Lu Ming rubbed his brow. The process was a little tedious, but when he thought of how powerful Xiao Lei would be after evolving, all the hard work seemed worth it.
"Let's take it slowly. If it means Xiao Lei can grow stronger, then a little trouble is worth it!"
He took a deep breath, sank his consciousness into his Internal World, and patiently sorted the mountain of resources according to their types and properties.
A massive, painstaking project of "resource refinement" began.
Lu Ming was going all out to create a Thunderlight Vine unlike any the universe had ever seen.
Several hundred years later, in the Internal World.
The once relatively empty Internal World was now filled with an endless expanse of purple-gold!
More than a thousand enormous vines, each over ten million kilometers long, wound through the void like colossal thunder dragons spanning the stars!
Every vine was as thick as a mountain range, its surface covered in incredibly complex, profound purple-gold secret patterns. The patterns seemed to have formed naturally and contained peerless thunderous power.
With each gentle sway, the vines stirred the surrounding Thunder Laws into a joyful resonance. Endless lightning rippled like an ocean, releasing a vast divine might that could leave even a King-level Immortal gasping for breath!
At the very core of the countless vines, a still larger main vine, its entire body seeming to be forged from purple-gold divine metal, was slowly absorbing the last glimmering drops of the Myriad Transformation Source Liquid, which shone in nine colors.
Buzz—
As the final trace of energy was absorbed, the Thunderlight Vine's immense aura seemed to reach a certain threshold. It trembled slightly, then finally stabilized—but in the end, it still failed to break through that invisible barrier.
Standing at the tip of the thickest vine, Lu Ming sensed Xiao Lei's newly stabilized aura. He sighed softly, then smiled with acceptance.
"Heh, as expected, breaking through to Venerable is no simple matter."
He murmured to himself.
"Even for a Special Lifeform like the Thunderlight Vine, whose nature is like that of a Zerg Warrior and which the Cosmic Rules classify as an 'object'—one that can raise its life level simply by accumulating resources and comprehend the Cosmic Laws on its own—Venerable is still a major threshold."
He could feel that Xiao Lei's life level had reached an unimaginable height, far beyond the limits of an Invincible King and infinitely close to that realm. But that final step was like a heavenly chasm, and Xiao Lei had failed to cross it.
Just then, a thought filled with disappointment and guilt entered Lu Ming's mind. "Master... Xiao Lei has let you down."
Hearing this, Lu Ming bent down and gently stroked the cool, resilient surface of the vine beneath his feet. It contained the power to destroy the heavens and earth.
"Xiao Lei, you've already done very well."
His voice was gentle.
"Is breaking through to Venerable really so easy? Across the universe, countless peerless talents and Special Lifeforms get stuck at this hurdle, spending endless ages without making the slightest progress."
"Don't worry. I'll prepare even better, more precious resources for you in the future! When the time comes, you'll naturally break through smoothly, all in one go!"
Feeling its master's encouragement and unwavering trust, Xiao Lei's enormous body trembled slightly. All its vines radiated delight.
"Mm! Xiao Lei believes in you, Master!"
Lu Ming straightened and swept his gaze over the thousand terrifying vines filling the void. A confident smile returned to his face. "Although you haven't truly broken through, your strength has already surpassed the realm of an Invincible King!"
"You should have no trouble matching an ordinary Universe Venerable."
Xiao Lei sent back a thought tinged with excitement. "That's right, Master! Each of my vines is now a hundred times stronger than those of an ordinary Pinnacle King-Level! If all thousand vines unleash their power at once, their strength can stack perfectly... I don't know exactly how strong a Universe Venerable is, but I feel like I should be able to match one!"
Lu Ming nodded.
After all, he was only a World Lord, and his understanding of the distinctions in strength among Universe Venerables came only from information in the Virtual Universe. He had no firsthand experience.
But he could clearly sense that Xiao Lei's power now was as vast as a cosmic river of stars, far beyond that of an ordinary Invincible King!
"Xiao Lei should have no problem matching a Venerable."
Lu Ming was certain.
"With Xiao Lei as my trump card, plus the Nirvana Stardust Venom... I should be able to dominate the Outer-Domain Battlefield from here on!"
Feeling the reassuring strength within his Internal World, Lu Ming's fighting spirit blazed anew.
"It's time to set out again!"
"I've already fully grasped the basic mysteries of the Fire Law, and even touched upon its deeper essence... I'm just one final step away from completely mastering the entire Fire Law."
Lu Ming saw it clearly.
If he wanted to, he could break through to immortality soon simply by entering seclusion. But he forcibly suppressed the urge.
"I can't rush. Absolutely not."
He warned himself silently.
"The World Lord stage is the best time to lay an unrivaled foundation! Once I break through to immortality, my divine body and Divine Kingdom will take shape, and much of my potential will be fixed."
He wanted to build up his reserves to their true limit, to their absolute peak, while still at the World Lord stage!
Only then could he make a single breakthrough and go farther in the future!
"My greatest weakness right now... is actually my divine body!"
Lu Ming examined himself, frowning slightly.
His Gene Level had already reached an astonishing hundred times!
Among the Human Race, that put him among the very best.
But the problem was that his original body was still only the size of an ordinary human!
At the World Lord stage, the difference in energy reserves caused by his size wasn't yet fatal.
But once he broke through to immortality, the size of his divine body would directly determine how much divine power he could store!
The difference in divine power reserves between an immortal with a human-sized body and an immortal Special Lifeform tens of thousands of kilometers tall would be astronomical!
In brutal high-level battles, that could often decide life or death!
The total divine body of an ordinary human was probably less than one hundred-millionth the size of a powerful Special Lifeform's.
He'd be at a crippling disadvantage in a fight.
"With a body this small, breaking through to immortality now would put me at a huge disadvantage."
Lu Ming shook his head. He wasn't satisfied with becoming merely an ordinary human King-Level.
That was why he had been preparing to create a clone for himself!
A powerful clone with an immense divine body!
Then he could use one clone as a reserve while his main body focused on fighting. That would be the perfect way to survive and fight.
"As far as I know, there are two ways to obtain a clone."
Lu Ming pondered.
"First, I could possess a Special Lifeform with the Innate Secret Technique to create clones, such as a Golden Horned Beast... But the risk is too great. Setting aside how dangerous the possession process is, what worries me most is whether the system in my sea of consciousness might disappear afterward."
That was Lu Ming's greatest concern. The system was his greatest support, and he couldn't afford to lose it.
"Second, I could use a special cosmic treasure that directly grants a lifeform the ability to nurture a clone."