Contention! A Nascent Chaos World!

"Hmph, playing mysterious!" Saint Black Flame waved his hand. Instantly, overwhelming black flames surged forth, burning furiously. These black flames were exceedingly eerie. There was clearly nothing fueling them, yet they burned in the void. Upon closer inspection, they were clinging to the very fabric of space. Though they appeared devoid of heat, as soon as they neared Lu Changsheng and clung to his flesh, he was struck by endless agony. It was as if they intended to reduce his body to ashes. *What an eerie flame.* Lu Changsheng's heart chilled. "This is the flesh talent I gained during my life leap—Black Flame! Burning by clinging to the void, it can incinerate even flesh particles to ash. Even a chaos lifeform who has undergone one life leap would not dare forcefully withstand my Black Flame, yet you dare touch it with your bare flesh? You are simply courting death!" Saint Black Flame sneered. His Black Flame was no ordinary fire; it was a flesh talent obtained upon a life leap. That was an extraordinary rarity. Every life leap was a sublimation of life itself. Aside from a world-shaking metamorphosis of the body, a leap was occasionally accompanied by flesh talents. Naturally, these talents were not fixed. Even if two cultivators cultivated the exact same life leap method, they would not necessarily acquire the same talent. This was precisely why they were called flesh talents rather than flesh divine abilities. Talents were innate physical companions and unpredictable, whereas divine abilities were fixed. Lu Changsheng did not know whether he would obtain a flesh talent when he underwent his life leap, nor what kind it might be. That depended entirely on luck. Right now, however, it was too early to dwell on flesh talents. Black flames clung to his flesh, burning with raging intensity. If this continued, he truly might be incinerated to ashes. "Hmph." Lu Changsheng let out a cold snort. The next instant, the flesh particles throughout his body erupted. *Rumble!* When hundreds of millions of flesh particles unleashed their terrifying might simultaneously, the torrent of pure physical force instantly overwhelmed the roaring black flames. The dreadful Black Flame was forcibly snuffed out by the sheer flood of power. "What?!" Saint Black Flame's eyes went wide, as if unable to believe what he was seeing. Pure physical power had extinguished his Black Flame? It was utterly inconceivable. Even Zhou Guang in his prime could not have pulled off such a feat. Yet Lu Changsheng had done it. Not only had he done it, but he also threw a punch. In an instant, that single punch became thousands, tens of thousands of fists overlapping. It was as if tens of thousands of terrifying forces were erupting from within Lu Changsheng's body all at once. His flesh particles were like countless individual chaos worlds detonating in unison, producing an earth-shattering might—and this was pure, unadulterated physical force. When that terrifying power crashed into Saint Black Flame, he fought back with everything he had, even releasing a torrential sea of black flames that burned fiercely enough to threaten the entire Zhou Guang World. Yet none of it could withstand Lu Changsheng's fist force. *Bang!* With just that one punch—or rather, a single strike forged from tens of thousands of overlapping blows—Saint Black Flame's flesh was directly blown apart. Even if he wasn't obliterated on the spot, reforming a shattered body would not be easy. Lu Changsheng rained punch after punch upon him, giving Saint Black Flame no time to react. Gradually, the black flames on Saint Black Flame's form guttered and died out. As for his body? With the black flames extinguished, there was no body left to speak of. In merely a few breaths, the void returned to silence. Many looked blankly into the void, unable to believe the scene before their eyes. That was Saint Black Flame! Even when Zhou Guang was alive, he could do nothing against him. Even though Lu Changsheng was a powerful chaos lifeform entrusted by Zhou Guang to shelter the Zhou Guang World, he ultimately had not undergone a life leap, and he had not even deployed the Black Light Pagoda. Yet with his bare hands, he had pummeled Saint Black Flame into oblivion, thoroughly extinguishing him. It surpassed their wildest imaginations. A chaos lifeform who had not yet undergone a life leap had slain a lifeform of one life leap with his bare fists, using nothing but absolute physical might? How was that possible? Yet the truth lay right before their eyes. Zhou Guang had passed into silence, and Zhou Guang's nemesis, Saint Black Flame, had been shattered and eradicated by Lu Changsheng. Even without Lu Changsheng's ongoing protection, the Zhou Guang World would be able to thrive from now on. For a time, the gazes of countless god-ascension cultivators across the Zhou Guang World burned with boundless fervor. "Our thanks to Saint Lu!" The shout echoed across the Zhou Guang World, reverberating endlessly. Lu