Chapter 206.1: The Vast Immortal Sect's Dao Lords Issue a Challenge, and Lu Changsheng Takes On Eight Dao Lords Alone! (I)
The days kept passing by. One day, two, three, four, five...
Even though it took Lu Changsheng very little time to master any given martial technique, the sheer volume of texts to work through still demanded a considerable stretch of time just to flip through, not to mention the divine techniques that needed to be transcribed.
Just like that, ten days flew by.
That should be about it. Senior Brother Lu Tong has already informed me that there are essentially no more martial techniques or divine techniques coming in. I've gone through everything in the Transmission Hall, and the divine techniques have all been transcribed. I bet the gains from this are tremendous!
With that, Lu Changsheng pulled up his Status Panel.
[Status Panel]
Host: Lu Changsheng
Perception: 232,800 (Praised for a Hundred Generations)
Mental Black Hole: Divine Ability Dao Fruit (Not Transformed)
Five Elements Decomposition: Divine Ability Dao Fruit (Not Transformed)
Four Symbols Prison: Divine Ability Dao Fruit (Not Transformed)
His Perception had grown by roughly 92,000 points. To put that in perspective, at the rate he used to gain Perception from cultivating martial techniques, around 1,500 points per month, that figure represented five full years of progress. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken five years to accumulate 90,000 points. But now, his Perception had surged by that same amount in just a couple of days.
In any case, this was a one-time surge. Lu Changsheng had essentially worked through every martial technique available to him. Going forward, if he wanted to keep raising his Perception, he would have to turn to divine techniques.
Most of what he had were ordinary divine techniques, and even with his current level of Perception, each one still required anywhere from ten days to a full month to practice to Perfection. Running a quick calculation in his head, Lu Changsheng estimated that the time he could reasonably dedicate to divine techniques each month would yield roughly 10,000 Perception points.
In truth, that was a very decent rate already. However, at that pace, a full year would only add 120,000 points, meaning it would take six or seven years before his Perception reached one million and could undergo its next transformation.
Six or seven years, though, was not a long time at all, especially now that Lu Changsheng was on the verge of reaching the Divine Ability Realm. Every grand elder at that level enjoyed a lifespan of eight hundred years, and so, six or seven years was nothing to them.
Time to go...
Lu Changsheng rose and left the Transmission Hall. He activated his Domain Sense and located Lu Tong almost instantly.
Whoosh.
He crossed that distance in a single step.
"Senior Brother Lu Tong."
Lu Tong smiled. "Junior Brother Changsheng, you've been spending your time going through the divine and martial techniques in the Transmission Hall, right? Was the haul satisfactory?"
"Very much so. You and the other senior brothers have put in a lot of effort, and I am most grateful."
Lu Changsheng genuinely meant it. After all, gaining 90,000 Perception points in one sitting was objectively great progress. With the extensive collection of divine techniques he now carried on him, he had more than enough to push his Perception to one million.
"So are you ready to set off for the Sacred Earth now?" Lu Tong asked.
"Yes."
"Good. Then follow me."
Lu Tong wasted no time. He led Lu Changsheng out of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect without delay, and the two of them took to the air. They flew for a long while before finally arriving at a towering mountain.
Grand and sweeping structures rose above the peaks in the distance, and the faint shimmer of a vast formation flickered in and out of view. It was unmistakably a sect. Even Lu Changsheng recognized it at a glance.
"Is this... the Vast Immortal Sect?" Lu Changsheng could not help but ask.
The Vast Immortal Sect was the largest and oldest immortal sect in all of the Ancient Region. Rumor had it that the Vast Immortal Sect was a lineage of a Nascent Soul True Lord, making its foundations extraordinarily deep. Sects like the Purple Sun Immortal Sect did carry the name of an immortal sect, but in reality, they were in no position to be compared to the Vast Immortal Sect.
Even amid the rivalry between the Martial Dao and the Immortal Dao, the major Martial Dao factions generally regarded the Vast Immortal Sect with considerable respect. And despite its immense influence and deep reserves of power, the Vast Immortal Sect maintained an air of quiet restraint, almost never involving itself in the conflicts between immortal sects and Martial Dao factions across the Ancient Region. Its position was entirely above the fray.
"That's right." Lu Tong nodded. "Within the Vast Immortal Sect, there is a long-range teleportation formation laid down personally by a True Lord, one capable of sending a person directly to the Sacred Earth.
"A teleportation formation spanning such a distance can only be constructed by a True Lord, and the Vast Immortal Sect is the only place in all of the Ancient Region that has one. Without it, a martial artist attempting to cross the deserts, oceans, and mountain ranges on foot would be looking at a journey of countless li, a trek that could take at least ten years before they had any hope of reaching the Sacred Earth.
Lu Changsheng nodded in understanding. The distance between the Ancient Region and the Sacred Earth was simply too vast. If he wanted to make that journey, the best way was to make use of a long-range teleportation formation.
However, there was one question that lingered in his mind.
"Senior Brother Lu Tong, a long-range teleportation formation must be extraordinarily valuable. Will the Vast Immortal Sect let us use it just like that?"
