One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

His appearance at that moment made the well-informed Yuan Tao and the Four Madmen gasp in shock!

Covered in blood and riddled with wounds, he seemed completely oblivious to pain. The black, reversed-generation lines on his face and body had become terrifyingly dense, like countless writhing earthworms crawling all over him, emitting a ghastly, unstable, pale white light on the verge of collapse. Most horrifying of all were his eyes; their crimson hue was now tinged with an eerie white light, and amidst the chaos and destruction in his gaze, a strange clarity shone through… a final, unsettling glimmer of life? It was a deathbed glow, a sign of utter destruction.

He stared intently at Nie Lingfeng, forcing out broken but stubborn words from his throat: "Reversal of Life... Triple... Third Level... Open!!!"

The last three words, as if he had used up all his life force, were hoarse and sharp, soaring straight to the sky!

Then, illuminated by the moonlight and the distant firelight, Nie Lingfeng witnessed a scene that sent chills down his spine and would never be forgotten.

Lu Jin's body began to undergo an extremely strange change.

His skin, as if losing its substance, began to become translucent, like the finest glass. The blood vessels, muscle texture, and even the outline of his bones beneath were faintly visible, emitting a faint white light. He was like a glass sculpture composed of light and energy, yet riddled with cracks, poised to shatter at any moment! A destructive energy, far more terrifying, more violent, and more unstable than before, uncontrollably emanated from his body, scorching and crackling the surrounding air, causing the ground rubble to levitate and disintegrate!

The final stage of the Reverse Rebirth Triple Stage—transforming one's own Qi, burning everything away, in exchange for that extremely brief yet extremely powerful "pseudo-immortal" state! This is the final step towards true self-annihilation, an irreversible dead end!

"Old Master..." Nie Lingfeng looked at the "glass sculpture" that was about to shatter, his heart filled with mixed feelings—admiration, regret, and a resolute determination to stop him. He slowly straightened up, despite the excruciating pain in his arms, the chaotic power within his body, and the restless mad blood, his eyes became more determined than ever before.

He slowly raised his hands, forming a circle in front of his chest. A basic Cloud-Dispelling Palm stance, but this time, he mobilized not only the cloud-like energy of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm, nor merely the chilling aura of the Heavenly Frost Fist, nor simply the speed of the Wind God Leg, nor even just the variations of the Ten Directions Invincible and the internal force of the Xuanwu True Scripture…

He gathered, condensed, and compressed all the power he could control and mobilize at that moment—including the Qilin blood power, which, although violent and dangerous, contained unparalleled energy—into a small space between his palms!

The surrounding air seemed to be frantically drawn and pulled by an invisible force, emitting a low, mournful sound. A tiny, rapidly spinning grayish-white vortex was born in his palm, quickly expanding and transforming in the blink of an eye into a cloud vortex three feet in diameter, as solid as a crystal ball! Within the vortex, it was no longer just simple cloud vapor; fine ice crystals and snowflakes could be vaguely seen dancing in the air, cyan wind blades flowed, and even streaks of dark red, chillingly blood-red lightning shuttled, flickered, and collided within!

The vortex spun wildly, emitting a deep, ancient roar that slightly distorted and sucked in the surrounding light. This was a strike that transcended any existing technique, a fusion of all his current martial arts insights and bloodline power, a strike imbued with everything he had ever done! It was his own creation, unnamed, and one he had never imagined he would use in this moment and place—the ultimate palm strike!

Because this palm strike was irreversible and uncontrollable, even he himself didn't know what the consequences would be.

"Elder Lu," Nie Lingfeng's voice was low and hoarse, yet it clearly pierced through the roar of the energy vortex, carrying deep apology and unwavering resolve, "This junior, Nie Lingfeng... has offended you! Take my... final blow!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward!

"boom!"

The already shattered ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded, creating an even larger crater! He merged with the terrifying vortex of clouds, transforming into a destructive torrent of gray-white mixed with dark red and icy blue, carrying a tragic momentum that tore everything apart and destroyed all things, rushing straight toward the "Glass" Lu Jin who was about to shatter!

Lu Jin seemed to sense the ultimate threat contained in this attack as well. A final light burst forth in his eyes, which were a mixture of chaos and clarity! He did not dodge, nor could he dodge. He simply poured all the destructive energy he had gained from Qi Transformation into his right fist. The fist became as dazzling as a small sun. He threw a punch at the oncoming torrent of destruction without any fancy moves!

Just as fists and palms are about to collide—

Time seemed to be stretched and frozen by some invisible force.

On the platform, the sounds of the wind, the distant shouts of battle, and even the breathing of the spectators all disappeared.

Only the center, about to be touched, remained. Space slightly distorted and collapsed, forming a tiny singularity that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye and devoured all light.

Then--

"boom--------------------------------!!!!!!!"

An indescribable, earth-shattering roar erupted! The sound no longer traveled through the air, but struck directly into the depths of everyone's soul!

Centered on the point where the fist and palm met, an unimaginable and indescribable destructive energy shockwave, like a supernova explosion, spread wildly in all directions in a perfect sphere, expanding and crushing everything!

The solid ground was like fragile tofu, being lifted, shattered, and vaporized layer by layer! The entire platform, with a diameter of over twenty zhang, along with everything within a radius of several dozen zhang—trees, rocks, and ruined building foundations—was wiped from the world in an instant, as if by an invisible giant's palm! Leaving behind only a huge, despair-inducing circular crater, several zhang deep, with smooth, mirror-like edges and a bottom that even exhibited some vitrification characteristics!

