Chapter 13

After devouring the essence of four Golden Immortals and eight hundred True Immortals, the demon heart in Lu Tian's chest pounded like a war drum.

The vast energy all transformed into nourishment for his bones and roots, yet he was still unsatisfied.

Far from enough.

Ten Golden Immortals had only made up one three-thousandth of the deficiency...

Amid the crimson mist, the young man stared at his palm. What kind of innate foundation required devouring such an enormous amount of origin?

A piercing whistle suddenly split the air!

Silver light tore through the crimson barrier as an Asura battle commander shattered the Formation Patterns and arrived.

Sixty million li away... The battle blade abruptly halted. Qiu Wu's nostrils twitched. "You carry their scent of blood?"

A blinding chill burst from the tip of his blade. "Then repay the debt with your life!"

Lu Tian narrowed his eyes.

His new opponent's aura was solid and unfathomable, far surpassing every Golden Immortal before him.

The silver-horned Asura held his blade in one hand, ripples of laws that sealed space spreading around him.

"Remember the name of the one who kills you—"

"Qiu Wu." His blade pointed directly at Lu Tian. "To kill those three pieces of trash without suffering any damage, you must possess the strength of a Law Golden Immortal."

The air let out a mournful cry beneath the blade intent.

Lu Tian chuckled. "Why remember the name of a dead man?"

Killing intent spread like a rising tide.

"A mere early-stage Golden Immortal possesses such combat power..." A dark gleam flashed across Qiu Wu's silver horn. "I cannot let you live."

He had seen the deeper threat—if this boy were allowed to reach his peak, he might sweep aside all opponents of the same realm.

That was the cruelty of the Blood Sea Trial: true prodigies had never cared about fairness.

If a Taiyi Realm powerhouse took action, even a million True Immortals arriving together would struggle to block their edge!

But that was not the truth.

This place was actually a trial ground where Styx selected Asura prodigies and tempered the strong.

Even the weak could undergo astonishing transformations here!

A True Immortal could experience repeated bloody battles and see his cultivation soar.

With the opportunities Styx had arranged, even rising to become a Taiyi Golden Immortal and claiming first place would not be impossible!

Thus, the moment Lu Tian appeared, Qiu Wu had already branded him with a mark of certain death.

If he were allowed to grow into an Origin Golden Immortal, or even break into the Taiyi Realm, he would surely become a grave threat!

Heaven is helping me. I will eliminate this menace before it grows.

Qiu Wu bared a savage grin without the slightest concealment, then flipped his hand and slashed out a heaven-drowning blade radiance.

The blade light poured down like a galaxy, stretching hundreds of zhang and condensing into near-solid form!

Lu Tian's eyes suddenly lit up.

A hundred-zhang Vajra Dharma Form erupted into existence, and the Vajra Scepter swept across the sky to cut apart the torrent of blade light.

What kind of divine ability was this?

Qiu Wu cried out in horror. He had cultivated for eighty thousand years, yet had never seen such a profound method!

As the blood mist exploded outward, Qiu Wu's figure vanished.

Lu Tian instead enlarged the scepter to one hundred and twenty zhang and swept it across all directions!

Damn it!

Qiu Wu was forced to reveal himself. His blade light collided with the scepter, scattering brilliant sparks.

Before he could catch his breath, a massive Vajra palm came crashing through the air!

Teleport! Teleport again!

When the fourth Vajra fist tore through the wind toward him, Qiu Wu abruptly curled into a bloody cocoon and was blasted away like a meteor for a thousand zhang.

None of the four Asura tribes possesses such a secret inheritance!

Wiping the blood from the corner of his lips, Qiu Wu was both humiliated and enraged.

That brat was merely relying on the brute force of his Dharma Form. His attacks were outrageously crude—smashing with the scepter, sweeping, palm strikes, grabs, straight punches...

Yet he had still been driven into such a miserable state!

There was no profundity to speak of!

However...

Lu Tian's secret art was tyrannical beyond compare. With such crude moves alone, he had suppressed his opponent so thoroughly that he could not even catch his breath!

Where had this freak come from?!

Qiu Wu roared inwardly. Space around him trembled as he prepared to tear open the void and flee.

In an instant, every ripple of space froze as solid as iron.

At that moment, offense and defense reversed—Lu Tian casually locked down the entire world!

