The Huashan Mountain Guard Formation—the Cháoyáng Yùnǚ Yúnwù Zǐxiá Tú Grand Array—still loomed high above.

The two sides did not fight from dawn till dusk; during combat, magical power and energy depleted quickly, making sustained fighting impossible.

Sometimes, after a fierce clash, there would be a considerably long pause.

During these interludes of truce along the flanks, each side would send out skirmishers to engage in verbal battles for a time.

For instance, at this very moment, above the Void Battle Array, a bulky, powerful figure emerged from the demon ranks. This fellow, Kong Hu, possessed a long tail, yellowish skin, stood easily ten zhang tall, wielded an exceedingly long staff, and was encased in golden armor, looking every bit the majestic Heavenly General—imposing and peerless in aura.

This individual was Elder Hu, one of the Ten Great Elders of the Demon Faction.

The Ten Great Elders each possessed unique qualities.

Elder Hu leaped forward, chuckling derisively: “What, are all the Ninth Generation of the North Peak dead? Is there no one among you who dares to challenge Elder Hu one-on-one? Back then, when Yuanyuan Shangren defeated me, he proclaimed that as long as a Ninth Generation cultivator of Huashan existed, he would not tolerate a demon scoundrel like me being arrogant! Now, I am being arrogant.” He paused, sweeping his gaze over them. “This is the third day. Truly, the North Peak’s Ninth Generation is nonexistent.”

Elder Hu had skillfully pinned his taunts onto the specific identity: the Ninth Generation of the North Peak.

On the Huashan side stood the four Sword Immortals: Fang Ru, Ye Yangrong, Chu Fei, and Dugu Ye. Among them, Ye Yangrong bore fresh wounds inflicted heavily by Elder Hu the day before. Fang Ru drew a deep breath. “If there is truly no other way… then I must go.” Ye Yangrong immediately shook his head. “Senior Brother Fang, absolutely not! If you weren't already the Peak Lord, it would be your place, but you are the Peak Lord now. You absolutely cannot enter the fray. If you win, it is good, but if you lose, the consequences are catastrophic—the fate of an entire Peak rests upon its Lord.”

Veins pulsed visibly on Fang Ru’s hands. He took another deep breath. Though he knew Ye Yangrong’s logic was sound, he felt compelled to suppress his rising anger.

Above the Void Battle Array, Elder Hu’s voice boomed, reaching everyone.

The immortal cultivators on Huashan and the demons arrayed outside could all hear him clearly.

At that moment, a clear voice cut through the air: “Elder Hu, perhaps you and I should test each other’s strength?” The voice originated from the Sword Sect’s side—it was the Lone Sword Immortal, Shi Chongtian. It was rumored that Lone Sword Immortal Shi Chongtian preferred solitude, rarely cooperating with others, and his swordsmanship was transcendent. His cultivation had reached the very apex of the Tenth Layer of Longevity, marking him as one of the most likely candidates to successfully break through to the Great Dao Realm. Shi Chongtian’s greatest specialty was undoubtedly the Cháoyáng Yīqì Sword technique; his mastery of the ultimate move, Cháo Cí Báidì Cǎiyún Jiān (Bidding Farewell to the White Emperor Amidst Colorful Clouds), had reached the perfection of Qiānlǐ Jiānglíng Yīrì Huán (A Thousand Li of Jiangling Returned in a Single Day).

Qiānlǐ Jiānglíng Yīrì Huán spoke volumes of the speed involved, compressing the endless White Emperor’s clouds within a single strike.

Lone Sword Immortal Shi Chongtian, being a top-tier Sword Immortal within the Sword Sect, naturally possessed the confidence to overcome Elder Hu, and he interjected himself into the argument.

Elder Hu laughed heartily: “So it is the Lone Sword Immortal from the Sword Sect. However, this grievance is between myself and the North Peak. The deep shame of being heavily injured by Yuanyuan Shangren’s sword back then—I dare not forget it! Are you saying the North Peak has no one left, and now you need someone from the East Peak to settle old scores?” The moment this was said, Lone Sword Immortal Shi Chongtian knew it was no longer appropriate for him to interfere.

Seeing Shi Chongtian fall silent, Elder Hu roared with laughter again: “What, are the Ninth Generation of the North Peak all dead?” On the Huashan side, their morale suddenly plummeted under the pressure.

And from the demon ranks erupted waves of mocking laughter.

“The Ninth Generation of Huashan’s North Peak has such meager cultivation.”

“Huashan’s North Peak, though famous, is nothing more than this.” “Hahahaha, the current North Peak is truly pathetic.” “I say Huashan no longer needs a North Peak. Such a weak branch line; the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect have brighter futures.” These demons mocked ruthlessly. Of course, woven into their taunts were the calculated schemes of one of the Four Great Demon Kings, the Zǐlín Jiāowáng (Purple Scaled Flood Dragon King). The Zǐlín Jiāowáng, one of the four supreme demon rulers—the others being the White-Haired Eagle King, the Green Ink Bamboo King, and the Crimson Flame Demon King—was particularly adept at all manner of insidious schemes.

And now, they focused on verbally dismantling the North Peak, attempting to crush their fighting spirit. The stream of mockery from the demons continued unabated.

The morale of the North Peak suffered a sharp decline.

“Are you truly mocking us, saying the North Peak has no one left?” A clear, resonant voice sounded, and from the shadows emerged a young man dressed in azure robes, carrying a wineskin. “The reason the Ninth Generation of the North Peak has not stepped forward to answer your challenge is not because they are inferior to you, but because engaging a mere Elder Hu would be beneath their dignity and a loss of face.”

