I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

Over the next two days, the tide of demons grew more ferocious with each passing day.

On the second night, a large number of elite beings at the mid-Nascent Soul stage began to appear among the surging demons.

They are larger, have harder shells, and their attacks are accompanied by a corrosive black aura.

The defensive formation of Huangtu City was completely torn apart at midnight, forcing the cultivators to retreat to the inner city and fight street battles in the alleys.

That night, more than a hundred people died in battle.

The corpses piled up like mountains beneath the city walls, their blood staining the yellow earth a dark red.

At dawn, the members of the Crimson Flame Sect had to use fire magic to burn the corpses, otherwise the demons would devour the corpses of their companions and evolve.

On the third night, even a three-headed "General-level" demon with late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation appeared among the demons.

Yan Lie personally took action, engaging the strongest general-level alien demon in a fierce battle for half an hour, ultimately killing it at the cost of severe injuries. The white-robed youth lost an arm, and the burly man wielding twin swords had his chest and abdomen pierced, nearly dying.

The cultivators from all sects suffered heavy casualties. Of the more than three hundred defenders, less than two hundred remained after two nights. Many began to regret entering the Hundred Sects Battlefield—no matter how good the opportunity, you still have to be alive to seize it.

But Qin Yuan remained calm.

On the second night, during the street battle, he rescued three besieged cultivators, one of whom was the missing Han Bing. Han Bing was already seriously injured and on the verge of death; if Qin Yuan hadn't arrived in time, she would probably have become food for the alien demons.

On the third night, Qin Yuan even went out of the city and hunted down more than a dozen elite demons at the edge of the demonic tide, including a newly promoted general-level demon—although it was only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, it was still worth five thousand points.

Two nights later, his points have exceeded 20,000, reaching 21800, firmly holding the top spot on the Huangtucheng points leaderboard.

This result left everyone speechless.

"Just who is that guy?!"

"Xuan Yuan Sect... I've never heard of it?"

"Could it be a hidden genius from some powerful sect, deliberately using the identity of someone from a minor sect for training?"

Amidst the discussions, Qin Yuan's reputation spread far and wide throughout Huangtu City.

Even Yan Lie had specifically sought him out once, his attitude much more polite than before: "Fellow Daoist Qin's strength is astonishing. Would you be interested in joining my Crimson Flame Sect? After the Hundred Sects War ends, I can recommend you to become a true disciple directly."

Qin Yuan declined.

On the morning of the third day, the tide of demons receded.

Qin Yuan arrived at the agreed location, thirty miles east of the city, as promised.

It was a dried-up riverbed with several huge stone pillars standing on it, like the remnants of an ancient ruin. When Qin Yuan arrived, four people were already waiting there.

Besides Li Qingfeng, who invited them, there were three others.

A burly man dressed in animal skins, with bulging muscles, carrying a giant axe taller than a man, exuding a violent aura, was Tuoba Shan of the "Barbarian King Sect".

A woman in a purple dress, with a charming face and a cold look in her eyes, was playing with a long purple whip in her hand. She was Su Meier from "Hundred Flowers Valley".

The last one was a pale-faced young man in black robes, surrounded by a faint aura of death, with several skulls hanging from his waist. He was Yin Jiuyou of the Corpse Yin Sect.

All four were at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, their auras solid and condensed, clearly indicating they were all geniuses from their respective sects.

Upon seeing Qin Yuan, Li Qingfeng greeted him with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Qin is indeed true to his word. Come, let me introduce you..."

He introduced them one by one, and the three of them scrutinized Qin Yuan with their eyes.

Tuoba Shan asked in a deep voice, "Brother Li, are you sure you haven't come to the wrong person?"

Su Meier covered her mouth and chuckled, "The little brother is quite handsome, but I wonder how strong he is~"

Yin Jiuyou didn't speak, but stared at Qin Yuan, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes—he couldn't see through the depth of this Nascent Soul cultivator.

Li Qingfeng said solemnly, "Everyone, do not underestimate Fellow Daoist Qin. During the demonic tide two nights ago, he single-handedly killed a general-level demon, and his points have exceeded 20,000."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three men changed.

General-level Otherworldly Demon? 20,000 points?

Even if the four of them joined forces, killing a general-level demon would come at a considerable cost. And this gray-robed youth was able to kill it all by himself?

"Since Brother Li says so, then I have no objection." Tuoba Shan put away his contempt.

Su Meier's eyes sparkled: "Little brother, you must protect your big sister when we enter the secret realm later~"

Yin Jiuyou remained silent, but nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Li Qingfeng began to explain the situation: "According to the ancient records of my sect, this secret realm is called the 'Frosty Secret Realm,' the cave dwelling of an ancient ice-elemental powerhouse. The cave dwelling is protected by an array, and it requires at least five Nascent Soul stage cultivators working together to open it."

He paused, then added, "Deep within the secret realm, the remains and legacy of that powerful being may be hidden. But it is fraught with danger; besides the array formations and restrictions, there is also the possibility of encountering ice-type demonic beasts, or even... ice corpses."

"An ice corpse?" Su Meier frowned.

"After that powerful being fell, the ice-type spiritual energy he emitted froze everything around him. Some beings were frozen in the instant of their death, turning into ice corpses. Although they had no intelligence, they retained some of their strength from their previous lives, making them extremely difficult to deal with," Li Qingfeng explained.

As Qin Yuan listened, a hint of doubt arose in his heart.

Li Qingfeng is a disciple of the Book and Sword Sect, ranked fifteenth in the sect, and is quite powerful. Logically, he could have easily recruited teammates in a city controlled by his own sect, so why did he choose to come to Huangtu City, which is controlled by the Crimson Flame Sect?

And why did they specifically seek out a disciple from a bottom-ranked sect like myself?

"Fellow Daoist Li," Qin Yuan began, "the 'Azure Stone City' controlled by the Book and Sword Sect isn't far from here. Why not recruit teammates there?"

Li Qingfeng remained calm and smiled, "I have already recruited two fellow Daoists in Qing Shi City. But I am still short one. I heard that there is a Fellow Daoist Qin with amazing strength in Huang Tu City, so I came here specifically."

These words were perfectly reasonable, but Qin Yuan still felt that something was off.

But he didn't care.

With strength in hand, all schemes and tricks are futile.

"Let's go," he said calmly.

The five people traveled a hundred miles along the riverbed and came to a frozen valley.

The entrance to the valley was covered by a thick layer of ice, engraved with intricate array patterns, radiating a bone-chilling cold. The temperature here was tens of degrees lower than outside, and exhaled breath instantly condensed into ice crystals.

"This is it." Li Qingfeng took out five jade talismans and distributed them to everyone. "According to ancient records, the five people should simultaneously inject their spiritual power into the jade talismans and then stand according to the five elements to open the entrance."

Everyone did as instructed.

Five streams of spiritual energy were channeled into the jade talisman, causing it to glow with different colors. The five people then positioned themselves according to the directions of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and pressed the jade talisman against the ice layer.

"Buzz—!!"

The ice layer trembled violently, and the array patterns lit up one by one. After a moment, a crack appeared in the center of the ice layer, and the crack widened, transforming into an ice gate three zhang high.

Inside the gate was a vast, white world of ice and snow.

"Go in!" Li Qingfeng stepped in first.

Qin Yuan followed closely behind.