At that, Lu Tong gave a chuckle. "The Vast Immortal Sect holds a rather unique position in the Ancient Region. It has always stood apart from everything, never involving itself in the conflicts between sects and factions.
"For a long time, none of us understood why. But we eventually came to realize that the Vast Immortal Sect has long had its sights set on leaving the Ancient Region and reaching the Sacred Earth. The issue is that even they lack a supreme Golden Core True One to anchor a sect there, so they haven't been able to establish a foothold.
"Because of that, the Vast Immortal Sect actually hopes to see other top-tier experts from the Ancient Region venture to the Sacred Earth and open things up. They've stopped keeping the long-range teleportation formation to themselves and have been quite willing to make it available to others. That said, getting permission to use that formation comes at a steep cost, naturally."
Lu Changsheng understood that he could not bear such a cost by himself. However, he was not alone. He had backing and a sect behind him, and the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect would bear that cost on his behalf.
"Junior Brother Changsheng, once you reach the Sacred Earth, you'll be on your own. Our Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, and the Ancient Region as a whole, has no real presence there. Everything will come down to what you can build for yourself. Do not forget, staying alive is what matters most," Lu Tong said solemnly.
Lu Changsheng nodded. He had walked the path from a Body Tempering Realm martial artist all the way to where he stood today. He understood exactly what those words meant.
The two of them flew toward the Vast Immortal Sect without delay. With a hum, a formation barrier blocked their entry at the perimeter, and Lu Tong made no attempt to force his way through. He sent a message ahead and waited quietly. Before long, a Golden Core True One arrived in person to receive them.
"Ah, it's Brother Lu."
The Golden Core True One looked at Lu Tong with mild surprise. It was clear the two of them had had little dealings with each other. Lu Tong's sudden appearance at the Vast Immortal Sect without any prior notice had clearly caught him off guard.
"Junior Brother Changsheng, this is True One Yun Lai of the Vast Immortal Sect," Lu Tong introduced the Golden Core True One.
"Greetings, True One Yun Lai."
"And this is...?" True One Yun Lai was visibly surprised. He had no recollection of Lu Changsheng, yet the fact that Lu Tong was addressing him as "Junior Brother" suggested he was a martial artist in the Divine Ability Realm. And yet, he had absolutely no memory of this person.
"True One Yun Lai, this is Lu Changsheng, the newest Divine Ability Realm martial artist from our Ancient Region Heavenly Sect. He has already condensed a Divine Ability Dao Fruit, and the purpose of this visit is to request the use of your sect's long-range teleportation formation to travel to the Sacred Earth," Lu Tong explained.
"Lu Changsheng..." At the mention of the name, something stirred in True One Yun Lai's mind. A flash of recognition finally cut through.
Lu Changsheng of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect was the one who had been declared invincible in the Divine Treasury Realm. Furthermore, he had dominated his entire generation across both the Immortal Dao and the Martial Dao.
After forging his Dao Foundation, Lu had gone on to cut down a string of the Immortal Dao's finest Dao Lords in the Heavenly Shackle Mountain Range, building the formidable reputation of being the strongest Dao Foundation martial artist in all of the Ancient Region. Indeed, his name had resounded across the entire region ever since.
Even Yun Lai, a lofty Golden Core True One, had heard the rumors. But he also knew perfectly well that Lu Changsheng had only forged his Dao Foundation a little over ten years ago. And yet, Lu Tong was claiming that Lu Changsheng had already condensed a Divine Ability Dao Fruit. It sounded utterly absurd, but Yun Lai knew that Lu Tong would not speak lightly about such things. Lu Changsheng had, in all likelihood, really accomplished all that.
"Unbelievable... Congratulations to your sect on gaining another Divine Ability Realm expert. Though I do wonder, why is it still only a Dao Fruit? Why hasn't the Dao Fruit undergone its transformation yet? If I recall correctly, your sect should have accumulated some Heavenly Spirit Water by now."
True One Yun Lai was clearly well-informed about the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect's affairs. Lu Tong, however, simply smiled and said nothing in response. He was not going to tell Yun Lai that Lu Changsheng had actually condensed an Immeasurable Divine Ability Dao Fruit. Knowledge of that fact was confined to Lu Changsheng himself and the seven grand elders within the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect. No one else knew, and the sect had no intention of letting it spread.
That would only change on the day Lu Changsheng obtained enough Heavenly Spirit Water in the Sacred Earth to transform his Dao Fruits into true immeasurable divine abilities and formally advance to the Divine Ability Realm. Only then would the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect have any reason to stop keeping it quiet.
Seeing that Lu Tong had no intention of elaborating, True One Yun Lai chose not to press the matter. He nodded and said, "Anyway, to make use of the long-range teleportation formation, there are certain arrangements to be observed, as Brother Lu is surely aware. Come with me and rest within the Vast Immortal Sect for three days. Once everything is prepared, the formation will be ready to use."
Lu Tong smiled. "We'll be in your care, True One Yun Lai."
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