Inside the Immortal Venerable Hall, the expressions on many Immortal Venerables' faces froze.
They looked at one another in mutual dismay.
The entire hall seemed to come to a sudden standstill.
Only now did many Immortal Venerables seem to come to their senses.
The person in question was in death seclusion.
Could they even notify Lu Changsheng?
And since they could not reach him, what was the point of endlessly arguing here?
"We could issue a mandatory conscription order, but that requires the consent of a Daluo Immortal Venerable..." one Immortal Venerable spoke up.
Yet as he spoke, his voice trailed off.
He felt the futility of it himself.
Disturbing a Daluo Immortal Venerable over a matter like this? That would only prove their own incompetence!
As for forcefully breaking into his cave dwelling, none of them dared to do so. That was a rule established personally by the Dao Ancestor—who would dare violate it?
The mere thought of Lu Changsheng being in death seclusion gave them a splitting headache.
After a long silence, Immortal Venerable Kuhai finally spoke in a slow voice. "It seems everyone has recognized the crux of the problem. In truth, we have no choice. If we cannot reach Lu Changsheng, there is no possibility of him answering the challenge.
"Therefore, we must face Lin's rampage...
"Three months from now, instruct the Immortal Monarchs to avoid entering the Chaos as much as possible. That is all we can do."
Saying these words seemed to drain every ounce of strength from Immortal Venerable Kuhai.
A dignified Taiyi Immortal Venerable was now bowing his head because of a royal bloodline of the You clan—a You clan member merely at the level of an Immortal Monarch.
Yes, those words were nothing less than an admission of defeat.
Yet what else could they do without bowing their heads?
Dispatch an Immortal Venerable to hunt down Lin in the Chaos?
Leaving aside whether they could successfully hunt him down, if Lin carried a mind stone and held out for even a short while, You clan commanders would inevitably rush over.
When that happened, wouldn't it turn into a clash between Immortal Venerables?
It would still escalate the scale of the war.
The immortal race had reservations and did not wish to widen the conflict. They were tied hand and foot in everything, entirely helpless.
Time slipped by, day by day.
One month, two months, three months...
Finally, the three-month deadline arrived.
In the Chaos, Lin had arrived early at the agreed location.
He waited quietly.
Time ticked away.
Two hours, four hours, six hours...
Nearly ten hours had passed.
Yet Lu Changsheng still had not appeared.
Hum.
Suddenly, the Chaos Qi trembled slightly.
Whoosh.
A figure cut through the Chaos Qi and arrived at the designated spot.
Lin looked up at the figure before him.
His brow furrowed slightly.
"You are not Immortal Monarch Changsheng?"
The newcomer was an Immortal Venerable.
Lin was well aware of the difference between an Immortal Monarch and an Immortal Venerable. Therefore, the person before him was definitely not Lu Changsheng.
"I am Immortal Venerable Cangshu. I have come to inform you that Immortal Monarch Changsheng is currently in seclusion and will not be coming to fight."
Having said that, Immortal Venerable Cangshu turned to leave.
Yet in the next instant, Lin erupted.
Boom!
A terrifying aura surged from Lin, carrying an icy, tangible killing intent that swept toward Immortal Venerable Cangshu like a tidal wave.
"Since Lu Changsheng won't come, I'll start by carving you up!
"Die!"
With a low roar, Lin manifested his terrifying true You clan body and lunged straight at Immortal Venerable Cangshu.
Immortal Venerable Cangshu had never expected that Lin would dare initiate an attack against him, an exalted Immortal Venerable.
"Courting death!"
A fierce glint flashed in Immortal Venerable Cangshu's eyes.
Instantly, the two clashed.
At the end of the three-month period, Lu Changsheng had not arrived, but Immortal Venerable Cangshu had.
A great battle erupted all the same—though it was fought between Lin and Immortal Venerable Cangshu.
Several days later, Immortal Venerable Cangshu returned to the Immortal Palace.
However, anyone could see that he was in an utterly wretched state.
His aura was so faint he seemed on the verge of death.
Evidently, he had suffered grave injuries!
Immortal Venerable Cangshu was an exalted Golden Immortal Venerable. Who could have inflicted such heavy wounds upon him?
Many knew that he had gone to the rendezvous Lin had appointed, only to return severely battered.
Could the You clan have laid an ambush with commanders?
Speculation ran wild.
Yet news soon spread.
It was not an ambush by You clan commanders; it was Lin.
Immortal Venerable Cangshu had been gravely wounded by Lin alone—defeated head-on and battered mercilessly.
Had Immortal Venerable Cangshu not fled swiftly, he might have perished on the spot.
