Xiang Yutian stood proud on the rooftop, hands clasped behind his back, spine perfectly straight, his head tilted slightly upward, adopting an air of looking down on everyone.

Ye Wen took in the man’s posture and immediately knew this was another self-important fellow. Though he didn't yet know his actual skill, that arrogant demeanor alone could certainly be exploited. Didn't that conceited idiot Sima Xiangzhen fall prey precisely because he acted like the superior master from the start, forcing Ye Wen, who was slightly weaker, into the defensive until his death?

"Eastern Protector Xiang Yutian?"

"Precisely!"

The Demonic Cult had Four Protectors, one for each cardinal direction, but who exactly they were, what skills they practiced, and just how strong they were—Ye Wen knew none of it. He hadn't expected to run into one today. Judging purely by this theatrical stance, this man must either be one of the cult’s top experts, or the Demonic Cult had gathered a group of complete fools unable to gauge their own standing.

"Does the technique you practice perhaps involve the legendary Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Art?" Although Ye Wen kept telling himself this wasn't the Evil Emperor, when it came to the discussion of skills, he couldn't help but blurt out the question.

Xiang Yutian looked slightly taken aback: "What I cultivate is no Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Art, but the Rising Sun Ascension Art I comprehended myself!"

"Rising Sun Ascension?" Hearing this, Ye Wen smiled slightly and spoke: "Two years ago, this Ye created a technique called the Rising Sun One Qi Sword. It is an opportune moment to experience your Rising Sun Ascension Art!"

Xiang Yutian responded with blatant disdain: "A mere sword technique, what's so rare about that!"

This Demonic Cult Protector always believed in overwhelming opponents with sheer force; once his internal cultivation was high enough, no move would be unbreakable, and any subtle or exquisite technique would seem like mere parlor tricks. Therefore, his Rising Sun Ascension Art was not only domineering and powerful but also had the effect of tempering the body. As he circulated his power, his entire body faintly emitted a soft sunlight, much like a slowly ascending sun—growing brighter and brighter, while a scorching aura slowly radiated outwards.

Ye Wen’s eyes sharpened instantly upon seeing this. In a single glance, he discerned the nature of the technique: Rising Sun Ascension, gentle at first, slowly manifesting the might of the sun.

This meant the technique was a slow burn. Xiang Yutian activating his power so quickly after only a few words indicated he wanted to bring his cultivation to its peak as soon as possible for a finishing blow.

With that realization, Ye Wen hesitated no longer. He raised his palm, and a purple lotus blossomed upon it. He prepared to launch a Heavenly Heart Lotus Ring strike, but before he could act, a sharp cry came from his junior sister: "Senior Brother, leave this one to me!" Before the sound faded, a streak of verdant cyan sword energy sliced past Ye Wen, aimed directly at Xiang Yutian's heart.

Xiang Yutian glanced up at the cyan energy streak and chuckled: "This Protector will not hold back just because you are a woman. Since you engage me, you must be prepared to die!"

Then, without dodging or blocking, he merely waved his hand, and the cyan sword energy was slapped away into nothingness by his palm strike.

Ning Rushue, however, seemed unfazed, as if she had anticipated that this man wouldn't be defeated so easily. She swept past Ye Wen and executed the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web Posture. Numerous apparitions of Ning Rushue flashed across the air, surrounding Xiang Yutian. Then, sword energies erupted continuously from the left and right—aiming for his temples, his throat, piercing toward his back, or striking vital points like his waist and dantian.

But Xiang Yutian ignored the storm of sword energy, sneering coldly: "Petty tricks! You dare show off?" He shook both hands, and astonishingly, slapped out a flurry of palm shadows. From afar, Ye Wen saw it as if Xiang Yutian had suddenly grown a dozen arms striking simultaneously. Every single sword energy shot from Ning Rushue was dispersed by Xiang Yutian's palm force.

"Is that all you have?"

Before the words fully left his mouth, Xiang Yutian suddenly saw a cyan lotus flower appear before him. This lotus spun relentlessly, rushing toward his chest. However, in the process of attacking and retracting moves, it exposed minute openings before him, precisely where the beautiful cyan lotus managed to slip through.

Given Xiang Yutian’s cultivation, he naturally sensed the extreme danger emanating from the cyan lotus and immediately focused his gaze, preparing to destroy it. But Ning Rushue would not grant him his wish. Before Xiang Yutian could move, she stirred her mind, and the lotus exploded instantly. The Green Lotus Sword Qi contained within erupted outward, and with every burst of sword energy came a melodious sound. Countless streams of energy shot forth sequentially, like the performance of a beautiful piece of music—but this music was the soul-destroying sound capable of claiming life.

