[Nourishing Life Master].
When [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] stepped into this place and looked around, he saw the vast pagoda and countless Dao Fruit books, yet not a single human figure was visible.
They are all waiting for me.
[Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] knew clearly in his heart that before he obtained the Supreme Dao Fruit books, no one would likely appear here to waste time.
After all, if they appear at this time, they are giving me a chance to defeat them one by one in advance. I could very well eliminate them first and then go fetch the Supreme Dao Fruit books. So they want to wait for me to fetch the Supreme Dao Fruit books first, get injured because of it, and then show themselves to snatch the spoils of war...
It was truly too simple.
However, precisely because it was simple, there was no way to avoid it—unless he could give up the opportunity of [Nourishing Life Master]. But how could he give it up?
That was his Dao Path.
Cultivating the Dao, cultivating the Dao... having cultivated for a lifetime, to choose to give up at the final step? That would be worse than death. Even if he died, he wouldn't be resigned.
Risk it all. If he lost, he could still say his skills were inferior.
Dare not risk it, and if he died, he would truly deserve it.
With this thought, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] instantly cast aside all hesitation. His figure floated up slowly, robes fluttering, and he pressed his hand on the sword hilt at his waist.
Clang clang!
A crisp sword hum resounded through [Nourishing Life Master]. The magnificent sword light that had traversed the [Star Palace] earlier appeared once again. [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao]'s stature climbed rapidly at this moment, breaking through the barrier of a Great Perfected Lord almost instantly. At the same time, he shattered the invisible barrier above the sixth floor of the pagoda with a single slash.
In an instant, the sky widened and the seas opened.
[Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] looked around. Vast spiritual qi rushed toward his face. Only then did he discover that there were only a scant four bookshelves standing above the sixth floor.
Every bookshelf had a hanging tag marking it.
[Immortal Nexus], [Celestial Court].
[Star Palace], [Mysterious Wall].
Although there were only four bookshelves, the dao resonance far surpassed that below the sixth floor. Countless complex array patterns and talismans flowed within them as if breathing.
Truly a good place... it ought to belong to my Sword Pavilion.
[Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] dared not delay. He immediately arrived in front of the bookshelf marked [Immortal Nexus]. But as soon as he got close, his brows furrowed slightly. As he approached the bookshelf, an invisible pressure struck, actually making his Great Perfected Lord stature totter!
If a pristine Great Perfected Lord were here, it naturally wouldn't matter.
But he wasn't. He was a cripple who had only slashed once. At this moment, he relied entirely on sword light to maintain his stature, and now the sword light was dissipating faster than imagined!
However, the arrow was on the string and had to be released.
Choosing to leave at this time would be equivalent to slashing once in vain. That would be a true explosive loss. Thus, he immediately made a decision.
Rumble!
[Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] drew his sword again. Two more streaks of sword light slashed out, stabilizing his stature while simultaneously bringing him to the side of the bookshelf in one fell swoop.
The sword light swept across, causing the array talismans on the bookshelf to scatter rapidly.
Soon, a full five books entered his vision: [Heavenly Fire], [Sword Edge Gold], [City Rampart Earth], [Vast Ocean Water], [Great Forest Wood]!
The Five Elements Supreme Dao Fruits!
Without the slightest hesitation, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] took them all in one go, stuffing all five Supreme Dao Fruit books into his bosom.
Actually, out of safety considerations, he could have just taken [Heavenly Fire]. A single Supreme Dao Fruit book would be useless to some Perfected Lords whose ambitions lay elsewhere. Under such circumstances, he might have been able to dissuade some people who wanted to besiege him. But in the end, he chose to take them all.
This wasn't greed; on the contrary, it was lucidity.
[Heavenly Fire] and [Sword Edge Gold] went without saying; they were things he was determined to get. [Vast Ocean Water] could be used to win over the Old Dragon Lord.
[Great Forest Wood] could dissuade [Sky-Shrouding].
If he had to say, only [City Rampart Earth] could be left behind, but the Pure Land would definitely be happy to accept such a heavy gift, so taking it wasn't a loss.
