Seventy years have flicked by, and the clamor of the cultivation realm has never ceased.

Ever since that catastrophe tore open a fissure to ascension, this world has become a battleground for venerable figures vying for supremacy, known as the "great struggle era" by the masses.

Within the ethereal tower deep within the five sects, the ancient bell tolls thrice to signal the ascension of a venerable figure.

Veteran venerables ascend one after another, while the newly appointed leaders busy themselves with refining the sect’s fortunes and nurturing the new generation, preparing for the birth of the next child of destiny, too preoccupied to concern themselves with the contests outside, nor do they obstruct them.

After the Five Poison True Immortal, the "Black Water Venerable" in the Southwest, the "Mountain-Burning Daoist" in the Northern Domain, the "Brahman Venerable" in the Western Domain, and the "Extensive Heaven Venerable" in the Central Plains all successively soared with their fortunes.

The emergence of several outsiders as True Immortals completely ignited the ambitions of all venerable outsiders.

From then, without the need for the five sects to act, whenever a venerable figure attempts to gather fortune and establish an immortal foundation, there will undoubtedly be a contender of comparable rank to thwart them.

Except for the heartland of the Central Plains firmly controlled by the five sects, all other fortune nodes have become fiercely contested territories.

On the shores of the Eastern Sea, amid the endless azure waves, floats an island of boundless meteorological phenomena.

Ancient pines of Cangwu, waves crashing upon the shore, faintly resonating with some celestial rhythm—this place is the headquarters of the Intercept Sect, Whale Island.

A thousand miles above the clouds outside the island, two figures stand in the void.

The venerable figure on the left is dressed in a dark purple Daoist robe, with Zhou Tian star patterns embroidered at the robe’s hem, his face gaunt yet his eyes like lightning, none other than Xuanhua, the contemporary venerable of the Lore Master Sect.

The one on the right is draped in a Red Flame feather cloak, surrounded by faint Li Fire celestial aura, a strand of Crimson Gold Fire Silk often suspended in his palm, known as Huo Mo Venerable, paired with Xuanhua as the "Twin Wonders of Lore Master."

Both are veteran venerables who avoided the calamity by hiding within the Lore Master Grotto Heaven back then, having now come jointly upon hearing the news that the Eastern Sea fortune belongs to one person.

Xuanhua pinches a formula at his fingertips, a silver-white starlight shines toward Whale Island, the scene of fortune flowing within the island fully revealed to him.

He lightly sighs, stroking his beard:

"A remarkable Heaven-Cutting Daoist, indeed with some skill. With followers of human loose cultivators, as well as the Shark, Whale, and Spiritual Turtle races among the demon race, truly achieving inclusivity."

"In just seventy years, he has twisted the fragmented Eastern Sea fortune into one rope; this command technique is worthy of a master ruler of an era."

Huo Mo Venerable snorts, the Crimson Gold Fire Silk in his palm spinning into a small fiery wheel:

"The overseas was originally a barren land, pale in venerable figures, without even a powerful entity capable of guarding a territory at that time, he merely seized the chance ’of a mountain without a tiger.’"

He glanced at the gathering cloud of fortune, his tone filled with the arrogance of a veteran venerable:

"A loose cultivator with no sect or clan, what if he’s lucky enough to cultivate his Yin Spirit? Those he vanquished were merely overseas demon race True Monarchs, not daring to step even a foot into the Central Plains, his foundation is indeed shallow."

"Command techniques? We cultivators speak with divine techniques and cultivation!"

Xuanhua withdrew his starlight technique, his gaze growing deep:

"That may be, yet although the Eastern Sea fortune is not as rich as in the various regions of the Central Plains, it is nonetheless constant."

"If he has sense, let him offer half of the fortune, then we spare his life; but if he resists stubbornly, let him witness the methods of veteran venerables."

As the words fell, the pressure of their Yin Spirit unfolded without reservation around them, like two invisible mountains bearing down on Whale Island.

Within the island, the disciples of the Intercept Sect instantly turned pale, the Shark race disciple responsible for island patrolling relayed messages into the island, while the other disciples continued to discuss.

"There are two Yin Spirit venerables arriving outside the island, their momentum is fierce, certainly coming with ill intentions! Quickly notify the Master!"

"These two are venerables within the sea, while we Eastern Sea cultivators have long been viewed by them as barbarians."

