Chapter 246.1: Lu Changsheng Instantly Kills a True God! One Flaw in a Meticulous Plan; a Divine King Descends! (I)

Many Martial Saints passed through the Saint Alliance branch, but few ever stepped into its combat arena. Most had come to the Divine Region in search of deity fragments, not to risk their lives fighting one another. Unless they had a serious dispute to settle, there was no reason to provoke another Martial Saint, so the arena usually stood empty.

So, when Lu Changsheng and Yang Mao walked into it together, they immediately attracted attention.

"Hey! Look, there are people entering the arena!"

"Who are they?"

"I've never seen the first Martial Saint before, but the other one looks like Martial Saint Yang Mao."

"So it's Martial Saint Yang Mao... But what's he doing here? Wasn't his whole business selling intelligence on deities? He never leaves the Saint Alliance branch. Maybe he's picked up a grudge with someone?"

"Or maybe he's just trying to spar with someone."

People began talking about those two with growing interest. Although the arena could be used to settle grudges, Martial Saints more commonly fought there to test their strength against one another. Either way, a duel between Martial Saints was not something they often had the chance to witness.

Before long, a large crowd had gathered at the arena. They caught Lu Changsheng's attention, but he merely glanced at them and thought nothing more of it. Instead, he turned to Yang Mao.

"Fellow Daoist Yang, shall we settle this sparring session with a single strike?"

"Very well, Fellow Daoist Lu. Now, I hope you'll go all out and allow me to see the strength that gives you the confidence to hunt a True God. If you fail to impress me, I'm afraid there won't be much point to our transaction."

Lu Changsheng nodded. "I won't disappoint you, Fellow Daoist Yang."

As for going all out, Lu Changsheng had no intention of doing that. If he truly unleashed his full strength, Yang Mao would be dead before he hit the ground.

Boom!

The next moment, Yang Mao unleashed his Saint Body. The power of his Saint Body filled the arena with a fierce and oppressive power, shocking every single spectator.

"A lightning-attribute Saint Body! The moment he attacked, it felt as though a thunderbolt had descended from the heavens. Incredible!"

"Yang Mao has always kept a low profile at the branch, refusing to team up with anyone to hunt deities. I always thought it was because he's weak. I never expected him to be this powerful."

"With a Saint Body like that, he's more than capable of joining a group to hunt deities. He has simply been far more cautious than any of us realized."

Yang Mao's strength clearly exceeded the expectations of the onlookers. Even among the Martial Saints at the branch, he could be considered above average, yet he had concealed his abilities so well that most people had mistaken his caution for weakness.

Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up too. Not bad at all! Yang Mao is stronger than I thought.

The lightning from Yang Mao's Saint Body raged, wild and ferocious. It had not touched Lu Changsheng yet, but the power radiating from it already made his skin prickle and sent a faint numbness through his body. Its oppressive presence carried the instinctive terror inspired by heavenly lightning, but Lu Changsheng remained completely calm.

Buzz...

Lu Changsheng answered with his own Saint Body. The hundred-zhang Primordial Chaos Saint Body emerged and towered over the arena, radiating a pressure that pressed down on everything beneath it. Even the Martial Saints watching could feel its dreadful might from a distance.

"Wh-What kind of Saint Body is that?"

"That pressure is terrifying. I can barely breathe, and I'm not even close to it!"

"How could the aura of a Saint Body possibly be this overwhelming?"

Many were stunned. No one here really knew about Lu Changsheng, about the achievements that had made him famous in other lands. Regardless, they could tell from the overbearing presence alone that Lu Changsheng's Primordial Chaos Saint Body was no ordinary Saint Body.

Looming in the air, the colossal Saint Body raised its arm and threw a punch.

Boom!

The air trembled beneath the force of the blow. Three immeasurable divine abilities, each amplified several hundred times, erupted from this punch and swept across the arena. Even the lightning in the sky could not withstand the strike, and instantly dispersed as the fist flew through them toward Yang Mao.

Watching the incoming strike, Yang Mao felt the shadow of death descend upon him. In that moment, he knew with absolute certainty that he could not block this attack. If he forcefully tried to resist, he would die.

"I concede, Fellow Daoist Lu! Please stop!" Yang Mao yelled out without hesitation.

The next instant, Lu Changsheng halted his punch. "Huh? You concede?"

He was slightly surprised that Yang Mao had surrendered before the two of them had even exchanged a single proper blow.

"There's no need to continue," Yang Mao went on, shaking his head. "Your strength is astonishing, Fellow Daoist Lu. I am convinced. You are more than qualified to hunt a True God alone."

Yang Mao had realized that the force behind that punch would have been enough to kill him instantly. And now, he was convinced about Lu Changsheng's strength. In fact, Lu Changsheng had surpassed even his wildest imaginations.

The moment Yang Mao conceded, the Martial Saints in the arena broke into an uproar. They were particularly shocked by Yang Mao's claim that Lu Changsheng was strong enough to hunt a True God by himself.

