Chapter 11

Jieyin accepted with a smile. The three then discussed the Dao for over a month, until Lu Tian finished regulating his breath.

When Lu Tian stepped into the Blood Sea hall, a system notification suddenly rang out:

[You have arrived at the blessed land of the Blood Sea. Reward obtained: Moon Washing Blade]

"Greetings, Master. Greetings, Senior." Lu Tian bowed respectfully.

Ancestor Minghe glanced at him. "The rules are simple—life and death are your own responsibility during the trial. Kill as many as you can. If you have the ability, take whatever treasures they carry.

"But if you force me to intervene and save you, the trial ends immediately."

Lu Tian secretly rejoiced. In the perilous primordial world, an opportunity protected by a powerful expert was truly rare.

"Inform me once you are ready." Ancestor Minghe stepped aside, leaving space for master and disciple to speak privately.

Zhunti nodded slightly to Ancestor Minghe. With a turn of his hand, he opened a small world and brought Lu Tian inside.

"Disciple, the matter of the Demonic Path inheritance within your body must not be revealed for now.

"Now that the Dao Ancestor rules the Three Realms, the emergence of Luohu's inheritance would surely bring disaster."

Zhunti gave the warning solemnly.

"I will cast a spell to conceal it for you. Your Vajra Body and Devouring Secret Art may be used without concern. As for your other Demonic Path divine abilities, so long as you do not make too much of a spectacle, even Ancestor Minghe will find it difficult to see through them."

Before he finished speaking, streams of clear light poured from Zhunti's palm and entered Lu Tian's meridians.

Lu Tian immediately sat cross-legged to regulate his breath, allowing Immortal Power to circulate through his body.

In moments, the spell was complete. The youth cautiously activated his Vajra Body—and instantly transformed into a hundred-zhang figure with two heads and four arms. His blue-faced, fang-toothed demonic body remained unchanged, yet pure mystical Daoist energy now flowed around him.

"Master's great kindness, I will **never forget it."

Lu Tian kowtowed solemnly in thanks. These two masters had truly taught him everything they had. Other than personally swallowing his origin for him, they had made every possible arrangement.

"It is nothing. Your Martial Uncle Jieyin has paid a heavy price this time," Zhunti said teasingly. "You should suck these Asura Race members dry." With that, the two returned to the shores of the Blood Sea.

"Please proceed, Fellow Daoist." Zhunti cupped his hands with a smile.

Ancestor Minghe agreed indifferently. As his robes billowed, a crushing pressure surged forth! The violent shockwave nearly knocked Lu Tian off his feet, and only Zhunti's protective sweep of his sleeve allowed him to remain standing.

Ancestor Minghe formed seals in the air, and the Blood Sea immediately roared like thunder!

In an instant, a vast continent rose from the sea, its borders impossible to measure. By the measurements of Lu Tian's previous life, the longest stretch of this crimson territory spanned six hundred eighty million li, while even its narrowest point measured four hundred ninety-seven million li. It was more than a hundred million times vaster than Earth!

One hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred streaks of blood-red light shot from the sea, falling onto the continent like rain striking a jade plate. Zhunti gently pushed Lu Tian's back, and the youth immediately turned into a stream of light and plunged inside. Once everyone had landed, Ancestor Minghe changed his hand seals again, and the crimson sky curtain slammed shut.

Ancestor Minghe casually summoned a blood-red sun and a blood moon to rise in turns, then ignored the matter.

Jieyin and Zhunti remained calm throughout.

To them, a mere continent was not worth mentioning.

Saint-level experts could reshape earth, water, fire, and wind with a wave of their hands. Even creating heaven and earth was no difficult task.

With a single leap through space and time, they could cross the universe; riding clouds in flight, they could traverse tens of thousands of light-years in an instant.

If they acted, this Crimson Continent would be reduced to ashes in moments.

Even for a peak Quasi-Saint like Ancestor Minghe, this was merely a trivial trick.

On the Crimson Continent.

Lu Tian sped forward as a streak of light, his Divine Sense covering an area of ten thousand li.

His Spiritual Sense had an exceptionally wide range. He could sense the slightest disturbance within one hundred thousand li.

However, spreading his Spiritual Sense over such a vast area consumed enormous power and reduced its accuracy.

