Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Chapter 178.2: Number one the Dao Foundation Candidate List: Lu Changsheng of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect! (II)

Once back at his cave residence, Lu Changsheng proceeded to examine the items he had obtained from Lei Tiandu. Among them, the most eye-catching was a peculiar stone with small characters engraved along its surface that read "Heart Illusion Stone."

Heart Illusion Stone?What's that?

Lu Changsheng had never heard of it, but he was determined to find out. He wrapped up the stone and went straight to the Exchange Hall. There, he set it on the counter in front of the Hall Elder. His eyes lit up after one look, and his enthusiasm was evident as he carefully explained the various functions of the Heart Illusion Stone.

Having gained a thorough understanding of the Heart Illusion Stone, Lu Changsheng returned to his cave residence. He turned the stone over in his hands with great satisfaction.

The Heart Illusion Stone was a rare treasure used to temper the heart. In the Ancient Region, anything related to the heart commanded extraordinary value. The bronze bell Lu Changsheng had obtained previously was already considered a precious mind treasure, yet even that could not compare to the value of the Heart Illusion Stone.

According to the Exchange Hall Elder, the Heart Illusion Stone could construct a complete illusionary realm, a space where a martial artist could temper the heart through repeated trial, or revisit the unresolved wounds of the past and mend them, ultimately achieving Perfection of the Heart.

Lu Changsheng thought about Lei Tiandu and finally understood why he had possessed the Heart Illusion Stone.

Rumor had it that although Lei Tiandu possessed a hundred-li Mind Space, he had a flaw in his heart that would have caused him to fail the Heart Tribulations. If Lu Changsheng had not killed him, he could have used the Heart Illusion Stone to mend that flaw and pass the tribulation successfully. But now, that was nothing more than a possibility of the past, a what if. Lei Tiandu had been reduced to dust, and no matter how much he could have achieved, it had all vanished along with his death.

Lu Changsheng tightened his grip on the Heart Illusion Stone. From here on out, I will pour everything into comprehending Domains and expand my Mind Space to a hundred li as fast as I can. As for my heart, I never had any serious flaws to begin with. And now that I have the Heart Illusion Stone, I can relive the past inside the illusion and resolve any lingering regrets.

At this point, the path toward the Dao Foundation Realm already lay clear before him. All the pieces had fallen into place, and now, all that remained was the final step forward.

His thoughts soon shifted back toward the battle with Lei Tiandu.

Lei Tiandu had six fused Domains. A four-in-one, two three-in-ones, and three two-in-ones. These six fused Domains alone had power that were comparable to one hundred layers of Domains. No wonder he had carried himself with such absolute conviction.

The force from Lei Tiandu's fused Domains, combined with his other ordinary Domains, truly gave him the strength to run rampant through Divine Treasury Realm without breaking a sweat. But following that duel, those Domains had effectively become Lu Changsheng's as well. With his extraordinary Perception and astonishing memory, Lu Changsheng had already grasped the essence of Lei Tiandu's Domains.

Although Lu Changsheng's Perception had not yet surpassed ten thousand and undergone a fundamental transformation, it was still steadily increasing. The growth had slowed considerably compared to before, yet the difference between six thousand points of Perception and three thousand was still enormous. His current Perception had already surpassed six thousand and was steadily approaching seven thousand.

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes, and the six fused Domains Lei Tiandu had unleashed during their battle rose in his mind with perfect clarity, every detail intact. He immersed himself fully in those memories, turning them over again and again in contemplation, tracing the structure of each fused Domain from the inside. With his current Perception, it was only a matter of time before he could truly claim Lei Tiandu's fused Domains as his own.

After only a few hours, a strange and unfamiliar Intent suddenly emerged from Lu Changsheng's body. He slowly opened his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

He had just completed the first step to comprehending Lei Tiandu's fused Domains. What remained was to deconstruct what he had absorbed and evolve each piece individually, and for that he would need Dao Comprehension Pills. Fortunately, contribution points were the one thing Lu Changsheng lacked the least. With the amount he currently possessed, he could take Dao Comprehension Pills like a spoiled child eats candy.

