Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 128 The Birth of the Second Avatar
“Senior Xu Jin, this Lord of the Void Blade is indeed my clone. The materials for this clone were specially prepared for me by the Lord of Chaos City.” Ling Xuan’s true form arrived quickly and hurriedly explained to the Lord of the Void Blade.

Upon hearing this, the Lord of Void Gold turned to look at Ling Xuan's true form, then shifted his gaze to the Lord of Void Blade who had been stopped.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the supreme imperial might emanating from the two individuals, though manifested in slightly different ways, shared an extremely similar fundamental rhythm, as if they were two manifestations of the same power.

At this moment, he finally realized why the giant axe guy was laughing so happily. It turned out that his disciple had broken through to become the Lord of the Universe. It also explained why the Chaos City Lord suddenly stopped laughing. He was also surprised to hear this news.

"Good lad, you've done a really good job keeping this a secret!" The wariness on the Lord of Void Gold's face vanished instantly, replaced by a broad smile. He raised his hand and patted Ling Xuan's shoulder heavily, his tone full of satisfaction and praise.

Looking back, he remembered how the Dragon King had risked his life to save him several times, and he had never forgotten this kindness.

Even though his strength has far surpassed that of the Candle Dragon King, in his heart, the Candle Dragon King will always be his closest friend, with a deep and irreplaceable bond.

Even though he has resurrected the Candle Dragon King nine times over the years and the debt of gratitude has long been repaid, his appreciation for this friendship has never changed.

For this reason, he always regarded Ling Xuan, the prized disciple of the Candle Dragon King, as his own junior and took good care of him. In fact, in his heart, his own bloodline descendants were not as valued as Ling Xuan.

Seeing Ling Xuan grow so rapidly and become so powerful, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of satisfaction, as if he were watching his own child grow up and achieve success.

"I owe everything I have today to the meticulous care and strong support of all my seniors," Ling Xuan said humbly.

"You've gotten to where you are today mainly because of your own talent and hard work. We've only done our bit of help from the sidelines." The Lord of Void Gold sighed deeply, gently shaking his head, his tone full of admiration. "Now, that old Zhulong can die content, right?"

In an elegant palace of the Ancestral God Sect, the Candle Dragon King was holding a wine cup when he suddenly shivered for no reason, and a few drops of wine spilled from the cup.

"Password? Who's the blind fool who's been talking about me, the ancestor?" The Candle Dragon King raised an eyebrow, muttered as he put down his wine cup, a hint of smugness on his face.

He naturally knew Ling Xuan's true identity, and the giant axe immediately relayed the good news of Ling Xuan becoming the Lord of the Universe. At this moment, he was in high spirits, hosting a banquet for his friends at the Ancestral God Sect to celebrate. "Hahaha, Zhulong, you've become such a close friend of the Lord of the Void Blade, who would dare to speak ill of you? They'd probably be tired of living, wouldn't they?"

A friend sitting next to him laughed loudly, his tone full of envy.

When the Candle Dragon King invited them, he only said that he was on very good terms with the newly promoted Lord of the Universe, the Lord of the Void Blade, which made all the powerful people present green with envy.

They didn't doubt the Candle Dragon King's statement, after all, the other party's background was clearly not simple.

Many of those present were born when the Candle Dragon King had already spent countless years in the Ancestral God Sect.

Given his age, it would be perfectly reasonable for him to have gone through life-and-death situations with a powerful cosmic being when he was young and weak, and to have formed some kind of friendship with him.

Looking at the Candle Dragon King, his ability to quickly revive after countless falls clearly indicates that he has familiar cosmic rulers backing him within the human race.

This is also why many people are willing to befriend him, a powerful figure who is stuck at the limit of becoming a king and whose potential has long been exhausted—perhaps at a critical moment, the other party can save their lives.

"Hey, it was all just a coincidence. I didn't expect him to break through to the level of the Lord of the Universe so quickly." The Candle Dragon King waved his hand with a smile, pretending to be modest, but he couldn't hide the pride in his eyes.

"Zhulong, you have such a good relationship with the Lord of the Void Blade. When he comes to the Ancestral God Sect, you must introduce him to us." A human king looked at Zhulong King with burning eyes and spoke urgently.

Everyone knows that the Lord of the Void Blade is a special life form and will most likely receive an invitation from the Ancestral God Sect to become a guardian deity of the outer forces. He will definitely come to the Ancestral God Sect at that time.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'll definitely introduce you." King Zhulong patted his chest and readily agreed.

He secretly thought to himself: Ling Xuan might come, but whether the Lord of the Void Blade will come is another matter.

However, it's not difficult to introduce them once they arrive.

The atmosphere at the banquet grew increasingly lively. Everyone surrounded the Candle Dragon King, constantly inquiring about the deeds of the Lord of the Void Blade. The Candle Dragon King, emboldened by the alcohol, boasted half-truthfully, eliciting gasps of amazement from the crowd.

