Sacrifice... the Body!

Lu Ming's pupils contracted sharply. A thought, insane to the extreme, struck his mind like a bolt of lightning, causing his entire body to tremble violently!

That's it!

External objects are, in the end, just external objects!

What in this world could be more his own, more closely connected to him, and... more valuable than his own peak Universe-level 9 body?!

He suppressed his heart, which felt as if it were about to burst from his chest, and sent a query to the system.

"System! Tell me, can I... sacrifice myself?! Sacrifice this current body of mine?!"

Even as he asked, he felt the question was utterly absurd.

Sacrifice himself?

However, the system's response was swift.

[Ding! Detected item belonging to the host: one Universe-level 9 living body. Meets sacrifice criteria. Sacrifice can be performed.]

"!!!"

It was actually possible!

"System, if I sacrifice my body, will I die immediately?"

This question had to be asked in advance; otherwise, if he dropped dead the moment the sacrifice was complete, all his efforts would be in vain.

[Ding, no.]

Good!

As long as he was certain he wouldn't die, then nothing else was a problem!

He would gamble!

He had to take this gamble!

Rather than clinging to this decaying shell—nearing its limit and with no hope of breaking through—for another two hundred years of lingering, he would use this final capital to fight for a heaven-defying future!

"Hahaha! Good! Good! Good!"

A flash of madness crossed Lu Ming's eyes.

"I've lived for ninety thousand years; today, I'm going to play the biggest hand of my life!"

He no longer hesitated, his consciousness issuing the command to the system.

"System! Sacrifice it for me!!"

"Sacrifice this body of mine, this Universe-level 9 vessel!!"

The moment the command was issued, Lu Ming felt an unprecedented sense of lightness, as if his soul were about to break free from some heavy shackle.

[Ding! Command received! Commencing sacrifice of host's property: Universe-level 9 living body!]

[Sacrificing...]

An indescribable, gentle yet supreme light instantly enveloped Lu Ming's entire body.

He felt his consciousness being pulled away, viewing from a god-like perspective that body which had accompanied him for ninety thousand years—the body that had conquered the starry skies, left behind countless legends, and borne countless wounds and regrets.

It was dissolving bit by bit within the light, fading away, and being drawn into an unknown dimensional channel...

There was no pain, only a strange sensation of "peeling away."

[Sacrifice successful!]

[Calculating random multiplier return based on the value of the sacrificed item...]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, you have received a ten-thousand-fold return reward!]

Ten-thousand-fold return?!

Lu Ming's consciousness jolted!

Was his luck off the charts?!

[Generating rewards...]

[Congratulations to the host, you have received: one Domain Lord-level 9 body, gene level 100. Please check your reward, host!]

As soon as the system finished speaking, centered around his soul:

Bones, meridians, organs, skin... every inch was regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye, the new body radiating a glowing, precious luster.

In almost an instant, a perfectly flawless new body had been reshaped!

Lu Ming's soul returned in a flash, and a sense of unprecedented power, lightness, and clarity flooded his entire being!

He subconsciously raised his hand, looking at the fair, slender palm—full of youthful vitality yet containing terrifying power—and felt the surging, pure Origin Force within him, far exceeding what he had possessed before, along with a crystal-clear resonance with the laws of the universe...

He was stunned.

Then, a wave of wild joy swept through his entire soul like an exploding galaxy!

He had succeeded! And... it was a ten-thousand-fold return!

He had switched to a top-tier account!

"Haha... Hahahaha!!!"

Within the secret chamber, Lu Ming's laughter echoed—filled with excitement and disbelief, as if he had been reborn!

This power... it was too strong!

Compared to when he was a Universe-level 9, it was more than a hundred, a thousand times stronger!

Domain Lord-level 9!

And not just any, but a Domain Lord-level 9 with a hundredfold gene multiplier!

What did this mean?

It meant that his base strength, speed, defense, force capacity, and soul perception... in almost every aspect, he was a hundred times stronger than an ordinary Domain Lord-level 9 of the same rank!

