A Fruitful Return

"Plenty? That's too extravagant." Luo Feng sensed the immense wealth in Babata's tone. "Luo Feng, it's not that I'm criticizing you! As the sole successor of the Yunmo Star Master, you need to broaden your horizons and stop looking at things from the perspective of an ordinary Earthling." Babata said, displeased. "If Master were still alive, your status as his only successor would be higher than that of the Silverblue Empire's emperor! Look across the vast cosmos, which disciple of an undying expert isn't nurtured with countless treasures?" "You must understand!" "Out of 1,000 galaxies, only one Realm Lord emerges through normal evolution!" "Therefore, to become a Realm Lord with 100% certainty, you must surpass others from the very beginning. Your starting point is already very low. What's the big deal about using Muya Jing? Compared to the disciples of other undying experts, your treatment might even be considerably worse." Babata had traversed the cosmos with the Yunmo Star Master for tens of millions of years, so its perspective was incredibly vast. Luo Feng: "I understand." "Good." Babata continued, "For your energy cultivation, you rely on 'Muya Jing'. For your planetary-level defensive combat armor, your teacher also prepared the 'Black God Suit' for you. Since you already have it, that's fine! Also... I have a Moyun Vine seedling over there. It can be used for defense, or to attack enemies. It's the best companion." "Moyun Vine?" Luo Feng had heard that name before, during a conversation between Hong and Lei Shen. "The Moyun Vine is an extremely popular plant lifeform in the cosmos, highly favored by powerful individuals and their disciples," Babata explained. "During its cultivation, the Moyun Vine can continuously evolve and grow stronger. There are many evolutionary paths for the Moyun Vine, mainly related to the various treasures it can absorb." "If it were on Earth, only absorbing cosmic energy, it would at most reach the strength of a planetary-level Tier 7 or 8." "But if you feed it countless Muya Jing, it can 100% grow to the 'Cosmic Tier'," Babata's eyes gleamed. "Over half of Master's wealth was spent cultivating his Moyun Vine, and that Moyun Vine... eventually grew to become 'undying'. Master relied on the Moyun Vine to escape numerous calamities. It was only the last time, when the enemy was too strong... that the Moyun Vine also perished." "Over half his wealth?" Luo Feng couldn't imagine. How astonishing would over half the wealth of a peerless expert, who commanded nine undying expert servants, be? Logically, this 'Yunmo Star' vessel was already incredibly expensive. But it was clearly only a small fraction of the Yunmo Star Master's wealth. "Babata, how much Muya Jing do we have here? Is it enough for the Moyun Vine to grow to the Cosmic Tier?" Luo Feng pressed. "Dream on!" "Cosmic Tier! That would require an immeasurable amount of Muya Jing, practically countless!" Babata shook its head repeatedly. "It's enough for your cultivation, but the Muya Jing I have here is only enough for you to reach the 'Star-level'. For a glutton like the Moyun Vine, it's absolutely not enough. Don't worry, I'll tell you how to cultivate the Moyun Vine later. There are many cultivation paths for it. Knowing the method is easy; having the countless treasures for cultivation, that's the hard part." Luo Feng listened carefully. "Master also left you a mental-force weapon, suitable for planetary-level use. It's called the 'Arc Blade Disc'. However, it's also a basic weapon, quite similar to your 'Duntiansuo'. You can decide later which weapon you want to use." Babata revealed a slight smile. "The Duntiansuo and Arc Blade Disc are secondary. In fact, your strongest weapon right now is the edge fragment of the spaceship." Luo Feng nodded. He naturally understood that the fragment was made of a material even undying experts found hard to destroy. Its value was obvious, even with eyes closed. "Luo Feng, listen carefully." Babata's small face turned serious. "This concerns your life." "Huh?" Luo Feng was startled. "The material of this fragment is extremely precious. Sector Lords would go crazy trying to snatch it, and while Realm Lords wouldn't go berserk, they'd still covet it," Babata explained. "Once a knowledgeable expert sees it, taking the fragment is a minor issue. They might even kill you to see if you have other treasures, and that would be truly tragic." Luo Feng's heart trembled. Good heavens. Something a Sector Lord would go crazy to snatch? Just this fragment? "Don't worry, very few Sector Lords or Realm Lords recognize 'Crimson-Mixed Copper Mother'. Moreover, you're in the Milky Way Galaxy. If you actually encounter a Sector Lord, you might as well buy a lottery ticket," Babata joked. "Later, we'll figure out a way to alter the appearance of this Crimson-Mixed Copper Mother. Even a Realm Lord who knows about 'Crimson-Mixed Copper Mother' probably wouldn't recognize it then." Luo Feng nodded. It's hard to even encounter a Sector Lord in the Milky Way Galaxy, so what's there to fear? "Alright, Master, what he prepared for you at the planetary level includes the defensive 'Black God Suit', the offensive 'Arc Blade Disc', 'Muya Jing' for cultivation energy, a 'space ring' for storage, and his most important cultivation legacy," Babata said. "These are for you at the planetary level." "That's it?" Luo Feng looked at Babata. "Yes." Babata nodded. "When you're weak, carrying a pile of treasures is asking for death. Therefore, Master left you three accounts at the 'Cosmic River Bank', which you can access at the Star-level, Cosmic Tier, and Sector Lord level, respectively. Once you reach the Sector Lord level, you'll be a local emperor, able to claim that immense wealth and numerous treasures." Luo Feng nodded slightly. This fallen teacher's preparations were indeed meticulous, even leaving him three accounts. "What suits you is what's best." "Many treasures you wouldn't be able to use even if you got them, and holding onto them would only invite trouble," Babata said. ... Deep within the Yunmo Star vessel, over 15,000 meters underground. Luo