The situation had flipped entirely.

In the beginning, when the five figures from Kunlun Immortal Sect unleashed their five Rank Eight magical treasures, the resulting light soared into the heavens. At that time, the five from Kunlun, led by Nie Chenfeng, were utterly convinced of victory over Lu Yuan—an absolute, undeniable win. They believed they could crush him effortlessly, leaving Lu Yuan with no power to retaliate.

This was meant to thoroughly humiliate the reputation of North Peak, Mount Hua, by defeating the immensely famous rising star, Lu Yuan.

Back then, the five from Kunlun had never entertained the slightest possibility of failure.

Failure? What a joke. By the very name of the Primordial Celestial Venerable, there was absolutely no possibility of defeat.

And now, only two remained standing who had not yet been subdued.

Only Nie Chenfeng and Zhao He.

They had initially expected no chance of losing, but seeing Lu Yuan, through astonishing means, defeat three magical treasures, destroy one, and capture two—how could they possibly have imagined this turn? Now, every one of them was so shocked they felt they might collapse right where they stood.

This was too terrifying.

And now, Lu Yuan’s presence was truly magnificent, gripping his longsword, fighting against the many. After shattering three magical treasures, Lu Yuan let out a great laugh. Within that laughter, Zhao He pushed the Ten-Child Gate Evil Formation to its absolute extreme. During moments of human joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure, one is most susceptible to invasion by the Seven Passions and Six Desires of the Desire Realm Demons. The Six Desires: sight, sound, scent, taste, touch, and thought; the Seven Passions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire.

The gates of the mind were attacked—the treasures designed to assault the spirit.

“The Five Treasures of the Seven Treasures True Monarch belonging to our Kunlun Immortal Sect cannot be defeated!” Zhao He roared.

Lu Yuan sneered, leveling his longsword: “I am the Sword King; nothing can touch me.” The aura of the Sword King sprang forth naturally. The Seven Passions and the Six Desire Demons found themselves involuntarily scattered by the presence of the Sword King realm. How could mere demonic manifestations of desire manage to breach the body of a true Sword King?

The Sword King Realm!

Lu Yuan made a grabbing motion in the void and seized the formation map of the Thirteen Gates Evil Formation. As Zhao He tried to resist, Lu Yuan launched a flying kick, sending the heavily injured Yue He flying away. Before Zhao He could struggle further, Lu Yuan delivered another kick, compounding his injuries and leaving him barely clinging to life.

At this point, only Lu Yuan and Nie Chenfeng remained.

Nie Chenfeng’s expression drastically changed. He had never imagined Lu Yuan’s strength was so formidable, and—so vicious. This was truly vicious beyond measure. His four junior brothers and their four Rank Eight magical treasures had all been severely wounded under Lu Yuan’s assault; one treasure destroyed, three captured.

What domineering means!

What tyrannical power!

Lu Yuan and Nie Chenfeng stood face to face.

Nie Chenfeng muttered, “How is this possible? How could you possibly be this strong?” He could not accept it. In a one-on-one confrontation, the panic in his eyes became even more pronounced; his usual composure was shattered. He shouted, “Profound Yin Myriad Beast Banner, attack me!” Since his debut, he had never known defeat, except for that one loss long ago under the hands of Venerable Yuanyuan. Now, he might actually lose to a junior successor, and he simply could not tolerate it.

He roared, and the dark energy from the Profound Yin Myriad Beast Banner surged forth with unprecedented intensity. Although the number of Myriad Poison King Snakes remained eighty-one, their numbers were growing, and they were starting to sprout claws. Simultaneously, their heads began to transform, gradually shedding the serpentine shape toward that of a horse. The current might of the Profound Yin Myriad Beast Banner was far greater than before.

It was rumored that the Seven Treasures True Monarch once used this treasure to summon eighty-one Myriad Poison Dragons, shaking heaven and earth with their power.

While Nie Chenfeng could not achieve the eighty-one Myriad Poison Dragons, his current display of power was still boundless.

With this level of might, Nie Chenfeng was confident he could crush any opponent at the Longevity Realm, regardless of who they were.

“To struggle for dear life at this stage is truly laughable,” Lu Yuan declared, his voice ringing out. His Nourishing Spirit Sword transformed into a startling streak of sword light. Initially, this light resembled the rising sun, but as the sword momentum unfolded, it became a blazing, scorching sun that consumed everything.

This single strike carried boundless sword light.

This single strike carried infinite fury.

This single strike was infused with countless techniques.

This single strike had merged with profound mysteries.

This strike was esoteric and deep.

One slash nearly severed everything, cutting through countless inky-black Myriad Poison King Snakes. When the final, flame-like sword light descended upon Nie Chenfeng, it flashed across his right shoulder, severing it cleanly. With that single strike, Nie Chenfeng was instantly crippled, countless meridians within his body destroyed.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan formed a claw in the void and swept the Profound Yin Myriad Poison Banner into his spatial artifact. Nie Chenfeng, already grievously wounded, suffered another blow; his sect’s greatest treasure, the Profound Yin Myriad Poison Banner, had been seized. Overwhelmed by injury and rage, he immediately passed out.

