A reminder

Luo Feng did not yet know the Treasure Vault existed, but Chen Ao, who knew the plot inside out, did.

He also needed to give Luo Feng a reminder about buying a pile of useless things.

He wanted Luo Feng to grow a little faster.

After all, only with Luo Feng holding the title of humanity's greatest genius would everyone's attention be drawn to him, leaving Chen Ao safely out of the spotlight.

If anything happens, go find Luo Feng. What does it have to do with me, Chen Ao?

He had already decided how to spend his thirty thousand points: on a secret technique manual called the Wood-Space Essays.

The Wood-Space Essays was similar to the Space-Time Essays, except that it covered everything about the Wood-Space Law.

Since he had chosen the Sunken Water Vine as his clone, it would be far too wasteful not to study the Law of Wood, which the vine had a natural affinity for.

The Wood-Space Essays was considerably inferior to the Space-Time Essays, and the complete set cost only a fifth as much.

The author of the Wood-Space Essays was probably an ordinary Universe Master or a Universe Overlord!

Still, it was more than enough.

Twenty thousand points would buy the first three volumes, far cheaper than the hundred thousand needed for the first three volumes of the Space-Time Essays.

Unless something unexpected happens, the author of the Wood-Space Essays should have left behind a Chaos Stele too. I'll just choose that one when the time comes!

Neither the Chaos Stele nor the Wood-Space Essays was the key.

What mattered was that they suited his Sunken Water Vine clone.

He did not care how powerful they were. As long as they suited his starting point, that was enough.

A few days later, Chen Ao also broke through to the Universe Level, then traveled alone to Qiu Long Star to retrieve the Sunken Water Vine fragment.

This Sunken Water Vine was also at the Universe Level, so he had to reach that level before he could nurture a clone of it.

Nurture!

There was nothing to worry about. He could successfully nurture this clone straight away.

"It's enormous. Even at just the Universe Level, it spans several thousand kilometers!"

Rock and plant lifeforms were famous for their enormous size.

Their divine bodies would also be enormous in the future.

That was an excellent advantage.

"Unless something unexpected happens, with proper cultivation, my Sunken Water Vine could grow to hundreds of millions of kilometers in size!"

Hundreds of millions of kilometers.

Even after Luo Feng cultivated the complete Nine Tribulations Secret Manual and reached the perfect genetic level of 10,081, his body was only a little over ninety thousand kilometers tall.

That could not compare to hundreds of millions of kilometers.

For now, however, nurturing it was rather troublesome. An enormous body meant an enormous demand for energy.

Fortunately, he still had his reward of ten thousand Hunyuan units, so he purchased some universe crystals.

They were cheap and available through many channels. Just a few hundred Hunyuan units would buy enough energy to nurture the Sunken Water Vine.

A few more days later, Chen Ao gazed in wonder at his Sunken Water Vine clone, which measured roughly five thousand kilometers.

Chen Ao began examining the Sunken Water Vine clone closely.

The Sunken Water Vine possessed two innate secret techniques.

The first innate secret technique was Absorption.

It could rapidly absorb energy to replenish itself while increasing its size.

There was little to say about this. Many plant lifeforms possessed it, and this innate ability allowed them to recover and grow rapidly.

The second innate ability was much more impressive. It was called Strangulation!

It used the Sunken Water Vine's hundred-plus vines to strangle its targets.

That was merely its outward manifestation. What Chen Ao cared about was what lay beneath.

Special lifeforms like this received gifts from the universe origin. Examining the secret patterns of this innate secret technique, Chen Ao detected the auras of at least three laws.

"Unless I'm mistaken, this should be a fusion of the Wood, Water, and Space Laws!"

After examining it, Chen Ao laughed happily.

These law secret patterns were what he valued most, even more than the enormous body.

With them, he could study his own body. Beyond comprehending individual laws, the most important thing was comprehending fusion laws.

Fusing the power of two laws would cause his strength to soar, while fusing three would raise it even further.

