Lingxu possessed three lifebound flying swords.

Yet none of these three swords were currently by his side.

Ordinary cultivators treated their lifebound flying swords as extensions of their very souls, intimately connected to their being.

Thus, once a cultivator obtained a flying sword, they would typically keep it sealed within their internal dantian unless absolutely necessary, reluctant to even let others glimpse it.

This perfectly illustrated the saying: "Afraid it might melt in the mouth, afraid it might slip from the hands."

Yet Lingxu did precisely the opposite.

He had placed his swords in nine of the world's most perilous forbidden lands.

Allowing them to roam freely across the heavens and earth.

This unconventional approach actually accelerated his cultivation.

The three swords continuously fed energy back into his practice.

But now, the downside of this method became apparent...

After using one sword to transport the city, he attempted to summon the other two.

Only to realize the remaining swords weren't responding.

Though he could clearly sense their presence nearby—one reason for his earlier confidence.

Lingxu raised his left hand, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

In his palm, three nearly invisible threads connecting him to the swords remained intact—visible only to him.

Yet while he could sense the swords, he couldn't physically reach them.

"......"

The Happy Old Man rarely drank alcohol.

He had once been an addict—

To the bottle.

He'd sworn never to touch wine again until Mount Shushan was destroyed.

Now silver streams of liquor cascaded onto a starry chessboard.

Upon closer inspection, two streaks of sword light were clearly trapped within the board's grid.

These imprisoned gleams weren't merely confined—they'd been exiled to another spacetime entirely.

All the Happy Old Man's handiwork.

With masterful application of the Great Dao of Time, he'd opened a gateway to the River of Time.

Then using the star chessboard as conduit, he rewrote causality, severing the connection between the swords' spacetime and the present.

He even burned millennia of his own lifespan to drag those swords into the fractured temporal flow.

Causing the river's currents to surge backward, forming a closed temporal loop separate from reality.

For Lingxu to recall his swords now, he'd need to expend tremendous energy to pierce through the temporal barrier.

But due to the Happy Old Man's design,

Every ounce of energy Lingxu expended would slow the swords' temporal flow tenfold.

And because this was an isolated temporal loop, no matter how fast the swords moved, they could never return.

Worse—Lingxu remained unaware of this mechanism.

The process would steadily drain both his spiritual energy and mental focus.

The difference between Lingxu with three swords and Lingxu missing two was like night and day.

The Happy Old Man smiled faintly, recalling an ancient conversation with Mount Shushan's sect leader.

"......"

Two lifebound swords trapped.

Lingxu arched an eyebrow, curious about his opponent's methods.

Very well then...

He glanced down at Cangzhou beneath him, taking a measured breath.

The land's reflection shimmered in his pupils as his robe flared without wind—his personal domain unfolding.

"Be careful everyone—there's more than one..."

The Scarlet Dawn Demon King's warning faded mid-sentence.

His figure now stood amidst endless ice fields.

The Ancient Bones Elder found himself above mountain ranges.

Luo Zhi, Bai Li, the Bloodfeather Roc Clan, and the Toad were each pulled into separate pocket worlds within Lingxu.

With this move, Lingxu had single-handedly divided six demon kings across different battlefields.

Likely to spare Cangzhou from collateral damage.

Luo Zhi stood amidst countless spider threads, each tugging at the strings of fate.

Her deep pool-like eyes seemed capable of absorbing the entire world.

Suddenly—

A dazzling sword-light struck like lightning from above, shattering the tranquility.

This blade radiance carried the fury of heavenly judgment, descending directly toward her position.

Almost simultaneously, the other demon kings came under similar assault—

Though each faced different manifestations.

The Bloodfeather Roc Clan saw only an impassable thunder prison.

Luo Zhi activated her divine ability—a spiderweb exploding outward to cover every inch of space.

Her web merged with her lifebound poison core.

A colossal spider form crouched upon the strands, countless eyes opening across its body to analyze spiritual energy flows for weaknesses.

Where sword energy met web, the toxins dissolved the attacks.

Grinding the blade energy away particle by particle.

Unhurried, Luo Zhi used her web of fate to study Lingxu's combat patterns, seeking flaws.

"......"

The Bloodfeather Roc Clan erupted with bloody aura, shattering thunderbolts with its talons.

"Again!!"

Within the thunder prison, countless lightning strikes converged.

Behind the roc, phantom weapons materialized—relics of all the magic tools it had consumed.

This ability granted the clan terrifying cultivation speed and lethality.

At Burial Armament City, it had slain two human Tribulation Transcension experts in succession.

Proof of its prowess.

The nine-tailed fox unfolded her Illusory Lotus technique, dispersing sword energy into nothingness.

Bai Li's illusions weren't mere deceptions.

Compared to other species, nine-tailed foxes were physically weaker.

Early in their cultivation, even foxes a full realm stronger would flee from roc clan members.

Because fox illusion arts lacked combat potency.

But when perfected, such techniques could turn falsehood real.

Some masters could even invert reality.

Like how Bai Li now transformed lethal sword energy into harmless breezes.

The difficulty of this feat?

Especially against Lingxu?

Immeasurable.

The Ancient Bones Elder's dao bones emitted eerie creaking—like skeletal friction.

From his bones' depths emerged a violet thunder-rune spell seal—containing a wisp of essence from the mythical thunder beast Kui.

Forming a defensive array with the seal at its center, surrounded by crackling purple lightning.

When activated, the array erupted with tribulation-level heavenly thunder.

Though brief, this divine retribution's pressure could terrify even immortals.

The elder used this thunder net to counter Lingxu's sword-filled domain.

Each demon king now fought with their ultimate techniques.