Gazing upon the flow of heaven and earth, I comprehend the shifting luminescence. Observing the myriad spirit swords, I grasp the techniques of the Sword Immortal, of the Great Dao Realm.

Beholding the piles of white bones, I discern the impermanence of life and death. Lu Yuan sat there, once again attempting to break through to the Seventh Layer of Longevity—to transmute this nascent Void Core into a Golden Core—coagulating energy, forcing the breakthrough, merging all laws into the body, unifying soul and spirit, striving!

Countless spirits assaulted the final vestiges of the void-like color, yet it was like striking an invisible barrier; no matter the effort, the breakthrough remained impossible. Failure again!

A wave of weariness washed over Lu Yuan’s heart; it seemed he must pause for now. Indeed, reaching the major stage of Great Completion of the Golden Core in the Seventh Layer of Longevity was an exceedingly difficult ascent.

Lu Yuan let out a long breath. Forget it—he would halt for the moment.

While reaching the Seventh Layer of Longevity was crucial, one could not rush such matters, lest one invite demonic deviation. Ceasing his assault on the Seventh Layer, Lu Yuan pulled out his wine gourd and took a deep draught.

After a short rest, Lu Yuan began poring over the insights left behind by the Sword Immortal and Great Dao Realm figures who had previously dwelled here. There were forty-one scrolls of insights in total, each containing unique records.

Lu Yuan opened one—this one left by a senior of the Sword Sect. Flipping through the pages, Lu Yuan discovered detailed accounts of this Sword Sect senior’s process for creating a sword technique, as well as the method by which he achieved enlightenment in several sword intents.

Creating a sword technique was nothing special; at his current level, even an ordinary technique, or even a first-rate one, didn't hold much weight in his eyes. An extra technique or the lack thereof held little real consequence for him.

However, the section detailing how this Sword Sect senior comprehended sword intents was truly invaluable. The process by which others grasped sword intent was always a closely guarded secret.

To witness these processes was immensely beneficial for one’s own cultivation. The first one he examined was the Rising Sun Sword Intent.

Lu Yuan read how this Sword Sect senior sat atop the peak of the East Peak's Morning Sun Peak, realizing the intent. The scroll provided a minute-by-minute description of the entire enlightenment process: when he first felt the sun, when he felt the Dao of the rising sun, and when he finally achieved true, complete mastery.

Such experiences were treasures beyond measure. Lu Yuan felt a flutter of excitement.

Lu Yuan began meticulously studying the senior’s process of realizing sword intent. One could not rush through such accounts; it took him three days just to finish reading about the first sword intent.

Then he moved to the next, and by the fifth day, he began studying the comprehension process for the third type of intent. Observing another person’s realization of sword intent was nothing like skimming a casual novel.

Even if the description of one intent was only a few hundred characters long, it required two or three days of careful reading. Sometimes, a single character or phrase demanded repeated contemplation to fathom its deeper meaning.

Thus, he proceeded, reading one intent after another, as time slipped away in this turning of pages. When fatigue set in, he’d take a swig of wine.

When hunger gnawed, he’d slice off a piece of Tai Sui meat to eat. The taste of Tai Sui meat was somewhat reminiscent of pork, yet subtly different, and decidedly tastier.

Here in the Myriad Poison Cave, he had both wine and meat, working through one sword intent realization after another. He was on the thirty-first sword intent when Lu Yuan rubbed his tired eyes.

After a brief rest, a drink of wine, and some more meat, he pressed on. After an indeterminate stretch of time, Lu Yuan continued reading the subsequent intents, taking another two days for the next one.

After yet more time passed, Lu Yuan closed the book. By this point, he had finished all forty-one books, scrutinizing every word related to the comprehension of sword intent, missing none.

More than half of these forty-one volumes detailed the process of realizing sword intent, covering a total of sixty-seven distinct intents. Of these, excluding the ten intents he had already mastered, he had now completely reviewed the remaining fifty-seven.

Indeed, during this intensive review of fifty-seven sword intent realization processes, his magical power had not advanced a single hair's breadth, nor had his personal stock of sword intents increased by one. However, this study had cemented an unshakeably solid foundation for Lu Yuan in the Way of the Sword.

The records in these forty-one books were distilled from the very lifeblood of those revered Human-level and Sword Immortal figures. Having reviewed so much, Lu Yuan would find grasping those fifty-seven intents vastly easier than if he had not read them.

This endeavor had, in truth, laid the cornerstone for Lu Yuan to become a peerless Grandmaster of the Sword Dao. Fifty-seven sword intents: Haze, Mist, Rising Sun, Blazing Sun, Moon, Thunder, Lightning, and countless others—every nuance of experience was contained within.

In the future, when Lu Yuan ascended to become a peerless Grandmaster of the Sword Dao, perhaps even touching the threshold of the Sword Saint realm, this singular fortuitous encounter would surely claim credit. Finally finished with the reading, Lu Yuan let out a sigh.

He took out an hourglass. This item was barely considered a magical artifact; its sole purpose was the automatic calculation of time.

Compared to an ordinary hourglass, this one offered enhanced temporal measurement. Lu Yuan looked at it and realized he had been inside the Myriad Poison Cave for a full one hundred and fifty days.

