The abyssal black hole exuded boundless power.
Azure stone peaks spiraled outward in a circular motion, somewhat resembling a sailboat harnessing currents to advance, yet infinitely more profound. After all, the suction force was simply too immense for even the Cosmic God to confront directly.
“Teacher is repairing the Fengmo Mieshen Armor,” Luo Feng stood atop a mountain peak, overlooking the endless land. “And he’s also partially controlling the peak with his consciousness…”
Loneliness.
Luo Feng sat alone, thoughts swirling in his mind.
Previously, during the battle with the Founder of the Axe, he had felt immense excitement while observing, but now, in calmness, he sensed the vast gap between himself and the Cosmic Gods.
“The Cosmic Gods face immense restrictions within the Primordial Universe.”
“And even within the Cosmic Ocean, they still encounter some limitations.”
“If unrestricted, the gap between the Sovereigns and the Cosmic Gods would be even greater.” Luo Feng clearly understood how extreme these restrictions were.
Within the Primordial Universe, if not engaging in battle with the Sovereigns, the Cosmic Gods could still achieve “Words Manifest Law,” wielding immense power, and the Primordial Universe’s fundamental laws would even respect them.
However, once they fought the Sovereigns, everything changed!
The fundamental laws of the Primordial Universe no longer retreated but instead imposed strict restraints, making it impossible for the Cosmic Gods to achieve “Words Manifest Law.” Meanwhile, the Sovereigns could control space-time, giving them a clear advantage in domain manipulation. Of course, the previous slaying of Sovereign Yuan’ao aligned with the will of the Primordial Universe, hence no restrictions were imposed.
The intensity of divine power was equivalent to that of a Sovereign with a Perfect Life Gene. This was only a small aspect, and there was still a maximum limit on the strongest power—the upper limit imposed by the fundamental laws of the Primordial Universe. Cosmic Gods could not exceed this threshold; if they did, they would face suppression, akin to the chains binding the Void True Demon God back then.
The ability of “Words Manifest Law” vanished! Divine power was restricted! Even the peak strength had an upper limit!
Moreover!
After slaying a Sovereign, they would face severe retribution, suffering grave injuries to their divine bodies!
Under these multiple constraints, within the Primordial Universe, Sovereigns hardly feared the Cosmic Gods anymore! A slightly stronger Sovereign could easily overpower a Cosmic God.
…
In contrast, things were different within the Cosmic Ocean.
The Cosmic Ocean was scattered with numerous small universes and the “Primordial Universe.” The Primordial Universe was simply too vast, so its fundamental will remained the strongest! Even the laws of the Cosmic Ocean were influenced by it. However, other regions of the Cosmic Ocean were external, so the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will exerted much weaker power and fewer restrictions.
Only two constraints remained.
First, when a Cosmic God battled a Sovereign, the laws no longer retreated, preventing the Cosmic God from achieving “Words Manifest Law.”
Second, the strength of divine power was restricted to the level of a Sovereign with a Perfect Life Gene.
Only these two limitations.
As for relying on treasures or secret techniques to unleash immense power, there were no upper limits! Additionally, there was no punishment for slaying a Sovereign. Compared to the Primordial Universe, the Cosmic Ocean imposed far fewer restrictions. Therefore, overall, Cosmic Gods greatly feared the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will.
…
Luo Feng sat atop the mountain peak, contemplating the relationships between Cosmic Gods, the Primordial Universe’s will, and himself.
“Luofeng,” a voice called.
“Teacher!” Luo Feng turned around and saw Mount-Sea-Keeper. He immediately stood up. “Teacher, didn’t you say you were repairing the Fengmo Mieshen Armor?”
“It’s done.” Mount-Sea-Keeper waved his hand, and a black armor flew toward Luo Feng.
Luo Feng looked surprised: “But it’s only been two days.”
“Just a simple repair. Do you think it would take me much effort?” Mount-Sea-Keeper scrutinized Luo Feng. “I noticed you sitting there, deep in thought. What were you thinking about?”
“I was thinking about the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will, the Cosmic Gods, the Sovereigns, and… myself,” Luo Feng replied.
Upon hearing this, Mount-Sea-Keeper was momentarily stunned and fell silent.
He remained silent for a long time.
“The Primordial Universe’s fundamental will,” Mount-Sea-Keeper sighed, his voice filled with complex emotions. “Before becoming a Cosmic God, you are merely a child of the Primordial Universe, nurtured and protected by it. But once you become a Cosmic God… your small universe separates from the Primordial Universe, surviving in the Cosmic Ocean. At that point, you become a target of hostility from the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will.”
“Restraint, always restraint.”
“Cycle after cycle… each era of samsara is a process of creation, birth, and destruction orchestrated by the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will.” Mount-Sea-Keeper mused. “Your Human Ancestor was truly extraordinary. He actually dared to challenge the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will.”
“What do you mean ‘actually dared’? What did he do?” Luo Feng couldn’t help but ask.
Mount-Sea-Keeper shook his head: “Don’t ask. You can always enter the Virtual Universe. If you grow strong enough to attract the Ancestor’s attention, you may speak with him directly. Perhaps he will tell you why he did what he did. I can only speculate, and my guesses may not be accurate.”
Luo Feng felt a sense of curiosity. The Human Ancestor must have had a purpose for daring to challenge the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will.
A purpose so extraordinary it defied imagination.
Yet even Mount-Sea-Keeper, the Chaos City Lord, had never told him why the Ancestor had opposed the Primordial Universe’s fundamental will.
