Desolate and deserted, devoid of grass, trees, birds, or beasts—such was the aspect of the Penance Cliff.

On this bleak precipice resided Lian Nian of the Sword Sect, Nangong Zhe of the Qi Sect, and Lu Yuan of the Sword-Qi Sect. They rarely conversed, exchanging only the occasional brief remark. For half their time, they were occupied defending against the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud; the other half was spent either resting, practicing swordsmanship, honing their magical power, or refining spells.

Naturally, Lian Nian focused on sword practice, Nangong Zhe on spell cultivation, with each respecting the other’s pursuits.

The Penance Cliff was truly frighteningly desolate.

Lu Yuan, however, paid it little mind. As an immortal cultivator, he was accustomed to solitude. The real mitigating factor was the company of wine; without it, such days would surely drive a man mad. Incidentally, Lu Yuan was also practicing the Five-Colored Sword Dao, the Five-Colored Canopy. When this technique was activated, five strands of sword light intertwined and cycled above his head, encompassing all the myriad transformations within the Five Elements and the Five Colors.

Yet, even after cultivating like this for six full months, the day he would master the Five Emperors Sword Dao, the Five Emperors Canopy, remained incredibly distant.

The Five Emperors Sword Dao, the Five Emperors Canopy, rendering one immune to all attacks—it was not easily achieved.

Previously, Lu Yuan hadn't fully grasped the importance of defense, believing attack was sufficient. He realized later that in one-on-one confrontations, defense indeed mattered little; attack was paramount. However, in true multi-combat situations, defense proved crucial. Take, for instance, the battle in the Longevity Cave: without any defensive capabilities, he fought desperately, barely surviving. A single second slower, and he would have been enveloped by the demon horde, his demise almost certain. Had he possessed the protection of the Five-Colored Sword Dao woven into a canopy above him then, the fight would not have been so arduous.

The days passed in this chilling solitude, Lu Yuan devoted entirely to his training.

Time slipped by, and six months vanished in an instant.

One day, Lian Nian spoke up. "Oh, right—the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud will temporarily dissipate for a month starting tomorrow. As I mentioned, this place, the Penance Cliff, experiences one month annually when the Tribulation Cloud vanishes. Simultaneously, all the pocket dimensional spaces disappear, and everyone on the Penance Cliff can see one another."

"Oh, thank you, Martial Uncle, for the reminder," Lu Yuan replied respectfully.

Lian Nian smiled faintly. This man always seemed to wear a smile, slight of build, his eyes perpetually narrowed.

"Boy, you had best be cautious," Nangong Zhe, the imposing elder from the Qi Sect, suddenly interjected. "Don't let his constant smiling fool you. He shares some resemblance with Yuan Ling from your Northern Peak. He was confined to the Penance Cliff for two hundred years for killing several fellow disciples. If he hadn't managed to claim it was accidental homicide, his sentence would likely have been heavier. A 'Little Snake' indeed!"

This person must be watched carefully. Upon hearing Nangong Zhe reveal this truth, Lu Yuan noted that Lian Nian still wore the same faint smile and offered no rebuttal. A chill settled in Lu Yuan’s heart; he understood he needed to be extremely wary of such an individual. Strictly speaking, while life within the Penance Cliff was absolutely secure, a degree of caution was still necessary, after all, this was the Penance Cliff.

By noon the following day, the expected Tribulation Cloud failed to materialize.

Then, with a thunderous boom, followed by a sharp crack, the very cliff beneath their feet shook violently. After a brief moment, the world’s appearance had utterly transformed. Previously, there was only this single precipice, with empty void stretching beyond, nothingness filling the space.

Now, a massive mountain peak had emerged. This peak was utterly barren, devoid of any vegetation. Upon this vast mountain, over a hundred separate cliffs had appeared, and the location where Lu Yuan stood was merely one among them. Faint figures could be discerned on the distant ledges.

The Penance Cliff! For one month each year, the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud vanished, the spatial restrictions dissolved, and the prisoners were allowed to meet.

On this mountain, there were three exceptionally large cliffs situated near the summit, arranged in a triangular formation enclosing the peak. Lian Nian pointed to one of the larger ledges. "Boy, this entire peak is called Penance Peak. Your Sword-Qi Sect members often congregate there."

Lian Nian immediately took to his sword and flew toward one of the three largest cliffs. Nangong Zhe also launched himself toward another of the trio.

Lu Yuan composed himself and flew toward the final of the three largest cliffs.

This ledge was visibly much larger than the one he had initially occupied. Lu Yuan landed and surveyed the area, finding only figures significantly older than himself. He immediately bowed and saluted. "Lu Yuan, Sixth True Disciple of the Tenth Generation of the Northern Peak, greets all Seniors."

The elders of the Northern Peak were visibly startled. "Oh? A newcomer?"

"Tenth Generation?"

