Lu Yuan cast a sword strike, aiming for the Ice Jiao's weakest point. Lu Jiu himself possessed supreme swordsmanship, having reached the Sword King realm and endured the baptism of the Myriad Swords Reincarnation; with a mere glance, he could discern his opponent's most vulnerable spot. This choice was impeccable; had Ming Jianzi taken the blow, he would likely have been forced into a humiliating retreat.

However, the Ice Dragon merely let out a soft cry, suggesting it had sustained only a minor, negligible injury. But this act infuriated the Ice Jiao. It let out a roar toward the sky and lunged at Lu Yuan. Wherever this Ice Jiao passed, the ground froze into layers of ice of incredible thickness. This ice was far more terrifying than the Profound Nether Ultimate Ice, forcing all observers to retreat to a great distance. Even those within the Profound Nether Immortal Sect had retreated far, fearing collateral damage.

Too formidable!

Lu Yuan blocked the massive Ice Jiao strike after strike, each parry directed with the fastest possible insight toward the Jiao's weakest spot. Yet, even so, he was sent flying an immeasurable distance, finding the defense incredibly arduous. Moreover, the Ice Jiao grew more terrifying, and his attempts to cope became utterly desperate. Indeed, no mid-tier Immortal Sect was to be trifled with. A sect like the Profound Nether Immortal Sect, though fallen, still harbored such a terrifying trump card. While Lu Yuan secretly lamented his current plight, every person watching, including Ming Jianzi, considered Lu Yuan terrifying beyond measure.

Ming Jianzi had always considered his swordsmanship supreme.

But now, witnessing Lu Yuan’s swordplay—how every single strike, even amidst chaos, unerringly found the Ice Jiao's weak point—the sheer acuity of eye and skill surpassed anything Ming Jianzi possessed. Ming Jianzi admitted that if he were in Lu Yuan's position, managing one accurate strike out of ten against the Ice Jiao's weakness would be considered a good outcome.

Thus, while Lu Yuan pondered the terror of the Ice Jiao, everyone else was actually marveling at the terror that was Lu Yuan.

Still, no matter how frightening Lu Yuan might be, facing the Ice Jiao manifested by the Profound Nether Grand Formation meant only a dead end.

Lu Yuan’s eyesight was exceptionally keen. In that instant, he spotted what appeared to be slight scale damage near the Jiao’s weak point. He casually sent a sword stroke toward it, and the Ice Jiao seemed to hesitate, skillfully evading the strike. Why did it evade? Lu Yuan scrutinized it again, pushing his vision to its absolute limit, examining every inch.

Inspecting it piece by piece like this, he immediately noticed something amiss—there were multiple junction points of injury across the Ice Jiao’s body, seemingly caused by a single sword strike.

Following the trajectory of these sword scars, it appeared that one single sword blow had split the Ice Jiao in two.

Who could accomplish such a feat!

Lu Yuan could not help but recall the achievements of Ancestor Yan from long ago. It was rumored that Ancestor Yan had once cleaved the Profound Nether Son in half with a sword strike in the South Sea. Could this be where he struck? The Profound Nether Son would naturally have unleashed this Ice Jiao before death. It was highly probable that Ancestor Yan had slain the Ice Jiao with a single sword stroke as well. Then everything would make sense.

No wonder the Ice Jiao’s current power seemed so weak; it was due to the injury inflicted by Ancestor Yan back then.

And Ancestor Yan was certainly capable of wielding such an exquisite sword strike.

Now, he truly could not defeat the Ice Jiao. But the Ice Jiao still carried Ancestor Yan's unhealed wound. If Lu Yuan could trace Ancestor Yan’s sword mark with his own strike, awakening the Jiao’s painful memory, could he possibly slay the Ice Jiao in one blow, forcing it back into slumber and transforming it once more into icy energy?

It was worth a try. After parrying one attack, Lu Yuan sliced his sword forward.

This strike was the unity of Man and Sword made manifest. It contained countless intricacies—many of which could not be achieved through standard sword manipulation but only through holding the sword oneself to manifest such variation.

When the sword reached the Ice Jiao’s first wound, the creature went somewhat berserk. Then came the second wound... the third wound... the fourth wound.

Sixty chana (moments) in a single dan zhi (flick of a finger).

And how long was one chana?

The time of one chana was definitely brief, yet within this single chana, Lu Yuan experienced an eternity. Lu Yuan finally witnessed the perfect sword strike. How perfect was this strike! His entire Sword Intent, all his sword Qi, the Water Sovereign Sword Dao, the Fire Sovereign Sword Dao, the more than ten, nearly twenty Sword Intents he had mastered—all fused completely at this moment into one perfect whole.

At this moment, Lu Yuan perfected his own sword technique by following the residual sword momentum left by Yan Cangtian.

When Lu Yuan first unleashed this strike, Ming Jianzi and the others thought it was exquisite, perhaps, but merely Lu Yuan’s usual standard, nothing particularly surprising. But then they realized something was amiss. This strike gradually morphed, subtly taking on the shape of a dragon—a white dragon, fangs bared and claws extended, lunging toward the Ice Jiao.

This is!

A dragon!

In swordsmanship, there exists a legend.

Of course, it was only ever a legend.

This legend was the Dragon Form.