When the news broke, the immortals were thrown into an uproar.
"How could this happen?"
"Even with a royal bloodline, could Lin of the You clan truly be strong to this degree? To defeat Immortal Venerable Cangshu in a head-on clash and pursue him all the way to the Immortal Palace?"
"Although we've long heard that the royal bloodlines of the You clan are formidable, they rarely make a move, so no one knew their actual combat strength. But now it seems their royal bloodlines can truly leap across realms to fight! Lin is so monstrous that not even Immortal Venerable Cangshu was a match for him. Fortunately, Immortal Monarch Changsheng didn't accept the challenge; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable!"
"Indeed, who could have imagined a royal bloodline would be this strong? If Immortal Monarch Changsheng had accepted, he would probably be dead by now..."
"It was truly a blessing that Immortal Monarch Changsheng was in death seclusion..."
"But after today, Lin will fulfill his vow and begin sweeping through the Chaos. Who among us will dare venture out?"
"Yet if we don't go into the Chaos, we'll be confined to the Immortal Palace while Lin flaunts his might. What an utter disgrace!"
Many Immortal Monarchs were stunned by the news.
At the same time, they felt fortunate for Lu Changsheng, believing he had dodged a fatal disaster. Otherwise, his chances of survival would have been slim.
Even so, deep worry gripped them.
If Lin truly began slaughtering across the Chaos, who would dare step outside?
For a time, panic and unrest spread throughout the Immortal Palace.
A few Immortal Monarchs refused to believe the rumors and formed an expedition into the Chaos.
Yet only a few days later, word came that every one of them had fallen—and they had indeed been slain by Lin.
The Immortal Palace erupted in indignation.
Countless Immortal Monarchs burned with righteous fury.
Yet what could they do? They could not contend with Lin.
As for the Immortal Venerables, they were furious as well, but their hearts were weighed down with grim solemnity.
Unlike the Immortal Monarchs, who possessed only vague, second-hand accounts, the Immortal Venerables knew the exact details of the clash between Lin and Immortal Venerable Cangshu.
It was precisely because they knew that they felt such shock and dread.
Immortal Venerable Cangshu had indeed been overwhelmed head-on by Lin, forcefully crushed and relentlessly pursued.
He had only managed to narrowly escape with his life and return to the Immortal Palace thanks to a Golden Immortal-grade immortal treasure.
According to Immortal Venerable Cangshu's account, Lin possessed the power to shatter an Immortal Venerable's flesh particles.
Once killed, one was truly dead.
"Lin's strength is astonishing. His cultivation realm is undeniably at the level of an Immortal Monarch, yet he can fight across realms entirely thanks to his royal bloodline. It seems we truly underestimated the royal bloodlines of the You clan."
"Indeed. Previous intelligence on royal bloodlines only suggested they held immense potential and revered status within the You clan. We thought that no matter how strong Lin was, he could at best withstand an Immortal Venerable's attacks. But now it seems we were wrong—completely wrong. A royal bloodline is extraordinary; fighting across realms is merely its baseline."
"Even You clan commanders show great deference to Lin. That isn't just because of his potential, but because ordinary You clan commanders are likely no match for him in sheer combat strength. That is why they are so respectful."
"The Dao Ancestor was right to instruct us not to expand the scale of the war. If we truly escalated it to the level of Immortal Venerables, our losses would be catastrophic, and the situation might deteriorate beyond repair..."
Many Immortal Venerables fell silent.
Immortal Venerables were undeniably powerful.
Yet the You clan did not possess only royal bloodlines; they also had imperial bloodlines and saint bloodlines.
Just how terrifying would commanders endowed with those three bloodlines be?
At that moment, the Immortal Venerables felt suffocated.
A massive boulder seemed to weigh heavily on their chests, leaving them breathless.
The You clan's might extended far beyond what met the eye.
What lay hidden from their sight was likely even more horrifying!
***
Inside the cave dwelling in the Immortal Palace.
Qi's massive corpse still lay before Lu Changsheng.
Lu Changsheng was not analyzing Qi's corpse itself. After all, he had already analyzed a You clan body before.
What he truly intended to do was dissect and isolate the royal bloodline within Qi.
What he needed was that royal bloodline.
Once he acquired it and grafted it onto himself, wouldn't he effectively become a member of the You clan?
Or at least possess a You clan identity!
With a You clan identity, would their cultivation system still pose any obstacle to him?
However, this was destined to be no easy task.
To thoroughly extract the royal bloodline required a profound comprehension of its nature.
