*Hum.*
As Lu Changsheng stepped into the Dark Domain, he snapped his head up and saw a colossal, blazing sun suspended in the void.
He cast his gaze into the distance.
He could not see the end of it with a single glance.
This was a continent so vast that it defied imagination.
Yet the moment Lu Changsheng arrived, before he could even clearly take in his surroundings, he felt eyes upon him.
The sensation was like thorns pricking his back, tinged with the faint, chilling brush of life and death.
"Go!"
Without hesitation, Lu Changsheng activated the Black Light Pagoda.
The Black Light Pagoda was an exceptionally formidable magic treasure in its own right, capable of traversing space anywhere. Lu Changsheng could feel that the void here was unimaginably stable—ten times, a hundred times more stable than chaos space. Even so, the Black Light Pagoda could still tear open space.
Just as the Black Light Pagoda tore through space, Lu Changsheng caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of an immense hand spanning the sky, blotting out the sun as it slammed directly down upon the area where he had just stood.
The terrifying might radiating from that giant hand filled anyone who witnessed it with sheer dread.
*Is that... a source lifeform?*
Lu Changsheng felt a chill in his heart.
Indeed, only a source lifeform could unleash such horrific power. Had Lu Changsheng lingered for even a fraction of an instant longer, he would likely have been pulverized into fine dust by that giant palm.
Regrettably, there were many chaos lifeforms still in that area, and beneath that massive hand, all of them were instantly reduced to ashes.
"Hmph. Slinking around like vermin—every last chaos trash among you shall die!"
A voice boomed through the void.
Some of the chaos lifeforms still stationed in the chaos outside seemed to sense that frightening aura surging through the rift. The expression of the leading chaos lifeform darkened instantly.
"Disaster! An Emperor of the Dark Domain discovered this region. It seems we must abandon it. This infiltration point is ruined; we will have to find another..."
The leading chaos lifeform knew full well that discovery by a Dark Domain Emperor meant certain doom.
An Emperor of the Dark Domain was the equivalent of a source lifeform in the chaos. The terminology differed, but their strength was virtually identical.
The chaos forces were conducting clandestine infiltrations to begin with. Now that an Emperor had discovered them, the infiltration had to be halted immediately. If they wished to infiltrate again, they would have to locate a different breach point.
As for the chaos lifeforms who had just perished under the Emperor's palm, falling before they could even accomplish anything, they could only blame their wretched luck. And while a few fortunate chaos lifeforms had managed to escape, now that the infiltration point was exposed, returning to the chaos would be exceedingly difficult. They would have to wait until the Chaos Alliance carved out a new infiltration point.
"We can only wish them luck..."
The leading chaos lifeform shook his head and thoroughly sealed off the breach, preventing the Dark Domain from counter-infiltrating through it.
***
Lu Changsheng fled far and wide with the aid of the Black Light Pagoda.
He had no idea how far he had traveled. Only after three full months of continuous space traversals did he finally halt upon sighting a colossal city.
Lu Changsheng did not enter recklessly. Instead, he intercepted a Dark Domain lifeform along the road. With a subtle shift of his flesh, he assumed the being's exact appearance, even mimicking its aura almost perfectly.
Disguising one's aura and altering physical appearance might still pose a slight challenge for Ascending to Godhood cultivators, but for chaos lifeforms, it was utterly trivial. After all, chaos lifeforms possessed extraordinarily powerful physical bodies; anything achievable through flesh and blood presented no difficulty whatsoever.
Even so, maintaining that person's exact visage carried risks—what if he ran into someone they knew? Lu Changsheng had only intended to pry fundamental knowledge from the creature's mouth. Afterward, his form shifted once more, reverting to his original face.
In any case, no one in the Dark Domain could possibly recognize him. The only difference was that his body now carried the distinct aura of a Dark Domain lifeform.
Thereupon, Lu Changsheng strode openly into the city.
After entering, he rented a cave dwelling. He began acquainting himself with the city and, through it, the Dark Domain as a whole.
