The battle erupted in an instant.
It wasn't just Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian who realized the situation had reversed; everyone present soon discovered that the tide had taken a major turn.
"Hahaha!"
Above the sky, Perfected Lord Feixue laughed loudly.
On the other side, [Sky-Shrouding] looked gloomy, though he didn't seem entirely disappointed.
It was too early to think the situation was hopeless.
Through the layers of haze, a hint of coldness flickered in his narrow eyes: The setup for attaining [Heavenly Fire]... wasn't just my doing. Can you really escape it?
He had escaped once before, gaining freedom within his cage by retreating into the [Netherworld].
What about this nameless bastard? Could he do the same?
A sense of expectation appeared in the depths of [Sky-Shrouding]'s cold gaze.
If the boy could actually pull it off, it might not be a bad thing.
The great war broke out in full.
This time, it was no longer a solo performance by [Sky-Shrouding] and Feixue.
Every Perfected Lord present took action. Various lights instantly filled the space between heaven and earth.
Rumble!
Emperor Jiayou and Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer fought with true fire immediately.
Every other Perfected Lord found their own opponent. Roars and explosions rose one after another.
The Dao Court Grand Preceptor fought Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon.
The Grand Tutor engaged Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde.
The Grand Guardian took on the Sword Pavilion's Perfected Lord Tengguang Yehui.
Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade tangled with the Sword Pavilion's Perfected Lord Gaishuang Lingfeng.
Great Sage Ming Zhu and Great Sage Xuan Yuan fought in a blur of motion.
Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian blocked the Old Dragon Lord.
The entire Immortal Nexus fell into chaos.
However, this was just the surface. In reality, there was order within the carnage.
All the Perfected Lords seemed to be fighting fiercely, but they were secretly watching one specific place.
Lu Yang and Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao.
This was the true key.
Whoever won here would decide the victory or defeat of this Righteous and Demonic Dao Struggle.
"Sorry Senior, but there are two of us."
Lu Yang unfurled the Righteous Dao Banner and summoned Patriarch Nether Whisper.
As soon as the Patriarch appeared, his stature climbed immediately, his aura reaching its peak in an instant.
Two First Grade Perfected Lords!
On the other side, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's face turned green.
The spiritual power he had lost earlier by using the [Eternal Sword] hadn't recovered yet!
But he soon regained his calm.
"So that's how it is. It seems today is the day I attain my Dao."
The Sword Pavilion Great Perfected Lord exhaled deeply, choosing not to flee.
Instead, he raised the [Eternal Sword], a look of grim determination in his eyes.
He had long been tired of this half-dead, hopeless state of his Dao path.
This struggle was his best chance.
Today, he would either attain his Dao and return to his peak, or die and reincarnate.
There was no other possibility.
He gave up the idea of stalling.
If he truly stalled, even fighting two against one, he was confident he wouldn't die—at most, his injuries would worsen.
But what was the point? His goal had always been the Dao.
To hear the Dao in the morning is to be able to die in the evening!
"Then come."
With his emotions settled, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's eyes became as calm as an ancient well.
He walked toward Lu Yang step by step.
"Let's settle this in three swords."
His tone was indifferent as he said faintly, "I have no strength left to tangle with you. Just three swords. If three swords cannot kill you, I will end my own life here."
Lu Yang sneered. Anyone could talk big. Three swords meant three strikes at the Great Perfected Lord level.
Did Gangxing really think he couldn't block them?
Perfected Lord Feixue had done it back then, and Lu Yang could do it now!
Clang! Clang!
There was no more probing. Three swords to decide victory meant going all out, condensing a battle of thousands of moves into three strikes!
"First sword: Opening Heaven!"
With a Dao shout, Lu Yang's pupils contracted.
The majestic sky of the Immortal Nexus, which should have been boundless, cracked open with a bang.
Heaven and earth fractured; all things dimmed.
Forms and appearances vanished together. In Lu Yang's divine sense, only one sword remained.
Wherever the edge passed, it was unstoppable.
Rumble!
In the dark void, the sword light illuminated everything, as if a towering World Realm was being carved out, rolling toward him.
