Martial Saint!

Wang Xian is not far from Breakthrough Fifth. He himself led the team in reconnaissance and achieved Great Merit. Some time ago, at Yu Cheng's suggestion, the Grandmasters unanimously agreed to give the Linglong Grass to Wang Xian, as a token of gratitude for Lu Chenzhou's act of saving their lives.

For anyone, taking two Heavenly Treasures would be enough to rise in power, let alone Wang Xian.

Though he only reached Breakthrough Fifth in his sixtieth year, he is confident he will reach Breakthrough Sixth before a hundred, and even more assured about reaching Breakthrough Seven in the future.

Yu Cheng smiled and said, "You're welcome. But now the Demon Race is searching the mountains. At most, we'll be exposed in three months. I wonder, how is Fellow Daoist Lu's situation?"

All eyes, filled with expectation, turned to Wang Xian.

Wang Xian said, "Fellow cultivators, don't worry. For my junior brother, Breakthrough Sixth is merely a matter of course. He said that within three months, he will definitely succeed. Please be patient."

Among the crowd.

Hong Tianxiang was full of envy.

"Only Brother Lu could say such words."

He himself had only just managed to become a Grandmaster with the help of Treasure.

Xuan Kong smiled: "Let's not rush him. Let's trust Brother Lu. While the Demon Race isn't here yet, let's all do our best to cultivate and raise our strength. The more Grandmasters among us, the lesser the burden for Brother Lu. I also have some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that I don't need. Anyone who needs them can come to me."

Zhang Shentong saw this and laughed heartily.

"That young monk indeed has matchless generosity! As for me, I am also at the Grandmaster stage now, and I have some Treasures that I no longer need."

Old Master Yu said:

"Good! At a time of life and death, none of us should hide anything. Any Treasure you have, exchange and share as needed. I've just contacted the Northern Guardian King—whatever losses everyone suffers, the Wanbang Council will compensate us when we return."

The crowd was just about to disperse.

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out.

They saw an incomparably beautiful woman in a gauzy dress, landing barefoot upon the ground, exuding a transcendent air of long-held power.

"You must be the visitors from beyond the world, right?"

The Grandmasters' expressions changed dramatically.

Yu Cheng took a deep breath, and with the language of this Human Clan, respectfully said, "Junior greets Cold Moon Immortal."

The woman spoke calmly, "The situation in our world—you should know it by now?"

"We know."

"And do you know how much trouble your arrival has brought us, how many lives have been lost?"

"..."

Yu Cheng did not know how to answer.

He coughed lightly and summoned a projection of the Northern Guardian King.

The woman's expression remained unchanged.

"Are you the leader of the visitors from beyond the world?"

"Yes."

"Take them away."

"Our people are also heading to your world. From what I understand, you're facing a doomsday crisis, aren't you? So long as you protect these people, your crisis will be easily resolved. Otherwise, even if we don't visit your world, yours is only a slow death."

The Northern Guardian King and Cold Moon Immortal began their negotiations.

Some time passed.

Cold Moon Immortal gazed toward Lu Chenzhou's place of seclusion.

"What is his name?"

Wang Xian and Lin Xia broke out in a cold sweat.

The woman spoke indifferently:

"If I intended to kill, you would already be dead."

Seeing this, Wang Xian had no choice but to say:

"He is my junior brother, Lu Chenzhou."

The woman looked at Wang Xian in surprise.

"How is it that your junior brother is so much stronger than you?"

"..."

A faint green light enveloped the mountain.

The woman turned and left.

"With this barrier, unless a Demon Venerable comes to check in person, no one should be able to find your tracks."

...

In front of the capital city of the Wu Dynasty.

Great war, heaven and earth obscured, rivers of blood flowing.

Three Demon Venerables were besieging the Three Suns Immortal.

The Immortal held in her hand a longsword shining with dazzling light.

The three Demon Venerables, seeing this, swiftly retreated a thousand miles away.

