Lu Changsheng's Astonishing Ambition! Spirit Body, Divine Body, Immortal Body—He Wants Them All!

The Wangchuan River was, in myths and legends, the boundary river of the Netherworld. Its waters ran yellow, teeming with serpents and insects, along with countless wandering ghosts and lone souls, and across the Wangchuan River stood the Naihe Bridge. However, within the illusory phantom, Lu Changsheng only saw a yellow river; he did not see any bridge. Yet that was a myth from Lu Changsheng's previous life. In this world, Lu Changsheng had never heard any legends concerning the Netherworld. In the myths and legends here, mortals simply returned to heaven and earth upon death. There was no Netherworld at all. Nor was there any reincarnation. Then what was that phantom image looming behind the pitch-black bead? Lu Changsheng's mind shook. "Ah..." Finally, the screams of the three men pulled Lu Changsheng back to reality. The three Limit Realm experts could hold out no longer. One after another, they wailed in agony. They seemed entirely unable to withstand the overwhelming deathly qi blanketing the sky. Their three bodies were slowly disintegrating. In the blink of an eye, all three perished. Those were three Limit Realm masters. To die just like that. They had not even seen the pitch-black bead make a move. With their deaths, endless deathly qi converged once more in front of Lu Changsheng. It intended to eradicate Lu Changsheng just as it had obliterated those three Limit Realm experts. With a shift of Lu Changsheng's thought— *Buzz.* The Xuanhuang Pagoda emerged through his body. It enveloped him instantly. This Xuanhuang Pagoda was crafted through the painstaking efforts of a Mahayana expert, capable of warding off any attack beneath the Ancestor Realm. Though it had suffered minor wear earlier, that trivial loss was negligible to the pagoda. Yet the moment the Xuanhuang Pagoda appeared now, Lu Changsheng immediately sensed its power draining drastically. In this extraordinary place, the pagoda was degrading at ten or a hundred times the normal rate. If this lasted for an hour, the Xuanhuang Pagoda might be completely destroyed. "I can't let it drain like this; I have to leave." A thought flashed through Lu Changsheng's mind. This place was exceedingly peculiar. The deathly qi was dense to the extreme. Fighting here put Lu Changsheng at a severe disadvantage. Of course, the source of this deathly qi was that pitch-black bead. Naturally, Lu Changsheng could not abandon it. Since he would not abandon it, he had to claim it. "Go." With a thought, the Xuanhuang Pagoda radiated a yellow-and-brown xuanhuang glow. It swept forward rapidly, suppressing the pitch-black bead beneath its weight. The pitch-black bead vibrated. Boundless deathly qi billowed forth, plainly resisting the Xuanhuang Pagoda. Yet Lu Changsheng was not there merely to watch. Seeing that the pagoda appeared to have pinned the bead, he unleashed his Dao body and reached straight out to seize it. *Buzz.* The Dao body's hand gripped the pitch-black bead. Terrifying deathly qi burst from within the bead, trying to corrode his Dao body. However, under the suppression of the Xuanhuang Pagoda, most of the deathly qi was already neutralized. Only a wisp remained, incapable of penetrating his Dao body. "Go!" Clutching the bead, Lu Changsheng darted swiftly through the portal, departing the bizarre domain and returning to the Deadland. Although the Deadland also held deathly qi, it was vastly less concentrated than inside that special space. Back in the Deadland, even the pagoda's drain slowed drastically. The pitch-black bead still struggled to break free, but Lu Changsheng squeezed hard with his massive hand. Terrifying energy instantly subdued the bead. Under the combined suppression of Lu Changsheng and the Xuanhuang Pagoda, the pitch-black bead gradually quieted down, no longer vibrating in the slightest. "A divine item!" "And a special divine item at that." "What could it be to release so much deathly qi?" Lu Changsheng held up the black bead and examined it closely. Now it had stopped thrashing. Nor did it release any more deathly qi. Instead, intricate, mysterious patterns covered its surface. The patterns were profoundly enigmatic, somewhat resembling talismanic scripts, yet not quite. They looked like some manner of writing. "Writing..." Lu Changsheng frowned. He did not recognize this script. It appeared completely unlike ordinary writing—profoundly mysterious and eerie. Yet whether he knew the writing did not matter. What mattered was that this pitch-black bead was a divine item. As long as it was a divine item, it could be refined or utilized. This was hardly Lu Changsheng's first time encountering a divine item, so he moved with familiar ease. Lu Changsheng took a deep breath and extended his consciousness into the pitch-black bead. *Boom!