But a moment's recollection brought clarity: the Cycle of Life and Death Plate actually absorbed the opponent's lifespan—yes, lifespan. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called the Cycle of Life and Death Plate. And lifespan, fundamentally, could not be absorbed directly; it could only dissipate into the cosmos. The twist was that he was facing a Sword Intent Monster, a bizarre entity formed from the confluence of various sword intents. The vitality sustaining such a life was derived from all manner of sword intents; its lifespan, in essence, was sword intent. Once all one hundred and one sword intents were depleted, the monster would meet its demise. Therefore, the Cycle of Life and Death Plate was still absorbing lifespan, it was just that the Sword Intent Monster's lifespan manifested as sword intent. Suddenly, things had taken a strange turn.

Hahaha, Lu Yuan felt an overwhelming urge to laugh three times aloud. He had underestimated it!

It could work like this? Directly absorbing sword intent was even possible? Perhaps very few throughout history had ever played this game. Of course, that wasn't entirely accurate. Throughout the ages, which genius blessed with great fortune, which peerless genius, hadn't been heaped with incredible opportunities? Lu Yuan was merely quite average among them; the Sword Son’s string of fortunes was no less than Lu Yuan's own.

Naturally, there was another question: wasn't it said that one could not absorb the lifespan of someone deemed invincible? Why could he absorb that of the Sword Intent Monster? This, too, was a coincidence. Against a normal enemy at the peak of the Grand Dao Ninth Heaven, Lu Yuan truly stood no chance. However, the current problem was that the Sword Intent Monster was composed purely of sword intent, and Lu Yuan possessed the Body of the Sword Emperor, which inherently exerted a degree of suppression over it. These converging factors had led to the current situation.

Lifting his gaze, he checked what sword intent he had just absorbed. Among the forty-four ancient talismans, he found a newly manifested one. This talisman was inscribed with the ancient character "" (Hán - Cold). Was this the Cold Sword Intent? He carefully felt the Cold Sword Intent and discovered it to be incredibly piercingly cold, seeming poised to freeze all creation, yet within the profound chill, a flicker of vitality was still preserved.

The Cold Sword Intent was acquired!

With a casual flick of his finger, the immensely cold Cold Sword Intent streamed forth. The Cold Sword Intent Finger Strike. Exhilarating!

To master a sword intent so easily!

Lu Yuan faced the Sword Intent Monster, his expression perfectly sincere, utterly candid, genuinely honest, and profoundly faithful. "I truly must thank you. My deepest gratitude."

The Sword Intent Monster hadn't yet grasped what had happened. Moreover, with its current intelligence level, it truly could not comprehend Lu Yuan's utterly sincere, candid, genuinely honest, and profoundly faithful thanks. It shrieked wildly, "Why? Why is one of my sword intents missing? Where did it go?"

After a long moment, the Sword Intent Monster finally fixed its gaze on Lu Yuan. "You stole my sword intent."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Precisely because I knew this that I must thank you."

The Sword Intent Monster shrieked in fury. "I will kill you!" The monster immediately waved a hand, conjuring a wavering, ethereal sword qi—a sword qi so elusive that even Lu Yuan’s sharp vision struggled to track it. However, none of that mattered. Lu Yuan raised his hand, expended one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, and reactivated the Cycle of Life and Death Plate.

Instantly, profound, mystical changes occurred upon the plate, as if some fundamental rule of heaven and earth was shifting in that very moment.

Lu Yuan was prepared. Another talisman floated up from the center of the forty-four talismans above his head, bringing the total to forty-five ancient talismans. Lu Yuan looked closer and saw this new talisman was inscribed with "" (Piāo - Drift/Float). What was this sword intent used for? Lu Yuan felt a touch of curiosity.

With a movement of his hand... the Floating Sword Qi was released from his fingertip. As soon as this sword qi emerged, it appeared airy and scattered, frustratingly difficult to pin down. This was also a highly useful sword intent for close combat. When applied to a blade, it made the opponent unable to predict the true target of the attack, granting immense advantage in actual battle.

Another sword intent gained, how wonderful!

Lu Yuan was filled with elation. He looked happily at the Sword Intent Monster. "You are truly a good person—oh, wait, a good monster."

The Sword Intent Monster continued to wail. With its limited intellect, it could not fathom what was occurring, why it had successively lost two sword intents. It waved its hand again, unleashing a sword move reminiscent of a spring breeze turning into gentle rain. Lu Yuan showed no mercy; one hundred mid-grade spirit stones ignited, once more spurring the Cycle of Life and Death Plate into action, shamelessly absorbing this sword intent as well.

Immediately, the forty-sixth ancient talisman appeared above his head. A quick glance revealed the character "" (Chūn - Spring) inscribed upon it—another ancient talisman of Spring.

This Sword Intent Monster was truly a rare and excellent monster. In such a short span of time, it had gifted him three sword intents; one couldn't help but feel gratitude, even if unwillingly.

Lu Yuan mused with deep feeling.

