Mei Yi had initially imagined Yan Luo to be some benevolent elder, but standing before her now was merely a terrifying, homicidal demon king. Her Radiant Moon Crystal Wheels spun up, intending to sandwich Yan Luo from both sides. "I didn't expect you to be a monster!"

"Monster? Am I the thing above your head? Hahaha!" Yan Luo roared with maniacal laughter. Just then, the snakes intertwined like strands of hair above his head opened their mouths and surged toward Mei Yi.

"Be careful, Mei Yi!" Old Liu snatched up his Thin-Bladed Saber and lunged forward, slicing several small snakes mid-air into two pieces. But it was useless; the severed heads on the ground grotesquely regenerated other bodies, writhing instantly to continue their assault on Mei Yi.

Mei Yi's figure flickered, using her dual wheels for protection, but the small snakes multiplied relentlessly; she couldn't cope. At this point, she vaulted onto a crystal wheel, hoping to escape from above. Unexpectedly, the snakes' eyes flushed red, and they coalesced into one massive python that coiled around her ankles like an iron chain, yanking her straight toward Yan Luo.

"Mei Yi!" Seeing the critical situation, Old Liu activated a high-grade Black Talisman, instantly flashing to Yan Luo's side and grabbing Mei Yi's arm. Simultaneously, he brought his Thin-Bladed Saber to bear, and the Fire-Light Beast manifested, charging straight for Yan Luo.

"A mere little beast, how could it possibly harm me!" Yan Luo glared, unleashing a blast of flame that shoved the fire-attributed Fire-Light Beast several steps back. Mei Yi was already firmly restrained by the giant python. "I'll take this woman first! I presume you don't need me to tell you that you'll come looking for her."

"What exactly do you want?" Old Liu stomped his foot and lunged toward Yan Luo, but Yan Luo vanished with a mere flicker of movement—nowhere to be seen. "Damn it!"

Yan Luo’s voice still echoed, and the python’s shriek was clear: "The fellow who entered the Fourth Level Pagoda must know what I intend. Come find me in the Deep Imperial Mausoleum Palace with this woman and the Abi Sword, hahaha!"

Old Liu scanned the surroundings but saw no movement. He turned back to the Fourth Level Pagoda; the structure now radiated a trace of the uncanny. He strained to recall the ancient memories connected to him: in the Battle of Buxian Mountain, Empress Buxian had found allies—one was Han Xin, who had become a Death God, and the other was the Myriad Demon Empress, rumored to be capable of altering history. What connection did these figures have to the current world and Ye Xiu?

……

Heaven and Earth are merciless; slaughter knows no end. The world following the unification and collapse brought by the Death God had devolved into a slaughterhouse. The strong are respected; the weak must die—this had become the creed for those across all realms.

Ye Xiu sat calmly atop Blood Peak with his eyes closed. In truth, his spiritual body was still trapped within the confines of the Death Realm Sword Demon, Bafang Guling. This was the Sword Demon's memory, encompassing the memories of slaughter pertaining to this entire realm.

"The people of the Death Realm are scattered beyond recovery. I truly don't understand how you still have the nerve to wield a sword in this chaotic realm of slaughter!" At that moment, a faint voice drifted down from the heavens. A figure cloaked in purple streaked across the sky, his arrival stirring a wave of foul, bloody air. This person wore a long purple robe, his face pale, and his long purple hair enveloped his head from all directions, obscuring his features, though one could sense an aura of cold killing intent. This was the Demon Realm swordsman known as Purple Scar of the Hair-Sword.

Guling slowly rose to his feet. The Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword rested before him, firmly plunged into the earth, the mass of scarlet spiritual energy serving as proof that he had already slain countless swordsmen in this location. "No sword in hand, a blade hidden in your hair—do you truly believe ordinary hair can compare to the king of weapons?"

Zi Hen tossed his head, and that mass of long hair shot out instantly, intertwining as they rushed toward the Heaven's Scrutiny Sword embedded in the ground.

The Heaven's Scrutiny Sword's spiritual energy agitated, attempting to wrench itself free from the earth. But the surging purple hairs immediately entangled it securely. The sword continued to spin, startling forth myriad rays of brilliance, yet the purple hair, though countless strands were severed, relentlessly continued its advance, wrapping it ever tighter.

"Using hair as swords!" Ye Xiu’s heart chilled. He hadn't expected such dominant martial artists to exist even in antiquity. This world was not a traditional Jianghu; this was the dominion of martialists. If the various realms were truly allowed to communicate with the mortal realm, what kind of extinction-level disaster would ordinary humans face?

"Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword emerges—where shall the hearts of the dead go…" Guling murmured such verses once more. He walked slowly toward the sword. The instant his bare hand touched the Heaven's Scrutiny Sword, the wildly flapping hairs retracted completely. "Heaven is deep, the sea is high, all meet the cold glance of sparse frost!"

"Impossible!" Zi Hen, who had been searching for Guling's weakness to renew his attack, found that the moment the hair retracted, every strand snapped. He watched the Sword Demon walk toward him, sensing a massive bloody aura radiating from behind him—a ferocious beast, like a snake yet not, like a python yet not!