Changsheng shook his head, still feeling a trace of disbelief himself. People always said that counter-killing those above your realm was brutally difficult once you became a chaos lifeform. Yet he had just counter-killed a chaos lifeform of one life leap with ease—one who had even awakened a flesh talent—beating him to pieces with pure physical strength. Now, Lu Changsheng truly understood how terrifying his Myriad Origins Fundamental Art was. By choosing the second method to become a chaos lifeform and preserving hundreds of millions of flesh particles, his foundation vastly outstripped those of the same realm, enabling him to accomplish the magnificent feat of counter-killing someone who had undergone a life leap. With a beckoning wave, Lu Changsheng pulled Saint Black Flame's spatial treasure into his grasp. This was a powerful chaos lifeform of one life leap; his savings should not be inferior to Saint Zhou Guang's. Sweeping it with his consciousness, Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. "Oh? Eleven portions of cultivation resources! Excellent, truly excellent—only two portions less than Zhou Guang." A smile crossed his face. This was wonderful, an unexpected harvest. Still, Lu Changsheng understood that ordinary chaos lifeforms rarely held so many cultivation resources; they usually consumed what they had. Zhou Guang had hoarded them because his life limit was near and using them would have been a waste. As for Saint Black Flame, he had likely reached the peak of one life leap and lacked the courage to attempt a second, leaving him no choice but to stockpile his resources. That was why he had accumulated so many, all of which now fell into Lu Changsheng's hands. Lu Changsheng pondered for a moment. Now that Saint Zhou Guang was gone, these people were not members of the Same Boat Society and had no way to contact him swiftly. With that in mind, he left behind a single flesh particle. The Zhou Guang World was not far from the Black Light Realm—at most the distance of a single domain. His flesh particle could remain in contact with him, allowing him to learn of any incidents in time. Having settled everything properly, he felt he had honored his promise to Zhou Guang. *Whoosh.* Lu Changsheng warped back to the Black Light Realm. Having slain Saint Black Flame and resolved the Zhou Guang World's greatest crisis, it was unlikely that any major trouble would require his attention there in the future. Returning to his cave dwelling, Lu Changsheng began trading for Grandmist Qi. After a series of transactions, he obtained ten wisps, leaving him with thirty Black Light coins. "Refine." Lu Changsheng began refining the wisps one by one. In the blink of an eye, ten years passed. Having refined all ten wisps of Grandmist Qi, he brought up his attribute panel to look. **Host:** Lu Changsheng **Comprehension:** Top-tier comprehension **World Master:** 0 (Embryonic) **Chaos Lifeform:** 24% (Initial Success) His flesh progression had reached 24%—a remarkably swift pace. With another seventy-odd wisps of Grandmist Qi, his physical body would reach consummation, allowing him to attempt a life leap through the Sky Cleaving Art. Lu Changsheng did not check his ranking. There was no point. What meaning was there in climbing a few ranks? Unless he broke into the top ten thousand, moving up meant nothing. Afterward, he searched everywhere for news concerning Grandmist Qi or cultivation resources. Unfortunately, nothing came up. His luck seemed to have run out. For twenty straight years, Lu Changsheng turned up empty-handed. Even so, he was in no rush. His ultimate trial allowed ten thousand years, and that deadline remained far in the distance. One day, a transmission reached his Same Boat Token. The sender was none other than Chen Yuan. *"Fellow Daoist Lu, please enter the Same Boat Token for a chat."* A set of coordinates within the token accompanied the message. Chen Yuan never visited without good reason and rarely reached out under normal circumstances. Sending a message now meant something significant had happened. Lu Changsheng immediately sank his consciousness into the Same Boat Token and headed to the agreed location. Soon enough, he arrived and found Chen Yuan alongside an unfamiliar chaos lifeform. With a wave of Chen Yuan's hand, their surroundings shifted, placing the three of them inside a quiet chamber. Seeing Chen Yuan act with such caution, Lu Changsheng could not help asking, "Fellow Daoist Chen Yuan, what matter requires such secrecy?" Chen Yuan glanced at the unfamiliar chaos lifeform and made the introduction. "This is Fellow Daoist Tian Cong. He has discovered an embryonic chaos world that will fully transform into a nascent chaos world in a few hundred years. "Fellow Daoist Tian Cong felt he could not claim this chaos world on his own, so he came looking for trustworthy Daoists to take it together. "He and I are life-and-death friends, so he approached me first. But considering that the two of us might not even be able to escape if danger arose, I thought it over and decided to invite Fellow Daoist Lu to join us. "If you agree, we will split the harvest from that chaos world in a four-four-two proportion. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Lu?" Lu Changsheng's heart gave a jolt. *Good heavens, no wonder they are being so cautious and secretive.* To discover an embryonic chaos world was an immense stroke of fortune. Although a nascent chaos world could only produce a single wisp of Grandmist Qi, it could also yield dozens, perhaps even a hundred portions of other cultivation resources. It was precisely because a nascent chaos world produced so many resources that countless chaos lifeforms fought over them like flocking ducks. The emergence of any nascent chaos world sparked a frenzy of competition, all because the stakes were simply too high. "What is Fellow Daoist Tian Cong's cultivation realm?" Lu Changsheng did not rush to agree, but pressed further. "I have not yet undergone a life leap," Tian Cong answered. Lu Changsheng was not surprised. On the contrary, he found it completely natural. If Saint Tian Cong were an expert who had already completed a life leap, why would he need him? There would be no need at all! It was precisely because of his lack of strength and the fear of failing to secure the nascent chaos world that he had sought out Lu Changsheng. Lu Changsheng weighed his options. A nascent chaos world meant dozens, perhaps a hundred portions of cultivation resources. Even if he only took forty percent, it was an immense sum. Many could not obtain that much in an entire epoch. Securing it would save him a tremendous amount of time. He was bound by the time limit of the ultimate trial. The faster he passed, the richer the rewards would be. Therefore, if he could clear the trial ahead of time, paying a certain price was well worth it. Yet the key issue was whether he had the confidence to hold that chaos world. Although Lu Changsheng had not undergone a life leap, he was already capable of counter-killing experts of one life leap. In terms of pure physical strength, he estimated he could rival an expert of two life leaps. Even if he fell short, the gap would not be vast; otherwise, how could he have slain Saint Black Flame so easily? Furthermore, he possessed the Black Light Pagoda, an innate Dao-protecting treasure. Against anyone below four life leaps, the pagoda's protection ensured complete safety. Only if an opponent of four or more life leaps appeared would things become perilous, even with the pagoda. "Has the news leaked?" Lu Changsheng asked. "Not yet, but I cannot guarantee it will remain secret," Saint Tian Cong admitted honestly. Such matters demanded frankness. Even the slightest concealment could brew suspicion or internal strife later on. Lu Changsheng continued to deliberate, but the scales in his heart had already begun to tip. The news had not leaked yet, and this was a nascent chaos world. Even if word did get out and strong foes arrived, they could stand their ground if possible, or simply leave if they could not. With the Black Light Pagoda, making an exit was effortless. That being the case, what reservations remained? "Very well. However, we must set out immediately for the coordinates of the embryonic chaos world and make arrangements beforehand." Lu Changsheng agreed. Both Saint Tian Cong and Saint Chen Yuan were overjoyed. Lu Changsheng had finally accepted! Why had Chen Yuan thought of Lu Changsheng in the first place? The reason was simple. First, he knew Lu Changsheng kept his word. Just look at what he had done after promising Saint Zhou Guang: he had genuinely protected the Zhou Guang World and even slain Saint Black Flame. That proved his integrity. Second, with Lu Changsheng around, their safety was assured. With the Black Light Pagoda present, they could withdraw calmly even if outmatched, drastically reducing their risk. Third, it was an opportunity to build ties with Lu Changsheng. If they succeeded, the relationship among the three would draw much closer. Chen Yuan in particular might become true friends with him. In the vastness of chaos, making one or two genuine friends was no easy feat; it required shared trials and tribulations. "Shall we go now?" Saint Tian Cong asked. "Yes, right now, lest complications arise from delay," Lu Changsheng nodded. Having agreed on a meeting point, the three withdrew their consciousnesses from the Same Boat Token. "Zisang, are there any arrays that can conceal the traces of a chaos world?" Lu Changsheng inquired. "There are. Many arrays can mask the fluctuations of a chaos world, but the cheapest costs at least ten thousand Black Light coins." "Er..." Lu Changsheng fell silent. Ten thousand Black Light coins was roughly equivalent to a hundred portions of cultivation resources. He truly could not afford that. Setting aside further hesitation, Lu Changsheng flashed with black light, warping away and vanishing from sight. The meeting point was not far. By the time all three arrived, several hours