The Sword Intent Monster finally realized something was amiss. Though its intellect wasn't high, losing three sword intents consecutively to Lu Yuan made it react. It glared hatefully at Lu Yuan. That strange, yin-yang fish-like plate was too bizarre; it naturally didn't know it was called the Cycle of Life and Death Plate.

The Sword Intent Monster immediately turned to flee; if it didn't run now, it was doomed.

And Lu Yuan instantly gave chase. "Don't go! Sword Intent Monster, a good monster like you, don't leave!" Lu Yuan’s tone was utterly earnest, deeply sincere. The Sword Intent Monster unleashed several sword intents to accelerate, and Lu Yuan also invoked the White Emperor Sword Dao to speed up, relentlessly pursuing. This monster was his personal feast! It still possessed over ninety sword intents; missing this chance would lead to lifelong regret.

The game of chase resumed, but unlike before, where the Sword Intent Monster pursued and Lu Yuan fled, the roles were now reversed: Lu Yuan chased, and the Sword Intent Monster fled.

One had to admit the Sword Intent Monster’s strength surpassed Lu Yuan’s, yet Lu Yuan's Cycle of Life and Death Plate specialized in consuming its sword intent. If it dared to fight, it would lose sword intent, and the depletion of its sword intent meant the end of its life.

The Sword Intent Monster had only been born a few decades ago. Initially, it had been cautious, reluctant to act rashly. Only after confirming that the terrifying Sages of the Sword Gate could not enter the Sword Scroll realm did it relax somewhat. This time, it hadn't sought out an overwhelmingly powerful foe but had targeted Lu Yuan, assuming victory was certain. In terms of raw magical power among those who entered the Sword Scroll, Lu Yuan was generally among the weaker ones.

Who could have anticipated running into such a formidable opponent? The Sword Intent Monster now felt the urge to weep. Why was its luck so terrible as to encounter a monster capable of absorbing its sword intent? It had clearly categorized Lu Yuan as a monster.

The game of cat and mouse had begun.

However, the Sword Intent Monster’s power was indeed higher than Lu Yuan’s. Generally, when fleeing, it rarely countered with a sword strike. It only resorted to one when cornered by Lu Yuan in a critical moment; failing to counter then might have meant death right there.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, pressed the monster to unleash its sword strikes. Every serious counter he forced meant absorbing one more sword intent—how satisfying! Naturally, there were also moves that didn't utilize sword intent. Such moves were fine for casual use, but deploying them at a crucial moment was tantamount to suicide.

Of course, his ultimate hope was to overwhelm the Sword Intent Monster, kill it utterly, and claim all ninety-plus remaining sword intents, but that wasn't so easily achieved, given the monster possessed the power level of the Grand Dao Ninth Heaven.

He now had forty-six ancient talismans above his head, but another one immediately emerged. This was the ancient talisman for Winter, making it the forty-seventh ancient talisman. The sword finger in his hand shot out. After acquiring any new sword intent, Lu Yuan habitually tested what kind it was.

No matter the sword intent, he had to try using it; if he merely possessed the intent but didn't familiarize himself with its practical application, no amount of acquired intent would be worth anything in actual combat.

The Winter Sword Intent shot out with the finger strike. Lu Yuan found this to be an extremely chilling intent, yet it possessed a fundamental difference from the Cold Sword Intent. Within the Winter Sword Intent, there was a very distinct flavor: Concealment! Winter Storage! This intent was somewhat useful for comprehending the Dao, but its combat utility was somewhat lower, often replaceable by several other sword intents.

After pursuing for a while longer, forcing the Sword Intent Monster into a necessary, serious counter involving sword intent, the Cycle of Life and Death Plate was raised again, consuming one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, instantly capturing that sword intent. A new ancient talisman immediately materialized above his head—the forty-eighth ancient talisman, inscribed with the Beast Sword Intent. Beast Sword Intent! Right, he remembered that in the Nine Yin and Nine Yang technique, the Beast Sword Intent combined with the Fowl Sword Intent could form one of the Nine Yangs.

He hadn't expected to acquire the Beast Sword Intent here! This was key to his comprehension of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang! In this Sword Scroll world, he hadn't seen a single beast or fowl. He wondered how the Sword Intent Monster had comprehended the Beast Sword Intent; Lu Yuan found this utterly strange. He didn't know that while beasts and fowl no longer existed in the Scroll now, when the world was shattered in ancient times, vast numbers of beasts had gathered and perished in one place, leaving behind a thick residue of Beast Sword Intent. This Sword Intent Monster had happened to be born nearby and thus absorbed it. This Beast Sword Intent was one of the core intents that made the monster powerful, and now Lu Yuan had extracted it.

This was a major gain. The Beast Sword Intent was significantly more valuable to him than the Winter Sword Intent. Time to test the effect of the Beast Sword Intent. With a movement of his sword finger, a fierce, primal, bestial sword intent burst forth from between his fingers. This was the Beast Sword Intent; it even made his own heart feel hot and restless, eager to rampage. Primitive, savage, primeval energies flickered between his fingers.

By this point, he possessed forty-eight ancient talismans. Since entering the Sword Scroll, including those from before, eleven sword intents were successfully secured—a truly grand harvest.