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

There were other powerful figures at the eighth and ninth levels of the Origin Ancestor realm in the City That Never Sleeps who were dissatisfied with Qin Yuan. A swordsman at the eighth level of the Origin Ancestor realm publicly challenged him, waiting for him in the city's central square. Qin Yuan emerged from seclusion, his bone blade unsheathed. In three moves, the swordsman fell to the ground. The first move: the bone blade severed the longsword. The second move: the bone blade pierced his right shoulder. The third move: the bone blade severed his neck. After consecutively killing three challengers, no one dared to provoke him again. Qin Yuan's reputation spread throughout the City That Never Sleeps.

Hongyue privately approached Qin Yuan and said, "A great war is about to break out in the Void Ancestral Realm. The Blood Demon Sect in the north has been expanding, and their next target is the City That Never Sleeps." Qin Yuan asked, "What is the cultivation level of the Blood Demon Sect Master?" Hongyue replied, "Peak of the ninth level of the Origin Ancestor Realm, with one foot already in a higher realm."

The Blood Demon Sect's army pressed in. One hundred thousand cultivators, over a thousand at the Origin Ancestor Realm. Sect Master Xue Cangqiong personally commanded the army, a peak ninth-level Origin Ancestor. The army's banners were blood-red, embroidered with skulls. The column stretched from the horizon to the sky, the sound of their footsteps shaking the city walls. Morale in Nevernight City was low; some advocated surrender, others escape. Red Moon stood on the city wall, silent.

Qin Yuan stepped forward. "What's there to be afraid of? They're human too, they can die too." He leaped off the city wall and faced the Blood Demon Sect's army alone. His figure appeared very small in the vast wilderness.

Seeing that Qin Yuan was only at the seventh level of the Origin Ancestor realm, Xue Cangqiong sneered, "Trying to die?" Seven golden patterns lit up Qin Yuan's bone blade. He charged into the enemy ranks, his bone blade sweeping across, and a hundred men fell. One strike, ten heads. Another strike, and another ten heads. The Blood Demon Sect army was intimidated by his aura and actually stopped advancing. Xue Cangqiong frowned and took action himself. He struck down with his palm, his Origin Power transforming into a giant blood-red hand. Qin Yuan was blasted away, and cracks appeared all over his bone blade.

Qin Yuan scrambled to his feet. The cracks in his bone blade hadn't healed, but he didn't back down. He charged towards Xue Cangqiong. Xue Cangqiong unleashed three palm strikes: the first shattered Qin Yuan's left arm, the second broke his right leg, and the third shattered all his ribs in his chest. Qin Yuan collapsed into a pool of blood, the bone blade slipping from his hand. Hong Yue closed her eyes, unable to bear watching.

Qin Yuan bit the bone blade with his teeth, using his chin to support himself as he crawled forward. He crawled towards Blood Sky, over rubble, over corpses, over pools of blood. His chin was worn raw, exposing the bone. He reached Blood Sky's feet and slashed at his ankle. The bone blade pierced the bone, and Blood Sky winced in pain, looking down at Qin Yuan. "You're still not dead?" Qin Yuan looked up, his mouth full of blood. "I haven't killed you yet."

Qin Yuan suddenly sprang into action. He plunged a bone fragment from his severed right shoulder into Xue Cangqiong's abdomen. Xue Cangqiong struck Qin Yuan's head with a palm strike, the force enough to shatter a mountain. Golden patterns appeared on Qin Yuan's skull, allowing him to withstand the blow. His skull did not shatter. Xue Cangqiong was shocked. "You... how can your bones be so hard?"

Qin Yuan didn't answer. His right arm, now a bone blade, regrown and pierced Xue Cangqiong's heart. The seven golden lines on the blade glowed simultaneously, piercing the heart. Xue Cangqiong's heart was pierced, and his source energy leaked out wildly. His eyes widened, and he grabbed Qin Yuan's shoulders with both hands. "You… if I die, you won't live either." He detonated his own source core. The source energy exploded, leveling an area of ​​ten miles in radius. A large crater was blasted into the ground, sending debris flying and dust billowing into the sky.