Having gained the advantage, Ning Rushue turned gracefully and floated back to Ye Wen’s side. To her astonishment, the moment her feet touched the ground and the sword energy dissipated, Xiang Yutian was still standing in the exact same spot, completely unharmed—not even a single roof tile beneath his feet was broken.

This sight shocked Ning Rushue immensely, and Ye Wen's pupils contracted as well: "This man's power is terrifyingly strong? That Green Lotus Sword Song my junior sister just unleashed, even Sima Xiangzhen might not have taken it so easily. Yet Xiang Yutian stands unscathed. He truly lives up to his name..."

Xiang Yutian slightly twisted his neck, producing a soft kar-rak sound, then laughed aloud: "This young lady's skill is truly fascinating; not only is it pleasant to the ear, but it also feels like a full-body massage, bringing me comfort! Why not leave that shabby Mount Shu Sect and become my personal maidservant!"

Hearing this, Ning Rushue’s face flushed alternately red and pale with rage. Not only had her proud ultimate technique failed to harm the man, but he had treated it as a full-body massage! It felt like a slap across her face. Moreover, he spoke of making her his maidservant next!

"Hmph! Shameless scoundrel, I'll show you my true skill!"

Xiang Yutian’s expression became curious at her words: "I'd like to see what other tricks you have, girl!"

Ning Rushue suddenly flashed with cyan light all over her body, erupting with infinite streams of cyan sword energy. These energies continuously converged between her slightly separated palms, growing smaller and smaller, faintly coalescing into a single verdant cyan longsword.

Ye Wen knew what move she was attempting the moment she spoke, but Ning Rushue hadn't practiced that move for long, and her current cultivation level couldn't utilize it perfectly. Seeing her concentrate her focus, he immediately called out: "Junior Sister, you haven't mastered that move yet; don't use it recklessly!"

Ning Rushue paid no mind, concentrating her power. Soon, the cyan longsword between her palms took shape, indistinguishable from a real sword, bearing a strong resemblance to Ye Wen's purple sword—except one was cyan and the other purple. The technique she was using was the Sword Control Art Ye Wen himself had created. Ye Wen could freely manipulate his purple sword by relying on the feedback loop between his external sword Qi and his surrounding Purple Heavenly Net Aura. Ning Rushue was slightly different; her true qi control was naturally exquisite. After her power grew formidable, she discovered that even with an external sword, the Qi could resonate with the internal sword energy, theoretically allowing her to achieve sword control, though her range was much smaller than Ye Wen's.

Furthermore, because Ning Rushue's power was less profound than Ye Wen's, forming a cyan sword would drain most of her internal power, and she lacked a recovery technique as potent as the Innate Purple Qi. Thus, Ning Rushue generally avoided this move. But today, provoked by Xiang Yutian, she disregarded everything and unleashed this sword control technique, determined to kill the man with this ultimate skill.

The moment the cyan sword was formed, Ning Rushue seemed slightly winded—a result of the massive power expenditure. Fortunately, this Sword Control Art mainly consumed energy during the condensation phase; its subsequent manipulation was less taxing. Its true power depended entirely on how much cultivation was invested during the initial Qi sword formation.

With the cyan sword formed, Ning Rushue raised her eyes but said nothing. Without any movement of her hands, the cyan sword seemed to understand its master's intent, shooting out of her hand with a swoosh straight toward Xiang Yutian.

Xiang Yutian had arrived late and had never witnessed Ye Wen’s fight against Sima Xiangzhen, so he was unaware of this particular skill. Seeing Ning Rushue generate a sword from pure true qi and then condense infinite sword energies into a Qi sword identical to a real blade, he showed a flicker of admiration: "What a marvelously novel technique!" However, he didn't take it too seriously, assuming it was just a variation of normal Qi projection, albeit with a unique external shape and much greater speed and power.

He slightly shifted his body, letting the sword pass his trajectory. He was powerful, not an idiot. This cyan sword, formed from countless streams of energy, held undeniable power. Knowing his opponent was formidable, letting it stab him deliberately would not make him brave, but foolish.

Xiang Yutian assumed that once he evaded it, this cyan sword, which consumed so much energy to form, would simply fly past. "Hmph, what's the use of creating such a thing..." But halfway through his thought, he saw the cyan sword suddenly swerve in mid-air, adjust its angle slightly, and race back toward him.

"Oh? So this thing can be controlled at will? That does make things a bit more interesting!"

He slapped his waist, then drew out a soft whip. With a swish, the whip instantly stiffened as if it were a short club, which he brought down directly onto the cyan sword.

