The Sword Guardian Token, though a magical artifact created by the First Generation Sword Ancestor, had seen its power wane over the long passage of time.

But the people of the Blood Gate were simply too strong, too strong. Under the combined assault of five hundred Blood Gate members, the Sword Guardian Token barely endured for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Approaching that mark, with a resounding crash, the token shattered. The Blood God King eyed Patriarch Jian Mie with sinister amusement. "Patriarch Jian Mie, truly interesting. I never realized this ant possessed such skill to hold me off for so long. Worthy of a commendation."

"Pity. It ends here." The Blood God King struck out with his right hand, conjuring a massive, sanguine hand in the void that slammed toward Patriarch Jian Mie. The Patriarch summoned the Immortal Slaying Sword, but the aura of destruction emanating from it was incomparably dwarfed by the bloody hand. The massive hand effortlessly extinguished the might of the Immortal Slaying Sword and, despite Patriarch Jian Mie's myriad transformations, grasped and seized him entirely.

The scent of blood rushed straight into Patriarch Jian Mie’s nostrils.

The Blood God King looked down at him. "Your blood and flesh, I shall take it all." He extended his index finger, and a streak of blood-light pierced directly toward the center of Patriarch Jian Mie's brow. This was the True Ancestor's Blood from the Blood Scripture; once it pierced Patriarch Jian Mie’s body, it would drain every drop of his blood and flesh.

In the early stages of cultivating the Blood Scripture, one had to manifest as a blood shadow and pass through the target's body to consume their essence.

But at the realm of the Blood God King, such crude measures were unnecessary. He sought elegance, the same elegance as the Primordial Blood Ancestor. Legend spoke of an even mightier bloodline in the Lost Lands, home to the Primordial Blood Ancestor—a being of terrifying power, though the exact extent of that strength remained unknown.

Patriarch Jian Mie was moments from death under the Blood God King's hand.

But who could save him? In truth, not only Jian Mie, but everyone else present was facing imminent doom.

The rest of the Blood Gate contingent began selecting their targets.

However, the Blood Gate had deployed five hundred individuals, while the Sword Gate mustered only fifty. A problem immediately arose: too many predators and too few prey. Those eager for blood far outnumbered those who possessed it. Simply put, it was a ten-to-one ratio, and the Sword Gate members were now highly coveted commodities. The Blood Gate members were already bickering over who would claim whom.

"That World Realm expert is mine. I hear his name is Taishikong—the current nominal Gate Master of the Sword Gate. Should taste quite good."

"Taishikong is mine! I enjoy fine wine; I've heard Taishikong does too. Blood infused with wine must have an exquisite flavor." Several World Realm figures from the Blood Gate had set their sights on Taishikong, but in this moment, none were willing to yield. Ten to one—the ensuing quarrel was fierce.

"I claim that old dog, Jianyunzu..."

"The Sword Gate is truly pitiful, possessing so little strength. Only one at the fourth heaven of the World Realm. How am I supposed to sate my thirst for blood?" someone grumbled.

"That one looks promising; we could really drink his blood. What's his name?"

"A mere Hollow Cauldron Realm figure from the Sword Gate. Why bother knowing his name? Draining him dry is what matters."

In that very instant, a single sword-light erupted.

It was an ethereal slash, seemingly vacant, weak, as if it barely existed in reality. Yet, in that same moment, it felt utterly ubiquitous, present everywhere and nowhere—these two contradictory sensations were enough to make a person nearly vomit blood.

The Blood God King, being a peak figure of the seventh heaven in the World Realm, immediately perceived that this sword-light was aimed directly at him.

But where exactly was the light?

Unknown.

Where would the sword-light strike?

Unknown.

Not knowing its origin or destination, how was one supposed to fight this? Patriarch Jian Mie felt like retching; he had never fought a battle like this. How was anyone supposed to counter this? The Blood God King relied purely on years of combat experience and instinct, forcing himself backward.

Yet, as he retreated, a sword-light materialized, severing three fingers on his left hand.

With a Pang! in the void, myriad motes of crimson mist exploded outward. The Blood God King was a Divine King of Blood, the Lord of the Blood Gate, possessing more than a hundred times the normal human volume of blood. Even the severing of three fingers resulted in such a massive effusion. After shredding his fingers, the sword-light finally paused.

The Blood God King stared at his mutilated hand. Damn it! To actually injure me! Who was this? Who dared to strike?

He turned to face his opponent. Standing before Patriarch Jian Mie, neutralizing the threat of the True Ancestor's Blood piercing his body, was a handsome young man, his green robes fluttering, his long hair streaming behind him. This was, naturally, Lu Yuan, and the sword strike had been his Fourth Sword Style: Empty.

