line. The Dark Lord considered the matter more thoroughly: a Treasure Armor could weaken soul attacks.

Normally, it would reduce the power by ninety percent.

Ninety percent—if a Cosmic Venerable struck with that level of force, Zhang Dong was only a Realm Lord. How could he resist?

"A Soul-type Heavy Treasure?!" Zhang Dong was deeply moved.

The value of a Soul-type Heavy Treasure was no less than a Treasure Armor. It was as if the Dark Lord had prepared two Treasures for him.

This far exceeded the entire wealth of the Ganwu Kingdom Master.

"Also, these are the tokens of your senior brother, the Dark Marquis Lord, and your Uncle Master, the Chaos City Lord."

The Dark Lord took out two tokens, one engraved with the Youhou Thorn and the other bearing the image of Chaos City. "I rarely stay in the Primordial Universe. If you truly face a fatal crisis, crush them. Your senior brother and Uncle Master will arrive in the shortest time."