On the day Luo Feng was imprisoned, within a palace on Thunder Island of the virtual universe, the palace was entirely black and exuded an endless, terrifying aura.
Inside the grand hall.
King Longjue knelt respectfully, his head bowed to the ground.
“This son of mine, Ehuo, has been seeking trouble with Zhenyan,” a thick, oppressive voice echoed throughout the endless palace, accompanied by a hissing sound, “But it was foolish of him to target Luo Feng. After all, Luo Feng is one of the ten elite seeds confirmed among this generation of geniuses. Trying to frame him without any evidence is nothing but a joke.”
Upon the throne loomed a monstrous figure, its body shrouded in obsidian scales and crowned with twin ebony horns. Towering and powerfully built, the scaled behemoth lounged with casual dominance, its razor-sharp right claw absentmindedly scoring the throne’s armrest—each gouge releasing a piercing, nails-on-chalkboard shriek. An invisible mantle of oppression pulsed from its form, thick enough to choke the very air.
It made hearts tremble!
It instilled fear!
With a relaxed motion, the black-scaled being commanded, “Issue the order to release Luo Feng.”
“Yes.” King Longjue remained kneeling, still unwilling to lift his head.
Whoosh!
King Longjue instantly vanished from the virtual universe.
…
In the Wulong Star Region, the magnificent palace where King Yanzhu resided received a visitor—King Longjue.
“Tianhuan, what brings you here?” the handsome King Yanzhu was reclining on a chair at the edge of the ninth hall of the palace, with two beautiful and well-endowed female Phantasean girls massaging his shoulders and legs. From his chair, he could gaze upon the infinite expanse of stars and even see the endless cargo scattered throughout the cosmos.
“King Yanzhu.”
King Longjue approached, his voice low, “I come bearing orders from above to release Luo Feng.”
“‘Above’? Which above?” Yanzhu raised his head, glancing at him.
“My direct superior, the Venerable Youmo.” King Longjue replied.
At the mention of the Venerable Youmo, Yanzhu’s eyes twitched. In the vast cosmos, the birth of each Cosmic Lord and Cosmic Venerable was extremely rare, with countless eons passing before they emerged. The number of Cosmic Lords and Venerables remained limited, and even among them, there were clear hierarchies.
If Tian E, the Palace Master, was a legend who had remained hidden in Tian E Palace for eons without ever acting, merely his name enough to instill fear.
Then the Venerable Youmo was a ‘blood-soaked’ myth. His reputation was forged through slaughter. Even his terrifying body was not innate but the result of his own self-cultivated techniques, transforming his body into the most efficient killing structure. He was undoubtedly a ‘god of slaughter’ within the Virtual Universe Company.
“I understand.” King Yanzhu frowned.
“King Yanzhu.” King Longjue revealed a slight smile and waved his hand. The two female Phantasean girls immediately withdrew.
King Yanzhu turned to look at him.
King Longjue smiled, “We’ve worked together for countless eons, and I rarely oppose your decisions. But King Yanzhu… Luo Feng is one of the few extraordinary geniuses of this generation that the Virtual Universe Company highly values. This loss is merely ten million Mixed Yuan units. Such a small loss cannot possibly bring down an extraordinary genius. That is simply impossible.”
“Thank you.” King Yanzhu’s eyes lit up.
He understood the implication.
King Longjue had subtly hinted that Luo Feng was one of the most favored candidates among the current group of geniuses on Yuxiang Mountain. Without solid evidence, it was unwise to target Luo Feng. Otherwise, it would provoke the wrath of the upper echelons of the Virtual Universe Company.
“Haha, then I’ll take my leave first.” King Longjue laughed and departed.
King Yanzhu personally rose to see King Longjue off.
…
Not long after, King Yanzhu returned to his stone throne, draped in the pelt of the royal beast ‘Jiumeng’ from the demon clan. He lounged lazily upon the supple fur, his eyes narrowing with quiet intensity.
“That Longjue is quite smooth, playing the good guy on both sides.” King Yanzhu muttered.
The five directors represented the five factions.
Once a transaction exceeded one million Mixed Yuan units, all five had to jointly approve it. Over countless eons of working together, these five naturally developed some consensus.
For instance, King Yanzhu was dominant, so the other four yielded slightly.
Naturally, they avoided provoking King Yanzhu over trivial matters.
Such as small transactions.
Or dealing with some minor figures.
Like targeting Luo Feng, King Longjue also had his limits… For example, if King Yanzhu wanted to send Luo Feng to the prison of the First Star Region, he would definitely refuse. But as long as it didn’t cross his limits, he would turn a blind eye. After all, his relationship with Luo Feng was quite shallow. As long as King Yanzhu didn’t go beyond the line, he could let him play his games.