* As his consciousness sank into the bead, a great roar erupted in his mind. What did he see? An incomparably immense yellow river, seemingly flowing through the void. Yes, right through the void. The river drifted slowly through the empty darkness. Pitch-black stretched across the skies, shrouded in dense deathly qi. Meanwhile, countless towering, terrifying, and bizarre silhouettes loomed along both banks of the river. Grim, dreadful, and mysterious. Yet Lu Changsheng saw no Netherworld. He saw no Naihe Bridge. There was only this endlessly surging, terrifying river. It seemed boundlessly vast, winding through world after world across the void, flowing toward an unknown destination. At the same time, Lu Changsheng faintly discerned pitch-black beads being nurtured within the depths of the river. Yet those beads could only bob up and down along the currents, unable to escape. When beads occasionally bumped into one another, they would fuse. Perhaps after hundreds or thousands of beads merged, a special bead would take shape, miraculously breaking free from the yellow river's constraints and flying off into various worlds, vanishing without a trace. *Whoosh.* Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. The visions in his mind had faded, yet the information felt like an indelible memory, deeply etched into his mind. At last, Lu Changsheng understood the origin of this pitch-black bead. "The Reincarnation Bead!" "A special treasure formed in the Reincarnation River over thousands of years through the gradual fusion of countless wisps of deathly qi and souls." "That yellow river isn't any Wangchuan River, but the Reincarnation River." "Rumor has it that only Immortal Realm mighty figures possess the power to set foot in the Reincarnation River. Below the Immortal Realm, not even Ancestor Realm figures can enter." "Unless one can condense the Reincarnation Divine Body. This Reincarnation Bead is the divine item used to forge it..." Lu Changsheng murmured softly. A divine body! This pitch-black Reincarnation Bead could actually forge a divine body? This was a pinnacle divine item. Although a divine body appeared to fall one step short of an immortal body, in all the years of the Kunwu World, who had ever succeeded in condensing an immortal body? Not a single person. In contrast, a few individuals had managed to forge divine bodies. Once a divine body reached great completion, one would rival the Ancestor Realm! A unique physique like the Reincarnation Divine Body was exceedingly rare. In terms of rarity, it was comparable to an immortal body. Once the Reincarnation Divine Body was mastered, one could step into the mysterious Reincarnation River. A domain accessible only to Immortal Realm mighty figures—apart from them, only those with the Reincarnation Divine Body were qualified to tread there. Lu Changsheng had a thought right now. Or rather, a question. Was the Road to Ascending Heaven located within the Reincarnation River? And what was the relationship between the Reincarnation River and the Heaven Realm? "Let's head back first." Lu Changsheng knew he would not be able to unravel the secrets of the Reincarnation River anytime soon. Thus, he departed from the Deadland. Although deathly qi still lingered thickly over the Deadland, and its naturally formed environment could retain the deathly qi for a long time, it was now without the Reincarnation Bead. Over the course of centuries or millennia, the deathly qi would gradually disperse and eventually vanish altogether. When that day came, the Deadland would turn into an ordinary piece of land, no longer a dead zone. Lu Changsheng returned to Liangcheng. "Mr. Lu, are you all right?" Zhao Shuying saw Lu Changsheng return, but seeing deathly qi swirling around him, she was startled. Had something happened to him? "It's nothing. I ran into a bit of trouble, but it's resolved." "I am going into seclusion. Do not let anyone disturb me," Lu Changsheng said. "Understood, Mr. Lu." Lu Changsheng had purchased a large manor. There were many vacant rooms. With slight array arrangements, any of these rooms could serve as a place for seclusion. Lu Changsheng didn't have high demands for a