The world harbors many who wield the sword. Yet, few indeed can genuinely claim the title of Heavenly Sword. Even within the Manifest Sword Sect and the Hidden Sword Sect, such as the Sword Ancestor Stars of the Manifest Sword Sect—who boast various archetypes like Sword Maniac, Sword Frenzy, Sword Elder, and Sword Emperor—no one dares claim the mantle of Heavenly Sword! This is because, long ago in his youth, Yan Cangtian earned the appellation of Heavenly Sword at the Sword Gate of the Central Celestial Dynasty. Heavenly Sword Yan Cangtian.

Yan Cangtian raised a hand: “Lian Jiu has been gone for a while. Lu Yuan, you’ve grown quite well; you are merely acceptable, I suppose.” To him, Lu Yuan’s rate of progress seemed only adequate. “Oh, and there’s Xuanyuan Wang too. You’ve barely advanced in all these years, only moving from the Tenth Heaven of the Primordial Chaos Realm to the Second Heaven of the World Realm. Such slow progress.” “And to all the others present.”

Yan Cangtian casually raised his hand, placing Xuanyuan Wang instantly on the defensive. Xuanyuan Wang stared at Yan Cangtian; the junior whom he once suppressed was now able to contend with him. The Yan Cangtian of yesteryear was like the Lu Yuan of today—if he didn't suppress him now, he might soon find himself unable to do so. Xuanyuan Wang looked at Yan Cangtian: “Very well, Yan Cangtian, allow this venerable one to test your abilities and see if you are stronger than your master, Tai Shi Kong.” Xuanyuan Wang instantly drew his sword. The Supreme Immortal Sword unleashed the Supreme Arrogance style, executing the peerless strike known as Supreme Unsurpassed—a move that looked down upon mortals from a position of ultimate supremacy. Yan Cangtian shifted his grip, and the Flying Swallow Immortal Sword, which should have remained at Mount Hua, appeared in his hand. It clashed violently with Xuanyuan Wang’s Supreme Immortal Sword, producing an intense ringing sound. Following this collision, both Xuanyuan Wang and Yan Cangtian were forced back two steps simultaneously.

Xuanyuan Wang flipped his hand, transforming the Steadfast Immortal Sword into an incredibly profound posture, launching it toward Yan Cangtian. This strike was Supreme Splendor. Within it, countless magnificent cities seemed to manifest, and the passage of years flowed within the blade—a truly terrifying and startling sword strike. “Ten thousand years of grand blueprints all turn to dust.” Yan Cangtian countered with a reverse slash, like a colossal wheel of reincarnation that crushed all the splendor in Xuanyuan Wang’s sword strike into ruin.

A Divine War! This was undeniably a Divine War! For the people of the Qin, Jin, and Yuan Three Kingdoms, this battle was a truly eye-opening spectacle. The most brutal combat they had ever witnessed before was at the level of Void Shattering, which they considered legendary, almost mythological. But now they realized how vastly—immeasurably—different this true Divine War was from the mere Void Shattering battles. In this Divine War, the clash of sword against sword was striking forth the very principles of eternity! Combat could actually reveal the truths of eternity.

Lu Yuan was also watching the fight, but as he observed, he vaguely sensed something amiss. Nothing seemed wrong with Xuanyuan Wang’s side, but Yan Cangtian’s presence felt deeply strange. For some unknown reason, it felt as if the Yan Cangtian before him was illusory. Clang! The Supreme Immortal Sword collided with the Flying Swallow Immortal Sword. The sword light illuminated both Xuanyuan Wang and Yan Cangtian. Xuanyuan Wang’s expression was intensely serious: “Yan Cangtian, this is not your true body. It is merely a projection of you here.” A subtle, mocking smile played on Yan Cangtian’s lips: “Xuanyuan Wang, I suppose after presiding over the Sword Gate as the First Supreme for so many years, you aren’t entirely foolish. You finally realized this isn't my true form.”

This! Yan Cangtian possessed such overwhelming strength! To fight Xuanyuan Wang, a Second Heaven World Realm expert, to a standstill, and yet this wasn't even his true body! It was merely Yan Cangtian’s projection in the Land of Lan! How terrifying must Yan Cangtian’s true power be? This was outrageously strong, beyond calculation. Could the leader of the Three Myths of Mount Hua, Yan Cangtian, truly be this formidable? The others were merely astonished, but Xuanyuan Wang was utterly bewildered. If Yan Cangtian’s projection in the Three Kingdoms region could fight him to a draw while his true body remained in the Lost Land, then his true body must surely have attained the Heavenly Venerate Realm! But how? How could Yan Cangtian have cultivated to the Heavenly Venerate Realm at his age? “Your true body is at the Heavenly Venerate Realm? How is that possible! How did you manage it?”

Hearing Xuanyuan Wang’s roar, Lu Yuan finally snapped back to awareness. No wonder he felt something was off; it turned out Yan Cangtian was merely a clone here. Judging by Xuanyuan Wang’s outburst, Yan Cangtian’s true body likely possessed the strength of a Heavenly Venerate. The Heavenly Venerate Realm—that was an existence renowned throughout the entire Central Celestial Dynasty. Could Yan Cangtian’s progress be this vast?

Yan Cangtian raised a hand and slotted the Flying Swallow Immortal Sword back into its sheath: “It seems you’ve figured it out. Fine, I won’t continue this charade. Since the strength of this clone cannot kill you anyway, I’ll just erase the memories of the remaining people from the Qin, Jin, and Yuan Three Kingdoms. Originally, I intended to wrap up Ouyang Wang myself, but it seems that’s unnecessary now.” Ouyang Wang was already dead, certainly dying with deep unwillingness. He never imagined that the junior who challenged him a thousand years ago would now be so terrifyingly strong—this was truly a Divine War! Thus, even in death, he could not accept it. “As for why I am so strong now, and why a mere projection can fight you evenly, the reason?” Seeing Xuanyuan Wang leaning in, eager to hear, Yan Cangtian simply shrugged, “Why should I tell you?”

