The Deputy Lord of the Talisman Civilization was indeed formidable; his talisman attacks possessed a unique style all their own.

It would have been manageable if Lu Yuan were in peak condition, but struggling terribly under the assault of the Mana Ring Array, his entire being was on the verge of collapse. When confronted by these talisman strikes, though he managed to parry one blow with his sword, the sheer variety of talisman attacks made defense impossible to sustain. Caught off guard, he was struck by many of them.

Boom!

The destruction level of Lu Yuan's Small Thousand World of the Sword reached thirty percent.

This was a grievous wound indeed.

As if that weren't enough, as these talismans continued to detonate, Lu Yuan could feel the Mana Ring Array relentlessly pounding him. In an instant, the destruction level of the Small Thousand World of the Sword shot up to forty percent.

This was bad news!

Lu Yuan had not suffered such severe injuries in a long time. If the destruction level of his Small Thousand World of the Sword reached one hundred percent, he would perish. The collapse of this Small Thousand World was happening alarmingly fast, leaving him with precious little time. The talismans from the Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization were still raining down, and the Mana Ring Array persisted in its assault.

Mana? How to counter mana?

Wait.

Lu Yuan suddenly recalled something: he possessed the Devouring Formless Art, while the Son of the Desolation held the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique. These two techniques shared similar names, but their functions were vastly different. His Devouring Formless Art could devour script, whereas the Son of the Desolation's Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique could devour mana. Back then, when Kun Peng restrained the Son of the Desolation with the North Sea Feather, who could have foreseen the Son of the Desolation absorbing the Feather's mana using the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique? Furthermore, that technique had tried to absorb Lu Yuan’s own mana, resulting in the word 'Devour' being absorbed by Lu Yuan, which significantly weakened its power. That Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique could indeed devour mana. Right, he could try to learn the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique and see if it could resolve the current crisis.

Boom! The collapse of the Small Thousand World had reached forty-five percent.

Lu Yuan was already deeply wounded.

He frantically searched through the multitude of secret manuals left behind by the Son of the Desolation. Come out, Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique. He flipped through more than ten manuals but couldn't find it. Where on earth had this fellow, the Son of the Desolation, hidden the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique? Lu Yuan finished checking all his manuals without success, his anxiety mounting.

Meanwhile, the collapse of the Small Thousand World approached fifty percent.

Finally, Lu Yuan found the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique. This volume wasn't cataloged under secret manuals at all; it was listed under 'Magical Artifacts.' That Son of the Desolation was truly disorganized. Lu Yuan swept the manual with his divine sense at maximum speed and was startled to discover that the author of this technique was the Ancestral Dragon.

The Ancestral Dragon again.

How could the shadow of the Ancestral Dragon be present both with him and the Son of the Desolation?

This man, destined to be among the top five, perhaps even the top three, in the world, remained shrouded in an aura of mystery.

However, the situation was extremely dire; he couldn't afford to dwell on it. He began cultivating the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Art at the fastest possible pace. The Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Art had no prerequisite for the cultivation attribute, unlike the Formless Devouring Art which was restricted to the Cloud attribute. As he practiced, Lu Yuan noticed that although both techniques originated from the Ancestral Dragon, the differences between the two were immense; the feeling during practice was completely distinct.

To create two radically different, peak-tier techniques—the Ancestral Dragon was truly a genius who shocked the epoch.

Of course, while practicing, Lu Yuan maintained a dual focus, using his swordsmanship to fend off the surrounding attacks. Yet, this provided minimal effect; the destruction of the Small Thousand World of the Sword continued unabated. Now, the collapse had reached sixty percent, and Lu Yuan's injuries were grave.

The Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization watched from a distance, continuously hurling talismans. He observed Lu Yuan's worsening state and clearly saw the destruction of the Small Thousand World of the Sword reach seventy percent! Good—just thirty percent more until Lu Yuan was slain. Once Lu Yuan was dead, even if this great decisive battle was lost, the Four Ancient Civilizations would have a chance to rise again.

Just as the destruction of Lu Yuan's Small Thousand World of the Sword reached seventy percent, Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

He had managed to master the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique.

He had finally mastered this technique.

Lu Yuan knew this was his final chance. He had never imagined that the Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization would force him into this state; this character must not be underestimated. Lu Yuan let out a long shout, activating the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique, and began absorbing the vast, overwhelming torrent of mana.

Upon operating the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Technique, Lu Yuan discovered that this technique drained a substantial amount of the opponent's mana, yet he himself absorbed very little. However, what he absorbed, though small in volume, was the most concentrated essence—the very essence of the essence. Lu Yuan had already absorbed the essence of the mana from the Thunder Civilization, the essence of the mana from the Desolate Ancient Civilization, the essence from the Immortal Ancient Civilization, the essence from the Buddha Ancient Civilization, the essence from the Demon Civilization, the essence from the Monster Civilization, the essence from the Fox Civilization, the essence from the Star Civilization, the essence from the Tree Civilization, the essence from the Theft Civilization, the essence from the Flower Civilization, and so on and so forth.

