The pink robes of Dongfang Yao were already splashed with considerable blood.

He spat out a mouthful of crimson fluid, murmuring as he stared at his own hands—hands so delicate, so translucent: "Why, why did I lose? My Lotus True Scripture, how could it fail? Impossible, impossible!" The Lotus True Scripture! This was rumored to be a divine technique.

Legend held that the Lotus Boy Nezha possessed formidable power in his time.

Merely because he angered the Dragon King of the East Sea, his father, Li Jing, was forced to apprehend him, leading Nezha to commit self-immolation.

However, his master, Grand Master Taiyi, used a lotus flower to reconstruct his physical body.

The issue was that Nezha originally cultivated the Taiyi Primordial Qi, a technique demanding an intact virgin body.

A body born of the lotus is neither male nor female; where was the requisite virginity? Thus, his master, Grand Master Taiyi, specifically created the Profound Lotus Art for him.

This technique was perfectly suited for beings neither male nor female.

Upon mastering it, the Lotus Boy Nezha became even stronger than when he practiced the Taiyi Primordial Qi, eventually becoming the famous Three Altars Sea Pacifying Great God, whose renown shook heaven and earth, but that is another tale.

This was history from the distant past.

It was said that the Lotus Boy left behind his cultivation methods.

After countless cataclysms, these finally coalesced into the scripture known as the Lotus True Scripture.

This text, while lacking the full might of the original Lotus Boy, still possessed devastating power, ranking among the absolute top-tier cultivation methods in existence.

However, its prerequisite—being neither male nor female—was a significant hurdle.

Unexpectedly, Dongfang Yao practiced this very Lotus True Scripture, which explained his androgynous appearance.

But if he practiced the Lotus True Scripture, why was he defeated by Chu Duan? Could it be that Chu Duan was stronger? That seemed impossible.

Dongfang Yao knew full well the profound heritage of Mount Hua when he chose to attack it.

Yet, after mastering the Lotus True Scripture, he considered himself invincible in the Jin State.

Believing himself unmatched, he naturally assumed he would crush Chu Duan, securing his grand objective.

He never anticipated that this very Lotus True Scripture would fail to grant him superior fighting power over Chu Duan.

…… Meanwhile, elsewhere, Qitian Di, the leader of the Heaven-Aiding Alliance, strode forward.

Although he had been defeated by Zhou Qingxuan, he was quick-witted and emerged unscathed.

He rapidly approached the hidden location of Venerable Yuan Ling and Elder Tian Chou: "Come out." Venerable Yuan Ling and Elder Tian Chou both jumped out, realizing they could not hide from Qitian Di.

In truth, they had missed the latter portion of the previous battle entirely; the Water Mirror Technique had shattered long ago, and they remained unaware of Qitian Di's true identity. "My Lord, you lost?" Venerable Yuan Ling asked tentatively. "Yes, I lost." Qitian Di's tone held no trace of dejection. "To be precise, no one in the current Jin State can overcome that fellow, Zhou Qingxuan.

I truly hadn't expected him to reach the Sword Emperor realm.

While he might not catch up to Yan Cangtian of old, he is undeniably the strongest in Jin State now." "Then how do we deal with Zhou Qingxuan?" Venerable Yuan Ling inquired. "To deal with a person, one must exploit their heart.

But Yuan Ling, isn't this something you've always excelled at? Why ask me?" Qitian Di chuckled wryly. "Besides, does someone like Zhou Qingxuan require my attention? He is already disheartened, indifferent to all external affairs.

As long as Mount Hua is not destroyed, he will not appear." "Still, Mount Hua's continued existence is a constant obstacle to our grand scheme.

Their reputation as the foremost immortal sect in Jin State is not baseless," Elder Tian Chou rasped. "Is it necessary for us to destroy Mount Hua? Since direct confrontation has proven futile, the logical next step is to allow Mount Hua to grow even greater.

The larger they become, the more their inherent conflicts with the other three sects will lead to self-destruction.

This victory for Chu Duan has only laid a larger foundation for Mount Hua's eventual downfall," Qitian Di sneered. "The original plan involving Mount Hua and Dongfang Yao's contingent was that if Mount Hua fell, it was a boon; if Dongfang Yao was defeated, it was not a loss either," Qitian Di explained.

This statement carried a subtle weight.

Currently, the Five Great Immortal Sects held the advantage, leaving the Heaven-Aiding Alliance and the Subterranean Demons in a weaker position.

The weakening of the Subterranean Demons was certainly not favorable to the Heaven-Aiding Alliance; after all, the dog licks the chops of the dying wolf, yet Yuan Ling and Tian Chou trusted Qitian Di was not so simple as to misunderstand the concept of mutual dependency.

At this moment, four characters surfaced in Qitian Di's mind: —The Wedding Dress Demonic Art! The Wedding Dress Demonic Art, the bridal gown of a woman, or perhaps...

————————————— Outside the protective barrier of Mount Hua, in the sky where the battle raged, there was a circle marked by embroidered needles and raging, sky-covering fire.

The lingering remnants of Chu Duan's final clash with Dongfang Yao were precisely these embroidered needles and the conflagration.

