Chapter 250.1: Lu Changsheng Becomes an Earthly Saint at Twenty-Six Years Old! (I)

Even as Lu Changsheng's Saint Body manifested high above the Heavenly River Sacred Land, he remained inside his cave residence. He paid no attention to the commotion outside. His entire mind was focused on the transformation taking place within his Saint Body.

Simply forging a Saint Body already allowed a martial artist to transcend the limits of an ordinary human body. Through the fusion of countless rare natural treasures, the flesh itself could be refined into something far beyond mortal limits.

However, advancing from Human Saint to Earthly Saint was fundamentally different. It was no longer a matter of strengthening the Saint Body with rare treasures. An Earthly Saint had to draw upon vast origins of heaven and earth and use that power to transform the Saint Body itself.

Rare natural treasures, no matter how extraordinary, were still merely treasures born from heaven and earth. Being able to draw power from the origin of heaven and earth was something on an entirely different level.

As countless strands of the origin of heaven and earth continuously poured into Lu Changsheng's Primordial Chaos Saint Body, gradually changing its very nature, he finally understood how different a Human Saint was from an Earthly Saint.

With his strength as a supreme Human Saint, he might be able to unleash attacks comparable to those of a Divine King and even contend with one directly. Still, that was nowhere near the power an Earthly Saint had. His Primordial Chaos Saint Body was extraordinarily powerful among Human Saints, but before a Saint Body transformed by the origin of heaven and earth, it was nothing. This was not a difference that greater strength or stronger techniques could easily overcome. The two existed on fundamentally different levels.

Fortunately, Lu Changsheng was now crossing that bridge to become an Earthly Saint. He could clearly sense the origin of heaven and earth spreading through every part of his Primordial Chaos Saint Body. The transformation was slow but steady. There was nothing he could do to hasten the process, so he simply immersed himself in it and allowed the transformation to continue.

One day passed, then two, then three... Eventually, Lu Changsheng lost all sense of time. Perhaps a dozen days had passed. Perhaps an entire month. He could no longer tell.

One day, without warning, his Saint Body trembled violently.

Boom!

The enormous Saint Body finally stopped expanding, and by then, it had reached a staggering height of ten thousand zhang. It stood suspended above the Heavenly River Sacred Land, towering over everything beneath it. Its gaze alone was enough to make every person cower in fear.

Lu Changsheng slowly raised a hand, feeling an overwhelming power surge through his body—a strength far beyond anything he had ever known. At the same time, he could also feel that terrifying forces had gathered around him—forces he could now command with a single thought.

This is... the power of heaven and earth...

After experiencing it for a moment, Lu Changsheng withdrew the Saint Body, and the atmosphere around the Heavenly River Sacred Land settled back into stillness.

Lu Changsheng then let out a breath of relief. It's done. I've become an Earthly Saint...

At twenty-six years old, Lu Changsheng had become an Earthly Saint. But more importantly, the advancement had brought about a change unlike any breakthrough he had experienced before.

Curious about what exactly had changed, Lu Changsheng immediately summoned his Status Panel.

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 1,079,000 (Heaven-Born Saint)

Earthly Saint Dao Body: None (Martial Dao Fragment)

The Primordial Chaos Saint Body was gone, and in its place was something called the Earthly Saint Dao Body.

Lu Changsheng could tell that the Saint Body had clearly undergone a fundamental transformation and become a Dao Body. What puzzled him was the additional note beside it: Martial Dao Fragment. He had no idea what that meant.

Something needed for Earthly Saint cultivation, maybe?

Lu Changsheng scratched his head, then decided to find out instead of trying to guess. There was little point in speculating anyway. He was currently in the Heavenly River Sacred Land, a faction founded by a Heavenly Saint. In fact, only factions established by Heavenly Saints were qualified to call themselves sacred lands in the first place. If he wanted to find out about Earthly Saints cultivation and what a Martial Dao fragment was, he was certain he could find answers here.

With his decision made, Lu Changsheng rose and left his cave residence.

Whoosh!

With a single thought, he felt the power of heaven and earth gather around him. He crossed an immense distance with one step, arriving before the Heavenly River Hall almost instantly.

So this is what it means to be an Earthly Saint... Even the simplest movement can draw upon the power of heaven and earth.

He quietly sensed the power that was coursing through him. Among all the powerful beings he had personally encountered, none had ever given him the feeling of being stronger than he was now. Of course, that did not mean he had reached the pinnacle.

The Divine Region had Divine Lords, entities comparable to Heavenly Saints, but Lu Changsheng had never met one himself, so he had no way to judge just how powerful they truly were. The same was true of the Heavenly Saints of the Sacred Earth. Every sacred land had been founded by one, but after its founding Heavenly Saint passed away, whether the sacred land still had another Heavenly Saint presiding over it was another matter entirely.

