Gathered Together

Of the Crimson Flame Sect's eleven men, Yan Lie was at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, while three were at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage and seven at the Nascent Soul Early Stage. On Qin Yuan's side were four Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators and himself, a "Nascent Soul Early Stage" cultivator.

On the surface, the disparity in strength was enormous.

But...

Seeing Qin Yuan standing still, one Crimson Flame Sect disciple assumed he had been scared stupid. With a savage grin, he lunged forward. "Brat, hand over your life!"

The longsword in his hand stabbed toward Qin Yuan's throat.

Qin Yuan raised his hand and lightly flicked his index finger.

Clang—!!

The longsword flew from the disciple's grasp. As though struck by a crushing blow, he was sent flying backward, smashing into the ice wall before sliding limply down it, devoid of all breath.

One strike, an instant kill of a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator.

The surroundings fell silent in an instant.

Even Yan Lie and Li Qingfeng, who had been fighting, stopped and stared over in shock.

Qin Yuan slowly walked toward another Crimson Flame Sect disciple.

The disciple's face turned deathly pale as he retreated again and again. "Y-you... don't come any closer!"

Qin Yuan did not stop.

"Attack together!" Yan Lie shouted. "Kill him first!"

The three Nascent Soul Middle Stage disciples of the Crimson Flame Sect charged Qin Yuan at the same time!

One wielded a saber, one held a spear, and one unleashed a fire-element spell. The three joined forces with astounding momentum, raising the temperature within the ice gorge by several degrees.

Qin Yuan still did not stop.

He raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them at the empty air.

"Congeal."

The air within a radius of thirty feet abruptly solidified! The three charging figures froze at once, as if tightly bound by invisible shackles!

"Break."

Qin Yuan clenched his right hand.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"

Three blossoms of blood exploded!

The three Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators did not even have time to scream before becoming three headless corpses.

The entire scene fell deathly silent.

Yan Lie's face was white as paper, and the hand clutching his flames trembled.

The Crimson Flame Sect disciples behind him were even more terrified, each one retreating again and again.

Qin Yuan looked at Yan Lie. "Still want to fight?"

Yan Lie's throat bobbed. After a long while, he squeezed out three words through clenched teeth. "...We're leaving."

He led his remaining disciples away from the ice gorge without looking back.

Li Qingfeng and the others looked at Qin Yuan with complicated expressions.

Tuoba Shan, Su Mei'er, and Yin Jiuyou especially—before this, they had still harbored doubts about Qin Yuan's strength. Now... only reverence remained.

"Fellow Daoist Qin..." Li Qingfeng gave a bitter smile. "With your strength, I'm afraid you can contend even against a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator, can't you?"

Qin Yuan did not answer. He turned and walked toward the corpses, beginning to gather the spoils.

The Crimson Flame Sect disciples were quite wealthy, especially the three Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators. Their storage pouches contained quite a few valuable items. Qin Yuan collected everything, intending to sacrifice it all to the system after leaving.

"Let's go," he said indifferently.

The five continued onward.

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After passing through Ice Wind Valley, the cold pool, and Ice Soul Forest, the five finally arrived at the inheritance site five days later.

It was an enormous ice palace suspended in midair. Beneath it lay a bottomless abyss. Only a stairway of ice crystals stretched from the ground to the entrance of the ice palace.

People were already waiting before the stairs.

They were the other two members of the Book Sword Sect—a refined middle-aged scholar and a stern young man in blue. Both were at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and their auras resembled Li Qingfeng's.

"Senior Brother Li!" The middle-aged scholar came forward to greet him. "You've finally arrived."

He glanced at Qin Yuan and the other two, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes, but he did not ask further.

Li Qingfeng introduced them. "These two are my fellow sect members, Junior Brother Wen Ruohai and Junior Brother Lin Qingfeng. These are Fellow Daoist Tuoba Shan of the Savage King Sect, Fellow Daoist Su Mei'er of Hundred Flowers Valley, and Fellow Daoist Yin Jiuyou of the Corpse Yin Sect. This is Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan of the Xuan Yuan Sect."

