Flesh Life Leap, Passing the Black Light Realm's Ultimate Trial! Lu Changsheng Returns to the Dark Domain!

Qingchi left Lu Changsheng's cave dwelling. Calculating the time, Lu Changsheng realized that only about three thousand years had passed since he chose to accept the Black Light Realm's ultimate trial. In other words, he was indeed well within the ten-thousand-year limit. Seven thousand years remained. The Black Light Realm's ultimate trial required him to undergo a life leap using the Sky Cleaving Art within ten thousand years and successfully advance; doing so would mean passing the ultimate trial. Lu Changsheng was completely confident in this. After all, he still had seven thousand years left, along with a vast amount of Grandmist Qi. With both resources and time, how could he fear failing to achieve a life leap? On this point, he was not worried in the slightest. "I should raise my physical body to perfection first." Lu Changsheng began to refine the Grandmist Qi. Fully refining each wisp of Grandmist Qi took at least a year. Lu Changsheng refined them wisp after wisp without pause. One year, two years, three years, four years, five years... In the blink of an eye, twenty-four years passed. Lu Changsheng stopped. It was not because he had run out of Grandmist Qi. He still had 312 wisps left, more than plenty. The reason he stopped was simple: the progress of his physical body had reached the 100% state of perfection. At this point, refining more Grandmist Qi was meaningless. He had to undergo a life leap. To undergo a life leap, one's physical body had to reach a certain level—in essence, reaching 100% progress. Lu Changsheng had already met this condition. Next, one had to possess a method for a life leap. Lu Changsheng had long possessed the Sky Cleaving Art. This was the life leap art bestowed by the Black Light Realm, and the mandatory method for the ultimate trial. A technique created by Black Light Ancestor was bound to be extraordinary. Furthermore, it required precise control over one's physical body, as well as courage, resolve, and boldness. Lu Changsheng lacked none of these. Undergoing a life leap now, what did he have to fear? Thus, Lu Changsheng spent three days adjusting himself. Once his condition was at its peak, Lu Changsheng prepared to undergo the life leap. "Let's begin." With a thought, whoosh! Lu Changsheng flew directly out of his cave dwelling and into chaos. A chaos lifeform's physical life leap required a spacious expanse, and the chaos was best. Chaos was boundless and completely free of disturbance. After all, the physical body of every chaos lifeform was colossal. Lu Changsheng unleashed his physical body. Holding nothing back, his colossal body appeared in the chaotic void, billowing with a terrifying aura. As for the Sky Cleaving Art, Lu Changsheng actually felt a sense of familiarity with it. It seemed quite similar to his Illusory Realm's "reopening the world." One reopened the world, and the other was the Sky Cleaving Art; both were "cleaving the sky"—not identical, but essentially the same. In any case, diverse cultivation systems led to the same destination by different paths; they were largely similar. This gave Lu Changsheng even greater confidence. Cleaving the sky—he was all too familiar with it. However, the physical body's Sky Cleaving Art was still somewhat different. Each of Lu Changsheng's flesh particles could be viewed as a world. Naturally, they were far inferior to the Illusory Realm, but the principle was the same. The Sky Cleaving Art caused the hundreds of millions of flesh particles within the body to detonate simultaneously, thereby "re-evolving worlds." This was truly extraordinary. If he continued to undergo life leaps with the Sky Cleaving Art, the advantage of his solid physical foundation would continue to accumulate again and again. With each life leap, his accumulated foundation would be stronger than those of his peers. If he accumulated nine life leaps, there was no telling how terrifying his foundation would become. Achieving source lifeform status through this would carry a far higher probability. For a moment, Lu Changsheng seemed to grasp the essence of the Sky Cleaving Art. It was indeed an exceptionally powerful life leap art. Of course, not just anyone could cultivate such an art. Among all the chaos lifeforms in the Black Light Realm who had passed the preliminary trial, who had managed to reach the end using the Sky Cleaving Art? To this day, not a single