The Dark Sword Villa was situated in a particularly remote location at the foot of North Peak. The estate was nestled within a dense forest, completely enveloped by towering trees that blotted out the sky, creating an extreme stillness within the Dark Five Villa grounds. Normally, the villa was quiet, serene, with only the occasional chirp of a bird breaking the silence.

But now, the villa was equally quiet—a dead silence where no one dared to breathe too loudly. In one of the courtyards within the estate, fallen blossoms carpeted the ground, flagstones were shattered, and tree branches lay broken. Standing amidst this ruin, hands clasped behind his back, was the elder in white robes and white hair.

The posture of this elder radiated immense pressure. Li Yuanbai’s expression was grim. He hadn't expected to feel such anger in the final year or so of his life.

But this time, he could not suppress his fury. His own subordinates had attempted to assassinate his disciple. Li Yuanbai, being deeply perceptive of human nature, immediately grasped the likely motive behind the assassination attempt.

Indeed, among his subordinates were several formidable figures, most notably the Four Guardians and Five Guests: Shangguan Qing of the Azure Five, Nangong Bai of the White Five, Situ Hong of the Red Five, and Murong An of the Dark Five. Among these individuals, some remained fiercely loyal and would continue to support his disciple, while others had long since shed their loyalty, aspiring to carve out their own domain. Who exactly was behind Li Feng, manipulating him from the shadows?

This time, Li Yuanbai chose not to report the incident up to North Peak. Since the event occurred within the Dark Five Villa, and Li Feng was one of his former subordinates, the perpetrator was likely one of his existing underlings. This was an internal family matter and naturally did not require escalating to North Peak.

If every minor transgression among his subordinates had to be reported upwards, it would signify a failure to control his own people—a deeply humiliating prospect for one of the Nine Generations of Renowned Five Immortals. However, this matter absolutely had to be resolved. Li Yuanbai’s face was stern.

Regardless of who stood behind Li Feng, he would settle this. He was not yet dead, yet these people dared to act so recklessly. Did they truly take him for a corpse?

It seemed they had forgotten how the Twilight Five Immortals of yesteryear dealt with disobedience. Li Yuanbai maintained his severe expression, and the rest of the Dark Five Villa dared not utter a sound, fearing even the sound of their own heavy breathing. Normally, in front of Lu Yuan, Li Yuanbai was a benevolent elder.

But to lead a power base of this magnitude, one must possess an equally decisive and ruthless side. What was now revealed to the members of the Dark Five Villa was precisely this aspect of ruthless decision-making. Li Yuanbai looked upon Li Feng, who was restrained not far ahead, his expression solemn, his face like still water.

Of course, Li Yuanbai was also looking at Lu Yuan with a degree of astonishment. To this day, he could not fathom how Lu Yuan had reached the Body Tempering Stage. When he first heard that Li Feng had attempted to assassinate Lu Yuan, Li Yuanbai was shocked.

But when he learned that Lu Yuan had actually broken through to the Body Tempering Stage, his shock was profound. Having navigated years of turmoil, his immediate reaction upon hearing the news was that the hand stroking his beard froze abruptly, remaining so for at least five breaths. Even now, Li Yuanbai found it hard to believe.

“You’ve reached the Body Tempering Stage?” he asked again, unable to help himself. “Yes,” Lu Yuan nodded. The current sensation was exquisite; spiritual energy surged through every part of his body, enveloping him entirely.

He felt every bone, muscle, blood, skin, and hair brimming with latent strength. “How did you comprehend the breakthrough?” Li Yuanbai inquired. “It seemed to happen during the fight with Li Feng, I’m not entirely sure how,” Lu Yuan replied truthfully, yet his innocent tone left Li Yuanbai speechless.

Honestly, Li Yuanbai felt a pang of envy and jealousy for his disciple. It had taken him five years to break through this bottleneck in his own cultivation. Now, his disciple… had only been stuck at this stage for a couple of months before shattering it.

Was this sheer luck, or something else? Li Yuanbai found himself at a loss for words concerning his disciple. Li Feng, who was currently subdued, felt a torrent of despair welling up inside him.

He had anticipated completing his mission to kill Lu Yuan with ease. Who could have foreseen that Lu Yuan would achieve a battlefield breakthrough? Moreover, this breakthrough had seemingly occurred without Lu Yuan’s conscious direction.

Li Feng desperately wished for death; why couldn't Lu Yuan have broken through earlier or later, but had to do it precisely when he was about to strike him down? Li Yuanbai, hands behind his back, stated, “Very well. I will handle what follows.” “This old man will let those individuals know that although I may only have a little over a year left to live, I am certainly not dead yet.” His chilling tone betrayed Li Yuanbai’s determination to unleash a tempest.

