Few Asuras managed to escape; mostly Sand Demons. Early in the confrontation, the Asuras attacked too quickly and most met their end under the edge of the Yangwu Sword. The Sand Demons, however, fled frantically. This alleged merging with the sand for escape was not deep submersion; even on the desert surface, a faint ripple of sand would betray their movement.

The autumn sun beat down fiercely, sending wave after wave of sand ripples stretching toward the horizon.

The Golden-Eyed Eagle had taken to the sky. The proud creature was enraged, soaring upward. From the high altitude, it clearly spotted the rippling sand below. It plunged down, forcibly snatching a Sand Demon, not buried too deeply, out from underground. Then, with a powerful ascent, it reached an extreme height. After Lu Yuan’s Yangwu Sword severed the largest of the Sand Demon's defining features—a bony spur on its back—he tossed the creature down. Bang! came the Sand Demon's longest, shrillest scream.

The Golden-Eyed Eagle was clearly not done playing. It continued its dives, searching for the next fleeing Sand Demon. Unfortunately for them, the faint ripple caused by a Sand Demon burrowing just beneath the surface would normally escape the notice of most monstrous birds on the ground, but it could not escape the innate vision of the Golden-Eyed Eagle.

One by one, Sand Demons were snatched up, and one by one, they were thrown down.

Only screams, one after another, echoed.

Lu Yuan paid them no mind. He currently held a wine gourd in his left hand, and whenever the moment allowed, a flash of sword light would appear to sever a bone spur—a remarkably simple task.

A swig of wine, a flash of the blade; life was supremely carefree.

Of course, Lu Yuan knew there were three reasons for his current ease. First, the Golden-Eyed Eagle’s speed was too great; setting up an ambush for his opponent was not an easy feat. Second, his current combat strength was exceedingly high; one would now need a figure at the fifth level of the Body Tempering stage to even pose a slight challenge, and the fifth level of Body Tempering was already a formidable presence in the cultivation world of the Great Jin Kingdom, often considered skilled even among the Elders. Third, they were currently near the Tenth Hall, a territory where the Five Immortals Alliance held the upper hand; demons could not organize large-scale offensives against him, or things would certainly not be this comfortable.

Forget it, why dwell on so many reasons?

Enjoy the freedom of the moment, while the moment lasts.

Sitting on the eagle's back, I raise my fine wine in salute to the vast heavens.

Life, truly carefree.

At this very moment, countless trainees burrowing into holes would surely be dissatisfied and disagree with Lu Yuan’s sentiment. They were still down there, digging through all manner of tunnels, places filled with all sorts of dangers where the demonic power was far stronger than on the surface. Their training was arduous and extremely perilous.

Naturally, these trainees did not go alone; most traveled in groups, otherwise, countless lives would be lost underground.

Thus, while the eagle hurled fleeing Sand Demons to their deaths, the youth in green clothes practiced his sword strokes and drank wine on the eagle’s back—one man, one eagle, wandering free.

It truly fit the saying: one man, one eagle, carefree I roam.

However, Lu Yuan soon noticed a very serious problem.

His Asura Pouch was full. When he first acquired the Asura Pouch, he thought its space was vast, like a giant pocket, enough to last him a while.

But now, not a single low-grade spirit stone in his pouch was small, yet there were over seven hundred of them. These seven hundred-plus stones alone took up considerable space. Then there were his spoils of war: the Longhong Sword, the Sha Yan Sword, the Earth King Summoning Token, the Seven Emotions Black Silk Net, the Sand Armor, the Asura Bone Saber, and several Spirit Sealing Plaques. Though each item didn't take up excessive room individually, their combined volume was not small. Adding the bone spurs from the Sand Demons' backs and the Asura horns from their heads—none of which were large—the sheer quantity of chopped-off bits added up significantly.

Of course, this didn't account for the several leather pouches of fine wine. Consequently, it was perfectly normal that the Asura Pouch, initially the size of a huge pocket, now had no space left.

Spatial magic items—the larger, the more valuable.

Alas.

Once you become accustomed to a spatial item, it feels truly unnatural not to use one, carrying everything tied to your body or in your hands. This must be what they mean by 'easy to transition from frugality to luxury, hard to transition back.'

As for removing the wine to make room for other spoils, perhaps others would do such a thing, but if Lu Yuan truly acted that way, he wouldn't be Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan’s nature dictated that kinship and friendship came first, followed closely by his sword and his wine. How could mere spoils of war compare to wine?

Never mind. If the Asura Pouch was full, he would return to the Eleventh Branch of the Tenth Hall, deliver his mission items, and exchange the Asura Horns and Sand Demon Bone Spurs for spirit stones. Lu Yuan mused in his heart, gave a summon, and the Golden-Eyed Eagle instantly understood Lu Yuan's intent, turning toward the Tenth Hall.

When they were about a hundred li from the perimeter of the Tenth Hall, the Golden-Eyed Eagle stopped flying. Lu Yuan flipped off the eagle's back and stepped through the void toward the ground.

Back at the Tenth Hall again.

The Tenth Hall had ten branch halls, some close, some far. For instance, the Tenth Branch Hall and the Ninth Branch Hall were quite close. Many newcomers of the Five Immortals Alliance were currently undergoing various trainings and missions.

"Hey, have you guys heard? There's supposedly someone riding a Golden-Eyed Eagle around, capturing demons."

"The Golden-Eyed Eagle? One of the overlords of the desert sky?"

"Yes, that's right. Many demons have met their demise at the hands of that man and that bird."

