In the second layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace, Lu Yuan was still practicing his swordplay.

Within the third layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace, the monsters were Blade Sheep. These creatures were covered in wool made of sharp blades; channeling spiritual power into them resulted in significant harm, and they appeared in great numbers. This stage was designed to test one's evasion skills. Naturally, some cultivators opted to withstand the onslaught with magic treasures, while others formed alliances, weaving a defensive net of artifacts to confront the enemy.

By this point, few dared to face the trials alone; generally, only those exceptionally skilled and bold ventured forth unaccompanied.

Lu Yuan, at this time, was wholly engrossed in perfecting his sword techniques.

After nine days, he finally entered the fourth layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace. Of the original five hundred cultivators, only a little over two hundred remained. Now, among the True Disciples, Lu Yuan was the only one who had made it to the fourth layer; all other True Disciples had been eliminated completely.

The fourth layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace.

The monsters in this layer were Exploding Foxes, fully known as Heart-Exploding Foxes.

The Heart of the Exploding Fox was an exceedingly precious medicinal ingredient. Once added to an elixir, it could prevent a cultivator from suffering Qi deviation and falling into demonic paths. Exploding Foxes were creatures of extreme cunning, and their hearts were the Five-Aptitude Exquisite Hearts. This particular heart, when used in medicine, could guard against inner demons, making it a highly sought-after stabilizer for cultivators. Due to its immense efficacy, the Heart of the Exploding Fox had always commanded an exorbitant price in the cultivation world.

However, the Exploding Fox's own magical power was formidable—an adult specimen typically possessed the strength of the Body Tempering stage. Furthermore, these foxes possessed a strange property: only if the heart was extracted while the creature was still alive did it become the Five-Aptitude Exquisite Heart; if harvested after death, it transformed into an ordinary heart—truly bizarre.

Moreover, while one was attempting to carve out its heart, the fox might detonate, making it nearly impossible to emerge unscathed.

This stage tested the human heart: whether one was consumed by greed or not. The Heart of the Exploding Fox was too valuable; succumbing to the temptation to dig for the Five-Aptitude Exquisite Heart often meant encountering an explosion.

If one could let go of greed, this stage would not be overly difficult to pass.

Yet, if everyone could truly relinquish greed, this world—it would not be the world it is now.

The Three Poisons of Cultivation: Greed, Wrath, and Delusion.

But what did any of this have to do with Lu Yuan?

Lu Yuan had no idea that the Heart of the Exploding Fox was the Five-Aptitude Exquisite Heart. He remained deeply immersed in his sword practice, viewing any talk of the Five-Aptitude Exquisite Heart as irrelevant; all he needed to do was concentrate on honing his blade. Exploding Foxes were extremely fast, often launching spells like Fur Spikes when attempting to flee.

However, if the Exploding Fox was fast, he needed to be faster.

Your Fur Spikes are numerous and swift, but my Yangwu Sword is but one; yet one is enough to overcome your myriad spikes.

In the first layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace, the Ancient Master Wusheng intended to test one's speed and accuracy of the draw. In the second layer, he aimed to test the cultivator's offensive power. The third layer was for assessing evasion ability, and the fourth layer was a trial of the cultivator's heart—the ability to resist greed and control the self. Each layer, each trial, served a distinct purpose.

But none of this mattered to Lu Yuan. He paid no heed to the Ancient Master Wusheng’s original intent, focusing solely on his rapid sword style, regardless of the layer he was in.

The sword emerges like a fierce gale; the sword moves like a torrential downpour.

The sword rises like a flash of light; the sword settles like deep darkness.

What is speed?

The speed of a gale, rushing past before you can even register it; the speed of a downpour, suddenly engulfing you, soaking you through; the speed of a mountain torrent, rushing down from high places with incredible swiftness, scouring the rocks; the speed of a thousand-mile steed, for whom a thousand miles is merely a trivial journey.

As for the speed of light, the speed of lightning—that is unimaginable, describable only as ultimate velocity, incapable of being summed up by a mere concept of 'fast.' Thus, such speeds are not encompassed within the Sword Intent of Speed.

These are all forms of speed, but what commonality lies among them?

Three days in the first layer, six days in the second, nine in the third, and twelve in the fourth—Lu Yuan pondered this very question, delving into the nature of speed.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead.

In truth, speed is merely a relative measure; as long as one is faster than the opponent, that is speed.

The so-called Sword Intent of Speed differs from the Sword Intent of Wind, Cloud, Rain, or Veil. Those concepts correspond to tangible things, but the Sword Intent of Speed is entirely different. It lacks a true physical correspondence; it simply requires being faster than the opponent. It is an esoteric, profound feeling.

It is difficult to articulate precisely what speed is, but now that he grasped that elusive, profound sensation, he would always possess an edge over his adversaries.

He had finally mastered the Sword Intent of Speed—the fifth Sword Intent he had comprehended. This time, it took him thirty days.

