One Step to Celestial Master

He had taken half a step beyond the Celestial Phenomenon Realm. The Nine Vice Sect Masters below were startled.

Although surpassing the limits of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm was not exclusive to the Celestial Masters of Celestial Master Manor.

Other inherited factions besides the Celestial Masters still existed,

that could surpass the Celestial Phenomenon Realm by either a small half-step or a large half-step.

But those capable of reaching such a level were exceptionally rare.

Now, their Sect Master had reached it as well?

"Hmph. If I could completely absorb the inheritance of the Original Demon Sect, I would not merely be taking half a step."

The Myriad Demons Sect Master glanced at his many subordinates below, unable to stop his mind from returning to everything he had experienced within the Original Demon Sect's inheritance grounds.

He had obtained that great opportunity only after narrowly escaping death countless times.

And he could only enter once. Even if he wanted to go in again now, it was impossible. He could not even determine the corresponding location.

As time passed.

The decisive battle between the Myriad Demons Sect and righteous factions such as Celestial Master Manor drew ever closer.

Half a year later.

At the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The Myriad Demons Sect gathered several thousand members of the Demonic Crowd.

Celestial Master Manor did not yield either, dispatching all of its Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts.

The two sides stood opposed.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Azure Lord, you do not think I retreated voluntarily in the past because I feared you, do you?"

The Myriad Demons Sect Master was wildly arrogant, his terrifying demonic aura sweeping in every direction.

Across from him, Azure Lord remained calm and wholly unaffected.

"Remnants of the Original Demon Sect—have the generations of Celestial Masters from our Celestial Master Manor not hunted you enough?"

Azure Lord said indifferently.

"So what?"

"Your Celestial Master Manor has not produced a Celestial Master in five hundred years."

"This world will ultimately belong to my Original Demon Sect."

The Myriad Demons Sect Master no longer bothered pretending, and the aura he radiated grew increasingly heavy.

Hearing this, Azure Lord sighed inwardly.

If Lin Yuan had not gone down the wrong path, Celestial Master Manor might have produced another Celestial Master.

But that was of little use in the current situation. Even a Celestial Master needed time to grow.

Based on the cultivation speed of the Celestial Masters throughout Celestial Master Manor's history, it would take at least fifty years to become a Celestial Master.

When the Celestial Masters of Celestial Master Manor descended Dragon Tiger Mountain, most were already sixty or seventy years old.

Even if everything went smoothly for Lin Yuan and he took no wrong turns, he would still need fifty years to become a Celestial Master.

"Today, I shall let you, Azure Lord, witness my true strength."

Seeing Azure Lord remain silent, the Myriad Demons Sect Master laughed loudly, raised his right hand, and lightly pointed downward.

Rumble!

A terrifying aura crushed down from every direction.

Seeing this, Azure Lord decisively drew the sword at his waist.

Buzz!!! An incomparably sharp sword aura erupted, piercing through the surrounding Demonic Qi before slashing toward the Myriad Demons Sect Master.

"A Celestial Master Sword?"

"Not bad. With your strength, wielding a Celestial Master Sword and activating the residual Celestial Master power within it can indeed unleash strength close to mine."

The Myriad Demons Sect Master offered his assessment.

As the Manor Head of this generation of Celestial Master Manor, Azure Lord had naturally been raised as a Celestial Phenomenon Realm candidate from childhood. He had entered the Sword Graveyard and been chosen by a Celestial Master Sword.

Although Celestial Master Swords were far inferior to the True Martial Sword, which contained the essential power of Taiyin Power and Taiyang Power,

they had been nourished day and night by generations of Celestial Masters and retained some of their power.

When Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts of Celestial Master Manor who followed the same path activated them at full strength, they could fully draw out the power deep within a Celestial Master Sword.

"What a pity."

"Even a Celestial Master Sword is merely an external object. Even if you can activate it, how long can you keep it up?"

The Myriad Demons Sect Master sneered.

"Even if every Celestial Phenomenon Realm cultivator of your Celestial Master Manor held a Celestial Master Sword and joined forces to surround and kill me, you could at most suppress me. Once your strength is depleted—"

The Myriad Demons Sect Master's gaze was icy.

