The traitor of North Peak, Yuan Ling, was a formidable figure, a true schemer who believed himself to be the master of the grand scheme.

Lu Yuan, however, couldn't be bothered. Lu Yuan had no interest in managing or even acknowledging the grand scheme; he preferred to live his own quiet life. What did the grand scheme have to do with him? He wouldn't interfere, and no one should try to use the grand scheme to pressure him, or he might just cause some serious trouble—the Dongdao Prefecture getting entangled with the Elder Council was a case in point.

Lu Yuan was walking quite lightly now.

Ninety Five Immortals Tokens.

Robbing Zhao Qiankun and his group was much faster than collecting them himself.

Time, shrouded in darkness, slipped away soundlessly for another two days.

Lu Yuan took a swig of wine.

Encountering Zhao Qiankun’s group that first time had been incredibly lucky—securing sixty-seven Five Immortals Tokens at once, boosting his total to ninety. But fortune didn't strike every time. Over the next two days, he still ran into people, but it was a win if they even possessed any Five Immortals Tokens. More often than not, he met those who had none.

Even when he was lucky enough to meet someone with tokens, it was only ever one or two; occasionally, someone might carry three, but that was the peak.

The most frustrating part, of course, was that every time he encountered someone, they treated him like easy prey, trying to snatch the Five Immortals Tokens from him. Did they really think that was possible?

Lu Yuan couldn't help but sigh at moments like these—life sometimes forced such contemplation upon him.

So, even though he had been diligently gathering Five Immortals Tokens these past two days, his luck had been poor; he had only added twenty-five tokens over two days, bringing his current total to one hundred and fifteen.

If only he could run into Zhao Qiankun’s gang again—since they had numbers, their speed in collecting tokens was faster than his. If he found them, he could make another huge haul. Ah, but the tenth region of Cangzhi Mountain was vast, and tracking down Zhao Qiankun and his crew wasn't easy. If Zhao Qiankun knew Lu Yuan was still actively hunting for them, they’d probably be driven mad with frustration.

Zhao Qiankun, who always operated on the principle of "prosper with me, perish against me," had to admit that he was indeed capable. In the battle two days prior, he had realized he was inferior to Lu Yuan and was willing to accept that fact. Consequently, he deployed the Kunlun artifact, the Perception Orb, to scout the surroundings; the moment he detected Lu Yuan’s presence, he fled as far and as fast as possible.

Zhao Qiankun certainly didn't believe he was afraid of Lu Yuan, and in truth, he wasn't.

Given his status as the foremost true disciple of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, his resolve was exceptionally firm; he was nowhere near as easily intimidated as trash like Zhao Han. In Zhao Qiankun’s view, he was currently inferior to Lu Yuan, but this was only a temporary disadvantage. He could cultivate and improve later, and then they would fight again—Lu Liu.

Furthermore, considering this person called Lu Liu, coupled with his swordsmanship and magical power, Zhao Qiankun had already begun to form a distinct hypothesis about Lu Liu's true identity. If it was who he suspected, that person was rumored to be exceptionally lazy, meaning that the authority and power he would eventually wield would be less than Zhao Qiankun’s own. Then, Zhao Qiankun could use his own strength and the power of his many subordinates to overcome this person.

Zhao Qiankun knew how to endure, and he certainly held grudges.

This was Zhao Qiankun—the senior disciple of the Kunlun Immortal Sect. In such a short time, he had already devised a strategy for dealing with Lu Yuan in the future, unlike the simple fear exhibited by Zhao Han.

Thus, Zhao Qiankun utilized the Kunlun artifact, the Perception Orb, to scan the area and evade Lu Yuan, which explained why Lu Yuan hadn't crossed paths with Zhao Qiankun recently.

Back to the matter at hand, Lu Yuan didn't have the leisure for such intricate planning. Moreover, Lu Yuan wasn't skilled in spells or knowledgeable about magical artifacts. Lu Yuan had always believed his sword was enough—the sensation of shattering techniques with a single sword strike was exhilarating. During the Five Peaks Grand Competition, he had felt incredible satisfaction shattering every technique with one clean sweep.

Lu Yuan continued moving through the dark passage, walking and pondering.

In the tenth region, out of a total of one hundred and sixty-five tokens, one hundred and fifteen were now in his possession, leaving fifty remaining Five Immortals Tokens. These remaining tokens would be harder to gather, given the immense size of Cangzhi Mountain's tenth region. Those holding just a few tokens could easily hide themselves away in obscure corners; where would one even look for them?

Basically, collecting every single Five Immortals Token in an entire region was virtually impossible; it was a futile waste of time. There would always be those hiding in dark corners, and what could one do about that?

It seemed it was time to switch regions.

The tenth region had been pretty much stripped clean. Perhaps he should try moving to another region. Four days had passed in total, and this trial lasted fifteen days, leaving eleven days remaining. Nine other regions awaited him; staying in the tenth region any longer would yield diminishing returns.

After weighing his options, Lu Yuan decided to transfer regions.