"What? Yang Mao surrendered?"

"Hardly surprising. He's always been cautious like that. No way he'd risk his life in a spar."

"But did you see that punch? If this Martial Saint Lu had allowed it to land, Yang Mao might have died on the spot."

"Where did this Martial Saint Lu come from? His strength is incredible, and Yang Mao just said that he could hunt a True God alone."

"Taking on a True God alone... That's really... hard to believe."

Shocked as they were, no one in the crowd doubted Yang Mao's judgment. He had spent years gathering and selling information about deities; he clearly understood just how powerful those deities were.

Martial Saints capable of hunting True Gods alone had emerged in the Saint Alliance before, but there had been so few that they could be counted on one hand. Now, Lu Changsheng seemed to be one of those Martial Saints, though whether he could truly succeed remained to be seen.

Being confident enough to hunt a True God and actually pulling it off were two entirely different things. In the past, many powerful Martial Saints had set out to hunt True Gods with complete faith in their abilities, only to return in crushing defeat. Of course, some Martial Saints had never even returned.

***

After leaving the arena, Yang Mao brought Lu Changsheng back to his cave residence.

"I'm in awe, Fellow Daoist Lu." Yang Mao shook his head. "I have cultivated for seven or eight hundred years and always thought myself fairly capable, but compared with you, I look like a joke. With such strength, I believe you have every chance of killing True Gods and obtaining deity fragments."

"Speaking of True Gods," Lu Changsheng said. "Which one have you found?"

At that, Yang Mao's tone turned serious. "The one I found is of the Hidden Mountain Divine Empire. It's an ancient True God, but not a Divine King. It should have been hunted down long ago, but because the Hidden Mountain Divine Empire is surrounded by the divine empires of several Divine Kings, no one has attempted to deal with it all these years.

"I spent over a decade lurking in the Hidden Mountain Divine Empire and finally pinpointed the exact location where Hidden Mountain True God hides. If you try, Fellow Daoist Lu, I have no doubt you'll be able to kill it."

Hidden Mountain True God? Lu Changsheng had never heard of it, but he immediately understood the risk behind hunting this True God. Killing it was not going to be particularly difficult; it was the escaping afterward that was going to be dangerous.

Yang Mao unfolded a map and pointed to the Hidden Mountain Divine Empire at its center. "Other divine empires border it on every side. The three surrounding empires are each ruled by a Divine King. Only the empire to the south is governed by an ordinary True God."

His finger moved across the map as he traced the possible escape route. "Even at their fastest, the three Divine Kings would need at least fifteen minutes to reach Hidden Mountain True God. So, Fellow Daoist Lu, if you can kill it in the shortest time possible and retreat south, there's still a good chance of slipping past without a Divine King catching you. There is still considerable risk, of course. Whether you're willing to take that risk is entirely up to you."

With that, Yang Mao quietly waited for Lu Changsheng to voice his decision.

Lu Changsheng studied the map, weighing every possibility in his mind. Fifteen minutes... If I really have that long, I could leave the Hidden Mountain Divine Empire without trouble. But would I really get a full fifteen minutes? Not necessarily... That's only Yang Mao's estimate. What if a Divine King happened to be near the Hidden Mountain Divine Empire at that moment? What if the three other divine empires pressed in together?

Indeed, this quest had too many variables. The slightest misstep could put him under the attack of a Divine King, and that would almost certainly cost him his life.

That was likely why Yang Mao had never managed to sell this information, despite trying for so long. Killing the Hidden Mountain True God was never the hard part. The true challenge was escaping afterward, before the surrounding Divine Kings could react.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, do you have a Great Teleportation Talisman?" Yang Mao suddenly asked.

"I do." Lu Changsheng had stocked up on plenty; he had both Great Teleportation Talismans and Lesser Teleportation Talismans.

"Good. I'm glad you have a Great Teleportation Talisman. You can use that as a desperate last resort. Unless you're unlucky enough to teleport directly in front of a Divine King, you should be able to get out. But the most critical factor is whether you can kill the Hidden Mountain True God within fifteen minutes..."

Truth be told, for most Martial Saints, fifteen minutes was nowhere near enough time to slay a True God. Even if several experts worked together, it still would not be enough. That was exactly why so many Martial Saints found hunting True Gods so difficult.

Typically, to defeat a True God, a Martial Saint would have to wear it down slowly. Most Martial Saints did not have the power to kill a True God quickly. But the longer the fight dragged on, the more dangerous it became. Once other deities arrived, the Martial Saints or True Lords involved would be in grave danger.

Fortunately, Lu Changsheng did not share that weakness. He truly was capable of killing a True God almost instantly, and that overwhelming destructive power was precisely what gave him the confidence to hunt True Gods alone.

After considering the risks one final time, he raised his head. "Very well, I'll do it!"