Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 87 The First Desperate Situation

The Illusory Ocean Plane.

The entrance to the plane is a steep cliff, and the rest of the plane is a vast ocean.

Islands, like isolated islands, stretch into the distance amidst the black waves.

At this moment, on the ninth island of the Illusionary Sea, Shen Mu, dressed in white, stood with his eyes closed, immersed in the impact of the illusion and the pressure of consciousness.

At the deepest part of the Mirage Sea, on the edge of the 21st island.

An elderly man in black scale armor, shrouded in a golden robe, sat cross-legged; he was the manager of the entire Illusionary Sea.

"Good heavens, a mere cosmic-level kid actually withstood the pressure of consciousness from the ninth island. I wonder if he can break through the illusion."

"Let me see his file. Shen Mu, disciple of the Qianwu Kingdom's ruler?"

"Good, good, so you passed through the ninth level of the Bridge to Heaven while in Chaos City. With such a high level of mastery of the laws, no wonder you have such a high level of consciousness and will."

The old man in black scales looked astonished as he gazed into the void, watching Shen Mu's journey through the Illusionary Sea.

A moment later, Shen Mu on the ninth island suddenly opened his eyes and saw through the illusion of the ninth island.

A slight smile appeared on Shen Mu's face: "The illusion of this Illusion Sea is simple and straightforward, clearly telling the challengers that they are in an illusion, but it contains all sorts of temptations."

Within this illusion, any desire to overcome obstacles can be fulfilled. Those who yearn for power can attain unparalleled cultivation, allowing them to do whatever they please, even things like "I don't eat beef."

Those who love beautiful women can have the pleasure of kissing anyone. Whether it's a two-dimensional wife, a goddess they secretly admire, or a high and mighty queen, it can all happen.

In the next instant, Shen Mu's figure transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for the tenth island.

The tenth island, its rocks and sand are all white.

The trees and plants were lush and green. Shen Mu was standing on a thousand-meter-high peak on the ninth island, looking down into the distance.

In the next instant, an immense pressure of consciousness and a condensed illusion swept over!

"boom!"

Shen Mu felt as if a huge mountain had crashed down on his consciousness.

This is purely a contest of the strength of consciousness. The strength of consciousness can be understood as the power of thought. The higher the strength of consciousness, the easier it is to increase the amplitude of consciousness, which depends on the level of one's realm.

Some realm lord-level experts can kill a star-level being simply by releasing their mental pressure.

Willpower, on the other hand, is simply a matter of mind and personality, and has nothing to do with realm. To give an extreme example, some cosmic-level individuals, such as Hong, have willpower comparable to that of a peak immortal-level powerhouse.

The tenth island in the Illusionary Sea possessed a mental pressure comparable to that of an immortal-level expert. No matter how strong Shen Mu's will was, his consciousness was shattered in an instant, and he couldn't even enter the illusion.

"call!"

The old man in black scales breathed a sigh of relief. Shen Mu had ultimately stopped at the tenth island. If he had actually made it through, it would have been astonishing.

……

Virtual Universe, Rain Mountain.

Shen Mu's face was still slightly pale: "Compared to Brother Hong, I am still far inferior."

Improving one's will or mindset takes time and effort.

Shen Mu's willpower is comparable to that of a World Lord-level expert. He also experienced three lives and two deaths, and went through great terrors to achieve such a feat.

"It will take some time for the Azure Dragon clone to evolve to the World Lord level, which will give me just enough time to complete some cultivation tasks."

Shen Mu's plan was to wait until his Azure Dragon clone evolved to the World Lord level, and then his Earthling self would break through to the Domain Lord level.

At the normal rate of evolution, it would take a full ten thousand years for the Azure Dragon clone to evolve from the first level of Domain Lord to the first level of World Lord.

Even after Shen Mu compared and tested countless combinations of water-attribute treasure recipes, the evolution speed only increased by a mere 65 times.

"It seems we still need to purchase some treasures to accelerate the evolution of our inner world."

Shen Mu directly instructed the intelligent life form to search and purchase various resources he needed from the virtual universe treasure trove.

The Virtual Universe Company's treasury is naturally rich in resources to drive the evolution of the inner world, but the annual consumption of points is as high as 1.3.

With the addition of a water-type evolution recipe, the final evolution speed can barely approach a hundred times.

All things considered, it will take about another hundred years at the cosmic level. This time will be just enough for Shen Mu to consolidate his strength. After completing the most important missions and trials, he can directly break through to the domain lord level and return to the Qianwu Cosmic Kingdom.

Shen Mu had long planned to join forces with the Qianwu Kingdom's master, using himself as bait, to see if he could lure out the alien venerable one for an assassination attempt.

The lion's share of the harvest will definitely go to the Qianwu Kingdom's master; I just need to get enough points to cultivate.

