"Hahahaha, for this old ancestor to meet his end? Ridiculous! It was your luck to break through my Transmutation Realm ability, I grant you that, but to be so arrogant! Today, I will show you the true might of this old ancestor!" War Beast Ancestor roared, feeling that victory was already within his grasp, easily surpassing all other opponents on the Dragon Earth Star.

"Is that so?" Lu Yuan shrugged, drawing his Nourishing Immortal Sword from its sheath. It brought forth a faint, ethereal sword light—a soft, misty radiance akin to spring rain. This time, he was not using the Desert Quelling Sword, but rather channeling a fraction of its essence onto the Nourishing Immortal Sword. Since its forging, the Desert Quelling Sword possessed a camouflage function, which included projecting its aura onto other magical artifacts.

Lu Yuan thrust his sword straight ahead, a move of unparalleled finesse.

The sword shot directly toward War Beast Ancestor, who suddenly felt as though thousands of points on his body were being pierced. This was the Swallow Return Flash, a supreme sword technique Lu Yuan had learned from Yan Cangtian, utilizing such blinding speed that the enemy could not discern the true point of attack. War Beast Ancestor found this intricate style deeply vexing; his path was that of the Hegemonic Desolation lineage, which disdained such delicate maneuvers.

However, he was not entirely helpless against such exquisite technique.

War Beast Ancestor roared once more: "Desolate Mountain Seal, shatter!" In his hand, it seemed as if a mountain peak had coalesced, slamming toward Lu Yuan. His hand was brimming with the power of the Primeval Chaos, a force so profoundly dense it compelled immediate subjugation. War Beast Ancestor met finesse with brute force.

Lu Yuan's sword light pressed on, cutting against the tide, the radiance of his blade crisp and cold.

War Beast Ancestor sneered, "What a joke, trying to meet my hardness with your own? I have always walked the path of fierce aggression and strength; I never fear a head-on collision. Furthermore, the power of the sword lineage is inherently suppressed by my Desolation lineage power. This is courting death! That previous clash with Lu Yuan was merely good fortune on his part; I wasn't paying attention then. Now, my focus is absolute—how could I possibly fail to deal with Lu Yuan?"

The Desolate Mountain Seal and the Nourishing Immortal Sword collided violently.

Under normal circumstances, the outcome should have been the destruction of the immortal sword, just as Qiu Qingshan's sword had been ruined previously.

Yet, the sword sliced inward, the Desolation power of the Desolate Mountain Seal seemingly having no effect whatsoever on Lu Yuan's immortal blade.

A spray of blood instantly erupted.

War Beast Ancestor jolted!

If the previous injury was attributed to inattention, this time Lu Yuan had wounded him squarely in a direct confrontation.

What was happening?

The War Beast Ancestor's Desolate Mountain Seal had previously failed to break through the defenses of Qiu Qingshan, Zhu Yan, Ji Qianyu, and even the Sword-as-Sea of the Fifth Heaven Realm of the World Stage, failing to inflict real damage. Yet, under Lu Yuan's sword, War Beast Ancestor had been injured twice. What strange turn of events was this?

Everyone nearby, regardless of their own injuries, stared in utter shock! Lu Yuan could actually achieve this.

Sword-as-Sea spat out a mouthful of blood: "It seems this time I might not die here."

War Beast Ancestor looked closely at Lu Yuan, then scrutinizing the sword in his hand: "So that’s it. There is a peculiar energy on your sword that somewhat counters my Desolation power. No wonder." He still hadn't placed too much weight on Lu Yuan’s weapon. The power countering Desolation on this sword was minimal, almost negligible. Naturally, he did not realize Lu Yuan had deliberately disguised it. If Lu Yuan had truly drawn out the Desert Quelling Sword, the sight would have terrified him into oblivion.

Wings began to sprout from War Beast Ancestor's back—yes, actual wings. Two pairs of immense pinions unfurled behind him. War Beast Ancestor looked at Lu Yuan: "Lu Yuan, you are indeed remarkable, even more skilled in battle than Sword-as-Sea of the Hidden Sword Sect. You have actually forced out my Beast Manifestation. I hadn't intended to use the Beast Manifestation." Every practitioner of the War Beast Sect channeled their cultivation from their respective Beast Manifestations.

For instance, the Eighth Ancestor Teng Ba embodied the Eight Desolate Great Serpent, while Bu Mi manifested the Owl of Lost Directions.

Now, as wings grew on War Beast Ancestor’s back, what was his Beast Manifestation? The wings grew larger and larger, faintly revealing the shape of a five-colored, brilliantly patterned butterfly. A butterfly? Impossible! Throughout history, butterflies have been among the weakest forms in the biosphere.

How could the strongest among them, the War Beast Ancestor, possess a Beast Manifestation as seemingly frail as a butterfly?

The Eight Desolate Great Serpent of Teng Ba and the Owl of Lost Directions of Bu Mi were all beasts possessing some renown from the Ancient Primordial Era. How could the War Beast Ancestor’s manifestation be weaker than theirs?

This seemed impossible.

At that instant, Sword-as-Sea roared: "Be careful! That is the Phantom God Butterfly! Among the Ancient Primordial Beasts, it ranks third in illusionary arts—a truly terrifying existence." In the Ancient Primordial Era, species were countless, with billions upon billions of beasts, thousands upon thousands possessing profound illusionary skills. To rank third among so many masters of illusion meant this creature was exceptionally formidable.