However, none of that was important to Lu Changsheng at the moment. What he needed first was guidance on cultivation as an Earthly Saint, and the inheritance left behind by the Heavenly Sacred Land's founding Heavenly Saint would certainly still remain to provide him that guidance.

As for whether the Heavenly River Sacred Land would be willing to share such a precious inheritance, Lu Changsheng was not worried. In the end, it was simply a matter of exchanging something of sufficient value, and he still had more than a dozen deity fragments in his possession, treasures that held an irresistible allure for any sacred land.

When Lu Changsheng stepped into the Heavenly River Hall, he saw only Sect Master Wan. It looked like the sect master had been waiting for him.

"Elder Lu, I knew you would come to the Heavenly River Hall after your breakthrough, so I came here ahead of time to wait for you," Sect Master Wan said with a smile. "Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on becoming an Earthly Saint."

Whatever shock the sect master might have felt from witnessing Lu Changsheng's breakthrough had already faded. And now that Lu Changsheng stood before him in person, there could be no mistake. He truly was an Earthly Saint.

An Earthly Saint already ranked among the supreme entities in all of the Sacred Earth. Heavenly Saints were even more terrifying, but they were exceedingly rare and could only be found in certain sacred lands.

The Heavenly River Sacred Land, unfortunately, was no longer a sacred land with a Heavenly Saint. Its founding ancestor had been a Heavenly Saint, but following the ancestor's passing, the sacred land failed to produce another Heavenly Saint.

That was why Lu Changsheng's breakthrough was so significant. His Saint Body had already been extraordinary before his advancement. Now that it had transformed into a Dao Body and he had become an Earthly Saint, his combat strength was bound to be terrifying.

Sect Master Wan understood this, and so he extended the respect such power and talent demanded. Lu Changsheng was no longer just a talented elder whom the Heavenly River Sacred Land valued highly; he had become so powerful that no sacred land would dare disrespect him. If a sacred land only guarded by an Earthly Saint angered him, he could certainly take them down.

"Sect Master, I've come to seek guidance on the cultivation of an Earthly Saint. How does one cultivate as an Earthly Saint? And how does one go on to become a Heavenly Saint?" Lu Changsheng asked. "I know the Heavenly River Sacred Land is a Martial Dao sacred land, founded by a Heavenly Saint, so it must have inheritances and teachings on this matter. Would the Sect Master be willing to enlighten me?"

"The cultivation of an Earthly Saint..." Sect Master Wan paused, frowning ever so slightly. "An Earthly Saint requires Martial Dao fragments to cultivate. In ancient times, supreme Martial Dao masters contemplated the Martial Dao and were able to get fragments in our world. Then by continuously fusing those fragments into themselves, they grew stronger step by step until they finally became Heavenly Saints."

Sect Master Wan continued, "However, as the Martial Dao flourished and the number of martial artists increased, the collective will of countless martial artists gradually converged. Over time, the Martial Dao of our world became so powerful that it is nearly impossible to draw fragments from them now.

"If you don't believe me, Elder Lu, try sensing it yourself. Now that you are an Earthly Saint, you should be able to sense the Martial Dao."

Lu Changsheng was somewhat skeptical, but he still followed Sect Master Wan's instructions and extended his senses toward the Martial Dao that existed within heaven and earth.

Boom!

He felt it the instant he extended his senses. The Martial Dao, as it turned out, was simply formed from the collective will of the countless living beings who practiced martial arts throughout the world. Wherever martial artists existed, so too did the Martial Dao, and the more of them there were, the stronger it grew.

The Immortal Dao followed a similar principle. The more immortal cultivators there were, the more prosperous the Immortal Dao became. However, the way martial artists used the Martial Dao was completely different from the way immortal cultivators used the Immortal Dao.

Immortal cultivators always borrowed strength from the Immortal Dao. The more prosperous the Immortal Dao became, the greater the power they could draw upon, whether they were casting spells or arranging formations. Martial artists, on the other hand, gathered all power into themselves, taking external forces and integrating them into their own bodies.

So, if an Earthly Saint wished to continue growing stronger, they could not simply borrow power from the Martial Dao. They had to shatter the Martial Dao itself, seize fragments from it, and fuse those Martial Dao fragments into themselves. Only then could they continue cultivating to become a Heavenly Saint.

In ancient times, there had been far fewer martial artists, and the Martial Dao had been much weaker. Earthly Saints of that era could rely on their own strength to break apart the Martial Dao, obtain its fragments, and gradually advance toward Heavenly Saint. But now, the Martial Dao had grown too powerful for Earthly Saints to do the same.