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

A golden crack appeared in the sky at the edge of all realms. It wasn't a slow crack, but rather as if it had been ripped open from the inside by two hands. The air at the crack's edge distorted, light bent, and even the chaotic energy was forced back. What surged from the crack wasn't a curse, nor darkness, but a golden, dense, liquefied chaotic spiritual energy. The energy settled on the ruins, and the withered grass miraculously turned green again.

Qin Yuan stood before the crack. His right arm was gone from the shoulder down, bandages wrapped around the severed area. The bandages were white, but soaked in blood, they had turned dark red. His left arm was also wrapped in bandages, beneath which lay bone—his left arm had no flesh, only bone. There were cracks and fissures in the bone, several places on the verge of breaking. Lin Qing'er stood behind him, her hand raised as if to pull him up, but she didn't reach out.

"You can still fight?" she asked.

Qin Yuan said, "Yes." He walked into the crevice without looking back.

Beyond the cracks, the sky was red. Not the red of sunset, but the red of blood. The clouds were grayish-black, hanging low as if about to fall. The earth was black, not the black of soil, but the black of scorched earth. In the distance, mountains floated in the air, upside down, peaks facing down, bases facing up. On the mountains, figures fought, swords flashing, screams echoing from afar, carried away by the wind.

Three cultivators descended from the sky. They wore black robes with skulls embroidered on their chests, and all possessed cultivation levels at the eighth level of the Chaos Sovereign realm. They blocked Qin Yuan's path, scrutinizing him from head to toe. He had a missing arm, was covered in wounds, his clothes were tattered, his face was bloodied, and his left arm was wrapped in bandages. The leader smiled.

"Newbie? Hand over your storage ring, and I'll spare your life."

Qin Yuan looked at him. His eyes were expressionless, as if he were looking at a stone.

The leader grew impatient. "Are you deaf? Hand it over!" He reached out to grab Qin Yuan's left arm.

Qin Yuan's left arm moved. The bandage ripped apart, and a bone spur emerged from it without sound or warning. The bone spur pierced the leader's throat, exiting through the back of his neck. The leader's mouth gaped open, his eyes wide, and blood gushed from the wound in his throat. Qin Yuan pulled out the bone spur, and the leader collapsed to the ground.

The second cultivator reacted quickly, striking Qin Yuan's chest with a palm. Qin Yuan didn't dodge; instead, he rammed his right shoulder—the severed arm—into the opponent's chest. A fragment of bone from the severed arm protruded from the bandages, piercing the opponent's chest and heart. The opponent's hand struck Qin Yuan's left shoulder, but it was too weak to move. He looked down at the bone fragment in his chest, blood gushing from his mouth, and collapsed.

The third cultivator turned and ran. He ran very fast, his spiritual power at full force, his feet barely touching the ground. Qin Yuan couldn't catch up; his leg was also injured. He flung the bone spur from his left arm. The bone spur flew out of his hand, piercing the third man's head. The man ran a few steps, then collapsed to the ground, sliding a good ten feet away.

Qin Yuan walked over, pulled out the bone spur, and picked up three storage rings. He emptied the contents of the rings—source crystals, pills, and several low-level magic weapons. He kept the source crystals and pills, discarding the magic weapons. He piled the three corpses together, sat down beside them, took out a piece of dry rations from his storage ring, and took a bite. The rations were hard, like stones; he chewed a few times and swallowed.

He extracted information from the three people's consciousness. The soul-searching method was brutal; he directly pierced the deceased's skull with bone spikes to extract residual memories. The images were fragmented, but sufficient. In the Chaos Origin Realm, there are nine major Origin Sects, the strongest being the Myriad Paths Origin Sect. The sect leader of the Myriad Paths Origin Sect is a first-level Chaos Origin Emperor. His cultivation is at the peak of the ninth level of Chaos Ruler, which here would only be considered mid-level. Origin Realm cultivators cultivate using Origin Crystals, which are divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. One high-grade Origin Crystal is worth ten thousand low-grade ones.

Qin Yuan stood up and continued walking. The wilderness was vast, with no path, only black gravel and the occasional white bone. He walked for three days without encountering a single person. On the fourth day, he saw a black-scaled python, a ninth-tier demonic beast, three zhang long, coiled on a boulder basking in the sun. The black-scaled python's scales were black, shimmering with a metallic sheen under the red light.

Qin Yuan didn't take a detour; he walked towards the black-scaled python. The python sensed the tremor, raised its head, and flicked its tongue. It opened its mouth, revealing fangs as long as fingers; the venom was green, dripping and hissing on the ground.

Qin Yuan used the bone spur on his left arm to stab the python at its vital point. The python's head moved quickly, and the spur missed, piercing the python's neck instead. Scales were pierced, and black blood spurted out. The python, in pain, lashed out with its tail, striking Qin Yuan. Qin Yuan was sent flying, crashing to the ground, several more cracks appearing in his left arm. He scrambled to his feet, but the python was already pouncing. He crouched down, the python flying over his head, and thrust the bone spur upwards, piercing the python's abdomen. The python's abdomen had no scales, and the bone spur went in half a foot. The python rolled wildly after landing, throwing Qin Yuan aside. He stood up, waited for the python to stop moving, walked over, cut open its belly, and took out the gall bladder. The gall bladder was green, the size of a fist, and still throbbing. He swallowed it raw. The bile was bitter and fishy, ​​churning in his stomach, but his spiritual energy also surged, like a volcanic eruption.

Five cultivators passed by. They saw Qin Yuan covered in blood, holding a snake gall in his hand, and his left arm wrapped in bandages. The five exchanged a glance, drew their swords, and surrounded him.

"Hand over the storage ring," the leader said.

Qin Yuan swallowed the snake gall and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked at the five people, five Chaos Sovereigns at the eighth level. He didn't speak.

A bone spur pierced the first man's throat. A horizontal slash struck the second man's neck. A reverse thrust struck the third man's heart. A bone spur extended from the left arm, piercing the fourth man's abdomen. The fifth man turned and ran, but Qin Yuan gave chase, a bone spur piercing his back. The five corpses lay together, their blood forming a small stream.

Qin Yuan sat cross-legged and began refining the inner core of the Black-Scaled Python. The inner core was the core of a ninth-tier demonic beast, containing immense spiritual power. He enveloped the inner core with his source energy, extracting it bit by bit. The spiritual power surged into his meridians, repairing his damaged muscles and bones. His aura rose from the late stage of the ninth level of the Chaos Sovereign realm to its peak. He opened his eyes, a golden light flashing within them.

In the distance, someone shouted, "The Blood Slaughter Squad is here! Run!" Footsteps were chaotic; some were fleeing, some were shouting, and some were crying. Qin Yuan stood up, collected the corpse of the Black Scale Python, and walked towards the direction of the shouts.

The Blood Slaughter Squad consisted of seven members, all dressed in black robes, black boots, and masks. Their leader was a peak ninth-level Chaos Sovereign, and the other six members were all at the ninth level. They specialized in ambushing lone cultivators, collecting their ears after each kill. The leader wore a string of dozens of dried ears hanging from his waist.

Seven men surrounded Qin Yuan. The leader glanced at the five corpses on the ground, then at Qin Yuan.

"You killed our men? You've got some nerve."

Qin Yuan said, "Many people have said this, and they are all dead."

The Blood Slaughter Squad deploys the "Blood Slaughter Seven Kill Formation." The seven members' spiritual power is linked, forming a unified offense and defense. The core of the formation is the leader, whose spiritual power is transmitted to each member through the formation, sharing damage and amplifying attacks.