Lu Changsheng swept his gaze over the area.
"Within ten zhang, none may approach!"
His voice echoed through Wolf Crying Gorge.
Even over the roaring winds of the gorge, his words remained crystal clear, reverberating in everyone's ears.
The Divine Gang realm martial artists stiffened.
Those standing closest immediately backed away, vacating a flight of stone stairs.
They left the stairs completely empty, not daring to linger upon them any longer.
If anyone accidentally strayed within ten zhang of Lu Changsheng, they would be in serious trouble.
He had slain even a Divine Treasury expert—what chance did mere Divine Gang realm martial artists have against him?
Afterward, Lu Changsheng took out a Dao Comprehension Pill and swallowed it directly.
As soon as the pill entered his mouth, a cool sensation wrapped around his mind.
In that instant, he plunged into sudden enlightenment.
Within ten zhang around him, his Perception Domain was fully active.
The moment anyone set foot inside, he would immediately be jarred awake.
Furthermore, his current spot was bathed in the tempestuous gales of Wolf Crying Gorge.
His Perception Domain naturally sensed the howling winds with perfect clarity, so cultivating here would in no way impede his comprehension of the Tempest Domain.
One day, two days, three days...
In the blink of an eye, three full days had passed.
Lu Changsheng had consumed six Dao Comprehension Pills, and the results were extraordinary.
He even felt he might not need all twelve pills.
Perhaps eleven would be enough to bring his Tempest Domain to full perfection.
In the beginning, many martial artists had kept a close eye on Lu Changsheng.
Yet as time went on, he sat cross-legged upon the stone steps just like the others, silently and motionlessly comprehending his domain.
There was little difference between him and anyone else practicing there.
Gradually, people stopped paying him special attention.
Instead, more and more martial artists arrived in Wolf Crying Gorge, all seeking to comprehend domains related to wind.
Besides, Lu Changsheng's reputation was so imposing that no one dared venture anywhere near him.
Not long after Lu Changsheng ingested his seventh Dao Comprehension Pill, an eagle suddenly appeared in the sky, pitch-black from beak to tail, with feathers like honed steel blades.
The eagle was colossal, easily more than ten times the size of an ordinary bird of prey!
Spreading its massive wings, it circled high above Wolf Crying Gorge.
*Whoosh.*
Suddenly, as if spotting something, the eagle executed a sudden dive, plunging straight down toward the gorge below.
High in the sky, its scale had been difficult to gauge.
Yet as it descended into the gorge, its monstrous size left everyone awestruck.
"Ah... what is that?"
"Such an enormous eagle! Could it be a demon?"
"It isn't a demon. There's no sign of demonization, but it clearly possesses intelligence. To grow to such a size, it must be a spirit beast."
"A spirit beast?"
Many martial artists in Wolf Crying Gorge looked on with uncertainty.
Demons and spirit beasts were entirely different creatures.
Demons were bloodthirsty and murderous, capable of cultivating to grow stronger and contending against human martial artists and Immortal Masters.
Spirit beasts, on the other hand, were virtually unable to cultivate.
Their strength was essentially set the moment they were born.
Simply put, a spirit beast was merely an ordinary animal that had undergone immense changes in both body and mind after being bathed in vast amounts of spiritual power, yet it still fell far short of matching humans or demons.
"Vile beast, how dare you try to harm people?"
Several Divine Gang realm martial artists grew furious and struck out decisively.
*Swish.*
A sword light tore through the air, slashing viciously across the eagle's body.
Yet the sword light shattered instantly.
It failed to penetrate the eagle's defense in the slightest.
"What? What kind of spirit beast is this, that not even Xu Zhen's sword can breach its defense?"
"Xu Zhen has condensed one layer of superior Divine Gang and two layers of ordinary Divine Gang, amplifying his physical body fortyfold. A single strike from his sword unleashes the force of forty thousand tripods! How could it fail to injure a mere spirit beast?"
"This beast is no ordinary creature."
Shock rippled through the crowd.
However, Xu Zhen's strike appeared to have enraged the eagle.
The massive creature locked onto Xu Zhen and swooped down with terrifying ferocity.
With its enormous wings spread, the eagle moved at blistering speed, arriving before Xu Zhen in the blink of an eye.
Xu Zhen's face drained of color.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.*
In rapid succession, Xu Zhen unleashed several sword lights.
Every single stroke carried the force of forty thousand tripods.