Through patient inquiry, Lu Changsheng gradually pieced together the truth: the Dark Domain was actually a single immense continent. Boundless and endless, it was fundamentally different from the chaos.
What was the chaos? The chaos consisted of countless domains, each housing countless chaos worlds within. But the Dark Domain had none of that. It held only an endless expanse of continent and boundless oceans. Furthermore, there seemed to be more than one sun in the sky—a single sun could never illuminate such a colossal landmass.
It was said, however, that several powerful factions had constructed celestial palaces in the firmament, within which dwelt terrifying Emperors.
An Emperor was the highest realm of cultivation in the Dark Domain—the counterpart to a source lifeform in the chaos.
Meanwhile, ordinary chaos lifeforms were referred to as being in the Saint Realm. A chaos lifeform that had not undergone a life leap was called a Saint, whereas one that had achieved a life leap was hailed as a Great Saint.
Beneath the Saint Realm lay countless further subdivisions of realms.
Lu Changsheng thoroughly investigated these cultivation realms. Compared to the progression in the chaos, the Dark Domain possessed far more stages, each mapped out in meticulous detail. In comparison, the cultivation system of the Dark Domain seemed to advance step-by-step on solid ground, an orderly progression capable of leading one to the absolute pinnacle, while the system in the chaos was far cruder, almost entirely unconcerned with minor stages.
Lu Changsheng surmised that this difference stemmed from their environments. The cultivation environment in the Dark Domain was far harsher and the competition infinitely fiercer.
The reason was simple: lifespan!
The lifespan of Dark Domain cultivators was vastly inferior to that of their chaos counterparts. Take an Emperor, for instance. Even a being as supreme as an Emperor could only live for a single epoch—a mere hundred and twenty thousand years.
That was an Emperor, an entity comparable to a source lifeform! In the chaos, a source lifeform possessed an almost boundless, eternal lifespan. Yet what about an Emperor in the Dark Domain? Only one epoch!
When both sides possessed comparable combat strength, how could the beings of the Dark Domain resign themselves to having lifespans that differed by so vastly wide a chasm? If they had remained ignorant, it would have been one thing, but they had always known that the chaos existed, serving as the opposite side of the same coin to the Dark Domain.
This was the fundamental reason behind the ceaseless conflict between the Dark Domain and the chaos across countless years: lifespan! The denizens of the Dark Domain yearned to obtain the longevity of chaos cultivators.
However, the mystery of lifespan was profoundly complex. Even after battling across countless epochs, neither side seemed able to resolve the disparity. Yet that did not deter them from waging war.
As for the chaos cultivators coveting the Dark Domain, they sought the origin power of the Dark Domain. It seemed that this origin power could propel source lifeforms another step forward. Such matters touched upon profound secrets that even Zisang did not fully comprehend.
Regardless, all of this was far too distant for Lu Changsheng. For now, he merely wanted to survive safely within the Dark Domain and wait until the chaos established a new stronghold so he could return.
During this period, he had to remain exceedingly cautious. After all, this was the Dark Domain, surrounded on all sides by enemies. His true identity could not be exposed under any circumstances.
Lu Changsheng possessed an identity token from the Chaos Alliance. Once the alliance established a new infiltration point, a transmission would be sent directly to the token, informing him of its precise location. However, how long that would take was entirely unknown.
This infiltration mission had ended in complete and utter failure, dealing the Chaos Alliance a heavy blow. Lu Changsheng was fortunate enough simply to be alive. Yet thinking of his ultimate trial in the Black Light Realm, he wondered whether he would ever have the chance to complete it.
He began contemplating his own circumstances. If he truly could not leave the Dark Domain, was he supposed to remain here indefinitely, doing nothing and letting his cultivation stagnate? His physical body required Grandmist Qi, yet the Dark Domain had none, making it impossible to cultivate his body.
