Sacrifice the Thunderlight Vine!

"One year, to me, is nothing but a fleeting moment."

Having lived for over ninety thousand years since he transmigrated, a single year truly meant very little.

He turned and left the great hall.

He walked toward his private cultivation chamber.

He would dedicate this year to focused cultivation; Lu Ming was also quite curious to see what level his talent had reached.

Having become a Giant Axe Warrior, his combat power among those of the same rank was beyond doubt.

Now that he had reached the ninth stage of the Domain Lord level, his comprehension of laws and the like was likely not top-tier among Domain Lords.

One year was just enough time to make up for his lacking comprehension of laws.

Arriving at the cultivation chamber, he sat cross-legged, hovering in mid-air.

Hum!

In an instant, a crimson domain erupted from his body.

Ninth-level Fire Domain!

That's right, Lu Ming possessed a domain; or rather, it was inevitable that Lu Ming would possess one.

And it was a ninth-level domain at that.

Theoretically, possessing a domain should have made breaking through to the Domain Lord level far less difficult.

However, Lu Ming was different; he had been unable to break through not only because his innate life gene bloodline was low, making breakthroughs difficult, but more importantly, because of the hidden injuries he had sustained in his youth.

In his early days, he had been a slave, and being a slave meant, simply put, being a tool.

During that time spent fighting in the Great Axe Arena, he had no resources, and coupled with the constant, unending battles, he had accumulated a body full of hidden injuries. Even by the time he reached the ninth stage of the Universe level and became the ancestor of the Lu Family, he had been unable to fully heal them.

Of course, it wasn't that they couldn't be healed; if he were given a Life Fruit, those so-called hidden injuries could have been resolved with ease.

However, such a miraculous item was something he could not afford.

Fortunately, after the sacrifice, this newborn body was incredibly perfect, and those hidden injuries had long since vanished without a trace.

One year later.

In the secluded cultivation chamber.

Boom!

A blade of light wreathed in crimson flames tore through the air, slashing fiercely against the metal wall of the chamber.

Boom!

Amidst a deafening roar, the chamber wall was violently ripped apart!

This domineering and peerless strike had shattered the entire wall!

"The power of the eighth blade of the Nine Absolute Blades of Ember Universe is truly terrifying!"

A sharp glint flashed in Lu Ming's eyes. As a Giant Axe Warrior who had lived for over ninety thousand years, he naturally had his own fortuitous encounters, and these Nine Absolute Blades of Ember Universe were one of them.

A peak-level technique for the World Lord level!

He was now even nearing the point of mastering it completely.

This single strike alone, in terms of pure attack power, was not inferior to a World Lord!

Of course, that wasn't the main point; the point was...

"Heh, the Origin Law of Fire doesn't seem so difficult after all."

That's right, after one year of seclusion, Lu Ming had successfully comprehended the Origin Law of Fire!

In fact, he had succeeded within the very first month of his seclusion.

He had still underestimated his current talent.

A hundredfold gene multiplier brought with it a hundredfold increase in his affinity for laws.

He was no longer merely standing at the threshold of the laws.

His current comprehension could be considered a minor accomplishment in the Fire Law.

In Lu Ming's understanding, the comprehension of laws in the Swallowed Star world before reaching the level of Universe Master was divided into five stages.

Crossing the threshold of the laws, minor accomplishment in law comprehension, profound mastery, gaining the recognition of the laws, fully mastering a lower-tier law, and finally, the comprehension and fusion of laws.

He was currently at this second stage.

Having comprehended the law, he now possessed the qualifications to step into the World Lord level.

Of course, that was merely the qualification; there are many conditions required to break through to the World Lord realm.

Comprehension of Laws is one of them, but as it stands, Lu Ming has already satisfied almost all other conditions.

Come to think of it, using his own body for the first sacrifice was truly a wise choice.

While he was a genius to begin with, there is still a gap between geniuses and other geniuses.

That one sacrifice effectively smoothed out the disparity between him and those top-tier prodigies.

