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

Qin Yuan's voice rang out calmly. At the same time, he took a step forward, standing directly in front of the colossal pillar of starlight that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and the earth.

Faced with this attack, which was enough to severely injure or even kill an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Qin Yuan slowly raised his right hand.

Five fingers, clenched into a fist.

A flash of dark golden light appeared and disappeared on the fist.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzling skills.

It was just a simple, unadorned punch, aimed straight at the roaring pillar of starlight!

The fist is thrown, the wind stops, and the clouds stagnate.

The air by the cold pool seemed to freeze.

Wen Ruohai stood in front of Qin Yuan, unleashing the full power of his early-stage Nascent Soul realm aura, which clashed violently with Chen Xingzi's vast and icy star power, producing a hissing sound.

However, the slight weakness in his aura became unmistakable in such close combat.

Chen Xingzi's face was indifferent, his fingertips sparkling with starlight, and the giant pillar of starlight, which was more than ten feet thick, had already slammed to within three feet of Qin Yuan!

Just as Wen Ruohai gritted his teeth, about to activate the secret technique—

A gentle yet powerful force emanated from Qin Yuan's hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him back a few steps.

In an instant.

Qin Yuan took a step forward, facing the earth-shattering starlight, and threw a punch!

The dark golden fist energy was simple and unadorned, barely even making a sound.

The next moment—

"BOOM—!!!"

The fist's energy clashed violently with the giant pillar of starlight!

There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected. The massive pillar of starlight, upon contact with the dark golden fist aura, crumbled and vanished inch by inch, like fragile glass colliding with ancient iron, starting from its tip!

For the first time, a crack appeared on Chen Xingzi's usually stern face, and his pupils contracted sharply. He felt his condensed star power being forcibly destroyed and dissipated by a more concentrated and domineering force!

The collapse spread extremely quickly; in the blink of an eye, the entire pillar of starlight completely disintegrated, turning into countless specks of light that drifted down from the sky. The dark golden fist-shaped beam, though slightly dimmed and its momentum diminished, still carried a terrifying power as it continued to bombard Chen Xingzi!

Chen Xingzi snorted coldly, and with his hands he drew a line in front of his chest. Points of starlight quickly condensed and transformed into a star shield with sharp edges, which he held in front of him.

"Thump!"

The fist struck the star shield, producing a dull sound like the beating of a giant drum. The star shield trembled violently, and fine cracks appeared on its surface. Chen Xingzi swayed slightly, taking half a step back to dissipate the force, his eyes filled with even more surprise and doubt.

This punch actually shattered his Starfall Finger and shook his Star Protection Body? This kid's spiritual power and physical strength far exceeded his expectations!

Meanwhile, at the same time Qin Yuan threw a punch, Chi Liao and his two deputies also moved.

"Now's the time! Kill Wen Ruohai!" Chi Liao's single eye flashed with a fierce light as he and his two late-stage Nascent Soul subordinates rushed towards Wen Ruohai, who had been pushed back by Qin Yuan.

The three formed a triangular formation, with Chi Liao in the center as the main attacker, his hands transforming into crimson claws that tore through the air; his left and right assistants, one wielding a sword that unleashed a blazing blade of light, and the other making hand seals to trigger an eruption of earth fire, worked in perfect coordination, sealing off all of Wen Ruohai's escape routes.

Their plan was clear—Chen Xingzi would entangle or even suppress Qin Yuan, while the three of them would quickly deal with the injured Wen Ruohai, and then join forces to attack Qin Yuan!

Wen Ruohai's face turned pale, his old wounds throbbed with pain, and his breathing became labored.

However, he was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator. Despite being alarmed by the attack from three Nascent Soul cultivators, he remained calm and composed. With a flick of his whisk, thousands of silver threads surged forth, transforming into a silver waterfall-like light curtain to meet the three's attack.

"Boom! Boom boom!"

