The Celestial Sword Pavilion. In the South, the name alone carried immense prestige and was the subject of countless legends. It was a heavy mountain pressing down upon all the sects of the region, large and small.

Ordinarily, this might not have been apparent.

Yet, at this moment, as the Arrays inside and outside the entire Sword Pavilion automatically activated, Lü Yang found himself shaken, even though he had been mentally prepared.

The entire Sword Pavilion was situated on an extremely perilous peak. It contained a vast world and countless smaller mountains within its bounds, standing tall between Heaven and Earth, a single conduit connecting the two, filled with a grand and eternal aura. Every stone, every grain of dust on the mountain, was imbued with the profound weight of history.

Compared to this, all other things seemed insignificant.

After all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator might live for five lifetimes, and a Golden Core cultivator had a lifespan of a thousand years. But how long had this Divine Mountain stood between Heaven and Earth? The two were simply incomparable!

Before such a profound sense of time, everyone seemed insignificant.

'Legend has it that the founder of the Sword Pavilion searched the entire world but couldn't find a mountain worthy of his Sect. In the end, he simply took the sword from his waist and threw it to the ground.'

'The sword took root where it landed and grew with the wind.'

'It eventually became the Sword Pavilion's home. The personal sword of a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord... I wonder if it's true. The Saint Sect has nothing like this...'

Lü Yang sighed internally. Although its Perfected Lords were in seclusion, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected was gone, and the Exorcist Zhenren was gravely injured, the Sword Pavilion was still the behemoth that had once dominated the South. With its protective Array now active, it stood like a mighty, unbreachable pass, firmly barring his way before the sect's gates.

Gazing into the distance, he could faintly make out a few figures.

Though he couldn't see the central Zenith Cliff, some of the outer peaks could not escape his senses. Among the figures was the Patriarch of the Ye Family, Ye Shaoying.

CLANG...

A resonant bell toll echoed from the depths of the Sword Pavilion. It was the signal for an enemy invasion. In an instant, streams of Sword Qi rose from within the Pavilion.

The next second, a figure appeared.

It was the Ye Family Patriarch, Ye Shaoying, followed by a young Perfected Person of the Ye Family, Ye Cheng. Both of them watched Lü Yang from outside the mountain with wary eyes.

"Daoist,"

Ye Shaoying was the first to speak. "The Sword Pavilion is not receiving guests today. You have come unannounced without sending a formal notice, which is quite discourteous. Please, turn back."

"A formal notice? Fine. I'll send one right now."

Lü Yang gave a cold smile. Five of his Abilities linked together into a ring behind him, blossoming with splendid light. He casually pinched off a wisp and channeled it into his palm. A moment later, a Magical Sword materialized, its edge gleaming with a cold light. With a flick of his finger, it shot toward the Sword Pavilion!

CLANG! CLANG!

The Magical Sword slashed directly into the layers of the Array, giving Ye Shaoying a fright. He hurriedly activated the Array to block the attack.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

With a tremendous roar, Lü Yang's Magical Sword slammed into the Array. Although it severed over a hundred layers of the Array's light, it was ultimately swallowed by it.

The boundless radiance was like the river of stars falling from the ninth heaven. Lü Yang's Magical Sword lasted less than three breaths before it was crushed and dissipated into nothing.

'Phew, that was close...'

Seeing this, Ye Shaoying secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he said with a smile, "Sir, you should return from whence you came. Don't continue on this path to your own ruin!"

After speaking, he sneered inwardly: 'An Outer Heaven Wanderer, through and through. How could he understand the orthodox power of my Sect? He actually thought he could come here and take advantage of us. Just because Guangji left and the Exorcist Zhenren was injured, he thinks the Sword Pavilion is empty and defenseless? How absurd... In thirty years, I'll make him pay!'

"The Array is indeed impressive," Lü Yang nodded.

He hadn't used any special techniques in that last strike—it was purely an empowerment from his 'Position'. Yet, even a Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment would have found it difficult to handle.

But the Sword Pavilion had blocked it.

And it had done so relying solely on the power of its Array. This showed that, like the Dragon Palace, it had an Array laid down by a Golden Core Perfected Lord. Breaching it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

'But I'm not the same person I was before...'

When he had faced the Dragon Palace, he was all alone and couldn't possibly face its Array head-on, forcing him to sneak in. Now, however, he was an honored guest of the Saint Sect.

At this thought, Lü Yang reached down and untied a cloth bag from his waist.

