"This..."
Shock!
Ou Fuchun was utterly shaken!
Witnessing the scene unfolding before him, Ou Fuchun could hardly believe his eyes.
What was he looking at?
This was an enormous expanse of mountainous forest.
Yet the person before him had made tens of li of mountains and woods tremble, causing the ground to fissure in a true overturning of heaven and earth.
The shattered remnants and broken walls buried deep beneath the earth were turned up to the surface, seeing the light of day once more.
What kind of immense might was this?
Though Ou Fuchun had only forged a spirit body, he had seen divine body experts before.
He had even encountered top-tier divine body experts.
While those top-tier divine body experts were undeniably powerful and could kill him with ease, creating a spectacle like this—as though rewriting the heavens and earth—was utterly impossible even for them.
They could not accomplish it at all!
The man standing before him seemed to exist on an entirely different level from top-tier divine body experts.
As for what lay beyond that, Ou Fuchun had no idea.
That was a realm far beyond his comprehension.
As Lu Changsheng unleashed his tremendous power, truly turning heaven and earth upside down, he dug three zhang—no, ten zhang deep into the ground, dredging up the ruined structures buried in the depths.
At this moment, clear signs of artificial construction could be seen beneath the earth.
Yet everything appeared shattered.
Ou Fuchun could scarcely believe it and murmured under his breath, "Could it all be true? Was this truly once the weapon-refining grounds of my Ou clan?"
"But how did it end up like this?"
"Every single building is utterly ruined, reduced to rubble..."
Ou Fuchun could also tell that these broken walls were abnormal.
This was not what ordinary buildings buried underground should look like.
Lu Changsheng's expression, meanwhile, turned solemn.
Initially, he had only sensed a faint, lingering trace of an aura.
Now, however, he had drawn upon the power of his avatars, using strength close to the Sovereign Realm to overturn these ruins onto the surface.
Because of this, the lingering aura of that descending divine palm from long ago emanated in full force.
A sense of dread stirred in Lu Changsheng's heart.
*This power... is definitely not of the Ancestor Realm!*
At this moment, Lu Changsheng was absolutely certain.
This was definitely not the Ancestor Realm; it most likely surpassed it.
In fact, Lu Changsheng carefully recalled the Giant Spirit Ancestor he had glimpsed within that drop of the Giant Spirit Ancestor's essence blood.
The aura he had felt from the Giant Spirit Ancestor seemed virtually identical to this one.
*Wait... the Giant Spirit Ancestor...*
Lu Changsheng's heart jolted!
The Giant Spirit Ancestor.
A flash of inspiration seemed to cross his mind.
Wasn't this lingering aura identical to the essence blood of the Giant Spirit Ancestor he had refined back then?
No wonder Lu Changsheng had felt a faint sense of familiarity alongside his dread.
Yet could it truly be the Giant Spirit Ancestor?
That divine palm falling from the heavens had wiped out a region spanning tens of li in a single strike, casting the flourishing Ou clan straight into the dust.
What terrifying might that was!
Upon closer thought, such raw violence, directness, and overwhelming power matched the Giant Spirit Ancestor perfectly.
However, the Giant Spirit Ancestor was the progenitor of the Giant Spirit race and had resided in the Boundary Sea.
Why would he appear in the Kunwu World?
Wasn't anyone above the Sovereign Realm barred from entering the Kunwu World and repelled by it?
If it truly had been the Giant Spirit Ancestor, how had he come to the Kunwu World?
Lu Changsheng looked at the scene before him.
With a thought, his flesh avatar quickly split off a wisp of flesh and blood.
Lu Changsheng had refined the essence blood of the Giant Spirit Ancestor after all, so his flesh and blood contained the Giant Spirit Ancestor's aura.
It was exceptionally pure—even purer than the bloodline of the Giant Spirit race itself.
Even though such pure essence blood had merged into his body, Lu Changsheng could still coalesce a faint trace of it.
As that wisp of the Giant Spirit Ancestor's essence blood gathered, Lu Changsheng felt an immediate resonance.
The terrifying lingering aura in this place surged directly toward Lu Changsheng's body.
