Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

"The Primal Chaos Great Strength Diagram" mandates three body refinement sessions at the eternal true god stage. If the "third body refinement" demands a high understanding of the mysteries of law and skills in artifact refining, then the requirements for the "second body refinement" are relatively much lower.

Luo Feng, who had grasped the essence of the laws, and with the guidance of "Shang Tianyan," one of the top artifact refining masters in Huyang City, coupled with his previous accumulations, fully comprehended the key points of the second body refinement during this meal period.

"I suppose I've got the theory down; next comes the practice," Luo Feng said with a smile.

"Theory is the foundation, but practice is the true reflection of strength," Shang Tianyan said with a laugh, "Brother Luo He, since you are refining your body, even if you fail occasionally, you can always refine it again. Body refinement is much simpler than refining artifacts."

A godly body, even if mostly destroyed, can still recover, so of course the margin for error in body refinement is extremely high! Meanwhile, forging weapons, armors, Mechanical Stream Secret Treasures, and the like have a much lower tolerance for mistakes.

"Haha, if body refinement were as difficult as artifact refining, the path of body refinement wouldn't be so prosperous," laughed Luo Feng. Many cultivate body refinement in conjunction with other practices, but very few also undertake artifact refining.

"In the end, this world respects strength above all. What's the use of having strong artifact refining skills?" Shang Tianyan shook his head, "Against someone with greater strength, don't you still have to bow your head?"

Luo Feng nodded. His master, the Mountain Sitting Guest, could refine Godly King level weapons and had many friends, but what did that amount to?

Faced with the intimidation of the Shi Kingdom, Jin State only had the path to ruin. The Mountain Sitting Guest didn't pin his hopes on those friends but instead fled to the Universe Ocean.

Eventually, relying on others is never as good as relying on oneself!

Inside the pavilion, Shang Tianyan and Luo Feng fell silent for a moment. Shang Tianyan's eyes became distant as if visualizing the figure he longed for day and night.

…

Fire Realm Restaurant.

Suo Zi was diligently preparing dishes. Having been at this small eatery for over a century, he had gradually become adept at some of the ordinary cuisines.

"Done," Suo Zi said, waving his hand. A delicious dish was successfully plated and carried away by another attendant.

"Brother Suo Zi's culinary skills have become quite remarkable," praised the other chefs of the Fire Realm Restaurant, who were also disciples taken in by the Black Butcher and had been following him for an even longer time.

"Compared to my senior brothers, my cooking skills are still very ordinary," Suo Zi said with a smile. Being able to cook was a significant advancement for him.

"Suo Zi, Suo Zi!" Suddenly, a shout rang out.

Upon hearing this, Suo Zi excused himself, "My brother is here, I'll step out for a moment."

The other chefs paid no mind as Suo Zi was still learning and could only prepare a few relatively simple dishes, hardly a mainstay yet.

Stepping outside, Suo Zi immediately saw Suo Yun waiting for him.

"Suo Yun," Suo Zi said, somewhat surprised, "You…"

Suo Yun was full of spirit, his smile brilliant: "I've broken through. I've finally reached the Void True God Realm."

"That's great," said an excited Suo Zi. "We've been in Huyang City for over a century, and you, Suo Yun, have finally reached the Void True God Realm."

The two brothers had come to the city looking for opportunities! One became a guard for the Diaorong Family, and the other was recruited by the Fire Realm Restaurant.

"I seized the opportunity and received a few resources given to me by the young miss of the Diaorong Family. My bloodline refinement was successful, and I've broken through," Suo Yun said, looking at his brother. "Suo Zi, we were the ones with the highest talents in our tribe, and with ordinary cultivation secret techniques, we both reached the Ninth Realm of True God at a young age.

With powerful secret techniques and some resources in Huyang City... I've become a true god of void space, and you can do the same!"

Suo Zi's blood boiled at hearing this.

The two indeed had talents that were not much different from each other, and their Clan Leader thought these two young juniors could make a name for themselves in Huyang City.