Wen Ruohai and Lin Qingfeng nodded to the group. Their gazes lingered on Qin Yuan for an extra moment. He looked rather ordinary in strength?

But Li Qingfeng gave no explanation and went straight to the point. "Only one person remains. Once the last person arrives, we can open the inheritance."

"Who is the last person?" Tuoba Shan asked.

"It's me." A cold female voice came from behind them.

Everyone turned and saw a woman in white walking over at an unhurried pace.

Her features were exquisitely beautiful, yet as cold as frost. Pale blue frigid qi coiled around her, and with every step she took, a layer of ice crystals formed beneath her feet. Her aura was unmistakably at the peak of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and exceptionally solid.

"Ice Soul Sect, Leng Yue," the woman said blandly.

The Ice Soul Sect ranked twelfth among the hundred sects and specialized in ice-element cultivation techniques. No one could have been more suited to appear here than this woman.

"Now everyone is here." Li Qingfeng looked toward the ice palace. "According to ancient records, eight cultivators at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage or above must attack the eight ice pillars beneath the palace simultaneously to open the entrance."

Eight people, exactly enough.

"Move!"

The eight attacked at once, streams of spiritual power in every color blasting toward the eight ice pillars.

Boom—!!!

The ice pillars shook violently, and the entrance to the ice palace slowly opened.

A terrifying chill surged out from within, making even Nascent Soul Cultivators unable to suppress a shudder.

"Enter!" Li Qingfeng was the first to rush inside.

The others followed close behind.

Inside the ice palace stood a vast hall.

At the center of the hall floated a crystal-clear ice coffin. Within it lay an intact set of remains—an elderly man with a lean face, clad in a blue Daoist robe, his eyes shut as though he were merely asleep.

A faint blue glow radiated from the remains. It was the lingering Dao resonance left behind after a Dao Integration stage cultivator had fallen!

"Dao Integration remains!" Wen Ruohai exclaimed excitedly. "If we can refine the Dao resonance within it, our chances of breaking through to Spirit Transformation will rise greatly!"

A fiery gleam flashed through Leng Yue's eyes as well.

But at that moment, another group of people rushed in through the entrance of the ice palace.

It was Yan Lie!

Besides the Crimson Flame Sect disciples, there was one additional person behind him—an old man in black robes with a sinister face. His aura was as deep as an abyss. He was clearly at the peak of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and even stronger than Leng Yue!

"Li Qingfeng, did you think you could shake me off?" Yan Lie sneered. "This is Elder Yin Sha of the Black Fiend Sect. Now, it's time to discuss who gets the remains."

Li Qingfeng's expression darkened.

The Black Fiend Sect ranked twentieth among the hundred sects and was famed for its vicious, sinister cultivation arts. Elder Yin Sha was also a notorious killer who had made his name long ago. Rumor had it that he had once slain a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator.

Eight against more than a dozen, with the other side also having an expert like Elder Yin Sha.

The situation had reversed in an instant.

The narrow ice gorge resembled a wound cleaved open by a gigantic axe. The ice walls on both sides rose over three hundred feet high, smooth as mirrors, allowing only four or five people to walk abreast. Frigid winds howled through the gorge, whipping up fine ice crystals that stung against the face.

Qin Yuan's group of five occupied one end of the gorge, while Yan Lie's eleven men blocked the other. They were less than ninety feet apart. Within this cramped space, their spiritual power fluctuations collided, scattering bursts of ice chips.

"Li Qingfeng, hand over what you obtained in the ice residence." Yan Lie's voice echoed through the ice gorge, carrying an unquestionable forcefulness. "My Crimson Flame Sect discovered this area first. By the rules, the opportunity should belong to my Crimson Flame Sect."

Li Qingfeng's expression remained unchanged as he closed the scroll in his hand. "Fellow Daoist Yan Lie, that is not correct. This secret realm has no owner; first come, first served. We opened the residence through our own abilities, so what we obtained naturally belongs to us. Why speak of 'handing it over'?"