"We won!" "We succeeded!" "Our Artifact Civilization was not destroyed!" Great roars echoed throughout the Artifact Civilization. At this moment, only one emotion resonated within it: Exhilaration—the exhilaration of escaping a great catastrophe, the elation of finally surviving. This excitement soared to the heavens, ringing across the firmament.

Lu Yuan watched this burst of feeling quietly, a touch of emotion stirring within him. The excitement of these people mirrored the excitement he felt when he successfully guarded Mount Hua; thus, he could truly understand this sensation.

It is precisely because of this excitement that he must uphold justice even more firmly.

One must not allow the ambition of a few to bring about the ruin of heaven and earth and the bloodshed of countless people.

This is my Righteous Way!

Nourishing Difference!

Lu Yuan also took stock of what he currently possessed: he had the Zheng Character and the Yang Wu Qi (Nourishing Me Energy) to counter the evil path of the Demons; the Zheng Character and Yang Wu Qi to counter the evil path of the Monsters; the Poison-Subduing Righteous Way to counter the evil path of Poisons/Venom; and the Eye Righteous Way to counter the evil path of Plagues—which meant he possessed the Azure Saint Sword Dao, capable of countering the evil path of Toxin.

In essence, against the six great evil paths, he now had methods for five, except for the most mysterious and bizarre, the evil path of Sorcery.

Lu Yuan could faintly sense that once he found a way to counter the evil path of Sorcery, these six methods would converge, potentially forming a supremely righteous, supremely resolute, and supremely grand cultivation technique.

Conversely, if these six supremely evil paths were to converge, they could also coalesce into a technique of ultimate wickedness, ultimate evil, ultimate demonic power, and ultimate strangeness—an ultimate evil method. Lu Yuan gravely suspected that this supreme evil art had fallen into the hands of the Lord of the Demonic Civilization. Lu Yuan now knew much of the intelligence circulating between heaven and earth; for example, the leader of the Supreme Evil Path was precisely this Lord of the Demonic Civilization, while others, like the Deputy Lord of the Monster Civilization, were subservient to him.

Based on current intelligence, the Lord of the Demonic Civilization was absolutely allied with the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization, making him a formidable adversary for Lu Yuan.

He almost forgot something. Lu Yuan took out the Artifact Sealing Token—the absolute control decree for the Artifact Civilization. This token had fallen into his hands after the Deputy Lord of the Arid Warmth Civilization died. Lu Yuan approached the three Deputy Lords of the civilization and held out the token: "Which one of you shall take this Artifact Sealing Token?" Both the Deputy Lords of Heaven Defense and Heaven Deception pointed to the Deputy Lord of Heaven Offense. Without hesitation, the Deputy Lord of Heaven Offense accepted it.

Normally, being the leader of the Artifact Civilization was quite comfortable.

However, these were not normal times. The grand trend of heaven and earth had fallen into chaos; the overall situation was about to change.

Under such circumstances, the position of a civilization’s leader was no longer a comfortable one; the burden was immense. Whether it was the Deputy Lord of the Three Scrolls Civilization from the Confucian Civilization or the Deputy Lord of Heaven Offense from the Artifact Civilization, the weight on their shoulders was extraordinarily heavy, beyond measure.

The Deputy Lord of Heaven Offense spoke up then: "I have decided. This time, we will align ourselves with the Dharma Martial Alliance." Since the enmity with the Desolate Ancient Civilization was as deep as the sea, there was only one path for revenge: to throw their lot in with the Dharma Martial Alliance. Furthermore, after this incident, everyone understood how difficult it was to remain neutral amidst the current grand trend of the Central Celestial Dynasty—even a major power like the Phoenix Ancient Civilization struggled to remain neutral, let alone the Artifact Civilization. Of course, choosing to join the Dharma Martial Alliance meant the Artifact Civilization would have to relocate; staying here was too dangerous. Fortunately, a civilization was inherently a minor myriad world, and moving it was not an impossibly difficult task.

The Deputy Lord of Heaven Offense said, "Lu Yuan, you have bestowed an immeasurable grace upon our Artifact Civilization. This favor is so vast it defies description. In the future, as long as Lu Yuan asks our Artifact Civilization to do anything that isn't excessively demanding, we will obey your command and carry it out." The people of the Artifact Civilization were clear about repaying debts and seeking vengeance; they repaid kindness and exacted vengeance with equal fervor.

The Deputy Lord of Heaven Deception smiled and said, "I heard Brother Lu has always favored the Yang Wu Immortal Sword. However, due to various reasons, such as a shortage of materials, the Yang Wu Immortal Sword has never advanced to the level of the Yang Wu Divine Sword. Our Artifact Civilization excels in crafting all manner of artifacts and possesses various materials. Why not allow Brother Lu to upgrade the Yang Wu Divine Sword here in our civilization? How does that sound?" Lu Yuan was greatly tempted upon hearing this. The materials required to ascend to the Divine Sword level were incredibly rare; otherwise, he would not have spent so long without reaching the Divine Sword tier. He shouldn't refuse an opportunity delivered right to his doorstep. Of course, the Grand Seal of the Desolate Ancient World had not yet been delivered to Yan Cangtian. But then Lu Yuan considered Yan Cangtian’s immense power; even if he encountered the Deputy Lord of the Evil Sword Civilization, it was unlikely he would perish so easily. Lu Yuan then circulated the Great Karma Iron Rule. His Great Karma Iron Rule had already reached the stage of spiritual enlightenment. By subtly activating the karma, he inferred Yan Cangtian's condition and found that Yan Cangtian was not in immediate danger; in fact, there was even a hint of fortune awaiting him.

