As the etching knife pierced his heart, Saren Agu couldn’t suppress a howl of agony. It was as if he were enduring the torment of hellfire, his voice shrill and desolate.

“With the Grand Wizard’s flawless nature, you must have divined your fortune before the battle. Was it auspicious? If not for the Overseer helping me conceal the etching knife and obscure Heaven’s will, ambushing the Grand Wizard would have been nearly impossible.

“Ritualists evolved from wizards, and only ritualists can counter a wizard’s divination. Without the Overseer’s help, defeating you would be too difficult.”

Wei Yuan slowly drove the etching knife deeper into Saren Agu’s heart, causing his spiritual energy to drain rapidly and his bodily functions to deteriorate swiftly under the knife’s corrosion.

In just two or three seconds, Saren Agu aged twenty years, withering like a dried-up tree, seemingly on the verge of “dying of natural causes.”

The situation abruptly reversed. The two Third Realm Spirit Wisdom Wizards’ expressions changed dramatically. They instinctively adopted the same response, each aiming one palm at Saren Agu and the other at Wei Yuan.

Their left palms pulsed with red light, stimulating Saren Agu’s life force to resist the etching knife’s corrosion. Their right palms launched long-distance curse-killing techniques at Wei Yuan.

“Hmph!”

Wei Yuan reached out with his left hand, gripping the Grand Wizard’s neck. His right hand pulled out the etching knife and stabbed towards the side of Saren Agu’s head.

First, use the knife’s power to wear down bodily functions, rendering the target unable to resist. Then, use the knife to destroy the primordial spirit, annihilating this First Realm Grand Wizard.

At that moment, a flash of sword light.

Splat!

Blood sprayed as Wei Yuan stared in shock at his severed arm, blood gushing like a fountain.

The severed arm, along with the Confucian Sage’s etching knife, was caught by a hand.

This was an arm entwined with golden and black light; an arm that had emerged from Saren Agu’s brow.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly, retreating without hesitation to put distance between them. He hovered in the air, scrutinizing Saren Agu.

Crack, crack… Flesh intertwined and writhed, bones regenerated, and a brand new arm materialized.

Whoosh! Wei Yuan exhaled his protective divine light once again enveloping his body, condensing into bronze skin and iron bones.

The severing of his arm earlier wasn’t due to weak defenses. He had feigned weakness, allowing the three high-level wizards to use his blood for their curse-killing techniques. Wei Yuan had appeared gravely injured, his proud warrior’s physique seemingly compromised.

Then, seizing the opportunity, he launched a surprise attack on Grand Wizard Saren Agu with the Confucian Sage’s etching knife.

This series of maneuvers required both feigning weakness and seizing a fleeting opportunity, leaving Wei Yuan no chance to restore his bronze skin and iron bones.

However, he hadn’t anticipated his opponent having a countermove.

From within Saren Agu’s body, a man wearing dragon robes slowly emerged. He had regular features, slightly thick eyebrows, and eyes filled with deep malice.

Upon closer inspection, this dragon-robed man’s body was flawless as jade, with golden radiance and black light intertwining on his surface, appearing both divine and evil.

Yang Spirit!

The late Emperor Zhende!

“I knew you, Wei Yuan, were skilled in strategy. Daring to attack Mount Jing City, you must have had some trump card. You’ve played along with me for so long, and I’ve played along with you. Aren’t we both just trying to see what cards the other is holding?”

Saren Agu smiled and said, “The Confucian Sage’s etching knife… I never imagined you could use it too. Tsk tsk, Wei Yuan, you’re someone who cares for the common people.”

Flashes of blood-red light flickered across his body, and the flesh on his chest writhed, instantly healing. The wrinkles on his skin receded.

However, this First Realm Grand Wizard’s aura had undeniably weakened significantly.

Just as Wei Yuan’s vital energy had now dropped below the peak of the Third Realm.