Ning Rushue’s cyan sword was not as solid or formidable as Ye Wen's purple sword. She could only employ this skill because condensing her various sword energies was more convenient for her. Thus, the cyan sword dared not be struck easily. Seeing the club-like whip swing toward it, the cyan sword swiftly spun in the air, deftly dodging the blow, while its tip twisted and aimed again for Xiang Yutian's lower back.

"Indeed interesting!"

Just as he prepared to continue 'playing' with the cyan sword, Xiang Yutian abruptly sensed a sharp, tearing sound from behind his head. Relying purely on instinct, he knew the incoming sword energy was even more potent than the cyan sword.

He swept the soft whip, which he was using as a club, to first force the cyan sword to evade once more, and simultaneously, he turned his body. The whip directly struck a purple longsword.

"Another purple one?"

While Xiang Yutian was registering his surprise, the purple sword he struck spun in mid-air, its blade sweeping upward, revealing the shimmering purple hilt and the purple lotus emblem upon it.

Before Xiang Yutian could react, the lotus emblem on the hilt, utilizing the momentum of the purple sword's swing and flick, detached itself. It drifted down, seeming weightless, towards Xiang Yutian’s face.

Though it appeared weak, he dared not underestimate it. He clearly remembered the effect of Ning Rushue’s cyan lotus suddenly exploding. Who knew if this purple lotus wouldn't do the same?

He instantly circulated his power throughout his body to guard against an explosion of sword energy, but unexpectedly, the purple lotus did not detonate. Instead, as it spun, it suddenly shifted just as it was about to touch Xiang Yutian, landing squarely on his shoulder. Only then did the restrained force erupt. Xiang Yutian felt a scorching surge of energy punch through his protective aura and directly into his meridians. Fortunately, the nature of his own cultivation technique was intensely fiery, allowing him to completely neutralize this small burst of heat.

Seeing Xiang Yutian stagger slightly after being hit by his purple lotus, his footing momentarily unsteady, Ye Wen shouted: "The villain is powerful! Junior Sister, let us vanquish this scoundrel together!"

This was no time for discussing martial courtesy or engaging in single combat. Ye Wen had realized how overwhelmingly strong this man was after Ning Rushue exchanged a few moves; he was far tougher than Mu Chunqiu, whom Hua Yi had recently killed, and even Sima Xiangzhen was inferior to him.

"This man truly lives up to his title as a Demonic Cult Protector..."

Protector. The 'Protect' aspect was demonstrated flawlessly by Xiang Yutian. What did he protect? Nothing more than overwhelming martial power. Although Ning Rushue wasn't quite a top-tier master, her unique technique gave her considerable combat strength; ordinary opponents couldn't withstand those few moves so easily.

This Xiang Yutian dissolved those killing moves with mere gestures. Seeing this, Ye Wen knew he had encountered a genuinely formidable foe. His vigilance spiking, he stopped letting his junior sister fight alone. He immediately circulated his power, summoned his purple sword, and joined forces with his junior sister in a coordinated assault.

Only the three of them remained on the main hall's roof because the Demonic Cult had received reinforcements, and Hua Yi had already leaped down to assist the Shushan disciples in the fray below.

Initially, the Shushan Sect had suffered minor losses dealing with the first wave of attackers. Of the hundred or so outer disciples, only about twenty had died, and seven or eight were injured, all minor wounds that didn't impede their fighting capability.

Just as they were about to wipe out the invading Demonic Cult members, another group suddenly appeared. The numerous outer disciples of Shushan lacked experience and were momentarily stunned. The invading cultists seized the opportunity, charging forward, shattering several formations, and managing to kill a few Shushan disciples in the chaos.

Seeing the battle below turn critical, Ye Wen hastily ordered Hua Yi down to handle things temporarily. With her martial prowess, killing a few stragglers was no issue, and even if she met a slightly stronger opponent, she could defend herself adequately while tying up one enemy combatant, preventing the ordinary Shushan disciples from being slaughtered like weeds.

He, meanwhile, joined Ning Rushue in confronting Xiang Yutian. Ye Wen suddenly leaped forward, flipped his palm, and manifested a purple lotus. That wasn't all; the hand holding the purple lotus retracted and then released, striking out another purple dragon head. This purple dragon opened its massive jaws, clamping down on a purple lotus, and hurtled towards Xiang Yutian.

Ye Wen had first used the Heavenly Heart Lotus Ring, immediately followed by a strike from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. The two energy blasts connected, the latter pushing the former directly toward Xiang Yutian's heart. If this strike landed solidly, Ye Wen was certain that even if Xiang Yutian’s protective aura was truly peerless, he would still vomit blood.