What an absurd gap!

He was practically a human-shaped Star-devouring Beast!

No, even stronger than a Star-devouring Beast!!

The immense joy and the feeling of being flooded with power made him want to roar at the heavens!

Subconsciously, he relaxed his restraint on his own power, wanting to experience the true might of this new body.

However, with that "slight" relaxation—

BOOM!!!

An indescribable, terrifying aura, like a star-sea beast that had slumbered for billions of years suddenly waking, erupted violently from the center of the secret chamber!

This aura was vast and majestic, carrying the absolute pressure of a peak Domain Lord-level a hundred times over!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The walls of the secret chamber, made of Black Jet Gold capable of withstanding attacks below the Domain Lord level, groaned under the pressure of his naturally radiating aura, and cracks began to spread!

This aura pierced through the secret chamber and the ten-thousand-year-old glaciers without obstruction, sweeping across the entire Azure Mist Planet at the speed of light!

In an instant!

Every living soul on the Azure Mist Planet—no matter where they were or what they were doing, from the busy staff at the spaceport to pedestrians on the street, to warriors cultivating in their chambers—felt it!

From Planet-level and Star-level down to Apprentice-level and ordinary mortals!

At this moment, they all felt an irresistible, incomprehensible, and terrifying pressure, as if the entire sky had collapsed upon them!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Countless figures instantly lost control of their bodies, collapsing, kneeling, or even prostrating themselves involuntarily!

Whether they were powerful warriors, delicate women, or innocent children, they all performed the same action—they hit the ground!

Mo, who had just led four geniuses into the side hall of the Lu Family ancestral shrine and was about to give them instructions, saw his expression change drastically!

As a Universe-level 3 powerhouse, he felt as insignificant as an ant before this pressure!

The force within his body instantly stagnated, and his soul trembled!

This... is this... the aura of the Old Ancestor?! But... how could it be so... so terrifying?!!

The moment this horrified thought flashed through his mind, his body was uncontrollably slammed into the ground with a "bang," unable to move even a single finger!

The four geniuses behind him were even worse off, pressed flat against the floor.

Just then, a long laugh containing boundless joy, exhilaration, and the arrogance of one who looks down upon the universe rolled out like thunder, clearly echoing from the deep glaciers in the far north of the continent and resounding across the entire Azure Mist Planet!

"Hahahahaha--!!!"

The laughter pierced the clouds, scattering them for ten thousand miles, and reverberated endlessly through the planet's atmosphere!

All the creatures prostrate on the ground shivered in this laughter, their hearts filled with boundless awe and fear!

They did not understand what had happened, only that the owner of this laughter possessed the power to decide the fate of the entire planet in an instant!

Inside the secret chamber, Lu Ming finally slowly reined in the monstrous aura he had unintentionally released, but the wild joy on his face and the sharp glint in his eyes remained undiminished.

He clenched his fists, feeling the world-destroying power within his body.

"Domain Lord-level 9... a hundredfold gene multiplier..."

"Hahahaha! System, you are truly... too incredible!"

He had originally thought that breaking through to Domain Lord-level 1 and extending his life by a million years would be a massive stroke of luck.

He never expected the system to push him directly to the peak of the Domain Lord level in one go!

He was now only a step away from the World Lord level!

It had even gifted him a "hundredfold gene multiplier," a top-tier treasure among the billions of races in the universe!

This wasn't just soaring into the sky;

This was a cosmic leap!

He had jumped from an aging Universe-level warrior struggling to survive to a terrifying, invincible existence among the Domain Lords!

With his current strength, he could suppress a hundred versions of his former self with a mere flip of his hand!

He was even confident that he could put up a fight against some of the weaker World Lords!

"Black Dragon Mountain Star Sector, Ganwu Universe Kingdom, and even the entire Primal Universe..."

Lu Ming's gaze seemed to pierce through the endless void, catching sight of a much grander stage.

"I, Lu Ming, have arrived!"