Fourth Sword: Empty! A technique he rarely employed.

To be precise, he had never truly used it before, because previously, the technique had never been perfectly realized.

The essence of the 'Empty' strike required the sword movement to seem omnipresent yet fundamentally non-existent, creating the feeling of being like emptiness, yet not entirely so. Previously incomplete, now, with the advancement in his Heart Sword practice—where the sword resides where the heart is, and the heart is in the void, thus the sword is in the void—this technique became even more elusive, allowing the full manifestation of the Fourth Sword: Empty!

And it was precisely in this instant that the true power of the Fourth Sword: Empty was unleashed.

How effective was this strike?

The Blood God King, along with many high-level experts nearby, were profoundly shocked. Although abilities related to the Cloud attribute specialized in concealing true power levels, Lu Yuan’s single strike against the Blood God King revealed that his cultivation level was unequivocally at the sixth heaven of the World Realm, the Vital Energy stage.

Heavens! Lu Yuan had reached the Vital Energy stage? How was this possible? Ascending from the fifth heaven, the Creation stage, to the sixth heaven was an agonizing hurdle. Many cultivators languished at this bottleneck for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. Lu Yuan, who had only reached the Creation stage perhaps a year or so prior, had broken through to the sixth heaven in slightly over a year? This speed was not just astonishing; it was unprecedented. Even the Seven Children of Fortune might not achieve such rapidity. Lu Yuan's progress this time was impossibly swift.

That was the first shock.

The second shock was the sword strike itself. It was utterly vacant, seemingly everywhere and nowhere. Many formidable figures were present, yet only one—the pale, silver-haired young man seated in the position of the Immortal Ancient Civilization—could possibly see through the attack. Everyone else had no chance; they simply could not grasp it. Even the silver-haired youth in the Immortal Ancient position didn't grasp it immediately, requiring a period of deep contemplation before comprehension dawned. This delicate, beautiful young master murmured internally that if Lu Yuan had suddenly deployed this technique against him without prior warning, he too might suffer a minor loss, perhaps merely having his sleeve grazed, but he wouldn't be able to counter it instantly.

This was the second shock: Lu Yuan’s sudden sword move managed to injure the Blood God King. Even accounting for the King’s surprise, the feat was terrifyingly potent.

When Lu Yuan unleashed this single move and wounded the Blood God King, the other Blood Gate members who had been eagerly preparing to feast on blood were suddenly paralyzed with fear. They had just seen their leader, the Blood God King—a Heavenly Venerate level entity—wounded.

Lu Yuan offered a slight smile. "Patriarch Jian Mie, thank you. Thank you for holding the line for so long. Now, it is my turn."

Patriarch Jian Mie smiled faintly. He felt a miracle was at hand. Seeing Lu Yuan’s utterly confident smile, he began to doubt his previous certainty. Why should the Sword Gate lose? Why shouldn't the way of the sword triumph?

Patriarch Jian Mie watched with anticipation, awaiting the miracle.

At this moment, Lu Yuan in the green robes turned his gaze toward the Blood God King and the other four hundred and ninety-nine members of the Blood Gate. "Oh, I apologize for the delay. Now, the true battle between the Sword Gate and the Blood Gate begins. Let's see if my record of fighting an entire sect single-handedly will be broken here." To declare fighting an entire sect was one thing, but to face the Blood Gate and utter such words—this was madness!

This was incredible audacity!

This was thrilling beyond measure!

Lu Yuan, what an idol!

Because of these words alone, Lu Yuan earned countless new admirers. Truly, many among the various sects now looked up to him.

In an instant, the morale on Lu Yuan's side surged dramatically.

Simultaneously, the Blood God King also smiled faintly. He looked at his severed fingers, which were already beginning to regenerate. "Impressive swordsmanship, Lu Yuan. Truly impressive."

The Blood God King spoke calmly. "I assessed the probability of you breaking through on the spot at 0.1 percent. I never expected you to achieve a battlefield breakthrough. However, the Blood Gate will not be defeated here. To deal with you, we have made several preparations—for instance, your current weakness is completely in our grasp."

"My current weakness?" Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled.

"Yes, your current weakness," the Blood God King nodded. "For example, how severe are the injuries you currently bear?" The Blood God King’s final sentence was stunning. Lu Yuan injured? And severely? What was this about? Throughout the Sect Ranking Battles, Lu Yuan had shown no visible injuries.

Lu Yuan himself was slightly taken aback.