The Water and Fire Sword Tower, while called a tower, could also be described as two towers in one. These two structures were the Water Sword Tower and the Fire Sword Tower. At this moment, a blazing red light illuminated the white snow, clearly indicating that the Fire Sword Tower was opening.

Numerous cultivators from the Great Qin Kingdom, along with Lu Yuan, an anomaly among them, entered the Fire Sword Tower. Upon entering, Lu Yuan couldn't help but look towards an engraved stone stele near the entrance. The stele bore these inscriptions: "Before adopting the name Shuihuo Daoist, my surname was Murong.

The Murong lineage was tasked with gathering all cultivation techniques under heaven. Though expelled from my clan, despite being considered dead weight by the family, I resolved to record every move and spell I encountered in my life here, for posterity." "Within the Fire Sword Tower lie all the sword techniques from every school I witnessed throughout my life, imprinted here by the methods unique to my Murong line. If any capable person can break through every sword technique I have left behind, then perhaps I shall impart the Fire Sword Intent." Lu Yuan couldn't quite grasp the full meaning of the characters "Murong," but the more informed cultivators from the Great Qin Kingdom knew the legendary implications behind that name.

Legend told of an ancient Buddha named the Boundless Ancient Buddha, who created a profound art called the Great Boundless Art. This art was widely praised as the foremost miraculous technique under heaven. The Boundless Ancient Buddha never took a single formal disciple, yet the Great Boundless Art eventually branched into two separate lineages that flowed down through time.

One lineage led to the Carefree Immortal Sect, one of the Four Great Immortal Clans, whose foundational ultimate skill was the Minor Boundless Art, a branch of the Great Boundless Art. And according to legend, there was another lineage, the Murong Clan, which passed its teachings to only one or two individuals per generation, whose strongest technique was called the 'One Heaven Star Shifting Change'—also a direct descendant of the Great Boundless Art. Lu Yuan looked up again.

Before entering, the Fire Sword Tower appeared to have multiple levels, but once inside, he realized there were no discernible floors. The space resembled the center of a circle, and around the periphery of this circle were numerous doorways. Looking closely, one door was marked: "Sword Techniques of the Unsword Immortal Gate." Another door read: "Moves of the Great Mahāvaipulya Style." Lu Yuan also spotted lettering for "Sword Techniques of the Wudang Immortal Gate" and "Sword Techniques of the Huashan Immortal Gate." It seemed that by successfully breaking through the techniques of the various schools and sects, painstakingly transcribed by Shuihuo Daoist using the unique methods of the Murong Clan, one could obtain the Fire Sword Intent.

To break the techniques? Truly an eccentric hobby. Lu Yuan remained unaware that the mysterious Murong Clan had a peculiar penchant for dismantling all manner of styles, most enjoying mimicking an opponent's ultimate skill to counter that very skill.

The cultivation world was filled with all sorts of bizarre cultivators; the emergence of such an eccentric family was hardly surprising. Lu Yuan counted them: there were ten doors in total. Seven of these belonged to the Immortal Gates of the Great Qin Kingdom, and three belonged to the Immortal Gates of the Great Jin Kingdom.

Specifically listed were the Huashan Immortal Gate, the Wudang Immortal Gate, and the Qingcheng Immortal Gate. The reason these three were listed was simple: the Kunlun Immortal Gate prioritized magical artifacts, and the South Sea Immortal Gate focused on fighting to the death with every move, generally paying little mind to the intricacies of technique itself. Furthermore, the Great Yuan Kingdom, one of the three southern nations, also had no Immortal Gate included.

Among the Great Yuan’s three great sacred grounds, the Ten Thousand Snakes Sacred Ground emphasized poison and deception; the Rotten Courtyard Monastery and the Esoteric Sect both largely followed the principle of using sheer strength to conquer all intricacies, focusing little on finesse, so they were naturally excluded. To break the techniques of ten Immortal Gates. Interesting!

Lu Yuan walked towards the door of the Wudang Immortal Gate. Before it, a line of text read: "The Wudang Immortal Gate, once a large Immortal Gate within the Great Qin Kingdom. Although it has declined, its reputation for outstanding Wudang Swordplay remains unchanged.

