Ancestral Land, Black Tree, Heavenly Prodigies Gather! Battle Intent Soars!

"You brat, you finally came out!"

Lu Changming was overjoyed. After carefully looking Lu Qingyun over, however, a trace of doubt rose within him.

Judging by his appearance, he didn't look like someone whose talent had fallen away and who had languished in despair until now!

His posture was straight, confidence radiated from between his brows, and the faint smile at the corner of his lips revealed utter calm, as though everything in the world lay within his grasp!

He carried an absolute confidence in his own strength!

The longer Lu Changming looked, the more shocked he became!

He could actually sense an invincible bearing from Lu Qingyun!

Though it had yet to fully take shape, its outline was already there!

This made Lu Changming want to find out just how far Lu Qingyun's strength had progressed!

But when divine light flickered in his eyes, the surprise on his face turned to astonishment!

It was not because he had seen a million layers of the Blood Moving Secret Realm, enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the prodigies of his generation. If that were all, he might have been pleased, but he would never have been astonished!

The reason for his astonishment was that, as the Lu Family's Fourteenth Elder, an existence beyond a True God—

He could not see the slightest trace of cultivation on Lu Qingyun's body. Not a shred of blood vitality leaked out. He seemed completely and utterly like an ordinary mortal who had not even undergone the Rite of Passage!

But was that possible?

Four years ago, he had already suppressed the Immortal Spirit Body and the Supreme Hegemon Body. As the Lu Family's Thirteenth Sequence, he had consumed resources vast enough to be called an ocean over the past four years—how could he possibly be an ordinary mortal!

There was only one explanation: Lu Qingyun had cultivated one, perhaps even several, exceedingly profound and mysterious concealment secret arts!

And he had cultivated them to an extraordinarily high level!

So high that even a powerhouse beyond a True God like himself could not sense anything!

It sounded inconceivable, yet Lu Changming believed it.

Because when Lu Qingyun had fought the Supreme Hegemon Body back then, he had learned just what a monstrous existence this youth was when it came to comprehending divine abilities and cultivation techniques!

That Immortal Spirit Body said to comprehend ten thousand arts and grasp ten thousand Daos was, before him, like an ant beneath a giant dragon!

Yet while astonished, Lu Changming was also somewhat worried.

No matter how monstrously talented Lu Qingyun was at comprehending techniques, reaching such a level in concealment secret arts could not have been easy!

Besides, he did not believe Lu Qingyun had cultivated only this kind of secret art and divine ability.

With such comprehension, he could have been nurtured as an upgraded version of an Immortal Spirit Body!

He could utterly crush others in divine abilities and spell arts!

But then the crucial issue emerged: in terms of cultivation realm... how much could he have improved?

There had only been four short years, which had passed in the blink of an eye to him.

In such a brief time, how difficult was it to master divine abilities and secret arts while also cultivating one's blood vitality?

What was more, when it came to increasing one's realm... those without a physique and those possessing top-tier physiques were as far apart as heaven and earth!

Lu Changming only hoped that, with the vast mountain of resources piled upon him over the years, Lu Qingyun's Blood Moving Secret Realm had reached several hundred thousand layers.

Combined with his divine abilities and secret arts, he might not necessarily be weaker than those Peerless Prodigies!

"Come on. The Ancestors have been waiting for you in the Ancestral Land for a long time!"

Only then did Lu Changming remember why he had come. He immediately grabbed Lu Qingyun and headed for the Ancestral Land.

"Why the rush? Let me take one more breath first!"

Lu Qingyun stretched his neck and took a fierce inhale of the spiritual essence spilling out from Ling Jue Hall, swallowing that vast amount of essence into his body!

The sight made Lu Changming's eye twitch. That behavior made it seem as if the Lu Family had mistreated him, as though he could not bear to part with even this little bit of spiritual essence.

Still, he said nothing, since it did not matter now.

But once he was sent into the Great Wilderness, this spiritual essence would be incomparably precious!

Lu Family members crossing the Great Wilderness were not allowed to carry anything with them.

Forget carrying a basketful of resources to eat along the way—even when they were hungry, they had to hunt and cook for themselves!

"Burp— All right, let's go."

Lu Qingyun let out a satisfied burp, exhaled a mouthful of spiritual essence, then stuffed it back in.

[Energy Points +364]

Three layers of cultivation gained!

"Farewell, Sequence!!!"

Outside Ling Jue Hall, Zhao Chen and Yang Mei stood at the front. Together with the guards and servants, they respectfully saluted Lu Qingyun.

As people under the Sequence's command, how Lu Qingyun fared on this journey was closely tied to them as well!

Ancestral Land.

