But as Lu Yuan grew, this small Sword Dao Tree had been developing, growing into a massive Sword Dao Tree, even larger than the one on the original Sword Cultivator Star.

The Sword Dao Tree, the tree itself, fundamentally belongs to Wood, while the Sword belongs to the Sword.

The Azure Sage Sword Dao: Azure is Wood, Sword Dao is Sword.

Therefore, in fact, the Azure Sage Sword Dao and the Sword Dao Tree were inherently quite compatible.

And now, at the very moment the Azure Sage Sword Dao desperately needed elevation, the Sword Dao Tree resonated accordingly, injecting its essence, and instantly the Azure Sage Sword Dao began to advance. Rays of civilizational light began to revolve around the azure-green sword light of the Azure Sage Sword Dao, gradually suffusing that azure-green sword light with an aura of civilization.

The Sword Dao of Azure Civilization, it was finally achieved!

When fighting against numerous adversaries, Lu Yuan had always sensed that the Azure Sage Sword Dao felt somewhat weak in battles at the Civilization Realm, whether facing the Deputy Master of the Miao Zhong Civilization or currently facing the Deputy Master of the Du Jue Civilization. But now, the Azure Sage Sword Dao had finally ascended, elevating to the Sword Dao of Azure Civilization.

The aura of civilization was now being unleashed.

Lu Yuan moved his sword light, and all the various toxins carried by the poison dissolved, evaporated entirely, leaving not a trace behind.

Lu Yuan let out a hearty laugh: “Deputy Master of the Du Jue Civilization, you cannot catch me. The only potent supreme poison you possess is that carried with you, and now your carried poison cannot touch me. What misfortune for the fifth member of the Strongest Assassination Squad that he is powerless against me.” Lu Yuan smiled faintly and vanished into the void.

Now heading to deliver the Great Seal of the Desolation to Yan Cangtian, Lu Yuan continued flying through the void. After soaring for a long time, he suddenly realized he seemed to have looped back. The star domain he occupied, spanning over ten thousand planets, was all connected by fine, thread-like lines. What was this?

Lu Yuan first tried to step forward. His stride now covered an immeasurable distance, yet inexplicably, after walking for a long time here, he could not break out of the loop. It seemed he was so disoriented by circling that he was walking the same repetitive paths over and over.

A Formation!

This must be a Formation, Lu Yuan estimated; only a Formation could produce such an effect.

Lu Yuan called out loudly, “Once again, which of you has laid a formation here, waiting for me?” Lu Yuan addressed the void.

“It is I.” A phantom figure emerged from the void, indistinct and faint, its face impossible to discern: “This is my avatar. I am the Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization, ranking third in the Strongest Assassination Squad. Indeed, we cannot match your speed, nor can we ascertain your intended direction. However, I have set up this grand formation covering ten thousand planets. No matter where you are, you must step within the array spanning these ten thousand worlds, and fall into my planetary great killing formation. Just trapping you for the time it takes an incense stick to burn will be enough for us to catch up and slay you. The Strongest Assassination Squad will not allow you to escape again.”

The fifth member came last time; now it was the third?

Lu Yuan had indeed heard of the reputation of the Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization; rumored to be a powerhouse of Eighth Epoch magical force, skilled in all manner of array construction, and also the leader of the Formation Civilization. A civilization leader coming personally to hunt him down—it was terrifying. The composition of this Strongest Assassination Squad was formidable.

The time it takes an incense stick to burn—was it truly just that long? He was now trapped within the great killing formation of ten thousand planets. If he could not escape immediately, he would be killed by the Strongest Assassination Squad forthwith. This squad truly lived up to its name; every member possessed some bizarre assassination skill.

But the problem was, Lu Yuan understood absolutely nothing about formations. The only kind he could break was a Sword Formation, and even that was only with the aid of his Gourd. He knew nothing of other arrays. He had long known that the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance housed a Formation Civilization, and he had secretly calculated that if he encountered them, he would likely suffer a loss. And now, he had indeed run into them.

Wait! A spark of insight—there was a way!

Lu Yuan suddenly recalled something. When he killed the Immortal Scion, he had obtained an Innate Spiritual Treasure from the Earth Ancestor’s Treasury called the Earth Scroll. This scroll was formidable in both offense and defense, pursuit and escape. Specifically concerning escape, it possessed a supreme technique: the Earth Ancestor’s Earth Evasion Art. This art could allow one to teleport directly from one star to another.

This was a unique ability of the Earth Immortal Ancestor; aside from the Earth Immortal Ancestor Zhen Yuanzi, no one else possessed such a skill, and it required the cooperation of the Earth Scroll to activate.

This ten-thousand-planet great killing formation had trapped him between ten thousand stars, but with the Earth Scroll and the Earth Ancestor’s Earth Evasion Art, he could escape. Of course, it would be safer to first use an Earth Ancestor avatar to confuse the opponent. Lu Yuan instantly summoned an Earth Ancestor avatar. An avatar appeared instantly here, while his real body darted in and out between the stars.

One star, then another!

In the blink of an eye, he had flown past numerous stars.