"Tsk tsk, let's see what you'll do when the power of your Seventh Rank High Grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Weapon is used up!"

"We have given you a chance to live, and you do not grasp it."

"The Demon Saint is coming—prepare for annihilation."

The Immortal sat cross-legged in the void, her beautiful face as pale as death.

In the void, Cold Moon Immortal appeared.

"The visitors from beyond the world are indeed in our world."

"As expected, a calamity without reason."

"I made a deal with their leader."

"What?"

"Their leader said there is one among these visitors who is in seclusion at a crucial juncture. If he can smoothly enter the Sixth Realm, he may be able to help us through this catastrophe."

Upon hearing this, the Immortal gave a bitter smile.

"Sixth Realm? Even a Seventh Realm, what does that amount to before the Demon Saint? Forget it, let's believe in them this once. At this point, we have no other choice."

"His name is Lu Chenzhou. Do you remember that Water Mansion trial? His performance was quite remarkable."

"I recall a bit. Three of our Three Suns Palace's direct disciples went to that trial... The progress of this young man is truly terrifying. It has only been thirty years, right? Our three direct disciples still haven't entered the Fifth Realm."

...

At the same time.

Qiumu World.

A man clad in pitch-black scale armor held a black flame lotus in his palm, eight Divine Patterns twisted together on his brow.

"Not here."

If any human of the Xia Realm were here, they would recognize this person as the master behind the Star Palace.

The incarnation of the Fire Saint King.

Black Mountain Demon Venerable.

Of course, now he is the Black Mountain Demon Saint.

"Destruction, then."

Black Mountain tore open the void and turned to leave.

The black lotus drifted to the ground.

In an instant, it expanded into a sea of black lotus fire devouring a thousand miles; countless living beings in Qiumu World perished within.

Some fortunate survivors hid in the shadows, trembling all over.

"The Wood Ancestor has fallen."

The Wood Ancestor was the strongest in Qiumu World—a Seventh Realm being since a thousand years ago, nearing the late stage of the Seventh Realm.

But before the Demon Saint, he was slain in an instant.

This is the true apocalypse.

Time flows.

World after world is searched by the Demon Saints.

...

Kun Gu Realm.

In the green mountains, the pine and cypress were lush and verdant.

The Treasures obtained from cave abodes were continuously being converted into power, and people were constantly breaking through realms. The overall strength of the trial Grandmasters was raised another level; for Grandmasters alone, there were five, and the weakest in the group was still of Middle Realm Master strength. The vast majority were End Realm and End Realm Masters.

Wang Xian and Lin Xia kept watch by the cave abode day and night.

In the secret chamber.

Lu Chenzhou had been sitting in stillness for nearly two years.

His mind and spirit were completely immersed within the Inner Scenery Land.

Under the heavenly dome, 630 acupoint stars shone, resonating in some mysterious fashion; silvery star-light fell like threads, turning to spring rain and nourishing the Five Lakes and Four Seas, the Three Mountains and Five Mountains—True Gang and Qi-Blood soared like a rocket.

Until a certain moment, his Qi-Blood reached the limit of 90,010, shoulder to shoulder with spiritual power.

Star Primordial True Gang had also been tempered to the utmost; in each cell, a star resided.

Power, defense, speed, constitution... in all aspects, his body was on the cusp of transformation.

His five viscera and six bowels shone like glass.

When the flesh was transformed to a certain threshold, countless crisp sounds of glass shattering echoed within Lu Chenzhou's body.

His flesh burst apart, the bones exploded like bamboo rods, and streams of jade-colored marrow flowed within them.

The Grandmaster stage is Gold-plating the Heart, mainly refining the five viscera and six bowels, making the Martial Artist's inner and outer self as tough as metal and stone.

The Martial Arts Sixth Realm is to Wash Jade Marrow.

The growth of jade marrow completely remakes the body: Qi Power becomes unending, and in the Qi Sea, the Star Primordial True Gang transforms into the soft-overcoming-the-hard True Lunar Gang, taking the body to a new level.

