In the span of that opening and closing, divine artifacts from all the heavens were cast out. These artifacts stirred the hearts of men, drawing the fiercest competition among the world's most elite beings. This was the twenty-first, and twenty-second, of the High Heaven-Rank divine artifacts. And this was the last one. The High Heaven-Rank artifacts had been unleashed. Boom!

In an instant, the Lord of the Instant Civilization lunged for one of them—a token, pure white in color. The Lord of the Undying Civilization, however, snatched the other—a token of the exact same shape, but utterly black. The aura radiating from these two High Heaven-Rank divine artifacts was unimaginably potent. Meanwhile, the other Lords of High-Rank Civilizations were engaged in their own vicious battles, clashing with incredible intensity. Lu Yuan watched the spectacle from the sidelines.

As these figures fought fiercely, Lu Yuan spotted a bald head. Among all these Civilization Lords, there was only one who was bald: the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization. In this fray, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization was clearly at a disadvantage. His strength ranked low among this group. Lu Yuan mused inwardly, wondering if, with his current Fourteenth Epoch strength, he might be able to slay the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization. This was a man who had nearly killed him multiple times. The more Lu Yuan considered it, the stronger the urge to strike became.

Lu Yuan immediately focused, scrutinizing the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization, searching for an opening to strike and eliminate him in a sudden attack. Crash!

Suddenly, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization was sent flying by a Seventeenth Epoch Lord belonging to the Instant faction. A perfect chance! Lu Yuan was just about to move.

It happened in less time than it takes to speak. The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization, though seemingly hurled far into the void, instantly summoned an even greater burst of speed. At this moment, his velocity reached an absolute peak—though perhaps not yet the Sixth Stage of Speed, it was certainly at the Fifth Stage, the Speed of Invincibility.

Does he always possess this speed? Has he been hiding it until now?

Lu Yuan had always harbored deep apprehension toward the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization, especially after witnessing his treachery against the Son of Desolation. This Lord, with his outwardly boisterous, bald demeanor, was in reality profoundly cunning, ruthless, and terrifyingly malicious when scheming.

The current situation was utterly chaotic, reaching the climax of the artifact scramble. Few others paid attention to the Ancient Desolation Lord, but Lu Yuan kept him under constant surveillance.

With this sudden acceleration, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization was moving directly toward the Gate of Eternity. Wait! Why is he heading straight for the Gate of Eternity?

Lu Yuan dared not hesitate any longer, instantly activating his Sword Steps and pursuing the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization. The Ancient Desolation Lord was fast, but Lu Yuan was faster. Lu Yuan pressed his pursuit.

However, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization showed no panic. He struck out a palm toward Lu Yuan in the void. Boom! A deafening clash erupted as their palms met. Lu Yuan and the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization were currently matched in strength; even with his 'Overcome' ability, Lu Yuan couldn't guarantee victory. They were both repelled by the impact—Lu Yuan pushed back, and the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization was also jolted backward.

With that recoil, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization was now even closer to the Gate of Eternity. At this juncture, the other combatants noticed the anomaly concerning the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization. Indeed, approaching the Gate of Eternity was no trivial matter. Within three thousand zhang of the Gate existed an Eternal Halo of Light. Previously, no one could approach this Halo, yet now, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization had clearly entered it, shattering a rule held for countless epochs.

The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization stood with his hands clasped behind his back, radiating the aura of a grand master, seeming to swallow mountains and rivers with his presence: "My esteemed colleagues, you’ve been striving fiercely for the divine artifacts, haven't you? Excellent. With those artifacts, you can continue your slow ascent. But don't you find it agonizingly slow?" "Of course, perhaps for you, it isn't slow." "You are still within the age of Civilization Lords; you cannot grasp the thoughts of those on a higher plane." "My level is different from yours."

The Lord of the Instant Civilization looked toward him: "Different levels? What exactly are you trying to achieve, Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization?" As the Instant Lord spoke, the Lord of the Undying Civilization zipped to the edge of the Eternal Halo of Light, attempting to see if he, too, could penetrate it. But with a sharp thud, he slammed against the barrier, unable to breach it. As expected, only the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization could cross.

