Chapter 286: The Complicated Mood of Di Qing

Luo Feng looked at the Infinite Space Treasure Vault, which displayed even more information about various treasures.

“I’m not entirely confident that my spiritual will can escape its confines while I’m still at the God Emperor stage,” Luo Feng thought. “Therefore, these over 250,000 reward points might be all I’ll ever get. I need to reserve enough reward points to use later when I reach the Half-Origin level.”

Luo Feng pondered this. His current cultivation level was still low, and he wasn't sure what he would most need to break free from his current state. It would be most suitable to exchange for treasures later, once he reached the Half-Origin level.

“I’ll just buy something relatively cheap,” Luo Feng decided, his gaze sweeping over the more affordable treasures. He instantly locked onto a target!

“Exchange for the secret treasure, ‘Immortal Heart’,” Luo Feng stated, and immediately proceeded with the exchange.

The Immortal Heart secret treasure is indestructible, possesses infinite vitality, can empower the physical body, and can also manifest an additional powerful battle body. It is suitable for cultivating the paths of Life and Destruction. It required 43,000 reward points to exchange.

Below 100,000 reward points, this was the only secret treasure simultaneously suitable for both the Life and Destruction paths. The weapon-type secret treasures sold in Yulan City were generally refined by God Emperors. Even if Luo Feng reached the Half-Origin level and perhaps surpassed the refiners themselves, the help provided by those God Emperor-tier secret treasures would naturally be negligible.

The secret treasures in the Infinite Treasure Vault, judging by their characteristics, were all refined by beings who had transcended their confines.

After the exchange, Luo Feng's reward points in the Infinite Space decreased to 211,093.03. According to Luo Feng's own cultivation plan, he was supposed to wait until he reached the Half-Origin level before making further exchanges. Meanwhile, in the Silent Chamber of the City Lord's Mansion in Huyang City, Origin Continent, inside the Star Tower...

The ancestors of both nations would typically construct dedicated cultivation sanctuaries for secluded training, but Luo Feng truly didn't need one, as the interior of the Star Tower was the safest place.

“The Immortal Heart.” Luo Feng sat cross-legged, gazing at the cyan orb in his hand. When his Eye of Life and Death opened on his forehead, he saw the endless secret patterns contained within the cyan orb—profound and vast, no less intricate than the remnants of a special life form. He vaguely perceived a drop of scorching blood, from which all the secret patterns and their mysteries originated.

“This orb must have been refined with a drop of blood as its core.” He mused, “Judging by its profoundness, that drop of blood likely came from a World-level Chaotic Origin Lifeform. That’s why this orb possesses infinite vitality and is indestructible.” It was only natural that power originating from a World-level Chaotic Origin Lifeform would grant infinite vitality and indestructibility at the Divine Realm level.

“This Immortal Heart will be enough for me to study until I transcend my current state,” Luo Feng said, feeling very satisfied.

In the Infinite Space Treasure Vault, Luo Feng had now exchanged for the two secret treasures most suitable for him: the Eye of Life and Death and the Immortal Heart.

Of course, the Infinite Space also contained other rare treasures that aided cultivation. For instance, there were saplings that, once planted, would cause flashes of inspiration to surge forth when one cultivated beneath them, making one day of practice equivalent to a thousand or even ten thousand ordinary days, and occasionally even inducing states of enlightenment. There was also the Book of Wisdom, which could analyze all things, study the Grand Dao, and assist one’s own cultivation, proving far more potent than the Eye of Life.

Luo Feng discovered all these after his reward points surpassed 250,000. “Treasures are infinite, but reward points are limited. I must learn how to use my reward points more effectively,” Luo Feng thought calmly.

“With the Immortal Heart, the Eye of Life and Death, and the Star Tower, from low to high… I can better understand how life and death combine. Only after understanding how to combine them can I then comprehend how to truly integrate them.”

Luo Feng flipped his hand, took out a Chaotic Origin Crystal, consumed it, and began to study the myriad materials from low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms. Observed through his Eye of Life, these low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeform materials held no more secrets for Luo Feng; they were completely seen through.

