Ye Feishuang saw Zong Shou’s apparent indifference, which made her frown deeply. She was about to offer more counsel when Zong Yuan, from his side, already shook his head and spoke: "The Lord Sovereign’s action seems rash, but there is method in his madness. Choosing to strike at the Second Holy Land’s Primitive Demon Sect is enough to awe the numerous other sects. Offending one is always better than offending all of them simultaneously."

There was a hint of admiration woven into his words, yet the gaze Zong Yuan directed toward him carried a trace of worry.

He didn't take the Primitive Demon Sect seriously; the Qian Tian Mountain possessed sufficient fighting strength to deal with them.

It was just that for Zong Shou, for securing this spot for him, to incur such a price made him uneasy.

Furthermore, his actions just now were somewhat inconsistent with Zong Shou’s past temperament. Attacking the Primitive Demon Sect disciples without hesitation, with such sharp methods—this too felt slightly strange to him.

Zong Shou paused as Zong Yuan stared, then his expression became thoughtful.

Had he become conceited? Overwhelmed by success? Lost his mind due to power?

Carefully reviewing his situation, Zong Shou shook his head slightly.

With the newly advanced Eighth Rank practitioner Han Xi and the Thunder Winged Dragon, coupled with these two paper figures, he could contend even against a peak Ninth Rank master.

And Qian Tian’s four thousand Blood Cloud Iron Cavalry were more than capable of matching any major sect.

Reflecting deeply, Zong Shou’s brow gradually furrowed.

Suddenly, he understood the reason: the other ‘him’ had returned.

Losing his father in childhood, his acceptance into the prestigious school was revoked. He began carving out a life in the marketplace at the age of ten. Just as he achieved minor success, it was suppressed and stolen, leading to his mother’s demise.

At twenty-one, he was forced to seek refuge in that library. It was upon encountering The Divine Emperor that his martial path began.

At that time, he cursed the heavens for their blindness and the earth for its indifference. Almost everyone, in his eyes, was deserving of death!

And within The Divine Emperor, after achieving some small measure of success, he left the library and constantly ventured beneath the Sea of Clouds.

He honed his swordsmanship and martial arts within the virtual realm of The Divine Emperor, while simultaneously beginning his real combat experiences beneath the Sea of Clouds.

Accidentally obtaining the Styx River Death-Portending Sword initiated a period of relentless slaughter.

Innumerable martial artists perished by his hand, just as vast numbers of fierce beasts fell before him.

That version of himself was not far removed from the ‘Hundred Thousand Blood Slaughter, Li Xieling.’

It was only after turning thirty, breaking through the Heavenly Rank, and methodically executing all the enemies responsible for his mother’s death, that he returned to the library to cultivate serenity.

But that original ‘him’ who had vanished seemed to be resurfacing to some extent. Zong Shou mused briefly and knew it was likely a lingering effect from the Star Gazing Tower.

The vision of an entire world being carved out had agitated his Dao Foundation.

Afterward, Zong Shou simply laughed out loud. There was no need for suppression; the other ‘self’ was still him, one facet of his true nature. He should just let it follow its course, why resist?

Returning to the library, he strove to contain his killing intent, but not because he regretted his past actions, rather because he understood that continued slaughter would bring him only harm, not benefit.

Now, since his core impulse deemed this ‘violent’ method effective, there was no harm in it.

So what if he acted tyrannically?

Ye Feishuang, unaware of the shift in Zong Shou’s thoughts, felt a surge of frustration seeing how neither of them seemed to take the Primordial Demon Sect seriously at all.

“I truly don't know whether to call you arrogant or simply conceited!”

After uttering the sarcasm, Ye Feishuang paused briefly before sending over an jade slip. “That place of inheritance is a maze formation. However, there are still discernible pathways. The memories my sister Feihan and I possess of this inheritance site might be useful to you two. There is one more crucial thing to remember: external power might be unusable within the inheritance grounds.”

Among their group, neither she nor Feihan would enter. Chu Xue was also unqualified and currently slumbering. As for Ruo Shui, she possessed no artifacts related to the Dragon Clan.

The two available spots thus fell only to Zong Yuan and Zong Shou.

Zong Shou accepted it without ceremony, plunging his spiritual sense into the jade slip. In mere moments, he had memorized everything and casually passed it back to Zong Yuan.

While they were speaking, Fang Ming had already finalized all thirty spots.

The atmosphere in the great hall immediately eased. Although many were displeased, they dared not voice it. Over a dozen sects each put forward a few candidates.

Most were Seventh Rank practitioners, but sects like the Tai Ling Sect and the Primitive Demon Sect had managed to secure one or two Spirit Martial Venerables at the Ninth Rank.

It seemed Fang Ming himself was preparing to enter. He must have used some secret technique to suppress his aura down to the Seventh Rank level.

The entrance to the inheritance site was through an immense stone door deep within the hall.

Zong Shou followed the others, filing in one by one. First, a surge of blinding light forced him to close his eyes.

When his vision stabilized, he found himself standing in an open wilderness.

Only then did he realize what Ye Feishuang meant about not being able to rely on external power.

The two Puppet Spirit Descent Talismans were suppressed by an alien force the moment he entered. Forced to recall them, they reverted to mere paper talismans and returned to his hand.

