The three Vice Lords of the Artifact Civilization exchanged furtive glances, seemingly communicating silently. The Vice Lord of Sky Attack casually raised his hand, the Vice Lord of Sky Deceit struck out into the void, and the Vice Lord of Sky Defense jabbed towards the southeast. Yet, despite their gestures, the void remained utterly unresponsive.
The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth chuckled, “So, you intend to activate the Artifact Civilization’s Grand Array of Artifacts. I hear this array is composed of one hundred and eighty million artifacts. Once raised, it becomes a mountain of artifacts, a sea of relics, insurmountable by man—even those at the Civilization Realm would have to carefully weigh the consequences. Rumor has it that the three of you can jointly activate it.”
“It is a pity, however, that the Grand Array seems to have no opportunity to emerge now.” The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth raised his hand, and from within his sleeve, a Ruyi scepter appeared. It radiated an ethereal, magical glow, inscribed upon which were the two characters: “Auspiciousness.” The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth smiled faintly, “It is unfortunate, the ultimate control token for the Grand Array of Artifacts is in my hand.”
This Ruyi Scepter of Auspiciousness was the master artifact refined by the Artifact Civilization’s Vice Lord, capable of completely commanding the Grand Array.
With this Ruyi in his possession, the situation revealed only one truth.
That the Lord of the Demon Civilization was indeed in league with the Ancient Desolate Civilization; otherwise, this control scepter would never have fallen into the hands of the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth.
The three Vice Lords of the Artifact Civilization instantly lunged toward the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth.
Their eyes were starting to redden.
The Vice Lord of Sky Attack brought forth his strongest artifact-ship, a treasure vessel forged from countless exceedingly rare materials, transforming into the heaviest of vessels. Once unleashed, this treasure ship brought forth infinite attack, its ferocity unimaginable. A single strike from the treasure ship shook heaven and earth. Precisely because its offensive power was so immense, the Vice Lord of Sky Attack was sometimes referred to as the Vice Lord of Treasure Ship Civilization.
His treasure ship enveloped the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth, instantly subjecting him to ten thousand times normal gravity, as the impossibly heavy ship pressed down upon him.
The Vice Lord of Sky Deceit summoned thousands of strange and deceptive artifacts. He controlled myriad relics, each possessing a unique function: some dispensed poison, others spewed fire, some froze targets into ice, others drained lifeblood, some emitted blinding light, some crackled with lightning, and others wove illusions. It was a spectacle blooming like a myriad of flowers—this was the method of the Vice Lord of Sky Deceit, his attack comprising the combined force of countless artifacts.
The Vice Lord of Sky Defense specialized in defense rather than offense; his title itself bespoke this. Yet, being a Civilization Vice Lord, he naturally possessed means of attack. He held an artifact named ‘Thorn’! With a movement of his hand, the Thorn thrust out. This artifact, named Thorn, was specifically designed to breach defenses. The Thorn was an exceptionally long and extremely fine needle; despite its slender form, it possessed incredible tenacity, not easily broken. Its tip incorporated numerous techniques, even drawing inspiration from Lu Yuan’s ‘Sword Zero: Heart-Piercing Strike,’ and it too lunged towards the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth.
In the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth’s hand, the liquid Divine Saber transformed, lengthening and shortening unpredictably, reshaping itself into every conceivable blade form, warding off the assault of the three. His swordsmanship was profoundly unorthodox; the blade followed no constant form, just as water had no fixed posture. Having attained the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, he inherently understood that nothing is softer than water, and nothing is harder to conquer than water when applied effectively.
As for others like Empress Binghan, Prince Bao Yi, and Prince Bao Huang, they were utterly incapable of interfering in this engagement. Such combat at the Civilization Realm was far beyond their participation level; they could not even withstand the residual shockwaves. They retreated continuously, simultaneously driving the other inhabitants of Artifact City back, moving them to distances of one hundred thousand, no, one million, ten million li away.
…… Boom!
The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth swept out a long horizontal slash, sending the Vice Lord of Sky Defense flying. Though the Vice Lord of Sky Defense boasted formidable defenses, being struck squarely by an attack spanning six Eras was agonizing. This was already the fortieth time he had suffered a slash from the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth, and he could not help but vomit a mouthful of blood. His Sky Defense World had been devastated by a full sixty percent, and his Thorn artifact had been shattered. His offensive capacity had plummeted to near zero.
On the other flank, the Vice Lord of Sky Deceit, despite being a three-Era entity, lacked the sheer defensive prowess of the Vice Lord of Sky Defense. His injuries were even more severe. He had been cleaved across the waist several times; his Sky Deceit World was now swamped by the World-Drowning Blade Qi to eighty percent, leaving only the final twenty percent before his demise. Effectively, the Vice Lord of Sky Deceit had no combat effectiveness left.
The gap between the two-Era, three-Era, and six-Era entities was simply too vast.
Now, only a one-on-one battle remained: the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth against the Vice Lord of Sky Attack. The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth delivered blow after blow; his blade carried the majesty of an incoming ocean, the fluidity of a river, and the omnipresence of falling rain. Such was the terrifying nature of his swordsmanship.
Boom!
The Vice Lord of Sky Attack was struck fiercely. His Sky Attack World was also annihilated by about fifty percent. Before he could recover, the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth struck again with lightning speed, grievously wounding him and destroying his Sky Attack World to nearly eighty percent. At this point, the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth had achieved a complete and utter victory.
