White Bone's Ambush; Lu Changsheng Descends with the Illusory Realm to Slay a True Immortal!

Death spirits were immortal and indestructible within the spatial layers of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Lu Changsheng had already tested this earlier. No matter how he dispersed a death spirit, it proved utterly useless; the creature would always reconstitute itself. Yet now, things were different. As Lu Changsheng unleashed the divine ability Devour Spirit, he swallowed the death spirit in a single gulp. He clearly sensed the death spirit being ground down bit by bit inside the Devour Spirit divine ability until it was thoroughly converted into nourishment, reduced completely to nothingness. Gone! There was no trace of the death spirit left. The creature did not reappear as it had before. "It worked?" Lu Changsheng felt a flicker of joy. Indeed, the death spirit was truly gone. Furthermore, as he examined his condition closely, he discovered that his Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit seemed to have grown ever so slightly. Though the growth was minuscule—not even advancing the Dao Fruit's progress to two percent, remaining at one percent—it did not matter. Lu Changsheng could feel that it had truly progressed. Devouring a death spirit with Devour Spirit was unquestionably beneficial to the Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit. A single death spirit was simply insufficient to push the Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit forward by a full percentage point. Even so, this gave Lu Changsheng boundless inspiration. More importantly, it presented an immense opportunity. Since the Devour Spirit divine ability could deal with death spirits, could he not sweep clean all the death spirits across the entire first layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield? At that thought, Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. In truth, an unknowable number of immortals had already swept through this first layer. Dreaming of finding a powerful immortal treasure here was sheer fantasy. Yet that was of no consequence. What if something had been overlooked? Besides, even if nothing had been missed and not a single immortal treasure remained, his Devour Spirit divine ability would still grow, and his Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit would still advance. That alone was enough! "Time to begin…" Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer and immediately sprang into action, pushing straight toward the depths of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield's first spatial layer. *** Within the first layer of the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield, the White Bone Immortal was currently searching around. The name White Bone Immortal carried the distinct ring of a demonic fiend. In truth, that was essentially what he was. He had also ascended to the Heaven Realm from the lower realm. It was said that during his time in the lower realm, the White Bone Immortal had slaughtered countless living beings, earning renown as a notorious archdemon. Yet the Heaven Realm was different. The Heaven Realm embraced everything under the sun. Be they demons, fiends, or even martial artists—all who stood here were immortals! Strictly speaking, Lu Changsheng was a Martial Immortal. Titles such as Demon Immortal, Fiend Immortal, and Martial Immortal had existed in the past, but they had gradually fallen out of use. The Heaven Realm cared nothing for whether one was a demon, fiend, or martial artist; an immortal was an immortal regardless. In the Heaven Realm, conduct was subject to few taboos, provided one did not provoke other immortals. If another immortal took offense to one's actions, they could easily wipe that person out. For instance, certain Heavenly Immortals abhorred demonic immortals who slaughtered whole cities and exterminated clans. Encountering such a cultivator would mean instant death. Consequently, ever since the White Bone Immortal ascended to the Heaven Realm, he had kept an exceptionally low profile, no longer daring to slaughter cities or eradicate clans on a whim. Even so, he yearned to establish a Dao field. Ordinary means could never secure an immortal treasure capable of anchoring destiny, leaving him no choice but to try his luck in the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Yet after circling through the first spatial layer several times, he still came up entirely empty-handed. Instead, he had run into several death spirits. After trading blows with them, he found them exceedingly troublesome and could only steer clear from a distance. The deeper he pressed, the more death spirits appeared. If a swarm of them surrounded him, even the White Bone Immortal would be in grave