One hundred and fifty days. He wondered what state the North Peak was in now.

Concern for the North Peak troubled him, yet he knew that until he reached the Great Completion of the Golden Core in the Seventh Layer of Longevity, stepping outside meant he still couldn't defeat Tong Bainian. He needed to focus on reaching the Seventh Layer first.

But the bottleneck of the Seventh Layer proved stubbornly difficult. He tried once more, and failed again.

Forming the Void Core of the Sixth Layer, attempting the breach into the Seventh Layer’s Golden Core Great Completion—it was truly arduous. This specific hurdle was inherently fraught with difficulty; countless cultivators had been stalled at this stage for decades without success.

Lu Yuan’s repeated failures over these days were nothing in comparison. After some more time passed, Lu Yuan began his assault on the Seventh Layer of Longevity once more.

This time, he placed ten Great Spirit Soul Stones nearby and recommenced the attempt. A faint aura of spirit flowed in, yet the result was the same: that layer of void-like color stubbornly barred the way.

The spiritual energy flowed into the Void Core but could not penetrate that hazy barrier. Lu Yuan activated the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations; the Void Core’s color deepened to a rich gold, but even after sustained assault, the barrier remained unbroken.

Failure again! This second failed attempt left Lu Yuan’s spirit utterly fatigued.

Never before, in anything he had done, had he faced such frequent failure; this was the first time Lu Yuan had experienced so many setbacks. What bad luck!

It seemed he couldn't force a breakthrough into the Seventh Layer for now, lest the danger of demonic deviation arise. After downing a swig of wine, a flash of inspiration struck Lu Yuan’s mind; he finally understood why his repeated attempts at the Seventh Layer had all ended in failure.

Cultivating immortality—rushing for quick gains could never lead to true immortal ascent. Immortality required the freedom of a true cultivator, an effortless ease, like light clouds drifting, like a clear, gentle wind.

Cultivation is aligning with Heaven’s way; Heaven neither rushes nor strives for ease. If a person is impatient, if they lack that inherent ease, attempting to cultivate immortality will naturally lead to double the effort for half the result.

But if one aligns with Heaven’s will, moving like wind and cloud, success comes with half the effort. He had always been so carefree and at ease, like the clouds above the firmament, which is why his cultivation journey had been smooth sailing, his progress remarkably swift.

But recently, due to the crisis at the North Peak and his feud with Si Nianchangbai, he had become desperate to reach the Seventh Layer, growing anxious and agitated. He could no longer maintain that state of effortless ease, like a cloud across the sky; hence, his efforts were proving fruitless, and the Seventh Layer remained just out of reach.

Very well, he would temporarily set aside those obsessive thoughts. However, returning to that state of ease, like a cloud in the sky, was not simple; a person's state of mind could not be forced at will.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had wine. With a cup of wine in hand, all manner of good tastes arise.

With a cup of wine in hand, the Five Great Mountains feel light as dust. With a cup of wine in hand, worries vanish instantly.

With a cup of wine in hand, I myself become an immortal being. In the days that followed, Lu Yuan completely forgot those messy concerns, returning to his naturally relaxed and easygoing temperament.

He spent his days drifting between sobriety and intoxication. It was a pity the scenery here wasn't better; otherwise, if there were some fine flowers, he truly would be sitting before them when sober, sleeping beneath them when drunk; half-sober, half-drunk day after day, flowers falling and blooming year after year.

Of course, in this state of semi-intoxication, he would occasionally flip through those forty-one salvaged scrolls. These books contained far more than just the records of sword intent realization; they held numerous other secrets, such as various sword techniques.

Now that his mindset had calmed, he wasn't purposefully searching but merely turning the pages casually. And in this casual browsing, he stumbled upon something truly valuable: the Qi-into-Aura Art!

This technique was uniquely created by a senior who participated in the Third Sword Combat. The Sword Qi-into-Aura Art allowed one to manifest a protective layer of astral energy (Gang Qi) around the body using sword qi, forming an aura around the flying sword.

This meant that when the flying sword clashed with a spirit sword, the astral layer protected it, preventing it from being chipped or damaged. After reaching the Eighth Layer of Longevity and tempering the spirit sword, the most formidable aspect was the spirit sword’s unparalleled sharpness, which could sever a flying sword in a relatively short duel, making it impossible for a cultivator at the Seventh Layer to contend with one at the Eighth.

This Sword Qi-into-Aura Art solved that precise problem. Utilizing this skill, one wouldn't need to fear spirit swords—at least in short engagements, the flying sword would remain unharmed.

The creator of this Sword Qi-into-Aura Art was a genius. He had originally been capable of challenging opponents a full minor realm above him, but because the flying swords of the Seventh Layer were vulnerable to the spirit swords of the Eighth, he invented this art.

Although the technique became less useful once this genius advanced to the Great Dao Realm, he still preserved the art. This is indeed a great find, Lu Yuan mused inwardly.

After all, even if he defeated Tong Bainian, he still had to face Sima Changbai, who wielded a spirit sword—a Sword Immortal with a razor-sharp blade! With this art, he would no longer fear spirit swords and could genuinely stand against Sima Changbai.