cultivation chamber; it only needed to keep his aura from leaking out. Soon, Lu Changsheng began his seclusion. He brought out the Reincarnation Bead obtained from the Deadland. Having been thoroughly subdued, the Reincarnation Bead no longer released deathly qi. Instead, it looked much like an ordinary bead. Now Lu Changsheng faced a choice: should he cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body, or continue gathering fragments of the Tombstone of the Mortal Immortal to seek the elusive method for an immortal body? If he cultivated the Reincarnation Divine Body, he could begin immediately with the aid of the Reincarnation Bead. Whether he could cultivate it to perfection was uncertain—no one could guarantee that. But at least, just like Zhao Shuying, he could lay down the foundation for the Reincarnation Divine Body. Once the body reached great completion, Lu Changsheng would instantly rival the Ancestor Realm—perhaps even standing among the paramount figures within the Ancestor Realm. If anyone else in the Kunwu World obtained the Reincarnation Bead and had the chance to cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body, they would not hesitate for a second. They would stop at nothing to begin cultivating the divine body at once. Yet Lu Changsheng was different after all. His goal was an immortal body! An immortal body that surpassed all Ancestor Realms and all divine bodies! However, if he cultivated the Reincarnation Divine Body, he would no longer be able to cultivate an immortal body. Should he eventually discover the method for an immortal body, he would regret it bitterly. Even though the probability of that was very low. An immortal body... A legendary existence. Even within the Kunwu World, it was a legend among legends. As of now, Lu Changsheng had found only a faint wisp of a clue. What did a mere one-ninth fragment of the Tombstone of the Mortal Immortal amount to? Yet what if? As long as there was a sliver of hope, Lu Changsheng would not give up. "Wait. Whether it is the Reincarnation Divine Body or an immortal body, both belong to physical body cultivation." "Just like the Giant Spirit Ancestor, cultivating the physical body seems to be the mainstream in the Boundary Sea." "Every lifeform can cultivate only one type of spirit body, divine body, or immortal body." "Yet if it is merely physical cultivation, who says my true self must cultivate it?" "I have countless avatars..." A thought sparked in Lu Changsheng's mind. He thought of a way. Avatars! He possessed flesh avatars! Moreover, his flesh avatars were fundamentally different from the avatars or incarnations of others. There was an essential distinction. Lu Changsheng's flesh avatars could independently become another "Lu Changsheng." Should Lu Changsheng perish, an avatar could take his place, no different from Lu Changsheng himself. Likewise, once an avatar was created, it existed independently. It could cultivate on its own. When needed, they could simply share memories. Whether spirit bodies, immortal bodies, or divine bodies, all were cultivations of the flesh. The physical vessel was the foundation. Sharing memories wouldn't impede the body's cultivation at all. In that case, why shouldn't Lu Changsheng manifest a flesh avatar to cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body? The more Lu Changsheng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. "Divide." Lu Changsheng immediately created an avatar. He set the avatar's power at the Martial Saint level. He reasoned that too weak a physical vessel would not do. Although ordinary mortals could cultivate using divine items, as Zhao Shuying had, Zhao Shuying was blessed with destiny and fortune. She could not be judged by conventional standards. Lu Changsheng possessed no such fortune—at least, not in the Kunwu World. Therefore, he remained extremely cautious in cultivating the Reincarnation Divine Body. Holding the Reincarnation Bead, he guided his thoughts to channel the cultivation method of the Reincarnation Divine Body. *Buzz.