The Ice Palace. Lu Yuan arrived before the second door. It was a pity that the magical artifact from behind the first door had flown away immediately. He hoped he could obtain something from behind this second door. He cautiously opened it, expecting something to rush out, but the moment it swung open, he felt his consciousness surge turbulently. In an instant, countless illusory dreams danced before his eyes.

In a haze, Lu Yuan felt as if he were standing on the highest peak, the Tianzhu Peak of Mount Hua. Below him, countless elders and disciples of Mount Hua were bowing in unison: "Greetings to the Sect Master." Moments later, he found himself standing even higher. Figures from Mount Hua, Wudang, Kunlun, Qingcheng, and the Nanhai Immortal Sect were all kneeling before him, proclaiming, "The foremost of the Great Jin, the foremost of the Great Jin!" As these people shouted their accolades, countless beauties suddenly surrounded him—there was Senior Sister Ling Yuzhu, Junior Sister Liu Ye’er, and the eldest daughter of the Wujian Immortal Sect, Miss Zhong. Each one was exquisitely alluring, exchanging meaningful glances with him and gracefully swaying their enchanting figures.

He seemed trapped in the Spirit Stone Mountain. The lower part of the mountain was composed of low-grade spirit stones, rising to mid-grade stones, and at the very top, the stones emitted an astonishing brilliance—they were high-grade spirit stones. Furthermore, countless Cloud-Type spirit beasts appeared, even those of the Cloud Dragon level, pouring boundless, surging spiritual power down upon him.

Power, emotion, resources. These were the three greatest weaknesses of the human heart. The inner demon suddenly struck, and Lu Yuan instantly sobered. The primary reason Lu Yuan snapped back so quickly was that the incoming inner demon had failed to target his true vulnerabilities. Power, romantic love—he had never sought these things. As for resources, he had only exerted some effort to pursue them; power and romance he hadn't paid heed to at all. The inner demon had targeted the wrong weakness. What a pity. If alcohol had been involved, perhaps he would have been lost longer.

Lu Yuan cultivated the most orthodox Daoist arts, and his state of mind was pure. When the inner demon attacked, he immediately sat cross-legged. Activating the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations Heart Technique, all distracting thoughts vanished, and the inner demon was naturally expelled from his body, unable to become a major threat. After a moment, feeling the external demonic influence fade, Lu Yuan concluded his practice and stood up.

Standing up, he looked back at the second door and couldn't help but laugh out loud. What exactly lay behind the second door? Behind the second door was the Nine Heavens Clarity Pill, an item used to prevent qi deviation and demonic intrusion. He recalled that over ten thousand years ago, the world was vastly different from the present. At that time, inner demons were rampant, and repelling them was extremely difficult. Now, with the flourishing of the immortal path, even inner demons dared not descend as frequently. Moreover, about six thousand years ago, a person historically invented a simple method for crafting the Nine Heavens Clarity Pill, rendering what was once exorbitantly expensive virtually worthless.

In most cases, items from ancient times in the cultivation world were naturally more valuable than modern ones. However, sometimes anomalies occurred. Take the Nine Heavens Clarity Pill, for instance: extremely valuable ten millennia ago, but worth next to nothing now. Yet, even the Ice Ancestor, being a mighty figure, could not have foreseen the changes of ten thousand years, thus leaving this pill here, which elicited a wry smile from Lu Yuan. The vicissitudes of time. He casually tossed the Nine Heavens Clarity Pill into his Minor Sumeru Ring. Though its value might be negligible, it was better to keep it.

He was now before the third door. Lu Yuan placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, fully prepared. With his left hand, he gently opened the door, ready to draw his sword instantly with his right hand if anything went amiss. Upon opening the third door, countless spells rushed towards him—all water-elemental techniques. Lu Yuan drew his sword to parry, skillfully deflecting almost all of them. After completing the blocks, Lu Yuan entered the third door, where a table stood holding a single book.

Three Realms Three Thousand Water Dragon Roar. The notation beneath read: Forbidden-Grade Spell. A Forbidden-Grade Spell! Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes. He was certainly familiar with Forbidden-Grade Spells; every school and faction in the cultivation world possessed them, though usually only a small number. A sect would not possess many Forbidden-Grade Arts. Their destructive power was terrifying; while perhaps not capable of shattering the heavens and earth, obliterating a town was effortlessly achievable with one such spell.

Lu Yuan casually flipped through the Three Realms Three Thousand Water Dragon Roar. Indeed, the spell was difficult to master. Once achieved, it could summon three thousand water-elemental serpents to attack the opponent. This was merely the introductory stage. Rumor had it that mastering it further allowed one to summon three thousand water-elemental flood dragons to assail enemies. At that point, facing the roar of flood dragons, who could possibly stand against them? Alas, this held little value for him. After all, he was a swordsman; expending energy learning this spell would only waste the time he dedicated to sword study.

