Within the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. He had already refined all three Mind Stabilization Stones, bringing the total number of stones within his Mind Space to four. What remained was to see how much this would increase the efficiency of nurturing his Domains to Perfection, and that was sothing he could only determine through testing.
He focused inward on a Domain he was nurturing. With four Mind Stabilization Stones in place, his Mind Space felt far more stable than before. At the sa ti, he could also sense that the efficiency of nurturing a Domain to Perfection had increased greatly. This process that once took him twenty-five days would now only require ten.
Lu Changsheng was thrilled by the outco. It was better than what he had anticipated. At this rate, he could nurture three Domains to Perfection each month, amounting to thirty-six Perfect Domains in a year.
After a brief mont of silent celebration, he steadied himself and continued his calculations. His Mind Space already spanned forty-one li, and each Domain he brought to Perfection would expand it by another li. Even without acquiring any more peculiar items, he could rely solely on Domains to expand his Mind Space to one hundred li in under two years, which would then allow him to forge the Dao Foundation.
At this pace, his cultivation speed had already surpassed that of any Divine Treasury martial artist, and this was only the beginning. As he refined more Mind Stabilization Stones, the ti required to nurture a Domain to Perfection would continue to shrink. Ten days could drop to eight, then five, then three, and perhaps even to a single day.
This realization brought a faint smile to Lu Changsheng's face. There was no longer any need to hunt for peculiar items. He only needed to focus on contemplating Intents and evolving them into Domains. With the Heart-Soothing Pearl, comprehension was no longer a major obstacle, and it took only two Dao Comprehension Pills to evolve an Intent into a Domain.
The real question was which Intents he ought to choose. Ordinary Intents were easy to contemplate, but they were not worth the effort. Ideally, he would aim for Intents that could be split into three, four, or even five, but that path was both difficult and complex. And given his current situation, efficiency mattered more.
Among all the options, two-in-one Intents offered the best balance. They were easier to split and far less taxing to evolve. Once separated, they could form two Domains with relatively little difficulty, and at the sa ti, a two-in-one Domain could rival the power of ten layers of Domains.
Lu Changsheng turned the matter over in his mind, weighing everything he had learned about contemplation and comprehension in recent months. He had studied many types of Domains, even the rare Five Elents Domain, and felt he understood them well. At the sa ti, he knew that a five-in-one Domain depended as much on chance as effort. Even three-in-one and four-in-one Domains were extrely difficult to achieve through effort alone.
Given all that, two-in-one Domains offered the best return for his effort at this stage. If he could complete twenty two-in-one Domains, their combined power would rival hundreds of layers of Domains. Naturally, that kind of power would be earth-shattering.
At this point, he still needed fifty-nine more Domains to complete twenty two-in-one Domains. Once he reached that goal, his strength would rival nearly three hundred layers of Domains, which would be more than enough to secure his cultivation path forward.
With that being said, while two-in-one Domains were easier to achieve than five-in-one Domains, they still required effort. To manifest one, Lu Changsheng first had to contemplate a two-in-one Intent.
The first step was studying, but he knew the vast library of the Transmission Hall and the recorded insights of the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect’s predecessors could only take him so far. They could guide him, but they could not replace direct experience. There was always a gap between what was written and what was truly understood. Simply reading about an Intent did not guarantee he could grasp that exact Intent himself.
The most reliable approach, then, was to observe the Domains in action. Drawing from the strengths of others had always been a core principle of the Martial Dao. By witnessing others use their Domains, especially two-in-one Domains, he could grasp the underlying Intents behind them. Once he understood the Intent, evolving it into a Domain would beco much easier.
To do this, he needed to find martial artists who had cultivated two-in-one Domains and make them "assist" him. Of course, their cooperation was not required. A fight would serve just as well. With his current strength, suppressing Divine Treasury cultivators posed no difficulty. Whether they cooperated or resisted made little difference. As long as they used their Domains, that would be enough.
With that thought, Lu Changsheng made up his mind. I'll look for opponents in the True Inheritor Hall... I should probably start with the Three Swordsn of the Heavenly Sect!
The last ti he t the Three Swordsn, he had given them fifteen Azure Cloud Fruits.
They should still be at the base of the sect, refining the fruits.
With that in mind, Lu Changsheng made his way to Gu Chen's cave residence. When he arrived, he found that Han Tianyun and Liu Pu were also there. He ca up to them and went straight to the point, skipping pleasantries.
"Senior Brothers, I have a favor to ask..."
He briefly explained his request. Of course, he did not ntion anything about stealing from their fused Domains. Instead, he frad it as a friendly spar to spark inspiration, allowing him to contemplate Intents and evolve Domains.
Gu Chen agreed without hesitation. So did Liu Pu and Han Tianyun.
"When do you want to do this?" Gu Chen asked.
"Right now," Lu Changsheng replied earnestly. "But the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect does not permit disciples to spar privately, so let's use the arena."
"Alright, the arena it is."
With that, the four of them set off together. When they arrived, the arena was sparsely populated; it was ant for settling disputes between disciples, and once a combatant conceded, the matter was considered closed. With little spectacle to draw a crowd, few people lingered nearby.
However, when Lu Changsheng and the three others arrived at the arena and stepped onto the combat ring, people stopped and exchanged whispers.
"Is that Lu Changsheng? The true inheritor disciple?"
"That's Senior Brother Lu, along with the Three Swordsn of the Heavenly Sect from the True Inheritor Hall. Are they going to fight?"
"What kind of conflict could the Three Swordsn of the Heavenly Sect possibly have with Senior Brother Lu that they would need to settle in the arena?"
"Are the Three Swordsn not aware of Senior Brother Lu's strength?"
"That can't be right. Didn't they work together recently to compete for Azure Cloud Fruits? I heard Senior Brother Lu drove off more than twenty experts from the Dao Foundation Candidate List by himself. How have they gone from being allies to facing each other here?"
The disciples at the scene buzzed with confusion. Lu Changsheng's achievents were considered extraordinary. He had first slain Xu Haotian of the Yellow Heavenly Sect, a true inheritor ranked ninety-first on the Dao Foundation Candidate List. Not long after, when competing for the Azure Cloud Fruits, he had single-handedly driven off more than twenty experts from the sa list, and had even killed Lan Tianxiao, who ranked forty-eighth.
When this news reached the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect, many found it hard to believe. Even if Lu Changsheng had the strength to rank within the top one hundred of the Dao Foundation Candidate List, jumping from defeating soone ranked ninety-first to killing soone ranked forty-eighth was an enormous leap. At this point, no one could clearly gauge how strong he had beco.
Given all of that, the idea that the Three Swordsn of the Heavenly Sect would have a conflict with Lu Changsheng, let alone challenge him in the arena, made no sense at all.
Words about the fight spread quickly, and soon, disciples were streaming toward the arena from every direction. Lu Changsheng rarely appeared in public, much less displayed his power, but when he did, it was bound to be extraordinary, and not many would want to miss such a spectacle.
Standing in the combat ring, looking out over the sea of faces, Gu Chen let out a rueful smile. "Junior Brother Lu, I knew sparring with you would turn into this. Everyone watching is probably wondering whether it will take you one move or two to finish us off."
Liu Pu and Han Tianyun wore the sa expression. They were renowned true inheritor disciples, but that could change depending on who they were being compared to. Beside Lu Changsheng, their reputation was rather unremarkable.
"Pay them no mind, Senior Brother Gu," Lu Changsheng said with a smile. "Show what you've got. Let get a taste of your Domains."
"As you wish."
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