The thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars were notorious fiends among the rogue cultivators of Jin State. Each of these thirty-six figures was exceedingly difficult to contend with.

If they encountered a Sword Immortal level expert, they would evade and flee, possessing various secret arts that allowed them to slip away from such powerful figures. Yet, against anyone below the Sword Immortal level, none of them were an equal match.

Thus, they had remained at large until now. Meeting Lu Yuan, however, proved to be their misfortune, as they finally met their end.

The first among the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars was Tian Kui Star. Tian Kui Star had learned a forbidden, sinister secret art from the Venerable Yuan Ling, called the "Great Nirvana Chaotic Heaven Demon Transformation Devouring Human Great Art." The name of this grand art was utterly vicious, involving the amalgamation of the blood of humans, demons, and devils upon one's own body.

Innumerable resentments and endless blood coalesced into a single being. Having obtained this secret art, Tian Kui Star’s body was filled with infinite resentment.

The more resentment, the heavier the aura of death became, and the more tormented the souls trapped within; the crueler the torture inflicted, the greater Tian Kui Star’s magical power grew—it was a truly evil and vicious technique. These souls initially struggled fiercely after being captured inside Tian Kui Star’s body, but they were eventually assimilated by him.

Now, Tian Kui Star had perished by Lu Yuan’s hand. Lu Yuan dissolved the fiend’s evil scriptures and magic treasures, sinking the evil blood a hundred zhang beneath the earth to prevent further harm to the world.

However, the countless souls imprisoned within the fiend's body could not be digested immediately. The proper course of action would be to employ Buddhist techniques to purify them, but Lu Yuan had never studied Buddhism, nor did he believe these souls would cause significant trouble after tormenting themselves for a time, so he paid them no mind and flew away.

The methods learned by the other thirty-five Stars were largely similar to Tian Kui Star’s. Within these men’s bodies resided countless souls that had suffered torment.

Lu Yuan was gone, and the trapped souls continued to wail ceaselessly at the site. Innumerable spirits rose from the ground, all emitting sounds of profound sorrow.

"How hateful!" "Why?" "Indeed," why is a junior so powerful?" "What kind of swordsmanship was that, so utterly profound?" "Heavens, the thirty-six of us actually lost to the sword of a junior." "Impossible! How could this be!" These souls had long been assimilated by the mindset of the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars.

Though the devils themselves were dead, the souls persisted. Now scattered, they murmured the dying obsessions of the thirty-six devils, unable to believe they had been defeated by Lu Yuan's sword—how could such mystical sword arts exist?

These souls raged on for three full days and nights. Since their spirits were already deeply corrupted by the fiends, they did not rest.

On the fourth day, as the sun rose and a strong wind swept through, the spirits finally dissipated along with the morning light. This spectacle of ten thousand ghosts weeping had driven away even the fierce beasts nearby, which fled far into the distance.

As these animals fled, a woman of striking heroism emerged from a slightly more distant cave. She possessed a delicate, oval face, clad in pure white garments and a white skirt that bespoke a clean, sharp demeanor, with a flying sword strapped to her back.

"Lu Yuan is truly formidable," the spirited young woman remarked. "Any single one of the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars likely possessed strength no less than Father's.

If two of them joined forces, they could defeat Father. If all thirty-six attacked together, they could have annihilated our Taihang Immortal Sect ten thousand times over.

Each of those thirty-six fiends was terrifying beyond measure, yet Lu Yuan so easily cut them down. This Lu Yuan is too strong." In the Taihang Mountains lay a small immortal sect known as the Taihang Immortal Sect.

The Taihang Immortal Sect was not particularly renowned; it barely managed to sustain itself. This woman was Li Yingyue, the daughter of the Taihang Immortal Sect's leader.

Li Yingyue had been hiding in this mountain cave for some time, intending to practice her swordsmanship, never expecting to witness Lu Yuan battling the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars. Each of those devils possessed terrifying strength.

She had assumed that even Lu Yuan, despite his great fame, would be forced to yield when confronted by such monstrous fiends from the rogue cultivator ranks. Now, however, the reality proved otherwise.

"Lu Yuan is this powerful," Li Yingyue narrowed her eyes. Though full of vigor, the narrowing of her eyes lent her a certain allure.

"I once heard the saying that one should marry a cultivation genius like Lu Yuan, but I never paid it much mind. Now, it seems to be true.

Bah, what nonsense am I thinking about." Li Yingyue felt a blush rising to her cheeks. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan flew onward.

His speed in riding the sword was ever-increasing; traversing the distance of two provinces would now take no time at all. After some days, he returned to the Chuyun Immortal Realm and headed directly for the Mission Hall.

Upon entering the Mission Hall, the elders responsible for dispensing tasks saw Lu Yuan approach. One elder immediately spoke up, "Are you here to withdraw your mission?