Yes, it rushed straight at him.
At this moment, Lu Changsheng was like a vortex, madly absorbing countless mysterious, mighty traces of aura.
Yet it did not seem to be an active absorption; rather, it was passive.
It was as if the power was pouring itself entirely into his body.
*Boom!*
The next instant, a roar sounded in Lu Changsheng's mind.
He vividly seemed to "see" an image.
Or rather, a scene appeared within his consciousness.
Ten thousand years ago, during the peak of the Ou clan's glory, a divine palm had suddenly descended from the heavens directly above Xu Mountain.
The palm was colossal, blotting out the sky and sun as it plummeted.
Lu Changsheng tried to follow the colossal palm upward with his inner sight.
The owner of that palm seemed to stand high above the firmament.
No, not above the firmament.
Lu Changsheng seemed to vaguely make out an unimaginably towering figure standing beyond the void itself.
That was... the Giant Spirit Ancestor!
Lu Changsheng's heart trembled violently!
He saw it.
This time, he truly saw it!
By relying on the essence blood of the Giant Spirit Ancestor and gathering the lingering aura left behind by that strike, he had truly managed to reenact the scene from the past.
He "saw" that the owner of that divine palm had not been inside the Kunwu World at all, but outside it.
In the Boundary Sea!
Even across the barrier of the Kunwu World, that colossal figure was visible.
That divine palm had struck down directly from the Boundary Sea, reducing Xu Mountain to ruins.
Lu Changsheng was genuinely shaken.
To unleash such a terrifying palm strike across the Kunwu World and level Xu Mountain in one blow...
Was this the might of an Immortal Realm figure?
The difference between the Ancestor Realm and the Immortal Realm was truly as vast as clouds and mud.
The gap between them was likely greater than that between an ant and an elephant.
*The Giant Spirit Ancestor sought to annihilate the Ou clan all the way from the Boundary Sea, and the Mortal Immortal tombstone is suspected to have come from the Ou clan's hands...*
Lu Changsheng seemed to vaguely grasp something.
Though he still lacked a full picture, connecting the two at least suggested the Ou clan had possessed deep ties to an Immortal Realm powerhouse back then.
Very deep ties indeed.
Otherwise, it would not have brought about a calamity of complete extermination.
Had that divine palm not been a calamity of extermination?
Ever since that day, the Ou clan had fallen into decline, never to regain its former glory.
By now, the clan was on the brink of dying out entirely.
And the origin of it all had begun with that descending divine palm.
"Senior, what connection do you have with my Ou clan?" Ou Fuchun could not help but ask.
Today had simply been too shocking for him.
Even Ou Fuchun himself had not known the true state of Xu Mountain.
How had this mysterious expert learned of it?
Moreover, this man had shown no interest in the Ou clan's ancestral heirloom and had returned it to him.
What on earth did he want, then?
Ou Fuchun did not believe for a second that someone would make such a massive commotion merely to appreciate an expanse of rubble.
He had to have a purpose.
"What connection?" Lu Changsheng shook his head. "I have no ties to the Ou clan. I merely need to verify a few matters with someone of your bloodline."
"From the looks of it, you are the only one left in the Ou clan."
"In that case, do you recognize this object?"
Lu Changsheng brought out the Mortal Immortal tombstone fragments.
He currently held six fragments, which together formed the greater part of the tombstone.
One could already clearly tell it was a funerary stele.
"This is... a tombstone?"
"A broken tombstone, and the characters upon it... are very strange. I don't recognize them."
"Senior, what is this broken tombstone? Does it have something to do with the Ou clan?"
Ou Fuchun asked one question after another.
Clearly, Ou Fuchun was completely in the dark as well.
Lu Changsheng felt no disappointment.
This was well within his expectations.
After all, across ten thousand years—or even tens of thousands of years—how many people could possibly remember the Mortal Immortal tombstone?
Ou Fuchun did not even know the full extent of his clan's former glory.
How could he know about this tombstone?
Yet Lu Changsheng did not give up.
This was the most crucial lead he had found so far.
"This is a tombstone. Do you see the emblem upon it? It should be the mark of your Ou clan. Surely you recognize this?" Lu Changsheng pointed to the symbol and asked.
