Lu Xichen brought his longsword down, and as that crimson sword light erupted, the very laws of heaven and earth, all the principles of the universe, began to collapse and scatter. The power of destruction and the Sky-Burning Flame whipped up a monstrous storm, raging across the void.

If the world was like this, what hope did Zong Shou and the Azure-Fire Mystic Turtle have— That Black Tortoise Primordial Aura only resisted for a fleeting instant before it was cleanly sliced through. Jing Yin’s face was deathly pale, yet she managed to remain standing beneath that sword pressure.

Instinctively, she closed her eyes, preparing for death. With such might displayed, it seemed utterly impossible for the two people and the beast to have any chance of survival— Zong Shou didn't even spare a glance, his right hand reaching out, resembling the gesture of plucking a flower.

It pointed directly at the sharp edge of the flaming sword energy, and at that very instant. A pair of black, fiery wings suddenly unfurled behind him, spanning a full six thousand zhang, sweeping outward gently.

Then came a soft pop, and where the finger projection and sword aura collided, another tempest brewed. That crimson Sky-Burning Sword Qi inexplicably disintegrated.

Worse still, the backlash of the aura surged behind Lu Xichen, amidst the fire clouds. Dozens of Sixth-Tier Crimson Flame Cavalry instantly burst, their flesh exploding into a bloody pulp.

Hundreds more coughed up blood, suffering injuries ranging from minor to moderate. Lu Xichen himself was flung back a thousand zhang before managing to stabilize, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Just now, he couldn't quite grasp why, but he felt the vital energy channels behind him suddenly sever, showing signs of collapse. The entire cavalry formation seemed on the verge of disintegration.

Then, as Zong Shou’s finger struck, it used hardly any discernible force, yet effortlessly shattered his sword momentum. Part of the attack was even redirected for his own use, counter-attacking him.

Extending his divine sense, Lu Xichen grasped the reason. A thousand zhang away, more than thirty other knights, clad in crimson armor and riding four-eyed beasts, watched the scene with bewildered confusion.

Lu Xichen’s gaze shifted—first to fury, then hardening into grim calculation. He knew these men must have been forcefully relocated from the formation by Zong Shou using some inscrutable art.

This disrupted the internal energy flow of the cavalry, preventing them from gathering strength, thereby creating an opening that this man exploited. He had been defeated by his own strength being turned against him.

“A trick of the phantom realm! Nothing more—” With a cold snort, the crimson figure circled down once more.

Over ten thousand armored riders galloped through the air, instantly reforming their ranks. From a distance, they resembled a massive, undulating serpent of fire weaving through the sky.

Like a viper striking, a streak of crimson sword light slashed out instantly. The sword momentum was even sharper, displaying even greater dominance.

However, the crimson flames were subtly reined in, locking down the surrounding space. Zong Shou watched, unable to help but shake his head slightly.

Only he could perceive the seventy-two Star Dao Seeds densely packed around his body. Previously constrained by the number of Earthly Fiends, he could only displace bodies.

Now, any object within the heavens and earth, as long as it was within his reach and touched by his ‘stars,’ could have its space directly converted. This Lu Xichen—was he simply foolish, or overly arrogant?

He didn't even understand the technique Zong Shou employed, yet he charged in blindly again. Did he truly believe his Three Thousand Star Falls was merely an ordinary spatial translocation technique?

With a mere thought, dozens of stars flashed across the void. Several more Crimson Flame Cavalry were yanked clear of the formation.

The flame suppressing space became utterly useless. The entire cavalry formation again suffered blockages and fractures in its energy flow, and the crimson sword light, at its peak intensity, grew murky and unstable.

Zong Shou summoned his Nameless Sword and casually sliced, shattering this attack that could have contended with a Divine-tier cultivator. As the gusting winds dispersed, the sword shadows recoiled.

The fire cloud was instantly blasted away, and another hundred Crimson Flame Cavalry were violently shaken to death by the scattered power of the aura. Their vital energy and essence were directly transformed into streaks of spiritual light, forcibly absorbed by the Nameless Sword.

This fed back into Zong Shou, causing his sword energy to surge! It multiplied into thousands of beams that swept horizontally, causing countless more Crimson Flame Cavalry corpses to fall sequentially from the sky.

The blood energy coalesced, gathering upon the body of the Nameless Sword, its fierce might vast and boundless! Only then did the remaining Crimson Flame Knights finally recall the concept of ‘fleeing.’ The strict cavalry formation immediately scattered like startled birds and beasts, and the imposing, roaring cloud of fire vanished without a trace.

Lu Xichen was even more wretched. He had taken the heaviest damage from that last exchange.

Subsequently, the majority of the countless blood-colored sword lights pursuing him trailed directly behind him. Though he managed to narrowly evade the worst, his body was still carved with several ghastly wounds.

While these were only light injuries and not fatal, Lu Xichen’s face contorted with shame. This man before him was clearly suffering from severe internal injuries.

He could only utilize less than a tenth of his cultivation. During their prior engagement, he could clearly sense from the sword's force that the man was weak and struggling to maintain his power.

Yet, at this very moment, why was he being forced into such a desperate situation? At this point, he was ninety percent certain that this man was Zong Shou— Was this the good-for-nothing rumored in the Lu family to possess the Dual Meridian Physique?

If so, what did that make Lu Xichen? It was said that before this person’s birth, several Elder Sovereigns had sealed away the majority of his bloodline belonging to the main branch of the Lu family.

