Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 166 Breakthrough to the Cosmic Level

The journey from Bailan Star to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company takes a full three years.

The F-class spaceship sped through the dark universe, the scenery outside the window unchanging—endless darkness and the occasional flicker of light. Three years is neither a long nor a short time. For ordinary people, three years is enough to change many things; but for cultivators, three years is merely a fleeting moment in a long cultivation journey.

Lin Yun sat cross-legged in the spaceship's training room, his eyes closed, immersing his consciousness into two worlds simultaneously. He had already planned for these three years.

In the world of Swallowed Star, his true self needs to break through to the cosmic level before the end of his journey, and rise to a higher rank if possible. In the world of Panlong, his dark-elemental divine avatar has been stuck at the limit of the Saint Realm, only one step away from becoming a god. These three years are the perfect opportunity for a breakthrough.

The spaceship glided silently through the dark universe, and time passed day by day.

Panlong World, a miniature dimension.

The fluctuations of the seven elemental laws remained clear and intense, and the spatial turbulence outside the membrane churned eternally. Lin Yun's true form sat cross-legged on the stone bed, with his six divine avatars—thunder, fire, light, earth, water, and wind—floating beside him, their six-colored rays intertwining to form a dazzling halo.

The Dark God's avatar was not among them. It sat cross-legged in another corner of the miniature plane, surrounded by dense black mist. Fragments of the Dark Laws swirled around it, like black rivers, deep and mysterious.

The Dark Law is the most mysterious and elusive of the seven laws. It is not as violent as the Lightning Law, as fiery as the Fire Law, or as pure as the Light Law. Instead, it is like the night, profound, reserved, and unpredictable.

Lin Yun's comprehension of the Dark Laws has always been rapid. From the initial introduction to the later in-depth study, and now to the limit of the Saint Realm, every step has been solid. However, the opportunity to become a god through the Dark Laws has yet to arrive.

"Almost there," Lin Yun thought to himself.

He completely immersed his consciousness into his dark-elemental divine avatar, sensing the fragments of dark-elemental laws flowing around him. The black fragments shimmered in his perception like stars in the night sky. He tried to grasp the patterns within them, searching for that final opportunity for a breakthrough.

Time passed day by day.

In the miniature plane, there was no day or night, only eternal spatial turbulence and fluctuations of laws. Lin Yun forgot the passage of time, immersed in comprehending the laws of darkness.

What is the essence of the Dark element?

It is not darkness, not shadow, not evil. The core of the Dark Law is "devouring" and "transformation." Darkness is not the opposite of light, but rather another form of light. Darkness is created when light is absorbed. The essence of the Dark Law is the transformation and circulation of energy.

A sudden realization dawned on Lin Yun.

He raised the right hand of his dark god avatar, and a ball of black light condensed in his palm. That light was not pure darkness, but contained a profound, invisible power. He gently pushed out the black light, and it flew out silently, striking the membrane of the miniature plane.

The diaphragm trembled slightly, then returned to calm.

Lin Yun's eyes lit up. The power of that attack had already surpassed the realm of the Saintly Domain. The thin veil separating the Dark Element Laws had finally been pierced.

"Buzz—"

A vast, soul-shaking power suddenly descended, completely engulfing the dark god's avatar. The dark elements of heaven and earth frantically gathered, compressed, and swirled above its head. Black light condensed in the void, like a black sun.

A moment later, a black crystal emitting a black light floated above the head of the dark god's avatar—the divine spark of a lower-level dark god.

The soul is divided in two.

The excruciating pain struck, but Lin Yun had already endured it six times before, gritting his teeth and pulling through. A new divine avatar was born—clad in a black robe, radiating a profound dark aura.

A lower god of the dark system.

Thus, in the Panlong world, the seven great laws—earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, light, and darkness—have all become gods. Seven divine avatars, seven laws, and seven independent souls cultivate simultaneously.

Lin Yun opened his eyes and let out a long breath. Years of hard work had finally come to an end. It had taken him several years to go from becoming a god of lightning to a god of darkness. His seven divine avatars had each taken a solid step forward.

