Lu Yuan stood there, sword shouldered, facing Tong Yun Chou and the Son of Immortals with a chilling gaze. For every kindness received, there must be repayment; for every grudge, vengeance must be served. The feud with Tong Yun Chou was significant. Even contemplating it now, despite this being their first meeting, Lu Yuan knew Tong Yun Chou had already schemed against him several times—like instigating the Desolate Saint Imperial Scion to try and kill him, or backing Xuanyuan Wang of the Sword Sect. Naturally, Lu Yuan harbored a deep desire to see Tong Yun Chou dead. The Son of Immortals did not carry such heavy hatred; his immediate priority was dispatching Tong Yun Chou first.

Tong Yun Chou, however, remained unhurried. "Lu Yuan, you truly are remarkable. Standing against six, slaying three, and scaring off one—your might is indeed awe-inspiring. I admire you. How about a negotiation? Spare me, and I will help you achieve certain things. For instance, I can restore the glory of the Sword Dao, and I can release the people from Mount Hua you hold captive."

Lu Yuan scoffed, "Saying all this now, isn't it a bit late?"

"Late? Not at all," Tong Yun Chou replied, waving his feather fan dismissively. "It's not too late to kill you."

In a flash, Tong Yun Chou spun his feather fan. The fan shimmered in the void, unleashing countless characters that surged toward it, instantly enveloping Lu Yuan in an ocean of script.

Yes, truly an ocean of script. Surrounding Lu Yuan were at least several thousand Tier Two characters. This was precisely the Sea of Characters. The Tier Two characters here surely numbered close to ten thousand.

Among them were Tier Two characters representing the Desolate Ancient Civilization, embodying the power of the Primordial Era—sometimes like a flood, sometimes like desolation, surging relentlessly. These characters sought to obliterate the Sword Dao and dominate the heavens and earth. As these characters struck, Lu Yuan immediately felt a suppressive force bear down on him. There were characters from the Immortal Ancient Civilization, possessing a clear yet profound tone, capable of purifying the world and annihilating all things; these characters, while exquisitely beautiful, carried an immensely destructive power. There were also Tier Two characters from the Buddhist Ancient Civilization, such as ‘Compassion’ (), ‘Pity’ (), ‘Release’ (), and a whole host of others. Upon reaching Lu Yuan, these characters induced a desire to simply cease resistance and surrender to their will. This was the power of the Buddhist Ancient Civilization's script; once unleashed, it often caused the opponent to yield immediately. Even those with exceptionally firm willpower might find their fighting spirit greatly diminished and their combat power severely reduced. The Buddhist Ancient Civilization was a rather peculiar power.

Then there were characters from the Star Civilization, flashing with bursts of starlight, manifesting chains of stars that coiled towards Lu Yuan, attempting to bind him. And characters from the Thunder Civilization; their script flashed with lightning, summoning thunderous storms—the power displayed paled in comparison to the Tier Two characters used by Yan Qianfa during their confrontation. The function of the Copper Civilization's characters had already been explained and needed no further elaboration. The Artifact Civilization's characters also offered little direct utility. The Tree Civilization's characters seemed intent on rooting themselves into a person, continuously draining their essence and dissipating their magical power. Some Tree Civilization characters manifested as coiling vines, making it exceedingly difficult for Lu Yuan to move.

The Fox Civilization's characters induced illusions, while the Poison Civilization's characters directly inflicted toxins upon the body. The Heavenly Principles Civilization's characters manifested as countless fallacies. The Seedling Civilization's characters were crude, carrying an impulse toward direct annihilation. The Strength Civilization's characters descended like massive, heavy mountains, crushing the target beneath them. The Flower Civilization's characters were similar to the Fox Civilization’s, conjuring various illusions. The Arrow Civilization’s characters, when they struck, did so with extreme speed, manifesting as singular arrows that assaulted every point of the body. The Talisman Civilization’s characters transformed into various talismans, each serving a different purpose—these were the most versatile characters.

The Formation Civilization's characters materialized into complex arrays meant to trap Lu Yuan while simultaneously delivering killing blows. The Theft Civilization's characters began siphoning Lu Yuan’s magical power before even making physical contact.

Suddenly, characters from nearly twenty civilizations swirled towards Lu Yuan. This was a barrage of assorted attacks! Among these characters were those designed for direct, frontal assault, others meant to ensnare Lu Yuan and prevent movement, those inflicting negative statuses, those designed to stop him from acting, those directly absorbing his mana, stealth-based characters, and a plethora of other bizarre scripts. This was practically an encyclopedia of characters, a veritable compendium.

Lu Yuan was instantly thrust into dire peril. The assault from nearly ten thousand Tier Two characters was savagely overwhelming! Even the Desolate Son and Hua Fasheng, if they descended, might not withstand an attack involving close to ten thousand Tier Two characters. One Tier Two character was manageable, but nearly ten thousand?

However, something felt amiss. How could Tong Yun Chou possess so many characters? Even dismantling the entire Copper Civilization might not yield this many Tier Two characters, and for Tong Yun Chou to unleash nearly ten thousand simultaneously was unprecedented. The explanation was, in truth, simple: Tong Yun Chou possessed an artifact called the Myriad Character Script (Wan Zi Wen). This artifact could collect various characters and then bombard the enemy with them. But this artifact required a preparation time.

