Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Lu Changsheng looked back on his time in the Sacred Earth. He had only been here for a few months, less than a year, and yet in that short period of time he had transformed his Dao Fruit into a divine ability—and an immeasurable one at that. Moreover, he had also gained a firm footing in the Heavenly Sacred City and founded the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect.

But now, it was time to go back. After all, the seven Grand Elders of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect were still waiting for him.

Three days quickly passed by. Lu Changsheng led the ten Divine Ability martial artists of the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect straight to the Vast Immortal Square.

Everyone there got a great fright. After all, Lu Changsheng leading ten great Divine Ability Elders made for a fearsome sight. Some even began to suspect that the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect was about to make a move against them.

The misunderstanding was soon cleared up, however, once Lu Changsheng saw True One Cui Xuan and explained the situation.

True One Cui Xuan looked at the ten Divine Ability Elders behind Lu Changsheng, and a strange flicker crossed his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, on this trip back to the Ancient Region, you wouldn't be thinking of uniting the whole Ancient Region under one banner, would you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

He was not joking. With this lineup and his current strength, Lu Changsheng could likely unify the Ancient Region without much difficulty.

Lu Changsheng laughed. "True One Cui Xuan, now you're the one caught up in appearances. What good would unifying the Ancient Region do me? Would it bring me great quantities of Heavenly Spirit Water, or great quantities of spirit stones? Or would it make me an overlord of the Ancient Region, a sovereign throned on high?

"I still want to become a Martial Saint, so what would ruling over the Ancient Region do for me? No, I am making this trip back simply to fulfill a promise I made to the Grand Elders of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect," Lu Changsheng said frankly.

True One Cui Xuan nodded, now realizing that his worries had been unfounded. Indeed, Lu Changsheng would not trouble himself with such ambitions.

Lu Changsheng had won a spirit stone vein in the Sacred Earth, but what about the Ancient Region? It did not have a single spirit stone vein. Even the Vast Immortal Sect, which had once had one, had seen it run utterly dry, and now it was living off its dwindling stores.

That was precisely why the Vast Immortal Sect wished to gain a foothold in the Sacred Earth. Carry on like this, and the Vast Immortal Sect would soon be unable to sustain itself.

"Very well. As is the old rule, opening the long-distance teleportation formation once requires a hundred spirit crystals!"

Lu Changsheng nodded and handed over a hundred spirit crystals at once, the equivalent of ten thousand spirit stones.

He and his party all stood within the long-distance teleportation formation. The formation could send only a certain number of people at a time, several dozen at most, but Lu Changsheng's party numbered only eleven, well within the limit.

Hum...

The long-distance teleportation formation activated. With a flash of white light, Lu Changsheng and the others vanished in an instant without a trace.

***

At the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, the atmosphere was somewhat grave. The seven great Divine Ability Grand Elders had gathered together.

In recent days, no one could have imagined the situation becoming so volatile. The Ancient Region, at peace for many years, had suddenly fallen into turmoil, growing utterly chaotic.

"Everyone, the whole of the Ancient Region has now reached a critical moment of life and death. Who could have imagined that a remnant long-distance teleportation formation still existed within the Ancient Region? And that it would be discovered and repaired by a power from a place in the Sacred Earth called the Heavenly Light City?

"By now, that faction from Heavenly Light City, the one called the Black Light Merchant Association, has already sent many experts to the Ancient Region through the formation.

"Wherever they pass, those who submit prosper and those who resist perish, and they have even trampled some immortal sects out of existence. Among them, it is said, there is a major divine ability wielder who has taken action! Though they have not yet reached the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, the situation is already extremely dangerous. We must work out a plan now."

The seven Grand Elders all wore grave expressions. If the Black Light Merchant Association truly had a major divine ability wielder, then the situation was truly dire. They had all once roamed the Sacred Earth as Divine Ability martial artists, so naturally they understood what a major divine ability meant.

"The Black Light Merchant Association of Heavenly Light City... We who once roamed the Sacred Earth ought to know of this power. The Black Light Merchant Association is fondest of seeking out strange, untamed zones, then bleeding them to the marrow, not balking even at slaughtering every living thing in a zone to wring it of every drop of its potential."

"The Ancient Region has indeed declined, but it once knew glory, and there is still something to be wrung from it. In such a case, to hope the Black Light Merchant Association will leave the Ancient Region of its own accord would be most naive."

"In that case, we can only withdraw! Perhaps we should fall back to the Northern Region Heavenly Sect."

"And what good would that do us? Given the Black Light Merchant Association's way of doing things, after sweeping through the Ancient Region it will surely sweep through the Five Great Regions too, and then nowhere will be spared."

The seven Grand Elders all fell silent. It was unbelievable that the whole of the Ancient Region was helpless against a mere merchant association.

The Black Light Merchant Association not only had a major divine ability wielder but also a Martial Venerable. Worse still, the Black Light Merchant Association was anchored by a Martial Saint. What could the Ancient Region do against such power? The other side only needed to send their major divine ability wielder to crush the entire Ancient Region.

However, there was one option for the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, but none of the elders were willing to propose it out loud.

They could leave the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect and go to the Sacred Earth. The plan was indeed feasible, but the long-distance teleportation formation of the Vast Immortal Sect could only send out a few dozen people at a time, and it would cost many spirit stones, which they did not have. Ultimately, only a small portion of people could be sent.

Another issue was that if they left the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect like this, they would be abandoning it for good. The Ancient Region Heavenly Sect was the root of the seven Grand Elders, and unless absolutely necessary, they would never give it up.

Buzz...

Suddenly, the communication stone of one of the grand elders trembled.

"A message from the Vast Immortal Sect! The Vast Immortal Sect is calling together all the sects and powers of the Ancient Region, gathering every Divine Ability martial artist, to fight the Black Light Merchant Association. Do we go or not?"

The many grand elders felt a jolt in their hearts. Even the Vast Immortal Sect had sent word. Clearly, for the whole of the Ancient Region, the moment of life and death had come.

"Yes, we must go! A major divine ability wielder is mighty, true, but not wholly impossible to defeat. The Vast Immortal Sect has an extremely powerful formation, and with the sect-protecting formation to draw on, it may be able to hold its own against the Black Light Merchant Association."

"The Vast Immortal Sect is the strongest immortal sect of the Ancient Region, and the strongest faction. If the Vast Immortal Sect falls, then the whole Ancient Region is doomed."

"And most crucial of all, the long-distance teleportation formation leading to Sacred Earth lies within the Vast Immortal Sect. Once the Vast Immortal Sect is seized by the Black Light Merchant Association, we'll lose even the hope of fleeing to the Sacred Earth."

At the mention of the long-distance teleportation formation, the seven Grand Elders all tensed up. Indeed, the Vast Immortal Sect was no ordinary immortal sect. They even held the long-distance teleportation formation.

If that formation was seized by the Black Light Merchant Association, the Divine Ability martial artists of the Ancient Region would have no way left to flee to the Sacred Earth, and then all hope would be lost.

At the moment, preserving the Vast Immortal Sect was utmost crucial, along with the teleportation formation.

"Very well. One Grand Elder shall stay here, and the other six shall set out for the Vast Immortal Sect. And if we lose, then let the disciples of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect flee as far as they can..."

With that, the seven grand elders of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect had made their decision.