Swallowing the Stars: Sacrifice for a Thousandfold Return

Page 119

The several peak human beings exchanged smiles. Although they were somewhat troubled by Lu Ming's ability to cause trouble, they were more impressed and proud of the strength and courage he had displayed.

In the perilous cosmic sea, a descendant who dares to fight and can inflict losses on powerful enemies is exactly what the race needs.

As for the threat of the Divine Eye Clan... when has the human race ever truly feared anyone?

At the edge of the Thousand Whirlpools of Mist, in a hidden cave concealed by natural illusion arrays and spatial folds.

Lu Ming held an item in his hand, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed joy.

It was a crystal, roughly the size of a palm, irregularly shaped, and with a chaotic luster throughout. Inside the crystal, countless tiny star-like vortices seemed to be slowly rotating, radiating incomparably pure energy fluctuations that seemed to point directly to the origin of the universe!

Simply by holding it in his hand, Lu Ming felt his divine power circulating slightly faster, and his connection with the origin of the universe seemed to become clearer.

"The Core of Origin... it's actually a supreme treasure of the Origin type! And at the top level at that!"

Lu Ming's voice carried a hint of excitement.

Primal treasures are extremely rare even in the vast universe, and their value even surpasses that of realm-type and palace-type treasures of the same level!

Because it can subtly enhance a strong person's perception of the origin of the universe, accelerate the accumulation of divine power and the understanding of laws, and even have a certain auxiliary effect on breaking through bottlenecks.

For Lu Ming, who possesses a massive Nether Sea clone, this treasure holds even greater significance!

"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

Lu Ming caressed the chaotic crystal with obvious affection.

"With this 'Core of Origin,' the speed at which my Nether Sea Avatar absorbs the primordial energy of the universe and expands its divine body can be increased by at least several times! It will even greatly benefit my main body in comprehending the laws and cultivating secret techniques!"

This thousand-year search has not been in vain!

Although the process was still arduous, requiring careful avoidance of spatial vortexes in the mist and breaking some ancient concealment restrictions, the final gains were entirely worthwhile!

He carefully put this precious "core of origin" into his body.

They returned to the primordial universe to perform the sacrifice again.

Instantly, a clearer and richer sense of primal energy surged into his heart, and the speed at which his divine power recovered also increased significantly.

Feeling the benefits brought by the "Core of Origin", Lu Ming stood up, his gaze becoming sharp and full of anticipation.

He has already explored more than half of the marked points in the outer area, and the harvest is far more abundant than he imagined.

Top-tier treasure armor, attack treasure, domain treasure, and now a primordial treasure... the value of this map is immeasurable.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the deepest part of the star map in his mind, to the endpoint marked by a special symbol and named "Source".

"it's time……"

Lu Ming muttered to himself, his eyes resolute.

"The gains from the outer perimeter are already so astonishing, so what earth-shattering opportunities must be hidden in the place that the mapmakers value so highly and call the 'source'?"

He no longer hesitated, and a thought arose in his mind.

The Nine Dragons Palace transformed into a stream of light, bursting out of the hidden cave and disappearing once again into the gray-white swirling mist.

He's going to check out this source right now!

After traversing a distance through the swirling mist, the Nine Dragons Palace finally broke out of that oppressive gray-white area.

However, the view ahead did not become clearer; instead, it became even more mysterious and unsettling.

What came into Lu Ming's view was almost absolute darkness.

The space here seemed to have been completely devoured by some force, with only faint lights occasionally flickering in the far distance, whether from star debris or dangerous wastelands, like will-o'-the-wisps adorning the boundless curtain of darkness.

The chaotic air currents here become thin and disordered, carrying a primitive, uncivilized, and violent aura.

"This is the inner region of the Peak Realm..."

Lu Ming stood inside the palace, his expression solemn.

Compared to the surrounding areas, the environment here is significantly harsher, the spatial structure is extremely unstable, and the oppressive feeling is several times stronger.

He could even sense some dangerous aura lurking in the depths of darkness, which made him wary.

He checked the old map in his hand again.

The path marked on the map winds its way through the darkness, eventually pointing to a point deep within the darkness—"the Source."

The relatively detailed map of the Peak Realm provided by the human race is almost blank in this area, with only a few warnings: "Edge of the Inner Domain, Unknown Area, Extremely Dangerous, Enter with Caution!"

"Indeed, this map points to an unknown region that no human race has ever explored in depth."

Lu Ming took a deep breath, raising his vigilance to its highest level.

The unknown means opportunity, but it also means enormous risks far beyond imagination!

This place may hide precious treasures that have never been discovered before, or it may contain natural dead ends capable of annihilating the ruler of the universe in an instant, or it may be home to terrifying life forms that have long since disappeared from the outside world.

"We cannot be impatient; we must be even more cautious."

Lu Ming suppressed the urge to rush towards the "Source" and controlled the Nine Dragons Palace to reduce its speed to the minimum, like a ghost lurking in the darkness.

He no longer relied on his divine sense to explore a wide area—in this environment, overly conspicuous fluctuations of divine sense could easily attract unnecessary trouble.