Lu Yuan felt an immense surge of exhilaration. With a motion of his hand, the Yangwu Sword unsheathed once more. This draw possessed a smoother, more flowing quality than before, seeming utterly natural, yet astonishingly fast. He thrust the sword out, pointing it directly at the Exploding Fox before him. This strike was significantly faster than any previous one.

Moments later, the Exploding Fox lay motionless on the ground. There was only a single cut on its body. If Qiao Silu, the first True Disciple of the South Sea Immortal Sect, had seen it, he might have assumed it was one sword wound, but in reality, it was twenty-five. Upon first entering the Wusheng Legacy Palace, Lu Yuan could inflict one cut with twelve wounds; when he encountered Qiao Silu in the second layer, he managed one cut with fourteen wounds.

This was the effect of the Sword Intent of Speed, accelerating his sword play by such a magnitude.

Lu Yuan laughed heartily. In the future, few would likely be faster than him. The Sword Intent of Speed was one of the most difficult intents to grasp. One could say that without that state of singular obsession, even several years might not have been enough for Lu Yuan to comprehend it.

Right, it should be time to proceed to the fifth layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace. During the first four layers, he had been entirely focused on cultivating the Sword Intent of Speed, neglecting the intended purpose of the Palace itself. He had even forgotten to collect some Spirit Stones that had dropped, though Lu Yuan felt no regret; one Sword Intent was worth more than ten thousand Spirit Stones. Ten thousand Spirit Stones could be earned back, but something as profound and subtle as Sword Intent had to be realized through personal comprehension.

The entrance to the next layer in each stage was located at the center of the current one. Lu Yuan immediately took flight, soaring toward the center of this layer.

At the center of the fourth layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace, over a hundred cultivators were already standing. Since the fifth layer was about to open, many were waiting here. Lu Yuan appeared to be the last to arrive, and as he flew in, the surrounding cultivators exchanged looks of surprise.

"Who is this person? He's so young?"

"How did someone so young reach this point?"

The cultivators gathered there began to murmur amongst themselves. They were already powerful; the weakest among them had the cultivation base of the sixth stage of Body Tempering, and most were no longer young. Seeing a young man of about twenty break through to this level caused a stir of astonishment.

"It's Lu Yuan, said to be barely over twenty, a True Disciple of Mount Hua." Lu Yuan’s reputation was immense, and an elder present naturally recognized him. To have a True Disciple reach this far was astonishing, as all the other True Disciples had already been eliminated.

"I heard he once defeated a cultivator at the eighth stage of Body Tempering with a single sword strike."

"So it is him."

"He truly achieved fame at such a young age."

The murmurs finally ceased as the gate leading to the fifth layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace began to shimmer faintly. The preceding four layers of the Wusheng Legacy Palace were filled with various trials, and the rewards were mostly Spirit Stones. While there were many Spirit Stones in the third and fourth layers, they were still not the main focus. However, it was rumored that in the later layers of the Palace, various cultivation methods and flying swords would appear. Naturally, everyone understood that the final three layers would be significantly more arduous than the initial four.

Everyone unconsciously clenched their fists in anticipation.

Outside the Wusheng Legacy Palace.

Numerous renowned Sword Immortals from various Immortal Sects stood with their hands behind their backs, eager to know what was happening inside. Their cultivation levels were too high, exceeding the threshold, preventing them from entering the Wusheng Legacy Palace, leaving them with naught but regret. Fortunately, they were at the Wuling Immortal Sect. The new Sect Master of Wuling, Venerable Hailing, was tracing patterns in the empty air with his hand.

The Illusory Dream Non-Dream Whole Heaven Mirroring Technique!

This was the name of the method Venerable Hailing currently employed. It was created by the Great Dream True Man long ago and was vastly superior to the Water Mirror Technique. The Water Mirror Technique required setting up one point at a distance and another point here to facilitate remote viewing. However, the Illusory Dream Non-Dream Whole Heaven Mirroring Technique required no such setup; it allowed observation across immense distances effortlessly.

Nevertheless, the Illusory Dream Non-Dream Whole Heaven Mirroring Technique could sometimes err, precisely because of the 'Illusory Dream' aspect—sometimes what it showed was real, sometimes it was merely a dream—which limited the technique's utility. Even so, it was far more potent than the Water Mirror Technique.

"The casualties among these cultivators are not severe, but most were held back in the first or second layer. Now, the remaining hundred-plus cultivators are entering the fifth layer. The real show is about to begin. I wonder what kind of techniques the Ancient Master Wusheng left behind." Venerable Hailing closed his eyes in contemplation. Only he could perceive the scene via the Illusory Dream Non-Dream Whole Heaven Mirroring Technique; no one else could see it.

"Among them is a young man, Lu Yuan from your Mount Hua Immortal Sect; the rest are elders." Venerable Hailing opened his eyes, having clearly surveyed the situation inside with perfect clarity.

Fang Ru and Chu Fei were unsurprised that Lu Yuan had reached the fifth layer. However, they speculated he would likely stop there. Given the additive difficulty scaling, reaching the sixth layer would be extremely challenging, and reaching the seventh layer would border on the unbelievable.