Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Chapter 192.1: Five Drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood; Lu Changsheng Shocks Everyone By Overpowering a Dao Foundation Expert! (I)

Time slipped past, and before Lu Changsheng knew it, three entire months had gone by.

He was in his cave residence, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, when a line of small text suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Firestorm Purgatory: Perfection. Perception increased by 2,000 points.]

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. Finally! After three months, I've finally pushed it to Perfection!

A faint emotion stirred in him. At this point, a single cultivation session could easily take several months.

That much was to be expected. Once a martial artist reached the Dao Foundation Realm, time began to lose its weight. A few months were nothing, and many Dao Foundation martial artists often spent years in seclusion without a second thought. After all, with a lifespan of three hundred years, they could afford to be patient.

With Lu Changsheng's current Perception, the time he spent practicing a divine technique was often enough to show its difficulty, complexity, and power. The longer it took him to activate a divine technique and bring it to Perfection, the more powerful it tended to be.

By that measure, Firestorm Purgatory was bound to be extraordinary. It had taken him ten days just to activate it, and three full months to bring it to Perfection. By comparison, he had managed to activate Void Incineration in a single day and bring it to Perfection in one month, while the Mental Millstone had taken three days to activate and two months to bring to Perfection.

Firestorm Purgatory had taken far longer than both, which was enough to show how powerful this divine technique truly was.

Lu Changsheng immediately pulled up his Status Panel to review his condition.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 23,008 (A Dragon Among Men)

[Skills]

Mental Principle: Progress 21%

Fire Principle: Progress 19%

Wind Principle: Progress 9%

Firestorm Purgatory: Perfection

His Perception had already broken past 20,000 points, while his Mental Principle, Fire Principle, and Wind Principle had all improved as well.

Three Principles, and a compound divine technique that has reached Perfection! Right now, I may not be the greatest martial artist in the third layer of the Ancient Region, but I'm certainly one of the best—a supreme Dao Foundation martial artist!

Lu Changsheng's heart stirred at the realization. Becoming a supreme Dao Foundation martial artist was a height countless martial artists chased over their entire lives, and yet, it had only taken him a few months.

Even so, the gaps among supreme Dao Foundation martial artists could be enormous. A martial artist who had contemplated nine Principles was considered a supreme Dao Foundation martial artist, but so was one who had contemplated only two.

At the Dao Foundation Realm, such distinctions were no longer drawn so finely, because anyone who could contemplate more than two Principles was remarkable in their own right. At the very least, they all had a real chance of condensing a divine ability. In theory, even a Dao Foundation martial artist with only one Principle still had that hope.

I have three Principles in hand, but eight kinds of Principle Seeds. Even with three Principles comprehended, I still can't attempt to condense a divine ability. And every one of my Principles is still far from Perfection.

Now it's time to hunt down the other heavenly demons that match my Principle Seeds.

Lu Changsheng stood up and left his cave residence for the Exchange Hall. The place was not meant just for trading rare items; it was also one of the best spots in the sect to gather information and intelligence.

The moment he stepped inside, Lu Changsheng noticed something was off. The Exchange Hall was always busy, but that particular day, it was packed beyond anything he had seen before.

What's going on? Did something happen?

Instead of seeking out Zhao Yuanshan for answers, he simply pricked up his ears, and the answer came to him on its own. Something major had indeed occurred within the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, and everyone here was talking about it.

Recently, a couple from the sect had gotten into a fight over an enchanted treasure. The man was Lu Zhenkong, and the woman was Wang Yun. Both were Dao Foundation experts who had each mastered two Principles, making them supreme Dao Foundation martial artists. They were also Dao companions, a couple who had once been the envy of many in the sect.

Unfortunately, during the struggle for the enchanted treasure, Lu Zhenkong was killed by a Dao Lord named Shan Hai. Using an enchanted treasure called the Heavenly Mountain Seal, he had blasted Lu Zhenkong to death and severely injured Wang Yun. Wang Yun had barely managed to escape with her life and returned to the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect alone.

Back at the sect, her grief had quickly festered into hatred. To avenge Lu Zhenkong, Wang Yun exhausted all the resources she had accumulated over the years and even took on considerable debts to obtain five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood. She then offered those five drops as a reward and sent out a wide invitation across the sect, calling on powerful experts to kill Shan Hai for her.

Her invitation immediately threw the entire sect into an uproar. Many Dao Foundation experts coveted the five drops of essence blood, but many were also deeply wary of Dao Lord Shan Hai. After all, despite Lu Zhenkong and Wang Yun joining forces against him, he still managed to kill one and severely injure the other.

Everyone now had a clear sense of just how terrifying Shan Hai was. Even so, the temptation of five drops of Heavenly Demon essence blood was too great. Some Dao Foundation experts were still willing to take the risk and try their luck.

"It's been half a month now. Has Wang Yun still not found a Dao Foundation expert she’s satisfied with?"

"Exactly. Half a month has come and gone. I'm sure by now all the supreme Dao Foundation martial artists who should have heard the news have already heard it. Could it really be the case that not one martial artist in the entire Ancient Region Heavenly Sect can meet her standards?"

"Or maybe the truly supreme ones know not to mess with Dao Lord Shan Hai. They know that even if they try, it'll be hard to defeat him, let alone kill him. The ones willing to take the risk are probably the more ordinary Dao Foundation experts."

