Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

Shen Mo's calm words struck everyone's hearts.

The shock of witnessing the fall of the Five Greats was instantly dispelled, replaced by a chilling instinct for survival.

"Go! Go quickly!"

Wang Chuyi was the first to break free. His hand trembled slightly as he poured out the antidote and swallowed it.

As the medicine took effect, a trace of color returned to his pale face.

"Guo Jing, carry Brother Yang on your back!"

"Miss Huang, help Madam Bao up!"

"Six of you, cover the flanks, prepare to break through!"

Guo Jing snapped back to his senses, rushed over, and scooped up the distraught Yang Tiexin on his back.

Huang Rong gritted her teeth, suppressing all the turmoil in her heart, and quickly stepped forward to support Bao Xiruo, whose body was limp.

The Six Heroes of Jiangnan each drew their weapons and formed a tight formation.

The group dared not delay any longer, rushed out of the dilapidated inn, and ran desperately toward the city gate.

The night in Zhongdu changed color.

The towering flames from the Prince Zhao's mansion illuminated half the sky in an ominous orange-red hue.

Inside the city, the sharp sound of horns rose and fell.

The heavy rumble of horses' hooves and the metallic clatter of armor rubbing together converged from all directions.

A vast net woven from steel and murderous intent is rapidly closing in.

With all their might, they finally reached the East Gate before dawn.

The scene before them made everyone's hearts sink to the bottom.

Torches illuminated the city gate tower, where hundreds of Jin soldiers strung their bows and drew their swords, ready for battle.

"Squeak—creak—"

Amidst the sickening clatter of the winch, the heavy, iron-clad city gate, several feet thick, was slowly closing.

The gap was less than three zhang wide.

The guard on the city wall spotted them, and a ferocious murderous intent appeared on his face.

"Anyone who breaks into the house during curfew will be killed without mercy!"

He suddenly waved his hand and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Fire arrows! Close the city gates!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Dozens of arrows pierced the air, carrying a deathly shriek, raining down on the crowd.

The flame of hope that had just ignited in the hearts of the fleeing crowd was instantly extinguished by the icy water of despair.

It was at this moment that...

Shen Mo, who had been walking at the very front, moved.

He ignored the rain of arrows overhead and didn't even glance at the Jin soldiers.

He took only one step forward, facing alone the massive, closing door.

Under everyone's frozen gaze, he took a deep breath, and his innate true energy surged wildly around him.

He stomped his right foot hard, and the bluestone pavement instantly cracked open, sending rubble flying everywhere.

Using the force of the recoil, Shen Mo shot forward like an arrow, his right fist twisting out from his waist. The immense power of the eleventh level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique perfectly merged with the innate true energy, condensing into a point of silver light in front of his fist.

boom!

His fist slammed hard onto the iron plate in the center of the city gate.

In that instant, it felt as if a mountain had crashed into the city gate.

There was no deafening explosion as expected.

There was only a deep, muffled "hum," as if an ancient bell had been struck.

Visible silver ripples spread outwards from the point of contact between the fist and the object.

The city gate, forged from refined iron and capable of withstanding a thousand armies, began to crumble from the inside under the impact of this terrifying force.

First, the iron plate at the point of contact with the fist silently vanished, and then cracks spread outwards like a spider web.

Click! Click!

The heavy iron plate shattered inch by inch under the erosion of the true energy, turning into countless iron filings that fell down in a flurry.

In less than three breaths, a huge gap, taller than a person and with jagged edges yet strangely neat, appeared before everyone's eyes.

Steel, in the face of absolute power, is as fragile as paper.

On the city wall, the general's roar was stuck in his throat, turning into a strange hoarse sound.

The Jin soldier pulling the winch froze in place, his arm muscles still straining, but his mind was blank.

All eyes were fixed on that illogical gap.

"You go first, wait for me at Shilipo outside the city."

Shen Mo withdrew his fist, turned to the side, and calmly gave the order to the petrified crowd behind him.

His words were devoid of emotion, yet no one dared to question them.

"……yes!"

Wang Chuyi was the first to react; he knew that any hesitation at this moment would be a desecration of this miracle.

He grabbed the stunned Guo Jing and clasped his hands in a deep fist salute to Shen Mo's aloof and solitary figure.

"Junior Brother Xuanmo, take care!"

After saying that, he led everyone out through the breach in the city gate without looking back.

Just before Zhu Cong pulled her through the gap, Huang Rong couldn't help but look back.

She gave him a deep look.

The image of that solitary Taoist priest in blue robes, facing a city, was forever etched into her soul.

Shen Mo slowly turned around.

He stood alone, facing the Jin army that was surging wildly in from inside the city gates because of the commotion.

Thousands of infantrymen formed a deathly silent square.

Thousands of heavily armored cavalrymen lined up at the rear of the formation; beneath their cold, iron faces, their breaths were suppressed.