"As long as I can fully comprehend my own innate secret patterns, I'll easily be able to create a Universe Master's strongest secret technique and reach the Chaos City Lord's level directly!"

By comparison, size no longer seemed quite so important.

After putting the Sunken Water Vine into the Q Skill's exclusive space, Chen Ao waited on Qiu Long Star for the Virtual Universe Company's spaceship to pick him up.

There were roughly three years left before he reached the Primal Universe. He intended to spend that time diligently studying the Law of Wood until he could begin comprehending its essence.

This would affect his next steps.

Soon, Luo Feng also arrived on Qiu Long Star, their chosen pickup point.

"Senior, I didn't expect you to reach Qiu Long Star so early!"

Luo Feng was delighted to see Chen Ao. This was the first time he had ever seen Chen Ao standing in the real world.

It had certainly taken long enough.

They had known each other for seven years, and this was his first time seeing Chen Ao on his feet.

Chen Ao nodded. "Luo Feng, you should know that, besides the prize money, becoming a Primal Chaos member comes with a reward of ten thousand points, right?"

"Huh?"

Luo Feng froze. He really had not noticed that.

With Babata's help, he soon entered the Treasure Vault for internal members of the Virtual Universe Company.

Babata immediately began shouting in excitement, and Luo Feng was equally thrilled.

"Luo Feng, calm down first!" Chen Ao interrupted Babata's misguided plans.

"I have some advice. Would you be willing to hear it?"

"Please go ahead, Senior!" Luo Feng grew serious.

Although Chen Ao acted like a mystic and was always secretive, Luo Feng felt there was much more to him than met the eye. He seemed to know a great deal.

"Do you remember what I told you before? That our goal is to comprehend the laws?"

Luo Feng nodded. Chen Ao had said that back when he wanted to follow the path of a warrior.

"So don't waste your points on things that merely increase your combat strength!" Chen Ao raised his voice slightly.

"I know Babata will suggest buying things to increase your strength, but you're different from your teacher. Your teacher traveled through the universe. Whenever he had an opportunity, he had to increase his strength as much as possible to handle dangers that could arise at any moment!"

"But you're different. You don't need to worry about encountering danger. What you need to do is cultivate diligently and improve your law comprehension. Even learning secret techniques should only be a means to better comprehend the laws!"

Babata had initially been ready to argue, but halfway through Chen Ao's explanation, Babata fell silent.

In Babata's heart, Hu Yanbo had always been the master. Even raising Luo Feng was only a way to fulfill Hu Yanbo's final wish.

Having Luo Feng buy useless weapons and secret manuals was not actually wrong, because that was how things had been done with Hu Yanbo.

Babata had simply misunderstood the situation. Luo Feng did not currently need to roam the universe or face dangers from every direction.

Nor did he really need to increase his combat strength.

"I understand, Senior!" Luo Feng took a deep breath.

He could think for himself too. After hearing Chen Ao's analysis, he naturally understood what to prioritize.

Seeing that Luo Feng had made his choice, Chen Ao continued, "You're planning to follow the path of Metal and Space, aren't you?"

Luo Feng nodded. Chen Ao knew he had a Mosha Clan clone and a Golden Horned Beast clone.

"In that case, I suggest you buy a secret technique manual that explains the essence of Space and Metal. These manuals aren't expensive, but they're exactly what you urgently need!"

After crossing the threshold of the origin laws, the best next step was to comprehend the essence of the laws.

Luo Feng had done the same in the original story, with great success in the end.

Chen Ao could have directly advised Luo Feng to buy Drifting Blood, but he did not.

Luo Feng could make his own choice.

He only needed to tell him which path to take.

Chen Ao briefly explained the benefits and difficulties of comprehending the essence of the laws.

After listening, Luo Feng nodded and began searching the Treasure Vault for something suitable.

It was not just Luo Feng who needed something like this. Chen Ao did too.

He simply could not spare the attention for it yet because of his Sunken Water Vine clone.

The two of them began searching for secret techniques that suited them.

Even boarding the spaceship became a casual affair.

Those three years would be spent cultivating diligently.