……

After confirming that Ling Xuan and the Lord of the Void Blade were the same person, the Lord of the Void Gold felt a great weight lifted from his heart, a relieved smile appeared on his face, and he turned and left with peace of mind.

After Ling Xuan absorbed the Zhou Heng clone into his inner world, he stepped into the passage to the initial universe.

Upon entering Chaos City, Ling Xuan did not delay at all. He went to a side hall of the city lord's mansion and contributed some of the treasures he had obtained from the Primal Star to his clan.

These years of adventures on the Primordial Star have yielded far more than I imagined, including the Xuan Yin Armor and the Eight Desolations Pagoda, two treasures that I can use myself.

There is also a common soul-type treasure worth 75 treasure points, which can protect the soul at critical moments. Unfortunately, Ling Xuan already has the higher-quality Spirit Pivot Tower, and the Zhouheng clone and the Xuan Gu Giant clone that will be born soon are soulless life forms, so this can save a lot of money.

A high-grade treasure weapon worth 16 treasure points, with superior materials and forging craftsmanship, capable of cleaving through the void with a swing, but unfortunately Ling Xuan can no longer use it;
A top-tier treasure set, worth 1.6 treasure points, greatly enhances defense when worn, comparable to ordinary treasures.

In addition, the treasures obtained during the exploration of the Chaos Ruins, though scattered, are worth nearly one Treasure Point when added together.

This generous harvest translates to a staggering 93.3 Treasure Points.

Then he handed the Void Mirror over to the main body to use.

After Zhou Heng created his clone, he used the Flame Beast Heavenly Domain bestowed by the Giant Axe Founder, just as Ling Xuan's Fire-Void Fusion Law was about to break through to the third level.

Then, he exchanged a high-level Arcana item, the Tri-Pointed Double-Edged Sword, worth 26 Arcana Points, from the Vault and equipped it to his main body.

Then they began searching for treasures that possessed the power to control time and space.

However, after some exploration, he discovered that in the clan's treasure trove, only top-tier domain-level treasures possessed such exclusive powers of a universe master, which ordinary treasures could not even dream of.

Fortunately, the "Flame Beast Heavenly Domain" is a top-tier treasure, and Ling Xuan can use it as long as he cultivates the Fire-Void Fusion Law to the third level.

At that time, the domain activated by this treasure should be able to control a region of space and time.

Next, Zhouheng's clone devoted himself entirely to comprehending the laws of time.

Ling Xuan himself guarded the "Flame Beast Heavenly Domain" and began cultivating the Fire-Void Fusion Law.

He stared intently at the fiery dragon statue, trying to decipher the mystery of the fusion of the laws of fire and space within it.

The Law of Fire, intense and violent, is like surging magma, making matter more active wherever it goes, intensifying molecular motion, and causing temperatures to rise sharply; the Law of Space, on the other hand, is mysterious and profound, controlling dimensions and distance, capable of distorting, compressing, and even creating new spaces.

These two seemingly contradictory ideas must be perfectly integrated under Ling Xuan's enlightenment.

Ling Xuan himself has a higher affinity for the Law of Fire. Even though he has been studying the Law of Space with the help of the Void Mirror over the years, his progress in the Law of Fire has not fallen behind. It can be said that he is now only one step away from mastering the complete Law of Fire.

Initially, Ling Xuan attempted to use his understanding of the laws of fire as a guide to resonate with the laws of space.

He circulated the energy within his body, simulating the form of burning flames, attempting to integrate the stable structure of space into this flame.

Each attempt felt like forcibly mixing water and fire, the two laws repelling each other, causing his internal energy to become disordered and his blood and qi to surge.

But Ling Xuan did not back down at all. Powerful laws are never easily tamed. The third level of the Fire-Space Fusion Law is already a domain for many Kings at their peak, and it is much more difficult than the Space Law.

Days passed by, and time seemed to flow slowly within Chaos City, yet Ling Xuan appeared to be completely isolated from the world.

He constantly refined and perfected his understanding, and finally, in his thirtieth year in Chaos City, he broke through to the third level of the Fire-Void Fusion Law.

At this moment, his understanding of the Fire-Void Fusion Law had surpassed his previous mastery of the Space Law.

"Let's try this Flame Beast Heavenly Domain." Ling Xuan tried to activate the Flame Beast Heavenly Domain with all his might.

When his divine power entered the Fiery Beast Heavenly Domain, a vast fiery sky domain instantly unfolded rapidly around him. Flames burned wildly within the domain, and space twisted and changed, as if forming an independent "mini-universe".

Ling Xuan could sense that the spacetime within this domain was completely under his control. He could view everything within this spacetime with a single thought, and he could also freely reverse or accelerate spacetime.

"To possess such power at only the third level, it truly is a treasure specially prepared for me by my teacher." Ling Xuan was extremely satisfied with the Flame Beast Domain.

