Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Just as Lu Changsheng was preparing to head back to the outer division's Exchange Hall, his communication stone began to tremble.

Huh? It's Li Guang. Has something happened, maybe? Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes.

As a rule, Li Guang never sent word unless something truly important had come up. He picked up the communication stone and read the message.

Brother Lu, the Flying Immortal Sect approached the Li Clan asking us to relay a message: would you be willing to act on the sect's behalf and clear out Void Devils? The Flying Immortal Sect is willing to compensate you with Saint Body forging materials.

Reading Li Guang's message, a strange look crossed Lu Changsheng's eyes. Clear out Void Devils? With Saint Body forging materials as payment?

He had just been fretting over how to obtain Void Devil Pearls, and now the opportunity had delivered itself to his door. Two birds with one stone!

I will go to the Flying Immortal Sect in person.

Lu Changsheng sent his reply to Li Guang, then rose, requested a map to the Flying Immortal Sect from the Martial Saint Institute, and departed for the sect's base.

The Flying Immortal Sect was one of the great Immortal Dao sects of the Sacred Earth, with a Nascent Soul True Lord presiding over it and a legacy stretching back more than ten thousand years.

When Lu Changsheng arrived, everything proceeded smoothly. The moment he made his identity known, a Golden Core True One ushered him into the sect's base.

"Venerable Lu, thank you for gracing us with your presence. And please forgive me for not coming out to greet you sooner."

The sect master of the Flying Immortal Sect, True One Fei Long, was an elderly man with white hair and a youthful complexion.

In truth, many Immortal Masters could preserve their youthful appearance, but some chose not to. They revered the unity of heaven and man and let nature take its course, unbothered even by the slow aging of their features, seeing it instead as accord with the great Dao. True One Fei Long was that kind of Golden Core True One.

"Greetings, True One Fei Long." Lu Changsheng returned a slight bow. The man was, after all, the head of a sect.

"Come, Venerable Lu, let us talk in the main hall."

Lu Changsheng entered the hall with True One Fei Long. Inside, besides True One Fei Long, sat a number of immortal cultivators, all at the Golden Core Realm.

"These are the Hall Masters and Supreme Elders of the Flying Immortal Sect's various halls."

Lu Changsheng nodded. From the assembly alone, it was clear the Flying Immortal Sect took him very seriously, or rather, took the Void Devils he was to clear out very seriously.

"True One Fei Long, your message spoke of clearing out Void Devils. What exactly is the matter?" Lu Changsheng asked directly.

"So, our sect holds a mountain range called the Strange Peaks Mountain Range. It has always harbored some demons, Void Devils naturally among them, but never in great numbers, and they caused no trouble, so we just left them alone.

"Recently, however, we detected astonishing fluctuations of spirit energy there. We sent people to investigate carefully and discovered that, at some unknown point, the range had produced a large spirit stone vein.

"This was excellent news, so we began clearing the demons from the range in preparation for mining the great spirit stone vein. But the clearing ran into trouble. It turned out the Void Devils in the Strange Peaks Mountain Range had quietly multiplied to enormous numbers, and from among them Void Devil Kings had been born, and not just one!

"These Void Devil Kings are very annoying. Our sect organized dozens of Golden Core True Ones to strike together, armed with treasures of every kind, yet they failed to slay a single Void Devil King, and several of our True Ones were gravely wounded by the Void Devils instead.

"We considered petitioning a Nascent Soul True Lord. A True Lord's power can shatter heaven and earth, but to slay the Void Devil Kings he would have to unleash devastating spells, and once those spells fell, the entire Strange Peaks Mountain Range would be destroyed, and the spirit stone vein buried beneath it along with it.

"And so, we thought of you, Venerable Lu. Your performance in Void Spirit Mountain shocked everyone. Your mental-type immeasurable divine ability is the natural bane of the Void Devils. If you act, we are certain you can crush every Void Devil from the Strange Peaks Mountain Range!"

Lu Changsheng nodded in understanding. So, a large spirit stone vein is at stake here...

Void Devils truly were peculiar creatures. Some did not even consider them demons at all, as their differences with ordinary demons were too vast. Killing even one Void Devil was no easy feat, let alone a Void Devil King. Apparently, even Golden Core True Ones armed with enchanted treasures could do nothing against one.

A Nascent Soul True Lord could certainly kill a Void Devil King, but if the king hid itself, the True Lord could only flatten the entire range with spells, and the great spirit stone vein could not be put at risk.

After turning it over every way, the Flying Immortal Sect had concluded that only Lu Changsheng suited the task.

Lu Changsheng was delighted with this fortuitous opportunity. The solution to his problem of finding Void Devil Kings had been handed to him on a silver platter. Had he known about this issue beforehand, he would have gone there for free.

Of course, the Flying Immortal Sect had no idea that Lu Changsheng needed to procure Void Devil Pearls, so they had steeled themselves to pay him very generously, hoping he would agree to help them solve this problem.

"I cannot guarantee I will succeed in sweeping the Strange Peaks Mountain Range clean, but I am willing to try. However, the Void Devils are numerous, and there are even Void Devil Kings among them. This undertaking carries considerable risk for me, so..."