"I recall when I entered the Penance Cliff, the Tenth Generation had only accepted four disciples. Ah, the fourth True Disciple was named Fang Dan. Now they have accepted a sixth." This elder had clearly entered the confinement earlier than the others.

"This person looks so young."

"Why haven't we heard of him before?"

"I have heard something. This fellow seemed obscure before, but before I entered, I heard he secured first place in the Northern Peak Grand Competition. I actually witnessed that battle; his swordplay was excellent." This elder had entered the Penance Cliff more recently and had seen Lu Yuan in action during the competition.

"Oh, you've heard of him? Then he must truly be a genius of our Northern Peak, reaching the Longevity Stage so young—what, barely over twenty years old?"

The assembled elders turned to look at Lu Yuan with curiosity, slightly astonished that he had reached the Longevity Stage at such a tender age.

"By the way, what has been the situation with Mount Hua in recent years?" one of the Northern Peak elders inquired.

"The major events in recent years are Grand Ancestor Yan's ascension, and the new Sect Master is Martial Uncle-Ancestor Chu Duan, who wields the One Sword Severing Heaven," Lu Yuan recounted the events of the past years to the Northern Peak elders. Hearing this, the elders expressed various sentiments, most lamenting that Sect Master Yan had finally ascended, praising him as a peerless talent. Some among them, familiar with Chu Duan's mannerisms, simply expressed that Chu Duan taking the mantle of Sect Master was perhaps not a blessing.

After some discussion, they finally turned to the main business.

On Penance Peak, for one month each year, the Five Elements Tribulation Cloud would vanish, all various restrictions lifted, allowing mutual interaction. Normally, this time was spent in casual discourse. However, this occasion was different from the usual, as it coincided with the Decade Pill Seizure Year.

Indeed, the Pill Seizure Year.

The Penance Cliff possessed the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud. The origin of this cloud was lost to history; it was rumored the area naturally harbored it. Later, the Second Generation Ancestor definitively established the location as Penance Peak. Every ten years, the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud would condense into a Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud Pill, a substance capable of significantly boosting magical power.

Because of this, every decade marked the Pill Seizure Year, where prisoners of the Penance Cliff would engage in combat, with the top five victors awarded the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud Pills.

The efficacy of these pills was immense. For someone like Lu Yuan, obtaining one would allow an immediate breakthrough of one full stage in magical power. For those with deeper cultivation, while a full stage increase might not be possible, boosting power by half a stage was certainly not difficult. Considering how arduous it was to advance even slightly after reaching the Longevity Stage, a pill that granted a full or half stage increase was utterly astounding.

Consequently, during every Pill Seizure Year, everyone prepared extensively for the inevitable clashes.

Of course, not everyone participated. Within the Penance Cliff were a handful of figures at the Great Dao Realm. These individuals would certainly not intervene. Although the Five-Colored Tribulation Cloud Pill offered tremendous benefits, it held little value for them, having reached the Great Dao Realm.

Returning to the present, after listening for a while, Lu Yuan felt that the Pill Seizure competition had little bearing on him.

He was only at the first layer of the Longevity Stage, whereas the Penance Cliff housed cultivators at the third, fourth, fifth, and even seventh and eighth layers of the Longevity Stage. There was no way it would be his turn.

He figured he might as well focus on being a spectator.

The Pill Seizure contest was scheduled to commence in twenty-five days. The restrictions would be lifted for a total of twenty-five days, during which time everyone could exchange insights before the fighting began to determine the top five. A tense atmosphere inevitably began to spread.

The scholarly discussions among these Longevity Stage cultivators were an eye-opener for Lu Yuan.

These elders of the Longevity Stage indeed possessed a wealth of valuable knowledge.

For instance, neutralizing lightning-based spells was always a significant challenge; before Lu Yuan mastered the Five Elements Reincarnation Sword Dao, he had no way to counter them. Yet, here, one elder had devised a method: using a spell called the Lightning Attraction Art. Although the preparation was cumbersome—requiring a hundred-year-old Evergreen Wood and iron implements—the technique allowed one to easily divert lightning spells with minimal self-injury, albeit with certain limitations.

Furthermore, they discussed a novel application for Gold-elemental spells, long considered the least useful. This elder explained that Gold spells could be affixed to small objects and launched via specialized techniques, such as scattering them like tianhua powder, resulting in hundreds or thousands of projectiles—a rather original concept.

Another example involved locating practitioners who used Fog-based sword techniques or spells. Using the Northern Peak’s Cloud-based sword techniques with a specialized method, one could use 'Cloud to Break Fog.'

These were all diverse pieces of wisdom. In the outside world, few would willingly share such secrets; they would undoubtedly hoard them.

But this was the Penance Cliff. Some prisoners had been confined for hundreds of years and were nearing madness, making them eager to share novel techniques they had developed, lest they be lost if kept secret.

Lu Yuan benefited immensely just listening by the sidelines.