Relying on his top-tier comprehension, Lu Changsheng spent a great deal of time before finally locating the royal bloodline within Qi's body.
"I've finally found you!"
A smile appeared on Lu Changsheng's face.
Next came the grafting.
He would transfer the royal bloodline from Qi into his own physical body, using the all-encompassing nature of his Flesh Martial Dao to merge with it entirely.
"Begin."
Lu Changsheng immediately began refining.
Refining Qi's physical body this time was far smoother and more familiar than before.
As Qi's flesh was steadily refined, Lu Changsheng's Flesh Dao Fruit continuously progressed.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi's massive body had completely vanished, leaving behind only a single strand of royal bloodline.
Lu Changsheng checked his Flesh Dao Fruit.
Its progress had surged from thirty-one percent straight to thirty-six percent—an increase of five percent, precisely as he had previously estimated.
The flesh of an Immortal Monarch-level You clan member could advance his Flesh Dao Fruit by five percent.
Yet a five percent increase in his Flesh Dao Fruit was clearly of secondary importance.
The true crux this time was the royal bloodline.
"Merge!"
In the next instant, Lu Changsheng swallowed the strand of royal bloodline whole.
Following the method he had conceived beforehand, he began thoroughly integrating it into himself.
Boom!
Lu Changsheng's entire body shuddered.
Merging the royal bloodline into his flesh was by no means smooth sailing.
On the contrary, the difficulty was immense. A moment's carelessness could cause his physical body to collapse.
After all, the power contained within a royal bloodline was terrifying.
However, Lu Changsheng's Flesh Martial Dao and, most crucially, his top-tier comprehension played a decisive role.
Bit by bit, he merged with the royal bloodline.
Lu Changsheng remained unhurried and exceptionally patient.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
Perhaps months passed, perhaps years.
At last, the royal bloodline was fully incorporated into his body, becoming an inseparable part of his flesh!
"It's finally done!"
Lu Changsheng exhaled a long breath.
Although there had been no theoretical flaw and his top-tier comprehension had deduced every step without issue, actually succeeding still filled him with exhilaration.
As for whether he was now a member of the You clan or an immortal—did that matter?
Not in the slightest!
Besides, his Dao Fruits remained, as did his physical immortality.
Without question, he was still an immortal!
However, integrating the royal bloodline into his body was merely the beginning.
Next came the most crucial step: activating the royal bloodline!
Even Qi had failed to achieve this step.
Yet Lu Changsheng was not Qi.
Since he had integrated the royal bloodline, he was determined to activate it.
Otherwise, why go through all the trouble of merging with it in the first place? It was precisely for the sake of activation!
"To activate the royal bloodline, I must locate the unique power hidden within it.
"Qi couldn't find the special power contained within the royal bloodline, but with my comprehension and analytical capability, uncovering it is effortless.
"In that case, activate!"
Lu Changsheng's gaze hardened with resolve.
His mind had long been made up.
Focusing his consciousness, he pierced sharply into that unique power within the royal bloodline.
Rumble!
In the next instant, Lu Changsheng's consciousness jolted violently.
A flood of information surged directly into his memory.
Within that memory, Lu Changsheng faintly saw a colossal giant standing between heaven and earth, straddling the boundless Chaos.
The giant's mouth gaped wide, inhaling the Chaos Qi—yes, swallowing even Chaos Qi itself.
It was even devouring entire chaos worlds!
That colossal frame was unimaginably vast.
No words could describe its monumental grandeur.
It seemed capable of tearing the Chaos apart.
Yet Lu Changsheng's memory was crystal clear: that supreme entity was not a member of the You clan!
After swallowing one chaos world after another, the supreme entity departed.
Far in the distance, several living beings had miraculously survived.
They had witnessed that supreme being.
For such an entity, even a single glance was an immense fortune.
Among those surviving beings was an ancestor of the You clan!
The You clan ancestor was shaken to the core by that magnificent lifeform, an image etched indelibly into his mind.
From then on, day after day, the You clan sought to cultivate in the image of that supreme being.
They even visualized that entity.
Ultimately, powerful beings arose among the You clan, allowing them to rise to prominence within the Chaos.
The memory ended there.
Lu Changsheng snapped back to reality.
He looked around.
He was still inside the quiet chamber of his cave dwelling.
Yet within that memory, it felt as though an eternity had passed.
After sorting through the memory, Lu Changsheng finally understood the origins of the You clan.
So the rise of the You clan was rooted in that supreme entity.
That magnificent lifeform was unimaginably vast, inspiring the You clan ancestor with awe and longing. He persistently visualized that entity, striving to draw closer to its likeness.
