One man against a hundred.

Paradoxically, though Lu Yuan stood alone here, no one dared to accept the challenge.

That was correct.

Lu Yuan himself was slightly taken aback; he hadn't anticipated such an outcome when this began.

Without a doubt, Bei Ling Mountain was also a demonic sect, housing quite a few masters. If a righteous sect had truly dared to challenge such a demonic stronghold, they would have been fiercely countered long ago. Yet, now, no one dared to respond—it seemed his reputation in the cultivation world was considerable enough to intimidate so many of these nefarious outsiders.

Murong Yingxue’s eyes were shaped like hearts; she had never witnessed a Senior Brother so formidable.

The standoff continued.

Lu Yuan surveyed the situation, then suddenly flashed forward, whisking Murong Yingxue clear of the grand formation. After bringing her outside, he told her, "I am about to assault Yuan Ling Mountain; it's likely no one will be able to attend to you. You must flee immediately." Unquestionably, assaulting Yuan Ling Mountain while escorting someone else would be a tremendous burden.

Lu Yuan naturally moved first to get Murong Yingxue out of the formation.

Abandoning his sect brethren to their fate was simply not Lu Yuan’s way.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan detonated the sound transmission stone given to him by Lu Qingtao. He had tested it earlier and discovered they were beyond its communication range. Detonating it was the only option. The stone, which could have lasted a long time, would now spread its signal much further, perhaps drawing the three Martial Grand-Uncles here, even if Bei Ling Mountain was teeming with experts.

The rational, life-preserving course of action would be to wait here for the arrival of the other three Martial Grand-Uncles at the Great Dao Realm.

However, Martial Uncle Yuan Yuan's Chuyun Boundless Formation, or Chuyun Boundless Barrier, was likely on the verge of collapse.

Therefore, he had to act as soon as possible and move with greater speed.

Furthermore, he possessed a body double treasure; with his current strength, it was genuinely difficult for him to suffer a fatal blow.

And sometimes, for those who walked the path of Xianxia, certain actions became unavoidable.

Rescuing fellow disciples—that was something one had to do even knowing the danger.

Otherwise, what right did he have to be called a Xian, or a Xia?

Once the sound transmission stone exploded, a frequency nearly invisible to the naked eye shot out rapidly in all directions.

Having completed these actions, Lu Yuan leaped back into the formation surrounding Yuan Ling Mountain. This formation was actually one designed for misdirection. Since he understood the nature of this illusionary technique by utilizing the power of the mountain's accumulated snow, and mastering the Sword Intent of Snow himself, entering or leaving posed virtually no difficulty.

As for Lu Yuan charging into Yuan Ling Mountain, the hundred rogue cultivators who had been fearful of him moments before—after all, Lu Yuan now held significant renown in the cultivation world, and his victory over Sima Changbai had firmly placed him among Jin Kingdom's powerhouses, making him untouchable to most—immediately began shouting now that he had departed.

"Turns out he's just a coward after all."

"Seeing the evil cultivators of Bei Ling Mountain, he could only scram."

"Of course. These righteous folk only pretend to be strong; the rest is just..." These rogue cultivators, who had previously held back in Lu Yuan's presence, now began boasting about their own prowess. Boasting with the mouth was always easier than fighting.

As they were busy belittling Lu Yuan and praising themselves, Lu Yuan returned. And thus, their tragedy began.

Lu Yuan smiled, not looking at his opponents, but gazing down at his sword.

His Yang Wu Sword was incomparably bright.

"Old friend Yang Wu, you are a sword of righteous energy, but we've been rather lazy normally. Today, let's have some fun; go forth and cleave demons to your heart's content." He whispered softly to the sword, and in an instant, man and sword merged into one, charging toward the cave dwelling of Yuan Ling Mountain. The rogue cultivators, who had thought Lu Yuan had fled and begun their insults, were immediately thrown into utter chaos.

Few, if any, could withstand even a single exchange beneath Lu Yuan's sword. In mere moments, these rogue cultivators were either dead or injured.

Lu Yuan rode his sword and forced his way into the mountain cave.

Upon entering, he immediately sensed that the mountain belly held a hidden world.

It was another spatial enchantment, artificially expanding the mountain core, which was not large to begin with, making it vast.

Lu Yuan felt that this space resembled a city in size, similar to the cave he had previously seen at the Blood Sword Sect.

Where should he go?

Where was the barrier of the Chuyun Boundless Formation?

Lu Yuan wanted to find someone to ask, but seeing no one nearby for the moment, he paused. Never mind, he would proceed forward; a city-sized area should be traversed quickly at the speed of his White Emperor Sword Light. Lu Yuan looked ahead rapidly, and not long after flying, he spotted a cave dwelling appearing in the distance.

"Human-Demon Hybridization Chamber," the five large characters were inscribed ahead.

