Chapter 241.1: Taking Ten Sides, and Lu Changsheng Lays His Cards on the Table with the Heavenly River Sacred Land! (I)

"Sect Master Xu, let us speak plainly. What is it you want me to do? Say it outright. Otherwise I cannot accept a reward I have not earned."

Lu Changsheng had seen through Sect Master Xu at once. Clearly, the man needed something from him.

One was not granted the momentum of the masses just like that. Given the lengths Martial Saints beyond the sacred lands went to obtain it, why would the Azure Mountain Sacred Land simply let Lu Changsheng share their momentum?

Challenged by Lu Changsheng, Sect Master Xu gave a faint smile. "Fellow Daoist Lu, do you know why the Sacred Earth has so few Earthly Saints? It's the same with Deity Transformation cultivators in the Immortal Dao. One still sees Nascent Soul True Lords, but Deity Transformation cultivators are exceedingly rare."

Lu Changsheng was taken aback for a second. He truly had not considered this.

An Earthly Saint was equivalent to Deity Transformation, and in the Sacred Earth both were extraordinarily uncommon. Thinking it over carefully now, it seemed that outside the sacred lands, in the whole vast Sacred Earth, not a single Martial Saint had ever become an Earthly Saint. Out there, Martial Saint effectively meant Human Saint.

He had assumed the shortfall was the momentum of the masses. However, the Sacred Earth held many factions, and surely some among them could gather enough momentum to carry a Human Saint's Saint Body to Perfection. So why were there still no Earthly Saints? Was there some other underlying reason?

Seeing the puzzlement on his face, Sect Master Xu said with a smile, "So you see it too, Fellow Daoist Lu. From Human Saint to Earthly Saint is a leap in kind, not degree.

"The Martial Dao and the Immortal Dao look wholly different in their early stages. But when the Martial Dao reaches Earthly Saint and the Immortal Dao reaches Deity Transformation, the two roads arrive at the same destination.

"The deity in Deity Transformation refers to the deities born of heaven and earth. That may be hard to grasp, so put it another way: a deity represents, to some degree, a particular Law of heaven and earth. Deity Transformation means comprehending that Law, which is why a deity fragment is indispensable to it. Only through the fragment can the Law be comprehended directly. Without one, a Nascent Soul True Lord relying on their own comprehension of heaven and earth would find Deity Transformation as hard as climbing to the heavens.

"Likewise, the Martial Dao requires a deity to reach Earthly Saint. Or rather, it requires the Laws of heaven and earth. Martial artists fight against heaven and earth and gather all power into themselves, so they do not need to comprehend those Laws. But they do need a deity's power, the power of the Laws, to perfect the Saint Body.

"The Saint Body is how martial artists free themselves from the shackles of their mortal flesh, and its possibilities are limitless. Fuse a deity fragment into it, even a portion of one, and the Saint Body may transform, and so the martial art would become an Earthly Saint.

"So the Azure Mountain Sacred Land asks only that you provide us with one deity fragment. Nothing more than that."

Just like that, Sect Master Xu had finally laid out the Azure Mountain Sacred Land's purpose plainly, holding nothing back.

Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly. "A deity fragment?"

He had never heard of deities before, much less deity fragments. But by Sect Master Xu's account, the whole world had once been ruled by deities. Then, from somewhere, the Immortal Dao began to spread, and the Martial Dao rose to prominence after it.

The Immortal Dao grew and flourished with the Martial Dao close behind, and in the end, they went to war with the deities and drove many of them out of this world. It was only after that war that the world became a place where the Immortal Dao and the Martial Dao could thrive.

Ultimately, the deities had been forced into one fixed zone, called the Divine Region. They could not be eradicated. Scatter a deity and, given time, a new one would naturally be born, for a deity was the very embodiment of a Law of heaven and earth.

So, the great figures of the Immortal Dao and the Martial Dao joined forces to herd every last one of them into that fixed zone and sealed it, so that none could leave. Martial artists and immortal cultivators who needed a deity had to enter the Divine Region themselves and hunt one to obtain a fragment. Needless to say, that was an extremely dangerous undertaking.

