Upon the Northern Peak of Mount Hua, the Peak of the Cloud Terrace, where mist and vapor drifted ethereally. Through this swirling vapor, occasional glimpses of pavilions and halls could be seen.

From within one small courtyard, bursts of laughter could be heard. "Right, Sixth Senior Brother, what exactly is the deal with the Cave of Longevity?" Ye Fang inquired, while the few Senior Brothers beside him looked on with similar curiosity.

Ever since returning from the Cave of Longevity, they had been welcomed by the disciples on the mountain to this eatery, securing a private room where the group was now discussing matters. Though they claimed it was to welcome Lu Yuan back and wash off the dust of his journey, the true purpose of these Senior Brothers was to question Lu Yuan about his experiences in the Cave of Longevity.

After all, everyone would eventually have to enter that place. Hearing about the conditions inside beforehand would allow them to prepare mentally before their own journey.

Lu Yuan recounted the general situation of the Cave of Longevity in painstaking detail. As he spoke, Martial Uncle Ye Yangrong arrived.

It turned out Ye Yangrong had been dining nearby; upon hearing that his junior martial nephews had booked the room and learning of Lu Yuan’s return, he came over to see for himself. "Right, Sixth Senior Brother, how many Longevity Fruits did you ultimately acquire?" Ye Yuan asked.

"Longevity Fruits," Lu Yuan stated: "Four Scarlet Longevity Fruits, two Orange Longevity Fruits, two Yellow Longevity Fruits, two Green Longevity Fruits, two Azure Longevity Fruits, one Brown Longevity Fruit, and one Violet Longevity Fruit." As he spoke, the eyes of those nearby widened further. Even Ye Yangrong, the Ninth Generation Sword Immortal, was stunned: "Seven-Colored Longevity Fruits—you actually gathered all seven colors?" "Yes," Lu Yuan nodded.

Ye Yangrong let out a long sigh. He had always known this junior martial nephew was a prodigy, but to think he had taken fourteen Longevity Fruits in the Cave of Longevity, and even assembled the full seven colors!

Ye Yangrong recalled feeling immensely pleased with himself for obtaining three fruits in his time, and now, faced with this reality, all he could manage was a profound, wistful realization. The cool and desolate Changchun Residence.

Changchun Residence was filled with trees, and upon his return, the greenery remained a riot of blossoms and lush foliage—but where was the person? He sighed, draining another mouthful of wine, yet his spirit quickly rallied.

He needed to push through to the Longevity Stage now. Only by reaching that stage would he possess the standing to challenge Sima Changbai—and even then, it would only be the qualification to challenge.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of Changchun Residence, he took out the Longevity Fruits he had obtained from the Cave of Longevity. Truly, there were quite a few.

Scarlet, Orange, Yellow, Green, Azure, Brown, Violet—a dazzling array of seven colors, resting on a porcelain dish, exceedingly pleasing to the eye. The process began.

Lu Yuan did not hesitate, taking a Scarlet Longevity Fruit and tossing it into his stomach. As this Scarlet Fruit dissolved inside him, he felt a faint warmth bloom within his body.

There was no reaction. Lu Yuan couldn't help but pause.

Since there was no immediate effect, after half an hour, Lu Yuan consumed an Orange Longevity Fruit. A slight warmth blossomed again, and at this moment, he vaguely sensed something—a feeling that he could merge with the heavens and the earth, becoming a singular entity.

However, this sensation did not last long before it snapped, vanishing once more. Following the records left by cultivators of previous generations, after consuming the second fruit, he waited another half hour before taking the third, Yellow one.

This was the fifth fruit. While consuming the earlier ones, he had felt close to merging with heaven and earth, but the connection had broken at the critical juncture.

With this next fruit entering his system, he felt the pull toward unity with the cosmos intensify once more. Heaven—he was Heaven.

Earth—he was Earth. Wind—he was Wind.

Clouds—he was Clouds. That was right; he seemed to have become the wind and clouds of the world, fused into one with the elements.

At this very moment, above the peak of Changchun Residence, the wind and clouds of heaven and earth gathered relentlessly. These celestial movements generated numerous phenomena, and within the swirling atmosphere, the faint outlines of Wind Tigers and Cloud Dragons vaguely appeared.

Such extraordinary signs were visible to everyone on the Northern Peak of Mount Hua, causing several Ninth Generation Sword Immortals to smile. Having received confirmation from Ye Yangrong that Lu Yuan possessed fourteen Longevity Fruits in total, the Ninth Generation Sword Immortals had been certain he would break through to the Longevity Stage, and soon.

Now that the breakthrough was truly occurring, they smiled faintly, filled with a mixture of joy and anticipation—the Northern Peak had produced another cultivator of the Longevity Stage, and such a young one, brimming with potential. Only Sima Changbai was consumed by rage.

Lu Yuan, that mere pawn, had actually matured to this degree, gaining the standing to challenge him! He needed to urge Yuan Ling to act quickly.

Since Yan Cangtian had already ascended, this was the time to make significant moves—action needed to be swift. As for the True Disciples, they were now gripped by envy and jealousy, especially Yun Yi and Yun Ping.

They were on the verge of attempting the Body Tempering Stage, sensing a real possibility of success, yet their Sixth Junior Brother was already about to attain the Longevity Stage. This speed of progress was truly awe-inspiring.

For Yun Yi and Yun Ping, under normal circumstances, reaching the Longevity Stage would likely occur around the age of three hundred—the same pace most Ninth Generation Sword Immortals had followed. Turning back, the focus returned to Changchun Residence.