***

More than five months slipped by in a blur.

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. A sharp light flickered in his gaze, edged with slight fatigue.

Finally, the last Domain, nurtured to Perfection.

Over the past five months, he had devoted himself entirely to contemplating Domains. During that time, he focused on fully deconstructing and nurturing all six of Lei Tiandu's fused Domains to Perfection. Once broken apart, the one four-in-one Domain, two three-in-one Domains, and three two-in-one Domains ultimately became sixteen separate Domains. And after nurturing each of them to Perfection, his Mind Space expanded by a full sixteen li.

Lu Changsheng immediately called up his status panel to review his current situation.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Mind Space: 71 li

Perception: 7570 (Praised by All)

[Skills]

Heart Sword True Mantra: Progress 61% (Jade Heart Sword)

Seeing that his Mind Space had expanded to seventy-one li, Lu Changsheng was fairly satisfied with himself. During this period, he had also applied for three additional Mind Stabilization Stones and integrated them into his Mind Space. As a result, the speed at which he nurtured Domains increased once again. Previously, completing a Domain required ten days, and now, it only took seven.

The downside was that the more Mind Stabilization Stones he absorbed, the smaller the improvement became each time. Still, no matter how slight the improvements were, they were improvements nonetheless.

With seven Mind Stabilization Stones, nurturing a Domain now takes only seven days. My Mind Space currently stands at seventy-one li. That means I still need twenty-nine more Domains to reach a hundred-li Mind Space. At this rate, reaching a hundred li would only take a few more months.The problem is the Dao Comprehension Pills...

Originally, Lu Changsheng had planned to push his Mind Space all the way to a hundred li during this period of seclusion, but the Dao Comprehension Pills had finally stopped working on him. Even if he went out and sparred with other true inheritors, even if he absorbed more fused Domains, it would mean nothing without the pills to carry him into a state of epiphany. And without an epiphany, his Perception, terrifying as it was, could no longer evolve an Intent into a Domain in a single day.

Truth be told, Lu Changsheng had anticipated this outcome long ago. After taking more than a hundred Dao Comprehension Pills, most martial artists gradually developed resistance to them. The exact limit varied from person to person. Some people could consume two hundred pills before losing the effect entirely, while others lost the benefit after fewer than one hundred.

Counting from the very first Dao Comprehension Pill he had ever taken, Lu Changsheng estimated that he had now consumed well over a hundred pills in total. Developing a tolerance at this stage was not strange at all.

In any case, Lu Changsheng no longer had the means to enter a state of epiphany. Although evolving new Domains was still possible, the amount of time required simply would not be worth it. Rather than wasting years slowly comprehending more Domains, it would be far more efficient for him to search for peculiar treasures capable of directly expanding his Mind Space.

As for Lu Changsheng's combat strength, the Domains he currently possessed were already more than enough. One five-in-one Domain, one four-in-one, two three-in-ones, fourteen two-in-ones—eighteen fused Domains in total that gave him the power to unleash a force exceeding two hundred and fifty Domain-layers.

Within the Divine Treasury Realm, Lu Changsheng genuinely could not imagine anyone capable of standing against that level of power. He had now truly reached the point of being invincible among Divine Treasury martial artists—and he himself was startled by that fact.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Changsheng slowly rose to his feet. Time to go out. Sitting in my cave residence won't bring me any news about items that can expand the Mind Space.

Lu Changsheng rose and left his cave residence for the Mission Hall. The Mission Hall was one of the places where disciples most frequently exchanged information, and if there were any rumors regarding peculiar treasures capable of expanding the Mind Space, there was a good chance he would hear about them there.

However, the moment he arrived outside the Mission Hall, Lu Changsheng immediately noticed that something was different. The entire hall was packed with people. Streams of disciples continuously poured in from every direction, and the place had become so crowded that there was barely even room to stand.

