Silver moonlight spilled onto the ground, cloaking the earth in a sheen of silver, the light penetrating everywhere, pouring down like liquid mercury, leaving the terrain entirely washed in a silvery glow. It was a late spring night, still carrying a chill that deepened as darkness settled. A faint coolness swept through the mountain forests, crystallizing into heavy frost.

The distant mountains and the lingering crimson hues nearby were all illuminated under the moonlight.

Finally, the clamor of the day had ceased.

North Peak grew quieter as well.

Moonlight swept through the groves; the narrow mountain path and the flagstone road were layered with rime frost, with patches of fading crimson clinging to the stones.

At this moment, two figures walked along the mountain path, one ahead of the other.

The one leading was an elder with white hair and a white beard, possessing a benevolent face, clad in flowing white Taoist robes with wide sleeves—a figure of true immortal bearing. Trailing behind him was a youth of seventeen or eighteen, a carefree smile gracing his features, dressed in plain blue, a longsword strapped to his back.

“You performed well this time,” said Li Yuanbai, who was ahead. The two had just left the Cloud Mist Palace and were heading toward Changchun Residence; walking along the forest path, Li Yuanbai broke the silence.

“Audaciousness demands utter audacity,” Li Yuanbai continued. “Of course, your lack of punishment is also because what you did actually aligned with Senior Brother Yuanyuan’s wishes.”

“Recently, Senior Brother Yuanyuan’s five-hundredth birthday is approaching; what he desires is harmony. Sima Changbai has seized upon this very point, which is why he ordered his subordinates’ forces to emerge and become highly active. I suspect that with Senior Brother Yuanyuan’s grand birthday imminent and guests from all sides about to arrive, he was reluctant to act himself. As a result, Senior Brother Yuanyuan didn't move, but you did. Senior Brother Yuanyuan is naturally pleased.”

“Moreover, your excuse was well-crafted. Thus, Senior Brother Yuanyuan merely imposed a symbolic penalty: forfeiting one year’s worth of spirit stones you would normally receive.”

Li Yuanbai stated, “This should keep Sima Changbai quiet for the near future. He’ll likely wait until after Senior Brother Yuanyuan’s five-hundredth birthday celebration has passed before making any moves.”

Indeed, the biggest event on North Peak recently was the five-hundredth birthday of Venerable Yuanyuan.

The closer they got to Venerable Yuanyuan’s five-hundredth birthday, the less desirable any troublemaking became.

Otherwise, Venerable Yuanyuan’s Primordial Beginning Spirit Sword would not be easy to trifle with.

Yuanshi—the beginning of all unity.

A spirit sword worthy of bearing those two characters must surely be a world-shattering weapon.

In the days that followed, Mount Hua’s North Peak certainly became increasingly bustling.

Venerable Yuanyuan was the Lord of North Peak, so the other four peaks were naturally obligated to send congratulations. Whether it was East Peak, the Sword Sect’s domain, or South Peak, or West Peak and Middle Peak, the Qi Sect’s territories—all had to send well-wishers. Although the relationships between these lineages weren't particularly cordial, they were all part of the same Immortal Sect, so attendance was mandatory. Even if their peak masters couldn't attend personally, disciples ranked highly—like Ninth-Generation Sword Immortals—would surely be sent.

Besides them, other acquaintances of Venerable Yuanyuan, those who were on good terms with him, would also arrive. In his youth, Venerable Yuanyuan was a brilliant and vigorous Sword Immortal, having roamed the cultivation world slaying demons and vanquishing evil, earning considerable renown and forging many friendships. Many of these friends were still alive and would certainly attend.

Of course, if the matter involved invitations to the other four great Immortal Sects, that would be another level entirely.

If it were the Immortal Sect Master of Mount Hua, Yan Cangsheng—currently the foremost Grandmaster in the Great Jin cultivation world, who had comprehended ninety-seven forms of Sword Intent—celebrating his birthday, the other four great Immortal Sects would immediately rush over to offer felicitations, and even those ancient, reclusive monsters hiding in obscure corners would obediently present their tributes. The foremost Grandmaster of the Great Jin cultivation world was certainly not someone to be taken lightly.

Returning to the present, North Peak was truly experiencing an unusual level of excitement.

Visitors from the other four peaks, and some of Venerable Yuanyuan’s friends, arrived one after another, making North Peak far, far livelier than usual.

With so many guests arriving, everyone was kept exceptionally busy. The incident where Lu Yuan sacked the Sima Sword Hall was something people no longer had the leisure to dwell on; North Peak was steeped in continuous noise day after day.

——————

If there were still a few quiet sanctuaries on North Peak right now, Changchun Residence would undoubtedly be one of them.

Changchun Residence was built in a secluded location.

Of course, the primary reason was that the current master of Changchun Residence, Li Yuanbai, was nearing the end of his natural lifespan. Such an individual, though still one of North Peak’s Six Sword Immortals, held little remaining utility. Furthermore, most of Li Yuanbai’s old friends had perished in the battle at Qili Valley years ago, an event where Li Yuanbai himself was severely wounded; otherwise, given his cultivation, he could have easily lived another millennium, or at least several hundred more years.

The only figure with some potential value was Lu Yuan, the true disciple residing there. However, after Lu Yuan repeatedly sealed himself off from visitors, few people bothered to disturb him anymore.

This left Changchun Residence profoundly quiet.

Lu Yuan sat within his own private chamber.

His two flying swords, the Longhong Sword and the Yangwu Sword, hung suspended on the wall. The Spirit Sealing Tablet rested close to his chest, within which three Cloud Rabbits and four Cloud Cats circulated, pouring an inexhaustible stream of Cloud-attribute essence energy into his body. Aided by these seven Cloud-attribute spiritual entities, he hardly needed to exert himself to boost his own mana.

Lu Yuan was deep in thought.

To be precise, it should be termed a post-battle assessment.

Recalling past battles and compiling assessments—he couldn't recall exactly when this habit of summarizing combat performance had started, but the thought simply arose: let’s review the recent fights. How was his performance? It seemed acceptable. He had now thoroughly mastered the Sword Intents of Wind and Cloud; unless he learned new Sword Intents, there was no room for improvement.

The Sword Intent of Wind, the Sword Intent of Cloud—both resided within his heart.

So, what were the shortcomings in his past battles? He immediately recalled the fight against the quartet known as Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua (Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting). In that battle, all four opponents possessed higher mana reserves than him. Their weapons were a zither, a chess set, a brush, and a scroll, and their techniques were incredibly bizarre and ever-changing. If they hadn't become careless, and had attacked him simultaneously from the outset, he would have been in serious trouble.

They were four against one. If their speed matched his own, they could unleash four moves for every one he launched, leaving him scrambling to defend. Fortunately, the first two were pinned down by his swords, severely limiting their mobility; speed didn't matter much for the remaining two.

Therefore, his greatest weakness in swordsmanship currently seemed to be his average speed of drawing the sword.

Perhaps he needed to dedicate a period to pure sword practice, focusing intently on enhancing his draw speed.

If his sword speed were faster, he would undoubtedly be stronger.

However, increasing sword speed wasn't an easy feat. Ah, yes. Within his Master’s collection of texts, there seemed to be a manual titled Urgent Rain Sword Technique. The core of the Urgent Rain Sword Technique lay in its very urgency (Ji). Perhaps he could study that technique.

(He would begin practicing the sword in the next chapter.)

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