Instead, they relied entirely on the precise guidance of the map, combined with the palace treasures' own subtle perception of the surrounding environment, to explore forward inch by inch with extreme patience.

The darkness ahead seemed endless, with no reference points and no coordinates.

If it weren't for the stable fluctuations emanating from the mysterious map in his hand, guiding him, even with Lu Ming's courage, he would never have dared to venture so deep into this absolutely dark place, which is marked as unknown even on maps of humankind.

"Thank goodness for this map..."

Lu Ming once again marveled at how rare this opportunity was.

Without this navigation system, this opportunity would definitely have been missed.

Chapter 147 Origin, The Schemes of the Three Major Clans

The Nine Dragons Palace silently slid into deeper darkness, like a drop of gold liquid thrown into ink, quickly swallowed up.

In the primordial universe, the high-ranking members of the three dominant races almost simultaneously confirmed a piece of news through their respective intelligence networks.

The newly emerged peerless genius of the human race, Lu Ming, the "Lord of the Ember Universe" who defeated the Lord of the Universe at the Venerable Realm, has already left the Primordial Universe and ventured into the Cosmic Sea!

The Demon Race, the Insect Race, and the Mechanical Race—these three forces, which border the human race's territory and have fought for countless years, are now once again converging their supreme will in that hidden dimensional interlayer.

"A great opportunity! A perfect timing!"

The sharp, cold thought of the Demon Ancestor of the Demon Clan resounded first, filled with killing intent.

"If Lu Ming had remained holed up in the Primordial Universe, protected by the Initial Universe and the Giant Axe Founder, we would have had a real hard time finding an opportunity to completely eliminate him! But he actually dared to leave the Primordial Universe and head to the Cosmic Sea... Hmph, the Cosmic Sea has no suppression or protection from the Primordial Universe's origin!"

The cold, mechanical will of the Mechanical Father God echoed, carrying an absolute rational analysis: "According to intelligence, he should currently be in the outer region of the Peak Realm. The environment there is complex, making it an ideal location to make our move. If we can surround and kill him, we can not only eliminate this major threat, but perhaps also seize many treasures on his person, including that supreme treasure of the Peak Palace!"

The Zerg Queen's ethereal and alluring thoughts also carried a hint of resolve: "This child's growth rate is terrifying, his potential far exceeds our expectations. We absolutely cannot allow him to continue growing! Otherwise, the human race may truly have a second 'Primal Ancestor'! That would be a nightmare for all three races!"

The name of the progenitor was like a taboo, sending a chill down the spines of the highest beings of the three major races.

They will never allow humanity to have another invincible being that can suppress an era and force all three races to bow down!

"Dream Tea!"

The mechanical race's father god's will locked onto the Dream Demon Ancestor.

"You excel at soul annihilation. For this operation, you will personally lead the team to the Cosmic Sea Peak Realm. You must find Lu Ming and kill him!"

"Can!"

The Dream Demon Ancestor's mind was filled with tyranny and confidence.

"I will personally take action and make sure that brat has nowhere to escape!"

"I will go with you!"

"Empress, shake the horn!"

The Dream Demon Ancestor's thoughts then turned to the Zerg Queen and the Demon Ancestor, another of the strongest beings in the universe.

"You two are responsible for intercepting the human giant axe! We must not allow him a chance to rescue!"

"rest assured."

The Zerg Queen's mind was calm and undisturbed.

"If Giant Axe dares to go to the rescue, the two of us will definitely give him a 'surprise'."

Zhen Yaozu also let out a low roar, indicating his agreement.

"This arrangement should ensure absolute safety!"

The mechanical god concluded, his cold thoughts revealing a chilling killing intent.

"This time, we will make sure that Lu Ming dies without a burial place! We must never allow another 'Primal Ancestor' to appear in the human race!"

In absolute darkness, the Nine Dragons Palace cautiously made its way forward for an unknown period of time, following the map's guidance.

The oppressive feeling around them grew stronger and stronger, and even the chaotic air currents almost completely disappeared, as if this area was some kind of absolute "vacuum".

Just as Lu Ming was concentrating on sensing his surroundings to ensure he hadn't deviated from the map's path.

hum!

The Nine Dragons Palace trembled violently, as if it had crashed into an invisible yet extremely resilient barrier, its forward momentum abruptly halted!

This wasn't a violent collision; it was more like getting caught in a huge, highly resilient network.

"Ok?"

Lu Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

"what?"

He immediately stabilized the palace's treasures and vigilantly observed the outside world.

To the naked eye, all that lay ahead was still the all-consuming darkness, with nothing out of the ordinary.

However, the Nine Dragons Palace's perception clearly told him that there was an invisible "wall" in front of him.

After a moment's hesitation, Lu Ming decided to investigate personally.

With a thought, his true form appeared directly outside the Nine Dragons Palace, his powerful divine energy instantly spreading throughout his body, forming a tight defense.

He hovered in the dark void, slowly reaching out his hand towards the invisible obstacle in front of him.