Long Jiuyuan was, of course, Long Yueyou's elder brother.
Endowed with extraordinary talent, he was the most outstanding figure among the younger generation of the Long family.
From Qi Condensation to the peak of Soul Formation, it had taken him barely over a hundred years.
Regrettably, due to the rarity of animas of Heaven and Earth, such a genius could only remain stranded at the Soul Formation realm.
A full hundred-plus years had passed since, and only today did the dawn finally arrive.
"Fellow Daoist Long, may I ask where Brother Jiuyuan obtained the anima of Heaven and Earth he offered for his Dao Integration?"
After some enthusiastic celebration, the cultivators present could not help but ask in curiosity.
Long Yueyou hesitated for a moment. But reflecting that everyone here was on their side, and that his elder brother had already succeeded in Dao Integration, the existence of that anima of Heaven and Earth was no longer a secret.
Seeing everyone's curious, expectant gazes, Long Yueyou ultimately could not suppress the pride in his heart, and said slowly, "It was truly my brother's destiny!
"He garrisoned Tianling Province for over thirty years. Once, while out on a mission, he discovered a bizarre sight in the deep mountains.
"From the outside, the mountain looked no different from an ordinary peak. But inside, what should have been hard rock had turned entirely into a pitch-black, viscous mire.
"The mire radiated an ominous aura. Any living creature that strayed into it—even magical artifacts or Dao art attacks—would be swallowed, assimilated, and vanish without a trace.
"By all reason, any creature with spiritual awareness would feel a faint unease in such a perilous place and subconsciously avoid it.
"Yet my brother noticed something strange."
Here, Long Yueyou paused slightly.
As if deliberately whetting their appetites, he waited until he saw the cultivators squirming with curiosity before continuing with evident satisfaction, "Around that black mire, all living things rushed toward it like moths to a flame, vying with one another and throwing their lives away to plunge into the black mire.
"Even cultivators were no exception. My brother's Dao heart is exceptionally resolute, yet after staying near the black mire for a while, even he could hardly resist the urge to walk into it."
Some of the cultivators caught on immediately and gasped, "A fatal allure..."
"Could it be that this black mire was that anima of Heaven and Earth?"
Long Yueyou nodded slightly. "Precisely! My brother realized that as well. Having been trapped in the Soul Formation realm for years, he was naturally wild with joy.
"However, he also knew that an anima of Heaven and Earth was the manifestation of a law, and terribly difficult to deal with. Thus, he forcefully suppressed the restlessness in his heart and pulled back.
"After sealing the mountain's entrance with a secret technique, he quietly returned to Tianling City.
"Thereafter, he alerted no one, quietly making preparations all by himself.
"It took half a month before my brother, fully prepared, found another excuse to return to the deep mountains.
"After using a formation to seal off the surroundings and prevent outsiders from noticing, he finally tried attacking the black mire.
"Yet just as before, all attacks vanished like clay oxen plunging into the sea, failing to provoke the slightest reaction."
Long Yueyou narrowed his eyes, seemingly recalling what Long Jiuyuan had told him. "For three full days, my brother tried every method, but could not inflict the slightest harm on the black mire.
"At that moment, recalling the scenes of all those years he had been trapped in the Soul Formation realm, he finally made up his mind.
"With the determination of success or death, he leapt straight into the black mire!"
Hearing this, the cultivators present drew in a cold breath.
Asking themselves honestly, had they been in his shoes, they likely would not have possessed such courage.
Who knew what was inside the black mire? Jumping in like that—wasn't it simply throwing one's life away?
Even without Dao Integration, a Soul Formation cultivator could still dominate an entire region and lord over others.
Yet once dead, none of that would matter.
Yet Long Jiuyuan had done just that!
While amazed, everyone felt genuine admiration from the depths of their hearts.
"I had long heard that Long Jiuyuan possesses unmatched courage far beyond ordinary men. Seeing this today, the rumors were not only unexaggerated, but actually underestimated Brother Jiuyuan!"
"No wonder Brother Jiuyuan could call so many Dao Integration Immortal Venerables his brothers while still at Soul Formation!"
"Haha, to be able to address him as Brother Jiuyuan is truly our great honor as well!"
...
Listening to the praise heaped upon Long Jiuyuan by those present, Long Yueyou looked proud, feeling quite elated.
After all, he and Long Jiuyuan were born of the same mother, sharing a deep bond where one's glory was the other's.
Flattering Long Jiuyuan was flattering him!
After a long while, Long Yueyou cleared his throat lightly and resumed, "After entering the black mire, the protective magical artifacts on my brother were consumed at a terrifying speed.
"Mind you, these were specially crafted by a Dao Integration friend of his skilled in artifact refinement.
"Had they been ordinary protective artifacts bought from the Heavenly Profound Mirror, they likely would have been corroded away long ago.
"With little safe time remaining, my brother was alarmed but did not panic. Rather than flailing about like a headless fly, he closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and sensed the changes in the black mire.
"This black mire was like the deepest, darkest ocean; aside from my brother, there was no sign of life whatsoever.
"Yet my brother could faintly sense that within this supposedly dead-silent black mire, wave-like tremors rippled out from time to time.
"It felt as though something was churning deep within the black mire.
"So my brother followed these ripples and explored deep into the mire.
"Heaven never cuts off all paths—just as the protective artifacts he had prepared were about to be completely exhausted...
"He finally found the source of those strange ripples!"
At the most critical moment, Long Yueyou abruptly halted.
A strange glint flashed in his eyes before he lowered his voice and told the crowd, "In the center of that black mire, one could faintly make out a blurry black figure.
"Not a cultivator, but a humanoid entity formed from twisted, turbid black mire.
"The anima of Heaven and Earth!
"Yet that was not what shocked my brother the most. Because besides the black mire, another object existed before him."
Long Yueyou took a deep breath and delivered the answer:
"It appeared to be a broken sword. The overwhelming fiendish aura surging within it was enough to make even my brother, who had personally slain countless Five Elders Association cultivators, shudder with fear.
"The broken sword thrashed and darted about frantically, while the black mire used its very body as a cage to trap it!"
...
The black mire turned into a sea, using its body to cage a sword!
The bizarre and eerie scene Long Yueyou described left everyone awestruck.
They began speculating one after another about the origin of this broken sword.
Meanwhile, ten thousand li away, Li Fan, who was flying toward a certain place, suddenly halted in his tracks.
"The Heaven Fiend Sword?!"
Chapter 550