What a flurry of light snow! Those dancing snowflakes, drifting and swaying, resembled dandelion puffs, or perhaps countless tiny, indescribable lives trembling, floating, and surging in the vast night sky. Their demeanor was so natural, their transformations so magical. The sky was filled with biting cold, yet held a peculiar stillness.

Lu Yuan, one man with one sword, traveled through the Western Regions.

Lu Yuan felt a slight pang of regret; he had no map.

The Jin Kingdom was immense, comprising two hundred seventy-seven provinces, its area nearing one hundred million square kilometers. Although the Western Regions were merely a corner of Jin, they were still vast. Normally, wherever he went, he would consult a map and prepare in advance. This time, however, he couldn't—because he had been captured by the Blood-Transformed Sword Immortal, leaving no opportunity to look at a map. Upon escaping the Blood Sword Gate, a fierce battle had erupted, and now he was utterly mapless.

Traveling blindly by sword through the void, without a map, was truly a last resort.

Fortunately, being lost wasn't too terrifying. Flying high, he could spot the direction of Kunlun Mountain; reaching it was achievable. After all, Kunlun stood ten thousand zhang tall—a massive landmark, not too difficult to find.

Lu Yuan ascended to the high altitude, where the snowflakes grew denser. From the greatest height, he indeed saw the location of Kunlun Mountain. He immediately flew toward that direction. With his bearing fixed, he headed straight there. Along the way, the snow intensified, growing heavier and thicker.

The wind whipped the snowflakes, savagely sweeping across heaven and earth. The snow fell like blades, stinging the skin upon impact. The snow descended endlessly, burying heaven and earth in white.

On the ground, both valleys and plains were covered in a knee-deep layer of snow, layered thick across ten thousand li where no one walked.

Lu Yuan took a swig of wine; the liquid sent waves of warmth through his core.

Perhaps it was the wine, or perhaps it was the sensation of breaking free from the Heavenly Prison and achieving true, unbridled freedom—Lu Yuan felt his spirit and soul immensely strengthened. It seemed he was on the verge of grasping something new.

Sensation was vital.

Lu Yuan immediately retracted his sword light. Stripped of the light’s protection, he was exposed directly beneath the raging snow, allowing the fierce flakes to batter him. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the snow gradually softened. Lu Yuan remained in deep contemplation.

What is snow?

The scattered, light snow is snow; the heavy, swirling snow is snow; the snow that lashes like knives in the gale is also hua of snow. Lu Yuan lifted his gaze—the sky was filled with snow hua; looking sideways, all was snow hua; looking down, there were layers upon layers of exquisitely beautiful snow hua. These were all manifestations of snow hua.

But ultimately, what is snow?

Piercing through the phenomena to grasp the essence: What is snow?

Lu Yuan pondered, yet felt a subtle breakthrough coming. He flipped his hand, producing the Heavenly Enlightenment Stone, a spoils of war seized from the Blood Sword Gate. He smashed the stone into dust, and instantly, a sword intent, as white as snow, broke free from the fragments and automatically merged with Lu Yuan. The Heavenly Enlightenment Stone was naturally formed from crystallized Heaven and Earth Sword Intent. Obtaining such a stone provided a ten percent chance of comprehending a Sword Intent. However, the Heavenly Enlightenment Stone was exceedingly precious; it was rumored that even the Central Heavenly Dynasty possessed very few. This particular stone had condensed from the Snow Sword Intent residing between Heaven and Earth—or, phrased differently, the Snow Great Dao among the Three Thousand Great Daos.

As this Snow Sword Intent detached from the stone and fused with him, Lu Yuan felt his spirit clear, his mind sharpened further. Principles that had remained elusive just moments before instantly became apparent.

What is snow?

It is formed from rainwater and dust—these require no mention. The Snow Sword Intent is the purest, most flawless sword intent in the world. Whether rain or dust, under the state of snow, they become pristine white and flawless. It is such a pure, such a natural intent, untainted by a single thread of impurity, clean as the dream of an illusory flower.

Enlightenment—yes, he had truly comprehended it.

Lu Yuan now knew that this time, he had genuinely grasped the Snow Sword Intent.

Upon achieving this enlightenment, his nurturing sword, Yang Wu Jian, instantly drew itself from its sheath. Its movement was incredibly slow, dancing within the snow hua. The blade swirled and fluttered along with the snow, seemingly merging into one entity. For a time, it became impossible to distinguish where the sword ended and the snow began; eventually, even the man himself became indistinct.

Sword, man, snow—the three had blended into one.

Having truly comprehended the Snow Sword Intent, achieving this unity was not difficult.

Understanding the Snow Sword Intent marked the twelfth sword intent he had mastered, and the fourth within the Water-Attribute Sword Intents. His current Water-Attribute mastery included: Water Sword Intent, Cloud Sword Intent, Rain Sword Intent, and now, Snow Sword Intent. Once one masters over ten sword intents, one can immediately achieve the Water Sovereign Sword Dao.

Of the Five Emperors and Five Sovereign Sword Daos, he had already mastered the White Emperor and Green Emperor Sword Daos.

Having mastered the Snow Sword Intent, Lu Yuan, amidst the swirling blizzard, utilized the power of the snow to increase his flight speed beyond what it was before. A trail of snow-white sword light shot directly toward Kunlun.

Upon Lu Yuan’s arrival at Kunlun, it naturally provoked reactions from various quarters.

