You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

Lin Yue pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly and didn't ask further.

Before he succeeded in harmonization, the Second Prince was evidently unwilling to tell him more.

So he decided to try harmonizing first.

Lin Yue examined the simple and unadorned stone sword, then reached out and grasped it, attempting to probe it with his divine thought.

"What are you doing?" The young woman did not stop him this time, only asked in confusion.

"I want to see how much the embryonic form of the Ultimate Path I grasp differs from the true Ultimate Path."

Lin Yue said casually, while carefully sensing the Ultimate Path within the sword.

The aura was indeed the same, but the grand and boundless Ultimate Path within the sword, compared to his embryonic form, was not only perfectly complete but also magnitudes larger.

The gap was too vast.

If his Ultimate Path was a seed, then the Ultimate Path within this sword was the World Tree.

"Not bad at all..."

Suddenly, an idea struck Lin Yue.

He needed to create a cultivation technique suitable for the Inner Heaven and Earth of the Ultimate Path, and this sword allowed him to comprehend the perfect Ultimate Path within it. Though it didn't contain Inner Heaven and Earth, it was better than nothing.

At the very least, it increased his chances of success.

"Can I pull you out now?" Lin Yue asked directly.

"If it's by sheer force, you need the power at the proving realm to pull me from the stone platform."

The young woman glanced at the stone platform below and said, "But you can pull me out using the technique of the embryonic Ultimate Path."

"I understand."

Lin Yue nodded and then asked, "Are you willing to follow me?"

"You haven't harmonized yet, technically, I shouldn't follow you. But no one else is qualified to be my master," the young woman said. "If you want me to follow you, then I will."

"Good."

Lin Yue revealed a slight smile and said, "I'll pull you out first, then ask the Crown Prince and Second Prince."

At that moment—

"Seventeenth brother, this Yanfu Key was originally prepared for you, take it."

A familiar and kind divine thought echoed in his mind.

Surprisingly, it was the Second Prince.

"Is the Crown Prince also in agreement?" Lin Yue asked.

The Second Prince seemed to chuckle and said softly, "Don't worry, he will agree. Besides, this sword was meant to test if a third person could wield it. Now, you are the third person, more suitable than me or the Crown Prince."

Lin Yue nodded slightly.

He paused for a moment and asked, "What about Xiahong Feng? Can he wield it?"

"... His strength can reach the proving realm, so naturally, he can wield it," the Second Prince did not hide it from him.

Suddenly, Lin Yue had a thought.

After a brief silence, he asked, "Is he my father?"

"Yes," the Second Prince replied.

This time, Lin Yue was silent for a longer time before taking a deep breath and saying, "I understand."

"As long as you understand."

The Second Prince sighed and said, "This is not only my expectation but also your father's expectation."

Lin Yue nodded slowly.

The Second Prince's divine thought then receded.

Shortly after, Lin Yue gazed down at the sword on the stone platform and said, "It's settled, from now on, you'll follow me. What's your name?"

"I'm called the Yanfu Key," the young woman said. "I hear I'm ranked second among the three keys, why don't you call me second sister?"

"... I already have a second sister."

Lin Yue was at a loss for words and said, "I'll call you Yanfu Spirit instead."

"That doesn't sound like a woman's name..." the young woman muttered.

"The first and third? Other Shore Key and Key of Old, which is ranked first, and which is third?"

Lin Yue casually asked.

"Of course, it's the Other Shore Key," Yanfu Spirit affirmed. "I hear it's named after the first heir, 'Other Shore,' so naturally it ranks first."

Lin Yue raised an eyebrow.

It turns out, Old, Yanfu, Other Shore, these three names also represented the titles of three original children from ancient times?

Unconcerned with the original children, he immediately began using the Ultimate Path to slowly extract the stone sword from the platform.

"Shh, shh..."

Amidst the slight friction sound, Lin Yue slowly pulled out the stone sword.

It turned out to be a broken sword.

The sword was broken at the blade, leaving only half, with various patterned grooves and protrusions at the break, resembling the contours of a key.

"Does it require a master recognition ritual?" Lin Yue scrutinized the broken sword.

"Haven't you already marked it with your divine thought?"