Besides that, there was another point:
With the Five Elements complete, it will be of great help for Void Attainment as well. If I can gather the Dao comprehension of the Five Elements Supreme Dao Fruits, perhaps I can also attempt Void Attainment in the future...
Amidst his thoughts, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] had already retreated from the upper three floors.
At the same time, the sword light on his body began to dim gradually. His stature fell accordingly, and before long, he returned to the level of the Middle Stage of Golden Core.
"Hmph..."
Accompanied by a cold snort, figures suddenly appeared in the originally empty pagoda, forming a ring and trapping him firmly in the center.
Lu Yang, [Sky-Shrouding].
Perfected Lord Feixue, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian.
Old Dragon Lord, Mu Changsheng.
Except for Mu Changsheng who was an Unorthodox cultivator, everyone else was at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, and outstanding ones at that. The lineup could simply be called luxurious.
Four from the Saint Sect...
[Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] sighed in his heart. In comparison, although the Sword Pavilion had three other Perfected Lords besides him, they were all at the Early Stage of Golden Core.
Of course, if a group of Early Stage Golden Core cultivators could be backed by a Great Perfected Lord at the Late Stage of Golden Core, it would be worth it. But the problem was that he was half-crippled. This made the Sword Pavilion's situation very awkward. After all, because of him, the cultivation of other Sword Pavilion Perfected Lords couldn't grow, and the top-tier combat power wasn't quite enough.
With this thought, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] said simply:
"I only want [Heavenly Fire] and [Sword Edge Gold]. For the other books, whichever you want, I can hand over. Why shout for fighting and killing?"
At these words, everyone's expressions changed slightly.
However, [Sky-Shrouding] laughed upon hearing this: "Everyone, if Gangxing takes [Heavenly Fire] and [Sword Edge Gold], it's very likely he will recover to his peak."
"Do you want a perfect Great Perfected Lord to appear in the Immortal Nexus?"
This sentence was spoken with extreme skill, jumping directly out of the framework of debating with [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] and pointing straight at the core interests of all Perfected Lords present.
Who wished for an extra Great Perfected Lord above their heads?
"Forget it."
As his voice fell, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] sighed deeply, knowing there was no room for maneuvering. In the end, a fight was inevitable.
In the next second, [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao] drew his sword.
Bright light shone brilliantly between heaven and earth, and a gentle breeze blew. Everyone saw the long sword being unsheathed inch by inch, and then sword light reflected into their seas of consciousness.
[Ascendant Victor Sword Intent]!
Terrifying sword intent burst forth. Even without the enhancement of a Great Perfected Lord's stature and far inferior to that sword slash in the [Star Palace], its momentum was still oppressive.
Golden-white brilliance filled heaven and earth, then collapsed. Clearly, in [Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao]'s state, it was impossible to launch a full-scale attack slashing a sword light at everyone simultaneously. He could only restrain his Sword Intent Divine Ability, shifting to a focused attack, placing the target on a single person.
And the target he chose was—Lu Yang!
Lu Yang wasn't surprised by this. However, just at this moment, he suddenly felt a whim, his pupils constricting as he sensed karmic fluctuations in the unseen world.
In the next second, the Old Dragon Lord acted.
Azure brilliance erupted on Lu Yang's left side. Without any hesitation, it also attacked Lu Yang—old dragon turning traitor at the very first moment of battle!
It seems the previous disguise was exposed.
Lu Yang's expression was calm. The Old Dragon Lord's betrayal was within expectations, but the other party didn't attack Feixue as planned, instead aiming the spearhead at him.
That said, he remained very composed.
With [Future Life Aspect] present, all attacks targeting him could be siphoned away without hurting his main body in the slightest. This level hadn't exceeded his limit yet.
Until the third person acted.
Smoke drifted ethereally, without any warning. By the time Lu Yang reacted, it had already lightly touched the back of his heart, carrying a destructive roar.
[Sky-Shrouding]!