Though this fellow's close-combat techniques were indeed clumsy...

When it came to comprehension of laws, Lu Tian's control over the Great Dao of space-time had already reached the level of a Taiyi Golden Immortal!

Qiu Wu suddenly realized that the surrounding space had changed from an open doorway into an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron. Even with wings, he could not escape!

How could this—

Before the thought could fully form, the Vajra Scepter smashed into his face. His fleshly body exploded on the spot into a sky full of bloody mist!

Amid the surging blood mist, Lu Tian's true body appeared.

The scarlet mist flowed into the demon heart like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, turning into pure origin.

As he devoured Qiu Wu's origin, a shadow remained between Lu Tian's brows.

Though he had won this battle easily, it had exposed a fatal flaw—

His combat techniques were truly crude beyond measure.

Even though he had sparred with the Western Teachings and Senior Brother Sunlight, and participated in many battles, those experiences at the True Immortal level were riddled with errors in higher-level combat.

It was like the top scorer in a county examination entering the Imperial Academy, only to find his once-prized solutions had become a laughingstock.

As for Sunlight?

Ever since taking human form, he had never left Spirit Mountain. In this desolate place, he could not even find a sparring partner.

Compared to an old monster like Qiu Wu with a hundred thousand years of cultivation, his combat experience was like an infant wielding a sword against a hardened soldier!

This complete victory had purely relied on the absolute suppression of secret arts and laws.

Calling it a dimensional strike would not be an exaggeration.

To fill in his foundation, he needed to devour at least several dozen Golden Immortals... Reaching the Taiyi Realm would still take time.

Better to use this opportunity to temper his combat techniques.

As his thoughts raced, Lu Tian had already made his decision:

Seal away the Vajra Body and seek out strong opponents to hone himself through battle.

As for a weapon...

Moonlight flowed across his palm, and a frosty blade took shape.

Whoosh—

Blade light flashed, as sinister and unpredictable as a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

The Asura's battle axe had only risen half an inch when a cold gleam had already sliced through his throat.

"Lu Tian, your blade... has become faster."

Seventy years passed, and exclamations rose all around Lu Tian.

"How exactly did you train your blade speed?!"

"With early-stage Golden Immortal cultivation, you can kill peak Golden Immortals across realms. Once your realm reaches perfection, you will surely become a giant in your own right!"

"In ten years, you brought your Blade Technique to such a transcendent level. Boy, you must be hiding something!"

The cold gleam returned to its sheath, and the corner of Lu Tian's lips lifted slightly.

Ten years had passed since that life-and-death battle with Qiu Wu.

When he had returned to the joint tribal war zone that year and reported the entire incident, he had deliberately concealed Qiu Wu's appearance, saying only that he had escaped through a unique Evasion technique while the rest had all died. No one investigated further. They merely verified his identity token and used a secret art to confirm that he had not been tainted with the blood of his comrades, then assigned him to a new elite squad—the Nine Golden Immortal Hunting Squad, dedicated to eliminating troublesome enemies.

From the moment he joined, Lu Tian had established strict rules:

The Vajra Body would not be used unless it was a life-or-death situation,

The secret arts of the Western Teachings and the Demonic Path would remain completely sealed,

He would rely solely on the sharp blade in his hand to contend against the heroes of the world.

His first battle immediately exposed his shortcomings. His initial Blade Technique was crude, and he had relied entirely on his deep foundation to kill opponents of the same realm. Against an experienced mid-stage Golden Immortal, he had actually struggled. These Asura experts had tempered themselves in the Blood Sea since childhood, and their accumulated combat wisdom was far beyond his reach.

Fortunately, the Demon Heart Swallowing Heaven Scripture held hidden mysteries. This technique could not only devour origin, but also seize an opponent's Immortal Power, memories, and even combat experience. After devouring several blade cultivators, Lu Tian's combat strength surged. With blade arts alone, he could kill mid-stage Golden Immortals.

After ten years of campaigns, he gradually formed a distinctive style of battle—only speed could not be broken. His blade struck like thunder, often beheading opponents before they could even launch their attack. When he encountered those with mediocre Blade Techniques, he devoured their origin to strengthen his foundation. After all, the origin provided by Asuras of the same realm was no different.

