Chapter 186: The Highest Merit Mission!
The Primordial Thunder God stood imposingly at the very center of the thunder pool.
Raising his colossal axe, he casually swung it through the space around him. Blinding arcs of electricity burst from the blade, tearing open a pitch-black rift in the fabric of space.
A terrifying suction force surged out from within.
The crack grew larger, stretching outward until it rounded into a gaping void, resembling a black hole.
Inside this thunder pool—transformed from an entire universe—all the raging lightning poured madly into that "black hole."
Earth.
Sharing the senses of his silver-clad divine avatar, Jiang Zhe watched the "black hole" with an almost intoxicated gaze.
He muttered under his breath, "A black hole... but behind it lies the newly forged origin space of this universe. That's where I went to choose my ultimate innate secret art. It still feels vivid in my memory."
Countless chaos streams, dyed with crackling lightning, flooded into the universe's origin space. Immediately, the membrane of the universe generated new streams of chaos energy, transforming them into thunder infused with the mysteries of life, perfectly filling the void.
Inhale. Exhale. A flawless cycle—achieving perfect balance.
The silver-robed Jiang Zhe controlled the pace of this universe's creation, indifferent to everything else happening around him.
He understood well: if not for the vast reserves of primal essence naturally contained in the god crystal—essence that had been shattered, purified, and reshaped by the supreme laws into this "cosmic embryo"—he would've been forced out of the original universe by now, wandering the sea of universes to absorb chaos streams and painstakingly accumulate energy to complete this creation.
Of course, even the god crystal's energy wasn't infinite. Sooner or later, he would face that predicament.
But that was a concern for the future, not now.
Gradually, as the origin space absorbed enough energy, the fissure that had become a "black hole" lost its frenzied hunger. It transformed into a calm, stable vortex, densely laced with dancing arcs of electricity across its surface.
For the record—that Primordial Thunder God? Just one of Jiang Zhe's little amusements.
That lightning vortex was actually a door. Beyond it lay the universe's origin space, the "source" of this universe.
More precisely, it should be called the "Source of the Thunder Universe."
After all, this new universe Jiang Zhe had opened contained only the law of thunder as its foundational rule—essentially a thunder god kingdom wearing the skin of a "universe."
Nothing hard to understand.
If this silver-clad avatar's very first attempt at cultivating Primordial Evolution could already resemble a miniature universe of a true deity, then Jiang Zhe's true body would be a master of all ten fundamental laws, just one step shy of kicking open the door to becoming a "True God."
The evolution of this "Thunder Universe" continued—
Within the origin space beyond the lightning vortex, a void vortex took form.
This was the birth of a "Monad"—the universe's most primitive kernel. The very foundation of its structure was now in place.
A dark purple void vortex spun at the center, representing "life," yet paradoxically radiating an aura of "destruction."
It began spewing out countless specks of light.
Each light was reminiscent of those Jiang Zhe had seen when he received the inheritance of Divine Kingdom in the Palm within the original universe's source.
Endless, mighty specks of light subtly divided into one hundred thousand factions.
In the origin space, these hundred thousand factions revolved around the central void vortex.
"'From the first monad, a hundred thousand heavens?'"
Yes—and no.
That was a crude prototype of cosmic architecture once grasped by Luo Feng.
A fortunate accident.
He'd derived it using the "Beast World Life Structure Diagram," inadvertently creating a top-tier architecture that perfectly aligned with the structure of the original universe.
The complete structure of an original universe was:
"From the first monad, a hundred thousand heavens bloom into endless space!"
Those points of light in the hundred thousand factions resonated faintly with the universe outside the lightning vortex, spurring the birth of countless planar spaces—exactly one hundred thousand in total. Around each of these, infinite expanses gathered and formed.
Thus, the architecture of this new original universe was fully realized.
Jiang Zhe's silver avatar peered inward at the universe now birthed within his body. It was no longer a formless chaos. The entire "Thunder Universe" shone with hazy purple light, surrounded by endless currents. Occasional storms of lightning surged restlessly, propelling its ongoing evolution.
This was precisely the stage mirroring the newborn state of any universe.
Wherever the eye fell, there was vigorous vitality.
Sectors of stars, mysterious realms of the universe, barren starfields, primal worlds…
All of them would gradually emerge over the ages.
Although this universe contained only the law of thunder, it would still imitate the original universe: birth, evolution, operation, decay, destruction… completing a full cycle.
And ultimately, during the final great collapse, this "Thunder Original Universe" would be annihilated—marking the completion of a full cultivation cycle of Primordial Evolution.