"There are also the Yan God Clan clones, which require cultivating the Yan God Clan's exclusive 'Yan God Battle Body,' which is also a major source of points."

The Flame God Battle Body is an exclusive body vibration secret technique inherited from the Flame God Clan's bloodline.

Almost all amplitude-based secret techniques require absorbing and refining various treasures to strengthen and transform oneself in order to unleash an amplitude burst.

For example, the "Original World" technique in the Golden Horned Beast's inherited secret method is divided into three levels. Just to cultivate the second level with a 9x amplitude, the points consumed exceed 10 billion.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the amplitude is only 9 times. You should know that the amplitude of the divine body of most King Limit and King Invincible powerhouses is only around 10 times.

It's not that they don't want to improve, but the resources required for amplitude-type secret techniques and cultivation secret techniques are too precious, often costing tens or even hundreds of billions.

This is actually quite normal. The genetic traits of any living being are not immutable. All the powerful individuals who create amplitude-based secret techniques create these techniques based on their own genetic characteristics.

Therefore, when creators cast amplitude-type secret techniques, they hardly need to modify their genetic traits, or the points consumed are negligible.

The "Flame God Battle Body" is a secret technique created based on the shared genetic characteristics of the Flame God race.

It is divided into 10 levels. Once the first level is completed, the amplitude can be increased by a full 10 times. The resources required to purchase it with points are only about one million.

"A cosmic-level cultivation mission has three objectives to complete."

"First and foremost, we must obtain the Blood Crystals that enhance genes. However, I don't need to go to the Blood World. When Luo Feng chooses the Blood World, I'll just have him get more Blood Crystals."

In the original story, Luo Feng collected nearly 10,000 Blood Crystals in just thirty years.

Shen Mu's needs are not large; he only needs to prepare 100 each for his Earthling clone and his Flame God clone, and 1000 for his Azure Dragon clone.

As for the points, I'll shamelessly owe them to Luo Feng for now, and I'll definitely give them to him later.

"It's going to be tough on Junior Brother Luo Feng."

The other two goals are the secret techniques of soul and body amplitude.

The soul-type amplification technique is already set up, so I can just follow Luo Feng to venture into the Demon Sound Mountain and continue to take advantage of opportunities.

The secret techniques of the Yan God Clan are only suitable for cultivation by Yan God Clan clones. The best secret technique that Earthling clones can currently cultivate is the amplitude-type secret technique created by the Qianwu Kingdom Master, which is on the same level as the Yan Crystal Nine Refinements Body.

"I wonder which cultivation mission offers an opportunity for a body-related amplification technique."

Shen Mu was unaware of this, but his teacher, the Lord of Qianwu Kingdom, was likely aware. After all, even the True King of Yan could understand secrets like the inheritance of divine generals, let alone the Lord of Qianwu Kingdom, a high-level cosmic venerable.

"Tuanzi, dial the communication with the master of the Qianwu Kingdom."

"Yes, Master."

A virtual screen appeared in front of Shen Mu, and after a moment, the communication was established.

"My dear disciple, what's troubling you?"

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was extremely satisfied with his disciple Shen Mu, not only for winning first place in the Genius Battle, but also for accomplishing such a feat during his time in Chaos City.

This time, the clan rewarded itself for nurturing a genius like Shen Mu, and some of the contributions owed to the clan were erased, equivalent to the slow accumulation of tens of millions of epochs.

"Teacher, I have some questions and would appreciate your guidance."

"By chance, I learned that the cultivation missions of the core layer of the virtual universe's cosmic-level members each have their own opportunities."

"Among them, the Blood Luo World contains Blood Luo Crystals that can enhance genes, and the Demon Mountain contains the upcoming inheritance of the Demon Sound God General, which includes a secret manual for soul amplification."

"Therefore, this disciple would like to ask the master: in which cultivation world is there an opportunity to obtain secret techniques related to body vibration?"

Upon hearing Shen Mu's words, the Qianwu Kingdom's ruler's expression immediately turned strange, and he looked Shen Mu up and down.

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom spoke uncertainly, "You...you're not after the inheritance of that Demonic Sound God General, are you?"

Theoretically speaking, the next opening of the Demonic Sound God General's inheritance will be within the next hundred years. If my little disciple chooses the Demon Mountain mission, there is indeed a sliver of hope that he can enter the inheritance hall.

However, with cosmic-level strength, entering that inheritance hall would almost certainly result in certain death.

Shen Mu laid his cards on the table, saying, "Teacher, I have a secret technique for creating clones, so I am not afraid of death."

"A clone technique?!"

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was indeed somewhat shocked, as such a powerful talent as the clone technique was rare even among cosmic venerables.

Let alone the cosmic venerables, even among the great beings at a higher level, only about half possess such a secret technique.