"I've almost exhausted my resources and can't help you for now," Suo Yun said. "But now that I'm a true god of void space, it'll be easy to join a power and become a part of the middle ranks. When that happens, I'll bring you in! With the two of us brothers working together, I believe you'll quickly become a true god of void space as well."

"I'm doing quite well in the Fire Realm Restaurant, and my master is very good to me," Suo Zi hastily replied.

"Burying yourself as a cook, when will you be able to gather Primal Chaos Crystals?" Suo Yun turned and left, "Wait patiently. Once I'm settled in the new power, I'll pull you over."

Suo Yun, who had feared being killed or robbed, had been hiding in his dwelling to cultivate in secret, finally breaking through with the help of the resources.

Now at his most spirited, he thought his brother Suo Zi's decision to be a cook was very foolish.

"Sigh," Suo Zi watched as his brother walked away.

"Suo Zi," the Black Butcher approached.

"Master," Suo Zi greeted respectfully. Due to his consistently good performance and his relationship with Luo Feng, he had been formally accepted as a disciple by the Black Butcher.

"Your senior brother is right; accumulating resources as a chef is very slow," the Black Butcher remarked. "Even after such a long time, I have only accumulated limited resources. Perhaps following your brother will lead you to a brighter future."

Suo Zi shook his head, "Back in the tribe when hunting together, Suo Yun always liked to take risks. He's the same inside Huyang, he might succeed ten times, but if he fails just once, that's it! Previously, everyone in the Diaorong Family's cave mansion including the guards were all killed. He only survived because he was with Supreme Lord Luo He at the Fire Realm Restaurant.

I advised him but he wouldn't listen. Master, I'd rather stay and learn here at the Fire Realm Restaurant."

"If you wish to stay at the Fire Realm Restaurant, of course, I wouldn't let you down," the Black Butcher said with a smile, nodding his approval. He could cultivate this disciple with confidence since he wanted to take root in the Fire Realm Restaurant.

"I feel the culinary path suits me better," said Suo Zi. "Cooking also involves wielding Divine Power and Spiritual Will; it is a form of cultivation, too."

The Black Butcher nodded in satisfaction and then departed.

With the Pavilion Master gone, the other attendants quickly gathered around.

"Suo Zi, your brother has become a true god of void space?"

"So impressive, entering Huyang City and becoming a true god of void space in just over a century. I've struggled for thousands of years and am still just at the eightfold realm of True God."

"Brother Suo Zi was already at the Ninefold Realm in the tribe, his talent is far superior to ours."

The attendants said this with envy. Their abilities were far inferior to Suo Zi's, and most had not been formally taken in by the Black Butcher as disciples.

Suo Zi smiled, though his feelings were complicated.

In front of his master, he had been decisive, speaking his heartfelt truth. But how could he not feel some sting of challenge when his brother, who had grown up alongside him, 'Suo Yun', had become a true god of void space?

"Could it really be as Suo Yun said, that I must take risks to seize opportunities?" Suo Zi pondered, "But the clan leader said that when hunting, it's better to give up ten chances than to gamble with your life recklessly."

"The path of culinary skills may be slower, but it's surer. Given a few hundred epochs, I will definitely gather enough resources," Suo Zi thought to himself.

...

Inside the small building, Luo Feng also witnessed the encounter between Suo Zi and Suo Yun. The brothers had entered Huyang City with Luo Feng, creating a certain bond.

"The basic true gods within Huyang City all struggle greatly," Shang Tianyan observed, gazing outside, "Most of them take desperate chances to seize opportunities, even at the cost of their lives, only to fail in their breakthroughs more often than not. Suo Yun has considerable talent to have achieved a breakthrough in one go."

Luo Feng nodded, "Both brothers are quite talented. The art of the Black Butcher's culinary skills is brilliant, on par with artifact refining and alchemy, requiring a perfect combination of divine power and spiritual will to create flavors that touch the spirit. Suo Zi's aptitude is also evident from how quickly he mastered it."

Shang Tianyan, holding his wine glass leisurely, said, "They both have talent, but among the massive quantity of true gods in Huyang City, even more lack such talent."