The object seemed to be woven from black silk. As he held it in his palm, it resembled a small, dark cloud with snakes of lightning slithering within, emitting the faint crackle of thunder.

'The Profound Thunder Entering Dao Cloud!'

Since he was here to cause trouble for the Sword Pavilion, the Saint Sect had naturally provided some support. This item was what Xiang Ye had given him before he left the Sea of Clouds.

As Lü Yang poured his Mana into the cloth bag, a child's voice, old and arrogant in tone, rang in his ears. "More! Harder! Who are you looking down on with that pathetic amount of Mana? You can't even open me up, let alone break through the gates of these Sword Species."

This was the True Spirit of the Profound Thunder Entering Dao Cloud.

One had to admit, Xiang Ye, as the current Interim Sect Leader of the Saint Sect, possessed both vision and magnanimity. He had lent Lü Yang nothing less than a True Treasure from the Saint Sect's own collection!

'It's even more powerful than the Tribulation Wave...'

The quality of a Spiritual Treasure was similar to the ranks of a Cultivator. Five Divine Effects marked the pinnacle for a Spiritual Treasure. A True Treasure, the level above that, was, to some extent, on the same 'Position' as a Perfected Lord!

The more Mana Lü Yang poured into the Profound Thunder Entering Dao Cloud, the more he could feel its vastness. Even with his current Divine Power, it seemed he could only activate a fraction of its mighty power. It was clear that likely only a Perfected Lord could truly wield such a Supreme Treasure.

...

Lü Yang glanced to the side. He could feel several gazes fixed on him, filled with anticipation... They were the gazes of the Saint Sect Zhenren.

'Damn it, a bunch of animals...'

Lü Yang knew exactly what these Saint Sect Zhenren were thinking. If he failed to breach the Sword Pavilion's defenses, they would absolutely not show themselves.

But if he succeeded...

They would definitely charge in faster than he could!

'They'll side with whoever's winning...'

Lü Yang took a deep breath and threw the Profound Thunder Entering Dao Cloud, now filled with all his Mana, into the air. In an instant, it expanded into a black cloud that blotted out the sky.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Where the black cloud spread, the sun and moon vanished, and heaven and earth plunged into darkness. Countless bolts of lightning appeared within the cloud, then crashed down with world-overturning force!

In an instant, the faces of Ye Shaoying and Ye Cheng drained of color!

Without a moment's hesitation, Ye Shaoying flickered and vanished from his spot, paying no mind whatsoever to Ye Cheng beside him. Because of this, Ye Cheng was a step too slow.

The next second, the lightning fell.

"No—"

Ye Cheng's mouth opened wide, but his voice was swallowed by the thunder before it could escape. A bolt of lightning struck him directly on the Skull, blasting him into fine dust.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The endless bolts of Profound Thunder acted like an indestructible siege ram. Each thunderclap was a devastating impact, a relentless bombardment with no regard for cost. By the time Lü Yang's Mana was depleted and the black cloud dispersed, the outer cliffs of the Sword Pavilion's Divine Mountain, once covered in numerous peaks, had been completely leveled!

As for the Grand Ward that was supposedly as solid as a fortress?

Its core remained unharmed, but the outermost layers had been brutally blasted open, creating a crack. Spiritual Qi bled from the opening, and it would not be able to close anytime soon!

"It's broken?!"

Elsewhere, Ye Shaoying, who had escaped just in time, didn't even have a moment to mourn Ye Cheng's death. He looked back at the carnage behind him, his eyes filled with horror.

The next second, however, that horror turned to terror.

Because as the outer Array was torn open, figures began to appear one after another behind Lü Yang, their faces twisted into chilling smiles, their eyes glowing crimson—

"Punish the unrighteous! Eradicate the Sword Pavilion!"

"The cultivators of this world have long suffered under the Sword Pavilion!"

"The Celestial Sword Pavilion has preyed upon the South and enslaved the masses! Today, we, the Saint Sect, will right these wrongs and mercilessly plun—... return the people's stolen wealth to the world!"

—The Saint Sect had entered the field.

Just as Lü Yang had expected. These animals were just waiting for him to successfully break the Array. Now they appeared, acting all high and mighty, and they had even prepared slogans.

Still, this was perfect.

After all, there was no way he could have stormed the Sword Pavilion alone. With the Saint Sect, however, things were different. And as a bonus, they could help him shoulder the blame.

At this thought, Lü Yang immediately rode his Sword Light and charged ferociously into the Sword Pavilion!

"Swords in hand, follow me!"