After his previous disappearance, the Huashan sect had been extremely anxious. Initially, they only requested Kunlun’s assistance in the search. When he remained unfound for a period, many individuals from Huashan arrived, particularly more from the Northern Peak. Elder Yuanyuan was required to guard the Northern Peak and could not come personally, and Ye Yangrong had too much intelligence to process. However, the Gentle Sword Immortal Fang Ru and others did arrive, and the Huashan Sect Master also dispatched search parties. The disappearance of a true disciple of Huashan, and such a significant incident involving their currently strongest true disciple, caused an enormous uproar. Elder Yuanyuan's fury was a given, but Chu Duan was also immensely enraged.

The new Sect Master, Chu Duan, publicly declared: "Whoever moved Lu Yuan should come forward honestly now, and the losses will be minimal—at most, a few Ninth Generation Sword Immortals. If you refuse to surrender them, it will mean war with Huashan, and the conflict will not end until several Dao Realm masters have fallen." These were words dripping with killing intent.

Chu Duan had no choice but to speak this way. True disciples required immense investment. If the foremost true disciple were eliminated today without retaliation, countless other true disciples would be sacrificed tomorrow or the day after.

Simply put, Chu Duan was establishing a stance.

If you wish to play games, fine, but daring to touch the Tenth Generation true disciples who have yet to fully mature is suicidal. Naturally, if they were killed in open combat, no one would complain. But if assassination was attempted—hehe, hehe—such pronouncements managed to shock many of the Evil Factions. It would be disingenuous to say they didn't fear Huashan; even though Yan Cangtian had ascended, Huashan remained the foremost immortal sect.

After a considerable time passed without locating Lu Yuan, the search naturally continued. Not long ago, a group of people, those who had disappeared earlier, finally emerged. Upon recounting their experiences, it became clear that Lu Yuan had also been held in the Blood Sword Gate but had managed to escape.

This action stirred a hornet's nest. The Blood Sword Gate instantly provoked numerous immortal sects, leading to many launching punitive expeditions against them. However, the Blood Sword Gate had long abandoned that base and vanished into the vast snow fields. There were reports that they had fled to the Yuan Kingdom, leaving the various sects with no recourse. The Yuan and Jin Kingdoms were inherently hostile; the Yuan Kingdom certainly would not fear outright war.

Thus, the sole remaining issue was Lu Yuan himself. Where had he gone? In truth, Lu Yuan had intended to return much earlier, but the period of being lost, coupled with the time spent comprehending the Snow Sword Intent, caused his delayed return to Kunlun Mountain.

On this journey, Lu Qiang finally accompanied him back to Kunlun Mountain.

The Huashan contingent breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Lu Yuan return. The personnel of the Kunlun Immortal Sect were also relieved. If the foremost true disciple of Huashan, Lu Yuan, had died here, the relationship between Kunlun and Huashan would inevitably sour, and Kunlun would suffer a great loss of face.

"I heard that the Blood-Transformed Sword Immortal, Si Nan, was killed by you?" Dugu Ye inquired.

Those who had escaped the Heavenly Prison had witnessed firsthand the death of the Blood-Transformed Sword Immortal Si Nan at Lu Yuan's hands. After their return, they had naturally spread the news. Although the event was publicized, the matter was so staggering it was nearly unbelievable.

To execute a Sword Immortal with a sword strike!

Everyone in the cultivation world understood the significance of a Sword Immortal.

Sword Immortals were a crucial pillar of strength in any immortal sect, at least within the Jin Kingdom.

Figures like the Gentle Sword Immortal, the Harmonious Sword Immortal, and the Flying Sword Immortal were all renowned, albeit perhaps not comparable to the Dao Realm Lords, yet they were figures of immense fame. The Blood-Transformed Sword Immortal Si Nan, at the sixth level of Longevity, was essentially the weakest tier of Sword Immortal, but even the weakest Sword Immortal was still a Sword Immortal.

For Lu Yuan, a Tenth Generation disciple, to slay a Sword Immortal with a sword strike was almost inconceivable.

Therefore, even though they had heard the account from the few who escaped the Heavenly Prison—and those prisoners had no reason to lie—they still needed to confirm it.

As Dugu Ye asked, Fang Ru and Chu Fei both looked toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan nodded. Following this nod was a moment of profound silence. Dugu Ye clapped Lu Yuan on the shoulder: "Good lad, you now have the standing to challenge the lowest rank of Sword Immortal. I have high hopes for you." Fang Ru’s expression was peculiar; Chu Fei’s was even stranger. Chu Fei knew he wasn't significantly stronger than the Blood-Transformed Sword Immortal, which caused him considerable embarrassment.

The Jin Kingdom had truly produced someone comparable to the prodigies of the Central Heavenly Dynasty.

After a long pause, Chu Fei gave a wry smile: "It seems that in just a few more years, you’ll surpass me." His expression was complex; no one enjoyed the prospect of being overtaken so swiftly by the next generation.

Lu Yuan shrugged: "My defeat of Si Nan was just luck. Martial Uncle Chu possesses divine techniques beyond compare, certainly not for me to rival."

Chu Fei laughed: "Stop trying to comfort me."

"Right, where are you headed next?" Lu Yuan asked. Having passed Wudang and now being at Kunlun, the next logical destination should be Qingcheng.

"Your next stop, it is..." Dugu Ye paused slightly.