Mount Hua's forces had already ceased their attack; following Dongfang Yao’s retreat, they had certainly pressed the advantage, never missing such an opportunity.

The demonic forces, however, had long prepared contingencies for withdrawal.

Since Dongfang Yao often acted impulsively, the demons had come only because they feared angering the volatile leader by refusing to join the assault on Mount Hua, but they always had escape routes prepared.

Of course, even when facing total collapse, having contingency plans does not negate all losses.

For the demons, the Ink Bamboo Demon King, one of the Four Great Demon Kings, was slain outright, and one of the Five Elements Demon Marquises perished.

This loss was considerable for the demons, but the majority managed to retreat back underground.

Conversely, for Mount Hua, it was an overwhelming victory.

Lu Yuan looked up at the sky.

The weather had recently been dreary and rain-soaked, but now the rain had stopped.

Dark clouds still lingered, yet slivers of sunlight pierced through the gloom, bathing the peaks of Mount Hua in light—a rare sunny spell in over a month.

Indeed, the sun always followed the storm.

Unbidden, a profound joy bloomed in his heart. "Victory!" "Mount Hua stands eternal!" "Long live Mount Hua!" "Long live the Sect Master!" "Long live us!" What began as isolated shouts soon swelled into massive choruses.

Lu Yuan joined the roar, shouting for Mount Hua’s eternal life.

Yes, they had defended the peak, repelling the strongest contingent led by Dongfang Yao.

Long live, long live, a thousand times long live! Soon, the shouts merged into one mighty wave.

Ordinary disciples roared, core disciples roared, ordinary elders roared, the Ninth Generation Sword Immortals roared—everyone shouted incessantly.

This defense of Mount Hua, the most difficult they had experienced, had been successfully repelled against a ferocious foe, prompting this unified acclaim.

The Eighth Generation elders, though silent, smiled broadly, their joy layering upon itself.

Amidst this jubilant din, Chu Duan’s face flushed slightly, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood before forcefully swallowing it down.

Defeating Dongfang Yao had indeed cost him, but the injuries were not severe.

Dongfang Yao had ranked extremely high among the eight Grandmasters of the Jin and Yuan States; Chu Duan had previously ranked beneath him.

This victory, achieved by deploying hundreds of magical artifacts, would undoubtedly cement his fame and elevate his standing among the eight.

As this thought crossed his mind, he looked at the jubilant disciples of Mount Hua, temporarily setting aside his ambitions.

Enough of the momentary division between the Sword Sect, the Qi Sect, and the Sword-Qi Sect—this place had become an ocean of happiness.

Chu Duan shouted: "Effective today, a banquet shall be held for three days! Everyone, from top to bottom, across all peaks and lineages, we shall celebrate!" …… One hundred thousand demons besieged Mount Hua; battles inevitably claim lives.

Even in the Cloud Sanctuary of the North Peak, a figure of the Great Dao realm, Huang Qinghua, perished.

However, the survivors were not plunged into despair by the dead.

The departed were mourned, but the living must move forward with vigor.

The three-day feast commenced, and wine was even served—a rarity at Mount Hua.

Lu Yuan also cast aside his reserve.

He had indeed been weary over the past few days, and now he drank heartily alongside everyone else. "Come, Junior Brother Ye, drink up," he toasted Ye Fang. "Oh, isn't this Senior Brother Shi from the Sword Sect? Cheers!" He drank with Shi Chaoyang, the foremost core disciple of the Sword Sect. "Junior Sister Liu, cheers." Lu Yuan shared a toast with Liu Ye'er, a junior sister from the Sword Sect.

After taking a sip, Liu Ye'er's complexion visibly brightened.

She was sipping fruit wine and was already a little tipsy, her eyes half-lidded: "This wine is delicious, so sweet." "Senior Sister Ling, cheers." Ling Yuzhu took a drink, her cheeks flushed.

Lu Yuan drank happily.

At first, he sought out acquaintances, but later, it didn't matter; he drank with anyone who looked cheerful.

Many others were like him, ecstatic.

That night, Lu Yuan became thoroughly drunk.

Through his hazy, drunken vision, Mount Hua remained a beautiful blur.

It was like a dream.

This beauty, this dreamlike scene—he vowed to protect it.

In the following days, news trickled in: the Radiant Demon Emperor Fang Xie and the Dark Demon Emperor Jing Huanzhen had both retreated to the surface.

These two Imperial-level demons suffered minimal losses upon withdrawal.

Fang Xie employed an empty city stratagem, while Jing Huanzhen, who sought Dao through slaying his wife, used an endless mountain of white bones to absorb the attack of the Seven Sages of Wudang before instantly teleporting away.

Jing Huanzhen’s power was growing increasingly potent; he was highly likely to break through to the Grandmaster realm soon.

Naturally, there were still many figures at the Half-Step Grandmaster level, such as Zhuo Budang, the foremost master of the Qi Sect at Mount Hua.

(A word: I discovered today that I gained a new Alliance Master, 'Whosoever Doesn't Believe.' After writing for four years, I finally have an Alliance Master! I am ecstatic.

Of course, thanks also to all the others who have tipped, subscribed, and supported.) RO