Yanfu Spirit said, "If you want a deeper master recognition, you have to wait until you harmonize. As for complete recognition... only my master or the original child can fully meld with me."

Lin Yue was unconcerned.

After all, the primary purpose of this broken sword was to assist him in comprehending the Inner Heaven and Earth cultivation technique of the Ultimate Path.

After putting the sword away, Lin Yue walked over to one of the semi-divine artifacts in the outer circle, the wooden bow, grasped it, and began to comprehend after marking it with his divine thought.

"Using a semi-divine artifact as a teacher to enhance the accumulation of the Ultimate Path is indeed a good method."

Yanfu Spirit, evidently seeing what he was up to, floated nearby and said, "My master also mentioned that, whether harmonizing or proving, the Ultimate Path must accumulate as much as possible. When you feel as if the myriad ways of heaven and earth are all clear in your heart, it shows that your Ultimate Path has reached Perfection."

Lin Yue said nothing.

He merely thought to himself: It's easy for you to say, your master achieved harmonization just by eating and drinking, while I'm struggling with even reaching harmonization...

He knew that without achieving harmonization, it was impossible to reach the state Yanfu Spirit described. He simply wanted more accumulation to make it easier to create the cultivation technique.

...

...

Deep in the Eternal Night.

Here was the domain of the Demon Clan, a gigantic tree reached skywards at the center of the realm, seemingly supporting both heaven and earth.

At the top of this giant tree stood an immense palace, its walls and doors carved with reliefs of ancient divine entities, exuding an aura of age and mystery.

At this time, within a vast hall of the palace, darkness and obscurity pervaded, seemingly concealing all possibilities of discovery, revealing vaguely placed primitive stone thrones.

And upon those thrones sat figures emanating terrifying auras, each aura containing a transcendence and greatness that surpassed the heavens and earth.

"Ancestors, Demon God."

In the darkness, the Heavenly Demon Ancestor, sitting at the foremost, scanned the room and said in a deep voice, "There's news from Great Yong, our Demon Clan... may be facing the greatest catastrophe in tens of thousands of years."

"The greatest catastrophe in tens of thousands of years?"

"Given our Demon Clan's current strength, far surpassing the Human Clan, even if we can't breach the Great Yong Divine Formation, where's this catastrophe coming from?"

"Could it be that the Seventeenth Prince, who seized the Prison Demon God, has already harmonized?"

"The inability of the Prison Demon God to return indeed poses a significant problem, but even if we can never return to Old, our Demon Clan's strength will ultimately still be above the Human Clan."

"That shouldn't constitute a catastrophe, right? Even if the Seventeenth Prince knows the secret, we just need to be cautious."

Each lofty and towering existence spoke casually.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "No... the situation is much more severe than the Prison Demon God's inability to return."

He scanned the room slowly and said, "The Seventeenth Prince has been crowned king, not only has he killed the Twelfth Prince, but he has also ascended to the top of the Tianxia Building; however, he is currently just a Great Cultivator."

A deathly silence first pervaded the dim hall, followed by a commotion.

"What?"

"This... impossible!"

"A Great Cultivator ascended to the top of Tianxia Building? And killed the Twelfth Prince? It's impossible even with a divine artifact!"

"How could this be? Even if he mastered part of the Ultimate Path, it's still impossible!"

"Unless... there's only one possibility."

"Heavenly Demon Ancestor, do you mean..."

Faced with the stunned gazes of the Demon Ancestors and Demon Gods, the Heavenly Demon Ancestor slowly said, "Yes, it's the Ultimate Path. The Seventeenth Prince was titled King Xia, and he has already grasped the embryonic form of the Ultimate Path, with even his Dao Heart reaching Perfection, possibly on the brink of successful harmonization at any moment."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor took a deep breath and said, "We must acknowledge that our Demon Clan's greatest threat has emerged. Back then, not only did Xiahong Feng obtain the Other Shore Key, but he also got the Yanfu Key. Though he did not gain anything entering the Other Shore, it's different with King Xia. If he succeeds in harmonization and enters Yanfu, he will inevitably obtain unimaginable rewards!"

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over all the Demon Ancestors and Demon Gods, and said solemnly, "We must eliminate King Xia at any cost. What are your thoughts?"