Tong Yun Chou had never intended to use this artifact initially. Deploying six half-step Civilization Realm experts against one Lu Yuan should have been sufficient. But the situation had completely inverted. Lu Yuan had slain the Jade Emperor, killed three, and scared off one, and now the advantage had entirely swung to Lu Yuan's side.

Tong Yun Chou had been wary ever since Lu Yuan killed Zhu Renyu. He had used the Supreme Voice Transmission technique to alert the Desolate Alliance members on Heart Mountain, analyzing the crisis: if they couldn't stop Lu Yuan, he might single-handedly reverse the situation, leading to the Desolate Alliance’s ultimate defeat. Initially, no one believed Tong Yun Chou. But when figures as powerful as the Jade Emperor fell to Lu Yuan, everyone was convinced. Only then did they agree to temporarily lend Tong Yun Chou their civilization characters to help him defeat Lu Yuan.

During the time the Strength Xiong Imperial Scion was attacking, Tong Yun Chou had been busy using the Myriad Character Script artifact to gather characters transmitted to him through special Half-Plane void channels from the others. By the time the Strength Xiong Imperial Scion was utterly defeated, Tong Yun Chou’s collection of characters reached its limit. However, Tong Yun Chou was a cunning figure; he first proposed a discussion, asking Lu Yuan to spare him, intending to deceive Lu Yuan into thinking he was begging for mercy. Then, he struck suddenly, aiming to catch Lu Yuan completely off guard.

Everything proceeded as he planned. The nearly ten thousand characters completely submerged Lu Yuan in the Sea of Characters. If this attack had been directed at Hua Fasheng, even he likely could not have endured it. In an instant, Lu Yuan was in absolute danger—a situation seemingly guaranteeing his death.

Tong Yun Chou’s strike was indeed extraordinary. After trapping Lu Yuan with nearly ten thousand characters to ensure his demise, Tong Yun Chou simultaneously lashed out with his long bronze spear. The spear achieved a terrifying extension, and at the very same moment, the Son of Immortals unleashed an infinite barrage of immortal arts upon Lu Yuan. Tong Yun Chou had coordinated with the Son of Immortals earlier.

Furthermore, as he struck, Tong Yun Chou utilized the supreme length of his bronze spear to swiftly retreat. The Copper Saint Imperial Scion's spear was ten thousand zhang long, but Tong Yun Chou’s spear stretched to one hundred thousand zhang. Tong Yun Chou instantly retreated beyond that hundred-thousand zhang mark, attacking Lu Yuan from a safe distance.

Tong Yun Chou extended his spear to such a length with a clear objective: A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Tong Yun Chou was a strategist; how could he willingly place himself in danger? Even if the near ten thousand characters had a 99.99% chance of killing Lu Yuan, what if that tiny possibility of failure materialized? What then? Tong Yun Chou had no intention of dying here. Thus, he fled far away. If anything went wrong, he would flee instantly, vowing never to meet such a dangerous individual as Lu Yuan again. There would be ample time to scheme against Lu Yuan later.

As Tong Yun Chou retreated, he noticed the Son of Immortals was also falling back rapidly, his speed no slower than his own. Simultaneously, the Son of Immortals was launching thousands of spells at Lu Yuan while moving away. Tong Yun Chou inwardly mused that the Son of Immortals truly shared his nature—a truly detestable trait. Tong Yun Chou preferred others rushing forward while he stayed safely hidden in the rear. Yet, unexpectedly, the Son of Immortals was also retreating. It seemed they shared the same philosophy: a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. No wonder they were the last two remaining among the six great experts.

The Son of Immortals was also continuously backing away. He had clearly seen Tong Yun Chou. The elder's personality was profoundly irritating. The Son of Immortals favored others charging ahead and despised anyone as calculating as himself, only to discover Tong Yun Chou was equally treacherous.

Tong Yun Chou and the Son of Immortals harbored the exact same thought: if the situation turned sour, they would bolt immediately, refusing any further direct confrontation with Lu Yuan. Deep down, both feared a direct fight with Lu Yuan, preferring to plot against him from the shadows later.

Lu Yuan’s figure shifted slightly, and a burst of sword light flared, simultaneously blocking the incoming attacks from Tong Yun Chou and the Son of Immortals. These two were not easily dealt with; both were immensely powerful and possessed characters as slippery as loaches. He couldn't possibly handle them both right now.

Besides, truthfully, did he even have the focus to deal with them now? This was nearly ten thousand Tier Two characters!

And his Dao Character Clone required different Tier Two characters to nourish it and advance its level. He had managed to raise his Dao Character Clone to the Ten Percent Dao Character state during the struggle for the Sword Scroll, and now he could receive another substantial infusion of energy.

For anyone else, the attack from nearly ten thousand Tier Two characters would be an insurmountable obstacle. But for him, it was nothing special—just heaps upon heaps of precious supplements. Coincidentally, his Formless Devouring Art (Wuxiang Tunshi Jue) had recently reached great completion. Excellent! Lu Yuan moved his mind and activated his Formless Devouring Art.