danger. Yet descending to the second layer would undoubtedly be even more perilous. In the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield, each successive layer was far more hazardous than the last. When the White Bone Immortal ventured into the battlefield this time, he had harbored no intention of entering the second layer. "Alas." "Back in the lower realm, how glorious was my reign?" "Who would have thought that after reaching the Heaven Realm, I would end up walking on eggshells at every turn, bound by restrictions everywhere? It truly falls short of the freedom of the lower realm." "Still, if I can obtain an immortal treasure to anchor destiny and establish a Dao field, I will be able to restore the grandeur I once commanded…" The White Bone Immortal burned with longing to establish his own Dao field. "Huh?" "Why haven't I encountered any death spirits lately?" "This is deep within the first layer. Logically, their numbers should only increase. Could my luck truly be so good that I haven't run into a single one?" The White Bone Immortal sensed something amiss. When circumstances deviated from the norm, treachery was surely afoot. Failing to encounter death spirits was not necessarily a good omen. Just as he was puzzling over this, he suddenly detected a ripple of energy. It was the signature of a death spirit. There was another fluctuation as well—one that seemed to belong to an immortal! Someone was battling the death spirits! A thought stirred in the White Bone Immortal's mind. An immortal… Back in the lower realm, he had stopped at nothing, and ambushing others was second nature to him. Only upon arriving in the Heaven Realm had he felt constrained on all sides. Yet this Ancient Immortal Battlefield was different. It was completely cut off from the outside world. Whatever occurred within this space would remain unknown beyond its borders. If an immortal perished here, it would not cause the slightest ripple outside. This immediately reminded the White Bone Immortal of the several great leaps in his cultivation back in the lower realm. Every single one had been achieved by picking the scraps of other cultivators, slaying them, and seizing their wealth to soar skyward. Now, inside this spatial layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, such an ideal environment presented itself once again. The White Bone Immortal instantly recalled his old trade. Suppressing his aura completely, he crept silently toward the source of the fluctuations. His aura-concealment technique was extraordinary. Once, while cloaking his presence, he had evaded even the notice of a Heavenly Immortal-tier immortal beast, which proved just how profound his concealment was. After all, as an archdemon, if he could not conceal his presence, how could he strike from the shadows, and how could he play the oriole lurking behind the mantis? Thus, when the White Bone Immortal soundlessly approached the source of the disturbance, he was greeted by an astonishing sight. What did he see? An immortal. More precisely, a True Immortal. At that moment, the True Immortal was ringed by layer upon layer of death spirits. By the White Bone Immortal's rough count, there were about fifteen of them. Fifteen! Individually, death spirits were not terribly strong—at most comparable to an ordinary True Immortal, and their offensive power was even inferior to one. However, when over a dozen death spirits converged, everything changed. Death spirits fought without fear, and they could not be killed. Once trapped, if a True Immortal failed to carve a path out, even they would perish. Witnessing this, the White Bone Immortal almost wanted to flee immediately. If that swarm of death spirits spotted him, the consequences would be catastrophic. To his mind, this True Immortal was doomed beyond all hope. There was no way out. He had no desire to share the same fate. Oddly enough, however, the other party appeared completely unperturbed. Instead, he looked exceedingly calm. To the White Bone Immortal, he seemed far too calm—abnormally so. Could a True Immortal truly possess a way to handle over a dozen death spirits? At that moment, Lu Changsheng stood in the midst of the death spirits, feeling rather pleased. He had no idea that the White Bone Immortal was watching his every move from the shadows. Surrounded by over a dozen death spirits, Lu Changsheng did not panic in the slightest. After all, these creatures were pure nourishment for his Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit. With so much nourishment before him, his Dao Fruit could finally feast to its heart's content. With that thought, Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer. The Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit within him trembled slightly. "Divine ability, Devour Spirit!" *Buzz.