(To align with previous chapters, the Deputy Master of the Artifact Civilization, formerly stated as the Deputy Master of the Sky Strike Civilization, is hereby corrected to the Deputy Master of the Sky Attack Civilization.)

Now, Lu Yuan unveiled the Mirror Image Technique. The scene recorded by this technique pointed to one undeniable fact.

It was that the Ancient Desolation Civilization had orchestrated and controlled these events from the shadows. The Ancient Desolation Civilization and the Lord of the Demon Civilization had long been in collusion, and their objective was brutally simple: to eliminate the Deputy Master of the Artifact Civilization, thereby forcing the Artifact Civilization to align with them. In an instant, anger and astonishment swept through the assembly, and every eye turned towards the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization.

The Deputy Master of the Sky Attack Civilization from the Fifth Era roared, "Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization, you Ancient Desolation Civilization dares to conspire with the Lord of the Demon Civilization to murder our Artifact Civilization’s Deputy Master! Don't even dream that we will ever submit to your Ancient Desolation Civilization." "Not only will we not submit to the Ancient Desolation Civilization," the Deputy Master of the Sky Abomination Civilization from the Third Era thundered, his voice laced with surging hatred, "this feud between us and the Ancient Desolation Civilization is irreconcilable." The Deputy Master of the Sky Abomination Civilization held deep affection for the slain Deputy Master of the Artifact Civilization, and now, consumed by fury over the murder instigated by the Ancient Desolation Civilization, he swore eternal enmity.

The Deputy Master of the Sky Defense Civilization declared, "We shall join the side of the Ancient Law Civilization and the Martial Ancient Civilization." These three Deputy Masters led the charge, and others, like Empress Ice Chill and Prince Treasure One, naturally voiced their assent. Hatred for the Ancient Desolation Civilization had reached its zenith; there was no question of them aligning with the Ancient Law or Martial Ancient factions.

The Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization surveyed the shifting landscape. He had never imagined Lu Yuan had stealthily witnessed his conversation with the Son of Immortality. The entire scheme had backfired, pushing the Artifact Civilization toward the Martial-Law Alliance. Nevertheless, the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization let out a cold sneer. "Since you refuse to recognize wisdom, I shall ensure your complete annihilation."

What arrogance!

He alone intended to bring about the utter ruin of the entire Artifact Civilization.

Lu Yuan responded with a chilling laugh. "Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization, the debt between us must now be settled properly." Lu Yuan harbored deep, mortal enmity toward the Ancient Desolation Civilization, and now, needing to slay the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization to seize the Great Seal of Desolation, he showed no restraint. His Circular Extreme Sword shot forth, cleaving directly toward the Deputy Master.

Using the Circular Extreme Divine Sword felt clumsy and unsatisfactory at the moment; he desperately wished for a divine sword truly suited to his spirit.

The Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization flicked his hand through the void, manifesting a liquid weapon. This liquid weapon swiftly coalesced into a blade form. Sword met blade in the emptiness, sending Lu Yuan recoiling slightly. Damn it, he thought, I moved too quickly and failed to invoke the Division Clone of Restraint. Without the boost from that clone, I still can't overpower a Sixth Era Deputy Master like him.

However, with the Division Clone of Restraint active, Lu Yuan was certain he would not be weaker than the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization.

Just as Lu Yuan prepared to summon the clone, the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization sneered, "Lu Yuan, I have no time for games. I will contain you first, then deal with you at my leisure." He waved his sleeve, unleashing a torrent of water that bore an indescribably immense pressure, surging toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan certainly would not be struck so easily. Wisps of the Supreme Civilization Fire erupted from his Circular Extreme Divine Sword, striking the torrent head-on. The water was instantly vaporized.

Lu Yuan looked at the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization. "Arid Warmth, our true battle has begun."

"Contain him." A cruel smile spread across the Deputy Master’s face. Lu Yuan suddenly found himself completely enveloped by the water. The Deputy Master calmly folded his hands behind his back and declared, "This is no ordinary water. This is the Primordial Plague Billion-Poison Flood. Your so-called Civilization Fire couldn't even burn it away; you only created an illusion of evaporation. Now, submit quietly to your confinement. After I finish dealing with the others, I shall slowly refine you, absorbing your Fortune to help me ascend to a higher Era."

Having temporarily trapped Lu Yuan, the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization turned his attention to the remaining Deputy Masters—three of them. He had heard that Lu Yuan was the most unpredictable and difficult to handle, which was why he used his meticulously prepared Primordial Plague Billion-Poison Flood against Lu Yuan first before engaging the others. He genuinely feared being overwhelmed if he had to fight the four Deputy Masters simultaneously, risking a total rout.

The Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization addressed the rest, "Now, it is your turn." His confidence was absolute.

......

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, trapped within the water, found it profoundly strange.

Lu Yuan was unaware of the water's designation as the Primordial Plague Billion-Poison Flood, but he sensed its boundless, seemingly infinite nature. The moment he entered, three distinctly different forces began to oppress and seek his annihilation.

