Its vast expanse reflected the moon's light, its immense shadow floating beneath the sky. Before them, thousands of waves churned and rolled, each cresting higher than the last—it looked less like a river and more like an ocean, stretching almost boundlessly. Such perilous, swift currents would intimidate anyone elsewhere. However, the five or six hundred cultivators navigating the Min River were all at the Longevity Stage; such turbulence was beneath their notice.

Suddenly, a massive water monster breached the surging waves. This creature was about ten feet long, possessing incredibly sharp crab claws; its eight limbs were as keen as deadly weapons. The foremost pair kicked up twin streams of black water, evidence of potent venom. This creature was known as the Poison King Crab, a foe that even cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of Body Refining would struggle against. Its shell was so incredibly tough that even those at the peak of the Body Refining stage found it nearly impossible to pierce its defenses.

Just as the enormous beast raised its head, dozens of flying swords pierced the Poison King Crab, causing it to explode instantly. Regrettably, not a single Minor Soul Stone was yielded, prompting frustrated cries from the cultivators who had struck it.

As the saying goes, the Min River is treacherous, and the monsters of the Soul River are formidable and difficult to deal with.

Yet, since the five to six hundred cultivators entered the Soul River, no matter what monsters they encountered, a barrage from so many flying swords meant certain death for the creatures.

This journey had been smooth and easy so far.

"What nonsense is this?" someone remarked. "They call the Soul River difficult, yet it doesn't seem that way at all."

"Indeed. With this many experts present, what is the mere Soul River to us?"

"True. And we even have so many cultivators at the seventh level of Longevity—they'd be considered Sword Immortals in a mid-tier Immortal Sect."

"For figures of this caliber, what difficulty is there in sweeping through the Soul River?"

"Precisely."

"It seems this trip is just an easy jaunt to harvest Soul Stones."

"So incredibly easy."

"Right, I managed to get a Minor Soul Stone. How about you?"

"I got one Minor Soul Stone." "Never mind me; I’m the unluckiest. Didn't get a single Minor Soul Stone." They casually exchanged news of their recent hauls. Lu Yuan hovered on his sword amidst the crowd, taking a swig of wine. His luck had been poor lately; a small fraction of people had obtained two Minor Soul Stones, while he hadn't acquired any. Truly terrible luck.

However, Lu Yuan didn't believe this venture into the Soul River would remain simple. Firstly, he had witnessed Yuan Ling's methods, and Zhang Xuan, rumored to be his equal, would have left behind no easy challenges. Secondly, some elders who spoke of this matter had grave expressions. One shouldn't be pessimistic, but neither should one be overly optimistic and underestimate the true difficulty of this journey.

Naturally, with so many people gathered now, there should be no immediate danger, allowing them a moment to relax. They should proceed to the first breach, the Great Crossing River, and repair it first. The 'repair' itself wasn't difficult; according to the Sect Master of the Azure City Immortal Sect, they only needed to repel the monsters there and restore the area using Siyan Earth. Everyone had been allocated some Siyan Earth, so it wasn't rare. Legend held that in ancient times there was Xitu—Soil of Proliferation—which could grow endlessly and control water. But that Xitu had long since vanished. The Siyan Earth, similar to the legendary material, was relatively common across the land, versatile, and not overly expensive.

Lu Yuan took another drink. Since he was idle and couldn't even find a chance to fight surrounded by so many cultivators, why not drink?

The First Breach, the Great Crossing River, was just ahead.

Lu Yuan looked forward.

Before them materialized a massive, sunken causeway—a bridge perhaps a hundred feet long spanning the river. This bridge was covered in bats: bats as black as ink, palm-sized. At the start, the covering wasn't dense, but toward the far end, they became so tightly packed they formed an impenetrable mass, obscuring the opposite bank.

"That is the Unfixed Bridge," one cultivator stated. "A peculiar bridge. One must start from this side and cross entirely without leaving the structure to reach the far bank, and it appears the first breach lies on the other side."

"We have no choice but to charge through."

The five hundred and sixty cultivators understood that the first trial was upon them. Moreover, this first breach was rumored to be the weakest of the nine. If they couldn't pass even this, there was no point in attempting the other eight. They decided to test this one first. A cultivator casually flew his sword toward it.

Since entering the Min River, the journey had been suspiciously easy.

This cultivator hailed from the South Sea Immortal Sect and was named Lian Zixu, a cultivator at the fourth level of Longevity, possessed of considerable self-confidence.

The ease of the journey so far led him to dismiss the first breach entirely. The moment he rushed onto the bridge, those inky black, palm-sized bats swarmed him. Lian Zixu instantly drew his sword. As he flew forward, his sword light flashed like lightning, terrifyingly fast, continuously shredding the bats around him.