After the explosion, Blood Sky was dead, its source core shattered. Qin Yuan lay in the deep pit, his body charred black, not a single patch of flesh unscathed. His left arm was gone, his right leg broken, all the ribs in his chest were broken, and his internal organs protruded from the wounds. But his heart was still beating.

Hongyue arrived with her men. She was shocked to see Qin Yuan still alive. "You...you're not dead?" Qin Yuan opened his eyes. "Not yet," he replied, falling unconscious.

Inside the Blood Ancestor's palace of bones, the throne was made of stacked skulls. Qin Yuan sat upon it, still bearing the wounds left from the Blood Ancestor's self-destruction. He rummaged through his storage ring and found a black token in a corner. The token was heavy, like some kind of metal, but it was cold to the touch, cold to the bone. Two characters were engraved on the front—"Origin." The strokes were deep, as if carved with a finger. On the back was a line of smaller characters: "Origin Ancestral Realm, Forbidden Land of the Divine Race, Unauthorized Entry Will Be Punished."

Qin Yuan examined the token twice, turning it over and over, before storing it in his storage ring. He stood up and walked out of the palace. Hong Yue stood outside, followed by the generals of Never-Sleeping City. When she saw the token in Qin Yuan's hand, her face turned deathly pale.

"The Origin Gods?" Her voice tightened. "Where did you find them?"

"On the throne of the Blood Ancestor."

Hongyue grabbed his arm, her fingers digging into his flesh. "Drop it. Now, immediately, drop it." Qin Yuan looked at her. "Why?"

"The Origin Gods are the oldest race in all realms. They live in the Origin Ancestral Realm and never interfere with the outside world, but if anyone infringes upon the interests of the gods—even if it's just finding a token—they will send 'Sweepers.' Everyone is wiped out." Red Moon's hands trembled. "This isn't a legend. I've seen it with my own eyes."

Qin Yuan took the token out of his storage ring, looked at it, and then put it back. "Once it's in my hands, there's no reason for it to be lost."

That night, a purple crack appeared in the sky above the city that never sleeps. It didn't crack slowly; it looked as if two hands had ripped it open from the inside. The air at the crack's edge distorted, swallowing starlight. The city's inhabitants knelt on the ground, some kowtowing, some weeping. Qin Yuan stood on the roof of the city lord's mansion, looking up at the crack.

A woman in white emerged from the crevice. Her long hair reached her waist, her face was pale, and her lips were bloodless. She wore a long white dress, the hem of which fluttered in the air like a wisp of mist. Her feet did not step on anything, yet each step felt as if she were walking on solid ground.

"The Origin Gods, Frostmoon." Her voice was devoid of emotion, like wind blowing across ice. "Mortal, hand over the bone blade and the token, or I will raze the City That Never Sleeps."

Qin Yuan looked at her. "What will happen if I don't hand it over?"

Shuangyue raised her hand and pointed. A blast of icy sword energy shot out from her fingertip, silently. Qin Yuan was struck in the left shoulder, blood spurting out, his body flying backward, crashing through the wall of the city lord's mansion. He got up; there was a finger-thick hole in his left shoulder, revealing the bone inside. Cracks appeared on the bone blade, extending from the tip to the base.

Red Moon led her men forward, blocking Qin Yuan's path. Frost Moon glanced at her but didn't make a move. "I'll give you three days to consider." She turned and stepped into the rift, which closed itself off.

Qin Yuan clutched his left shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers. He stared coldly at the cracks in the bone blade. "Three days? No need to wait."

The next day, an anonymous letter was shot into Qin Yuan's residence and nailed to the door. The letter was folded and unsigned. Qin Yuan opened it and found only one sentence inside: "Lin Qing'er is in the Cold Abyss Prison. Arrive late or die." Attached was a strand of hair. The hair was blue and very long; it belonged to Lin Qing'er.

Qin Yuan's hands trembled. Not from fear, but from rage. The cracks on the bone blade were filled with golden light, like a wound healing. He went to find Hong Yue.