"Very well, you court death. Let this elder teach you what the heavens and the earth truly are." Tong Bainian was brimming with furious intent. Waiting here for half a year was one thing, but this past half-year represented a prime opportunity to earn merit, which he had now missed entirely. It was even rumored that within North Ling Mountain, some were mocking him for failing to capture a mere Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan, you have made me a laughingstock. Now is the time for your capture.

Tong Bainian’s hand transformed into a colossal ice claw, striking toward Lu Yuan. This ice claw was perhaps the size of a small room, descending over everything with an overwhelming presence. The chilling energy instantly froze the very air. He had fought Lu Yuan half a year ago; even if Lu Yuan managed to escape this strike, he would surely be left in a terrible state.

And at this moment, Lu Yuan drew his sword.

Still trying to draw a sword? What good will it do?

Tong Bainian secretly smirked, but in the next instant, Lu Yuan had already pierced the ice claw with his sword. The thrust was incredibly precise. In terms of raw magical power, Lu Yuan was no match for Tong Bainian, but the angle of this strike was so exquisite that it effectively halted Tong Bainian’s assault.

What an ingenious move, Tong Bainian thought, startled internally. However, he was even more shocked by Lu Yuan’s cultivation base, which had clearly advanced another level, reaching the seventh level of the Longevity Realm. Half a year ago, he was only at the sixth level of Longevity. Tong Bainian was inwardly alarmed, yet he didn't dwell on it for too long.

Lu Yuan reaching the seventh level of Longevity meant he now possessed the strength to contend with him, but only just barely—only enough for a single struggle.

Tong Bainian was a man with a certain obsession. In his pursuit of the ultimate spirit sword, he had destroyed forty-nine spirit swords in succession, eventually rendering himself unable to wield any spirit sword at all. He was also extremely discerning about sword techniques. He had fused multiple sword styles to create his own technique, the Ice Extreme Nine Heavens Sword Art. He considered this art remarkable, comprising nine stances, each infinitely superior to the next, each move perfectly crafted.

Tong Bainian raised his flying sword. As if ice essence were condensing in the void, this strike erupted with countless phantom images in the air, layer upon layer congealing as it slashed directly at Lu Yuan. This stance was the first form of the Ice Extreme Nine Heavens Sword Art: "Three Feet of Frost, One Day of Cold." This strike was designed to inflict massive damage while continuously reducing the opponent's speed.

As Tong Bainian executed this move, Lu Yuan countered with a swift backhand strike, evading Tong Bainian's sword while simultaneously driving his own blade toward Tong Bainian’s vital point.

Tong Bainian’s first sword strike came to nothing. He immediately unleashed his second, stronger attack. This stance was "Freezing Heaven’s Frost, Cold Long River." Upon execution, frost rushed forth like a massive river. Tong Bainian was highly confident in this strike, believing it would secure victory over Lu Yuan. Yet, in the midst of this maneuver, Tong Bainian realized Lu Yuan had evaded his sword with unparalleled subtlety and, with incredible speed, managed to stab his right arm.

How is this possible! I used the second form of my ultimate skill, and not only did I fail to breach him, but I also wounded myself.

Tong Bainian immediately unleashed the third form: "Countless Ice Scars, Wounding Those Struck." Once connected, this technique caused the entire body to erupt in wounds. However, Lu Yuan shattered these countless icy blades completely. Not only that, but at the very moment of shattering the last blade, Lu Yuan swiftly reversed his sword grip and stabbed Tong Bainian’s left arm. Another ultimate technique had resulted in self-injury instead of harming the enemy.

The fourth form: "Ice Heaven, Snow Ground, Nowhere to Hide." This employed an extremely cold sword strike toward the enemy, leaving almost no room for evasion. As Tong Bainian unleashed this profound technique, Lu Yuan managed to pierce his right shoulder.

How can this be! No matter what ultimate technique I use, no matter how powerful, I cannot defeat Lu Yuan; instead, I am wounded by him.

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible! Amidst his roar of fury, Tong Bainian unleashed more ultimate techniques in rapid succession.

The fifth form: "Ice Mountain Easily Topples, Mountains Collapse!" This stance unleashed limitless, immense icy force upon the opponent, pressing down with the pressure of a collapsing mountain range.

The sixth form: "A Piece of Ice Heart Towards the Jade Pot!" This technique sought to freeze the opponent's heart, attacking the enemy’s spirit in a manner somewhat akin to the Emperor Sword.

The seventh form: "Summer Insects Know Not of Ice!" This form invoked the concept of summer insects failing to understand ice, subtly implying that his opponent was a mere summer insect, unaware of the terror contained within this move—a testament to Tong Bainian’s confidence in it.

The eighth form: "Ice Seals Heaven and Earth, Claiming the King’s Way!" This stance aimed to freeze the entirety of heaven and earth, establishing dominion, momentarily turning the world into a realm of absolute ice.

At this point, Tong Bainian had unleashed his most potent arts sequentially, from the fifth stance through the eighth. He held absolute certainty of victory with any one of these four forms. However, regardless of which he used, he failed to inflict any harm on Lu Yuan and was wounded in return every time.

"Impossible! Watch my strongest ninth form, the Ice Extreme Nine Heavens!" This was the pinnacle of the Ice Extreme Nine Heavens Sword Art, the ultimate expression of his power. This stance descended upon Lu Yuan carrying world-shattering might, absolute cold, and pure, distilled fury.

As this form manifested, this region of space was sealed by ice nine successive times! Ice Extreme Nine Heavens!