Since that was the case, he could afford the time to upgrade the Yang Wu Divine Sword; it wouldn't take up too much of his time anyway.

......

The Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense led Lu Yuan to a vital stronghold within the Artifact Civilization. This stronghold was simple in structure: at its center sat a fire and a body of water.

That fire was the Civilization True Fire, which had burned for eons and never extinguished. The Civilization True Fire differed slightly from ordinary Civilization Fire; it was distilled from a specific essence of the Civilization Fire and was especially suited for tempering.

And that water was the Billion-Year Ice Water, nearly reaching absolute zero, capable of freezing the soul of anything within the Civilization Realm.

Alongside these, there was a considerable pile of iron blocks, resembling a small hill, all radiating the aura of civilization.

The Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense explained, "This fire is the Civilization True Fire, the water is the Billion-Year Ice Water, and those iron blocks are Civilization Divine Iron—precisely what is needed to forge a Divine Sword. Naturally, before we begin, I must briefly explain the key points of forging a Divine Sword to you." The Artifact Civilization excelled in refining all types of artifacts and was equally skilled in forging weaponry.

After a slight pause, the Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense continued, "A Divine Weapon is a weapon of the Civilization Realm, transcending the weapons of the Epoch, gathering the faith of the Epoch. Moreover, every Divine Weapon is imbued with the unique characteristics of the individual who wields it. For example, the Deputy Lord of the Miao Blade Civilization you fought—his Divine Blade specialized in transformation. Similarly, the Divine Blade of the Deputy Lord of the Arid Warmth Civilization you just faced specialized in overwhelming force, like a flood, hence its name, the Great Flood Divine Blade. Your weapon should bear your characteristics. You have always used the Yang Wu Immortal Sword—a weapon of righteousness and nourishment. Therefore, the characteristic of your Divine Weapon must also be righteous energy; you must infuse righteousness into your Divine Weapon and allow it to absorb the righteous energy of heaven and earth."

"Of course, one thing must be noted: historically, weapons based on righteous energy have always possessed the lowest attack power. While they offer a corresponding restraint against the paths of demons and wickedness, they put the wielder at a disadvantage against others. So, have you decided to continue upgrading this Yang Wu Immortal Sword? If you chose a different weapon, your combat power could be greatly enhanced, but the Yang Wu Immortal Sword will not offer that immediate surge." The Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense explained all the intricacies to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan listened, but without any hesitation: "I must upgrade the Yang Wu Immortal Sword." How could he possibly change swords? This sword was left by his master, Li Yuanbai, and after countless years of companionship, he and the sword had achieved a perfect unity of man and blade. To switch swords now would be a monumental farce.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s resolute decision, the Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense did not press further. Every individual who reached the Civilization Realm possessed an unshakeable will; they were not people who could be easily persuaded. Therefore, there was no point in trying.

"Then we can begin," the Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense said. He explained the process of forging the Divine Sword. In truth, the process itself was not difficult; the challenge lay in acquiring the Civilization Divine Iron, which was exceedingly rare. The Artifact Civilization was the faction possessing the most Civilization Divine Iron in all of heaven and earth, which is why they could casually present such a large quantity.

Lu Yuan began the refinement of his Yang Wu Divine Sword.

The Yang Wu Immortal Sword was summoned. Faint fine lines crisscrossed its surface. After reaching the Civilization Realm, the sword had been instrumental in countless battles, often being shattered. Eventually, Lu Yuan had no choice but to stop using it to parry incoming attacks, but the fine lines remained as evidence.

"Oh, Yang Wu, Yang Wu, now I’m improving your quality, otherwise, you’ll keep getting shattered by others," Lu Yuan spoke to the Immortal Sword as if addressing an old comrade.

Lu Yuan immediately began the refinement. Following the Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense's instructions, he first placed the Yang Wu Immortal Sword over the Civilization True Fire to burn, then began melting the Civilization Divine Iron into it. Once the fusion reached a sufficient stage, he plunged it into the Billion-Year Ice Water to cool, before returning it to the Civilization True Fire for tempering, then back to the Ice Water—repeatedly quenching and tempering it.

Through this cyclical refinement, the Yang Wu Immortal Sword finally began to change its form. The Civilization Divine Iron was integrated into the blade, making it increasingly hard and increasing its quality. It wasn't just hardness, though; an extraordinary elasticity also developed, preventing it from being easily destroyed.

Boom!

A thunderclap descended from the highest heavens, striking the Yang Wu Sword heavily.

Instantly, the Yang Wu Sword transformed rapidly, its shape revolving swiftly as it transitioned toward becoming a Divine Sword.

Simultaneously, light began to manifest across heaven and earth, radiating from various directions and converging upon the Yang Wu Sword.

This was the Light of the Civilization Divine Weapon!

The Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense recognized this Light of the Civilization Divine Weapon. The more of this light gathered, the stronger the resulting Divine Sword would be.

Generally, a normal Civilization Divine Weapon would gather about ten streams of this light. However, a Divine Weapon based on righteousness usually gathered only around seven streams. The Deputy Lord of Heaven Defense found himself curious to see how many streams Lu Yuan’s Divine Weapon would accumulate, wanting to gauge the level of Lu Yuan's forging skill.