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

As the news spread, powerful figures in the vicinity began to take notice of Qin Yuan. Some wanted to win him over, while others wanted to annex him. A powerful figure at the eighth level of the Origin Emperor realm, known as "Daoist Tianmu," sent an envoy. The envoy was a young female cultivator, dressed in a white dress, with an arrogant demeanor. "Daoist Tianmu demands your submission, or die."

Qin Yuan beheaded the messenger, wrapped the head in cloth, and sent it back to Daoist Tianmu. Daoist Tianmu was furious and personally led his men to attack. Daoist Tianmu's eyes were golden, with concentric rings in his pupils, capable of unleashing soul attacks. He glared at Qin Yuan, who felt needles pricking his brain, his head throbbing, and his vision going black.

Qin Yuan bit his tongue, blood spreading in his mouth, the excruciating pain keeping him conscious. He closed his eyes, using the bone blade to sense the location of the Heavenly Eye Daoist. The bone blade pierced the Heavenly Eye Daoist's left eye. The Heavenly Eye Daoist screamed, his other eye unleashing a frenzied soul attack, but Qin Yuan, with his eyes closed, remained unaffected. The bone blade pierced again, penetrating the skull.

Qin Yuan refined the Heavenly Eye Daoist's source core, breaking through to the eighth level of the Source Emperor realm. His divine soul strength greatly increased, and a golden light protected his mind, making him no longer afraid of divine soul attacks.

He continued his hunt in the Void Origin Realm, specializing in killing those at the eighth level of the Origin Emperor realm or higher. He traversed among star fragments, searching for his targets. The first, a swordsman at the eighth level of the Origin Emperor realm, was cut down in three strikes. The second, a poison master at the eighth level of the Origin Emperor realm, had his heart pierced by a bone blade. The third, a summoner at the eighth level of the Origin Emperor realm, summoned a horde of demonic beasts, but Qin Yuan slaughtered through the horde and killed the summoner. Having killed seven eighth-level Origin Emperor realm experts in succession, his fame spread far and wide. Some began to call him the "Bone Blade God of Slaughter."

The strongest force in the Void Origin Realm, "Tianque," took notice of Qin Yuan. The Lord of Tianque dispatched Xuanming, an elder at the ninth level of the Origin Emperor realm, to subdue him. Xuanming was an old man with white hair and eyebrows, a kind face, but cold eyes. He arrived at the fragment of Qin Yuan, his aura as vast and boundless as the abyss of a ninth-level Origin Emperor, making it difficult for Qin Yuan to breathe.

"Joining Tianque will save your life," Xuan Ming said. Qin Yuan pointed his bone blade at him. "What will happen if I don't join?" Xuan Ming slammed his palm down, sending Qin Yuan flying. Cracks appeared on his bone blade, and he coughed up blood. "You will die."

Qin Yuan turned and fled. Xuan Ming pursued him. "You can't escape." Qin Yuan weaved through the star fragments, using the complex terrain to evade. He flew into a dense area of ​​fragments, which were as numerous as a maze. Xuan Ming was faster, constantly closing the distance.

Qin Yuan deliberately flew into a monster's lair. Dozens of monsters at the seventh or eighth level of the Origin Emperor realm were sleeping inside. Qin Yuan's flight over the lair startled the monsters. Awakening, the monsters saw Xuan Ming and, mistaking him for an intruder, swarmed at him. Xuan Ming killed a large number of monsters with a single palm strike, but his speed was slowed down.

Taking advantage of the situation, Qin Yuan escaped into an ancient ruin. The ruin was protected by an array, and the light barrier was golden. Xuan Ming struck the light barrier with his palm, but it didn't budge. Unable to enter, he waited outside the ruin.

Within the ruins lay the skeleton of a peak ninth-level Origin Emperor, seated cross-legged, clutching a jade slip. Qin Yuan picked up the slip and probed it with his divine sense. It contained the method for breaking through to the ninth level of Origin Emperor—refining a "peak ninth-level Origin Emperor" Origin Core, or undergoing a body tempering through countless tribulations to forcibly break through. Qin Yuan sat cross-legged and began cultivating according to the method described in the jade slip. He secluded himself within the ruins for several months, refining all the Origin Crystals and Origin Cores he had accumulated, and his cultivation broke through to the peak eighth level of Origin Emperor.

Qin Yuan emerged from the ruins, where Xuan Ming was still waiting. Upon seeing Qin Yuan, he coldly snorted. "You've finally come out." He slammed down with his palm, his source energy transforming into a gigantic hand ten thousand feet long. Qin Yuan didn't dodge, taking the blow head-on with his bone blade; this time, he wasn't sent flying. Xuan Ming was surprised. "You've broken through?"

