As the two journeyed forward, they encountered Battle Spirit Beasts from various elemental schools. It was only after facing these creatures that Lu Yuan realized the true advantage of teamwork, especially when paired with a spellcaster. If he could keep the opponent entangled up front, Song Shijun, unleashing a barrage of spells from the rear, could subdue the enemy in moments—a pace significantly faster than Lu Yuan could manage alone.

Song Shijun, meanwhile, was utterly astonished. He had partnered with many Sword Cultivators before, but never one possessing Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship.

The typical duty of a Sword Cultivator in combat is to tie down the enemy in the vanguard. However, Song Shijun had never witnessed a Sword Cultivator capable of perfectly trapping an opponent, preventing them from escaping his sphere of influence, which allowed Song Shijun to cast his spells with supreme comfort.

This sense of ease was unprecedented for Song Shijun. When cooperating with other Sword Cultivators, a spellcaster usually needed to maintain some evasive maneuvers. But fighting alongside Lu Yuan eliminated even the need for dodging.

And it wasn't just this.

Throughout their ascent, they faced all manner of Battle Spirit Beasts: Gold Elemental Beasts, which relied almost entirely on physical techniques rather than spells. Yet, every single physical technique they employed was perfectly suppressed by Lu Yuan. Even the most potent body arts could not manifest their true power before his swords. This surprised Song Shijun; he had encountered Gold-type monsters before and knew the formidable nature of their combat skills. These Battle Spirit Gold Beasts seemed weak not because their techniques were poor, but because Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was overwhelmingly superior.

As for the other elemental beasts—Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind elemental spirit beasts—the result was the same: Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship, unleashed with the move "Great Rupture," shattered the spells of every elemental spirit beast they encountered, suppressing them flawlessly.

This was counter-spelling! Breaking spells!

Most Sword Cultivators were inept at countering magic. When faced with incoming spells, they either dodged or relied on defensive artifacts to brute-force their way through. Those Song Shijun had previously worked with, even cultivators at the eighth, ninth, or tenth levels of the Body Tempering stage, could, at best, boast about breaking one or two elemental spell series.

How could anyone possibly break six out of the seven primary elemental spell types cleanly, as Lu Yuan just did?

It was… almost unbelievable.

Song Shijun finally understood what it meant when a name precedes expectation: the legendary precision of his junior martial nephew's swordsmanship was indeed true. If swordsmanship reached this level across the board, spellcasters would soon find themselves obsolete. Thankfully, the average skill level of Sword Cultivators was far, far below Lu Yuan’s standard. What a close call.

Regardless, the partnership thus far had been exceptionally fruitful.

The two continued onward. Not long into this next stretch, Lu Yuan’s Yangwu Sword leaped halfway from its scabbard, slicing horizontally through the air to block an unseen threat. With a soft thud, Lu Yuan’s body jolted faintly, and the monstrous shape ahead materialized: a serpent about three zhang long, crackling with violet electricity across its entire body. It possessed a slight protuberance atop its head.

A Battle Spirit Electric Serpent!

An Electric Elemental Spirit Beast possessed by the consciousness of an Outer Domain Sky Demon, transforming it into a monster.

And that slight crown on its head attested to its dangerous nature. A serpentine growth upon the head is known as a 'rooster crown' (ji guan).

If a serpent grows horns, it transforms into a Flood Dragon (Jiao).

Once transformed into a Jiao, it would be utterly beyond the capability of Lu Yuan and Song Shijun; even those in the Longevity Stage would be utterly annihilated. Fortunately, the Battle Spirit Electric Serpent before them only had a faintly formed crown, and the transformation into horns would likely take millennia, perhaps ten thousand years.

Yet, Lu Yuan now wore a slight, wry smile.

Throughout their encounters, he had managed to counter every elemental spirit beast by breaking their spells, primarily because he possessed experience shattering the spells of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind types. However, he had absolutely zero experience countering the branch of magic related to electricity: lightning spells.

Furthermore, it was universally acknowledged that Electric-type spells were the most difficult to counter, though they were also the hardest to master.

Now, facing a Battle Spirit Electric Serpent—what trouble.

Before he could issue a warning, the Electric Serpent lunged. Its speed was blinding, its form like a bolt of lightning, and the spells spat from its maw were all high-velocity electric attacks. Lu Yuan’s Yangwu Sword swept out. Having mastered the Sword Intent of Speed, his blade quickened, and this time, he managed to envelop even this lightning-fast monster within his sword circle. Naturally, the spells frequently spat by the Electric Serpent did strike Lu Yuan, sending jolts of numbness through him. Against this foe, achieving zero injury seemed impossible.

Song Shijun followed up from the rear, rapidly deploying his spells. First came the “Water Cone Technique,” which solidified water into sharp cones attacking the enemy—cones that could vary in size, possessing considerable power despite their fluid origins. Following the cones, he launched the Water Bubble Spell, which detonated within a certain radius upon contact. Seeing the Electric Serpent’s speed increase further, he immediately added the Water Binding Technique.

