29: Chapter 29 Mechanical Race

The instant Su Ming slew the Abyssal Kin, the slaughter across the trial plain had yet to end, though it had already devolved into a one-sided struggle for survival.

Stripped of the Abyssal Kin's Abyss Curse buff, the remaining Abyssal Bone Demons, Imps, and worms suffered a drastic drop in combat power. Already heavily suppressed by the Undead Army, they completely collapsed into disarray.

Even if they put up a desperate resistance, it was nothing more than prolonging their death; total annihilation was merely a matter of time.

Su Ming did not wait quietly for the battle to wrap up. Soaring down from midair, the Death Scythe in his palm gleamed with cold light, sweeping power of death across all directions.

Pitch-black scythe shadows crisscrossed; every swing whipped up a storm of death, mercilessly harvesting the lives of the remaining monsters.

Dark green abyssal monster blood splashed continuously, staining Su Ming's robes and the blade of his scythe, adding a chilling aura of slaughter.

In just a few breaths, the very last monster on the battlefield was completely annihilated.

[First layer trial fully cleared. Rewards issued.]

[Granted thirty minutes of rest and recovery time.]

An ethereal prompt echoed through the void, and an intense look of anticipation instantly ignited in Su Ming's eyes.

The rewards for the first ten stages escalated progressively, so the ultimate gift of the tenth stage was bound to far surpass anything before.

As the voice faded, a luminescent white orb—larger and purer than any before—slowly floated in front of him, exuding a grand and profound source aura.

Su Ming raised his hand and gripped it firmly, allowing the sphere of light to merge into his limbs and bones, permeating his sea of consciousness and divine soul.

A vast amount of obscure law comprehensions surged forth as his divine soul rapidly settled and tempered, his attribute panel updating in real time.

[Law of Death: 7.23%]

[Law of Soul: 7.32%]

[Law of Darkness: 1%]

"Extraordinary indeed!"

Su Ming's mind quivered, a look of delight washing over his face.

This single reward orb directly boosted both of his core laws by a full 2% each, and even awakened the brand-new Law of Darkness out of nowhere.

He raised his eyes and looked into the distance, gazing at the Abyssal Gate at the end of the battlefield.

By now, the Abyssal Gate had collapsed and dissipated, leaving behind only a strange, translucent, and softly glowing spirit orb quietly floating in the void.

Seeing only a single spirit orb at first, Su Ming could not help but feel a flicker of disappointment, thinking the tenth stage's ultimate reward was a bit paltry. Nevertheless, he reached out and took the spirit orb into his hand.

In an instant, a vast and ancient torrent of information flooded his sea of consciousness, clearly revealing the full attributes of the spirit orb.

[domain soul bead: Merging it into a divine domain directly expands the domain's territory by 300,000 kilometers with no residual foreign matter.]

The moment he saw its attributes, Su Ming's breathing hitched, his eyes filled with profound shock!

Three hundred thousand kilometers!

What a terrifying increase!

He hadn't been slacking off over these past few days, yet the territory of his Jiuyou Domain had only expanded by two kilometers.

Yet this single domain soul bead could expand his territory by 300,000 kilometers in one go—a truly heaven-defying gift!

He quickly weighed its value in his mind.

A one-time gain of 300,000 kilometers was equivalent to a B-grade Divine Domain Expansion Card.

B-grade expansion cards circulating on the market were worth a full one million divine crystals, and they were all forcibly sliced and condensed from the domains of high-ranking deities. Carrying strong foreign aura, newly ascended deities could not perfectly digest them; forcibly using one could even shatter their divine domain instead.

But this domain soul bead was completely different.

It was a natural treasure without a trace of foreign impurity, its foundation incomparably pure. Even a newly awakened demigod could absorb it perfectly without any lingering risks.

Most importantly, treasures like this that could directly expand the origin of a divine domain rarely hit the market. They were top-tier opportunities priceless beyond measure.

Su Ming scanned the evolution conditions attached to the spirit pearl and shook his head with a helpless laugh.

"Although an evolved domain soul bead can expand territory by one million kilometers, evolving it requires three million divine crystals. The cost is far too steep."

Compared to hoarding treasures and waiting to evolve them, immediately converting it into solid strength was the safest and wisest choice.

He did not hesitate in the slightest.

With a thought, Su Ming directly crushed the domain soul bead.

A majestic surge of origin energy instantly swept through his body, penetrating his divine soul, crossing space, and pouring directly into the Jiuyou Divine Domain.