Moreover, because of the nature of the seal, only martial artists below the Earthly Saint Realm and immortal cultivators below the Deity Transformation Realm could enter. This was to prevent an expert from shattering the seal from within. Earthly Saints and Deity Transformation experts were barred from entering the Divine Region.

"Sect Master Xu, the sacred lands overflow with talent and experts. Can you really not obtain a deity fragment?" Lu Changsheng asked.

Sect Master Xu gave a weary sigh. "Fellow Daoist Lu, the sacred lands stand high above the rest and have almost no rivals within the Sacred Earth. But the Sacred Earth holds many sacred lands.

"And the Sacred Earth is not the only place in the world with sacred lands. Beyond it there are many more, with many more supreme Human Saints, and every one of them must risk their life in the Divine Region to become an Earthly Saint.

"It's not only the Azure Mountain Sacred Land. Many sacred lands throughout the Sacred Earth have gone a very long time without obtaining a deity fragment. We send our finest Martial Saints, and they return with grievous losses.

"If you want more momentum of the masses, then so long as your Saint Body can bear it, other sacred lands would likely be willing to let you share theirs as well. One sacred land, five, ten... Just imagine. You could obtain as much momentum as you need."

Sect Master Xu had clearly grasped Lu Changsheng's crux. Or rather, he knew exactly what Lu Changsheng needed most. It was all about the momentum of the masses. Lu Changsheng needed that momentum above all else, and so Sect Master Xu was going to offer him just that.

As a titled elder of the Heavenly River Sacred Land, Lu Changsheng already drew a great deal of momentum. Still, advancing his Primordial Chaos Saint Body by a single percent still took him roughly half a year. That rate of progress was far too slow.

If Lu Changsheng could gain the backing of several sacred lands, or even ten, and share in the momentum of the masses of all of them, his Primordial Chaos Saint Body would certainly advance quickly—provided it could withstand the load.

Different sources of momentum of the masses would, in fact, conflict with one another. Two sources placed enormous pressure on a Saint Body, and three or four or more would press harder still. However, Lu Changsheng believed his Primordial Chaos Saint Body was strong enough to easily withstand the pressure from several sources of momentum.

Lu Changsheng considered the offer for a moment, then said, "Sect Master Xu, I will need to return to the Heavenly River Sacred Land and discuss this with them."

Sect Master Xu did not seem to mind in the least and smiled. "By all means. Of course, it ought to be discussed. But there is no reason you cannot sample the Azure Mountain Sacred Land's momentum of the masses first. From this moment, you are a titled elder of the Azure Mountain Sacred Land."

Just like that, Sect Master Xu had granted Lu Changsheng the status of titled elder of the Azure Mountain Sacred Land. For him, this was simply a matter of uttering one sentence.

As soon as he spoke, Lu Changsheng's whole body shuddered, and his pupils constricted slightly. He felt his momentum of the masses surge in an instant, not a shade weaker than what the Heavenly River Sacred Land supplied.

He turned his attention briefly to the Primordial Chaos Saint Body. Sure enough, it had no issue bearing the load. His Saint Body could endure much, much more.

He activated the Saint Body and refined a little of the new influx as a test. No problems arose. The Saint Body could fully absorb the momentum of the Azure Mountain Sacred Land.

Lu Changsheng gave Sect Master Xu a long look, then said heavily, "There are no doubts about your sincerity, Sect Master Xu. I will return to the Heavenly River Sacred Land at once, and you will have word the moment I obtain a deity fragment!"

In the end, Sect Master Xu had made it into Lu Changsheng's good graces with his offer.

With this matter settled, Lu Changsheng gathered the Heavenly River Sacred Land disciples and departed the Azure Mountain Sacred Land, and another three months brought them home. The Azure Mountain Sacred Land was truly that far from the Heavenly River Sacred Land. Three months out, three months back—six months on the road for a single round trip.

A long-distance teleportation large formation would have spared them the trouble, of course, but the two sacred lands were on such poor terms that there was no teleportation formation connecting them.