The first was the power of Poison. The Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization had spent extensive time cultivating in the Poison Civilization, and his mastery of toxins was nearly on par with that of a standard Poison Civilization Deputy Master—though certainly not matching the original Poison Deputy Master. The poison he employed here was a composite of one hundred million different toxins, making it exceptionally bizarre.

The second force was that of Flood. The Ancient Desolation Civilization possessed two primary forces capable of suppressing swords: one was Desolation—the path followed by the Desolate Eagle Civilization Deputy Master and the Son of Desolation, rooted in emptiness, deserts, and bleakness, drawing essence from ancient earth and peaks. The other was the power of Flood—the essence collected from ancient waterways and oceans. The Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization cultivated the Flood lineage, and this force suppressed Lu Yuan in a manner distinct from the Desolation power.

The third was an even stranger force—a profoundly evil energy, yet unlike typical wickedness. Lu Yuan searched for a precise description and suddenly hit upon one: Plague! This Plague energy relentlessly assaulted his body, causing agonizing distress.

Lu Yuan immediately summoned his Division Clone of Restraint. Having reached seventy percent mastery, the clone instantly absorbed the Flood power. As for the Billion-Poison, that was relatively simpler; Lu Yuan now had experience fighting such toxins. His Azure Saint Sword Dao was nearing the path of the Azure Civilization, and combined with the application of the Circular Principle, he could barely manage the toxins without suffering a devastating outcome. This particular Billion-Poison differed from the toxins wielded by the Deputy Master of the Miao Toxin Civilization; even if both were composed of a hundred million poisons, the precise composition led to vastly different effects.

The Division Clone of Restraint had grown somewhat, but remained at seventy percent. His Azure Saint Path was drawing ever closer to the Azure Civilization Sword Dao.

Having dealt with the two most immediate threats, he now faced the Plague energy. This Plague power was incredibly aberrant. Neither his application of the Justice Principle nor the Azure Saint Sword Dao had any effect whatsoever. Now operating at the Civilization level, Lu Yuan possessed extensive knowledge of cosmic principles.

Within this cosmos, there were the Six Great Evil Paths!

The First Evil Path was the Evil of Demons, ranking highest among the six. The Second Evil Path was the Evil of Monsters. The remaining five lacked formal ranking. Crucially, both Demon and Monster energies were countered by the Justice Principle. The Third Evil Path was the Evil of Poison, primarily represented by the Poison Civilization. The Fourth Evil Path was named the Evil of Toxin, represented by the Miao Civilization—a particularly unorthodox evil path. The Fifth Evil Path was the Evil of Plague, of which the Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization was actually a key representative. His original title should have been Deputy Master of the Arid Plague Civilization, changed only later for palatability to Arid Warmth. The Sixth Evil Path was the Evil of Sorcery—the most mysterious and bizarre of all, rumored to be on par with the Evil of Demons, yet rarely manifesting.

Lu Yuan was currently confronting the contagion of the Fifth Evil Path: the Plague. The Civilization Plague relentlessly invaded him, causing his Civilization Body immense suffering and grievous internal injury. What could he do? After failing with both the Justice Principle and the Azure Saint Sword Dao, Lu Yuan was momentarily stumped on how to counter this Plague invasion. The powers that counter the Evil of Toxin, Demon, and Monster held no sway over the Evil of Plague.

Forget it, he decided, I will observe this Plague Evil for a while longer. Lu Yuan channeled his Civilization-level magical force and swept his Civilization Eye across the prison. Under the scan, he perceived countless minute entities, no larger than typical elements, crawling about. Was this the truth of the Evil of Plague?

Lu Yuan instantly sat cross-legged, quietly operating the Iron Rule of Causality. Through this quiet operation, probing causality, he suddenly realized that the eyeball he had obtained from Miao Changsheng might serve a purpose.

With a thought, Lu Yuan summoned the eye obtained from Miao Changsheng into his hand, pouring magical force into it. Instantly, the eyeball shot forth infinite divine light. As this light spread, it systematically shattered the influence of the Evil of Plague. The bodily plague vanished, and Lu Yuan immediately channeled the eyeball's power outwards, watching as the plague within the water also rapidly dissipated. Could this eyeball counteract the Plague?

Lu Yuan did not know that the Eye Civilization and the Plague Civilization were ancient, mortal enemies, both having vanished from the river of history many Eras ago, making the knowledge scarce. The Deputy Master of the Arid Warmth Civilization had stumbled upon the Plague Civilization's legacy and knew of that old history, but he could never have imagined that Lu Yuan possessed an artifact from the Eye Civilization.

This was an occurrence of sheer coincidence piled upon coincidence. Lu Yuan himself had never encountered anything so serendipitous.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but exclaim at his incredible luck. If he hadn't acquired this eyeball while dealing with Miao Changsheng, he might very well have been finished here. Thus, one must never underestimate any Civilization Realm expert, especially those whose Era count surpasses one's own.

Now, it was time to break through the water and deal with that scoundrel Arid Warmth.

(First update delivered.)