Swallowing the starry sky, my clones can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 93 Nine-Colored Illusionary Divine Crystal

After his consciousness withdrew from the virtual universe, Shen Mu looked toward the long, winding staircase of inheritance in the distance.

"More than 5,700 steps, that's close to my limit."

Shen Mu felt that, relying on his consciousness and soul potential, he had been advancing more than two hundred steps a day at the beginning, but now it took him seven or eight days to advance one step, and the speed was getting slower and slower.

According to Shen Mu's estimation, obtaining the second-stage reward would be the limit.

I hope that the rewards for the second stage will include a soul-type treasure that is even more powerful than the Golden Soul Fruit; otherwise, I definitely have no hope of passing the third stage.

"The requirements for inheriting this divine general are indeed outrageous. No wonder none of these thirty-two inheritance palaces have collapsed over the years."

These thirty-two inheritance palaces are, to some extent, one-time use; once someone obtains all the inheritances, they will collapse.

Shen Mu took a deep breath, suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind, and continued to immerse himself in the inheritance of the Demonic Sound God General, stepping onto the higher-level steps one by one.

Two weeks later, the Primal Zone Universe-level Qualifying Battle began.

The qualifying tournament format is simple: a round-robin format where the six members of Shen Mu compete against each other, with the winner earning 1 point, and the rankings determined by the points.

Shen Mu specially set aside a day to participate in the qualifying battle and easily achieved four consecutive victories. Fei To, Sima Yan, Bo Lan and Luo Feng were no match for Shen Mu and were basically defeated instantly.

Luo Feng nearly defeated Fito by using his 3,000 times greater psychic power, while Sima Yan and Bo Lan were no match for him.

Shen Mu didn't care about the rest of the competition. He was first in the Primal Zone Qualifying Battle and didn't need to participate in the challenge against the geniuses of the Primordial Zone.

……

In the blink of an eye, another two years have passed.

On the 6666th floor of the Inheritance Staircase, Shen Mu stepped into the magnificent and splendid palace.

Rumble!

The entire hall trembled, the roar sounding like the fury of ancient gods echoing through endless ages.

"My lineage has three stages. Over countless years, you are the 9447th person to pass the second stage of the preliminary selection."

Having successfully mastered the entire second stage of the inheritance, you are granted the title of 'Chosen One' and receive the 'Chosen One' rewards!

Deep within the palace, the endless black mist dissipated, and a crack suddenly appeared in the void.

Two white orbs of light flew out from the crack, like miniature stars, and finally hovered in front of Shen Mu.

Within the ball of light were a suit of armor and a mystical nine-colored crystal. The mystical nine-colored crystal, in particular, faintly emitted nine special tones and sound waves that stirred the soul.

At the same time, the corresponding information was also transmitted to Shen Mu's mind.

That armor was a top-tier divine armor, a spirit-controlling armor, worth over a billion Chaos Units. Even ordinary King-level Immortals couldn't afford to wear armor of this level.

"This treasure is quite good. As for the pupa shell, it can be temporarily used by the Fiery God Clan clone."

Although the pupa armor on Shen Mu's body was of top quality, its value was only around one million Chaos Yuan Units, far from being comparable to this Spirit Control Armor.

The Flame God Clan clones don't have any good treasures at the moment, so they'll temporarily use the Pupae Shell Armor and replace it with Flame God Clan's special soldier armor, general armor, and so on later.

Shen Mu put on the Spirit Armor directly. This kind of top-level armor can directly fuse with the human body, and then needs to be nurtured and recognized by the original force before it can be considered to be completely worn.

Finally, Shen Mu turned his gaze to the mysterious nine-colored crystal.

"With the blessing of this soul-type treasure, the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal has the potential to break through to the third stage of inheritance!"

The Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal is a unique treasure nurtured by nature within the secret realm of the Ancestral God Sect. It is countless times more precious than the Golden Soul Fruit and can greatly enhance one's soul talent. Even for those who have reached the King level and become immortal, it is extremely precious and rare.

Only one Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal is born in the entire secret realm every ten thousand epochs, and its value is immeasurable, more than a hundred times higher than that of the Spirit Armor.

Following the instructions in the inherited message, Shen Mu channeled a wisp of mental energy into the nine-colored Illusionary God Crystal.

hum!

The Nine-Colored Illusionary Crystal trembled for a moment, then began to melt, bursting forth with magnificent, dreamlike nine-colored light that filled the entire palace.

In an instant, the entire hall seemed to transform into a legendary fairyland. The next moment, countless dreamlike nine-colored streams of light began to shrink, merging into Shen Mu's brow and seeping into his original core soul.

In that instant, Shen Mu's consciousness was immersed in an incredibly realistic illusion.

Within this illusion, Shen Mu was merely an ordinary planetary citizen of the human race, who lived smoothly for a thousand years before finally meeting his end.

