Devouring the Stars: The Lord of the Sky

Chapter 244 I, Qianwu, am absolutely loyal to the Heavenly Court.

'No wonder the Heavenly Court has so many powerful figures under its command!'

Looking at the nearly one thousand precious palaces suspended in the sky, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Putting everything else aside, the cultivation environment alone is incomparable to anything outside, not even the primordial universe.

With the same talent, cultivating within the Great Luo Heaven will undoubtedly lead to greater achievements compared to cultivating outside.

At this moment, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom felt an infinite longing for the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court possesses so many palaces and treasures, demonstrating its extraordinary wealth.

With over a thousand treasured palaces, even if the entire human race, excluding the Heavenly Court, were to be completely wiped out, they probably couldn't produce that many palaces and treasures.

If the Heavenly Court has so many palaces and treasures, it must have even more other types of treasures.

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was certain that the Heavenly Court must have a supreme-level treasure refiner in charge, and there should be more than one.

An exceptional cultivation environment, fellow treasure-level alchemists, and the Heavenly Court is in its early stages of development.

He, Qianwu, was determined to cling to this powerful figure!

After all, while breaking through to a higher level of understanding of the laws is a joyous occasion, he also faces many pressing issues that need to be addressed.

The debts owed must be repaid, the life genes need to be improved, the amplitude secret technique needs to be improved, and the supreme treasures need to be acquired. All of this made the Qianwu Kingdom Lord feel an even greater headache.

Suppressing the restlessness in his heart, the King of Qianwu followed the heavenly soldiers leading the way and strode towards the majestic Lingxiao Palace ahead.

The majestic Lingxiao Palace.

Upon entering the spacious hall, the scene inside the Lingxiao Palace was immediately taken in by the Qianwu Kingdom ruler.

'! ! ! '

Upon suddenly spotting Lu Jin on the nine-colored throne at the top center, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom couldn't help but widen his eyes.

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom did not recognize this ordinary genius.

But he would recognize the top geniuses from the genius battle hundreds of years ago, especially Lu Jin, whose talent was the most outstanding.

As a high-ranking cosmic venerable belonging to the Virtual Universe Company, Lu Jin's battle videos of breaking through the Heavenly Bridge in the early stages were watched by the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom.

I have envied the King of Tianshuang more than once for having such an outstanding disciple.

It was only after Lu Jin became a Realm Lord that he became more low-key, and that's why there was no further news about him.

But unexpectedly, it wasn't that they were being low-key, but rather that they were too good at disguising themselves and too cunning!

The seventh extraterrestrial battlefield, the Star Tower War Zone, is where the sealed star was born.

With a group of demon servants and the assistance of many kings in the human camp, King Lingxiao, who slaughtered 90,000 kings from the three races in a single battle, came from the Tianshuang Universe Kingdom and rose to power at an extremely rapid pace.

And the Lord of Lingxiao in Lingxiao Palace looks exactly like Lu Jin.

It's hard to believe, but if nothing unexpected happens, all three are the same person.

"Your Majesty, the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom has arrived."

The heavenly soldier leading the way bowed and said.

"Ah."

Lu Jin waved his hand, signaling the heavenly soldiers to retreat.

'This was a miscalculation; it seems we'll need to train some fairy maidens.'

Lu Jin thought to himself.

For tasks like guiding the way, fairy maidens are more suitable than heavenly soldiers.

Moreover, aside from the higher-ups, the Heavenly Court also needs to balance the situation of the yang being more prevalent than the yin.

"Qian Wu pays respects to the Lord of Lingxiao."

Suppressing his shock, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom bowed respectfully.

Regardless of whether the Lord of Lingxiao was originally a junior, he is now someone he needs to look up to.

Moreover, cases like this, where someone's strength is surpassed by a junior, are all too common in the universe.

Often, it's just a matter of taking a nap, and then an incredibly powerful individual rises to prominence.

For example, he once suffered a serious injury and spent a lot of time recovering.

Before the restoration, one of the universe masters in the Giant Axe Arena was just a newbie who won first place in a certain universe powerhouse tournament held by the Giant Axe Arena.

But after his divine body recovered, this person became a cosmic overlord whose strength surpassed his own. Later, he even mastered spacetime and became the master of the universe.

Waving his hand, Lu Jin said, "It seems you recognize me, Qianwu. Chaos should have told you before, right?"

My hometown is in the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, and the Qianwu Star Region is the territory of my Heavenly Court. Will you stay in the Virtual Universe Company, or join my Heavenly Court?