Facing Tong Bainian’s ultimate move, Lu Yuan also deployed an equally devastating technique—his numerous sword intents melted and fused into a single blade, forcefully cleaving through Tong Bainian’s attack.

In an instant, the ice disintegrated!

And Tong Bainian was impaled through the chest by the crushing force.

"Defeated? How could I possibly be defeated? Oh, right, you were struck by my Profound Nether True Understanding. You shouldn’t be able to exert your full combat power right now. I still win." Tong Bainian was practically gesticulating wildly. Every move he launched had been thwarted by Lu Yuan. Even his strongest arts failed to achieve their purpose and instead resulted in him being pierced by Lu Yuan’s Nourish Self and Suppressing Peak swords. His confidence had long since shattered, driving him to near madness. Suddenly remembering the Profound Nether True Understanding, he burst into maniacal laughter. Yes, he was the victor after all.

Never before had it been so exhilarating to triumph over a junior!

"Hahahaha!" He laughed with excessive delight. In that precise moment, Lu Yuan commanded the Suppressing Peak Sword to surge forward with savage intensity. A terrifying storm sweeps by, Tong Bainian thought, believing Lu Yuan must be weakened by the Profound Nether True Understanding and possess little remaining strength. Thus, he countered with a casual block, only to...

Crack!

Tong Bainian felt an extremely severe wound open across his right ribcage; his heart had been pierced clean through.

How? How is this possible? He should have been crippled by the Profound Nether True Understanding. How could he maintain such excellent condition to execute me? Tong Bainian knew instantly that his injury was fatal.

How humiliating! To lose to a junior. He must be the first Sword Immortal-level cultivator above Longevity Eighth Level to be defeated by this junior, Lu Yuan.

He had disgraced the reputation of all Sword Immortals above Longevity Eighth Level.

——————

After slaying Tong Bainian with a single sword stroke, Lu Yuan lightly flicked his blade. The blood instantly flew away from the sword’s surface. With a graceful turn, he slid the Suppressing Peak Sword back into its sheath. "A pity, it hasn't even been the time for one stick of incense." The Profound Nether Transformation technique guaranteed that he would remain unharmed by the Profound Nether True Understanding for the duration of one stick of incense.

Right, now it was time to examine the spoils of this battle.

Tong Bainian was, after all, at the peak of the Longevity Ninth Level. Even if he was considered the weakest among them, his loot shouldn't be insignificant. Lu Yuan scanned the area with his divine sense and quickly located the spatial artifact. It turned out to be the ice-carved ring Tong Bainian wore on his finger. If he hadn't looked closely, he never would have noticed. His hand grasped the void, and the ice-carved ring settled into his palm.

What an enormous spatial artifact. Lu Yuan projected his divine sense inside and discovered that this artifact possessed a storage space far larger than his own Small Sumeru Pouch, likely the size of two or three rooms.

Not bad. I can keep this. I’ve been running short on spatial artifacts lately.

Looking further inside, the resources were truly abundant.

The first thing he noticed were seven mid-grade spirit stones. Having seven mid-grade spirit stones on his person—Tong Bainian was truly wealthy. In all his previous battles, Lu Yuan had never encountered an opponent with such vast personal wealth.

He also found a Spirit Sealing Tablet. Probing it with his divine sense caused a small shock. Within the tablet were several ice-like, jade-like ice whales. Their massive bodies shimmered brilliantly, appearing fragile enough to shatter easily, though he knew that wasn't the reality. Counting them gave him a start—there were nine in total. That was an astonishing number, a full nine ice whales. While he didn't immediately need them, he could trade them for Cloud Whales later.

Searching carefully with his divine sense, he located seven Great Soul Stones, though, disappointingly, no extremely precious Soul Crystals.

Ah, this was it. Lu Yuan’s divine sense detected a book. He pulled it out: it was a partial copy of the Profound Nether True Understanding. The original volume naturally resided with the Profound Nether Sect, but Tong Bainian possessed this incomplete manuscript. The Profound Nether True Understanding wasn't bad; it could freeze and injure the bodies of other cultivators through prolonged contact. It was a useful manual for protracted battles.

Rummaging further, he discovered a letter. Upon reading it, he learned the real reason Tong Bainian had betrayed the Profound Nether Sect. After Xuan Ming Zi was slain by Yan Cang Tian, the Profound Nether Sect split into two factions, locked in endless internal strife. Tong Bainian’s defection was orchestrated by the internal politics of the sect.

The Profound Nether Sect wished to pledge allegiance to the Heaven-Aiding Alliance to clash with the righteous Immortal Sects. However, neither of the current leaders, Xuan Lu Ke nor Ming Bi Weng, possessed grand strategy. They wanted to challenge the righteous Immortal Sects but feared retaliation, so they devised a plan: those joining the Heaven-Aiding Alliance would carry the label of 'traitor.' That way, if trouble arose, the righteous Immortal Sects couldn't trace them back, as they were defectors joining the alliance.

Tong Bainian, a Longevity Ninth Level expert, left the Profound Nether Sect expecting to join the Heaven-Aiding Alliance, only to discover the minimum requirement for formal membership was the Great Dao Realm. Afterward, Tong Bainian joined Yuan Ling Shang Ren’s faction and became a member of North Ling Mountain.

Finally understanding the full sequence of events, Lu Yuan collected all these resources and then looked toward the remaining five or six members of North Ling Mountain.

"Can any of you tell me the current situation on the North Peak?" Lu Yuan asked.