*Wait, who said I only have my physical body?*
*I still have the Illusory Realm. The Illusory Realm requires only chaos origin or dark origin to cultivate. If I can acquire origin power in the Dark Domain, my Illusory Realm can continue to progress!*
*But how do I obtain Dark Domain origin power?*
Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. If his physical body required Grandmist Qi and had no avenue for growth in the Dark Domain, he could focus on cultivating the Illusory Realm instead. As for Dark Domain origin power, Lu Changsheng recalled that the Dark Domain lifeform he had slain in Heaven Prison had contained a wisp of it. His Illusory Realm had noticeably improved from it back then, though the wisp had been too minuscule to trigger a qualitative breakthrough.
*Let me test it. Let's see if every single Dark Domain lifeform contains Dark Domain origin power.*
A sharp glint flashed through Lu Changsheng's eyes.
As for killing someone? That was all too simple. Lu Changsheng had already learned the ways of the Dark Domain. The city he currently resided in was named Tianyu City. It was presided over by a Great Saint and was exceedingly safe; ordinary people did not dare cause trouble within its walls.
Outside Tianyu City, however, was another matter entirely. Moreover, Lu Changsheng knew that ten thousand li to the northwest of Tianyu City lay the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. Within it grew "great medicines" that even Saints covetously sought, luring countless experts to risk their lives inside. If one wished to kill, entering a forbidden zone was the simplest path. The law of the jungle reigned supreme there, and slaughtering at will would never draw suspicion.
Not daring to use the Black Light Pagoda casually, Lu Changsheng flew directly toward the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone.
Before long, the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone came into view. It was named after a great medicine that grew within called the "blood gourd," which could bring a Saint Realm expert's physical body to perfection, granting them hope of comprehending the Great Dao and advancing to Great Saint. Naturally, the forbidden zone harbored many other great medicines as well.
Yet the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone was exceptionally perilous. It was infested with terrifying strange beasts capable of claiming the lives of even Great Saints.
Lu Changsheng's realm was merely that of a "Saint," not yet a Great Saint. Naturally, his combat power was monstrous, enough to wage an upward battle against experts of one life leap—which equated to fighting a Great Saint.
*Whoosh.*
Lu Changsheng flew into the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone.
The instant he entered, he caught the faint, lingering stench of blood in the air. In the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, slaughter was a daily occurrence, leaving a stench of blood that never dissipated throughout the year.
Lu Changsheng concealed his aura and proceeded with utmost care. He could not easily deploy the Black Light Pagoda. Once its power leaked, powerful experts might notice it, prompting high-tier Great Saints or even Emperors to intervene personally. Should that happen, Lu Changsheng would be in grave danger. Relying solely on his own cultivation and strength, he naturally had to tread lightly.
Yet no matter how cautious Lu Changsheng was, someone inevitably targeted him. In truth, virtually every cultivator who stepped into the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone became prey to prying eyes.
Several gazes fell upon Lu Changsheng from the shadows.
"Eldest Brother, what do you think of this one?"
"He seems to have just entered the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, and he looks rather cautious. He's using some sort of concealment technique, so his exact cultivation can't be discerned at all."
"Anyone who hides their cultivation in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone isn't truly strong. If someone possessed genuine might, leaking just a sliver of their aura would deter everyone else. Who would deliberately court trouble?"
"True enough, but we still need to be careful. A Great Saint fell not long ago..."
The group fell silent for a moment. The death of a Great Saint had unfolded right before their very eyes, forcing them to remain vigilant.
*Still not coming out?*
*Are they afraid to strike because they can't gauge my cultivation?*
*They certainly are cautious.*
Lu Changsheng thought to himself. He had long known he was being watched. In fact, that had been his objective all along. Killing someone in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone was all too convenient. Yet his excessive caution had instead made his stalkers hesitate.
Even so, Lu Changsheng was in no hurry; opportunities were plenty. If necessary, he could simply "reveal" a fraction of his strength—specifically, the power of his Illusory Realm. The Illusory Realm was currently at the Nine Tiers to Godhood level, which corresponded roughly to a quasi-saint according to the Dark Domain's hierarchy. A quasi-saint amounted to nothing within the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone.