After this life ended, Shen Mu's consciousness suddenly awoke, and his thousand years of memories began to fade, as if it were just a dream.

Before Shen Mu could prepare himself, his consciousness was once again immersed in a brand new illusion, and he was in a completely new life.

In this life, Shen Mu was just a member of a weak race in the universe. The strongest member of the race was just an ordinary immortal who relied on the Nine Domains Alliance for survival.

In this life, Shen Mu himself is a top genius of his clan, having comprehended the laws at the Hengxing level and being regarded as the future god-lord of the clan.

However, during its growth, it experienced various hardships and ultimately met an unexpected end, stopping at the cosmic level.

This time, Shen Mu lived for more than 20,000 years. When Shen Mu's consciousness awoke, it was still like a great dream, beginning to blur, and he entered a new life.

Thus, Shen Mu's consciousness began to reincarnate again and again, but most of the reincarnations were just ordinary lives, with his greatest achievement being becoming a domain lord-level powerhouse in one of his lifetimes.

In each cycle of reincarnation, Shen Mu's consciousness also changed, and even the memories of those lifetimes became as blurry and forgotten as dreams.

However, the trials he underwent in this cycle of reincarnation strengthened Shen Mu's will time and time again, preventing him from regressing despite the dissipation of his memories of reincarnation.

Thousands of lifetimes, countless lifetimes... Shen Mu had no idea how many reincarnations he had experienced or how many long years he had spent in this environment.

However, outside, Shen Mu was only in a daze for a little over half a day. During that half day, the power of the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal was rapidly devoured by Shen Mu's soul.

It was indeed an incomparably precious treasure. Shen Mu's already extremely strong soul foundation had undergone another transformation.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a treasure found only once every tens of thousands of epochs; only a little over two hundred million have been created in the entire primordial universe to date. It may seem like a lot, but scattered throughout the entire universe, there are actually very few of them.

……

After a long while, in the silent palace, Shen Mu opened his eyes once more.

His once deep pupils were now filled with confusion as he stared blankly at the palace for a very long time.

Gradually, Shen Mu's bewildered eyes brightened, a faint radiance emanated from them, and his entire demeanor underwent a slight change.

Clear and bright, tranquil and peaceful.

"The Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal is actually this effective."

Shen Mu came to his senses and was greatly surprised by the effect of the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal, although there was no way to directly measure how much his soul and will had improved here.

However, Shen Mu could clearly sense that his thinking speed was several times faster than before, and his state of mind had also greatly improved.

Perhaps it can't compare to Brother Hong's all-encompassing heart, but it should be no less than Brother Er's childlike innocence.

In fact, Shen Mu was unaware that the effectiveness of the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal depended entirely on who the user was.

If it were an eternal being that had lived for hundreds of millions of years, it would have almost no effect on will and state of mind; the only effect might be to enhance the potential of the soul.

Generally speaking, if the enhancement from using the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal is even one-tenth of Shen Mu's, then the effect is considered outstanding. In some cases, using the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal can even have the opposite effect on people with extremely poor mental states, causing them to develop a split personality and become insane.

Shen Mu looked up and gazed at the end of the inheritance staircase, where there stood an ancient temple shrouded in endless divine light.

Above that ancient temple, a huge phantom could be faintly seen, sitting in the void, as if looking down at the starry sky that spans countless light-years.

Starting from the 6667th step, the demonic sounds echoing on the Inheritance Staircase became even more turbulent, and the power of illusion contained within them became even stronger.

However, for Shen Mu, whose mindset, will, and soul have all greatly improved, the pressure has been reduced countless times.

Although Shen Mu could not, like Hong, simply rely on his state of mind and will to withstand the pressure of consciousness at the level of a cosmic venerable and to easily seduce the illusions of the peak of immortality.

However, Shen Mu also has his own advantages. With the amplification of his mental power thousands of times, the powerful illusion resistance granted by the innate secret technique "Ten Thousand Spirits", and the exclusive magic sound resistance enhancement from the Golden Soul Fruit and the Nine-Colored Illusionary God Crystal.

This enchanting sound, capable of easily bewitching immortal gods, posed almost no challenge to Shen Mu.

Two years later, above the 8000th step.

"hold head high!"

"Waaah..."

Amidst the intertwining of fantastical and enchanting sounds, Shen Mu's eyes shone with a clear light as he gazed at the vast palace that had already emerged.

The illusionary power here is comparable to the illusions on the 17th island of the Illusionary Sea. Only an immortal powerhouse who has embarked on the path of the soul can withstand this kind of illusion.

Of course, this doesn't count as hanging on the wall like Hong.

Also in that year, Luo Feng sent an email indicating that he had reached his limit and ultimately stopped at over 4900 steps.

