Of course, the joy of success still had to give way to reality.
His gaze returned to the advance system's notifications in his mind:
[Name: Stable Undying Body (Early Marquis standard)] [Follow-up requirement for the advance: Please travel to the Initial Universe and study a Chaos Stele.] [Current advances available: Zero]
"The Initial Universe..." Hu Yanbo frowned deeply, the two supple antennae on his forehead unconsciously twisting together.
That was not somewhere he could visit just because he wanted to!
As one of the Human Race's most sacred sites, the Initial Universe had been formed from the Original Ancestor's Miniature Universe. It contained the clearest traces of the Primal Universe's most fundamental laws at work.
The 52 Chaos Tablets suspended there offered guidance leading straight to the realms of Universe Venerable and even Universe Master.
Training in the Initial Universe was an important part of how the five great powers-the Virtual Universe Company, the Giant Axe Arena, the Universe Mercenary Alliance, the Universe Galaxy Bank, and the Universe First Bank-cultivated their core geniuses!
There were very few known ways to gain entry!
The Genius Battle and the Strongest Battle were certainly out of the question.
Those chosen as disciples by some great being might occasionally have the chance to enter, observe, and gain insights.
That chance was effectively zero, too.
What great being would pass over a gifted young seedling with limitless prospects, someone who could be shaped from childhood, to recruit a sixty-million-year-old "little old disciple" instead?
His only chance might lie in the auctions held by the five great powers, such as the Virtual Universe Company.
Slots for Immortal Level entrants to the Initial Universe were extremely scarce, and opportunities for Marquis Level cultivators to study there generally only had a chance of appearing among the final offerings of an "intermediate auction"!
A chance!
And high-level auctions?
Even their timing alone made them something he could only encounter by luck!
Besides, even if he could attend one right now, where would he find the money to buy a slot?
"Does this mean... I'll have to risk my life in those Cosmic Secret Realms or the Outer Domain Battlefield?" At the thought of those places, Hu Yanbo's frown deepened, and his antennae curled restlessly.
Of course he knew where to earn money.
Cosmic Secret Realms filled with unknown dangers and murderous threats, and the meat grinder that was the Outer Domain Battlefield, were often places where wealth could be amassed quickly.
With his current Early Marquis strength and the Void Tower's soul defenses, his ability to survive was indeed far greater than before, and his chances of dying had fallen dramatically.
But! Better odds of survival did not mean safety!
Quite the opposite-the danger in those places rose exponentially as well!
Cosmic Secret Realms harbored alien King Rank experts, cosmic special lifeforms, and even bizarre, unpredictable natural hazards.
The Outer Domain Battlefield was an even bloodier slaughterhouse where Immortals were slain, the main stage on which alien King Rank experts operated!
Hu Yanbo was not yet ready to rake in money in either place, especially since he still lacked perfect control over his divine body.
What should he do?
As he wrestled anxiously with the problem, Hu Yanbo suddenly recalled a key moment in Luo Feng's growth in the original story!
My dear disciple, your future "little opportunity"... your master will shamelessly take it as an "advance" on your behalf! Once you become my disciple, I'll make it up to you with something even better! Hu Yanbo thought.
With his mind made up, he acted swiftly and decisively.
Hu Yanbo split off a strand of consciousness and instantly connected to the Virtual Universe, accessing the encrypted channel of the Shadow Pavilion, an intelligence organization in the Ganwu Universe Country renowned for its efficiency and discretion.
An organization like the Shadow Pavilion, which operated in the shadows, was nowhere near capable of pinpointing the actual physical coordinates of any being who logged into the Virtual Universe the way the Virtual Universe Company could.
But it had its own efficient network and vast resources of contacts when it came to gathering specific intelligence involving the underworld!
Sure enough!
Within an hour, an unsigned email arrived at Hu Yanbo's virtual assistant terminal.
Hu Yanbo swept through it with his consciousness.
