Labor Peak, a small shabby hut.
During this time, Lu Changsheng had become famous throughout the Lingxiao Sect for defeating Liu Yan. Some of the powerhouses on the Outer Disciples Ranking came to challenge Lu Changsheng one after another, but Lu Changsheng chose to keep his doors shut and refuse all visitors.
For several days in a row, he hid inside the small shabby hut without coming out.
He knew that when a tree rose above the forest, the wind would be the first to break it. Although his strength had greatly improved, among all the outer sect disciples, he could only be considered middle-tier.
After all, Liu Yan, whom he had defeated, ranked only around fiftieth on the Outer Disciples Ranking. There were plenty of disciples stronger than Liu Yan.
Therefore, Lu Changsheng knew it was not yet the time to be too high-profile, lest he bring a fatal disaster upon himself.
Inside the small shabby hut, Lu Changsheng was taking stock of his spoils. From Liu Yan's Cosmic Bag, he had taken out quite a few valuable treasures.
"This dagger is pretty good!"
Lu Changsheng clicked his tongue in admiration as he looked at the emerald-green dagger in his hand.
This dagger was a Grade Eight Spirit Artifact known as Azure Blood Reflecting Green.
The blade of the dagger bore a dark cyan sheen, indicating that its edge contained a potent poison.
This dagger was perfect for sneak attacks. With poison on its blade, even a Divine Palace Realm expert would be poisoned if lightly cut by it!
Lu Changsheng could not bear to put it down, and he tucked the dagger into his sleeve.
Besides Azure Blood Reflecting Green, Lu Changsheng had also obtained a large number of Spirit Stones and several martial arts manuals from Liu Yan's Cosmic Bag. The most precious of them was the Red Flower Blazing Hand, a Quasi-Profound Tier Martial Art.
However, the Red Flower Blazing Hand was a fire-element martial art that required a fire-element cultivation technique to unleash its greatest power, so Lu Changsheng was not particularly interested in it.
Still, if this martial art were sold in Spirit Mist Canyon, it should fetch a decent price.
Thus, Lu Changsheng also stored the martial art in his Cosmic Bag.
After finishing his inventory, Lu Changsheng put away all the treasures.
"There are roughly three months left until the Outer Sect Competition. During this time, I must cultivate diligently if I want to achieve a better ranking in the Outer Sect Competition..."
Lu Changsheng muttered to himself. With his current strength, passing the Outer Sect Competition should not be difficult.
But Lu Changsheng's goal was not merely to pass the Outer Sect Competition.
His goal was to place among the top three in the Outer Sect Competition!
Because it was said that those who ranked among the top three in the Outer Sect Competition would receive extremely generous rewards!
Having silently made up his mind, Lu Changsheng planned to continue cultivating hard.
Buzz!
However, at that moment, the Creation Devouring Heaven Cauldron within his dantian suddenly began to tremble violently, continuously emitting a humming sound.
"What's going on?"
Lu Changsheng took out the Sky Swallowing Cauldron.
The Creation Devouring Heaven Cauldron seemed to have suddenly become extremely restless, trembling incessantly and humming.
Lu Changsheng frowned. He suddenly seemed to realize that the Creation Devouring Heaven Cauldron must have sensed some dangerous thing approaching, which was why it was warning him through its trembling.
This uneasy premonition grew increasingly intense. Lu Changsheng hurriedly crawled beneath the bed, dug up a floor tile with his hand, and hid the Creation Devouring Heaven Cauldron beneath it.
Just then, a terrifying aura descended over Labor Peak.
Whoosh!
An uninvited guest appeared in the skies above Labor Peak, a youth in coarse cloth holding a Treasure Hunting Compass.
"It really is here!"
The coarse-clothed youth looked at the violet-gold point of light on the Treasure Hunting Compass, then slowly descended before the small shabby hut.
Bang!
With a wave of his hand, the coarse-clothed youth unleashed a powerful palm force that directly collapsed Lu Changsheng's small shabby hut.
