Chapter 294 - 196: A Century

Chapter 294: Chapter 196: A Century

Therefore, when Lu Changfeng advanced to the Celestial Spirit Body, he didn’t cause a significant fluctuation in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, so the Array Immortal Youth standing guard outside didn’t sense anything.

After advancing to the Celestial Spirit Body, Lu Changfeng became even more aware of the impact the thin Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy in the Profound Realm was having on him.

’If I were to advance to the Spirit Condensation Realm,’ Lu Changfeng thought, ’I’m afraid that even with my Heroic Root Bone, I’d only be able to move freely under normal conditions. Cultivating would be impossible unless I entered a state of hibernation to reduce my energy consumption.’

’The Array Immortal Youth is probably in that state right now.’

’This guy’s surprisingly persistent.’

’Oh well. I’ll just have to continue this forced seclusion.’

Now that he had advanced to the Celestial Spirit Body, Lu Changfeng’s Airstride speed and the duration of his fourth stage had both increased dramatically. Coupled with Qiankun Void Crossing, shaking off the Array Immortal Youth’s pursuit wouldn’t be a problem.

The problem was, where could he run to?

’Flee back to the Holy Country? I’m afraid that would only implicate the Holy Country, getting it wiped out by this terrifying Spirit Condensation youth.’

Thus, staying in seclusion in Fu Huo’s hibernation ground was actually the best option.

Time flew by in seclusion.

The next time Lu Changfeng awoke, he was startled from his meditation by a message from Qiankun Daoist.

Qiankun Daoist informed Lu Changfeng that everything was ready in the Inner Realm on the small island.

All that was left was for Lu Changfeng to lead his people and activate it.

But Lu Changfeng was completely tied up at the moment, so he didn’t respond and simply continued his seclusion.

Meanwhile, Qiankun Daoist realized that something might have gone wrong on Lu Changfeng’s end.

During this time, Bai Yimeng helped the Yun Country defeat both the Qi Country and the Chu Country, putting them on the verge of unifying the Northern Domain.

Several more years passed.

The Northern Domain had been brought completely under the rule of the Holy Country.

The Yun Country was formally absorbed into the Holy Country. Yun Tianming abdicated, and was then installed as King Yun of the Northern Domain.

In the meantime, forces from the Southern Domain, after immense hardship, finally opened the ancient path and arrived in the Eastern Domain.

The situation in the Eastern Domain was completely different from the Northern Domain. It was a single, unified state of considerable power. A fierce battle broke out against the vanguard army led by Hua Youran.

Hua Youran, the maternal uncle of Saint Emperor Saint Hong, was killed in battle in the Eastern Domain.

Enraged, Saint Hong dispatched a massive army to invade the Eastern Domain.

Within three years, the Eastern Domain’s dynasty fell and was brought under the rule of the Holy Country.

And so, the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Domains of the Profound Realm were all unified under the Holy Country’s rule. The Saint Demon Sect receded into the shadows, presenting itself to the world as a religious organization.

On the day the world was unified, Saint Master Lu Changfeng still had not appeared.

Saint Hong even sent men to find Qiankun Daoist to ask about his father’s whereabouts, but even Qiankun Daoist could not contact Lu Changfeng.

Gradually, everyone began to believe that Lu Changfeng had met with a mishap and was perhaps no longer alive.

Time continued to trickle by.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy within the Profound Realm declined even further. Ordinary people, without a Heroic Root Bone or the aid of a Martial Arts Array, could no longer advance to the Rebirth Realm.

Across the Profound Realm, the Bone Refining Realm began to be seen as the pinnacle of achievement.

The number and strength of the Demon Race within the Hundred Thousand Mountains also began to decline.

The temperature in the Extreme North Icefield started to rise.

These changes, however, did lead to a more prosperous economy within the Profound Realm now that the Three Domains were connected.

The exchange between the Three Domains sparked an intellectual awakening among the populace. Combined with the decline of Primordial Energy in the Profound Realm, the path of Martial Arts no longer offered a glimpse of Longevity. The best one could hope for was to reach the Bone Refining Realm and live to be one hundred and fifty.

Furthermore, not even one in a hundred thousand people could reach the Bone Refining Realm, making the path of Martial Arts more arduous than ever.

Due to all these factors, the technology of black powder began to emerge among the common people. Though its applications were crude, it was a powerful external tool that allowed ordinary individuals to challenge martial artists.

Saint Emperor Saint Hong had inherited Lu Changfeng’s mindset. Moreover, when Saint Hong was a child, Lu Changfeng had told him stories about similar technology-based worlds.

Therefore, the Holy Country’s government did not suppress black powder. Instead, they immediately began to secretly and vigorously research and develop the technology.

And so, another fifty years passed.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy in the Profound Realm dropped by another level.

For ordinary people, the path of Martial Arts was now all but severed.

At the age of one hundred and twenty-six, Saint Hong announced his abdication. The ninety-eight-year-old Crown Prince, Saint Qilin, ascended the throne and was known to history as Saint Emperor Ming.

