Lu Yuan looked up at the sky, where a fierce battle was raging overhead. The Seven Star Grand Array, seven figures against the Son of Desolation alone, had yet to decide a victor. The intensity of Lu Yuan’s one-against-six battle clearly did not match the Son of Desolation’s one-against-seven. The other six—the Sons of Law and the Sons of Martial Arts—were manageable, but Hua Fasheng was too formidable, and the Son of Desolation surpassed even Hua Fasheng. Lu Yuan glanced at the titanic struggle above; it remained deadlocked. The Anti-Desolation Alliance forces were still pursuing the Desolation Alliance members. Lu Yuan swallowed a top-grade medicinal elixir named "Pure Virtue Soaring Cloud Powder," derived from Confucian Civilization. After ingesting this supreme pill, Lu Yuan felt his spiritual power recover substantially, and the restoration was ongoing.

He then leaped upward, entering the fray of the Seven Star Great Abyss battle zone. Previously, it was seven against one. Hua Fasheng, the Emperor’s Son of Law Saint, the Son of Law, the Son of Martial Arts, Kong Ni, Feng Xingxing, and the Emperor’s Son of Great Axe—seven individuals fighting the sole Son of Desolation. Now, with Lu Yuan joining, it became eight against one. The sudden addition of Lu Yuan did not cause the Son of Desolation to flinch; his divine might remained undiminished. He roared, "Those from the Desolation Alliance below, do not panic! Once I have slain all eight above, victory shall naturally be ours." The Son of Desolation, possessing godlike majesty, caused many half-step Civilization Realm members of the Desolation Alliance, who had been fleeing, to return, reigniting the conflict. The Anti-Desolation Alliance and the Desolation Alliance clashed once more, though this time, the Desolation Alliance was at a disadvantage.

The Son of Desolation faced eight opponents without a trace of fear: "Lu Yuan, you are impressive indeed, to win a fight of one against six, even slaying the Jade Emperor. I underestimated you. You are indeed qualified to be my stepping stone." The Son of Desolation still did not view Lu Yuan as an equal opponent, merely as a worthy milestone. Before this moment, Lu Yuan was nothing more than an ant to him. Lu Yuan let out a cold laugh: "Son of Desolation, you have been supreme for too long. When you sought to kill me at Sword Gate, your might was awe-inspiring. Now, it is time for your end." Lu Yuan assessed his current state: he was at the tenth heaven of the World Realm, while the Son of Desolation was half a step into the Civilization Realm. Their moves were roughly comparable, and with his Counter-Character Clone, Lu Yuan believed he could gain the upper hand.

The Son of Desolation sneered: "Are you truly worthy of finishing me?" He thrust out his Primordial Divine Halberd, which lunged like a pouncing Azure Dragon toward Lu Yuan. In that instant, Lu Yuan faintly perceived a Dragon of Civilization roaring toward him. Nearly three years ago at Sword Gate, the Son of Desolation’s casual strike was merely on the level of an Ancient Divine Dragon; now, a casual strike faintly carried the shadow of the Civilization level. Astonishing!

Lu Yuan dared not be careless. Infusing his 'Nourish My Immortal Sword' with the essence of the 'Counter-Desolation Sword,' the two almost merged into a single strike—the strongest sword move he had unleashed against the Desolation Ancient Civilization! This blow contained all his accumulated rage against the Desolation Ancient Civilization and his fury toward the Son of Desolation. Simultaneously, Lu Yuan poured the tenth layer of Pure Virtue into it, using the pure energy to shield his sword, for his was an Immortal-grade weapon facing a Divine-grade armament; the weapon grade was superior.

The Primordial Divine Halberd and the Nourish My Immortal Sword met with a deafening collision. Clang! A colossal force struck, sending Lu Yuan retreating several hundred zhang, while the Son of Desolation only retreated a little over a hundred zhang.

Not enough!

Lu Yuan’s heart jolted violently. He had utilized his Counter-Character Clone, yet the Counter-Desolation Sword could not fully subdue the Son of Desolation. Based on this clash, he was still no match for him. What was happening? Lu Yuan was suddenly alarmed. He could usually gain an advantage against those of the Desolation Ancient lineage, but facing the Son of Desolation, he gained no ground whatsoever.

Lu Yuan instantly reconstructed the previous strike in his mind, analyzing the blow. He finally deduced the reason: during that exchange, his Counter-Character Clone attempted to suppress the Son of Desolation but found itself incapable. The Son of Desolation possessed an immense, boundless power that resisted the activation of the Counter-Character Clone: the level of the clone was insufficient! His clone was only at one-tenth strength; if it reached around thirty percent, he should be able to suppress the current Son of Desolation.

He had cultivated for so long, fought so many masters, yet he was still inferior to the Son of Desolation. Before the next decisive battle with the Son of Desolation, he absolutely must elevate the strength of his Counter-Character Clone to ensure the Son of Desolation’s demise.

The Son of Desolation also started slightly. Lu Yuan’s progress in strength was rapid. Three years ago, he was someone he could dispatch in a single move; now, he might last a few dozen exchanges. As the Son of the Epoch, being able to hold out for dozens of moves against him was the highest praise possible. The Son of Desolation gave Lu Yuan a deep look, clearly acknowledging the status of this ‘ant,’ no longer viewing Lu Yuan as a mere insect.

