Innumerable clouds gathered overhead, and under their cover, the other twenty-five Natal Laws remained tranquil.

It was not that the clouds exerted dominance over the other thirty-five Natal Laws—all Natal Laws were inherently equal. It was simply that such was Lu Yuan's spirit, his true nature, and thus his Natal Law ought to be the same. His true nature and the Laws merged as one, forging his Natal Law, and consequently, the other thirty-five Natal Laws ceased their resistance.

Lu Yuan faintly sensed a powerful force descending, one that seemed intent on devouring even more spiritual energy, as if preparing to coalesce into something within the void above his head.

This was the formation of the Nascent Soul.

Once the Nascent Soul was formed, he would ascend to the fifth layer of the Great Dao Realm.

He needed vast resources now, but where could he find them? He released the ten Spirit Beasts of the Exotic Beast level from his Spirit Sealing Tablet, and a continuous stream of cloud energy erupted from above. Simultaneously, he shattered one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. This was the moment for a massive expenditure; he would see if he could condense a Nascent Soul from this.

It was clear now: if the resources were sufficient, he could form the Nascent Soul.

However, even with these ten Exotic Beast level Spirit Beasts and one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, which seemed substantial, they were clearly a drop in the bucket for condensing a Nascent Soul—utterly insufficient.

Truly, one regrets the scarcity of knowledge only when it is time to apply it; resources seemed plentiful when one possessed them, but using them revealed how terribly few he actually had.

These sources were too meager.

Lu Yuan now realized why his resources were so scarce. Generally, cultivators at the peak of the fourth layer of the Great Dao Realm would possess about ten Exotic Beast level Spirit Beasts. His shortage stemmed from the fact that after entering the Great Dao Realm, he had largely stopped collecting Spirit Beasts; his subsequent breakthroughs relied almost entirely on his intrinsic strength.

Too few resources.

After investing another hundred Spirit Stones, the Nascent Soul above him only manifested as a faint illusion. Lu Yuan shrugged helplessly; it seemed there was no way—he needed to gather masses upon masses of resources before he could reach the fifth layer of the Great Dao Realm.

At this moment, Zhou Qingxuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Was Lu Yuan's Natal Law Cloud? Indeed, it was the Natal Law of Cloud.

The Natal Law of Cloud did not appear particularly outstanding.

Take Senior Brother Yan’s Natal Law, Reincarnation, which could forcibly compel other Heavenly Laws to cycle. Reincarnation—that was an incomparably powerful law.

And his own Natal Law, Yin-Yang, which stood above the void, towering over all creation.

Even Junior Brother Chu Duan’s Natal Law, the Natal Law of Metal, could reign supreme over other Laws.

And Junior Brother Zhuo Budang’s Natal Law, the Natal Law of Violet, could spread purple energy for a thousand miles, its auspicious aura transcending all others.

It seemed that the Natal Law of Cloud, which could only encompass his other Laws, was not overwhelmingly powerful. However, in reality, Zhou Qingxuan knew that the Natal Law of Cloud was actually a law with considerable potential for development.

Cloud is formless.

Cloud is always changing!

Possessing this Natal Law offered a crucially important benefit: it made divination and scrying methods utterly ineffective. The Central Celestial Dynasty boasted highly developed arts of calculation, yet someone whose Natal Law was Cloud—formless Cloud—could not be divined by any means. This was an extremely useful Natal Law; that was just the first point.

The second point was that Cloud could envelop all things; anything striking it could be absorbed. In other words, while the Natal Law of Cloud appeared mundane on the surface, it allowed Lu Yuan to master more Iron Laws. The difficulty in learning these Iron Laws would be significantly reduced, enabling Lu Yuan to advance more easily toward the Sword Saint realm, and even the Eight Iron Law Sword Saint, or the Nine Iron Law Sword Saint!

As for Sword God! That was merely a legend, one that did not truly exist.

This was a Natal Law that presented an ordinary appearance but possessed astonishing practical utility. Of course, if the possessor of this law was inherently weak, the law would have little room to exert itself. Simply put, it was a law that was unremarkable in the early stages but possessed limitless potential. In terms of future prospects, it might even surpass Senior Brother Yan’s Reincarnation and his own Yin-Yang.

And Lu Yuan was, without a doubt, the most suitable person for this Natal Law.

Zhou Qingxuan smiled. Lu Yuan’s attempt to condense his Nascent Soul had failed? This step was inevitably successful; there was only one possibility for failure: insufficient resources.

But what did a lack of resources matter?

Lu Yuan was currently pondering the issue of insufficient resources for his Nascent Soul condensation. For a normal cultivator reaching this stage, condensing a Nascent Soul would not require extensive resources; sects would often provide them if necessary. But Lu Yuan was different. His training in the Reincarnation Sword Dao meant his Great Dao Realm Heavenly Tribulations were far more terrifying than others'. He had even triggered the Water Emperor Tribulation, an event that stunned countless people at the time. Afterward, his arcane power consistently remained far more robust than his peers at the same level. This time, for Nascent Soul condensation, he possessed thirty-six Ancient Talismans, whereas a normal person might have ten or slightly more. Therefore, the resources Lu Yuan required far exceeded those of a normal person.

Under normal circumstances, Mount Hua could supply them.

