Conditions and Treasures

Cangyuan Realm.

Entering the extraterritorial void from the Cangyuan Realm is, in essence, entering the vast expanse of the universe.

The universe contains numerous celestial bodies, life worlds, ordinary stars, lunar stars, solar stars, black holes, and more.

Among these, the most unique are the life worlds, which nurture countless living beings.

No life world permits the entry of any foreign life forms.

It shelters its native inhabitants; even if powerful experts attempt to attack by leveraging causality, their power is significantly weakened upon entering a life world.

However, life worlds are also categorized into low, medium, and high tiers.

The more powerful experts a world produces, the deeper its foundation becomes, potentially even triggering an essential evolution.

The Cangyuan Realm and the Demon Race World are both medium-tier worlds.

Yet, even among medium-tier worlds, the gap in their foundations can be vast. Although the Demon Race World has never produced a figure like Patriarch Cangyuan, it has birthed a sufficient number of secondary-tier experts, making its foundation incredibly profound. In terms of territory alone, it is ten times larger than the Cangyuan Realm.

Under these circumstances, the Demon Race World is far superior to the Cangyuan Realm in its ability to nurture powerful experts.

Therefore, when the two worlds came into contact within the River of Time and Space, the demon race could easily dispatch countless invaders into the Cangyuan Realm; even if they had to trade ten demon experts for one human expert, they would still come out ahead.

As for the celestial bodies outside of life worlds, solar stars are scorching hot, lunar stars are sufficiently inclusive, black holes are unfathomable, and ordinary stars are diverse, with some also capable of nurturing life.

Generally, a vast cosmic space containing hundreds of millions of solar stars, lunar stars, and countless life worlds is called a river system; for instance, both the Cangyuan Realm and the Demon Race World are located in the "Three Bays River System."

A large number of "river systems" are collectively referred to as a "river domain." In the endless River of Time and Space, a river domain is essentially the largest unit of space-time.

Zhou Yu had naturally committed all this intelligence and knowledge to memory after leaving the "Cangyuan Realm." This was the benefit of having a Seventh Tribulation Realm great power emerge from one's homeland; many secret truths were things that beings from low-tier life worlds could never hope to access.

"However, I still don't know where I am." Zhou Yu looked ahead at a valley, its stone walls engraved with numerous sword marks.

Each sword mark appeared to be an exposition of sword techniques, but in reality, they contained incredibly profound spatial rules.

Years ago, after leaving the Cangyuan Realm and embarking on self-imposed exile, he eventually arrived in this vicinity. He had discovered these sword marks but initially paid them no mind.

But Zhou Yu was, after all, the creator of an Ultimate Absolute Art of the spatial lineage, and he possessed insights into space from two other worlds; he soon discovered the mysteries within.

Filled with joy, Zhou Yu did not rush to leave, choosing instead to meditate here.

This meditation lasted for several years.

"Indeed, progress is faster in the extraterritorial void."

Zhou Yu sighed inwardly. In his two hundred years in the Cangyuan Realm, his spatial lineage's absolute art had only progressed from the early Grotto-Heaven Realm to the middle Grotto-Heaven Realm. Now, after a few years of meditation, his absolute art had reached the perfection of the Grotto-Heaven Realm.

Of course, the reason for such rapid progress was that his innate talent and comprehension were higher than during his simulations, and he could use the mysteries from the other two worlds as references. Naturally, his progress was swift.

"However, breaking through from the Grotto-Heaven Realm to the Heaven and Earth Realm is not so simple. The sword techniques here are profound enough; I can return to meditate on them in the future." With this thought, Zhou Yu turned to leave.

But just as he moved, a subtle spatial fluctuation suddenly erupted from the depths of the valley.

The fluctuation was so distinct that Zhou Yu perceived it with absolute clarity.

"What?"

Zhou Yu was slightly startled. He had thoroughly scouted the surrounding environment after discovering the sword techniques and had found no signs of existence. He had always assumed the sword techniques were left behind casually by some great power.

Now, it seemed there was some hidden secret.

"Seeing that I was about to leave, it deliberately made a sound? Someone must be controlling this." The thought flashed through Zhou Yu's mind instantly.

"Regardless, I must go and see."

With a flick of his mind, a somewhat dim and profound Primordial Spirit avatar separated from his body.

If the Zhou Yu from his previous simulations could only be considered as having just entered the seventh level of the Primordial Spirit, he now possessed the memories of two other worlds. His mental will was far stronger than before, and his Primordial Spirit could be considered powerful even among those at the seventh level.

As a seventh-level Primordial Spirit existence, Zhou Yu could manifest seven Primordial Spirit avatars at any time, whether in the extraterritorial void or the Cangyuan Realm, provided the total number of his existing avatars did not exceed nine.

Swish!

Zhou Yu took a step, and his Primordial Spirit avatar arrived at the location where the spatial fluctuation had appeared.