Now, relying solely on his attainments in the blade, he could cross three minor realms in succession and kill peak Golden Immortals beneath his blade.

Amid the teasing around him, Lu Tian merely smiled calmly.

These Asura warriors were more open-minded than he had expected.

Even when facing situations that were nearly hopeless, they still showed little heaviness.

This was inseparable from the belief passed down through the Asura Race for generations.

As a race personally created by Ancestor Minghe, the Asura Race had always believed that death was merely a cycle of returning to the Blood Sea.

One day, they would return once more upon its waves.

"You fellow..."

The captain laughed heartily and heavily patted Lu Tian's shoulder.

"Your comprehension is the finest I have ever seen, but your cultivation aptitude is truly lacking. You have consumed so many resources, yet your cultivation has shown no obvious improvement."

Lu Tian could only respond with a wry smile.

The captain did not know that Lu Tian had secretly devoured several hundred Golden Immortals over the years, and his cultivation efficiency had long since doubled.

But with the real war not yet begun, the efficiency of slaughter was ultimately limited.

Fortunately, his strength had already undergone a qualitative leap.

If he went all out, his current blade attainments would more than double his combat power compared to before!

That was also thanks to his profound foundation.

Even when his combat experience had been desperately lacking, he had still been able to sweep through Golden Immortal experts with his many secret arts.

"By the rules, I take thirty percent of the spoils, Lu Tian takes thirty percent, and the remaining forty percent is divided equally among the six of you."

The captain briskly erased the restrictions on the spatial treasure. Instantly, treasure light flooded the area, while pearls and jade gleamed.

Lu Tian swept his gaze over them and only took pills and spiritual materials into his storage.

These ordinary Houtian Spiritual Treasures and common magical artifacts were no different from scrap metal to him.

If the Moon Washing Blade in his hand revealed its true form, not to mention the Crimson Continent...

Even the entire Blood Sea would likely tremble because of it!

Even Ancestor Minghe might be seized by covetous desire.

That was because it was a top-grade spiritual treasure containing forty-four innate restrictions, not inferior even to Yuantu and Abi!

It was enough to accompany him in battle until the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm, and even upon attaining a Saint position, it could serve as his bound spiritual weapon!

"Once you have finished packing up, let us set off."

After everyone divided the spoils, the captain waved his hand to signal their return.

"This harvest was abundant. I should be able to break through to the peak of the Golden Immortal realm!"

"This newly acquired sword is twenty percent more powerful than my old one!"

"Lu Tian, are you really from the Wuzha Tribe? You have not taken a single weapon or piece of armor. Did you bring some clan-protecting treasure with you for training?"

The Asuras discussed among themselves.

** Wealth is sought amid danger.

There were three reasons why the Blood Sea Trial could make one's strength soar:

First, it was filled with countless opportunities for life-and-death battles. Walking along the edge of a blade naturally led to rapid improvement;

Second, slaughter allowed one to plunder vast resources;

Third, Ancestor Minghe would arrange opportunities within the trial to help people achieve breakthroughs.

With all three forms of aid combined, as long as one survived, cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

Historical records stated that there had once been an unmatched True Immortal prodigy who broke through several realms in this trial and ultimately claimed the championship with the bearing of a Taiyi Golden Immortal!

Lu Tian himself was proof—his combat power had doubled in ten years, showing the astonishing effects of the Blood Sea Trial.

Here, he could cross swords with powerful opponents at regular intervals and even continually challenge life-and-death battles at higher levels.

Now...

After ten years of killing and devouring, Lu Tian's foundation in the blade had been firmly established.

He decided to temporarily leave behind the slaughter and enter seclusion to comprehend the prototype of his own Blade Technique.

Lu Tian flew alone across the sky.

He left the team that had accompanied him for ten years and set out once more on a solitary path.

After finding a secluded place to open a cave dwelling and setting up restrictions for concealment and warning, he immediately began his secluded cultivation.

Solitude was precisely what he needed to fully employ the Virtual-Real World of the Dream Path Enlightenment Method.

The moment he entered meditation, Lu Tian activated the secret art and slipped into a dream.

The dream world.

The Moon Washing Blade materialized in his hand, and he conjured blade grandmaster Qiu Wu as a sparring partner.

Among all the Golden Immortals he had fought, Qiu Wu's blade arts could be called peerless.

Clang! Clang! Clang!