Eventually, Lu Changsheng encountered a strange beast. It resembled an elephant, yet its body was over a hundred times larger, towering like a small mountain and exuding a ferocious aura.
With a thought, Lu Changsheng willed, *Suppress!*
*Boom!*
The Illusory Realm descended, ruthlessly suppressing the elephant beast within its domain and grinding it down bit by bit. The strange beast was no quasi-saint, and it completely lacked the ability to withstand the suppression of the Illusory Realm, gradually being obliterated into nothingness.
*Hm?*
*This beast didn't yield any Dark Domain origin power.*
Lu Changsheng frowned. This was not a good sign. *Does it have to be a cultivator from the Dark Domain?*
However, his move was witnessed clearly by the figures lurking in the shadows. Their eyes lit up.
"I wasn't mistaken—he's a quasi-saint!"
"The kid hid it deeply enough to almost fool us. He kept concealing himself to make us wary, but he's merely a quasi-saint after all."
"Heh, now his secret's out. Even if a quasi-saint is remarkably strong, so what? Eldest Brother is a Great Saint!"
"Indeed. Even the rest of us are Saints; dealing with this kid won't be an issue at all. The only drawback is that as a mere quasi-saint, he probably doesn't carry much of value."
"A mosquito's leg is still meat. Don't be picky—strike!"
There were four of them in total: one Great Saint and three Saints. Such a lineup was exceptionally formidable within the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. It was no wonder they could lurk here and continually ambush cultivators.
Normally, Great Saints did not stoop to being marauder cultivators, but the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone was an exception. Any cultivator daring enough to venture inside almost certainly carried precious treasures, and even quasi-saints were rarely impoverished. By relying on meticulous caution, these four marauders had slowly murdered and plundered their way through the zone, ultimately cultivating one Great Saint and three Saints among their ranks.
"Kill!"
The four made their move. Even facing what appeared to be a quasi-saint, they remained exceedingly cautious, immediately deploying an array formation.
*Boom!*
The array descended, severing the inside from the outside in an instant and enveloping Lu Changsheng. His surroundings shifted abruptly, making him feel as though he had been plunged into an inferno, with faint flames and virulent toxins ceaselessly scorching and corroding his body.
*What a potent array, and springing it without warning makes it nearly impossible to guard against.*
A cold light flashed in Lu Changsheng's eyes. These men being able to operate as marauders in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone was indeed no fluke. Not only were they cautious, but they struck with full force right from the start, leaving no room for error.
Lu Changsheng even sensed a terrifying aura accompanied by three others at roughly the Saint Realm level. This indicated one Great Saint and three Saints. Their strength was undeniably formidable.
Yet what of it?
*Boom!*
The next instant, Lu Changsheng erupted.
Every single flesh particle within his body ceased holding back, detonating with overwhelming might. Each particle resembled a world unto itself. When hundreds of millions of worlds detonated in unison, how terrifying was the energy unleashed?
*Crack!*
In a single instant, the grand array jointly deployed by the four was torn to shreds.
Lu Changsheng stood quietly in the void, his aura billowing outward without restraint. His cultivation still registered at the Saint Realm rather than Great Saint, yet that sheer momentum sent a shudder through even the Great Saint's heart.
"He... he broke through the grand array?"
"That was an array set up by the four of us together! How could a Saint shatter it?"
"Forget a Saint—even a Great Saint couldn't have broken it so quickly! Yet this man shattered it purely through brute force!"
"He's clearly just a Saint..."
"It seems we've kicked an iron plate..."
The four instantly realized something was amiss. While it was not unheard of in the Dark Domain for a Saint to unleash the combat power of a Great Saint, every individual capable of doing so was a peerless prodigy whose fame shook the entire domain—a prominent figure. How could they have been unlucky enough to run into one in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone?
