Even though Lu Yuan had manifested the Gate of Sword Dao, rendering all swordsmanship meaningless before him, the proud Child of the Sword would never willingly accept defeat. He was determined to surpass Lu Yuan and still held trump cards. In a flash, he unleashed a torrent of Sword Dao script characters toward Lu Yuan.

The Sword Dao scripts he conjured with a mere flick of his wrist numbered twenty!

Indeed!

Twenty!

A typical Grand Elder might possess only two or three such Tier Two scripts, perhaps even just one. But the Child of the Sword was exceptional; he summoned twenty Sword Dao scripts in one move. What was even more terrifying was that these twenty scripts formed a cohesive system, clearly derived from a single root character. When Tier Two scripts formed a system, their power surpassed individual ones; these twenty characters had all split off from the original character, Feng ().

At that time, the character Feng had fractured into thirty-two characters in total.

Nine of them had fallen into Lu Yuan's hands, one to the Sword Spirit, one to Jian Qian, and one to Jian Xiong. Lu Yuan had never imagined that the remaining twenty characters had all been collected by the Child of the Sword; his ability in this regard was truly formidable.

In fact, one character had gone to Jian Jue, but Jian Jue had long since been slain by the Child of the Sword, and the character subsequently seized by him.

The Child of the Sword unleashing twenty Tier Two scripts was astonishing.

Among these twenty Sword Dao scripts, the most radiant was undoubtedly the character Wu (), an exceedingly precious character. Then there was the character Jian (), which was the most destructive among the thirty-two, representing the tip of sharpness—the essence of Feng. The nineteen other characters revolved around Jian, seemingly coalescing into a faint outline of the original Feng character as they charged toward Lu Yuan.

Yes, gathering these twenty Tier Two scripts began to faintly evoke the essence of the character Feng.

Though only a semblance, the sharpness capable of cleaving the heavens aimed fiercely at Lu Yuan.

The Child of the Sword truly lived up to his title; his opening move was extraordinary.

Even Lu Yuan would find dealing with the twenty characters attacking him a monumental task. The power of these twenty scripts could easily pierce Lu Yuan's body.

Just as the twenty characters were about to impact Lu Yuan’s body, a golden light flashed above his head, accompanied by a sound like a dragon's roar. These twenty characters attempted to resist the swallowing might of the Gold-Devouring Dragon. The Dragon, displeased, flared its suction force and instantly swallowed all twenty characters.

What satisfaction!

Lu Yuan had never felt such elation, acquiring twenty characters in one go.

He had previously labored to collect only nine characters: Yao (), Mo (), Hui (), Chi (), Dun (), Qian (), Xiu (), Yu (), and Tan ().

And now, he had received twenty at once.

Lu Yuan meticulously examined the twenty characters. The one he needed most was Wu (), which could combine with Dun (). The fiercest and sharpest was Jian (), which radiated sharpness and could enhance armor-piercing attack capability; few magical artifacts could withstand it. Then, Lu Yuan immediately discovered another character: Zhu (). This Zhu was the very core of the Feng character and had been with the Child of the Sword since birth. Legend held that the Child of the Sword was extraordinary, born with a Zhu character, unlike ordinary people. Now, this Zhu was absorbed by Lu Yuan. After absorbing it and refining it slightly, Lu Yuan realized its utility was also boundless.

Bliss!

An unparalleled joy. No matter how he snatched characters before, he could only manage one at a time. There was nothing like snatching twenty at once. This was the first time in his life he felt this thrilled.

However, Lu Yuan's pleasure quickly turned to anger when he discovered the character Jue () among them, meaning Jian Jue had likely died at the Child of the Sword's hands. While he and Jian Jue weren't close friends, they knew each other. The Child of the Sword was truly terrifying and could not be allowed to live; Lu Yuan's intent to kill him deepened considerably.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

Upon opening his eyes, Lu Yuan saw the Child of the Sword shrieking, "How is this possible? All twenty of my characters were absorbed by you? How can this be!" He truly could not believe it; these twenty Sword Dao scripts were one of his greatest trump cards, yet they had been so easily absorbed by Lu Yuan.

The Child of the Sword immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to resist the suction, but how could he possibly contend with the immense pulling force of the Gold-Devouring Dragon?

Lu Yuan shrugged. "Child of the Sword, I'm finding you increasingly benevolent."

The Child of the Sword felt blood surge, threatening to erupt; he was genuinely maddened. These twenty Sword Dao scripts were his lifeblood, and in this confrontation with Lu Yuan, he had suffered a massive internal hemorrhage. "Lu Yuan, how dare you absorb my twenty Sword Dao scripts! I will make you die!"

The Child of the Sword revealed his other trump card: the Sword-Wielder Token (Jian Zhe Ling). This token could weaken other sword users. But the moment he unleashed his token, Lu Yuan instantly countered by producing his own Sword-Wielder Token, neutralizing the imposing power of the Child of the Sword’s artifact.

