Without hesitation, the Gold-Horned Giant Beast settled before a mountain range deep within the vast internal world. Using its mental power, it manipulated over ten thousand chisels, attempting repeatedly to carve the stone. Each time, it would control the power of the world to restore the mountain, then carve again, restore again, carve again—repeating this cycle endlessly!
It was trying to replicate the scales and patterns on the colossal God-Beast statue, but again and again it failed, never quite capturing the aura or the essence.
Ten failures. A hundred. A thousand.
“Over three thousand failures now.”
“It’s really tough. Hmm, then I’ll try copying a smaller God-Beast statue—just a few scales will do.” The Gold-Horned Giant Beast had experienced the pressure of cosmic laws before, so it proceeded with great caution. As it copied the smaller statue’s scale patterns, it felt a unique sensation arise naturally within.
It was as if it were carving the ultimate cosmic Dao itself!
With each carving, the invisible pressure of the cosmic laws descended once more, gradually growing stronger.
“Stop!” After carving ten scales, the Gold-Horned Giant Beast halted, then roared and turned its head, once again commanding countless chisels to attempt carving the colossal God-Beast statue.
…
The Earthling Luo Feng sat within the God-Beast Canyon, gazing at the massive statue and continuously sensing its strange fluctuations.
The Gold-Horned Giant Beast was responsible for the endless rounds of carving and experimentation.
Meanwhile, the clone from the Mosha Clan cradled the tiny God-Beast effigy, scrutinizing it intently while attuning itself to the peculiar “divinity” and “profound essence” within. The deeper it delved, the more vividly it grasped the awe-inspiring might of the God-Beast—a being that evoked both terror and involuntary reverence.
…
All three worked in unison!
Without rest, completely immersed, the Gold-Horned Giant Beast carved with lightning speed in single, fluid motions. Thus, within a single Earth day, it could complete over ten thousand carvings.
In this state…
More than a year passed in the blink of an eye.
…
Star beasts are naturally solitary beings. The Gold-Horned Giant Beast stood on the plains, tirelessly commanding the chisels to carve the enormous mountain before it with blinding speed. Each carving was completed in an instant, followed immediately by the world restoring the mountain, then another carving—its speed was simply terrifying.
“Wu!”
The Gold-Horned Giant Beast was about to restore the mountain once more with its world power, but suddenly froze.
“Boom~~~” The massive beast, which had been lying down, abruptly rose onto all fours, its dark golden eyes blazing with excitement as it stared at the continuous statue stretching for tens of thousands of kilometers—now carved into the image of a sleeping God-Beast.
“Damn it!”
The Mosha-Clan-clad Luo Feng instantly flashed to the statue’s front, placing his hand upon the stone, feeling the faint, almost imperceptible fluctuations emanating from the God-Beast statue.
“Fluctuations.”
“It’s that cosmic law fluctuation—distinct from any of the traditional elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, or Light, and not even related to Time or Space.” The Mosha-Clan Luo Feng howled with excitement. “Damn! I did it! I actually captured a trace of that essence, enough to stir a faint ripple in the cosmic source!”
“Wu——” On the plains, the Gold-Horned Giant Beast also raised its head and let out a triumphant roar, its voice echoing across the endless grasslands.
…
Outside, within the God-Beast Canyon.
The seated Luo Feng, cross-legged, could barely contain his excitement as he stared at the distant God-Beast statue, yearning to shout aloud.
He was overwhelmed—utterly ecstatic.
“It’s been over a year, over a year! I’ve copied over five million times! I’ve studied the small God-Beast statue over a hundred times. My Mosha Clan clone kept staring at it, memorizing its essence and aura, embedding it into my subconscious. And yet, I actually succeeded once.”
This success, though slight, was real. The fluctuations from the Gold-Horned Giant Beast’s carving were barely perceptible—extremely weak.
The original colossal God-Beast statue emitted strong, normal fluctuations, its pressure rivaling that of an Elder (Cosmic Sovereign-level being). Yet the statue carved by the Gold-Horned Giant Beast now had no pressure at all.
“Pressure: none. Cosmic law fluctuation: probably only one-trillionth of the original statue’s strength,” Luo Feng mused.
“But still!”
“At least there’s been progress.”
“This result won’t boost my power much, but it proves one thing… my method works. I must continue improving. As the essence I mimic grows stronger, the benefits to me will eventually be extraordinary.” Luo Feng knew the God-Beast statue was a true treasure.
And he had been lucky.
The small God-Beast statue itself was impossible to copy. Attempting to copy even a few scales would draw the intervention and oppression of the cosmic laws.
The large God-Beast statue could be copied, but lacked true essence, making it hard to grasp the correct target while copying.
Only by combining the two could success be achieved.
The small God-Beast statue was a supreme treasure on the Blood-Net Continent. Though no one had unraveled its secrets, it was still held in the highest esteem. The colossal God-Beast statues scattered across the cosmos were already exceedingly rare, and Luo Feng had just happened to obtain one.
…
“Your Highness.”
“Lord Luo Feng?”
Dylan and Elder Sifan Qi sensed Luo Feng’s emotional fluctuations and called out to him.
“Haha!” Luo Feng turned to Dylan and Sifan Qi and said, “I’ve been sitting here for over a year now, but I’m still very interested in this God-Beast statue. I might stay here for another ten or a hundred years. Elder Sifan Qi, if you have other matters, feel free to return to the Taven Tribe. I’ll leave the Lasao World directly after I finish my cultivation here.”