Crack, crack…

Bones shattered, flesh collapsed, and contracted as the dragon-robed man refined Wei Yuan’s arm into pure vital energy, inhaling it into his body.

“Not a bad taste. I imagine your vital energy would be even better,” the dragon-robed man said with a smile while gripping the Confucian Sage’s etching knife in his palm. A thick, corrupted, fallen liquid oozed out, gradually eroding the etching knife, and wearing away its spiritual nature.

Just as the Earth Sect Patriarch had briefly polluted the Imperial Sword’s spirit long ago.

Wei Yuan gazed at him deeply, with a hint of sadness and disappointment, sighing heavily, “So it was you. It was you!”

Emperor Zhende snickered, a cruel and vicious smile curling his lips. He glanced at the Confucian Sage’s etching knife, now gradually being covered by the thick black liquid, and said:

“I need some time to seal this. You also need time to recover. For the sake of our twenty-plus years of monarch-subject relationship, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Saren Agu didn’t object; his injuries were more severe than Wei Yuan’s.

“The human trafficking organization controlled by the Marquis of Ping Yuan was working for you, wasn’t it?” Wei Yuan asked.

Emperor Zhende nodded, sneering, “You pride yourself on serving the country and the people, but if you hadn’t pushed the Marquis of Ping Yuan so hard, I wouldn’t have had to eliminate him, and perhaps the Chu Province massacre wouldn’t have happened.”

“And then allow you to continue consuming the lives of innocent people?”

Wei Yuan openly took out a porcelain bottle, popped open the wooden stopper with a “pop,” and downed all the qi-replenishing pills inside.

Seconds later, his complexion regained its ruddy hue. He sighed and said, “When did you become like this?”

The dragon-robed man’s smile turned grotesque as he said, “In the 26th year of Zhende’s reign, the Earth Sect Patriarch corrupted me.”

After a pause, he gazed at the distant spreading fires of war and slowly continued:

“My body was always weak. Those miraculous elixirs that could revive the dead and regrow flesh had little effect on me. As the ruler of a nation, blessed with the country’s fortune, how long one can live is predetermined.

“In the past, I didn’t think immortality was anything special. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the laws of nature. But as I grew older, I began to fear death and crave longevity. But if even the Confucian Sage couldn’t defy the rules of heaven and earth, how could I?

“Until the 26th year of Zhende’s reign, when the Earth Sect Patriarch corrupted me. He told me that mortal kings couldn’t achieve immortality and that even transcendent experts couldn’t change this fate. But he could make me live longer, far longer than normal kings.

“By then, my body was deteriorating rapidly. I couldn’t resist his temptation, so I agreed.”

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes and said, “So, in the 26th year of Zhende’s reign, you consumed the Prince of Huai.”

Emperor Zhende’s face twisted with extreme evil as he shook his head:

“No, it was assimilation. I refined his soul and absorbed his memories. He is me, and I am him. This is one of the secrets of the Three Purities in One Breath technique.

“Mere soul possession would result in incompatibility between the physical body and the primordial spirit, leading to endless troubles and essentially cutting off the path of cultivation. How could I do something so self-destructive?

“Unfortunately, I’m not an orthodox Daoist practitioner. Even with the Earth Sect Patriarch’s help, after forcibly refining the Prince of Huai’s primordial spirit, my main soul remained incomplete.”

Without the help of the Second Realm Earth Sect Patriarch, he couldn’t have performed the Three Purities in One Breath technique.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment: “What about Yuan Jing? Was Yuan Jing also consumed by you at that time?”

Emperor Zhende shook his head and sneered:

“The two brothers were supposed to be assimilated with me at the same time, but as I said, after refining the Prince of Huai’s soul, I couldn’t repair the part of my soul that had been separated, leaving it incomplete.

“In that state, how could I consume Yuan Jing as well? I had to change the plan. The Earth Sect Patriarch used a Daoist mind-bewitching technique to erase that part of Yuan Jing’s memory. Then, he planted a seed of demonic thoughts in his sea of consciousness.

