The backer behind the Desolate Saint Imperial Son was too formidable, so he rarely encountered the likes of Lu Yuan, a desperate fugitive.
Therefore, when Lu Yuan adopted a reckless, all-or-nothing fighting posture, the Desolate Saint Imperial Son’s heart jolted violently.
Just as the Desolate Saint Imperial Son’s heart shook, Lu Yuan unleashed his most desperate killing technique.
Sword light engulfed the Desolate Saint Imperial Son like a surging, silver river; the name of this strike was Invincible!
To possess a technique named Invincible! It was obvious who the originator was: Yan Cangtian.
And this sword strike resembled the starry expanse of the universe, or perhaps the Milky Way itself.
This sword descended with an invincible aura.
The Desolate Saint Imperial Son was already disadvantaged by Lu Yuan’s 'Restrain' Clone, even more so than Zhu Renyu, instantly falling to the lower hand. Then Lu Yuan followed up with several more slashes. The third sword: Natural Enemy! Heaven is My Foe! I Am Heaven’s Foe! This inherently carried an air of infinite arrogance, and it too was created by Yan Cangtian.
The sword was struck forth, its momentum threatening to shatter the heavens!
This was a strike that nearly liquefied the firmament!
Natural Enemy carried a greater momentum than Invincible!
Invincible was created by Yan Cangtian during his time at Mount Hua, later continuously refined into a fierce technique.
Natural Enemy, however, was conceived after Yan Cangtian suffered a loss in the Central Celestial Dynasty, eventually evolving into its mature form.
The two techniques represented different eras of Yan Cangtian.
As this sword was unleashed, the Desolate Saint Imperial Son finally realized that lingering meant certain death here. A massive dread enveloped his heart.
Thus, in an instant, the Desolate Saint Imperial Son erupted with tremendous energy, his form dissolving into an illusory shadow as he attempted to flee. But how could Lu Yuan let him escape so easily? Lu Yuan’s sword light pursued him, but the Desolate Saint Imperial Son fled too swiftly; before his sword momentum could fully coalesce, he had already vanished ten thousand miles away.
If this had been a one-on-one fight, Lu Yuan could certainly have given chase.
Unfortunately, it was not one-on-one; there were other opponents, and other sharp attacks were bearing down on him.
So, Lu Yuan had no choice but to give up.
He still lacked a truly dedicated pursuit-style swordsmanship. He needed to forge a few pursuit techniques later, lest such an incident as today recur, allowing the enemy to escape. A slight dissatisfaction gnawed at Lu Yuan.
While Lu Yuan harbored minor annoyance, those gathered on the Heart Mountain were utterly stunned!
The Desolate Saint Imperial Son, while perhaps not a powerhouse among the Half-Step Civilization Realm experts, was still a figure of that realm, backed by the authority of the Desolate Civilization. Such a world-shaking figure, after taking two of Lu Yuan’s strikes, actually fled in the face of the third, discarding all pretense of honor.
Fled!
He fought for a period before fleeing.
This was completely different from fleeing after just two initial exchanges.
The former flight was pragmatic—acknowledging defeat and escaping.
The latter flight, fleeing after the opponent had only executed two strikes, stemmed from genuine psychological panic, a true fear of his opponent. Otherwise, why flee?
The Desolate Saint Imperial Son was afraid! That was why he fled!
But for him, a renowned Imperial Son ranked among the elite of the Ancient Desolate Civilization, to be scared off by a junior from the Sword Gate—not even daring to meet the third strike—this was too outrageous! Moreover, the Ancient Desolate Civilization had been famous for ages, and many knew the Desolate Saint Imperial Son was renowned for his fierce bravery. For such a person to be frightened away!
The pressure Lu Yuan exerted must have been immense!
After this confrontation, provided Lu Yuan survived, merely the feat of terrifying the Desolate Saint Imperial Son into fleeing would secure his name throughout the world.
Conversely, the reputation of the Desolate Saint Imperial Son was utterly ruined by this battle. Even if people outwardly showed deference due to the Ancient Desolate Civilization’s prestige, they would surely mock him behind his back, and few would respect him in the future.
Lu Yuan extended a finger: “Second one down.”
The siege of Lu Yuan by six Half-Step Civilization Realm combat powers had already resulted in one death and one flight; four remained.
Of course, the remaining four were no pushovers. The Jade Emperor, Son of Immortals, Tong Yun-Chou, and the Might-Strong Imperial Son—the reputations of these four far exceeded those of the first two. The Jade Emperor was still continuously weaving the Lock of Civilization. He claimed it required a hundred strikes, but the actual number was uncertain; Lu Yuan could not afford to be careless.
Just moments ago, Lu Yuan was clearly at a disadvantage, but now he seemed to have reclaimed the momentum, not showing weakness on the field at all.
...
Just as everyone was moved, astonished, and bewildered by Lu Yuan facing six alone and bringing down one dead and one fleeing among the Half-Step Civilization Realm experts, a subtle disturbance arose between heaven and earth. It was a poem subtly hinting at civilization, and countless such poems originated from one specific lock.
From above the Jade Emperor’s head, a lock gradually materialized.
It was a lock the color of chaos! Roughly one mu in circumference.