The ancient tree of the Dry Witch sprouts new buds, and his understanding of the laws has reached the level of a cosmic overlord.

In addition, he has no flaws in character as depicted in the original work, so Lu Jin would welcome him if he were willing to join the Heavenly Court.

"I am willing to join. Qianwu pays homage to the Heavenly Emperor!"

"The man is affectionate, and the woman is willing," the King of Qianwu quickly bowed and agreed.

"Hmm, what kind of mysteries of time have you grasped?"

"Reporting to the Heavenly Emperor, we have already mastered the techniques of stopping and accelerating time."

"Two?"

Lu Jin raised an eyebrow. Not bad, he could be considered a promising prospect.

The Heavenly Court has a complete cultivation lineage, the Great Luo Heaven has the manifestation of primordial laws, and there is also the opportunity to cultivate in the Hall of Immortality where the Bodhi Tree is placed. The possibility of Qianwu becoming the Lord of the Universe in the future is not small.

"How many times stronger are your life genes?"

Lu Jin asked again.

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was greatly encouraged and said, "It has reached 30 times."

Nodding slightly, Lu Jin said, "You can go to the Lingbao Hall later to collect 70 mid-grade peaches as a gift from me."

"Thank you, God!"

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom bowed with great excitement.

The life gene is 70 times away from the 100-fold limit, and there are exactly 70 of these mid-grade peaches. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the generous and magnanimous Heavenly Emperor is going to bestow upon him a 100-fold life gene.

I'm so excited!

Lu Jin waved his hand and teased, "I heard you're the chief culprit of the human race?"

Upon hearing this, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom froze, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Damn it, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have named myself 'Qianwu' in the first place. Qianwu, Qianwu, just as expected, I have no money.

Lu Jin said, "The function of the Heavenly Spirit Hall is to record the contributions of Heavenly Court members and the distribution of resources. Heavenly Court members can also apply for interest-free loans from the Heavenly Spirit Hall."

Now that you've joined my Heavenly Court, don't incur any debts; it doesn't sound good if word gets out.

Furthermore, you should thoroughly understand the functions of the various palaces in Heaven. Go and learn about them.

As he spoke, Lu Jin waved his hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave."

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom bowed and withdrew from Lingxiao Palace.

Virtual universe, celestial realm.

"Shh!"

The figure of the Qianwu Kingdom ruler suddenly appeared in the huge square in front of the Lingxiao Palace.

Looking around, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom discovered that the layout of the Heavenly Court plane in the virtual universe was almost identical to that of the real Great Luo Heaven, except for the lack of a Heavenly Realm passage and the manifestation of the primordial laws.

"Wu Yun, check the functions of each hall."

After a pause, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom said, "Check how much I can borrow from the Heavenly Spirit Palace."

"Roger that!"

The intelligent life form Wu Yun responded.

Soon, Wu Yun said, "Master, the loan amount of the Heavenly Spirit Palace depends on the strength of the Heavenly Court members' understanding of the laws."

A beginner-level Cosmic Venerable can borrow 1 Treasure Point, a mid-level Cosmic Venerable can borrow 3 Treasure Points, a high-level Cosmic Venerable can borrow 10 Treasure Points, and a Cosmic Overlord can borrow 100 Treasure Points. There is no repayment period and no loan interest.

Serving in any department of the Heavenly Court will earn you contributions, and the Heavenly Spirit Palace will distribute resources based on those contributions in the form of Cosmic Coins, Primordial Units, Treasure Points, and Supreme Treasure Points.

Furthermore, 1 Treasure Point can be exchanged for 3300 Heavy Treasure Points, and 1 Heavy Treasure Point can be exchanged for 10 trillion Mixed Yuan Units.

Whether from top to bottom or bottom to top, the exchange is done at this ratio without any loss.

If there is an outstanding loan, the Heavenly Spirit Palace will deduct the allocated resources first until the loan is repaid.

However, a second loan cannot be taken out until the loan is fully repaid.

Furthermore, the Treasure Points and Supreme Treasure Points issued by the Heavenly Spirit Palace are interchangeable with those of the clan.

"so much?!"

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom couldn't help but widen his eyes.

One Treasure Point can be exchanged for 3300 Heavy Treasure Points. Beginner and intermediate Cosmic Venerables can equip themselves with a full set of suitable treasures simply by using the loan amount.

However, there aren't enough high-level cosmic venerables and cosmic overlords, since top-tier treasures or ordinary supreme treasures of the domain, soul, and palace categories are all extremely expensive.

"Wu Yun, isn't the Heavenly Spirit Palace afraid that if we were to perish unexpectedly, we wouldn't be able to repay our loans?"

