Chapter 281.1: Returning to the Immortal Martial World, Fusing with the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao, Transforming into Countless Forms! (I)

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. Finally, I'm back...

His consciousness had returned to his true body, and Kao Wen's body had been brought back along with it.

During his time in that world, Lu Changsheng had created the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao, a martial art centered on enhancing the physical body. In terms of depth, power, and profoundness, it surpassed even the Extreme Martial Dao he had created back in Secret World No. 18. In fact, he suspected that some of its principles might even benefit his true body.

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside him. "This world is... incredibly powerful."

It was the Demon Progenitor, or rather, Meng. He carefully sensed the Laws governing this world, and he was astonished. As a being who had once merged with an entire world, he understood better than most how to judge the power of a world. It had taken Meng only a few moments to grasp the vast difference between this world and the one he had come from. Even if his former world had been ten thousand times larger, it probably still could not compare.

At that moment, the Demon Progenitor felt certain that his decision had been worthwhile. No matter what price he had paid to come here, he had made the right choice.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, this world has two major cultivation systems: martial and immortal cultivation," Lu Changsheng explained with a smile. "The two are very different. If you want to advance further, you'll have to abandon your previous cultivation methods and rebuild yourself according to the methods of this world. Coming up with a whole new method should be extremely difficult for you."

In truth, Lu Changsheng had put it very mildly.

When cultivators from powerful worlds entered weaker ones, creating new cultivation methods was often much easier, and Lu Changsheng was a perfect example. In the first world he entered, he had created the Extreme Martial Dao. In the second, he created the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao. Of course, that was also due to his extraordinary Perception, which even a Heavenly Saint might not be able to match.

However, things changed drastically if the cultivator came from a relatively weak world to a powerful one. In that case, creating a new cultivation method would prove extremely difficult, if not impossible outright.

For Meng, his ambitions made this problem even more difficult. He was already at the Martial Saint level, and his next step would be to reach the Earthly Saint level. However, creating an Earthly Saint cultivation method entirely by himself would be far too difficult.

Still, despite the difficulty that lay ahead of him, the Demon Progenitor gave a slight smile. "Fellow Daoist Lu, I know my limits. I will first study this world's cultivation methods, try them one by one, and then decide which path to take."

Seeing that Meng understood the situation, Lu Changsheng nodded. "Alright, as long as you're aware..."

Then he continued, "This is the Secret World Pavilion, and we shouldn't stay here for too long. I also happen to belong to a sect. If you don't have anywhere else to go, you may stay with me for the time being."

Demon Progenitor nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist Lu."

Meng was well aware of his situation, and he accepted it. He had only just arrived in a completely unfamiliar world, so staying with someone he already knew was naturally the safest choice. Lu Changsheng was powerful, and judging from everything he had seen, Lu Changsheng had to have some considerable standing in this world. And given that Meng's first priority was to establish himself and learn how this world worked, following Lu Changsheng was the obvious first step.

"Good. Then we'll go together."

Lu Changsheng waved his hand and put away Kao Wen's body before leaving the Secret World Pavilion with Meng.

***

Lu Changsheng returned to the Hundred Flowers Sect. The moment Sect Master Zhang Ling laid eyes on him, a hint of relief and joy appeared on her face. Whether or not Lu Changsheng was there to hold down the fort made a big difference to the Hundred Flowers Sect.

"Supreme Elder, you've finally returned!" Zhang Ling exclaimed. Then, her gaze shifted to Meng. "And this is...?"

She had never seen a Demon Progenitor before.

"This is Fellow Daoist Meng. He hails from a secret world," said Lu Changsheng. "He has only just arrived in the Immortal Martial World, so naturally he's not yet familiar with how things work here. I'll have to trouble you to help him settle in for now."

"A secret world?" Zhang Ling's eyes widened, bright with curiosity as they settled on the Demon Progenitor.

It was rare for someone to travel from a secret world to the Immortal Martial World, but not unheard of. Long ago, cultivators had already succeeded in bringing living beings out of secret worlds. There was no fundamental barrier preventing beings of secret worlds from traveling to the Immortal Martial World. Since cultivators from the Immortal Martial World could enter secret worlds, then theoretically, inhabitants of those worlds could also travel to the Immortal Martial World.