had passed. Lu Changsheng laid eyes on Saint Tian Cong for the first time—a black-robed cultivator carrying a chilly aura, though his demeanor toward Lu Changsheng was courteous enough. The three exchanged glances. Without wasting words, Lu Changsheng said directly, "Enter the Black Light Pagoda. I will traverse chaos directly." "Agreed." With that, the two entered the Black Light Pagoda, and Lu Changsheng began to traverse the void. The location of the embryonic chaos world was not excessively far from the Black Light Realm—roughly the distance of a hundred domains. Warping repeatedly with the Black Light Pagoda, Lu Changsheng finally arrived. "We are here." Saint Tian Cong pointed toward a pitch-black hole ahead, his meaning unmistakable. That black hole was the embryonic chaos world. Lu Changsheng looked on with some astonishment. *This is an embryonic chaos world?* Observing closely, he noticed the black hole expanding continuously, and something seemed to be gestating within. It was entirely distinct from any black hole of the ordinary cosmos in his memory. What was forming inside this black hole was a chaos world. Judging by its state, it was indeed still an embryo, and would require more time before it could fully take shape. As for how long that would take, Lu Changsheng could not say; no one could know for certain. "Fellow Daoist Lu, what should we do now?" Saint Tian Cong asked. Lu Changsheng was the backbone of their trio; all decisions fell to him. Lu Changsheng surveyed their surroundings. Indeed, there was no one else in sight, and the chaos world was still incubating. No one could predict the exact moment it would fully form. Yet once it took shape, that very instant would unleash massive fluctuations, very likely alerting many chaos lifeforms. A single step ahead meant keeping the advantage. Lu Changsheng had to stand guard right here. Waiting for the ripples to spread before arriving would be far too late. "We will guard this place without stepping away for a moment! Once it becomes a chaos world, we strike immediately to gather cultivation resources as fast as possible. Otherwise, once other chaos lifeforms arrive, there might not be a share left for us." Lu Changsheng reached a decision. "Good, we will follow your arrangements, Fellow Daoist Lu." Tian Cong and Chen Yuan nodded in agreement. Given the circumstances, staying put was indeed the best precaution. Years slipped by. Ten years, fifty years, a hundred years, a hundred and fifty years, two hundred years... No one could have guessed that Lu Changsheng's group would wait for three whole centuries. Three hundred years was quite long for Lu Changsheng, though to Tian Cong and Chen Yuan, it amounted to very little. Yet despite the long wait, Lu Changsheng showed not the slightest intention of giving up. *Boom!* Suddenly, the embryonic chaos world, which had been swelling incessantly, shook violently. A rumbling crash carried far into the distance. Of course, the sound itself was trivial, but an invisible fluctuation radiated outward across vast expanses of the void. That very ripple would be sensed by chaos lifeforms, drawing them in at once. *Swish!* Lu Changsheng rose abruptly. "The time has come. Move!" he barked decisively. Their window was short. Who knew which chaos lifeforms might arrive first? They could not afford to gamble. What if a mighty figure arrived early? Would they dare linger inside the chaos world then? Impossible! Therefore, they had to race against the clock, grabbing as many cultivation resources as they could. *Whoosh.* Sharing an unspoken understanding, the three charged into the chaos world without hesitation. Lu Changsheng breached the world. It was his first time setting foot in a nascent chaos world. What met his eyes? Absolute chaos! Everything before him was in turmoil, yet within the disorder lay the faint emergence of order. Clear qi rose while turbid qi sank, gradually separating heaven from earth. The sky took shape, followed by the land, and slowly, lakes and waters gathered. This was a nascent chaos world—the beginning of everything. Lu Changsheng swept his gaze across the expanse and spotted a wisp of Grandmist Qi almost immediately. It stood out with stark brilliance, yet with each passing moment, it was steadily fading. Had they not entered now, the wisp would have dissolved completely into the fabric of the chaos world before long, leaving no trace behind. In truth, the same held true for many other cultivation resources, which could only be born in a nascent chaos world. Lu Changsheng reached out a great hand and seized the Grandmist Qi into his grasp, then set off in search of other resources. A nascent chaos world held far more than just a single wisp of Grandmist Qi. Days passed one after another. Lu Changsheng remained on high alert, uncertain when other chaos lifeforms might descend. One day, two days, three days, five days... After seven days, someone finally arrived. A burly man bearing a pair of ox horns atop his head appeared within the