Faced with the siege by Fang Xie and Jing Huanzhen, two figures who had declared themselves emperors in the Jin Kingdom, Lu Yuan remained utterly composed, even daring to arrogantly proclaim he would crush Fang Xie—a display that surprised no one.

This was either sheer, reckless audacity! Or utter disregard for death! Or perhaps, transcendent heroism!

Fang Xie extended a hand in the void, and countless petals drifted from between his fingers. This was his ultimate technique, My Flowers Bloom, A Hundred Flowers Slaughters. The Second Month, Midnight Orchid, elegant beyond measure, yet within its supreme grace lay an overwhelming intent to kill. The Third Month, Human-Faced Peach Blossom Red, was a masterstroke of illusionary arts. The Fourth Month, Rose’s Cold Sleeve Kill, was a move both swift, vicious, startling, and breathtakingly beautiful, deploying three parts astonishment, three parts longing, three parts splendor, and one part concealed malice, executed like a blade wielded by a silken sleeve.

The Sixth Month, Lotus Green, saw blade movements as green as jade, the blade’s hue the color of emeralds, its essence whispering like a soft chant. The Eighth Month, Osmanthus Fragrance, with the slightest movement of the sword, cast an intoxicating trance upon all beholders.

From the outset, Fang Xie unleashed such a barrage of lethal techniques; each one was sufficient to shake the Jin Kingdom and establish supremacy within it. These moves materialized with lightning speed. Witnessing this array, even the Human Feng of the Jian Sect on Mount Hua sighed in admiration. People often claimed that his own moves concealed lethal intent within their grandeur, but now, Human Feng realized he was mistaken; Fang Xie was vastly superior, perhaps ten times stronger, or even more.

In truth, Fang Xie possessed many more secret arts, the most terrifying of which was the Moonless Leaping Flower, an ultimate technique among ultimate techniques.

Within the myriad petals, a faint outline of a Flood Dragon seemed to materialize, capable of delivering a fatal strike from the heart of any single blossom.

Over on the other side, Jing Huanzhen also deployed his supreme skills. Lu Yuan’s immense power had been undeniably displayed against the Venerable Yuan Ling and the Scarlet Wing Demon King; now, facing a further escalation, Jing Huanzhen dared not show any complacency. Jing Huanzhen vanished instantly into the darkness, from which a profound terror began to rise.

Between life and death, there resides the greatest terror.

This was the activation of the technique, Wife-Slaying Great Terror. Heaven and earth plunged into absolute, silent darkness. A spouse can be killed; attachments severed, all traces of living sentience extinguished. A surging tide of killing intent coalesced into a demonic dragon of severed emotion, which slashed toward Lu Yuan, obliterating all traces of life in its path. Jing Huanzhen’s ultimate skill embodied a complete intent of extinction, possessing a crippling effect on all other forms of magical power. Jing Huanzhen still held countless other ultimate moves, such as Son-Slaughtering Great Terror, another technique meant to annihilate humanity. If Fang Xie represented demonic power, then Jing Huanzhen taught one what a true Demon was.

Twin Dragons surged! The exquisitely beautiful dragons born of the Great Terror Between Life and Death.

Boom!

The Mount Hua protective array shielding the mountain shattered layer by layer under the impact!

The Brightness Demon Emperor and the Darkness Demon Emperor were truly terrifying. Facing such an assault, Lu Yuan unleashed both his Nourishing Spirit Sword and his Mountain-Stabilizing Spirit Sword. “If you want to play with ultimate moves, let’s play! You have yours; I have mine.”

The breathtakingly swift White Emperor Sword Path! The Green Emperor Sword Path, which neutralized all toxins! The Red Emperor Sword Path, which dissolved all hidden weapons! The Black Emperor Sword Path, which slowed the enemy’s speed! The Yellow Emperor Sword Path, which drew primal energy from the earth! The incredibly agile Gold Emperor Sword Path! The ferociously explosive Fire Emperor Sword Path! The Water Emperor Sword Path, which enveloped the enemy for slow attrition! And the utterly magnificent sword technique: The Dragon’s Tail!

All these supreme skills were brought forth. This was to be Lu Yuan’s final battle in the Jin Kingdom, and his most top-tier fight. Since it was his last stand here, he brought out his entire arsenal, holding nothing back.

Let the revered figures, elders, and disciples of Mount Hua, let the demons and fiends of the Heaven-Aiding Alliance, the great devils of the Demonic Path, and countless others, behold his final battle!

Master, did you see? This is your disciple’s growth! Grandmaster, did you see? This is your disciple saving Mount Hua! Mount Hua, did you see? This is one of your own fighting to protect you! Everyone in the Jin Kingdom, did you see? As long as I am here, Mount Hua will not fall! Every slash, every stance, contained so much of Lu Yuan’s emotion. With every swing, he felt countless elders watching him—those dead, those living, those exiled to the Lost Lands, or confined to Meditation Peak—watching him. So, fight with every ounce of strength!

Because he had to protect, he became strong. Because he was expected of, he became strong.

Furthermore, Lu Yuan, having maintained a winning streak all along, had built up an unstoppable momentum, pushing his performance beyond his usual peak.

The spectators, whether from the Heaven-Aiding Alliance or Mount Hua, were left speechless with shock. The Brightness Demon Emperor Fang Xie and the Darkness Demon Emperor Jing Huanzhen—how powerful were these figures? They were the strongest below the Grandmaster tier in the entire Jin Kingdom, yet together, they dared challenge the Wudang Immortal Sect, and now, one against two, they could not subdue Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan, though the Sect Master of Mount Hua, was still comparatively young.

Just how strong is Lu Yuan now!

