A single leaf!

Ye Guan was shocked at the sight of it. A leaf had just shattered his sword intent and knocked him away.

It was important to note that his sword intent had improved greatly after his training with Li Suifeng. Even Li Suifeng couldn't break it easily, but a mere leaf had just shattered it.

Ye Guan’s expression grew serious. If the experts of the first three Heavens were already this terrifying, wouldn't that mean that the experts from the Fourth Heaven onward were more terrifying than them?

Ye Guan looked up at the stone steps again. The next moment, he soared upward with his sword.

The same leaf descended toward him.

Ye Guan gripped his sword with both hands and slashed forward with all his might.

Schwing!

The spacetime ahead of Ye Guan was torn apart

Bang!

When the sword light exploded, Ye Guan plummeted into the abyss down below.

However, a beam of sword light shot up from the depths of the abyss, hitting the leaf.

Bam!

The heavens and earth trembled, but the leaf remained completely stationary.

Ye Guan was shocked.

Rumble!

The leaf suddenly trembled, and a powerful wave of energy flew toward the oncoming beam of sword light.

It shattered the sword light and struck Ye Guan, blasting him thousands of meters away.

When Ye Guan stopped, he was stupefied to see that a massive wound had been gouged out in his chest, and blood was gushing out of the wound like a waterfall.

Then, the leaf disappeared from his sight.

Ye Guan’s eyes narrowed into slits, and he slashed out with his sword—Lifespan Severance!

The world seemed to become illusory beneath the sword strike. By the time the leaf reached Ye Guan, it had already transformed into a withered leaf, and it was soon reduced to dust that disappeared into the wind.

“Huh?” A surprised voice echoed from the hall.

The next moment, a scholar appeared before Ye Guan.

The scholar was dressed in a clean long robe, with a crown binding his hair. The hair at his temples had turned slightly white, but despite his age, he had an energetic, youthful aura and an extraordinary presence.

The scholar stared at Ye Guan with surprise. “The Dao of Time… How did someone as young as you grasp such a profound Dao?”

Ye Guan calmed himself down and cupped his fist. “Greetings, Senior.”

The scholar studied him briefly and asked, “Can you enlighten me?”

Ye Guan replied, “By compressing spacetime.”

"No way." The scholar shook his head. “One can only harness the power of time by compressing spacetime; your sword technique has accelerated time by many years, and it is a feat that cannot be achieved through mere compression alone.

Ye Guan hesitated briefly.

The scholar smiled and said, “You don’t have to tell me if it’s not convenient for you.”

Ye Guan smiled and replied, “It’s not that it’s inconvenient. I’ll take you to a place, and you’ll understand everything once you're there.”

With that, he led the scholar into the tiny pagoda.

Upon entering the pagoda, astonishment flitted across the scholar’s eyes, and his expression became solemn. A powerful cultivator understood just how difficult it was to defy the natural order of time, and in fact, they couldn't even defy the passage of time.

The scholar looked at Ye Guan and asked, “Are you from a Tier Five civilization?”

Ye Guan shook his head.

"Your backer must be from a Tier Five civilization, then," the scholar remarked.

Swoosh!

Li Suifeng suddenly appeared in front of them. He looked at the scholar and smiled, saying, “Ru Yuan, I never expected that we’d meet again.”

Ru Yuan was taken aback. “You…”

Li Suifeng replied, “It's all thanks to Young Lord Ye’s help.”

Ru Yuan turned to Ye Guan and asked, “You can break the Great Dao Seal?”

Ye Guan nodded.

Ru Yuan asked again, “What’s the price to pay?”

“There’s no price.”

“I mean, if I were to ask for your help, what would I need to offer?”

Ye Guan was taken aback. Then. he smiled and replied, “The same price as Senior Li and the others have paid. Follow me for one hundred years. I'll need you to fight on my behalf for the next one hundred years.”

“Who are the enemies?”

“The Evil Dao Alliance.”

“Them?!”

“Senior, you've heard of them?”

“Who doesn’t know of the Evil Dao Alliance? They’ve been manipulating the Evil Daos in the shadows for years, reversing the virtuous and evil, and then calling themselves the enforcers of Order! I’m curious, why are you fighting them?”

Ye Guan recounted his grievances with the Evil Dao Alliance, and he casually mentioned Sister Zhen in the process.

"Suppressing the Universe Tribulation millions of times," Ru Yuan muttered, "How terrifying."

Li Suifeng nodded. “True.”

Both of them had once been the most powerful figures of their respective eras, capable of suppressing a Universe Tribulation thousands of times without much difficulty.

However, the True God's feat was a different story.

A Universe Tribulation grew stronger with each suppression, and it would eventually become too powerful to suppress. The fact that True God had been suppressing it for so long without experiencing any backlash showed just how powerful she was.

Ru Yuan said, “If you can truly help me escape, I’m willing to aid you for a hundred years.”

Ye Guan was delighted, and he hurriedly responded, “Deal!”

With that, Ye Guan led Ru Yuan outside. As soon as they stepped out, the Great Dao Seal appeared above them, seemingly triggered by Ru Yuan’s disappearance into the tiny pagoda.

However, it didn't attack them for some reason.

Ye Guan stared deeply at the Great Dao Seal. Just as he was about to draw the Qingxuan Sword, the seal trembled violently and transformed into a beam of light that disappeared into the distant sky.

It fled! Ye Guan’s expression froze in disbelief.