This was because, during his early God Emperor stage in the Nine Rivers Holy Realm, Luo Feng had acquired at least ninety percent of the known types of low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms.

Such a vast array of types allowed Luo Feng to glimpse the myriad possibilities within the paths of Life and Destruction. “Life and Destruction actually have such immense branches?” Luo Feng was somewhat shocked and even felt a slight bewilderment.

He had once been filled with ambition, resolute in his determination to encompass all the mysteries of life and destruction and integrate them into his own Grand Dao of Life. However, upon truly seeing the massive number of mysteries, with various intricacies intertwined and many even diametrically opposed, he felt a sense of disorientation.

Luo Feng was somewhat bewildered and hesitant. To completely encompass and perfectly merge them into a single path? Was that even possible? Could he do it?

“The more I learn, the more I realize how vast and boundless the heavens truly are,” Luo Feng said with a smile!

“Isn’t this more interesting?” Luo Feng’s eyes gleamed with fervor. “This path is infinitely long, meaning I can constantly advance and climb higher.”

“Then I’ll take it one step at a time!” “Let’s walk the path of continuous strengthening. The process of becoming stronger is also captivating.” Luo Feng’s mind instantly settled. Just as one eats a meal bite by bite to digest it properly, Luo Feng began to meticulously study and analyze these materials one by one, categorizing the secret patterns and mysteries, and then slowly absorbing those that suited his own path.

By the 105th epoch after his return to the Origin Continent, Luo Feng’s Life path naturally reached the early God Emperor stage while he was pursuing the path of massive lifeforms.

In the 139th epoch, his Destruction path also reached the early God Emperor stage while he was pursuing the path of ultimate destruction. After both his Life and Destruction paths reached the early God Emperor stage, Luo Feng slowed his pace in these two areas and focused on the ‘fusion of life and death.’ For him, cultivating the two paths of Life and Destruction provided the most fundamental resources for the Grand Dao of Life and Death.

Therefore, the direction taken by the Life and Destruction paths had to be determined by the needs of the ‘Dao of Life and Death.’

“Achieving the early God Emperor stage in Life and Destruction is difficult. But if it’s the Dao of Life and Death, then fusion to reach the early God Emperor stage is at least ten times harder.” Luo Feng felt the arduousness of the fusion process. The ‘Grand Dao of Life and Death’ at the God King’s Ultimate Realm was formed by the fusion of nine major branches; this was the seed.

If the seed was strong, the tree that grew from it would naturally be larger and more majestic. Before he knew it, the 269th epoch had arrived, yet Luo Feng’s Dao of Life and Death still faced many complexities and had not yet reached the early God Emperor stage. At this point, Di Qing had already begun inviting Luo Feng for another hunt.

“Hunting? I’ll need a little time to prepare; I can set off within one epoch,” Luo Feng replied to Di Qing’s invitation. Di Qing naturally had no objections.

Di Qing being ready to hunt after coming out of seclusion didn’t mean Luo Feng was also fully prepared. Setting off within one epoch was already quite fast for Luo Feng.

Back on the Origin Continent, Luo Feng, carrying a physical body with a perfect divine body energy reserve 390 times his usual, and also equipped with the Illusionary Realm Labyrinth storage secret treasure, began his journey back.

As for the ‘Immortal Heart’ he exchanged for in the Infinite Space, Luo Feng did not carry it with him. His current strength was still relatively weak, and carrying such a powerful secret treasure might attract trouble. Furthermore, during repeated hunting expeditions, a weaker individual could easily perish.

It would be much safer to carry the Immortal Heart only when he could contend with low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms at the peak God Emperor stage. By then, his strength might approach that of the three Palace Masters, and even if he couldn't defeat them, he would at least have the power to protect himself.

“On the Origin Continent, absorbing energy is still fast with the aid of the mini-universe.” Carrying a physical body with vast energy reserves, Luo Feng spent a significant amount of time finally returning to Yulan City.