"Uh, I saw it myself. A person riding an eagle’s back, watching an Asura fall to its death from several hundred zhang up in the sky." Someone who had witnessed this immediately asked the speaker if he saw the appearance of the person on the eagle, but the speaker, due to the vast distance, couldn't make out any details.

In any case, the pairing of one man and one eagle had become famous, with many new recruits of the Five Immortals Alliance discussing it. Everyone wished they possessed such an eagle, and many assumed the person riding the eagle wasn't particularly strong, attributing the success to the bird’s might.

Regarding this assumption, Lu Yuan could only feel helpless.

Moreover, Lu Yuan never had any interest in interfering with others’ thoughts.

He proceeded toward the Eleventh Branch Hall. It was quite lively up ahead, with shouts of surprise echoing from the entrance. Lu Yuan looked over and saw that Zhao Qiankun was turning in missions. One after another, the tasks were submitted, and the individuals beside Zhao Qiankun, like Zhao Han, let out gasps of awe and admiration several times.

Finally, Zhao Qiankun and his group departed, and the Eleventh Branch Hall quieted down somewhat. Cao Qiu, the Deputy Hall Master of the Tenth Hall, known by the moniker 'Lone Lamp in the Night Rain,' was seated there. He remembered this youth in green robes. Though he didn't know the youth’s identity, he clearly recalled that this youth had successfully completed the most difficult mission previously—the one involving the Blood Sword Gate Daoist.

Cao Qiu sat and smiled: "How many missions have you completed this time?"

Lu Yuan submitted his mission goods: Sand Demon Bone Spurs, Asura Horns, and so on. There was a considerable number of both. Cao Qiu looked at the Sand Demon Bone Spurs and Asura Horns Lu Yuan presented, his gaze first landing on the largest bone spur and the largest horn. Bone spurs and horns of this grade suggested the Sand Demon had cultivation in the second or third level of Body Tempering before death, and the Asura was likely a Grand Asura—truly extraordinary. Judging by the spoils, he had slain three more Body Tempering stage demons, which in quality alone surpassed what Zhao Qiankun had brought in earlier.

As for the Body Tempering stage Sand Demon Bone Spurs and Asura Horns, the quantity seemed similar to Zhao Qiankun's haul.

This youth in green robes brought in a quantity similar to Zhao Qiankun’s, but the quality was significantly higher.

"Three hundred sixty spirit stones in total," Cao Qiu calculated silently and announced the reward. Lu Yuan accepted the payment and loaded all these low-grade spirit stones into his Asura Pouch, only to tragically discover that after clearing out the Asura Horns and Sand Demon Bone Spurs, adding the three hundred sixty spirit stones left almost no surplus room.

It seemed he needed to find a solution for his spatial artifact problem; otherwise, it was genuinely troublesome.

Unfortunately, he currently possessed only slightly over a thousand low-grade spirit stones. In the cultivation world of the Great Jin Kingdom, one thousand low-grade spirit stones traded for one mid-grade spirit stone, and ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones traded for one high-grade spirit stone. Lu Yuan picked up his wine gourd, took a drink, and walked out the door of the Eleventh Branch Hall.

The moment Lu Yuan stepped out, Lone Lamp in the Night Rain, Cao Qiu, suddenly stiffened. He stared blankly at the Asura Horn in his hand. This particular horn was from a Qi Refining stage Asura, seemingly unremarkable. Cao Qiu stared intently for a long time before switching his gaze to a Sand Demon Bone Spur, staring blankly again.

Cao Qiu stared for so long that his subordinates became curious and asked, "Deputy Hall Master, why are you continuously staring at that Sand Demon Bone Spur and Asura Horn?" This subordinate was also somewhat curious. The youth in green robes' spoils were numerous, of slightly higher quality than Zhao Qiankun's, but they shouldn't cause the widely knowledgeable Deputy Hall Master to gaze so intently. After all, the Deputy Hall Master was a cultivator approaching the third major realm, the Longevity stage; how could he be so easily affected?

Cao Qiu murmured, "I was truly mistaken. Truly mistaken." His eyes were still fixed on the Asura Horn. Seeing his subordinate’s confusion, he held out the broken end of the Asura Horn: "Look at the break point here."

The subordinate stared for a long time but couldn't discern anything.

Cao Qiu shook his head: "That’s right. Your swordsmanship is still far too inferior; you can’t discern the swordsmanship in this break. This young man’s swordsmanship is extraordinary. Just looking at this break point reveals his skill, which I suspect is no less than mine."

The subordinate was greatly alarmed. The Deputy Hall Master, renowned as 'Lone Lamp in the Night Rain,' possessed peerless swordsmanship, and now he claimed the youth in green robes’ skill was no less than his own. How could the subordinate not be shocked? "Deputy Hall Master, judging his swordsmanship from a single break point—isn't that too incredible?"

"You don't understand," Cao Qiu shook his head. "Long ago, the peerless Yan Cangtian used his sword to carve a palm-sized wooden Mount Hua and presented it to Ren Du, the leader of the underground demons. Ren Du looked at this palm-sized wooden Mount Hua for seven full days and nights. The first words he spoke afterward were, 'Yan Cangtian’s swordsmanship is peerless, unrivaled in Great Jin; even I, Ren Du, am no match.' "

Cao Qiu continued: "A master of the sword, with a casual slice, allows other sword masters to glean insights from it. This young man has delivered so many Asura Horns and Sand Demon Bone Spurs. If I couldn't discern that this youth's swordsmanship is no less than mine, I would not deserve the title 'Lone Lamp in the Night Rain.' " (This chapter ending feels incredibly resonant.)