Zhang Lingyu, who was watching from a distance, Yuan Tao and Han Dan'er, who had just gotten up, and the four Zhang Kuang who had kept their distance... all of them were like fallen leaves in a storm in the face of this earth-shattering shockwave. They were violently blown away and thrown up without any resistance, and fell into the mountains and forests or ruins dozens or even hundreds of feet away. They were all dizzy and bloody, and for a short time they completely lost their ability to move. All that was left was boundless shock and fear!

I don't know how much time passed, maybe a few seconds, maybe a few minutes.

The devastating energy aftershocks finally subsided, leaving only wisps of smoke rising, a mixture of dust, steam, and strange energy glow.

The smoke and dust in the center of the giant pit gradually dissipated.

Two figures appeared at the bottom of the pit.

Nie Lingfeng knelt on one knee, his right hand (the one that had struck out) and forearm a bloody mess, the skin charred and cracked, revealing the equally damaged muscles and bones beneath. Blood dripped continuously, staining the scorched earth beneath him red. His chest heaved violently, like a broken bellows; each breath was accompanied by excruciating pain as if his internal organs were burning and an uncontrollable cough, each cough spitting out large mouthfuls of blood. He struggled to raise his head, his face stained with blood and dust, but his eyes shone brightly, fixed intently on the person opposite him.

Lu Jin lay on the edge of the pit several feet away from him, also covered in blood, his clothes tattered, and his breath extremely weak. However, the terrifying, dense, and ominous white-glowing reverse-growth patterns on his body were rapidly receding and disappearing at a visible speed. His translucent, glass-like body had also regained the texture and color of flesh, only it was frighteningly pale and covered with fine, spiderweb-like cracks.

The most obvious change was in his eyes.

The crimson and chaos completely faded, leaving only an unfathomable weariness and weakness, and... a trace of clarity that finally returned to Lu Jin himself.

He slightly turned his neck, seemingly using all his strength, to focus his gaze on Nie Lingfeng. His lips moved a few times before uttering a faint, almost inaudible sound, yet carrying a strange sense of relief and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection):

"Little...boy..."

"This palm strike..."

"strong enough……"

After speaking, the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly, as if he wanted to laugh, but he was too weak to make an expression. Then his eyelids closed heavily, his head lolled to the side, and he fell into a deep coma. Although his breathing was as weak as a candle in the wind, it finally stabilized, and the violent and destructive fluctuations disappeared.

Nie Lingfeng exhaled a long, long breath of foul air, the smell of blood lingering in his throat. His nerves, which had been stretched to the limit, suddenly relaxed, and he collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to even maintain his kneeling position.

Won.

Or rather... it was prevented.

The cost was heavy, but it was ultimately accomplished.

However, before he could even feel the relief, the violent and scorching power within him, which had been temporarily dormant due to the recent extreme outburst and originated from the Qilin blood, surged back like a dam being broken by the last straw! Moreover, it was more intense and more uncontrollable than ever before!

The tattoo on his chest was burning hot, as if it would burn through his flesh! The world before his eyes began to spin, becoming increasingly tinged with blood, and a sharp buzzing and the hallucination of some ancient, ferocious beast's roar echoed in his ears! The desire to destroy, kill, and tear everything apart surged like a monstrous wave, frantically assaulting his crumbling defenses of reason!

"Ugh..." he growled, digging his hands into the scorched earth beneath him until his nails cracked and bled profusely, trying to stay conscious through the excruciating pain. The Ice Heart Technique flickered in his mind like a candle in the wind.

He forcibly circulated his remaining internal energy to fight against the boiling, frenzied blood, slowly and painstakingly suppressing the destructive impulse back into the depths of his body. This process was far more dangerous and mentally taxing than the battle just now.

After an unknown amount of time, the ominous dark red aura surrounding him finally subsided, and the bloodshot in his eyes faded considerably, leaving only deep exhaustion and lingering fear.

He struggled, using the Snow Drinking Blade, which was stuck to the side and whose blade was stained with dust and blood, as support, and slowly, tremblingly, stood up.

Then, he raised his head, his blood-stained gaze like a cold blade, sweeping across the edge of the crater, where those figures, just recovering from the impact, were staggering to their feet, their eyes filled with suspicion yet also revealing a hint of greed and malice—

Yuan Tao clutched her chest, her eyes flashing with lingering fear, resentment, and an assessment of Nie Lingfeng's clearly serious injuries.

Han Dan'er seemed to be seriously injured, but he managed to stand up, staring blankly at Nie Lingfeng.

What's even more troublesome are the four who, though equally disheveled and unsteady, clearly retained more strength and clarity of mind—the "Four Madmen."

Shen Chong pushed up his broken glasses, his gaze behind the lenses cold and calculating.

Gao Ning's hand, which was holding the Buddhist prayer beads, trembled slightly, but a compassionate yet eerie smile returned to his face.

Dou Mei looked even more weary, but her gaze toward Nie Lingfeng held a hint of inquiry.

Xia He tossed her disheveled pink hair, licked the blood from the corner of her mouth, and looked at him with a strange and dangerous gaze.

Their auras faintly merged, locking onto the young man at the bottom of the pit who looked precarious but had just caused that devastating explosion.

Nie Lingfeng wiped the blood, sweat, and dirt from his face, grinned, revealing a blood-stained, utterly exhausted yet strangely dangerous smile. His hoarse voice echoed in the silent crater:

"It seems..."

"It's your turn."

The moment his words fell, a weakened yet more concentrated and resolute killing intent, mixed with the remaining ferocity of the Qilin, rose from his battered body.