However, due to the wasteful consumption of resources during Chu Duan’s era, the Chaos of the Three Sects, and the attack by the Heaven-Aiding Alliance on Mount Hua, following successive calamities, the sect's reserves were nearly depleted. As the Sect Master of Mount Hua, he was acutely aware of this; therefore, if he needed resources, he would have to seek alternative methods.

“How about we rob them?” Lu Yuan was pondering solutions when he heard Zhou Qingxuan’s voice.

“Rob them?” Lu Yuan started.

“If you don't have resources, of course you rob,” Zhou Qingxuan stated matter-of-factly. “I hear the Heaven-Aiding Alliance has quite a few resources. Ren Du still holds a considerable amount. You can go relieve him of some. Oh, and that fellow Ren Du still has some strength; I’ll accompany you for a trip, just to stretch my legs.” This was an utterly wicked plan!

But he liked it.

It had been mentioned long ago that near Mount Qingcheng, a place called Demon Wood Cliff had long been established.

Once this Demon Wood Cliff was erected, the area within ten thousand li became shrouded in absolute darkness, intermittently emitting billowing demonic energy. Even the mortals living nearby were subject to demonic transformation, and cultivators who lingered there would find their Dao Hearts unsettled. Demon Wood Cliff had gained surprising prestige in the Jin State over the years.

It was recalled that when Demon Wood Cliff was first established, the five high-ranking immortal sects of Jin State were on the verge of collapse, and it seemed Demon Wood Cliff would unify the realm. At that time, its demonic might was even more fearsome, and occasionally, mortals would defect to Demon Wood Cliff, becoming Demonic Cultivators. Ren Du was different from the previous Demon Saint Emperor; he commanded not only demons and devils but also Demonic Cultivators who could persuade a great number of humans to join their side. Back then, Demon Wood Cliff blazed with demonic flames, dominating the world.

The Battle of Mount Hua resulted in a crushing defeat for Demon Wood Cliff. Everyone assumed this marked the beginning of its decline, and Wudang, Qingcheng, Kunlun, and the South Sea even joined forces to attack. However, Ren Du proved himself profoundly cunning; even when the majority of the Heaven-Aiding Alliance's experts fell by Lu Yuan's hand, he managed to defeat Wudang, Qingcheng, Kunlun, and the South Sea.

Following that, Demon Wood Cliff's reputation settled—surpassing Wudang but inferior to Mount Hua, essentially the second greatest power in the Jin State.

The name of the Sole Heavenly Emperor, Ren Du, spread far throughout Jin State, where he was considered second only to the top power.

Demon Wood Cliff was regarded as a forbidden zone of death.

There was a saying: the eight hundred li quicksand river is not as treacherous as the dark earth before Demon Wood Cliff.

Although numerous guards were stationed at Demon Wood Cliff, none of them guarded with diligence, as it was deemed unnecessary. Wudang had been defeated, Qingcheng defeated, Kunlun defeated, and the South Sea defeated. The Sect Master of Mount Hua was participating in the Hundred Kingdoms Assessment, and his own strength had not recovered, leaving him little energy to attack Demon Wood Cliff.

Simply put, Demon Wood Cliff lacked any truly vigilant guards, yet no one dared trespass.

Consequently, these guards treated their posts as leisurely breaks.

Then, one day, at the main gate of the once imposing Demon Wood Cliff—where a massive character for 'Demon' was inscribed, seeming to declare dominion over all living things and the unification of the world—the guards were gambling in the rear, none of them paying attention to their duty. Suddenly, they noticed two figures standing before them.

One was an old man with white hair and white robes, carrying an air of otherworldly detachment.

The other was a young man in green robes, exuding an aura of indolent ease.

“Who goes there? Were you summoned by the Sole Heavenly Emperor? If not, hurry up and scram,” the guard asked impatiently. Too many people sought an audience with the Sole Heavenly Emperor daily, and he had lost all patience. This guard’s cultivation was low, only at the first layer of the Longevity Stage, but he was a doorman for the Sole Heavenly Emperor, the gatekeeper of Demon Wood Cliff, and thus felt superior.

“Oh, it’s like this: Ren Du owes me one hundred Exotic Beast level Spirit Beasts and one thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, so I’ve come to collect the debt,” the young man in green robes stated.

“Ren Du what…” The guard was about to utter something about Ren Du’s status, habitually thinking of the titles used by the various Demon Sect Leaders, Banner Chiefs, Demon Marquises, and Demon Kings before settling on the name, Sole Heavenly Emperor Ren Du. He was immediately stunned: “How dare you shout the name of the Sole Heavenly Emperor! You are asking for death!” The swarm of demons and Demonic Cultivators charged forward, and then they flew backward!

The white-haired old man and the young man in green did absolutely nothing. They simply flew away.

Under that incredibly potent aura, the guards didn't even have a chance to move.

It was then they saw, behind the green-robed young man, a faintly discernible white dragon.

Nearly the strength of a Dragon!

The strength of a Dragon was a myth in the Jin State.

And nearly the strength of a Dragon was still a myth in the Jin State.

Under such overwhelming pressure, their legs refused to obey, they could not move, and their minds nearly ceased to function. Who was this earth-shattering, monumental figure?