Yet as they struck the eagle, they merely stirred up ripples of faint white light.
At that moment, the onlookers finally saw clearly.
"A dharma artifact? The spirit beast has a dharma artifact on it?"
"It seems to be a defensive dharma artifact crafted specifically for spirit beasts. That most likely means it belongs to someone!"
"Could it belong to some Immortal Master?"
The thought that an Immortal Master might be involved sent the Divine Gang martial artists scurrying away from the eagle.
Although the Ancient Region was jointly ruled by immortal sects and martial sects, and the immortal path and martial path advanced side by side as apparent equals, on an individual level, Immortal Masters held a status higher than Divine Treasury experts.
After all, Immortal Masters possessed far too many methods.
They could craft artifacts, concoct pills, cast spells, produce talismans, and even lay down formations.
Their myriad techniques seemed inexhaustible.
It was exceedingly difficult to gauge the true combat power of an Immortal Master from appearances alone.
Moreover, whenever an Immortal Master clashed with a Divine Treasury expert, the Immortal Master almost always held the upper hand.
Even if a Divine Treasury expert managed to gain the advantage, killing an Immortal Master was exceedingly difficult.
Consequently, when faced with a spirit beast that might be linked to an Immortal Master, no one wished to invite trouble, and everyone backed away.
Xu Zhen, however, could not get away in time.
The several sword lights he had struck against the eagle had all been deflected by the dharma artifact, failing to cause the creature the slightest harm.
Instead, the eagle crashed into him, raking down with razor-sharp talons.
*Rip!*
A large chunk of flesh was torn from Xu Zhen's body.
Though not fatal, the wound left him looking utterly battered.
"Argh..."
Xu Zhen cried out in agony.
He broke into an immediate run, fleeing for his life without daring to tangle with the eagle any further.
The eagle seemed immensely smug.
It continued circling over Wolf Crying Gorge, letting out soft cries as though celebrating its triumph.
Spirit beasts possessed intelligence, but it was limited—roughly comparable to that of a young child.
The eagle spirit beast before them was clearly just tormenting the martial artists in Wolf Crying Gorge for sport.
"What a detestable beast!"
"Which Immortal Master owns this thing? Why don't they keep it under control?"
"With this eagle around, none of us will be able to focus on comprehending anything."
"Truly infuriating. It has a defensive dharma artifact, so ordinary attacks can't hurt it at all."
Though many martial artists were brimming with righteous indignation, none of them could do anything about the eagle.
After circling overhead for a while, the eagle noticed that there was still one person left sitting on the stone steps, seemingly not afraid of it at all.
This was intolerable to the eagle!
Like a mischievous brat, it loved nothing more than messing with these human martial artists.
With a sudden burst of motion, the eagle swooped down again, heading straight for the figure seated halfway up the gorge.
By now, only a single person remained on the stone stairs of the entire Wolf Crying Gorge—Lu Changsheng.
Although the eagle's ruckus had caused a massive commotion, Lu Changsheng was immersed in sudden enlightenment, completely detached from the outside world.
Since no one had stepped into his Perception Domain, nothing had shaken him from his trance.
Seeing the eagle dive straight toward Lu Changsheng, several martial artists showed slight changes in expression.
"Isn't that Lu Changsheng?"
"He's in sudden enlightenment—won't he be in danger?"
"To come to Wolf Crying Gorge alone to comprehend domains, how could he not have prepared countermeasures?"
"Still, that beast is genuinely tough to deal with..."
Most martial artists placed considerable faith in Lu Changsheng, the number one Divine Gang capable of slaying Divine Treasury experts.
And indeed, their confidence was well placed.
Lu Changsheng's Perception Domain spanned ten zhang around him.
The moment the eagle dived into that range, Lu Changsheng snapped awake.
*Snap.*
His eyes flew open in an instant.
"Vile beast!"
A fierce glint flashed across his eyes.
*Clang!*
The next instant, Lu Changsheng drew his blade.
A blood-red blade light cut through the air, instantly unleashing force surpassing one hundred thousand tripods.
At such close range, the blade light struck the eagle's body in a fraction of an instant.
*Boom!*
A dazzling white light flared across the eagle.
A dharma artifact!
It was protected by a dharma artifact.
As long as the protection remained unbroken, no amount of raw strength could harm the eagle in the slightest.
"Protected by a dharma artifact—this is a spirit beast!"