But once it involved major transactions, no one would show mercy!
When it came to matters involving the dignity of the factions behind them, they would never back down!
A small punishment and detention of Luo Feng was trivial, just a minor scuffle.
But sending Luo Feng to the prison of the First Star Region would be a true humiliation.
“Such a shame I couldn’t uncover any proof.” King Yanzhu’s eyes glinted with venomous delight. “Had I been able to pin the ambush on Luo Feng—to accuse him of slaughtering those guides and stealing the corpses of over ten million Mixed Yuan units of the Zerg race… then Luo Feng would have been utterly ruined. And if his cherished disciple were to fall, King Zhenyan would undoubtedly be consumed by wrath.”
“Hmph.”
“King Zhenyan, don’t be too smug just yet.”
King Yanzhu’s expression twisted, “I have plenty of patience. I will make you suffer, make you die! As long as I achieve this goal… I will die content!” His eyes burned with a pathological madness. Having always had things his way, with no one daring to provoke him, under his father’s shadow, even the powerful beings treated him with kindness. For millions of years, he had been arrogant and unrestrained.
Until he met King Zhenyan!
That violent and fierce King Zhenyan! The unyielding King Zhenyan!
His greatest setback came from him. He repeatedly tried to rise again, only to be crushed each time, even to the point of breaking down, driving him into a frenzied state. At that time, he had screamed hysterically at his father—“Kill Zhenyan! Kill him! He must die, or I will! If he lives, I die! If I live, he dies!”
But his father, the Venerable Ehuo, dispatched him to the ‘Ninth Star Prison.’
A thousand years of nightmares.
Those thousand years in prison, filled with many hardships even worse than what King Zhenyan had inflicted upon him, felt like hell. Yet those trials only deepened King Yanzhu’s hatred for King Zhenyan, believing that all his suffering stemmed from him.
When he was released from the prison, he had become more restrained, but in his heart, he was even more deranged. His sole goal was.
“Make King Zhenyan suffer, kill King Zhenyan!”
“I will make King Zhenyan fear me, regret me, resent me.”
“Accomplish this.”
“Even in death, I will be content!”
…
“Vineen.” King Yanzhu lay on the soft hide of the Jiumeng beast, saying softly.
A ghostly figure appeared.
“Master.” The figure bowed.
“You are to go to Luo Feng’s hometown… Earth.” King Yanzhu ordered, “Do nothing, just hide one of my immortal crystals there. Depart now.”
“Yes, Master.” The ghostly figure replied respectfully.
Buzz~~~
Green light surrounded the area, ripples spreading through space.
Swoosh!
A faint spatial channel instantly formed and vanished, the ghostly figure already leaving the Wulong Star Region through ‘Divine Realm Transmission.’
“King Zhenyan, I am an immortal god, I have all the time in the world. Let’s take it slow.” King Yanzhu smiled, his expression beautifully sinister.
…
In the Silyu Hall.
Luo Feng sat cross-legged inside the Silyu Hall, his consciousness entering his inner world.
…
In the vast inner world, Luo Feng in black hovered above an endless ocean.
“Insect Island, form!”
Black Luo Feng pointed downward at the endless ocean below. Instantly, the infinite waters began to roar, then exploded into fragments, transforming into streams of pure world energy. Within a radius of one hundred thousand kilometers, the sea inverted into boundless world energy. Then, this world energy began to condense, forming continuous mountains and rocks.
The endless world energy reverberating in the sky also surged in.
Moments later,
A new island with a diameter of one hundred thousand kilometers was born. The island had soil, grass, trees, hills, canyons, and lakes, resembling a normal terrestrial world.
“Irina, from today on, you shall reside here.” Black Luo Feng commanded, holding a world ring. The Queen Irina was placed inside, transferred from the central continent to an island in the endless ocean.
“Yes, Master.”
The Queen Irina and the insect hive simultaneously landed on the island.
“This is 300 Sovereign Insect units. Based on my estimation, it should be enough to create a 3 million Sovereign Insect legion composed of Tiger Beetle warriors.” Black Luo Feng explained, taking out a large number of insect corpses from the world ring. Even within the ‘inner world,’ Luo Feng couldn’t teleport, couldn’t directly move the insect corpses originally on the central continent. He had to transport them using storage tools.
“300 units?” Queen Irina asked in confusion.
