"Severing the Realm Corpse" to Attain Sainthood! Illusory Realm Evolves, Finally a Realm Lord!

In the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, Lu Changsheng came to a halt. He found a cave and settled directly inside. With his perception, there was no need to set up any arrays. If there was any movement in the surroundings, Lu Changsheng would sense it immediately. Lu Changsheng carefully took stock. Slain in this battle were three Saints and one Great Saint; strictly speaking, it could not be said that he gained nothing. Although he failed to obtain even a wisp of Dark Domain origin power, he had reaped another harvest. Namely, the Great Dao! Any cultivator who became a Great Saint possessed a Great Dao. Grasping one Great Dao made one a Great Saint. To advance further, one had to grasp a second Great Dao, a third Great Dao, and so forth—Two-Dao Great Saints, Three-Dao Great Saints, Four-Dao Great Saints, and beyond. With each additional Great Dao mastered, their strength would surge dramatically, much like a life leap. Lu Changsheng had never thought of mastering the power of the Great Dao. After all, chaos lifeforms and Great Saints belonged to two entirely different cultivation systems. Completely different. Neither could be said to be superior to the other; Emperors and source lifeforms had clashed countless times, yet neither side could overwhelm the other. Yet, aside from being a chaos lifeform, Lu Changsheng was also a Realm Lord cultivator. He had embarked on the path of a Realm Lord. What was most important on this path? Naturally, the world under one's control. The more complete the world became, the stronger the Realm Lord would be. A world operated through countless rules. That was what Lu Changsheng had seen in the chaos. But now, Lu Changsheng was in the Dark Domain. What did he see here? The Great Dao! In the Dark Domain, the Great Dao was indispensable. "In a sense, chaos and the Dark Domain can both be viewed as worlds." "If one controls a world akin to the Dark Domain or chaos, just how formidable would that Realm Lord be?" Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. He knew very little about Realm Lords, but he knew the foundation of a Realm Lord was the world they governed. The stronger the world, the stronger the Realm Lord. What if one controlled something like the Dark Domain? Just how powerful would they be? Perhaps far beyond a source lifeform or an Emperor! Lu Changsheng's Illusory Realm already had rules, but it lacked origin power and had not undergone its transformation. Yet that did not matter. Even without origin power, Lu Changsheng could continue to refine the Illusory Realm. He could comprehend the power of the Great Dao, and then construct that Great Dao power into the Illusory Realm. When that time came, the might of the Illusory Realm would skyrocket. Even if it remained at the Nine Tiers to Godhood, he might be able to fight up and slay Saints, or even Great Saints! However, this sounded like wishful thinking. Had other Realm Lords never thought of transforming their worlds into something resembling chaos or the Dark Domain? Surely they had. But what was the reality? Most likely, they had failed. Otherwise, the Realm Lord cultivation system would not have declined, while systems like source lifeforms and Emperors became dominant. For instance, in the Dark Domain, even for a Realm Lord, how difficult would it be to comprehend the power of the Great Dao? How demanding would that be on one's comprehension? Still, Lu Changsheng wanted to give it a try. He had just slain a Great Saint, forcefully grinding away the enemy's Great Dao. In the process, he had grown intimately familiar with the other's Great Dao power. If he truly tried to comprehend it, he might actually succeed. "Let's try." Spurred by the thought, Lu Changsheng began attempting to comprehend the power of the Great Dao. Day after day slipped by. One year, three years, five years, eight years, ten years... Lu Changsheng remained inside the cave within the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. The forbidden zone was vast, and because he created no disturbance, he was left completely undisturbed all these years. He quietly contemplated the power of the Great Dao within the cave. *Whoosh.* Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. "Ten years... I've finally comprehended a Great Dao!" Lu Changsheng smiled. If the Saints or Great Saints of the Dark Domain learned that someone comprehended the power of a Great Dao in ten years, who knew how mad they would go? Yet Lu Changsheng's comprehension of Great Dao power was different from that of Dark Domain Great Saints. His comprehension was essentially equivalent to "imitation." Yes, imitation. He had imitated the Great Dao power of the Great Saint he had slain. But due to differing cultivation systems, even though he reproduced it, he could not mobilize the power of the Great Dao, nor did it possess any might on its own. Put simply, his theory was maxed out—he understood the essence of Great Dao power, yet could not unleash any might through it directly. For Great Dao power to unleash its might, he would have to cultivate the Dark Domain lifeform system from scratch. But that was utterly impossible. Lu Changsheng was already a chaos lifeform. Could he turn into another lifeform entirely? However, just because Lu Changsheng could not mobilize Great Dao power did not mean it could not be done within the Illusory Realm. The Illusory Realm was a complete world, and Lu Changsheng was continually perfecting it; he could shape it into whatever form he desired. The Illusory Realm's transition from illusory to real was currently at a tipping point. How it would evolve next was of paramount importance. And now, Lu Changsheng had decided. He would guide the Illusory Realm to evolve toward the Dark Domain. With a shift in thought, Lu Changsheng's consciousness descended into the Illusory Realm. Following the Great Dao power he had comprehended, he began imprinting it into the Illusory Realm. *Rumble!* Inside Lu Changsheng's Illusory Realm, violent tremors erupted. The entire realm seemed turned upside down. The emergence of Great Dao power directly subverted the Illusory Realm's current rules, so much so that it looked poised to collapse. But Lu Changsheng did not panic. Instead, taking the power of the Great Dao as the core, he had the Illusory Realm slowly reconstruct a world anew. After all, the Illusory Realm was currently a blank sheet of paper. There was no rush; it could be reconstructed at will. Time passed day by day. Ten years, thirty years, fifty years, eighty years, a hundred years... This time, it took a full century for the Illusory Realm to complete its reconstruction. Furthermore, the reconstructed Illusory Realm seemed entirely different from before—it bore quite a resemblance to the Dark Domain. With the power of the Great Dao as its core, combined with Lu Changsheng's understanding of the Dark Domain, incorporating more Great Dao power in the future would not require another reconstruction. The more Great Dao power it contained, the more complete the Illusory Realm would become. And the more complete the Illusory Realm, the greater its might. However, the Illusory Realm still required origin power to sustain it. Without sufficient origin power, an increasingly perfected realm would become a burden, perhaps even collapsing under its own weight. Therefore, a balance had to be struck between Great Dao power and origin power. Still, Lu Changsheng had successfully transformed the Illusory Realm. Its future potential was unimaginable. Now, all it lacked was origin power. With origin power, Lu Changsheng could trigger its complete evolution, truly setting foot upon the path of a Realm Lord. In essence, the current Illusory Realm was still at the Nine Tiers to Godhood level. "Origin power..." Lu Changsheng sighed deeply. His cultivation was stuck on this hurdle. He had already spent a hundred and ten years in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. It was time to venture out and "stretch his legs." Lu Changsheng still had not abandoned the thought of slaying Great Saints. He wanted to know the reason—why had the Great Saint he killed in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone yielded no Dark Domain origin power? Lu Changsheng exited the cave. A hundred and ten years had passed, yet the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone seemed just as it had always been, unchanged. If there was any change, it was that there seemed to be more people. Lu Changsheng had only strolled around a bit when he spotted several groups of cultivators. Among them were even large numbers of cultivators below the Saint realm, such as quasi-saints. The Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone was no ordinary place; entering it was extraordinarily dangerous for anyone below the Saint realm. Under normal circumstances, so many sub-Saint cultivators would never appear here. What was going on? When things are abnormal, trouble is brewing. Something must have occurred in the forbidden zone to cause this influx of cultivators. Thus, Lu Changsheng made discreet inquiries in the shadows. Sure enough, he gathered some news, overhearing conversations among several