And unleash a tempest he did. The forces under Li Yuanbai stirred up a tremendous storm. Using Li Feng as the starting point, every suspicious individual was investigated, including the four top experts under Li Yuanbai—Shangguan Qing of the Azure Five, Nangong Bai of the White Five, Situ Hong of the Red Five, and Murong An of the Dark Five.

The speed with which this storm swept through the ranks of Li Yuanbai’s domain was such that countless people were caught in its wake. Lu Yuan paid no mind to this upheaval. His master had promised to handle it, so he let his master manage the crisis.

Trusting those who deserved it had always been one of Lu Yuan’s strong points. At this moment, Lu Yuan was in the Longevity Residence. Now that he had reached the Body Tempering Stage and grasped the principles of Qi Manipulation for Aerial Movement, he discovered he still didn't know how to fly.

Based on his master's tone, he only needed a slight moment of comprehension to grasp the method. So, how to fly? Lu Yuan gazed at the white clouds overhead, having long dreamed of simply drifting up there for a nap.

That had been his ambition. But how was he to achieve flight? According to the records in various ancient texts, one should use spiritual power to alter the physical structure of the body, enabling flight.

But what specific modifications were required? Lu Yuan meticulously recalled the ancient scriptures of the successive Patriarchs of North Peak he had read, focusing on the section detailing Qi Manipulation for Aerial Movement. The cosmos contained myriad forms of vital energy (Yuan Qi).

Upon reaching the Body Tempering Stage, spiritual power permeated every inch of the flesh. The secret to flight lay in using spiritual power to subtly modify the physical body such that the resulting combination of flesh and power was infinitesimally lighter than the surrounding Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, allowing one to float in the air. This secret was inscribed in the annals of the North Peak Patriarchs.

Theory, however, was always shallow; he needed hands-on experience to truly master flight. Lu Yuan sat cross-legged on the courtyard floor of the Longevity Residence and began channeling his spiritual power to adjust his physical structure, aiming to make his body progressively lighter. Vaguely, he sensed his body beginning to lift.

Distracted for a moment, Lu Yuan realized he was already hovering cross-legged, an inch above the ground. That momentary lapse caused him to drop with a loud thud onto the floor. His backside stung, but the pain was insignificant compared to the revelation: the modification of the physical body could indeed induce levitation.

This discovery filled him with simultaneous shock and elation. Clearing his mind of distractions, he began testing again, manipulating his physical form. Slowly, his body began to ascend.

This time, he floated higher and higher, reaching a height of ten feet without incident, prompting him to continue rising. Ten feet aloft. Twenty feet aloft.

Thirty feet aloft. At the thirty-foot mark, an unexpected event occurred: his body suddenly plummeted downward. If he had fallen solidly from this height, the impact would have been excruciating.

Fortunately, around the ten-foot mark, he managed to regain the sensation of floating and instantly stabilized his form, resuming his upward drift. After more than ten days, experiencing two to three hundred attempts at floating upward and falling dozens of times—even sustaining minor injuries from falls spanning over ten feet—Lu Yuan finally began to master the art of levitation. Under normal circumstances, he could now remain suspended in the air gracefully.

However, this was not flying; it was mere floating. Floating meant moving upward passively, carried by the wind or the ambient Yuan Qi, without free directional control. He still needed to learn how to control his direction while airborne to achieve true flight.

He first floated into the air, then concentrated on maneuvering. Lu Yuan realized that changing direction was no longer about altering his physical structure, but rather using the reaction force of the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi to constantly adjust his altitude and trajectory. This was the true secret to flight.

Knowing the theory was one thing; successfully applying it through personal practice was quite another. During this period of training, Lu Yuan made numerous errors. For instance, intending to fly southeast, his spiritual power organization failed, and he veered southwest instead.

Or, clearly intending to ascend, he would instead plummet downwards, nearly crashing into the ground. An intended eastward trajectory might incorrectly shift towards the southeast. Lu Yuan did not truly dwell on these mistakes.

It was entirely normal for a person to err when learning a completely unfamiliar skill. He had made countless mistakes when first practicing the Five Forms, nearly injuring himself several times. Now, he was mastering the wholly alien skill of flight.

It was quite normal that mastering flight would take scores of days, perhaps even longer. Flying was inherently difficult. The notion that one could instantly fly upon reaching the Body Tempering Stage was nothing more than a tall tale.

In the entire history of this land, no such prodigy had ever been recorded. Everyone had to learn to fly and adapt to aerial movement step by step. Lu Yuan spent nearly thirty days in the process of learning to fly, and now he had basically grasped the skill to a satisfactory degree.

He drew a deep breath. Yes, I can fly. I want to fly.

This time, he was going to attempt a grand test flight: soaring up to the white clouds. Even cultivators harbored all manner of fantasies and romantic aspirations. Ever since Lu Yuan entered the immortal gate, he had yearned to ascend to the clouds.

Finally, the moment had arrived to test his flight toward the clouds.

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