A silver-haired young Daoist descended to this place.

This handsome, silver-haired youth frowned involuntarily upon arriving. He placed his hand on the ground, examining it closely. "The aura of Poison Hand Medicine King is gone... Is he dead?" The silver-haired young Daoist quickly raised a hand, summoning countless resentful energies. These energies converged, faintly coalescing into the likeness of Poison Hand Medicine King. With another gesture, he manifested the apparitions of more than ten other deceased nefarious cultivators.

Such sorcery, capable of contacting spirits and ghosts, was utterly unnatural. The orthodox cultivation world knew nothing of such techniques.

"Lu Yuan did this?" The handsome silver-haired man frowned deeply.

"Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan again. This time, to shatter North Peak, many helpers are required. My subordinates—the Thirty-Six Stars of the Loose Devils—were chess pieces I’d long positioned, but Lu Yuan destroyed them. It hardly matters; those sorts of figures can be manufactured, and the cost isn't too great. But Poison Hand Medicine King was a vital player in the offensive against North Peak."

The silver-haired young man paused in thought. "This Lu Yuan does have some ability, to actually manage to kill Poison Hand Medicine King. Indeed... the action must commence sooner. But this Poison Hand Medicine King, originally intended as a crucial piece against North Peak... now he is dead like this. What a pity, what a pity."

"It seems I have no choice but to head to the Seven Kills Constellation Sea."

Poison Hand Medicine King was renowned for plant-based poisons. The Seven Kills Constellation Sea, however, was famous for creatures of the animal kingdom.

This silver-haired young man was already rushing about, making arrangements for the imminent action to destroy North Peak.

In the future, North Peak was clearly facing a great catastrophe. Because Yan Cangtian had ascended, Yuan Ling, who had been preparing for so long, was finally about to make his move. He was currently busy gathering forces everywhere.

North Peak, Cloud-Emerging Immortal Realm.

Mission Hall.

Several elders inside the Mission Hall were in deep discussion.

"Lu Yuan actually dared to accept the mission against Poison Hand Medicine King. Truly audacious."

"Indeed. Under Poison Hand Medicine King's hand, countless cultivators below the Sword Immortal level have perished, and even some Sword Immortals lost their lives," one elder stated.

"Although Lu Yuan completed the mission concerning the Thirty-Six Stars of the Loose Devils, those figures were all below the Sword Immortal level, and the result was merely so-so. The terror of Poison Hand Medicine King is something Lu Yuan cannot possibly contend with. In my view, Lu Yuan being able to save his life would be fortunate, let alone killing Poison Hand Medicine King."

"When facing Poison Hand Medicine King, saving one's life is not so easily achieved."

"Yes, I fear he will perish at the hands of Poison Hand Medicine King." The elders of the Mission Hall, while aware Lu Yuan was no ordinary figure, felt facing Poison Hand Medicine King now was far too difficult. As the elders whispered amongst themselves, Lu Yuan appeared before the Mission Hall.

Lu Yuan made a move and tossed out a head. It was precisely the head of Poison Hand Medicine King.

The rolling head still bore an expression of unconcealed indignation, clearly showing Poison Hand Medicine King's unwillingness to die.

The elders of the Mission Hall were utterly shocked. It truly was the head of Poison Hand Medicine King. One elder examined the head and confirmed it was indeed the head of Poison Hand Medicine King. Such a head required immediate sealing in an Ice Condensation Box, as it carried thousands of virulent poisons; contact would result in endless future affliction.

"Lu Yuan actually completed this mission."

"Truly astonishing, unfathomably deep."

"Yes, this is the Poison Hand Medicine King who has even slain Sword Immortals."

"How did he manage it?"

"The foremost genius of the Tenth Generation is indeed an exceptional being."

"I predict that in a short while, he too will reach the Sword Immortal level. Our North Peak has produced another genius comparable to the Second Generation Ancestor Master."

An elder came forward to issue the mission reward. This task was the most difficult in the Mission Hall, rewarding a full fifty Great Spirit Souls Stones and five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones—the bounty was unimaginably rich. Lu Yuan accepted the mission rewards and casually departed upon his sword, heading directly toward his courtyard.

Not long after, others came to the Mission Hall to accept missions. They immediately noticed the mission that had long hung at the top rank, deemed impossible to complete, had been resolutely finished. When they inquired with the Mission Hall elders, the elders, adhering to principle, could not disclose the identity of the mission-taker but did reveal that the person who completed this task was the same one who completed the mission involving the Thirty-Six Stars of the Loose Devils.

This discovery sent shockwaves through the crowd.

Immediately, the entire Cloud-Emerging Immortal Realm was in an uproar. Those within knew that the tasks ranked first and second in the Mission Hall—both considered near-impossible—had been accomplished, and by a single individual. The people of the Cloud-Emerging Immortal Realm were intensely curious as to who could have finished these two ultra-difficult tasks, given the fearsome reputations of both the Thirty-Six Stars of the Loose Devils and Poison Hand Medicine King.

