Assisting in Battle

"Rules?" Tuoba Shan slammed his great axe into the ground, a low, cold laugh rumbling from his throat. "The only rules I recognize are those of the strongest fist!"

Su Mei'er's eyes flickered, her voice turning icy. "Brother Yan Lie, are you perhaps planning to use numbers to overwhelm us? If word gets out, it will surely damage the Crimson Flame Sect's reputation."

A disciple in crimson robes behind Yan Lie shouted fiercely, "Why waste words on this bunch of petty thieves! Kill them, and the treasure will naturally be ours!"

Yan Lie raised a hand to stop his subordinate, his gaze sweeping over Qin Yuan and his four companions before finally landing on Qin Yuan. A flicker of apprehension flashed in his eyes, quickly replaced by ruthless resolve. "I'll say this one last time – hand over the treasure and withdraw from the secret realm. Otherwise, this place will be your burial ground."

Qin Yuan had been silently observing.

Yan Lie's arrogance was as expected. The Crimson Flame Sect was powerful and their methods were typically overbearing.

What surprised him slightly, however, were the three cultivators behind Yan Lie who were not from the Crimson Flame Sect – a scarred man wielding a saber, a gaunt old man holding a bone staff, and a seductive woman.

These three exuded a sinister aura, their cultivation methods seemingly unorthodox. They maintained a subtle distance from the Crimson Flame Sect disciples, their eyes darting about, clearly with their own agendas.

A hastily assembled team, their hearts not in unison. Qin Yuan made his assessment in an instant.

"A place not claimed by anyone is open to all," Qin Yuan finally spoke, his voice calm, yet carrying clearly through the howling wind to everyone's ears. "Since we can't reach an agreement, let's settle this by our own abilities."

As his words fell, the air in the canyon grew heavy.

A cold glint shot through Yan Lie's eyes. "You court death!"

He thrust his hands forward, and a more solid, crimson fire dragon roared out, its ferocious head lunging straight for Li Qingfeng!

Almost simultaneously, three Crimson Flame Sect disciples behind him formed a formation, and three pillars of fire erupted from the ground, blocking Li Qingfeng's escape routes.

"Attack!" Li Qingfeng grunted, unfurling his scroll. Golden characters transformed into a shield wall.

Tuoba Shan roared, his body swelling by a third. He swung his great axe in a wide arc towards the flank of the fire dragon.

Su Mei'er's long whip snaked out like a viper's tongue, lashing at the three disciples forming the fire pillar formation. Yin Jiuyou flickered, transforming into several grey shadows that lunged towards the scarred man behind Yan Lie.

The melee erupted instantly!

Qin Yuan did not move. He was waiting.

As expected, from the opposing side, the gaunt old man with the bone staff and the seductive woman attacked him from the left and right.

The old man tapped his bone staff, and three greyish-white energy arrows shot out silently, their tips imbued with a decaying aura.

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

One at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, the other at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage. Their probing attacks were neither too strong nor too weak, perfectly matching Qin Yuan's apparent mid-Nascent Soul cultivation.

Qin Yuan shifted his feet slightly, his body drifting like smoke. The three greyish-white energy arrows grazed past him, carving three deep pits into the ice wall.

The pink silk ribbons missed. He casually raised his hand, his index and middle fingers together, and slashed through the air.

A thin, pale golden line flashed and vanished.

Though seemingly weak, the line precisely severed the nodes in the flow of spiritual energy within the pink silk ribbons.

The woman's expression changed drastically. She felt her spiritual connection to the artifact suddenly lose control, and the ribbons fell limply.

At the same time, Qin Yuan's figure had already appeared beside the old man.

The old man was greatly alarmed, blocking with his bone staff. Greenish ghost fire blazed from the eye sockets of the skull on the staff's head.

Qin Yuan's fingers, like a sword, glowed with a jade-like luster as he gently tapped the middle section of the bone staff.

Crack.

A crisp breaking sound. The seemingly sturdy bone staff snapped in two from the middle!

The ghost fire attached to it backfired, and the old man grunted, spitting blood as he was sent flying backward. He crashed into the ice wall and slumped down, incapacitated.

Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, the woman turned to flee. Qin Yuan's left hand made a grasping motion, and a spiritual energy hand appeared out of thin air, firmly gripping her. With a slight squeeze, the woman let out a scream and fainted.

From the engagement to its conclusion, only three breaths had passed. One injured, one captured.

Qin Yuan casually tossed the unconscious woman aside and scanned the battlefield.

With Tuoba Shan's assistance, Li Qingfeng was barely holding off Yan Lie's fierce assault, but his golden shield wall was already covered in cracks.

Su Mei'er's whip danced impenetrably, entangling the three Crimson Flame Sect disciples, making it difficult to determine a victor.

Yin Jiuyou and the scarred man were locked in an even match, death qi and saber light intertwining.

Meanwhile, the gaunt old man's other companion – a silent young man in black – was currently fighting Han Bing, who was the weakest in their group. Han Bing was struggling, blood already visible on his chest, clearly at a disadvantage.

Qin Yuan stomped his foot, his figure vanishing from his original position.

The next moment, he appeared behind the young man in black. The youth was in the midst of a full-power saber strike towards Han Bing's neck when he suddenly felt a gust of wind from behind him. Terrified, he spun around, blocking with his saber.

Clang--!!

Qin Yuan's punch landed on the saber. The force of the punch surged through the blade and into the youth's arm like a raging tide.

The youth's tiger's mouth burst open, his saber flying from his grasp. He himself was sent flying backward like a sack of rags, crashing heavily against the ice wall, spewing blood. It was clear he had lost his ability to fight.

Han Bing, having narrowly escaped death, gasped for air, his gaze towards Qin Yuan filled with gratitude. "Senior Brother Qin..."

Qin Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze shifting towards Li Qingfeng. Yan Lie, unable to break through after a prolonged assault, grew increasingly agitated. The fire dragon's power intensified, and blood trickled from Li Qingfeng's lips. The golden shield wall was on the verge of shattering.

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

Tuoba Shan roared repeatedly, his great axe chopping ferociously, but Yan Lie's movement technique was agile, always evading the axe's edge. He counterattacked with a palm strike of fire that landed on Tuoba Shan's shoulder. Tuoba Shan's flesh was torn, and he staggered backward.

It was at this moment. Qin Yuan's figure moved again, cutting between Yan Lie and Li Qingfeng like a phantom.

Yan Lie was about to press his advantage when he suddenly felt an icy aura lock onto him. His heart tightened, and without hesitation, he abandoned Li Qingfeng. The fire dragon changed direction, roaring as it lunged at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan neither dodged nor evaded. He extended his right hand, fingers spread, and pressed down towards the ferocious dragon's head as if pushing against something.

"Suppress."

There was no earth-shattering roar. The imposing fire dragon, upon reaching within three feet of Qin Yuan's palm, seemed to hit an invisible bronze wall. The dragon's head abruptly stopped, twisted, and then... disintegrated inch by inch!

Yan Lie's pupils contracted sharply in disbelief. He had used seventy percent of his strength for this attack; even cultivators of the same level wouldn't dare to face it head-on. Yet this person had blocked it with his bare hands, and so effortlessly?!

The disintegrating fire dragon turned into a sky full of sparks. Qin Yuan's palm passed through the sparks and struck towards Yan Lie's chest.

Yan Lie roared, and the flames around his body surged, transforming into a set of crimson armor. He thrust out both fists, meeting Qin Yuan's palm strike head-on.

"BOOM--!!"

Fist and palm met, and a violent wave of energy exploded. The ice walls on both sides trembled violently, and countless icicles rained down.

Yan Lie felt an immense, unstoppable force surge towards him. The crimson armor instantly cracked, and he grunted, his body sliding backward uncontrollably. His feet plowed two deep furrows in the ice before he managed to stabilize himself about thirty feet away. His face flushed, and a sweet, metallic taste filled his throat.

He stared fixedly at Qin Yuan, fear appearing in his eyes for the first time. This was definitely not an ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivator! He might even... be beyond the late Nascent Soul stage!