one! Even those chaos lifeforms who passed the ultimate trial had cultivated other arts, not the Sky Cleaving Art. Only Lu Changsheng, possessing an immense number of flesh particles and being so extraordinary, had been assigned the Sky Cleaving Art for his ultimate trial by the Black Light Pagoda's mother pagoda. This ultimate trial was in itself proof of how highly the Black Light Pagoda regarded him! All the flesh particles in Lu Changsheng's body boiled. Every flesh particle seemed to vibrate. "Cleave! The! Sky!" As Lu Changsheng's words fell, boom! Hundreds of millions of flesh particles shuddered at once. An invisible force seemed to detonate every single flesh particle completely. In an instant, the terrifying power bursting from the flesh particles violently convulsed within them. Splat! Flesh particles were different from Lu Changsheng's Illusory Realm in the past. Back then, his Illusory Realm relied on him reconstructing Great Dao after Great Dao to stabilize it, enduring the terrifying detonations of the realm so that it could re-evolve again and again, undergoing a full three world re-evolutions. But now it was Lu Changsheng's physical body. His flesh particles had not reconstructed Great Daos, nor were they sturdy enough to withstand the explosive shockwaves within them. Thus, the instant Lu Changsheng used the Sky Cleaving Art to execute his life leap, most of his flesh particles shattered immediately. The shattering of flesh particles meant collapse. Ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent, forty percent, fifty percent... In barely an eye-blink, fifty percent of Lu Changsheng's physical body collapsed. And it continued. Yet Lu Changsheng did not panic. He was all too familiar with "cleaving the sky." He knew this was the shockwave of the detonation, and that this wave of impact was exceedingly powerful. But as long as he endured this wave, he would successfully achieve his first life leap. In fact, he was already undergoing the leap right now. That terrifying explosion causing the particles to rupture and collapse—was that not a form of sublimation of life? Sixty percent, seventy percent, eighty percent... Finally, eighty percent of Lu Changsheng's physical body collapsed. However, the speed of collapse grew slower and slower. Upon reaching eighty percent, it practically stopped. In reality, it had not stopped. Rather, the flesh particles that had already collapsed were beginning to reassemble. The speed of reassembly was accelerating. As the flesh particles reassembled, Lu Changsheng felt a brand-new power surge continuously from every reformed particle. Those were flesh particles after a first life leap. Lu Changsheng smiled. From this moment, success was already guaranteed—Lu Changsheng had succeeded in his first life leap! "To succeed in a life leap, first, the physical body must be strong enough; second, the life leap art must be thoroughly comprehended; and lastly, one must possess sufficient foundation... My physical foundation far exceeds peers at the same level, allowing me to endure the shockwaves of particle detonation and hold out until they began to reassemble. If one cannot withstand it, one dies..." Sudden realization dawned in Lu Changsheng's heart. He had never undergone a life leap before; he only knew that it was exceedingly difficult, and that every attempt was practically teetering on the edge between life and death. Many chaos lifeforms did not even dare attempt a life leap. From this perspective, a chaos lifeform undergoing a life leap was actually harder than comprehending a Great Dao to become a Great Saint in the Dark Domain. After all, undergoing a life leap was practically staking one's life. Without immense courage, one would never dare to try. That was why, across the vast chaos, there were so many chaos lifeforms, yet most remained ordinary chaos lifeforms who had not even achieved a single leap. It was simply too dangerous. Of course, with a deep foundation and solid footing, a life leap was far safer. Shrrk. Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. The first thing he did was summon his status panel. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: Top-Tier Comprehension World Master: 33% (Three times) Chaos Lifeform: 0% (First Leap) Sure enough, on the status panel, his physical body had achieved its first life leap. Lu Changsheng carefully sensed the changes within his body. Every single particle had been enhanced tenfold, a hundredfold. With the enhancement of his flesh particles, Lu Changsheng faintly felt as if each particle resembled a world even more. Naturally, they were far from true chaos worlds, but these were merely flesh particles. Never mind worlds—even as pocket dimensions, the simultaneous eruption of hundreds of millions of spatial flesh particles yielded terrifying might. Furthermore, with the Myriad Origins Fundamental Art as his foundation as a chaos lifeform and the Sky Cleaving Art for his life leap, Lu Changsheng's physical body was now more powerful than ever before! This was power at the fundamental essence of life. It felt completely different from his experience with the Illusory Realm system. Essentially every lifeform that had not transcended could not escape the physical body, and the physical body was the root. Experiencing the strength of the body firsthand was something no other cultivation system could compare to. Not even the Dark Domain's cultivation system could match it. At least when it came to physical might, chaos lifeforms truly pushed it to the ultimate limit. "Congratulations, Master! You completed the ultimate trial in a mere three thousand years!" At this moment, Zisang, the artifact spirit of the Black Light Pagoda, spoke up of her own accord to congratulate Lu Changsheng. Zisang knew they were in chaos; it was completely safe, which was why she took the initiative to speak. "Indeed. Completing the ultimate trial in three thousand years should be considered quite fast, right?" Lu Changsheng also knew this speed was exceptionally swift. The Black Light Pagoda's mother pagoda had set a ten-thousand-year limit. In truth, never mind ten thousand years, even in a hundred thousand years, hardly anyone could accomplish it. Yet Lu Changsheng had done it. Fortunately, he had come to the Chaos Alliance frontline, entered the Dark Domain, and spent over a thousand years there, causing his Illusory Realm to advance by leaps and bounds and enabling him to re-evolve worlds again and again. He had even re-evolved worlds three times. It was precisely because he had evolved the Illusory Realm that he gained such a profound comprehension of the Sky Cleaving Art. Only then could he execute the life leap using the Sky Cleaving Art and succeed in one attempt. Without these experiences, even if he had sufficient resources to cultivate his physical body to 100% progress, undergoing a life leap so smoothly would not have been easy. Fortune and misfortune were intertwined. Though being trapped in the Dark Domain had brought dangers, the benefits were far greater. Lu Changsheng tallied them up: he still had 312 wisps of Grandmist Qi left. It was enough to support further refinement and physical enhancement, or even support subsequent life leaps. However, his ultimate trial had a ten-thousand-year limit. The earlier he finished the trial, the greater the benefits he would receive. Even Ancestor Qingchi had specifically reminded him of this, showing that the rewards of the Black Light Realm's ultimate trial were extraordinary even in the eyes of a source lifeform. Therefore, Lu Changsheng planned to return to the Black Light Realm first to see what kind of benefits he would gain from passing the ultimate trial. In any case, being in chaos, he could refine Grandmist Qi and undergo life leaps at any time; there was no urgent rush. Thus, Lu Changsheng took his leave of Ancestor Qingchi. Ancestor Qingchi consented, merely reminding Lu Changsheng to settle his affairs as quickly as possible. Once the spatial passage stabilized, he would still need to return to the Dark Domain, where many matters would require Lu Changsheng to protect and pave the way. Lu Changsheng naturally agreed. Going from the Chaos Alliance to the Black Light Realm did not take long, as a teleportation array had been constructed between the two. Last time, Lu Changsheng had been teleported directly to the Chaos Alliance by the Black Light Pagoda's mother pagoda. Lu Changsheng soon stepped onto the teleportation array. Buzz. Lu Changsheng's figure vanished from the teleportation array. The next moment, his figure swayed slightly. He looked around. Everything was familiar. The Black Light Realm—he had finally returned! Lu Changsheng returned to his cave dwelling and immediately applied for an inspection by the Black Light Pagoda's mother pagoda. "Lu Changsheng, do you confirm your application for inspection?" "I confirm." Soon, an invisible power enveloped Lu Changsheng, sweeping across him. "Inspection