This lock seemed imbued with infinite mystery, representing the Great Dao of numerous locks, the very truth of locking.
If this lock could display its full form, it could lock the heavens, the earth, all things, the rivers, the stars—it could lock everything. This was the civilization level of a lock, but the Jade Emperor clearly could not truly activate the Lock of Civilization. This lock, representing the Great Dao of civilization, was faint, emerging and receding, unable to exert its true might. If it could, the fight would be over immediately, and Lu Yuan would already be captured.
Lu Yuan felt a terror rising from his soul when looking at this lock—a profound, primal dread. The creator of this technique must have been a monster to conceive such a method. Lu Yuan forcefully suppressed the impulse to turn tail and flee. If the lock were complete, he would definitely bolt.
Of course, even incomplete, the lock possessed considerable power. As the lock slowly opened its maw, Lu Yuan instantly realized that his Ephemeral Dream technique could not be used for the moment. This Lock of Civilization was terrifyingly potent, capable of nullifying his ultimate skill, Ephemeral Dream.
Simultaneously, Lu Yuan grew more aware of the Jade Emperor’s insidious horror. This man was truly terrifyingly profound. Initially, he had deliberately stated that preparing the Lock of Civilization required a hundred strikes. Lu Yuan had estimated that it would actually take seventy strikes, assuming the opponent would never state the exact minimum time required.
Therefore, Lu Yuan had already mobilized all his mental fortitude in the previous moments, intending to decide the victor within seventy strikes.
However, the Jade Emperor had played him perfectly; he didn't need seventy strikes at all.
He only needed ten strikes.
He required only ten strikes to prepare the Lock of Civilization, yet he boasted a preparation time of a hundred strikes—a lie designed to ensnare people utterly.
The Jade Emperor was indeed an exceedingly difficult opponent to handle.
The Jade Emperor looked at Lu Yuan: “Lu Yuan, it is unfortunate for you. The preparation time for my Lock of Civilization was not one hundred strikes, but merely ten. Stating one hundred was solely to deceive you, and it appears you have completely fallen into my trap....” The Jade Emperor’s taunts had a purpose: to make Lu Yuan anxious, to unnerve him, to create a psychological flaw. As a master who had experienced countless major battles, he was not comparable to ordinary individuals. When Lu Yuan held the advantage, he remained unhurried, drawing Lu Yuan into his snare step-by-step—changing a hundred strikes to ten, and then using this provocation. Any ordinary opponent facing the Jade Emperor would likely be toyed with in his palm.
This was the Jade Emperor, the Jade Emperor who commands the heavens, an expert nearly ranking among the top fifty on the Heavenly List.
The Jade Emperor fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan. Just moments ago, Lu Yuan held the upper hand, but the Jade Emperor's subtle maneuvering instantly shifted the field’s advantage to his side. What are means? This is means. The Jade Emperor declared: “Lu Yuan, defeating you and slaying you—I will remember your name.” The current situation was undeniably disadvantageous for Lu Yuan. Initially, Lu Yuan could dominate this one-against-six scenario using Ephemeral Dream, but now that skill was sealed. Facing four earth-shattering masters made the difficulty extreme.
The Might-Strong Imperial Son burst into laughter: “Jade Emperor, thank you. I haven't been able to properly hack at this brat Lu Yuan, and now I finally can enjoy myself. Lu Yuan, I will chop you into meat paste.”
Tong Yun-Chou also felt a chill in his heart. This Jade Emperor was not simple; he truly deserved his reputation as someone who once held charge of the Heavenly Palace. Fortunately, judging by the way the world’s great currents were flowing, the chances of opposing the Immortal Ancient Civilization were slim. Of course, if it came down to pure cunning, Tong Yun-Chou was in no way inferior to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor was a troublesome character, and Tong Yun-Chou was the same.
Tong Yun-Chou fanned himself gently: “Lu Yuan, you hail from Mount Hua in the Jin Kingdom, I believe I recall correctly? Not long ago, I sent someone to Mount Hua and brought the people there to the Copper Civilization.” Tong Yun-Chou suddenly dropped a bombshell. In truth, he had indeed dispatched someone recently, but that World-Level Tenth Heaven expert he sent was actually killed. Tong Yun-Chou was shocked upon hearing this news. Sword Heaven Yan Cangtian? Had he grown to this extent? Tong Yun-Chou was increasingly wary of the Way of the Sword. His plan this time had naturally failed, but what if it failed? Lu Yuan had no way to verify the matter now. He deliberately threw it out there; whether Lu Yuan believed it or not, sowing discord in Lu Yuan’s mind was enough.
To be able to casually use an incident to destabilize an enemy’s mind—this was Tong Yun-Chou. If the identity of Sword Spirit Imperial Concubine had not been that of an Imperial Concubine of the Archaic Civilization, Tong Yun-Chou would have captured her as well.
The Son of Immortals remained silent, observing intently. Seniors like the Jade Emperor and Tong Yun-Chou were not only ruthless in combat but also exceptional in other aspects—their intellect, stratagems, and grasp of the situation were all outstanding. With these few being so accomplished, Lu Yuan’s chances of survival had dropped significantly.
The Son of Immortals now also desired Lu Yuan’s death above all else, though he never showed it on his face, maintaining the guise of a reluctant participant forced to act against a friend.