"Retreat!"
The leading Great Saint did not dare delay for a single moment, immediately wheeling around to flee. As a marauder, he understood one truth profoundly: the moment you kicked an iron plate, cut your losses and run. Never attempt to force a fight, or total ruin would almost certainly follow.
He retreated decisively, and his three companions reacted just as swiftly.
Unfortunately, Lu Changsheng was already prepared. In terms of raw power, he feared no one, let alone being outnumbered. Possessing hundreds of millions of flesh particles, he would not fall behind even when taking on four adversaries simultaneously. Moreover, he already possessed the track record of slaying a being of one life leap.
"Illusory Realm, suppress!"
Lu Changsheng's Illusory Realm descended. Naturally, the Illusory Realm could not subdue these experts, but Lu Changsheng only needed to hinder their movements for a single breath.
*Rumble!*
The moment the Illusory Realm descended, it was torn apart almost instantaneously. Yet that single moment of delay was all Lu Changsheng needed to unleash four consecutive punches.
All four punches were struck with full force.
The Great Saint managed to withstand his blow, but the three Saints could not resist in the slightest.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
Three muffled explosions rang out in rapid succession. The three Saints were blasted apart, reduced to clouds of bloody mist, every inch of their flesh pulverized into dust.
Dead. Three Saint Realm experts had fallen just like that.
"Must you truly exterminate us all, sir?" the leading Great Saint roared in shock and fury. These companions had stood by him for tens of thousands of years, yet they had died in the blink of an eye. Even so, he did not harbor the slightest thought of seeking revenge. What revenge could there be at a time like this? All he wanted was to escape!
"The moment you laid eyes on me, you should have anticipated this end," Lu Changsheng replied, too indifferent to waste words. His entire body surged again, delivering one terrifying punch after another.
Even though his opponent was a Great Saint.
A so-called Great Saint was one who had thoroughly comprehended a Great Dao, also known as a one-Dao Great Saint, equivalent to having undergone one life leap.
The opponent unleashed the full power of his Great Dao. The terrifying power of the Dao pierced the void, triggering heavenly phenomena above the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. When any Great Saint unleashed their Great Dao power to such an extent, it meant they were staking their life in a desperate struggle.
Seeing the phenomenon in the void, several cultivators throughout the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone were shaken to the core.
"That's Great Dao power! A Great Saint is going all out, unleashing the full might of their Dao! What kind of danger could force them to resort to this?"
"Everyone knows there are Great Saints within the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. But for even a Great Saint to be pushed to the brink and unleash their Dao power—just how fierce is this battle?"
"What on earth is happening?"
"Could a treasure have appeared in the forbidden zone? Or was a great medicine discovered, driving even an Emperor to fight with everything on the line?"
Instantly, some cultivators thought of a possibility.
A great medicine! Only the emergence of a great medicine could drive a Great Saint to stake their very life. Many cultivators began rushing toward the direction of the battle, hoping to scavenge some benefit if an opportunity arose.
Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng and the Great Saint were locked in a frenzied clash, both wholly absorbed and fighting with everything they had.
This was not Lu Changsheng's first time battling a Great Saint. The last time had been in the Heaven Prison world. But back then, Lu Changsheng had deployed the Black Light Pagoda, directly suppressing and slaying the Great Saint. The Black Light Pagoda had shattered the Great Dao power with ease, leaving Lu Changsheng feeling no pressure at all.
Now, however, was different. Lu Changsheng was forcefully confronting the opponent's Great Dao power relying purely on physical might, unable to casually deploy the Black Light Pagoda. Under these conditions, he felt the immense pressure and the terrifying nature of the Great Dao power.
The power of the Great Dao was like a colossal chain binding Lu Changsheng's flesh, grinding down upon him relentlessly from every direction, threatening to reduce him to fine dust.
"Break!" Lu Changsheng roared.
Every particle in his body erupted. No matter how formidable that chain was, it could not withstand his explosive strength.