“Time is infinite,” Elder Sifan Qi smiled. “A hundred or a thousand years is but a fleeting moment to me. Your Highness need not worry about me. If I truly have urgent matters, I will inform you before I leave.”
“Hmm.” Luo Feng nodded, then turned to Dylan.
Their eyes met, and no further words were needed.
Dylan’s duty was to protect Luo Feng. At the Domain Lord stage, this was the final phase of foundational training.
At the Cosmic-level, he had trained within the strongholds of the Virtual Universe Company. At the Domain Lord stage, he still had a protective guard. But once he reached the World Lord stage, he would truly be wandering the cosmos alone. Therefore, during this crucial Domain Lord phase…
Luo Feng’s cultivation was the highest priority. Dylan would rather sacrifice thousands of years of his own training than interrupt Luo Feng’s progress.
…
Luo Feng’s three clones worked together seamlessly.
After the first success, the Gold-Horned Giant Beast continued attempting to copy the carving, but found that only one out of every ten attempts succeeded. After about half a month, the success rate improved to one in three. Another half month later, it stabilized to a one-in-one success rate.
At this point…
Luo Feng had truly grasped the faintest trace of the God-Beast’s essence.
He named this essence the “God-Beast Intent.”
“Now I have a faint grasp of the God-Beast Intent. Even when my Gold-Horned Giant Beast clone uses the ‘Tearing Heaven Claw,’ its power feels slightly stronger,” Luo Feng sat cross-legged on the rocky ground. In the distance, countless Gold-Horned beings—billions of powerful figures—sat motionless in the canyon like a swarm of locusts covering the sky.
“Hmm.”
“Now that I’ve barely grasped this faint God-Beast Intent, it’s time to settle here and cultivate long-term.” Luo Feng made his decision.
Wasn’t cultivation possible anywhere?
Even if he wanted to be with his wife, parents, and child, occasional meetings in the Virtual Universe would suffice. After all, it was a 100% realistic simulation—nearly indistinguishable from reality.
“I’ll start by exchanging for the ‘Ten Thousand Hearts Soul-Control Secret Art’ during my cultivation here,” Luo Feng immediately split off a thread of consciousness into the Virtual Universe network.
…
In the Virtual Universe, at Yuxiang Mountain’s Primitive Zone, within Luo Feng’s estate.
In the study.
Luo Feng sat at the desk, opened his laptop, and quickly accessed the ‘Treasure Vault’ file, then navigated to the ‘Secret Arts’ category. Within moments, he found the “Ten Thousand Hearts Soul-Control Secret Art.”
The “Ten Thousand Hearts Soul-Control Secret Art” was among the highest-grade soul-control techniques. It far surpassed the “Soul Seal” created by Hu Yanbo. Even at the Marquis-level Immortal rank, Hu Yanbo had been powerless against a World Lord-level Zerg Hive. Even if he had the money, he lacked the channels to acquire such rare and precious secret arts.
After all, the entire human race had only developed 29 secret arts capable of controlling a Zerg Hive.
And all of them were extremely expensive.
“Damn it.”
“Really expensive,” Luo Feng muttered, staring at the price.
Unlike the “Notes on Time and Space,” which could be purchased in installments, the “Ten Thousand Hearts Soul-Control Secret Art” could only be bought in its entirety.
“Ten Thousand Hearts Soul-Control Secret Art” — a soul-control technique for creating soul-slaves. Price: 1,500,000 points (70% off in the Primordial Secret Realm, 80% off in the Tai Chu Secret Realm, 90% off in the Heaven-Earth Secret Realm, full price in the End Times Secret Realm).
“1.5 million points!”
“Really bold pricing,” Luo Feng frowned. It was a staggering amount. “Hu Yanbo’s ‘Soul Seal’ technique was only about ten thousand points total. A single ‘Slave Soul Seal’ was worth only a few thousand points. But this ‘Ten Thousand Hearts Soul-Control Secret Art’—also for controlling soul-slaves—is priced at 1.5 million points.”
Babata, perched on Luo Feng’s shoulder, scoffed, “Quit whining! If you weren’t a core member of the Virtual Universe Company, you wouldn’t even be able to purchase this secret technique for two or three million Yuan units. Any powerful being who possesses a Zerg Hive would spare no cost to obtain a method of controlling them. If the Virtual Universe Company ever auctioned this secret art, it would ignite a frenzied bidding war among countless mighty warriors.”
(Note: I’ve maintained the fantasy/sci-fi tone while making slight adjustments for natural flow in English. Key terms like “Yuan units” and “Zerg Hive” are preserved as they appear to be setting-specific terminology. “强者” is translated variably as “powerful being” and “mighty warriors” to avoid repetition while keeping the heroic/fantasy vibe.)
Luo Feng rubbed his chin.
He knew that all too well.
But…
He was broke!
“My points… after that 200,000-point mission, I only completed 85% because two targets were still at large by the one-year deadline. I only received 170,000 points. The missions that earned me the most points were two Desperate Missions—400,000 points from the Musing Mountains, and 500,000 points from the Maze Star System.”
He looked at the point balance displayed on the screen.
Total Points: 1,316,060.
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