Twenty-one types, over a hundred streams of mana essence, all converged together.

Countless mana vanished into the void, while the purified essence mana within Lu Yuan interwove, causing the mana inside him to surge continuously. Yes, it was true that the amount absorbed from each of the hundred-plus streams was small, but collectively, they amounted to a great deal. After absorbing so much mana, Lu Yuan's own mana climbed steadily, growing stronger and stronger, until he unexpectedly broke through another threshold, reaching a higher level. This level did not represent a qualitative change, only a quantitative one: the mana of Nine and a Half Epochs.

Through this event, he had inadvertently stepped onto the threshold of Nine and a Half Epochs of mana, bringing him closer to the Civilization Lord.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan noticed that the twenty-one types of muscle and the essence from the hundred-plus streams of mana within his body were undergoing an intensely fierce transformation. In fact, Lu Yuan was currently experiencing changes unprecedented in myriad ages and rare even across epochs. Firstly, since the beginning of time, who else could harbor the essence of over a hundred different types of mana within their body? Likely no one ever had. Secondly, his inherent mana possessed 0.8 percent of Eternal Strength—a substance that appeared rarely and possessed an incomprehensibly high quality. It was rumored that achieving ten percent Eternal Strength would allow one to become an Eternal Lord, transcending the cycles of life and death, rising above all civilizations.

Now, this Eternal Strength was guiding the hundred-plus streams of mana, the twenty-one completely different varieties, causing them to change. These amassed quantities of mana transformed into Eternal Strength—yes, new Eternal Strength was appearing. Lu Yuan found that the Eternal Strength within his body was also increasing.

In the blink of an eye, it reached 0.9 percent!

One percent! After reaching one percent, Lu Yuan clearly felt a significant qualitative ascent in his mana. With ten percent Eternal Strength, the quality of the mana increased substantially with every rung ascended.

1.1 percent!

1.2 percent!

1.3 percent!

1.4 percent! This was already approaching 1.5 percent—could it possibly reach 1.5 percent?

1.5 percent! It decisively reached 1.5 percent.

1.6 percent! After reaching 1.6 percent, it finally halted decisively.

This absorption, condensing and refining over a hundred streams of essence, actually elevated the Eternal Strength to a height of 1.6 percent. This was unimaginable. Back then, even someone like the Son of the Desolation only reached five percent. Lu Yuan, through this accidental convergence of fortune, had managed to elevate the concentration of Eternal Strength within his mana to 1.6 percent. The Son of the Desolation would surely die filled with utter unwillingness.

Lu Yuan understood this to be an exceedingly rare achievement. With the Eternal Strength in his mana reaching 1.6 percent, he felt an aura of indestructibility surrounding him.

Boom! The destruction of the Small Thousand World of the Sword reached seventy-five percent.

But everything was over now. Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

At this moment, the Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization was utterly stunned. This, this, this—it was impossible, wasn't it? This was the Mana Ring Array, an attack combining the two-tenths mana contribution from over a hundred Deputy Lords. In terms of quantity, such an attack was hardly inferior to that of a Civilization Lord. While the quality might not compare, its sheer force was terrifying. Yet, Lu Yuan had broken through this Mana Ring Array? It could actually be broken? The Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization realized he could no longer comprehend Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was now someone who could not be killed and could not be broken through; within the realm beneath the Civilization Lord, he was absolutely invincible.

Lu Yuan smiled faintly: "Fate, your methods, the Mana Ring Array, I have broken it. Bring forth whatever other tricks you possess." As he spoke, Lu Yuan brought down his sword with a whoosh, completely shattering the nearby talismans.

The current Lu Yuan was unkillable, unstoppable, and peerless.

Of course, the present Lu Yuan also possessed a significant weakness: his injuries. The Small Thousand World of the Sword was already seventy-five percent destroyed; Lu Yuan was heavily wounded. This might present an opportunity, but the Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization dared not seize it. He hesitated, pondering: can I truly handle Lu Yuan, who is seventy-five percent damaged?

Just then, an extremely sharp streak of blade light sliced through the air. This blade light was supremely sharp, incredibly fast, exceedingly keen, terrifyingly potent, and utterly fearsome. It appeared suddenly, without any prior warning or momentum, aiming directly for Lu Yuan's heart. This single strike bore a strong resemblance to Lu Yuan's own ultimate sword strike.

Solitude, Isolation, Supremacy, Speed, Silence, Annihilation, Slaughter—these were the characteristics of this blade.

Moreover, the timing chosen was exquisite, incredibly precise.

The timing for this strike was captured in the split second after Lu Yuan, severely wounded at seventy-five percent, had just shattered the talismans and before he could fully retract his sword.

It was a perfect assassination strike.

Only two individuals in this world could execute such a specialized, assassination-style swordsmanship.

The Deputy Lord of the Fate Civilization naturally knew who had launched the attack.

The Deputy Lord of the Star Civilization, one of the two greatest assassination masters in existence.

He had finally struck at the most critical moment. Now, it remained to be seen whether this attack could slay Lu Yuan.

(Second update delivered, striving hard for subscriptions and monthly votes.)