Seeing this, Hua Fasheng mused that Lu Yuan was already this powerful, surpassing even the Son of Law and the Son of Martial Arts. The original Seven Star Grand Array could not handle the Son of Desolation, but now, the combined strength of eight would make confronting him less difficult.

Instantly, the eight joined forces and struck toward the Son of Desolation. Lu Yuan’s display of formidable strength allowed the combined eight to gain a significant advantage. During this fight, Lu Yuan exchanged blows with the Son of Desolation several times. Each exchange felt like his sword was being struck by a massive iron hammer, yet he resolved that as long as his sword wasn't broken, he would be stronger next time. He simultaneously sensed the peerless might of the Son of Desolation.

Boom!

In that moment, his Heart Mountain throbbed violently. It had only been partially activated before; now, the Heart Mountain was fully unlocked.

Faster than words could describe, the Son of Desolation flashed, arriving above the Heart Mountain. Hua Fasheng, Lu Yuan, and the other seven immediately gave chase. They now all realized the Son of Desolation intended to seize the Chaos Civilization Fragment from the Heart Mountain. What a Son of Desolation! At this critical juncture, he used his broad, mountain-like back to forcibly endure the combined attack of Hua Fasheng's technique and Lu Yuan's sword strike, while he himself secured a portion of the Heart Mountain Chaos Civilization Fragment and fled, vanishing without a trace. The Son of Desolation exhibited absolute power here, taking the Chaos Civilization Fragment and leaving; pursuit was impossible now. Hua Fasheng descended, stating, "Two-tenths were taken."

Unexpectedly, amidst the chaos, the Son of Desolation managed to seize two-tenths of the Chaos Civilization Fragment. Lu Yuan felt a degree of frustration.

Hua Fasheng smiled lightly: "The Son of Desolation is the Son of the Epoch, possessing boundless destiny. However, this time, we forced him to take two-tenths of the fragment. This is the most humiliating event since his emergence. We should be pleased." This was undeniably true.

The next step was naturally the division of the Chaos Civilization Fragments.

Hua Fasheng contributed the most in this endeavor. Had Hua Fasheng not occupied the Son of Desolation, the others would have been instantly vanquished, even the significantly boosted Lu Yuan could not defeat the Son of Desolation. Naturally, Hua Fasheng should take the largest share, yet he only took about two-tenths before stopping. Hua Fasheng smiled slightly: "My Plate of Civilization is nearly full; I don't need more." Saying this, he sat down cross-legged to refine his Plate of Civilization. Moments later, his aura grew even stronger, increasingly imbued with the essence of Civilization, as if composing a grand hymn of magical civilization.

The second largest share went to Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan, who fought six alone to change the tide, and later joined the fray to force the Son of Desolation away with an eight-to-one confrontation, deserved great credit. Lu Yuan obtained two-tenths of the Chaos Civilization Fragment. This two-tenths fragment was about the size of a washbasin, vastly larger than the fragments from the Gallbladder Mountain or the Stomach Lake, making comparison impossible.

With such a significant amount of Chaos Civilization Fragment, Lu Yuan did not stand on ceremony, refining it into his Plate of Civilization. He felt that after refining so much of the fragment, his spiritual soul underwent a subtle qualitative change, and his magical power grew stronger.

I am indeed stronger now: Furthermore, his Plate of Civilization was now significantly filled, feeling about forty percent complete. The Plate of Civilization required far fewer fragments than the output from the Heart Mountain in a single generation.

After dividing the shares for the greatest contributor, Hua Fasheng, and Lu Yuan, four-tenths of the Chaos Civilization Fragment remained. The other half-step Civilization Realm masters divided about three-tenths of that remainder, while the World Realm tenth- and ninth-tier cultivators took the final one-tenth. While this was not much for them, it was enough to enhance their strength somewhat. After refining the Chaos Civilization Fragments, everyone's power increased a little. This battle was truly morale-boosting; by combining their efforts, they had defeated the Son of the Epoch, the Son of Desolation, and gained numerous benefits. Although the Son of Desolation managed to snatch away two-tenths of the fragment at the end, nothing in life is perfect; this was merely a minor blemish.

……

The benefits derived from within the Chaos Civilization Beast Body began at the oral cavity and concluded at the Heart Mountain. The recent battle was the final climax within the Sacred Land of Civilization.

The Emperor’s Son of Law Saint landed beside Lu Yuan: "Two hours after the Heart Mountain opens, all of us will be automatically expelled from the body of the Chaos Civilization Beast. Looking at the time, we still have a while. For the remaining time, we can move about individually, but we must remain vigilant against a counterattack from the Desolation Alliance." Precisely because they feared a counterattack from the Desolation Alliance—especially the boundless killing power of the Son of Desolation, whom no one could defeat one-on-one, including Hua Fasheng and Lu Yuan—they did not venture far. After all, the remaining two hours were not an excessively long time.

When the two hours elapsed, an overwhelmingly powerful force surged. This immense power instantly swept up everyone at the Heart Mountain and everyone inside the Chaos Civilization Beast, propelling them back. Everyone realized they had lost control of their bodies. Lu Yuan also felt himself enveloped by an indescribable, tremendous force—its strength and magnitude were unimaginable.

Under the influence of this power, he too was dragged along, entering the esophagus and ascending continuously, moving against the flow of entry. He could see they were about to exit the Sacred Land of Civilization.