Planetary Level Nine

Aboard the spaceship.

Dongguan looked at the World Rings and Space Rings, unsure which to take first. He turned to Qiong, waiting for an explanation.

"The top row contains World Rings, and the bottom row contains Space Rings. This one has a million cubic meters of space, which should be enough for you for now. You must keep it secret, too, or you'll bring disaster on yourself. Even an ordinary Space Ring is more than most Planetary Grade fighters can protect, let alone one this large."

Qiong cautioned him.

"Mm." Dongguan nodded to show he understood.

These were all his. If he really insisted, Qiong would probably give them to him, but there was no need. He did not need that much space yet.

"Here, put this on."

Dongguan took a look. It was a white Wrist Guard inlaid with crystals.

"I'm a virtual being, and I usually reside inside this. Wearing it gives you all the functions of a Communicator or even an Optical Computer. I'll also put the many Secret Art Books into the Virtual Space, so you can enter and study whenever you have time."

Dongguan obediently put the Wrist Guard on.

"For now, leave these World Rings aboard the spaceship. Until you reach the Domain Lord level, use them only inside the ship whenever possible. Now, take a look inside this World Ring. It contains the greatest inheritance your mother left you. If word gets out, World Lords and even Immortals will come swarming in a frenzy."

"However, you must not sell what's inside, or you could attract King Huozhen's attention. Not even a single drop. You may use it, but you absolutely cannot sell it."

Qiong's tone was solemn.

"All right." Dongguan nodded, then extended his spiritual perception inside.

An immense green ocean stretched before him, every drop of liquid seemingly brimming with life.

Vaguely, Dongguan felt that it resembled the "wood mist" condensed on the altar above. Could this be "wood liquid drops"?

Dongguan asked the question aloud.

"Of course not," Qiong rejected the idea. "But the two are related."

"The Divine Plant Essence in this ocean was converted from universe crystals using Dong Xuan World Lord's treasure, the Plant King Cauldron. The Black Stone Altar above, which condenses wood liquid drops every ten years, is merely a by-product created by studying and imitating the Plant King Cauldron. It takes a thousand wood liquid drops to match the energy in a single drop of Divine Plant Essence, and the difference in value is even greater."

"Divine Plant Essence can be absorbed for cultivation, but it's mostly used to nurture plant lifeforms, much like wood bud crystals. For cultivation, a drop of Divine Plant Essence is roughly equivalent to a wood bud crystal. But when nurturing plant lifeforms, Divine Plant Essence greatly increases the chances of a seed growing into a seedling. Plant lifeforms raised with it over the long term also have a higher chance of reaching the Immortal level than otherwise equivalent ones raised normally."

"Selling Divine Plant Essence was the most important way our race accumulated wealth during Dong Xuan World Lord's time. It was also what allowed us to nurture Immortal-level plant lifeforms. The Star-Eating Grass you saw in the recording was a King-level Immortal. But King Huozhen was not only a Peak King; he was also a soul master and controlled a Zerg Mother Nest. He could simply attack the plant lifeform's master without confronting the plant lifeform directly."

"A King-level Immortal plant lifeform?" Dongguan was stunned. In theory, a plant lifeform at that level was worth even more than a King-level Immortal of the same rank.

Qiong had previously said Dong Xuan World Lord's wealth was enough to tempt Marquises and Kings. Now, that seemed like an understatement. This was wealth that would drive even King-level Immortals mad.

"Then where is the Plant King Cauldron?" He remembered that it had not appeared in the recording of the final battle.

"The Plant King Cauldron was hidden away, naturally. Knowing King Huozhen's hostility, your father would still have been no match for him even if he brought out the cauldron. Of course he wouldn't leave it for King Huozhen. He hid it long beforehand. If you want it, perhaps the things stored under your father's Bank Account contain a clue."

The Plant King Cauldron was at least a major treasure, and might even have been a Supreme Treasure. Though its abilities were not meant for combat, they were enough to form the foundation of a small race's development.

"His Bank Account?" Dongguan nodded.

Even if he obtained it now, he could not use it. The Divine Plant Essence in this World Ring was already enough for him.

He then examined the next ring.

"This one contains universe crystals. Not much, about ten million cubic decimeters. Consider it the spending money your father gave your mother. The bulk of their assets are still in the Universe Galaxy Bank account."

One cubic decimeter of universe crystal could be divided into a thousand Universe Coins, each measuring one cubic centimeter.

The "spending money" in this ring amounted to ten billion Universe Coins, easily enough to buy Earth many times over within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

In the original story, Luo Feng and the others had only obtained this much money after their expedition into the World Lord World.

And this was just "spending money." Compared with the Divine Plant Essence in the first World Ring, that was indeed all it amounted to.

"This third World Ring contains miscellaneous things: spare spaceships and parts, various equipment, Laser Cannons, detectors, Containment Equipment, Research Instruments, and so on. You know how broad your mother's research interests were."

Dongguan nodded numbly.

Even a ring like this was immensely valuable, perhaps worth more than the universe crystals in the second ring.

"And your mother's body is inside, too."

Dongguan looked at Qiong.

"Would you like to see her?"