In the end, the You clan had truly seized the opportunity.
Even though it was merely an observation of that supreme entity—prompting an instinct to emulate it that led to their cultivation method—the results had been extraordinary.
It had enabled the You clan to rise within the Chaos.
Otherwise, they might have perished long ago, vanishing into the depths of the Chaos.
"The You clan was truly fortunate..."
Lu Changsheng knew that in the Chaos, fortune was hard to come by.
When good fortune arrived, one had to seize it firmly.
The You clan's ancestor had done just that.
However, the You clan had relied entirely on visualization, and their interpretation was not necessarily correct.
The cultivation system they created from visualizing that supreme entity was remarkably simple: imitation.
It was pure, unadulterated imitation.
They mimicked the simplest attribute: size!
Yes, sheer size!
The core of the You clan's cultivation was to continually expand their physical form.
They devoured everything to strengthen their flesh, making their bodies grow ever larger.
If they could one day grow as vast as that supreme entity, they would succeed.
That supreme entity seemed capable of bursting the entire Chaos—just how colossal was it?
Without having seen it firsthand, one could never imagine its sheer terror.
Yet Lu Changsheng had seen it.
Though he had only seen it through a bloodline memory, he had still witnessed it.
This was entirely different from written descriptions.
This was also the true meaning behind activating the bloodline.
Activating the bloodline simply meant awakening the memory of when the You clan's ancestor had witnessed that supreme lifeform.
That memory was the true foundation of the You clan!
As for royal bloodlines, imperial bloodlines, and saint bloodlines—the inherited information was fundamentally identical.
The only difference lay in how each individual visualized it.
The three bloodlines represented three distinct cultivation directions.
Though the overarching path was the same, there were inevitably nuances in the details.
"So that's how it is..."
"Royal bloodlines, imperial bloodlines, saint bloodlines, and even the so-called cultivation system and methods don't truly matter.
"What matters is the memory contained within the bloodline—specifically, that supreme entity.
"After all, the entire You clan cultivation system is built upon that entity. It was derived and created by the You clan ancestor through continuous observation, purely to draw closer to that supreme lifeform."
Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up.
Previously, he had considered walking the You clan path and cultivating a You clan physique.
Now, however, that seemed completely unnecessary.
His physical body was fundamentally different from that of the You clan. Their cultivation system might not suit him at all.
Only by creating his own physical cultivation system would he find what suited him best.
In the past, despite possessing top-tier comprehension, Lu Changsheng had lacked an appropriate technique.
The immortal cultivation system stopped developing the physical body once physical immortality was achieved.
Even with supreme comprehension, he had lacked a point of reference.
Now, things were different.
With that supreme entity as a guide, Lu Changsheng could do what the You clan ancestor had done: observe that magnificent lifeform and forge a physical cultivation system tailored to himself.
Perhaps even a physical cultivation system suited to all immortals!
The more Lu Changsheng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
He closed his eyes once more.
His mind began recalling the memory of that supreme entity.
The memory was etched deeply into his soul, impossible to forget.
With utter focus, Lu Changsheng observed every movement of that supreme being, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Granted, this was not Lu Changsheng witnessing the entity in person; strictly speaking, he was viewing what the You clan ancestor had seen.
Yet Lu Changsheng possessed top-tier comprehension.
He pushed that comprehension to its absolute limit.
At this moment, time and space seemed to fall away.
He felt as though he were standing right there in the distant Chaos, watching the supreme entity make the Chaos tremble as it swallowed one chaos world after another.
Each of those chaos worlds was no smaller than the Heaven Realm, yet before this supreme lifeform, they were devoured like mere morsels, devoid of any power to resist.
No, in truth, those worlds had resisted.
For instance, Lu Changsheng saw over a dozen mighty beings fly out from two of the chaos worlds.
Every one of them shook heaven and earth, likely peerless powerhouses within the Chaos.
Yet the attacks they unleashed upon the supreme entity amounted to little more than an itch.
They had no effect whatsoever.
Instead, the supreme entity simply opened its massive maw, releasing a terrifying suction that swallowed those powerhouses whole.
Of course, Lu Changsheng paid little attention to those experts.
His focus remained entirely on the supreme entity.
Did the entity possess divine abilities?
Or some formidable treasure?
Or perhaps some secret method?
None.
For that supreme lifeform, there were no treasures, nor divine abilities.
All it relied on was a single concept: the physical body!
The pure, unadulterated flesh!
Its physical body seemed to have no limit, capable of endless growth and expansion.
That was why it had reached such a staggering size.
Once physical size reached a certain threshold, strength and defense naturally attained an incomprehensible level.