cultivators. "Fifty years ago, I heard a Great Saint obtained a grand medicine in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone—a lifespan-extending grand medicine capable of prolonging a Great Saint's life! Many Great Saints flocked to the forbidden zone, but after a fierce clash, they quickly retreated." "The Great Saints fought over lifespan medicine, but we who are below the Saint realm have no designs on that. However, medicines that aid in advancing to the Saint realm are well within reach of our imaginations. It's said that other precious grand medicines capable of breaking through to the Saint realm still remain in the forbidden zone." "Many quasi-saints of extraordinary status and formidable strength have arrived, setting their sights precisely on those medicines." "Rumor has it that even some ancient god seeds and supreme seeds have come. Those are peerless prodigies capable of fighting above their realm, slaying Saints as mere quasi-saints!" Hearing these discussions, Lu Changsheng suddenly understood. So a grand medicine had indeed surfaced, even prompting numerous Great Saints to fight over it. However, Lu Changsheng had been in seclusion at the time, and the battlefield where the Great Saints fought was evidently far from his cave, so he had not been disturbed. Lu Changsheng wandered around. Soon, he came across a melee involving many quasi-saints battling over a grand medicine. In the chaotic brawl, many quasi-saints fell. To Lu Changsheng, quasi-saints were merely equivalent to the Nine Tiers to Godhood, so he naturally paid them no mind. However, amid the mangled flesh and blood of those fallen quasi-saints, Lu Changsheng faintly detected a wisp of Dark Domain origin power. Yes, a wisp of Dark Domain origin power! It was mixed within a cloud of blood mist. Lu Changsheng was shaken. "How is this possible?" "They're a bunch of quasi-saints—how could they possess Dark Domain origin power?" Lu Changsheng was thoroughly astonished. "Wait, what was the name of the cultivator who left behind that wisp of origin power? Seemed to be... Zhong Yun? Supposedly a supreme seed, a peerless prodigy, a genius who towered over countless kingdoms." "Such a figure left behind a wisp of Dark Domain origin power upon death." "Could it be that my previous assumption was wrong? In truth, possessing Dark Domain origin power has nothing to do with cultivation level, but rather... fortune?" Lu Changsheng considered this possibility. Fortune! Back in the Heaven Realm, Lu Changsheng was already familiar with fortune. When one's fortune reached a certain level, they were favored by heaven and earth. Given the unique cultivation environment of the Dark Domain, someone favored by heaven and earth and blessed with immense fortune might truly foster Dark Domain origin power within their body. Once dead, they would leave that origin power behind. The more Lu Changsheng pondered it, the more plausible it seemed. Of course, this was merely conjecture. But confirming it would not be difficult: he just needed to slay another bearer of great fortune! As for distinguishing who possessed great fortune, that was even simpler. He would target the so-called peerless prodigies whose reputations resounded across the Dark Domain. Such peerless prodigies almost always possessed great fortune, and most likely carried Dark Domain origin power! With a first, there came a second. Lu Changsheng began covertly hunting down renowned Dark Domain prodigies. Sure enough, he obtained another wisp of Dark Domain origin power. This gave Lu Changsheng a jolt of excitement. It seemed his guess was correct. The Dark Domain was truly different from chaos. Top geniuses in the Dark Domain carried Dark Domain origin power, which granted them unfathomably rapid cultivation speed. This brought clarity to Lu Changsheng. No wonder Dark Domain cultivators had short lifespans, yet their combat prowess was not the least bit inferior to peers of the same tier in chaos. What took an epoch or several epochs to cultivate in chaos required merely several hundred or several thousand years in the Dark Domain. What was the root cause? Lu Changsheng had now found it. The root cause lay in the fact that these Dark Domain cultivators harbored a trace of Dark Domain origin power within them. Even those who did not harbor origin power benefited from the radiating rules of the Dark Domain, cultivating as if blessed by divine favor to advance in a short span of time. However, this was advantageous for Lu Changsheng. It gave him real hope of obtaining Dark Domain origin power. Thus, Lu Changsheng began hunting down one Dark Domain prodigy after