“Don’t think about it too much. It’s too far from your current concerns,” Mount-Sea-Keeper smiled at Luo Feng. “Focus more on yourself. Once you become a Sovereign, with the Star Tower in hand, the gap between you and the Cosmic Gods will become negligible.”
Luo Feng shook his head: “Even as a Sovereign, the gap in secret techniques between me and the Cosmic Gods remains significant.” Although he had witnessed the battle between the Void Demon God and the Ancestor God, that was within the Primordial Universe, where the power displayed wasn’t at its peak. However, this time, the clash between the Third True Sovereign, the Sixth True Sovereign, and the Founder of the Axe made him acutely aware of the immense disparity.
“You’re mistaken,” Mount-Sea-Keeper shook his head.
“Huh?” Luo Feng looked at his teacher.
“A Sovereign cannot create secret techniques of such immense power. However, the secret patterns on the Star Tower represent an extremely high level of technique.” Mount-Sea-Keeper smiled. “This is where the value of the ultimate treasures lies. Take the Star Tower’s first layer, for example. When you first activated it, you could only unleash a small portion of its power. But when you activated the second layer… the second layer’s secret patterns already matched the strongest secret techniques of a Sovereign. You may not be able to create such techniques, but merely activating them is far easier.”
“The secret patterns of the third layer rival those of the Cosmic Gods.”
“The fourth layer’s secret patterns are techniques only the top-tier Cosmic Gods can create, such as the Founder of the Axe, the Human Ancestor, and the First True Sovereign.”
Luo Feng nodded repeatedly.
Indeed.
Activating the secret patterns was far easier than creating secret techniques of equal power. Yet the power unleashed was just as formidable, even more so because of the ultimate treasure acting as a medium, allowing even greater power to be unleashed.
“There is a method of power classification in the Cosmic Ocean,” Mount-Sea-Keeper said.
“A newly emerged Sovereign, with a hundredfold life gene and no secret techniques, is considered a ‘First Tier’ Sovereign.”
“A common Sovereign, with a thousandfold life gene and having created ultimate secret techniques, is a ‘Second Tier’.”
“Beyond that, there are Third Tier and Fourth Tier. Sovereigns like the Star River Lord of our Primordial Universe, my student Chaos City Lord, and the Fifth Hun Sovereign, who you dragged into death, are Fifth Tier.”
“A Sovereign possessing an ultimate treasure is a Sixth Tier—the highest level among Sovereigns.” Mount-Sea-Keeper smiled. “Why can a Sovereign with an ultimate treasure surpass even Chaos City Lord or the Fifth Hun Sovereign? Because the secret patterns on the ultimate treasures represent a higher level of power.”
Luo Feng listened attentively.
This was the first time he had heard of the Sixth Tier classification.
“A Sixth Tier Sovereign can rival a Cosmic God without an ultimate treasure,” Mount-Sea-Keeper smiled. “Of course, someone like the Founder of the Axe, even without an ultimate treasure, can still surpass a Sixth Tier Sovereign.”
“But I suspect that when the Founder used his ‘Fifteenth’ axe technique, he claimed it was something he had just created. I believe he must have obtained the divine axe, studied its secret patterns, and then mastered them, probably unleashing that extraordinary axe strike by activating the secret patterns on the axe,” Mount-Sea-Keeper mused. “That’s how he was able to unleash such immense power.”
…
It took nearly three months to escape from the abyss.
Mount-Sea-Keeper also guided Luo Feng, especially as he delved deeper into the Fengmo Mieshen Armor. Luo Feng discovered that the “Five Beasts Great Annihilation” of the Fifth Hun Sovereign was actually a modified technique derived from the third layer of secret patterns on the Fengmo Mieshen Armor.
“Some primitive beings with only basic intelligence can still learn to use stones and sticks as weapons.”
“The difference in intelligence lies in whether one knows how to use weapons.”
“For Sovereigns and Cosmic Gods, their weapons are treasures! Learning to utilize treasures and even creating secret techniques based on the secret patterns on those treasures is what allows them to dominate the universe and earn fame. For example, you may call yourself the Lord of the Milky Way, but the outside world calls you the Silver-Winged Lord.”
Luo Feng understood.
He began to study the secret patterns on the Star Tower, the Fengmo Mieshen Armor, and the Shi Wu Wings, then created suitable secret techniques based on them.
Meanwhile, his divine projection was in a secret space, studying the ultimate secret pattern diagrams left by an ancient existence far more powerful than the Human Ancestor or the Founder of the Axe, cross-referencing them with the six secret pattern diagrams left behind by Mount-Sea-Keeper’s cultivation. This synergy accelerated Luo Feng’s progress dramatically.
Other defensive secret patterns on the Fengmo Mieshen Armor were quickly understood. The three layers of attack secret patterns on the golden right hand were also rapidly deciphered, with two layers already mastered. He had a rough understanding of the third layer and estimated that with a bit more time, he would fully grasp it.
“The third layer of secret patterns on the golden right hand of the Fengmo Mieshen Armor, although not as powerful as the third layer of the Star Tower, still reaches the level of a Sovereign’s ultimate secret techniques. Once you can activate it, your proficiency in secret pattern techniques will be close to that of a Sovereign. Alright, we’ve already left the abyss. I must be going now. Don’t get into trouble like this again.”
“Yes, teacher,” Luo Feng bowed respectfully.
Then—
An azure stone peak and a crimson palace (the Star Tower transformed through the Blood Cloud Pearl) flew in opposite directions across the endless frozen lake and thunderfire.
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