"The rules of life and the rules of death are still missing," Lin Yun thought to himself.

Regarding the Law of Life, he was still at the Saintly Realm's limit, only one step away from becoming a god. His progress with the Law of Death was relatively slower, still some distance from godhood. However, he wasn't in a hurry. Having already achieved godhood with all seven laws, he could now focus on comprehending the Laws of Life and Death.

At the very moment that the Dark Element became a god, in another dimension of the Devouring Star World, Lin Yun's other body also felt the feedback energy from the small cauldron.

In the training room of an F-class spaceship in the world of Swallowed Star.

Lin Yun's true form hovered cross-legged in mid-air, his body devoid of any radiance. His aura was extremely restrained, as if he had merged with the surrounding world. But at this moment, a massive amount of energy was surging forth from his body.

The feedback energy from his ascension to godhood in the dark realm surged into his body like a tidal wave, impacting the invisible barrier. His martial arts cultivation and mental power had remained at the peak of the ninth rank of the Hengxing level, waiting for this very moment.

"boom--"

Something seemed to explode in his mind. Lin Yun's body shuddered violently, and a powerful aura erupted from him, causing the items in the cultivation room to scatter.

Cosmic level.

His martial arts cultivation and mental power simultaneously broke through the bottleneck of the ninth level of the Hengxing level and stepped into the first level of the Universe level.

"Finally, I've broken through." Lin Yun opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him. The cosmic-level genetic energy was ten times stronger in both quality and quantity than that of a star-level being. His physical attributes were comprehensively enhanced; strength, speed, reaction time, and recovery abilities all reached a new level.

More importantly, his three clones—the Golden Horned Beast clone, the Tree of Life clone, and the Time-Space Nightmare Beast clone—all sensed their main body's breakthrough at the same moment. They had already reached the peak of the ninth rank of the Constant Star level, and were only waiting for their main body to break through so that they could advance in sync.

However, the cultivation level of the clones cannot exceed that of the main body. Therefore, they can only simultaneously advance to the first level of the cosmic level, and then continue to grow together with the main body.

Inside the underwater base on Earth, the Golden Horned Beast's avatar curled up in the center, its body covered in jet-black scales with golden markings flowing across them. A massive surge of energy entered its body, and its aura began to rise, breaking through from the ninth level of the Hengxing level to the first level of the Universe level. Its body, originally several hundred meters long, expanded to over a kilometer in the blink of an eye.

The Life Tree avatar took root in the soil of the Primal Core World, its canopy thousands of meters high blotting out the sun. Its cultivation level also rose in tandem, breaking through from the ninth rank of the Constant Star level to the first rank of the Universe level.

The Time-Space Nightmare Beast's avatar hovered beneath the canopy of the Tree of Life, its golden and silver scales shimmering in the fluorescent light. Its cultivation had also broken through from the ninth rank of the Constant Star level to the first rank of the Universe level.

Three years is enough time for them to advance from the first tier of the cosmic level to the ninth tier. Lin Yun had already prepared the Super Evolution Chamber—a special device that can accelerate cultivation, speeding up the evolution of his main body and greatly increasing cultivation speed. At the same time, he purchased a large amount of resources from the Virtual Universe Company's treasury, which were allocated to his three clones.

"By the end of the trip, all three clones should have reached the ninth level of the Universe level," Lin Yun thought to himself. "Adding the main body's ninth level of the Universe level, that's four ninth-level Universe level combatants. Such strength is quite good among the core members of the Virtual Universe Company."

He stood up, took out the super evolution chamber from his spatial ring, and placed it in the training room. The evolution chamber was an oval-shaped metal capsule, with just enough space to accommodate one person. The walls were covered with fine energy patterns that emitted a faint glow.

Lin Yun stepped into the evolution chamber, and the hatch closed. The evolution chamber began to operate, and a gentle energy flowed from the chamber walls, enveloping his body. He could feel that the energy was accelerating his cultivation speed, allowing his genetic energy to accumulate more quickly.

