Lu Yuan had three main interests. Eating, drinking, and swordsmanship. In the Sky Prison, sharing meals with Martial Uncle Chu Fei left little room for particular tastes. As for sleeping, the Sky Prison was hardly a proper place for it; even sleep had its refinements. Sleeping in the Sky Prison offered little satisfaction. To truly sleep well, one required an excellent environment—perhaps on soft grass, by a flowing river, or even resting against a tree trunk. The surroundings had to be pristine, listening to the songs of birds and the rush of water to achieve true comfort.

Thus, eating and drinking were dismissed.

Consequently, in the Sky Prison, the only remaining activity was sword practice. On the very first day he reached the second layer of the Sky Prison, he had subdued all its inmates. Now, all that remained was diligent sword practice.

Although the inmates of the second layer were weaker in sheer power, they possessed a variety of unique skills, which could serve to hone his swordsmanship. For the subsequent period, Lu Yuan engaged in continuous sparring with these prisoners, encountering a myriad of sword techniques. These techniques might not have been profound or overly complex, but having served as the prisoners' signature skills, they all possessed some distinct characteristic. Lu Yuan tested them one by one.

Even though he did not face a true nemesis, this constant practice and sparring resulted in perceptible advancements in his own swordsmanship.

Among them, two sets of sword techniques proved particularly intriguing to him.

One was Chou Niu’s Heaven-Crippling Sword Technique (Tian Can Jian Fa). This technique felt profoundly bizarre, as if it were fundamentally incomplete, missing a crucial half. He suspected that if that missing half were present, it would transform into a truly terrifying sword art. Of course, Lu Yuan knew this was merely his intuition. In fact, Lu Yuan's intuition was correct, because in the era over five thousand years ago, the Heaven-Crippling and Earth-Shattering sword techniques (Tian Can Di Que) from the Ailao Mountain Immortal Sect were designed as a complementary joint attack. It was similar to the current Yin-Yang Two-Forms Sword Art (Yin Yang Liang Yi Jian Fa) of the Wudang Immortal Sect, one of the Five Great Immortal Sects; the Yin-Form or Yang-Form techniques alone were not particularly deep, but when combined, they formed an extraordinarily profound art.

The other was the sword technique belonging to Shi Xiaosheng, the man with the three-tendrilled beard. Shi Xiaosheng had somehow acquired a fragment of the Emerald City Immortal Sect's Six Great Absolute Swords, the Rain Beating Flying Flower Sword Art (Yu Da Fei Hua Jian Fa). Though incomplete, this fragment allowed Lu Yuan to sense the unique nature of the Rain Beating Flying Flower Sword Art.

This technique was definitely in no way inferior to the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud (Feng Yun Yi Bai Ling Ba Jian). The Six Great Absolute Swords of the Emerald City Immortal Sect were truly formidable. Faintly, within this fragmented art, he sensed the Sword Intent of Rain (Yu Zhi Jian Yi).

However, it was only a remnant. If he could witness the complete Rain Beating Flying Flower Sword Art, perhaps he could use it to finally grasp the Sword Intent of Rain. Lu Yuan had come agonizingly close to grasping the Intent of Rain and the Intent of Water on several occasions, but that small gap remained stubbornly frustrating. If he could see the true Rain Beating Flying Flower Sword Art, it would surely be completely different from what he had experienced now.

...

Besides the opportunity to fully indulge in various sparring matches involving sword techniques, some of the prisoners also utilized spells.

Silver Beard employed Water element magic, granting Lu Yuan additional experience in countering water spells. Other prisoners used Wood and Wind element magic; since Lu Yuan had already dealt with these before, this session merely served to reinforce his experience in breaking these types of spells.

This time, he also encountered Fire element magic. Initially, facing fire spells left him utterly exposed and desperate, repeatedly being driven back by things like Fireball and Flaming Arrow spells. It was only after some time that he realized if he activated the first transformation of the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations—the Chi Wen Form—he could temporarily transmute the internal mana into Water element mana. Then, by channeling this Water mana onto his sword to exploit the principle of water overcoming fire, he could dismantle the water-based magic and subsequently defeat his opponent.

He also encountered practitioners of Earth element magic. Their Earth Shield spells were quite troublesome. Once the Earth Shield was activated, the spellcaster was completely enveloped, requiring him to chip away slowly at the shield’s defense just to reach the person inside—a truly vexing technique. As for offensive Earth spells like Earth Spike, as long as his evasion speed was sufficient, they posed little threat. Simply put, fighting Earth magic users involved a slow grind; quick victories were rare. Those utilizing Earth magic were akin to carrying a tortoise shell, making combat incredibly frustrating.

...

In the second layer of the Sky Prison, Lu Yuan progressed rapidly, not in the realm or level of his swordsmanship, but in achieving greater mastery and fluency in sword techniques.

