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

He did not reveal his figure, but simply flicked his finger, and five subtle yet condensed pale golden spiritual energy gusts shot out silently, accurately hitting the gap between the neck and helmet of the five puppets—that seemed to be a node for the transmission of soul fire energy.

"Puff puff puff puff puff!"

With five soft sounds, the five puppets froze simultaneously, the eerie blue soul flames in their eye sockets flickering violently a few times before going out! Their towering bodies collapsed to the ground as if they had lost their support, raising a cloud of dust.

The three cultivators, having narrowly escaped death, were stunned and warily looked around: "Which senior came to our rescue? Please show yourself!"

Qin Yuan did not appear, but his calm voice came: "This place is dangerous. Leave immediately and do not linger."

After saying that, he quietly left and continued heading towards the center.

The three cultivators repeatedly thanked the void, and without daring to delay, they quickly helped each other and chose a direction to leave.

As Qin Yuan traveled, he encountered several more battles between cultivators and battle spirit puppets, and also witnessed some conflicts and fights between cultivators. He mostly avoided these, only intervening when it was convenient or necessary. He discovered that the closer he got to the central area, the stronger the battle spirit puppets became, with elite puppets equivalent to those in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm appearing, and occasionally even battle formations composed of multiple puppets.

The oppressive fighting spirit in the air grew increasingly intense, directly affecting the flow of spiritual energy and the mind. Many cultivators were forced to slow down or even stop to adjust their breathing and resist.

For Qin Yuan, this pressure was still within his tolerance. He maintained his speed as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Half a day later, he had ventured hundreds of miles into the trial battlefield. Ahead lay a vast circular valley, in the center of which stood an ancient altar, hundreds of feet tall, constructed entirely of black rock. At the top of the altar, the light of a teleportation array could be faintly seen flickering.

The Ares Platform! According to intelligence, one can truly enter the secret realm inside the Temple of War by using the teleportation array here!

However, the area around the Ares Platform was far from peaceful at this moment.

Below the altar, a dark mass of over a hundred battle spirit puppets stood in formation, their killing intent soaring to the heavens! The puppets' auras were at least at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, with more than a dozen puppets clad in dark gold armor and resembling generals at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm! They seemed to be guarding the stone steps leading to the altar.

At the front of the army formation, dozens of cultivators, belonging to different camps, had gathered and were fiercely fighting against the puppet army, trying to fight their way to the altar!

Qin Yuan glanced around and saw many familiar faces. On the Taiyi Immortal Sect's side, Liu Suifeng, Wu Zhan, and Wen Yuan had all arrived and were leading a dozen Taiyi disciples in a fierce attack. Liu Suifeng's Cloud Dragon Sword Technique, Wu Zhan's Overlord Fist, and Wen Yuan's Righteous Qi were all displaying their unique abilities, but they were not advancing quickly against the army of hundreds of puppets.

On the other side of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, Jian Wuming stood alone at the front of the formation. He did not draw his sword, but merely pointed his fingers as if they were swords, unleashing countless condensed, invisible sword energies that crisscrossed and slashed. Each strike precisely severed the joints of a puppet or pierced its soul fire nodes, its efficiency extremely high, and it had already penetrated dozens of feet into the army formation. However, he also faced the greatest resistance, as several golden-armored puppets at the late Nascent Soul stage were attacking him together. The sword energy collided with the puppets' thick protective aura, creating continuous explosions.

Led by Lei Dong, the Xuan Tian Sect unleashed a torrent of lightning magic, its deafening roar scorching and paralyzing a large number of puppets. However, the sheer number of puppets, coupled with their apparent resistance to lightning, meant their progress was slow. Ling Shuanghua assisted from the sidelines, using ice to restrict the puppets' movements.

