Struggling to Survive with Regression Power in the Primordial Saint Sect

All along, Lü Yang had held a question in his heart.

Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng — the undisputed pillar of the Holy Sect after 【Ang Xiao】, the notorious madwoman known throughout the world — just how powerful was she really?

‘This time, I’ll finally witness it!’

Lü Yang strained his vision, gazing toward the direction of Jiangnan, and saw several Fruitional Stars ignite all at once — the spiritual atmosphere of the world cleared in an instant.

“Demon... you’ve got guts.”

“Do you truly think we’re afraid of you?”

In an instant, three fierce shouts rang out from within the Sword Pavilion, accompanied by the sudden appearance of three Fruitional Ranks — Fruitional Lords that even Lü Yang had never seen in his past life within the Sword Pavilion.

【Earth on the Roof】！

【Fire in the Furnace】！

【Earth on the Wall】！

‘Aside from 【True Lord Cheng Tian Zheng De】, and that late-Golden Core stage 【True Lord of Rigid Form Dao-Preaching】, the remaining two True Lords of the Sword Pavilion are also here!’

Just from this alone, Lü Yang could deduce a great deal.

‘No wonder 【True Lord Cheng Tian Zheng De】 didn’t seem highly regarded within the Sword Pavilion. Turns out, there’s already a True Lord here who achieved Fruitional Rank with the Earth element!’

‘That 【True Lord of Rigid Form Dao-Preaching】 cultivates 【Gold in the Sand】. I remember 【Ang Xiao】 once told me that to reach the late-Golden Core stage, one must either possess all five elements or refine three. So, he likely collaborated with the True Lords of 【Earth on the Roof】 and 【Fire in the Furnace】, the three of them achieving late-Golden Core together through three elements.’

In such a scenario, 【Earth on the Wall】 became redundant.

The result was that the three True Lords of the Sword Pavilion formed a clique, pushing 【True Lord Cheng Tian Zheng De】 to the sidelines, never inviting him to anything.

Yet soon, an even greater mystery emerged.

‘【True Lord of Rigid Form Dao-Preaching】... a proper late-Golden Core stage cultivator. Compared to him, without 【Ang Xiao】, the Holy Sect actually has no one of that level holding down the fort.’

From this perspective, the Sword Pavilion clearly held the advantage.

Especially with Pure Land and Dao Court also involved — even if Pure Land wavered between sides — with such a blatant disparity in power, how was the Holy Sect able to stand toe-to-toe with them?

Very quickly, Lü Yang learned the answer.

“Hahaha! You came well!”

From above the heavens, the hearty laughter of Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng echoed far and wide — not the slightest hint of fear in her voice. Though a woman, her heroic spirit at this moment rivaled any man’s.

Immediately after, she didn’t retreat but advanced. Her Fruitional Rank formed from 【Water Beneath the Ravine】 collided head-on with the three Fruitional Ranks from the Sword Pavilion. From her Fruitional Rank burst forth the radiant light of 【World-Cleansing Light】, sweeping across all existence, invincible wherever it went. Alone against three — yet she gained the upper hand!

“That madwoman is too vicious!”

“She actually dares to fight for real...”

“Ha! What wouldn’t she dare? Back then, even when someone from the Dao Court made a move against her, she still fought back. More importantly, she could win. That’s real capability!”

At that moment, many True Lords were watching the battle.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang found within 【True Lord Cheng Tian Zheng De】’s memories the reason Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng had reigned supreme in duels for five thousand years.

This anecdote had been regarded by 【True Lord Cheng Tian Zheng De】 as mere unreliable gossip, buried in the farthest recesses of his memory — thus, he had overlooked it back then.

Now, digging it back out, he was utterly shocked:

‘Heavens above!’

As everyone knew, in this messed-up land, challenging foes above one’s level was all the rage. Foundation Establishment slaying Qi Refining was routine; Golden Core fighting Foundation Establishment was hardly worth mentioning.

But over time, exceptions were bound to occur.

Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng was precisely that exception — the first ever, in recorded history, to pull off a true cross-realm challenge at the Golden Core stage.

A genuine leap-over challenge!

‘When Xue Feihong had just achieved True Lord status, she hadn’t even been in closed-door cultivation for a hundred years. At that time, the Holy Sect was weak, and Dao Court tried to strike while the iron was hot — the then-current Grand Preceptor personally exerted pressure over the Sky-Reaching Cloud Sea.’

‘That Dao Court Grand Preceptor was mid-Golden Core stage!’