It was a painstaking process, not something that could be rushed.
During this time, each stage of the Thunder Universe's evolution would feed back into the silver avatar, refining his divine body and boosting his strength.
Jiang Zhe carefully sensed these changes, frowning slightly as he analyzed.
"For me, there are no longer realms like immortal, sovereign, or universe master. My level is simply the progress of Primordial Evolution, until I've fully created an original universe."
"By then… my enlightenment in the Dao might be equivalent to a Chaos Overlord? Hard to say. But my combat power will definitely reach God King level—that much is certain. As for my comprehension of laws… who knows?"
"After all, an original universe only governs the source of life itself. It's not the ultimate level of the Dao of Life."
"Forget it. I'm still too low level now—not the time to think about that."
"But what about the road ahead? I should have a plan…"
Jiang Zhe pondered quietly. "When I finish cultivating Primordial Evolution, how will I continue? Should I switch paths and become a practitioner lord?"
He suddenly smacked his forehead. "Wait—don't I have the potential to become a naturally-born Hunyuan lifeform?"
His abrupt action drew the gaze of the massive Destruction Beast.
Jiang Zhe quickly pushed those thoughts aside and said, "Boss, can I leave for a while? There are some things I need to handle."
The Destruction Beast didn't press for details, merely asked, "Will you return?"
"Of course I will! Didn't we agree to go find the Starry Sky Beast Alliance together?"
That was half a truth.
Jiang Zhe certainly wasn't planning to run away. He was still eyeing the secrets of the Silent Wind Belt.
If he really wanted to leave, his true body could've pulled his life crystal back to the "revival point" via the eerie face scar on the ancient tree trunk long ago.
"Go then. Be careful. Don't enter the Silent Wind Belt, or you'll die for sure."
"I know."
With that, Jiang Zhe's silver avatar flew out of the underground palace. Boarding a mechanical clan ship, he burst through the planet's surface and slipped into the dark universe, disappearing into hyperspace.
"Hmph! If you run off, I'll just have to go to your lair to find you," a smoky female voice snorted softly in the palace.
"A third avatar… and it's one with a maximum limit of a thousandfold life gene level!"
"I really don't want to miss out on that."
A few thousand light-years from the Silent Wind Belt, in a desolate starfield.
A flash of brilliance lit up the dark void.
A silver, pyramid-shaped ship appeared out of nowhere and hovered silently.
With a crisp hiss, the hatch opened, and a silver-clad figure flew out, stowing the ship away.
"Time to begin."
"By feeding my body with the universe inside me, I'll complete the forging of my divine form—a leap in the essence of life itself!"
As he spoke, Jiang Zhe's silver form disintegrated.
Left behind was a swirling, chaotic crystal nucleus etched with countless dark-gold secret markings. Flickering lights pulsed across it, as if the runes had come alive.
This spectacle meant Jiang Zhe was activating his innate secret art—[Source].
A benefit his old buddy Primordial had gifted him when he was first born.
—His life crystal could link directly to the universe's origin, drawing an endless supply of divine power!
Instantly, the life crystal connected to the "Sea of Thunder Laws" in the origin realm. Thunder's source laws descended, enveloping this desolate starfield.
Rumble—
Infinite divine power of thunder poured down like a heavenly river, flooding the life crystal, which devoured it all.
Within, the universe also sent feedback, driving the chaotic life crystal into a metamorphosis, elevating its very essence.
Two forces worked in tandem.
One shaping its outer form, the other enhancing its core essence, together forging a brand new divine body.
A long while later—
The life crystal abruptly spewed chaotic streams, which intertwined and solidified into an immense serpentine form that blotted out the sky.
Silvery, coiled upon itself with tail and head meeting, it hovered there in a massive cluster.
A faint divine mist shrouded the colossal snake, draping it in an ethereal veil that made it seem all the more mysterious.
Its size was unfathomable—occupying nearly a full light-year of space.
Such an enormous serpent. Such an enormous divine body. Enough to make any lifeform in the original universe, aside from the Nine Nether Lord, burn with envy.
The Eternal Serpent's scarlet, detached eyes swept across its divine form, showing little surprise. If anything, he thought it a bit small.
After all, a True God's miniature universe typically spanned 100 million light-years. With a "Thunder Original Universe" housed in his crystal, shouldn't his size be even greater?
Though larger form meant harder movement—just look at the Nine Nether Lord and Luo Feng, who turned themselves into seas and got stuck in one region forever.