Ou Fuchun nodded. "Indeed, this tombstone should have been crafted by my Ou clan. But I truly know nothing about it. The ancient records in our family never mentioned it, or perhaps they did and the records were lost. At the very least, I have no knowledge of it..."
Lu Changsheng could tell Ou Fuchun was telling the truth.
He truly might not know.
"Then do you know of... the Mortal Immortal?" Lu Changsheng asked again.
"Mortal Immortal..."
Ou Fuchun pondered the words carefully.
The next moment, his face changed drastically.
"You... you are searching for the Mortal Immortal?"
Ou Fuchun's voice trembled.
Seeing Ou Fuchun's reaction, Lu Changsheng smiled.
As expected, Ou Fuchun did know something.
Or rather, the Ou clan had indeed passed something down.
Otherwise, Ou Fuchun would not have reacted so violently to the words "Mortal Immortal."
"You know of the Mortal Immortal?"
"Recount every piece of information and every clue you know regarding the Mortal Immortal in detail."
"Tell me what you know without concealment. Otherwise, just as I can save you, I can also kill you."
"You are the only one left in the Ou clan. You should understand what takes precedence."
Lu Changsheng spoke calmly.
It was a warning.
Ou Fuchun naturally understood what was important.
For him and his clan now, aside from ensuring he did not die and the Ou clan's treasure was not lost, what secrets were left that could not be shared?
Keeping them hidden served no purpose anymore.
Preserving the Ou clan and safeguarding its heirloom were the only things that truly mattered!
"Senior, regarding the Mortal Immortal, there is actually a story in our family that has always been passed down orally from patriarch to patriarch, strictly forbidden from being recorded in writing."
"The Ou clan has passed through countless generations. Many treasures and ancient texts have been lost, but that single sentence concerning the Mortal Immortal was never forgotten."
"If Senior wishes to hear it, I will tell you."
Ou Fuchun took a deep breath, then spoke each word with great care: "Where three rivers meet lies the immortal's tomb! The Mortal Dao Field, the stairway to Ascending Heaven!"
"Senior, this is the sentence passed down by word of mouth through the generations of my Ou clan. It consists of merely sixteen characters and seems to carry profound meaning, but I have never been able to fathom it..."
Ou Fuchun shook his head.
How could he not realize that a phrase passed down through generations of patriarchs contained a tremendous secret?
Yet what did it matter?
No matter how grand the secret, the Ou clan had derived no benefit from it.
Now that the clan was on the verge of extinction, what meaning did it hold?
When Lu Changsheng heard those sixteen characters, a ringing echoed in his ears.
Inspiration erupted within his mind.
Excitement!
Thrill!
Even with Lu Changsheng's usual composure, he could hardly suppress the surge of exhilaration in his heart.
A lead!
This was an actual clue to the Mortal Immortal!
Those sixteen characters were actually quite straightforward to decipher.
At the very least, "where three rivers meet" was easy to comprehend.
It clearly pointed to a specific location.
"Ou Fuchun, is there any place in the Wenhua Divine Dynasty where three rivers converge?" Lu Changsheng asked directly.
"There is!"
"The place where three rivers meet should be outside Tianshui City."
"Outside Tianshui City, three great rivers converge before flowing into the sea together."
"However, I have been to Tianshui City before. Driven to desperation in the past, I went to that confluence hoping to find some stroke of fortune, but I ended up with nothing at all,"
Ou Fuchun said truthfully.
With those sixteen characters being so straightforward, how could he have remained indifferent?
Unfortunately, he had found nothing.
Yet that did not mean Lu Changsheng would also come away empty-handed.
"Tianshui City..."
Lu Changsheng glanced at Ou Fuchun, then said, "Then come with me to Tianshui City."
Lu Changsheng could not leave Ou Fuchun behind here.
What if Ou Fuchun died?
Right now, Ou Fuchun was the sole remaining descendant of the Ou clan.
Who knew what other clues or information about the Mortal Immortal the Ou clan might hold?
In short, keeping Ou Fuchun alive was essential.
