In a shadowed corner of this grand battle atop Mount Hua, a single drop of blood began to reform.

This drop of blood started to nurture more flesh and sinew.

And this mass of flesh and blood began to coalesce into the shape of a human being.

It was the figure of a **naked man, the head forming first, silver hair whipping wildly about.

"I won't die so easily," a strange, unsettling smile flickered across the silver-haired man's face.

Yuan Ling Shangren, after all, was a formidable warlord. He schemed against Mount Hua, conquered the Northern Peak, and led numerous traitors. He was not someone who died easily. He had never imagined perishing at the hands of Lu Yuan, having thoroughly mapped out Lu Yuan's combat style and battle data. Yet, even so, he had prepared a contingency.

How could he not know? Fang Xie and Jing Huanzhen were both intent on his swift demise and certainly would not save him.

Therefore, after being defeated by Lu Yuan and struck by the final sword thrust, he allowed a single drop of blood to escape.

And this drop of blood, utilizing the "Myriad Evil Blood Body," traveled to an extremely distant location to resurrect itself.

This was the Dao of Yuan Ling Shangren.

To demand my death? Not so easily.

Just as he thought this, he felt a burst of flame erupting from the blood mass below his waist, instantly scorching him back into a single drop of blood. At this point, the Myriad Evil Blood Body had not exhausted the resentment lingering within the blood, so it began to condense again, only to be instantly consumed by fire once more.

What kind of flame was this!

Yuan Ling Shangren, naturally, was unaware that this flame was created by the combined efforts of numerous Dao Realm masters from Mount Hua, specifically designed to counter the Myriad Evil Blood Body after he had revealed his weakness during his last confrontation with Yuan Yuan Shangren. This flame, coupled with Lu Yuan's Fire Emperor Sword Dao, subjected him to repeated, cyclical burning.

Yuan Ling Shangren was trapped, cycling endlessly between life and death.

Yuan Ling Shangren couldn't help but recall Lu Yuan's words: "I said I'd crush you in five moves, and I'll crush you in five moves..."

This Martial Nephew of his was too utterly domineering.

Even his Myriad Evil Blood Body was being utterly annihilated with such direct force.

Yuan Ling Shangren, filled with absolute unwillingness, watched as even his last drop of blood was burned away alive, vanishing between heaven and earth.

The thirty-six Ancient Talismans gradually began to coalesce.

Drawing closer and closer.

Lu Yuan sat cross-legged amidst them. The thirty-six Ancient Talismans inherently possessed immense defensive power—even the Ice Jiao could not bite through them. Ten normal talismans would hold little defensive force, but thirty-six Ancient Talismans were truly heaven-defying, thus producing this effect.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan was inhaling and exhaling vital energy; beside him, the Cloud Jiao was gradually taking shape.

Normally, only those who reached the Sixth Level of the Dao Realm could manifest a Jiao. Yet, now, as Lu Yuan broke through to the Fourth Level of the Dao Realm, the Cloud Jiao was progressing toward full form. Purely in terms of magical power, he was already no weaker than the Fifth Level of the Dao Realm.

The figures derived from the thirty-six Ancient Talismans truly commanded magical prowess on an almost unimaginable scale.

Many thoughts flashed through Lu Yuan's mind.

Cloud Lake, Water, Sea, Wine, Ice and Snow, Mist, Rain. Sunrise, Great Sun, Molten Heat, Joy, Fire-Fire, Dusk Gold, Austerity, Autumn. Sorrow, Swiftness, Slowness, Wind, Wrath, Thunder, Softness, Grass, Thought, Earth, Stone, Mountain, Defense, Mud, Sand. Moon, Star.

"Unify for me!"

The Balance Force obtained from Yuan Ling Shangren, from the Star Lord Xian, from Zuo Heng, and from the Crimson Wing Demon King rapidly gathered. Added to the Balance Force Lu Yuan had cultivated himself, the Balance Force of the five individuals was just barely sufficient to hold the thirty-six Ancient Talismans together.

It must be remembered that Yuan Ling Shangren was at the Fifth Level of the Dao Realm, his Balance Force far stronger than that of a typical Fourth Level Dao Realm cultivator. It took the strength of five people just to consolidate these thirty-six Ancient Talismans.

This demonstrated the immense difficulty of this trial—the sheer challenge of unifying so many Laws.

The thirty-six Ancient Talismans drew nearer, and these ancient artifacts seemed to connect with one another. Numerous Heavenly Laws intertwined within Lu Yuan's consciousness. Lu Yuan realized then that the myriad Laws between heaven and earth shared so many commonalities; even the Water element and the Fire element had points of intersection.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes. As they opened, an unfathomable depth seemed to reside within them, as if endless light flashed across their surfaces.

The Fourth Level of the Dao Realm: The Realm of Law Unification. It was finally achieved.

He had finally ascended to the Fourth Level of the Dao Realm.

It had not been easy!

This trial had consumed an immense amount of effort, starting from Mount Yue Lu until this very moment, a duration that felt long indeed. But finally, it had resulted in his attainment of the Fourth Level of the Dao Realm. Lu Yuan felt his entire magical power continuously surging upward. Furthermore, the magical energy he commanded around his body seemed to have increased again, granting him greater mastery over his physical form.

He even faintly sensed that above his head, the thirty-six Ancient Talismans seemed to form a kind of half-dimension—one half existing in the current world, the other in an alternate reality. This half-dimension was profoundly mysterious.