"Yes."

Qiong took a Crystal Coffin out of the World Ring and placed it on the metal floor.

A woman lay inside, still looking remarkably lifelike.

Dongguan gazed at the frozen woman's body inside the Crystal Coffin, then lowered his head in silence.

As a Domain Lord who had died from the collapse of her soul, her body had remained perfectly preserved in the ice. Four thousand years had left few traces on her.

She wore a blue-violet battle suit, and her long, inky hair faded faintly to white at the tips. She was about a hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall, with breathtaking features and a faint smile on her face. The vertical eye between her brows was closed, just like her other two eyes. She lay flat in the Crystal Coffin, quiet and peaceful.

"At least your mother left an intact body. Your father, and so many more of our people..." Qiong fell silent.

Dongguan said nothing more. He merely knelt and respectfully kowtowed three times before the body in the coffin, his forehead striking the floor.

"Qiong, tell me about the next one." Dongguan stood up, watched the Crystal Coffin being put away again, then turned calmly to Qiong.

"The Fourth World Ring contains an environment for your cultivation. Gravity Chambers, Nutrient Pods, and everything else, in all different specifications, with backups as well. For the coming stretch of time, you'll need to cultivate inside it."

"Cultivate inside it?" Dongguan asked, puzzled.

"Yes. As you know, the Qiong Luo Race has a third-class bloodline in the universe and faces no bottlenecks before the Star Level. When Qiong Luo Star still existed, every member of the Qiong Luo Royalty was only at the first order of the Apprentice Level at birth. But after the initial stage, they would enter a Nutrient Pod and study through the Virtual Space at the same time. That life would continue until they reached the eighth order of the Star Level, when they were officially considered adults."

"Ordinary members of the Qiong Luo Race could do the same, depending on their family circumstances. Less wealthy families might only be able to support them until the Planetary Grade. Those worse off would have to absorb energy liquid directly for cultivation from the Apprentice Level onward, rather than use a Nutrient Pod."

With conditions like those, even the Qiong Luo Race's "poor" could freely absorb energy liquid to cultivate. Dongguan, who had struggled to absorb cosmic energy on Earth, practically wanted to lock himself in the bathroom and cry himself unconscious.

"But Qiong Luo Star is gone now. As for the remaining members of our race, I don't know whether they were enslaved, made into Bloodline Evolution Agents, or simply slaughtered." Qiong sighed.

As for King Huozhen letting them go, there was no room for such fantasies in this cruel universe.

The lightest fate awaiting the defeated was slavery.

Dongguan fell silent. Yes, their race had already been destroyed. How could he ask for more?

"By the way, Qiong, you said you only woke up when Hong picked up the Black Stone Altar. Were you asleep all that time?"

"Not quite." Qiong's eyes, like spots of light, flickered. "After my master passed away, I remained active for a while, hoping you would awaken. But the loneliness of those long years would have made the emotions I'd finally developed fade away again. To avoid regressing, I voluntarily went to sleep."

"In that case, what level of intelligence are you?"

"There are four categories: ordinary programs, intelligence, emotional intelligence, and intelligent life. After accompanying my master for so many years, I should count as emotional intelligence. I'm working toward becoming intelligent life," Qiong said.

Dongguan was silent for a moment before speaking.

"With such rich emotions, and the ability to make your own decisions, perhaps you're already intelligent life."

"I'm already intelligent life?" Qiong seemed bewildered.

"I'm already intelligent life!" Qiong became delighted.

"I'm already intelligent life." Qiong looked sorrowful.

Leaving Qiong to process those changes, Dongguan entered the Fourth World Ring, which contained the cultivation facilities left to him.

Someone at the Planetary Grade, or even the Star Level, should never have possessed so much wealth. He had it only because of an accident.

Dong Xuan World Lord had probably intended to stay behind alone and cover their retreat, allowing his wife and child to escape so that she could personally raise their child.

But fate had played a cruel trick. His wife's soul had begun to collapse, and she died decades later, while the child who should have had at least several decades with her had never truly been able to be "born."

Four thousand years later, perhaps the transmigration had brought life back to what had originally been a stillborn child.

Dongguan opened the Nutrient Pod, ready to enter.

"I just get in like this, right?"

"Yes. Clothing was taken into account when the Nutrient Pod and nutrient solution were designed. Wearing a Force Battle Suit and a little equipment is fine, as long as you don't seal off your entire body. Let as much of your skin touch the nutrient solution as possible to improve absorption."

Dongguan nodded.

"Once you enter the Nutrient Pod, connect to the Wrist Guard with your mind and enter the Virtual Space. During these next few months, you'll need to catch up on the universal language, basic knowledge of the universe, and the fundamentals of cultivation for warriors and Psychics."

"All right." Dongguan entered the Nutrient Pod.

The pod's hatch closed.

As the nutrient solution rose over his body, Dongguan felt both his body and his Spiritual Force steadily growing stronger. Before long, he would break through to the Fourth-Order Planetary Level.

"By the time I come out, I'll be at Planetary Level Nine." Dongguan slowly closed his eyes, connected to the Wrist Guard, and entered the Virtual Space.