Lu Ming murmured to himself.

"A year has passed; it is time to perform the second sacrifice."

As for the item to be sacrificed, he had already decided on it during this past year.

With a thought from Lu Ming, the seemingly simple and unadorned battle armor on his body suddenly rippled, beginning to squirm and decompose as if it were a living creature.

The next moment, the armor dissipated completely, transforming into a deep purple vine about the thickness of an arm, wrapped in fine silver electric arcs. It coiled affectionately around Lu Ming's arm as if it possessed a life of its own, emitting faint "crackling" sounds.

Thunderlight Vine!

This is a rather rare auxiliary plant-based lifeform, renowned for its speed and powerful lightning attacks, as well as its formidable defensive capabilities.

Lu Ming had obtained this Thunderlight Vine by chance in a cosmic secret realm many years ago, and it had accompanied him for tens of thousands of years.

After spending massive resources and meticulously nurturing it for tens of thousands of years, this Thunderlight Vine had long since grown to the Universe level 9, matching his own previous cultivation realm.

It could be said that for Lu Ming to possess the strength that now shook several elementary cosmic nations, this Thunderlight Vine—which shared his thoughts and integrated both offense and defense—deserved much of the credit.

"Old friend..."

Lu Ming gently stroked the vine, feeling the attachment emanating from it, and a trace of imperceptible emotion flashed in his eyes.

But this trace of emotion was quickly replaced by determination.

"For this sacrifice, I have decided it shall be you!"

He no longer hesitated, locked his intent onto the Thunderlight Vine, and issued a command to the system.

"System! Sacrifice my auxiliary plant-based lifeform—the Universe level 9 Thunderlight Vine!"

The moment the command was issued, the familiar scene appeared once again.

That indescribable, gentle, yet supreme light enveloped the Thunderlight Vine coiled around Lu Ming's arm.

The Thunderlight Vine seemed to sense something and trembled slightly, but under Lu Ming's soothing mental guidance, it soon calmed down and voluntarily released its resistance.

Within the light, the figure of the Thunderlight Vine began to turn ethereal, just like Lu Ming's body had before, decomposing into the purest primordial energy particles and being sucked into an invisible vortex, vanishing from sight.

[Ding! Sacrifice successful!]

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

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host, you have received a 3,600-fold return reward!]

Three thousand six hundred times!

Although it was not the maximum ten-thousand-fold, this multiplier was already extremely astonishing!

[Generating rewards...]

[Congratulations to the Host, you have received: World Lord level 9 Thunderlight Vine!]

World Lord level 9!

Lu Ming's eyes lit up instantly!

As soon as the system's voice fell, the invisible vortex appeared once again, only this time it was spewing outward!

A torrent of energy, far more majestic and pure than before, containing terrifying vitality and destructive lightning law fluctuations, surged out!

The light condensed, and a brand-new Thunderlight Vine took shape in an instant!

The main body of this newborn Thunderlight Vine remained deep purple, but the color was even more profound.

Wrapped around it were no longer fine silver electric arcs, but purple lightning snakes as thick as dragons!

The energy fluctuations it radiated had reached the peak of the World Lord level 9!

It was significantly more powerful than Lu Ming's current Domain Lord level 9 aura!

"Crackle, crackle—"

The newborn Thunderlight Vine emitted a joyful thunderous sound and took the initiative to coil around Lu Ming's arm.

Lu Ming understood in his heart; it was just as he thought.

Only the physical body was sacrificed; the soul could not be sacrificed!

He could feel that this new Thunderlight Vine still possessed the consciousness of the previous one; only its body had changed.

"Heh, This Seat has a brilliant idea..."

Lu Ming's heart stirred; he had thought of a way to become invincible rapidly!

However...

[Ding, detected that the Host intends to exploit a bug; the system is patching.]

[Patch complete. From now on, lifeforms that possess life and an independent consciousness cannot be sacrificed for returns.]

Uh...