Wudang Swordplay centers around the two characters of 'Chongxu' (Vast Void): 'The greatest fullness is like the void, the greatest humility is like emptiness.' These eight characters are paramount." Lu Yuan pushed the door open, and it felt as if he had instantaneously stepped into an alternate dimension. Immediately, a black iron figure holding a long sword materialized. Seeing Lu Yuan approach, the iron figure unleashed its sword art instantly.

The sword momentum flowed, executing a move named: "Soft Cloud Thousand Revolutions." The Soft Cloud Sword Art of the Wudang Immortal Gate? Lu Yuan had encountered this technique before and felt no urgency. The essence of the Soft Cloud Sword Art was the character 'Soft.' The Sword Intent underpinning this entire set of movements was the Sword Intent of Cloud.

Yet, Lu Yuan had already mastered and thoroughly refined the Sword Intent of Cloud. In front of him, cloud-based sword techniques held no surprises. Lu Yuan moved his hand, drawing his Yangwu Sword, and initiated the 'One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud.' With a sharp clash, the Yangwu Sword collided with the long sword held by the black iron figure.

Their magical powers were evenly matched. However, Lu Yuan now understood that he had entered an alternate dimension, and the moment he stepped in, this space had granted the black iron figure magical power identical to his own, calibrated to his current strength. Whatever his true magical power, the opponent’s would match it.

In essence, this challenge was purely a contest of technique. Just as he realized this, the Soft Cloud Sword Art was broken. Since Lu Yuan had dismantled the Soft Cloud Sword Art before, repeating the feat was hardly astonishing.

The black iron figure remained unhurried, moving its hand to deploy another set of sword forms. This set immediately aimed directly for the Shenmen acupoint on Lu Yuan’s wrist. Lu Yuan turned his hand, parrying with the Yangwu Sword, but the sword immediately shifted, again thrusting toward his Shenmen acupoint.

After a few exchanges, the sword moves relentlessly targeted only his Shenmen acupoint. Was this the Thirteen Swords of the Shenmen? Every single move aimed for that single vital point.

This was Lu Yuan’s first time facing the Thirteen Swords of the Shenmen, but he remained neither hasty nor flustered. If he encountered it, so be it; since he hadn't seen it before, this was a good opportunity to witness it. Lu Yuan was in no rush to immediately break the forms; instead, he employed the Sword Intent of Cloud to shield himself, observing each and every thrust of the Thirteen Swords of the Shenmen.

These thirteen moves were indeed profound, but they possessed a fatal flaw: they were not fast enough. Time to break them. Lu Yuan countered with a swift strike, channeling the Sword Intent of Speed into his hand, executing a 'using the opponent’s own methods against them' maneuver, striking the black iron figure's own Shenmen acupoint.

With that touch, the Thirteen Swords of the Shenmen immediately dissolved. The black iron figure moved again, unleashing yet another sword technique. The Coiling Finger Soft Sword Art.

Upon executing this technique, the iron figure’s long sword began to wind and circle Lu Yuan's Yangwu Sword. It truly lived up to its name, 'Coiling Finger Soft.' Lu Yuan observed for a long moment, maintaining his defense with the Sword Intent of Cloud, and deduced that the Coiling Finger Soft Sword Art must combine the Sword Intent of Cloud with the Sword Intent of Wind. Yes, the sword intent was identical to that of the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud.

The Huashan Immortal Gate had integrated these two Sword Intents to create the swift, decisive style of the Wind and Cloud One Hundred and Eight Swords, while the Wudang Immortal Gate transformed these same two intents into the nauseatingly intricate Coiling Finger Soft Sword Art, which constantly circled the opponent's blade. Different sword styles emerged when the same core intents were wielded by different practitioners. To those who had not grasped the Intents of Wind and Cloud, breaking both the Coiling Finger Soft Sword Art and the Wind and Cloud One Hundred and Eight Swords would be considerably difficult, and the methods of breaking them would be entirely dissimilar.