His previous attainment in swordsmanship realm was already quite high, reaching the Sword Intent level. However, despite the high realm, his actual combat experience was lacking. Outside of standard duels among direct disciples, his total opportunities to clash with others numbered fewer than ten. This period of practice in the Sky Prison, sparring against various types of inmates—sword specialists and magic users alike—vastly increased his practical experience. This led to modest advancements in his swordsmanship.

While progress in sword techniques was secondary, the crucial takeaway was the massive accumulation of experience from battling diverse foes, which solidly fortified his foundation. This would prove immensely beneficial for comprehending more sword intents in the future and taking the first steps toward becoming a Sword Master.

——————

In truth, his tenure in the second layer of the Sky Prison brought about more than just sword skill refinement; his mana also underwent subtle shifts.

Having reached the Great Circulation of the Ninth Stage of Qi Refining, advancing to the Great Completion of the Tenth Stage of Qi Refining was not inherently difficult. It primarily required refining and tempering his mana, and combat was undoubtedly the fastest way to achieve this refinement, as the circulation of mana during a fight far surpassed its state at rest. His original intention for coming to the Sky Prison was to elevate his mana by one level. After this period of intense trial, Lu Yuan sensed his mana beginning to change. These were initially faint, almost imperceptible shifts, but now, it seemed a major transformation was imminent.

He promptly settled into a cross-legged posture in a secluded corner of the second layer and began circulating his energy using the Mana Condensation technique, focusing on tempering his internal mana. His Cloud mana flowed continuously within him, albeit at a deliberate, measured pace. Yet, his internal Cloud mana had seemingly altered its fundamental properties. It had become softer and denser—this was the new characteristic of his mana, transformed by repeated use in combat. He then erected a Spirit Sealing Formation around himself and pierced several Spirit Stones. After all, he possessed numerous Spirit Stones now, tallying over four hundred following the Eastern Domain Prefecture campaign.

With a surge of resolve, he pierced eighty Spirit Stones at once. Countless streams of heaven and earth vital energy flooded into his body. Lu Yuan circulated the Cloud Dragon Heart Method, absorbing this energy and slowly converting it into his own mana, making it progressively softer and denser, weaving it into an increasingly compact mass.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the vital energy within the Spirit Sealing Formation grew thin. Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. In that moment, he knew he had reached the state of Great Completion of the Tenth Stage of Qi Refining.

Great Completion was the final stage of the Tenth Stage of Qi Refining. This stage was not considered particularly arduous to break through. During the Qi Refining period, the Fifth Stage (Lesser Circulation), the Sixth Stage (Mana Manifestation as Gang), and the Ninth Stage (Great Circulation) were the true bottlenecks. The Tenth Stage of Great Completion was comparatively simpler. Nevertheless, having finally conquered this stage, he now stood at the apex of the Qi Refining period.

It had not been easy. Cultivating from the first stage all the way to the tenth stage of Qi Refining had truly been a difficult journey. It was like climbing a mountain and finally reaching the summit. A feeling of wistfulness washed over him.

Since joining the Huashan Immortal Sect, his Master had urged him repeatedly to strive toward the Tenth Stage of Qi Refining. Now that he had finally reached the peak of the Qi Refining period, he felt an overwhelming sense of emotion. His Master’s greatest fear in previous years was that he would pass before Lu Yuan reached this pinnacle. Now, his Master should finally be at ease.

Reaching the summit of Qi Refining represented not just achieving a personal milestone but also fulfilling one of his Master's deepest wishes. His heart swelled with mixed feelings.

Of course, after reflection came the contemplation of the next step. The next step: transitioning from the Tenth Stage of Qi Refining to the First Stage of Body Tempering. This transition would be exponentially more difficult than the combined challenge of the Lesser Circulation, Mana Manifestation, and Great Circulation. That hurdle would be incredibly arduous, and only by reaching the First Stage of Body Tempering—Energy Control and Leaving the Void (Yu Qi Li Kong)—could one truly fly.

Many often argue that cultivators in the Qi Refining period are not true cultivators. Only upon reaching the Body Tempering period can one be considered a genuine cultivator. Body Tempering—forging an Immortal Body. Hence, many people refer to the Body Tempering period as the Immortal Body period.

Honestly, Lu Yuan held considerable anticipation for the Body Tempering period, after all, achieving flight had been the dream of countless people. Flying, soaring like a bird. Lu Yuan also longed to fly. He had spent so much time lying on the ground, gazing at the sky, the earth, the distant mountains, and the nearby mist; he, too, wished to soar into the heavens, into the clouds, to see what sights the world below held when viewed from within the clouds.

Furthermore, reclining in soft, yielding clouds had always been his dream, justifying his practice of the Cloud Dragon Wind Arts and the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud. Both his core technique and his sword art were inextricably linked to the concept of the cloud. Without realizing it, he had developed a peculiar affinity for clouds. However, the Body Tempering period felt distant. Even standing at the pinnacle of Qi Refining, the Body Tempering stage remained so far away.

(The second update is here. Finally, the peak of Qi Refining! We are following two separate advancement tracks: one for mana cultivation and one for swordsmanship improvement.)V