* The Reincarnation Bead trembled slightly. Dense deathly qi streamed out from the bead once more. Yet this deathly qi was absorbed into Lu Changsheng's avatar, forging a unique physique through an esoteric method. That was the Reincarnation Divine Body! Of course, this cultivation was merely laying the foundation. How far he was from fully mastering it remained unknown. Even laying the foundation proved arduous. As deathly qi flooded into Lu Changsheng's avatar, the avatar's physical body suffered massive damage. The flesh began to collapse and disintegrate. After all, this was deathly qi, and deathly qi could not be absorbed by just anyone. If an ordinary person absorbed it, they would die the instant it entered their body. Even for Limit Realm experts, no matter how formidable their flesh was, deathly qi wreaked havoc upon entering, rendering recovery utterly impossible. Deathly qi annihilated flesh directly, nullifying all regenerative qualities. No matter how potent the physique, regeneration was impossible. From this perspective, barring those blessed with immense fortune, the Reincarnation Divine Body was nearly impossible to cultivate. This was why nobody in the Kunwu World had managed to cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body across countless years. Perhaps Lu Changsheng was not the only one who had ever obtained the bead, but virtually everyone who attempted to cultivate the divine body had failed. The deathly qi continued its erosion. Lu Changsheng's avatar steadily crumbled. Ten percent, thirty percent, fifty percent, eighty percent... Lu Changsheng's physical constitution was powerful, yet even so, it could not hold out. *Crack.* The avatar's flesh shattered. An instant later, the avatar could no longer sustain itself and dissolved into nothingness. Failed! Lu Changsheng's first attempt to cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body with an avatar ended in failure. "An avatar at the Martial Saint level can't cultivate it. What about the Earth Saint level?" Lu Changsheng tried again. This time, he calibrated the avatar's power to the Earth Saint level. With his current Heavenly Saint-grade physical body, crafting an Earth Saint avatar was a bit more troublesome and taxing, but entirely feasible. Soon, Lu Changsheng's second avatar materialized. This second avatar was at the Earth Saint level. "Begin." Controlling the Earth Saint avatar, Lu Changsheng resumed cultivating the Reincarnation Divine Body according to the technique. Strands of deathly qi were drawn into the avatar. This time, the avatar was still annihilated by the deathly qi, though the rate of destruction was much slower. Yet over time, it still faced eradication. Ten percent, thirty percent, fifty percent, eighty percent... Ultimately, this Earth Saint avatar collapsed as well. Another failure. This was already the second attempt. "Could it be that the Reincarnation Divine Body is simply impossible to cultivate?" Lu Changsheng frowned deeply. Spirit bodies were one thing, but divine bodies were truly difficult to cultivate. Thinking carefully, it made sense: even across the Boundary Sea, among so many Sovereigns, how many Ancestor Realm experts existed? Achieving great completion in a divine body meant stepping directly into the Ancestor Realm. What was that? That was reaching the pinnacle in a single bound! How could such an ascent ever come easily? Yet upon analyzing the matter carefully, Lu Changsheng detected a crucial detail. "Deathly qi is inherently destructive. Any living being will inevitably be affected by it, and it will relentlessly corrode their flesh." "To resolve this, one must either possess no physical body—yet without a physical body, how can one cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body, which is inherently a physical practice?" "That leaves one final option: having the flesh regenerate faster than the deathly qi can corrode it. But that requires terrifying regenerative power, while deathly qi naturally counters regeneration." "However, I am different. I am using an avatar, and I can continuously replenish it from the outside to 'restore' it. As long as my avatar can endure the corrosion and I replenish it faster than the deathly qi destroys it, wouldn't I be able to cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body?" Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. He had truly found a way. He only needed to test it. Lu Changsheng condensed another avatar. This one was also at the Earth Saint level; an Earth Saint avatar was at least more resilient. For his third attempt, Lu Changsheng resumed cultivating the Reincarnation Divine Body. Sure enough, the avatar began to disintegrate once more. This time, however, Lu Changsheng instantly infused his true body's power into the avatar. When ten percent of the avatar's flesh eroded, no matter—he replenished ten percent. Thus, drain and replenishment alternated in endless succession. Cultivating the Reincarnation Divine Body was undeniably arduous. One day, two days, three days... A full month passed. Yes, an entire month. Inside the chamber, Lu Changsheng's true self continuously fed power to the avatar while doing everything possible to restore his own strength, fighting off the erosion of the deathly qi from the Reincarnation Bead. Through this month of relentless tug-of-war, the avatar did not collapse. *Buzz.