But the bats kept coming, denser and denser, hammering against his sword. Lian Zixu felt immense pressure. He pressed onward, reaching the seventieth foot of the bridge, when he finally couldn't hold on. With no alternative, he was forced to swerve sideways and flee the bridge structure. Strangely, the moment Lian Zixu retreated, the black bats ceased their pursuit.

Was the difficulty truly this high?

The fourth level of Longevity was already commendable cultivation, yet he couldn't hold his ground beyond seventy feet. And remember, this was the first breach, the one universally acknowledged as the easiest. Even here, he faltered.

Lian Zixu was the first to charge; others began their attempts. Since the bridge wasn't wide, only one or two could land on its surface at a time, proceeding one by one. Lu Yuan was positioned further back, so it was a long wait before his turn came. Initially, everyone assumed the bats on the bridge were finite, and those who went first had cleared many, making it easier for those following.

But soon, they discovered the bats on the bridge were practically endless. Those annihilated in the front were immediately replaced by new ones emerging; their numbers never seemed to diminish.

Naturally, the cultivators at the fifth, sixth, and seventh levels of Longevity found crossing this bridge quite simple. However, those at the second and third levels of Longevity were severely tested; almost all of them were washed away, unable to cross. Conversely, among the cultivators at the fourth level of Longevity, some succeeded, and some failed.

Finally, it was Lu Yuan's turn.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath. His Nourishing Sword was already drawn—the bright, autumn-water-like blade spun and surged as he charged onto the bridge. As Lu Yuan began his transit, many watched him, focusing on the young disciple. Being the only disciple-level figure among them naturally made him conspicuous.

Many wished to gauge the true strength of this sole representative of the younger generation.

When they first entered the Min River, Lu Yuan had rarely taken action, so these others couldn't gauge his depth. Now, as he finally made his move, attention turned to him. They watched his long sword spin and surge, dazzling like water, driving straight onto the bridge. The moment Lu Yuan stepped onto the structure, piles upon piles of black bats fell dead.

Under his sword, the bats could not resist.

Lu Yuan, positioned on the bridge, faced bats of an unknown species whose attacks possessed immense impact; every strike felt incredibly heavy. Worse still was their sheer number, swarming him from every direction. Furthermore, these black bats constantly spat saliva; being struck would leave the entire body numb and weak. While employing the Five-Color Sword Dao could certainly ward them off, Lu Yuan generally preferred honing his fundamental sword techniques.

Sword light swirled, sword waves surged; no matter how many black bats approached, they could not penetrate the barrier of light. Lu Yuan’s handling of his sword at this moment was flawless.

How impressive! The watching cultivators couldn't help but praise him inwardly. This junior truly possessed remarkable swordsmanship; judged purely on technique, it surpassed many of the current generation. In truth, these observers had underestimated Lu Yuan’s skill; only a rare few of the Upper Echelons among the current generation could match his swordsmanship.

While crossing, Lu Yuan also felt a slight surprise. These black bats occasionally yielded Minor Soul Stones upon death. Although retrieving a Minor Soul Stone amidst the hordes on the bridge was difficult, Lu Yuan was capable of it.

There were too many black bats. Even though the probability of yielding a Minor Soul Stone was low, by the time Lu Yuan reached the far end of the bridge, he found he had accumulated nine Minor Soul Stones in his hand—a respectable harvest.

"Your swordsmanship is excellent," a few of the cultivators who had already crossed remarked from the other side.

Lu Yuan rested at the far end of the bridge, where others had already used Siyan Earth to seal the breach.

Originally, the founding ancestor of Azure City had used immense magical power and various means to isolate this area from the outside world, creating an invisible barrier. At the breach points, this barrier was visibly thinned. After sealing it with Siyan Earth, the area returned to normal.

There were about two hundred cultivators on this side.

This meant over three hundred had been unable to cross the bridge. Now, only about two hundred could continue. The first breach, the Great Crossing River, was overcome.

"We only have six days left, and we still have eight locations to visit. These locations vary in distance and will surely present increasing difficulties. If we continue traveling as one massive group, we likely won't have enough time. It seems we must divide into eight teams and head to the other eight breaches separately," stated Sun Junyi, a cultivator at the seventh level of Longevity and a member of the Azure City Immortal Sect. His knowledge of the Soul River surpassed that of the others present.

Upon hearing this, the others immediately nodded in agreement.

The two hundred cultivators then split into eight teams, each heading toward a designated location.

The team Lu Yuan belonged to consisted of about twenty people, tasked with one of the eight locations deemed to have a lower degree of difficulty according to the briefings.