However, for Lu Yuan, the methods to dismantle both techniques were fundamentally the same; nothing surprising here. Wudang Immortal Gate swordplay typically consisted of four main forms: the first three being the Soft Cloud Sword Art, the Thirteen Swords of the Shenmen, and the Coiling Finger Soft Sword Art. The final form, the Taiji Sword Art, was an ultimate technique, far superior to most top-tier sword arts.

Lu Yuan had hoped to experience the Taiji Sword Art, but after defeating the Coiling Finger Soft Sword Art, there was a sudden pop, and the black iron figure disintegrated, dropping a token in its wake. Lu Yuan caught it. The token was inscribed with the characters "Wudang." He casually pocketed the token marked Wudang.

Since the iron figure had dispersed, he realized he wouldn't have the chance to test the Wudang's foundational technique, the Taiji Sword Art—a minor regret. Lu Yuan stepped out of that door. He then noticed that these 'alternate dimensions' were designed such that many people could enter the same type of door without encountering each other; essentially, everyone fought their own battle privately.

Moreover, Lu Yuan discovered a roster materialized from magical energy at the center of the Fire Sword Tower, displaying the profile picture of every participant. Beside each avatar was either a '1' or a '0.' Lu Yuan looked and saw that beside his own icon, a '1' was marked. A faint, delicate scent of a young woman drifted to his nose.

Sometime without him noticing, the young lady clad in a white fox fur cloak, Miss Zhong, had arrived by his side. "The tally is taken every time one enters a door. A successful challenge is marked with a '1'; a failed challenge is marked with a '0.' Over four thousand years, there have been eighty challenges in total, and the highest record achieved is seven—meaning successfully challenging and conquering the techniques of seven Immortal Gates." Lu Yuan paused in surprise.

When he challenged the Wudang Immortal Gate techniques just now, he had noticed they felt weaker than techniques used by genuine masters from the Wudang Immortal Gate. How could the highest record over four thousand years be only seven? That seemed peculiar!

But after a moment’s thought, he realized this contest was purely about technique mastery. If it relied purely on technique application, then others couldn't possibly match his level of skill in that area; a historical high of seven was perfectly normal then. Lu Yuan looked around.

On the magical roster, those marked with '1' were few, while the vast majority were marked '0.' He then glanced at Miss Zhong’s icon and saw she was also marked with a '1,' suggesting she had successfully broken through the techniques of one Immortal Gate as well. Miss Zhong smiled faintly. "Thank you for your help last time in the Great Jin Kingdom." "You are welcome," Lu Yuan replied.

Next, Lu Yuan approached the door marked for the Huashan Immortal Gate. The inscription read: "The Huashan Immortal Gate, the foremost Immortal Gate of the Great Jin. This sect’s sword techniques lack a foundational ultimate sword art like the Taiji Sword Art, but they possess numerous ingenious and imaginative concepts, resulting in interesting sword forms.

The sheer variety of their techniques far exceeds that of the Wudang Immortal Gate." Was this Shuihuo Daoist's assessment of his own sect? Lu Yuan smiled and stepped into the door. Inside this chamber, Lu Yuan indeed witnessed a multitude of Huashan sword skills: the Familiar Rising Sun Sword, the Hundred Transformations Thousand Illusions Cloud Mist One Thousand Three Hundred Forms, the Returning Wind Descending Goose Sword Technique, the Tree Flourishing Branches One Hundred and Eighty-Eight Swords, and the Wind and Cloud One Hundred and Eight Forms—these were recognizable.

Surprisingly, the Deadly Chaining Three Immortals Sword and the Grand Yue Three Verdant Peaks were also present, as well as rare techniques from the Qi Faction, like the Unparalleled and the Qi Condensing Single Sword. Lu Yuan certainly broadened his horizons, seeing some techniques he had never witnessed even during his time at the Huashan Immortal Gate. Naturally, breaking them was not difficult for him.

After successfully dismantling these sword techniques, he obtained a token inscribed with "Huashan." Returning to the center of the Fire Sword Tower, he saw that the mark beside his avatar now showed a '2.' Most others remained at '0,' a small portion had a '1,' and very few held a '2.' He checked Miss Zhong’s status; she was also marked '2.'