A balance between work and rest is crucial. Lu Yuan had always believed that balancing work and rest would not decrease the efficiency of cultivation, but rather enhance it.

Of course, this came with a prerequisite: if one were immersed in a state of extreme obsession, then focusing entirely on one task would preclude any concern for work-life balance; however, such states were exceedingly rare. In his daily life, Lu Yuan always adhered to a balanced approach.

Naturally, the "work" portion was minimized, while the "rest" portion took up more time. Currently, cultivating in the Third Layer Heavenly Prison, he would cultivate for a period, then slip down to the First Layer Heavenly Prison to slack off for a while, chatting idly with his close friends Ye Fang and Ye Yuan.

Ye Fang and Ye Yuan were also slowly adapting to life in the First Layer, even daring to sip a little wine, unlike the tension they held when they first arrived. This wine was placed on the ground, and a small dish of peanuts rested nearby.

Cultivating in the Heavenly Prison, one could not demand too much. A pot of wine and a dish of peanuts was already quite satisfactory.

Thinking back to when they were cultivating beneath the earth in Donglu County, fighting the Moon Demon Sect, they didn't even have wine then, surviving solely on Bigu Pills—eating until their mouths felt utterly bland. Now, having a pot of wine and a dish of peanuts felt splendid.

Soon, the three of them began drinking heartily. As they drank, they drifted into idle conversation.

Ye Fang began, "Since we're on the topic of the Heavenly Prison, let me tell you a tale about imprisonment. This is something I heard from my master..." Ye Fang’s master, Fang Ru, was renowned as the 'Gentleman Sword,' rarely speaking carelessly, so the story's authenticity seemed quite high.

Lu Yuan, having nothing better to do, decided to listen. Ye Fang launched into his narrative: "The subterranean demons, they number in the thousands of caves and hundreds of millions of fiends..." "However, two thousand years ago, there was a figure called Wan Mo Zhi Mo (Demon Among Ten Thousand Demons) Ren Du, known as the Devil Among Devils.

Although this man didn't rule all the subterranean dens and myriad demons, he was close to it. At that time, the situation was perilous; the subterranean demons were on the verge of attacking our Five Great Immortal Sects." With the full might of the subterranean demons unified, overcoming the Wan Mo Zhi Mo Ren Du would have been incredibly difficult.

The Five Great Immortal Sects recognized the critical moment they were facing. All five sects prepared to form an alliance to resist the Wan Mo Zhi Mo.

But just then, the Wan Mo Zhi Mo Ren Du failed mysteriously, and Ren Du's second-in-command, the Taiyin Demon Lord Dongfang Yao, ascended to power..." "There are rumors that the Wan Mo Zhi Mo Ren Du was secretly assassinated by his deputy, the Taiyin Demon Lord Dongfang Yao. But it is said that the Taiyin Demon Lord Dongfang Yao did not kill the Wan Mo Zhi Mo; instead, he imprisoned him in some remote location.

As for the exact location, no one knows besides the Taiyin Demon Lord Dongfang Yao himself..." Lu Yuan found himself thoroughly engaged in the story. Whether it was the Wan Mo Zhi Mo or the Taiyin Demon Lord, both were figures capable of fundamentally ruling the subterranean world—the domain of the millions of demons residing in countless caverns.

In comparison, Lu Yuan, Ye Fang, and Ye Yuan were discussing figures who belonged to the tier of mere minnows. Essentially, this was a group of small fry just emerging into the cultivation world of the Great Jin, casually discussing the distant, mightiest titans during a bored drinking session.

After the wine was done, both the Wan Mo Zhi Mo Ren Du and the Taiyin Demon Lord Dongfang Yao would be cast from their minds, adding nothing but anecdotal knowledge. In truth, it held no inherent significance.

Yet, many endeavors require no inherent meaning. If every action demanded meaning, Lu Yuan wouldn't be occasionally carrying his wine gourd.

Following his whims, being carefree and at ease—that was Lu Yuan. "Right..." Ye Yuan interjected, "I heard that our Huashan Heavenly Prison also holds quite a few great demons and fiends who were defeated by our Martial Uncles and Ancestors back then.

There are quite a few notorious figures among them. Of course, the most famous place in the Huashan Immortal Sect isn't the Heavenly Prison, but the Cliff of Contemplation (Siguo Ya).

Siguo Ya, Siguo Ya—supposedly, contemplating one's errors there is quite agonizing..." Indeed, the thoughts of the three men strayed quite erratically during their idle chatter. They had just finished discussing the Wan Mo Zhi Mo Ren Du and the Taiyin Demon Lord Dongfang Yao, and immediately shifted to the Huashan Heavenly Prison.

The topic then pivoted to the Huashan Cliff of Contemplation. Outside, the Cliff of Contemplation was not widely known, but within Huashan, it was infamous; any disciple who committed a major offense was thrown onto that cliff.

As they chatted, the wine dwindled, and only a few peanuts remained. The other Core Disciples generally needed to resume their training sessions.

Just then, Chu Fei strode over: "Alright, this round of cultivation is concluded..." "Concluded..." The Core Disciples seemed slow to react. Chu Fei let out a soft chuckle, "You cultivators in the Heavenly Prison have lost track of time, haven't you?

The Five Peak Grand Competition is in three days. You have cultivated enough for now; it is time to rest and maintain a full, vigorous spirit to meet the upcoming Five Peak Grand Competition..." "However, before that, you must first visit the Hall of Central Harmony and Peace (Zhongzheng Pinghe Zhai); Senior Brother Yuanyuan has matters to entrust to you..." "Yes..." Since this trial period had ended, everyone gathered their belongings and promptly left the Heavenly Prison.