* A colossal black hole instantly materialized above the heads of the fifteen death spirits, expanding to swallow all of them in one fell swoop. A terrifying suction force immediately dragged every single death spirit into the void. "What?" Watching this, the White Bone Immortal could scarcely believe his eyes. What had he just witnessed? Over a dozen death spirits! Genuine death spirits! Any True Immortal encountering such a force would turn tail and flee, wouldn't they? Yet that unfamiliar True Immortal had actually unleashed a Dao Fruit divine ability and swallowed all fifteen of them at once. The White Bone Immortal saw it with utmost clarity. It was indisputably a Dao Fruit divine ability. He knew that a True Immortal's Dao Fruit divine abilities were formidable. But no matter how formidable, they could not kill death spirits. Countless True Immortals had already tried, and not even Heavenly Immortals could destroy them. He surmised that the opponent's divine ability was merely suppressing the death spirits temporarily. Yet suppressing over a dozen death spirits simultaneously was hardly a simple matter. They would likely break free of the divine ability's suppression before long. Time trickled past. The White Bone Immortal began to feel that something was amiss. Why had the death spirits still not broken free? On the contrary, the other man looked as though he had reaped immense benefits. "What is going on?" "Could he be suppressing them permanently?" The White Bone Immortal's eyes widened. Suppressing death spirits indefinitely... He understood full well what that implied. If a True Immortal could effortlessly suppress death spirits—even without killing them, so long as they could be contained—it meant that person could sweep across the first layer of the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield with ease. Every treasure in this first layer could be plundered clean. This was simply... incredible! "How did he suppress those death spirits?" "If it is a treasure, and if I could obtain it…" Greed flared within the White Bone Immortal's heart. He refused to leave now. He needed to watch further. If it truly was some sort of treasure capable of suppressing death spirits, perhaps this was his grand opportunity. Should he claim such a treasure, he would be able to soar straight to the heavens! Lu Changsheng had no idea that the White Bone Immortal had completely misunderstood the situation, much less that the misunderstanding had drawn the cultivator's covetous gaze. In reality, Lu Changsheng possessed no such treasure at all. Nor had he merely suppressed the death spirits. He had directly devoured and slain them using his Dao Fruit divine ability. "Over a dozen death spirits. This was quite a harvest," Lu Changsheng murmured under his breath, a faint smile gracing his lips. He promptly summoned his attribute panel to inspect his status. **Host:** Lu Changsheng **Comprehension:** 17,080,000 (Peerless Through the Ages) **Mortal Dao Fruit:** 2% (Illusory Realm divine ability) **Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit:** 11% (Devour Spirit divine ability) **Flesh Dao Fruit:** 1% (Mighty Power divine ability) **Physical Immortal Characteristic:** 1% **Annihilation Divine Eye:** True Immortal level **Slaughter Dao:** Nine Revolutions **Comprehension Deduction:** May expend vast amounts of comprehension to deduce techniques On the attribute panel, his comprehension points had finally increased by one million. This indicated that his avatar within the Qi clan had refined a substantial amount of Great Dao fragments. The Qi clan was now capable of steadily supplying Great Dao fragments for him to refine, yielding roughly one million comprehension points each year. Next was the progress of the Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit, which concerned Lu Changsheng most. It had already reached eleven percent, marking the greatest advancement among his three Dao Fruits. All the credit belonged to the death spirits. During this period, Lu Changsheng had been continuously hunting them down, almost scouring the entire first layer clean. Nevertheless, the spatial layer of this Ancient Immortal Battlefield was truly remarkable. Although he had essentially swept through the first layer, he could sense that given enough time—perhaps several centuries—it would spawn a vast number of death spirits once again. For Lu Changsheng, this was excellent news. If his Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit had yet to achieve a breakthrough by then, he could return to the first layer of the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield several centuries later and continue devouring them. "The first layer is virtually picked clean." "Even after consuming so many death