A man, a gourd of wine, and a single eagle.

This was the carefree life Lu Yuan currently enjoyed. Compared to the other newcomers tunneling beneath the earth, Lu Yuan’s days were truly quite comfortable. However, Lu Yuan was now facing a dilemma: his Asura Pouch was nearly full.

To speak of it, two Spirit Sealing Tablets, a Changhong Sword, a Sandflame Sword, an Asura Bone Saber, plus the Seven Emotions Silk Net and the Earth King Summoning Token didn't occupy much space. The Asura Pouch could still hold them; even adding a few cowhide wine skins wouldn't be a major issue. The real trouble was the sheer quantity of low-grade spirit stones—over a thousand of them—which were rapidly filling the pouch to capacity.

He never expected to face the trouble of having too many low-grade spirit stones. It was truly a pain mixed with pleasure.

Lu Yuan shrugged.

He needed to figure out a way to deal with these spirit stones. Alas, if only he had a large spatial magic treasure. But high-capacity spatial treasures were notoriously difficult to find, costing a fortune for anyone who possessed one. Wait, that's right, he could use the spirit stones to advance his cultivation! He was currently at the peak of the second layer of Body Refining Stage—the Five Viscera and Six Bowels—and could try to break through to the third layer.

“Little Eagle, find us a secluded spot to land.” The Golden-Eyed Eagle nodded, executing a stunning dive before arriving over a stretch of desert.

In a desert, finding seclusion was ridiculously easy; vast, desolate expanses where no smoke rose for thousands of miles were perfectly normal. Lu Yuan immediately moved his hand, shooting out five talismans to lay down a Spirit Sealing Array around the area. He then reached into the Asura Pouch and poured out a massive heap of spirit stones—dumping out exactly one hundred stones at once.

Simultaneously, his Nourishing Myriad Sword flashed out swiftly, its blade light transforming into a series of afterimages that pierced the one hundred spirit stones at incredible speed.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, ten fingers pointed toward his heart.

Countless streams of spiritual energy surged into his body. At the same time, boundless Yuan Qi flowed in from one of the Spirit Sealing Tablets. Lu Yuan took a deep breath, drawing in the flood of spiritual energy and Yuan Qi, using them to begin transforming his body. Body Refining Stage cultivation was all about refining the body; it was fundamentally about using the elemental energy of heaven and earth to change one's physical form.

By this time, his five viscera and six bowels had already been tempered to an extreme degree, allowing them to absorb the world's elemental energy far faster than before.

The elemental energy of heaven and earth poured into his body. The viscera and bowels no longer required remodeling; this new influx of spiritual energy bypassed them, instead circulating ceaselessly within his form, flowing like water through every part of his physique.

The power within his body grew denser and denser.

This accumulated power was squeezing his body full. He had to force this barrier open; Lu Yuan began channeling his internal power again and again to refine his body, yet the urge to break through persisted without yielding. As time passed, the external spiritual energy he drew in grew weaker and weaker.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes. The attempt with the first hundred spirit stones had failed.

So, what about the next batch? Three hundred?

Lu Yuan produced three hundred spirit stones, shattering all of them completely this time. The resultant elemental energy was far greater than before. Endless primal energy rushed into his body, circulating so intensely that his flesh felt like it was about to burst.

Damn it, shattering too many spirit stones this time resulted in too much power flooding in. It seemed his body could not sustain such an immense quantity of energy; it felt on the verge of explosion.

The agony was unbearable! His entire body felt like it was about to detonate. Lu Yuan dared not be careless now. He activated the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations Art. The art circulated slowly, attempting to absorb the excess power swirling through his system. However, the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations Art was clearly not fast enough; the agonizing sensation showed little sign of easing.

After an unknown amount of time, a muffled bang echoed from within his body, as if something had finally ruptured.

At that moment, above Lu Yuan’s head, the ephemeral, illusory shapes of a Dragon and a Tiger briefly materialized. This vision was so fleeting that one would miss it entirely if not watching closely.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan perceived a fundamental shift within his own body.

When humans are born, their Yin and Yang energies are balanced. However, this balance is continuously disrupted by sickness, fatigue, desire, contemplation, and countless other factors, eroding the body moment by moment until the finality of death.

His current state was this: external vital energy constantly rushed in, while the elemental energy of heaven and earth, which possesses both Yin and Yang aspects, was absorbed to clash against the internal imbalances. Upon reaching a critical threshold, just as happened within Lu Yuan’s body, the internal ‘bang’ occurred, where the excess of either Yin or Yang creating the imbalance was finally worn away, and the body returned to a state of equilibrium.

Once internal Yin and Yang reached harmony, the body achieved perfect physical conditioning, with Qi and blood flowing smoothly, leading to longevity.

This represented a crucial hurdle in the Body Refining Stage.