"Quickly, close your eyes and stuff your ears!" Sword-as-Sea bellowed.

Hearing this warning, some people immediately stuffed their ears.

But those who sealed their ears began to suffer excruciating pain, and those who closed their eyes started weeping black blood.

"Are you joking? My Phantom God Butterfly is ranked third in illusion techniques among all Ancient Primordial Beasts! If merely closing your eyes and plugging your ears could ward off this illusion, I wouldn't need to survive in this world!" War Beast Ancestor's attack was primarily aimed at Lu Yuan, unleashing countless illusions before him. But even though Lu Yuan was the main target, the residual shockwave caused untold misery to the surrounding crowd.

Whoosh! Someone vomited a mouthful of blood!

Bang! Someone's entire body exploded.

"Ah!" Someone, unable to bear the torment, grabbed a blade and ended his own life.

"It’s too unbearable!" Someone clawed frantically at their own skin until it was shredded.

This was the power of the Phantom God Butterfly!

War Beast Ancestor roared with laughter. Few people ever knew what his Beast Manifestation truly was, as anyone who witnessed it was invariably trapped within its illusions, and few ever survived. Now, everyone on the Dragon Earth Star was doomed, especially Lu Yuan.

Huh? Lu Yuan’s expression remained unchanged! Absolutely none at all.

Furthermore, he was utterly calm. Lu Yuan drew his sword light: "Sword Five: Sole Sword!" In that instant, every illusion surrounding them was swept clean. Only a single thread of sword light remained. Any illusion that dared to materialize was instantly wiped away by this Sole Sword light. Even the Dust-Forgetfulness Light from the Forgetfulness Sword Stele couldn't make Lu Yuan forget the sword; how could these mere illusions stand a chance? Everything, every distraction, had been purged. Lu Yuan was now in a state of Sole Sword.

Of course, Sword Five: Sole Sword was far more than just a state.

In the state of Sword Five: Sole Sword, Lu Yuan felt the surrounding world vanish. Between heaven and earth, only he and his sword remained.

Now, the Thunder was about to strike with the sword!

The previous Sole Sword state was merely a precursor, not the true culmination of the Sole Sword strike.

This was the real moment!

Lu Yuan's sword light locked onto War Beast Ancestor. No words were exchanged, for in this instant, words were unnecessary.

Then, he struck!

When this sword was drawn! The sun descended, the moon waned, and all radiance was withdrawn!

When this sword was drawn! Love, hate, passion, and sorrow—all mortal emotions vanished!

When this sword was drawn! Souls were severed, memories were erased!

When this sword was drawn! Mountains collapsed, rivers dried up!

When this sword was drawn! Heaven and earth were annihilated, leaving nothing of the cosmos!

When this sword was drawn! The universe ceased to be, leaving only a single beam!

Lu Yuan was certain he had never unleashed such a brilliant sword strike, yet he felt no elation, because while executing this blow, nothing else could be considered—only this one sword.

This sword required no sun or moon, no affairs of love or grief, no soul or memory, no mountains or seas, no heaven or earth.

This sword forgot everything!

This was the strike of the All-Forgetfulness Sole Sword!

Heaven and earth vanished, enemies vanished; only the world-shattering blade remained, originating from Lu Yuan and terminating at War Beast Ancestor.

War Beast Ancestor's pupils dilated to their widest extent. He could scarcely believe such a sword existed. This was a sword that annihilated destruction, obliterated the earth, and wiped out all gods and Buddhas. Back in the days of the Ancient Civilization, War Beast Ancestor had seen documentation regarding the swords of the previous epoch, noting that several Ancient Sword Masters achieved the unity of man and sword, causing heaven and earth to vanish. At the time, War Beast Ancestor had scoffed, "Hmph, what's so great about man-sword unity? We’ve seen plenty of sword cultivators achieve that; it's just a move that can be broken casually." Not only War Beast Ancestor, but others shared this dismissive view.

But now, War Beast Ancestor understood they had all been profoundly mistaken. What they had seen before was nothing close to true man-sword unity. What they witnessed now was the real thing—the man-sword unity of the Ancient Sword Masters.

Man and sword merged into one, and only the sword remained in the universe.

No—only the sword remained, not even the universe.

"How can such a terrifying sword exist!" War Beast Ancestor roared, unleashing every ultimate technique and skill he possessed, striking with the utmost strength he could muster to block this world-shattering strike. But this astounding sword pierced him without mercy, freezing his life at that single instant.

This was a Demon Sword!

This was a Divine Sword!

This was a Heavenly Sword!

No, this was simply the Sword! It had no external labels like Divine Sword, Demon Sword, or Heavenly Sword—the Sword was the Sword.

A strike that annihilated War Beast Ancestor—the purest, the most straightforward, and yet the most terrifying sword strike imaginable.

This was Sword Five: Sole Sword! The fifth technique of the Ancient Sword Dao he had created. The Ancient Sword Dao techniques were inherently more terrifying than the last. Sword Five: Sole Sword was naturally far more dreadful than Sword Three: Dust-Forgetfulness. Naturally, Sword Six's technique, Sky-Dread, must be even more fearsome. If the derivation continued, Sword Seven and Sword Eight would be truly astonishing.

Sword-as-Sea was utterly stunned. As the Sect Master of the Hidden Sword Sect, he grasped the meaning of this strike. Since the Ancient Era, had such a powerful sword manifested in this current epoch?

A world-shaking sword strike! A world-shaking, powerful sword!