Lightning and dragon patterns intertwined on Qin Yuan's bone blade. With a single slash, Xuan Ming's protective source energy was torn apart, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest. Enraged, Xuan Ming unleashed his full power, his source energy transforming into a gigantic palm ten thousand feet long, blotting out the sky. Qin Yuan did not retreat; his bone blade pierced through the giant palm, aiming straight for Xuan Ming's head.

The two fought fiercely for over a hundred rounds. Qin Yuan traded his life for injury; his left arm was shattered by Xuan Ming's palm strike, the sound of bones breaking was deafening, but Qin Yuan used the bone fragments from his severed arm to pierce Xuan Ming's chest. At the same time, the bone blade pierced Xuan Ming's heart. Xuan Ming fell to the ground, his source core emerging.

Qin Yuan refined Xuanming's source core, breaking through to the ninth level of the Source Emperor realm. His left arm bones regrowed, and his bone blade regenerated, becoming longer and darker than before, with black dragon patterns swimming across its surface.

News of Qin Yuan's slaying of Xuan Ming spread throughout the Void Origin Realm. The Lord of the Heavenly Palace was enraged and personally issued a challenge, demanding a life-or-death battle with Qin Yuan. The Lord of the Heavenly Palace was a peak ninth-level Origin Emperor, having cultivated for tens of thousands of years without ever being defeated. The decisive battle was to take place at the "Heavenly Meteor Platform" in the center of the Void Origin Realm. The Heavenly Meteor Platform was a massive fragment of a star, its surface smooth as a mirror, where countless powerful figures were said to have perished.

Qin Yuan accepted the challenge. He headed alone to the Heavenly Meteor Platform, surrounded by countless cultivators along the way. Some stood on star fragments, some rode flying beasts, and some hovered in the air. The discussions were like a tidal wave.

The Lord of the Heavenly Palace, clad in golden armor and wielding an ancient sword, stood on the Heavenly Meteor Platform. His golden armor gleamed against the dark purple sky, and his ancient sword bore blood grooves and a jewel-encrusted hilt. He looked at Qin Yuan with disdain. "You, who have just broken through to the ninth level of the Origin Emperor realm, dare to come here to die?"

Qin Yuan stood at the other end of the Meteorite Platform, the black dragon patterns on his bone blade emitting a ghostly glow. "We'll only know after we fight."

The two faced off. Their auras clashed, shattering the boulders on the meteorite platform, the fragments floating in the air. The wind stopped. The sound stopped. Everyone held their breath.

On the Heavenly Meteor Platform, Qin Yuan and the Lord of the Heavenly Palace faced off. Their auras clashed, shattering the ground and sending rubble floating in the air like countless eyes. The Lord of the Heavenly Palace wore golden armor, its surface covered in runes that shimmered against the dark purple sky. His ancient sword had blood grooves along its blade, and its hilt was inlaid with a red gemstone, like congealed blood. Qin Yuan stood opposite him, a bone blade growing from his palm in his right hand. The blade was entirely golden, with starlight swirling on its surface. His left arm had regenerated during his tribulation, so he now had both arms, but the bone blade was only present in his right hand.

The Lord of the Heavenly Palace drew his sword, the ancient blade unsheathed with a sound like a dragon's roar. He slashed down, sword energy transforming into a ten-thousand-foot-long rainbow, cleaving towards Qin Yuan. Qin Yuan parried with his bone blade, the sword energy colliding with the bone blade, unleashing a blinding white light. Qin Yuan was forced back three steps, the stone beneath his feet shattering, fine cracks appearing on his bone blade like a spiderweb. The Lord of the Heavenly Palace sneered: "The difference between the ninth level of the Origin Emperor realm and its peak, what will you use to fill it?" Qin Yuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "My life."

Qin Yuan took the initiative, his bone blade transforming into a long whip that coiled around the Heavenly Lord's sword. The bone whip, supple as a snake, wound around the sword. The Heavenly Lord swung his sword, severing the whip, and a section of the bone blade was cut off, falling to the ground. But Qin Yuan seized the opportunity to close the distance; his speed was so great that the Heavenly Lord couldn't retract his sword in time. Qin Yuan used his right shoulder—his right shoulder was now free of bone fragments, and both arms were intact—his right hand wielding the broken bone blade, to stab at the Heavenly Lord's abdomen. The bone blade pierced half an inch into the abdomen, and the Heavenly Lord slapped Qin Yuan away with a palm strike. Qin Yuan crashed into a boulder at the edge of the Heavenly Meteor Platform, burying him in the rubble.