The martial artists tried to flee from the gorge, but it was already too late. Three figures came rushing over from a distance. They were clearly disciples of the Immortal Dao, given the Daoist robes they were wearing. They were most likely not Immortal Masters but Daoist apprentices.

"Stop! The Immortal Eagle is dead! None of you is leaving!"

"Speak! Who killed the Immortal Eagle?"

"The Immortal Eagle was the Purple Dragon Dao Lord's favored spirit beast!"

The moment the three Daoist apprentices saw the eagle spirit beast's corpse on the ground, their hearts sank, and their faces changed at once.

It was a disaster. The three of them had merely brought the Immortal Eagle out for some air, and now it lay dead on the ground. They were responsible for the death of the Dao Lord's favorite spirit beast. If the lord learned of this, they would face terrible consequences.

When the three Daoist apprentices blocked everyone's path and invoked the name "Purple Dragon Dao Lord," the martial artists of Wolf Howl Gorge all felt their hearts skip a beat.

"The Pu-Purple Dragon Dao Lord?"

That was no ordinary lord. He was a Dao Lord of the Immortal Spirit Sect and master of the Purple Dragon Peak, a figure of extraordinary status. After all, the Immortal Spirit Sect was a great immortal sect, no weaker than the Ancient Region Heavenly Sect.

"The spirit beast's death has nothing to do with us."

"That's right, it really wasn't us. The spirit beast was causing trouble earlier, and there was nothing we could do about it."

"Please step aside."

At this point, the martial artists only wanted to get out of this mess.

"If it has nothing to do with you, then how did the spirit beast die?" demanded one of the Daoist apprentices, glaring viciously at everyone. They were looking on at the crowd, trying to find the actual killer.

Still, no one spoke. They all knew who had killed the spirit beast, but who would dare say it? Lu Changsheng was still on the stone step, watching them. The Purple Dragon Dao Lord was certainly terrifying, but he was not here. In that moment, the one they feared most was Lu Changsheng!

The three Daoist apprentices were not fools. Seeing the martial artists keep silent, they swept their eyes across the area and quickly sensed something was amiss. The gorge had many stone steps, and they knew martial artists normally occupied them to comprehend Domains.

Yet now, every step stood empty, except one. Only a single figure remained seated there. With everyone else gone, his presence stood out all the more.

"Do you know who killed Immortal Eagle?" one of the apprentices shouted at the lone figure.

Lu Changsheng looked back at the three apprentices. He had some basic knowledge about Daoist apprentices. The Immortal Dao system was very different from the Martial Dao and placed enormous importance on innate talent. That so-called talent was, in truth, spirit roots. Without spirit roots, the cultivator could not step onto the Immortal Dao at all.

Therefore, Daoist apprentices were basically people with spirit roots. If an ordinary person was found to possess spirit roots, then, aside from those with heavenly spirit roots, all others had to undergo a process known as building the Dao Body. The Dao Body was necessary for cultivators to adapt to the Immortal Dao system and be able to bear spirit power. In fact, heavenly spirit roots were also known as the Innate Dao Body.

Because of this, those with heavenly spirit roots could cultivate at any time, drawing in the spirit energy of heaven and earth and refining it into their own mana. However, cultivators with heavenly spirit roots were exceedingly rare. Most possessed only ordinary spirit roots. Those with ordinary spirit roots needed all kinds of rare treasures to build the Dao Body before they could absorb spirit energy, cultivate, and become Qi Refinement Immortal Masters. This process was known as the Thousand Days of Dao Building.

Under normal circumstances, it took around three years, hence the name. Of course, that was only an estimate. The actual length depended on the treasures used. During this period, those in the process of cultivation within the Immortal Dao system were called Daoist apprentices, and anyone who reached this stage was almost certain to become a Qi Refinement Immortal Master.

Qi Refinement Immortal Masters were fundamentally different from Divine Fortification martial artists. For a Divine Fortification martial artist to break through to the Divine Treasury Realm was way harder. But for them, as long as they had spirit roots and the necessary treasures, becoming a Qi Refinement Immortal Master was almost assured. They simply had to wait out those three years.

Lu Changsheng had begun to understand why Immortal Masters were so rare in the Northern Region. For one, spirit energy had waned, and many treasures had dwindled or disappeared altogether. Without such treasures, where would one even find the means to undergo the Thousand Days of Dao Building

In the Northern Region, many people would not be able to become Immortal Masters even if they had spirit roots. Only a lucky few who found remnants left in Immortal Masters' cave residence might undergo a Thousand Days to Build the Dao and become Qi Refinement Immortal Masters. Every one of these Daoist apprentices was destined to become an Immortal Master in the future, so their status was naturally high.

When facing Divine Fortification Realm martial artists, Daoist apprentices all carried a lofty, condescending attitude. Of course, Lu Changsheng would not be intimidated by that.