‘While the Holy Sect’s 【Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng】, 【True Lord of Brocade Radiance and Colored Silks】, and 【True Lord of Floating Light and Containing Radiance】 were all early-Golden Core stage.’

Without question, that was the Holy Sect’s weakest moment.

The Dao Court even intended to stomp them while they were down!

‘And yet, it was then that 【Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng】, freshly a True Lord for just a century, emerged from seclusion — and shocked the entire world by single-handedly driving back the Dao Court’s Grand Preceptor!’

Only those who were Golden Core True Lords themselves could comprehend how utterly exaggerated and unbelievable this feat was. A mid-Golden Core cultivator possessed an undying Cave Heaven — essentially granting eternal dominion over a Fruitional Rank. Even if killed, as long as the Cave Heaven remained intact, they could reincarnate and reclaim their True Lord status instantly.

By contrast, what about early-Golden Core cultivators?

Their Cave Heaven only lasted a thousand years. Once that time expired, it crumbled alongside the True Lord. Restarting from scratch carried tremendous risk — just look at how much trouble Hong Yun had!

The disparity was obvious.

A battle between them meant the mid-Golden Core could afford to die countless times, while the early-Golden Core could not afford even one misstep.

Not to mention, mid-Golden Core cultivators were stronger and more seasoned.

And yet, despite such a disparity... Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng won.

Before her, there had been a few rare prodigies at early-Golden Core who could briefly contend with mid-Golden Core opponents.

But over time, the fundamental superiority of the latter always prevailed. No early-stage cultivator could withstand it — they would inevitably lose, retreat in disgrace. Even if a few teamed up, it only dragged out the inevitable.

But Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng changed all that.

In one battle, she never made a single mistake. With one life, she killed the Dao Court Grand Preceptor over fifty times — each time faster, each strike more precise!

Originally, the Dao Court Grand Preceptor was fully heated up, prepared for prolonged combat.

After all, his Cave Heaven guaranteed infinite revival. He didn’t believe Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng could outlast him — he figured even a century of fighting would still end in his victory.

But on the fifty-third clash, everything changed.

She seemed to catch a flaw in his defense, and not only slew him — she struck his Cave Heaven directly!

That was fatal.

Dao Court True Lords were unlike others — especially the Three Dukes. Their Cave Heavens weren’t individually forged, but passed down over generations — they were Dao Court property!

Now that the Cave Heaven was damaged...

No matter how unwilling the Grand Preceptor was, he could no longer fight. He could only swallow his defeat in bitter silence.

After that battle, Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng’s fame exploded.

As for the Dao Court Grand Preceptor — for the grave sin of damaging the Cave Heaven, he was ousted by the newly enthroned Emperor Jiayou and sent to reincarnate.

So, when all was said and done, it practically meant Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng had killed a mid-Golden Core cultivator in a leap-over challenge!

How utterly astounding was that?

Only after understanding this sequence of events did Lü Yang comprehend why Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng was so fierce — even when fighting three-on-one, she remained utterly fearless.

However...

‘Where’s the Sword Pavilion’s late-Golden Core guy?’

【True Lord of Rigid Form Dao-Preaching】 — he had once held sway over the seas, silencing even the old Dragon Monarch at mid-Golden Core, who could only watch helplessly as his own son, White Chi, was devoured by many families.

With Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng already this wild...

Where had this major True Lord gone?

Come out and help, won’t you?

Lü Yang’s question was shared by many True Lords secretly observing the battle. In fact... 【True Lord of Rigid Form Dao-Preaching】 hadn’t appeared in a long time.

Could he be dead?

Impossible. Mid-Golden Core cultivators could permanently occupy Fruitional Ranks. Unless a Dao Lord acted, how could a late-Golden Core cultivator possibly die?

“Hahahaha!”

Another burst of laughter rang out — still Clear Snow True Lord Qingcheng. At this moment, the madwoman’s face bloomed with a devastatingly beautiful smile.

Lü Yang — and many other True Lords — had such doubts due to their lack of cultivation.

But she was different.

Her cultivation had long since reached the late-Golden Core stage. She had only remained at mid-stage because there was no Fruitional Rank compatible with her — thus she had stayed put.

Therefore, she could guess the current state of that 【True Lord of Rigid Form Dao-Preaching】.

“Your cultivation wasn’t enough, yet you forced your way into the late stage. You succeeded, sure... but at what cost? Heh. 【Fire in the Furnace】 and 【Earth on the Roof】? Not a comfortable pairing, huh?”

As those words fell, the two True Lords of the Sword Pavilion instantly turned pale!