"Which one do you admire?" Luo Feng asked with a smile.

"If I were younger, I would have admired Suo Yun more. But now?" Shang Tianyan drank the wine in his glass, "I admire Suo Zi more."

Luo Feng nodded, his gaze sweeping across some envious attendants in the Fire Realm Restaurant.

"The road to cultivation forbids greed! Compared to the ordinary attendants of the Fire Realm Restaurant, Suo Zi is already very fortunate," Luo Feng stood up.

"Yes, forbids greed!" Shang Tianyan nodded, "It's easy to say, but how many mighty ones can achieve it? I have made greedy mistakes before. Some wrongs can be corrected. Some, once done, cannot be undone!"

Luo Feng nodded and said, "Brother Shang, I will be going into closed-door cultivation once I get back. If you have any urgent matters, you can also send a message to Luo Sa."

During closed-door cultivation, one needs to be completely invested, and the transmission token would naturally be shut off. Otherwise, messages from the Flame Wind Association's Dark Hall and some acquaintances would disrupt Luo Feng's concentration.

As long as the message was given to Luo Sa, he could contact Luo Feng through spiritual transmission.

"Alright," Shang Tianyan nodded with a smile, "If there's an emergency, I will definitely make contact."

The two of them walked out together, and the Pavilion Master of the Fire Realm, Black Butcher, came out personally to send the two eternal true gods off.

...

Luo Feng, accompanied by Morosa and Moyu Qingyan, left the Fire Realm Restaurant and first went to the Flame Wind Pavilion to buy a large amount of materials needed for the second body refinement.

"For the first body refinement, I used about 100,000 Cosmic Sand worth of materials. According to my understanding of the second refinement, I estimate I'll need 650,000 Cosmic Sand worth of materials," Luo Feng thought, "Accounting for some losses, I should prepare a bit more and buy 700,000 Cosmic Sand worth."

The Flame Wind Pavilion, renowned throughout the Land of Origin, gathered the materials needed for 700,000 Cosmic Sand in just the time it took to drink a few cups of tea and chat.

"Since some materials are not commonly used, we had to source them from our cooperating guilds this time," the Vice President of the Flame Wind Guild said, "If Brother Luo He intends to buy more in the future, it's best to place an order through the Dark Hall in advance. We can prepare ahead of time."

They were only a branch in a large city, after all, with limited storage.

"Alright," Luo Feng picked up the Jade Vial, which contained the massive amount of materials worth 700,000 Cosmic Sand, many of which were piled up like mountains.

The Primal Chaos Great Strength Diagram did not consume many resources, but Luo Feng's godly body was too vast!

"Next will be the third body refinement, and the materials needed will multiply many times over. I'll have to book in advance," Luo Feng thought, "However, I currently cannot afford that much material. I'm still too poor!"

After buying the materials, Luo Feng quickly left with his two servants.

Whoosh!

They flew back to the cave mansion, where Luo Feng stowed the Flying Boat and Morosa and Moyu Qingyan naturally landed beside him.

"Qingyan," Luo Feng instructed, "I am planning to enter a long period of closed-door cultivation, so you don't need to always wait in the cave mansion. You can go home and visit anytime."

"Thank you, master," Moyu Qingyan said gratefully. Since he had begun following Luo Feng, he hadn't gone back even once.

"What about me? Can I go out?" Morosa immediately asked. Last time the master was in closed-door cultivation, it lasted for more than an epoch.

"As long as you don't cause trouble, you're free to wander around Huyang City," Luo Feng said, then flew directly to the underground hall. As he entered, the doors of the underground hall thunderously closed, and the formation began to operate, isolating the inside from the outside.

Luo Feng had begun his closed-door cultivation.

"Lord Luo Sa, then I will go back first," Moyu Qingyan respectfully said.

"Go ahead, go ahead. I'm going to have a look around," Morosa said jubilantly, already flying out of the cave mansion ahead of him, "The master only goes to those few boring places. There are many fun spots in Huyang City!"

The two servants left one after the other.

The entire cave mansion was peaceful, with only Luo Feng in the midst of cultivation.

—

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