Traveling between the Origin Continent and the Nine Rivers Holy Realm, Luo Feng could, on one hand, send many resources to the Origin Continent and observe them using his Eye of Life and Death. On the other hand, he could also have the energy reserves absorbed by the Origin Continent sent over. The only cost to him was the travel expense.

“Let’s go, we’re setting off.”

With both sides fully prepared, Di Qing and Luo Feng began their team’s second hunting expedition. “What? You broke through?” Di Qing was astonished by the power Luo Feng displayed when he took action during their hunt for the first low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeform.

Di Qing wasn't surprised that Luo Feng killed the prey one-on-one. However, seeing him do it with such ease and casualness left Di Qing bewildered. “You’ve reached the mid-God Emperor stage?” Di Qing stared at Luo Feng in disbelief.

The power Luo Feng had just displayed was no less than what Di Qing himself could exert when using his formation diagrams. Di Qing had worked so hard for so long, with one foot already in the mid-God Emperor stage, but the other remained stuck outside.

He seemed just a tiny bit away from breaking through, but that tiny bit had held him back for a very long time. Luo Feng? He had only been in Yulan City for a few hundred epochs and was already at the mid-God Emperor stage?

“No,” Luo Feng shook his head, explaining, “I cultivate both the Grand Daos of Life and Destruction. Both paths have now reached the early God Emperor stage, and the combined power they exert is what makes me so strong.”

“Cultivating two Grand Daos and coordinating them so perfectly,” Di Qing understood completely. Cultivators who trained in two Daos were generally much stronger, but for two early God Emperor stage paths to rival a normal mid-God Emperor stage cultivator, the two paths had to be coordinated exceptionally well. If the coordination was poor, the strength increase would be limited.

Luo Feng had been studying the Dao of Life and Death for so long, researching fusion methods, and his coordination was naturally extremely subtle and perfect. “Brother Luo Feng, I always thought you’d need some help from me when you first came to Nine Rivers Holy Realm, but who would have thought that by our second hunt, you would be the one helping me instead?” Di Qing shook his head.

“We need to renegotiate our team’s loot distribution,” Di Qing said. “I don’t have many secret treasures, just these gloves,” Luo Feng replied, shaking his head. “My strength is only slightly greater than Brother Di Qing’s.”

After all, Di Qing had been adventuring in Yulan City for a long time and was wealthier; his secret treasure formation diagrams compensated for some of Di Qing’s cultivation stage deficiencies. Di Qing looked at Luo Feng and smiled, “Very well, the next time we go hunting, we will need to renegotiate the distribution ratio.”

He knew inwardly that even with the explosive power of his secret treasure formation diagrams, his might could only approach Luo Feng’s, while Luo Feng had multiple clones, and the combined power of his Life and Destruction paths was terrifying. In their current hunt, Luo Feng’s contribution had already far surpassed Di Qing’s. “We’ll renegotiate the ratio next time, but when the gap becomes even larger, I fear we’ll have to part ways,” Di Qing understood this point.

He was still useful to the team now; his formations played a significant role during hunts, so taking thirty percent of the spoils wasn't taking advantage.

But if Luo Feng's strength advanced further in the future, Di Qing would be completely ineffective, making teamwork pointless. “Luo Feng must have reached the early God Emperor stage long ago. Now that both paths are at the early God Emperor stage, he has undergone such a transformation,” Di Qing thought. “For him to achieve a significant increase in strength, it will probably still take a long time, so there’s no need to overthink it for now.”

Throughout this second hunting expedition, Di Qing’s mood was complex. After all, he had become the one providing support. This hunt was unprecedentedly smooth, encountering no dangers. They stopped after hunting nine low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms at the early God Emperor stage.

“Hunting nine creatures is our limit,” Di Qing stated. “Beyond this, the risks will sharply increase, and we might even be targeted by low-level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms at the peak God Emperor stage.” “Alright, then let’s return,” Luo Feng said, readily taking the advice. Although he was stronger now, Di Qing’s hunting experience far surpassed his own, and Luo Feng felt that based on Di Qing’s seasoned expertise alone, an equal split of the spoils was justified.