The First Battle of Dao Transformation: That's It?

"What do you think you're doing?" "Fighting unauthorized in the Earth Saint Dao Field will get you killed on the spot! The entire Earth Saint Dao Field is covered by an array formation. Forget Earth Saints—even a Heavenly Saint would be obliterated in an instant by it." "Who knows what backwater this Earth Saint crawled out of? Not even knowing the rules..." "Every year, there are far too many perfected Earth Saint martial artists like this. Fresh arrivals, like newborn calves not fearing tigers, thinking they're number one under the heavens and looking down on everyone. Then, the moment they match in their first Battle of Dao Transformation, they end up dead." Lu Changsheng heard the voices drifting in from all around. Those onlookers made no effort to conceal or hide their words. They simply stared at Lu Changsheng and the other perfected Earth Saint cultivator. The other perfected Earth Saint quickly reined in his aura as well. Lu Changsheng swept his awareness across the area. Good grief—there were too many. Perfected Earth Saint martial artists were everywhere. All around him, perfected Earth Saints were scattered across every corner. They were packed densely, practically beyond count. A rough sweep by Lu Changsheng revealed hundreds, if not thousands, in his immediate vicinity alone. How many perfected Earth Saints were there in the entire Earth Saint Dao Field? It was probably incalculable! At this moment, Lu Changsheng could truly grasp just how "vast" the Immortal Martial World was. Before, he had only known that the Immortal Martial World was boundlessly vast. One only had to look at the Saint Domain. The Saint Domain was already boundless beyond measure. Lu Changsheng had only operated in the vicinity of Saint Star City within the Saint Domain. Yet Saint Star City was merely a drop in the ocean compared to the whole Saint Domain, hardly worth mentioning. Perfected Earth Saints, rarely ever seen in Saint Star City, were everywhere here in the Earth Saint Dao Field. Truly, perfected Earth Saints walked the streets in droves. Of course, Lu Changsheng was also well aware that the Earth Saint Dao Field was unique. It gathered nearly seventy to eighty percent of all perfected Earth Saints across the entire Immortal Martial World. Naturally, their numbers here were enormous. If dispersed across the entirety of the Immortal Martial World, however, they would truly be few and far between. "Newcomers, please follow me." "You need cave dwellings assigned to you. You may go search for vacant cave dwellings yourselves." "These are the locations of the vacant dwellings." "Each cave dwelling varies in size and functions, and naturally, in price as well." Lu Changsheng and the other newly arrived Earth Saints were immediately approached by people pitching cave dwellings. In the Earth Saint Dao Field, renting a cave dwelling was indeed necessary. However, renting one was extremely expensive. Or rather, living conditions in the Earth Saint Dao Field were intrinsically costly. This was also designed to prevent people from residing indefinitely in the Dao Field without ever participating in the Battle of Dao Transformation. Lu Changsheng randomly chose a cave dwelling. One hundred spirit crystals a year. Not spirit stones, but spirit crystals. And a full hundred of them—it was simply outrageously expensive. Any more, and even Lu Changsheng wouldn't be able to "afford" to stay. If one stayed in the Earth Saint Dao Field for ten or a hundred years, the rent alone would amount to one thousand or ten thousand spirit crystals. After leasing the cave dwelling, Lu Changsheng carefully read through the notices distributed for free in the Earth Saint Dao Field. For example, the rules of the Dao Field. Or how to apply and match with other perfected Earth Saint martial artists for the Battle of Dao Transformation, among other details. In the Earth Saint Dao Field, there stood a "Dao Transformation Stele." On the stele was a ranking list. Known as the "Dao Transformation Rankings," it was effectively a tally of victorious battles. For instance, once someone successfully won a matched Battle of Dao Transformation, they could enter the rankings. Once someone advanced to Heavenly Saint or departed the Earth Saint Dao Field, their name would be removed from the Dao Transformation Rankings. The more victories one accumulated, the higher one's rank. Lu Changsheng also came to understand that the more victories one achieved in the Battle of Dao Transformation, the more martial daos one plundered, and the greater one's potential upon becoming a Heavenly Saint. This was equivalent to laying a solid foundation before reaching Heavenly Saint. The more martial daos one plundered, the firmer one validated one's own dao, and the higher the success rate of dao transformation. Plundering a martial dao just once did not guarantee a hundred percent success in transforming