Lu Yuan now began his plunder. These men from Kunlun Immortal Sect had intended to brutally shame North Peak, Mount Hua. Now, Lu Yuan would brutally shame the face of Kunlun Immortal Sect. Lu Yuan relieved all six Kunlun members of their belongings. Oh, and there was one other Kunlun member who hadn't brought a major treasure and hadn't fought, but that made no difference. He naturally dared not oppose Lu Yuan now, meekly handing over his spatial artifact. This last remaining member of Kunlun was quieter than a lamb, not daring to resist in the slightest.

Lu Yuan nodded. “You are cooperative. I am quite satisfied with you.” Hearing this, the cultivator felt a surge of relief; he truly did not wish to face a menace like Lu Yuan.

“How about this: I will only severely injure one half of your body, and leave the other half untouched,” Lu Yuan stated. The cultivator’s heart immediately sank into sorrow.

It was a blow after a brief high. But immediately, he felt neither high nor low, because the pain was too intense. Being severely injured was agonizingly painful. At this moment, the cultivator realized that perhaps not cooperating actively might have been better; if he hadn’t cooperated, Lu Yuan would have simply knocked him unconscious without giving him any preferential treatment—which would have been preferable to this current, unbearable torment.

Lu Yuan paid no mind to the groans of pain nearby. He counted his gains and realized he had benefited significantly this time. A typical Sword Immortal at the Tenth Layer of Longevity might yield about twenty giant spirit beasts and twenty mid-grade spirit stones. These six, however, were above average. Together, the six yielded one hundred thirty-two giant spirit beasts and one hundred fifty mid-grade spirit stones.

Lu Yuan was now truly loaded.

Then there was the mountain of magical treasures. The Kunlun Immortal Sect’s sword techniques were not particularly outstanding, nor were their spells particularly brilliant. Their greatest strength lay in their magical treasures. Each member possessed over ten artifacts. However, the most valuable among these were the four he had initially captured: the Profound Yin Myriad Poison Banner, the Myriad Sword Array Diagram, the Thirteen Gates Evil Array Diagram, and the Sky Dragon Sound Transformation Spirit Sword—their worth was unbelievably high.

Of the five major artifacts, one was destroyed by Lu Yuan, and the remaining four were seized by him. The six poisoned cultivators, including Fang Ru, immediately regained consciousness after a sweep of Lu Yuan’s Azure Emperor Sword Light passed over them.

The six were first stunned upon waking.

The scene they beheld was of the six Kunlun members lying on the ground, bleeding profusely. While they appeared to be out of mortal danger, they had clearly been severely beaten. What was happening? Everyone was utterly confused, unable to grasp the situation.

In their minds, five of the six Kunlun members possessed ancestral treasures, Rank Eight magical artifacts. In an era capped by Rank Nine artifacts, the concept of a Rank Eight treasure was monumental. They had all witnessed the power of these artifacts when first unleashed—it was even more terrifying than the legends suggested.

Yet, when they woke up, the reality was completely different.

Lu Yuan still stood there, his robes unmarked by a single drop of blood, while the Kunlun members they thought were guaranteed victors lay heavily injured on the ground.

This bizarre atmosphere, this impossible scene—it was difficult to bear.

Finally, Fang Ru managed to ask, “What exactly happened?” He was as bewildered as the others. He knew Lu Yuan was strong, but Kunlun had brought out five supreme treasures, all Rank Eight artifacts. In an era where Rank Nine was the peak, just imagine the significance of Rank Eight treasures.

Lu Yuan shrugged. “I took care of them.”

At these words, everyone still conscious sucked in a sharp breath.

“These six claimed they would shame North Peak, Mount Hua. So, I made them lose face. That’s all,” Lu Yuan said dismissively, shrugging again. “Beat these six severely, take their spirit beasts and spirit stones. Oh, and of the five supreme treasures, the White Brow Needle was destroyed by me; the other four have been collected.”

Fang Ru was shocked! The other five were astonished!

They never could have anticipated such an outcome—this...

A cultivator from the Heavenly Mystery Immortal Sect spoke up, “The rest is fine, but destroying one Rank Eight magical treasure and taking four will likely invite disputes with their sect.”

At this moment, Fang Ru let out a cold laugh. “Our Mount Hua Immortal Sect is the true foremost immortal sect. Kunlun can only rank third. If we had lost and disgraced our sect, we would have no face. Since we have won, there is no reason to be afraid. Lu Yuan, you may keep those four treasures. You don’t need artifacts, but you must make Kunlun pay an extremely high price to get them back. If any trouble arises, Mount Hua will bear the responsibility for you.” This was the confidence of a major sect, the sheer presence of Mount Hua Immortal Sect, causing the cultivators from the five mid-tier immortal sects to burn with envy and hatred.

Indeed, Mount Hua was divided into Three Branches.

But if the Mount Hua Sword Qi Branch had earned glory for Mount Hua, no matter how much internal strife existed between the three branches, they would never allow the Kunlun Immortal Sect to come and bully them. Otherwise, what claim would they have to the name Mount Hua Immortal Sect?

The glory of being Number One was the glory of being Number One.

If Chu Duan yielded due to political maneuvering, he wouldn’t be the Master of Mount Hua.

Because this was the honor of all of Mount Hua.

The premier position in the State of Jin!