Chapter 67: To Tell a Lie Requires...

Amidst the conversation between Luo Feng and Babata, the juvenile Cloud-contact Vine completed its preliminary evolution.

The juvenile Cloud-contact Vine shifted from its original green to a dark red, faintly crackling with wisps of crimson lightning energy around its body.

"You can put it away now. The juvenile Cloud-contact Vine absorbed too much energy this time and needs to sleep to digest it," Babata said, looking at the changes in the juvenile Cloud-contact Vine with satisfaction.

It was a quite perfect initial evolution.

Vaguely feeling a sense of attachment transmitted from the juvenile Cloud-contact Vine, Luo Feng's heart stirred. The blood-red vine, several meters long, lunged toward him and rapidly merged into his skin. Throughout the entire process, Luo Feng only felt a hint of coolness, as if he were simply wearing an extra layer of clothing.

"When the juvenile Cloud-contact Vine wakes up from its slumber, its usefulness will be far greater than this Black God set of yours," Babata said with a smug expression.

Hearing this, Luo Feng wore a somewhat peculiar expression.

He was well aware that his Black God set was an upgraded version modified by 'Bai'. While a standard Black God set could only weaken ninety percent of the impact force, this upgraded version of the Black God set could weaken ninety-nine percent of the impact force—a tenfold increase!

In terms of defensive capability... Luo Feng truly did not think the juvenile Cloud-contact Vine could compare to the upgraded Black God set.

However, the Cloud-contact Vine belonged to the category of all-around auxiliary plant life. Not only could it help its master weaken incoming attack impacts, but it could also assist the master in battle, killing enemies and exerting psychological control. Furthermore, as an intelligent life form, the Cloud-contact Vine excelled in other aspects that the inanimate, upgraded Black God set could never hope to match.

Luo Feng touched his arm, perceiving an infant-like consciousness affectionately communicating with him, and felt a warmth in his heart.

"Sleep. Wake up when you're ready to help me."

The infant-like consciousness of the juvenile Cloud-contact Vine could hold on no longer and drifted into a deep sleep.

"Alright, pack up. We can leave this place now," Babata urged eagerly upon seeing that Luo Feng was finished.

Having spent fifty thousand years in the desolate, pitch-black depths of the earth, it was more than a little impatient to experience the outside world once again.

Luo Feng nodded, then followed Babata's instructions. First, he stored the seven corpses at the tunnel entrance into his spatial ring. Next, Babata used its own spatial ring to pack up the entire Falling Star, before sliding into an ordinary black wristband.

"There is a crystal inside this black wristband, which is the dwelling place of my intelligent life form. From now on, I will stay inside here to guide you."

The black wristband flew onto Luo Feng's arm, fitting snugly against his skin.

...

A black shadow surged out from the depths of the earth, breaking through the surface and soaring high into the sky. It was none other than Luo Feng.

He had summoned the No. 1 fighter jet long ago, so Luo Feng flew straight to the hatch without hesitation and entered.

"Oh?" As an intelligent life form, when faced with technological artifacts, Babata would instinctively scan and hack them.

Upon hacking, however, it was astonished to discover that although the intelligent system of this blue-and-white fighter jet was low in grade, it was remarkably comprehensive in every aspect. Moreover, it wasn't just the intelligent system; Babata soon discovered that the fighter jet's other hardware aspects were also quite decent.

At least relative to an aboriginal planet like Earth, it was a bit too futuristic, existing on an entirely different tier.

"C2-grade alloy body, excellent energy wiring utilization... It's just that the weapon systems aren't installed. This fighter jet is quite interesting. With proper modifications, it could easily become a suitable spaceship," Babata's somewhat pleasantly surprised voice resounded in Luo Feng's mind.

Without the energy supply from the Falling Star, Babata could not condense into an energy projection at the moment and could only communicate with Luo Feng in its virtual intelligent form.

"Luo Feng, you found this fighter jet from some alien ruin, didn't you?" Babata asked out of curiosity, though its tone was certain. Aside from alien technology, Earth could never produce such high-tech products.

Luo Feng's expression remained unchanged as he simply nodded to confirm Babata's guess.

Bai had not allowed him to expose his existence, so Luo Feng naturally chose to keep it a secret.

Compared to Babata, whom he had just met, Luo Feng undoubtedly felt much closer to and trusted Bai far more. That was beyond question.

"Once I modify the spaceship and we venture into the universe, that will be the true stage for you to rise. A tiny cage like Earth cannot possibly sustain your growth," Babata said.

"Enter the universe?" Luo Feng's heart stirred.

Having previously listened to Bai Chen recount numerous stories taking place across the universe, he yearned greatly for the cosmos. However, due to his strength limitations and the fact that Bai had not brought it up, he hadn't given it much thought. In his own mind, continuing to cultivate for a few more years and entering the universe only after reaching the Star Traveler level would not be too late.

"We'll see. After all, my current strength is too low, and entering the universe is simply too dangerous." Luo Feng neither directly rejected Babata's plan nor agreed to it.

"Your strength is low?" Babata's tone turned somewhat peculiar as it chuckled evilly, "You certainly have a clear grasp of your own standing. I originally thought that reaching the Star Planet level at your age would make you immensely proud and arrogant, and I was even planning to take you down a peg. Well, being able to recognize that you're just a weakling is good. That trait is fantastic and worthy of praise."

Black lines flashed across Luo Feng's forehead. Why did this intelligent life form always seem eager to belittle and mock him at every turn?

Such a nasty personality!

The No. 1 fighter jet soon landed in the center of a dense, desolate wilderness forest.

Luo Feng stepped out and, with a flick of his will, summoned a few flying daggers to swiftly dispatch the monsters drawn by the noise.

He glanced at the point tally on his personal interface: 28,613,200 points.

With the completion of the Falling Star heritage mission, Luo Feng had directly acquired ten million points. Combined with the five million points from the previous No. 9 ancient civilization base mission, as well as the monsters he casually killed during his daily cultivation, his accumulated points were now approaching thirty million!

"With so many points accumulated, it's about time to spend them to boost my strength," Luo Feng thought to himself.

Before that, however—

Luo Feng skillfully retrieved a pitch-black Myriad Soul Banner from his spatial ring, drawing in the large batches of monster souls and wandering mental thoughts from the surrounding area, and then stowed the monster corpses away into his spatial ring as well.

Babata, which had been paying close attention to Luo Feng's actions, froze for a moment at this sight, staring intently at the Myriad Soul Banner...

"This thing..." Babata couldn't help but speak up.

"Also picked up from an alien ruin. Its function is to capture and trap souls, condensing souls and wandering mental energy into solid mental energy," Luo Feng quickly explained.

"A treasure targeting souls? This thing doesn't look high-grade, but it's quite rare in the universe. You managed to pick this up too?" Babata muttered, then asked curiously, "What do you want solid mental energy for? You can't absorb this stuff without the corresponding method."

At this moment, Luo Feng was crying inwardly. If he told one lie, how many more would he need to patch up this hole?

"Er, you're right. I happen to have a method to utilize solid mental energy," Luo Feng said with an expressionless face.

"What a coincidence? Oh well, I suppose it must have been acquired together with this black banner." Babata nodded slightly. Although somewhat surprised, it could understand. After all, all sorts of bizarre things happened in the universe; besides being a bit rare, this little gadget was nothing to make a fuss over.

Within his inner space, Bai Chen watched this scene with a cheerful smile.