Yet, upon the Northern Peak, numerous battles were destined to unfold within this very darkness, though they would unfold silently, without raising much sound. Elder Yuanyuan intended to neutralize Yuan Ling’s offensive and eliminate the forces Yuan Ling had positioned, all while keeping the matter from the knowledge of many.

The Scholar Jiao Stone Chamber.

There was an ancient legend associated with this place. Supposedly, long ago, a Daoist named Jiao Kuang, courtesy name Daoguang, resided on the Northern Peak. He lived alone on Cloud Terrace Peak, subsisting on mist and dew, abstaining from grains and grains. Three azure birds often kept him company, serving as his heralds of future events. In a previous dynasty, Emperor Yuwen Hu personally journeyed to the mountain sanctuary to seek counsel, commanding that a palace be built before the Scholar Jiao Stone Chamber for him to reside in. When the palace was under construction, the peak lacked earth, and lamp oil was scarce. Jiao Daoguang prayed silently, and earth surged up from the cliff base, flowing unendingly. The oil urn would refill itself overnight, providing an inexhaustible supply. Later generations named the place where the earth erupted the Spirit Earth Cliff, and where the oil urn stood, the Immortal Oil Tribute.

Thus, the Scholar Jiao Stone Chamber earned its name.

Now, under the full moon frosting the heavens, they stood before the Scholar Jiao Stone Chamber.

The middle-aged man surnamed Dao unleashed a torrent of rain-like arrows, but Lu Yuan deflected them all with his sword, shock surging through him. Such incredible sword speed—to perfectly parry a spell as potent as the Arrow Storm—was astonishing. Yet, he showed no panic, continuously casting spells like Water Blade and Water Orb. The moisture in the air coalesced into various forms of deadly intent. Lu Yuan’s Long Rainbow Sword moved in a blur, dodging, weaving, and blocking as he rapidly closed the distance toward the Dao-surnamed middle-aged man.

Before a Sword Cultivator masters the ability to fly on their sword for ranged attacks, they must first approach their spell-casting opponent.

Otherwise, what use is supreme swordsmanship if you cannot even reach your foe?

Lu Yuan was closing in swiftly, nearer and nearer.

Seeing the Dao-surnamed man now only the distance of two long swords away, the man smiled faintly—a smile of triumph. Lu Yuan had fallen for the trap. He flung his hand up, unleashing a spell prepared for a long time: the "Torrent of Water." Roaring waves of water erupted from his grasp.

Instantly, the Torrent of Water engulfed Lu Yuan. This torrent was an omnidirectional attack; once launched, it completely enveloped the target. If you could evade the Arrow Storm, could you possibly escape this ubiquitous, surging deluge?

The Dao-surnamed man was now supremely confident.

This time, he was certain to defeat Lu Yuan.

You, the true disciple of the Northern Peak, ultimately cannot surpass a true disciple serving under me, Elder Yuan Ling.

The Dao-surnamed man felt an unexpected surge of elation. Since childhood, he had been instilled with the drive to defeat the true disciples. The joy he felt last time upon defeating the Fourth True Disciple, Fang Dan, was immense; defeating Lu Yuan, who was clearly stronger than Fang Dan, brought him even greater exhilaration.

It was largely because the Torrent of Water spell was truly flawless.

An attack from every angle; any slight gap could be exploited for penetration.

No matter how fast your sword, it cannot possibly ward off this furious, surging tide.

The Torrent of Water spell is devastating against Sword Cultivators who have not yet mastered Sword Flight. Of course, the spell has drawbacks: first, the immense consumption of spiritual power; second, it requires the aid of a specific Water-elemental magical artifact, or it cannot be cast at all. Having deployed this spell, the Dao-surnamed man was absolutely convinced of victory over Lu Yuan.

Victory was imminent.

The corners of the Dao-surnamed man’s lips involuntarily curled upwards, but the lift was fleeting, freezing almost instantly. At that very moment, Lu Yuan burst forth from the range of the Torrent of Water, his sword slicing like lightning straight toward the Dao-surnamed man, causing the latter’s expression to drastically change.