* The next moment, within the avatar, countless peculiar runes seemed to coalesce into a "seed"—a seed resembling the Reincarnation Bead, emanating rich deathly qi. Through constant erosion, the deathly qi had thoroughly fused with the avatar's flesh. *Crack.* At last, the Reincarnation Bead cracked, shattering into fragments that scattered across the floor. *Whoosh.* Lu Changsheng's avatar opened its eyes. The true self and the avatar exchanged a glance. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on taking the first step in forming the divine body!" Lu Changsheng's true self said with a smile. "Haha, you and I are one and the same. Congratulations to us both!" "Besides, calling it formed is premature; right now, we have merely laid the foundation for the Reincarnation Divine Body," Lu Changsheng's avatar replied. This gave Lu Changsheng a rather peculiar sensation, because hearing the avatar speak was no different from speaking to himself, as though he were talking to his own reflection. Nevertheless, his method had truly succeeded. The avatar had actually begun cultivating the Reincarnation Divine Body. Though it was only the foundation, this foundation was of utmost significance—it meant he had crossed the threshold of the Reincarnation Divine Body and could continue advancing. Even if he left the Kunwu World, the divine body could still be cultivated. Lu Changsheng summoned his attribute panel: Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 62,680,000 (Peerless Through the Ages) Infinite Martial Dao: Master of Ten Thousand Daos (Perfection) Reincarnation Divine Body: 1% (Avatar) Flesh Martial Dao: Octonary Growth Comprehension Deduction: Can consume a large amount of comprehension to deduce Sure enough, the Reincarnation Divine Body now appeared on the attribute panel. However, the progress stood at merely 1%, vastly far from 100% perfection. Yet this was a promising start. Moreover, it provided Lu Changsheng with a brand-new idea—or rather, it opened an entirely new door for him. So divine bodies and spirit bodies could be cultivated like this? Cultivating them through avatars! When the time came, whether spirit bodies or divine bodies, Lu Changsheng could cultivate them through avatars. He would no longer need to worry about mutual conflict. The only problem was that even if they could be cultivated, reaching perfection with a spirit or divine body was exceptionally difficult. Still, that was no matter. Lu Changsheng had numerous avatars; if energy or resources fell short, he could simply choose what to prioritize later. "The wonder of the Reincarnation Divine Body..." With a shift in thought, his avatar struck out with a palm. *Boom!* Instantly, dense deathly qi surged, startling even Lu Changsheng himself. Now Lu Changsheng understood the terrifying potency of the avatar's Reincarnation Divine Body. With just this single strike, it rivaled a Limit Realm expert—rivaling even peak Limit Realm masters! If the Reincarnation Divine Body advanced further, reaching 2%, 3%, or over 10%, how immense would its might become? He only wondered what percentage corresponded to the Sovereign Realm. Was it 10%, or 50%? Lu Changsheng was unsure, but once his cultivation neared the Sovereign Realm, he would likely find out. When the time came, he wouldn't need to fear being expelled from the Kunwu World. Even if expelled, it would only be an avatar, posing no real consequence to Lu Changsheng. "The Reincarnation Divine Body has been initiated, but what is the next step?" "How do I continue cultivating it?" Lu Changsheng sank into deep contemplation. He had just tested it with his avatar. Cultivating step-by-step on his own was viable; the Reincarnation Divine Body could still make progress, requiring an environment heavy with deathly qi. Yet even in an environment rich in deathly qi, progress was agonizingly slow. Over a thousand or ten thousand years, reaching 10% would already be considered good fortune. As for 100%? Even over a hundred thousand or a million years, reaching perfection was out of the question. A Heavenly Saint had a lifespan of one hundred thousand years. A Martial Dao Sovereign