Sacrifice Return System!

An indescribable surge of complex emotions—a mixture of ecstasy, agitation, grievance, and even a hint of absurdity—slammed into his heart, which had been silent for nearly ten thousand years, like a cosmic tide, whipping up monstrous waves!

How long had he waited for this?

Over ninety thousand years!

From the ignorance of his initial transmigration to the high spirits of unifying a planet, then to the desperate struggle of being reduced to a slave, fighting for survival in the arena, until he finally gained freedom, built a family, and guarded his own territory... Throughout these long, arduous years, he had fantasized about this countless times in the dead of night!

He had fantasized about a day when a voice would ring out in his mind, granting him the power to shatter all shackles!

But as the years bled into decades, centuries, and millennia, this unrealistic fantasy had long been buried deep in his heart, treated as nothing more than a ridiculous joke.

He had long since concluded that the only things he could rely on were the blade in his hand and the will forged through countless brushes with death!

Systems, mysterious old masters, invincible cheats... those were ethereal legends, things belonging to true children of destiny, having nothing to do with a transmigrator like him who had struggled for ninety thousand years without even touching the threshold of a Domain Lord.

He had even calmly accepted the fact that his talent was limited and his fate was sealed, preparing to spend his final two hundred years settling his affairs before peacefully walking toward the end of his life.

But just when he had almost completely abandoned his fantasies and resigned himself to waiting for death!

Just when his lifespan was nearing its end, with less than two hundred years left on the countdown!

It! Actually! Arrived!

An indescribable sourness surged into his nose; even with the resilient mindset Lu Ming had honed over ninety thousand years, he almost lost his composure.

"System, oh System..."

Lu Ming gritted his teeth in his mind.

"You really are a master of time management! The timing is so perfect... if you had been a few decades later, I'm afraid my ashes would have gone cold! Are you here to see me off, or to extend my life?!"

"Or is it that... the binding conditions are only met when the host is in utter despair, on the verge of death? Isn't your activation threshold a bit too high?!"

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, though only a split second had passed in the outside world.

His eyes, which had appeared somewhat gray and lifeless due to his failed breakthrough and dwindling lifespan, now shone with brilliant light. All the fatigue, helplessness, and despair were swept away, replaced by a radiant spirit that felt almost like a rebirth!

Although he did not yet know the specific functions of this "Sacrifice Return System," the mere word "System" was enough to bring a transmigrator infinite imagination and confidence!

Hope!

At the very end of his life, he had finally caught a glimpse of that sliver of hope to break the shackles of fate and truly roam the star seas!

At this moment, the holographic projection of the intelligent lifeform Azure Kite was still respectfully waiting in place, completely unaware of the earth-shattering mental transformation that had just occurred within its master.

Lu Ming forcibly suppressed his surging emotions. His face remained as calm as an ancient well, showing no signs of the turmoil within, save for a lingering, scorching heat deep in his eyes that he could not fully conceal.

He looked at Azure Kite, his voice as steady as before.

"Azure Kite, have them wait in the side hall; I will be there shortly."

"Yes, Master."

Azure Kite responded respectfully, and the projection slowly dissipated.

In the secret chamber, Lu Ming was once again left alone.

"System! System!"

Lu Ming called out in his mind.

"Are you there? Open the panel!"

As the thought fell, a pale blue light screen, visible only to him and filled with a sense of technology, unfolded silently in his field of vision. Its structure was simple and clear.

[Sacrifice Return System]

Host: Lu Ming

Realm: Universe Level 9

Available Sacrifices: 1 (Automatically restores once per year)

Bound Items: None

Below were two prominent functional areas.

[Sacrifice] [Warehouse] (Empty)

Concise!

Direct!

Worthy of being a System!

Lu Ming's heart pounded uncontrollably as he focused his intent on the [Sacrifice] option.

A stream of information instantly flooded his mind, explaining the core functions of the System.

A moment later, Lu Ming slowly opened his eyes and let out a long, long breath of stale air that had been pent up for ninety thousand years, his eyes erupting with a terrifying brilliance!

"So that's how it is! Marvelous!!"

He couldn't help but whisper in admiration. The rules of this System were simple and brutal to the extreme, yet powerful enough to defy the heavens!

As long as the System determined an item belonged to him, no matter what it was—cultivation manuals, divine weapons, heavenly treasures, or even a rock or a blade of grass—it could be used as an offering for sacrifice!

After the sacrifice, the system would provide a random multiplier return based on the value of the offering!

The return multiplier ranges from a minimum of two times to a theoretical upper limit of... ten thousand times!

The returned items could be a higher-tier version of the same category as the offering, an entirely different item of roughly equivalent value, or even some unexpected special rewards!

"Ten thousand times..."

Lu Ming licked his parched lips, feeling his breath grow scorching hot.

This was simply terrifying!

Sacrifice one Ganwu Coin, and get ten thousand back?

While exaggerated, that seemed manageable.

But what if one sacrificed a mediocre secret technique and received a heaven-defying scripture in return?

What if one sacrificed a plant-based spirit that extended life by a hundred years and received a cosmic divine fruit?!

The room for manipulation and the possibilities within this were vast enough to drive any existence mad!

"I'm rich... I'm truly rich this time!"

Ninety thousand years of cultivating inner peace seemed so fragile and vulnerable in the face of this heaven-defying cheat.

No wonder it was called the Sacrifice Return System; the name was plain and unadorned, but its function was domineering!

"Wait, it automatically restores once a year—does that mean I can only sacrifice once a year? Can it be accumulated?"

Lu Ming noticed another key point; these were things that would likely require slow experimentation later on.

These were not the main focus; the point was that with this system, he possessed infinite possibilities!

"No time to lose, let's test this sacrifice function right now."

For the first sacrifice, what should he offer?

After this sacrifice, he would have to wait another year, and for him, time was life.

He had to sacrifice the thing most useful to him.

Heavenly treasures?

He had already consumed most of them during this breakthrough, and the rest were quite ordinary.

What should he sacrifice...

His divine sense sank into his world ring. There was still some inventory inside: some common recovery potions, a few force weapons, some cosmic coins, and several secret techniques he had either mastered to the peak or looked down upon...

These items were precious in their own right; any one of them, if leaked to the outside world, would be enough to make Star-level or even early Universe-level powerhouses fight to the death.

But to use them as the "first sacrifice" for this heaven-defying system, Lu Ming felt... it lacked a certain something!

"The first sacrifice must maximize benefits as much as possible! It would be best if it could directly resolve my current core dilemma..."

Lu Ming furrowed his brows, his brain operating at an unprecedented speed.

What was his core dilemma?

It was that his lifespan was coming to an end! It was the difficulty of breaking through!

What could directly address these two issues?

Just as his thoughts hit a snag, his gaze unconsciously swept across the mirror-like Black Jet Gold wall. The wall clearly reflected his current figure: a face of majesty, eyes exceptionally bright from excitement, and a body bearing the traces of ninety thousand years of frost and wind.

Wait!

His body?!