spirits, the Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit has only reached eleven percent." "Achieving perfection to advance further will not be easy." Lu Changsheng understood this clearly. Advancing a Dao Fruit was an arduous task. Many cultivators waited until they attained the Heavenly Immortal realm before dedicating time and energy to nurturing their Dao Fruits. As for True Immortals, virtually none invested effort into advancing them, purely because the process was far too difficult. During his sweep of the first layer, though Lu Changsheng had devoured countless death spirits, he had not uncovered a single immortal treasure. It matched his earlier deduction. Even with vast numbers of death spirits lurking in the first layer, Heavenly Immortals feared nothing here. They must have scoured the place countless times long ago. How could any immortal treasure possibly remain? Thus, Lu Changsheng prepared to advance to the next spatial layer. Yet the moment he moved, the White Bone Immortal grew anxious. He could tell that Lu Changsheng intended to proceed to the next layer. If the man entered the second layer, would there still be any chance to seize the treasure? By now, the White Bone Immortal was entirely convinced that Lu Changsheng possessed a special treasure capable of suppressing death spirits. The divine ability had merely been a ruse to conceal the truth. The White Bone Immortal made up his mind. He was an archdemon. Though he did not know Lu Changsheng's true strength or identity, none of that mattered. How could he have cultivated to this point without taking risks? Only through taking risks could one maximize their gains! Lu Changsheng seemed entirely oblivious to any impending danger as he prepared to walk toward the passage to the second layer. Step by step, he drew near to where the White Bone Immortal lay hidden. The next instant, the White Bone Immortal struck. *Buzz.* He thrust his palm forward, and a beaded bracelet suddenly flew from his hand. The bracelet radiated a sinister black mist that surged forth, blanketing the sky and engulfing Lu Changsheng. At the same time, the White Bone Immortal spurred his Dao Fruit, instantly unleashing its innate divine ability. "Divine ability, Bone Corrosion!" The White Bone Immortal was decisive. Once committed, he held nothing back, striking with full force and deploying his Dao Fruit divine ability right from the start. As Bone Corrosion took effect, a layer of white radiance enveloped Lu Changsheng. Immediately after, Lu Changsheng's physical body began to rapidly disintegrate. The White Bone Immortal smiled. Anyone struck by his Bone Corrosion divine ability was doomed! He possessed absolute confidence in his divine ability. In the past, he had relied on Bone Corrosion to ambush and slay a True Immortal. He had kept that secret buried deep in his heart, never speaking of it to a soul. For an archdemon, the most critical trait was knowing how to keep a secret, and he was exceedingly good at it. He kept low when necessary, biding his time until now. When a risk had to be taken, he would take it without hesitation, paying whatever price necessary to kill Lu Changsheng and seize the treasure. "Not a bad divine ability." Suddenly, Lu Changsheng, who had been struck by Bone Corrosion, spoke. Judging by his tone, he had suffered virtually no harm. "How is that possible?" The smile on the White Bone Immortal's face froze. He could not believe that someone struck by his Bone Corrosion could emerge completely unscathed. Yet that was the reality. Lu Changsheng took a step forward, casually walking out from the area covered by Bone Corrosion. Indeed, not a scratch marked his body. "Flee!" Shocked though he was, the White Bone Immortal remained decisive. Without a shred of hesitation, he turned and bolted. Lu Changsheng merely watched the fleeing figure in silence. In truth, the ambush had landed just now. The White Bone Immortal's concealment was exceptionally covert, eluding even Lu Changsheng's senses, and a moment of carelessness had allowed the blow to strike home. However, Lu Changsheng was unlike ordinary True Immortals. He had fused three immortal bodies into one, including the Physical Immortal Dao. Consequently, his physical strength was terrifyingly vast. Though he had yet to reach the point of birthing an immortal characteristic, relying on Bone Corrosion alone was nowhere near enough to kill him in an instant. Lu Changsheng even felt that at the True Immortal stage, virtually no one possessed the power to strike him down in a single blow. As for Heavenly Immortals, he had never encountered one and could make no guarantees. Even so, though he was unharmed, he had no intention of sparing the White Bone Immortal. Since the man had dared to ambush him, he had to