one's dao. That was not how it worked. There was still a high rate of failure. Of course, success was also possible on the first try. Generally speaking, though, statistics showed that the more martial daos one plundered, the easier it was to advance to Heavenly Saint. Moreover, the more martial daos plundered, the greater one's latent potential after achieving the Heavenly Saint realm, and the higher the likelihood of striving for realms beyond Heavenly Saint. Lu Changsheng headed straight to the Dao Transformation Stele. Ranked first on the stele was Earth Saint Zhao Qian. This Zhao Qian had already fought eight Battles of Dao Transformation and had been victorious every single time, without exception. It was said that Zhao Qian was currently preparing for his ninth Battle of Dao Transformation. Once successful, Zhao Qian's accumulation would be sufficient. At that point, he would attempt the breakthrough to Heavenly Saint. He was practically guaranteed to succeed, and his potential would be immense. After all, nine was the utmost limit of numbers. Many exceptionally gifted, invincible Earth Saints would strive for nine dao transformations. "Zhao Qian, is it?" "Nine dao transformations is exceedingly difficult." "After all, matches in the Battle of Dao Transformation are completely random. A single misstep means total defeat. No one can say for sure that they won't encounter a terrifying opponent in their next match." "Even Zhao Qian wouldn't dare claim he is completely invincible in the Earth Saint Dao Field." Thoughts flitted through Lu Changsheng's mind one after another. In the Earth Saint Dao Field, far too many people had met unexpected demises. In the past, quite a few martial artists who had achieved eight dao transformations died in their ninth battle. After all, every cultivator in the Earth Saint Dao Field was at Earth Saint perfection. Each and every one of them had weathered countless tribulations to reach this level. Some kept very low profiles. Or rather, were insidious. No one knew if a hidden expert might suddenly emerge and slay an eight-transformation martial artist. "Dao transformation..." Lu Changsheng strolled through the Earth Saint Dao Field. The Dao Field could effectively be viewed as a colossal city. Most of its inhabitants were perfected Earth Saints. Yet it had nearly every function a city should have. For instance, shops. Merchants seemed capable of doing business anywhere. Of course, those able to open shops inside the Earth Saint Dao Field had extremely powerful backing; having a Heavenly Saint as a patron wasn't even considered extraordinary. Some merchant guilds even had beings beyond Heavenly Saint backing them. Naturally, the business they conducted was not meant for ordinary people either. Lu Changsheng was in no hurry to dive into dao transformation right away. Even though he was confident in his strength, knowing oneself and knowing the enemy was the key to victory in a hundred battles. Much less when it came to dao transformation. That was a realm where life and death hung on a single thought. One had to be fully prepared before attempting dao transformation. Lu Changsheng knew almost nothing about the Earth Saint Dao Field yet; how could he rush into it? And so, Lu Changsheng went to the Spectator Tower. Here, one could spectate Battles of Dao Transformation. However, spectating even once was exorbitantly expensive. A single viewing cost one-tenth of a Martial Saint-level martial dao fragment. It was outrageously pricey. What was more, the matches one could view were entirely random. Depending on one's luck, whoever happened to be fighting when your turn came was who you had to watch. One couldn't even choose. There was a reason for such a steep price. The Earth Saint Dao Field did not encourage martial artists to spectate Battles of Dao Transformation. After all, each Battle of Dao Transformation was a private secret. If someone watched a match and later ended up facing that same person, they would be forewarned and prepared. Wouldn't that confer an unfair advantage? Of course, the probability of that happening was very low. To happen to spectate a match and then happen to be paired against that very perfected Earth Saint was a minuscule chance, yet not impossible. Hence, the exorbitant fee. If one wanted to watch match after match, watching ten would eat up an entire Martial Saint-level martial dao fragment... Lu Changsheng currently had 2.1 martial dao fragments left. Thus, he spent 0.1 of a martial dao fragment to enter the Spectator Tower. Inside the Spectator Tower, there were quite a few people. Although spectating was costly, there were also plenty of perfected Earth Saints here. Most of them had never participated in a Battle of Dao Transformation before. Therefore, by hook or by crook, even if it meant selling everything they had, they would scrape together enough to watch at least one battle, just to get an idea of what to expect