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom asked curiously.

Especially the 1 Treasure Point loan limit for a Primary Universe Venerable is simply beyond the repayment capacity of a Primary Universe Venerable.

Wu Yun said, "Master, the Tushita Palace has a treasure-refining tradition."

All members of the Heavenly Court can become members of the Tushita Palace and embark on the path of treasure refining as long as they pass the initial test of the Tushita Palace.

In addition, with the frequent lectures by treasure refiners, it wouldn't be difficult for the Universe Venerable to become a treasure refiner of the heavy treasure level, and it wouldn't be hard to pay off the loan.

In addition, the Hall of Immortal Transformation possesses the ability to reverse time and resurrect, similar to that of the Lord of the Universe.

Leaving a divine power imprint within the Hall of Immortal Transformation allows one to be resurrected within the Hall of Immortal Transformation after death. The resurrection process requires the consumption of divine source liquid.

The cost of resurrection is equal to ten thousand times the amount of divine essence consumed by the resurrected individual.

"Divine Source Liquid?"

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom raised an eyebrow.

"Divine Source Liquid can be transformed into divine power of any attribute, and can be quickly absorbed by immortal beings and above."

One liter of Divine Source Liquid can completely restore the divine body of a two-meter-tall human race's initial-level Immortal Army Lord. The price in the Spirit Treasure Hall is 10,000 Mixed Yuan Units per liter.

The resurrection power of the Immortal Transformation Palace depends on the specific cost of resurrecting life, not on strength, but only on the strength and size of the divine body.

A primary cosmic venerable with ordinary life genes and a divine body two meters tall, requires 10 liters of divine source liquid to be resurrected, and the resurrection cost is 10 trillion Chaos Units.

If the master were to raise their life gene to the limit of one hundred times, with your five-meter-tall, one-hundred-times-times-gene-enhanced divine body, resurrection would consume approximately 1.56 million liters of divine source liquid, costing less than 0.5 treasure points.

"Sigh~"

Immediately, the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom gasped.

The cost of this resurrection isn't expensive, it's incredibly cheap!

Of course, not all of them are cheap, but his divine body is a type with a relatively high cost-performance ratio.

For example, a low-level immortal military lord with a divine body two meters tall would have a resurrection cost of one hundred million Chaos Units. Bearing such a debt, it would take countless years to repay it through hard work. Not long after, following Wu Yun's guidance, the Qianwu Kingdom's ruler arrived at the Heavenly Spirit Palace.

Originally, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom planned to go to the Lingbao Hall first to see if the 70 mid-grade peaches promised by Lu Jin could really enable him to reach the limit of 100 times the life gene on the basis of 30 times the gene.

But since the Heavenly Spirit Palace can provide large loans, it is very necessary to go to the Heavenly Spirit Palace first.

First, I'll settle the loan, then collect the 70 mid-grade peaches, and while I'm at it, I'll buy some treasures at the Spirit Treasure Hall.

In the majestic palace complex where heavenly soldiers stood before the palace gates, the moment the Qianwu Kingdom ruler stepped into the main hall of the Heavenly Spirit Palace, he was greeted by a white-clad maidservant of the realm lord level.

"Your Excellency, welcome. May I ask how I can help you?"

The maid in white asked with a smile.

"The Heavenly Spirit Palace offers loans, but I don't know how to apply?"

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom asked.

"Depending on the level of your understanding of the laws, the loan amount will vary. Please follow me to the side hall to test your level of understanding of the laws."

As she spoke, the maid in white gestured for them to enter.

"Ah."

Nodding slightly, Venerable Qianwu followed the white-robed maid to the side hall.

Soon, after testing the level of law comprehension, the Qianwu Kingdom Lord's level of law comprehension, at the level of a universe overlord, was recorded in the database of the Heavenly Spirit Palace.

Returning to the main hall, led by a maid in white, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom went to a window to process a loan.

"Respected Venerable One, your understanding of the laws has reached the level of a cosmic overlord. The loan amount is 100 Treasure Points. Please confirm whether you wish to borrow and confirm the specific loan amount."

After the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom injected a wisp of divine power into the special instrument outside the window to verify his identity, an immortal-level staff member of the Heavenly Spirit Palace spoke from inside the window.

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom nodded: "Borrow 100 Treasure Points."

Since there's no interest to pay and no repayment deadline, you can borrow as much as you have.

After a few steps, the staff member said, "Your Excellency, the loan of 100 Treasure Points has been processed."