“As for me, after all the preparations, I faked my death, abdicated, and hid in the subterranean dragon vein I had opened. It was the only place that could escape the Overseer’s gaze. I lay dormant, waiting for the opportunity, waiting for the chance to refine Yuan Jing.

“What I didn’t expect was that Yuan Jing, taking me as a cautionary tale, no longer delegated power to the Chief Minister. He devoted himself to governing while balancing various factions. The national power of Great Feng flourished, and under the blessing of the nation’s fortune, I had no chance to consume him. Until you appeared…”

Wei Yuan was startled.

“You’ve forgotten?”

Emperor Zhende stared at Wei Yuan, his smile gradually widening:

“In the 6th year of Yuan Jing’s reign, General Dugu in the north passed away. You led troops to battle, repelling the barbarian army, and from then on, your name resounded throughout the land. Why don’t you think back on why you went to war in the first place?”

Wei Yuan’s pupils suddenly dilated, as if struck by lightning.

“Hahaha…” Emperor Zhende burst into wild laughter:

“The noble Empress of Great Feng, the mother figure of the nation, actually had an affair with a palace eunuch, and that eunuch was her childhood sweetheart from before she entered the palace. What man could bear such a blow, let alone an obstinate emperor like Yuan Jing?”

He laughed wildly, unrestrained, bending back and forth with mirth.

“From that moment, the demonic thoughts in Yuan Jing’s sea of consciousness finally awakened, slowly corroding and polluting him. The reason Yuan Jing didn’t kill you and the Empress then was due to the influence of these demonic thoughts. He became cold and cunning, and after learning of your past with the Empress, he changed his mindset, intending to use the Empress to control you.

“Then came the Shanhai Pass campaign. That war shook Great Feng’s national fortune. At the end of the Shanhai Pass battle, I seized the opportunity to refine Yuan Jing and take his place.

“After replacing Yuan Jing, I learned from my mistakes. I no longer indulged in women and devoted myself to cultivating the Dao. While refining and consuming elixirs, I had the Marquis of Ping Yuan continue to abduct people. After more than forty years, I finally cultivated my Yang Spirit and stepped into the Second Realm Tribulation Period. Wei Yuan, should I thank you?”

The real Yuan Jing had been gone for twenty years.

“Oh, by the way, I can tell you an extra secret. The person who secretly informed Yuan Jing back then, revealing your relationship with the Empress, was the Crown Prince’s birth mother, Noble Consort Chen.” Emperor Zhende dropped another bombshell.

Noble Consort Chen… Wei Yuan remained silent for a long while, then asked, “What was the Earth Sect Patriarch’s purpose in helping you so painstakingly?”

Emperor Zhende sneered, “At that time, the Earth Sect Patriarch was already showing signs of demonic cultivation, but his good intentions were stronger than his evil thoughts, barely suppressing them. To avoid being refined and eliminated, the evil thoughts devised a plan.

“During our discussion of the Dao that day, the evil thoughts sensed my longing for immortality and secretly corrupted me, amplifying my desire for eternal life. Then, seizing a brief opportunity to control the body, it enticed me and conspired with me for all of this.

“Afterwards, the Earth Sect Patriarch returned to seclude himself in the sect, with good and evil thoughts entangled for a full forty years. After forty years, the Earth Sect Patriarch succumbed to demonic cultivation, his primordial spirit split and the good thoughts barely escaped. Think about it.”

Wei Yuan took out another porcelain bottle and swallowed some pills. After pondering for a moment, he said:

“Enticing a monarch with immortality, devouring his child. For forty years, the people have suffered, and national power has declined daily, inevitably leading to karmic retribution… So after forty years, the Earth Sect Patriarch completely fell to demonic cultivation. But there’s still one thing I don’t understand. Even if you’ve achieved the Three Purities in One Breath and attained your current cultivation, living longer, you’re still a mortal emperor. How can you achieve immortality?”

