Within the East Emperor Universe, a complex of palaces perched atop a mountain peak. When viewed from the heavens, the entire cluster resembled a massive, dormant beast, emanating an overwhelming, chilling aura. This was the domain of the North Emperor Star Master, housing numerous Immortal servants and disciples seeking tutelage.
The Main Hall.
An incarnation of the North Emperor Star Master was enthroned above the hall, eyes half-lidded, ceaselessly expounding upon the Dao of Laws. Seated below were hundreds of Universe Venerables, none daring to let their focus waver, straining to listen closely…
“Hm?”
The Universe Venerables below were startled when the North Emperor Star Master abruptly ceased his discourse, heads lifting in confusion toward him.
“We shall conclude here for today. You may all withdraw,” the North Emperor Star Master commanded suddenly.
Though somewhat bewildered, they responded with a respectful, “Yes, Teacher,” and departed the hall in unison, leaving only the North Emperor Star Master seated on high.
“Ancestor.”
The North Emperor Star Master called out respectfully.
“I tasked you with taking ten Universe Masters to patrol the area around the Blazing Ice Domain. Have you located that Galaxy Lord, Luo Feng?” A figure shimmering with faint azure light materialized—it was the East Emperor Ancestor. The very space surrounding the hall shifted and warped, rendering it utterly invisible to any external observation.
The East Emperor Ancestor’s voice boomed, echoing within the vast chamber.
The North Emperor Star Master bowed deeply, replying with deference, “Reporting to the Ancestor, ever since the end of the inheritance and the failure of our clan’s Azure Blood Venerable and others, I have followed your command, keeping constant watch over the Blazing Ice Domain without a moment’s negligence. All routes leading away from the Mausoleum Boat in every direction are under continuous surveillance by Universe Masters. No matter how formidable the Galaxy Lord Luo Feng might be, stealthy departure is impossible. Yet, for so long, we truly have not found the Galaxy Lord Luo Feng! It seems he has not yet emerged from the Mausoleum Boat.”
“Do not be complacent,” the East Emperor Ancestor stated coolly. “Perhaps other Universe Masters escaped with him.”
“I have accounted for all possibilities thoroughly,” the North Emperor Star Master continued earnestly. “Hiding within the personal world rings of other strong beings and escaping is indeed a possibility. However, since the investigation began, any who attempted to enter the vicinity of the Mausoleum Boat from other regions were intercepted by us. So far, we have stopped thirty-nine Universe Masters and two Universe Primordial Masters! Facing the might of our clan, no one has dared to force their way through.”
“No one can enter! Therefore, it is impossible for anyone to have taken Luo Feng away,” the North Emperor Star Master concluded respectfully.
“Indeed.” The East Emperor Ancestor nodded in satisfaction. “This Luo Feng must be captured! The Duan Dong River lineage inheritance he acquired is of paramount importance! Capture him… at any cost!”
“Yes.” The North Emperor Star Master responded obediently.
The East Emperor Ancestor inclined his head lightly.
For the East Emperor Holy Land, the demise of even a hundred Universe Masters was insignificant. Because the ‘East Emperor Holy Land Universe’ had a finite capacity for Universe Masters and had existed for eons, it had long accumulated a vast roster of ‘Quasi-Universe Masters.’ The Azure Blood Venerable was one such example. Should any existing Universe Masters perish, a batch of Quasi-Universe Masters would soon ascend.
To the supreme East Emperor Ancestor, he understood precisely what the ‘Duan Dong River Lineage Inheritance’ signified; obtaining even a fraction of it would yield endless benefits.
Deep within the inner domain of the Cosmic Boat, amidst the boundless Blazing Ice Domain, no strong entities remained near the Mausoleum Boat.
The North Emperor Star Master and his ten Universe Masters were dispersed and hidden, each monitoring their assigned sectors.
“The Ancestor summoned me just now,” the North Emperor Star Master transmitted via his communication token.
“Again?”
“During our vigil here, the Ancestor has summoned you, North Emperor, three times now. The Ancestor seems… truly intent on this matter. In all my years of cultivation, I have never seen the Ancestor place such importance on a single objective.”
“How could he not? Look at us—the ten of us are undoubtedly among the top twenty Universe Masters in the East Emperor Holy Land. Three of us already possessed Ultimate Treasures. Now? The Ancestor has specifically drawn seven more Ultimate Treasures from the long accumulation of our clan’s history for us. The North Emperor Star Master… and the ten of us—every single one possesses an Ultimate Treasure! Across the entire Sea of Universes, only the Violet Moon Holy Land and we could achieve this. For the Violet Moon Holy Land to field this many Ultimate Treasures, they would likely have to exhaust everything. Even for our clan, this represents an immense burden.”
“Mmm.”
“With Ultimate Treasures in hand, we do not fear even Universe Primordial Masters. As for one Luo Feng? Moreover, in just moments, the North Emperor Star Master can break through the constraints of the laws he is currently analyzing and quickly catch up to him. North Emperor is the main force in this operation.”
These Universe Masters held positions of great authority. Even when conversing with figures like the North Emperor Star Master and a few other Universe Primordial Masters, they generally held nearly equal status. They were the true, elite vanguard of the East Emperor Holy Land, yet now they were stationed here to apprehend Luo Feng.
This clearly showed the magnitude of the East Emperor Ancestor’s resolve!
Inside the Mausoleum Boat, within the cultivation space of the inheritance realm.