Lu Changsheng frowned slightly in confusion. The Mission Hall had always been lively, but it had never reached this level of chaos before. Countless conversations overlapped throughout the crowd, and Lu Changsheng listened carefully, hoping to piece together what was happening from the surrounding discussions.

"The annual Dao Foundation Candidate List is being updated today! I wonder how many people from the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect will make the list this year."

"The ones already on the list will definitely keep their spots. That much is certain. The real question is whether Senior Brother Lu Changsheng will make the list. And if he does, how would he rank?"

"I don't think he'll make it. Senior Brother Lu is certainly powerful, but his Mind Space still hasn't reached ninety li. I doubt the rules for the Dao Foundation Candidate List will change just for him."

"That's not necessarily true. Isn't the purpose of the Dao Foundation Candidate List to identify the Divine Treasury martial artists most likely to forge a Dao Foundation? Senior Brother Lu has already killed experts who were ranked on the list. If they stubbornly cling to the rules and refuse to include him, then the Dao Foundation Candidate List itself becomes meaningless."

"Exactly. Can anyone seriously say that Senior Brother Lu only has the combat power but won't be able to forge a Dao Foundation? That's absurd."

"He'll make the list. I'm certain of it. The only question is where he places."

As the appointed time drew closer to reveal the updated list, the atmosphere inside the Mission Hall became increasingly heated. More and more disciples joined the discussions, their voices overlapping throughout the hall.

The annual update of the Dao Foundation Candidate List was one of the grandest events in the Ancient Region, something every sect paid close attention to. This year, however, the excitement had reached an even greater level because the discussions centered around Lu Changsheng, the legendary true inheritor of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect. That alone was enough to attract countless disciples to the Mission Hall.

Through the surrounding conversations, Lu Changsheng finally understood why the Mission Hall was so crowded. He had remained in secluded cultivation for the past several months and had paid almost no attention to outside matters. If the Dao Comprehension Pills had not stopped working on him, he likely would have continued cultivating in seclusion without interruption.

In a way, the timing was rather fortunate. The Dao Comprehension Pills had lost their effect just as the updated Dao Foundation Candidate List was about to be announced, drawing him out of seclusion at exactly the right moment.

Lu Changsheng had looked into the Dao Foundation Candidate List before out of curiosity. Its influence throughout the Ancient Region was immense, and its authority was recognized by virtually everyone.

Every year, the announcement of the Dao Foundation Candidate List attracted the attention of the entire Ancient Region. Together with the Foundation Establishment Candidate List of the Immortal Dao, the two rankings represented the highest standards of the Martial Dao and Immortal Dao systems.

At this moment, Lu Changsheng was curious as to whether his name would appear on the list this year. According to the established rules, he should not have qualified. However, he had killed several experts who were ranked on the Dao Foundation Candidate List, and the last of them was Lei Tiandu, the number one true inheritor of the Yellow Heavenly Sect.

For several hundred years, none of the top ten Divine Treasury martial artists on the Dao Foundation Candidate List had died at the hands of another martial artist. Some had failed while attempting to forge their Dao Foundations, but none had been publicly killed in battle the way Lei Tiandu had died at Lu Changsheng's hands.

This unprecedented event had an enormous impact on the entire Ancient Region. Just thinking about it, Lu Changsheng could already imagine the headache facing the people responsible for compiling the Dao Foundation Candidate List.

Time crept forward, and when noon finally arrived, the entire Mission Hall seemed to hold its breath. Suddenly, the names on the Dao Foundation Candidate List blurred. Then, a wash of golden light swept across the surface, and one by one, new names began to emerge from it. When the light faded, the new rankings stood clear for all to see.

Every eye in the hall shot to the top. In previous years, the name printed largest, placed highest, had never changed. But this year, the name at the top was different.

Number one the Dao Foundation Candidate List: Lu Changsheng of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect!