Chapter 249.1: The Breakthrough Begins! The Limit of the Primordial Chaos Saint Body: Thirteen Forces from the Origin of Heaven and Earth! (I)

Lu Changsheng's lips curled into a smile. A Heaven-Born Saint... A Heaven-Born Saint! With Perception that allows me to glimpse Laws and the origins of heaven and earth, becoming an Earthly Saint is simply a matter of time.

With that, he left the desolate island and set out for the Heavenly River Sacred Land. Several more months passed before the Heavenly River Sacred Land finally came into view. By then, a full five months had passed since Lu Changsheng had left the Divine Region.

The Heavenly River Sacred Land looked just as he remembered it. A mountain-guarding large formation still shielded its borders, but as a titled elder, Lu Changsheng naturally had the right to enter and leave as he pleased.

Several disciples spotted Lu Changsheng the moment he passed through the formation and officially entered the Heavenly Sacred Land.

"Look, isn't that Elder Lu?"

"Yeah, it really is him. It's been a while since we last saw him, huh? He's finally back... I wonder where he's been."

"Some say he went to some mysterious lands. As for what he did there, only the upper ranks know."

It was no surprise so many disciples recognized Lu Changsheng. His performance at the Azure Mountain Sacred Land had been outstanding enough to win over the admiration of countless Heavenly River Sacred Land disciples. Naturally, they were excited about his arrival.

The greatest reaction, however, came from the Martial Saint elders of the Heavenly River Sacred Land.

"Elder Lu is back?"

"Already? It hasn't even been two years."

"Quick, someone invite Elder Lu to the Heavenly River Hall!"

As news of Lu Changsheng's return reached the upper ranks of the Heavenly River Sacred Land, every Martial Saint elder of the Heavenly River Sacred Land, along with the sect master, quickly gathered in the Heavenly River Hall to await Lu Changsheng's arrival.

Lu Changsheng walked into the Heavenly River Hall and calmly greeted everyone present. "Greetings, Sect Master, Elders."

Sect Master Wan smiled. "Elder Lu, you haven't been in the Divine Region for very long. Why have you returned to the sacred land so soon? Did something happen?"

He was understandably concerned. To a Martial Saint, a year or two was scarcely any time at all. Even ten or twenty years could pass without amounting to much. Thus, for Lu Changsheng to return so soon, Sect Master Wan could only assume something had gone wrong.

Lu Changsheng shook his head. "No, everything is fine. I've accomplished my goal in the Divine Region, so there was no reason for me to remain there any longer."

Everyone's eyes brightened at once. "Accomplished your goal?"

They all knew Lu Changsheng's goal in the Divine Region had been to acquire deity fragments. So if he was saying he had completed that goal, did that mean he had already acquired one?

The elders were doubtful. Lu Changsheng had only been away for less than two years, and even with tremendous luck, obtaining a deity fragment in the Divine Region would normally take more than a decade. Besides, Lu Changsheng's agreement with the various sacred lands gave him a full hundred years. There had never been any need to rush.

Seeing the anxious looks on the elders' faces, Lu Changsheng smiled faintly and took out a deity fragment. "Here's a deity fragment. Sect Master, please take a look."

This specific fragment was the largest piece he had, but he felt it was only right that he gave it to the Heavenly River Sacred Land. After all, it was the first sacred land he had joined.

The moment Sect Master Wan took over the fragment, every Martial Saint in the hall fixed their gaze upon his hand. With their senses, they could tell at once that it was the real thing.

"It really is a deity fragment!"

"And this piece is huge, bigger than any fragment we have ever obtained."

"Elder Lu truly went to great lengths for us. And he even managed to bring one back in such a short time."

"But... who should this fragment go to?"

That question changed the atmosphere instantly. Many of the elders stared at the deity fragment with covetous eyes. It was, after all, a most precious item.

Lu Changsheng had promised only one deity fragment to the Heavenly River Sacred Land, and several elders were qualified to use it. If they missed this opportunity, there was no telling how long they would have to wait for another.

So, a contest or fight over the deity fragment seemed inevitable. How it would play out, however, Lu Changsheng did not care.

He turned to Sect Master Wan. "Sect Master, my haul in the Divine Region was pretty good. I obtained ten deity fragments in total, so please inform the Martial Saint elders of the other nine sacred lands and have them send representatives here to collect theirs."

His words made every elder in the hall narrow their eyes, their minds reeling.

"What?"

"Elder Lu, you have more deity fragments?"

"So all ten sacred lands have their deity fragments? How did you get ten deity fragments

One elder's expression changed slightly. "Perhaps he's got even more than ten..."

The idea left everyone stunned. An ordinary Martial Saint could spend ten or twenty years in the Divine Region without getting a single deity fragment. Yet Lu Changsheng had been there for less than two years and had already gathered enough for all ten sacred lands. It was almost impossible to believe.

Sect Master Wan was surprised too, but he maintained his composure and simply nodded. "Very well. I'll notify the other sacred lands immediately and ask them to send representatives here."

Lu Changsheng then asked, "By the way, since I'm a titled elder, am I permitted access to the Heavenly River Sacred Land's library ?"

"Of course," replied Sect Master Wan. "You may enter whenever you wish and read anything in the library."

There was no reason for the Heavenly River Sacred Land to restrict him in this regard. After all, Lu Changsheng was a Martial Saint, and at his level, there was little in the library that needed to be kept from him.

Lu Changsheng thanked the sect master, then took his leave from the Heavenly River Hall.

***

After leaving the hall, Lu Changsheng pulled up his Status Panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 1,039,000 (Heaven-Born Saint)

Primordial Chaos Saint Body: Momentum of the Masses (91%)

The Primordial Chaos Saint Body had already reached ninety-one percent, and with the current momentum he had, its progress was increasing by three percent each month. That meant, in just three months, it would reach Perfection.

Once his Saint Body had reached Perfection, he could attempt to stir up the origin of heaven and earth and become an Earthly Saint. Before that happened, however, he wanted to make thorough preparations, and that meant gathering information from the library.

When Lu Changsheng arrived at the library, he began working through texts on Earthly Saints.

The basic requirements for advancing from Human Saint to Earthly Saint were not complicated. There were three of them: a Saint Body at Perfection, the ability to contemplate Laws, and the power to stir the origin of heaven and earth. Once stirred, the origin of heaven and earth would wash over the Saint Body, triggering a transformation. If the Saint Body survived that process without collapsing, the Martial Saint would become an Earthly Saint.

The requirements sounded simple enough, but accomplishing them was anything but easy. Comprehending Laws and glimpsing the origin of heaven and earth were already tremendously difficult. Surviving the scouring of the Saint Body that followed was harder still.

The force of the origin of heaven and earth was extraordinarily overbearing. A Saint Body that was not strong enough would be overwhelmed and shattered by it. And once a Saint Body collapsed, a Human Saint's path to Earthly Saint would close with it. In more serious cases, they could even die on the spot.

A powerful Saint Body... Lu Changsheng mused.

The Saint Body was the foundation everything else stood on. In theory, any Saint Body could allow a Human Saint to break through and become an Earthly Saint. In practice, however, many Human Saints had already lost any hope of becoming an Earthly Saint from the moment their Saint Bodies were forged.

Many ordinary Saint Bodies simply could not withstand the scouring by the origin of heaven and earth. Oftentimes, the moment a cultivator stirred an origin, their Saint Body would simply collapse.

That was why a strong foundation was indispensable. One could not become an Earthly Saint without it.

Of course, most martial artists already considered themselves extraordinarily fortunate if they could forge a Saint Body and become a Human Saint. As for ascending to Earthly Saint, most would not even dream of that. Only Human Saints with immense ambition, or absolute confidence in themselves, would take that future advancement into account while forging their Saint Body and deliberately strive to establish a stronger foundation.

Lu Changsheng had never specifically considered becoming Earthly Saint when forging his own Saint Body, but he had always understood one basic principle of the Martial Dao: the stronger the foundation, the farther one could go.

That was why he had selected three of the most supreme Saint Bodies available to him. Any one of those Saint Bodies alone should be able to endure the scouring by the origin of heaven and earth.

However, the difference with Lu Changsheng and many other Martial Saints was, instead of choosing just one of the Saint Bodies as his foundation, he had fused all three to create the incredibly powerful Primordial Chaos Saint Body. By his own estimation, the Primordial Chaos Saint Body should be able to endure the scouring of at least ten different origins of heaven and earth.