Sword Master Qingshan was surprised to see the saber, but the surprise quickly morphed into fury.

Someone had actually dared to bully his precious grandson.

Under normal circumstances, others would not be able to sense his presence through mere bloodline power. However, in order to protect his grandson at any moment, he had deliberately left the connection open. However, this was the first time someone had attempted to attack him through his grandson's blood.

With a swift motion, Sword Master Qingshan spread his palm, catching the saber.

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the saber back to where it had come from.

The spacetime before the Marquis cracked open as the saber pierced his brows.

The Marquis froze, and his eyes were wide in disbelief.

The sudden turn of events stumped the crowd. What was going on?

The white-armored lady and Ye Guan were puzzled.

Ye Guan hadn't expected his enemy to attack the source of his own Mad Demon Bloodline.

Grandfather is the source! And yet this maniac actually tried to kill him? Isn't he courting his own death?

Ye Guan noticed that the Marquis was trying to say something. Ye Guan charged forward, swiftly chopping the Marquis' head off with his sword.

Swish!

The Marquis' head flew off, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Ye Guan surreptitiously pocketed the Marquis' storage ring.

"Together, the grandfather and the grandson are invincible!"

"Shameless,"

Little Pagoda chimed in.

The Devourer Civilization cultivators were aghast upon witnessing Ye Guan killing the Marquis in an instant. They dared not continue the fight; they turned to flee, but a radiant light swept across the battlefield.

Swish...

Six heads soared into the sky—they were killed in a heartbeat!

Ye Guan's eyelid twitched. He looked up into the depths of the starry sky and smiled. "Thank you, Grandfather."

Sword Master Qingshan burst out into laughter that echoed throughout the starry skies.

Just then, a lady's voice echoed as well. "Brother Yang, hurry up! We're almost there!"

"Coming!" Swordsman Qingshan replied. He turned to look at Ye Guan in the distance and smiled before vanishing into the distance. There were no more enemies near Ye Guan, so he decided to leave. �

***

Ye Guan felt pleased with himself - he had collected another six storage rings.

At that moment, the white-armored lady approached him and stared deeply at him. "Who killed him?"

"Let's go to the Gui Zhe Civilization first."

"All right," she said as she led Ye Guan and the others into the teleportation array.

Just as they departed, a figure in a black robe suddenly appeared in the area. It was the assassin from the Devourer Civilization who had tried to kill Ye Guan earlier.

Fear struck the black-robed man's heart as he looked at the lifeless body of the Marquis. He thanked his lucky stars that he had not continued his pursuit after that young man, or he would have died as well.

Without even gathering the corpses, the black-robed man left.

He had to report this incident, as this was beyond his salary grade.

***

Upon entering the teleportation array, Ye Guan noticed that this one was unlike any he had encountered before. Standing inside, it felt as if he were standing in the same spot, making him feel confused.

"Who killed them?" the white-armored lady asked once again

"Dunno, divine retribution perhaps," Ye Guan replied.

The white-armored lady frowned.

"How should I address you?" asked Ye Guan.

"Zhang Nan."

"Lady Zhang, can you tell me more about the Gui Zhe Civilization and the Devourer Civilization?"

Zhang Nan pondered for a moment. Then, she nodded and said, "Sure."

Although she was unsure of this man's origin, the fact that Yama Dharmaraja had invited him personally meant that he had an extraordinary origin.

Zhang Nan explained, "The Gui Zhe Civilization, the Devourer Civilization, and the Timeless Civilization all originated from the multiverse. During a certain era, someone violated the laws of the Dao of Time, disrupting the timeline.

"The entire multiverse was thrown into turmoil, and a brutal conflict ensued. In the end, the Multiverse Emperor single-handedly merged all timelines into one.

"After the integration, countless civilizations gathered, and after years of war, only three civilizations survived—the Gui Zhe Civilization, the Devourer Civilization, and the Timeless Civilization."

"Are you all in the same spacetime?"

"Yes, the three civilizations are on par in strength. They have fought wars in the past, but ultimately, no one was able to triumph over one another. They had no choice but to sign a peace treaty, agreeing not to impose on each other.

"Eventually, the three civilizations divided and conquered other low-tier civilizations in the multiverse, including the one where you just came from."

Ye Guan looked at Zhang Nan, "Is your goal to collect souls?"

"Life souls are an incredibly precious energy source as they can be used to create Creation Crystals."

"Creation Crystals are made from souls?" Ye Guan exclaimed.

"The stronger the soul of a cultivator, the more Creation Crystals can be made from it; the quality is higher as well."

Ye Guan was astounded.

He had not expected that Creation Crystals were entirely made from souls. No wonder Tier Six civilizations hadn't chosen to eliminate all low-tier civilizations. The lives of those in low-tier civilizations were like crops in their eyes.

"Why does the Devourer Civilization want to kill you?" Zhang Nan asked all of a sudden.

"Someone from the Great Sorcerer Clan tried to kill me, but my uncle killed them instead. The Devourer Civilization then sent someone after me."

"The Great Sorcerer Clan?"

Ye Guan nodded.

