The youth in green suddenly drew his sword, and with that single strike, the cold swept the surroundings, felling twenty-one Bone Demons.

Despite achieving such a feat, the youth in green still appeared remarkably unconcerned.

He maintained a languid smile, his hand resting upon the sword hilt.

Yet, this singular strike stunned everyone in the Tenth Incense Altar, including the Altar Master, Gu Chenzi. They had never dreamed that this supposed 'weakling' possessed such formidable strength, nearly matching Gu Chenzi himself.

The same strike jolted the demons. Such a young man with such power must hold high status within the Five Great Immortal Sects. Capturing him would be a massive accomplishment! The demons' minds raced. Two Sand Demons and the Earth-Walking Spider-Man all lunged toward Lu Yuan. Even the Great Asura, who had been slightly gaining the upper hand fighting two-on-one against Gu Chenzi and Gu Yunzi, immediately spun around to attack Lu Yuan.

They all vied for the credit, their assaults lightning-fast.

Each of these four demons was at least at the fourth or fifth layer of the Body Tempering stage. Individually, none were inferior to Gu Chenzi. Given the demons' natural ferocity in battle, most could hold their own against Gu Chenzi and Gu Yunzi fighting two-on-one. Now, all four demons converged on Lu Yuan.

What terrifying attacks!

The Great Asura's Asura Bone Blade struck like lightning, its momentum fierce.

The Sand Demons' attacks rose from below, utterly treacherous, stirring up clouds of dust to blind the eyes. The Earth-Walking Spider-Man charged head-on, wielding six different weapons, relying on sheer brute force.

Swift, fierce, tricky.

Each attack possessed its unique lethality. Gu Chenzi and Gu Yunzi realized simultaneously that if these four attacked them, they would likely perish immediately under such a siege. If they died, Lu Yuan would certainly have no chance of survival. Though Lu Yuan's strength seemed greater than initially judged, how could he possibly withstand such a combined assault?

The others in the Tenth Incense Altar held essentially the same view; the demons' offensive was simply too overwhelming.

Then, almost everyone present instantly froze in astonishment.

They were witnessing a performance of swordsmanship. Blade light flared, sword light flashed, sword light extinguished, new sword light ignited. The sword light surged like a tide, flashed like a passing wind, accumulated like gathering clouds—a multitude of varied sword techniques enveloped the four demons. From the looks of it, Lu Yuan was not only holding his own but seemed to have gained the advantage.

Lu Yuan had already moved. These four demons could indeed wipe out the entire Tenth Incense Altar, but against him, they weren't that formidable—he had encountered foes far harder to deal with. These opponents hardly counted. Lu Yuan flicked his wrist lightly, his Yangwu Sword transforming, weaving countless exquisite sword moves. The Sword Intent of Wind, the Sword Intent of Cloud, and the Sword Intent of Rain shifted and flowed endlessly through his execution.

While executing his swordplay, he occasionally tested whether he could fuse the three Sword Intents into a single strike. Unsurprisingly, every such attempt failed.

It was a slight pity.

As Lu Yuan felt that small measure of regret, the four demons cried out in misery. They had absolutely not expected that a mere raid on one incense altar would result in encountering such a thorny opponent. This adversary was too terrifying, someone who simply should not exist within the Tenth Incense Altar. What was happening?

Of course, they soon lost the ability to ponder anything else. All their energy was consumed countering that single long sword, leaving no room for other thoughts, yet even so, they sustained intermittent injuries.

Simply breathtaking! Gu Yunzi and Gu Chenzi, both seasoned sword cultivators, could only click their tongues in admiration watching Lu Yuan's technique. What mastery! They had trained for over a hundred years without achieving such exquisite swordsmanship, yet here was Lu Yuan displaying it effortlessly. They forgot everything else, focusing solely on this incomparably refined art.

"Die..." With a resounding burst, this sword stroke, trailing intensely sharp sword light, instantly carved an extremely deep gash across the throats of the Great Asura, the two Sand Demons, and the Earth-Walking Spider-Man. A single cut across their throats, illustrating the sheer sharpness of that strike.

Victory?

At that moment, nearly everyone was bewildered.

Those four demons each possessed cultivation at the fourth or fifth layer of the Body Tempering stage, a strength equivalent to two of Gu Chenzi or Gu Yunzi combined.

And the collective strength of those four demons was essentially equivalent to Gu Chenzi plus Gu Yunzi, multiplied by four.

Facing such might, they had lost to Lu Yuan.

And Lu Yuan didn't even appear to have exhibited his full power.

This...

The gap in strength was simply too immense.

Everyone in the Tenth Incense Altar silently thought back. At first, they all assumed Lu Yuan was a dud, otherwise, why would he only rank forty-third in the Underworld Demon Testing? The fact that the top spot in the Ten-Board Contest likely involved backroom dealings from the Five Great Immortal Sects seemed plausible then. Now, having witnessed his actual combat performance, they were truly shocked. They had already been startled when Lu Yuan seemed comparable to Gu Chenzi initially.