And in very little time, he escaped the ten-thousand-star great killing formation, evading the grasp of the third-ranked member of the Strongest Assassination Squad.

The items left behind by the Earth Immortal Ancestor Zhen Yuanzi truly held some excellent treasures. Both the Earth Ancestor Avatar and the Earth Ancestor’s Earth Evasion Art, Lu Yuan mused inwardly, moving like lightning through the void.

At the same time, Lu Yuan reflected that the Earth Ancestor’s Earth Evasion Art was incredibly useful. As long as there were stars, he would not be constrained by the Formation Civilization. He finally possessed a means to counter the Formation Civilization. Lu Yuan was constantly gathering countermeasures against various civilizations—means against the Formation Civilization, the Poison Civilization, the Desolate Ancient Civilization, the Copper Civilization, which might prove extremely useful at critical junctures in the future.

……

“Lu Yuan certainly has skill, but as the third-ranked member of my Strongest Assassination Squad, I, the dignified leader of the Formation Civilization, should have ended him with just one move.” A transcendentally refined middle-aged man descended into the void, his hands clasped behind his back. His words carried intense confidence—a confidence he had every right to possess, as he was the leader of the Formation Civilization, an Eighth Epoch figure.

At this moment, the Deputy Master of the Du Jue Civilization (Number Five, who had failed Lu Yuan previously), the Deputy Master of the Xianfeng Civilization (Number Six), the Deputy Master of the Huangfeng Civilization (Number Seven), and also Numbers Four, Eight, Nine, and Ten, as well as the squad’s current strongest member, Number Two, all materialized in this star system, surrounding Lu Yuan.

The Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization, the refined middle-aged man, suddenly struck out toward Lu Yuan, blasting him into powder with a deafening crash. Oh, was it settled so easily? The Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization found it far easier than expected, so he spared a few extra glances. After those few glances, he could not help but freeze. That was not Lu Yuan; it was clearly a shattered piece of wood.

He had been tricked!

The Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization reacted instantly; he had fallen for a ruse.

Seeing that the Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization also failed to capture Lu Yuan, Numbers Five, Six, and Seven couldn't help but let out mocking laughter. The three of them failing to kill Lu Yuan had already cost them significant face, constantly being ridiculed by other members, including Number Three, the Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization. Now that Number Three had also failed, they naturally had to mock him back.

“Number Three, so this is your level as well,” the Deputy Master of the Xianfeng Civilization, Number Six, said with a smile.

“Haha, the dignified Number Three, the esteemed Deputy Master of the Formation Civilization, cannot even kill a Lu Yuan,” the Deputy Master of the Huangfeng Civilization, Number Seven, sneered coldly. The Deputy Masters of the Xianfeng and Huangfeng Civilizations had always disliked each other, but for the first time, they found the other party exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Although the Deputy Master of the Du Jue Civilization, Number Five, remained silent, a smile played across his lips. If someone had to lose face, everyone should share it; dragging another powerful figure into their disgrace was a good thing. For cultivators of their stature, failing to assassinate Lu Yuan was a loss of dignity.

Number Eight spoke up: “Now is not the time for this bickering. Numbers Three, Five, Six, and Seven, you have all failed. Four of you have failed. The chances for me, Number Eight, and Numbers Nine and Ten, are even slimmer.” Among the Strongest Assassination Squad, those ranked higher were stronger; if Three through Seven failed, the success probability for Eight through Ten was essentially zero.

Number Eight continued: “Number Four, the Deputy Master of the Star Kill Civilization, specializes in infiltration and ambush assassination. If he cannot keep up with Lu Yuan’s pace, Number Four cannot utilize his strength.”

The Deputy Master of the Star Kill Civilization, Number Four, hidden in the shadows, let out a faint snort. He was dissatisfied with that statement but reluctantly admitted that his method of assassination required him to keep pace; without keeping up, he had no means to execute his skills. The assassination techniques of the Star Civilization were fundamentally methods of lurking and ambush.

“Captain Number One is currently immersing himself in the path to Civilization and will not emerge for some time. Killing Lu Yuan, no matter how important, cannot surpass the importance of achieving the Civilization Lord status for him,” Number Eight explained. “Therefore, only Number Two has yet to act. If Number Two fails, our Strongest Assassination Squad will have utterly and completely failed.”

The Strongest Assassination Squad failing!

This was impossible!

The Strongest Assassination Squad, which faced immense difficulty even when assassinating figures of the Ninth Epoch, was now failing against Lu Yuan in succession. And looking at the current situation, if things continued this way, and Number Two failed, the Strongest Assassination Squad of the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance would have completely missed their mark.

That would be the biggest joke since the creation of this epoch.

It would truly be a colossal jest. This was the Strongest Assassination Squad, a decisive instrument of the War, failing against a junior from the Fourth Epoch?

None of them wished to become the greatest laughingstock since the epoch began.

Number Two spoke calmly: “Rest assured, I will act personally.” Number Two’s words were like a stabilizing anchor, instantly silencing everyone.

Because he was Number Two.

When Number Two moved, the kill was absolute and invincible.