My little disciple has a clone technique that grants him near-perfect survivability. Moreover, his talent, temperament, and comprehension are all top-notch.

With proper nurturing and guidance, the possibility of becoming a ruler or a venerable figure in the future is by no means slim.

After a moment of contemplation, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom finally spoke.

"Opportunities involving body-amplifying secret techniques do exist; one such opportunity is a divine general's inheritance, and it's open year-round—that is... the Abyss of Purgatory!"

The Abyss of Purgatory: A desperate training mission with a 99% mortality rate.

In reality, the mortality rate in the Abyss of Purgatory is almost 100%, and only a very few exceptional individuals have survived it throughout history.

The Abyss of Purgatory is a prison, a cosmic and perilous place that gave birth to the Prison Clan!

All living beings born in the Abyss of Purgatory possess special runes known as Prison Marks, making them born members of the Prison Clan.

Entering the Abyss of Purgatory is easy, but the only way to leave it is to receive the inheritance of the Purgatory God General.

Moreover, one must receive a sufficiently deep level of inheritance in order to leave the Abyss of Purgatory through the Inheritor's Passage.

For a cosmic-level being like this, the Abyss of Purgatory is practically an insurmountable obstacle, since it's almost impossible for a cosmic-level being to obtain a sufficiently deep level of inheritance.

"Huh? The divine general inheritance that's been running year-round is actually being used by the Virtual Universe Company as a training mission for its universe-level members?"

Shen Mu was surprised. Even a weaker Venerable-level being would covet such a legacy, right?

Upon hearing this, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom smiled and explained, "It's not a cultivation task for being treated as a universe-level member by the virtual company, but rather that if you want to unlock the inheritance, your physical realm cannot exceed the ninth level of the universe level."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mu suddenly realized why.

"Teacher, what precautions should I take when venturing into the Abyss of Purgatory?"

"I don't know the specifics of the Purgatory God General's lineage. But there's one thing you need to be aware of: the outer perimeter of the place where the lineage is located is guarded by immortal-level Purgatory Clan powerhouses..."

A moment later, the King of Qianwu Kingdom told his junior disciple all his knowledge of the Purgatory Abyss.

"Shen Mu, you have the ability to create clones, so it doesn't matter if you can't pass the Purgatory Abyss on your first try. You can try again. In the Inheritance Hall, cultivating amplitude-type secret techniques doesn't require any resources; they can be directly converted into strength."

Shen Mu bowed slightly to the Qianwu Kingdom ruler on the screen: "Thank you for your guidance, teacher."

……

After hanging up the call, Shen Mu went directly to the backend management interface and then selected to accept a cultivation task.

The page displayed five levels of cultivation tasks, allowing Shen Mu to choose which one to take.

Safe (mortality rate 0%), Normal (mortality rate 10%), Difficult (mortality rate 20%), Dangerous (mortality rate 50%), Desperate (mortality rate 90%).

Shen Mu directly chose to accept the "Extreme Level" cultivation mission.

"drop!"

A warning message appeared in red on the screen.

"Warning! Warning! Your Highness Shen Mu, this is your first time accepting a cultivation mission. Based on the probability calculated from numerous cases throughout the history of my Virtual Universe Company, no member has ever survived their first cultivation mission assigned to a 'Desperate' level individual!"

"Please choose carefully. If you wish to continue, please click 'Confirm'. Otherwise, you will cancel this cultivation quest."

Shen Mu immediately confirmed that the list of extreme-level cultivation missions had emerged, totaling 18 extreme-level missions.

1. Purgatory Abyss (The Original Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company)

……

18. Blood Demon Continent (The Universe's Number One Bank: Blood-Dripping Secret Realm)

The Purgatory Abyss offers a reward of up to 100 million points. The only criterion for completing the mission is to survive; there are no other restrictions.

Shen Mu clicked gently and selected to accept the Purgatory Abyss quest.

"Please confirm acceptance of the Purgatory Abyss training quest."

"Received successfully."

"Please fill in your departure time. The Virtual Universe Company will arrange for someone to take you to the Abyss of Purgatory."

……

Half a month later, a spaceship arrived in Shen Mu's territory and slowly landed at the entrance of the quiet courtyard where Shen Mu lived.

"Your Highness Shen Mu."

Ten men in black uniforms stepped out of the spaceship, their auras reaching the peak of the World Lord level, and bowed respectfully.

Beside Shen Mu, the immortal god Yu Lun said with a worried expression, "Your Highness, please be careful."

Shen Mu smiled and nodded, "Yes, I'm off."

"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness!" Yu Lun and his many guards bowed deeply.

hum!

The spaceship took off and then suddenly transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for a remote corner of the Wuchen space-time, which was the location of the Purgatory Abyss.

(End of this chapter)