"At this rate, reaching the ninth level of the cosmic level within three years should not be a problem." Lin Yun nodded in satisfaction.

He switched his consciousness to the Panlong World and continued his cultivation.

Within the miniature plane, seven divine avatars were cultivating simultaneously. Fragments of the seven elements—lightning, fire, light, earth, water, wind, and darkness—flowed around him like seven rivers of different colors, converging into a vast ocean.

The fusion of the lightning speed and lightning explosion of the lightning god's avatar has entered its final stage, just one step away from complete fusion. Once completed, the lightning god's avatar will be able to step into the realm of a mid-level god.

The fire-elemental god avatar has fully comprehended the profound mysteries of fire element, and the mysteries of explosion are nearing perfection. The light-elemental god avatar has fully comprehended the speed of light, and the mysteries of refraction are also nearing perfection. The other elemental god avatars are also making steady progress.

Seven divine avatars cultivate simultaneously. Their efficiency is seven times that of an ordinary person.

Lin Yun was so engrossed in the moment that he forgot the passage of time.

The spaceship continued its journey in the dark universe.

Three months later, with the assistance of the super evolution chamber, the main body broke through to the second level of the cosmic level, and the three clones broke through at the same time.

Six months later, the main body broke through to the third level of the cosmic level, and the clone synchronized.

A year later, the main body broke through to the fourth level of the cosmic level, and the clone synchronized.

A year and a half later, the original body broke through to the fifth level of the universe level.

Two years later, the original body broke through to the sixth level of the cosmic level.

Three years later, as the journey was nearing its end, the main body reached the seventh rank of the Universe level. The three clones also simultaneously reached the seventh rank of the Universe level. This was a significant deviation from his anticipated goal of reaching the ninth rank of the Universe level within three years. The reason for this deviation was naturally that Lin Yun's life gene level was a hundred times higher, and the energy required for evolution far exceeded that of ordinary people. The energy sufficient for an ordinary person to evolve to the peak of the ninth rank of the Universe level was only enough for him to easily break through to the seventh rank!

Despite the setback, Lin Yun was not discouraged at all, because his understanding of the secret technique had improved rapidly over the past three years.

In the treasure trove of the Virtual Universe Company, he found a secret technique that captivated him—"Tianxu".

The author of this secret technique was Kodi, a peerless genius who appeared only once every tens of millions of epochs and a direct disciple of the Lord of Chaos City. Kodi had successively conquered the Tongtian Mountain, which was at the cosmic, domain lord, and world lord levels in Chaos City, making him one of the most dazzling geniuses in the history of the Virtual Universe Company. He was studying the "Cosmic Chaos Stele," and "Tianxu" was a secret technique he created based on the first three diagrams of the "Cosmic Chaos Stele."

The Cosmic Chaos Stele is one of the most core inheritances of Chaos City, containing the supreme secrets of the fundamental laws of spacetime fusion in the universe. It is the most difficult of the 52 Chaos Steles in Chaos City to comprehend, and Lin Yun's goal is precisely to comprehend the Cosmic Chaos Stele, as directly comprehending it would be too difficult. Through the secret technique of "Heavenly Ruins," he can lay a solid foundation for his future comprehension of the Cosmic Chaos Stele.

Cordi expressed the mysteries in the first three images of the "Cosmic Chaos Monument" in the form of esoteric methods.

The first image contains the essence of nine fundamental laws of space and nine fundamental laws of time, which Kodi elucidates using 18 secret methods. By learning these methods, one can naturally perceive those 18 essences.

The second image contains the essence of 27 fundamental laws of space and 27 fundamental laws of time, which are explained using 54 secret methods.

The third image contains the essence of 72 fundamental laws of space and 72 fundamental laws of time, which are explained using 144 secret methods.

The entire "Tianxu" contains a total of 216 secret techniques, including sword techniques, movement techniques, defensive techniques, and so on, covering a wide range of topics.

The exchange price for "Tianxu" was 10000 points. For Lin Yun, who had 10 points, this amount was nothing. He exchanged for the complete set of secret techniques without hesitation, including detailed text explanations, cultivation diagrams, and accompanying video demonstrations.