However, it was far more difficult for someone from a secret world to travel to the Immortal Martial World than the other way around. Everything had to align perfectly for such a journey to be possible; one needed the right opportunity and timing. Naturally, moving from a weaker world into a stronger one was never easy.

Throughout the recorded history of the Immortal Martial World, no discovered secret world had ever surpassed it in strength, and only a few could compare in strength. That alone showed just how powerful the Immortal Martial World was. So for that reason, the Immortal Martial World had become a destination where beings from lesser worlds sought higher cultivation and pursued the Dao.

Following Lu Changsheng's instructions, Zhang Ling soon led Meng away to make arrangements for him. Lu Changsheng was certain that with the Hundred Flowers Sect helping Meng settle in, it would not take long for him to gain a proper understanding of the Immortal Martial World.

After parting with Zhang Ling and Meng, Lu Changsheng went to the secret chamber. He had just obtained the Martial Dao fragments, and this was precisely the time to refine them.

Let's begin. Lu Changsheng started refining the fragments one by one.

One fragment, two fragments, three, four, five fragments...

The process took longer than expected, and by the time he finished refining all of them, five months had passed.

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and immediately brought up the Status Panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 2,324,000 (Heaven-Born Saint)

Infinite Martial Dao: 15% (Not Condensed)

His Perception had increased by roughly one million fifty thousand points. Of that, fifty thousand had come naturally during his five months of seclusion, which meant the Martial Dao fragments themselves had provided one million Perception points.

At first glance, that seemed like a considerable amount, but when Lu Changsheng put it into perspective, it really was not much.

As long as he remained in the Immortal Martial World, he could gain one hundred and twenty thousand Perception points every year, and ten years would give him one million two hundred thousand points. So compared to that, the one million points he had obtained from refining the Martial Dao fragments was not particularly impressive. ℓ.

The value of the Martial Dao fragments lay elsewhere. They had increased the progress of his Infinite Martial Dao by a full ten percent, raising it from five percent to fifteen percent. And although he was still far from completing it, the improvement was substantial.

Even so, Lu Changsheng could not ignore the importance of Perception. The more his Perception increased, the more efficiently he could cultivate and comprehend new methods. More importantly, greater Perception would allow him to reach even higher levels in the future.

Perception is still crucial. I need to find a way to keep accumulating it no matter where I go. Otherwise, I'll end up wasting opportunities every time I leave the Immortal Martial World.

If I could leave a clone behind to continuously comprehend the Dao in the Immortal Martial World, then my Perception could keep climbing without delaying my other affairs. If I had one before I entered the second secret world, the ten years I spent there would've earned me another one million two hundred thousand Perception points...

It's a pity though, I've never heard of anyone having one, even among Heavenly Saints...

Lu Changsheng frowned in thought before something suddenly occurred to him. The Martial Dao system of the Immortal Martial World did not seem to contain any techniques for creating clones, but that did not mean it was impossible. His thoughts immediately shifted to the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao he had created in the second secret world.

The Flesh and Blood Martial Dao I created in the second secret world has given me the ability Blood Rebirth, and with this ability, I can essentially generate another true body that carries the consciousness of my original true body. Would that be considered a clone?

And if combined with Ten Thousand Transformations, perhaps I could separate a mass of flesh and blood from myself and transform it into another version of me!

Indeed, the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao had a lot of potential. Even in the second secret world, it had already reached the Martial Saint level. If that secret world's limits had not restricted it, there was no telling how far the system could have developed. Perhaps it could have reached the Earthly Saint level, or even the Heavenly Saint level.

Of course, creating a cultivation method was no simple matter. Trying to forcefully create one without an established path to follow was no more than a fool's dream.

Fortunately, Lu Changsheng had no intention of replacing his current cultivation method in the Immortal Martial World with the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao. The Martial Dao here already provided him with a clear path forward. What interested him was the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao's unique abilities, and he intended to study it further. If he could adapt those abilities to his current body, he might truly be able to create a clone.

Good thing I've brought Kao Wen's body back with me...

He knew very well that Kao Wen's body was the epitome of the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao, and studying it would surely get him twice the result for half the effort. So, with that thought, he put his extraordinary Perception to work and began examining Kao Wen's body.