Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 106 The Mystery of the Flame God Clan's Evolution

Within the primeval secret realm.

Besides the largest continent, Wuchen, and the 136 planets, there are many other celestial bodies orbiting Wuchen.

Some of these celestial bodies are the dwelling places of cosmic venerables who reside in primordial secret realms, and the abodes of super immortals.

Some are special forbidden areas, such as the entrance to the Purgatory Abyss, which is located on a seemingly inconspicuous, fiery red, and bewitching planet.

Among them is a magnificent, crystal-clear iceberg, hundreds of millions of kilometers high, which is the most eye-catching among the countless celestial bodies surrounding the Wuchen Continent.

This iceberg is actually a palace, the residence of the great Lord of the Ice Peaks.

A narrow, icy path stretches from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit.

Shen Mu walked up the icy steps. The entire path was shrouded in a light mist, which contained an extremely peculiar fluctuation that suppressed all means of flight.

Even though Shen Mu moved extremely fast, nearly two days had passed by the time he reached the summit.

hum!

A wisp of cold air surged forth, and then a figure dressed in a snow-white robe appeared, shrouded in crystalline white mist, with a pair of icy blue eyes fixed on Shen Mu.

The person who arrived was none other than Venerable Bai Feng, whom Shen Mu had met once before.

"Greetings, Venerable Bai Feng." Shen Mu bowed respectfully.

Venerable Bai Feng nodded slightly and said softly, "Now that you have become my disciple, just call me Senior Sister."

As she spoke, the icy mist surrounding Venerable Bai Feng dissipated slightly, revealing a beautiful face with incredibly clear blue eyes and a mysterious law pattern between her brows.

"Fourth Senior Sister," Shen Mu quickly said.

Venerable Bai Feng smiled faintly and said, "Don't be so formal. My teacher has a cold personality and therefore rarely accepts disciples. Including you, there are only three of us."

Three people?

That means he has a senior brother.

Seeing Shen Mu's expression, Venerable Bai Feng roughly guessed what Shen Mu was thinking, and then spoke up to explain.

"Our teacher's first disciple perished countless years ago, when he was merely a Realm Lord. At that time, the human race only had the Virtual Universe Company, and the concept of the Five Great Powers did not yet exist."

It turned out to be the case.

Shen Mu nodded slightly. The era of the Virtual Universe Company was countless epochs ago, incredibly ancient.

The Master of Qianwu Kingdom, as one of the oldest living venerable beings among the 1008 Great Cosmic Pillars of the human race, belongs to that era.

At that time, all the geniuses and strongmen came from the Virtual Universe Company. Very few of them have survived from that era to the present day, and almost all of them have become the strongest people in the human race.

As they spoke, Shen Mu, led by Venerable Bai Feng, entered the Ice Mountain Palace.

After passing through the circular archway, the entire space-time suddenly changed, and the scene before us transformed into an incomparably vast ocean, on which floated the remains of various strange creatures, exuding an ancient and desolate aura.

In the very center of the ocean, there lies an ancient continent. A silver-haired man with graying temples sits cross-legged in mid-air, wearing ancient battle armor stained with blood and carrying a battle sword on his back.

"Teacher, Shen Mu has arrived."

Venerable Bai Feng bowed to the man.

The Lord of Ice Peaks' gaze fell upon Shen Mu. In that instant, Shen Mu felt as if the entire space-time had frozen. Those eyes seemed to transform into a pair of dazzling stars, seeing right through him.

In that instant, Shen Mu froze on the spot, his body completely out of his control.

"What a peculiar dragon-like life form. No wonder even my senior brother is so fond of you."

Although the Lord of Ice could not see through Shen Mu's soul as directly as the Lord of Chaos City, he could see through Shen Mu's inner world and observe Shen Mu's Azure Dragon clone.

Just as the Lord of Chaos City said, it possesses the peak bloodline of the Starry Sky Beast, the peak bloodline of the Prison Clan, and some subtle characteristics of the special life-parasitic demonic insect.

It is actually very rare for the Lord of Ice to take on disciples. It is not that the Lord of Ice Peak has high requirements, but rather that this is his personality. He prefers to be alone, and he has far fewer disciples than the Lord of Chaos City, who is a disciple-taking maniac.

Generally speaking, as long as a human being has a sufficiently high level of talent and belongs to the Virtual Universe Company, the Lord of Chaos City will extend an olive branch.

Therefore, the other universe lords of the Virtual Universe Company, including the Lord of Ice Peak, are happy to have a leisurely life and rarely take on disciples.

"Since you are willing to become my disciple, from now on you will be my third personal disciple, the Lord of Ice."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mu immediately bowed and greeted his teacher: "Shen Mu greets his teacher."

The Lord of Ice nodded slightly and said, "Your talent in the law of water and air fusion is exceptional, and you are well-suited to inherit the unique skill I created."

"However, you have not yet truly grasped the essence of the Law of Fusion. Your most urgent task now is to truly cross the threshold of the Law of Fusion."

Although Venerable Bai Feng was also a direct disciple of the Ice Peak Lord, he did not inherit the Ice Peak Lord's most powerful ultimate technique, but instead followed the conventional path of time and space.

The reason is that, long ago, the Lord of Ice also broke through to become the Lord of the Universe by comprehending the two laws of space and time.

As stated in the original work, no human race has ever broken through using the law of fusion.

The Lord of Ice Peaks later began to comprehend the laws of fusion because he was skilled in close combat. In order to create the strongest close combat technique, he began to study the path of the Beast God after becoming the Lord of the Universe.

Those born beast gods are inherently masters of the universe, embodiments of the fusion of laws. Moreover, they are born as masters of close combat, every part of their bodies a formidable weapon.

After comprehending the highest level of the Way of the Beast God—the Heart of the Beast God—close combat is no longer limited to various weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds. Instead, one can unleash their strongest techniques through any weapon or fists and feet.

"Alright then, I'll give you a copy of 'Seven Layers of Water and Void,' a secret manual that elucidates the mysteries of the laws of fusion. Only after you've truly comprehended the first three layers will you be qualified to inherit my ultimate technique."

"Your disciple bows in gratitude to the teacher for this gift."

This "Sevenfold Water and Sky" is also a secret technique created by the Lord of Ice Peak after comprehending the Way of the Beast God. It interprets the mystery of the entire Water and Sky Fusion Law and is far superior to the incomplete "Seven Transformations of Divine Evolution" created by Naxidoro.

Such ultimate secret manuals are naturally not bestowed in the real world; Shen Mu can only comprehend them in the virtual universe. This is also a way to prevent the secret techniques from being leaked.

The Lord of Ice Peak nodded slightly and said, "I rarely teach you normally. If you have any questions, you can ask your fourth senior sister. A few years ago, your fourth senior sister also cultivated the Fusion Law, but she eventually gave it up."

"Yes, teacher."

After bowing again, Shen Mu looked at Venerable Bai Feng beside him and said, "Fourth Senior Sister, I may have to trouble you more often in the future."

Venerable Bai Feng smiled faintly and said, "What's so bad about that? Having a junior brother is not bad either. It saves me from having to stay with the teacher all day. I'm turning into an ice block."

The Ice Peak Lord, whose temples were somewhat gray, wanted to retort, but found that his second disciple seemed to be right.

Before becoming his disciple, Venerable Bai Feng was a spirited and lively young girl, but now she is known as the second biggest ice block in the human race.

After a few jokes, Venerable Bai Feng's expression turned serious. He said, "To follow the path of fusing laws, talent is only the foundation; comprehension is the most important. Junior Brother, you'd better be prepared."

Unless one is within the Ancestral God Cult, there is almost no place outside where one can directly comprehend the laws of fusion. One can only comprehend the two laws on one's own and then try to understand the fusion concept within them.

"I will keep my senior sister's teachings in mind."

At this moment, the Lord of Ice Peaks spoke up: "From now on, you don't need to live on the Wuchen Continent. Just choose a place to live on a planet near the Ice Mountain Palace."

"Yes, teacher."

……

A moment later, Shen Mu and Venerable Bai Feng bid farewell to the Lord of Ice and then left the massive iceberg that stretched for hundreds of millions of kilometers.

After leaving the iceberg, Venerable Bai Feng teleported with Shen Mu to the star he lived on.

As a celestial-level treasure palace, the Ice Mountain Palace is surrounded by many stars, but it is basically uninhabited.

This is a life-bearing planet about the size of a star, covered with a plant called "Snow Tong," which is a companion plant to the special life form "Snow Luan."

"This inhabited planet is my residence, and there is another inhabited planet, which is the residence of your third nephew."

Venerable Bai Feng led Shen Mu to the core of this life-bearing planet.

Here grows a giant snow pine, its verdant trunk reaching a height of about 100,000 kilometers, and its crown nearly a million kilometers in diameter. Its branches are covered with crystal-clear leaves that resemble snowflakes, and a snow-white divine bird perches on it.

At the lowest point of the tree trunk is a tree-hole palace, which is the residence of Venerable White Phoenix.

"Owner!"

A joyful sound came from the snow pine tree, and then specks of divine power surged out, condensing into a young girl who appeared beside Venerable White Phoenix.

Venerable Bai Feng raised his hand and patted Shen Mu's shoulder: "Xiao Tong, this is my third junior brother Shen Mu. He can come and go from Xue Tong Star at will from now on."

"Xuetong greets Lord Shen Mu."

The girl Xue Tong was startled, never expecting that this unassuming human was actually the third personal disciple of the great Ice Peak Lord, and her master's third junior brother.

Shen Mu smiled and responded with a couple of words, then followed Venerable Bai Feng into the tree cave palace.

The entire tree hole palace is not small, divided into three floors, each with a main hall and countless side halls.

"Senior sister, can I live on Xue Tong Star?"

Venerable Bai Feng was somewhat surprised, but nodded slightly and said, "Alright, you can choose any place on the planet to build your residence, or you can choose a side hall here with me."