As for agility? That would certainly be impaired. In fact, the supreme entity moved quite sluggishly.
Yet what did that matter?
Even if it stood stationary and endured any attack, who could possibly harm it?
Size was truth!
Size was everything!
So simple, so crude, yet it had birthed such a magnificent lifeform.
"It's truly that simple?"
Lu Changsheng was stunned.
He could hardly believe it.
Whether for the You clan or the immortals, gaining strength always involved secret methods, divine abilities, and treasures. Immortals even had to comprehend various Daos.
Yet what of this supreme entity?
Just the flesh. A purely powerful physical body was enough.
Naturally, Lu Changsheng knew it was not entirely simple either.
Could a physical body truly remain strong without end just by wanting to?
Impossible!
The physical body had limits.
Immortals had physical limits, and even the You clan possessed them.
Perhaps the true uniqueness of that supreme entity lay in the fact that its body seemed to have no upper limit at all.
Or rather, it possessed a way to bypass all limits, allowing continuous growth until it reached that terrifying state.
The You clan had exhausted every method to achieve this, eventually forming their own cultivation system.
Yet having examined their system, Lu Changsheng could see its severe limitations.
Once a You clan member reached the level of their Primordial Ancestor, they could grow no further. A ceiling existed.
Since Lu Changsheng wished to create a physical technique tailored to himself, he naturally needed to observe that supreme entity more closely, hoping to uncover how its flesh could expand almost infinitely without constraint.
Time ticked away.
Lu Changsheng became completely immersed in the image of that supreme lifeform, forgetting the passage of time and all else.
Countless sparks of inspiration collided in his mind, and myriad thoughts surfaced and dissolved.
Every minute detail of that supreme entity seemed to inspire endless ideas.
Yet Lu Changsheng still could not pinpoint the precise reason why its flesh could grow almost infinitely.
He could not find it.
However, upon deeper reflection, failing to find it was only natural.
In the boundless Chaos, how many could ever attain the heights of that supreme lifeform?
If Lu Changsheng could unravel it so easily, that entity would not be so magnificent.
"That supreme entity seems capable of devouring countless chaos worlds, converting them into energy for its own flesh and blood to fuel continuous expansion.
"It resembles cellular division. If cells can divide indefinitely, then with infinite energy, the flesh can grow infinitely.
"Yet for that supreme entity, it is likely far beyond mere cell division. Even an ordinary Immortal Monarch can reduce their body to individual flesh particles, let alone such a magnificent being.
"In truth, I already possess physical immortality. I can start from my flesh particles. If my flesh particles could also divide endlessly..."
Lu Changsheng's eyes brightened.
Dividing flesh particles was extraordinarily difficult, especially doing so with precision.
Particles were the fundamental building blocks of the body. Lu Changsheng currently could not achieve precise, controlled division of individual flesh particles.
However, if it were merely a matter of splitting flesh particles in general, it was second nature to him.
For example, his flesh avatars.
He had mastered that long ago, though he had never studied it deeply.
Now, Lu Changsheng considered: what if he created flesh avatars, allowed each avatar to grow, and then merged them back together?
Wouldn't that be equivalent to infinite physical growth?
Lu Changsheng immediately prepared to test the idea.
He separated out an avatar.
Sure enough, the flesh avatar drew away a portion of his flesh particles, slightly reducing the count in his main body.
Yet upon close observation, Lu Changsheng discovered that as long as he continuously replenished his energy, those lost flesh particles would fully regenerate.
Meanwhile, the flesh avatar genuinely existed.
This was effectively duplicating flesh particles.
However, there was still a constraint: the number of avatars he could control was limited.
He could not maintain too many avatars at once, as that touched upon the mental realm.
Even so, the direction was correct.
Continuously split into avatars, let them grow, and ultimately fuse them into one.
Even if his true body maintained its current number of flesh particles, having enough avatars would be equivalent to growing the physical body.
"A quantitative change leading to a qualitative transformation!"
Lu Changsheng realized the potential.
In the short term, these physical avatars might not amount to much.
But over a long span of time?
Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, or even hundreds of millions of avatars—even if each flesh avatar was merely at the Ancestor Realm, the combined result would be terrifying.
"Then let's begin."
Lu Changsheng split out a hundred flesh avatars.
No, a hundred was too few.
He divided out three thousand six hundred bodies in one go.
This was done carefully so as not to weaken his true body too drastically all at once.
Still, three thousand six hundred bodies were more than enough for now.
Lu Changsheng was merely conducting a preliminary trial to see how effective it would be.
Chapter 420