The crimson torrent of magma erupted from the island's volcano, a blinding pillar of fire scorching the heavens red.

At this moment, Lu Yuan poured every ounce of his spirit, his very last reserves of magic power, into this final strike.

"Let the strongest Fire Sovereign Sword Dao explode!"

Lu Yuan roared!

Xuan Huazi had initially believed capturing Lu Yuan would be a simple matter; true fury had taken hold of him. But then, Lu Yuan countered with this single sword strike, borrowing the might of heaven and earth to achieve this terrifying situation. This sword was like a descending volcano, carrying the immense pressure of the world, shaking the very foundations of existence.

For a figure at the Great Dao Realm, like Xuan Huazi, shaking the heavens and earth was not hyperbole, but a literal description, rendered plainly.

Because reaching the Great Dao Realm inherently meant one had come to know the rules of heaven and earth; such a tremor was merely natural consequence.

Xuan Huazi tried to evade, but found escape impossible. At that very instant, the volcano erupted, and endless crimson flames surged up from the ground, merging seamlessly with the sword strike. This sword possessed tracking capabilities. If he were at full strength, blocking it would be simple; at fifty percent, evading it would be easy. But now!

Xuan Huazi felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. He was of the Great Dao Realm—for ten thousand years, no Great Dao Realm expert had ever been defeated by one from the Longevity Realm. Was he destined to be the first in ten millennia to lose to a Longevity Realm cultivator? In that moment, Xuan Huazi could only fight desperately to sustain himself.

The blazing great sword of flame, carrying terrifying heat, its body filled with boundless fire and infinite lava, cleaved toward Xuan Huazi, striking heavily against his sword of icy cold.

Now, Xuan Huazi unleashed the final dregs of potential within his body. Even he hadn't known he possessed such reserves, summoning this much magical power at this crucial juncture.

A sword forged of raging flames, the Fire Sovereign Heavenly Might, clashed against the ice-cold sword imbued with the rules of the Great Dao.

This was the final blow!

The two forces met head-on.

The swords locked in a stalemate for that eternal instant.

An infinite joy surged through Xuan Huazi’s heart. He had blocked Lu Yuan’s final assault! If he could just hold this one strike, he would win. Was victory finally at hand?

Lu Yuan realized his final attack had been parried, but instantly, he bellowed three times: "Explode! Explode! Explode!" Each shout was more potent than the last. Under these three explosive cries, the Fire Sovereign Heavenly Might sword violently erupted. The raging flames devoured every inch of space, consuming the icy sword, and along with it, Xuan Huazi himself.

An instant later, Lu Yuan gasped heavily for breath. In the next instant, Xuan Huazi's body was cleanly sliced into two halves, the rest incinerated to ash that drifted down onto the island surface behind him.

Finally, he had succeeded in challenging and defeating a Great Dao Realm expert!

Something no one had achieved in ten thousand years, and he had done it.

If this news reached the Jin Kingdom, it would cause a national sensation, eclipsing anything Lu Yuan had done before. A Longevity Realm cultivator killing a Great Dao Realm expert seemed utterly impossible by any measure. Of course, this victory required Lu Yuan to exhaust every possible measure, including a prior sneak attack. If Lu Yuan had faced the Great Dao Realm expert at full strength in a direct duel, he would still lose now.

The Great Dao was the Great Dao.

Infinitely more powerful than the Longevity Realm.

Exhilarating!

That final series of shouts—"Explode! Explode! Explode!"—the feeling was indescribably thrilling.

Having released the thrill, it was time for a drink. He managed to pull out a bottle of wine and took a satisfying gulp. The normally refreshing Sea Monkey Wine tasted even more exquisite and satisfying now.

Lu Yuan felt utterly exhausted. The spot where the pillar of fire had erupted on the island was now silent. He paused to rest. During this brief interval, the force of the rising fire pillar waned, lessening. This eruption had been merely a chance occurrence, and Lu Yuan’s Fire Sovereign Sword Dao had drawn off too much of the explosive energy, temporarily stabilizing the volcano. When it might erupt next, no one could say.

Lu Yuan leaned against a small hill, lacking the strength even to move. The island around him had already been reduced to ruins.

While resting, Lu Yuan's mind kept replaying the recent scene—the utter obliteration of the Great Dao Realm expert, the slaughter of Xuan Huazi—how overwhelmingly satisfying it had been.

Never mind, time to check his spoils. Lu Yuan took another sip of Sea Monkey Wine, recovering a sliver of his magic power. A sweep of his divine sense quickly located Xuan Huazi's spatial artifact. This artifact turned out to be a scroll painting he had carried casually; this type of spatial storage was exceedingly rare.

Unfurling the scroll, Lu Yuan saw it was immensely long. Everything stored within this spatial artifact was depicted on the painting; one merely had to reach out and retrieve the corresponding item. While Xuan Huazi lived, outsiders could not see the contents; only he could perceive them. But now that he was dead, his magic power had dissipated, unable to maintain the scroll's concealment.

On the painting, Lu Yuan spotted a table, and upon it, two dishes.

On one dish lay fourteen Soul Crystals.