and avoid being caught flustered when their own turn arrived. Besides, anyone capable of becoming a perfected Earth Saint wasn't destitute. They could generally afford to produce 0.1 of a martial dao fragment. Lu Changsheng purchased the right to spectate a single match. He was led to a spectating platform. From the platform, one could clearly observe a Battle of Dao Transformation. Lu Changsheng arrived and sat down, noticing the platform was already packed with people. They were all perfected Earth Saint martial artists, sitting upright with grave expressions. Presumably, none of them had ever fought a Battle of Dao Transformation either, and were currently preparing for one. In front of the spectating platform was an array formation. At this moment, the formation began to glow. Ripples swiftly stirred in the air like waves upon water. Soon, a clear image materialized in midair. Two perfected Earth Saint martial artists appeared, currently locked in a Battle of Dao Transformation. Neither of the two Earth Saints knew they were being watched. They were exceptionally cautious. At the beginning, they merely probed each other. Before long, however, both manifested their Earth Saint Dao bodies and launched into frenzied attacks. Yes, frenzied. In the Battle of Dao Transformation, it was either you die or I perish; there was no middle ground. The two appeared evenly matched, making the clash extraordinarily brutal. Sparing no expense, both drove their Earth Saint Dao bodies with utter madness. Even when their Dao bodies could no longer hold up, they threw their physical bodies forward to butcher one another; neither took a single step back. It took several hours before a victor was finally decided. One Earth Saint won. The other died. Even for the victor, it was a pyrrhic victory. His Earth Saint Dao body had been battered to collapse. It would take him a long time to recover. Yet having won a Battle of Dao Transformation and plundered his opponent's martial dao, this Earth Saint would only grow stronger! His chances of winning his next Battle of Dao Transformation had increased significantly. Once the battle concluded, Lu Changsheng returned to his cave dwelling. He slowly dissected the clash he had just witnessed. The two perfected Earth Saints were undeniably powerful. They were stronger than any Earth Saint Lu Changsheng had seen in Saint Star City. They were at Earth Saint perfection, after all. The fight was also brutal beyond measure—a battle where only one walked away alive. There was no way out. Therefore, once one stepped into a Battle of Dao Transformation, one had to harbor an absolute conviction to win. Otherwise, the outcome would be difficult to guarantee. Moreover, the strength displayed by those two perfected Earth Saints could only be considered average compared to all the martial artists who engaged in the Battle of Dao Transformation across the Earth Saint Dao Field. Though they were powerful, if this was the general level, Lu Changsheng wouldn't even need to use his Phenomenal Image of Heaven and Earth to handle them. Essentially, Lu Changsheng had a fairly good grasp of where he stood: his strength was likely near the very pinnacle of the Earth Saint Dao Field. Especially if he unleashed his Phenomenal Image of Heaven and Earth—its power was so terrifying that Lu Changsheng had yet to encounter any Earth Saint capable of matching or resisting it. "In a Battle of Dao Transformation, one cannot use any magic treasures or talismans." "The moment one enters the battle, all external items like magic treasures and talismans are suppressed by the array formation and cannot be used at all." "One can only rely on the power of one's physical body and Earth Saint Dao body—it is purely a clash between martial daos!" "Only in this way can one sublimate one's martial dao, validate one's own path, and achieve the true effect of dao transformation." Lu Changsheng murmured softly to himself. He had begun to understand the true significance and essence of the Battle of Dao Transformation. Yet Lu Changsheng still did not rush out to engage in battle. He continued to observe and learn about the Earth Saint Dao Field at a steady pace. One month, two months, three months... In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Lu Changsheng paid another visit to the Dao Transformation Stele. Today, a major event had occurred at the stele. A sea of people crowded around it. Lu Changsheng swept his awareness forward and immediately understood what had happened. Zhao Qian, who had originally held first place, was gone. The second-ranked cultivator had been bumped up instead. However, that second-ranked cultivator still had seven dao transformations—there was no change in the count. Either Zhao Qian had successfully advanced to Heavenly Saint and had his name removed, or Zhao Qian had died. Word had already spread. Zhao Qian was dead! Killed in his ninth Battle of Dao Transformation! "What? Zhao