Chapter 247.2: Battling a Divine King with a Thousand-Zhang Saint Body! (II)

"I am Lu Changsheng of the Saint Alliance," Lu Changsheng replied calmly.

The Saint Alliance was no secret to the Divine King. The deities had been aware of its existence for years, though they had never managed to eradicate it.

"Lu Changsheng," the Divine King repeated. "I have memorized your aura. I will report your existence to the Divine Lord. From this moment onward, the Divine Lord will strike you from across the Divine Region whenever your aura appears. The Divine Region has no place for a Martial Saint who has the power of a Divine King. Someone like you must not be allowed to grow stronger."

Lu Changsheng opened his mouth to answer but ultimately remained silent. It seemed like he had already made an enemy of every deity in the Divine Region. Or perhaps, he had simply enraged them to a point where even the Divine Lord himself would step in

Regardless, this was not the time to dwell on it.

"Let's go."

Lu Changsheng immediately swept Yang Mao up and fled into the distance. There was no point in having a stalemate with a Divine King. Remaining here would only give the other two Divine Kings time to arrive, or worse, the Divine Lord might even attack from afar. Confident as he was, Lu Changsheng did not believe for a moment that he could take a hit from a Divine Lord and walk away from it.

The High Mountain Divine King did not pursue them. After all, Lu Changsheng had already broken the seal surrounding the area, which meant he and Yang Mao could escape with Teleportation Talismans at any moment.

High Mountain Divine King watched Lu Changsheng and Yang Mao disappear into the distance. "A Martial Saint who can strike with the power of a Divine King... The Divine Region will soon fall into turmoil again. I only hope Their Majesties make their decision quickly, otherwise, this boy will bring disaster upon the entire Divine Region."

With that, the Divine King gradually faded away.

***

"Finally, we're back!"

Only after Lu Changsheng and Yang Mao had reached the Saint Alliance branch could they let out a breath of relief. Yang Mao especially had been tense throughout the entire journey, afraid that another Divine King might intercept them before they made it back.

"We walked away with two deity fragments." Lu Changsheng took out the two fragments and handed one of them to Yang Mao. "As agreed, Fellow Daoist Yang, one of them is yours."

Yang Mao accepted it with trembling hands. After spending more than ten years in the Divine Region, he had finally obtained his first deity fragment. Holding it now, he felt like all that danger and hardship had been worth it.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, I intend to leave the Divine Region now," Yang Mao said. "With this fragment, I can concentrate on comprehending its Law and perhaps gain some insight into the origin of heaven and earth. Once I manage to stir that origin, I may be able to level up my Saint Body and become an Earthly Saint.

"You should leave too. You've already caught a Divine King's attention, and it's only a matter of time before a Divine Lord notices you as well. Staying here will only become more dangerous. You already have a fragment of your own, you can go somewhere quiet and contemplate its Law in safety."

For most Martial Saints, this would have been the obvious choice. Their purpose in entering the Divine Region was to obtain a deity fragment, so once they succeeded, they would usually leave and devote themselves to comprehending the Law within it.

However, Lu Changsheng was not like most Martial Saints. He had already obtained a deity fragment prior to this expedition and had successfully comprehended a Law. He could stir the origin of heaven and earth whenever he wished, but he had no intention of stopping there. He wanted more.

Furthermore, he had also promised ten sacred lands that he would obtain at least ten deity fragments. So far, he had only gathered four, still far from fulfilling that agreement. Nevertheless, he did not bother to explain any of this to Yang Mao.

Yang Mao eventually departed from the Divine Region, while Lu Changsheng remained at the Saint Alliance branch. However, he did not immediately resume hunting deities.

Yang Mao's warning was reasonable. The High Mountain Divine King had most likely already reported his name to the Divine Lord, which meant he was on the Divine Lord's radar now. Continuing to move openly would only invite unnecessary danger, so Lu Changsheng decided to lie low until things settled down.

He had no need to rush anyway. In addition to the large deity fragment, he also had more than a dozen smaller fragments. With his extraordinary Perception, they should be enough for him to begin comprehending a second Law.

So, Lu Changsheng entered a chamber within the Saint Alliance branch and began studying the smaller fragments, devoting himself fully to uncovering the Laws contained within them.

Inside the chamber, Lu Changsheng began refining the deity fragments one by one. By now, the process had become second nature to him. After refining more than a dozen smaller fragments, he successfully perceived a second Law and glimpsed another part of the origin of heaven and earth. He could now stir this second origin with a single thought, but he chose not to do so.

Two origins were still not enough. Before attempting anything, he wanted to prepare as thoroughly as possible.

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. This session alone, refining more than a dozen fragments, had taken close to ten days.

Some time has passed now. The Divine Region is massive, so even a Divine Lord cannot watch me every moment of every day. As long as I move fast enough, I should be fine. What matters most is getting solid leads on deities. With a good lead, I can kill a True God and claim their fragments for myself. A few more rounds like that, and I'll have more than enough deity fragments.

Lu Changsheng was extremely confident in his abilities now. He had always known he was strong, likely unmatched among Human Saints, but he had never been certain how he compared with an Earthly Saint or a Divine King.

After the battle with the High Mountain Divine King, however, he finally had a clear understanding of his own strength: his combat power had reached the level of a Divine King. That did not mean he could not overpower one yet, but as long as he avoided being surrounded by several Divine Kings at once, he could move through the Divine Region without having to worry.

Divine Lords remained a far greater threat, but they were few in number and rarely appeared. Each one ruled an entire pantheon, and they were exalted and untouchable. Unless Lu Changsheng caused enough trouble to force one of them to intervene personally, they were unlikely to appear for a mere Martial Saint.

From now on, I can be more bold. I don't need much. Eliminating a few more True Gods will give me enough fragments. Now, I just need to get precise leads on where these deities are...

Lu Changsheng quickly settled on his next course of action. He decided he would make some noise and attract attention. This was different from what most Martial Saints would do in the Divine Region. Most of them kept their heads down and stayed quiet, but Lu Changsheng felt that if he wanted others to bring him information on the deities, he first had to make it known that he possessed the strength to act on it.

*** ℯℯ𝑙.

Lu Changsheng left the secret chamber and went straight to the plaza, where many Martial Saints were still gathering in search of teammates for deity hunts.

Information about deities was difficult to obtain directly. Almost no one handed out a lead on their own, but plenty of Martial Saints were banding together to hunt, and a team hunting a deity meant someone in that group had to know roughly where to find one. Joining one of those teams was therefore the simplest way for Lu Changsheng to acquire the leads he needed.

"Come, join us! One more supreme Human Saint, and our team will be ready to hunt the Blood River True God!"

A Martial Saint stood in the plaza calling for recruits, but those nearby showed little interest. Several merely shook their heads and moved on.

The Blood River True God was notoriously powerful. Martial Saints had banded together and attempted to slay it at least three times, and every attempt had ended in failure. Those defeats had left them almost traumatized, unwilling to risk their lives like that again.

Lu Changsheng, of course, carried no such fear.