"Though the Master is strong, he is ultimately a newly ascended venerable, and the opponents too are two..."

"Thankfully, the Master is adept in array formations, the island’s array hub forged from deep-sea Profound Iron and Star Sand, might perhaps repel them."

The overseas barrenness, the lack of loose cultivator heritage, and their weak abilities were deeply ingrained in people’s minds.

Although Chen Sheng has been passing down teachings for decades, it wasn’t enough to change such perspectives, the best they could imagine was the Master using the grand array to drive the opponents back.

...

Just then, eight Escape Lights rose from various array hubs, forming a line in the sky.

At the forefront, wearing a blue robe and wielding a long sword carved with cloud patterns was Qing Xuanzhi, the chief disciple of the Intercept Sect.

Following him were Covering Sea Daoist, Lei Xiaozi, and others numbering eight, all were Chen Sheng’s direct disciples, collectively known as the "Eight Sons of the Intercept."

When the eight landed, a light blue screen suddenly lit up around Whale Island, star rivers flowed on the screen with faint waves of Primordial Magnetic Power.

Xuanhua and Huo Mo stood outside the light screen, seeing the coming figures were not Chen Sheng, a trace of disdain flashed in their eyes.

Xuanhua called out loudly: "Xuanhua and Huo Mo of the Lore Master Sect, specially visiting Heaven-Cutting Daoist. We ask the Daoist friend to show himself."

Qing Xuanzhi stepped forward, pointing his long sword toward the void, his voice was bright:

"Our Master is in seclusion, inconvenient to meet guests."

"We have understood the intentions of both seniors. Our Master has long decreed, if esteemed guests arrive, they shall be welcomed with the ’Eight Directions Primordial Magnetic Fallen Immortal Array,’ and we ask the seniors to enter the array and discuss."

Chief Qing waved his long sword, and the eight instantly spread into eight directions, each’s sword simultaneously unsheathed, lighting up with different colored spirit light on the blade.

Blue, red, yellow, white, black, purple, green, and blue, corresponding to the Eight Trigrams positions.

"Activate the array!"

With Qing Xuanzhi’s command, the eight simultaneously pinched formulae, the sea water surrounding Whale Island suddenly churned.

Countless Profound Iron cones rose from the sea, the Star Sand embedded at the tips emitting dazzling light, linking with the eight long swords in the air, forming an array covering hundreds of miles.

Stars flowed within the array, Primordial Magnetic Power distorted space, even light bending into curves.

Xuanhua snorted coldly, and the Yin Spirit Power around him surged, transforming into a bolt of purple lightning and charging into the array:

"Humph, Heaven-Cutting is as timid as a mouse, sending a few Nascent Soul disciples to hold the array!"

"Mere Nascent Souls dare to show off their skills in front of me!"

Outside the array, Huomo remained, the Red Flame Cloak fluttering without wind. He looked at the flowing Spirit Light within the array and gently shook his head:

"The difference of one realm is worlds apart. No matter how ingenious the array set by Nascent Soul cultivators may be, how can it affect the Venerable?"

"Half a stick of incense, at most half a stick of incense, and Senior Brother will break the array and capture the people."

In his view, this was nothing more than a crushing without suspense. Once Xuanhua captures those eight disciples, Heaven-Cutting will obediently offer up their fortune.

Outside the array, the Heaven-Cutting disciples clenched their fists tightly, their eyes fixed on the inside of the array.

"Eight Senior Brothers and Sisters, do your best... Master’s array will surely work..."

Although they trusted in their Master, they couldn’t help but feel awe for the veteran Venerable of the Central Plains, only hoping the array could hold for a moment longer, until their Master emerges.

The time of half a stick of incense quietly passed.

The sound of demolishing everything should have been heard from within the array, but now, there was only the roar of Primordial Magnetic Power and the sharp whistle of Sword Qi.

Huomo’s brows furrowed slightly, his fingers lightly tapping on his cloak, a trace of unease rising in his heart.

After another stick of incense, a muffled groan suddenly came from within the array!

Huomo’s face changed dramatically, unable to maintain his composure any longer. The Crimson Gold Fire Silk transformed into fire wings, and his figure shot into the array like a crimson rainbow.

