The one rushing forward fastest was Zhuo Yihang, the Young Yang Sword Lord of the Wudang Immortal Sect. He currently occupied the Tianji position within the Seven Star Sword Formation, leading it as its vanguard. While commanding the formation to block everyone approaching the Elixir of Immortality, he simultaneously lunged towards it himself—a flawless display of multitasking.

However, just then, an unforeseen anomaly occurred.

A massive, pale yellow palm of magical power suddenly slammed down.

The instant this magical palm materialized, it seemed capable of overwhelming and resisting everything. Zhuo Yihang immediately sensed something was amiss. With a gesture from his hand, the pure Yang sword energy of Wudang shot out, yet the massive pale yellow palm abruptly descended, smashing his renowned Wudang Pure Yang Sword Energy into dust.

Simultaneously, the giant pale yellow hand continued its descent. Zhuo Yihang intended to dodge, but this colossal hand possessed a peculiar, compelling quality, forcefully drawing him into its grasp. It allowed him virtually no room to maneuver before delivering a crushing strike. Zhuo Yihang's entire body shuddered violently.

From that single impact alone, Zhuo Yihang sustained grievous injuries.

Under normal circumstances, others seeing Zhuo Yihang wounded might have seized the opportunity to attack and claim the Elixir of Immortality.

But the moment this pale yellow hand appeared, the feeling it projected was entirely different. Those present couldn't help but feel a chill deep in their hearts, daring not to make any sudden moves. After being thrown back and crashing to the ground, Zhuo Yihang warned, "Everyone, be careful! This is no ordinary person; this is an opponent at the Grand Dao Realm!"

"Indeed, sensing the strength of the Grand Dao Realm from a single palm strike—as expected of the Young Yang Sword Cave of Wudang." A deep, desolate roar of laughter echoed. The crowd then saw three Daoists in pale yellow robes standing atop the Immortal Tree. These Daoists were exceptionally tall and powerfully built, standing there with an imposing, authoritative presence.

Shi Chongtian shouted in surprise, "The Pale Earth Demon Marquis!"

"Correct, it is I."

The Pale Earth Demon Marquis—that name was profoundly notorious. He was one of the Five Great Demon Marquises among the Underworld Demons. The basic hierarchy of the Underworld Demons was: Five Great Demon Marquises, Four Great Demon Kings, Two Great Demon Emperors, and one Demon Emperor. The fact that the Pale Earth Demon Marquis, one of the Five Great Marquises, had appeared filled him with a degree of pride.

This time, the Underworld Demon Saint Emperor Dongfang Yao had died suddenly.

Then, the righteous immortal sects launched their offensive against the Underworld Demons. At this point, everyone could see that the righteous sects intended to achieve an eternal legacy in a single campaign. Indeed, the demons were in a perilous situation, and if they weren't careful, the righteous sects might truly succeed. At this juncture, confronting the righteous sects head-on was clearly out of the question.

The demon side had become quite pessimistic.

However, even amid despair, some were determined to resist, intending to take down many members of the righteous sects even if it meant their deaths. Coincidentally, the Elixir of Immortality was about to emerge, so the demon faction set a trap: first, they positioned the Pale Earth Demon Marquis, who was most attuned to the earth, to lie in ambush within the Undying Land, waiting for those Sword Immortals to take the bait.

Naturally, before setting this scheme, they knew the cunning old foxes among the righteous sects would surely have arranged for figures at the Grand Dao Realm to remain outside, ready to intervene immediately if anything went wrong. Therefore, they had already deployed one of the demon formations here, capable of sealing the Undying Land for roughly fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes was more than enough time for the Pale Earth Demon Marquis to eliminate his opponents.

At the same time, to prevent the righteous sects from noticing any flaw, the three Great Demon Kings continued to resist fiercely on the main battlefield, lest anyone realize too many forces were hidden here.

And so, the trap was sprung.