another. Panic immediately swept through the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, leaving everyone on edge. As prodigy after prodigy fell, people finally noticed that something was amiss. "Someone in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone seems to be specifically hunting top prodigies!" "What? Someone dares to hunt prodigies? Those prodigies have powerful forces behind them with deep backgrounds. Even Great Saints wouldn't dare act rashly. Who would dare slaughter prodigies so brazenly?" "Nobody knows. But this is the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone—isn't slaughter normal here? Those prodigies chose to barge in; if they die, they die in vain." "Indeed, the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone is exceedingly dangerous. As for revenge? If powerful Great Saints entered the forbidden zone and provoked the terrifying exotic beasts—or worse, the Beast Kings—they would be in colossal trouble." "Then just who is hunting the prodigies?" For a time, everyone in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone felt in mortal danger. Many cultivators voluntarily departed the area. Some prodigies were utterly infuriated. They were proud darlings of heaven backed by formidable clans. Wherever they went, they were treated like stars surrounded by the moon, the center of everyone's attention. But now? Someone was assassinating prodigies without leaving a trace, paying no heed to their backgrounds. The greater a prodigy's fame, the more determined the hunter was to strike them down. Yet here in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, their so-called backgrounds and status meant nothing. Only now did these prodigies seem to wake up to reality: no matter what, they were merely quasi-saints, not even Saints. In the forbidden zone, they were as vulnerable as lambs awaiting slaughter. Thus, regardless of how enraged the prodigies were, they knew what had to be done. Retreat. Countless cultivators gradually withdrew from the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone, and the area slowly returned to its former tranquility. Only Lu Changsheng was left somewhat frustrated. The window of opportunity had been too brief. The prodigies were sensible enough to pull out one by one, and Lu Changsheng did not dare pursue them outside the forbidden zone. Inside, he could hunt them at his leisure, but once outside, the factions behind those prodigies had ten thousand ways to crush him. He would not take such a risk. Even so, through this period of hunting, Lu Changsheng had acquired quite a lot of Dark Domain origin power. It should be enough for him to take the most crucial step. "There's no point staying in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone anymore. Time to head back." Lu Changsheng did not linger and returned to Tianyu City. Once back, he sealed his cave dwelling. Inside his cave dwelling, he was safe enough. Lu Changsheng tapped his hand, and the Black Light Pagoda flickered into view. Inside the cave dwelling, with all auras severed from the outside world, the pagoda would not be detected, allowing him to summon it freely. Within the Black Light Pagoda, wisp upon wisp of Dark Domain origin power was suppressed. This was Lu Changsheng's harvest from his trip to the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. "A total of twenty-eight wisps of Dark Domain origin power!" Lu Changsheng's heart thumped. Among the twenty-eight wisps, each varied in quality. Some individual wisps were comparable to five or six ordinary ones, while others were quite mundane. But one thing was certain: twenty-eight wisps of origin power represented twenty-eight top prodigies. In other words, Lu Changsheng had slain twenty-eight top prodigies in the Blood Gourd Forbidden Zone. Those twenty-eight prodigies most likely represented twenty-eight top factions. By going on such a killing spree, who knew how many powerful forces harbored a deep grudge against him now? This run had truly been somewhat "high-profile." By nature, he preferred not to stand out so prominently, but given the circumstances, if he had not seized the opportunity to slay those top prodigies and harvest origin power, he could forget about advancing his strength even a fraction. "Twenty-eight wisps of Dark Domain origin power should be enough for my Illusory Realm to take this crucial step!" A wave of excitement washed over Lu Changsheng. He had waited for this moment for a long time. He wanted the Illusory Realm to undergo its transformation. The transformation of the Illusory Realm from illusory to real signified that he had stepped onto