In a flash, the light condensed at Lu Yang's fingertip gently tapped Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's chest before melting seamlessly into his body.
An icy chill instantly raced down Gangxing Budao's spine.
What is happening?!
Driven by instinct, he immediately attempted to invoke [Placer Gold in Sand], intending to blast Lu Yang back.
However, the moment he reached for that power, he realized with horror that something was fundamentally wrong.
[Placer Gold in Sand] was rejecting him.
Rumble!
The Dao Fruit, which had been perfectly obedient for centuries, suddenly turned hostile.
It refuse his commands—it resisted him with a violent, jarring ferocity.
The sensation was unmistakable. It felt as though... as though he was no longer its master.
And he was right.
Specifically, Lu Yang had used [Inscribing Heavenly Chapters] to forcibly modify the authentication logic of the Dao Fruit.
The original logic dictated: Whosoever's Grotto-Heaven resides within is its master.
Lu Yang had simply inserted a "not" into that fundamental law: Whosoever's Grotto-Heaven resides within is not its master.
The result was immediate and catastrophic for Gangxing.
"Gangxing is indeed Gangxing; the ginger truly gets spicier with age."
On the Extreme Heaven Cliff in Jiangnan, the Old Dragon Lord was busy praising Gangxing Budao's supposed "lure the enemy deep" strategy, a look of eager expectation on his face.
All he could see from his vantage point was a brilliant, blinding explosion of sword light.
That sword strike carries the Stature of a Great Perfected Lord. Even if I were the one standing there, I'd be facing certain death. How could Lu Yang possibly block it?
Besides, he lacks the characteristic of immortality. Even if he has some life-saving trump card, he'll be crippled... and when that happens, I'll swoop in and fish in troubled waters!
The Old Dragon Lord's eyes gleamed with greed.He wanted the kill-steal.
While he no longer had the courage to face a healthy Lu Yang, he had plenty of courage to kick a man while he was down.
Perhaps I can use [Vast Ocean Water] to force him to bear me a child...
The Old Dragon Lord's mind turned to the revolting properties of the [Vast Ocean Water] Wonder.
A child born of it would inherit the mother's full power while remaining completely, absolutely obedient to the father.
If he succeeded, he would gain a top-tier servant.
It was a prize worth the risk of snatching the kill from under Gangxing Budao's nose.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed as the distant sword light shattered. A figure plummeted from the sky, trailing fire like a falling meteor.
"The opportunity is here!"
Overjoyed, the Old Dragon Lord surged forward to intercept the falling body.
But as he drew closer and saw the face of the bloodied figure, his joy turned to pure terror.
In the next second, the Old Dragon Lord—who had just charged out with such bravado—performed a lightning-fast U-turn and dove back into the depths of Jiangnan, resolved to never show his face again.
The watching Perfected Lords were equally aghast.
"It's actually... Gangxing?"
High above the sky dome, [Sky-Shrouding] looked on with a grim expression.
Compared to their previous encounter in the [Sea of Bitterness], Lu Yang had somehow grown even stronger.
Is there no justice? Without centuries of accumulation, what kind of fortuitous encounter could allow such rapid progress? That isn't how cultivation works!
In another corner, Perfected Lord Feixue's eyes narrowed in shock.
He's so strong... he's no weaker than I was before I broke through to Great Perfected Lord.
How? And what kind of wicked dao arts did he use on Gangxing?
On the ground, the blood-soaked Gangxing Budao finally stabilized his fall.
His expression was heavy with the realization of the trap he had fallen into.
Is a Supreme Dao Fruit truly this powerful?
Gangxing Budao had always anticipated the might of [Heavenly Fire], but he had clearly underestimated it.
Even now, [Placer Gold in Sand] felt like a total stranger, its connection to him severed.
If his Grotto-Heaven hadn't been so deeply rooted within it, the Dao Fruit might have forcibly ejected his very soul.
Deprived of his primary Dao Fruit's support, his stature remained technically the same, but his combat efficiency plummeted.
Lu Yang had seized that moment of weakness to deliver a ruthless, bone-shattering blow.
Lu Yang was already closing in to finish the job.
"No other choice..." Gangxing Budao sighed. He assessed the situation in a heartbeat and realized he was at a total disadvantage.
He reached into his robes and withdrew a divine blade.
[Eternal Sword]!
The sound of shattering glass echoed through reality.
The blue sky, the clouds, Lu Yang, the insect swarm—every scene shattered into invisible shards.
Lu Yang snapped his eyes open.
He was back in the sky, still surrounded by his intact swarm of Qi-Eating Insects.
Across from him stood Gangxing Budao, seemingly untouched.
A dream, an illusion, like dew or a lightning flash.
Everything that had just transpired had been wiped clean, as if the battle had never begun.
The two had returned to the moment before the first exchange... but things were not entirely the same.
Compared to the start of the fight, Gangxing Budao's spiritual power was visibly depleted.
If he had previously suppressed Lu Yang through his foundation as a Great Perfected Lord, that gap had now inverted.
Lu Yang's lips curled into a smile. You used the [Eternal Sword]? Good!
He didn't feel his previous effort was wasted. On the contrary, he was delighted. Because the reset hadn't wiped Lu Yang's own comprehension, his [Sever All Evil] was now even more potent.
He had surpassed Gangxing in spiritual power, dao arts, and Dao Fruit. If he could just stack the Severing Marks once more, he could end this in an instant.
Gangxing Budao, however, was in a foul mood.
He had heard about Lu Yang's unpredictable "curse" dao art from the others and could feel the looming crisis in his gut.
He still had moves left, but he saw no need to use them.
He held an absolute advantage in numbers; a disciple of the Sword Pavilion didn't need to throw his life away in a "fair" duel.
"Attack!" Gangxing commanded.
In the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, Hanguang Futian sneered.
"And so he abandons the 'fair fight' to 'eliminate demons and defend the Dao.' What a 'noble' sword-bastard!"
The ridicule was thick, but Gangxing Budao ignored it.
Bullying the weak with the strong and the few with the many was a grand tradition of the Immortal Nexus.
If Lu Yang couldn't find allies, that was his own failure.
In the direction of Jiangnan, the air began to scream.
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde and two other Sword Pavilion lords moved.
They were joined by the Three Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land, Great Sage Xuan Yuan, and the Old Dragon Lord (who had crept back out).
From the Dao Court, Emperor Jiayou and the Three Excellencies joined the fray.
Twelve Perfected Lords took action simultaneously—including two Great Perfected Lords!
The formations observing the battle from afar exploded under the sheer pressure.
"————"
The world went silent; the magnitude of the power was so great that it transcended sound.
Endless, raw might was unleashed. Had the lords not tacitly controlled the radius to avoid destroying the land below, the entire Immortal Nexus might have shattered!!
When the riotous void finally stilled and the brilliance dimmed, it revealed a massive, pitch-black hole in reality.
Centered on the junction of Jiangnan and Jiangbei, the rift had punched through the void and into the sea of light, leaving a wound that even the [Two Polarities Birth and Destruction Profound Light] could not seal.
"Is he... dead?"
"He has to be!"
"No one could survive that. The strike reached into the Sea of Light; even the Netherworld wouldn't have time to claim his soul. No one could survive at the center of that explosion."
The outcome was decided. Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao had won.