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

However, the true inner secrets of the Temple of War can only be accessed through the central teleportation array. That is a much larger place with more opportunities.

"Let's go, into the teleportation array!" Liu Suifeng made a decisive decision.

Without further delay, everyone stepped into the central teleportation array. Qin Yuan also stepped in.

The white light enveloped him once again, and the familiar teleportation sensation returned.

This time, the teleportation took longer; after about ten breaths, the scene before me became clear again.

He appeared in a wide, deep, seemingly endless bronze passageway. The passageway was about ten zhang high and five or six zhang wide, with ancient war murals carved on the walls on both sides, depicting the fierce battles between gods and beasts, armies and demons, lifelike and radiating intense fighting spirit and malevolent aura. The ceiling of the passageway was inlaid with unknown luminous minerals, providing a dim, yellowish light.

Looking around, there was no one in sight. It seemed that the teleportation array randomly dispersed people to different areas inside the temple.

Qin Yuan steadied himself and walked forward along the passageway. He scanned his surroundings warily with his divine sense, but the fighting spirit on the murals seemed to interfere with his divine sense, making his detection range even smaller.

After walking about a hundred paces, the passageway suddenly turned right. After rounding the bend, a bronze gate appeared ahead, half-open, with a faint glow of precious light emanating from within.

Qin Yuan walked to the door and looked inside. Inside was a small stone chamber. In the center of the chamber was a stone platform, on which were placed three items: a jade bottle, a jade slip, and a short sword. The jade bottle exuded spiritual energy, the jade slip was ancient and simple, and the short sword gleamed with a cold light; all were extraordinary items.

But Qin Yuan didn't go in immediately. He noticed that the floor, walls, and even the ceiling of the stone chamber were engraved with extremely fine array patterns that blended almost seamlessly with the surrounding environment. A faint, yet chilling, sense of danger permeated the air.

"A trap?" Qin Yuan pondered. The opportunities within the Temple of War Gods were probably not so easy to obtain.

He pointed his fingers like a sword and shot a faint stream of spiritual energy towards the floor of the stone chamber.

The moment the spiritual energy touched the ground, a strange change occurred!

"Buzz!"

Suddenly, the array patterns inside the stone chamber lit up with a blinding red light! Countless fine, yet incredibly sharp, blood-red threads shot out from the walls, floor, and ceiling, instantly weaving into an impenetrable net of death that shattered the entire stone chamber! The three "treasures" were also reduced to dust within the blood-red threads!

The terrifying cutting force caused Qin Yuan, standing outside the passageway, to feel a slight stinging sensation on his skin. If he were to rashly step inside, even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would likely be instantly shredded to pieces!

"What powerful restrictions." Qin Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. The interior of this War God Temple was indeed fraught with danger.

He didn't stop and continued onward. Next, he encountered several more similar "bait" rooms, some spewing poisonous fire, some unleashing icy storms, and some summoning powerful elemental guardians. Qin Yuan, relying on his powerful divine sense and careful judgment, avoided them all.

Finally, after navigating several side paths and dealing with waves of patrolling bronze golems, he arrived at a more spacious hall.

The main hall is circular with a high dome. In the center stands a majestic statue of a war god, tens of feet tall, clad in heavy armor and wielding a giant sword. Below the statue are twelve massive bronze pillars, each carved with a different ferocious beast motif.

At this moment, Qin Yuan was not alone in the main hall. Seven or eight cultivators had arrived earlier and were scattered around, warily observing the central statue and the bronze pillars, none daring to approach easily. Qin Yuan recognized two of them: a core disciple of the Xuan Tian Sect and a sword cultivator from the Wan Jian Pavilion, both at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Qin Yuan's arrival drew their attention. The Xuan Tian Sect disciple recognized Qin Yuan, his expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously took a half step back. The swordsman from the Wan Jian Pavilion gave Qin Yuan a sharp look and gripped his sword hilt tightly.

Qin Yuan ignored them, his gaze fixed on the statue of the God of War and the twelve bronze pillars. He sensed a peculiar power of rules permeating the hall, different from the trial battlefield outside, and more focused on a certain kind of test.

Just then, from the dome of the main hall, a majestic, ancient, and emotionless voice resounded like a great bell:

"The Temple of War, the Trial of Power. Defeat the guardian spirits, or light the twelve pillars of power. Those who pass will be rewarded."

As the voice faded, two blazing golden flames suddenly ignited in the eyes of the enormous war god statue in the center of the hall! At the same time, the ferocious beast patterns on the twelve bronze pillars seemed to come alive, emitting low roars, and the pillars began to emit light of varying intensity, as if waiting for something.

"roar!"

The statue of the God of War moved! It slowly raised the giant sword in its hand, which seemed to be forged from bronze and stars. A terrifying pressure as vast as a mountain and as heavy as the sea instantly enveloped the entire hall! This pressure was purely the oppression of power, without containing any spiritual power or soul attack, yet it made people feel as if they were carrying a mountain on their backs, making it difficult to even breathe!

"Peak of the Nascent Soul stage... no, a battle spirit that has reached the threshold of the Void Refinement stage in terms of pure power!" A cultivator exclaimed in horror.

At the same time, the light from the twelve bronze pillars stabilized, and a blurry light and shadow appeared at the top of each pillar. The light and shadow took different shapes, some resembling giant apes, some resembling bulls, and some resembling bears. They were not physical entities, but they emitted equally powerful pure power fluctuations, and seemed to require power to "light up" or "defeat".

"Repel this war spirit? How is that possible?! Its power level far surpasses ours!"

"Light up the Pillars of Power? How do I light them? Do I have to attack them with force?"

The crowd was filled with surprise and doubt, exchanging bewildered glances.

Qin Yuan felt the terrifying pressure emanating from the battle spirit, but his eyes lit up. A pure test of strength? That's... just what he wanted!

After achieving minor success in the second level of the "Undying Body of the Universe Stars", he wanted to test just how far his physical strength had reached!

He stepped forward and, amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, walked alone toward the enormous war god spirit that was slowly descending from its pedestal, its giant sword pointing diagonally at the ground!

"What...what is he going to do?!"

"Has Qin Yuan gone mad? He wants to take on this battle spirit one-on-one?!"

The disciples of Xuantian Sect and Wanjian Pavilion, along with several other cultivators, were all dumbfounded.

The War God and War Spirit seemed to have also been drawn to this "little guy" who dared to walk towards them alone. Their eyes, burning with golden flames, locked onto Qin Yuan, and they slightly raised the giant sword in their hands.

Qin Yuan stopped ten feet away from the battle spirit, looking up at the colossal creature. His "Undying Body of the Universe Stars" quietly activated, and pale silver starlight began to flow deep within his bones. He didn't use his spiritual power, but instead concentrated all his strength in his right fist.

He crouched slightly, like a bowstring drawing its bow.

Then, slam the ground down!

"boom!"

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the solid bronze ground beneath his feet as he kicked! His body shot out like a cannonball, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek!

A punch, without any fancy moves, slammed straight into the chest of the War God and War Spirit, which was covered by a thick breastplate!