Flint God Weapon Third Level!

Time passed like an arrow. After Jiang Luo's astonishing performance in scaling the Mountain of Power and the Mountain of Souls, he had once again faded into obscurity.

Nine years later.

Inside a World Ring, a pool of clear water sat at the bottom of a massive crater.

The lake emitted a dense, frigid chill that permeated nearly the entire space within the World Ring.

It was evident that the pool should have contained far more water, enough to fill the vast depression.

Yet, only a single spring remained at the bottom of the pit.

A figure sat cross-legged within the pool, which was less than a person's height.

Jiang Luo's original body was circulating the second level of the Tao Wu Eighteen Gods and Demons, continuously absorbing the life force within the liquid.

Although his soul felt an unprecedented chill, beneath that coldness lay a clarity he had never experienced before.

Every cell in his body was undergoing rapid metamorphosis, and his genetic level was steadily recovering.

It was not until he opened his eyes, stood up, and looked down at the water—now only reaching his waist—that he sighed:

"Finally, I have recovered..."

Five years ago, once he had accumulated enough willpower to manifest the second level of the Tao Wu Eighteen Gods and Demons, Jiang Luo began the process of restoring the life levels of his original body and seventeen clones.

The Tao Wu Eighteen Gods and Demons was mysterious enough to split his original soul and physical body into eighteen parts.

But the cost was equally immense.

Not only was his soul greatly weakened, but the life levels of his original body and seventeen clones had plummeted from 12 times the norm to less than 3 times.

While the second level of the Tao Wu Eighteen Gods and Demons could restore these life levels, the speed of cultivation by the book was far too slow.

Only treasures containing rich, potent life force, such as Locke Divine Water, could accelerate the recovery.

Over the past nine years, by meditating on the Nuwa Map, the souls of his original body and seventeen clones had gradually returned to their peak state.

Only the genetic level of his physical bodies had yet to recover.

During this period, Jiang Luo had participated in multiple Gulun Auction events, spending a total of 16,000 Hunyuan Units to purchase nearly 20,000 cubic meters of Locke Divine Water.

He had not expected that the same Locke Divine Water capable of nurturing a Sector Lord-level Cloud-Touching Vine would only be enough to restore his original body to its initial 12-fold life level.

To restore all 17 clones to the same physical state as his original body would likely cost another 300,000 Hunyuan Units.

Money was secondary.

The key issue was that the Gulun Universe Kingdom auction was only a primary-level event; even when Locke Divine Water appeared, the quantities were limited.

The items at primary auctions rarely exceeded a value of 10,000 Hunyuan Units, and treasures of higher value were seldom brought to such venues.

To purchase Locke Divine Water in bulk, he would likely need to attend a medium-level auction.

"In two months, the centennial medium-level auction will be held. It is time to earn some money," Jiang Luo mused, calculating his assets.

Most of the 110,000 Hunyuan Units in cosmic coins left behind by the Flint Star Sector Lord had been invested in cultivating the Ten Thousand Feather Tree.

Every time the Ten Thousand Feather Tree gestated 10,081 sub-plants, it consumed dozens of Life Fruits.

Yet, this could not be skimped on; his source of faith—those individual life planets—required the sub-plants of the Ten Thousand Feather Tree to guard and protect them.

Nine years ago, by reaching the summit of the Mountain of Power using perfect force exertion, he had received a reward of 10,000 Hunyuan Units.

Scaling the Mountain of Souls to the 100th level had earned him a reward of 199 Hunyuan Units.

--For a Star-level climber on the Mountain of Souls, each level climbed below the 100th rewarded 1 Hunyuan Unit, while each level from 100 to 199 rewarded 100 Hunyuan Units.

These rewards had also been poured into the Locke Divine Water.

Without selling off the other treasures of the Flint Star Sector Lord, he was now effectively penniless.

Jiang Luo, however, was not worried. Although his life level had not recovered over these nine years, he had not neglected his insights into the Origin Laws or the cultivation of his two innate secret techniques.

Having devoured the bloodline of the Flame Star Behemoth, his sensitivity to the fluctuations of the Space Law had improved significantly compared to before.

Coupled with the independent space-time insights within the eyes of the Space-Time Nightmare Beast, which were comparable to a Space Law Chaos Stele.

And the Boundless technique left by the Flint Star Sector Lord, as well as the space secret technique manual Nine Heavens Atlas gifted by Marquis Mo Yan.

Under these favorable conditions.

Even though his space talent could not compare to Luo Feng, who possessed a Mosha Clan clone.

His rate of progress in the Space Law was no worse than that of Luo Feng before he entered Chaos City.

As for the Fire Law, his progress was even more rapid, advancing by leaps and bounds.

Jiang Luo reached out, and a pale red, crystal-clear gem spear fell before him.

It was the Nine-Layer Heaven-Facing Flint, one of the nine great weapons of the Controller!

It was also the weapon that the Flint Star Sector Lord had once used to traverse the universe, earning him the title of Sector Lord-level Great Axe Warrior.

Ertis, the Flint Star Sector Lord, had placed this Controller weapon—the one that had accompanied him the longest—among his treasures, leaving it for his successor.

Jiang Luo stroked the crystal-clear shaft of the spear, and it suddenly began to hum and vibrate, emitting a terrifying, violent aura.