The other dish held fifty-five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. The quantity of Spirit Stones was fitting for Xuan Huazi’s status—a full fifty-five. However, the Soul Crystals numbered only fourteen, causing Lu Yuan to initially underestimate his gain. Lu Yuan didn't realize that once a cultivator reached the Great Dao Realm, the soul became less critical; Xuan Huazi had never made an effort to collect them, hence the small number.

Beneath the table depicted on the scroll, several spirit swords lay scattered. He reached out and took them; all were ice-elemental spirit swords. The ground in the painting was still covered in ice, and when he tried to grasp it, he couldn't. Forget it, I’ll ignore this area for now. Being his first encounter with such an artifact, Lu Yuan was slightly bewildered.

Eh, I almost missed it. Tucked under the shadow of the dishes was a book. Reaching for it, Lu Yuan saw the three characters inscribed on its cover: The Extreme of Profundity (Xuan Zhi Ji). Was this the technique Xuan Huazi had been practicing? Lu Yuan flipped through The Extreme of Profundity and immediately felt the sword energy around him surge; it seemed quite extraordinary. He would practice it later; this Xuan Zhi Ji should be beneficial.

His gaze moved across the scroll, away from the house, looking toward the world outside the depicted structure. The exterior was a scene of icy weather, with snow swirling everywhere. Lu Yuan tried to grab the fluttering snow, but it remained intangible. However, outside, there were dozens of Ice Whales and one colossal Ice Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Judging by the spirit beasts, their value was roughly equivalent to his own current assets, Lu Yuan mused internally. This was reasonable; Lu Yuan had made his first major accumulation during the assault by the hundred thousand demons on Mount Hua. A normal cultivator at the tenth layer of the Longevity Realm would possess twenty or thirty, perhaps forty at most, giant spirit beasts. For Xuan Huazi, a Great Dao Realm expert, this level of wealth was normal.

With this haul, the speed at which his magic power could recover would certainly increase.

However, Lu Yuan was puzzled by one thing: even the house and the table could be taken out of the scroll. The house was constructed of Tai Bai Profound Iron, likely because there had been an excess after forging spirit swords. The hearth fire inside the house was actually the Eternal Flame.

But why couldn't the swirling snow and the thin layer of ice on the ground be retrieved? Why?

He dismissed the thought for now, deciding to conceal the scroll; perhaps it would be useful later.

What Lu Yuan didn't know was that the swirling snow and the thin sheet of ice held secrets of their own—mysteries that were certainly no less profound than The Extreme of Profundity, and whose value would not rank below that of the Ultimate-grade spirit beasts.

After organizing the spoils on the scroll, Lu Yuan froze; he had almost forgotten something crucial. He possessed the Special Grade Puppet Command Token left by the South Sea Sword Master. This token had the power to capture cultivators at the first or second layer of the Great Dao Realm and turn them into puppets.

Xuan Huazi's corpse lay right beside him. If he captured the body now, possessing a first-layer Great Dao Realm puppet would vastly enhance his combat strength.

Is this worth it? Lu Yuan pondered internally. An ordinary cultivator would have done this long ago. But Lu Yuan had long ago vowed absolute devotion to the sword: "My heart is true only to the sword; nothing else exists." If he used puppetry now, wouldn't it contradict his grand vow for the Dao of the Sword? Furthermore, the South Sea Sword Master had abandoned the art of puppetry because it was not orthodox. If Lu Yuan followed suit, wouldn't he be treading the same path the Sword Master had abandoned?

Yet, reflecting again, though he appeared to be at the tenth layer of the Longevity Realm, ascending from the Longevity Realm to the Great Dao Realm was immensely difficult, far from easy. During this process, if he avoided conflict with the Great Dao Realm, that was one thing. But if conflict arose, he was absolutely no match for them. Thinking back to the previous battle, how narrow the victory had been—relying on perfect timing, terrain, and numerous other factors, he had barely overcome Xuan Huazi, a mere first-layer Great Dao Realm expert. He might not win a rematch. If he could possess a Great Dao Realm puppet now, the power gained would be immense.

Two conflicting ideas wrestled endlessly in his mind.

One, fidelity to the Dao of the Sword.

Two, the craving for power.

After a long while, Lu Yuan smacked his forehead—he had been foolish.

The South Sea Sword Master abandoned puppetry because mastering it required too much time and energy, forcing him to give it up. Lu Yuan had never considered practicing the art of puppetry. He was merely using a magical treasure occasionally—the Special Grade Puppet Token left by the Sword Master. He wasn't investing his time in practicing the technique itself.

All his time and energy were still devoted to the Dao of the Sword.

My heart remains true to the sword; whether I use a puppet or not has no bearing on that.

His former understanding was: "The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind a shining mirror stand; time and again, diligently wipe it clean, allowing no dust to gather."

But now, his understanding was: "Originally, there is no Bodhi tree, nor is the mirror a stand; fundamentally, there is not a single thing, so where can dust alight?"

If his devotion to the Dao of the Sword could be shaken by merely using a puppet for a moment, then his devotion wasn't true at all. His concept of the Sword Heart was laughable.