Those of equal cultivation, or even slightly weaker opponents, could conceal themselves and escape his detection.

Thus, Lu Tian drew back his Divine Sense and maintained perception within only ten thousand li.

During the Journey to the West era, Sun Wukong, a Taiyi Golden Immortal, could travel one hundred eight thousand li with a single Somersault Cloud.

Although that monkey was among the best of the Taiyi Golden Immortals, this speed was enough to illustrate the point.

If one opened a spatial passage, the speed could increase tenfold.

Without greatly expanding the range of one's Spiritual Sense, it would be impossible to catch the opponent's trail in time.

And if it only covered one thousand li?

One would likely be struck before even noticing the enemy!

Of course.

Golden Immortals and Taiyi Golden Immortals were worlds apart.

Even the most ordinary Taiyi expert could easily crush hundreds or thousands of Golden Immortals. The gap between them was impossible to measure!

With the same Somersault Cloud, a Golden Immortal could at most leap ten thousand li, and even that was no easy feat.

Lu Tian's Spiritual Sense was among the very best for a Golden Immortal.

After all, it had undergone the dual tempering of the Three Worlds Maha Immeasurable Sutra and the Demon Heart Swallowing Heaven Scripture. Bearing two supreme inheritances, his Spiritual Sense was naturally extraordinary.

This Crimson Continent was simply too vast. After flying continuously for three days, he had not encountered a single Asura Race member.

I can now travel six to eight thousand li with each escape technique, which is only average among Golden Immortals.

Although I did not rush at full speed the entire way, I still crossed tens of millions of li in three days. Yet I found nothing?

Lu Tian shook his head with a bitter smile.

He had not flown in a straight line, but searched in every direction. Still, the area he had explored was likely less than one-thousandth of the continent, so finding nothing was only natural.

The efficiency was simply too low.

After thinking briefly, Lu Tian's aura abruptly changed. He transformed into the appearance of an Asura Race member, blood-fiend energy rolling around his body as though he had just stepped out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The sight was chilling.

After changing his appearance, Lu Tian casually chose a direction. Blood energy surged around him like a tide, instantly covering ten thousand li as he charged straight ahead.

When the Crimson Continent first opened, the Asura Race would certainly be extremely cautious. After all, the survival rate was only one in one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred. But Lu Tian had no such concerns. He simply used himself as bait to lure out powerful Asura Race experts!

More than ten days later.

Somewhere on the Crimson Continent, three Asura Race Golden Immortals were patrolling together.

"The trial has been open for twenty days, and we have only encountered two Golden Immortals. At this rate, when will the final selection even begin?"

"What is the hurry? The Blood Sea Trial has always lasted a thousand years. It has only just begun."

"That is true. In any case, only one person can survive in the end."

As the three Asuras chatted, crimson mist churned beneath their feet. They came from the same tribe and had gathered together after arriving. Their cultivation levels were comparable, all at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, so they had decided to join forces against enemies and settle victory and defeat only at the final moment. Such alliances were common in past trials.

"Even if we encounter a Law Golden Immortal, the combined strength of the three of us will be enough to escape."

"But there is not even a shadow of anyone in sight... Wait!"

The young Asura with two horns suddenly stopped, spreading his Spiritual Sense like a tide. In an instant, every movement within eighty thousand li entered his perception.

"There is a lone Golden Immortal forty thousand li to the northwest!

"He is moving northwest at six thousand li per breath. We can catch him!

"His Spiritual Sense is weak. He has not noticed our observation yet."

Blood-red light flickered in the young Asura's eyes, and his two companions immediately understood. Three streaks of crimson escape light shot forth, crossing ten thousand li in an instant as the distance to their target rapidly shrank!

Although Golden Immortals could open spatial passages and arrive in an instant, doing so would easily create spatial fluctuations and alert the enemy. At this moment, all three had completely concealed their auras, and even their escape lights were wrapped in a concealment secret art. Though their opponent was merely an early-stage Golden Immortal, they treated him as a formidable enemy—Asura Race members were born for slaughter. How could they underestimate an opponent?

The lone figure ahead continued flying at an unhurried pace, utterly unaware that killing intent had arrived. Three blood-red crescent blades materialized at once, their cold glints aimed directly at the Golden Immortal's head!

At that very moment, the Golden Immortal suddenly seemed to awaken!