*Crack!*
An invisible chain seemed to snap. That was no literal iron chain, but the Great Dao itself. In that instant, the power of the Great Dao severed, forcefully broken by Lu Changsheng.
At the same time, Lu Changsheng drove fist after fist directly into the Great Dao power lingering in the void. Punch after punch rained down; in a split second, hundreds upon thousands of punches seemed to erupt.
All the onlookers stared blankly into the void, watching the sky-filling barrage of fist shadows crash down upon the Great Dao power. They saw it clearly: the power of the Great Dao was snapped completely, and in the end, it was utterly ground into oblivion.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
Even the Great Dao had been obliterated. That could mean only one thing: the Great Saint had fallen!
"What? Even a Great Saint has fallen?"
"They always said Great Saints could die in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, but that was thought to be mere rumor! How terrifying is a Great Saint? Even if they cannot win, retreating should never be an issue. Yet now, escaping was an impossible luxury—he actually died?"
"What on earth happened? For a Great Saint's Dao to be ground to dust... he was beaten to death by sheer force! What kind of treasure could incite a clash between Great Saints to reach such an extreme?"
"Could a great medicine truly have appeared?"
Many cultivators in the forbidden zone exchanged stunned glances, filled with profound terror. Defeating a Great Saint and slaying one were two entirely different matters. To fight a Great Saint like this, the opponent had to be a Great Saint as well. Though for some reason, no one had seen the second Great Saint's Dao power, it did nothing to diminish the shock in their hearts.
At that moment, Lu Changsheng stood suspended in the void. He ceased his attacks, for the Great Saint before him had already been shattered into oblivion. Just as the onlookers whispered, this Great Saint was truly dead. The moment his Dao power was obliterated, his physical body was pulverized by Lu Changsheng, marking his total demise.
Yet Lu Changsheng felt little joy. Instead, he furrowed his brow, lost in deep contemplation.
*Where did it go wrong?*
*Why is there no Dark Domain origin power?*
*Three Saints and one Great Saint are dead, yet none left behind any Dark Domain origin power? This is completely different from the Dark Domain lifeform back in Heaven Prison...*
Lu Changsheng muttered under his breath, countless thoughts racing through his mind. He had entered the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone specifically to kill and see whether he could obtain Dark Domain origin power. Yet after slaying three Saints and one Great Saint, he had gained nothing—not a single wisp of dark origin power.
This was entirely different from the Dark Domain lifeform he had slain in Heaven Prison. Both were one-Dao Great Saints, seemingly no different from one another. Why was there no origin power? Even a wisp would have sufficed, yet there was none at all.
*Hm? Someone is coming!*
Lu Changsheng snapped his head up. He sensed cultivators approaching, though they did not appear particularly strong. He knew the commotion here had been too massive; after all, Great Dao power had manifested, and he had even obliterated that Dao power and slain a Great Saint. Such a disturbance could not fail to attract attention.
Lu Changsheng was not afraid of killing, but he had no desire to draw excessive scrutiny.
"Go."
The next instant, Lu Changsheng retreated immediately, vanishing without a trace.
After a short while, figures appeared one after another. They remained wary, not daring to draw too close. Only after confirming that no one remained did they approach.
"It seems they've already left."
"Judging by the traces, were there five people in total?"
"It looks like four experts laid siege to one."
"Three Saints and one Great Saint among them—and all of them died?"
"Those three Saints were even killed in a single strike..."
These cultivators had sharp eyes and could discern the general outline of the battle at a glance. But who was the expert capable of instantly slaying Saints and grinding a Great Dao to dust? What was the purpose behind their fight? Had a great medicine truly emerged and been carried off by the victor?
Countless enigmas shrouded the minds of the cultivators. Regardless of the truth, another Great Saint had fallen in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. For a Great Dao to be ground away by sheer force was simply too horrifying, and they had witnessed it with their own eyes. From now on, they would have to be even more cautious when roaming the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone.
Chapter 460