Everyone halted their actions, fixing their gaze on the Ancient Desolation Lord inside the Halo. The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization, hands behind his back, continued: "Instant, Undying, and all of you, including Lu Yuan—did you truly think it was coincidence that the mid-level eruption of the Gate of Eternity, set to occur in another thirteen thousand years, has happened thirteen thousand years early? That was me." "I have long been different from you. I grasped the key to entering the Gate of Eternity. Originally, there was no key, but the failure of the fools of Jian Gu in the previous epoch, though a failure, yielded this key. Normally, someone born as the Epoch Lord of this era would learn this key shortly after birth. That is why I knew from the start that I was different. However, this key requires an immense amount of blood, forged into the Blood Key. The Blood Key is troublesome; it demands the essence of endless warfare. That is why, within the Central Heavenly Dynasty, I fabricated the atmosphere for a decisive battle between the two major factions. The Ancient Desolation Immortal-Buddha Alliance lost that final confrontation, but what did it matter? In the end, I secured enough blood to forge this Blood Key." "Blood, as it turns out, is quite fascinating." "There is blood when one lives. There is blood when one dies. There is blood while one exists." "The Blood Key, combined with my unique object, can open the Gate of Eternity. Naturally, only I can achieve this; none of you can. My absorption of the luck of the Son of Desolation was all preparation for this." The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization spoke expansively. He was in no hurry; he was a man on the cusp of total victory. A victor needs no haste; he desires only to proclaim his triumph to all the experts. "I am about to enter the Gate of Eternity. I will return soon, but when I do, I will no longer be a mere Civilization Lord. The Sixteenth Epoch? A joke. I will ascend to the Twentieth Epoch, the Eternal Lord of the Twentieth Epoch. Then, I will reign supreme over every one of you. Undying, Ancient Immortal, Ancient Buddha—you will submit to me. Instant, you will die by my hand. Ancient Law, Ancient Martial—as eternal enemies, I will kill you. Lu Yuan, and you—I detest you greatly, and you too will perish by my hand. Though you should feel honored; in countless epochs, no Eternal Lord has ever appeared. To be slain by me, the sole Eternal Lord across myriad epochs, grants you a measure of glory."

The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization smiled—a smile of condescension, of looking down upon all sentient life. He turned, his long saber resting on his shoulder, and walked toward the Gate of Eternity. Everyone watched this procession. Perhaps, in countless eons, trillions upon trillions of years. He alone had achieved this. This was a sight seen only once in myriad epochs.

The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization stepped toward the Gate of Eternity. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps. Five steps—each movement was breathtaking.

The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization finally reached the side of the Gate of Eternity, which was now poised halfway closed. He placed the Blood Key upon the Gate, and simultaneously presented an object of extreme strangeness—something without fixed form, neither liquid, solid, nor gas—and placed it alongside the key. "In my name, open." Roar! The Gate of Eternity burst wide open!

In that instant, nearly everyone fell into a beautiful trance. It was an impossibly magnificent dream, a dream that seemed to contain everything, yet paradoxically, nothing. This dream felt like a thousand years, yet simultaneously like a single moment—this sensation of an eternal instant was more terrifying than anything the Lord of the Instant Civilization could conjure. When awareness returned, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization had vanished, and the Gate of Eternity was slowly closing.

The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization would stand above them all. Almost no one cared to discuss the fate of the divine artifacts anymore; the news was simply too earth-shattering, too profoundly shocking.

And Lu Yuan stood there, stunned. Several figures watched Lu Yuan. For instance, the Lord of the Heaven Civilization thought to himself that Lu Yuan must have been struck mute by fear. After all, the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization would soon return, and upon his return, he had vowed to kill Lu Yuan. The Lord of the Heaven Civilization felt an intense surge of schadenfreude. Serves you right for being so arrogant, showing off so much. Now you’re on the kill list of the future Eternal Lord. Haha ha! The Lord of the Heaven Civilization reveled in this feeling. Exceedingly delighted!

But Lu Yuan was actually feeling a profound sense of strangeness. Because just as the Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization stepped into the Gate, something else shot out from within the Gate and struck Lu Yuan, injecting a stream of chaotic, yet vital, information directly into his mind.

This was crucial intelligence, one piece of which suggested a method to increase his power at a frightening speed, even faster than his current growth rate. This massive influx of data left Lu Yuan’s mind temporarily overwhelmed. And the key that would allow his strength to expand drastically once more was... (First chapter delivered. The Lord of the Ancient Desolation Civilization is the ultimate boss. Today's first chapter is also very early; I have truly been working hard lately.)