His body abruptly exploded, transforming into scattered spiritual light and vanishing!

The blood-red blades swept through, stirring only ripples of spiritual energy and producing no other effect.

This was precisely the Spirit Body Transformation Technique used by Lu Tian!

The three Asura Race Golden Immortals revealed shocked expressions and immediately spread their Spiritual Sense to search for Lu Tian.

Suddenly, all three sensed the sky darken.

Looking up, they saw a hundred-zhang Vajra giant blotting out the light of the blood sun.

Four enormous arms reached out at once, tightly grasping the three in their palms!

Alarm bells rang wildly in their hearts.

This youth used nothing but unheard-of secret arts, yet his strength was terrifying. Even working together, they had no power to resist!

Boom!

A deafening clap exploded.

The four arms pressed together in pairs, instantly crushing the Asura Race members in their palms into bloody pulp!

Strangely, that flesh and blood gradually dissolved in the giant's palms until it vanished without a trace.

The Vajra giant opened his hands. Not only was there no bloodstain, not even a speck of dust remained.

"This method of luring enemies in has brought an unexpected gain. The origins of two Golden Immortals have replenished me somewhat."

"So that is how it is... No wonder I could never find the other Asura Race members..."

Lu Tian had not devoured the origins of all three completely.

If he fully refined an origin, the opponent's Immortal Power and memories would be converted into pure energy.

He had deliberately spared one. After completely devouring him, Lu Tian finally uncovered the secrets of the Asura Race.

Who could have imagined that this race dwelling in the Blood Sea had produced such a glorious civilization!

Through the memories he devoured, Lu Tian gained insight into the trial.

This slaughter feast that had continued since ancient times was actually Ancestor Minghe's ritual for selecting his personal guards. Only the strongest could enter the legendary Asura Hall.

In the hearts of the Asura Race, that sacred hall symbolized supreme glory.

There were only two paths to enter the sacred hall:

Either cultivate bitterly until reaching the Grand Unity Realm, or carve a bloody path through the Blood Sea Trial. Whoever won the trial, Ancestor Minghe would surely devote all his resources to helping them break through to the Grand Unity Realm.

The longer Lu Tian traveled through the primordial world, the more deeply he felt how terrifying this world was.

In the present primordial world, the Witch and Demon races stood as twin powers at their peak.

Though the Asura Race counted as a first-rate force, compared to those two great overlords, they were merely hundreds of billions of living beings struggling to survive within the Blood Sea.

Through harsh laws of survival, the Asura Race had cultivated several Quasi-Saint experts amid fierce competition. Under their command were over a thousand Grand Unity experts, accumulating formidable capital for Ancestor Minghe.

Although the Blood Sea Trial followed the model of raising venomous insects, it was far more complex than ordinary insect fights. This vast Crimson Continent had formed fixed rules through many trials and was divided into six major strategic regions. The four top Asura Race tribes held one region each through absolute strength, while the remaining several hundred stronger tribes joined forces to form the other two war zones.

During the early stage of the trial, the six war zones would first eliminate scattered members of small tribes. Once the weak had been eliminated, the major war zones would begin their final confrontation. This form of group warfare allowed the selection to proceed efficiently and accelerated the trial.

The three Golden Immortals Lu Tian had encountered came from the same small tribe. They represented all of that tribe's participating strength. The survival strategy of such weak tribes was to hide and lie in wait, seeking chances to ambush lone targets. This was why Lu Tian had not encountered any other Asura Race members before—the weak concealed their tracks, the strong gathered into armies, and he had not yet entered the main war zones.

"The main forces are all concentrated in the war zones..." Lu Tian's lips curved slightly. "That makes things easier. Finding a war zone means finding tens of thousands of targets."

Though he had devoured one less origin, the intelligence he gained was far more valuable than expected. With a thought, he transformed into an Asura Race member: crimson skin, two horns atop his head, and blood energy swirling around him. This transformation secret art, derived from the Devouring Secret Art, had been created casually, yet because it directly touched upon essence, it surpassed most transformation divine abilities.

After completing his transformation, Lu Tian followed the direction from his memories and sped toward a war zone somewhere on the continent. More than a hundred tribes jointly guarded that place, continuously absorbing scattered forces to fight against the four top tribes.