"Dao Lord Shan Hai really is something else. I've only heard his name before. The Martial Dao and Immortal Dao cultivated differently, so I never had a clear picture of how strong he was. But now I know he's powerful enough that even Wang Yun and Lu Zhenkong together couldn't handle him."

"Five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood... Wang Yun really is willing to pay any price. She has given up more than a century of accumulation and even taken on a mountain of favors. She must have truly loved Lu Zhenkong."

The surrounding Dao Foundation martial artists continued to discuss the matter. They spoke about Dao Lord Shan Hai with fear, but whenever they mentioned the five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood, their voices could not hide their desire.

Those five drops of essence blood could change everything for many Dao Foundation martial artists—including Lu Changsheng.

Five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood! If I add the drop of Gust-Winged Heavenly Demon Essence Blood I already have, that makes six drops in total. With my current Perception, that should be enough for me to contemplate three more Principles. Then, I'd have grasped six Principles, putting me one step closer to the eight Principles!

If Lu Changsheng had to rely on hunting heavenly demons by himself, progress could prove awfully slow. With good luck, he might scrape together five drops in a year; with bad luck, it could take several years, or even a decade.

Lu Changsheng made up his mind. He had to compete for the five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood.

As for taking out Dao Lord Shan Hai, he was not worried. With three Principles, three supreme divine techniques at Perfection, and a compound divine technique also at Perfection, he was confident in his own strength. In fact, he did not believe there were many individuals in the third layer of the Ancient Region who were stronger than him. No matter what, he was determined to make a serious push for these five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood.

With that thought in mind, Lu Changsheng went straight to Zhao Yuanshan. If he wanted detailed information, Zhao Yuanshan would certainly know more than the average person.

Zhao Yuanshan was still at his usual spot in the Exchange Hall. When he caught sight of Lu Changsheng, a smile spread across his face. "Lu Changsheng, you've finally come out of seclusion. I take it you're here about the five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood Wang Yun is offering?"

Lu Changsheng nodded. "That's right. I want to know more about Wang Yun and the five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood. Honestly, I'm not completely convinced she really has them."

It was only natural for Lu Changsheng to be suspicious. A martial artist who had lost their Dao companion could lose their mind along with them. Who could say for certain that Wang Yun truly had five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood? For all he knew, she might simply be bluffing to achieve her goal.

If someone fought desperately for Wang Yun, killed Dao Lord Shan Hai, and avenged Lu Zhenkong, only for her to fail to produce the promised reward, they would become the laughing stock of the entire Ancient Region—and Lu Changsheng wasn't about to become that.

"You can put that worry to rest," Zhao Yuanshan replied. "Wang Yun does have the five drops. In fact, two of them she bought from me. She scraped them together from every corner she could reach. Without five drops, she'd never have drawn the attention of the supreme Dao Foundation experts capable of killing Dao Lord Shan Hai..."

He paused and studied Lu Changsheng with a knowing look. "What? Are you interested in Wang Yun's offer?"

Zhao Yuanshan knew Lu Changsheng was strong, but even so, he did not believe Lu Changsheng could actually kill Shan Hai. In his eyes, being strong was one thing, and being able to kill a Dao Lord was another matter entirely.

He leaned in, his tone turning serious. "Brother Lu, we've done some good business together a few times now, so let me be honest with you. Dao Lord Shan Hai is not your typical opponent. He fought Wang Yun and Lu Zhenkong together, then killed Lu Zhenkong and severely injured Wang Yun.

"From what I know, Shan Hai possesses a powerful enchanted treasure called the Heavenly Mountain Seal. This seal is said to have been refined from a divine mountain, and its terrifying power could crush a person into a meat patty.

"Even among Dao Lords, Shan Hai commands genuine fear, and few dare provoke him. So in my opinion, even if Wang Yun manages to gather a group of powerful Dao Foundation martial artists, her chances of success are quite low.

"I know the Heavenly Demon Essence Blood is tempting, Brother Lu, but you should think carefully before you decide. If you fail, you won't just walk away empty-handed. You will most likely be obliterated by Shan Hai's Heavenly Mountain Seal."

Zhao Yuanshan meant well with this warning, and Lu Changsheng understood where he was coming from. Five drops of Heavenly Demon Essence Blood were a great reward, but they would mean nothing if he died before he could claim them.

Still, Lu Changsheng wanted to give it a shot, so he asked, "Where is Wang Yun?"

At that, Zhao Yuanshan gave a weary sigh. Now, he realized that Lu Changsheng had already made up his mind, and that trying to talk him out of it would be pointless.

"I guess people will risk their life for Heavenly Demon Essence Blood..." Zhao Yuanshan shook his head. "Fine, I'll take you to Wang Yun myself. Given how low-profile you've been, Wang Yun might not even agree to see you if you go by yourself."

Zhao Yuanshan thought highly of Lu Changsheng, so he wanted help where he could. This small gesture of introducing Lu Changsheng to Wang Yun would cost him nothing anyway.

"Thank you, Brother Zhao," Lu Changsheng said, expressing his gratitude.

"It's not a big deal," Zhao Yuanshan replied.

At times like this, reputation was important. With his current level of fame, he likely would not have gotten through Wang Yun's door on his own. However, it would be a different story if Zhao Yuanshan vouched for him. While Zhao Yuanshan was not the strongest cultivator around, his name carried real weight among the Dao Foundation martial artists of the sect.