The Pale Earth Demon Marquis stood atop the Immortal Tree, his heart brimming with satisfaction. If he could kill these Sword Immortals, the righteous sects' vitality would be severely depleted, granting the Underworld Demons a chance to breathe in the future.

The nearest figure to the Pale Earth Demon Marquis was Yu Jiyou, a Half-Step Grand Dao Realm expert from the Qingcheng Immortal Sect. Standing so close, he could feel the incessant waves of Grand Dao Realm magical power radiating outwards; the pressure emitted was simply terrifying. Just as he was about to shift to a safer distance, the Pale Earth Demon Marquis laughed heartily, "Hmph, why should I let you leave?"

With a wave of his hand into the void, the pale yellow great palm reappeared and swept toward Yu Jiyou.

Such immense magical power acted like a gigantic vortex, sucking in the evading Yu Jiyou. This was the Pale Earth Vortex Palm, one of the Pale Earth Demon Marquis's techniques. While not his absolute ultimate skill, the execution by a Grand Dao Realm master, even without employing his final moves, could easily overpower Yu Jiyou.

Yu Jiyou shifted his form repeatedly, unleashing the Flying Darts and Soaring Rain Sword arts, but they were effortlessly scattered by the Pale Earth Vortex Palm. Yu Jiyou himself was struck down, severely injured.

At that very moment, the heavily wounded Zhuo Yihang roared, "Wudang Elders, heed my command! Change formation—the Nine Palaces Sword Formation!"

The nine uninjured elders of the Wudang Immortal Sect immediately executed the Nine Palaces Sword Formation, each occupying one of the nine positions. Instantly, cold sword light flashed everywhere. The Pale Earth Demon Marquis merely sneered, "If a Grand Dao Realm Taoist from Wudang performed the Nine Palaces Sword Formation, I would flee three thousand li away. But you lot? Ridiculous." He utilized the Pale Earth Vortex Palm once more. Countless vortices materialized in the void, and under their immense suction, the practitioners of the Nine Palaces Sword Formation couldn't even maintain their positions, their alignments collapsing as the Pale Earth Demon Marquis plunged in. His palms struck out repeatedly, inflicting heavy injuries on the majority of them.

Thus, the Nine Palaces Sword Formation collapsed without a fight.

Seeing the Nine Palaces Sword Formation on the verge of complete disintegration, the Pale Earth Demon Marquis struck backward with a counter-palm. This strike hit the empty air, but Mo Chuichui of the Huashan Sword Sect materialized in the void only to be sent staggering backward by the blow, spitting blood continuously. The Mist Sword Immortal, Mo Chuichui, had intended a surprise attack but never anticipated being so easily wounded by a single palm from the Pale Earth Demon Marquis.

Grand Dao Realm!

This was the might of the Grand Dao Realm!

An absolutely overwhelming power!

The Pale Earth Demon Marquis, despite being merely in the first tier of the Grand Dao Realm, had routed all the other Sword Immortals present without even employing his more specialized techniques, relying solely on the basic Pale Earth Vortex Palm from his cultivation method.

This starkly illustrated the gulf in strength between the Grand Dao Realm and the Longevity Realm.

The expressions of all the Sword Immortals present changed drastically. The only one who felt somewhat relieved was Ouyang Zhixiao. Ouyang Zhixiao was the Third Light Prince of the Yuan Kingdom, and the Yuan Kingdom had always maintained dealings with the demons. It was likely that the Pale Earth Demon Marquis wouldn't turn bloodthirsty enough to target him.

"You will all die," the Pale Earth Demon Marquis stood atop the Immortal Tree, radiating imposing authority. "Let me see... twenty Longevity Tenth Level, Half-Step Grand Dao Realm Sword Immortals. If you perish, the succession power of the righteous immortal sects will be halved at least! The vitality of the righteous path will be greatly diminished!" He felt an intense sense of satisfaction.