The Holy Son and Holy Daughter of the Green Wood Sect, Mu Changchun and Mu Wanqiu, joined forces, their Green Wood spiritual power transforming into countless vines and a rain of flowers. It was not a brute-force attack, but rather a gentle approach that used softness to overcome hardness, entangling, binding, and wearing down the puppets' movements. Then, they attacked the soul fire nodes with life-giving wooden spikes. Their methods were exquisite and steady.

The most bizarre of all was Li Wanhun of the Netherworld Palace. He was surrounded by ghostly mist, from which countless vengeful spirits surged forth, attacking the puppets. They didn't directly confront them, but instead burrowed into the gaps in the puppets' armor, attacking and corrupting the soul fire within! Many puppets became sluggish and chaotic, even turning on each other. Li Wanhun himself, meanwhile, calmly followed behind the ghostly mist, advancing slowly.

In addition, geniuses from other sects and powerful rogue cultivators are also displaying their unique abilities and fighting fiercely.

Below the Arena, shouts of battle, explosions, the clang of metal, and howls of ghosts filled the air. Spiritual energy surged, and a murderous aura soared to the sky—a truly tragic and chaotic scene!

Qin Yuan's arrival didn't attract much attention, as the battlefield was too chaotic. However, he was still noticed by some observant individuals.

Liu Suifeng forced back two golden-armored puppets with a single sword strike, then glanced in Qin Yuan's direction, a hint of joy in his eyes. He transmitted his voice, "Junior Brother Qin, you've come at the right time! This puppet army formation is troublesome; we need to work together to break it! The left flank is relatively weak; we can attack from there, and we can coordinate an attack from the inside!"

Qin Yuan looked in the direction Liu Suifeng pointed. There were seven or eight ordinary puppets and two golden-armored puppets guarding that area, making the pressure slightly less than in other directions. Without hesitation, he moved, transforming into a streak of azure lightning, and charged directly towards that weak point in the formation!

His speed was extremely fast, and he did not use any fancy escape techniques. He relied solely on the explosive power of his physical body and spiritual energy. As a result, it was only when he was close to the army formation that the puppets reacted, and several rusty spears came piercing through the air!

Qin Yuan neither dodged nor evaded, but instead threw a punch straight at the spear!

"boom!"

The force of the punch was so powerful that it shattered the air! Those spears, which were powerful enough to pierce through the protective spiritual light of an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, were actually bent and broken by this punch! The puppets holding the spears were also forced back several steps by the force of the punch!

Qin Yuan kept moving, his figure cutting into the gaps between the puppets like a fish. His palms flew, sometimes slapping, sometimes pressing, sometimes pointing, sometimes poking. Every strike landed precisely on the puppet's joints, armor connections, or the soul fire node at the back of its neck!

"Snap!" "Pfft!" "Thump!"

The dull thuds of blows and shattering sounds rang out continuously! None of the puppets that came close to him, whether ordinary or golden-armored, could withstand a single blow! Ordinary puppets were often smashed in the head or had their spines broken by a single palm strike, and although the golden-armored puppets had stronger defenses, they could not withstand his finger-poke punches imbued with the power of stellar tendons and bones; their armor dented and their soul flames flickered!

He was like a red-hot dagger, slicing fiercely into solidified butter, and wherever he went, the puppets fell to the ground! He single-handedly tore a gap in the tight military formation!

This fierce and unparalleled fighting style immediately attracted the attention of many on the battlefield!

"That's... Qin Yuan?"

"What a powerful physique! The defenses of those golden-armored puppets couldn't even withstand his bare-handed attacks?!"

"Who is this person? When did the Taiyi Immortal Sect produce such a formidable figure?"

Exclamations erupted. The disciples from various sects, who were engaged in fierce battles, were all dumbfounded as they watched Qin Yuan clear out the puppets as if cutting melons and vegetables. Even Jian Wuming, Lei Dong, Mu Changchun, Li Wanhun, and others paused their attacks slightly, their gazes towards Qin Yuan now filled with seriousness and scrutiny.