"Young man, come in." A hoarse voice suddenly echoed, and a pitch-black opening appeared on the rock wall.

"Across such a vast distance, and with the protection of the life world and the weakening effect of Patriarch Cangyuan's Heaven and Earth Hall, ordinary causal attacks cannot harm me."

Thinking this, Zhou Yu's Primordial Spirit avatar stepped into the cave.

Soon, Zhou Yu felt he had reached the end. Ahead, an oil lamp appeared out of nowhere and ignited automatically. Following that, a translucent figure emerged.

The figure was that of an elderly human, extremely gaunt, with glowing green eyes that gave Zhou Yu a sense of eeriness.

"My name is 'Dong Youmo.' Have you heard this name before?" the old man asked, staring at Zhou Yu.

"With all due respect, Senior, I stumbled into a spatial turbulence and arrived here by accident. I don't even know where this place is, let alone anything about the vicinity," Zhou Yu replied, shaking his head.

"I don't care where you came from."

The old man said, "I can see that the technique you displayed outside was an Ultimate Absolute Art. In less than three years, your Ultimate Absolute Art progressed from the middle Grotto-Heaven Realm to the perfection of the Grotto-Heaven Realm. Even I am astonished by such a speed of progress."

"It is thanks to the sword techniques on the stone wall. Was that set of sword techniques left behind by you, Senior?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Naturally, it was left by me," the old man said.

"Back then, I sought to comprehend the complete spatial rules. That sword technique was something I created during that process. Unfortunately, it only reached the power of the Fifth Tribulation Realm in the end."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu was secretly startled; this old man was truly no simple figure.

The Tribulation Realm is the stage following the Emperor Monarch, broadly divided into the Physical Tribulation Realm and the Primordial Spirit Tribulation Realm. Each tribulation is more formidable than the last, and the gap between them widens significantly as one progresses.

Reaching the Fifth Tribulation Realm is generally enough to dominate an entire river system. Since the old man felt regretful that a sword technique comparable to the rules of the Fifth Tribulation Realm was wasted, could he be a Sixth Tribulation Realm powerhouse?

The strength of the Sixth Tribulation Realm is already quite exaggerated. A powerhouse at the Sixth Physical Tribulation Realm can easily possess a physical body spanning hundreds of millions of miles while maintaining peak strength. Stars in the starry sky are essentially their playthings; a single breath from them could extinguish a sun.

"You don't seem to have any questions. It seems your background is not simple, and you know quite a bit about the Tribulation Realm." The old man nodded with satisfaction.

For someone with an extraordinary background, many troubles could be avoided.

"The seniors in my clan did indeed leave behind some information." Zhou Yu then asked, "Senior, are you a Sixth Tribulation Realm great power?"

"In the era when I was alive, I was indeed at the Sixth Tribulation Realm," the old man said indifferently.

"I won't waste time with idle chatter. When I was alive, I accumulated many treasures. Aside from a portion left in my homeland, the rest were stored in three locations, and this is one of them. I can give these treasures to you, but you must agree to one condition."

"Please, Senior, state your terms."

"Once you reach the Sixth Tribulation Realm, you must kill a sufficient number of Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons. If they are at the Sixth Tribulation Realm, killing one is enough; for the Fifth Tribulation Realm, you must kill ten; for the Fourth Tribulation Realm, thirty; and for the Venerable level, ten thousand." The old man spoke each word clearly.

Zhou Yu felt a sense of gravity; this powerhouse named "Dong Youmo" truly harbored a deep, murderous intent.

"I have heard of the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons. They are considered quite powerful among special lifeforms. Basically, every generation produces several Fifth Tribulation Realm experts, and occasionally a Sixth Tribulation Realm one appears. They are not to be trifled with," Zhou Yu said. "Isn't your requirement a bit too high, Senior?"

"The requirement is high, but do you know that the treasures I left behind include thirty thousand units of Extraterrestrial Origin Crystal alone? Adding in the other treasures, I fear there are a total of one hundred thousand units of Extraterrestrial Origin Crystal," the old man said calmly.

"You are only at the Venerable level. I would never have considered you, but I am giving you this opportunity only because you practice an Ultimate Absolute Art and are progressing fast enough."

"One hundred thousand units?"

Zhou Yu was secretly shocked. This was truly an incredible amount of wealth; the vast majority of Fifth Tribulation Realm experts could hardly accumulate so much in their entire lives.

"Not to mention, my condition only requires you to act once you reach the Sixth Tribulation Realm. Do you think you are certain to reach the Sixth Tribulation Realm?" The old man sneered.

"You might not find it too difficult to reach the Fifth Tribulation, but the Sixth? It will never be smooth sailing."