"Is this the physical manifestation of the Demon Realm?" Guling slowly raised the Heaven's Scrutiny Sword. He drew a single, graceful crimson arc, and that crimson light, like the rosy glow of dawn, gradually enveloped Zi Hen’s neck. At that moment, vibrant scarlet vital fluid mixed with the setting sun’s glow, and a breeze blew, shaping the dispersing fluid into a beautiful flower. "Has the Demon Realm produced no other swordsmen?"

It was the same swift strike—so fast that the deceased hadn't realized their demise. Zi Hen’s mouth gaped slightly, his expression contorted. He was filled with disdain—disdain for Bafang Guling possessing such overwhelming strength. "Lord Jidu will surely lead the legions of the Demon Realm to this realm. By then, not just the Mortal Realm, not just the Death Realm, but the entire world will be within the grasp of my Demon Realm. Then you will truly experience the terror of slaying the sovereign to rule the world!"

"Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World!" Ye Xiu heard those four words with chilling clarity. He began recalling the process Elder Chang Kong had described to him: Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World had led the Demon Realm faction seeking to break past the boundaries of their realm into the Mortal Realm, only to be slain and sealed by the Great Vow of Kṣitigarbha. However, the memory from the Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword Soul mentioned Bafang Guling, the Death Realm Sword Demon, encountering Slaying the Sovereign who wielded the Imperial Authority Slasher, resulting in the Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword being broken. Did Bafang Guling…

Guling gently closed his eyes, uttering excited words: "Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World? I shall remember that name. Finally, someone exists who can pique my interest."

"That's right, the Sword Demon wants to seek out Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World. This must be the guidance of the Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword Soul," Ye Xiu further confirmed his conjecture. But now, deeply concealed within the Sword Demon’s body, how could he break free?

"Rumble…" Suddenly, heavenly lightning manifested violently, and the entire world filled with illusory light. Mountains were no longer mountains, water was no longer water; everything was void, everything dissolved into foam. Amidst the myriad sounds of upheaval, a surge of energy struck Guling, causing him to feel an immense pressure in his chest, forcing out a mouthful of blood.

"That injury was inflicted by King Zhou. Has this wound never healed?" Ye Xiu understood everything, but the scene before him was no longer the same. Fragments of time scattered through his mind, flashing glimpses of Guling slaying powerful swordsmen. Time had passed through untold, unknown ages unnoticed.

Guling remained with his eyes closed, raising his head. He knew that a formidable power was rising in the distant East. He glanced at the Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword floating in the air; the sword was also trembling as if facing a great enemy. This was the expectation of his entire life, and the expectation of the Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword: "Tianmiao, do you feel it too? What a mighty force that is!"

The Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword offered little verbal reply to the Sword Demon. It soared toward the Nine Heavens, taking the Sword Demon with it, disappearing from the scene. When they reappeared, they were already at the abyss of an underground palace—the original location of the Imperial Control Saber Alliance, and also where the First Emperor’s Mausoleum lay. The only difference was that ordinary people were still constructing the mausoleum at that time.

"Tsssh…" A figure with red hair stood far off atop the mausoleum. He was clad in golden armor, his entire body naturally manifesting a dragon-scale aura. His eyes were sharp, his features handsome, and a dragon crown shielded his topknot. He swung the long saber in his hand, and all life beneath the mausoleum vanished. "I have finally waited. I have finally waited for a divine weapon that belongs to me. My era has arrived; the glory of the Demon Realm is imminent."

"Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World!" Ye Xiu had certainly witnessed Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World before, but the figure before him was far younger and much more arrogant than the one he had seen personally. This was Slaying the Sovereign’s first arrival in the Mortal Realm. Just as Guling didn't know why he appeared in the Mortal Realm, Slaying the Sovereign's arrival was also a mystery.

"Slaying the Sovereign…" Guling stared coldly at the heroic youth atop the high platform, tightly gripping the crimson Heaven’s Scrutiny Sword. His blood began to boil; countless years of slaughter experience told him this battle was unavoidable, a battle of world-shattering intensity.

"Hmm!" Slaying the Sovereign looked down upon the world and saw that deadly glare not far away. Bafang Guling, bearing a divine saber and armor, was an obstacle that needed to be eliminated before Slaying the Sovereign to Rule the World. "I don't care who you are; I only know that the one standing before me is a powerhouse. Against a powerhouse, there is only one thing to do: kill!"

"I only want to know the name of the treasured blade in your hand!" Guling, as a man of aloof dignity, naturally respected weaponry. He already understood the tremors that had shaken the entire world; a divine weapon had descended.

Slaying the Sovereign proudly brandished the Imperial Authority Slasher. That weapon was a massive, broad-bladed hooked saber. Its single edge extended into a diagonal cut at the tip. The back of the blade featured several hooks and gouges, within which were carved the characters 'Underworld' and 'Realm,' symbolizing his might and status: "Commanding all realms, the Emperor reigns supreme; slaying all things to be enslaved, roaming as the master of every domain!"