Overall, Yun Ping possessed fervent ambition and exceptional talent; if he could assist Yun Yi, his future would be promising. Ling Yuzhu was strong; her future achievements might not fall short of Junior Sister Dugu's.

Fang Dan’s disposition was detached, completely different from his Master Brother Fang, but he too would forge his own path. Sima Bo resembled his Junior Brother Sima, while Lu Yuan was a monstrous anomaly whose future was beyond one's ability to estimate.

As for An Zhi, Ye Fei, Ye Fang, and Ye Yuan, although they might not transcend the mediocrity of their lineage, they could still inherit seven or eight-tenths of their master's skill, suggesting a decent future. A promising future indeed!

Every time the Venerable Yuanyuan observed the Ten Great Core Disciples, he was filled with satisfaction and relief. These were the ten he had meticulously nurtured.

He hoped their futures would surpass those of the current Ninth Generation. However, for now, he would observe their performance in the Five Peak Grand Competition.

"The Five Peak Grand Competition is about to commence; I know this, and you all must know it as well," Venerable Yuanyuan said gravely, hands clasped behind his back. "The five peaks of the Huashan Immortal Sect have historically been dominated by the East Peak, South Peak, and West Peak.

Among these three major factions, the Sword Sect has always been supreme, with the Qi Sect following behind, and the Sword Qi Sect trailing last..." "For this Five Peak Grand Competition, I also hope you perform well, but do not place excessive pressure upon yourselves; strive your best, and that will suffice..." "Very well, dismiss yourselves. Rest well and await the start of the Five Peak Grand Competition..." After these Core Disciples departed, Venerable Yuanyuan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the sea of clouds.

As the clouds shifted and rolled, the North Peak's strength, due to the internal strife years ago and various historical reasons, ranked toward the rear of the Five Peaks. The Tenth Generation Core Disciples included first-rate talents like Yun Yi and Yun Ping, and second-rate talents like Ling Yuzhu and Fang Dan, but they lacked the top-tier masters found in the East Peak's Shi Chaoyang, the South Peak's Mo Qianbian, or the West Peak's Song Nanshan.

Now, finally, they had an additional top-tier talent in Lu Yuan. However, possessing both the mana of the Body Tempering stage and sword techniques at the Sword Intent level—this seemed to surpass the standard definition of top-tier.

Only three days remained until the Five Peak Grand Competition. In these few days, Lu Yuan lived quite freely, drinking, sleeping, and practicing his sword.

The time spent practicing the sword daily was brief, mainly just familiarizing himself with the blade; drinking and sleeping occupied the majority of his time—it was simply his nature. The happiest person over these three days was undoubtedly Ye Fang.

His usual master, the solemn Gentleman Sword Fang Ru, was rarely so relaxed; to be able to drink openly and legitimately was so moving that it brought Ye Fang to tears. Two days passed in a flash.

On the day before the Five Peak Grand Competition, a piece of earth-shattering news abruptly landed. The rewards for this Five Peak Grand Competition were extraordinarily generous.

Lu Yuan was startled when he saw the rewards for the Five Peak Grand Competition. For the individual competitions, the first prize was a large spirit beast, the second a medium spirit beast, and the third a small spirit beast; the subsequent rewards were less impressive.

As for the team competition, every member of the winning team would receive one small spirit beast. These rewards were not merely generous; they were extravagantly abundant.

Spirit beasts varied by attribute. For instance, the East Peak's Zhaoyang Peak practiced the Zhaoyang Heart Method and required fire-element spirit beasts; the West Peak's Luoyan Peak practiced the Mist Heart Method, needing cloud-element spirit beasts; and the North Peak's Yuntai Peak practiced the Cloud Dragon Heart Method, also needing cloud-element spirit beasts.

Aside from these three elements, there were others, such as lightning or wood spirit beasts; in any case, spirit beasts of every element were precious. Spirit beasts were also categorized by size.

Taking cloud-element spirit beasts as an example, common ones like the Cloud Cricket or Cloud Cat were clearly small spirit beasts. The Cloud Wolf or Cloud Serpent would qualify as medium spirit beasts.

The Cloud Tiger or Cloud Lion were classified as large spirit beasts. Above large spirit beasts were further classifications: Giant Spirit Beasts, followed by Exotic-level Spirit Beasts, Legendary-level Spirit Beasts, Mythical-level Spirit Beasts, and Ancient-level Spirit Beasts.

Naturally, the Exotic-level beasts rarely appeared, let alone the Legendary, Mythical, or Ancient levels, which were only heard of, never seen. The larger the spirit beast, the more Yuan Qi it could absorb and the greater the benefits it could bestow upon a cultivator.

If the Ninth Generation renowned Sword Immortals might not be overly concerned with small spirit beasts, then large spirit beasts were something even they would covet, demonstrating the immense importance the higher echelons of the Huashan Immortal Sect placed on this Grand Competition through such investment. Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan paused, then felt a rare surge of fighting spirit.

Inevitably, Lu Yuan was also quite fond of spirit beasts. The seven spirit beasts currently stored in his Spirit Sealing Tablet were clearly insufficient.

If he could acquire large and medium spirit beasts delivered to his doorstep, it would be a great fortune. Having more spirit beasts would allow him to spend less time meditating and circulating Qi, enabling him to be lazy.