At the same time, the voice of the intelligent life form Wu Yun rang in his mind: "Master, 100 Treasure Points have been credited to your account."

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom nodded in satisfaction, then asked the staff, "As I am new to the Heavenly Court, may I inquire about the ways to earn contribution points?"

The staff member said, "Within our Heavenly Court, there are roughly three ways to earn contribution points."

The first is the job duties after taking office.

Secondly, when war breaks out, they accept war missions and participate in the war.

Thirdly, to cultivate the secret art of treasure refining and to create treasures.

As the ruler of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, in addition to his fixed contributions as the ruler of the universe, he can also gain contribution points by cultivating geniuses for the Heavenly Court.

However, if this method fails to discover exceptional talents, the contribution points gained will inevitably be relatively limited.

Those who participate in the war will be awarded contribution points based on their strength and contributions made during the war.

However, as of now, the Heavenly Court has not issued any war missions.

The most efficient and safest way to earn contribution points is to become a member of the Tushita Palace, or to work part-time in the Tushita Palace.

In my Heavenly Court, there is much to be done in the art of refining treasures.

The Inheritance Hall contains countless secret techniques for refining treasures, which are open to all without any barriers.

Furthermore, after the Heavenly Emperor established the Tushita Palace, the Lord of the Tushita Palace, the Crimson Lord, ordered the treasure-level treasure refiners under the Tushita Palace to frequently conduct treasure-refining sermons in the virtual universe.

In addition, the emperor and empress had also said that in their spare time, they would give lectures at Yaochi to the many treasure-level refiners of the Tushita Palace.

With its exquisite treasure-refining tradition, numerous master treasure refiners, and even lectures from the Emperor, Empress, and Crimson Lord, anyone with a modicum of comprehension can achieve remarkable success in the art of treasure refining.

"Do you not know the names of the Emperor and Empress?"

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom asked.

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom knew where Yaochi was; it was located within the Great Luo Heaven, a supreme palace complex combining pavilions and pools.

Moreover, it also exists in the virtual universe, not far from the Lingxiao Palace.

The staff member said respectfully, "The Empress is known as the Lord of Yaochi, and she is also the most accomplished treasure-refining master in our Heavenly Court."

Upon hearing this, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was greatly encouraged.

As expected of my great Heavenly Court, the Empress and the Lord of Yaochi, the Crimson Lord of Tushita Palace, and two other Lords of the Universe!
"Thank you for letting me know!"

After bowing and expressing his gratitude, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom left the Heavenly Spirit Palace.

"Wu Yun, can you find out how many Universe Lords my Heavenly Court has?"

On the way to the Lingbao Hall, recalling the nine nine-colored thrones at the head of the Lingxiao Hall, the Qianwu King asked the intelligent life form.

Upon entering the Heavenly Court, the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom was extremely curious about the strength of his own Heavenly Court.

"Master, you possess authority at the level of a cosmic overlord within the Heavenly Court, and have already identified eleven cosmic lords."

"What? Eleven?"

Before Wu Yun could finish speaking, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Wu Yun continued, "They are the Heavenly Emperor Lingxiao, the Empress Yaochi, the seven imperial consorts known as the Seven Clouds Lords (representing the seven colors of the rainbow), the Lord of Light who governs the Heavenly God Palace, and the Lord of Crimson who governs the Tushita Palace."

As for the other halls, they are managed by cosmic overlords such as Venerable Xiguang and Venerable Cangwu.

Furthermore, Venerable Mingyue, the president of Yanhuang Company, is also a high-ranking official in the Heavenly Court.

"Tsk tsk~, indeed, there are many powerful figures! By the way, I wonder how many Universe Venerables my Heavenly Court has?"

After expressing his admiration, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom asked another question.

Wu Yun said, "We have found more than 8,000 cosmic venerables."

The leader of Ganwu Kingdom: "."

Are you kidding me? More than all the Universe Venerables from the five major human powers combined?
At this point, Wu Yun added, "The structure of the cosmic venerables within the Heavenly Court is somewhat strange."

Among these more than 8,000 Universe Venerables, nearly a thousand are of human origin, while the rest are Universe Venerables of other races, with the majority being Demon Venerables.

These venerable beings from other races reside permanently within the mountains and seas.

Furthermore, according to the information summary, of the nearly one thousand Universe Venerables of my human race, apart from Venerable Mingyue, who heads the Yanhuang Company and whose strength is unknown, the rest are all Universe Overlords, serving as Heavenly Generals or Acting Palace Masters in the Heavenly Court.

What does Shanhaitian do?

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom asked.

