# Chapter 367: The Door and the Key

The more profound a Law, the harder it was to comprehend. Since this was his first attempt, Lu Yuan naturally ruled out the most difficult ones.

Space, Time, Fate, Fantasy.

These four were the most profound and inscrutable of all. For a first attempt, he intended to start with something simpler to improve his odds of success.

That left Stellar, Life, Mechanical, Light, Darkness, and Death.

After some deliberation, Lu Yuan first eliminated Mechanical.

Though the Spirit Cannon from Mechanical Apotheosis was currently his most devastating offensive ability, it was ultimately an external power. He now commanded four Mechanical War Gods and a host of Mechanical Battle Saints — comprehending Mechanical Laws would greatly benefit them, but that still wouldn't strengthen him personally.

For his first Law, Lu Yuan wanted to enhance his own power, lest he become the weak link if he ever faced a truly formidable opponent.

He mulled over the remaining five for a long time but couldn't decide which suited him best. Stellar Laws would certainly prove invaluable across the universe. Life Laws, if comprehended to a sufficient degree, would render him virtually unkillable given his current constitution. The Laws of Light, Darkness, and Death each had their own merits as well.

Unable to reach a conclusion, Lu Yuan put away the Heart of Laws with a sigh, deciding to think it over while taking a break — a small celebration for having fully tempered all his Transcendent Genes.

He also planned to tell Li Qinghe and the others about his intention to begin comprehending the Laws. After all, he had no idea how long the process would take once he used the Heart of Laws. Better to give them advance notice than to disappear into seclusion and leave them worried.

Additionally, he intended to consult Senior Ruoshui and the Mirage Dragon. They likely had experience with the Heart of Laws and might offer useful advice.

With that in mind, Lu Yuan left the Gravity Room.

His body vanished on the spot, and in an instant he was back in the living room of their rental in the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin.

Yeye sat alone on the sofa and looked up as he appeared. Lu Yuan noticed the cake on the coffee table in front of her — cheeks puffed out, a smear of white cream at the corner of her mouth. He couldn't help but smile.

He walked over, sat down beside her, and ruffled her hair. The black cat ears atop her head twitched, her tail swished gently, and her eyes narrowed in contentment.

"Where'd the cake come from?"

Yeye swallowed her mouthful and answered in her usual flat tone: "Qinghe had someone buy it. It's really good."

Lu Yuan chuckled. "She spoils you."

"Mm, Qinghe is really nice." Curiosity glimmered in Yeye's eyes. "How come you're back so early today?"

"I've finished tempering my last gene."

Yeye paused, then her eyes went wide — joy flooding her normally placid gaze. She gave a small nod. "Mm. You're amazing."

Seeing her adorable, dazed expression, Lu Yuan couldn't resist a mischievous grin. "What else am I amazing at?"

Yeye blinked. Color crept into her cheeks, and she puffed out her lips, glaring at him.

Under that look, even Lu Yuan felt a twinge of embarrassment. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. "Is it just you at home?"

"Qinghe and Tingyu were here earlier."

When Lu Yuan looked away, Yeye reached for another piece of cake and resumed eating.

"Where are they now?" Lu Yuan glanced around.

Her mouth was stuffed full, making her voice muffled: "They went out to buy food. They said they've broken through and want you to help with Gene Inscription. They're planning a celebration."

Lu Yuan blinked, then a look of pleasant surprise crossed his face. "Qinghe and my mentor both broke through?"

*That's a double celebration.*

He quickly calmed down, though — their breakthroughs had been expected. After all, Shuangyue had been only slightly ahead of them in cultivation progress, and with the abundance of resources they'd had access to lately, it was about time.

Yeye nodded, anticipation lighting up her eyes. "Qinghe said there'll be good food later."

Lu Yuan looked at her with amusement. No matter how powerful she grew, Yeye's love of food never changed.

While Lu Yuan chatted with Yeye, Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu soon returned — and they weren't the only ones. Shuangyue and the others gradually finished their training sessions and came back as well. Not everyone could match Lu Yuan's ability to cultivate for twelve hours straight, after all.

The living room quickly grew lively. News of Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu's breakthroughs delighted everyone. Shuangyue and Wang Lingling volunteered to help prepare the celebration feast, while the rest — having no culinary skills to speak of — lounged on the sofas doing their own thing. Amy and Yeye dug into snacks together. Small White and Wang Lingling had gotten into yet another argument. Anastasia and Si Tingxue were discussing cultivation techniques. Rebecca sat beside Lu Yuan, leaning against him with a silly, contented smile.

The feast was lavish. As everyone gathered around the large round table, Lu Yuan beamed at Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu. "Congratulations to you both on breaking through to Battle Emperor."

Li Qinghe gave a soft hum, the corners of her mouth curving upward. "You're inscribing my gene tonight."

