Chapter 292.1: A Heavenly Saint Arrives in Person! Lu Changsheng Battles Grand Elder Chen! (I)

Chen Guang had returned to the Chen Clan with nothing but his physical body left. Even his Earthly Saint Dao Body was gone. It was fair to say that his clash with Lu Changsheng had resulted in a devastating loss and a crippling blow to his vitality.

Upon arriving, he went straight to the head of the Chen Clan. "Clan head, I need to see the grand elder!"

It was the clan head who had told him to go to the Divine Sword Manor and ask about the spirit relic. However, going to the Hundred Flowers Sect to pressure Lu Changsheng had been Chen Guang's own doing.

Of course, had the clan head known that Lu Changsheng was the spirit relic's true owner, he would certainly have gone to the Hundred Flowers Sect just as Chen Guang had. After all, the Chen Clan had a Heavenly Saint grand elder watching over it, so they had always acted recklessly with no thought for the consequences. Whatever happened, the Heavenly Saint grand elder would cover for them, and no one else could do a thing about it.

This time, however, Chen Guang had clearly kicked a steel plate. No one had expected a mere Earthly Saint to fearlessly stand up to the Chen Clan. He had even struck Chen Guang and all but crippled him. That was no less than spitting in the face of the Chen Clan.

The clan head pondered for a moment, then gave a cold laugh. "This Lu Changsheng does have some real strength. No wonder he managed to get his hands on so many spirit relics alone.

"Still, if he thinks becoming an invincible Earthly Saint means he can keep that many spirit relics, he's dead wrong. Come, Elder Chen Guang, let's go see the grand elder together. Once the grand elder steps in, it won't matter how many tricks Lu Changsheng has up his sleeve."

Upon hearing that, Chen Guang was overjoyed. He and the clan head set off together at once for the grand elder's cave residence.

The Chen Clan's grand elder was in seclusion alone in his cave residence. Of course, it was not a session of seclusion until death,[1] so he could still be contacted. Even so, unless something particularly important came up, the clan head would never disturb him.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the grand elder's cave residence and knelt respectfully. "The current head of the Chen Clan pays his respects to the grand elder!"

The Chen Clan's grand elder was the forefather of nearly the entire Chen Clan. Everyone in it was one of his descendants, which made him a forefather in the truest sense.

A cool, crisp voice came from inside the cave residence. "Come in."

With that, the two of them stepped respectfully through its doors. Once inside, they gazed at a man in white robes, sitting cross-legged. He looked quite young, though his eyes carried the weight of countless years.

To a Heavenly Saint, appearance did not matter. Whether one was old or young, ugly or beautiful, it was all perfectly normal. The Chen Clan's grand elder had been a dazzling prodigy in his day, one who had astonished the entire Sacred Region by becoming a Heavenly Saint at a young age. Because of that, he decided to keep his youthful looks.

Those looks, however, belied his true age. He was already over thirty thousand years old. Of course, that was still very young for a Heavenly Saint, as one could live for around a hundred thousand years. Indeed, they were the definition of living legends!

The grand elder glanced at the clan head and Chen Guang, then asked calmly, "Tell me, who injured you?"

Just from a glance he could already tell that Chen Guang had been crippled, left without an Earthly Saint Body. That was a rare sight. Normally, no one would strike a Chen Clan Earthly Saint that hard. That was true even for other Heavenly Saints. Out of respect for the grand elder, they would all go easy on the Chen Clan's Earthly Saints to some degree.

Of course, the grand elder it was precisely because of that that the clan's people had grown arrogant and complacent. Still, he was not particularly troubled by that. He was a mighty Heavenly Saint, after all. Protecting a clan was hardly a burden for him.

"Grand elder, it was an Earthly Saint named Lu Changsheng. He beat me into this state and even declared that if our Chen Clan wants spirit relics, you will have to go in person."

Chen Guang recounted the whole affair with Lu Changsheng, not daring to leave out any details.

As he listened, a strange look flashed through the grand elder's eyes. "You're saying he crushed your Earthly Saint Dao Body with a single palm? And the people of Divine Sword Manor even call him an invincible Earthly Saint?"

Chen Guang was a little taken aback by the grand elder's reaction. Still, he nodded as he went on, "Yes, just one palm and my Earthly Saint Dao Body collapsed. I was completely powerless against him. And the people of Divine Sword Manor consider him invincible because of his recent performance in a certain secret world."

Chen Guang wanted to say more, but it looked like the grand elder had already grown weary of listening to him. He suddenly rose and left his cave residence.

"Let's go to the Hundred Flowers Sect. I'll meet this Lu Changsheng myself. An invincible Earthly Saint... How familiar that sounds. The only time I tasted defeat was at the hands of an invincible Earthly Saint.

"In any case, if this man really has a stash of spirit relics, then we ought to pay him another visit."

The grand elder's voice was still ringing in their ears, yet his figure had already vanished.

"Let's go!"

With that, Chen Guang and the clan head, along with a large number of Earthly Saints assembled and set out for the Hundred Flowers Sect.

The grand elder would only deal with Lu Changsheng himself, whereas the Earthly Saints of the Chen Clan would have to step in to take over the Hundred Flowers Sect and clean up the aftermath.

Meanwhile, at the Hundred Flowers Sect, Lu Changsheng was still quietly waiting. A month should have been too short for anything to go wrong. Still, he couldn't shake off this faint sense of uneasiness. After all, the Chen Clan, or rather, a Heavenly Saint was no small matter.

The very next day, Lu Changsheng's head snapped up as a shadow settled over his heart.

He's here!

A profound sense of danger loomed over him, seemingly coming from all directions. It was the strongest sense of impending he had ever felt.

Whoosh!

With a single step, Lu Changsheng reached for the skies.

He was not the only one. Every martial artist in the Hundred Flowers Sect had been alarmed. Fear, or rather, terror was visible on their faces, as though they too were overwhelmed with an intense sense of impending doom.

In stark contrast to the foreboding atmosphere, the weather was clear, with no clouds to be seen within a thousand li. The sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze swept across the land.

The only thing seemingly out of place was a lone figure hovering in the sky. The man, seemingly very young, simply stood there quietly. Even so, one glance at him was enough to make the hearts of the Hundred Flowers martial artists lurch, as though something terrible had descended upon them. Many of them cried out in alarm.

"What's going on? My eyes sting just from glancing at that figure in the sky! Who on earth is it?"

"This is bad! We're in terrible danger!"

"I don't know that person at all. I don't think I've ever seen him. Is he the one behind what's happening to the Hundred Flowers Sect?"

"Look, Supreme Elder Lu is coming out..."

Many of them realized the figure in the sky had to be someone extraordinary. However, none of them recognized him, not until Lu Changsheng appeared.

Lu Changsheng was the Hundred Flowers Sect's supreme elder. Though he had joined the sect partway, his prestige had long since surpassed even the sect master's. He was the very symbol of the Hundred Flowers Sect.

The moment he reached the sky, Lu Changsheng went straight for the mysterious figure in the sky. That alone was enough to show that the man was no ordinary person.

Just as everyone was wondering who he was, Lu Changsheng spoke up, his expression grave.

"Please forgive us. The Hundred Flowers Sect has failed to give a Heavenly Saint the welcome he deserves."

"Wha...?"

Everyone's mind went completely blank.

"Did he just say... Heavenly Saint?"

1. seculsion until death (闭死关) implies that the cultivator goes into seclusion and vows not to leave until they achieve a breakthrough or death comes ☜

1. seculsion until death (闭死关) implies that the cultivator goes into seclusion and vows not to leave until they achieve a breakthrough or death comes ☜