But now, seeing Lu Yuan defeat the combined might of four demons at the fourth or fifth layer of the Body Tempering stage—their reaction was no longer mere shock.

It was utter, profound astonishment!

Everyone in the Tenth Incense Altar who had mocked Lu Yuan as a fraud felt a tremor of unease, cursing inwardly: Who called Lu Yuan a dud? How could this display be called mediocrity? If this is a dud, then the entire world must be full of duds. Even Nangong Lie, ranked first in the Underworld Demon Testing, probably didn't possess this level of might.

As for Lu Yuan, he paid no mind to their thoughts. He had merely acted because he saw demons attacking. As a true disciple of a righteous sect, his lifelong indoctrination dictated that he must intervene in such situations. Right, now it was time to collect the spoils.

Demons typically at the fourth or fifth layer of Body Tempering usually carried two to three hundred Spirit Stones.

As for other loot, the Great Asura, being of the Asura race, rarely yielded much. The Sand Demons, however, yielded decent spoils; the two Crimson Sand Flying Swords were of good quality and could fetch a considerable sum if sold. The Earth-Walking Spider-Man had numerous weapons, but unfortunately, most weren't flying sword grade, a tier below, meaning they could still be sold for Spirit Stones, but at a much lower price.

In terms of spirit beasts, he harvested six small Earth-elemental spirit beasts and one medium-sized and ten small Sand-elemental spirit beasts—a decent haul. Although he had no immediate use for these Sand and Earth elemental beasts, he could exchange them for Cloud-elemental beasts at the Cultivator Marketplace in the future.

A satisfactory yield.

Lu Yuan weighed them in his hand and casually tossed the spoils into his Small Sumeru Pouch. When he turned around, he noticed almost everyone was staring at him, their expressions frozen in dumbstruck awe. The members of the Tenth Incense Altar were utterly shaken by Lu Yuan. A twenty-year-old youth whose power far surpassed the Altar Master, yet they had previously mocked him as a weakling. Now... there was truly nothing left to say.

Moreover, how could a twenty-year-old possess such terrifying strength?

This was a genuine question.

This level of power didn't resemble the pinnacle of the younger generation. The supposed peak of the young cohort included figures like Zhao Qiankun and Zhang Qingshu, reaching the first or second layer of Body Tempering around age forty. Yet, Lu Yuan, at twenty, could single-handedly fight four demons at the fourth or fifth layer of Body Tempering.

What term described power beyond the pinnacle?

The pinnacle of the pinnacle? Gu Chenzi and Gu Yunzi found themselves momentarily unsure how to react. However, being older, their skins were thicker. After a long pause, Gu Chenzi cleared his throat: "Lu Liu, you performed well. I will file a request for commendation..."

Lu Yuan shrugged. He had already harvested the Asura spikes and Sand Demon horns—spoils he would naturally claim for reward. It was always the custom in the Cultivation World that one claimed rewards for slain demons. As Gu Chenzi and Gu Yunzi left to request commendations and report the demon incursion, they returned a short while later, their expressions dramatically altered. Gu Chenzi took a deep breath upon returning: "When I went out just now, I discovered that the scope of the demons' attack this time was quite extensive. Not only our Tenth Incense Altar, but our entire Tenth Detachment was within the attack range..."

"Furthermore, word is that the Fourth Detachment and the Seventh Detachment, also stationed here, have already been assaulted by demons..."

Lu Yuan froze upon hearing this.

It had been mentioned earlier that this region housed three detachments of the Seventh Sub-Hall: the Fourth Detachment, the Seventh Detachment, and the Tenth Detachment. The sole reason so many cultivators were garrisoned here was that the demonic forces in this area were equally strong, and indeed, the local demons were quite formidable. The demonic organization mirrored the Five Immortal Alliance's structure of Halls, Detachments, and Altars, layered intricately. This location was home to three Underworld Demon Detachments.

It appeared the demons' three detachments were launching a coordinated assault against the three Sub-Halls of the Five Immortal Alliance.

Of course, it was possible the demonic strength extended beyond just three detachments. Since the depths were the demons' territory, dispatching reinforcements from deeper underground to the Five Immortal Alliance side would be difficult to detect.

Regardless of the specifics, the summary was that the entire area was embroiled in massive chaos—a large-scale battle involving cultivators and Underworld Demons from at least six detachments. The recent attack on the Tenth Detachment and Tenth Incense Altar was merely one small corner of this larger war.

Lu Yuan felt a surge of excitement.

Let them fight.

He was currently desperate for Spirit Stones and Cloud Beasts to achieve his breakthroughs. This timely, large-scale battle, involving at least six detachments from both the human and demonic sides, was a perfect opportunity for him to go on a frantic scavenging spree. So many spoils awaited him.

Lu Yuan gently flicked the Yangwu Sword. The blade hummed softly in response.