The Lord of Ancient Eternity did not rush to deal with Lu Yuan; he first intended to seize those four Iron Laws of Destiny. Once obtained, he would have no rivals left in the Myriad Heavens and Ten Thousand Realms, none who could resist him.

Otherwise, given the Ancient Eternity Lord’s hatred for Lu Yuan, he would have attacked long ago. The Lord of Ancient Eternity stood at the very apex of the Palace of Eternal Heaven.

“All personnel of the Palace of Eternal Heaven, attack Lu Yuan immediately! Annihilate the invading enemy.” He intended to use these forces to buy time, time until he secured the Iron Laws of Destiny.

The Lord of Ancient Eternity had always understood how to leverage the power of others. And Lu Yuan, at this moment, also stood before the Palace of Eternal Heaven.

Innumerable as the sands of the Ganges River, people poured out of the Palace of Eternal Heaven, charging directly at Lu Yuan. In fact, sending such a massive number to attack held a sinister calculation on the part of the Lord of Ancient Eternity.

Lu Yuan’s power had now surged to a point that shocked the Eons and moved the Eternal; even with his current strength, it was obvious that Lu Yuan possessed a righteous attribute. And this righteous attribute had one flaw: one could not engage in excessive slaughter.

If too many lives were taken, the righteous attribute would be damaged, severely diminishing combat power. Thus, the Lord of Ancient Eternity dispatched so many people to attack Lu Yuan, tempting him into killing.

As long as Lu Yuan killed too many, it would be beneficial for the Lord. Of course, if Lu Yuan chose not to kill, the outcome was equally straightforward.

If he refused to kill, he would have to injure. To injure without killing required far more exquisite control, demanding higher magical power expenditure.

When dealing with billions of people this way, the expenditure of magical power would inevitably be greater. This meant that by the time Lu Yuan reached the summit of the Palace of Eternal Heaven, his expended magical power would be immense, making him far more vulnerable to the Lord of Ancient Eternity.

Such was the stratagem of the Lord of Ancient Eternity; whether Lu Yuan killed or spared lives, he fell within the Lord’s calculations. Whether he struck down billions or not, his essence and combat power would suffer massive depletion.

Simultaneously, the Lord of Ancient Eternity unleashed a beam of light that instantly illuminated the path of the hundred million steps, expanding and widening them, making it impossible for Lu Yuan to cross easily, even with his movement techniques. Lu Yuan stood before the hundred million steps, feeling a profound headache descend.

Yet, Lu Yuan chose without hesitation not to kill. This was Lu Yuan—always both an Immortal and a Hero.

To slaughter tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions in one go was absolutely impossible for him. Let alone more.

Since his emergence, Lu Yuan had killed barely over two hundred people, fewer than three hundred in total. And every person slain was undeniably heinous beyond measure.

The hundred million steps lay ahead. Lu Yuan rushed forward.

The moment he moved, countless figures of the Chaos Realm lunged, blocking his path. Indeed, Lu Yuan was terrifying, the number one wanted criminal under the heavens, but how terrible could he be compared to the Lord of Ancient Eternity?

Lu Yuan could, at most, cause death; the Lord of Ancient Eternity could condemn souls to a state where living was torture and death was impossible, forever suspended between the two extremes. Therefore, they could only stand in the front line.

Of course, no matter how many of these individuals there were, they could not inflict harm upon Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan initially considered spatial teleportation, only to find the space rigidly locked down, precluding any shifting.

Having no other choice, Lu Yuan’s sword energy surged upward, using exquisitely fine control to subdue all of them—executing those whose auras reeked strongly of blood, and sparing those whose blood scent was lighter. Lu Yuan continued upward.

Again, figures of the World Realm blocked his way. Lu Yuan’s sword energy once more erupted, deploying extreme precision to incapacitate them all, slaying only those with the heaviest scent of slaughter.

These followers of the Lord of Eternity—perhaps forced by the tide of events, helpless—many merely stood still, obeying orders to block passively. Some could barely hold their blades steady.

Such individuals attacking him were less an assault and more an invitation to death. Even if they attacked a hundred million times, they could not breach his defense.

And beneath my sword, not one innocent soul is ever slain unjustly. This was Lu Yuan’s Dao!

He might be laughed at as foolish, but this was Lu Yuan. If he abandoned this, he would cease to be the Immortal-Hero Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan advanced step by measured step. Innumerable formations of Celestial Venerables were passed through easily by Lu Yuan.

Next came the formations of Civilization Deputy Lords. By this stage, there were fewer than three hundred Deputy Lords remaining.

Which among them harbored true killing intent, and which did not, could be discerned with ease. Any who truly aimed to kill and drew their blades against him were met with immediate termination.

Those with too heavy a blood scent were purged, and Lu Yuan continued his ascent. Although he expended some magical power on the journey, it was minimal.

Reaching the area of the Civilization Lords, Lu Yuan took a look and recognized several—the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization, Hongjun; the Lord of the Buddha Ancient Civilization; and the Lord of the Undying Civilization from the Nineteenth Eon. Lu Yuan smiled faintly.