Emperor Zhende’s malicious gaze flickered to the Confucian Sage’s etching knife, and he said softly:

“Later, someone taught me how to achieve longevity as an emperor. His words truly enlightened me. For the past twenty-plus years, all my plans have been inspired by that person. Including today, using the Wizard God as bait to lure you in is the most crucial step in my plan.”

The etching knife had been completely corrupted, its spiritual nature entirely lost.

“Although I can only corrupt it for half a quarter-hour, that’s enough.” Emperor Zhende casually tossed it off the cliff, then turned to look at Wei Yuan, grinning maliciously:

“How do you plan to get past us and seal the Wizard God?”

Present were a Grand Wizard, two Spirit Wisdom Wizards, and a Tribulation Period powerhouse.

Wei Yuan stood alone, a warrior barely qualifying for the Second Realm.

Emperor Zhende raised his hand, as if pinching something from the air, and flicked his finger.

A sword qi howled forth, splitting from one into two, two into three, three into thousands.

The dense sword qi, like a school of fish in the sea or a surging flood, shot towards Wei Yuan.

Each strand of sword qi could easily kill a Fourth Realm expert, and the sword qi contained attacks targeting the primordial spirit.

The Human Sect’s qi sword and heart sword combined as one.

Wei Yuan crossed his arms before his chest, advancing against the dense rain of swords. Ding ding ding… Dazzling, myriad sparks erupted from his body.

At one point, the sword qi tore through Wei Yuan, causing him to dissipate like an illusion.

Emperor Zhende, riding golden light, retreated swiftly.

Wei Yuan’s form reappeared, lunging at empty air.

Except for Buddhist warrior monks, no high-level expert from any system dared let a warrior get close.

The two chased each other through the mountains, their energy explosions layering upon one another, causing mountainsides to collapse and huge boulders to tumble down. At one point, a large patch of dense forest suddenly “slid down,” its cut perfectly even.

Sometimes the sound of energy explosions came from the sea surface, raising huge waves and tsunamis.

But no matter how hard others tried, they couldn’t see the figures of these two peak experts.

In this battle, Third Realm experts like Yierbu and Wuda Baota could only play supporting roles, occasionally seizing opportunities to cast curse-killing techniques to interfere with Wei Yuan.

Or, using the core abilities of Spirit Wisdom Wizards, they imbued Emperor Zhende’s sword qi with spiritual nature, ensuring they wouldn’t miss, thus slowly wearing down Wei Yuan’s vital energy.

Besides grinding them down, various systems had almost no way to quickly kill a Third Realm or higher warrior.

Saren Agu didn’t participate in the battle. He sighed, “A warrior who can break formations is truly troublesome.”

His figure blurred again as if separated from the real world by an indistinct curtain.

Saren Agu called out loudly: “Zhende, I’ll lend you the power of this realm’s heaven and earth. Are you confident you can slay Wei Yuan?”

Emperor Zhende paused in midair and laughed wildly: “Then I thank the Grand Wizard for helping me kill this treacherous subject.”

Saren Agu stomped his foot, “May the earth grant me spirit.”

Rocks weathered, soil turned to sand, and streams of earth and metal spirit power, using Saren Agu as a medium, entered the void and poured onto Emperor Zhende.

“May the flora grant me spirit.”

Plants and trees visibly withered. The lush, verdant wood spirit power poured onto Emperor Zhende.

“May the ocean grant me spirit.”

From the shimmering sea surface, black water spirit power poured onto Emperor Zhende.

“May the beacon fires grant me spirit…”

Streams of heaven and earth power were extracted. Emperor Zhende’s aura surged rapidly. At this moment, he seemed to become the sovereign of this realm, coldly looking down upon the treacherous subject.