“Each Sovereign Insect unit consists of 100,000 Sovereign Peak insect corpses.” Luo Feng explained. Beside him, a large number of insect corpses were piled up, equivalent to a huge mountain of corpses made from 30 million Sovereign Peak insect corpses.
“Wow.”
Queen Irina’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her chest rising and falling with anticipation.
“How fast can you cultivate Sovereign Peak Tiger Beetles?” Luo Feng asked.
“I can cultivate ten Tiger Beetles a day,” Queen Irina replied. “After all, they are Sovereign Peak insects, each containing immense energy, so the speed is slow. If I were to create Star-Level insects, I could continuously produce them without end from various openings of my insect hive.”
“Ten a day? Over 3,000 a year. A million Sovereigns in 300 years. Well, I have a long time to cultivate.” Luo Feng nodded slightly. “Then begin now.”
“Yes, Master.” Queen Irina appeared very excited and eager.
Swoosh!
Queen Irina flew into the insect hive, which, over 800 meters tall and resembling a spherical mountain, immediately lifted into the air, crashing into the mountain of Sovereign insect corpses and burrowing into it.
The gestation began…
Black Luo Feng watched silently.
After a little over two hours, the towering mound of insect carcasses gave a slight shudder, and from within emerged a monstrous insect, standing over ten stories tall. Its entire form was encased in thick, impenetrable armor, radiating an aura of raw, untamed ferocity. The moment this mighty Sovereign Tiger Beetle warrior laid eyes upon Luo Feng, it pounced forward with the force of a raging tiger, landing with a thunderous *boom* at his feet, bowing its massive frame in a display of utmost reverence.
“The first Tiger Beetle…” Luo Feng’s eyes gleamed with delight.
“A million Sovereign legion!”
Luo Feng seemed to see an endless legion of Sovereign Tiger Beetles, his heart surging with excitement and anticipation.
As for the insect corpses used to create the Sovereign legion, they were obtained from the Wulong Star Region. Luo Feng felt no guilt or unease about this. His cultivation had reached a level where he had already clarified his heart and mind, seeing through all illusions, and would not easily be blinded by his own heart.
His heart was like a mirror, seeing through all illusions.
Clarifying the heart and mind! Directly pointing to the heart!
Luo Feng clearly knew his true heart. Since leaving Earth and wandering the universe, as the strongest of Earth, especially seeing the treachery and deceit in the cosmos, seeing ancient families perish, planets enslaved, even seeing the Golden Horn Clan become human vassals, the deep-rooted inferiority and resentment in the hearts of the Golden Horn people.
Luo Feng felt a sense of crisis!
“I must become stronger!”
“I must do everything I can for my ‘roots,’ for if the roots die, how can the leaves survive?”
Back then, Luo Feng was ready to perish alongside the Golden Horn Beast, already regarding Earth as his root. Perhaps he was very powerful, surpassing the combined strength of all Earth’s humans. But his roots were in Earth… If one day Earth were destroyed and all his fellow beings perished, what meaning would his lonely survival have?
Luo Feng knew his true heart…
He knew it when he was willing to fight the Golden Horn Beast with his very soul.
He needed to protect!
He needed to protect his homeland, his ‘roots’—Earth!
“Move forward, keep moving forward.”
“I need to keep growing stronger, I will give it my all.” Luo Feng’s eyes were sharp as blades, his determination unwavering.
On the path to strength, he might encounter many situations, such as the previous assassination attempt by the insect assassins… the Flame Immortal who self-destructed, damaging a large number of insect corpses. In such cases, Luo Feng would decisively take 300 insect units’ worth of corpses. Taking such a small amount would have no impact on the entire Wulong Star Region, but it would greatly benefit his growth, and he wouldn’t be harming anyone… why not do it?
Luo Feng rarely resorted to harming others.
But if it concerned the survival of Earth, even at the cost of innocent lives, Luo Feng would slaughter without hesitation.
Clarifying one’s heart allows for decisive and resolute action!
Taking those corpses was taking them.
Killing was killing, so what?
…
Clarifying the heart and mind, directly pointing to the heart.
Only by firmly holding onto one’s true heart, unaffected by external illusions, whether becoming a killing demon, a perfectly kind person, or a sinister one who acts on whims of good and evil, can one walk further and further on the long path of cultivation! However, even with a clarified heart, the path of strength remains fraught with danger. This time, Luo Feng had nearly lost his life.
“Crack! Crack! Crack!”
A knocking sound echoed outside the Silyu Hall.
“Luo Feng, you may come out now.” King Longjue’s voice rang out.
Luo Feng, sitting cross-legged inside the Silyu Hall, opened his eyes, a hint of a smile in his gaze.
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