With a thought, Lu Ming entered the Internal World of the Thunderlight Vine, "Little Thunder"—the vibrant Forest of Life.
Towering ancient trees stood everywhere, and exotic flowers and plants carpeted the ground. The air was rich with the breath of life.
At the very center of the forest stood a particularly striking Life Fruit Tree, its entire form emerald green and shimmering with a brilliant radiance.
After being nurtured in the Forest of Life for some time and regularly watered with Fruit Heart Morning Dew, the Life Fruit Tree had grown more vigorously. The three heart-shaped Life Fruits on its branches, wreathed in rainbow-colored light, beat with greater strength, radiating increasingly pure and abundant life energy. They were already close to fully ripening.
"Life Fruit Tree, soon you'll become something even more extraordinary."
Standing beneath the tree, Lu Ming gazed up at the magnificent plant, his heart filled with anticipation.
Without the slightest hesitation, he issued an order to the system.
"System! Sacrifice my Life Fruit Tree!"
The instant the order was given, the familiar scene unfolded once more.
An indescribable light, gentle yet supreme, appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the entire Life Fruit Tree and the surrounding area.
Within the light, the Life Fruit Tree and its three precious fruits began to turn hazy, disintegrating into the purest particles of life origin before being drawn into an invisible vortex.
[ Ding! Sacrifice successful! ] [ Calculating random multiple reward based on the value of the sacrificed item... ] [ Ding! Congratulations, host. You have received an 8,400-fold return! ]
Eight thousand four hundred times! Another incredibly high multiplier!
Lu Ming's heart tightened as he stared fixedly at the invisible vortex.
[Generating reward...] [Congratulations, host. You have obtained: Sacred Tree of Life (Juvenile Stage)!]
The moment the system's announcement sounded, the invisible vortex suddenly spewed out a vast, ocean-like torrent of emerald-green energy!
It was the purest, most primordial life-origin energy. Its quality and quantity exceeded those of the sacrificed Life Fruit Tree by more than ten thousand times!
Rumble—
The entire Forest of Life trembled, as if welcoming the arrival of a supreme monarch!
The emerald-green torrent of life converged wildly at the center of the forest. It condensed, and the nascent form of a tree burst from the ground, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters, ten thousand meters... a hundred thousand meters... a million kilometers!
At last, a colossal tree over a million kilometers tall, with a canopy more than two million kilometers across, stood majestically at the heart of the Forest of Life!
It was so immense that it seemed to be a world in its own right!
The entire tree was a regal purple-gold. Its trunk twisted like coiling dragons, emanating an ancient and boundless aura.
Its leaves were no longer a simple emerald green. They looked as though they had been carved from the purest green gemstones, with golden liquid flowing through their veins.
The tree constantly radiated gentle yet immense life energy, filling every plant in the Forest of Life with unprecedented vitality. Even the stability of space seemed to have increased.
And this was only its "Juvenile Stage"!
Most eye-catching of all were the thirteen fruits hanging from its vast purple-gold canopy. They shone with a gentle light, like miniature stars.
[Item Name]: Sacred Tree of Life (Juvenile Stage) [Properties]: Contains a trace of the Universe Origin Law. Its life aura can nourish all things, slow aging, and heal all non-rule-based injuries. Its fruit, the "Sacred Fruit of Life," contains a trace of the Universe Origin Law. When consumed by a World Lord, it can directly raise their Life Gene Level—the extent depends on the individual, up to a hundredfold—and has a small chance of helping them comprehend the Law of Life. When consumed by an undying, it can reshape their divine body. [Current State]: Juvenile Stage. Requires large amounts of Universe Origin Energy and special nutrients to cultivate.
The Sacred Tree of Life!
The Sacred Fruit of Life!
Even though Lu Ming had been prepared, the information from the system still left him too excited to contain himself!
This had gone far beyond the realm of ordinary treasures. It was a divine object connected to the Universe Origin Law!
Its value was impossible to measure in Hunyuan Units!
"Hahaha! Excellent! This is fantastic!"
Lu Ming's consciousness laughed aloud beneath the Sacred Tree of Life.
This sacrifice had turned a fairly valuable Life Fruit Tree into a divine tree of limitless potential and immeasurable worth! This return had earned him a fortune beyond belief!
"Too bad the upper limit is a hundredfold. Still, it's not bad. I can't use them myself, but I can give them to someone else."
The first one who came to mind was his auxiliary plant life, the Thunderlight Vine!
With a thought, Lu Ming waved his hand. The thirteen Sacred Fruits of Life, shining like miniature stars atop the tree's canopy, detached all at once and flew into his hands.
He didn't linger in the Internal World. Returning to the outside, he appeared in the Azure Bird's rest cabin a moment later.
He opened his palm. A Sacred Fruit of Life floated up, emanating a soothing fragrance and abundant vitality.
"Little Thunder."
Lu Ming called softly.
In an instant, a Thunderlight Vine, reduced in size and wrapped in fine silver snakes of lightning, emerged from his wrist and affectionately rubbed against his palm.
"Master."
"This Sacred Fruit of Life is for you. Let's see how it works."
Lu Ming sent the floating fruit toward the Thunderlight Vine.
A tendril cautiously reached out and gently wrapped around the Sacred Fruit of Life.
The instant it touched the fruit, the Thunderlight Vine absorbed it completely.
Hum—
A powerful surge of life erupted from within the Thunderlight Vine!
The natural lightning patterns on its tendrils grew more complex and profound. Faint golden Law Secret Patterns flowed through them.
Crackle!
Countless tiny sparks of electricity appeared out of thin air in the rest cabin, and the air filled with vibrant lightning energy.
The Thunderlight Vine visibly swelled in size as its energy level climbed higher and higher. A powerful aura far surpassing anything it had released before spread through the cabin.
After a moment, the energy fluctuations gradually subsided.
The Thunderlight Vine's main tendril danced excitedly.
"Master! This... this is unbelievable!"
Little Thunder's voice trembled with incredulous excitement.
"I can feel it... My life origin has undergone a qualitative leap! My physical strength and energy reserves have increased by at least tenfold!"
Feeling the Thunderlight Vine's complete transformation, Lu Ming nodded in satisfaction.
A tenfold increase in Life Gene Level was an unimaginably tremendous improvement for any life-form. It meant a comprehensive surge in potential and combat power.
"Excellent. As expected, the Sacred Fruit of Life is extraordinary."
Lu Ming's eyes gleamed.
Then Lu Ming took out nine more Sacred Fruits of Life.
"Come on, let's keep going!"
One fruit increased it tenfold, and the upper limit was a hundredfold. That meant just nine more would raise the Thunderlight Vine's Gene Level to a hundred!
Its combat power would increase a hundredfold!
Good heavens, the Thunderlight Vine was already a 216-Vine. If its combat power increased another hundredfold...
The Thunderlight Vine might already be close to Marquis-Level strength.
Once he had the money, he could buy the resources needed for a perfect cultivation plan in the Virtual Universe and help it reach undying status, or even King-Level!
Tsk, tsk, tsk. The strongest Thunderlight Vine in the universe would soon be born!