Even Si Tingyu's normally stern expression softened into a smile as she nodded. "Mm."

As the senior members of the group, they'd watched the younger ones gradually catch up before their own breakthrough. To say they'd felt no frustration or urgency would be a lie. Now that they'd broken through, they could finally maintain their elder-sister dignity.

Lu Yuan smiled. "While we're at it, I have some news of my own."

Everyone turned to him with curiosity.

"I've finished tempering all of my genes," he said. "I'm planning to start comprehending the Laws, which means I'll likely be going into seclusion for a while. I'm not sure exactly how long, so I wanted to let you all know ahead of time."

A hush fell over the table. Aside from Yeye, who already knew, everyone stared at Lu Yuan in wide-eyed delight.

Amy exclaimed, "You big liar — you've already finished?! That fast?!"

Wang Lingling smiled warmly. "Then focus on your seclusion without worrying about us. Everything's fine here, and nothing major is happening right now."

Si Tingxue nodded. "She's right. If anything comes up, we're more than capable of handling it ourselves."

Anastasia gazed at Lu Yuan, her eyes brimming with pride. "As expected of my man — the strongest person in the entire universe."

The table erupted in cheerful chatter, everyone grinning.

"I just wanted to give you all a heads-up," Lu Yuan said. "Now let's eat."

With the additional news that Lu Yuan had fully tempered all his genes, the celebration grew even livelier. Everyone drank generously, though with their strength and Spirit Power circulation, none of them felt the slightest buzz.

After the feast, Lu Yuan performed Gene Inscription of Saint Grade genes for Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu. As with Shuangyue, their strength made the inscription relatively safe — Lu Yuan was merely adding an extra layer of insurance. The entire process went smoothly.

Though both women already shared an intimate relationship with Lu Yuan, after the inscription was complete, both independently insisted on "completing the final ritual" with him, leaving Lu Yuan caught between laughter and exasperation.

Not that he had any objections, of course.

And so, what was supposed to be a one-day break turned into two.

Two days later, Lu Yuan returned to the Lower Layer of the Land of Origin and made his way to the Mist Forest.

Deep within the central region, shrouded in fog.

Lu Yuan materialized, and the instant he appeared, the mist rippled — revealing a pair of golden eyes and a massive body of blue-gold Scale Armor.

"Lu Yuan? What brings you here?"

The Mirage Dragon's enormous head drew level with him, its voice rumbling like distant thunder.

Then its eyes widened. The great beast stared at Lu Yuan and fell silent.

After a long moment, it spoke: "Your aura... I can sense tremendous danger from you. Have you reached War God level?"

Lu Yuan smiled. "Senior, I've finished tempering my last Transcendent Gene."

"What?"

The Mirage Dragon was stunned, eyes widening as if the words hadn't fully registered. Then he said slowly, "You're even faster than I imagined."

Something occurred to him, and he regarded Lu Yuan with knowing eyes. "So you've come to me about comprehending the Laws, haven't you?"

Lu Yuan hadn't expected the Mirage Dragon to guess his purpose. He smiled and nodded. "That's right, Senior. I'm planning to use a Heart of Laws to comprehend the Laws, but I've never used one before and I'm unfamiliar with the process. I was hoping you could offer some guidance."

The Mirage Dragon nodded slowly, then began:

"When you use a Heart of Laws, you choose the Law you wish to comprehend, and it activates the Gene Chain within you that contains that Law's power. This makes your perception of that particular Law far clearer. In essence, the Heart of Laws is the key, and the Transcendent Genes fused within your body are the doors leading to the Laws. Whichever Law's domain you wish to enter, you simply open the corresponding door. Of course, once the door is open, whether you can actually step through — that depends entirely on your own comprehension. No one can help you with that."

Lu Yuan nodded. "How long does the Heart of Laws' effect last?"

"There's no fixed duration. It could last a month, a year, or even several centuries. Of course, that's assuming you haven't achieved comprehension — once you successfully comprehend that Law, the effect naturally concludes."

"Several centuries?"

Lu Yuan frowned slightly. It wasn't that a longer duration would be unwelcome. If he failed to achieve full comprehension, centuries of sustained exposure would at least yield some progress — so in theory, longer was better.

But the universe's current situation was precarious. The Mechanical Kingdom had only just sealed the breach at its Cosmic Boundary. Most of the Aberrant Beasts inside had been dealt with, but some stragglers remained at large. More pressing still, the Aberration organizations within the Elf Race and Beast Race territories weighed heavily on his mind. If a Descended Avatar was born while he was in seclusion, no one else in the universe could stop it.

The thought left him conflicted.

*Should I check on those two Aberration organizations first?*

*If things go well... maybe deal with them before entering seclusion?*