The tall man lunged toward Ye Guan with his halberd in hand.

Boom!

The stars nearby were obliterated as soon as the tall man made his move.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed, and he swapped the Qingxuan Sword in his hand for a sword made out of sword intent. Then, he transformed into a beam of sword light that shot into the sky.

He was going to fight the tall man head-on!

His plan was to spar with Zhou Yuan to train, but an unexpected opponent had appeared, so there was no longer any need for him to spar with the latter.

Although he was curious about the tall man's identity, he decided to fight first and ask questions later.

Boom!

A kaleidoscope of sword lights when their attacks collided, and the impact sent the two into a rapid retreat.

Ye Guan's face was filled with excitement. His strength had indeed improved by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, the tall man was frowning as he looked at Ye Guan. "Your cultivation base…"

"What's with all the unnecessary talk?" Ye Guan asked. He took a stance with his sword and a ray of sword light descended toward the crown of the tall man's head.

A cold gleam flashed in the tall man's eyes. With a flick of his wrist, the halberd in his hand transformed into a multicolored light that rushed toward Ye Guan.

A head-on clash!

Boom!

As soon as the halberd and the sword met, a cataclysmic explosion erupted. In the blink of an eye, a myriad of swords made out of sword intent surrounded the tall man.

Phantom Edge!

The tall man frowned, and he pressed down with his left hand.

Rumble!

A colossal divine statue appeared behind him, and Ye Guan's sword intent collapsed.

The divine statue raised its head and threw a punch that shattered more stars in this star field.

Boom, boom, boom!

Ye Guan was blasted thousands of meters away. When he stopped, he was astounded to find that everything within a million kilometers around him had been reduced to ashes, becoming pitch-black in color.

Ye Guan looked up at the tall man in the distance, feeling shocked. The man's strength was indeed extraordinary.

However, Ye Guan's shock quickly transformed into excitement. The stronger his opponent, the better.

With a light tap of his foot, a beam of sword light emerged beneath him, and it flew to the tall man.

The divine statue behind the tall man put its palms together, and inscrutable light rings burst out of the divine statue, spreading out for millions of kilometers. Every single star in the mysterious light rings' way ended up crumbling without exception, and Ye Guan himself flew thousands of meters away upon impact. As soon as he came to a halt, his fleshly body cracked open, and blood seeped out the corner of his mouth.

Ye Guan looked up slowly at the tall man in the distance. The tall man was enveloped in a golden light and was exuding a majestic aura.

The statue behind him also looked like a towering war god, and its presence made the entire star field appear insignificant.

Just then, Zhou Yuan's voice echoed in Ye Guan's mind,

"Young Master Ye, I think he's a guardian of the universe boundary here. Be careful."

Ye Guan frowned and asked, "A guardian of the universe boundary here?"

Zhou Yuan replied, "Yes, his role is exactly as his name states. He protects the boundary of a universe region. Every universe region has its boundary; some have always been there, while others are established by cultivators rather than nature. This particular boundary is likely an artificial one, which means that there's a powerful civilization on the other side."

Ye Guan nodded slightly before looking up at the tall man.

The tall man took a step forward, and the divine statue behind him bent down before throwing a punch at Ye Guan. The punch carried a terrifying might; Ye Guan felt like the weight of a thousand mountains was boring down on him.

In response, Ye Guan closed his eyes, and the power of his bloodlines surged crazily.

Moments later, the sword in his hand became a blood-red sword. He then transformed into a ray of sword light that soared into the sky. He wasted no time and slashed at the oncoming punch.

At the same time, the space around the divine statue shattered, and countless sword intent flew out of the rift, engulfing the statue.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A golden light and a sword light intermingled with each other above the starry sky. Waves of destructive power spread in all directions, and the spacetime nearby shattered nonstop.

Ye Guan's might surged crazily upon receiving the enhancement of his two bloodlines, and the tide of battle was reversed almost immediately.

The divine statue's power could no longer suppress him, and cracks had even appeared in the divine statue due to Ye Guan's relentless assault.

Boom!

With a deafening explosion, the divine statue shattered, and the tall man was sent flying by Ye Guan's sword strike.

Just as Ye Guan was about to attack once again, Zhou Yuan warned, "Watch out!"

Ye Guan turned around and saw a blood-red sword flying toward him.

Ye Guan took a stance and slashed out at the oncoming blood-red sword.

Bang!

The two were forced backward. After coming to a stop, Ye Guan looked at the shadowy figure in the distance and frowned. "It's you again?"

Zhou Yuan appeared beside Ye Guan.

Meanwhile, the tall man stared at Ye Guan in shock. "How come you're so strong when your cultivation base is so low?"