Upon entering this place again, Lu Qingyun had expected to see that Spirit Lake.

He had even planned to jump in and catch a few spirit fish for snacks.

Yet he had never expected that the space within the Ancestral Land seemed to be constantly shifting.

What appeared before Lu Qingyun was a black forest towering into the clouds.

Every Black Tree was incomparably thick, requiring seven or eight people linking arms to encircle it.

Moreover, the Black Trees' trunks were jet-black, and a light tap against them produced the sound of metal striking metal!

It was as though every tree had been cast from some kind of hard metal, indestructible!

"Clang—clang—clang—"

From deep within the forest came steady, powerful knocking sounds, carrying a peculiar rhythm.

Following the path forward, Lu Qingyun saw a burly youth with bronze skin. His features were resolute, his face drenched in sweat.

He was wholly focused on punching a Black Tree. Every punch was wrapped in vital energy and blood, carrying terrifying force that made the tree shudder and rustle without end.

Faint fist marks, streaked with dark-red blood, were left upon the Black Tree's trunk.

Black leaves drifted down from time to time, their surfaces gleaming with a metallic luster beneath the light. Their edges were incomparably sharp, like polished blades. As they fell, they struck at the youth below who had shaken the tree, slicing open his skin. Golden blood seeped through his clothes, and before long, a little golden man had taken shape.

Just as Lu Qingyun stroked his chin and pondered how many resources a moving little golden man could be traded for, the space abruptly changed.

Sheets of misty water enclosed him, and his supremely handsome face was reflected in the mirrors.

Countless mirrors formed from watery mist reflected countless handsome faces of his. For a moment, he was entranced, staring without blinking as he admired them.

Every now and then, he even struck a pose, the satisfaction in his eyes impossible to conceal!

Such shameless behavior was more than the spellcaster behind him could bear, and the Illusion Realm was immediately dispelled.

"Eh, why's it gone already? I haven't had my fill yet!"

Lu Qingyun said regretfully.

At the same time, he saw the person who had just laid down the Illusion Realm.

The first thing that met his gaze was that pair of exceptionally unusual Twin Pupils, seemingly containing the ultimate truths of the Great Dao, mysterious beyond measure.

The wielder of Twin Pupils—Lu Yi!

As one born with Twin Pupils, he had possessed wisdom beyond his years from birth.

He had been deeply impressed by Lu Qingyun, because during the Rite of Passage, Lu Qingyun had left everyone else far behind in a single burst of speed!

Naturally, this had stirred Lu Yi's unwillingness to concede defeat. That was why he had tested him the moment they met again.

Only, the result of this test... had not quite matched his expectations.

So be it. There would be another chance to test him later.

Lu Yi's gaze was deep and unfathomable. Clad in blue, he stood tall like a verdant bamboo stalk, proud and unyielding against the world.

"Everyone's here. Come over."

An exceedingly aged voice rang out from the sky, spreading through every area.

The instant the voice sounded, a force enveloped Lu Qingyun. In the blink of an eye, he saw the Spirit Lake he had been longing for.

Around him stood young men and women whose auras were unsteady.

Among them, Lu Qingyun spotted the youth with golden blood from before.

Clearly, before being transported here, they had all still been undergoing grueling training.

By the lakeshore, the old man in a straw rain cape—also the Sixth Ancestor of the Lu Family—was holding a fishing rod and leisurely angling.

Not far from him, a powerfully built youth with a trace of wickedness between his brows was locked in battle with a savage fish beast!

Vital energy and blood surged, while demonic aura blotted out the sky!

Each punch knocked jade-like scales from the fish beast's body.

This brutal fight ended when the wicked youth burst out through the fish beast's belly!

Beast blood poured over his head. He absorbed the boundless vital essence within that scalding blood, and a trace of bloodlust flashed through the youth's eyes.

As he looked toward the people on shore, fierce Baleful Intent spread out, and his fighting spirit surged to the heavens!

At that same instant, every prodigy around Lu Qingyun released their fighting spirit without holding anything back, confronting him head-on!

Only Lu Qingyun stood there as though nothing had happened, his eyes darting all over the lake with an intensely sneaky air.

"If you want to fight, then once you're out of here, fight however you please. But for now, all of you behave yourselves!"

The Sixth Ancestor of the Lu Family gave a cold snort, forcibly suppressing their fighting spirits!

Yet when his gaze swept over Lu Qingyun, a trace of disappointment inevitably rose in his eyes.

At a time like this, he had not even stirred the slightest fighting spirit. Perhaps this little fellow, once so astonishingly gifted... had truly become ordinary among the masses.

Perhaps during this crossing of the Great Wilderness, he would be the first to fail.