"Panxi, Cosmic Level Third Order. Occupation: Slave trader. Usual area of activity: The Ashen Belt, Cui Lang Starfield."
Latest movements: Confirmed to have established a temporary base on Green Algae Star in the Cui Lang Starfield. No unusual large-scale movements recently.
Attached were a star chart of Green Algae Star with detailed coordinates and an exceedingly basic description of the target's characteristics-appearance and strength. There was nothing else.
Anonymous contact, payment exchanged for information, not one extra question asked or one extra detail supplied. Clean and efficient.
Hu Yanbo was very satisfied with that approach. He was not remotely worried that investigating a Universe Level slave trader would arouse suspicion. Thousands upon thousands of similar requests were made across the universe every day, and he had used an anonymous account for the inquiry anyway.
Green Algae Star! Hu Yanbo thought, looking at the name in the email. A slave trader-it looks like this really is Panxi! I was worried it was too early in the timeline and he hadn't obtained that opportunity yet!
After all, he clearly remembered that Luo Feng's Domain Lord mission was still more than fifty thousand years away!
In the original story, after escaping a slave-mining planet, Panxi had wandered through the Cui Lang Starfield before settling in seclusion on an utterly unremarkable inhabited planet, where he had swiftly broken through to Universe Level.
He must have obtained the opportunity that would change his entire life on that ordinary inhabited planet!
Of course, the reason Panxi had only reached World Lord Third Stage fifty thousand years later was probably that his strength was too low and his knowledge too limited at this point!
He had no way to fully unlock the core of that opportunity, much less access the enormous quantity of locke divine water inside!
But merely making use of its outer layer had been enough to turn his fortunes around and make him a master!
"Babata! Change our destination to the Cui Lang Starfield, at Green Algae Star's coordinates! Full speed ahead!"
"Yes, Master!" Babata replied excitedly. For Babata, days spent adventuring alongside Hu Yanbo were never dull.
At the same time, Hu Yanbo sent a voice transmission through his etherealized divine power. "Wu Ying, Jiu Xia, Green Vine!"
Three figures, each cultivating in seclusion within their own cabin to restore their divine bodies, instantly raised their heads and bowed, awaiting orders.
"Once we reach the Cui Lang Starfield, search near Green Algae Star for a Universe Level human male named Panxi. He's a slave trader! Capture him alive!"
"As you command, Master!" The three figures nodded respectfully!
Within the Dark Universe, the Yunmo Star Ship changed course and raced toward the Cui Lang Starfield.
Hu Yanbo closed his eyes to rest, but his thoughts had already turned to finding which intermediate auctions were about to begin, and which would offer slots for Marquis-level Immortals to enter the Initial Universe!
Although a slot for a Marquis-level Immortal to enter the Initial Universe was expensive, Hu Yanbo was quite confident in the 6.3 billion in assets he would soon acquire.
Some poorer King-level Immortals had total assets worth only around one billion Hunyuan units.
No wonder his dear disciple Luo Feng was a child of destiny. When others undertook a Domain Lord mission, they were all after the highest point reward available for that level!
Yet for Luo Feng, the points he earned on that trip were not even a fraction of a fraction compared with the opportunities he encountered along the way!
Luo Feng, my disciple! Your master will take your 6.3 billion in advance! When we meet again, I'll repay you a hundredfold, a thousandfold! I'll remember this "master-disciple debt"!
Once he set foot on this path of borrowing, it seemed rather hard to stop.
First, he had taken the fruits of cultivation in advance through the system. Next, he had taken his disciple's opportunities and wealth in advance in the real world!
I won't end up dependent on this, will I? Hu Yanbo wondered.
But that subtle sense of caution did not last long before Hu Yanbo shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.
What matters now is getting into the Initial Universe, paying off my "debt" to the system, and then taking out another loan! Everything else can wait!
There would be ways to deal with the future when it came!
Before you continue