Ru Yuan stared deeply at Ye Guan. Was he somehow connected to the Great Dao?

Ye Guan said, “Senior, you’re free now.”

Ru Yuan bowed deeply. “I have nothing to repay you with, but you have my word. Whatever you command, I will not refuse.”

“Senior, how does your power now compare to your power at your peak?”

“Around thirty percent.”

“Thirty percent!” Ye Guan exclaimed. “Senior, you only have about thirty percent of your peak strength, so how come you're still so much stronger than the typical Path Creation Realm cultivator?”

Ru Yuan explained, “I can’t give you a definite answer, but it has to do with one’s experience. They all contribute to one’s combat strength.”

“I thought there's some sort of hierarchy even among Path Creation Realm experts.”

“There’s no such thing. However, people in your era like to classify the strength of Path Creation Realm cultivators using the ascension of Nine Heavens as a basis of comparison.

"Of course, it's not wrong; those who manage to ascend higher are naturally stronger than those below them.”

“In all these years, have you encountered anyone particularly powerful?”

“Yes, and some of them were even from the Evil Dao Alliance.”

“…”

“Are you planning to move up to the next Heaven?”

Ye Guan nodded.

Ru Yuan shook his head and said, “The guardian of the Fourth Heaven isn't someone to be trifled with. Your strength is impressive, but you’re too weak compared to him. Going up there could put your life at risk.”

“What if I help him escape?”

“You can’t do that.”

Ye Guan was puzzled.

Ru Yuan explained, “We do want to leave, but the one at the Fourth Heaven is different. He has imprisoned himself there; that trick is not going to work on him.”

“He imprisoned himself?” Ye Guan asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. He was already here when I arrived, and he doesn’t like to interact with others. So even though we’re neighbors, we’ve never really communicated. In contrast, Swordsman Li is much more amiable.”

“Can I skip the Fourth Heaven and go straight to the Fifth Heaven?”

“No, the rules here require you to ascend one Heaven at a time. Also, young friend, you need to be cautious in the future. Your pagoda carry is a top-tier treasure even in the vast expanse. If it catches the eye of someone with ill intentions, you will be in trouble.”

“I understand, Senior.”

Ye Guan had his reasons for allowing Ru Yuan into the tiny pagoda, and one of them was the fact that the pagoda was full of powerful beings. Moreover, Ye Guan wasn't going to trust anyone so easily unless he could deal with them.

“Senior, I would appreciate some guidance,” Ye Guan remarked. Since he could not go to Fourth Heaven for now, he decided to spar with Ru Yuan to his heart’s content.

Ru Yuan asked, “Do you want me to go all out, or should I hold back?”

“Go all out,” Ye Guan replied.

"Very well." Ru Yuan nodded. “Shall we begin?”

Ye Guan was about to nod, but Ru Yuan suddenly threw a punch at him.

Boom!

Caught off guard, Ye Guan was blasted thousands of meters away. As soon as he stopped, he spat a mouthful of blood. He felt as if his internal organs had been shaken, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth, Ye Guan looked up at Ru Yuan and said, “Senior, that was a sneak attack…”

Ru Yuan's expression remained calm as he replied, “How can you accuse a scholar of launching a sneak attack? It's part of the art of war—everything is far in war.”

Ye Guan was stunned. Scholars were really great at justifying things. Once again, he transformed into a ray of sword light and vanished.

In the distance, Ru Yuan pointed forward, and a drop of ink suddenly appeared at his fingertip. Ye Guan’s sword arrived, colliding with the drop of ink. The sword intent trembled violently, and it was shattered into pieces.

Just as Ru Yuan was about to strike again, a sword suddenly appeared behind him.

Surprised, Ru Yuan turned around and pointed, but when he turned another sword appeared at the back of his head. Ru Yuan was taken aback. In response, he clenched his right hand into a fist.

Boom!

A surge of energy erupted from within him, but the next moment, countless sword lights enveloped him.

Ye Guan leaped into the air and slashed down with his sword.

Bam!

Ru Yuan's surging energy exploded, and he was blasted hundreds of meters away. When he stopped, he looked at Ye Guan in the distance and smiled. “That wasn't bad. You almost got me. Let’s go again.”

With that, Ru Yuan took a step forward and vanished into thin air.

Ye Guan grinned, and he charged forward without any hesitation.

***

Inside a certain tavern along the Dao Street, Dao Emperor Zhaowu was sitting by the window with a pot of wine and a cup before him. Nine swordsmen and an old man dressed in black were standing before him.

Dao Emperor Zhaowu glanced outside the window and stared at the distant Nine Heavens.

“Is Ye Guan still cultivating?” he asked with a smile.

The old man nodded. “Yes.”

Dao Emperor Zhaowu picked up his cup and took a sip before asking, “Have you found any traces of his father?”

"No," the old man said, shaking his head, "He appeared once, but he vanished mysteriously. It seems that he doesn’t want to confront our Evil Dao Alliance head-on.”

Dao Emperor Zhaowu chuckled. “No need to keep searching.”

“Why not?” The old man asked.

“Hit the son, and the father will definitely show up…” Dao Emperor Zhaowu said. He turned to the window, and a slight smirk tugged at his lips as he said, “I truly hope that he's beyond the Path Creation Realm; otherwise, it would be too boring.

"There’s no thrill in slaughtering the weak. However, I have to admit that it will be

really

satisfying to crush his father in front of him.

Hahaha!

"