“If you dare to approach, then come forth.” Now, figures of immense stature surrounded Lu Yuan, especially the Lords of the Immortal Ancient, Buddha Ancient, and Undying Civilizations, who stood out most prominently. Yet, not a single one of these Civilization Lords moved.

Lu Yuan’s sword energy now pierced the Ninth Heaven, coupled with the fact that upon his return, he had consecutively slain the Lords of the Desolate Path Civilization of the Eighteenth Eon and the Lost Civilization of the Nineteenth Eon, causing these great powers of the cosmos to dare not stir. Lu Yuan ascended directly, flying to the very pinnacle of the Palace of Eternal Heaven.

Standing at the summit, he looked down. Heaven and Earth seemed infinitely distant.

Both the celestial realm and the terrestrial realm were unimaginably low. This was the apex of all realms.

The Heaven above the Heavens. The Cloud above the Clouds.

The Peak above the Peaks. The Supreme above the Utterly Supreme.

And now, at this most Supreme point of the Palace of Eternal Heaven, there were only two figures. One was Lu Yuan, the other, the Lord of Ancient Eternity.

The Lord of Ancient Eternity was on the verge of shattering the Passage of Destiny, only a few more strikes remained—perhaps half an incense stick’s worth of time to completion. But Lu Yuan had arrived.

He was forced to cease his assault on the passage. He turned his head toward Lu Yuan.

“You are truly foolish. Refusing to slay, refusing to kill unjustly—how absurd!

Because of this refusal to kill indiscriminately, you have wasted half a tenth of your magical power. You needn't have spent that power at all.” A person possesses ten tenths of total power; half a tenth is only one-twentieth, not an enormous amount, one Lu Yuan could normally afford to expend.

However, before engaging the foremost being under Heaven and Earth, wasting that fraction was not merely foolish, but an act of supreme idiocy. Lu Yuan offered a faint smile.

“This is my style. It has always been so; this is my Dao.

If I do not adhere to my Dao, I am not Lu Yuan. Never has a life been unjustly taken by my sword.

You attempt to weaken my Sword Dao with mere words—how comical.” “I do not need to weaken your Sword Dao,” the Lord of Ancient Eternity retorted. “I am inherently the first under Heaven and Earth; I am inherently invincible.” “All masters under Heaven and Earth, I have defeated them all, no matter who they were,” the Lord of Ancient Eternity declared dismissively.

“Only you remain undefeated. Let you be the opponent for my strongest battle.

I sense your aura is stronger than that of the Ancestral Dragon. Initially, when you rose, I paid you little mind, but I never expected you to grow so powerful as to surpass the Ancestral Dragon and become the opponent for my ultimate confrontation.

Crushing you, this final adversary, I shall shatter the prophecy of ‘The Declining of the Desolate and the Rising of the Earth.’ Preposterous, utterly laughable—a mere prophecy from the artifact civilization attempting to dictate the fate of the great Lord of Eternity.” “The Declining of the Desolate and the Rising of the Earth is a prophecy, but I have long since ceased to be bound by any prophecy. Prophecy is fate, and I transcend fate; I am an Eternal existence,” the Lord of Ancient Eternity stated.

In truth, his words held merit; Eternity surpassed Destiny. “Lu Yuan, today I will slay you and extinguish the last flicker of hope for the rebels.” The Lord of Ancient Eternity let out a mighty shout, and his body expanded like the infinite starry sky.

His eyes resembled boundless constellations. His entire being seemed as grand and imposing as the entire world.

The Lord of Ancient Eternity stroked his bald head, the apex of his smooth cranium. Then, his hand rested upon the hilt of his blade.

His former weapon was the Blade of Ancient Desolation and Eternal Old Age. But now, his blade was named the Blade of Eternity.

The Blade of Eternity was no mere Divine Artifact. It surpassed the very concept of a Divine Artifact.

The Lord of Ancient Eternity unleashed his Blade of Eternity with a resounding crash. This single strike annihilated ages past, shattered the Great Desolation, annihilated the myriad epochs, and ensured no rebirth across ten thousand tribulations.

The terror of this single blow caused the Lords of the Immortal Ancient, Buddha Ancient, and Undying Civilizations standing nearby to secretly shudder. Since defeating the Ancestral Dragon, the Lord of Ancient Eternity had not fought seriously in a long time.

Those standing at the cosmic pinnacle, like the Immortal Ancients, often speculated upon the current depth of the Lord of Eternity’s power. Now, it seemed, over these past centuries, the Lord of Ancient Eternity had become even more unfathomable.

This strike was more terrifying than the blade he had wielded against the Ancestral Dragon. A Single Cut of Annihilation!

What a powerful strike! Lu Yuan had never witnessed such a devastating blade.

Since his return five centuries ago, Lu Yuan had encountered everyone, including the Lord of the Lost Civilization of the Nineteenth Eon, yet he remained composed, securing easy victories. But now, seeing the Lord of Ancient Eternity draw his blade, Lu Yuan was certain: this was the most formidable opponent of his life, whose strength surpassed his own.

This battle promised to be a grueling trial. Of course, Lu Yuan had not lost his confidence.

No matter the opponent, Lu Yuan had never doubted himself, and facing the foremost being under Heaven and Earth, he would not lose heart now. Let the battle commence!