Water Binding Technique was purely for reducing the opponent’s speed, as its name implied—it served to ensnare the target. After this intense exchange, the combined efforts of the two Body Tempering masters finally reduced the Battle Spirit Electric Serpent to a near-death state. Once sufficiently weakened, they sealed it within a Spirit Sealing Plaque, knowing it could later be purified with Heavenly Purity Water to yield an Electric Serpent Spirit Beast.

Lu Yuan and Song Shijun adhered to a distribution method based on who contributed more effort. To date, Lu Yuan's spoils were slightly greater, given his greater exertion. However, even with Lu Yuan taking the larger share, Song Shijun had acquired substantial gains, far more than he would have accumulated alone.

Truthfully, Lu Yuan’s inability to achieve flawless suppression this time offered Song Shijun some measure of relief.

Throughout their journey, regardless of the elemental beast they faced, Lu Yuan could dominate with a single sword.

Now, they had finally encountered a creature Lu Yuan could not completely subdue. It was so hard to find! Discovering someone utterly omnipotent was terrifying. At least now he knew Lu Yuan was not omniscient; there were spells he couldn't break. This knowledge was somewhat comforting—rare, truly rare.

As Song Shijun finished his internal musings, Lu Yuan used the Spirit Sealing Plaque to secure the nearly lifeless Electric Serpent. Lu Yuan then suddenly remarked, "We still haven't cracked the top forty, have we?" Song Shijun immediately cast the Water Mirror Technique. He had used it earlier within the defensive formation, and now, casting it again revealed the rankings within.

Indeed, neither Lu Yuan nor Song Shijun had breached the top forty.

The top forty spots were not easily earned.

There were already forty to fifty cultivators at the ninth level of the Body Tempering stage alone. When you consider that other Body Tempering Ninth-Level cultivators were also teaming up, their collective speed naturally surpassed that of Lu Yuan and Song Shijun’s duo.

Realizing neither had ranked in the top forty, Lu Yuan was undeterred. He pressed on to find more Battle Spirit Beasts. Every beast captured meant one more spirit beast harvested; the fifth layer of the Wusheng Relic Palace held abundant spiritual resources. They stood to gain a great deal here.

As for whether they could break into the top forty, or secure a path to the sixth layer of the Wusheng Relic Palace, there was only one sentiment: "If achieved, it is fortune; if lost, it is fate."

Regardless, he would fight with all his might.

In the end, victory or defeat held no bearing on him. He had given his utmost effort.

That was his mindset, Lu Yuan reflected internally. Song Shijun, on the other hand, was not overly concerned. Gaining entry to the sixth layer was already exceptionally difficult; securing more Battle Spirit Beasts on the fifth layer was a substantial accomplishment in itself. Just then, a peculiar cackling emerged from the dense fog: "It seems we've found two more fish."

"Yes, yes. Once we kill these two, the collection of Battle Spirit Beasts gathered by us brothers will be sufficient for entry into the sixth layer of the Wusheng Relic Palace." A similarly arrogant and unpleasant laugh followed, as the two figures flew closer. Upon approaching, they revealed themselves to be two Daoists clad in crimson robes.

Crimson robes—the Blood Sword Sect!

Lu Yuan immediately sensed the aura of the Blood Sword Sect. Without question, these two were Daoists from that faction. He wondered about their magical prowess. To Lu Yuan’s perception, both possessed cultivation levels higher than his own, suggesting profound, unplumbed power; exactly how much stronger, he couldn't yet gauge.

"Two Body Tempering Eighth-Level Blood Sword Sect cultivators," Song Shijun murmured beside him. His own cultivation was at Body Tempering Eighth-Level, allowing him to discern the depth of the Blood Sword Sect Daoists' power. However, both Lu Yuan and Song Shijun were perplexed. Although the Blood Sword Sect was one of the ten major medium-sized immortal sects, it was classified as one of the three major evil path factions, and thus strictly forbidden entry here. How could they be present?

Song Shijun voiced the question. One of the Blood Sword Sect Daoists burst into laughter: "How ridiculous. With over ten thousand cultivators entering the Wusheng Relic Palace, finding a few ordinary disciples to kill, then disguising ourselves and suppressing our cultivation to enter is hardly difficult. You righteous sects wouldn't understand the cunning methods of us evil cultivators."

The other Blood Sword Sect Daoist nodded in agreement. "Indeed, precisely so. But you will soon witness the might of the Blood Sword Sect's Twin Withered Blood Swords."

The Blood Sword Sect, Twin Withered Blood Swords.

Those seven words immediately revealed the identity of these two men.

Daoist Blood Wither, Daoist Tear Wither—these were the Daoist names of the two. Daoist Blood Wither enjoyed consuming raw human blood until the victim's essence was depleted, hence his title. Daoist Tear Wither cared less for blood but specialized in torturing people relentlessly, tormenting them until their very tears dried up, thus earning the moniker Tear Wither.

These two possessed considerable strength and were notoriously ruthless, widely infamous.

It was unbelievable that they would run into the Twin Withered Daoists here, and that these two would attempt to steal their Battle Spirit Beasts.

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