be prepared to pay the price of failure! The White Bone Immortal fled decisively, moving with tremendous speed and opening up a wide gap in the blink of an eye. He had even prepared back-up measures, having long since laid concealed immortal arrays in the surrounding area. Should the opponent dare pursue him, he could turn and mount a counterattack. Even if he could not kill his pursuer, the arrays would stall the man long enough to ensure an effortless escape. The White Bone Immortal was excessively cautious, a habit ingrained from his days in the lower realm. Back then, as an archdemon whom the entire world wished to eliminate, people had spent every waking moment plotting his demise. Without such caution, no matter how formidable his strength, he would have died ten thousand deaths. No matter how powerful a cultivator was, concealed arrows were difficult to guard against. Caution was the foundation that had allowed him to survive until now and ascend to immortality. Even after becoming an immortal, he had never forgotten his old ways; caution was carved into his very bones. Yet something struck the White Bone Immortal as bizarre. The other man was not giving chase. In fact, he stood completely motionless, as though content to let him flee. Could an immortal who had just been ambushed by a stranger and nearly killed truly feel no fury at all? Immortals were still beings of flesh and blood; it was impossible not to feel anger. Why, then, was he completely indifferent? Soon, however, the White Bone Immortal understood. Lu Changsheng had no intention of letting him escape. His gaze remained serene as the Mortal Dao Fruit within him pulsed gently. "Divine ability, Illusory Realm!" *Boom!* As Lu Changsheng's voice fell, the Illusory Realm descended! This was the first time Lu Changsheng had employed the Illusory Realm against an enemy. In the past, the Illusory Realm had been a concept of total nothingness, impossible to use in battle. Now, however, things had changed. Lu Changsheng had constructed a section of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield's space within the Illusory Realm. Though crude and rudimentary, it had transitioned the Illusory Realm from nothingness into tangible existence. That made all the difference. As the Illusory Realm descended, the White Bone Immortal shuddered. The scenery before his eyes shifted abruptly, and he found himself in an unfamiliar space, completely stripped of his sense of direction. "What is going on?" "Where is this?" "Could this be an illusion? Have I been trapped?" The White Bone Immortal naturally understood illusions; he could even cast certain illusion arts himself. He knew full well that illusions could not kill him, but they could trap him and stall his pace. Once he was delayed, wouldn't he be in mortal peril when the immortal behind caught up? "Demonic Spirit Divine Eye, open!" Gritting his teeth, the White Bone Immortal unleashed a secret method, turning his eyes blood-red. It was a demonic secret method capable of piercing through any illusion. Yet when he activated it, the surroundings remained entirely cloaked in pitch-black, deathly silence. He was still trapped within this dark, dead domain. "It isn't an illusion?" The White Bone Immortal's heart trembled. A realization seemed to dawn upon him. If it was not an illusion trapping him, his divine eyes were entirely useless. Yet with himself still entrapped, what could he do? "Run!" The White Bone Immortal sprinted forward with all his might. He did not scramble aimlessly, instead picking a single direction and bolting frantically along it. As long as he was fast enough, the immortal behind would never catch him. Once the distance grew vast enough, whatever method the opponent had placed upon him would unravel on its own. It had to be said that the White Bone Immortal possessed rich combat experience, managing to devise a plan even under such dire circumstances. Unfortunately, he had no comprehension of what the Illusory Realm truly was. At that moment, in the first spatial layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, Lu Changsheng unleashed the Illusory Realm, trapping the White Bone Immortal instantly. In Lu Changsheng's eyes, the White Bone Immortal resembled nothing more than a frantic fly buzzing about in circles within a tiny patch of ground. Yet it was entirely futile. No matter how the White Bone Immortal ran, he remained perpetually within the domain of the Illusory Realm. "The Illusory Realm is an illusory world. Once enveloped by it, one is effectively placed within a world. Without shattering that world, how could anyone escape?" Lu Changsheng shook his head. The Illusory Realm and illusion arts were entirely different concepts. Moreover, the current Illusory Realm was far from complete; it