Therefore, Ou Fuchun could not be allowed to die.
Yet with so many people hunting Ou Fuchun, the only way to keep him safe was to bring him along.
With that, Lu Changsheng grabbed Ou Fuchun by the collar, transformed into a streak of light, and vanished into the horizon.
***
Tianshui City, where three rivers converged.
Lu Changsheng had not yet entered Tianshui City, but he was not far from it.
From a distance, he could already make out the city walls.
Lu Changsheng and Ou Fuchun were riding in a carriage.
Two months had passed.
Ou Fuchun had been injured before, but after two months of recuperation, his wounds had healed completely, and his body was restored.
Over the course of these two months, Lu Changsheng and Ou Fuchun's journey had been far from smooth.
On the contrary, they had faced repeated blockades, assassinations, and ambushes along the way.
All sorts of people had tried every conceivable method to eliminate Lu Changsheng and Ou Fuchun.
Unfortunately for them, nearly everyone who made a move was slain by Lu Changsheng.
Among them were no small number of experts who had laid the foundation of a divine body.
With so many dead, Lu Changsheng had gradually built a fearsome reputation.
Many now knew that Ou Fuchun was in the hands of a top-tier powerhouse named Lu Changsheng.
Once the word spread, very few dared to block their path.
Lu Changsheng had not encountered an ambush for half a month.
Now that they were nearing Tianshui City, however, Lu Changsheng encountered another roadblock.
This time, the person in the way was somewhat unusual.
"Halt."
Lu Changsheng stopped the carriage.
He did not lift the curtain, but he was fully aware of the situation outside.
There were not many interceptors; in fact, there were extraordinarily few.
There was only one person!
"State your name! Lest you die by my hand as a nameless ghost!" Lu Changsheng's voice drifted out from within the carriage.
The man outside was dressed in black robes, burly in stature, with a cold demeanor.
"I am not here to block your path, only to deliver a warning."
"Ou Fuchun, go no further."
"If you continue forward, Tianshui City will be your burial ground!"
"Tianshui City—or rather, the confluence of the three rivers—has long been set with an inescapable dragnet. The moment you enter, you will be turtles trapped in a jar."
"Change your course. That is your only hope of survival."
Having said his piece, the man in black turned to leave.
"Wait, who on earth are you?" Ou Fuchun called out.
He did not recognize the black-robed man either.
Yet the man was clearly offering a well-intentioned warning.
"Me?"
"My surname is Meng. Were it not for my little sister's bitter pleading, I would never have warned you."
"After today, Ou Fuchun, you and my sister have nothing more to do with each other!"
The black-robed man's tone was resolute.
Ou Fuchun clearly recalled something.
"Surname Meng... Is it her?"
Ou Fuchun remembered.
His expression dimmed, tinged with a touch of sorrow.
Yet he was powerless.
"Mr. Lu, it is all because of me that you are dragged into this."
"This Meng... what he said is most likely true. Tianshui City is probably packed with experts, all waiting for us to walk into the trap."
"Should we... change our route?" Ou Fuchun suggested cautiously.
"Change our route?"
"The confluence of the three rivers lies just outside Tianshui City. Even if we change our route, we must still go there."
"Your enemies are not fools; they have obviously deduced that our destination is the confluence of the three rivers, and preparations have likely been made there as well."
"Unless we decide not to go to the confluence, but that is out of the question..."
Lu Changsheng shook his head.
Having come this close, how could he possibly turn back?
"No need to enter the city. We head straight for the confluence of the three rivers!" Lu Changsheng said calmly.
He would head straight toward the tiger's mountain despite knowing the tiger dwelt there!
What none of them understood, perhaps, was that the true tiger was Lu Changsheng himself.
He was the real beast of prey.
"Ah..."
"Senior Lu, are we truly going?"
Seeing Lu Changsheng's calm demeanor, Ou Fuchun gritted his teeth and understood his resolve.
"Let's go!"
Without further hesitation, Ou Fuchun drove the carriage, bypassing Tianshui City.
This movement did not escape the eyes watching from within Tianshui City.
"They've moved. They're bypassing the city."
"Did they truly leave?"