As wind and cloud converged and celestial phenomena manifested, Lu Yuan felt as if he stood before a massive Gate of Heaven and Earth. This Heavenly Gate emitted the primordial energy of creation, and the Earth Gate inhaled it; this gate acted like the mouth of the cosmos, breathing in the vast essence of the universe with every pulse.

What an immense, boundless tide of primordial energy! The energy exhaled by the Cloud Spirit Beast within his body was dwarfed by the energy processed by the Gate of Heaven and Earth—a difference of countless galaxies, at least a hundred million orders of magnitude.

Lu Yuan felt his spirit being cleansed before this Gate of Heaven and Earth. Under this purification, his spirit grew clearer, sharper; even his soul was refined.

"Gate of Heaven and Earth, open for me!" Lu Yuan roared. To attain the Longevity Stage was, in essence, to capture a trace of the profound spiritual essence held within the Gate of Heaven and Earth.

With this shout, he unleashed his full power against the Gate. As Lu Yuan struck fiercely, it seemed that a sliver of primal energy faintly seeped from that great door into his body.

The First Stage of the Longevity Period: Primordial Qi. This was the initial level of the Longevity Stage, and Lu Yuan naturally knew he had achieved it.

However, recalling the ancient records, the more primordial energy one could draw from before the Gate of Heaven and Earth, the greater the volume of cosmic energy one could subsequently absorb. Instantly, his spirit blazed, striving to draw in more of this supreme, pure primordial energy.

There was, naturally, a limit. Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, resisting the infinite majesty and solemnity of the Gate of Heaven and Earth, continuing to draw the primordial energy.

He felt the amount of pure energy he could assimilate growing steadily. But after a while, he felt he had reached his limit.

Enough, then; it had to end here. Lu Yuan let out a long breath as his spirit settled.

Although this spiritual return left him feeling utterly exhausted, his spiritual power had expanded several times over. The surrounding wind and clouds of heaven and earth now existed within his mind.

Most crucially, streams of rolling primordial energy now descended upon his body without the need for meditation. This was the result of his earlier efforts: the more supreme primordial energy he had extracted from the cosmos, the more energy would now automatically cascade down around him.

It was understood that while Cloud Spirit Beasts could automatically inhale Cloud Qi, human cultivators could not draw in ambient energy without meditating while in lower stages. But upon reaching the First Stage of the Longevity Period—Primordial Qi—rivers of energy began to fall continuously, nourishing the body and thickening the magical essence.

This was the power of the Longevity Stage. Furthermore, due to practicing top-tier cultivation techniques, the torrent of primordial energy surrounding Lu Yuan was slightly more potent than that surrounding cultivators at the first level of the Body Tempering Stage.

Even the Cloud Spirit Beast sealed within the Spirit Tablet felt more exhilarated amidst such an abundance of celestial energy. From this point onward, Lu Yuan had no need to meditate for Qi cultivation.

From now on, the primordial energy of heaven and earth would fall freely upon him. Coupled with the Cloud Spirit Beast, the minor amount of energy absorbed through traditional meditation felt insignificant.

Having attained the Longevity Stage, Lu Yuan turned and slashed five times toward the empty space above his head. At that very instant, five hues of sword intent manifested in the void above Lu Yuan’s crown.

White, Cyan, Black, Scarlet, and Yellow—all five colors were perfectly distinct. These five colors wove intricately above his head, the five elements cycling in rotation, becoming a unified whole.

This was a manifestation of the Sword Dao of the Five Emperors’ Samsara. In the Body Tempering Stage, this was too profound to grasp fully; one only achieved the Sword Dao of the Five Elements’ Cycle.

But now, having reached the Longevity Stage, the Five Elements’ Cycle Sword Dao automatically transformed into the Five Hues Sword Dao—meaning the White Sword Dao, Cyan Sword Dao, Black Sword Dao, Scarlet Sword Dao, and Yellow Sword Dao. The five elements governed offense; the five hues governed defense.

If the Metal Element Sword Dao gathered sufficient Metal Sword Intent, it would transform into the Golden Emperor Sword Dao; if the Wood Element Sword Dao gathered sufficient intent, it would become the Azure Emperor Sword Dao; and the other three would likewise evolve into the Water Emperor Sword Dao and the Blazing Emperor Sword Dao upon gathering enough respective intent. Conversely, the defensive Five Hues Sword Dao, upon accumulating sufficient energy, could transform into the White Emperor Sword Dao, Cyan Emperor Sword Dao, Black Emperor Sword Dao, Scarlet Emperor Sword Dao, and Yellow Emperor Sword Dao.

The Five Elements Sword Dao required a quantity of sword intent. The Five Hues Sword Dao required the energy of each corresponding element.

Ultimately, when the five hues rotated, and the Five Emperors and Five Sovereigns Sword Daos were forged, the true Sword Dao of the Five Emperors’ Samsara would be achieved: the White Emperor Golden Sovereign Dao, the Cyan Emperor Azure Sovereign Dao, the Black Emperor Water Sovereign Dao, the Scarlet Emperor Blazing Sovereign Dao, and the Yellow Emperor Earth Sovereign Dao. With the completion of the Five Emperors’ Samsara Sword Dao, one could then derive the Grand Samsara Disk.

This disk, used defensively, could neutralize all incoming magical attacks, rendering the user invincible, and used offensively, it could trap the opponent within a cycle of reincarnation. This Sword Dao of the Five Emperors’ Samsara was created by Yan Cangtian, synthesizing the ultimate techniques of the various schools on Mount Hua with his own self-created supreme arts.

However, Yan Cangtian ascended before he could fully manifest the Grand Samsara Disk, leaving the subsequent stages a matter of speculation. And now, with Lu Yuan reaching the Longevity Stage, his journey upon this path had only just begun.