the path of a Realm Lord, but it only matched the Nine Tiers to Godhood. It had not yet undergone its complete transformation. Once it did, his Illusory Realm would be comparable to a chaos lifeform. This was a vital step for Lu Changsheng, known as "realm fusion." In other words, the cultivator had to merge completely with the Illusory Realm. When that happened, the cultivator was the realm, and the realm was the cultivator—equivalent to "I am the world." If he succeeded, how terrifying would the might be when his physical body merged with the Illusory Realm? It was unimaginable. What changes would emerge from combining Realm Lord and chaos lifeform? Lu Changsheng did not know. Realm Lord and chaos lifeform were two entirely different paths, two distinct cultivation systems. He did not know if anyone had ever cultivated both simultaneously. Perhaps there were, perhaps not. But regardless, Lu Changsheng had no precedent to learn from. He could only rely on himself! "Begin." Lu Changsheng took a deep breath. Having made his decision, he would hesitate no further. Thus, Lu Changsheng began refining the wisps of Dark Domain origin power one by one. One wisp, two wisps, three wisps, four wisps, five wisps... The Illusory Realm faintly began its transformation, merging thoroughly into Lu Changsheng's physical body and harmonizing with his flesh. Yet at this stage, a problem arose—an unforeseen issue. On the path of a Realm Lord, the step of "realm fusion" was actually very straightforward: the physical body merged into the "world," not the world merging into the body. There was a distinction between primary and secondary. For Realm Lord cultivators, the world was primary and the flesh was secondary. In fact, the flesh was not even secondary—it was essentially discarded. The flesh became the world, and the world became the flesh; if the world was destroyed, the Realm Lord died. But now, things were different. Lu Changsheng was already a chaos lifeform. Could he still let his flesh merge into the world? Even if he wanted to merge his body into the world, could the world completely accommodate and absorb his physical body? The reality was... it could not! Lu Changsheng was already a chaos lifeform; how terrifying was his physical body? Even if he suppressed his flesh, the Illusory Realm could not merge with it. This was a cultivation dilemma. Lu Changsheng had never expected that dual-cultivating both paths would hit such a massive roadblock. Could it be that his journey as a Realm Lord would be cut short here, forcing him to focus solely on being a chaos lifeform and treading the path of life leaps? Days passed one after another. Lu Changsheng sank deep into contemplation. For the first time, his top-tier comprehension found cultivation thorny. How could he have the best of both worlds? If Lu Changsheng had previously wondered whether anyone had dual-cultivated as both a Realm Lord and a chaos lifeform, he was now certain: Absolutely no one! These were two distinct paths; at the chaos lifeform level, they simply could not be reconciled. One either walked the path of a Realm Lord, or walked the path of physical life leaps. There was no third option. Even the Dark Domain's path of Emperors was fundamentally a physical path, equally incompatible with the path of a Realm Lord. One year, two years, three years... Lu Changsheng's cultivation ground to a halt. He did not even continue refining the Dark Domain origin power. His top-tier comprehension operated at full throttle. He wanted to pioneer a path that accommodated both. This was not an impossible fantasy. Lu Changsheng faintly grasped a spark of inspiration, yet it seemed to slip away, remaining just out of reach. "World... physical body..." Lu Changsheng murmured under his breath. After an unknown amount of time, a flash of insight struck Lu Changsheng. He suddenly thought of his flesh particles. Every single flesh particle was said to be equivalent to a world. Of course, that was merely a metaphor. How could every single particle equal a world? How large could a single particle be? The Sky Cleaving Leap Method was akin to opening the heavens and cleaving the earth to open up flesh particles, vastly expanding them in the hope that one day, each flesh particle might truly rival a world. Yet Lu Changsheng estimated that even upon becoming a source lifeform, one probably could not turn every flesh particle into a true world. However, this sparked an idea. Flesh particles could not become worlds on their own, but what if a flesh particle merged with the Illusory Realm? Then the Illusory Realm would be a true world, and Lu Changsheng would still be