How is this possible? Such a flawless spell as the Torrent of Water—broken?

How could this be?

The Dao-surnamed man was thrown into extreme shock. His astonishment was so profound that he could spare little attention for Lu Yuan’s incoming blade. Since Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was already far superior to his own, his stunned distraction only hastened his defeat. In less than ten exchanges, Lu Yuan’s long sword had severed the man’s meridians, and the Long Rainbow Sword was now held against his throat.

One inch further, and this Dao-surnamed man would be dead.

The Dao-surnamed man was still muttering, "Impossible, how could I fail? How could you break my perfect spell?"

Lu Yuan offered no reply, though he recognized the victory owed something to luck. Having practiced his sword beneath a waterfall, where the water descended with crushing impact, he had sought to increase his speed. In doing so, he discovered that within the powerful flow of the water, there were points of greater and lesser force. His maneuver to break the Torrent of Water spell was precisely this: rapidly locating the areas of weakness within the spell’s surging current and plunging through.

This time, it was a happy accident.

Lu Yuan also knew that his two months spent enduring the scouring force of the waterfall had given him a particular sensitivity to Water-elemental magic. Coupled with his comprehension at that time, breaking Water-elemental spells would now, and in the future, be somewhat easier for him than breaking spells of other elements.

To date, he had figured out how to break two categories of spells.

For Wood-elemental spells, the method was blocking and exploiting their inherent weaknesses: striking the insufficiently rigid leaves and branches with the fastest possible slash to sever them—that was the method of breaking.

For Water-elemental spells, it relied on sword speed, parrying, and his unique intuition regarding water to dismantle them one by one.

One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws. Currently, he could employ his swordsmanship to counter many sword techniques; essentially, any technique that had not yet reached the level of Sword Intent, he could dismantle. He now possessed some measure of confidence in breaking Wood and Water spells, though he remained a considerable distance from truly achieving One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws.

...

The Dao-surnamed man had already been escorted to the Northern Peak’s Celestial Prison, a dedicated facility from which escape was virtually impossible.

This mission was essentially complete.

Oh, right—before transporting the Dao-surnamed man to the prison, he had extracted what he could.

Not interrogating him when there was something to gain wouldn't be his style, especially since this counted as his spoils of war.

First, twenty Spirit-Explosion Stones. Good heavens, quite the haul.

As mentioned before, Spirit-Explosion Stones are an anomaly among Spirit Stones, likely a variant of Fire Spirit Stones. They inherently contain far more fire elemental energy than standard Fire Spirit Stones and are exceptionally unstable—they ignite and explode at the slightest touch. Spirit-Explosion Stones command a very high price in the cultivator markets. Lu Yuan could keep these twenty to use as hidden weapons during combat—toss one out, and boom—or he could sell them at the market for common Low-Grade Spirit Stones, netting at least a hundred of them.

In addition to the twenty Spirit-Explosion Stones, there was one magical artifact—the Twin Serpent Gourd. It was a gourd of pure, milky white, an artifact of the Water element. It was precisely because of this Twin Serpent Gourd that the Dao-surnamed man could cast the Torrent of Water spell. He was unsure of the exact value of this Water artifact, but it was certainly worth at least eighty or a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Looking up at the moon, high and cold as frost,

Lu Yuan returned both the Long Rainbow Sword and the Yangwu Sword to their sheaths. It was time to report the completion of his mission at the Hall of Harmony and Balance.

(Since four in the afternoon, the thunder has been incessant. Lightning is truly terrifying. I wonder if the book I'm writing is as jarring as this thunder? Perhaps someday I’ll write about a lightning sword technique, like the Nine Heavens Thunder Roar Sword Art? On another note, my old work, The Immortal Forging, finally reached a perfect conclusion today. I won’t need to rush for the attendance bonus in May; I can relax for a month.)