Even at the peak of agony, Lu Chenzhou did not waver in the slightest; his Immaculate State of Mind kept his will undiminished.

From his pores, countless impurities flowed with the surging blood, soaking the ground. The loss of blood was far greater than during his prior threshold-breakings.

Most failures in Breakthrough Sixth are caused by blood-making ability not keeping pace with blood loss.

Lu Chenzhou possessed the Withering and Flourishing Body; so long as he didn't lose all his blood instantly, and his heart and brain remained unharmed, he could resurrect in a flash—let alone this degree of injury. Though both inner and outer cultivation brought pain, at the time of breakthrough, the advantage was clear.

Time ticked by. Lu Chenzhou's spirit, essence, and intention rose ceaselessly. This seclusion aimed for both physical and spiritual Breakthrough Sixth—a feat possibly never accomplished before in Da Xia. Thus, after breaking the shackle, both powers soared hand in hand.

When his Qi-Blood rocketed to 100,000, meeting the standard for Heavenly King Initial Realm, it kept climbing, only stopping at 110,000.

At the same time, the "Lu Wu Demonic Cleansing Scripture," which had been blocked at the fifteenth level Perfection, broke through as if floodgates had opened, and Qi-Blood rose from 110,000 onwards.

Ultimately, his Qi-Blood halted at 130,000.

Heavenly King Middle Stage begins at 150,000.

What takes an ordinary Heavenly King more than ten years, he accomplished most of in a single day. That is the benefit of great accumulation erupting at once.

Before he could adjust to his vast Qi-Blood, the black crystalline obtained from slaying the Heavenly Demon also melted away as the Heart Sutra circulated, pouring in torrents of spiritual power.

100,000.

110,000.

120,000.

130,000.

The spiritual power ceased growing.

The black crystal had only partly melted.

In the Inner Scenery Land.

The Artifact Spirits observed Lu Chenzhou's transformation.

The man in black robe said, "A Seventh Rank Heavenly Demon Relic—this is a Heaven and Earth Treasure countless heart-cultivators dream of. Although Master's is damaged, it's enough for Sixth Realm heart cultivation, saving him untold hardship. But this spiritual power acquired out of thin air lacks tempering; if it surpasses the flesh, it will break the soul-body balance and impair combat strength. It's best to advance steadily—fortunately, Master stopped in time."

"So strong! Once Young Master breaks into Sixth Realm, his might is nearly at the middle stage already." The Fox Woman's lips parted, lashes trembling.

Second Lady said, "A fifty-odd-year-old Sixth Realm—in the old Great Wilderness, even the Four Emperors would vie for him... but more likely, the Divine Court would join forces to destroy him!"

"Indeed; even if such a person didn't become a God, becoming one of the new Four Emperors would make some uneasy."

The Artifact Spirits were stirred with excitement.

They were witnessing the birth of a new legend.

Soon, in the Inner Scenery Land's sky, a waning crescent rose. This symbolized that Lu Chenzhou's Star Primordial True Gang had started transforming into True Lunar Gang. In days to come, his training would focus on tempering this until it became a full moon.

Stars, moon.

Mountains, seas.

As his cultivation grew, the Inner Scenery Land increasingly resembled a self-contained world. Continue evolving, and he could, like the greatest powers, open a world and become a founder of schools and ancestor.

Outside the cave.

The Grandmasters' faces were tense with worry.

Like ants on a hot pan.

"Luckily, the Immortal set up this barrier. In these last days, at least three Demon Emperors have flown overhead."

"Has Fellow Daoist Lu achieved Breakthrough Sixth?"

"He should be close."

Suddenly, a terrifying aura soared to the sky. From all directions, Heaven and Earth Power surged like tides to the closed mountain forest, condensing into a grand Dharma Form.

"Martial Arts Dharma!"

"Lu...Lu Heavenly King!"