"It's all because of that Meng... he ruined our plans!"
"Hmph, they wouldn't abandon their goal so easily. See if they are heading toward the confluence of the three rivers."
"What else is there near Tianshui City? Aside from the confluence, I can't think of anywhere else they would go."
"Then we wait for them at the confluence..."
In an instant, many figures exchanged thoughts in secret.
Gradually, Tianshui City settled into silence.
Lu Changsheng rested inside the carriage with his eyes closed.
He appeared relaxed and leisurely, entirely unconcerned.
Ou Fuchun, on the other hand, was fraught with anxiety. He knew Lu Changsheng was tremendously powerful, far beyond his imagination.
Yet Ou Fuchun also understood what it meant to other clans and factions now that word had leaked about the Ou clan's heirloom.
Who wouldn't want to seize the Ou clan's ancestral treasure?
It was the very foundation of a faction!
No matter how much the Ou clan had declined over ten thousand years—or even tens of thousands of years—they had never vanished into the river of time.
What had they relied upon?
It was precisely that heirloom treasure!
This treasure could ensure that every generation of the clan or faction produced experts at the spirit body or divine body level.
With spirit body and divine body experts, one could fundamentally preserve one's heritage.
Without such a treasure, let alone ten thousand years, even a few centuries could see a flourishing faction collapse, fade into obscurity, and vanish entirely.
Such was the value of an heirloom treasure.
Originally, the existence of this treasure had been a closely guarded secret.
Once exposed, however, it had brought about the destruction of the Ou clan.
They had been hunted relentlessly until only Ou Fuchun remained.
Even so, without obtaining the heirloom, those factions and experts would never let the matter rest.
They continued their pursuit of Ou Fuchun.
Now, Ou Fuchun could only pin his hopes on Lu Changsheng.
Without Lu Changsheng, even if he did not die today, he would certainly be hunted down eventually.
He had no other choice.
Though the carriage traveled slowly, the confluence of the three rivers was close by.
As they advanced, Ou Fuchun could already hear the rumbling surge of river currents.
*Rumble!*
It was the tide.
It was said that at the confluence of the three rivers, tidal surges occurred from time to time.
The waves swept in with tremendous grandeur.
Many made special trips just to view the spectacle of the three rivers' tides.
The so-called confluence of three rivers was where the Ling River, the Hun River, and the Qianhui River converged.
Together, they formed a singular natural wonder.
This magnificent and unique landscape had drawn countless visitors over thousands of years.
"Whoa."
The carriage slowly came to a halt.
They could go no further.
Any further, and they would be in the water.
A carriage could not cross the river.
"Senior Lu, we have arrived," Ou Fuchun said softly.
"Have we?"
Lu Changsheng drew back the curtain and stepped down.
Ou Fuchun followed closely behind.
The two stood by the riverbank, gazing out at the grand sight of the three converging rivers.
A surge of heroic sentiment naturally rose within them.
"Heh."
"They aren't bothering to hide at all."
"Ou Fuchun, it seems they are determined to take your clan's heirloom."
Lu Changsheng cast his gaze over the people gathered near the confluence.
Most of them were not ordinary individuals.
There were spirit body experts as well as divine body experts.
Clearly, their target was the heirloom on Ou Fuchun's person!
Yet asking Ou Fuchun to surrender the treasure was impossible.
It was his very lifeblood.
Ou Fuchun understood that without the heirloom, the Ou clan would be finished sooner or later.
"Senior Lu, it is I who have burdened you..." Ou Fuchun said, his spirits sinking.
In truth, Lu Changsheng could have chosen to abandon Ou Fuchun.
He could have let those people fight over Ou Fuchun while he searched for clues regarding the Mortal Immortal on his own.
Yet Lu Changsheng would not do that.
Not out of guilt or soft-heartedness, but because he still needed Ou Fuchun, the sole surviving descendant of the Ou clan.
"A pack of wolves circling—what of it?"
Lu Changsheng grabbed Ou Fuchun with one hand and took a step forward.
*Buzz.*
As though lotus flowers bloomed beneath his feet with every stride, Lu Changsheng walked on air, step by step, ascending toward the sky above the confluence of the three rivers.
