Lurking

Outside Luo Feng's cultivation residence in the Holy City, the streets were completely blocked. Large numbers of Golden Horn Clan members sat cross-legged on the ground. Directly in front of Luo Feng's residence, facing the entrance, sat the black-skinned youth, Bei Qiu, clad in purple combat armor. Bei Qiu sat silently, eyes closed, in a meditative cross-legged posture. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A streak of light suddenly shot out from the cultivation residence, rapidly flying into the distance. 'They've flown away!' 'The human Luo Feng is among them!' 'They actually flew away?' Tens of thousands of Golden Horn Clan members quickly erupted in an uproar. They stood up one after another, pointing towards the distant horizon, watching the streak of light vanish at the edge of the world, each filled with boundless fury. Bei Qiu, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, also opened his eyes, gazing indifferently at the scene. His eyes seemed to burn with fire as he muttered in a low voice, 'Human Luo Feng... utterly cowardly!' Boom! Bei Qiu also transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the Elder's Divine Palace. His younger brother and other followers quickly trailed behind. While Luo Feng was stirring up waves in the Holy City of the Golden Horn Clan's Lasiao world, in a distant, desolate Cosmic Nation's territory, within a dark and silent starfield devoid of stars or planets, where only occasional interstellar dust drifted by, and within the spatial interlayer corresponding to this starfield, lay a magnificent and vast God Kingdom. Boundless golden lands stretched undulating, with vast grasslands and forests where countless humans lived. Numerous technologically advanced structures and cities were built there, housing nearly a hundred billion humans spread across hundreds of cities. Each city featured a towering statue of a god. Countless people came to worship. The areas where humans lived constituted only a tiny fraction of this God Kingdom. Approximately thirty million kilometers away from the human living areas, towering mountain ranges pierced the clouds, some over a million kilometers high. At the very peak of one such mountain stood a Divine Temple, shimmering with dazzling golden light. The temple, a hundred thousand kilometers tall, was bustling with figures, clearly indicating a significant presence within. Inside the Divine Temple. 'Squeak!' 'Roar!' Enormous Insectoid warriors of various appearances moved through the temple. Occasionally, even golden Insectoid warriors (Immortal Insectoid warriors) could be seen. Besides the Insectoid warriors, many humans dressed in white robes, golden robes, or armor were also present. These humans and Insectoid warriors frequently crossed paths, yet coexisted peacefully. On the highest level of the Divine Temple, an Insectoid Mother Nest, resembling a damaged meteorite and over ten kilometers tall, stood in the center. Large numbers of golden Insectoid warriors gathered around it, easily numbering over ten thousand at a glance. 'Master!' Three golden-robed humans, surrounded by vast numbers of Insectoid warriors, bowed respectfully. 'Why have you summoned me?' A soft voice, like a peerless beauty whispering in one's ear, echoed throughout the grand hall. 'Master,' the leading golden-robed human respectfully reported, 'One of our Immortal spies embedded in the Golden Horn Clan's Lasiao world has just sent news: the human genius Luo Feng is currently in the Holy City of Lasiao.' 'No. 9?' the soft voice questioned in return. 'Yes,' the leading golden-robed human respectfully replied. 'There is also another matter to inform Master about: No. 9 Luo Feng's strength has advanced astonishingly. He publicly defeated Bei Chuang, a Ninth-Tier Domain Lord genius of the Golden Horn Clan, in the Martial Arena outside the Holy City. Bei Chuang's comprehension of laws, by human standards, would allow him to clear the ninth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge. Yet, Luo Feng, during his first qualification assessment, barely managed to clear the eighth level.' 'Is there a video?' the soft voice inquired. 'That battle was public, so there are many videos. Our Immortal spy embedded in the Golden Horn Clan's Lasiao world also sent a video.' The golden-robed human immediately pointed to the air, and a projection appeared. The projection screen began playing the entire battle between Luo Feng and Bei Chuang. The battle was one-sided, with Bei Chuang completely suppressing Luo Feng. In the end, Luo Feng erupted and directly defeated Bei Chuang. After watching. 'Among the Universe-level geniuses of the Human Virtual Universe Company, only one has reached the eighth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge,' the golden-robed human respectfully stated. 'Yet, this Luo Feng, in just a few decades, has already surpassed the strongest Universe-level genius in terms of law comprehension. At this rate of progress, he will likely still rank among the Primal Secret Region in the Domain Lord qualification battle centuries from now. This speed of advancement is truly terrifying. In human history, only the most exceptional, appearing perhaps once every tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of epochs, could achieve such peerless genius.' 