The scene before him made his pupils contract sharply—Xuanhua had his hair in disarray, his dark purple Daoist Robe slashed open with several cuts, his Yin Spirit Power in chaos, being bombarded by countless trails of Primordial Magnetic Sword Qi.

Meanwhile, the eight disciples of Heaven-Cutting stood in the eight trigrams positions, their long swords dancing, manifesting more layers of arrays like "Wind and Thunder Array" and "Trapped Dragon Array," filled with killing intent.

"Junior Brother, there’s an array within this array! The Primordial Magnetic Power can distort the Yin Spirit, quickly, join forces to break the array!"

Seeing Huomo’s arrival, Xuanhua hurriedly transmitted his voice.

Huomo did not dare to neglect, transforming the Crimson Gold Fire Silk into thousands of fire needles, shooting towards the nearest Lei Xiaozi.

But the fire needles were only halfway when they were drawn by an Invisible Primordial Magnetic Power, their trajectory skewing, crashing into a Sword Qi and exploding.

"It’s a variation of the ’Zhou Tian Primordial Magnetic Array’! Using the power of East Sea tides as a guide, with Star Sand as the hub, it can suppress Yin Spirits using the Power of Heaven and Earth!"

Instantly seeing through the key to the array, Huomo roared in anger, retrieving a crimson Treasure Mirror from his Storage Pouch:

"Heaven-Burning Mirror, activate!"

The Treasure Mirror emitted a Heaven-Burning Flame, directed towards the Star Sand at the array hub.

"Senior Brother, protect the array hub!"

Cold Water Daoist lightly shouted, with a sweep of his longsword, seawater surged back to form a water screen blocking the flames.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Green Profound Daoist formed a hand seal, and numerous star towers rose within the array, each shooting countless starry Sword Qi like a torrential downpour.

Time slowly passed, the danger of this array far exceeded the expectations of the two, and the situation grew increasingly unfavorable.

Xuanhua and Huomo exchanged a glance, reading the determination in each other’s eyes.

"Detonate the Magical Treasure, break out!"

Gritting his teeth, Xuanhua threw the "Ziwei Star Disc" into the air, where it exploded into a massive starburst, temporarily scattering the Sword Qi.

Huomo also detonated the Heaven-Burning Mirror, the Red Flame burning fiercely, forcibly tearing open a gap in the array.

The two took advantage of the blast’s impact to burst out of the array in disarray, staggering as they landed, with blood seeping from the corners of their mouths.

Xuanhua looked at the still circulating Grand Array, eyes filled with shock, anger, and dread:

"What a perilous array! What remarkable Heaven-Cutting disciples! Today’s humiliation, my Luo Ancestor Sect will remember!"

Huomo clutched his chest, his voice filled with resentment:

"Celestial Venerable Heaven-Cutting, you allow your disciples to use an array to scheme against us, this enmity is irreconcilable! Someday, we will return with the full power of our sect, to challenge once more!"

"Hmph!"

Their angry shouts still lingered when a clear yet authoritative cold snort descended from the sky, causing their eardrums to buzz.

Their hearts tightened simultaneously, instinctively looking up—they didn’t know when, but the clouds above Giant Whale Island had been dispersed by an Invisible Power.

A Jade-faced Daoist stood in mid-air, wearing a Moon White Daoist Robe embroidered with pale azure cloud patterns on its hem, a mutton-fat Jade Pendant hanging at his waist, surrounded by an ethereal celestial charm, of extraordinary demeanor!

Before Xuanhua and Huomo could react, the Jade-faced Daoist waved his right hand lightly, and a golden rope entwined with rainbow light broke through the air.

The rope seemed to contain the truths of Heaven and Earth, its flight path appearing slow, yet cutting off all their escape routes.

"Not good!"

Venerable Xuanhua exclaimed, his Yin Spirit Power soaring, attempting to transform into Escape Light to flee.

But the Binding Immortal Cord was already entwined around him like a Spiritual Snake, the golden rope glowing with runes instantly tightened, locking his Yin Spirit securely, allowing no movement.

Venerable Huomo sought to ignite his remaining Spiritual Power in resistance, yet the Binding Immortal Cord split off a strand, similarly binding him tightly, extinguishing even the fire silk at his fingertips.

"The Binding Immortal Cord! This is the famous celestial artifact of Celestial Venerable Tianmu! You are Li Xuan!"