In the Cultivation World of Jin State, generally, only those who reached the Grandmaster realm could manifest the Dragon Form. While one could forcibly mimic it, such an imitation would lack the true power of a dragon. However, there was another legend: when one's swordsmanship reached the pinnacle where all Sword Intents merged into a single entity, where several Sword King realms could fuse, they could attain an invisible, formless state—not through transcendent magical power, but acknowledged as an Absolute Grandmaster of the Sword Dao. In swordsmanship, this was called the Dragon Form!

Simply put, this was the unification of a person’s essence (jing), vital energy (qi), spirit (shen), all movements, all Sword Intents, and everything else, released entirely into the act of destruction, stirring the witnessing heavens and earth. This was the fundamental, ineffable ultimate sword realm achievable only upon mastering the peak ferocity of swordsmanship.

The Dragon Form of the Sword Dao!

How could it be the Dragon Form of the Sword Dao!

In Lu Yuan’s mind, there was no thought, no contemplation; everything was cast aside. His mind was utterly clear. This was the strike born from channeling his absolute strongest power, incorporating all past sword techniques into this single blow. This was the Dragon Form of the Sword Dao! Previously, he had always agonized over only being able to execute one move at a time, but now, that concern was finally irrelevant.

Lu Yuan finally regained consciousness and, upon doing so, abruptly heard a piercing shriek. The gigantic Ice Jiao was writhing violently in agony. Before Lu Yuan could react, the massive creature dissolved into icy energy, scattering back up into the Profound Nether Ice Palace.

He succeeded!

Lu Yuan let out a long breath, realizing his swordsmanship had ascended to a higher realm: the Dragon Form of the Sword Dao. Purely concerning technique, he had essentially reached the absolute limit, lacking only the Ten Great Iron Rules.

Lu Yuan snapped back to reality and looked around, finding everyone submerged in shock. Every spectator stood with eyes wide open, mouths agape wide enough to swallow a duck egg. Every sword cultivator had been taught about the legend of the Dragon Form of the Sword Dao, but it remained just a legend—the ultimate state of swordsmanship that no one had ever witnessed. And now, someone had truly executed the Dragon Form of the Sword Dao. Furthermore, this Dragon Form was not wielded by some Grandmaster, but by a junior.

Time seemed frozen for a long moment!

Ming Jianzi finally reacted. The Mountain Protecting Formation required continuous support to function. Earlier, Ming Jianzi had expended considerable magical power supporting the Ice Jiao. Now that the Jiao was dispersed, his power was nearly depleted. His first instinct was to flee. Yes, it was shameful for a Dao Realm expert to run from a Longevity Realm opponent, but at this moment, he couldn't care less; escape if he could, or wait here to die.

Lu Yuan felt perfectly poised, though he knew it was impossible to manifest the Dragon Form of the Sword Dao again. The energy consumption of that single strike was immense; deploying it twice consecutively was out of the question. Therefore, at this moment, using the sea as his sword, he commanded a monstrous wave to surge forth, shattering the ice.

“Water Sovereign Sword Dao!” Lu Yuan roared.

Ming Jianzi fled with incredible speed, but the azure long sword formed by Lu Yuan’s Water Sovereign Sword Dao pierced into Ming Jianzi’s chest. Countless minute azure swords shot forward. Pa-pa-pa-pa. Although Ming Jianzi blocked some attacks, his cultivation was nearly exhausted, and he could finally hold back no longer. With several piercing sounds, several of his most vital areas were perforated. He let out a scream, his pupils becoming vacant; the last flicker of life vanished.

The final thought in Ming Jianzi’s mind was one of profound tragedy: he was the first expert of the Dao Realm in millennia to die at the hands of a Longevity Realm cultivator. He remained unaware that his rival, Xuan Huazi, had already snatched this "honor" of being the first Dao Realm expert in millennia to fall to a Longevity Realm cultivator.

Xuan Huazi, Ming Jianzi—these two mortal enemies—both met their end at Lu Yuan’s hands, one after the other.

Having finally slain his opponent, Lu Yuan breathed a deep sigh of relief. It had not been easy.

Lu Yuan then carried the momentum from killing Ming Jianzi and the long period of maintaining the seal, storming into the Profound Nether Ice Palace. Before, he held back, conserving power to deal with Ming Jianzi. Now that this great enemy was gone, there was no reason to spare an evil path sect. Anyone in the Profound Nether Sect who had mastered the basic technique was certainly no good, as the sect's foundational art, the Cold Blood Heart Method, required killing ten people just to achieve initial proficiency—a detail Xuan Huazi had clearly recorded.

Lu Yuan swept through, carrying the lingering might of having killed Ming Jianzi and maintained the blockade for so long. Those he encountered had zero morale; none could withstand even a single exchange. Every person Lu Yuan sought out perished by his hand.

The inhabitants of the Profound Nether Ice Palace, seeing the Ice Jiao dissipate, dared not fight and instead scrambled desperately to escape. Some managed to flee the Ice Palace grounds. However, back when they operated under the prestige of the Profound Nether Immortal Sect, they acted tyrannically, knowing people feared the sect and wouldn't dare touch them. Now that the great tree had fallen, these enemies of people across the South Sea were certainly not going to escape death.

Lu Yuan sat atop the massive palace gate of the Profound Nether Ice Palace, pulled out his wine gourd, and took a long drink. "The Profound Nether Immortal Sect is erased from history."

This statement was far from simple.

Its meaning resonated deeply.