It was said that when the ten thousand demons besieged Qingcheng, the sect stood on the brink of collapse. Help from the distant South Sea was too far away to arrive in time, and Mount Hua, having suffered heavy losses and lacking even a single Half-Step Grandmaster, could offer no support. The only factions capable of rendering aid were Kunlun and Wudang. Upon hearing of the demon assault on Qingcheng—which, though superior to Mount Hua among the five major immortal sects, was clearly inferior to the other three—they knew Qingcheng could not withstand the peerless demonic might of Ren Du. Thus, both the Kunlun Immortal Sect and the Wudang Immortal Sect immediately dispatched troops to the rescue. However, when the two great sects arrived at Qingcheng, they discovered the attack was merely a feint.

The true target of Ren Du and his forces was Kunlun Mountain.

Kunlun had sent a contingent to aid Qingcheng, never anticipating that Ren Du would strike at Kunlun itself. The ensuing panic and the scramble to redirect reinforcements proved too slow. Fortunately, Kunlun was not excessively far from Wudang, allowing the Wudang Immortal Sect to send aid to Kunlun Mountain.

Yet, this too proved to be a deception. Ren Du had laid three devastatingly powerful ambushes between Kunlun and Wudang while simultaneously leading the main assault on Wudang Mountain.

Wudang had already dispatched two groups—one to aid Qingcheng and one to aid Kunlun—leaving its own defenses critically thin. Ren Du conquered Wudang with ease, burning the mountain, shattering its protective formation, and slaughtering numerous core disciples left guarding the sect. Though Wudang Mountain did not fall completely, its vitality was severely damaged.

Simultaneously, Ren Du unleashed the triple ambush set between Kunlun and Wudang, while the force he had deployed at Wudang charged forward, crushing the Wudang contingent sent to reinforce Kunlun through a devastating pincer attack.

Afterward, he re-besieged Kunlun Mountain.

By this time, the Wudang and Kunlun contingents that had gone to aid Qingcheng were forced to retreat and reinforce their respective homes. This thousand-mile journey was arduous; the cultivators were exhausted and their spiritual power depleted. Ren Du, leveraging the element of rest against their fatigue, set up another ambush mid-route, crippling these retreating forces.

At this juncture, three contingents from Wudang suffered catastrophic losses.

Kunlun also sustained heavy damage.

Ironically, the first sect attacked, Qingcheng Immortal Sect, ended up suffering the least severe casualties.

This sequence of ambushes was breathtaking in its scope and ruthlessness.

People finally understood that Ren Du’s power was not solely derived from the Blood Transformation Demonic Art, the premier demonic cultivation technique rooted deep in the earth, but also from his brilliant, fiendish strategies and cold-blooded execution—the feigned attacks, the flanking maneuvers, the deceptive lures. The combined strength of the three major immortal sects, which should have been comparable to his own, was turned against them, leaving them severely diminished.

Only then did they grasp the terrifying demonic sovereign that the sixth and seventh generations of the Jin State’s cultivators had faced over a millennium prior. It was no wonder that the leaders of the righteous path were nearly overthrown by Ren Du; only the singular sword and absolute disregard for everything else displayed by Yan Cangtian allowed Ren Du to suffer a near-death escape.

Now, almost everyone realized that countering a figure like Ren Du required the emergence of another Yan Cangtian.

And in the current age, the only person in the Jin State's immortal cultivation world who held the potential to become the next Yan Cangtian was Lu Yuan, the current Master of Mount Hua. A year had passed, and Lu Yuan was no longer the acting master, but the formal one.

This great campaign marked the entry of the Jin State's cultivation world into an age where the Dao declined and the demonic path flourished.

At that time, Wudang Immortal Sect had lost three of its esteemed Seven Sages; the loss of High Sages and Elders was even greater, numbering countless. Even among the five who qualified for the Hundred Sects Assessment, two were lost, and the core disciples were nearly annihilated. Fortunately, Song Qingqiao, the foremost of the Seven Sages, survived. He united with several Great Dao Realm High Sages to form the True Martial Seven Interceptions Array, bolstered by the reactivated Wudang protective formation. With five millennia of accumulated power, Wudang could hold on, but its offensive capability was gone, relegated to passive defense.

Qingcheng and Kunlun Immortals found it difficult even to defend their respective headquarters. The two sects merged entirely, moving their operations to Kunlun, which was conveniently located near Wudang, allowing them to maintain proximity.

The South Sea Immortal Sect, being geographically distant, avoided this calamity as the situation in the South Sea remained different.

Mount Hua, having long fortified itself, was another matter entirely.

As for the mid-tier immortal sects, their plight was miserable. The figures within the Heaven-Assisting Alliance scattered, annihilating numerous mid-tier sects. Ultimately, these surviving sects either fled to the South Sea, sought refuge at Wudang Mountain, crossed over to other states like Qin, or gathered at Kunlun Mountain.

The arrogance of the demonic path was, at this point, laid bare.

The figures of the Heaven-Assisting Alliance earned widespread fame throughout the Jin State.

The singular Emperor Ren Du; the erratic Huazhuo Fang Xie; Jing Huanzhen, who sought the Dao by slaying his wife; the swift Red Winged Demon King; the far-reaching Violet Scale Demon King; the prescient Yuan Ling Shangren; the heartless Old Man Tian Chou; the Formation Master Zhang Xuxuan; the South Sea’s Single Sword Qiao Feidu; and Broken Blade Zuo Heng, among countless others.

Demonic might surged, poisoning the world entire.

Mount Hua remained a safe harbor.