“This endless path of cultivation, how… torturous…”
“The ultimate techniques created by the Third Generation Ancestor are profoundly complex. I cannot remain here indefinitely.” Luo Feng, seated cross-legged on the grass, opened his eyes and frowned slightly. “And I still need to devise new saber techniques, etc… I clearly feel my command over the Laws is too weak right now.”
Laws were his current shortcoming.
Because he was required to recognize the white wings as his master, the ‘Path of the Golden-Empty Beast God’ remained stuck just shy of the Seventh Layer’s completion, completely stalled. He dared not cultivate further. Without a complete, profound grasp of the Golden-Empty Laws, when researching secret techniques, there remained a knot, an unavoidable impediment, and this influence grew more pronounced as his research delved deeper.
“I must get out as soon as possible.”
“Obtain the white wings promptly, and then immediately cultivate the Golden-Empty Law… I must break through to the Universe Master level in one go first.” Luo Feng mused inwardly.
Breaking through to the Universe Master realm would cause his divine power to transform.
Divine power represented the body! It also represented the soul! The soul itself strengthening, the consciousness sharpening… all aided cultivation. Furthermore, upon achieving law completion, researching secret techniques would become far easier. He also planned to… thoroughly master all ten fundamental laws: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, Time, and Space!
The goal was distant, the plan enormous; his pace of progress had to be swift. He must secure the white wings and break through to Universe Master first.
“As for the Mausoleum Boat and the inheritance space? I’ll take it all with me.”
“Once I return to the Primal Universe, I will place the Mausoleum Boat and the inheritance space within my God Kingdom. That is the safest location. With my current combat strength, my Earthling main body alone can unleash peak fifth-tier power. If facing the Endless Underworld Sea, even relying on the frantic burning of divine power via ‘Annihilation,’ given the sea’s infinite depth, this burning is negligible. Even a Universe Primordial Master… could be driven out.”
Luo Feng was confident.
The Nine Nether Master was a Universe Master who, relying on the Nine Nether Sea, feared no Universe Primordial Master.
Luo Feng, though slightly lacking in raw divine power, possessed saber techniques that had entered the Universe Primordial Master tier! This completely compensated for the divine power gap, and with the occasional super-burst from ‘Annihilation,’ he could be even more troublesome. Of course, this superior resilience only applied to the Endless Underworld Sea…
After all, if Luo Feng’s Earthling main body or Golden Horned Beast avatar used ‘Annihilation,’ the consumption of their divine bodies would be too rapid; he would not deploy it casually.
The Inheritance Space.
Luo Feng stepped forward, passing through the spatial gate, arriving at the ‘Treasure Space’ among the many planes within the inheritance realm.
“Treasures!” Luo Feng looked up. He was surrounded by void, facing a towering mountain peak. Dazzling light erupted from the entire mountain, shooting into the heavens, each beam radiating boundless might. Every single ray of light was strong enough to make Luo Feng’s heart tremble—it felt like hundreds of Universe Primordial Masters self-detonating simultaneously, an overwhelming pressure.
“A total of 322 precious treasures,” Luo Feng breathed, holding his breath. “The Duan Dong River lineage, accumulated over endless years, finally amassed these 322 artifacts. Alas, I can only take one, and while I live, I must return one.” This was the rule.
Every previous Duan Dong River inheritor had done this. Generally, they took one item, but if their strength and achievements were high, they could even return two or three, which was considered a contribution to the Duan Dong River lineage. All of this was automatically recorded on the stone tablet of the Treasure Mountain.
These treasures… held a specific designation in the Ancient Civilization: ‘Primal Embryo.’
‘Primal’ held a revered status in the Ancient Civilization. Any treasure bearing this prefix was of the highest caliber.
‘Embryo’ implied a nascent stage.
For any strong being, different treasures were needed at different stages. For instance, giving an Immortal an Ultimate Treasure would be useless to him. Thus, any fully formed treasure could not serve a strong being indefinitely.
This led to the concept of the ‘Primal Embryo.’
A Primal Embryo was a special, not fully formed artifact—even an Immortal could begin using it! Furthermore, the user could integrate their comprehended secret techniques into it, causing the treasure to gain secret markings… For example, the Star Tower possessed multiple layers of markings, whereas the Primal Embryo had none; it was blank, yet its inherent foundational power was already immense.
The user could continuously pour markings into it, much like refining an Ultimate Treasure. It was easy to infuse secret markings onto a Primal Embryo!
For example, the three saber techniques Luo Feng had previously created—‘Mist Light Void,’ ‘Universe of Gold,’ and ‘Nirvana Rebirth’—with ‘Nirvana Rebirth’ already reaching the Universe Primordial Master level. Even Luo Feng required complete mental focus to instantly sketch the vastly complex markings needed to execute that move.
But once these markings were integrated into the Primal Embryo.
Then, it only required driving it! The user could simultaneously divide their attention to control other Ultimate Treasures in combat, and the ‘Nirvana Rebirth’ powered by the Primal Embryo’s inherent might could unleash even greater strength.
This was the nature of the Primal Embryo…
It could grow continuously. As the user grew stronger, more vital secret techniques could be integrated into it! A Primal Embryo could accompany a strong being all the way to the pinnacle of the entire Ancient Civilization, at which point, that single Primal Embryo would have evolved into a terrifyingly powerful artifact of the highest order.
“I can only choose one!”
“What should I choose?”
“The Saber Embryo?” Luo Feng stared at the Treasure Mountain, truly wishing he could take several more.