To put it plainly, having both a man and a woman makes work less tedious. To put it more elegantly, solitary yang cannot generate life, and solitary yin cannot thrive. In short, men should marry and women should be given in marriage.

And for a man to marry, he needs bride price, and for a woman to marry, she needs dowry. This is true for ordinary folk, and even more so for cultivators. This kind of matter could only be clarified by the Grand Supreme Gongyang.

Though the Grand Supreme Gongyang had never married, his knowledge was vast and comprehensive, remembering everything. He stroked his beard and spoke, "For a typical Supreme Great Sect, the bride price consists of sixteen items, while for a Civilization, it is ninety-nine items." Tsk, so many things. Lu Yuan was startled.

Ninety-nine items for a bride price—how was he supposed to prepare all that? The Grand Supreme Gongyang continued, "Furthermore, these bride price items have many stringent requirements. Most of the things from our Sword Gate basically do not meet the regulations for a bride price." This made Lu Yuan sweat even more.

Indeed, Yun Xiuxue was an Imperial Daughter of the Ancient Civilization, so the standards of the Ancient Civilization must apply, which meant ninety-nine items were necessary. He couldn't possibly find so many items right now. However, such were the rules of the Central Heavenly Dynasty; he had no choice but to abide by them.

Lu Yuan was generally a person who walked the path of established rules. There was no other way; he would have to find an opportunity to procure some bride price items. But procuring the bride price was no easy feat.

Right, he could pay a visit to the Treasure Civilization. Well, repaying kindness with obligation wasn't the best thing to do, but he could go and acquire some items there, or perhaps exchange something of equal value for suitable magical treasures to use as a bride price. Lu Yuan didn't wish to take advantage of the Treasure Civilization.

With that thought, he moved with incredible speed, heading straight for the Treasure Civilization. The Treasure Civilization was, in fact, also on the move recently. It had to move.

Since the Treasure Civilization was about to pledge allegiance to the Martial Arts Alliance, it needed to remain within the Alliance's territory. The movement of such a minor world wasn't extremely fast. Lu Yuan briefly confirmed its direction and then moved like a streak of light, catching up quickly.

He flew for a long time until he could see the Treasure Civilization slowly gliding through the void. Lu Yuan possessed a Treasure Token, which allowed him unimpeded passage throughout the Treasure Civilization. He stepped inside, and the guards at the entrance greeted him with great joy.

Everyone in the Treasure Civilization was deeply grateful to Lu Yuan; he was truly their great benefactor who had saved them. Upon entering, several people rushed out to greet him: the First Prince Bao Yi, Princess Bao Yue, and Princess Bao Bei, among others. They were all younger cultivators with whom Lu Yuan had often conversed.

After expressing their delight at seeing him, they began discussing recent news from the Central Heavenly Dynasty. In the Central Heavenly Dynasty, the Epoch War had fully erupted; it was a time of intense conflict. Of course, there had been no formal clashes yet, only the initial deployment of the strongest assassination squads.

Typically, ordinary people wouldn't receive news when the strongest assassination squads were dispatched, so the unrest wasn't widely known. Lu Yuan’s evasion of the assassination squad’s pursuit was known only to a few high-ranking officials. The recent event overshadowing Lu Yuan’s fame in the Central Heavenly Dynasty was the Flower Realm Group.

What was the Flower Realm Group? It was a collection of people with too much idle time—all sorts of individuals: second-generation elites from various Civilizations, rogue cultivators, common idlers, and wanderers from the Lost Lands. In short, all kinds of people were involved.

Recently, they were undertaking a sensational project: selecting the Hundred and Eight Beauties of the Flower Realm. The Hundred and Eight Beauties of the Flower Realm sought to embody one hundred and eight distinct forms of beauty, and making it onto this list was exceedingly difficult. Princess Bao Yue said, "For the Hundred and Eight Flower Realm List, the prerequisite is being unmarried; those already wed are excluded.

Your companion, Yun Xiuxue, made the list—the only entrant from the Ancient Law Civilization—and is called the Happiest Young Lady." Yun Xiuxue’s fame in the Central Heavenly Dynasty hadn't been immense before, but due to her relationship with Lu Yuan, her renown had soared, securing her a spot on the list. Princess Bao Yue continued, "The Ancient Phoenix Civilization had a few entries, but the Lady Yue Xiaoqing did not make it; she still lacks something to qualify." Xiaoqing’s beauty was certainly between first-rate and top-tier. "Chang'e made the list, renowned as the most mysterious and powerful beauty, taking the top spot on this Hundred and Eight Flower Realm List," Princess Bao Yue explained.

It was understandable that Chang'e ranked first; she was beautiful and mysterious, and her power was ridiculously immense, making the top rank well-deserved. "Rabbit, however, fell slightly short and didn't make the list." Lu Yuan understood this; Zhong Ling was indeed beautiful, but her allure was only between first-rate and top-tier, not quite the absolute pinnacle. Princess Bao Yue ticked off the women Lu Yuan knew: "It’s a pity that no one from our Treasure Civilization made the list this time." She said this with some regret.

Gaining entry was extremely difficult to begin with, so it was natural for no one from the Treasure Civilization to be listed. As she was listing the names on the Hundred and Eight Beauties list, Lu Yuan suddenly felt an extremely violent fluctuation of vital energy—a clash between masters at the Civilization Realm. Others also sensed it but couldn't pinpoint the direction.