At this moment, in the training room of the spaceship, Lin Yun unfolded the "Heavenly Ruins" secret technique and began to study it carefully.

The first secret technique in "Tianxu" is a movement technique called "Void Step". The core of this movement technique is to initially integrate the laws of time and space, creating a "void folding" effect when moving, allowing the user to reach the ultimate speed.

Lin Yun closed his eyes, immersing his consciousness into the Time-Space Nightmare Beast clone, and began to attempt cultivation.

The Time-Space Nightmare Beast's avatar hovered beneath the canopy of the Tree of Life, its golden and silver scales emitting a faint glow. Its golden eyes could influence space, its silver eyes could influence time, and when both eyes were used simultaneously, they could form a spacetime domain. This was precisely the best vessel for cultivating the "Heavenly Ruins."

Lin Yun activated his Time-Space Nightmare Beast clone and, following the guidance of the first secret technique of "Heavenly Ruins," began to attempt to fuse the laws of time and space.

Golden light surged from golden eyes, and silver light from silver eyes, the two lights intertwining before them, attempting to merge. But the moment they made contact, the two lights repelled each other and bounced away.

"No." Lin Yun shook his head. "The fusion of time and space is more difficult than imagined."

He didn't give up and kept trying. Once, twice, three times... ten times, twenty times, thirty times...

After each failure, he would carefully analyze the reasons, find the problem, and then improve in the next attempt. His talent as a Time-Space Nightmare Beast clone gave him a perception of time and space far beyond that of ordinary people, but even so, the fusion process was still difficult.

A month later, the golden and silver light finally began to merge, no longer repelling each other. Although it was only a preliminary merging, and there was still a long way to go before true fusion, it at least proved that the direction was correct.

"The first secret technique of 'Tianxu' requires the initial integration of the laws of time and space," Lin Yun thought to himself. "At this rate, I should be able to get to the basics within three years."

He continued his cultivation while also keeping an eye on Luo Feng's situation.

On this day, Lin Yun contacted Luo Feng in the virtual universe.

Luo Feng was cultivating in his manor in the Taichu District when he heard Lin Yun's communication request and immediately answered it.

"Lin Yun, what's up?" Luo Feng's voice came through the communicator.

"Luo Feng, what are your current points?" Lin Yun asked.

Luo Feng paused for a moment, then said, "10000 points. Third place in the Genius Battle, entering the Primordial Secret Realm, rewarded with 10000 points. What's wrong?"

"Go to the treasure vault and find a secret technique called 'Blood Flow'," Lin Yun said. "It costs 800 points. Exchange it and study it carefully. It's very important to you."

Luo Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "Bloodstained? How did you hear that?"

"Don't worry about where I know this," Lin Yun smiled. "Just trust me. It'll be very useful once we get to Chaos City."

"Of course I believe you," Luo Feng said. "Then I'll go exchange it right away." Under Babata's instigation, Luo Feng was almost prepared to spend his points to buy the "Seven Deadly Blades of Shadow" and a series of Shadow Secret Techniques. After listening to Lin Yun's advice, he exchanged for "Blood Floating" without saying a word. This was the trust between the two of them over the years, without any other reason.

Lin Yun leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief. In the original story, Luo Feng, at Babata's instigation, had spent all 10,000 points before even reaching Chaos City, resulting in him not being able to purchase the novel "Bloodstained" recommended by True King Zhenyan, wasting a lot of time. In this life, with his reminder, Luo Feng should not make the same mistake again.

"Luo Feng's path is much smoother than in the original story," Lin Yun thought to himself. "However, he still has to walk his own path."

He closed his eyes again, immersing his consciousness into the Time-Space Nightmare Beast clone, and continued cultivating the "Heavenly Ruins".

Time passed day by day.

The spaceship continued its journey through the dark universe, getting closer and closer to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company.

Three years later.

The spaceship finally left the dark universe, and a vast star field appeared ahead.

We've arrived at the headquarters of Virtual Universe Company.