Lu Changsheng realized what it was at once.
Spirit beasts belonged to masters!
Typically, only Immortal Masters or even Dao Lords kept spirit beasts.
Yet while the strike failed to shatter the dharma artifact, the sheer force of over one hundred thousand tripods brought the eagle's massive body to a dead halt in midair.
Enraged, the eagle spread its enormous wings, every feather bristling like a sharp sword as it prepared to lunge at Lu Changsheng once more.
"You seek death, beast!"
A murderous glint flashed through Lu Changsheng's eyes.
"Slash!"
With a low shout, an invisible, formless Mind Sword struck out, plunging straight into the eagle's body.
The eagle let out a shrill, agonizing screech.
It flapped its wings frantically, trying to climb back into the sky.
Yet Lu Changsheng continued to unleash the Mind Sword.
Blow after blow plunged relentlessly into the eagle's spirit.
While the dharma artifact on its body could ward off physical and elemental strikes, it could not stop spiritual secret methods.
Lu Changsheng's Mind Sword Mantra Formula was a terrifying secret method that even peak Divine Gang realm martial artists struggled to endure—what chance did a mere spirit beast have against it?
After more than a dozen spiritual attacks pierced its form, the eagle's consciousness was completely annihilated.
*Thud!*
The eagle plunged from the sky to the foot of the mountain, devoid of all breath.
Dead!
The spirit beast eagle was dead, just like that.
There was not a single wound upon its entire body.
The surrounding martial artists stared at one another in disbelief.
"The spirit beast... died just like that?"
"Without even a mark on it, that must have been a spiritual secret method. Rumor had it Lu Changsheng mastered a terrifying spiritual secret method, didn't he?"
"An ordinary Divine Gang realm martial artist could probably endure a spiritual secret method—at worst suffering spiritual turbulence and agonizing pain. A purely spiritual secret method rarely kills a Divine Gang martial artist outright. But spirit beasts are different: their bodies are powerful, yet their spirits are fragile. It makes sense that it couldn't withstand repeated spiritual impacts."
"This is bad. Spirit beasts have masters, and now that it's dead, how could its owner let this go?"
"The beast's master must be at least a Qi Refining Immortal Master, perhaps even a Foundation Building Dao Lord! Lu Changsheng has the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect backing him, so he doesn't need to fear, but we have no such backing. If an Immortal Master flies into a rage, we'll all be dragged down!"
"Run, hurry and leave! This isn't a spectacle worth watching—it could cost us our lives..."
The martial artists in Wolf Crying Gorge paled, not daring to linger any longer as they made haste to depart.
After all, this involved an Immortal Master.
The slightest misstep, and an enraged Immortal Master might strike them all dead.
Yet before they could flee, three figures came rushing over from the distance.
Dressed in Daoist robes, they were clearly disciples of an immortal sect.
However, they were likely not Immortal Masters, but Daoist acolytes.
"Halt!"
"The celestial eagle is dead? Not one of you may leave!"
"Speak—who killed the celestial eagle?"
"That eagle was Dao Lord Zilong's favorite spirit beast!"
Upon seeing the carcass of the eagle spirit beast on the ground, the three acolytes felt their hearts plummet, their faces turning pale.
A catastrophe had occurred!
Dao Lord Zilong's favorite spirit beast was dead?
The three of them were acolytes responsible for Dao Lord Zilong's daily matters, and they had merely taken the eagle out for some fresh air as usual.
How had it ended up dead?
If Dao Lord Zilong learned of this, their punishment would be unimaginable.
Seeing the three acolytes barring their way and hearing the name "Dao Lord Zilong," the martial artists in Wolf Crying Gorge felt their hearts skip a beat.
Dao Lord Zilong!
A Dao Lord!
And not just any ordinary Dao Lord, either.
Dao Lord Zilong was a Dao Lord of the Xianling Sect and the master of Purple Dragon Peak—a figure of extraordinary stature.
After all, the Xianling Sect was a paramount immortal sect, fully on par with the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect.
"Acolytes, the spirit beast's death has nothing to do with us."
"Indeed, it truly wasn't us. The beast was causing havoc earlier, and none of us could do a thing against it."
"Please step aside and let us pass."
The martial artists only wanted to leave this den of trouble.
"Nothing to do with you? Then how did it die?"
The acolytes glared maliciously at the crowd, their eyes darting back and forth among the martial artists, trying to identify the true culprit.
