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

"Rules?" Tuoba Shan slammed his giant axe on the ground, his voice booming with a cold laugh. "I only recognize the rules of might!"

Su Meier's eyes flickered, but her voice turned cold: "Brother Yanlie, are you perhaps planning to bully the weak with numbers? If word gets out, it will damage the reputation of the Crimson Flame Sect."

A red-robed disciple behind Yan Lie shouted sternly, "Why waste words with these petty thieves! Kill them, and the spoils will be ours!"

Yan Lie raised his hand to stop his men, his gaze sweeping over Qin Yuan and his group of five, finally settling on Qin Yuan. A hint of fear flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness: "I'll say it one last time—hand over the items and leave the secret realm. Otherwise, this place will be your burial ground."

Qin Yuan remained silent and observed.

Yan Lie's tough stance was expected. The Crimson Flame Sect was powerful, and acting domineeringly was their norm.

To his slight surprise, the three non-Crimson Flame Sect cultivators behind Yan Lie were a scarred man wielding a knife, a gaunt old man holding a bone staff, and a glamorous woman.

The three men exuded a sinister aura, unlike those of the righteous path. They also maintained a subtle distance from the Crimson Flame Sect disciples, and their eyes flickered, clearly indicating that each had their own plans.

The hastily assembled team lacked cohesion. Qin Yuan made this judgment instantly.

"Anyone is welcome to this unmarked place," Qin Yuan finally spoke, his voice calm yet clearly reaching everyone's ears amidst the howling wind. "If we can't reach an agreement, then let's rely on our own abilities."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air inside the canyon seemed to freeze.

A cold glint flashed in Yan Lie's eyes: "You're courting death!"

He pushed his hands forward suddenly, and a crimson fire dragon, even more solid than before, roared out, its head ferocious, rushing straight at Li Qingfeng!

Almost simultaneously, three disciples of the Crimson Flame Sect behind him formed an array, and three pillars of fire erupted from the ground, blocking Li Qingfeng's escape routes to the left and right.

"Make your move!" Li Qingfeng shouted in a low voice. The scroll unfurled, and the golden characters transformed into a shield wall.

Tuoba Shan roared, his body growing three times larger, and swung his giant axe in a wide arc towards the side of the fire dragon.

Su Meier's long whip lashed out like a venomous snake, striking the three disciples who had formed an array. Yin Jiuyou's figure blurred, transforming into several gray shadows as he pounced on the scarred man behind Yan Lie.

A chaotic battle erupted instantly!

Qin Yuan didn't move. He was waiting.

Sure enough, from the opposing camp, the gaunt old man wielding a bone staff and the alluring woman attacked him from the left and right respectively.

The old man tapped his bone staff, and three gray-white arrows shot out silently, their arrowheads shrouded in a decaying aura.

The woman chuckled, and several pink silk ribbons flew out from her sleeves, coiling around Qin Yuan's limbs like serpents.

One was at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and the other was at the peak of the early-stage Nascent Soul realm. The probing attacks, neither too strong nor too weak, perfectly reflected Qin Yuan's current apparent strength at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Qin Yuan shifted his feet slightly, his figure drifting like a wisp of smoke. Three gray-white energy arrows grazed past him, corroding three deep pits in the ice wall.

The pink ribbon was now empty. He casually raised his hand, his index and middle fingers joined together, and made a sweeping motion in the air.

A thin, pale golden line flashed by.

The thin thread, though seemingly weak, precisely cut into the point where the pink ribbon's spiritual energy flowed.

The woman's face changed drastically. She felt the magical artifact connected to her mind suddenly lose control, and the silk ribbons drooped softly.

At the same time, Qin Yuan appeared beside the old man.

The old man was shocked and blocked with his bone staff. Green will-o'-the-wisps emerged from the skull's eyes on the staff's head.

Qin Yuan pointed his fingers like swords, the tips of his fingers gleaming with a jade-like luster, and gently touched the middle of the bone staff.

"Click."

A crisp snapping sound. The seemingly sturdy bone staff had broken in two!

