Demon-Slaying Battlefield Upheaval, a Natural State of Mind

Lu Qing looked at the jade slip and discovered quite a few names among those who had perished in the widespread explosion.

He recognized several of them—they were Bai Yunqing, Yan Langyu, and the others who had appeared in the divination before.

"What was this, good and evil receiving their due in the end?"

Lu Qing hadn't expected those two to die.

And so easily, at that.

The enemies he'd noted down in his little book had all been wiped clean by that explosion.

Yet this also showed that even Bai Yunqing's backer, a renowned prodigy of the Outer Academy who had spent many years establishing himself there, had died.

One could imagine just how great the impact of that explosion had been.

This wasn't like the situation in the Trial Microcosm.

Back then, a Dao Academy elder had been watching over things outside the trial.

Nothing major could happen.

"Those Demon cultivators were truly ruthless."

Such destruction of heaven and earth, such devastation of the earth veins and Spirit Veins, was utterly infuriating. As expected, if that area wasn't promptly sorted out, its Spiritual Power would plummet, and countless disasters would likely follow.

Moreover, that was a region under the jurisdiction of the Profound Heaven Dao Academy.

They couldn't simply ignore it.

"After reaching Foundation Establishment, there'll be a garrison assignment."

"Since I've started cultivating, I haven't used cultivation methods to fight anyone. It's time I made a trip to the arena."

He didn't care about fame in the slightest, but he had to test his killing techniques in battle before he could comprehend them more deeply.

Lu Qing's Cloud-Riding Water Arrow was relatively simple, but he also had formations. He wasn't dull-witted when it came to formations, and if he could combine the two, the first thing he valued was his own defense.

Defense was currently his weak point.

His thoughts turned.

Before long, he stepped into the arena.

The Four-Sided Arena stood high atop a mountain cliff. Each arena contained the universe of a small world, profound and mysterious beyond compare.

As Lu Qing stepped inside, a ranking stele appeared at the very top of the arena.

The names hanging upon it were famous among countless disciples.

Lu Qing saw both veteran disciples and members of the newest batch.

Li Jiuming and Liu Yuan, who had entered the sect before him, were also listed there.

The rankings only included the top three thousand three hundred disciples of the Outer Academy.

Lu Qing swept his gaze over it, then began his matches.

Each disciple could leave behind an imprint of themselves here when they fought.

Even if later challengers couldn't spar with the true body, they could still fight that imprint.

After all, some disciples entered seclusion for decades. If someone wanted to test themselves against them, defeating the imprint they had left behind was also a common method.

A blue figure stepped forth, gripping a long spear as intangible killing intent curled around him.

"Shen Chang'an."

"Lu Qing."

Lu Qing's expression was utterly serious. After they exchanged names—

The next second—

They both attacked at once.

The spear flashed with a point of silver light, like a snake swallowing mist and spitting fog, real and illusory. Only the killing intent condensed into a single line was earth-shattering.

"Killing Intent Divine Spear!"

Crash—

Countless streams of water rose before him.

Since Lu Qing had crossed into this world, the most perilous time had been those two years on the road seeking Immortality.

He hadn't experienced Immortal Path spell battles, but there had been no shortage of martial conflicts in the mortal world.

It wasn't as if he had never seen blood. At most, since embarking on the path of cultivation, he simply hadn't tested himself against another person.

Now, the pent-up force in his heart spread through his state of mind.

A faint excitement appeared on his face. "Again."

The water transformed into countless water arrows, shooting toward vital points.

Shen Chang'an flicked his wrist, and his originally fierce offensive abruptly became soft as silk wrapped around a finger. Water flowed through heaven and earth, while his spear technique became a wind that was everywhere—light and unrestrained.

Clang—arrows collided with the golden spear.

Countless sparks scattered, Spiritual Power clashing against Spiritual Power. The surrounding spiritual energy was instantly churned into turbulent currents.

After several breaths, Lu Qing suppressed the exhilaration of fighting. "It's over."

His Water Arrow had already reached great mastery. The final trace needed for perfection, after truly entering battle and being steeped in the aura of spell combat, was now completely fulfilled.

After Lu Qing challenged one opponent, the next to step forward was a disciple named Lei Fa. Lightning crackled in his palms, and he looked like the Thunder Lord in the heavens, imposing and majestic.

After entangling with him for a while, Lu Qing also used sword techniques to sever the Thunder Dragon charging straight at him.

One figure after another appeared, and one figure after another vanished.

In the end, after Lu Qing successfully killed a disciple, he withdrew his spell.

The lake within his Dantian—his newly advanced Dantian—was completely empty, without even a trace of Spiritual Power remaining.

This complete arena battle also made Lu Qing, who had just entered the Foundation Establishment realm, more encompassing in body, Divine Consciousness, and state of mind, like water embracing all things.

"That's enough."

His name hung among the last hundred places on the rankings, completely inconspicuous. Those who wanted to rank either challenged those ahead of them, or simply challenged the very last-ranked person to leave their name behind.

Lu Qing had gained what he wanted from this battle, so he didn't continue challenging higher.

Of the four rankings, the arena where he stood ranked disciples purely by spell combat and slaughter.

The other three arenas also had ranking lists.

However, those were arenas specifically for disciples who specialized in a particular path.

In other words, this arena had no restrictions, while one needed proficiency in a particular discipline to enter the other three.

Of course, this didn't mean mastery of the Great Dao, but mastery of techniques.

The Great Dao was boundless—how could anyone speak of mastery?

He let out a soft breath, and the aura of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Power around him instantly withdrew into his body.

"Time to go back and keep farming."

His mind was open and unobstructed. Even the thunderous sound that had made his heart tremble when he'd left home no longer compared to the pure joy he felt now.

After several arena battles, Lu Qing had undergone a subtle transformation.

His Dao Heart had become somewhat clearer. His cultivation realm had advanced quickly before, yet he had never paid much attention to his state of mind.

"Immortal Cultivation cultivates life, but it also cultivates the heart. Without a state of mind to suppress it, having strength alone will ultimately bring more loss than gain."

Stillness had reached its limit, and so his thoughts had turned toward movement.

After resolving the deadly situation and breaking through his bottleneck, this trip beyond the mountain gate had brought Lu Qing gains far greater than before. This tempering of his state of mind, and the battles it had brought, had severed the traces of the mortal world left upon him, as well as the faint unease that remained from the flying sword passing high overhead while his life had hung in the balance.

The lingering memories of what he had seen that day had left behind something even Lu Qing hadn't noticed. At that time, when his head had nearly been severed, a trace of shadow had already been branded upon him.

Fortunately, through arena combat, that trace of shadow had been erased.

"Cause for celebration."

A more tranquil and natural aura flowed through Lu Qing's entire body.