However, due to the Mission Hall's rules, for a long time to come, the identity of the one who completed these tasks would remain a legend, shrouded in endless speculation.

Lu Yuan had returned to his residential chamber. This time, he had acquired a total of sixty-seven Great Spirit Souls Stones, along with numerous Spirit Stones. Now, he could attempt to break through to the Sixth Heaven of Longevity and form the Nascent Void Core.

First, he would increase his mana. In truth, Lu Yuan’s current mana was already extremely close to the breakthrough threshold, with twenty-three colossal spirit beasts continuously supplying energy, causing his mana to rise higher and higher. With such an increase, how could his mana not be formidable?

Now, after setting up the Spirit Sealing Array, he pierced a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone—an act of extreme extravagance. A single Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was worth ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. He had never dared to use them this way before, but now, with resources abundant, he dared to be so wasteful.

Rolling vital energy surged into his body, not only from the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone but also from the twenty-three giant spirit beasts. Moreover, the Blood Cloud he had obtained from the Blood Sword Gate had not even been fully utilized.

After an unknown amount of time, he felt his mana had advanced significantly, but by the looks of it, there was still a gap separating him from the Sixth Heaven of Longevity.

This time, Lu Yuan made an even grander gesture, shattering three Mid-Grade Spirit Stones outright. As a result, the vital energy of heaven and earth flooding into his body increased exponentially. Finally, he felt his mana gradually reaching saturation.

Good, the mana was in place.

Now, only the spirit soul remained.

Lu Yuan unhesitatingly placed the Great Spirit Souls Stones between his eyebrows and activated the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations Heart Method, beginning to absorb the spirit soul power concentrated there. Absorbing the soul force torrentially, he felt his spirit soul strengthening further. Eventually, he simply placed all sixty-seven Great Spirit Souls Stones between his eyebrows, replacing one immediately after another, absorbing the soul force without interruption.

Exhilarating!

The growth of the spirit soul was astonishingly rapid.

The human body is born with three Dantians: the Lower Dantian, the Middle Dantian, and the Upper Dantian. The Upper Dantian resides between the eyebrows, where the spirit is stored—'spirit' referring to the Nascent Soul, or the spirit soul. Both the Nascent Soul and the Nascent Void Core reside in the Upper Dantian. Looking inward now, he perceived that the Void Core above his Nascent Soul was becoming increasingly complete.

That Void Core was gradually knitting itself together, no longer appearing severely flawed.

After an unknown period, the spirit soul in his mind suddenly burst. A normal explosion would be excruciatingly painful; if this happened in a mortal’s mind, the likelihood of immediate idiocy would be great. But, remarkably, Lu Yuan felt an extreme pleasure during this instant. When that moment passed, Lu Yuan looked, and saw that the Void Core above his Nascent Soul had transformed into a complete solid body, without a single trace of blemish.

This was...

The Sixth Heaven of Longevity, formation of the Nascent Void Core.

The Void Core formed from the spirit soul hovered above his Nascent Soul, emitting a brilliant, shimmering light, pulsating with an ethereal luminescence that bathed his Nascent Soul, making it even more perfect and complete. This was the benefit of forming the Void Core.

The subsequent cultivation would be the transformation from Void to Gold—changing the Void Core into a Golden Core. Once he reached the Seventh Heaven of Longevity, a Golden Core would reside above, its golden light illuminating the Nascent Soul, at which point the power of the spirit soul would become overwhelmingly potent.

Of course, truly achieving perfection would lead to the Eighth Heaven of Longevity, which represented the limit of spirit soul power before reaching the Ninth Heaven. Cultivation before the Ninth Heaven primarily focused on enhancing spirit soul power.

As for the Ninth Heaven of Longevity, the Three Extremes Return to One, this involved the Qi of the Qi Cultivation stage, the Body of the Body Tempering stage, and the Spirit of the Longevity stage—the three unifying into one to complete the perfect immortal body.

At that stage, the divine abilities would be even more incredible.

The so-called Qi Cultivation stage, Body Tempering stage, and Longevity stage were actually about tempering the human body itself and uncovering its secrets. Only upon reaching the Great Dao Realm did cultivation shift from internal to external—uncovering the secrets of the external world, learning to control heaven and earth, establishing one's own domain, comprehending laws, forming a Grotto-Heaven, or even creating a Lesser Thousand World, reaching a state of power beyond measure.

At that time, one would be God, Buddha, or Immortal.

However, in the cultivation world, there had been no mention of anyone capable of creating a Lesser Thousand World for a long time.

Lu Yuan suddenly realized: the Sixth Heaven of Longevity, the Void Core stage, marked his arrival at this threshold. He could finally contend with Sword Immortals, though he was still somewhat lacking compared to Sima Changbai. But this constant pushing was exhausting. He needed a good rest now; he would attend to other matters later.

Time to go have a good drink—after all, "seize the day with wine if you have it today."

As for tomorrow?