a Realm Lord. Through continued cultivation in the future, the Illusory Realm could keep expanding. Wouldn't that solve the problem of dual-cultivating as a Realm Lord while cultivating the physical body? Of course, there was only one Illusory Realm; it was impossible to merge every particle with it. Having thought of the Illusory Realm and flesh particles, Lu Changsheng's mind leaped further to the legend of severing the three corpses to attain the Dao. The three corpses—the Good Corpse, the Evil Corpse, and the Self Corpse. Lu Changsheng only drew inspiration from this; he was not actually trying to sever those three corpses. Furthermore, severing the three corpses was merely a myth and legend; without a concrete method, it was impossible to cultivate. Yet Lu Changsheng thought of "severing a corpse." He possessed hundreds of millions of flesh particles, each intimately connected to him and forming a part of his being. What if he merged just one flesh particle with the Illusory Realm? Would he then become a Realm Lord? Moreover, that flesh particle was part of his body, and he retained full control over it. Once merged, the flesh particle would become the Realm Lord, which was equivalent to Lu Changsheng himself becoming a Realm Lord! This idea sounded absurd on the surface, but what if it worked? Besides, no one else possessed Lu Changsheng's capability of having so many independent flesh particles. Back when cultivators practiced the Myriad Origins Fundamental Art, most chose to merge all their flesh particles into one to ascend to a chaos lifeform. Only Lu Changsheng had chosen to transform every single flesh particle into a chaos lifeform. It was precisely that choice which now granted him boundless potential and the opportunity to walk the path of a Realm Lord alongside it. Still, this was merely Lu Changsheng's hypothesis. Whether a flesh particle could substitute for his entire body and merge into the Illusory Realm to step onto the Realm Lord path was something he could not know for sure. He had to test it himself! With that in mind, Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer. "Continue." Lu Changsheng resumed refining the wisps of Dark Domain origin power, refining twelve wisps in total. At this point, the Illusory Realm reached the threshold of transformation. Everything was in place, lacking only the final catalyst—and that catalyst was Lu Changsheng's flesh particle! *Hum.* Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Changsheng separated out a single flesh particle. This particle was carefully selected, undeniably the strongest particle in his entire body. "Realm fusion!" With a low shout, Lu Changsheng sent that flesh particle swiftly merging into the Illusory Realm. *Rumble!* At this moment, the Illusory Realm transformed. The entire realm shuddered violently, upturning heaven and earth, born out of destruction like a newborn world. An intuitive realization washed over Lu Changsheng, instantly revealing his condition to him. It had gone exceptionally smoothly. His Illusory Realm had completely transformed, merging seamlessly with the flesh particle without the slightest hiccup. At this moment, Lu Changsheng had finally set foot onto the path of a Realm Lord, becoming a true Realm Lord! *Whoosh.* Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. He immediately brought up his attribute panel. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: Top-Tier Comprehension World Master: 1% (Initial Success) Chaos Lifeform: 76% (Initial Success) Sure enough, World Master was no longer listed as an "embryo"; it had become Initial Success, matching the realm of his chaos lifeform. "What should this be called? Severing the realm corpse?" Lu Changsheng chuckled. Drawing inspiration from the method of severing the three corpses, he had merged a flesh particle with the Illusory Realm. Was this not "severing a corpse"? Calling it "severing the realm corpse" seemed fitting. Moreover, myths and legends spoke of severing the three corpses to attain sainthood; by severing the realm corpse, had Lu Changsheng not attained sainthood? Right now, his realm corpse was equivalent to the Saint realm. Yet the benefits Lu Changsheng gained went beyond becoming a true Realm Lord. At the exact instant he became a true Realm Lord, he mysteriously received a flow of information, gaining basic knowledge regarding Realm Lord cultivation. This knowledge seemed embedded within the chaos or the Dark Domain; once someone became a true Realm Lord, they would receive these cultivation insights. Thus, Lu Changsheng began sorting through the vast influx of Realm Lord information in his mind.