Lu Yuan instantly shot over and arrived at the scene. In the center, he saw the current leader of the Treasure Civilization, the Vice-Master of the Heaven Attack Civilization, but a microscopically thin, cold blade was embedded in him. Behind the thin blade stood a figure clad entirely in black.

This figure in black said flatly, "Vice-Master of the Heaven Attack Civilization, I didn't expect you to still be wearing your treasured armor; otherwise, this blow would have severely wounded you. Though you aren't critically injured, you are already badly hurt and won't last many moves against me." Just then, the Vice-Master of the Heaven Torture Civilization and the Vice-Master of the Heaven Defense Civilization also arrived like flashes of lightning. The Vice-Master of the Heaven Torture Civilization looked at the black-clad figure and asked, "Vice-Master of the Galaxy Civilization?" "Indeed, it is I," the black-clad figure replied calmly.

"Your Treasure Civilization has countless magical artifacts. When the former Vice-Master of the Treasure Civilization was here, with his Nine Epoch cultivation, no one dared to covet your treasures. But now, the strongest among you is only the Five Epoch Vice-Master of the Heaven Attack Civilization, making you vulnerable to anyone.

Naturally, we must strike before you fully integrate and move close to the Martial Arts Alliance." In truth, the Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master was trying to exploit a window of opportunity; he could only seize the numerous artifacts of the Treasure Civilization by striking now; missing this moment meant losing the chance. A normal Treasure Civilization would have defensive measures, such as the Artifact Decree, which could completely seal the world of the Treasure Civilization. However, the world's two greatest assassination civilizations, the Star Civilization and the Night Civilization, possessed various infiltration methods, leading to this outcome.

Lu Yuan finally understood the whole story. So that was what happened. His return to the Treasure Civilization this time was quite timely, coinciding with the arrival of the Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master.

This made his own subsequent actions much more convenient. Previously, he had felt awkward about demanding treasures as a bride price in return for past favors; now, he could potentially save the Treasure Civilization twice, giving him the justification to ask for what he needed. This Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master was truly a good person.

The Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master sneered menacingly, "Now, all of you shall die." The thin blade in his hand transformed into something resembling an Epoch Poisonous Serpent, stabbing directly towards the Heaven Attack Civilization's Vice-Master. The Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master was already a cultivator of the Six Epochs, superior in strength to the Heaven Attack Civilization's Vice-Master, and having already inflicted a surprise wound, he held a decisive advantage. His thin blade was treacherous and deceptive, twisting space and time, seemingly filled with the strange killing intent of the cosmos.

Anyone fighting him felt immense discomfort; one could never predict where his next strike would land. The Heaven Attack Civilization's Vice-Master couldn't cope and was struck again. The Vice-Master of the Heaven Torture Civilization and the Vice-Master of the Heaven Defense Civilization, though also at the Civilization Realm, had lower cultivation bases and could hardly alter the tide of the battle.

Damn it! They were about to fall to the Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master. The Treasure Civilization was truly too fragile now!

If he survived this, the Heaven Attack Civilization's Vice-Master thought, he would certainly endeavor to make the Treasure Civilization strong in the future. But reality offered him no such chance. Just as the Epoch Poisonous Serpent was about to consume his heart, a divine sword, vast and filled with immense righteousness and justice, suddenly appeared.

The moment this sword manifested, it was as broad and mighty as heaven and earth, condensing the moral force of the universe into a single strike. One swing of the blade was like unleashing the very righteousness of all existence. All that was (evil) and (strange) retreated before this sword strike!

Clang! The Galaxy Civilization's Vice-Master was thrown back a thousand feet. He looked toward his opponent, asking, "Who are you?" Standing before him was a man in green robes, a lazy, relaxed smile fixed on his face, carrying a sword emanating righteous energy over his shoulder.

"Lu Yuan." Yes, it was Lu Yuan, the one who had escaped death while being hunted by the strongest assassination squad. The single strike Lu Yuan unleashed felt indescribably refreshing. This was the very first battle since his 'Nourishing Divine Sword' was forged.

Earlier, when pursued by the strongest assassination squad, he had merely fled, never truly fighting back. This time, unleashing the sword felt truly exhilarating! Lu Yuan slung the sword over his shoulder, saying, "That's right, it is I.

I returned to the Treasure Civilization for certain reasons and unexpectedly stumbled upon this event. Vice-Master of the Galaxy Civilization, you are truly unlucky." Lu Yuan then turned to the Heaven Attack Civilization's Vice-Master, "Vice-Master of the Heaven Attack Civilization, let me be clear: I am not a noble person. I happen to be preparing the bride price for marrying Yun Xiuxue, so I'll help you all out this one time and intend to acquire some items from you as a bride price.

No issue with that, right?" Lu Yuan declared with unreserved frankness; straight talk, no beating around the bush, that had always been Lu Yuan's nature. Upon hearing Lu Yuan say this, the Heaven Attack Civilization's Vice-Master couldn't help but smile, and the Vice-Masters of the Heaven Torture Civilization and the Heaven Defense Civilization also smiled. They perfectly understood why Lu Yuan would say that.