Xiang Yutian recognized the danger. Seeing Ye Wen launch two streams of energy with this one palm strike, he stamped his foot, widened his stance, and his long robe suddenly billowed. His entire body’s heat intensified, and he struck out simultaneously with both fists.

A deafening roar erupted as the four streams of energy collided and exploded. Xiang Yutian and Ye Wen were both driven backward several steps. However, Ye Wen stabilized after only a few steps, while Xiang Yutian was forced to somersault in motion, using his hand to brace himself, and then leaping violently into the air, successfully evading the two flying swords from Ye Wen and Ning Rushue.

"Good! This kind of fighting is much more interesting!"

Suspended in mid-air, Xiang Yutian burst into hearty laughter. His body shook again, and the long robe he wore shattered inch by inch. The fragments of the robe, the moment they left his body, were instantly incinerated into ash by the scorching energy surrounding him.

"It has been a long time since this Protector went all out. Sect Leader Ye and your respected junior sister can be proud!"

His words were incredibly arrogant, yet the sudden wave of heat Ye Wen experienced made his breath hitch. Seeing Xiang Yutian leap into the air and blast his clothing apart to reveal his powerfully built torso, Ye Wen muttered under his breath: "Hmph, think you’re Kenshiro? Playing the shirt-ripping trope!"

But looking up again, Ye Wen had a strange illusion of seeing two suns. From that single glance, Ye Wen knew Xiang Yutian’s power had been pushed to its absolute limit. His Rising Sun Ascension Art was now being wielded at its peak. Whether Ye Wen could defeat this man depended entirely on whether he could withstand his final move.

As for why he had to withstand it? Did that even need asking? Ye Wen would never allow Ning Rushue to take the brunt of such a powerful attack. He still had the Innate Purple Qi protecting him, whereas Ning Rushue’s sword energy lacked that specific property. Furthermore, Ye Wen had no habit of letting women take the bullet for him.

Seeing Xiang Yutian slowly descending while continuing to drive his power to its maximum, Ye Wen also circulated his own internal power to its peak. Instead of employing any strong, direct move, he summoned the purple sword back to his side and pushed his Innate Purple Qi to its limit. Feeling the purple energy surging uncontrollably within him, Ye Wen actually condensed another purple Qi sword beside him.

Ning Rushue gasped the moment she saw Ye Wen’s actions: "Senior Brother, you haven't perfected that move yet!"

Ye Wen grimaced: "There's no time to worry about that now. If we cannot execute this move, our Mount Shu Sect will be finished today!"

Ning Rushue knew Ye Wen was correct, but he had told her long ago that the reason he hadn't mastered the technique wasn't a lack of understanding but that his current cultivation was vastly insufficient. Forcing its use would only injure his body.

If things went wrong, using this move might cause his internal energy to deplete instantly, leading to his immediate death.

Realizing this, Ning Rushue became anxious. She raised her hand, intending to launch a sneak attack with her green sword on Xiang Yutian—even a small drain on his power would be helpful. However, as the green sword approached, Xiang Yutian completely ignored it, simply swinging both fists. The resulting torrent of powerful fist wind acted like a thousand-pound hammer, smashing the green sword into fragments.

Seeing this, Ye Wen commanded: "Junior Sister, stop wasting your energy! Quickly channel your remaining sword qi into my body to help me complete this move!"

Ning Rushue's expression changed: "Doing this is far too dangerous!"

"We can't afford to hesitate any longer, hurry!"

Seeing Ye Wen’s resolve, Ning Rushue had no choice but to leap behind him. She clapped both palms together, sending all the remaining sword qi in her body through her hands and into Ye Wen. Since she had only engaged Xiang Yutian with her green sword earlier, she had managed to recover somewhat. Now, as her sword qi flowed into Ye Wen, it synergized with his Innate Purple Qi, suddenly unleashing a formidable power.

Ye Wen had initially been condensing a third purple sword. With Ning Rushue’s assistance, the initial condensation step was skipped entirely. He used Ning Rushue’s cyan sword qi as the catalyst, continuously supplementing it with his own Innate Purple Qi, finally forming more and more Qi swords around him.

In an instant, circles of Qi swords materialized around Ye Wen. Within these purple Qi swords, flashes of cyan light could faintly be seen, revealing them to be products of their combined power.

Ye Wen glanced left and right. He saw over a dozen Qi swords had formed. He inwardly sneered: "Xiang Yutian, let's see how you block my Ten Thousand Sword Secret!" With a thought, these numerous Qi swords suddenly soared into the air, rushing straight towards Xiang Yutian...