A streak of sword light flashed across the air. This particular sword strike was devastatingly intense.

Cutting through the air with palpable killing intent, this blade sliced past the Asura's head. It was one of the most powerful moves in the 'One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud' technique—the "Wind-Cloud Kill." This strike embodied the murderous aura of the wind and the murderous aura of the clouds, merging into a single, sharp, piercing blade saturated with lethal intent.

The strike appeared deceptively simple, yet such simplicity offered nowhere to escape. The Yangwu Sword, clear and bright as deep autumn water, carried the killing intent of the wind and clouds.

Blood sprayed wildly; the massive severed head tumbled through the air. The headless Asura still tried to lunge forward in sheer fury.

It was infuriating; its cultivation was supposedly superior to Lu Yuan's, yet it had been suppressed to this degree. Even decapitated, it sought to attack Lu Yuan.

However, even for an Asura, the head was crucial—the Liuyang Huai Head. Its destruction meant death.

Legend held that at extremely high realms, one could achieve immortality, regenerating even if the head were cleaved or the heart crushed. But certainly, in the major cultivation tiers of the Qi Refining Stage and Body Tempering Stage, such an impossible feat could not be achieved.

"Oh, is that all?" Lu Yuan remained deeply immersed in the ocean of sword intent, unfurling his maneuvers, feeling utterly comfortable. He had intended to execute more moves, but before he could unleash them, his opponent had already fallen.

He felt a slight regret: "Too fragile, already dead." At this moment, Daoist Priest Bichen and Daoist Priest Biyi were both in tears. Having been utterly savaged by the Asura themselves, they dreaded engaging it for even a single extra move.

Yet, Lu Yuan had not only killed the Asura but seemed utterly unfulfilled, remarking on how easily it died. How could the gap between people be so vast?

Daoist Priest Biyi whispered, "His swordsmanship is so potent; it must be some secret lineage technique from the Mount Hua Immortal Sect. We rogue cultivators simply haven't been privy to those arts; otherwise, we could become this strong too." As soon as he finished speaking, Daoist Priest Bichen smacked him on the head: "Are you an idiot?

Mount Hua Immortal Sect is only equal in strength to the Qingcheng Immortal Sect. The sword techniques of Qingcheng's elders aren't even this high.

Are you suggesting only Mount Hua has secret sword arts, and Qingcheng possesses none? If you're going to feign ignorance, don't be so obvious about it." Struck by Bichen, Biyi wept again.

He knew all that, but he couldn't help feeling disgruntled. When people from famous great sects were powerful, one needed some explanation for why they were so strong.

By now, many people had rushed over to offer congratulations. "The Young Immortal Venerable is truly remarkable." "The Young Immortal Venerable has excellent methods." "Such a fierce demon, and the Young Immortal Venerable handled it." "..." Regardless of the specific phrasing, a chorus of flattery and praise erupted.

Lu Yuan shrugged lazily. He felt nothing from this sycophancy.

Regarding flattery, he had understood its benefits since he was scraping by in Donglin Town before the age of ten. He was already skilled at it back then, and his own cultivation level was not low, so he wouldn't be so easily swayed by the compliments of a few constables.

Ah, right. He recalled an extremely important instruction his master, Li Yuanbai, had given him.

What was it? After a moment of searching his memory, he finally recalled Master Li Yuanbai saying: "Slaying demons is highly perilous, but once successfully accomplished, there is one thing you must never forget: collecting the spoils of war." Right, the spoils.

It wasn't that Lu Yuan was confused; though somewhat indolent, he was always known for being shrewd—utterly the opposite of muddled. The only reason he remembered now was that this was his first time slaying a demon.

First time, unfamiliar with the procedures—forgive him. Lu Yuan immediately began searching for loot.

Unfortunately, this Asura wasn't even wearing clothes, leaving nowhere to hide anything. After a thorough search, he gave up.

There were definitely no spoils on its body. However, while at the Immortal Sect, he had heard that the Asura race was obsessed with building lairs; they dug them everywhere they went.

Even having reached the surface world without the underground realm, it must still have a lair. He would search for its den.

"You people, carry the Asura's corpse and head to the county office to claim the merit. I'll be right back," Lu Yuan said, pausing no longer.

The constables had no idea what Lu Yuan was planning, but Daoist Priests Bichen and Biyi did. However, they were utterly won over by Lu Yuan’s swordplay, and since Lu Yuan had fought the Asura and saved their lives entirely this time, they felt too embarrassed to contest the matter.

Presently, the constables found an extremely thick, long pole, and several of them jointly hoisted the Asura's corpse. "It's so heavy." "Yes, probably weighing as much as four or five of us." "It's so hard, even dead," one constable drew his saber and tried to stab the corpse, but not even a slight mark appeared on the body.

"It's this tough even after death; how did the Young Immortal Venerable manage to kill this demon?" "Tsk, tsk." Admiration filled the air. The group of constables carried the Asura’s body straight toward East Wild County Town.

Once inside the city gates, every household barred its doors, but upon seeing the massive, pitch-black, scale-covered body being carried on their shoulders, the people burst into cheers. The constables thoroughly enjoyed the acclamation, feeling rather self-satisfied.

When the common folk saw Daoist Priests Bichen and Biyi, the two elder Immortals, alongside the gigantic demon corpse, they cheered their names, making the two elders quite uncomfortable. Clearly, they hadn't slain it, and although they wanted to join in, the roar of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of citizens chanting their names like an unstoppable torrent rendered any denial impossible for Bichen and Biyi.

As for Magistrate Huang, he had been burying his head in his residence. If not for the strictures of the Great Jin Dynasty dictating death for any county magistrate who fled, he would have bolted.

Hiding with his concubines during the demon invasion, he suddenly heard the roaring sound outside. Magistrate Huang, being a shrewd man, instantly straightened up, realizing that the demon-slaying must have succeeded.

Of course, he certainly hadn't imagined that the success belonged not to the two elder Immortals he trusted implicitly, but to the Young Immortal Venerable whom he had dismissed as all talk and no action. —————— In the dim forest.

The midday sun had been scorching moments before. But the woods here were too dense, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The ground was covered in thick leaf litter, damp and saturated. Lu Yuan zipped rapidly through the trees.

Knowledge gained from studying on Mount Hua's North Peak surfaced in his mind: underground demons seldom favored sunlight, preferring shadowy places to nest. The Asura race specifically favored damp, dark areas for their lairs.

Since the Mount Hua Immortal Sect's primary adversaries were subterranean demons, knowledge regarding them was always taught early on. Just then, he spotted a dark, recessed opening ahead.

This pit was clearly not naturally formed. Lu Yuan knew he had finally found it.

The Asura's lair. The spoils—he was coming for them.

With a swift dive, he shot forward.