That task truly seemed impossible to complete." They might not remember ordinary mission-takers, but Lu Yuan’s undertaking was so nearly unattainable that it left a deep impression. Lu Yuan raised his hand and cast down thirty-six tokens.

Engraved upon these tokens were different mysterious runes and images of various grotesque beasts. When the elders saw them, they immediately sensed the deep, chilling killing intent emanating from the tokens.

"These are the tokens of the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars." "They are said to have been carried personally by the thirty-six Loose Devils." "It seems the mission is complete." The elders nearly leaped up. It was utterly inconceivable that the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars, figures of such renown, had been slain, and by a youth like Lu Yuan.

This mission was suicide for anyone below the Sword Immortal level, and even Sword Immortals were not guaranteed success, yet Lu Yuan had actually accomplished it. "Is Lu Yuan not far too powerful?" "Indeed, it is terrifying." "This was ranked as the second most difficult mission." "Thirty-six masters, including over ten cultivators at the Seventh Layer of Longevity—the difficulty of this task was simply heaven-defying." "Yes, to accomplish this, just how strong is Lu Yuan's combat power?" "Our North Peak has produced a true genius." The elders remained stunned for so long they almost forgot to issue the reward.

After a while, they remembered their duty and conferred the promised reward: thirty Great Soul Stones and three thousand Spirit Stones. Lu Yuan took his reward and returned to his courtyard residence.

Shortly after Lu Yuan left the Mission Hall, other cultivators entered. They habitually scanned the mission board from top to bottom.

As one cultivator scanned downwards, he exclaimed, "Huh? The second most difficult mission, the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars, has been completed!

How is that possible? Almost no one could ever finish that mission.

Those below the Sword Immortal level couldn't even attempt it, and those above rarely come here to take missions." "Who took this mission?" someone immediately asked. Though the elders were still reeling from shock, they immediately shook their heads.

"We apologize, that is confidential information. It is the rule of the Mission Hall; we cannot disclose who accepted or completed a mission." Immediately, the news that the second-ranked mission in the Mission Hall, the slaying of the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars, had been completed swept across the entire Chuyun Immortal Realm.

Within the Chuyun Immortal Realm, several extremely talented geniuses had previously taken on this very mission, but none succeeded; some had even perished attempting it. That it was now finished caused an immense stir, and everyone wondered which hidden powerhouse was responsible.

Amidst this public fervor, Lu Yuan had already reached his own room and sat cross-legged on his bed. He now possessed sixty-two Great Soul Stones in total.

The effect of one Great Soul Stone was not immense, but sixty-two working in conjunction held great power. Furthermore, he now had twenty-three giant spirit beasts, acquired by trading spoils looted from the thirty-six Loose Devils of the Stars at the marketplace for Cloud-attribute giant beasts.

Now, sitting alone, he began his cultivation. One Great Soul Stone was placed between his brows, absorbing the potent divine soul within.

After a moment, he felt his divine soul elevate, and immediately he utilized the next stone. One by one, the Great Soul Stones took effect, and Lu Yuan quickly felt his divine soul growing stronger and stronger.

He perceived that the nascent core above his primordial spirit was becoming increasingly complete. After consuming all sixty-two Great Soul Stones, Lu Yuan noted that the completion of his nascent core had reached approximately seventy percent.

Excellent! With just about thirty percent more completion, he could achieve a true nascent core and reach the Sixth Layer of Longevity.

However, he had now exhausted his supply of Soul Stones and would need to take another mission. Perhaps completing a few more tasks would allow him to reach the Sixth Layer of Longevity.

Lately, he was intensely focused on reaching the Sixth Layer of Longevity. Or perhaps, more accurately, he was desperate to reach the Seventh Layer of Longevity so he could duel Sima Changbai.

Lu Yuan scanned the available tasks, but none seemed as potent as the last one he completed. Finally, Lu Yuan selected the mission ranked first: Exterminate the Demonic Poison Hand Medicine King!

Poison Hand Medicine King! Seeing Lu Yuan choose this mission, the elders dispensing tasks were absolutely stunned!

They could hardly believe that Lu Yuan dared to select this task. This mission was even more perilous than the previous one.

Poison Hand Medicine King! This man, rumored to be below the Sword Immortal level himself, had cultivated a set of poisons so potent they shook heaven and earth; he had once poisoned a Sword Immortal to death.

For Lu Yuan to challenge such an opponent was utterly extravagant and unbelievable. The dispensing elders confirmed multiple times whether Lu Yuan truly intended to accept the mission, even detailing how the Poison Hand Medicine King had killed Sword Immortals, yet Lu Yuan remained resolute.

This was tantamount to courting death! However, if he succeeded in this, it would confirm Lu Yuan as an unparalleled genius, one who might even emulate the success of Yan Cangtian in the future.

Everyone awaited the outcome with anticipation. Usually, the work of dispensing elders was quite monotonous, but now, they felt it had become incredibly exciting.