Han Xi also seemed deeply uncomfortable, proactively burrowing into the spirit beast pouch at his waist to hide.

The Thunder Winged Dragon burrowed deep into his arm, falling silent.

However, this ‘external power’ probably referred only to power above the Seventh Rank.

Xiao Jin, wrapped around his left hand, remained completely unaffected.

Glancing around, he saw several other individuals scattered across this seemingly endless wilderness.

They regarded each other warily. The cultivators from the Primitive Demon Sect, in particular, fixed dangerous gazes upon Zong Shou.

As for Zong Yuan, there was no sign of him. Their teleportation points were clearly not synchronized.

Zong Shou let out a cold, dry laugh, gripping the sword at his waist, and met the stare of the two with detached calm.

Those two Primitive Demon Sect cultivators finally seemed to recall that Zong Shou’s strength wasn't solely dependent on his two Ninth Rank paper figures; his own swordsmanship had already achieved sentience.

With a slight snort of dissatisfaction, they turned and departed.

Watching the two disappear, Zong Shou shook his head slightly, then casually chose another direction to walk.

According to Ye Feishuang, the wasteland was essentially an illusion that could not be broken unless one abandoned the Immortal Dao. Regardless of which direction he chose, the outcome would be the same. When the destined opportunity arrived, rewards would naturally appear. The treasures within the inheritance site would present themselves before his eyes automatically.

Indeed, after a moment, the scenery before Zong Shou abruptly shifted to deep blue. Where there had been barren earth moments before, he now stood upon a vast blue lake. A small bridge spanned toward a spot in the center of the lake.

The shadow of an Eighth Rank purple dragon circled above the stone bridge. It was actually a Thunder Dragon, letting out a roar aimed at Zong Shou.

Zong Shou ignored it, his gaze fixed on the center of the lake, where three crystal fragments, smaller than a fingernail, floated suspended in the air above the small islet.

“Not bad luck at all!”

With a slight smile, Zong Shou stepped forward onto the stone bridge.

In reality, there was neither water nor a bridge here; it was merely an illusion. But at this moment, why should that matter?

The purple dragon shadow seemed displeased by the intrusion into its domain. With a furious roar, it suddenly charged downward.

Zong Shou’s gaze flickered, and the Duan Qiu Sword held in his hand instantly transformed into a streak of silver light that shot out!

With no one else around, there was no need to hold back. This sword strike was at full power!

Platinum Dragon Sword! Sever!

The sword light flared, resembling a true platinum giant dragon soaring aloft. Zong Shou’s aura felt even purer than that of a true high-tier Dragon race member!

As the dragon shadow roared, the purple dragon shadow before Zong Shou was cleaved into two segments by the sword light!

Then the entire body of the dragon shadow disintegrated, devoid of flesh and blood, collapsing into the void.

Zong Shou then looked down at the sword in his hand.

It seemed his swordsmanship had advanced again. Even the True Dragon Sword Intent, which he hadn't focused on as much, had reached the Sword Soul level...

And it had gained something new, an aura previously absent. It spontaneously merged into his Dao of the Sword.

Was that the Primal Beginning?

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, then sheathed the Duan Qiu Sword.

He stepped onto the small islet and collected all the crystal shards. These were not illusory projections but real objects.

A genuine smile spread across Zong Shou’s face. He touched the small crystal shards to his right arm, and they integrated with it.

Though they appeared to be absorbed into his skin, they were actually being swallowed by the Thunder Winged Dragon internally.

These crystals were the inheritance bloodline divine abilities of the Thunder Winged Dragon lineage, along with methods for utilizing a portion of the Thunder elemental power.

According to Ye Feishuang, this was the hardest thing to find, relying purely on luck. Once found, it could significantly boost the potential combat strength of the Thunder Winged Dragon!

In the very next instant, the blue space began to collapse. Fragments fell and then vanished.

He reverted to the previous wasteland. No one was nearby, but in the sky, a massive Golden-Winged Roc suddenly dove downward toward him.

Just half a breath ago, it had been soaring ten thousand feet above, but now it was terrifyingly close.

The inheritance site of the Dragon Clan was fundamentally designed to test and pass on the bloodline to its younger members.

The Divine Beast Golden-Winged Roc was the sworn enemy of the Dragon Clan.

For every being in existence, there is a power that restrains it. This Roc possessed an innate restraint over all creatures of the Dragon lineage!

The Thunder Dragon hidden in his right arm even betrayed a subtle hint of fear.

Zong Shou didn't hesitate and unleashed another sword strike. White light and purple energy intertwined, slashing across the heavens!

Nine-Nine Shadowless! Break!

The Platinum Dragon Sword and the Thunder Dragon Sword instantly overlapped. Outside the white light flashed myriad arcs of lightning as he forcibly severed the Roc’s massive claws.

The sword light did not stop, piercing directly into the Golden-Winged Roc’s abdomen, tearing the divine beast completely to shreds!

Zong Shou then uttered a soft sound of surprise, “Oh,” and swiftly reached out to grasp something. He pulled out a bloody heart, which Zong Shou held firmly in his hand.

The Golden-Winged Roc had vanished, but only this heart remained preserved.