Whether it's dominating a spacetime or wielding the power of a domain, it's comparable to a high-grade treasure or an ordinary universe master.

Perhaps only after he has mastered the complete laws of fire and space fusion will he be able to fully unleash the power of this treasure.

After eliminating the weaknesses of Zhouheng's clone, the clone did not leave Chaos City immediately, but instead devoted itself to comprehending the laws of time.

He planned to comprehend the Law of Time to the point of being recognized by the Law of Time before breaking through to immortality. This way, even if the path of the Beast God to fuse the Laws failed at that time, he could return to comprehend the Law of Time.

Instead of being rejected by the laws of time because the body is transformed into a spatial divine body, resulting in extremely slow or even impossible comprehension progress.

In the blink of an eye, several decades have passed, and Ling Xuan's "Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Technique" has finally broken through another major shackle, reaching the tenth level.

1815861 divine particles were activated in the body, and the gene multiplication rate reached 1300 times.

This gene multiplier is already capable of nurturing all life within the primordial universe, and the true body has officially surpassed the gene multiplier of the Zhouheng clone. With the innate secret technique "Explosive Flame," the true body's strength will only increase.

Take out the body material of the Ancient Giant and put it into the original core.

"Innate Secret Technique - Clone! Nurturing!" Ling Xuan's will controlled the entire world within his body.

As the technique of creating clones, which can only be performed three times in a lifetime, was activated for the last time, the entire inner world trembled violently... Endless world power surged wildly towards the rocky skin at the core of the entire world. The solid rocky skin instantly dissipated like mist, leaving only the most basic life substance enveloped by the endless world power.

Ling Xuan's innate ability to create clones is to give birth to life forms that are no more than ten times the size of his own life genes, which is thirteen thousand times the size of his own.

The life gene multiplier of this ancient giant is 9600 times, which is within this limit.

However, this data only reflects the initial gene multiplication rate of only one.

The fact that Luo Feng's Golden Horned Beast, with a life gene multiplier of 480, could not nurture a World Tree with a life gene multiplier of 3000 indicates that the higher the life gene multiplier, the lower the multiplier coefficient, which is still related to the strength of one's own internal world.

Rumble~
The boundless power of the world converged wildly, engulfing the dissipating rock fragments.

After Ling Xuan became a realm master, his inner world was already much stronger than that of ordinary realm masters. He also cultivated the "Void Scripture" and the "Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Technique", making his physical qualities more than 1300 times stronger than those of ordinary realm masters. Now, his inner world has a diameter of one billion kilometers, which is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of an ordinary realm master at the peak.
Eventually, a giant flaming egg, tens of millions of kilometers high, appeared at the center of the world.

"It's a success." Ling Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

The gestation of this third avatar would take three hundred years, but considering the Xuan Gu Giant's 9600 times life gene multiplier, enormous divine body, and three great innate secret techniques, Ling Xuan felt that the three hundred years were completely worthwhile.

"Master, the battle of cosmic-level powerhouses at the Virtual Universe Company has begun. Would you like to take a look?" Puff thoughtfully reminded Ling Xuan.

He had promised to watch the children's battle of the strong in the Qinggu Secret Realm before, and most importantly, his father, Ling Tianhe, was extremely enthusiastic about this year's battle of the strong.

"How far along is it now?" Ling Xuan asked.

"The World Zone selection has just begun." Puff brought up the battle footage of Ling Tianhe and the other three.

Those with Immortal-level or higher access can view the selection process in the World Zone, and Ling Xuan's access level will only be higher.

Ling Xuan knew at a glance that his three sons were at least capable of entering the core of the Virtual Universe Company, so he turned off their screens and focused on his father's battle.

"Puff, which Venerable One from the Virtual Universe Company is hosting this year's Strongest Battle?" Ling Xuan asked.

With a wave of her hand, Puff displayed the identity information of the host of this year's Strongest Battle in front of Ling Xuan.

Looking at the other party's information, Ling Xuan smiled. This Venerable Abbot was actually Venerable Overlord Spear, a disciple of Venerable Rift Axe and a junior brother of Qian Yue.

He is also a high-ranking cosmic being.

"Haha, looks like it's an old acquaintance again."

Ling Xuan felt relieved, at least the competition wouldn't cause any accidents to his family.

"Master, your three wives have just arrived in the Initial Universe as well." Puff reported another piece of news. "They seem to have broken through to the Domain Lord level and are preparing to cultivate in seclusion before leaving Chaos City to serve as inspectors for their respective universe kingdoms. Would you like to meet them?"

“Of course I want to see him.” Ling Xuan stood up and walked out of the residence. “Take me there.”

For over a thousand years, the three women relied on their talents to qualify for the Giant Axe Secret Realm. Unfortunately, Ling Xuan was no longer in the Giant Axe Secret Realm; he had long since gone out on a mission.

Cao Benqi also broke through to the Domain Lord level more than 700 years ago, and he might break through to the World Lord level and return someday.

(End of this chapter)