His previous actions—heavily wounding Zhuo Yihang, defeating Yu Jiyou, shattering the Nine Palaces Sword Formation, and injuring Mo Chuichui with one strike—all served to display his true strength.

What did it matter if they were masters within the Longevity Realm? Under his hand, none of them could last three moves.

In reality, this was normal. Recall that when Lu Yuan ambushed Xuan Huazi, he first managed to wound him, and later, even ten Dragon Sharks at the Longevity Tenth Level were no match for Xuan Huazi. Lu Yuan only narrowly won by utilizing the power of a volcanic eruption, making the victory incredibly precarious.

The disparity in strength between the Grand Dao Realm and the Longevity Realm was precisely this vast.

"All of you, perish!" The Pale Earth Demon Marquis scanned the crowd, deciding whom to strike first. Those with higher cultivation and greater potential were the priority. His gaze swept across the crowd and immediately locked onto Lu Yuan, who was undoubtedly recognized as the one with the highest potential. He decided to eliminate this individual first.

The other Sword Immortals could not fail to see the Demon Marquis's intention to execute Lu Yuan first. At this juncture, Fang Ru stepped forward, blocking Lu Yuan, "Lu Yuan, you must flee immediately! I will hold him for a few exchanges." Fang Ru clearly intended to sacrifice his life to protect Lu Yuan. The Pale Earth Demon Marquis laughed heartily, "You are already injured; how could you possibly be my opponent? You still try to stop me? Truly laughable. If you can withstand two moves from me, I'll consider it an achievement."

Lu Yuan was doomed! To be targeted for immediate execution by a Grand Dao Realm master—how could he possibly survive?

However, once Lu Yuan was dead, they would be next. Few among the current Sword Immortals possessed the strength to resist. They had just witnessed how easily the Nine Palaces Sword Formation had been broken.

Just then, a light chuckle sounded: "Martial Uncle Fang... it's merely a Pale Earth Demon Marquis. A mere Pale Earth Demon Marquis can be easily dealt with." Hearing these words, everyone turned to look. This young man in green seemed to be speaking in mad ravings. Did he truly understand what the Grand Dao Realm entailed?

In ten thousand years, not a single practitioner of the Longevity Realm had ever defeated a Grand Dao Realm expert.

Never!

Even Yan Cangtian hadn't managed it in his time.

And now, Lu Yuan was clearly in the Longevity Realm. Even if Lu Yuan was immensely powerful within the Longevity Realm, he was still only Longevity Realm, incapable of contending with the Grand Dao Realm. He was merely a newborn calf ignorant of the Grand Dao Realm's might. Had he known, even if terrified, he wouldn't have dared to speak this way. But now, he would soon learn the terror of the Grand Dao Realm.

The Pale Earth Demon Marquis couldn't help but grin in anger. "Courageous, truly courageous. You live up to your reputation for defeating the strongest among the ten elders. You possess some backbone, but alas, such a person is destined to perish here." He slowly ground his massive palms together.

Then, he turned his hand over and prepared to strike.

The manner in which he turned his hand over wasn't particularly elegant, but it flowed with liquid smoothness.

As his hand turned, a giant, pale yellow palm of magical power manifested in the void. This pale yellow palm condensed into a seal in the air, and a massive vortex began to furiously draw inward, centered around this great magical palm. Simultaneously, this magical palm carried an absolute aura of authority as it charged towards Lu Yuan.

Along its path, everything except space itself was absorbed by the immense suction generated by the great palm formed from the pale yellow force. The power was earth-shatteringly vast, drawing upon the fundamental laws of heaven and earth—the origin power of creation—towards Lu Yuan.

This single strike was terrifyingly imposing! It was like the might of heaven and earth unleashed!

A cultivator in the Grand Dao Realm could inherently project a portion of the heaven and earth's might with a single palm strike.

The Pale Earth Demon Marquis hadn't put his full effort into this palm strike, yet even without serious intent, it was absolutely sufficient to obliterate his opponent, because he was, after all, at the Grand Dao Realm!