As for the position of Saint Master of the Saint Demon Sect, while Lu Changfeng officially still held the title, everyone knew that after being absent for a century, he had effectively been stripped of his position.

At the request of the new generation of the Saint Demon Sect’s nine branches, Saint Hong took over as the new Saint Master, operating from the shadows.

Saint Hong felt that the Saint Demon Sect had undergone a massive transformation under Lu Changfeng’s influence, so he removed the word "Demon" from its name, renaming it the Holy Sect.

Saint Hong honored Lu Changfeng as the first-generation Saint Master of the Holy Sect, while he himself became the second-generation Saint Master.

Lu Changfeng’s grandson, Saint Qilin, ruled the Holy Country publicly as the Saint Emperor.

Perhaps due to the further decline in Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, large numbers of the Demon Race, which had previously hidden in the deep seas and remote mountains, began to appear in the coastal regions.

To the Demon Race, the Human Race was a potent tonic. With the decrease in Primordial Energy, they were forced to emerge from the deep mountains and seas to actively engage and devour humans.

As a result, despite the decline in Primordial Energy, the conflict between the Human and Demon Races in the Profound Realm paradoxically intensified.

Saint Qilin was also an exceptionally enlightened Monarch. Under his rule, the decline of Martial Arts did not cause major disruptions, because black powder technology had become widely used.

Firearms and cannons were enough to give ordinary people a fighting chance against the incursions of the Demon Race.

With the added support of the remaining Martial Arts masters from the old era, the Demon Race was unable to pose a fundamental threat to the now-unified human world.

On this day, Qiankun Daoist emerged from Corpse Bone Mountain. With a grim expression, he attempted to contact Lu Changfeng once more.

Just moments before, the Demon Miasma Body within Corpse Bone Mountain had directly threatened Qiankun Daoist: if he did not break the Seal within ten days, it would awaken the Demon Miasma Head and utterly destroy the Profound Realm!

"Saint Brother, please, answer me quickly," Qiankun Daoist pleaded.

Aside from the Chaos Consciousness created by Lu Changfeng, Qiankun Daoist was the only one who didn’t believe Lu Changfeng was dead.

He believed that Lu Changfeng was merely trapped for some reason, not that he had lost his life.

"I know. Wait for me at Corpse Bone Mountain."

In disbelief, Qiankun Daoist dug a finger in his ear, then activated an Array’s echo function.

"I know. Wait for me at Corpse Bone Mountain." Lu Changfeng’s voice rang out again.

Two hot tears fell from Qiankun Daoist’s eyes. "Saint Brother, you finally answered me!"

Meanwhile, after replying to Qiankun Daoist, Lu Changfeng slowly rose to his feet within Human King Fu Huo’s hibernation ground.

’Without even realizing it, a hundred years must have passed.’

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy in the Profound Realm was fading far too quickly.

Even so, over the course of a century, Lu Changfeng’s Realm had still reached the peak of the Celestial Spirit Body.

Due to the lack of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, and because he was in Human King Fu Huo’s hibernation ground and feared waking him, Lu Changfeng hadn’t attempted to break through using a Martial Arts Array.

Breaking through with Primordial Stones was even more out of the question. Back when he advanced from the True Spirit Body to the Celestial Spirit Body, to avoid waking Fu Huo by using a Gathering Array, Lu Changfeng had extravagantly used twenty Primordial Stones for the promotion.

This time, he was breaking through from the Rebirth Realm to the Spirit Condensation Realm. The amount of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy required was immense. He feared that after the promotion, all five hundred Primordial Stones in his Dragon’s Space would be completely consumed.

That was a price Lu Changfeng was unwilling to pay.

Lu Changfeng extended his Spiritual Sense and could clearly see the Array Immortal Youth, who wasn’t bothering to hide his presence, still standing guard outside.

Vines tens of meters long had grown over the entrance to his own cave residence. In a hundred years, that youth hadn’t moved a single step. He was truly patient.

’He really thinks I’m a pushover.’

Using his knowledge of Martial Arts Arrays, Lu Changfeng connected with the spatial Runes of the hibernation ground. The next moment, he appeared outside Fu Huo’s hibernation ground, but still inside the mountain peak.

In that hundred years, aside from reaching the peak of the Celestial Spirit Body, Lu Changfeng, relying on his dual Talents, had also completely mastered the latter half of the Fuxi Array Atlas.

Lu Changfeng had now mastered all forty-nine Basic Runes, twelve Intermediate Runes, and three Advanced Runes from the atlas.

He had also mastered twelve Basic Martial Arts Arrays, five Intermediate Martial Arts Arrays, and one Advanced Martial Arts Array.

’I believe the Array Immortal Youth’s Array Realm is probably about the same as mine now.’

He could now deal with the Array Immortal Youth’s Martial Arts Arrays much more easily.

But most terrifying of all was Lu Changfeng’s Supreme Talent. Over the century, his Supreme Talent had already strengthened to the point where he could instantly kill the Array Immortal Youth!