Of course, his body was now more than just balanced. It existed in a state of perfect Yin-Yang harmony, and once it absorbed sufficient vital energy from the environment, it could maintain this flawless balance indefinitely, thus extending his lifespan.

Yin-Yang balance did not mean absolute equality. For a male, the balance leaned toward Yang dominance. For a female, it naturally favored Yin. It was a relative equilibrium, not a strict 50/50 split.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes and let out a long breath. He had indeed reached the third layer of the Body Refining Stage: Sun Moon Essence. Having attained the Sun Moon Essence realm meant his body's Yin and Yang were balanced, allowing him to absorb the essence of the sun and moon from the heavens.

Lu Yuan casually recalled the five talismans used for the Spirit Sealing Array. Truthfully, both his swordsmanship and his power advancements had mostly been steady and gradual; breakthroughs that occurred suddenly at the cusp of crisis were rare. This was actually normal.

In cultivation, experiencing perilous moments every single time is abnormal. If you face mortal danger repeatedly and always succeed, it first suggests you are incredibly lucky. If it happens too often, it implies you are some favored illegitimate child of the Heavens to possess such luck. Otherwise, how could you navigate danger unscathed every time?

A steady, seamless progression is the normal path. While it lacks the thrill and excitement, it signifies that your accumulated power, diligent effort, and attained realm have brought you forward smoothly and surely.

Of course, he had experienced those sudden, terrifying breakthroughs, like the time he crossed from the tenth layer of Qi Condensation to the first layer of Body Refining.

Most progress was steady; the occasional near-disaster simply punctuated the norm. This described his path of advancement.

It was like warfare in the mortal realm: success usually came through conventional means, punctuated by occasional, brilliant surprise tactics.

Cultivation and warfare shared surprising similarities.

Never mind. This time he had reached the third layer of Body Refining, Sun Moon Essence. The next level, the fourth layer—Blood Refining—would not be so easy, but that was a worry for later. Why fret over such things now? As the saying went: live for today. Earth-Crawling Spider-Demon.

This was a classification among the subterranean demons. This type of demon possessed eight legs, moving like a spider, and traveling at speeds far exceeding a galloping horse. Its natural swiftness, coupled with its ability to burrow frequently into the desert sands, made it virtually undetectable even to cultivators flying overhead.

It could be said that the Earth-Crawling Spider-Demon had no natural predator in the Hundred Mines Province.

However, this particular Earth-Crawling Spider-Demon was now shrieking in terror: "Golden-Eyed Eagle King!" It bolted forward relentlessly, its speed multiple times that of a charging steed, constantly plunging into the sand, kicking up massive plumes of dust. Ground-level pursuers couldn't catch it, and those in the air couldn't see it through the blinding sandstorm.

Then, a sharp cry echoed from the sky. Moments later, a massive black eagle swooped down from the heavens like a blade. Its fierce gale sliced through the sand, and its talons, harder than tempered steel, effortlessly grasped the Earth-Crawling Spider-Demon and lifted it high. Despair flashed across the demon's face.

Lu Yuan sat aloft in the sky. At some point, he had acquired the nickname "Golden-Eyed Eagle King." These demons, unsure of what to call him when he attacked alongside the Golden-Eyed Eagle, had simply conferred this title upon him. Over the past few months, the Golden-Eyed Eagle King had become notoriously famous across this desert, the kind of figure whose mere mention could stop demon children from crying. The mere thought of the Golden-Eyed Eagle King terrified the demons.

Alas, how had he become an Eagle King? It was truly a subject for contemplation. The Golden-Eyed Eagle ascended, maintaining its strange habit of carrying prey high into the air before slamming it down—a truly perverse pleasure. Lu Yuan swiftly struck down, carving a shard of shell from the demon's back—the mark of the Earth-Crawling Spider-Demon. He tossed the shell into the Asura Pouch and took a long gulp of wine.

The eagle soared upward, and soon the surrounding area was draped in white clouds.

Lu Yuan drew a breath. Another four months had passed since he reached the fourth layer of Body Refining. During these four months, he had continued hunting demons to exchange for mission rewards. The first four months, including the encounter with that Blood Sword Gate Daoist, netted him about 800 spirit stones in total. The latter four months, lacking such luck, earned him about 500 spirit stones. Accounting for the consumption by the Cloud Beast and his own cultivation needs, he currently held around 800 spirit stones. He had intended to acquire another spatial treasure, but his luck hadn't been good in the last four months, and he hadn't encountered one—a pity.

Simultaneously, over these four months, his cultivation had advanced to the mid-stage of Body Refining, third layer: Sun Moon Essence.

Ah, yes, the truly important matter: the Ten-Directional Competition was about to begin.

It had been previously mentioned that the Ten-Directional Competition would commence after nine months. Now, more than eight months had passed; the nine-month mark was fast approaching. Finally, the Ten-Directional Competition was imminent. His long period of cultivation in the desert was aimed precisely at boosting his strength to secure a victory in the competition and claim those rich rewards.