The ghostly flames clinging to it backfired, and the old man groaned, spitting out blood as he flew backward, crashing into the ice wall and collapsing.

Seeing the situation was bad, the woman turned to flee. Qin Yuan made a grabbing motion with his left hand, and a large hand of spiritual energy appeared out of thin air, firmly grasping her. With a slight exertion, the woman screamed and fainted.

The entire exchange lasted only three breaths. One was injured, and the other was captured.

Qin Yuan casually tossed the unconscious woman aside and glanced at the battlefield.

With the help of Tuoba Shan, Li Qingfeng barely managed to withstand Yan Lie's fierce attacks, but the golden shield wall with characters was already covered with cracks.

Su Meier wielded her long whip with impenetrable skill, entangled the three disciples of the Crimson Flame Sect, and for a time it was difficult to determine a winner.

Yin Jiuyou and the scarred man fought to a standstill, their deadly auras intertwined with the glint of their blades.

Meanwhile, the other companion brought by the gaunt old man—a young man in black who had remained silent—was currently fighting Han Bing, the weakest member of the group. Han Bing was struggling to defend himself, and blood was already visible on his chest; he was clearly at a disadvantage.

Qin Yuan took a step and his figure disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared behind the young man in black. The young man was about to slash at Han Bing's neck with all his might when he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind his head. He turned around in horror and blocked the attack with his sword.

"clang--!!"

Qin Yuan slammed his fist into the blade. The force of the punch traveled through the blade and surged into the young man's arm like a raging torrent.

The young man's hand split open, his long sword flew out of his hand, and he was sent flying backward like a broken sack, crashing heavily against the ice wall. Blood gushed out, and he was clearly incapacitated.

Han Bing, having narrowly escaped death, gasped for breath and looked at Qin Yuan with eyes full of gratitude: "Senior Brother Qin..."

Qin Yuan nodded slightly, turning his gaze to Li Qingfeng. Yan Lie, unable to break through, grew increasingly agitated, the fire dragon's power intensifying. Blood trickled from the corner of Li Qingfeng's mouth, and the golden shield wall was on the verge of shattering.

"Brother Tuoba, help me!" Li Qingfeng shouted urgently.

Tuoba Shan roared repeatedly, hacking wildly with his giant axe, but Yan Lie was agile and always managed to dodge the axe's edge. He then struck Tuoba Shan's shoulder with a fiery palm, tearing Tuoba Shan's skin and causing him to stagger backward.

At this very moment, Qin Yuan moved again, darting between Yan Lie and Li Qingfeng like a ghost.

Just as Yan Lie was about to press his advantage, he suddenly felt a chilling aura lock onto him. His heart tightened, and without hesitation, he abandoned Li Qingfeng, the fire dragon changing direction and roaring as it lunged at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan neither dodged nor avoided, but stretched out his right hand with his five fingers spread, and pressed it lightly against the ferocious dragon head.

"town."

There was no earth-shattering roar. When the mighty fire dragon rushed to within three feet of Qin Yuan's palm, it seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall of bronze and iron. The dragon's head suddenly stopped, twisted, and then... disintegrated inch by inch!

Yan Lie's pupils constricted sharply in disbelief. He had used seventy percent of his strength in that attack, something even a cultivator of the same level wouldn't dare to take head-on. Yet this person had caught it barehanded, and with such nonchalance?!

The disintegrating fire dragon transformed into countless sparks. Qin Yuan's palm passed through the sparks and struck Yan Lie's chest.

Yan Lie roared wildly, his body erupting in flames that transformed into a set of crimson armor. He then unleashed both fists to meet Qin Yuan's palm strike head-on.

"boom--!!"

Fist and palm collided, a violent shockwave exploded, the ice walls on both sides trembled violently, and countless ice spikes fell down.

Yan Lie felt an overwhelming force surge through him, and his crimson armor was instantly covered in cracks. He groaned and his body slid backward uncontrollably, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ice. He barely managed to steady himself ten feet away, his face flushed and his throat tasted metallic.

He stared intently at Qin Yuan, fear flashing in his eyes for the first time. This was definitely not an ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator! Perhaps… even more than a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!