Lu Yuan rode his sword straight through, reducing the main gate to dust with his incomparably sharp sword energy. Entering this Human-Demon Hybridization Chamber, Lu Yuan was truly stunned.

He saw cages constructed from various Taibai Profound Stones. Taibai Profound Stone was certainly not as costly as Taibai Profound Iron, but it was still an extremely valuable resource, and it was intensely hard, lacking elasticity and not deforming, which is why it wasn't used to forge spirit swords.

Inside this Human-Demon Hybridization Chamber, there were no fewer than a hundred cages.

And within each cage lurked a monster.

What kind of monster was this? It clearly had a human body, yet it was completely covered in cyan-colored long fur, resembling a monstrous beast. This cyan-furred cultivator was roaring continuously, but apparently, this was the least bizarre specimen. Soon, Lu Yuan saw other monstrosities.

Some had two horns sprouting from the heads of cultivators.

Some cultivators had perfectly normal upper bodies, but possessed eight legs like a spider.

Some cultivators had hands mutated into long, slender appendages like a praying mantis arm.

Others were so emaciated their flesh seemed to have withered away, almost resembling a Bone Demon from the netherworld fiends.

One cultivator had a blood-red eye centered between his brows, his entire body wracked with pain, screaming incessantly.

Wait—wasn't this an Elder from the Qingcheng Immortal Sect he had met once, back at the Qingcheng Soul River? How had he been captured and brought here? Moreover, why had a shell rigidly formed on his back, causing him such agony?

Their appearances were somewhat reminiscent of the netherworld fiends.

Lu Yuan frowned, suddenly realizing a possibility, and at that instant, he sensed danger. Instinctively, Lu Yuan darted to the side as a gale instantly swept past. A cackling, strange laugh rang out: "Not bad. To evade the strike of my Heavenly Bat Xiang Dongfei, you are truly remarkable. The fame of a Huashan genius is clearly not misplaced."

Lu Yuan looked over. The speaker appeared entirely human in visage and form, looking about thirty years old, but he bore a pair of jet-black wings on his back. This person was actually named Bat Demon Xiang Dongfei. He was originally a rogue cultivator but later joined the subordinates of Venerable Yuan Ling, receiving Yuan Ling's forbidden arts combined with evil essence, allowing him to integrate the bloodline of the Heavenly Bat Clan among the demons. Among the demons, there were many clans, and naturally, the Heavenly Bat Clan was renowned for its speed. For instance, the Scarlet Wing Demon King was as fast as lightning, hailed as the speediest among demons—a tremendous title. Everyone knew the foremost speedster among demons was the Demon Emperor Dongfang Yao, and the Scarlet Wing Demon King ranking just below him was enough to inspire great pride.

Since the Heavenly Bat Clan bloodline itself conferred great speed, Xiang Dongfei, having acquired and integrated this bloodline into his body, was as fast as lightning.

Xiang Dongfei continued to cackle ominously: "That's right, you haven't misjudged. This is the Human-Demon Hybridization Chamber. It is the greatest laboratory envisioned by the supremely great Lord Yuan Ling. Humans have their merits and deficiencies; human merit lies in clear consciousness and a powerful soul, while the demonic characteristic is powerful physical bodies and various supernatural abilities. Since ancient times, humans and demons have fought, relying on their respective advantages. No one ever considered mixing the advantages of humans with those of demons until Lord Yuan Ling appeared, wanting to blend the merits of both. For example, I am such a human-demon hybrid; my speed surpasses that of both pure humans and pure demons."

Xiang Dongfei smiled again and stated, "Additionally, these people you see are all Lord Yuan Ling's experimental subjects."

"These are all experimental subjects?" Lu Yuan was enraged.

His fury surged. Lu Yuan’s temperament was usually gentle, and he rarely lost his temper; it had been so long since his last outburst that he couldn't even recall when it was.

But now, he couldn't help but become enraged.

Capturing cultivators and merging them with demonic blood and flesh to turn them into experiments—this was the inhumane method of Venerable Yuan Ling. Standing here, Lu Yuan could hear the extremely painful screams of the people nearby. Such methods dared to be employed by Yuan Ling.

Lu Yuan had always disliked killing, but now, killing intent rose within him.

The Yang Wu Sword also trembled lightly; this sword of righteousness was also angered.

Xiang Dongfei roared with laughter: "Don't look at these people in pain now; those who endure will become outstanding human-demon hybrids like me. As for the failures, the law of the jungle is natural; the inferior are destined to be eliminated. Oh, and I am the administrator of this research facility."

"This place is guarded by me."

Xiang Dongfei pointed at Lu Yuan, sneering with contempt: "I know you killed Sima Changbai, but that's useless. I am at the Ninth Level of Longevity, plus I have integrated the merits of both humans and demons. A mere pure-blooded human could never defeat me."