Seizing a Body and Battling a Cosmic-Level Expert

Upon hearing the reminder from Huang Tian, Huang Wuye nodded.

He then glanced at Huang Tian; with the old man standing guard, there should be no issues.

He descended, and with a mere thought, he sat cross-legged atop the head of the Gluttonous Golden Ape.

He took one look at the slumbering beast, then set aside all other thoughts and immersed his consciousness into his mind.

Huang Wuye's consciousness arrived within his legendary sea of consciousness.

Right, that was naturally what Huang Wuye called it—following the crowd, after all!

Inside this sea of consciousness, there were three figures, each identical to Huang Wuye. One was large and two were small, all sitting cross-legged.

This space of the sea of consciousness was incredibly strange, appearing at a glance like a starry sky.

The three figures seemed to be the center of this starry sky, with everything revolving around them.

The largest figure was several hundred zhang in size, positioned at the very center.

The two smaller figures floated beside him, while wisps of powerful spiritual energy wove through the space between them.

Suddenly, the eyes of the smaller Huang Wuye on the left snapped open, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to ripple slightly.

With a single step, he vanished from this space.

Outside, Huang Tian was observing Huang Wuye with interest when, in an instant, his eyes lit up.

A transparent, miniature version of Huang Wuye suddenly appeared in the air.

It immediately transformed into a beam of light and shot straight toward the Gluttonous Golden Ape.

When the soul clone entered the mind of the Gluttonous Golden Ape, the resistance he had anticipated did not materialize, which allowed Huang Wuye to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

It seemed Huang Tian was reliable after all, though he did not let his guard down.

Before long, he arrived before a mass of soul consciousness. Looking at the massive soul before him, he couldn't help but sigh that possession was truly manual labor.

There was no helping it; the soul consciousness of this Gluttonous Golden Ape was actually stronger than his own clone.

It was nearly a quarter the size of his main soul, though he felt relieved once he considered the Gluttonous Golden Ape's powerful physique.

Without further hesitation, he began to execute the secret technique of possession he had cultivated: Soul Absorption.

This technique had been created by an invincible King-level Immortal God from his clan in the past.

Its greatest feature was the ability to safely absorb all the traits, soul, and inheritance of the target being possessed.

However, it had one requirement: the target being possessed must have no power to resist.

It could be said that this secret technique was created specifically for the descendants of powerful factions like the Desolate God Clan.

It allowed their mediocre descendants a second chance.

At this moment, Huang Wuye channeled the secret technique, beginning to absorb everything from the Gluttonous Golden Ape bit by bit.

"Phew! At this rate, it looks like it will take some time."

Seeing that the process was proceeding without any hitches, Huang Wuye let out a long breath.

Outside, the main body of Huang Wuye also opened his eyes.

Seeing this, Huang Tian felt a weight lift from his chest and immediately asked about the situation.

"Little Yezhi, how is it?"

"Very good, though it will take about a month or so." Seeing the concern on the elder's face, Huang Wuye felt a warmth in his heart and answered happily.

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Huang Tian also sighed in relief, but then, as if remembering something, he gave a stern warning.

"That is good, but as you have seen, this Gluttonous Golden Ape was originally gifted with heaven-defying talent, yet once captured, it had no room to struggle. Therefore, Father warns you: when you venture into the universe in the future, you must remember to be careful, careful, and even more careful. Once you encounter an irresistible opponent, never attempt to capture or soul-enslave them. It is better to self-destruct; resurrection is a trivial matter for our family, but once you are soul-enslaved, even the Desolate God Mountain will have no way to save you."

"Mm, I know that! You know me, don't you?"

Huang Wuye was deeply moved by these words. As a unique life form, this Gluttonous Golden Ape was inevitably powerful—perhaps not even weaker than some minor World Lords.

At this moment, he was no match for it; after all, the gap in their foundations was too great.

Yet, because Huang Tian had unexpectedly tracked it down, it had been possessed without a shred of resistance.

Though Huang Wuye did not feel pity, he took it as a warning.

He did not wish to become the next Gluttonous Golden Ape.

He had always been steady; this was evident from the fact that even though he yearned for the universe, he had always stayed within the Desolate God Clan.

Even the trial on the Giant Wood Planet was essentially devoid of any great danger.

He had been waiting for Huang Tian to find his first clone so that he could finally feel secure enough to witness the wonders of the universe.

He had always firmly believed that only by staying alive could there be a future, even if he did enjoy a life of excitement.

Thinking of this, Huang Wuye's heart began to ripple; his first clone was now within reach.

Since there was no longer any need to remain trapped here, he could finally set out to witness the vastness of the universe, so he immediately spoke to Huang Tian.

"Old man, which faction is hosting this session of the Universe-Level Martial Arts Tournament?"

"The Universe-Level Martial Arts Tournament? It is held once every hundred thousand years. If I recall correctly, this session should be hosted by the Virtual Universe Company. Why, have you finally decided to go out and explore?"

Huang Tian was initially puzzled upon hearing this, but his expression cleared as he looked at Huang Wuye and the Gluttonous Golden Ape. It seemed that his steady boy had finally reached his limit! Without waiting for Huang Wuye to reply, he raised an eyebrow and continued.

"However, this tournament is only a dozen years away. Is your strength really up to the task? You must remember that this big guy's body cannot be used in the competition, and how many years have you actually been cultivating?"

"A dozen years? I didn't expect it to be so soon. But that should be enough. As for my strength, it will certainly be sufficient by then."

Huang Wuye pondered slightly; he hadn't expected the timing to be so coincidental. As for his strength? It might be a little lacking right now, but didn't he still have over a decade?

Although Huang Wuye was confident in his own abilities, his opponents would certainly not be simple. One had to know that the lifespan of a Universe-level being was ten epochs, and in the world of Swallowed Star, one epoch was ten thousand and eighty-one years; thus, his opponents could be over one hundred thousand years old.

His own age was likely not even a fraction of theirs. Although his resources were superior and he did not need to cultivate genetic source energy, and he possessed countless secret techniques to study along with heaven-defying comprehension and aptitude, none of that changed the fact that his cultivation time was far too short.

Moreover, the universe was filled with countless lifeforms, and there was no shortage of those with immense talent. Some of them surely lacked no resources either; while perhaps not quite on par with Huang Wuye, they would not be far behind.

Hearing his son's confident tone, Huang Tian did not refute him, but simply offered a reminder.

"Even if you have confidence, do not underestimate others. You must know that the universe is teeming with life, and our Human Race is one of the six peak pinnacle powers. As a peak organization of our race, it is no surprise that the Virtual Universe Company's talent selection tournament would feature all manner of strange and extraordinary beings. Since you intend to participate, spend the coming time cultivating diligently. Even if you are eliminated, it doesn't matter; consider it a trial. Your talent has been unanimously recognized by the upper echelons of the Desolate God Clan."

"Understood. However, I will still need you to make arrangements within the Meteor Universe Kingdom when the time comes."

Feeling the warmth of his father's concern, Huang Wuye felt a glow in his heart—though it would be even better if the old man were a bit more reliable.

He was full of confidence regarding the tournament a dozen years away, for ever since he stepped into the Universe-level, he had a premonition that his third soul clone was about to gestate. When that time came, his talent would receive yet another surge of enhancement.