'Hmm,' the soft voice commanded. 'Raise his priority. List him as No. 3, and shift other targets down the ranking accordingly.' 'Yes,' the golden-robed human respectfully acknowledged. 'At the same time, order our Immortal spies embedded in the Lasiao world, instructing one of them to attempt an assassination,' the soft voice continued. 'If Luo Feng can be killed, sacrificing an ordinary Immortal puppet is acceptable. However, our Insectoid race has very few agents in the Golden Horn Clan's Lasiao world, so only one Immortal can be exposed; no further sacrifices are permitted. If the assassination fails, then await the next opportunity.' 'Yes,' the golden-robed human respectfully replied. 'I will immediately transmit the order to our branch members in the Ganwu Universe Nation, and also to our branch members within the Golden Horn Clan.' 'Go!' the soft voice commanded. The three golden-robed humans bowed simultaneously and then withdrew together. The human territory was vast. The Insectoid race and humanity, these two peak races of the universe, had been battling for over a hundred million years. The Insectoid race had long embedded spies in various Cosmic Nations and even starfields within human territory. The Insectoids' soul invasion and soul control abilities were truly terrifying; even human Immortals couldn't escape their grasp. Conversely, because the Golden Horn Clan was entirely concentrated in the Lasiao world, the Insectoids usually had no opportunity. Only when some Golden Horn Clan powerhouses assisted humanity in wars did an occasional chance arise to swiftly invade the soul of a Golden Horn Clan powerhouse, then have that powerhouse return with their clansmen. Only then could a 'chess piece' be planted. The Lasiao world was vast and boundless, but the Insectoids had planted far too few agents, leading to extremely poor intelligence. It was only after Luo Feng caused such a stir in the Holy City that he attracted the attention of one of these 'chess pieces,' who then came to the Holy City and finally confirmed Luo Feng's various actions. The efficiency was absolutely abysmal. Luo Feng and his group landed at the foot of the Elder's Divine Palace mountain range, then proceeded to walk towards the Elder's Divine Palace. At this moment, Luo Feng was completely unaware that assassinations from other races could occur even in such a secluded place as the Golden Horn Clan's territory. After all, many human Immortals were entirely ignorant of the Golden Horn Clan's existence, let alone their dwelling place. Many Immortals didn't even know that humanity had the 'Golden Horn Clan' as an affiliated race. If even humans knew so little internally, it would be incredibly difficult for other races to plant spies. Nevertheless, Luo Feng remained cautious. After all, he was currently serving as an inspection envoy abroad, and assassinations by other races were common. This was one reason Luo Feng didn't want to reveal overly exaggerated strength. Defeating Bei Chuang had already drawn the attention of other races; if he were to defeat Bei Qiu, those races would likely spare no expense to eliminate him. 'Elder Sifanqi,' Luo Feng said, 'Please go ahead. If the Elder is willing to see me, I will enter then.' 'Alright,' Elder Sifanqi replied, easily entering the Elder's Divine Palace. Luo Feng and his group, meanwhile, stood outside the palace gates. The guards outside the gates watched Luo Feng and the others with curiosity, clearly accustomed to rarely seeing humans. 'Your Highness Luo Feng, the Elder wishes to see you. Please come in,' Elder Sifanqi's voice echoed in Luo Feng's ear. 'Oh?' Luo Feng's eyes lit up. He immediately instructed, 'Everyone else stay here. Dilun, come with me.' Luo Feng led Dilun directly through the main entrance of the Elder's Divine Palace. The palace guards, having clearly received orders, did not obstruct the two of them. 'The Lasiao world has an extremely low temperature, and the Elder's Divine Palace is even colder,' Luo Feng thought as he walked through the palace. It felt like traversing the icy caverns of Demonic Sound Mountain. Palace guards, servants, and disciples of the Elder's Divine Palace lineage were visible everywhere. After walking for a while, they arrived outside a silent grand hall. Servants, disciples, and palace guards dared not approach this grand hall. At its entrance stood two Immortal beings, a man and a woman. 'Human Luo Feng, the Elder awaits you inside the hall,' the male Immortal said. 'Understood,' Luo Feng nodded, then led Dilun directly over the threshold and into the colossal hall. The moment they entered the grand hall, it was as if they had stepped into another dimension; everything outside was cut off, leaving only this cold, austere hall. Below, dozens of Immortal beings stood, each appearing quite respectful. Seated on the dais was an elder wearing a Grand Elder's crown, draped in a star-patterned robe, his chest subtly exposed. As he sat, the surrounding space and time seemed to revolve around him. His gaze... held boundless majesty, stifling any thought of resistance. 'Human Luo Feng pays respects to the Golden Horn Clan Elder,' Luo Feng bowed deeply, showing immense reverence, with Dilun doing the same beside him. For such a magnificent existence as a Universe Venerable, respect was only natural.