Ye Guan retorted, "How come you're so weak when your cultivation base is so high?"

Zhou Yuan had no idea what to say.

However, the tall man was furious. "You bastard, do you even know how to talk? I did not insult you, so why are you attacking me personally?"

Zhou Yuan turned to look at the tall man, clearly taken aback.

What kind of logic is that?

Ye Guan looked at the tall man indifferently and said, "I have no grievances with you, but you came to attack me. So tell me, why should I not curse at you?"

The tall man replied, "You violated the laws of the Evil Dao, and it is my duty to apprehend you."

"I only know the Guanxuan Law. I know nothing of the so-called Evil Dao laws," Ye Guan replied.

Xuan Yin asked, "Are you from the True Universe?"

Ye Guan turned to Xuan Yin, sounding a bit surprised. "How do you know about the True Universe?"

Xuan Yin glared at him and replied, "So you really are from the True Universe. No wonder you dare to defy the laws of the Great Dao and save those people destined to die. The Universe Region where you live is surely problematic!"

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. "You guys have investigated the True Universe?"

"The True God must be the reason behind your confidence, right?" Xuan Yin asked.

Swoosh!

Instead of replying, Ye Guan transformed into a streak of sword light.

Xuan Yin's expression changed drastically, and he thrust his sword fiercely.

Bang!

Xuan Yin's blood-red longsword shattered, and the immense force sent him flying tens of thousands of meters away.

A few seconds later, Xuan Yin finally managed to stabilize himself, but he looked down in astonishment upon seeing that his arm had cracked open.

Xuan Yin was truly shocked upon seeing the extent of his injuries.

Ye Guan stared at Xuan Yin and said, "I'm the one asking the questions here, so do not interrupt me with another question. Do you understand?"

Xuan Yin looked at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Guan's hand with an extremely grim expression. In fact, he had noticed how Ye Guan would often switch swords at the critical juncture, but he hadn't paid much attention to it until now.

Xuan Yin quickly realized that it was the reason he was losing, but it was truly a curveball, as he couldn't have imagined Ye Guan to possess such an artifact.

The tall man glanced at the Qingxuan Sword as well, and the light of grave concern flashed in his eyes with a hint of fear.

Their words just now meant that Ye Guan had yet to go all out. If he had used that sword earlier, the tall man would have been caught off guard and killed.

The tall man glanced at Ye Guan, becoming convinced that Ye Guan was someone with an extraordinary background. He glanced back and forth between Ye Guan and Xuan Yin before saying, "Gentleman, I still have some matters to attend to, so I'm leaving now."

With that, the tall man turned around and ran. He wasn't stupid, so he assumed that the young man had to be a talent that a superior civilization had sent over here to train. If Ye Guan were someone insignificant, he wouldn't mind helping the mysterious organization out in exchange for favors from them. Unfortunately, it seemed that the young man was not someone to be trifled with. In the end, the tall man decided to leave. Otherwise, there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to go home if he were to stay here.

Xuan Yin's expression became heavy. He was alone, and there was no one way he could handle a two-on-one situation.

"Let's kill him," Ye Guan chimed in and charged at Xuan Yin with his sword in hand.

Zhou Yuan rushed out as well along with the remaining blood corpses.

Xuan Yin's face changed drastically at the sight, and he turned around quickly to flee.

Ye Guan, Zhou Yuan, and the blood corpses chased after Xuan Yin through dozens of star fields, but they ultimately failed to catch up to him.

It seemed that it was truly impossible to stop a cultivator from leaving a certain place if they wanted to live.

Ye Guan had no choice but to give up. He glared coldly into the horizon and muttered, "That mysterious organization must have investigated the True Universe..."

Are they planning on doing something against the True Universe?

A hint of worry appeared in Ye Guan's eyes. His expression turned solemn, and he took a deep breath.

I must become stronger and reach the Path Creation Realm! I must!

Ye Guan could still remember how he told Sister Zhen that he'd rely only on himself once he was strong enough to save her. No, he didn't just tell her; it was his promise to her.

Eventually, Ye Guan emptied his mind and told Zhou Yuan to return to the tiny pagoda along with the remaining blood corpses. Then, he took flight with the Qingxuan Sword and vanished into the distant horizon.

Soon, he found himself in the same universe boundary as earlier. The tall man was there, and he said, "This is the boundary to the Hongyuan Universe. Outsiders are prohibited beyond this point."

Instead of replying, Ye Guan took out the Qingxuan Sword and summoned Zhou Yuan as well as the blood corpses.

Then, they all stared at the tall man.

After a moment of silence, the tall man awkwardly said, "Our Hongyuan Civilization has always been hospitable. This way, please…"

The tall man hurriedly opened the boundary for Ye Guan and his group.