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

From the side, a headless knight's phantom, riding an equally illusory nightmare steed, silently thrusts its rusted spear toward Qin Yuan's back! A dense, deathly aura emanates from the spear's tip!

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Qin Yuan slightly turned his body and his left hand shot out with lightning speed, grabbing the illusory spear! The touch was icy cold, and the baleful aura tried to corrode his palm, but it was firmly blocked by the starlight and profound spiritual power of the "Undying Body of the Universe Stars".

"Scatter!" Qin Yuan shouted, clenching his left hand tightly. Pure Xuan Yuan spiritual power erupted, shattering the murderous spear and the headless knight phantom together!

Like a tireless fighting machine, he carved a bloody path through the endless waves of skeletons and battle spirits! The Mu siblings followed closely behind, continuously releasing their azure wood spiritual power—sometimes conjuring vines to entangle and hinder enemies on either side, sometimes sprinkling healing light to restore Qin Yuan's minor damage, and sometimes casting purification spells to dispel the encroaching resentment and malevolent energy. Working together, the three managed to stabilize their position and slowly advance deeper into the battlefield.

The skeletons and battle spirits here seemed inexhaustible; defeating one batch only resulted in more pouring out from the blood-red mist or piles of corpses. The battle raged on for an unknown period. Qin Yuan was covered in bone dust and dark red baleful energy, and his aura fluctuated, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He could feel that with each defeat of these battle spirits and corpses, a trace of extremely faint yet incredibly pure ancient battlefield baleful energy and battle intent was attracted and absorbed by the essence blood of the War God within his body, tempering his flesh and will. That drop of War God's essence blood also seemed to be slowly undergoing some kind of change.

Under this special environment, the "Undying Body of the Universe Stars" accelerated its operation on its own, absorbing the battle intent and baleful energy filtered by the essence blood and integrating it into its bones and muscles. The progress of the second level of cultivation was slowly but steadily increasing!

This Bloodbath Secret Realm turned out to be an excellent cultivation ground for him!

Just as they were gradually penetrating deeper into the core area of ​​the battlefield, a terrifying roar that shook the heavens and the earth suddenly came from the depths of the blood-red mist ahead! The pressure contained in that roar made the bones and battle spirits of the entire battlefield freeze in place!

Qin Yuan's eyes narrowed as he looked into the depths of the mist.

A colossal shadow slowly emerged from the mist. It was a terrifying figure over ten zhang tall, clad in tattered, dark gold, menacing armor, wielding a massive, broken sword as wide as a door panel! It was not merely a skeleton; remnants of withered muscle and skin remained on its body, and two dark gold flames, like small suns, burned in its eye sockets! Its aura had clearly reached the early stage of the Void Refinement realm! Moreover, it was a battle-hardened, murderous Void Refinement battle spirit!

Behind this terrifying battle spirit were four other battle spirits, each with a slightly weaker aura but still at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, resembling deputy generals.

"It's the War Soul Commander!" Mu Wanqiu exclaimed, her face pale. "Ancient records state that the core of the Blood Battle Secret Realm is guarded by the War Soul Commander, a manifestation of the spirits of ancient war generals. Its power is terrifying! We must defeat it to truly gain the secret realm's recognition and obtain its core treasure!"

The dark golden soul fire of the War Soul Commander swept over Qin Yuan and his companions, and the giant sword was raised, pointing at them. A cold killing intent filled with destructive will descended as if it were a tangible force!

The four deputy generals behind it also roared silently, their murderous aura soaring to the sky!

Qin Yuan took a deep breath, feeling the boiling fighting spirit within his body and the scorching blood essence of the God of War.

Finally, a worthy opponent has arrived.

He stepped forward, shielding Mu Changchun and his sister behind him, his gaze sharp as lightning, locking onto the Void Refinement Battle Soul Commander.

"You all step back and protect yourselves. Leave this to me."

The early-stage Void Refinement Battle Soul Commander resembled an ancient demon god emerging from a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood; every step it took caused the dark red earth to tremble slightly. The broad, broken greatsword in its hand, its blade stained with dried, dark red blood, exuded a chilling aura of slaughter. Behind it, four peak Nascent Soul Vice-General Battle Souls also radiated murderous intent, like four ferocious beasts ready to devour their prey.

Mu Changchun and Mu Wanqiu were pale. Even from a distance, the pure, highly concentrated fighting spirit and murderous aura made it difficult for them to breathe and made their spiritual energy flow sluggish. They knew that this level of enemy was far beyond their ability to contend with, and even just standing within the range of its oppressive aura required immense courage.

"Senior Brother Qin..." Mu Changchun looked at Qin Yuan with concern, only to find that Qin Yuan's back was as straight as a pine tree and his aura as deep and solid as a mountain. Not only was he not intimidated by the pressure of the Void Refinement Realm, but a fierce and vigorous fighting spirit rose up around him, which was in no way inferior!

"Step back." Qin Yuan's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable power.

The Mu siblings dared not delay. They quickly helped their injured fellow disciple and retreated a hundred feet. At the same time, they fully activated their Azure Wood spiritual power to set up layers of vibrant defensive barriers, both to protect themselves and to prevent being impacted by the aftershocks of the upcoming battle.

Qin Yuan faced five powerful battle spirits alone. Within him, the drop of War God's essence blood seemed to ignite, releasing a torrent of heat that resonated with his own battle intent. The starlight of the second level of the "Undying Body of the Universe Stars" flowed deep within his bones and muscles, the spiritual power of the "Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique" surged through his meridians, and the Nine Revolutions Nascent Soul sat firmly in his Purple Mansion, radiating a power that suppressed everything.

He felt no fear whatsoever; instead, he felt a long-lost excitement. His battles with Young Master Youquan, Blood Butcher, and others were largely contests of cultivation and supernatural abilities. But this Void Refinement Battle Soul before him was a pure embodiment of power, fighting spirit, and killing skills—the perfect opponent to test his physical strength and fighting will!

"roar!"

The War Soul Commander let out a silent yet soul-piercing roar, its dark golden soul fire burning fiercely! It took a step forward, raising its giant sword high, and dark red baleful energy rose like flames from the blade, condensing into a terrifying sword aura tens of feet long. With the terrifying power to split mountains and cleave rivers, it slashed down at Qin Yuan!

Before the sword energy even arrived, the pure, condensed killing intent, like an invisible hammer, slammed into Qin Yuan's soul! Anyone with a weaker will would likely be frightened before the battle even began, their mind losing its composure.

Qin Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light. His Nine-Turn Nascent Soul stirred slightly, and his sea of ​​consciousness became as solid as a rock, easily dissolving the impact of the killing intent. Faced with the terrifying sword energy that was slashing down, he did not choose to dodge—in this space filled with battle intent and baleful aura, dodging would only put him at a disadvantage.

He stood with his feet slightly apart, firmly planted on the ground, his right fist clenched, his arm muscles bulging, his bones creaking, and pale silver starlight instantly condensed at the tip of his fist!

"Star Break!"

One punch, defying the heavens! No fancy moves, just the ultimate explosion of physical strength, combined with the stellar power of the "Undying Body of the Universe Stars"!

The fist energy and the sword energy clashed fiercely in mid-air!

"BOOM—!!!"