Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One after another, emerald-green streaks of light plunged into the body of the Thunderlight Vine.
With every Sacred Fruit of Life it absorbed, the Thunderlight Vine's aura surged another notch!
The instant the ninth—and final—Sacred Fruit of Life was completely absorbed—
Boom!!!
A terrifying aura, far surpassing anything before, erupted from within the Thunderlight Vine like a cosmic storm!
Had Lu Ming not promptly shielded everything in the rest cabin with Origin Force, it would have been reduced to dust in an instant.
Dazzling purple-gold light illuminated the entire rest cabin as if the Divine Kingdom had descended!
The overwhelming pressure made Lu Ming's heart pound.
He had no doubt that Little Thunder's energy alone now surpassed that of the vast majority of Ordinary Immortals!
And this was only an auxiliary plant life-form at the ninth World Lord Level!
With its Hundredfold Gene and the terrifying foundation of 216-Vine, its true combat strength had to be astonishing!
The light gradually faded, and the Thunderlight Vine returned to its usual size.
Yet anyone could sense the world-destroying power hidden beneath that tranquil exterior.
"Master."
Little Thunder's voice brimmed with boundless excitement.
"I... I feel completely different! It's as if my life structure has been reforged and elevated! My strength, speed, defense, recovery, and comprehension of lightning and the Origin Law have all improved by more than a hundredfold! Right now, I feel like I could easily tear apart dozens of my former selves!"
It had achieved the Hundredfold Gene!
Looking at the Thunderlight Vine, transformed from the inside out, Lu Ming broke into a broad, exhilarated smile.
"Good! Excellent! Little Thunder, from today onward, you're the only Thunderlight Vine in the universe with the Hundredfold Gene! I doubt you'll have any rivals below the Marquis Immortal level!"
"This is all thanks to you, Master!"
Little Thunder's vines bowed respectfully.
"Little Thunder will follow you for all eternity and clear every obstacle in your path!"
"Haha, we're one, master and servant. Your strength is my strength."
Lu Ming patted one of the Thunderlight Vine's tendrils.
"Get used to this new power and make it your own. We still have a much wider stage ahead of us!"
"Yes, Master!"
The Thunderlight Vine replied excitedly, then turned into a streak of purple-gold light and re-formed as armor.
"The Thunderlight Vine has reached its current limit. Next, it's time for the second sacrifice and the start of our 'wealth-building' plan!"
His gaze turned to the coordinates on the ship's control screen. Tianque Planet was already in sight.
The Azure Bird slowly docked at its designated lord's berth on Tianque Planet, where Lu Ming's palace stood.
This prosperous commercial planet, strategically located near Azure Mist Planet, was one of Lu Ming's major assets and a hub for physical deliveries and transfers.
Lu Ming didn't leave the ship. Instead, he connected directly to the Virtual Universe Network.
He first chose his own ride, the Azure Bird.
"System, sacrifice my property—the Azure Bird spaceship!"
At his command, the Azure Bird, docked on Tianque Planet, was once again enveloped in a gentle, supreme light.
The D-class spaceship that had accompanied Lu Ming for quite some time quickly disintegrated and vanished.
[ Ding! Sacrifice successful! ]
[ Calculating a random multiplier based on the sacrificed item's value... ]
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host. You received a 700-fold return! ]
[ Generating reward... ]
[ Congratulations, Host. You received: D9-class Spaceship "Star Falcon"! ]
A streak of light emerged from an invisible vortex. It settled before Lu Ming as a streamlined, shuttle-shaped spaceship, its surface a muted black that gleamed with a cold metallic sheen.
Its energy signature and material strength far surpassed those of the Azure Bird.
"Seven hundred times. Not bad."
Lu Ming nodded slightly.
He immediately listed the brand-new Star Falcon for sale through the Virtual Universe.
D9-class premium spaceships were highly sought-after, and a World Lord bought it soon afterward.
Once he issued the physical delivery order, the Star Falcon in Tianque Planet's warehouse district would be sent directly to the buyer, and the payment would be automatically transferred to Lu Ming's Cosmic Galaxy Bank account.
The funds arrived, bringing Lu Ming's personal wealth to: 80.7 (existing) + 1.2 Hunyuan Units.
"Next, I'll buy a sacrifice in the Virtual Universe."
Lu Ming knew exactly what he wanted: something valuable that would also be easy to resell.
He searched the vast Virtual Universe marketplace and finally settled on a warrior's battle armor called the Obsidian Dragon Scale Armor.
It was equipment for Immortal-level warriors, listed in the Virtual Universe for 80 Hunyuan Units.
"This is the one!"
Lu Ming paid without hesitation.
Once the payment was complete, the seller would ship the item to the address he provided.
"Now, I wait."
A year passed in the blink of an eye as he cultivated. The moment the system panel's "Available Sacrifice Attempts" refreshed to 1, Lu Ming sprang into action. He went to the warehouse himself to retrieve the Obsidian Dragon Scale Armor.
"System, sacrifice!"
A flash of light, and the armor, worth 90 Hunyuan Units, disappeared.
[ Ding! Sacrifice successful! ]
[ Calculating a random multiplier based on the sacrificed item's value... ]
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host. You received a 79-fold return! ]
[ Generating reward... ]
A new suit of armor appeared.
As usual, he sold it through the Virtual Universe.
His wealth instantly surged to 352.7 Hunyuan Units!
"Again!"
Lu Ming was exhilarated. One cycle had netted him nearly 260 Hunyuan Units!
It was far more profitable than exploring secret realms, and the risks were manageable!
Having tasted success, Lu Ming officially began his "Virtual Universe money-making" cycle.
He sold items through the Virtual Universe or Cosmic Galaxy Bank to raise funds.
He bought valuable, easy-to-resell items.
He had them shipped to the Tianque Planet warehouse and waited a year for the sacrifice cooldown.
He sacrificed them, received more valuable returns, then sold those items through the Virtual Universe or Cosmic Galaxy Bank.
And earned even more money.
His wealth grew like a snowball.
100 Hunyuan Units... 500 Hunyuan Units... 1,000 Hunyuan Units... 5,000 Hunyuan Units...
Time flew by. A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Lu Ming finished another Virtual Universe auction.
Looking at the final figure confirmed in his account, he let out a long breath.
Balance: 2,118,190,123,600 Hunyuan Units!
More than two trillion Hunyuan Units!
Over a hundred times!
He had kept cycling through sacrifices, with the return multipliers fluctuating from one time to another.
But his wealth had steadily grown.
With the Virtual Universe Company and the Cosmic Galaxy Bank—two of the universe's greatest powers—his goods had always sold quickly.
"A thousand years of accumulation. Now I have the means."
Lu Ming's eyes gleamed.
"It's time to buy the resources for Little Thunder's 'perfect cultivation plan' in the Virtual Universe and help it break through to Immortality!"
With this enormous fortune, his plans had entered a new stage: turning wealth into peak strength!
The Thunderlight Vine's breakthrough was crucial.
Of course, there was no way he had spent a thousand years doing nothing but making money. He had never stopped cultivating his own understanding of the laws.
A closer look would reveal a Flame Mark between his brows.
It was proof that he had gained recognition from the Origin Law!
With his talent now elevated to the Hundredfold Gene, he was no longer the same as before.
Even breaking through to Immortality would be no difficult feat for him.