Generally, once one creates an Ultimate Absolute Art and reaches the perfection of the Heaven and Earth Realm, their strength can easily rival that of the Fifth Tribulation Realm. At that point, crossing the tribulation to reach the Fifth Tribulation Realm is indeed not difficult.

However, the Sixth Tribulation Realm is far more difficult. Many geniuses who create their own Ultimate Absolute Arts never manage to take that step before they die of old age.

"May I ask, Senior, why do you harbor such hatred for the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons?" Zhou Yu asked at this moment.

Hearing this, the old man was silent for a moment before saying, "The Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons love to devour. Back when my wife and I left our home world to venture out, while we were still weak, we encountered one. To protect me, my wife was swallowed whole by that Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragon. From that moment on, I swore that I would make the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons pay the price! Even if I am dead, I still have many arrangements in place; I will not let the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons have an easy time."

"So that's how it is." Zhou Yu sighed. The old man's aura seemed cold and gloomy, but he hadn't expected him to be such a devoted lover.

"What if the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragon clan cannot muster the numbers you mentioned, Senior?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Then you need only kill every Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragon you know of," the old man replied indifferently.

"What if the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons give birth to a Seventh or even Eighth Tribulation Realm powerhouse?"

"Why do you have so many questions?" The old man sounded impatient.

"If I agree to your terms, Senior, I will be forging a great karmic bond. If I fail to complete it, I will be in dire straits. Naturally, I must be cautious," Zhou Yu replied earnestly.

Below the Tribulation Realm, one might not need to worry too much about karma, but in the Tribulation Realm, it is impossible to ignore. If one has a great karmic debt unsettled while crossing a tribulation, the probability of failure will skyrocket countless times over.

"Do the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons even deserve to produce a Seventh or Eighth Tribulation great power?" The old man sneered. "If that were truly the case, then what would it matter if I gave you my treasures for free?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yu thought it over carefully. After confirming there were no omissions, he agreed to the old man's request.

"Kid, what is your name?" The old man looked at Zhou Yu and asked.

"Zhou Yu."

"Very well. Remember your promise." The old man said no more. The oil lamp before them flickered for a moment before dimming, and then it vanished in a flash.

At the same time, a bracelet-like treasure appeared before Zhou Yu.

After picking up the bracelet, Zhou Yu immediately understood that it was a spatial treasure, and inside, it indeed held a massive amount of Extraterrestrial Origin Crystals and other items.

Soon, Zhou Yu's Primordial Spirit avatar left the cave and handed the bracelet containing the massive treasure to his main body.

"Although I have forged a great karmic bond, the Demon Cloud Heaven-Swallowing Dragons are not benevolent beings. Dealing with them in the future will allow me to accumulate source energy while settling this karma—it can be considered killing two birds with one stone." Zhou Yu stroked the bracelet and nodded inwardly.

Since the karma had already been forged, there was no point in overthinking it; it was better to focus on becoming stronger first.

With that thought, Zhou Yu moved his mind, and a fist-sized, cube-shaped crystal jade appeared in his hand.

"Is this an Extraterrestrial Origin Crystal? A single unit of this provides a massive amount of energy. If taken to exchange for treasures, it could even be traded for an Emperor Monarch-level weapon."

Zhou Yu examined it curiously for a moment before sitting down cross-legged.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A vast amount of energy surged from the Extraterrestrial Origin Crystal, rushing madly into Zhou Yu's body.

The stronger one becomes, the more energy one requires.

Although Zhou Yu's "Ultimate Absolute Art" had reached the perfection of the Grotto-Heaven Realm, he himself was still at the early stage of the Venerable level. Relying on himself to absorb energy from the extraterrestrial void was simply too slow; it might take hundreds or thousands of years to normally reach the perfection of the Venerable level.

For a normal Venerable, just the process of absorbing energy could exhaust their entire lifespan. It is evident that the lifespan in this world is indeed a major issue.

Of course, relying on Extraterrestrial Origin Crystals was much faster.

At this moment, as a massive influx of energy poured into Zhou Yu's body, his True Essence underwent a rapid transformation.

For cultivation beyond the Venerable level, Zhou Yu had already transcended the path of the Cangyuan Realm's standard True Essence System following his breakthrough.

Within the dantian, the Ultimate Absolute Art remains the core for forming the True Essence nucleus, which in turn generates incredibly pure True Essence. Using this pure True Essence to temper the physical body instead of ambient energy naturally allows the body to grow even stronger, Zhou Yu pondered.

In truth, regardless of the cultivation system, the differences become smaller the further one progresses; the key ultimately lies in one's mastery of the rules.

The transformation lasted for a full month before finally reaching its peak.

"More than ten times stronger than before." A confident smile appeared on Zhou Yu's face. This avatar of his was now nearly comparable to an Emperor Monarch at the standard perfection level.

"Time to leave this place."

Without further thought, Zhou Yu rose swiftly and departed the nameless star in a single teleportation.