Lu Yuan turned and strode out of the Evil Sword Civilization. His silhouette stretched out, long and deep, under the light of the sun.

Lu Yuan had left. The Evil Extreme Celestial Venerable immediately spoke, "Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization, are you truly letting this person go?

His swordsmanship has reached such heights; once he matures, he will become an extraordinary threat, a formidable enemy to our Evil Sword Civilization." "Let him go," came the thunderous voice of the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization from the void. He offered no extensive explanation to the Evil Extreme Celestial Venerable, for none was required.

He was a Civilization Realm expert; he did not need to detail his reasons to a World Realm individual. The character 'Sword'—that single character—had drawn too many gazes; he could not sacrifice the chance to obtain the 'Sword' character now simply to kill Lu Yuan.

Furthermore, he had already dispatched men to investigate. Lu Yuan's background dossier had arrived: the Gate of the Sword Dao.

To think this Lu Yuan actually possessed a Gate of the Sword Dao. The Gate of the Sword Dao was known to grow.

The Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization planned to strike when Lu Yuan was just breaking through to the Civilization Realm, dispatch him then, and seize the Gate of the Sword Dao. By then, it would surely be far more potent than it was now.

The Vice Lord inwardly admitted he couldn't foster the Gate of the Sword Dao's growth himself, intending to use Lu Yuan as a cultivation vessel, waiting until the optimal moment to murder him and seize his treasure. Thinking of the 'Sword' character and the Gate of the Sword Dao, the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization’s eyes burned with fierce intensity.

Lu Yuan walked clear of the Evil Sword Civilization. Victory!

Lu Yuan felt only an overwhelming sense of elation. This victory was fundamentally different from all others.

This was an encounter with the swordsmanship of a previous epoch—so many outstanding techniques, so many bizarre fighting styles: the 'Eyebrow Sword Style,' the style fought with eyes closed, fighting while lying down, fighting while unable to move, fighting while seated, and so on. To have stood victorious against them all brought an even greater thrill.

As Lu Yuan exited the Evil Sword Civilization, a crowd of onlookers had gathered nearby. "That young man named Lu actually managed to walk out alive." "Could it be he defeated the challenge against the Five Great Sword Halls?" "If so, that's incredibly skillful." Discussions buzzed among them.

Not far from the Evil Sword Civilization, a man in white and a man in grey exchanged smiles. The man in white was pure white, his bearing arrogant and lofty, like a Heavenly Sword descending, while the man in grey was a middle-aged scholar, refined and mature, exuding an aura of scholarship mixed with profound solitude.

Heavenly Sword, Yan Cangtian! Earth Sword, Zhou Qingxuan!

These two had clearly come as escorts. Lu Yuan's challenge to the Evil Sword Civilization this time had been a calculated risk, a dangerous move personally orchestrated by Zhou Qingxuan.

They had faith in Lu Yuan overcoming the Five Great Sword Halls, but they feared the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization might suddenly turn hostile. The current situation was that the Vice Lord of the Evil Sword Civilization was traveling, deep within the Lost Land forging a superior technique, leaving the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization in charge.

Thus, both Yan Cangtian and Zhou Qingxuan had come, ready to intervene and rescue him should any unforeseen accident occur. Normally, even the strongest World Realm expert, a mere Half-Step Civilization Realm, could not escape the grasp of a Civilization Realm master.

That was the immense gulf between the Civilization Realm and the World Realm. However, Yan Cangtian and Zhou Qingxuan were not typical peak World Realm cultivators.

More accurately, Zhou Qingxuan had brought a specialized artifact this time, capable of instantly teleporting Lu Yuan to the Central Celestial Dynasty. Normally, even this wouldn't guarantee escape; a Civilization Realm expert could shatter myriad voids in a single step and reach the Central Celestial Dynasty within moments.

But one must not forget that the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization could not simply kill Lu Yuan once he arrived there. The last time Zhou Qingxuan visited the Central Celestial Dynasty, it was to call upon three individuals.

One of these was the First Imperial Son, Fa Yi. Fa Yi and Zhou Qingxuan had been friends in their past lives.

With the First Imperial Son presiding, the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization dared not cause trouble. Therefore, Lu Yuan's venture into the Evil Sword Civilization, while appearing perilous, did not carry the truly high degree of danger it seemed.

Yet, it appeared that this contingency involving the First Imperial Son would not be necessary this time. Zhou Qingxuan looked toward Yan Cangtian.

"Senior Brother Yan, it has been a long time." Although both men cultivated in the Lost Land, this was their first meeting. "Junior Brother Zhou, long time no see," Yan Cangtian laughed heartily.

"Stop always playing that melancholic erhu; that affair is long past. Come, I’ll buy you a drink." Lu Yuan left the Evil Sword Civilization and headed straight back to the Central Celestial Dynasty.

Gu Qiushui, Fei Jianke, and Yan Feiyi—these three had been captured, and he couldn't save them. However, he presumed they would encounter their own fortunes, especially since Gu Qiushui and Fei Jianke had extraordinary backgrounds.

Of course, Lu Yuan's relationship with them was superficial, merely acquaintances. If they had been true confidants, Lu Yuan would certainly have risked rescue.

A friend is a friend. Breaking through the spatial strata once more, he first returned to the Southern Border territory.