Lu Changsheng left the rest unsaid, but his meaning could not have been clearer: without proper compensation, who would actually risk their life clearing the range?

True One Fei Long was not fazed by the costs; all that mattered was that Lu Changsheng was willing to help.

"Venerable Lu, I heard you have entered the Martial Saint Institute, no doubt to forge your Saint Body in preparation for becoming a Martial Saint. What forging materials do you need? Our sect's foundations run deep, and we have some rare Saint Body materials in our collection."

Lu Changsheng considered for a moment, then said slowly, "Then let us start with some Void Divine Crystals."

"Uhh..." True One Fei Long's expression stiffened.

What a joke. Void Divine Crystals? Any sect that has one would have turned it into a Void Divine Stone vein long ago. Who would leave a Void Divine Crystal sitting idle?

"Venerable Lu, you must be joking. Any Void Divine Crystal would have become a Void Divine Stone vein ages ago. Who would actually have one kept in storage?" True One Fei Long said with a laugh.

"So you don't have any?" Lu Changsheng frowned slightly. If Void Divine Crystals were out of the question, he would ask for the second item on his list.

"Fine, I won't make things difficult for your sect. Since there are no Void Divine Crystals available, then some natural elemental essences will do."

"Uhh..." True One Fei Long frowned slightly.

Natural five-elemental essence? What kind of Saint Body is Lu Changsheng forging? First Void Divine Crystals, now natural elemental essences. The Flying Immortal Sect may boast deep foundations and a long legacy, but both treasures are priceless beyond measure, and the Flying Immortal Sect... has neither! That's right, neither!

Gritting his teeth, True One Fei Long said, "Venerable Lu, my sincere apologies. Natural elemental essence is far too precious. Our sect has none..."

Lu Changsheng fell silent. If they had no natural elemental essence, was he supposed to ask for Void Devil Pearls? Would that not give away his game?

The moment he asked for Void Devil Pearls, they would know he intended to slay the Void Devil Kings. And even if he asked, the Flying Immortal Sect almost certainly had none. They could not so much as handle a Void Devil King, so where would they even get Void Devil Pearls from?

"If you don't even have natural elemental essence, then this matter will be difficult..."

Lu Changsheng left it at that, the meaning behind his words already clear. If the Flying Immortal Sect could not offer him any of the things he wanted, there was no reason for him to carry out a mission for them.

True One Fei Long found himself in a bind. He did not blame Lu Changsheng for his requests. After all, those were the materials needed for his Saint Body; anything else would be useless to him.

Fei Long knew perfectly well that to a supreme Divine Ability martial artist, Saint Body forging materials were the most coveted things in existence. Beyond them, the Flying Immortal Sect had nothing that could tempt Lu Changsheng.

As the deadlock dragged on and True One Fei Long grew ever more vexed, an elder suddenly spoke up. "Sect Master, the Flying Immortal Sect actually does have natural elemental essence."

"Hmm? We do? How is it that I don't know of it?" Confusion spread across True One Fei Long's face. He managed the sect's vault himself, so he was perfectly aware of the sect's resources.

"Sect Master, have you forgotten?" the elder went on. "The sect once refined a Water-Fire Wishing Cauldron. That enchanted treasure still sits in the furnace chamber. Being half-finished, it has never been used; we were waiting until the sect gathered enough precious materials to refine it anew."

True One Fei Long's eyes lit up as he remembered. Indeed, that treasure had been refined personally by a Nascent Soul senior, yet even after several thousand years, it was still incomplete. And within it were sealed two types of natural elemental essence: fire and water.

"How could we? That is a treasure refined by a Nascent Soul senior!"

"Indeed. With the right rare materials, it could be refined anew and might well become a true treasure."

"If the furnace chamber held a true-treasure-level alchemy furnace, the benefit to the entire Flying Immortal Sect would be incalculable."

"Sect Master, think carefully!"

Elders and hall masters objected one after another.

A true treasure was an enchanted treasure of the Nascent Soul Realm. Any such treasure could serve as a sect-guarding treasure, precious beyond words. Refining one was fiendishly hard, with many materials simply impossible to find.

The Water-Fire Wishing Cauldron had been sitting there for thousands of years, gathering dust in the furnace chamber. Another few thousand years might pass without the necessary materials ever being assembled.

Ultimately, it all came down to one simple question: which one was more precious, a derelict treasure that might never be refined, or a large spirit stone vein?

True One Fei Long did not hesitate long.

"Dismantle it! Take apart the Water-Fire Wishing Cauldron and bring the natural water essence and natural fire essence for Venerable Lu to inspect. The great spirit stone vein is way more important!"

His tone brooked no argument.

Lu Changsheng's eyes gleamed. Natural water and fire essences?

Two natural elemental essences in one stroke was not bad at all. Of course, he still needed to confirm that those essences were truly natural.

The elders and hall masters could only sigh and wait as the Water-Fire Wishing Cauldron was being dismantled in the furnace chamber.

It was definitely a shame for such a fine enchanted treasure, which had the potential to become a true treasure, to be scrapped for essence. However, in order to secure the great spirit stone vein, the Flying Immortal Sect had to make this sacrifice.