Lu Yuan knew that this was the path toward the Canopy of the Master Realm; the Canopy of the Head in the Master Realm began right here, and even the later Primordial Chaos Realm was rooted in this genesis, forming its own small, independent world of chaos—it all began here. He had finally stepped onto the road toward the Primordial Chaos Realm, even if it was just the first step. The next step in his cultivation would be striving to reach the Fifth Level of the Dao Realm: Nascent Soul Manifestation. This required finding his Destiny Law among the multitude of Laws and manifesting a Nascent Soul from that Destiny Law. However, discerning the Destiny Law from among the thirty-six Ancient Talismans would not be an easy task, and manifesting the Nascent Soul would be exceedingly difficult.

The next stage, the Fifth Level of the Dao Realm: Nascent Soul Manifestation, was not a simple hurdle to clear.

Precisely because the next stage was so arduous, there was no need to rush its completion. What he needed to do now was crush Fang Xie.

"Fang Xie, I said earlier that I would crush you. Now is the time to fulfill my promise," Lu Yuan said lightly, raising his head to look at Fang Xie.

"Bold, truly bold! When this Emperor reigned supreme across the land, your ancestors had not even been born! Yet you dare to be arrogant before me!"

Lu Yuan replied nonchalantly, "If we are to strictly adhere to age, then there's no need for a fight. We could just announce our ages before starting. You wouldn't be suppressed into the dirt by Ancestor Yan. What a pity, what a pity—a generation's Demon Emperor is about to fall by my hand." This statement created a perfect contrast to the casual words Fang Xie had spoken earlier: "What a pity, what a pity—a peerless genius is about to perish by this Emperor's hand."

Fang Xie and Lu Yuan stood in confrontation.

The aura of both men climbed higher and higher, reaching hundreds of feet, then thousands of feet high.

This was destined to be a battle of the most potent spirit!

Who would prove stronger—the millennium-established, Half-Step Master, Fang Xie, or the rising star, Mount Hua Sect Master Lu Yuan?

Before this battle began, no one could know.

"Brother Fang, for this fight, allow this Emperor to join as well. Dealing with the Mount Hua Sect Master does not require a one-on-one," a voice drifted over, chillingly cold and faint. As this cold voice arrived, it seemed to sweep across all directions. In just an instant, someone felt so cold they nearly froze to death. What kind of frigidity could cause people to nearly freeze just by hearing the words? Those not frozen felt plunged into the Nine Nether Abyss. The speech was icy, yet it felt as if it dragged people into hell itself.

The speaker was handsome yet possessed a face of extreme coldness. He stood there quietly, bearing features capable of captivating ninety percent of Jin Kingdom's women, yet he was so cold that no one dared approach. He seemed like the coldest ice forged since antiquity; no woman dared attempt to conquer this iceberg. This Demon Emperor's wife was once the most beautiful woman beneath the earth, yet he had mercilessly executed her—and the Demon Emperor's wife, in her time, had done absolutely nothing wrong. It was simply because he sought the Dao.

Killing his wife! Seeking the Dao! Jing Huanzhen!

The Dark Demon Emperor!

A Half-Step Master standing equal to the Bright Demon Emperor.

Fang Xie cared for decorum; Jing Huanzhen cared only for victory. For Jing Huanzhen, the Dark Demon Emperor, only success mattered; propriety and reputation were nonexistent concepts to him. Now, it remained to be seen if Fang Xie would agree. After all, Fang Xie was a figure concerned with face.

A Half-Step Master facing the Fourth Level of the Dao Realm—a one-on-one fight was already severely unequal; making it two-on-one would be even more unbalanced.

Jing Huanzhen could be this shameless, but could Fang Xie?

Logically, he should not.

"Very well, Brother Jing. Let us attack together," Fang Xie stated calmly.

He actually... agreed.

Given Fang Xie's personality, which valued his reputation, his agreement could only mean one thing: he feared Lu Yuan. Otherwise, Fang Xie would never have consented.

He actually feared Lu Yuan!

Fang Xie, the Bright Demon Emperor, a figure who had dominated the Jin Kingdom for a thousand years, whose single command could shake the Four Seas and Five Mountains. One recalled the time when his birthday celebration instigated a great war between the subterranean world and the surface world—and Lu Yuan at that time was merely a foot soldier participating in that battle of the Five Branch Strongholds.

And now, Fang Xie, this Bright Demon Emperor, a figure whose status was almost equal to the ruler of the underworld, actually feared Lu Yuan.

How could anyone speak of this?

To say Fang Xie feared Lu Yuan—if this were uttered, perhaps no one would believe it. But those present, feeling the god-like, demon-like aura radiating from Lu Yuan, could not help but harbor the thought that Fang Xie was indeed afraid. Yet, upon reflection, it seemed only natural for Fang Xie to be afraid. When Lu Yuan was at the Third Level of the Dao Realm, killing a Fifth Level Dao Realm cultivator was effortless, no more difficult than slaughtering chickens. And now that he was at the Fourth Level, how could Fang Xie, who had dominated the Jin Kingdom for a millennium, die so easily?

And now, the configuration was: Fang Xie and Jing Huanzhen against Lu Yuan alone.

In the past, when a hundred thousand demons attacked Mount Hua, Fang Xie and Jing Huanzhen dared to hold off the entire Wudang sect. Now, these two were challenging one person: Lu Yuan.

This!

"Fang Xie, you have shown cowardice by demanding Jing Huanzhen join you to fight me. But even if you both attack, it makes no difference. I said I would crush you, that I would annihilate you, and there will be absolutely no deviation," Lu Yuan proclaimed with arrogance befitting a god or a demon, as if crushing this Bright Demon Emperor were simpler than crushing an ant!

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