After settling matters regarding Xie Fantian in the Southern Border, Lu Yuan flew back to the Central Celestial Dynasty, heading directly for the Sword Gate. Two and a half years remained until the opening of the Civilization Holy Land.

What kind of cultivation should he undertake in these two and a half years? His current swordsmanship had reached six and a half Iron Laws; the maximum was nine Iron Laws, and ten Iron Laws were unheard of.

This meant he was short by two and a half Iron Laws. At this stage, advancing his swordsmanship further would be extraordinarily difficult; for now, he need not focus on raising his sword skills.

Then there was his vital power. Currently, he was at the Six-Winged Heaven Yuan Qi Realm of the World Realm, aiming to ascend to the Seventh Heaven Accumulation Realm of the World Realm.

It was said that progressing from the Sixth Heaven Yuan Qi Realm to the Seventh Heaven was inherently difficult. Moreover, the Seventh Heaven Accumulation Realm was a peculiar stage.

Advancing through the initial stages of other realms to their peak did not usually consume excessive time, but the Accumulation Realm was different. To advance from the initial phase of this realm to its peak required an immense span of time.

This strange phenomenon occurred because the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm was entirely dedicated to preparing for the creation of a Minor Thousand World—a Minor Thousand World, which was no mere space, but an actual world. To create one's own Minor Thousand World required a truly staggering amount of energy.

Energy never arises from nothingness. Every cause has its effect.

Energy must have a source. Resources must have a place of origin.

The energy required to forge a Minor Thousand World was unimaginably vast. Therefore, the energy and resources needed to progress from the initial stage to the peak of the Seventh Heaven Accumulation Realm were beyond measure.

Of course, the immediate priority was figuring out how to ascend to the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm first. While contemplating this, he saw the Sword Gate approaching.

Upon returning to the Sword Gate, he soon discovered a mountain of invitation cards awaiting him. He was now famous throughout the Central Celestial Dynasty, so such a deluge of invitations was expected.

Lu Yuan casually sifted through a few, finding that most carried the same message: invitations to banquets and feasts—all attempts to forge connections. These people were starting to court him now, recognizing his immense potential.

Lu Yuan flipped through them dismissively; he had no time for such things, nor did his nature lean toward them. He had only taken a few sips of wine when a terrifying, overwhelming aura erupted.

It was an aura of such immense, boundless power that while it did not match the Vice Lord of the Demon Sword Civilization, it surpassed anyone Lu Yuan had faced before. And clearly, Lu Yuan was not the only one sensing this terrifyingly powerful pressure.

The entire Sword Gate, across its three stars, felt the shockwave. Under the influence of this aura, many disciples with low vital power within the Sword Gate were forced to their knees.

They didn't wish to kneel, but facing this shocking imperial presence, they had no choice. It wasn't just the low-level cultivators; even someone of Taishi Bei's caliber felt intense discomfort, considering Taishi Bei was currently at the Fifth Heaven of the Chaos Cave Realm.

Who was this? What vital power was this?

What an aura! Countless eyes turned toward the southeast corner of the Sword Gate.

In that southeast corner, a ferocious beast appeared! A Demonic Beast!

What kind of Demonic Beast had breached the Sword Gate? Demonic Beasts certainly harbored immensely powerful entities, like the Ancient Beast Lu Yuan encountered previously.

However, Demonic Beasts were forbidden from invading official territories or attacking registered sects. The Sword Gate was registered.

What was happening? The enormous beast possessed ten colossal, thousand-zhang-long tusks, radiating chilling dread.

It resembled a Qilin! But it appeared far more savage than the legendary creature.

The Jade-Black Ten-Tusked Primeval Qilin! Finally, someone recognized the origins of this Qilin.

It was said this creature fed on dragons and possessed the strength of the Chaos Cave Realm upon reaching maturity. Such a powerful Demonic Beast had invaded the Sword Gate.

Judging by the terror inspired by this Jade-Black Ten-Tusked Primeval Qilin, perhaps no one in the entire Sword Gate could stop it. As the people of the Sword Gate trembled, a voice suddenly cut through the air.

"Little Tusk, we're here. Return to the Spirit Sealing Tablet." With a whoosh, the massive Jade-Black Ten-Tusked Primeval Qilin, which had shaken the entire Sword Gate, vanished.

What? Such an incredibly mighty Demonic Beast as the Jade-Black Ten-Tusked Primeval Qilin was a person's mount?

Who was this person? At that moment, the aura that had shaken the Sword Gate had not dissipated.

It was clear that the source of the pressure was the person, not the Primeval Qilin. The figure grew closer, and the hearts of the onlookers began to pound relentlessly, thump-thump, as if threatening to burst from their chests.

Finally, the figure came into view. This person appeared remarkably young, with a somewhat rugged appearance, decidedly not the type of pampered pretty boy.

He had a square jawline, a tall stature, and every inch of his skin and muscle was streamlined, radiating aesthetic perfection. His eyes were profoundly deep, seemingly containing infinite worlds within their depths.

This man wore armor forged from Jade-Black Qilin hide, and he held a massive Fangtian Halberd. He seemed to be Heaven itself; he seemed to be Earth itself; he seemed to be the singular entity between Heaven and Earth.

Who was this man? And Lu Yuan could distinctly feel an undisguised, naked killing intent directed toward him, seemingly aimed squarely at his person.