“Therefore, they have sent me, a Tenth Generation member, to spar with you and gauge your true strength. Only if you can defeat me, a Tenth Generation disciple, will you even qualify to challenge the Ninth Generation.” The young man in azure tutted disdainfully. “But honestly, given your current level of power, I suspect that will be extremely difficult.”

“Never mind then, let’s see how many moves you can survive against me.” Lu Yuan shook his head slightly.

Lu Yuan’s words were perfectly logical and reasonable. If one wished to challenge the Ninth Generation, how could one possibly do so without first besting the Tenth Generation?

Elder Hu’s original plan was to completely shatter the North Peak’s morale. He had never anticipated that someone like Lu Yuan would leap forward, let alone utter such a sound justification. Furthermore, Lu Yuan seemed to possess immense prestige within the Peak, almost equal to that of Fang Ru. The moment he appeared, the North Peak’s spirits immediately rallied. Elder Hu’s scheme was disrupted, filling him with rage. “Very well! Let this Old Tiger meet this so-called North Peak genius!”

The wind howled fiercely.

Elder Hu was already positioned within the Void Battle Array between the demons and Huashan, and Lu Yuan soared up to join him there.

“A mere junior dares to challenge me? You must be courting death!” Elder Hu bellowed. “You likely have no concept of how the Ten Great Elders were chosen. Among the millions of demons dwelling underground, only a select few managed to claw their way up through countless life-and-death struggles. I, Elder Hu, have experienced battles that surpass the length of your entire life five times over! Today, I shall show you how I crush an arrogant fledgling who knows neither heaven nor earth!” Elder Hu unleashed his ultimate technique: Ten Thousand Battle Staff Technique: Million Man Campaign. This single strike embodied not just Elder Hu’s personal power, but the supreme, killing methodology forged from the culmination of countless past battles—it surged toward Lu Yuan. With this one blow, space itself seemed ready to fracture. The pitch-black iron staff moved like the very rod of the Grim Reaper, cleaving through everything. This strike unified Jing (Essence), Qi (Energy), and Shen (Spirit)—body, spirit, and magic fused as one.

One Strike to End Heaven.

Just as this blow was about to strike Lu Yuan’s head, the force of the strike vanished into the void. Elder Hu immediately swung again: Ten Thousand Battle Staff Technique: Ten Thousand Strands of Killing Intent. This second strike condensed the most intense, potent killing aura drawn from all his past victories, hurling it toward Lu Yuan. Similarly, just as it neared Lu Yuan, this force retreated into the void.

Elder Hu swung a third time: Ten Thousand Battle Staff Technique: Ten Thousand Ages of Bloody War. As soon as this strike was launched, a monstrous tide of blood appeared. This technique channeled all the blood spilled and the savage spirit emanating from his historical battles into a single swing. A terrifying river of blood manifested as this move was unleashed, yet this strike, too, vanished into the void just as it neared Lu Yuan’s body.

Elder Hu swung a fourth time: Ten Thousand Battle Staff Technique: Profound Mystical Wonder. This was the most exquisitely detailed technique in his staff repertoire, manifesting the entire essence of his staff mastery. Its subtlety far surpassed any of the previous moves. This final strike also hid itself in the void just before impact.

Elder Hu’s Ten Thousand Battle Staff Technique was a supreme secret art he had created himself. This set allowed him to condense the experience, vital blood, and killing intent accumulated from previous battles and store them for deployment in later fights. In essence, the more battles he fought, the stronger his combat power grew, though he believed he had already reached the absolute limit for his current cultivation tier.

The reason none of the preceding strikes had actually hit Lu Yuan was simple: the power of all these blows was concealed directly behind Lu Yuan, waiting for Elder Hu’s final strike to trigger the detonation. Once detonated, this final blow would release the combined fighting strength of the previous four or five strikes. The resulting might would be capable of devastating anyone at the peak of the Longevity Realm.

Elder Hu had the confidence to challenge Fang Ru because he was certain of victory. Had Fang Ru accepted, he would have certainly been defeated, driving the North Peak’s morale to its lowest ebb and stripping them of all dignity.

Elder Hu’s final strike, the “Guiding Reception” move, was then unleashed.

In its initial phase, this move appeared utterly ordinary.

But as it reached the apex above Lu Yuan’s head, the combined power of the preceding four or five strikes—the Million Man Campaign, the Ten Thousand Strands of Killing Intent, the Ten Thousand Ages of Bloody War, and the Profound Mystical Wonder—merged into one colossal, surging technique. Carrying the power of absolute annihilation, it swept toward Lu Yuan, destined to shatter him completely.

“That genius kid from Huashan is finished,” remarked Elder She among the Ten Great Elders of the Demon Faction.

“Indeed, he is finished,” added Elder He.

“Old Tiger really knows how to steal the show. Hey, Bat Elder, wasn’t this Lu Yuan supposed to be yours?” asked Elder Mosquito.

“It doesn’t matter,” Elder Bat shrugged dismissively. “Even if I had saved him to fight me, he was fated to die by my hand. His master died by the hands of my master, the Crimson Flame Demon King. It is the fate of their lineage to perish by my hand.” At this moment, the faces of the North Peak members, including Fang Ru, changed drastically. Among the Seven Elders of Chuyun, Qu Qingchen and Wan Qingwang were already poised to intervene at the critical moment, though they held no guarantee they could save Lu Yuan, given the formidable figures present on the demon side.

Lu Yuan was in mortal danger!