Crash!
From the ruins, Lu Changsheng crawled out in a bedraggled state. The moment he saw the coarse-clothed youth before him, Lu Changsheng immediately sensed intense danger.
Boom!
The coarse-clothed youth said nothing. A powerful pressure burst from within his body and directly enveloped Lu Changsheng.
"Transcendent Realm?!"
Lu Changsheng's expression changed. The overwhelming pressure crushed down upon him, instantly rendering his body unable to move, as if the space around him had frozen solid.
The Transcendent Realm was a realm even higher than the Divine Palace Realm!
"Are you Lu Changsheng?"
the coarse-clothed youth asked coldly.
"That's right! But it seems that I bear neither grievance nor grudge against you, sir?"
Lu Changsheng's face turned ashen.
Unfortunately, he was only at the eighth level of Core Condensation Realm, two major realms below the Transcendent Realm. Before this coarse-clothed youth, he was suppressed until he could not even move.
"Hand over the treasure."
The coarse-clothed youth extended his hand.
"What treasure?"
Lu Changsheng pretended not to understand.
Yet his heart abruptly chilled. He knew that the treasure this coarse-clothed youth spoke of was most likely the Creation Devouring Heaven Cauldron!
"Stop playing dumb. I have already investigated. A month ago, you were merely a piece of trash from Labor Peak at the Second Level of Qi Condensation. Yet in just one month, you advanced to the eighth level of Core Condensation Realm and even defeated Liu Yan. You must have relied on that treasure, right?"
the coarse-clothed youth sneered.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any treasure!"
Lu Changsheng gritted his teeth.
"So, you don't intend to hand over that treasure?"
The coarse-clothed youth's expression instantly turned sinister. He walked up to Lu Changsheng, then reached out and directly snapped Lu Changsheng's arm.
Crack!
"Argh!"
With his arm broken, Lu Changsheng immediately let out a pained roar.
"Will you talk?"
the coarse-clothed youth asked darkly.
"No!"
Lu Changsheng still kept his mouth shut.
"Hmph!"
The coarse-clothed youth snorted, then took out three iron nails and drove them directly into Lu Changsheng's back.
"Argh!"
The three iron nails instantly made Lu Changsheng wish he were dead. The bones throughout his body felt as if they were being gnawed by poisonous insects.
"These are Bone Corroding Nails. They make every bone in your body feel as though countless insects are gnawing at them. This feeling is simply worse than death. Hand over that treasure, and I will help you pull out these Bone Corroding Nails."
the coarse-clothed youth sneered.
"No!"
Although the intense pain had tortured Lu Changsheng until he wished he were dead, he still refused to hand over the Creation Devouring Heaven Cauldron.
A sinister killing intent flashed through the coarse-clothed youth's eyes. He immediately released his divine sense to inspect everything on Lu Changsheng's body, but he failed to detect the treasure's location.
"Speak! Where exactly have you hidden that treasure?!"
The coarse-clothed youth seemed to be losing patience. The killing intent in his gaze grew ever thicker. Yet no matter how he tortured him, Lu Changsheng still refused to utter a single word.
"Stubborn fool!"
Boom!
"Argh!"
The coarse-clothed youth struck Lu Changsheng's dantian fiercely with his palm. This strike directly shattered his dantian. Seeing the spiritual energy within his dantian scatter, Lu Changsheng seemed to go mad, struggling and roaring wildly.
"Who exactly are you? I bear neither grievance nor grudge against you, so why are you treating me with such vicious cruelty?!"
Lu Changsheng roared.
"It does no harm to tell you. The one who crippled you is Qin Wentian, the number one on the Outer Disciples Ranking. But now that I have destroyed your dantian, I'm afraid you will have no hope of revenge for the rest of your life!"
"Ha ha ha!"
the coarse-clothed youth sneered.
"Qin Wentian!"
Lu Changsheng's eyes nearly split apart, but the intense pain in his body soon caused him to fall unconscious...
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