“All of you, every single one, must die,” the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth looked down at the three defeated Vice Lords lying on the ground and laughed aloud.
The Vice Lord of Sky Attack managed to say, “If you kill us, the Ancient Desolate Civilization will likely fare poorly as well. You will be assailed by endless condemnation.” Unprovokedly destroying a civilization was no trivial matter. No matter how domineering the Ancient Desolate Civilization was, they could not act with such impunity. The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth merely laughed, “I will immediately summon the Lord of the Demon Civilization. By then, whoever asks who killed you—I will say it was the Lord of the Demon Civilization. He is an exiled figure; it is perfectly normal for him to commit murder.” Since the matter of subjugating the Artifact Civilization had been foiled by Lu Yuan, they naturally had to destroy the Artifact Civilization to prevent it from aligning with the Martial Law Alliance.
The Vice Lord of Sky Attack gasped for air, “Our Artifact Civilization possesses a Future Prophecy Artifact, one you must know about.”
“Oh? You mean your civilization’s fabled prophecy artifact capable of foretelling the future?” The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth had indeed heard mention of it.
“Yes, that very prophecy artifact,” the Vice Lord of Sky Attack labored, “The Future Prophecy Artifact recently yielded a prediction. The Vice Lord of the Artifact Civilization and I know it, but we were forbidden from telling you. Do you know what it says?”
The Vice Lords of Sky Deceit and Sky Defense, who had been awaiting death, were both jolted. They certainly did not know the prophecy, but their curiosity was instantly piqued. The Vice Lord of Sky Attack gasped out, “The Future Prophecy Artifact speaks of four characters regarding the future: Huang Jian Yu Lu (The Desolate/Ancient gradually yields to Lu).”
Huang Jian Yu Lu!
Huang refers to the primeval Great Land! Lu also means land.
Ordinarily, Huang Jian Yu Lu is interpreted as the primeval wilderness gradually transforming into the current continent—a completely normal explanation.
However, under the current circumstances, an alternative interpretation presented itself.
The Ancient Desolate Civilization was gradually going to be destroyed by Lu Yuan. This was the other meaning of Huang Jian Yu Lu.
The Vice Lord of Sky Attack declared, “Lu Yuan, he is the destroyer of your Ancient Desolate Civilization spoken of in the prophecy. That’s right. You may kill us here today, you may annihilate our Artifact Civilization, but in the future, you too will be destroyed by Lu Yuan. The rapacious and tyrannical ways of your Ancient Desolate line will not last long; you too are doomed to perish.” Although he was utterly defenseless and facing death at the hands of the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth, he was still smiling.
The expression of the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth could not help but flicker. Huang Jian Yu Lu, Huang Jian Yu Lu. He had long heard of the might of the Artifact Civilization’s Future Prophecy Artifact; it was said to be highly accurate. And now, such a prediction? Could it be that the Ancient Desolate Civilization would truly perish at the hands of Lu Yuan? Given Lu Yuan’s current potential, it was indeed possible. The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth made a grim decision internally: as soon as this matter with the Artifact Civilization was settled, he would eliminate the trapped Lu Yuan. He would keep no one alive to siphon their luck; this person was too terrifying, and absolutely no chance could be afforded him.
The Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth looked around at everyone, “No matter what you say, all of you will die today. Lu Yuan will also die immediately. Huang Jian Yu Lu—I refuse to believe it.”
“Refuse to believe, hehe,” the Vice Lord of Sky Attack chuckled breathlessly.
Yes, the Artifact Civilization was doomed.
Every person from the Artifact Civilization now understood this truth.
All the people of the Artifact Civilization were plunged into despair, yet within that despair lingered a final sliver of hope.
Kill the Ancient Desolate master, Lu Yuan. Huang Jian Yu Lu, Lu Yuan.
“Lu Yuan, come out and kill the Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth!” The first to call out was Princess Treasure Baby.
“Lu Yuan, come out and slay the Ancient Desolate master!” This was Princess Bao Yue. Though Princess Bao Yue had met Lu Yuan only once, she had long admired him. Lu Yuan had many fans.
“Lu Yuan, come out!” This was the third person, a male fan of Lu Yuan named King Treasure Tree, who was also the star disciple of the Vice Lord of Sky Defense.
“Lu Yuan, come out!” This was the fiftieth person. This was originally Prince Bao Huang, who had felt a degree of jealousy and even annoyance towards Lu Yuan due to his immense fame, but now he too could only shout Lu Yuan’s name, as Lu Yuan might be their only remaining savior.
“Lu Yuan, appear!” This was Prince Bao Yi, the hundredth person to issue the call.
“Lu Yuan, appear!” This was Imperial Consort Bingxin. Imperial Consort Bingxin was not one to beg others, but now she called out for Lu Yuan’s appearance, for it was their final hope—if Lu Yuan did not appear, despair would consume them.
“Lu Yuan, appear!” This was Empress Binghan. Empress Binghan was always a formidable woman, but facing the even more overwhelming Vice Lord of Desolate Warmth, she could only summon Lu Yuan.
“Lu Yuan, appear.”
(The second update is delivered. I am currently practicing a style of momentum, unsure how it will come across.)