"I was the one who stuck down the beast," he declared coldly. "It disturbed my cultivation, thus making me waste a Dao Comprehension Pill. So it deserved to die."

"You killed it?"

"The audacity! That was the Purple Dragon Dao Lord's spirit beast, and you dared kill it?"

"The Immortal Eagle never meant any harm. It was only playing with you, and you struck it down like a savage."

The three Daoist apprentices were furious. Being only apprentices, they did not have a trace of mana in their bodies, so if the situation devolved into a fight, they could only rely on certain special enchanted artifacts or talismans. Some of these required no mana to activate, only divine consciousness and the expenditure of large amounts of spirit stones. In some ways, they functioned much like formations.

These kinds of enchanted artifacts were powerful, but given their exorbitant price, using them would almost always be wasteful. A single battle could bring financial ruin. So, unless there was no other choice, Daoist apprentices generally refrained from acting.

The three apprentices exchanged glances. As they weighed the situation, their gazes swept across the martial artists of Wolf Howl Gorge one by one.

At last, one of them said in a deep voice, "The Immortal Eagle of the Dao Lord is dead. Once the lord learns of this, he will surely be angry. None of you here in the gorge can escape involvement in the Immortal Eagle's death. Still, you have a chance to make amends. Capture this man or kill him, and Immortal Eagle's death will fall on him alone and have nothing to do with the rest of you. I believe you know what the correct choice is."

The Daoist apprentices stood there proud and arrogant, seemingly eager to enjoy a blood bath among the martial artists. In their view, they were graciously offering these poor martial artists a way out, a chance to live.

"Hmm?"

But much to their surprise, no one said a word. Aside from the howling winds, the entire gorge was deathly still. The expressions on the three Daoist apprentices' faces gradually stiffened. They even saw mockery in the martial artists' eyes.

A bunch of mere Divine Fortification Realm martial artists, who would never advance to Divine Treasury, dared mock them? These apprentices were the future lofty Qi Refinement Immortal Masters; had these people all gone mad?

"If you don't act now, you'll face the wrath of the Dao Lord," one of them spat.

At that, a Divine Fortification martial artist shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you've got the wrong idea. You want us to make a move? No way. Forget about us. I don't think any Divine Fortification martial artist from the Ancient Region would take your offer."

The Daoist apprentices frowned and realized something was off. "What do you mean?"

"Do you even know who that man is?"

The Daoist apprentices shook their heads. They always disregarded martial artists, so naturally they had no idea who that man was.

The martial artist took a deep breath and turned toward the man in question.

"He is none other than Lu Changsheng!" he said with a trace of awe in his voice.

The three Daoist apprentices exchanged confused looks.

"Umm... Who?"

Indeed, they had never heard of him.

The martial artist narrowed his eyes. "You actually don't know him? Lu Changsheng is the true inheritor scion of the Northern Region Heavenly Sect and a new pioneer of the Martial Dao. He's the Divine Fortification martial artist in the Ancient Region, the one who dominates this entire generation and has even slain a Divine Treasury expert!"

The three apprentices were taken aback by the rather lengthy introduction. Indeed, those titles and achievements did sound impressive, but when had such a formidable figure emerged in the Ancient Region?

"A mere Divine Fortification martial artist with titles that grand? That sounds a little overblown."

"Sure, it's one of the major martial sects, but we've never heard of some earthshaking Divine Fortification disciple coming out of it."

"You're telling us some Divine Fortification martial artist has defeated a Divine Treasury expert and dominates the entire generation? Come on."

"We might not be martial artists, but we know someone in the Divine Fortification Realm can't possibly defeat a Divine Treasury martial artist. That's never happened before."

"Yeah. If this Lu Changsheng is so amazing, how come we've never even heard of him?"

"You don't actually think our Immortal Spirit Sect is cut off from the world and that we're all ignorant, do you?"

The three Daoist apprentices sneered at the martial artists, convinced they had seen through their ridiculous fabrications. To them, the martial artists were clearly just trying to get out of this situation without taking any action. After all, Lu Changsheng clearly had some status and seemed to be quite strong. If a fight truly broke out, casualties would be inevitable. Naturally, the martial artists would try to avoid that at all costs.

"Hmph! Since you guys won't act, we'll do it ourselves. He's just a mere Divine Fortification martial artist. One spirit stone and a single sword talisman will be enough to deal with him."

The three had already made up their minds. Since Immortal Eagle was dead, they had to give the Purple Dragon Dao Lord an explanation. If they failed to find the killer, they would be the ones punished. Though acting now would cost them dearly, perhaps wiping out years of savings, they had no choice but to move.

Crack!

One of them crushed a spirit stone. At the same time, he took out a sword talisman and sent his divine consciousness into it.

Buzz!

The sword talisman trembled violently, drawing in all the spirit power from the shattered stone before the Daoist apprentice drove it forth with his divine consciousness.

Whizz!

Then, the talisman transformed into a sharp sword and shot toward Lu Changsheng.