Of the five doors, the treasure from the first flew away; the Nine Heavens Clarity Pill from the second was immensely valuable over ten thousand years ago, yet practically worthless today. The third door contained the Forbidden-Grade Spell, Three Realms Three Thousand Water Dragon Roar, which held great significance both then and now, yet he was a person devoted solely to the Way of the Sword. Now the problem arose: five doors, five potential benefits, and the first three were essentially useless. He could only pray the final two were not similarly wasted, or he would truly be left weeping. Receiving the inheritance of a predecessor should be a joy, but if the treasures left behind were entirely without use, how humiliating that would be.

The fourth door stood before him. Lu Yuan placed his right hand upon his sword hilt. The moment the fourth door opened, countless sword auras scattered out, immediately attacking Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan moved his hand to parry. These sword auras appeared extremely scattered, but upon closer inspection, one could discern that their attacks possessed rhythm—some fast, some slow, some fierce, some absolute. Within these sword auras, Lu Yuan could discern at least five, perhaps even ten, distinct sword intents.

Facing such an adversary, Lu Yuan dared not slacken in the least. Whether using Nourishing My Sword or a simple horizontal slash, a reverse cut, or an upward sweep, Lu Yuan employed none of the esoteric moves. He used only the most fundamental actions: cleave, chop, break, lift, block, wash, sever, pierce, stir, press, hang, swirl. Yet, these basic movements manifested an extraordinary swordsmanship. To a Tenth Generation disciple, Lu Yuan's swordplay might seem pedestrian, but a Sword Immortal witnessing it would be struck dumb with shock at how terrifying and profound this technique truly was. Lu Yuan parried every burst of sword energy emanating from behind the fourth door, but the subsequent auras were too numerous. It took the time of half an incense stick burning before the storm of sword energy finally subsided.

Lu Yuan entered the fourth door: a Stone of Heavenly Enlightenment! Behind the fourth door rested a Stone of Heavenly Enlightenment! It had been stated earlier that these stones were incredibly precious, and this one was no ordinary Stone of Heavenly Enlightenment. Typically, such a stone offered only a ten percent chance of successfully awakening a sword intent. This particular stone had been modified; the Ice Ancestor had sealed numerous Ice and Snow Intents within it, transforming this Stone of Heavenly Enlightenment, increasing the success rate to a full twenty percent over the common stone.

Lu Yuan immediately sat cross-legged and crushed the stone. As it broke, an ice-crystal-like miniature sword rose from within it, circling Lu Yuan’s body. Lu Yuan himself plunged into a state of sudden enlightenment. Ice! He had already comprehended the Sword Intents of Water and Snow. But what was the difference between Ice and Water? Between Ice and Snow? Water nurtures all things; Snow is pure and flawless. Ice, however, can form from water or from snow. Ice—the true essence of Ice is...

In Lu Yuan’s vision, a vast, boundless landscape appeared—an expanse of earth completely covered in thick ice, a world of ice plains. Lu Yuan looked across this frozen landscape, seeing ice-sealed earth, ice-sealed mountains, and ice-sealed lakes. Moreover, that thick layer of ice continued to spread, appearing as if it would cover the seas, the mountains, and everything else. That was Ice! Freezing the breath of life, freezing everything! The manifestation of Ice is coldness; its function is to seal—to freeze the opponent! To freeze all things!

A flash of inspiration—countless rays of light illuminated Lu Yuan’s mind. He finally understood the meaning of the Ice Sword Intent. As he sat meditating, his body became covered in frost, thick layers of ice encapsulating him. Lu Yuan opened his eyes within the thick ice layer. He had grasped the Ice Sword Intent. Yet, this Ice Sword Intent, capable of freezing all things, could not freeze Lu Yuan, the wielder. He drew Nourishing My Sword; it was instantly coated in a thin layer of ice. He breathed upon it, and the ice vanished without a trace. The Ice Sword Intent was achieved. With this new intent, his future opponents would have an interesting time ahead, constantly having to guard against being frozen solid.

Lu Yuan had now comprehended the Sword Intents of Wind, Cloud, Rain, Mist, Speed, Snow, Ice, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Among these, the most directly utilized were the Speed Intent to quicken his attacks and the Mist Intent to slow down his enemies. Now, the Ice Intent could freeze opponents, while the Snow and Cloud Intents could confuse their vision.

The fifth door presented no trial; only a book rested quietly there. The Ice Ancestor's Method of Controlling Ice and Transforming Water. Simply put, this book recorded the Ice Ancestor's methods for manipulating ice and water, though it contained only partial techniques. The Ice Ancestor left these as a means of resolving a karmic debt, offering only a portion of his knowledge. This book would not directly increase Lu Yuan's combat strength, but it would be tremendously useful for his comprehension of the Water Sovereign Sword Dao.