Patriarch Nether Whisper took a resolute step forward, blocking Lu Yang.
He pushed [Heaven of Carefree] to its limit.
The infinite wonders of the [Ruyi Heart] gathered in his throat and finally erupted into a Dao shout: "Extinguish!"
As the word fell, the Patriarch's Dharma Body shattered into flowing light.
He left only the [Heaven of Carefree] to wrap his true spirit as he retreated into the Righteous Dao Banner.
The sword light stopped.
A strike with Great Perfected Lord Stature was forcibly blocked by the Patriarch's self-sacrificing technique, leaving Lu Yang unharmed.
However, Lu Yang's eyes turned red with fury.
"Kill!!!"
In an instant, the [Tribulation Evil Profound Light] and [Yellow Spirit Water] he had been accumulating poured out in a heaven-reaching beam of mixed gold and gray.
Both required accumulated damage to unleash their wonders, and Lu Yang had reached the limit using his incense incarnation earlier.
This was the strongest strike he could deliver.
It collided with the second sword slashed out by Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao.
"Second sword: Opening Dao!"
With the second shout, the sword light rotated.
In the space split by the first sword, the elements of Metal, Fire, and Earth surfaced.
It was named Opening Dao, but it didn't open the Five Elements.
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao had achieved the Great Perfected Lord rank by gathering only three elements, so he couldn't manifest a sword of Five Elements Perfection.
Still, the power was immense.
Lu Yang's full-force strike was instantly defeated. The combined might of the Metal, Fire, and Earth Dao Fruits submerged him.
Boom!
Lu Yang's body exploded.
But a second later, blood light retracted, and his body reassembled instantly.
Except for a faint red line on his neck, there was no abnormality.
[Future Life Aspect]! [Wellspring Water]! With double damage reduction, injury transfer, and the force of his own strike, Lu Yang had stubbornly withstood the second sword!
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's face grew paler. His youthful appearance began to age visibly. His straight back hunched.
However, the sword intent in his eyes burned even more violently.
"Third sword: Opening Life and Death!"
As the final sword was unsheathed, Gangxing's appearance and aura reversed as if time were flowing backward.
Life and death.
A dying man, reversing death to life. This was a killing move that could only be used at the brink of death, reproducing his peak power from his prime!
Opening Heaven, Opening Dao, Opening Life and Death.
These three Sword Arts were his ambition when he first became a Great Perfected Lord.
Opening Heaven for himself, Opening Dao to be a master, and Opening Life and Death to transcend reincarnation!
Though it was all ancient history now, as the third sword slashed out, he seemed to return to that day, remembering his oath to ascend to the Paramita.
He left no room for retreat!
Seeing these three swords, Lu Yang fell silent.
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao had always seemed strange.
Unlike [Sky-Shrouding], who specialized in Dao Fruit power, he preferred using sword intent.
He almost never used the fundamental Wonder of [Placer Gold in Sand].
Lu Yang had thought this Great Perfected Lord was somewhat lacking, but now he saw the reason.
Three full Sword Arts. None relied on Dao Fruits; all were his own culmination of sword intent.
He had truly been walking his own path.
Given time, if he could return to the Great Perfected Lord position properly, he had a hope for Void Attainment.
It was a pity. His success was due to being a Great Perfected Lord, and his failure was also because of it.
Lu Yang shook his head, still confident.
He could sense that while this sword was strong, it hadn't exceeded the scope of [A Few Tricks Up Your Sleeve].
He could block it!
Boom!
The third sword fell—and yet, it didn't.
A palm appeared in front of Lu Yang, intercepting the sword light and extinguishing Gangxing's final counterattack.
How can this be?
Gangxing Budao looked back blankly.
Emperor Jiayou!
The Emperor was now also a Great Perfected Lord.
Taking the sword head-on was no problem for him, at most costing him some minor injuries.
But where was Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer? Why hadn't she stopped him?
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao slowly shifted his gaze.
He saw Bodhisattva Precious Lotus leaving without looking back.
Meanwhile, a sword light was rising slowly from the direction of the Pure Land, severing their unity.
It was Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon original body from this lifetime.
Today, he would slash the Pure Land to attain his Sword Dao!