It was as if it were provoking him, or perhaps reminiscing about the invincible might it had once wielded in the hands of its previous master, defeating countless Sector Lords and contending against Immortal Gods.

"Don't worry, what your previous master could do, I can do too."

Jiang Luo's eyes held a smile as he gently flicked the body of the Flint God Weapon with his fingertip.

A crisp shattering sound suddenly rang out!

A full 729 thin blades, as if polished from pale crimson gemstones, flew out from the weapon's body.

The incredibly complex secret patterns on the thin blades began to interact and connect. Every nine thin blades formed a crystal blade, emitting a translucent milky white radiance.

A total of 81 crystal blades hovered around him.

Flint God Weapon First Form: Bright Blade!

Even nine Bright Blades were the peak of the first form, but in Jiang Luo's hands, 81 Bright Blades were easily condensed!

Then, each of the nine Bright Blades emanated crystalline threads. The law secret patterns interacted and gradually fused into a jade disc, entirely composed of red light, with ancient patterns carved on its outer wall and a blade-like shape.

Flint God Weapon Second Form: Origin-Breaking Blade!

"Gather!"

Jiang Luo's mental power amplitude increased again.

The secret patterns on the surface of the nine Origin-Breaking Blades, condensed from eighty-one Bright Blades, writhed and reconnected with each other.

With a boom!

An extremely brilliant flame ignited, illuminating the void with bright heat.

When the flames extinguished, a crimson, crystal-clear lotus appeared above his head, composed of hundreds of jade disc petals.

Under the radiant glow of the lotus, Jiang Luo's body appeared god-like.

Threads, seemingly illusory yet real, extended from the lotus's roots, spreading in all directions and merging into the void.

This formed a spherical space with a diameter of about a thousand meters centered on Jiang Luo, controlled by the illusory threads.

Flint God Weapon Third Form - Lotus Domain!

Within the Lotus Domain, Jiang Luo felt as if he had become the king of this spherical space.

If Thanses, who hadn't yet broken through to the cosmic level, appeared before him, he could tear him into powder effortlessly without even using the Thirteen Sword Phantoms.

"Sigh... still not perfect!"

Jiang Luo, however, wore an expression of dissatisfaction: "The control of the Lotus Domain isn't perfect, there are too many flaws. Against a true powerhouse, it would just be a target.

"Its power is great but unfocused, scattered rather than condensed. It's only good for bullying weaklings.

"Facing an opponent on the first level of the Heaven-Reaching Bridge, I would likely be defeated.

"Transform!"

As his will shifted again, the Lotus Domain collapsed and reverted to the second form, 'Origin-Breaking Blade'.

Jiang Luo frowned slightly: "Nine Origin-Breaking Blades are still too many. The control isn't perfect. Six would be enough!"

In an instant, only six Origin-Breaking Blades remained before him.

Like jade discs, translucent and lustrous, the crimson and white jade blades no longer possessed the sharp, violent, and all-consuming aura of the first form, the Bright Blades. Instead, they exuded a contained calmness.

"With these six Origin-Breaking Blades, I can achieve perfect control. I can even unleash various combat secret arts from Boundless. Even if I were to challenge the Heaven-Reaching Bridge, the first level absolutely wouldn't stop me!"

Jiang Luo was full of confidence!

When wielding a Controller's divine weapon, a higher form doesn't necessarily mean greater power.

For example, when Luo Feng first challenged the Heaven-Reaching Bridge, his opponent used the second form of the God-Deriving Weapon, 'Sky-Piercing Form', and only condensed three golden swords.

Luo Feng, using the third form of the God-Deriving Weapon, 'Heavenly Sword Form', was still easily crushed by his opponent's second form.

Without perfect control over the divine weapon, even if one forcibly used a higher form through stronger law comprehension and mental power amplitude, it would be an empty shell against a true expert, vulnerable to a single blow.

Of course, that was also because Luo Feng's method of comprehending space laws at the time wasn't by analyzing basic units, and he hadn't cultivated related combat secret manuals like Thirty-Six Forms of God-Deriving.

Jiang Luo, with the Space-Time Nightmare Beast's Eye, possessed clear comprehension of 108 basic units of space laws.

From the beginning, he had taken the path of analyzing the fundamental mysteries of space laws.

Although he was still some distance from truly glimpsing the essence of the laws, his foundation in understanding space laws was extremely solid.

Not only did he surpass the stellar and cosmic level cultivators in the Ancient Wheel Hall, but he was even stronger than most Sector Lords.

This was due to the different methods of comprehending space laws.

Some Sector Lords might have deeper comprehension of space laws than him, but their comprehension was superficial, knowing the 'what' but not the 'why'.

Without touching the fundamental mysteries of the laws, they were inferior to Jiang Luo from the ground up.

Therefore, with the aid of Boundless, a secret manual specifically for cultivating the Flint God Weapon, his control over the Flint God Weapon could reach a perfect level.

He was on par with the Controller opponents on the Heaven-Reaching Bridge.

Other divine weapon controllers who came from unconventional backgrounds, even if they used higher forms, would definitely not be his match.

"If my assessment of my own strength is correct, I should currently be the strongest stellar level cultivator in the 1008 cosmic nations..."

With the strength to pass the first level of the Heaven-Reaching Bridge, there were likely no other stellar level cultivators who could defeat him.

Unless there was another Bolan.