As the river of stars wheeled across the void, another year slipped by.
Under the effects of the Dragon Soul Jade, the speed of Lu Qingshan's soul transformation was noticeably faster. Even if he were to attempt a breakthrough to World Master right now, he had a decent chance...
However, there was still a risk of failure at this stage. If he failed, it would damage his soul instead. Lu Qingshan was in no rush; he still intended to exhaust all the soul power within the Dragon Soul Jade and wait until his soul had completely transformed before attempting his breakthrough.
It would only take a few years either way, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks!
Inside his World Ring, the pool of Luoke God Water—originally the size of a small pond—had grown considerably. While still a pond, its surface area had visibly expanded.
For this year's bestowal, Lu Qingshan had already made full preparations at the Qianwu Auction. He gifted the ten batches of Lanke Fruits he had acquired at the auction to Lei Ming and Paris. These Lanke Fruits would allow them to nurture their Cloud Contact Vines all the way to the Cosmic Level Ninth Stage.
The returned treasure was once again Luoke God Water—and three times the previous amount! A full thirty thousand cubic meters.
However, that was the limit for now. The System's assessment for nurturing plant lifeforms was based on the disciple's own strength. In other words, because they were currently at the Star Level Ninth Stage, it only permitted them to raise their plant lifeforms to the Cosmic Level Ninth Stage.
Perhaps those restrictions would only be lifted once they broke through to become Cosmic Level Experts.
The cheat came with no instruction manual; Lu Qingshan only received feedback whenever he triggered certain system mechanisms.
For example, bestowing money on disciples yielded no returns, bestowals could only occur once a year, and bestowing items that were too advanced and irrelevant to the disciples would produce no return either...
These were all rules Lu Qingshan had figured out through trial and error.
For instance, when Lu Qingshan came across the horn of the One-Horned Ghost King, he had realized it could be bestowed upon Ling Yu because of the strong connection between them.
He had to test every boundary himself. This had its perks, adding the joy of discovery on top of the simple thrill of opening mystery boxes.
Gazing upon this full pool of Luoke God Water...
Lu Qingshan's expression grew solemn.
"That Undying from the Treasure Pavilion guessed I had more Luoke God Water on me, and he actually hit the nail on the head... Having that guy dogging my steps like a lingering ghost is a bit troublesome..."
"Fortunately, staying in the Qianwu Secret Realm is completely safe. Once I advance to World Master, combined with my other treasures, I'll have a good chance of escaping even from an Undying Deity..."
Lu Qingshan already had a plan in mind.
Until he became a World Master, let alone Qianwu City, he wouldn't step foot outside the Qianwu Secret Realm.
As for revenge, that was guaranteed...
Having lived for 90,000 years, even though his temperament had mellowed considerably, Lu Qingshan was still not the type to take abuse lying down.
Everything would have to wait until he broke through in cultivation and his One-Horned Ghost King clone finished incubating.
Perhaps the One-Horned Ghost King clone would bring him unexpected surprises.
His knowledge of the One-Horned Ghost King was limited to the introduction at the auction, lacking a great deal of useful information.
"Two more years..."
Lu Qingshan looked toward the edge of the pond not far away, at a massive white egg currently nurturing life.
This was his clone, and in two years it would finish incubating...
"Star-Eater," Lu Qingshan called out.
A colossal entity with thick roots, branches, and razor-sharp, serrated leaves emerged from the pool.
In response to Lu Qingshan's call, its leaves swayed, seemingly expressing its emotions.
"Happy, happy..."
"Star-Eater, starting now, you can devour this Luoke God Water at will... Strive to break through to World Master as soon as possible. Only when you reach World Master can you be of help to me, understand?" Lu Qingshan caressed the leaves of the Star-Eating Grass.
The rest of the Star-Eating Grass's serrated leaves curled together like a kitten's head, nuzzling against Lu Qingshan's trouser leg.
Exiting his World Ring, Lu Qingshan once again cast his consciousness into the Stellar Chart containing nine stars.
"Just yesterday, Ling Yu triggered a thousandfold return for my Time Origin Law. This time, I should be able to fully comprehend all nine stars in one go. I wonder if fully comprehending all nine stars will turn out just as I expected..."
The stellar chart glowed with a faint starlight as always. Lu Qingshan shifted his consciousness past the first seven stars and focused directly on the eighth...
Instantly, countless insights into the Time Origin Law flooded his mind. His previous comprehension of the Time Law and the returns he had received through Ling Yu yesterday naturally deduced and merged together in his mind...
Gradually, they materialized into a blade manual...
"This strike shall be called Moon Slash..."
It was elegant and beautiful.
"This strike shall be called Starlight..."
Dazzling and beautiful as the river of stars, a single slash dispersing into a sky of starlight!
Every move of the two manuals evolved within Lu Qingshan's consciousness, inching toward perfection bit by bit.
His consciousness returned to reality.
"Nesethes, how long did I spend meditating this time?"
"Master, a total of seventeen days and twenty-one hours have passed."
"That long!"
Lu Qingshan was somewhat surprised. Previously, when he comprehended the Stellar Chart, it had taken at most fourteen days. This time, he had shattered his previous record.
'It is likely because my soul transformation allows me to endure longer before feeling the soul strain. Moreover, there was simply too much Time Law to organize this time, which is why it took so long.'
A longer meditation meant greater gains.
"Now, I have fully comprehended all nine stars in the Stellar Chart. Along with Moon Slash and Starlight, *Qingshan* now encompasses nine blade manuals..."
"Each of these nine manuals represents one of the essences of the Time Origin Law... Together, they make up the complete Stellar Chart... No, not quite a complete Stellar Chart. Nine stars are nine stars; a complete Stellar Chart is a complete Stellar Chart. Those are two different concepts..."
"No wonder the Stellar Chart showed no change at all—I still haven't truly mastered it. Perhaps only when I understand all the various combinations and permutations of these nine essences..."
A smile appeared on Lu Qingshan's face.
Now that he understood the nine essences, could linking them together and fusing them into a unified whole be that difficult?
Perhaps after meditating on the Stellar Chart a few more times, he would succeed.
'With my current understanding of the Time Origin Law, if I were to challenge the Sky-Reaching Bridge corresponding to the Time Origin Law, clearing the fifth level would probably be a breeze...'
This was already vastly superior to many World Masters who had grasped an Upper Law. Bolan possessed World Master-level Space Law comprehension while still at the Star Level, yet even if he didn't choose the Universe Primal Chaos Tablet and instead challenged the Nine Universes Sky-Reaching Bridge—which purely recorded the Space Origin Law—he could probably only clear the third or fourth level at most.
And that was Bolan after three years of training during his journey and breaking through to become a Cosmic Level Expert...
'I'm walking the path of dissecting the essences of the Time Origin Law, where early progress is inherently slow. Reaching my current level in just a few short years would probably shock countless important figures if word got out.'
Take Luo Feng, for example: it took him thirty years in Primal Chaos City—nearly a hundred years in the outside world—to grasp the first nine essences of the Space Origin Law, and even that had left an invincible Undying King like True Yan King in awe.
For Lu Qingshan to master nine essences in just a few years within the Primal Universe was downright absurd!
It couldn't even be said that Lu Qingshan was taking unfair advantage of a higher cultivation realm; he was currently at the Domain Master realm, and Luo Feng's original Golden Horned Beast body had also been at the Domain Master realm at that time. Their realms were evenly matched, so neither had an unfair advantage.
Lu Qingshan hadn't turned on cheats; he just hadn't turned them off...
Chapter 61