In the original story, Luo Feng only reached the limit at around 3300 steps. If he could advance another 200 or 300 steps, he could obtain the second-stage treasure ahead of time through the Demon Slayer Clan clone.

But now, with Shen Mu's guidance, Luo Feng did not deliberately pursue speed. Instead, he moved forward slowly, trying his best to temper his will through the demonic sound. He successfully obtained the treasure of the second stage, which is why he achieved a score of 4900.

After leaving Demon Mountain, Luo Feng continued to complete his cultivation tasks, while Shen Mu continued to receive the inheritance.

Time flies, and more than 600 days have passed. Shen Mu's mental power amplitude has increased by a full 1000 times, reaching the 9000th step of the inheritance ladder.

The bewitching power of the demonic sounds here is comparable to the illusions on the 20th island of the Illusionary Sea. Fortunately, the demonic sounds in this inheritance staircase do not have any pressure of consciousness, but are just pure illusions. Otherwise, Shen Mu would probably have had a hard time continuing.

Amidst the soaring and fervent chanting, Shen Mu walked step by step toward the highest point.

In this process, the will becomes more refined, and the soul core becomes clearer and more brilliant. The original faint multicolored glow has now transformed into a dazzling and radiant divine light.

If one were to enter Shen Mu's inner world, one would find that Shen Mu's soul core now resembles a dazzling five-colored star, hanging high in the sky.

As he approached his limit, Shen Mu's speed of progress slowed down.

Step 9071, step 9072... Shen Mu finally stopped at step 9104.

On the wide, black stone steps, Shen Mu gazed at the Temple of Inheritance, which was so close at hand.

"As expected, this is the limit."

Shen Mu's face was unusually pale, and the clear light in his eyes dimmed. The brilliant soul crystal core in his inner world no longer shone, having completely reached his limit.

There are ways to take it a step further.

The first method is to create a soulless clone, such as a Demon Slayer clone, and directly enter the final palace.

Over the years, Shen Mu has been collecting various unique biological materials, including those without souls.

Shen Mu's thought at the time was, what if we need it someday?

However, it takes several years, or even longer, to develop a clone.

Fortunately, Shen Mu had time. The inheritance of the Demonic Sound God General was different from that of the Purgatory God General. The power of the Demonic Sound Illusion here would not increase with time. Instead, the higher the level one reached, the greater the power of the Demonic Sound.

As for the other method, it is to break through to the Realm Lord level. Shen Mu's Azure Dragon clone has now reached the peak of the Domain Lord level and has begun to evolve towards the Realm Lord level.

Normally, it would take 5000 years to evolve before taking this step, but with the support of various resources, Shen Mu can now take the final step in about ten years at most.

After breaking through to the realm master level, the essence of the soul undergoes another transformation, and the resistance to illusions will naturally increase significantly, so there is still hope of breaking through.

"It takes time to develop an avatar, so I'd better break through to the World Lord level."

After making the decision, Shen Mu first sat cross-legged and mobilized his own primordial force to advance his Earthling self to the next level, breaking through to the Domain Lord level first.

With the experience of breaking through with the Azure Dragon clone and the Flame God Clan clone, Shen Mu's breakthrough speed was naturally very fast.

In just half an hour, a life core condensed within his body.

For almost all domain lords, the life core is the foundation of their lives; once it is destroyed, they die.

But Shen Mu is different. Shen Mu's Azure Dragon clone has a primordial core, while his Earth main body and his Yan God Clan clone each have a life core. The core of life lies in the primordial core that carries the soul.

……

On the very day Shen Mu broke through, the Virtual Universe Company discovered through the quantum computer Shen Mu wore that he had already reached the Domain Lord level and immediately contacted him.

Virtual universe, Yuxiang Mountain, primitive zone.

At Shen Mu's manor, two employees from the Virtual Universe Company arrived immediately and made contact with Shen Mu.

"Your Highness Shen Mu, according to regulations, we need to conduct a strength test on you in the real world to confirm that you have broken through to the Domain Lord level before we can upgrade your privileges."

A staff member bowed slightly to Shen Mu and explained the reason.

Shen Mu nodded slightly and said, "I understand. However, I am currently in the Demon Mountain and have encountered danger, so I broke through to the Domain Lord level directly and cannot conduct a test immediately."

The two employees naturally understood, but hoped that Shen Mu would cooperate with them for testing as soon as he left the Demon Mountain.

At the same time, Shen Mu also received an email from the virtual universe system, stating that breaking through to the Domain Lord level while completing the cultivation task would be considered as automatically abandoning the task.

Of course, Shen Mu didn't care much. The Demon Mountain mission, even with the extra rewards from Tianyu King, would only amount to a few million Chaos Units or Points at most.

Once you obtain the complete inheritance of the Demonic Sound God General, the rewards will be worth far more than just these points.

(End of this chapter)