As Lu Yuan battled Fang Xie and Jing Huanzhen single-handedly, a beam of sword light suddenly whipped out, arcing directly toward Qiao Feidu, the ‘One Sword of the South Sea’: “You call yourself One Sword of the South Sea? Don't just stand there, come and fight as well.” This sword light displayed the pinnacle of variable technique; though Qiao Feidu wished to remain outside the fray, he was inescapably drawn in. Once entangled, Qiao Feidu was enraged, unleashing the South Sea Swift Sword. But Lu Yuan paid him no mind.

So strong! Lu Yuan is too strong; fighting Fang Xie and Jing Huanzhen simultaneously, yet still managing to cast a sword light that ensnared the Demonic Path titan, Qiao Feidu.

After only a few exchanges, another sword light reversed course, aiming directly at the Old Man Tian Chou: “You were Venerable Yuan Ling’s partner. Yuan Ling and I have already dueled; you might as well join the fun.” The Old Man Tian Chou summoned several puppets in a desperate attempt to escape the sword light’s pursuit. His puppetry was indeed formidable; his strongest puppet, crafted by the Vice Master of Kunlun, possessed combat power equal to Tian Chou himself. But alas, the sword light was too profound, pulling him into the circle of battle too.

Too strong! Does Lu Yuan’s strength have a limit? While engaging Fang Xie, Jing Huanzhen, and Qiao Feidu, he was now dragging the Old Man Tian Chou into the melee as well.

What immense power! An unbelievably powerful display!

The Blood Sword Ancestor instinctively retreated backward. He recalled the animosity he held toward Lu Yuan. The Purple Qilin Demon King also involuntarily backed away. They were both deeply shaken, fearing Lu Yuan’s sword light might sweep them into the fray next. Logically, Lu Yuan had only reached the Fourth Level of the Great Dao Realm; he shouldn’t possess such overwhelming might. Yet, Lu Yuan had fully unleashed his spirit, combined with the absolute conviction to protect Mount Hua, and the faint intuition that this was his final battle in the Jin Kingdom, resulting in a performance far exceeding his usual level. Without this peak-level surge, such a scene would be impossible.

The initial cohort of devils included: Fang Xie of the Flower-Bouncing Bloom, Jing Huanzhen of the Wife-Slaying Path-Seeking, the Scarlet Wing Demon King of supreme speed, the Purple Qilin Demon King of Ten Thousand Miles of Ice Shield, the Venerable Yuan Ling who calculated the heavens, the heartless Old Man Tian Chou, the Array Master Zhang Xuanyuan, Qiao Feidu of the One Sword of the South Sea, Zuo Heng of the Broken Blade Left Hinge, the Blood Sword Ancestor, and the Star Constellation Old Immortal, among others.

Currently, Zuo Heng was heavily wounded and out of the fight. The Star Constellation Old Immortal had been executed. The Scarlet Wing Demon King was killed, and the Venerable Yuan Ling slain. The Brightness Demon Emperor Fang Xie, the Wife-Slaying Path-Seeking Jing Huanzhen, the heartless Old Man Tian Chou, and the One Sword of the South Sea Qiao Feidu were all trapped within Lu Yuan’s sword circle. The Blood Sword Ancestor and the Purple Qilin Demon King had retreated far into the distance.

In the beginning, when Mount Hua’s situation was perilously critical, Lu Yuan had declared he would fight many opponents alone against the assembled devils. At the time, everyone deemed it impossible.

How could a mere Lu Yuan possibly hold back so many great devils?

Even after Lu Yuan heavily wounded Zuo Heng and killed the Scarlet Wing Demon King, and even the Venerable Yuan Ling, people assumed Lu Yuan was boasting, as those feats seemed utterly unachievable. But now, the present reality was that what Lu Yuan said, he had actually accomplished—a feat unimaginable before the battle began, and still hard to comprehend even now.

Lu Yuan drew these additional combatants into his vortex because he noticed the breaches in Mount Hua’s protective array were widening, compelling him to envelop more of the Demonic Path leaders within his sphere of combat.

Lu Yuan fought four opponents, and his demeanor was overwhelmingly valiant, showing no sign of weakness.

This was a miracle! An undeniable miracle! His title, the Drunken Sword, would now soar to challenge that of the Heavenly Sword!

Far away, the observers from the Wudang Immortal Sect were utterly stunned: “Mount Hua is going to win?” Initially, there was no indication whatsoever that Mount Hua would prevail, but now, the trend clearly favored them. Even as the situation tilted toward Mount Hua, the Wudang observer could not contain his disbelief. How could this be! The Heaven-Aiding Alliance held the absolute advantage; how could they possibly lose?

The individuals from the Kunlun and Qingcheng Immortal Sects were left in a state of near-unreality. They simultaneously felt dizzy and disoriented. The Kunlun contingent felt an immediate need to notify their superiors. Some leaders in Kunlun still vied for supremacy with Mount Hua, but now that seemed hopeless. After this massive drain on their vitality, Mount Hua could contend head-to-head with the Heaven-Aiding Alliance, while Kunlun was being crushed beneath the Alliance’s weight. The disparity was staggering.

As for the man from the South Sea Immortal Sect, he had already made up his mind. He would join Mount Hua, abandoning his mid-tier position in the South Sea Sect for a place there. This was pure, unadulterated worship! Such profound admiration that only serving under a figure like this could inspire drive. He knew his decision was irrational, but he couldn't help it; he found it impossible to think rationally. It was too electrifying.

Meanwhile, back on Mount Hua’s side, the Demonic Path titan Zhang Xuanyuan, who had remained uninvolved, snapped his fingers. He stated calmly, “It is done. Success is achieved.” Then, a soft snap echoed in the ears of almost everyone present.