There were conditions for transferring regions.

It had been previously stipulated that one needed at least thirty Five Immortals Tokens to transfer, which ensured that only true experts would be moving.

In the current tenth region, it was highly unlikely anyone else could amass thirty tokens—even Zhao Qiankun would find it difficult. But for Lu Yuan, this was hardly an obstacle. The location for the transfer wasn't hard to find—it was at the very center of the tenth region, where a bronze gate covered in countless restrictive formations stood.

The instructions stated that as long as one possessed sufficient Five Immortals Tokens, the restrictive formations would automatically dissolve for a very brief moment, allowing passage through the gate to another region.

So, let’s go.

Lu Yuan headed directly toward the center of the tenth region. Although the tenth region had many corners, the central area was easy to navigate. Soon, the faintly glowing gate at the heart of the tenth region appeared before him. Lu Yuan sensed many people lurking around, but he noticed no aura of Five Immortals Tokens.

What a pity. If they had tokens, he could have robbed them one last time before leaving.

Lu Yuan scratched his nose with a hint of regret.

These surrounding ambushers had two objectives for hiding here: firstly, curiosity about who the first person from the tenth region to transfer would be—everyone was curious about the pioneer; secondly, they hoped to acquire some Five Immortals Tokens if the opportunity arose.

“Who is that…”

“He looks to be alone; perhaps we can try testing him.” “Yeah, maybe we can snatch some Five Immortals Tokens…”

“Forget it. Anyone qualified to transfer must have at least thirty Five Immortals Tokens; they’re definitely experts we can’t handle,” someone said excitedly, but another, calmer voice interjected: “Right, it’s a good thing you didn't go. You would have been finished. I saw him from afar; this person defeated Zhao Qiankun and over ten others by himself.” This individual had initially been robbed by Zhao Qiankun’s group and felt disgruntled, but he was immediately delighted when Lu Yuan showed up afterward. He had lain on the ground and enjoyed the show.

Seeing Zhao Qiankun get robbed, he silently cheered, Serves him right! Since Zhao Qiankun had robbed him, seeing Zhao Qiankun robbed felt immensely satisfying.

“What? Zhao Qiankun, the foremost senior disciple of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, lost?”

“Yes, and he had over ten men with him…” Many found this hard to believe. The person who had witnessed it sneered, “Why would I lie to you? Oh, right, Zhao Qiankun and Zhao Han were beaten severely back then. If you enjoy being beaten half to death, go ahead. I won't stop you…” In the end, no one dared to try, as they didn’t wish to be severely injured, which would prevent them from continuing to hunt for Five Immortals Tokens.

It was just as well that no one tried. Since none of these people had Five Immortals Tokens, Lu Yuan had little interest in them anyway. Lu Yuan placed his hand on the faintly glowing gate. Immediately, a strange power surged from the Five Immortals Tokens he carried. The gate blazed with light, and a moment later, with a snap, the door opened.

The gate was open, revealing only pitch darkness behind it. Lu Yuan paid no mind to what lay beyond and stepped through.

The region before the tenth region should be the ninth. What lay in the ninth region? Lu Yuan felt a flicker of curiosity.

Outside Cangzhi Mountain.

The Deputy Hall Master, Gu Deng Ye Yu Cao Qiu, along with ten Branch Masters, watched the various sizes of Water Mirror Arts with keen interest. These mirrors only displayed crucial locations, such as the ongoing fierce competition in the first region between the first and third branches. Both branches were incredibly strong, and now their elite figures were gathering. Most masters were concentrated in one region, or those scattered elsewhere quickly earned their thirty Five Immortals Tokens and transferred to the first region, making it the hub of the most powerful figures.

The first and third branches were truly engaged in a tough fight.

Both branches possessed formidable strength, but it seemed neither could secure a decisive victory for the time being. At this moment, someone turned their gaze toward the Water Mirror showing the tenth region. Xuan Yuan Chong, the Branch Master of the ninth branch, laughed heartily: “It’s quite late for the first person to transfer. Still, it’s not bad; this is the first person from the tenth branch to transfer…”

The tenth branch ostensibly had two particularly strong figures: the Young Elder Song Wang, and Zhao Qiankun. Song Wang had encountered unforeseen circumstances with figures from the first region and suffered a crushing defeat, failing to accumulate thirty Five Immortals Tokens yet. As for Zhao Qiankun, he had been defeated by Lu Yuan and also hadn't reached the thirty-token threshold.

Other branches had already sent people to transfer regions.

Lu Yuan, the only one from the tenth branch qualified to transfer, was only now slowly making his move due to his unhurried nature.

Naturally, Xuan Yuan Chong mocked Song Jian Jiu, the Branch Master of the tenth branch.

After all, the speed of transferring regions reflected the individual strength within the branch. Transferring only after the fourth day had passed was considerably slow.

Song Jian Jiu looked at the Water Mirror and froze upon seeing a youth clad in green. He didn't recognize this person; he wasn't even among the top ten elites cultivated by the branch. What was going on?

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