lived for a million years. If a hundred thousand or a million years could not bring the Reincarnation Divine Body to perfection, wouldn't that just be a dead end? One would never advance to the Ancestor Realm in their entire lifetime. Therefore, to cultivate the Reincarnation Divine Body to perfection, the only way was to remain in the Kunwu World—in fact, to stay here permanently. Furthermore, successfully cultivating the divine body with an avatar broadened Lu Changsheng's perspective. He truly had a way to remain in the Kunwu World permanently. The reason was simple: avatars. He could leave an avatar behind; as long as the avatar did not attain the Martial Dao Sovereign level, it could stay in the Kunwu World indefinitely. Even if his true self became a Martial Dao Sovereign, it would not matter. Or, if one day the avatar reached the Martial Dao Sovereign level, that wouldn't matter either. For that avatar could split off another avatar, which could likewise remain in the Kunwu World. In this way, Lu Changsheng could stay in the Kunwu World forever. This was something countless experts dreamed of. Even Ancestor Realm figures, had they known, would flock to such an opportunity. Yet they could not. Ancestor Realm figures might possess incarnations; for instance, Martial Ancestor Gufu, one of the three great Martial Ancestors, had an incarnation stationed in the Immortal Martial World. However, that required specific conditions: the incarnation could survive only by maintaining a connection with the true self. Once severed from the true self, the incarnation would collapse. Yet the Kunwu World was completely isolated from the Boundary Sea. Should anyone's incarnation enter the Kunwu World, it would be cut off entirely, lose its connection, and crumble. Lu Changsheng, however, was different. His avatars did not need to maintain contact with the true body. Even without any link, the avatar could act autonomously without the slightest hindrance, allowing it to remain in the Kunwu World indefinitely. Lu Changsheng instantly recognized the immense value of his flesh avatars. Its utility was simply staggering. From now on, the Kunwu World could serve as his inexhaustible treasure trove. After all, whether cultivating spirit bodies, divine bodies, or even immortal bodies, the Kunwu World was indispensable. Only the myriad resources of the Kunwu World could sustain the cultivation of spirit bodies, divine bodies, and immortal bodies. Leaving the Kunwu World, Lu Changsheng's hope of bringing the Reincarnation Divine Body to perfection would be nothing more than a pipe dream. Even with comprehension that was Peerless Through the Ages, he could do nothing without resources. It was the harsh reality of resource limitation. "Since that's the case, spirit bodies can be cultivated as well." "In the future, I won't have to worry about obtaining a spirit body method and being unable to practice it." "My true body won't cultivate spirit bodies, but my avatars can." At this moment, an ambition was beginning to take shape within Lu Changsheng. Once he succeeded in cultivating both spirit and divine bodies—when countless avatars practiced all manner of spirit bodies and divine bodies—and the day came when all avatars returned to the true body... what would happen then? One possibility was that the spirit and divine bodies would clash, tearing the physical vessel apart. If such a danger existed, he could simply test it by merging one avatar with another first to observe the results. Another possibility was that the spirit and divine bodies would fuse, a quantitative shift triggering a qualitative leap into an inconceivable realm! As for having numerous avatars making cultivation difficult? That mattered not. Lu Changsheng's Peerless Through the Ages comprehension was more than sufficient to sustain the cultivation of many avatars. Even an immortal body would be no exception. Comprehension that was Peerless Through the Ages was enough! "Therefore, perhaps I don't even need to fixate solely on searching for fragments of the Tombstone of the Mortal Immortal." "If I have enough divine and spirit bodies for my avatars to cultivate, the accumulation might ultimately spark a qualitative breakthrough as well." "Yet to ensure absolute certainty, I should walk on both legs—pursuing both paths with equal resolve!" "Spirit body is what I desire; divine body is also what I desire; and immortal body is what I desire as well. All three—I want them all..." A sharp glint flashed across Lu Changsheng's eyes.