Emperor Zhende slowly “drew” a sword. He pulled from the void a sword interwoven with the five colors of “metal, wood, water, fire, and earth” – the five elements, the foundation of all things.

Yierbu, Wuda Baota, and Saren Agu simultaneously reached out, using the core ability of Spirit Wisdom Wizards to imbue this sword with spiritual nature.

After completing all this, Saren Agu, the Grand Wizard of the Wushen Sect and a First Realm expert of this era, rapidly declined in energy.

Even a mighty First Realm expert was now close to exhaustion.

For the next hundred years, the area around Mount Jing would become a wasteland.

The sword’s power surged again.

This sword strikes faintly transcended realms.

So much so that Emperor Zhende’s hand holding the sword trembled slightly, as if unable to control it.

This strike condensed the power of two Third Realm experts, one First Realm, and one Second Realm powerhouse.

In this era where transcendent experts did not appear, it would be invincible.

On the distant battlefield, whether Great Feng soldiers or Northeastern troops, every soldier felt the majestic heavenly might, their hearts filled with great fear. Some fled in panic, some lost control of their bowels, and some died on the spot from heart failure.

High-level experts like Zhang Kaitai felt their scalps tingle instantly. They suppressed their fear and looked towards the source of that awe-inspiring presence, towards that five-colored sword light that seemed capable of annihilating heaven and earth.

And beneath the sword light stood Wei Yuan in his tattered cyan robes.

“Lord Wei…”

The eyes of the Golden Gong officers instantly reddened, their faces turning pale.

This sword strike left them unable to even think of resisting or fleeing.

The battle had progressed to this point, far beyond the expectations of these military leaders. Layer upon layer, scene after scene unfolded, leaving them both terrified and bewildered.

The wizards, led by Nalan Yan, raised their heads to gaze at the sword energy in the sky, their spirits shaken.

“Kill him, kill Wei Yuan…” Nalan Yan’s eyes were bloodshot.

The vengeance for his father could be fulfilled today.

“Kill Wei Yuan!” a wizard shouted.

“Kill Wei Yuan…”

“Kill Wei Yuan…”

The shouts rose and fell, growing more numerous. Those who still had strength, or those who had already closed their eyes in fear, all joined in the response.

All voices merged into one: Kill Wei Yuan!

Wei Yuan stood on the sea surface, looking up at that invincible sword light, at the invincible Emperor Zhende.

In his mind, he couldn’t help but recall the image of that young man on horseback, standing on a hillside, singing to see him off before the expedition.

In his ears, he seemed to hear that song again:

“Wolf smoke rises, gazing north at the realm, dragons soar and horses neigh, sword qi like frost!

Heart vast as the Yellow River’s waters, who in twenty years of roaming could stand against?”

Twenty years of roaming, who could stand against… Wei Yuan smiled and said, “Then I suppose I’ll have to become unrivaled in the mortal realm.”

From his tattered cyan robes, he pulled out a Confucian cap and slowly put it on.

The second of Cloud Deer Academy’s treasures: the Sub-Sage’s Confucian Cap!

“Come!”

He gently beckoned.

The Confucian Sage’s etching knife revived, dispersing the corruption, transforming into a stream of light and delivering itself into Wei Yuan’s hand.

He looked to the sky and called out: “Come!”

From the azure sky, a clear light descended, shining upon Wei Yuan.

This clear light came from Principal Zhao Shou, a blessing that nearly cost the life of a Third Realm Great Confucian.

The cap and etching knife radiated dazzling, clear light.

Finally, from his sleeve, he drew out a sheet of paper. On the paper was recorded a very ordinary spell, a spell familiar to wizards!

The core ability of Ritualists — Summoning Heroic Spirits.

Seeing this, the three wizards including Saren Agu felt their brows twitch violently, a sense of ill omen rising.

“Sss!”

As the paper burned, Wei Yuan, full of vigor, called out loudly: “I summon — the Confucian — Sage —”

In an instant, clear energy filled the cosmos!