"Fortunately, I'm an energy-based lifeform. My innate structure is special. I can reshape my divine body however I like."
So saying, the vast serpent form collapsed into swirling chaos streams. Some flowed back into the life crystal, while the rest condensed into the familiar figure of "Silver-Clad Jiang Zhe."
He clenched his fist, sensing the tremendous power in his new vessel.
"No, I shouldn't call this a 'body' anymore—it's a 'divine body' now."
"And not like the divine bodies of immortals, sovereigns, or universe masters. This is near-True God level. No matter how much I burn it, my strength won't drop—my internal universe replenishes any consumption instantly."
"Under normal conditions, this divine body has… roughly the power of two million world lords?"
"That's a bit low, isn't it?"
He grumbled, then slowly relaxed his frown.
"Oh well… it's only the beginning. As my 'Thunder Original Universe' evolves, the quality of my divine body and the divine power it contains will steadily rise."
"But… odd. Why didn't the modifications from Ninefold Xuan Crystal Body convert into divine body amplification? Seems this divine body doesn't support that technique at all?"
Jiang Zhe experimented for a while.
Ultimately he confirmed—he simply couldn't cultivate[Divine Body Amplification]with this form.
He quickly settled down.
"After all, [Divine Body Amplification]is just a technique. Almost all universe overlords train it to the limit, but at the universe master stage, it doesn't even exist as a concept…"
"Wait!"
"My divine body is incredibly perfect, almost equivalent to a 'True God's divine body.' Maybe it's already inherently maxed out on amplification?"
Jiang Zhe pondered for a long time, but still couldn't be certain.
"Whatever. I can't practice [Divine Power Amplification], but so what? I'm not even on the standard cultivation path anymore."
"It doesn't matter much."
"All I need to remember is that I now have two million times the strength of a world lord, plus I can still burn my divine body to boost my power. That's enough!"
Having resolved everything, Jiang Zhe boarded his mechanical ship and began the return journey.
This trip had been solely to complete his divine body transformation.
Earth. North America. Miami Beach.
"Hmm? Does my silver avatar have the potential to become a naturally-born Hunyuan lifeform? Maybe I won't pursue being a practitioner lord—maybe I'll aim for Hunyuan Ancestor instead?"
Lounging on a beach chair in colorful swim trunks, sunglasses perched on his nose, Jiang Zhe suddenly had this whimsical thought.
"Darling, help me put on some sunscreen."
He peeked over his glasses at the snow-haired Jolin who'd just made the request.
A fire-element genetic martial artist, afraid of UV rays?
Of course she was!
"Coming, coming," Jiang Zhe called back.
With a playful flip, he hopped off the chair and went to enjoy some blissful time.
His true body could stay on Earth and spend quality time with his family precisely because someone else was carrying the burdens.
The Candlelight Jiang Zhe: "…"
The Demon Jiang Zhe: "…"
The Silver Jiang Zhe: "…"
Soon, on April 22, 2295 by the Hanxia calendar.
He'd already been back on Earth for over ten years.
During that time, the Virtual Universe Company still hadn't sent him any missions.
Jiang Zhe was perfectly content, devoting himself to comprehending the lower-level source laws.
Finally, on this day—
The primal core inside him trembled violently, linking to the ocean of earth source laws, and he completely mastered the earth origin law.
Once the shaking subsided, the primal core quickly returned to calm.
Clearly, mastering two lower source laws still couldn't shatter his core. He would need to rely on crafting an ultimate secret technique to violently break it open.
That evening.
"Beep!" "Beep!" "Beeeeep—"
"Mail?" Jiang Zhe raised an eyebrow. "That notification sound means…"
Orianna said, "Yes, Master. You've received a mission."
Inside the virtual universe, in the study of his stilted bamboo house, a light screen appeared before Jiang Zhe.
Subject line—[Domain Lord Class—Highest Merit Mission]!
"Jumping straight to the biggest one?"
He muttered to himself, then clicked on the mail.
Mail contents—
"This is the highest merit mission for a member of the Primal Secret Area (Domain Lord class; exclusive to Jiang Zhe). The entire mission consists of only a single stage.
Completing it guarantees a base 100% completion rate, with a reward of one billion merit points. However, the mission completion rate can exceed 100%, and for every additional 100%, another billion points will be awarded, up to a cap of one hundred billion. The task executor—Jiang Zhe—is encouraged to maximize completion as much as possible!"
Jiang Zhe: (ー`ー)
That bizarre wording gave him a bad feeling. He quickly clicked the attachment to see the full details of this highest merit mission.
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