But even so, was he still far superior to Lu Xichen? He looked down, observing Zong Shou’s expression: calm, only a slight smile playing on his lips.

It seemed to mock him: Even using just ten percent of my power, I can still toy with you as if you were in the palm of my hand! Lu Xichen, you mongrel from a collateral branch, what are you?

Recalling the harsh words he had spoken to this man just days prior, Lu Xichen’s complexion instantly flushed purple. At that moment, he only regretted not having slain Zong Shou then, to avoid this humiliation today— The ten thousand Crimson Flame Cavalry had suffered a massive loss of ten percent across two engagements.

Afterward, he had no idea how he would explain this to the Family Lord— Looking at Jing Yin standing beside the man, staring around blankly, Lu Xichen’s face twisted into an even fiercer grimace. He took a deep breath, the veins on his arms bulging.

“Impressive technique! However, today, without my military implements, I, Lu Xichen, can still slay you here!” With that cold snort, countless tiny flying swords surged out from his sleeves.

If he could choose, he would never engage this man in a fight; avoiding him entirely would be preferable. But today, for reasons both public and private, retreat was impossible!

Since he could not retreat, he could only fight to the death! Lu Xichen’s entire form plummeted once more, virtually merging with the sword in his hand.

The sword energy surged like a rainbow, and the numerous small flying swords gradually joined it, arrayed in tight ranks. Man and sword united, the momentum was razor-sharp.

Though lacking the preceding dominance and the True Meaning of Sky-Burning, the power was more concentrated and unified. Only then did a flicker of admiration enter Zong Shou’s eyes.

The military implements were not useless, but unless facing someone whose control over spatial laws was not significantly inferior to his own, they were essentially meaningless—or worse than useless. However, this Lu Xichen clearly lacked such mastery.

With this strike, though the man relied only on his own power, abandoning the momentum of the massive army, it was slightly more troublesome for Zong Shou to handle than the previous two attacks; it required a bit more effort. But only just a bit— His gaze sharpened.

Zong Shou’s aura abruptly turned icy and stern. He truly found prolonged entanglement with such minor figures tedious.

Having already wasted nearly two breaths of time because of this man, he was growing impatient. —It is best to end this quickly!

The killing intent in his chest grew increasingly urgent. He desired only to annihilate everyone on this mountain in the next moment!

Zheng! As the sword body resonated, a gigantic Coiling Dragon materialized behind Zong Shou.

Crimson sword light erupted, winding like a dragon. The absorbed vital energy and soul power of the thousand-plus Sixth-Tier Dao Soldiers exploded forth in that instant!

The Azure Spirit Fire burned within his Sea of Consciousness, like surging floodwaters rushing into a parched riverbed, irrigating the plains. This caused Zong Shou’s aura to multiply several times over in that instant!

Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Overlap! Nine types of True Dragon Sword Arts stacked instantly.

In the next blink, the sky was filled with flashing sword shadows. Attacking offense with offense, showing even greater strength and dominance!

Forcing those sheets of five-inch fine swords to violently repel and shatter! Beam after beam of sword light sliced through, and in a flash, Lu Xichen was left isolated and alone.

Forced into a desperate defense, he could only watch helplessly as his five-inch fine swords were chopped down, scattered, and pulverized! The sword momentum was like a dragon, or like the Milky Way rolling backward, endless, and also like a furious storm, leaving one disoriented and unable to react.

He felt as though he were a woman being stripped, her clothes being peeled away piece by piece. The sword formation dissolved, all weapons were damaged or flung off, and even the sword in his hand could not be spared.

With a casual slice from the bloody sword light, it was shortened by a significant length. With every collision, clusters of spiraling sword energy were driven into his body, causing his true essence to dissipate and the hundred meridians of his body to become utterly chaotic.

His protective aura was also powerless to resist the assault of the sword light. If this continued, he would die!

Lu Xichen felt only despair, wanting to struggle desperately for life, yet finding himself utterly incapable. He was like a fish caught in a net; every struggle was futile.

At this moment, his life or death rested entirely on Zong Shou’s whim, and he absolutely could not imagine any possibility of the man showing mercy. The Azure-Fire Mystic Turtle, however, let out a boisterous, contemptuous laugh.

It knew perfectly well that its master, if he so chose, could collapse this entire mountain with a single strike. Not a single person on the mountain would escape!

All would be crushed and killed! Yet, for some reason, despite having an opportunity to step into the Divine Realm, the master refused to take that step.

And today, although the matter could be concluded with one blow, the master insisted on making things so complicated and drawn out. Still, this human before them was truly idiotic for daring to provoke its master— Too lazy to watch, the Azure-Fire Mystic Turtle swung its giant shield again, smashing it forward violently.

Another large expanse of spiritual inscription restrictions was forcibly shattered by its immense strength, causing the entire mountain body to shake once more. This strike had touched the core of the grand formation— Just then, a cold shout echoed down from the mountain peak: “How dare you be presumptuous!” A green spectral light descended with the voice.

A mere glance at it was enough to send one’s thoughts into chaos. The Azure-Fire Mystic Turtle merely curled its lip disdainfully.

Here was another fellow who didn't know the meaning of death. The truly presumptuous one, who knew who that was.

On the turtle's back, Zong Shou showed no sign of stopping his attack. The sword light shifted, and amidst the shroud of green light and the distorted spacetime, he made a light swipe, directly severing Lu Xichen’s head from his shoulders.