Yan Cangtian’s simple statement nearly made Xuanyuan Wang vomit blood on the spot. But one thing was certain: Yan Cangtian’s rate of advancement was absolutely abnormal. “Lu Yuan, come with me to the Lost Land to cultivate for a while. Otherwise, if you can’t even beat Xuanyuan Wang, it’s truly embarrassing.” Yan Cangtian spoke with such supreme confidence, as if being unable to defeat Xuanyuan Wang was a source of shame. Remember, Xuanyuan Wang was a top expert of the Sword Gate, yet Yan Cangtian, with only a projected clone, could fight him to a stalemate, which certainly gave him the standing to speak such words. Heavenly Sword Unmatched! Truly Heavenly Sword Unmatched!

With a slight movement of his hand, Yan Cangtian flicked a finger toward the sky. Suddenly, a colossal black hole materialized in the heavens, seeming to stretch into infinite distance, behind which lay immeasurable danger! Infinite terror! Lu Yuan now understood what lay beyond; this must be the so-called Lost Land. From what Lu Yuan understood, the Lost Land referred to remnants from previous epochs that had not been completely shattered—these fragments became the Lost Land. The Lost Land was vast, perhaps no smaller than the Central Celestial Dynasty itself. After all, all the intact remnants from the previous eras were situated there. Furthermore, the Lost Land was a place devoid of celestial fortune (Qi Yun), meaning it lacked normal heaven-and-earth spiritual energy. While the density of the energy might appear similar to the Central Celestial Dynasty, the fluctuations were over a hundred times more violent than in the Dynasty. If one couldn't bear it, they risked being instantly blown apart by this rapid shift in spiritual energy. Moreover, every conceivable type of monstrous creature could emerge from there. Even without monsters, the Lost Land was filled with all sorts of bizarre phenomena capable of easily dispatching a person. The Lost Land—a place famous for its extreme peril. People said the Central Celestial Dynasty was dangerous, requiring normal people to stick to official roads, but in terms of sheer danger, the Lost Land surpassed the Central Celestial Dynasty by a great margin. In short, the Lost Land was not a place where normal cultivators could survive. Even World Realm experts often perished there. Any sane person would avoid the Lost Land, yet now, it was opening before Lu Yuan.

The people of the Qin, Jin, and Yuan Three Kingdoms stared at the black hole! They all understood that this was the destination after achieving Void Shattering and ascending. But the place looked overwhelmingly perilous. Did one have to go to such a terrifying place after breaking through the void? Lu Yuan hesitated no longer, taking a single step into the Lost Land.

After stepping into the Lost Land, and enduring a considerable period of spatial turbulence, Lu Yuan noticed that the Yan Cangtian beside him seemed to be undergoing a strange transformation. The sense of illusion vanished, and the Yan Cangtian beside him nodded: “Correct. This is my true body now. My true form cannot yet travel to the Outer Domain, so I used my projected clone earlier to lure you into the Lost Land to cultivate for a period.” At this moment, Lu Yuan could sense the terrifying power emanating from Yan Cangtian’s true body, far exceeding that of the projection in the Outer Domain. It was subtly approaching that of the Law Saint Imperial Son. The Law Saint Imperial Son—that was an absolute peak figure in the Heavenly Venerate Realm!

At this moment, Lu Yuan suddenly felt conflicted about how to address Yan Cangtian. Yan Cangtian seemed to sense Lu Yuan’s confusion: “Just call me Senior Brother Yan. After all, we are only separated by about a thousand years, so we should follow the rules of the Sword Gate. Even by other standards, the address would be the same.” His words hinted that there might be another set of rules. “As for why I am so strong, you can keep guessing for now; I don't plan on telling you just yet.” Yan Cangtian smiled faintly: “However, there is one piece of news I can share. Junior Brother Zhou has recently awakened in the Lost Land. He is the reincarnation of a dissolute ruler from the Ancient Sword Civilization, and his cultivation has been advancing rapidly lately. After surviving perilous battles in the Lost Land, he will likely step into the Heavenly Venerate Realm soon.” Zhou Qingxuan? To think he was the reincarnation of an Ancient Sword Civilization’s dissolute ruler, and now he was about to reach the Heavenly Venerate Realm. Then, why was Yan Cangtian, Senior Brother Yan, so incredibly strong? Lu Yuan grew even more curious. The Three Myths of Mount Hua—Yan Cangtian, Zhou Qingxuan, and Lu Yuan—were destined to become the three myths of the Way of the Sword.

Yan Cangtian continued: “Of course, what you must do now is grow as strong as possible in the Lost Land, reaching the World Realm within half a month at the very latest. Xuanyuan Wang is no simple character; he is cruel and treacherous, and he will certainly seek revenge against Mount Hua. However, the recent turmoil in the Three Kingdoms has triggered a major war, and the Enforcement Officers will be heavily monitoring the Qin, Jin, and Yuan Three Kingdoms for half a month. Xuanyuan Wang will not make a move during this time. But if you do not reach the World Realm within these two weeks, Xuanyuan Wang may very well annihilate Mount Hua.” “And it is too difficult for me to project my true body to the Outer Domain repeatedly. Since my true body cannot go there for now, I must rely on you. The timeframe is half a month; you must reach the World Realm.”