Shen Mu didn't shamelessly stay in Bai Feng Zun Zhe's palace. Instead, he found a beautiful and quiet lake on Xue Tong Star and used the power of the world to create a small courtyard on the lakeside.

"Master, Longyu King's call request." Tuanzi's voice suddenly rang in Shen Mu's ear.

"Teacher Longyu Wang? Connect directly."

As the call connected, a virtual screen appeared in front of Shen Mu, displaying the aloof face of Longyu Wang.

"Teacher Longyu Wang," Shen Mu said with a slight bow.

Longyu Wang smiled and nodded, saying, "Shen Mu, I just received a transfer order from the Virtual Universe Company. I will no longer be your mentor."

Shen Mu was slightly surprised, but after a moment's thought, he guessed that this was probably the work of the Icebound Master.

"Thank you for your guidance during this time."

Longyu Wang chuckled and shook his head, saying, "There's no need for that. Being able to guide you for a while is my good fortune."

The matter of Shen Mu becoming the personal disciple of the Ice Peak Master is still kept secret, and few people know about it for the time being.

After hanging up the communication, Shen Mu went straight into the virtual universe, wanting to meet his new mentor.

……

Inside Shen Mu's manor in the Rain Mountain plane.

"Your Highness, I am Tu Zheng, titled Mad Blade King, and I will be responsible for guiding Your Highness's close combat training in the future."

In front of Shen Mu, a burly man about ten meters tall, covered in scales and with a curved horn between his eyebrows, bowed slightly to Shen Mu.

"Master Mad Blade Wang, are you... a member of the Yan God Clan?" Shen Mu asked uncertainly.

There are far too many races in the universe that look alike, but this Mad Blade King, in terms of both appearance and aura, is clearly a member of the Flame God Clan.

But the human race no longer has the Flame God Clan; they've long since broken ties beyond repair. Even if they were to meet on the outer battlefields, it would be like enemies meeting with intense hatred.

Tu Zheng nodded and said, "That's right, Your Highness, you can just call me Tu Zheng. My master is the great Lord Youhou."

"I see."

Shen Mu shook his head slightly; for a moment, he had indeed overlooked the situation of soul servants.

However, it is likely that few of the powerful beings enslaved by the human race are from the Yan God Clan, and the Tu Zheng in front of us is probably the most powerful member of the Yan God Clan enslaved by the human race.

Tu Zheng spoke with a respectful expression: "Besides close combat, I will also be responsible for guiding the genetic evolution of Your Highness's Flame God Clan clone in the future."

As a soul servant, Tu Zheng was well aware of the identity of Lord Youhou. Theoretically speaking, this young domain lord-level genius in front of him could address his great master as fellow disciples.

"Genetic evolution!"

"Tell me more. Ever since I acquired the avatar of the Flame God Clan, I have been studying the mysteries of genetic evolution, but I have never been able to find a clue."

Shen Mu could clearly perceive that within the genes of his Yan Shen Clan clone lay an incredibly complex and unique gene chain.

It's called a gene chain, but it's actually more like a secret pattern chain, only it has been dormant and has never truly revived.

Shen Mu had also tried to stimulate these gene chains to revive them, but had never succeeded. It seemed that these special gene chains were the reason why the Yan Shen clan's bodies could evolve later in life.

"Your Highness, the secret to the genetic evolution of my Yan God Clan lies in the trials between life and death."

Tu Zheng spoke with an extremely serious expression: "And it's not just ordinary tempering; it's when you're truly in a near-death state, on the verge of death, that there's a chance to stimulate evolution."

"However, this method has a very high mortality rate and an extremely low success rate."

"Therefore, the first Venerable of the Yan God Clan, Venerable Yan God, created a special secret technique that could 'deceive' one's own genes, making the genes instinctively believe that they were in a near-death state, thereby stimulating them to evolve."

"Of course, during this process, the body will instinctively generate a fear of death, and one must remain absolutely conscious at all times and keep the secret technique running until the evolution is over."

"Once the secret technique is interrupted, genetic evolution will be interrupted. At best, the genes will collapse and enter a near-death state; at worst, the individual will perish."

In summary, the genetic evolution of the Flame God Clan depends on the strength of their mindset and will, and their ability to overcome the fear of death.

Although evolving through secret methods is much easier, the mortality rate remains high, and the mental requirements are extremely demanding. This is why, since the birth of the entire Flame God Clan, not a single individual has been able to achieve perfect genes.

It's important to understand that the Mountain Dweller's expectations for the Flame God Clan are based on the third stage of the Divine Power path, which holds immense potential. The mere perfect gene is merely the starting point of the Divine Power path.

It was precisely because the Mountain Dweller discovered the huge flaw in the mental state of the Yan God Clan that the Earthlings were born later.

Perhaps Earthlings are mediocre in other aspects, but in terms of their soul and state of mind, they are absolutely unparalleled among countless races in the entire universe.

It should be noted that even ordinary people on Earth can control their emotions and remain expressionless after gaining enough experience.

Many immortal gods in the universe cannot do this; their emotional control is simply on a completely different level.

(End of this chapter)