Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

"Is this... an immeasurable divine ability?"

"Even if it is an immeasurable divine ability, how can it be this powerful? I mean, those are Void Devils we're talking about!"

"Maybe these things are not actually Void Devils?"

"I heard that mental-type divine abilities can restrain Void Devils. But in the past, Divine Ability martial artists who possessed mental-type divine abilities could, at best, keep their minds from being eroded. None of them came close to doing what Venerable Lu is doing now. For him, killing Void Devils looks like child's play..."

The surrounding martial artists stared in disbelief. Void Devils, produced endlessly by Void Spirit Mountain, were creatures that countless Divine Ability martial artists feared, and even many Martial Venerables treated them with extreme caution.

And yet, Lu Changsheng was annihilating them with a single move. He wasn't killing just one or two, but a whole swarm of them. By rough estimation, he had already killed at least several dozen Void Devils, and at this rate, killing a hundred or even several hundred more would not be difficult.

The carnage left the watching martial artists stunned. With Lu Changsheng effortlessly sweeping the greatest danger of Void Spirit Mountain aside, there was little here that could threaten him.

As the crowd watched on, Lu Changsheng continued his attack on the devils. However, Void Devils possessed little intelligence, and so, they had no concept of danger. No matter how many one killed, they would keep coming in endless waves.

Nevertheless, Lu Changsheng's Mental Black Hole continued to devour the Void Devils. Over the next few hours it swallowed dozens, then well over a hundred Void Devils, until every last one in the vicinity was gone.

And when Lu Changsheng finally withdrew his divine ability, all that remained was the vast mist of Core Dissolution Liquid, drifting through the air as more and more of it kept condensing.

The Divine Ability martial artists who had retreated into the distance exchanged bewildered glances. With the Void Devils gone, their attention naturally shifted to the Core Dissolution Liquid, and a ripple of excitement spread through the crowd.

"This whole area looks clear of Void Devils now, and the Core Dissolution Liquid is about to form. With an area this large, fighting over it should be easy enough. At the very least, we can each walk away with a drop or two."

"Without the Void Devils in the way, and with such a large amount of Core Dissolution Liquid, we'll all be able to get some!"

"We have Venerable Lu to thank for killing those Void Devils. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten a single drop of Core Dissolution Liquid."

Only moments earlier, faced with the swarming Void Devils, all these martial artists had thought of was fleeing. No one had dared think about the Core Dissolution Liquid. Now, however, the greatest threat in Void Spirit Mountain had vanished, and greed began to stir in their hearts once more.

One by one, the Divine Ability martial artists began to inch toward the center of the misty zone, drawing closer to Lu Changsheng, hoping to claim a share of the spoils.

However, Lu Changsheng slowly swept his gaze across the approaching figures. Without a word, he casually raised a finger.

Buzz...

The Mental Black Hole appeared once more.

"Ahhh!"

A miserable scream rang out as the Mental Black Hole devoured an unfortunate Divine Ability martial artist. His mental strength was instantly drained and his corpse fell to the ground.

The advancing crowd froze in place, staring at Lu Changsheng in shock.

Lu Changsheng glared at them and spoke in a cold, indifferent voice. "You all tried to leave this place earlier, but now that I've wiped out the Void Devils myself, you want to come back and claim a share of the spoils?

"I'll give you two choices. Leave everything within a hundred li of this place, or be devoured by the Mental Black Hole. You have the time it takes an incense stick to burn down."[1]

Lu Changsheng had no intention of indulging these people. The fact that he had not simply slaughtered them all and claimed the Core Dissolution Liquid for himself was already an act of restraint. If he had truly wanted a massive amount of it, he could have simply killed everyone here.

Fortunately for them, Lu Changsheng was not that kind of man. As long as he had enough Core Dissolution Liquid, he was satisfied. However, if these people tried to profit off him, he would show them no mercy.

Suddenly, a hearty laugh broke the tense silence.

"Hahaha! Fellow Daoist Lu is absolutely right." Venerable Huo Yun stepped forward and glanced at the crowd. "Fellow Daoist Lu killed the Void Devils all by himself, and you guys are coming back now, shamelessly trying to profit from his efforts? Do you really think he wouldn't kill anyone who tries?"

Then, he turned to Lu Changsheng. "Fellow Daoist Lu, this old man has gathered enough Core Dissolution Liquid himself. I shall take my leave from Void Spirit Mountain first. We'll meet again when you're done here."

After Venerable Huo Yun had departed, the other martial artists exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions grim, especially Venerable Jing Yun's. As a supreme Martial Venerable, lowering his head and retreating before everyone's eyes was bound to be humiliating. Still, staying behind would be an even worse choice, and he knew it.

Outside Void Spirit Mountain, he had already witnessed Lu Changsheng's power firsthand. Against that terrifying immeasurable divine ability, he stood no chance whatsoever. Remaining here would accomplish nothing except get him killed.

Venerable Jing Yun briefly entertained another possibility. What if all the Martial Venerables and Divine Ability martial artists joined forces against Lu Changsheng?

However, he quickly dismissed that thought. Leaving aside the fact that they could never truly work as one, even perfect cooperation would change nothing. Lu Changsheng's immeasurable divine ability would be enough to overwhelm any number of martial artists. Whether they were ordinary Divine Ability martial artists or supreme Martial Venerables, their mental strength would be erased all the same, and they would undoubtedly die.

After a moment of internal struggle, Venerable Jing Yun made up his mind.

"Let's go!" he said.

Humiliation was better than dying. Besides, they were not in the right here to begin with. Lu Changsheng had been the one to eliminate the overwhelming majority of the Void Devils, while they had merely hoped to swoop in afterward and claim a share of the rewards.

With Venerable Jing Yun taking the lead, the last traces of resistance disappeared. No one dared to remain any longer. One after another, the martial artists turned around and left.

In just a short while, the area had become completely deserted. Not a single martial artist remained within a hundred li in every direction.

Satisfied, Lu Changsheng sat down and waited in silence.

One day passed, then two, then three. This time, Core Dissolution Liquid took an extraordinarily long time to condense. Only after three full days, at the center of the swirling mist, drops of Core Dissolution Liquid gradually emerged, one after another, until they had fully taken shape.

Lu Changsheng rose to his feet and calmly collected them. To him, the precious natural treasure that countless martial artists would risk their lives to obtain seemed no more difficult to gather than beans scattered across a field. And a few hours later, he had harvested every last drop.

With that, he ran a quick estimation of what he had now.

I have sixty-eight drops of Core Dissolution Liquid in total now... and if each drop is worth fifty thousand spirit stones, then sixty-eight drops means... three million four hundred spirit stones! That's just fantastic!

Considering that Venerable Huo Yun and Venerable Jing Yun, both supreme Martial Venerables, had obtained only around ten drops each on this trip, Lu Changsheng's haul of sixty-eight drops made the gap between them unmistakably clear.

Of course, Lu Changsheng also understood his achievement had not come from strength alone. The fact that the drops had formed in an environment where his divine technique completely countered the main threats, namely the Void Devils, was pure luck.

Furthermore, this expedition had coincided with the once-in-a-millennium outburst of Core Dissolution Liquid within Void Spirit Mountain. Without this rare phenomenon, he never would have gathered as much as sixty-eight drops of Core Dissolution Liquid, regardless of how many Void Devils he could kill.

There's about one day left until the one-month deadline. I should get going.

He had no intention of wandering the mountain in search of more Core Dissolution Liquid—he already had more than he could possibly need. So, he swiftly made his way out of Void Spirit Mountain.

1. About 5 minutes. ☜