Qian actually died?" "Rumor has it that in his ninth Battle of Dao Transformation, Zhao Qian was paired against a martial artist participating for the very first time, and was slain by him." "Who killed Zhao Qian?" "There's no definitive information on that, but Zhao Qian is indeed dead. The Earth Saint Dao Field has already confirmed it." "Even a figure like Zhao Qian, with eight dao transformations under his belt, ended up dead... The Battle of Dao Transformation in the Earth Saint Dao Field is truly perilous..." Many people sighed in bewilderment and grief. Who was Zhao Qian? He was a supreme powerhouse with eight successful dao transformations. Among Earth Saints, one could scarcely find anyone stronger than him. After all, could anyone weak succeed eight times in dao transformation? Yet facts proved that in the Earth Saint Dao Field's Battles of Dao Transformation, luck played a massive role. No one dared claim they were truly invincible. He ran into someone fighting their very first battle, and ended up dead. Lu Changsheng pondered. If Zhao Qian had encountered him, what would the outcome have been? Lu Changsheng wasn't certain. However, he felt his own chances of victory were probably higher. Since he could potentially defeat Zhao Qian, other Earth Saints could potentially defeat Zhao Qian as well. One could only say Zhao Qian had rotten luck. Still, Zhao Qian's death did not frighten Lu Changsheng in the slightest. On the contrary, Lu Changsheng felt the time had come. The opportunity was ripe. He now possessed a thorough understanding of both the Earth Saint Dao Field and the Battle of Dao Transformation. Continuing to drag things out now served no purpose. Thus, Lu Changsheng headed straight to the Dao Transformation Tower. To participate in a Battle of Dao Transformation, one had to register at the Dao Transformation Tower. Lu Changsheng walked right inside. "I wish to apply for a Battle of Dao Transformation." The person handling registrations was also an Earth Saint martial artist. The attendant nodded and said, "One complete Martial Saint-level martial dao fragment." Lu Changsheng brought out a martial dao fragment directly. "Head to Battlefield No. 9." Token in hand, Lu Changsheng headed straight for Battlefield No. 9. The so-called Battlefield No. 9 was actually an array formation. Upon stepping inside, the power of the formation could manifest any environment imaginable. For instance, the surface of an ocean. Or the void. Even mountain summits, subterranean depths, and more were possible. Such was the power of the array formations—transforming heaven and earth was trivial for them. Within the arenas of the Dao Transformation Tower, let alone Earth Saints, even Heavenly Saints could battle with abandon without worrying about destroying the battlefield. When Lu Changsheng stepped into Battlefield No. 9... Hum! Suddenly, heaven and earth spun. Darkness fell all around. Lu Changsheng glanced at his surroundings. "This is... a starry sky?" Lu Changsheng saw that this battlefield was set in the starry sky. In a starry sky battlefield, one stood suspended in the void of the cosmos. For a perfected Earth Saint martial artist, of course, this posed no difficulty whatsoever. Moreover, the starry sky was boundless, allowing combatants to fight without fearing any environmental repercussions. Lu Changsheng looked forward to his first opponent. After all, this was his very first Battle of Dao Transformation. Meanwhile, inside the Spectator Tower. Several Earth Saints who had paid martial dao fragments were spectating Battles of Dao Transformation. The battles presented to them were displayed at random. Soon, an expanse of starry sky appeared in their viewing image. "A starry sky battlefield?" "Huh? That person looks completely unfamiliar; I've never seen him before." "The Earth Saint Dao Field is so massive, and there are countless Earth Saints we haven't seen. It's totally normal." "I wonder who this Earth Saint's opponent is?" "Look, quick! The opponent has appeared!" "Is that... Jing Wuyin?" "Yes, it's Jing Wuyin!" "It's really him? Jing Wuyin has already completed three dao transformations; this is his fourth! It's only been a year since his last battle, hasn't it?" "That's right. A year ago, Jing Wuyin fought his third Battle of Dao Transformation and won, but it was a fierce fight and a pyrrhic victory. I thought he would take his three dao transformations and attempt a breakthrough to the Heavenly Saint realm. Who would have thought he'd undertake a fourth battle?" "He probably wanted to push his luck one more time. Achieving four dao transformations makes a huge difference; the chances of advancing to Heavenly Saint would be much greater." "This unfamiliar Earth Saint is in trouble now, running into Jing Wuyin of all people..." "After this battle, Jing Wuyin's rank on the Dao Transformation Stele will jump up significantly." For a time, the Earth Saints buzzed with discussion. Jing Wuyin's strength wasn't truly at the very top. However, he possessed a great reputation. As such, many recognized him. Seeing Jing Wuyin enter his fourth Battle of Dao Transformation piqued the interest of many Earth Saints. They felt that their ticket to spectate had not been wasted. However, Lu Changsheng did not know Jing Wuyin. When he saw his opponent, the man bore an expression of cold indifference, without the slightest hint of arrogance or conceit. There was only calm! In the Battle of Dao Transformation, even a sliver of carelessness or hubris could lead to disastrous consequences. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, let alone in a life-or-death Battle of Dao Transformation. Neither knew the other's name or intelligence. Lu Changsheng did not know Jing Wuyin. Jing Wuyin naturally knew nothing of Lu Changsheng. How many dao transformations the opponent had achieved was a total mystery. The Battle of Dao Transformation was like this: practically a "blind battle." "Kill!" The next moment, Jing Wuyin moved. He immediately unleashed his Earth Saint Dao body. A terrifying Earth Saint Dao body stretched across the starry sky, radiating a menacing aura. Lu Changsheng showed no weakness either, releasing his own Earth Saint Dao body. How strong an opponent was could generally be gauged to some degree once their Earth Saint Dao body was manifested. To some extent, the size of an Earth Saint Dao body could indicate strength. Of course, it was not absolute. Yet right now, Lu Changsheng's Earth Saint Dao body was colossal. As it sprawled across the starry sky, it instantly eclipsed Jing Wuyin's Dao body. The Earth Saint Dao body Jing Wuyin took such pride in looked as though it were a size smaller before Lu Changsheng's Dao body—they were not on the same scale at all. Witnessing this, Jing Wuyin felt a chill in his heart. He sensed Lu Changsheng's tremendous power. In this Battle of Dao Transformation, Jing Wuyin was likely in grave danger. This might well be the most arduous battle of his life. Yet he had no intention of retreating. Even if he wanted to retreat, it was meaningless. Once one stepped into a Battle of Dao Transformation, life and death had to be decided. Either you die or I perish. Boom! Jing Wuyin struck. Employing an unknown secret technique, his Earth Saint Dao body actually began to expand. Yet it swelled only slightly, remaining smaller than Lu Changsheng's Dao body. Then, he drove a fist toward Lu Changsheng. Lu Changsheng's Earth Saint Dao body similarly thrust a palm toward Jing Wuyin. At the Earth Saint level, various tricks and martial arts techniques were largely useless. All that remained was a clash between Earth Saint Dao bodies. Whoever's Earth Saint Dao body was stronger would emerge victorious. Rumble! Their powers violently collided. A direct clash, without the slightest trickery. In that instant of collision, superiority was established. "Ahhh—!" Jing Wuyin let out a wretched scream. From just a single direct clash, the Earth Saint Dao body he had taken such pride in crumbled like paper before Lu Changsheng, instantly shattered. Moreover, it was crushed like dry twigs and rotting wood. "That's it?" Lu Changsheng was somewhat dumbfounded. He had gone all out just now. He had acted with the mindset of a lion using all its might to hunt a rabbit. And the result was... just this? He felt that even using half his strength would have blown the man apart. 'Could he also be fighting in his first Battle of Dao Transformation?' 'His strength is actually so weak...' Though puzzled, Lu Changsheng did not stay his hand. Having destroyed his opponent's Earth Saint Dao body, Lu Changsheng reached out with a massive hand, snatched Jing Wuyin up, and squeezed ruthlessly. Squelch! Jing Wuyin's physical body was instantly mashed into a puddle of gore. Dead. Jing Wuyin was dead. Lu Changsheng's first Battle of Dao Transformation ended in such an ordinary, anticlimactic fashion. It was not brutal at all. Lu Changsheng hadn't even felt like he'd worked up a sweat. "Hm?" However, Lu Changsheng immediately noticed a difference. He had directly plundered Jing Wuyin's martial dao. In truth, Jing Wuyin's martial dao was a fusion formed by plundering three other martial daos. Consequently, his martial dao was actually quite formidable. Yet compared to Lu Changsheng's Infinite Martial Dao, it fell completely short. It was directly "devoured" by Lu Changsheng's Infinite Martial Dao. Of course, this was only the initial plunder. To integrate it completely would take time to slowly refine and merge. "Never mind, let's head out first." Lu Changsheng looked up. A voice had already chimed beside his ear. It was the announcement of his victory. Hum! The starry sky shifted. When Lu Changsheng reappeared, he had already exited Battlefield No. 9. Little did Lu Changsheng know, however, that his battle had already ignited an uproar inside the Spectator Tower.