Crimson claws, blazing blade light, and surging earth fire struck the silver light barrier almost simultaneously. The light barrier trembled violently, the silver threads snapped one by one, and Wen Ruohai groaned, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as he staggered backward.

Ultimately, he was already injured and had to fight hastily. Facing the combined attack of three skilled opponents of the same level, he was already wounded in one move.

"Wen Ruohai, prepare to die!" Seeing that he had gained the upper hand, Chi Liao grinned even more and launched an even more ferocious attack. His two deputies were equally relentless, with flashes of swords and fire flying continuously.

Wen Ruohai was struggling to defend himself. Though he managed to parry with his whisk, he was mostly on the defensive and his defeat was imminent, his situation fraught with danger. He felt bitter. If it weren't for the lingering injuries from the previous battle in Qing Shi City, how could he have been forced into such a predicament by three late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators? Now, not only could he not help Qin Yuan, but he had become a burden…

"Senior Wen, it seems your injuries are more severe than I thought," Chi Liao taunted while launching a fierce attack. "With your condition, you dare to enter the secret realm? You're courting death!"

Wen Ruohai gritted his teeth and remained silent, only wielding his whisk even more frantically, a sense of powerlessness and guilt welling up in his heart.

He looked towards Qin Yuan's direction and saw that Qin Yuan and Chen Xingzi were already fighting on the same side, their figures intertwined, dark golden light and brilliant star power constantly colliding, the air waves rolling, and they were actually... evenly matched.

How is this possible?! Chen Xingzi is a genius who can contend with someone in the early stages of the Nascent Soul realm! No matter how strong Qin Yuan is, he's only at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm!

Just as Wen Ruohai's mind was racing and his defense faltered for a moment—

"Sizzle!"

Chi Liao's crimson claws finally tore through the silver light barrier, leaving three deep, bone-revealing bloody gashes on his shoulder! Wen Ruohai groaned in pain and retreated violently, almost dropping his whisk.

"It's over!" Chi Liao's eyes flashed with ferocity as he and his two deputies unleashed their killing moves simultaneously. The three violent crimson flame attacks merged into one, like a torrent of fire, and crashed into the heavily injured and staggering Wen Ruohai!

This attack was unavoidable!

A flicker of despair crossed Wen Ruohai's eyes. Was he truly destined to perish here today? Had he betrayed Lord Qin's trust...?

At the critical moment—

A dark golden figure appeared out of thin air in front of Wen Ruohai, like a ghost.

It's Qin Yuan!

While he was engaged in a fierce battle with Chen Xingzi, he managed to break free and stand in front of Wen Ruohai!

Qin Yuan then drew his left hand together like a sword and slashed it through the air at the surging torrent of flames.

A fine, pale gold line, condensed to its fullest extent, flashed by.

"hiss--!"

Like a hot knife cutting through butter, the massive torrent of flames was silently sliced ​​apart by this thin line, splitting into two streams that roared past Qin Yuan and Wen Ruohai on either side of their bodies, crashing into the iceberg behind them and blasting open two huge, charred craters.

The three men from Chi Liao who launched the attack froze in horror, their sinister smiles turning into utter shock. Their combined, all-out attack had been so easily neutralized?

What terrified them even more was that almost simultaneously after Qin Yuan made that finger gesture, he struck out with his right palm. A solid, dark gold palm print flew out of his hand, accurately striking the starlight shuttle launched by Chen Xingzi, who was pursuing them.

"Bang!"

The palm print and the starlight shuttle both vanished. Chen Xingzi's figure appeared not far away, his face terrifyingly gloomy.

He was actually outmaneuvered by a mere Nascent Soul Peak cultivator who managed to escape during a direct confrontation to save someone and even easily deflect his attack? What a disgrace!

Qin Yuan stood in front of Wen Ruohai, his gray robes fluttering in the wind. He calmly swept his gaze over Chi Liao and the other two, then looked at Chen Xingzi and said indifferently, "You are too slow."