However, Lu Yuan knew this safety was temporary. Once Ren Du rectified the flaw in his Blood Transformation Great Law backlash, he would return to Mount Hua. Ren Du was determined to annihilate Hua, firstly because Patriarch Yan had pressed him too severely in the past, forcing him, who was on the verge of toppling the righteous path, into a sham death escape.

Secondly, it was because of Lu Yuan himself; Ren Du feared Lu Yuan would become a second Patriarch Yan. Yet, Lu Yuan would not be a second Patriarch Yan; he would be himself. If given another hundred years, killing Ren Du would be as simple as slicing vegetables. For these reasons, Ren Du was certain to return to Mount Hua.

Therefore, Lu Yuan’s most immediate need was to elevate his spiritual power; strength was the best means of self-preservation.

Lately, he had been studying diligently but still could not merge the thirty-six ancient talismans into a single entity.

Perhaps he needed to seek an alternative path.

The Cloud Chasing Immortal Realm!

The Cloud Chasing Trial!

In the entire history of the North Peak, only one person had mastered the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations: the Second Generation Patriarch. Perhaps he could enter the Cloud Chasing Trial to see if the Cloud Chasing Patriarch had left anything behind that might allow him to break through to the fourth level of the Great Dao Realm. He felt a subtle stirring within—a sensation he recognized as the Alaya consciousness, the seventh sense.

Normally, the Cloud Chasing Trial opened only once every ten years. In the past, Lu Yuan should have participated, but the attack on the North Peak by Yuan Ling Shangren had prevented him. Now, as the Master of Mount Hua, he could proceed to the trial and investigate the nature of the legendary Cloud Chasing Sword Array.

The Cloud Chasing Sword Array was famed for remaining unbroken for over four thousand years.

Did breaking out of the Cloud Chasing Sword Array prove less difficult than imagined? At this moment, Lu Yuan had already passed through the array and completed the trial. He discovered that the Cloud Chasing Trial was indeed not as hard as expected. It consisted merely of various sword techniques, which grew increasingly rapid and dense toward the end, with their power escalating.

That was all.

It was a tier below even the Myriad Sword Reincarnation.

Later, he considered that in all his years at the North Peak, too few Sword King level masters had emerged. Moreover, if he recalled correctly, the Cloud Chasing Sword Array imposed an age restriction. This dual restriction explained why no one had broken the array for four millennia. In reality, it wasn't inherently difficult, at least not for someone at the peak of the Sword King realm like himself.

Having passed the Cloud Chasing Sword Array, Lu Yuan stood at its center. This central space was not large and featured a tall wall. Lu Yuan looked toward the back and spotted the final inscription: “Huashan Fang Yun.” He immediately bowed deeply: “A junior from Mount Hua respectfully greets the Patriarch’s remnants.” Fang Yun was the name of the Second Generation Patriarch of the North Peak, whose title was the Hermit of Leisure, or Yun Xiaoyao. The Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations were created by this Patriarch.

After bowing, Lu Yuan looked closer. The Second Generation Patriarch’s calligraphy possessed an ethereal, transcendent quality, bearing a slight resemblance to his own script.

“To save Mount Hua, I established the division into Five Peaks. However, this division will inevitably lead to great future disaster. If a descendant can reach the center of the Cloud Chasing Sword Array and receive my true inheritance, they must strive to restrain the catastrophe of the Five Peaks and Three Sects, and dissolve the divisions between them. Alas, it is exceedingly difficult, exceedingly difficult.” After writing this, Patriarch Fang Yun added: “The Cloud Chasing Sword Array, the Cloud Chasing Trial, through this path, one achieves profound swordsmanship. However, the path of spiritual power may still be insufficient. Furthermore, mastering my Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations has many difficult points, especially the Ninth Transformation, the Meal Transformation, and the Tenth Transformation, the Cloud Dragon Transformation.”

“Therefore, I leave this inscription here. Above are the methods to cultivate the Meal Transformation and the Cloud Dragon Transformation.” “Passing the Cloud Chasing Sword Array constitutes passing the assessment, allowing one to learn these two transformations.”

“The so-called Meal Transformation. In my prime, I possessed extraordinary talent in the Dao of the Sword and comprehended thirty-three sword intents, reaching the Great Dao Realm Third Level. Yet, I discovered that the Law Unification required for the Fourth Level was exponentially harder the more Laws one held. Thirty-three sword intents corresponded to thirty-three ancient talismans—the difficulty became insurmountable. I could not pass the gate.”

“I spent thirty years devising every method possible, yet failed. Later, I had a fortuitous encounter and obtained ancient techniques from the Middle Ages, finally creating the Cloud Dragon Ninth Transformation, the Meal Transformation. By utilizing the Meal Transformation, I grasped the method for unifying thirty-three Heavenly Laws.” “It is recorded here.”

“The Liver Qi circulates endlessly, the Lungs are governed by Qi rising from the Three Jiao, the upper seating gate to Heaven is the Marquis’s ancient path, and the fluid essence is the spring flowing through the six viscera…” Lu Yuan continued reading, his heart soaring with joy. He had been agonizing over how to merge thirty-six Heavenly Laws into one place, and unexpectedly, the Second Generation Patriarch had faced the exact same frustration and created a corresponding cultivation method. It was cause for overwhelming happiness.

Law Unification for the Great Dao Realm Fourth Level was now within reach.

This trip to the Cloud Chasing Trial had truly been the right decision.

The so-called Cloud Dragon Ninth Transformation, Meal Transformation, turned out to be based on a misinterpretation. It wasn't about absorbing the opponent’s spiritual power, but rather the balancing force between the Heavenly Laws. This sounded arcane—the balancing force between the Heavenly Laws—but upon careful study of the stone inscription, Lu Yuan understood immediately how it worked.