In truth, the Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts of Celestial Master Manor could not truly join Azure Lord in besieging the Myriad Demons Sect Master. There were too few of them, leaving the Demon Sect's Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts free to act without restraint.

"Die."

The Myriad Demons Sect Master took a step forward, and terrifying, frenzied Demonic Qi surged over them.

"Not good."

Azure Lord's expression changed.

At the summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

It was completely unlike the grave, chilling atmosphere at the mountain's foot.

The morning sun rose here, and faint warmth spread through the air.

Lin Yuan still sat atop the massive boulder, a token, an external object.

"Shan Feng Shixiong."

Qingping had come running up at some point.

"The Manor Head asked me to tell you to leave Dragon Tiger Mountain through the secret passage immediately."

Qingping spoke quickly.

Azure Lord did not have absolute confidence in the decisive battle against the Myriad Demons Sect.

To ensure the inheritance of Celestial Master Manor, Lin Yuan, the disciple acknowledged by the True Martial Sword, had to leave.

That way, even if the worst possibility came to pass, Celestial Master Manor's inheritance would not be completely severed.

So long as the True Martial Sword did not fall into the Myriad Demons Sect's hands, the possibility of a new Celestial Master being born in the future would remain.

Even if a hundred or a thousand years passed, so long as a new Celestial Master emerged, he could still restore the inheritance of Celestial Master Manor.

"Shan Feng Shixiong?"

Seeing that Lin Yuan did not respond, Qingping called out again softly.

Yet Lin Yuan, with his back to him, remained oblivious. His eyes were lightly closed, as though his mind had wandered beyond the heavens.

"Shan Feng Shixiong?"

Just as Qingping wondered whether Lin Yuan had fallen asleep and prepared to step forward and give him a push.

Lin Yuan, seated on the boulder, suddenly opened his eyes.

Your comprehension is heaven-defying. Through day-and-night contemplation of the Dao, you have comprehended the Taiyin Sun Fusion Method and undergone ultimate sublimation, surpassing the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.

Lin Yuan's eyes were clear.

"So that was it."

Lin Yuan rose to his feet from the boulder.

At that moment, from his perspective, all things between heaven and earth were divided into the two colors of yin and yang. Yin and yang transformed into black and white, into the Yin Fish and Yang Fish, endlessly interweaving and merging.

"Shan Feng Shixiong, you...?"

Qingping stared blankly. For some reason, he felt that Shan Feng Shixiong was somewhat different from before.

"Wait a moment."

Lin Yuan smiled faintly and reached out to grasp the empty air.

A sword appeared at some unknown moment, hovering in Lin Yuan's palm out of thin air.

Lin Yuan gently stroked the sword and said calmly, "Go down first."

Whoosh! The sword shot into the sky and headed toward the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

At the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Azure Lord was fighting the Myriad Demons Sect Master.

Suddenly.

As if sensing something, the Myriad Demons Sect Master's expression changed drastically, and he retreated at once.

An ancient sword fell from the sky, its tip embedded in the spot where the Myriad Demons Sect Master had just stood.

The ancient sword was only three feet long, yet its Dao intent was vast and boundless, blotting out the sky and sun as though it possessed the majesty of all Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The words "True Martial" could vaguely be seen engraved upon its scabbard.

"The True Martial Sword?"

The Myriad Demons Sect Master's expression turned grave as he looked toward where the ancient sword had come from.

It was the summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

At that moment.

At the summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Lin Yuan merely let out a long breath and gently took a step forward.

That single step carried him a hundred zhang, taking him directly beyond Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The sea of clouds above Dragon Tiger Mountain churned and surged beneath Lin Yuan's feet.

Standing atop the sea of clouds, Lin Yuan walked step by step toward the mountain's foot.

Qingping stared blankly at the phenomenon before him. As though remembering something, his eyes reddened, and he murmured softly, "Uncle Master Changqing, wake up and look. Shan Feng Shixiong has become a Celestial Master in a single step."