Feng was quite satisfied with these gains. Although not terrifyingly abundant, everything the Yunmo Star Master left behind was incredibly useful. From offensive weapons, defensive combat armor, cultivation energy, storage items, the combat companion 'Moyun Vine', and even cultivation methods—everything was prepared! "Luo Feng, these corpses are actually the priceless treasures," the black-robed Babata said, staring at the bodies. "These are the corpses of undying experts! This is immense wealth that would drive Realm Lords mad." "Oh?" Luo Feng looked at the corpses on the ground. Of the four undying expert corpses before him, one resembled an Earth human, while the others belonged to different human races. The fifth undying expert was even from the Machine Race. "However, if you dare to take out an undying expert's corpse now, you're asking for death. Besides, you don't have the ability to utilize these corpses. Just put them away for now. We'll see about them later," Babata said. "Understood." Luo Feng's mind stirred. An invisible, strange power enveloped the surroundings, quickly collecting the five undying expert corpses. Only a golden skeleton remained in the hall. "Your senior brother's skeleton. A Realm Lord's bones are considered valuable, but he is your senior brother after all... When you leave Earth, you can either cast his bones into the vast cosmos, allowing him to return to the starry sky, or find a hidden place to bury him." Babata looked at the golden skeleton, a complex expression on its small face. Back when it followed the Yunmo Star Master across the cosmos, it often bullied Master's disciples. Now... Master was dead, Yunmo Star destroyed, and that once-shining, immense power had vanished like smoke! Although Babata still spoke with such arrogance, it knew very well... it was now just an intelligent lifeform, a virtual existence with no combat power. Its only pride lay in its knowledge and experience. So it understood... For Luo Feng, without the protection of a teacher, senior brother, or elders, the path to becoming a powerful expert would be very difficult. He needed to be extremely cautious! ... Including the corpse in the entrance passage, all six undying expert corpses and the senior brother's skeleton were stored in the space ring. Spaceship entrance. The black-robed child and a young man stood there. "This Yunmo Star vessel is severely damaged and can no longer take off," Babata said, shaking its head. "To repair a spaceship of the Yunmo Star's caliber, not even the entire Silverblue Empire has the capability. Perhaps the Black Dragon Mountain Empire might." "Damaged, no energy?" Luo Feng asked. "The spaceship's own energy is depleted, but I have reserve energy in my storage space," Babata shook its head. "The main issue is that some internal systems of the spaceship are severely damaged, and the self-repair system can't fix them. Luo Feng—I am currently a virtual entity, so to leave with you, I must rely on an artifact." Babata flipped its hand, and a black wristband appeared. "This wristband is common in the cosmos, not particularly valuable. However, inside the left wristband, there's a crystal core. This is my temporary dwelling for my intelligent lifeform, and this crystal core also has storage space. A large quantity of Muya Jing, the Arc Blade Disc, and other items are inside, currently under my safekeeping for you," Babata said, looking at Luo Feng. Luo Feng nodded. Babata would effectively be his acting teacher from now on. "Put them on," Babata said. Luo Feng immediately put on the wristband, and the black-robed child 'Babata' smiled at Luo Feng, then vanished as if a soap bubble had burst. "Whoosh!" Luo Feng, who had been standing at the spaceship's entrance, felt his body shake. Boom! The massive Yunmo Star vessel vanished directly, creating a huge void that caused a large amount of rock to fall. Luo Feng, clad in black robes, quickly used his mental force to push back the surroundings, preventing the rocks from getting close. "Luo Feng." A clear child's voice echoed in Luo Feng's mind. "Ah?" Luo Feng jumped in fright. "Why are you surprised? True intelligences communicate with their masters through consciousness!" Babata said proudly. "You can throw away that auxiliary optical computer of yours now. That trash—I have all its functions, and I'm tens of millions of times stronger. Moreover, in the future, you won't need to wear a helmet to enter virtual space; that's a very primitive method." "In the cosmos, those with status have auxiliary optical computers, consciousness sensors, life managers, and many other systems all integrated into one," Babata explained. "If you want to speak with me, just connect a wisp of mental force to the wristband's core crystal, and you can communicate with me through consciousness." Luo Feng immediately tried. The wristband didn't block Luo Feng's mental force at all; it had clearly recognized him as its master. As his mental force penetrated and touched the crystal core... Luo Feng seemed to 'see' the black-robed child Babata sitting on a palace throne within the crystal core. Babata even grinned at Luo Feng, revealing two cute fangs. "You mean I can enter the War God Palace's virtual space?" Luo Feng asked. "Of course. I can let you enter your 'War God Palace', and I can also let you enter the personal virtual space I, Babata, have created for you," Babata said proudly. "Your Earth's War God Palace was merely built by an intelligent main computer. In terms of the wondrousness of its virtual space, it's far from comparable to mine." "It's just a pity—" "You're an Earthling, and your consciousness is an unregistered user in the 'Virtual Universe Network'. Even if I connect your consciousness to the 'Virtual Universe Network', you won't be authorized to enter. You, an unregistered user, need to open an account in reality to connect to the Virtual Universe Network," Babata said with some helplessness. "Also, put the Moyun Vine seedling next to you into your backpack. It's a lifeform, so it cannot be stored in a storage space. Once everything is put away, we can leave this place."