On the city wall, countless archers had already drawn their bows to the fullest extent.

A chilling killing intent overwhelmed him completely, like a tidal wave.

A Jin general rode out, glancing at the ruined city gate and then at the lone Taoist priest.

Extreme anger made his facial features scrunch up.

"Kill him!"

"charge!"

At a command, the first wave of cavalry surged forth.

The earth began to tremble.

Hundreds of heavily armored cavalrymen formed a raging torrent of steel, crushing towards Shen Mo with overwhelming force.

Shen Mo remained standing in the same spot.

He didn't even draw his sword.

He closed his eyes, feeling the silver river within his body formed from a century's worth of innate true energy.

His internal strength, having reached a level of over a century, allowed him to touch upon a new realm.

The so-called "domain" is not some mysterious magic or supernatural power.

Instead, it takes one's own essence, energy, and spirit as the core, and innate true energy as the medium, to completely materialize one's will, power, and killing intent within a specific range!

Any living being that steps into this area will be subjected to his full power at all times!

This is absolute power suppression!

It's a dimensional reduction attack by a high-level martial artist against a low-level being!

However, this method is by no means an unconventional one.

It consumes innate true energy at an extremely rapid rate. Even with his solid foundation of a hundred years of cultivation, he can only sustain it for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea at most when he goes all out.

Shen Mo opened his eyes.

The first warhorse had already charged five zhang in front of him.

He took a deep breath.

boom!

Centered on him, an invisible yet undeniably real and terrifying pressure instantly spread outwards!

Within a radius of three zhang around him, an absolute death zone was created!

The first warhorse to charge in let out a mournful neigh the moment it stepped into the three-zhang-wide area.

The heavily armored knight on horseback felt as if the world had turned upside down, and an indescribable, terrifying pressure was crushing down from all directions at once!

His inner energy was crushed in an instant.

His heavy iron armor, strong enough to withstand swords and blades, groaned under the strain, and dense cracks began to appear on its surface.

"Snap! Snap!"

The armor shattered.

Bone fracture.

Flesh and blood disintegrated.

The knight didn't even have time to utter a scream before his entire body was reduced to a cloud of blood mist and exploded under the invisible crushing force.

Along with his warhorse, they were reduced to mangled pieces of flesh and blood, crashing heavily to the ground.

The second rider, the third rider, the fourth rider...

The cavalry that followed didn't even have time to stop, and one after another they charged into that forbidden zone of death.

They didn't even know what they were facing when, the moment they stepped in, they were crushed alive by an irresistible and terrifying force!

That force is everywhere.

They didn't come from one direction, but from all directions—up, down, left, right, and all sides!

It felt as if countless mountains were pressing inwards at the same time, trying to grind them into the finest powder!

People, horses, weapons, and armor were all reduced to indistinct, bloody remains within a three-zhang radius.

That open space, about three zhang in diameter, became a silent, highly efficient machine of destruction.

But Shen Mo clearly felt that the innate true energy within his body was being rapidly depleted.

Each time someone is killed, a corresponding amount of true energy is consumed to maintain the stability of this "domain".

These ordinary soldiers may be weak, but their sheer number is overwhelming!

With a thought, the forbidden zone of death suddenly shrank.

From three zhang (approximately 13 meters), compressed to one zhang (approximately 3 meters)!

The power remains the same, but the energy consumption is drastically reduced!

Inside and outside the city gates, all was deathly silent.

The Jin general watched this bizarre and terrifying scene unfold before his eyes. Fear gripped his heart, nearly causing him to fall off his horse.

He roared, issuing a distorted command: "Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Shoot him dead!"

The rain of arrows obscured the sky, whistling as they tore through the air, completely covering the location where Shen Mo stood.

However, all the arrows suddenly lost all force when they were within a foot of Shen Mo.

That invisible crushing force also acted on these arrows!

The hard arrowheads and shafts silently disintegrated and broke in mid-air, turning into the finest powder that fell down in a flurry.

Silently, amidst the dust formed by countless arrows, he moved forward slowly.

With each step he took, a portion of his innate true energy was consumed.

But his expression remained calm.

A cup of tea's time is enough.

He finally raised his hand and grasped the hilt of the sword.

Clang!

The ancient sword "Qinghong" is drawn.

The "domain" that had been compressed to one zhang in size instantly dissipated.

But the next moment, all the innate true energy that had been saved was poured into the sword!

He casually swung his sword at the impenetrable infantry formation in front of him.

A dazzling silver sword aura, ten feet long, detached from the sword and swept out horizontally.

Ahead, a complete infantry square of fifty men, armor and all, was cut in half by this sword energy.

The cut is as smooth as a mirror.

As the soldiers' upper bodies slid off their bodies, their lower bodies remained in perfect spear-holding stances.