Stars appeared in the daytime, a white rainbow piercing the sun.

Thirty years ago, such a celestial phenomenon would not have been considered rare. These terrifying signs would often appear whenever a Perfected Lord walked the world and cast their gaze upon it.

For a moment, all was utterly silent.

Even the din of battle within the Sword Pavilion unconsciously subsided. Countless Foundation-Stage Cultivators turned their eyes toward the Ye Family.

And then they saw the tragic state of the Ye Family.

'Hiss... What a ruthless man!'

At that moment, even the Saint Sect Zhenren, famed for their audacity, couldn't help but shudder. They looked at Lü Yang as if he were a madman.

Nearly all of the Ye Family's vaults had been emptied by the Banner Spirits from the Saint Sect, led by the Master of Heaven Mending Peak. The remaining Ye Family Zhenren and direct lineage disciples had their mana sealed by the Banner Spirits from the Seven Luminaries Heaven—Mother of Non-Birth, the Capital City God, and Yan Taizu—and were brought before Lü Yang one by one.

"BOOM!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth, high in the heavens, suddenly grew brighter. It was as if a pair of colossal eyes were piercing through the thick haze, glaring down at Lü Yang.

But Lü Yang was entirely unafraid.

'What can you possibly do to me?'

'It's just impotent rage!'

The next second, Lü Yang shifted his gaze to the suppressed Ye Family disciples below. Their leader was none other than the family Patriarch, Ye Shaoying.

Seeing this, Lü Yang couldn't help but shake his head.

'The Banner Spirits from Seven Luminaries Heaven are still too kind. They haven't fully adapted to the style of this wretched place... The Saint Sect Banner Spirits are so much easier to work with by comparison.'

"What are you all standing around for?"

Lü Yang's tone was flat and cold. "I said... slaughter the family, exterminate the clan. Leave no one alive! Did you not understand me? Or do I need to say it again?"

Everyone was stunned by his words.

At that moment, all the Foundation-Stage Cultivators secretly watching, as well as Ye Shaoying and the other captured Ye Family Zhenren, abruptly looked up, their faces etched with astonishment.

The celestial stars had appeared; a Perfected Lord was watching!

'And you still want to slaughter the entire Ye clan under these circumstances?'

While everyone was still frozen in shock, the Banner Spirits, absolutely loyal to Lü Yang, had already acted. In an instant, the entire Ye Family Territory was transformed into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!

Beside Lü Yang, the figure of Progenitor Tingyou quietly appeared.

"You... you didn't have to do this."

Progenitor Tingyou sighed, clearly believing that Lü Yang had done this for her sake—to vent the frustrations of the Wu Ghost Sect. A trace of emotion flickered in her eyes.

"Killing Zhengde's incarnation was enough to satisfy me... Now that you've slaughtered the Ye Family, I'm afraid that 'Zhengde' will truly disregard everything and force his way into the world."

Could a Perfected Lord do that?

Right now, they could!

After all, nearly half of the sixty-year epoch had passed. If True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde were willing to pay any price, to burn his Grotto Heaven, he had a chance of forcing his manifestation in the world.

But upon hearing this, Lü Yang just smiled.

The Centome had assessed the other's Gold Attribute. Looking across the world, Lü Yang was confident that he was now the person who understood True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde best.

That was why he dared to say:

"Progenitor, don't worry... He doesn't dare to come down!"

In Lü Yang's eyes, this True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde was even less impressive than Fortune!

At least back then, Fortune had openly defeated all his rivals and ascended to the position of the Fruit of Lamp-Cover Fire with honor before advancing to become a Perfected Lord.

A magnificent Perfected Lord, yet he had actually developed a Heart Demon.

How laughable was that?

'I even suspect... he only became a Perfected Lord because someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. They probably had him achieve the Golden Core just to obstruct Progenitor Tingyou!'

The thought made Lü Yang grind his teeth in frustration.

What did it mean to be in the right place at the right time?

This was it! If you stand in the path of a typhoon, even a damn pig can fly. And in his eyes, True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde was that pig.

Of course, there were always exceptions.