The Child of the Sword was both shocked and furious. "You, how do you also possess a Sword-Wielder Token?" He had always believed his innate supreme destiny allowed him to obtain this priceless token left over from the previous epoch, never dreaming Lu Yuan would have one too. He needed this token for his own purposes, and fearful of it being absorbed like the twenty characters before, he quickly retracted his token.

Lu Yuan was causing the Child of the Sword to develop psychological trauma. In truth, Lu Yuan had genuinely wanted to confiscate the Child of the Sword's token, but the other reacted too quickly.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue. "Why did you put your Sword-Wielder Token away so soon?" he lamented with deep regret.

The Child of the Sword was enraged anew.

By this point, the Child of the Sword was rapidly nearing the end of his resources. Although he was the Child of the Sword, his trump cards were limited. What he was about to summon was his final and greatest ace—a terrifying move, his ultimate killing strike. He had originally intended it for a powerful foe like the Child of the Immortal, and had never planned to use it against Lu Yuan. But now, he had no choice; failure meant defeat, and he absolutely could not lose to Lu Yuan, or his title as Child of the Sword would be undermined.

The Child of the Sword sat cross-legged, sheathing the Tai'a Immortal Sword. This action caused those nearby to freeze in confusion. What was the Child of the Sword doing? Sitting cross-legged and sheathing his sword—did this mean he intended to concede? Yet, given his personality, status, and standing, it was almost unthinkable that he would yield.

The Child of the Sword waved his hand in the void, and immediately, the ground beneath him and Lu Yuan shifted color, turning a deep crimson.

It was a bloody hue, but this blood color swiftly transitioned, becoming pure white, and then pure gold.

Simultaneously, the ground began to rise continuously. As the terrain ascended, Lu Yuan found he could not step off this area; he seemed to be restrained by the very ground he stood on.

The ground rose higher and higher, forming a sheer cliff, a cliff emanating a strange aura.

As this bizarre cliff ascended, everyone at the Sword Gate was utterly baffled.

However, the Four Imperial Sons seemed to grasp something. The Martial Saint Imperial Son looked grave: "This isn't that legendary thing, is it?"

The Wasteland Imperial Son nodded. "It might be." The Dharma Saint Imperial Son’s expression grew exceedingly solemn. "If it is that, we are in trouble. I hadn't expected the Child of the Sword to hide such a killing move."

Seeing the expressions of the three more knowledgeable Imperial Sons, the Bronze Saint Imperial Son also began to understand.

The Child of the Sword sat atop the cliff, gazing at Lu Yuan, who was also trapped on the precipice. He was unhurried, "Lu Yuan, are you quite perplexed as to why you are confined to this cliff?" He then sat down and began reciting a scripture—a passage from the Vajra Sutra.

"Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was at the Jeta Grove in Shravasti, together with a great assembly of twelve hundred and fifty monks."

The more the Child of the Sword chanted, the more Lu Yuan felt an urge for release and self-termination. He wanted to commit suicide! What a joke! He had always maintained a positive and optimistic spirit, never entertaining thoughts of suicide, yet hearing the Child of the Sword's sutra now brought forth a death wish. This cliff was profoundly strange.

Lu Yuan moved swiftly, drawing his Yangwu Immortal Sword and thrusting it toward the Child of the Sword with speed and ferocity. This cliff was bizarre, but he would ignore it for now—he couldn't manage it anyway. However, if the magic artifact was left without an owner, it would be useless and naturally couldn't harm him.

The Child of the Sword smiled slightly, looking utterly confident, and vanished with a flicker of movement. He continued his chant in the void, accelerating his recitation. Lu Yuan felt the compulsion to kill himself growing stronger and more terrifying.

What was happening?

The Child of the Sword looked at Lu Yuan. "Lu Yuan, your swordsmanship is remarkable; you even manifested the Gate of Sword Dao and absorbed my twenty Sword Dao scripts. But I am the Child of the Sword. This is my greatest and final trump card: The Cliff of Liberation (Jie Tuo Zhi Ya). It is one of the supreme treasures of heaven and earth, and I have had the King of Restraint Buddha infuse it with peerless Buddhist dharma. Trapped here by me on this cliff, you have only the urge to self-destruct. I don't need to fight you at all; I can force you to kill yourself. This is the combined power of the Cliff of Liberation and the supreme Buddhist dharma of the King of Restraint Buddha." He had sought the King of Restraint Buddha’s blessing on this dharma many years prior.

"The Cliff of Liberation. Truly, a fine liberation awaits you, Lu Yuan. Go and be liberated."

Lu Yuan paused, startled. What was this?

The Cliff of Liberation. The name sounded so familiar. After a brief moment of recollection, the memory surfaced instantly.

The so-called Cliff of Liberation was one of the two items required for his advancement from the Minor Karma Iron Rule to the Iron Rule of Cause and Effect; the other was the Sea of Universal Salvation (Pu Du Zhi Hai). He had searched for both the Sea of Universal Salvation and the Cliff of Liberation back then, but could find neither, forcing him to abandon the quest in frustration. He never expected the Child of the Sword's ultimate trump card to be the Cliff of Liberation—it was completely beyond his anticipation.