nascent chaos world. His face was flushed with wild, ecstatic delight. "Hahaha! A nascent chaos world?! Old Ox is truly meant to strike it rich..." The chaos lifeform threw back his head and laughed heartily. He knew full well what a nascent chaos world represented. Yet as he began scouring the surroundings for resources, he came up completely empty. "How is that possible?" Refusing to believe it, he searched once more. Nothing. There truly was nothing. Aside from resources that were still in the process of forming, not a single mature resource remained. He quickly realized why. "Someone beat me to it?!" He was Ox Demon Ancestor, the progenitor of the Ox Demon Clan and its sole chaos lifeform, having undergone two life leaps to date. Over countless years, this was his very first immense opportunity. To find that someone had beaten him to such a grand fortune—how could he endure it? "Hm? Three chaos lifeforms in total, and all three are merely nascent chaos lifeforms who haven't even achieved a single life leap! With such pitiful cultivation, you dare hoard an opportunity like this?!" Ox Demon Ancestor flew into a rage. A majestic aura abruptly erupted from his body, and he seemed to transform into a terrifying ox demon that blotted out the sky, letting loose a furious roar. "Hand over all the cultivation resources you've obtained and scram from this chaos world, or die where you stand!" Ox Demon Ancestor's voice crashed into the ears of Lu Changsheng and his companions. Tian Cong and Chen Yuan immediately drew close to Lu Changsheng, the three gathering together. Tian Cong said with worry, "A chaos lifeform discovered this world in just seven days. Our time is likely running out. Yet we've only gathered this small amount of resources—it's far from enough!" In such a short time, they had been unable to scour the entire chaos world clean. "No matter. Keep collecting. I will deal with this chaos lifeform," Lu Changsheng said, his gaze turning cold. He preferred quiet cultivation, but that did not mean he feared trouble. When an opportunity like this presented itself, one had to fight for it. Yielding was out of the question, and retreating was unthinkable. With measured steps, as if treading upon invisible stairs in the void, Lu Changsheng walked toward Ox Demon Ancestor. "How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?" Lu Changsheng asked. "This seat is Ox Demon Ancestor! Hand over the cultivation resources at once, or this ancestor will show no mercy!" A sharp glint flickered in Ox Demon Ancestor's eyes. His exterior was rough and tempestuous, but that was merely a facade; in truth, he was exceedingly shrewd. Had he run into a truly tough opponent, he would never have provoked them. It was only because the aura of Lu Changsheng's group was so weak—none of them having achieved even a single life leap—that Ox Demon Ancestor had grown bold. "We do not interfere with each other; each searches on their own. How about it?" Lu Changsheng proposed calmly. He knew more chaos lifeforms would arrive later, and he could not slaughter every single one that showed up. So long as neither side crossed the other, it would suffice. Whether one found resources came down to personal fortune. Ox Demon Ancestor, however, saw things differently. He knew Lu Changsheng's group had arrived before him; they might very well have been the first to discover this chaos world, meaning they had surely reaped a massive harvest. Robbing them would be vastly faster than scouring the world alone. "This is a newly born chaos world. None of the three of you have even achieved a life leap. You cannot hold onto such a massive fortune. You had best obediently surrender the resources—perhaps that way, your lives can be spared. I am doing you a favor here." The aura radiating from Ox Demon Ancestor grew steadily more formidable, openly unleashing the terrifying pressure of two life leaps. That pressure was indeed dreadful, bearing down upon the nascent chaos world and causing the entire realm to tremble. Lu Changsheng's gaze turned frosty. *Two life leaps?* This was practically the strongest chaos lifeform he had encountered so far. But so what? "In that case, it seems we must settle this through battle..." The next instant, Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer. *Boom!* Behind Lu Changsheng, the immense phantom of a black pagoda manifested. A terrifying pressure descended upon Ox Demon Ancestor in an instant. Ox Demon Ancestor froze, stiff from head to toe. Lifting his head, his voice turned raspy, each word forced out with difficulty. "The... the Black Light Pagoda..." As a chaos lifeform of two life leaps, how could he fail to understand what the Black Light Pagoda signified? That was a cultivator of the Black Light Realm! And one possessing a Black Light Pagoda held core, direct-lineage status within the realm. More importantly, every chaos lifeform wielding a Black Light Pagoda was practically invincible against anyone below four life leaps. How could he possibly fight this?