During the Third Heaven and Earth Upheaval, a great war once occurred in the Eastern Continent.

At the beginning, the involvement was not very broad, merely taking place within the Eastern Continent itself.

But as the battles grew increasingly fierce and the battlefield expanded, it eventually dragged the entire Mysterious Yellow World into it.

No one knew the cause of that great war. All they knew was that after it ended, the entire Mysterious Yellow World declined for tens of thousands of years, and the Eastern Continent in particular never recovered.

From then on, the Heavenly Court issued a ban prohibiting deities and those above the deity realm from entering the Eastern Continent’s territory.

"Thirteenth Elder, you proved your Dao in the Heavenly Void Mystic Realm. The Dao Laws there are not the same as those in the Mysterious Yellow World, your full strength might not necessarily be unleashed here."

Aether did not deny the Thirteenth Elder’s strength, but that was within the Heavenly Void Mystic Realm.

Since the Dao Laws of the two worlds were different, his strength would be severely discounted once he stepped out of the Mystic Realm.

For the Sword Sect Master to heavily injure the Thirteenth Elder was actually nothing remarkable. If it were not for his wariness of the Ancient Clan’s foundation, in a life-or-death struggle, Aether could slay the Thirteenth Elder all by himself.

But compared to the other four Imperial Ancestors, the Thirteenth Elder’s strength was far inferior.

No matter how strong the Sword Sect Master was, could he really match all five of them combined?

Refusing to listen to the Thirteenth Elder’s suggestion, Aether struck first, preparing to force his way into the Sword Sect.

His momentum surged wildly. A sky-obscuring palm print slammed down from high above, shattering the void layer by layer, crashing heavily onto the peak of Sword Sect Mountain, intending to smash the entire mountain to pieces.

Right at that moment, a heaven-shaking sword momentum shot up from within the Sword Sect, piercing straight into the blue firmament.

Not long after, a figure with the bearing of an immortal and the bones of the Dao slowly emerged in the void, appearing before Aether and the others.

The Sword Sect Master, Lucian, showed neither sorrow nor joy, his expression was indifferent.

Although he stood alone, his aura did not fall to a disadvantage in the slightest, and his eyes were calm as water.

"You are the Sword Sect Master?"

Aether looked Lucian up and down, thick killing intent in his eyes.

"That’s correct. It is me."

"After I awakened, I heard from my son that you actually managed to step into the Proving the Dao realm during the Dharma-Ending Age. At first, I didn’t pay it much mind."

"Seeing you today, you are indeed extraordinary. Just this bearing alone is something I have rarely seen in my lifetime."

"However, you caused my son to be trapped in the Ancient Dragon-Nurturing Bed for a full century. No matter what heaven-reaching abilities you possess, I will slaughter you at the peak of Sword Sect Mountain today."

"I will strip away your divine soul and imprison it in the Silver Willow Heavenly Prison, whipping it with heavenly thunder for a hundred years to let you experience the pain my son has suffered."

Having said that, he charged forward to kill Lucian.

"Kingdom of Ice and Snow!"

To step into the Proving the Dao realm during the Dharma-Ending Age, one absolutely had to be a peerless, stunningly brilliant talent.

As someone who had walked this path, Aether knew better than anyone how arduous it was.

As the former ruler of Silver Willow, his aptitude was unquestionable.

In his era, his talent was unmatched among his contemporaries. Coupled with the support of the Silver Willow Imperial Family’s massive foundation, he had barely managed to step into the Mastering the Dao realm two hundred years ago, before any further advancement became utterly impossible.

But as for the Sword Sect Master before him, in terms of foundation, the Sword Sect was merely a sect with a brief three-hundred-year history.

Its foundation fundamentally could not compare to the Silver Willow Imperial Family.

The Mysterious Yellow heaven and earth alternated between extreme prosperity and extreme decline in an endless cycle.

The closer it got to the Upheaval, the more dilapidated the world became, making comprehension of Dao Laws exponentially harder.

For the Sword Sect Master to step into the Proving the Dao realm a mere two months before the Upheaval began, his strength was absolutely beyond doubt. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Although Aether’s words had been dismissive, he was exceedingly vigilant in his heart.

The moment he struck, he unleashed his strongest technique.

The Kingdom of Ice and Snow was a divine ability comprehended by Silver Willow’s founding ancestor, Solaris, when he became a Heaven and Earth Deity.

Even among a hundred thousand minor divine abilities, it was considered exceptionally powerful.

A thousand years ago, relying on this divine ability, Solaris defeated an untold number of Heaven and Earth Deities.

To comprehend a divine ability, something only deities could grasp, while still in the Mortal Supreme realm was enough to earn the title of a monstrous talent.

This was common knowledge across the Mysterious Yellow World.

Yet even with his monstrous aptitude, Aether had still been unable to advance further during the Dharma-Ending Age two hundred years ago, this showed just how painfully difficult cultivation was during that era.

Aether let out a loud shout, his aura surging wildly.

He thrust out a palm, and in the void, eight heaven-supporting ice pillars descended from the sky, trapping the Sword Sect Master within the frozen domain.

Immediately after, heavy snow began to fall from the sky above the sealed domain.

The snowflakes were like floating catkins, incredibly soft and gentle, yet they exuded a terrifying, chilling aura.

The snowflakes multiplied, and their oppressive might grew increasingly powerful.

The Sword Sect Master strolled leisurely through the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, wisps of sword qi surfaced in his eyes as he analyzed and savored the divine ability before him.

Once he had fully comprehended the profound mysteries within it, he flicked his sword robes. Those eight massive, heaven-supporting ice pillars instantly shattered.

This exquisite divine ability was effortlessly broken by the Sword Sect Master with a mere wave of his hand.