Lü Yang couldn't rule out the possibility that the man might truly be pushed to his limit.

But even in the worst-case scenario, if the man really dared to descend, Lü Yang had no fear. If it came down to it, he would just assume his Fake Golden Position ahead of schedule and fight a true Golden Core battle!

Thus, facing the gaze from the Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth, not only did Lü Yang show no fear, he even looked up with great interest, his eyes eager for a fight. He met the gaze for a moment, and in the end, it was the brilliant celestial star that actively faded, its light dimming. It truly wasn't going to pursue the matter.

This was also within Lü Yang's expectations.

'In the end... it just wasn't worth it!'

Perfected Lords were high and mighty. The lives of a few Lower Cultivators were not worth a single hair on their heads. Why would they sacrifice themselves for them?

「Meanwhile, inside the Earth-Piercing Abyss.」

"The situation is dire..."

Exorcist Zhenren withdrew his gaze in disappointment. Just a moment ago, he had truly hoped that True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde would forcibly manifest and set things right.

However, the outcome was not what he had hoped for.

'The sect's foundation can't be saved. I must preserve my own useful life!'

'I can't linger here!'

Thinking this, Exorcist Zhenren immediately forced his injured body to stand and looked at Buddha's Son Guang Ming beside him. "Master, I beg you to save my life."

Exorcist Zhenren's reasoning was perfectly clear to himself.

'I am now the last cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection in the Sword Pavilion. For the sake of the Sect, how can I possibly die here? As long as I am alive, the Sword Pavilion remains. As for the losses from the treasury, that is merely a matter of accumulation. In any case, with our progenitor watching from above, that Demon wouldn't dare to truly wipe out my Sword Pavilion.'

After thinking it through, it all boiled down to three words:

'I can't die!'

As this thought solidified, Exorcist Zhenren's gaze grew firm. However, in the eyes of Buddha's Son Guang Ming beside him, all that could be seen was a thick, shadowy haze enveloping the man.

'What a potent Veil of the Trees...'

Buddha's Son Guang Ming pressed his palms together, inwardly aghast.

From beginning to end, Exorcist Zhenren had only received a Secret Technique manual compiled personally by Ang Xiao from the Yun Family's Ancestor, and had scanned it once with his Divine Sense.

And then he was ensnared.

'Just moments ago, he was horrified that someone was influencing him, yet now he has completely forgotten about it. The Fruit of Great-Forest Wood... It is truly worthy of being the supreme fruit of the Wood Element!'

'So damn insidious!'

'But this is perfect. A chance to lure Ang Xiao into the game.'

While his mind raced with calculations, Buddha's Son Guang Ming's face took on a look of compassion. "Amitabha. Benefactor, since you possess such an awakened heart, it is natural that you have an affinity with my Pure Land!"

So far, everything was going according to his plan.

One had to wonder, why did the Bhagavat cause a Buddha's Son to be born in this generation? Was it merely because Minor Metal had taken away all the Perfected Lords? But would the Bhagavat truly care about a group of Perfected Lords?

The Bhagavat did not!

'The real reason... was the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected!'

At that moment, the deepest memories in the heart of Buddha's Son Guang Ming were revealed one by one. This was the Bhagavat's grand design, and it was also his own true mission.

'Long ago, during the thousand-year calamity when the Dao Court was in chaos, the Bhagavat used the pretext of spreading the Buddhist Dharma to the east to poach the Earth Element Supreme Venerable, the Fruit of Rampart Earth, from right under the Dao Court's nose, causing them to suffer a great loss. Now, it is clear he intends to repeat the same trick and absorb the Fruit of Sword Dao into the Pure Land!'

'If he succeeds... it will be a tremendous boon for the Buddha Country!'

The Pure Land World Honored One, the last Nascent Soul Daoist Lord in the present age, had forcefully carved a path to the heavens in a world that should have been a tripartite stalemate.

You could call him shameless.

You could curse him for being a smurf.

But in the end, he had indeed gained a significant advantage over the other three powers. The Fruit of Rampart Earth, still trapped in the Pure Land to this day, was clear proof.

How could such a figure be easy to deal with?!