The next moment, the Jiuyou Divine Domain underwent an earth-shattering transformation!

The domain's boundaries expanded and stretched frantically, its original borders spreading at a terrifying speed.

Nether-yin energy surged freely and condensed throughout the entire divine domain, as the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy and law aura grew increasingly potent.

Su Ming could clearly feel that with the expansion and transformation of his domain, his cultivation speed and efficiency in law comprehension improved drastically.

More importantly, the negative impact of the remaining foreign aura within the domain continued to diminish, meaning he could use resource cards again this month!

The thirty minutes of rest time flew by in an instant.

Spiritual light descended from the void once more, wrapping Su Ming and his subject races as the scene shifted instantly.

Looming into view was a giant steel fortress stretching across heaven and earth, cold and solemn. Metallic glints flashed as mechanical runes covered the land, exuding an overwhelming, icy aura of slaughter.

At the far edge of his vision, a brand-new Gate of Divine Domain slowly emerged.

The patterns on the gate were intricate and precise, its cold, orderly lines filled with the sharp aura of mechanical order—utterly different from the violent demonic runes of the Abyssal Gate.

Su Ming's gaze narrowed as he uttered three words under his breath: "Mechanical Race!"

A sudden chill ran through his heart.

The Mechanical Race, an ancient formidable enemy existing only in ancient texts, was the first extinction-level foe humanity encountered after stepping into the universe.

That was the darkest moment in human history.

A mechanical civilization sweeping across the sea of stars crushed forward; a torrent of mechs shattered countess human territories, nearly obliterating the newly risen human race from the universe.

In that dire predicament, a peerless genius of humanity rose against the tide, slaying a Main God as a True God, breaking through shackles amidst blood-soaked battles to ascend to the throne of Main God.

Afterwards, he single-handedly stood against three Main Gods, slaying one of them, carving out a desperately needed breathing room for humanity.

It was precisely after this battle that humanity gained a firm foothold in the cosmos, gradually encroaching upon and annexing the remnants of the mechanical civilization.

After devouring most of the Mechanical Race's will, the origin will of humanity underwent an ultimate evolution, giving rise to the unique Mechanical Divine Domain attribute within the human system today.

As for the Mechanical Race itself, they were directly driven out and continue to be hunted down by humanity to this day.

Common attributes in this world like Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth were basic elemental attributes shared by all races and inherent to the universe.

On the other hand, special domain attributes unique to humans like Nether, Shadow, Savage, and Mechanical had completely different origins—they were derived from humanity's own origin after conquering all directions, annexing enough foreign civilization wills, and plundering their racial origin fruits.

Not just any race could give rise to a new domain attribute.

Only supreme races with immense heritage and top-tier power possessed a rich enough racial fruit to transform into a unique special Tao property upon being devoured, assimilating into humanity's origin.

Thus, each additional special domain attribute humanity mastered symbolized that humanity had thoroughly conquered a thriving alien civilization and seized its eternal legacy.

That they could peacefully study, steadily cultivate, and contend for opportunities in secret realms today was never because the universe was peaceful, but because the Human Federation defended the outer borders to the death, holding back endless slaughter and calamity from the myriad realms.

Every year, major noble families, academies, and factions had to send large numbers of deities to the Outer Realm Battlefields to guard the borders, without exception.

When a demigod forged divinity, their lifespan could reach 10,800 years;

In the True God realm, the baseline lifespan was over a million years.

Yet throughout the ages, very few True Gods lived out their full natural lifespans.

Aside from factors like differences in time flow within divine domains, cultivation heart demons, and resource disputes, the core reason was that Outer Realm Battlefield—a literal meat grinder for deities.

There were no exalted deities there, only endless slaughter and demise; countless True God-level and even Main God-level powerhouses were buried in the sea of stars.

Many human deities nearing the end of their lifespans would even head to the outer realms of their own accord.

First, to dedicate their remaining strength to humanity and their families;

Second, to gamble on a sliver of life-and-death opportunity for one final chance to break through their shackles.

That the world enjoyed peace was only because others bore the heavy burden.

Looking at the cold and grim Gate of Mechanical Divine Domain before him, all remaining lightness faded from Su Ming's eyes, replaced by deep solemnity and resolve.

The next trial: facing off against the ancient Mechanical Civilization!

He certainly didn't think a race that had once driven all of humanity to the brink of extinction would be easy prey.