"According to publicly available internal information, the Heavenly Court has kept countless demonic beasts in the Mountain and Sea Heaven."

After a pause, Wu Yun continued, "Selling demon slaves is one of the main businesses of Yanhuang Company. The demon slaves come from the countless demon beasts raised in the Heavenly Realm of Mountains and Seas."

These numerous venerable beings from other races are the managers of the countless demonic beasts within the Mountain and Sea Heaven.

Unconsciously, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom recalled a major event that had occurred in the territory of the demon race a few years ago.

He had heard about the story of an unknown powerful figure or force that directly abducted more than half of the demon beasts in the demon race's territory.

'So this was done by my Heavenly Court?'

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom thought to himself.

If it wasn't done by the Heavenly Court, where would countless demonic beasts come from in the Heavenly Realm of Mountains and Seas?

In the majestic Lingbao Hall, the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom sat in front of a window in the main hall.

"Your Excellency, is there anything I can help you with?"

Inside the window, an Immortal-level staff member asked politely.

"The Heavenly Emperor has granted me 70 mid-grade peaches, which I may collect at the Lingbao Hall."

"That's what the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom said."

"The Heavenly Emperor's words are law; any promises made within the Heavenly Realm or within the virtual universe's Heavenly Court plane will be automatically recorded by the system."

If there is a record, the Venerable One can naturally receive it.

Please, Your Excellency, infuse the instrument with divine power to verify my identity.

The staff member pointed to the spherical instrument used for identity verification placed on the right side of the window.

Nodding slightly, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom channeled a stream of divine power into the special instrument.

Soon, after identity verification and inquiry, the staff said: "Your Excellency, the Heavenly Emperor has indeed said that you can collect 70 medium-grade peaches from the Lingbao Hall offline."

You can also leave your address, and our Lingbao Temple staff will deliver it to you.

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom asked, "Since there are mid-grade peaches, there should be other grades of peaches, right?"

Pointing to a screen on the left side of the window, the staff member said, "Of course, Your Excellency can log in with your own exclusive account to check in the treasure vault. In the treasure vault, the peaches are classified as special resource treasures."

Immediately, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom did as instructed and logged into his personal account.

"Shh!"

The screen changed, switching from the login interface to the treasure vault interface.

It was classified in the same way as the clan's treasure vault, into four categories: supreme treasures, important treasures, materials, and special resources.

First, click on the special resources category, and the screen will refresh.

Soon, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom found the peaches of immortality.

Inferior grade peaches

Price: 0.3 Treasure Points/each.

Each low-grade peach can double the affinity between life genes and the fundamental laws of water after consumption, with the maximum effect being ten times the affinity between life genes and the fundamental laws of water.

Medium-grade flat peaches

Price: 0.1 Treasure Points/each.

Each medium-grade peach can double the affinity between life genes and the fundamental laws of water after consumption, with the maximum effect being a special life level of a hundred times the life genes and the fundamental laws of water.

Premium Peaches

Price: 20 Treasure Points/each.

Each top-grade peach doubles one's life gene after consumption, with an upper limit of 10081 times the life gene, and is not subject to the rule that the maximum life gene increase is 100 times below the level of the Lord of the Universe.

A life gene with 10081 times the life gene is a perfect gene. After achieving a perfect gene, absorbing enough energy can increase one's size to more than 90,000 kilometers, and the will of the universe will bestow upon one the strongest innate secret technique.

Note: To purchase top-grade peaches, those who are not the Lord of the Universe must apply in advance, and can only purchase them after their application is approved.

'Perfect genes?'

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom raised an eyebrow.

This is a new term I've never heard of before.

But that's not important. What's important is achieving the so-called perfect genes, which not only allows the divine body to reach over 90,000 kilometers, but also grants the strongest innate secret technique bestowed by the will of the universe's origin.

Unfortunately, not only does he need to apply to buy it, but even if he could get the application approved, he still couldn't afford it.

Originally priced at 20 Treasure Points each, as a cosmic overlord under the Heavenly Court, he could enjoy a 30% discount, but the price of 14 Treasure Points each was still beyond his financial means.

However, there is good news: the mid-grade peaches promised by the Heavenly Emperor can indeed grant him a hundredfold increase in life genes.

With the discount, he saved 4.9 Treasure Points. Moreover, the price of this type of gene treasure was similar to that in the clan's treasure vault, or even cheaper.

To be honest, this was the first time in his countless years of life that someone had treated him so well, and the first time he had received such a valuable treasure.

I'm so touched!
I, Qianwu, am absolutely loyal to the Heavenly Court!
(End of this chapter)