None of the martial artists spoke.
They certainly knew who had killed the spirit beast, but would they dare say it?
Lu Changsheng was right there on the stone steps, watching them.
Did they dare name him?
Dao Lord Zilong was terrifying, certainly.
Yet Dao Lord Zilong was not here; right now, the most terrifying person present was Lu Changsheng!
The three acolytes were not fools. Seeing that the martial artists remained tight-lipped, their eyes swept across the surroundings.
They finally noticed something amiss.
Wolf Crying Gorge had many stone platforms, and they knew many martial artists occupied them to comprehend domains.
Yet right now, every platform was completely deserted.
Only a single person remained seated upon the stone stairs.
With so many martial artists grouped below and only one staying on the stairs, he stood out glaringly.
One acolyte shouted, "Do you know who killed the celestial eagle?"
Lu Changsheng turned his gaze toward the three acolytes.
He possessed some basic knowledge regarding Daoist acolytes.
The immortal path differed vastly from the martial path, placing supreme emphasis on innate talent.
That talent was spiritual roots.
Those without spiritual roots could not set foot upon the immortal path at all.
Acolytes were almost always individuals who possessed spiritual roots.
When ordinary people were discovered to have spiritual roots, unless they possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root, they had to undergo a process to reshape their bodies into Dao bodies.
A Dao body was necessary to adapt to the immortal system and handle spiritual power.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root was also known as a natural Dao body.
Thus, those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots could begin cultivating immediately, absorbing the spiritual power of heaven and earth to convert it into their own magic power.
However, Heavenly Spiritual Roots were exceedingly rare.
Most people possessed ordinary spiritual roots.
Those with ordinary spiritual roots needed various precious heavenly treasures to reshape their bodies into Dao bodies before they could absorb spiritual power, cultivate, and become Qi Refining Immortal Masters.
The process of reshaping the Dao body was called "Thousand-Day Dao Building."
Typically, it took around three years—roughly a thousand days.
Naturally, that was only an approximation, not a fixed period.
The duration depended on the heavenly treasures utilized.
Cultivators of the immortal path who were currently undergoing this Thousand-Day Dao Building were referred to as Daoist acolytes.
Virtually every acolyte was guaranteed to become a Qi Refining Immortal Master.
In this regard, they were fundamentally different from Divine Gang realm martial artists.
For a Divine Gang martial artist to break through to the Divine Treasury realm was difficult in the extreme.
Yet as long as someone possessed spiritual roots and the heavenly treasures for Thousand-Day Dao Building, becoming a Qi Refining Immortal Master was assured.
All it took was waiting three years.
Once Lu Changsheng understood this, he also understood why Immortal Masters were so rare in the Northern Region.
First, spiritual power was depleted there, causing heavenly treasures to diminish or vanish entirely.
Where would anyone find the treasures needed for Thousand-Day Dao Building?
Consequently, many people in the Northern Region who possessed spiritual roots could never become Immortal Masters.
Only the fortunate few who stumbled upon remnants of ancient immortal abodes had any hope of completing Thousand-Day Dao Building to become Qi Refining Immortal Masters.
Because these acolytes were virtually assured of becoming Immortal Masters in the future, their status was remarkably high.
Facing Divine Gang martial artists, acolytes naturally adopted an aloof, condescending posture.
Yet Lu Changsheng felt not the slightest intimidation.
"I killed that beast,"
Lu Changsheng said coldly. "It disturbed my cultivation and wasted one of my Dao Comprehension Pills. Death was too good for it!"
"You killed it?"
"Such insolence! That was Dao Lord Zilong's celestial eagle, and you dared lay hands on it?"
"The eagle never harbored any malice—it was only playing with you, yet you brutally took its life!"
The three acolytes were incensed.
Yet they were not entirely reckless.
They were still mere acolytes, possessing not a sliver of magic power in their bodies.
If they wanted to fight, they could only rely on specialized dharma artifacts or talismans.
Certain special dharma artifacts or talismans required no magic power to activate, only divine sense and a massive expenditure of spirit stones.
In some ways, they functioned like formations.
Such artifacts were powerful, but exceedingly wasteful.
And extraordinarily expensive.
A single battle could bankrupt them completely.
Therefore, unless pressed to the absolute limit, acolytes generally avoided fighting.
The three acolytes rolled their eyes, sweeping their gaze over the martial artists gathered in the gorge before speaking in dark tones: "Dao Lord Zilong's celestial eagle is dead. Once the Dao Lord learns of this, his fury will be boundless. All of you are present in Wolf Crying Gorge, and none of you can escape blame for the eagle's death.
"However, you now have a chance to redeem yourselves. Seize or kill this man, and the blame for the eagle's death will fall solely on his head, leaving the rest of you blameless.
"So, choose wisely—you should know what is in your best interest."
Having spoken, the acolytes stood smugly in place, waiting to watch the martial artists slaughter one another.
Yet after laying out this "lifeline" for the crowd, what happened?
Nothing.
Not a single martial artist responded.
Silence!
The entire gorge was deathly still, save for the howling of the gale.
The smug expressions on the acolytes' faces slowly froze.
They even caught the unmistakable mockery in the martial artists' eyes.
A bunch of mere Divine Gang realm martial artists, destined never to step into the Divine Treasury realm in their lifetimes, dared to mock future Qi Refining Immortal Masters?
Had these people lost their minds?
"If you refuse to act, then just wait for the Dao Lord's wrath and prepare to die!" an acolyte snarled.
At that moment, a Divine Gang realm martial artist shook his head lightly and said slowly, "I'm afraid you've miscalculated. Expecting us to attack him? Completely impossible!
"Not just us—even if you gathered every single Divine Gang realm martial artist in the Ancient Region, not one of them would lift a finger against him."
The acolyte frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
He, too, began sensing that something was wrong.
"Do you even know who he is?"
The acolytes shook their heads.
They never paid attention to martial artists, so why would they recognize some random Divine Gang realm fighter?
The martial artist took a deep breath, looked toward Lu Changsheng with reverence in his eyes, and said word for word, "He is Lu Changsheng!"
The name left the three acolytes thoroughly baffled.
"Who is Lu Changsheng?"
Indeed, they had never heard of him.
"You don't know him?"
The martial artist's gaze hardened, and his voice deepened. "Lu Changsheng is a true disciple seed of the Northern Region Heavenly Sect! The trailblazer of the martial path, the number one Divine Gang of the Ancient Region, the slayer of Divine Treasury, the Lu Changsheng who suppresses an entire generation!"
Lu Changsheng's list of titles was quite a mouthful.
The three acolytes were momentarily stunned.
Those titles certainly sounded grand.
Yet since when had such a formidable Divine Gang realm martial artist emerged in the Ancient Region?
"Hold on. A mere Divine Gang with such flashy titles? You're exaggerating way too much."
"We naturally know of the Northern Region Heavenly Sect—which is simply the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect. Though it is a major martial sect, we've never heard of any world-shaking Divine Gang disciple emerging from it."
"And what's this nonsense about the Ancient Region's number one Divine Gang, slaying Divine Treasury from below, and suppressing an entire generation?"
"Even if we aren't martial artists, we know that a Divine Gang slaying a Divine Treasury expert is virtually impossible. A Divine Gang martial artist successfully killing a Divine Treasury has never once occurred in history!"
"If this Lu Changsheng were truly so capable, wouldn't his name be ringing across the entire Ancient Region? Why haven't we heard of him?"
"Did you think our Xianling Sect is completely cut off from news, and that we're entirely ignorant?"
The three acolytes sneered, believing they had seen through the martial artists' motives.
They simply didn't want to get their hands dirty and risk their own necks.
After all, Lu Changsheng seemed to possess some status and decent strength; engaging him might result in casualties, and they didn't want to take the gamble.
"Hmph, since you refuse to act, we'll just have to do it ourselves."
"Against a mere Divine Gang, one spirit stone and one sword talisman are more than enough!"
The acolytes had made up their minds.
With the celestial eagle dead, they had to present an answer to Dao Lord Zilong.
If they failed to bring in the culprit, severe punishment awaited them.
Though striking on their own would cost them dearly—perhaps draining years of accumulated wealth—they were left with no alternative!
*Crack.*
An acolyte crushed a spirit stone.
Simultaneously, he produced a sword talisman and sank his divine sense into it.
*Hum.*
The talisman trembled violently, absorbing the spiritual power of the spirit stone before the acolyte unleashed it with his divine sense.
*Swoosh!*
The talisman transformed into a razor-sharp flying sword, streaking straight toward Lu Changsheng in an instant.
Chapter 162