Then, his voice reverberated across the void.
"Hear me, all of you."
"Ou Fuchun is under my protection!"
"Anyone who dares follow further shall be slain without mercy!"
Lu Changsheng's voice rolled like thunder across the vicinity of the three rivers.
His words were like a spark dropped into a powder keg, instantly detonating the crowd.
"Arrogant! Who does this Lu Changsheng think he is? Does he wish to monopolize Ou Fuchun's treasure all for himself?"
"Lu Changsheng's strength is decent; several waves of pursuers failed along the way, so he must be a top-tier divine body expert. But given the current situation, so what if he is? If he wants to protect Ou Fuchun, he makes himself the enemy of us all, and that means death!"
"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. Lu Changsheng's words are utter madness..."
No one took Lu Changsheng's warning to heart.
So many top experts were gathered here.
Did he think a single threat could make them give up on Ou Fuchun?
Was that possible?
Of course not!
Lu Changsheng had not expected a single sentence to have much effect either.
Still, he could not be bothered to care.
He had spoken his piece.
If those people still dared to approach or attack, they could not blame him.
Courtesy before force!
Having delivered the warning, Lu Changsheng paid them no further mind.
His objective was the confluence of the three rivers, to search for clues regarding the Mortal Immortal.
Yet the confluence was vast and completely open.
A single sweep of the eyes took in the entire expanse.
Where could the clue be?
Lu Changsheng furrowed his brow.
No wonder Ou Fuchun had found nothing when he came here in the past.
The reason was simple: in such an open place, there were precious few spots capable of concealing a secret.
The only possibility was underwater!
Lu Changsheng turned his gaze beneath the surface of the converging rivers.
Yet how was one to search such a broad and deep riverbed?
Even when Lu Changsheng swept the riverbed with his consciousness, he failed to detect anything amiss.
Given that this involved a Mortal Immortal, it was entirely normal for the secret to evade or block mental perception.
Unless he turned the entire riverbed upside down!
Yet what immense power would that require?
The commotion would be monumental!
Ou Fuchun certainly could not accomplish it.
Even most divine body experts could not.
However, just because divine body experts could not do it did not mean Lu Changsheng could not.
Moving mountains, draining seas, and turning heaven and earth upside down were trivial matters to him.
Lu Changsheng glanced around.
He could tell that many were watching and prying, ready to strike at any moment.
For now, held in check by one another and unable to gauge his true depth, they had not yet made a move.
It did not matter.
If they did not act, Lu Changsheng would not needlessly slaughter them.
He would simply attend to his own business.
If they dared reach out a hand, he would strike them down without mercy!
With that thought, Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer.
The aura around his body surged.
His avatars began to fuse, and his presence climbed steadily.
Finally, his momentum reached a critical threshold and broke through.
*Boom!*
Lu Changsheng's presence shot straight into the heavens.
Countless avatars merged, elevating his avatar's power into the Sovereign Realm.
And that was merely the beginning.
Ordinary Sovereign Realm, peak Sovereign Realm, limit Sovereign Realm...
At this point, the aura on Lu Changsheng stopped rising.
A terrifying force of repulsion descended in an instant.
Lu Changsheng knew very well that he had only ten breaths of time.
He looked down at the vast river surface below.
Lu Changsheng extended both hands.
Reaching out across the void, he made a grasping motion.
It was as though he held the immense, sprawling rivers within the embrace of his two hands.
"Rise!"
Instantly, an astounding scene unfolded.
*Rumble!*
The tranquil rivers abruptly erupted in turmoil.
Colossal waves surged toward the heavens as the earth trembled and the mountains shook, the mighty waters roaring.
The vast expanse of water was forcibly parted by a terrifying, invisible power.
Waves rose a hundred zhang high,
laying bare the profound depths of the riverbed!
Seeing this, everyone was struck dumb with horror.
To manipulate the raging torrents of three converging rivers within the palm of his hands...
What kind of immense might was this?
Even among peak divine body experts, even with the aid of divine items, who could achieve such a feat?
Perhaps only the legendary national divine items could unleash such divine majesty!
Chapter 343