had merely incorporated a crude spatial structure. The more complete the Illusory Realm became, and the closer it mirrored a real world, the more terrifying its power would be. Even in such a rudimentary state, it could trap a True Immortal with ease. If Lu Changsheng refined the Illusory Realm further in the future, how immense would its might become? Could it potentially trap a Heavenly Immortal? For a moment, Lu Changsheng felt a surge of excitement. The Illusory Realm was far more formidable than he had imagined, its potential boundless and unfathomable. Still, the priority right now was to deal with the True Immortal before him. Lu Changsheng saw everything clearly. This True Immortal had hidden in the shadows and struck suddenly with everything he had, clearly aiming to kill. Unfortunately for the attacker, Lu Changsheng had survived. The man had then fled decisively without the slightest hesitation. He was a dangerous adversary. All the more reason not to spare him. The man likely had defensive treasures as well, but that hardly mattered. Now that the Illusory Realm had ensnared him, he was nothing more than a sitting duck. With Lu Changsheng's methods, could he fail to shatter a stationary target? When it came to brute offensive power, nothing surpassed the divine ability residing within his Flesh Dao Fruit. "Divine ability, Mighty Power!" Lu Changsheng threw a punch. There was no earth-shattering spectacle—only pure, unadulterated force. The Flesh Dao Fruit pulsed violently, releasing terrifying power from within. Augmented by the combined might of Lu Changsheng's three immortal bodies, the sheer physical force behind the strike was horrifying beyond measure. *Boom!* The blow landed without the slightest suspense. The White Bone Immortal's body instantly exploded into mist. Simultaneously, Lu Changsheng's Myriad Spirits Dao Fruit trembled slightly. A black hole reappeared in the void. "Devour!" The Devour Spirit divine ability manifested once more, swallowing every bit of the White Bone Immortal's shattered flesh and blood without leaving a single trace behind. The White Bone Immortal was dead. He had lived a lifetime of extreme caution, only to meet his end here. By coordinating several divine abilities, Lu Changsheng could not only defeat a True Immortal, but slay one outright! "A pity," Lu Changsheng muttered, shaking his head. The White Bone Immortal must have carried defensive treasures, but they had all been obliterated by the sheer force of his divine ability. Lu Changsheng had been rather intrigued by the man's aura-concealment method, yet with the cultivator dead, there was no way to obtain it. Still, it was of little consequence. Once he returned to Lu City, he could easily seek out similar concealment arts and deduce a brand-new technique of his own, which would surely not be inferior. The encounter with the White Bone Immortal was merely an interlude, and Lu Changsheng did not take it to heart. However, employing the Illusory Realm just now had granted him a flash of insight. He felt that the Illusory Realm still held untapped potential. "Since spatial power is difficult to analyze and comprehend, why not simply imitate it?" "Now that the first layer is empty, I can mimic its spatial structure within the Illusory Realm. That will help refine the realm and bolster its power!" A sudden idea struck Lu Changsheng. It was hardly an idle fantasy, but an eminently practical approach. Without delay, Lu Changsheng put the idea into action. He began roaming the first spatial layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield once more, analyzing the space wherever he went. Though he did not uncover any profound secrets, he gained a comprehensive understanding of the first layer's overall structure. Three months later, Lu Changsheng halted. "That should be enough." With a thought, he began reconstructing the space within his Illusory Realm. Following the architectural framework of the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield's first layer, he replicated it entirely, essentially reshaping a spatial layer inside the void. The result unfolded just as he had anticipated. He could clearly sense that the Illusory Realm had grown stronger, and with it, the Mortal Dao Fruit had also become more potent. Its progress remained at two percent, which did not surprise him in the least. Having accomplished all this, Lu Changsheng felt thoroughly satisfied. Even so, he had not forgotten the primary purpose of his journey to the Tianyuan Ancient Immortal Battlefield: an immortal treasure capable of anchoring destiny. Since the first layer held no such treasures, he would proceed to the second. With that, Lu Changsheng stepped into the second spatial layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.