Zhang Nan's expression suddenly turned grim.

"What's wrong?"

"The Great Sorcerer Clan are representatives of the Devourer Civilization. Each of our civilizations has its own representatives. They're around to control the civilizations beneath us," Zhang Nan said gravely.

"They don't allow low-tier civilizations to become Tier Six Civilizations?"

"Exactly. The resources of this known vast expanse have long been divided, so if another Tier Six Civilization is born, it will disrupt the current arrangement.

"That is why we absolutely cannot allow another Tier Six Civilization to appear. The Chaotic Ancient Clan almost succeeded through their research on the Dao of Time, so the Great Sorcerer Clan was sent to annihilate them.

"However, the Chaotic Ancient Emperor was quite formidable; the Devourer Clan had to send a cultivator of the Eternal Immortal Realm to take him down!"

Zhang Nan looked at Ye Guan upon recalling something. "You said your uncle killed someone from the Great Sorcerer Clan?"

Ye Guan nodded.

"Your uncle is in big trouble. The Devourer Civilization is known for being petty and prideful. They will never accept that their people were killed by beings from a low-tier civilization. They will surely seek revenge on your uncle."

Ye Guan chuckled. "I'm not afraid of them going after my uncle. I'm more worried that they will come for me."

"If your uncle can kill their people, he must be extraordinary."

Ye Guan nodded. "Can a being from a low-tier civilization kill someone from a high-tier civilization?"

"Definitely. Some top cultivators from a Tier Five Civilization can be considered above average when placed in a Tier Six Civilization. However, overall, Tier Five civilizations stand no chance against Tier Six ones."

"How would I rank among your civilization?" Ye Guan asked. He was very curious about his own strength in the context of a Tier Six Civilization.

Zhang Nan analyzed Ye Guan for a moment. "I don't know your true strength, so it's hard to tell."

Ye Guan laughed, "Does your civilization have a hierarchy?"

"Yes, it's somewhat similar to your civilization rankings, but there are differences."

"How so?"

"From what I've observed, your sword intent is entirely divine in nature, but your humanity does not reflect that."

"You guys also cultivate humanity and divinity?" Ye Guan hurriedly asked

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Of course. When humanity is cultivated to the extreme, it becomes divine. When divinity is cultivated to the extreme..." Zhang Nan trailed off.

"What comes after that?" Ye Guan interjected.

"Once divinity is cultivated to its peak, there are two paths. The first path is to transcend everything and cultivate Dao-nature. The second path is to go against the flow and suppress divinity with humanity.

"I've heard of the former, but I've never encountered the latter, as it is nearly impossible to suppress divinity with humanity once divinity has become extremely pure."

Suppressing divinity with humanity…

Ye Guan fell silent. He had encountered two such people—Sister Zhen and Clan Leader Jing. As for the Great Daoist Brush Master... he was still a mystery.

"For those who cultivate the Dao and those who use humanity to suppress divinity, what realm are they?"

Zhang Nan shook her head, "There are no cultivation realms."

Ye Guan was momentarily stumped. "None?"

"Cultivators of this level have transcended the concept of cultivation realms; no defined realms can describe them. You can say that they aren't in a cultivation realm."

Ye Guan fell silent, somewhat surprised.

Zhang Nan looked at Ye Guan. "If you can suppress your divinity with humanity, you'll become incredibly powerful. However, I believe it's very hard for you to take that step. In our Gui Zhe Civilization, many cultivate divinity, but ultimately, no one has been able to suppress their divinity with humanity."

"Apart from those two, what are the cultivation realms in your civilization?"

"Countless civilizations have their own cultivation methods and their own methods to categorize those cultivators, but we use the word 'Immortal' to standardize everything.

"Our cultivators are divided into seven realms—Subtle Immortal, Illusory Immortal, Divine Immortal, Willed Immortal, Verity Immortal, Eternal Immortal, and Transcendent Immortal," Zhang Nan explained. She glanced at Ye Guan and added, "Let me see your sword intent."

Ye Guan hurriedly displayed his sword intent.

Zhang Nan then fell silent. "You can be considered a Willed Immortal Realm expert. Your sword intent is very pure; an ordinary cultivator can't shatter it. If you cultivate your soul to the same level, you will reach the Verity Immortal Realm, equivalent to the late Marquis."

Ye Guan felt gratified upon hearing that. He wasn't that weak in this new civilization.

Just then, Zhang Nan's eyes widened in shock as if she had sensed something. The expressions of the guards around her also changed dramatically.

"What's wrong?" Ye Guan asked.

Zhang Nan's face darkened. "We just received news that three Verity Immortals are heading our way and will arrive in less than fifteen minutes."

Three Verity Immortals!

Ye Guan's face fell. Apparently, the Marquis was a Verity Immortal.

"What should we do?" he asked.

"Young Master Ye, we cannot take you back! We are no match for those three Verity Immortals. Take care now..." Zhang Nan patted Ye Guan on the shoulder, and he was immediately sent out of the teleportation array.

Ye Guan found himself all alone and disoriented amidst a vast starry region.