complete. Congratulations to Lu Changsheng for passing the ultimate trial within three thousand years and becoming a core disciple of the Black Light Realm! "Issuing rewards now. Due to Lu Changsheng's outstanding performance, early completion of the trial, and immense potential, Lu Changsheng's authority over the Black Light Subsidiary Pagoda is upgraded, and the power of the Black Light Subsidiary Pagoda is elevated to the level of a high-tier chaos lifeform. "Rewarding one hundred wisps of Grandmist Qi, one entry into the Black Light Illusion, and one demonstration of the source lifeform advancement process utilizing the mother pagoda's authority. "Note: The demonstration of the source lifeform advancement process by the mother pagoda's authority reflects only the personal insights of Master Black Light Ancestor at the time; it cannot guarantee the same path for everyone. Furthermore, one must be a high-tier chaos lifeform to apply for the advancement demonstration." Statement after statement from the mother pagoda echoed in Lu Changsheng's mind. Yet the content of each sentence left his heart utterly shaken. Yes, shaken! Even with Lu Changsheng's broad experience, having even met a source lifeform, he was still deeply shaken. One hundred wisps of Grandmist Qi was an astounding generosity. But an even grander boon was that the mother pagoda could simulate the advancement process of a source lifeform. This was practically unbelievable. What was this? It was equivalent to hands-on guidance on how to advance to a source lifeform! By comparison, upgrading the authority and power of the subsidiary pagoda was almost insignificant. No wonder even Ancestor Qingchi had urged Lu Changsheng to come to the Black Light Realm to pass the ultimate trial. Such benefits were likely unavailable even in the Chaos Alliance. After all, there was only one Black Light Pagoda mother pagoda. Such a supreme treasure could not be found anywhere else in all of chaos. "Master, look quickly! Your ranking has gone up too," Zisang chimed in hurriedly. Lu Changsheng glanced at his ranking in the Black Light Realm. It had risen to rank 999—just within the top one thousand. This meant that every thousand years, he could receive a portion of cultivation resources—namely, Grandmist Qi. Of course, the prerequisite was that he remained in the top one thousand when the time came. "Zisang, I have undergone only a single life leap. How could I suddenly rank in the top one thousand?" Lu Changsheng found it somewhat strange. The Black Light Realm possessed a profound foundation, and there were so many chaos lifeforms who had passed the trials. He had completed only one life leap, still very far from a source lifeform. No matter what, it shouldn't have been his turn to rank in the top one thousand. "Master, this ranking is based on proximity to becoming a source lifeform: the closer one is, the higher the ranking. Under normal circumstances, it is indeed determined by cultivation level, as higher cultivation puts one closer to source lifeform status. However, you are different. Completing the ultimate trial in a mere three thousand years clearly exceeded the mother pagoda's expectations by far, putting you in a league above supreme prodigies. Through the mother pagoda's precise calculations, your potential is immense, making you far more likely to become a source lifeform. That is why your ranking rose so dramatically." Lu Changsheng pondered this. Indeed, this ranking was not based on combat power, but on who was closer to becoming a source lifeform—that is, who had a greater likelihood of achieving it. Lu Changsheng certainly had the qualifications to rank in the top one thousand. Even so, receiving a portion of cultivation resources for the top one thousand only once every thousand years was no longer significant to Lu Changsheng; he hardly cared about it. Passing the ultimate trial had granted him a full one hundred wisps of Grandmist Qi, bringing his total stock to 412 wisps. This was a staggering figure, enough to push his physical cultivation very, very far. "The Chaos Alliance still needs some time to fully open and stabilize the spatial passage. I should make good use of this time to refine Grandmist Qi and elevate my cultivation." Thus, Lu Changsheng began refining Grandmist Qi. Refining Grandmist Qi required time, each wisp taking one year. If he wished to attempt another life leap, it would take at least a century. One year, three years, five years, eight years, ten years... As year after year slipped by, buzz! Lu Changsheng's message transmission stone vibrated. He had just finished refining the eighteenth wisp of Grandmist Qi. Barely eighteen years had passed when the stone vibrated. Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. He took out the message transmission stone to check. It was a message sent personally by Ancestor Qingchi, instructing him to head to the location of the Dark Domain passage. The passage was now nearly stabilized, and Lu Changsheng was needed there. "In eighteen years, I've only refined eighteen wisps of Grandmist Qi. I am still very far from a second life leap. Still, even if I go to the Dark Domain, I will have plenty of opportunities to return to chaos to refine Grandmist Qi in the future. There is no rush." Lu Changsheng settled his mind. After all, he had given his word to Ancestor Qingchi. Rising, he exited the cave dwelling. "Zisang, to the Dark Domain passage." "Yes, Master." Lu Changsheng activated the Black Light Pagoda. The current Black Light Pagoda was already far superior to what it once was; having reached the level of a high-tier chaos lifeform, its enhancement was immense. Even the distance it could shuttle through space had vastly increased. Lu Changsheng shuttled repeatedly through the void. In just a few days, he arrived at the location of the Dark Domain passage. Shrrk. Lu Changsheng revealed himself. "Saint Lu has arrived." "Saint Changsheng." "Fellow Daoist Lu." One by one, they greeted Lu Changsheng. There were far more people here now, more than ten times as many as before. All were chaos lifeforms, each holding prominent positions in the Chaos Alliance. Clearly, this Dark Domain passage had become almost the most crucial location for the Chaos Alliance. And Lu Changsheng was the core focus, the most vital person of all. After all, they needed Lu Changsheng to enter the Dark Domain and stabilize the situation. "Lu Changsheng." At this moment, Ancestor Qingchi appeared. "Greetings, Ancestor." Lu Changsheng and the many chaos lifeforms hurriedly saluted. Toward a source lifeform, every chaos lifeform had to show utmost respect. Ancestor Qingchi glanced at the Dark Domain passage, then said, "The Dark Domain passage is now completely stabilized. We need you to make a trip to the Dark Domain. You said the opposite side is the Cloud Dream Mountain Range and rarely visited, but just to be safe, you must set up an array to conceal it. Furthermore, it would be best if you openly take control of the Cloud Dream Mountain Range. That way, establishing an outpost there will go unnoticed. With your current strength, you are considered a Great Saint in the Dark Domain. Taking control of the Cloud Dream Mountain Range shouldn't be difficult for you, right?" Lu Changsheng pondered for a moment. He recalled the situation around the Cloud Dream Mountain Range in his memory. Though there were sects nearby, they were merely small sects. If he wished to take control of the Cloud Dream Mountain Range, it was indeed no trouble. "Ancestor, rest assured. Once Lu enters the Dark Domain, I will take control of the Cloud Dream Mountain Range in the shortest time possible." Lu Changsheng gave his promise to Ancestor Qingchi. "Good. I will hold down the fort here for a time. If you encounter any danger, you can flee back from the Dark Domain. Even if an Emperor is provoked, I will back you up!" Ancestor Qingchi said decisively. This put Lu Changsheng's mind thoroughly at ease, reassuring him that Ancestor Qingchi would not treat him as an expendable pawn. With that in mind, Lu Changsheng nodded. Whoosh. The next moment, without the slightest hesitation, Lu Changsheng flew directly into the spatial passage, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Mere moments later, buzz! Deep in the Cloud Dream Mountain Range, a figure reappeared. "Phew..." Lu Changsheng exhaled in relief. All around him, mist still coiled and drifted; nothing was amiss. First, Lu Changsheng used an array to thoroughly conceal the spatial passage. However, an array concealment alone was of limited use. If someone truly ventured into the Cloud Dream Mountain Range and spotted a concealing array, they might mistake it for an ancient cave dwelling or a rare treasure and try to breach it out of curiosity. That would invite greater danger. Yet Lu Changsheng had to do it. As such, Ancestor Qingchi had the right insight: it was best for Lu Changsheng to take direct control of the Cloud Dream Mountain Range. Then there would be no problems. However, taking control of the range was not so simple. Lu Changsheng couldn't possibly guard the Cloud Dream Mountain Range at every moment. He needed to return to chaos, or return to the Dao Comprehension Holy Sect later on. Therefore, the best solution was to have an obedient faction help him manage the Cloud Dream Mountain Range. Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He came up with an idea. Isn't it just establishing an obedient faction? Simple! The Cloud Dream Mountain Range was indeed impoverished, but there were several sects in the vicinity, especially small sects and minor factions. Building one from scratch himself would be too time-consuming. In that case, he would simply "take over" an existing faction. Using it as a springboard to expand, he could completely unify all the factions around the Cloud Dream Mountain Range. When that happened, wouldn't how the Cloud Dream Mountain Range was managed be entirely up to him? With this thought, Lu Changsheng made up his mind. After spending several hours setting up the concealment array, he flew straight out of the Cloud Dream Mountain Range. Sweeping his consciousness outward, Lu Changsheng immediately detected the nearest sect. Whoosh. He flew toward that sect without delay. *** Feiyun Sect, a sect overseen merely by Saint Realm cultivators. Its history was not long, spanning a mere ten thousand years. Its founding patriarch had been a Great Saint, but only a one-Dao Great Saint, which was nothing remarkable. Even so, around Cloud Dream Mountain, the Feiyun Sect was already one of the strongest factions. By all logic, the Feiyun Sect could have developed in peace, waiting until a Great Saint was born, at which point the sect would shine with glory. Unfortunately, days had been tough for the Feiyun Sect recently. Saint Cangxia, the Sect Master of the Feiyun Sect, was having an especially difficult time. Saint Cangxia was a female cultivator, which was relatively rare among sect masters. The sect also had two Supreme Elders, but both were likewise in the Saint Realm. Three Saint Realm experts were ordinarily enough in the Cloud Dream Mountain Range. Unfortunately, the nearby Shanyang Gate had recently produced a Great Saint. This drastically shifted the regional balance of power. A single Great Saint weighed so heavily on the Feiyun Sect that they could hardly hold their heads high. What was more, if Shanyang Gate took a notion to wipe out the Feiyun Sect, their plight would be even direr. With only their sect protection array, they didn't even know if they could withstand Shanyang Gate's Great Saint. After all, that was a Great Saint! Whoosh. Just as Saint Cangxia was nursing a headache over this, an unfamiliar figure suddenly appeared outside the Feiyun Sect. The newcomer glanced at the sect, then released his aura. Boom! A terrifying aura surged forward in an overwhelming wave. A Thunder-Fire Dao even faintly manifested in the void. The terrifying power of the Great Dao unleashed its might without restraint. The entire Feiyun Sect was thrown into an uproar. "What is happening? Such terrifying pressure—is it a Great Saint?!" "Heavens! Even the power of a Great Dao has manifested! How has our Feiyun Sect offended a Great Saint? Has he come to annihilate us?!" "Could it be the Great Saint from Shanyang Gate?" "No! The Great Saint from Shanyang Gate is said to wield a Great Dao resembling the blazing sun, not this sort of Thunder-Fire Dao!" "Then why has this senior Great Saint come to our Feiyun Sect with such aggression?" In an instant, the entire sect was shaken. The two Supreme Elders in seclusion could no longer remain behind closed doors. They broke seclusion immediately and flew into the sky alongside Saint Cangxia, staring warily at the figure standing in the void. "Senior, what brings you to our Feiyun Sect?" Saint Cangxia said respectfully, though a thread of wariness laced her tone. The stranger stood with his hands behind his back. Glancing at Saint Cangxia, he said calmly, "I am about to comprehend a new Great Dao and require a place in the Cloud Dream Mountain Range for long-term cultivation. I intend to borrow your mountain gate. Do you have any objections?" The newcomer was, naturally, Lu Changsheng. Yet these domineering words caused the three Saint Realm experts of the Feiyun Sect to turn pale instantly. How was this "borrowing their mountain gate" to cultivate? He was clearly trying to seize the Feiyun Sect's heritage by force!