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

Su Yao arrived and saw Yue Yao; her expression turned slightly cold. "She's the Holy Maiden of Taixu Palace, can she be trusted?" Qin Yuan asked. "She chose us." Su Yao remained silent.

Hongyue sized up Yueyao and whispered to Su Yao, "Another beauty." Su Yao glared at her. "Shut up."

Yueyao proactively provided a defense map of the Taixu Palace, marking the troop distribution and weaknesses of all the cities. Qin Yuan was overjoyed and deployed troops overnight. Yueyao stood beside him and whispered, "Thank you for letting me see my path clearly." Qin Yuan shook his head. "It was your own choice."

Over the next two weeks, Qin Yuan led his army to conquer seven cities belonging to the Taixu Palace. He was always the first to charge into battle, his bone blade slaying countless enemies. No general could withstand his blade, and no city wall remained unconquered. Su Yao commanded and orchestrated the battle, strategizing meticulously. Hong Yue led the cavalry in charges, spearing enemy generals. Yue Yao assisted from the sidelines, providing intelligence. The three worked together seamlessly; Qin Yuan didn't even need to speak—a glance from Su Yao was enough for her to know what to do, and Hong Yue's shout was enough for her to charge. The Taixu Palace suffered repeated defeats, and Qin Yuan's reputation soared. The disciples of the Tianxuan Sect, their morale soaring, advanced triumphantly.

Su Yao's attitude towards Yue Yao gradually softened. One night, during a conversation, Su Yao asked, "Why did you help him?" Yue Yao replied, "Because he treats me like a human being." Hong Yue silently drank her wine, saying nothing. Su Yao glanced at her. "Aren't you going to say something?" Hong Yue said, "I'm good at fighting, but not at talking."

Emperor Taixu retreated to Mount Taixu. Standing atop the mountain, he looked down at the massive, dark army of the Tianxuan Sect, his hands trembling. He activated the ancient forbidden formation—the "Taixu Annihilation Formation." The formation transformed the entire mountain into a purgatory, black mist surging from the ground, blotting out the sun. Spiritual power was suppressed, cultivation was weakened, and even breathing became difficult.

Qin Yuan led his troops into the array's range, feeling his cultivation suppressed and his spiritual energy draining away. Hong Yue struggled to breathe, and Su Yao's face turned pale. Yue Yao said, "The core of the array is within the body of the Taixu Emperor himself; to break the array, we must kill him." Qin Yuan said, "Then kill him."

The voice of the Supreme Emperor Taixu echoed from within the black mist: "Qin Yuan, you cannot kill me. This is my home turf!"

Countless puppet soldiers surged forth from the black mist, feeling no pain, tireless, and advancing wave after wave. Qin Yuan led his men in a fierce battle, but the Heavenly Profound Sect disciples suffered heavy casualties under the suppression of the formation. Qin Yuan was besieged by several puppets, while Su Yao and Hong Yue were separated into different areas. Yue Yao knew the formation's weakness—the formation's core was in the chest of the Taixu Emperor—but she was entangled by the puppets and unable to escape.

Qin Yuan burned 50,000 years of his lifespan. Thirty golden patterns lit up on the bone blade, their light piercing through the black mist. He used himself as a conduit, forcibly absorbing the dark source energy within the formation and converting it into his own power. The black mist was torn open by his aura, and he found the location of the Grand Void Emperor.

The Grand Void Emperor stood at the core of the formation, his hands forming a hand seal. His aura was that of a fifth-level Void Sovereign, a whole realm higher than Qin Yuan's. Seeing Qin Yuan charging towards him, he unleashed both palms simultaneously, their power as vast as mountains and as boundless as the sea. Qin Yuan's bone blade met the attack head-on, forcing him back and causing him to cough up blood. He did not retreat, continuing to slash with his bone blade. One strike, two strikes, three strikes. He traded his injury for another; his left arm was broken by a palm strike from the Grand Void Emperor, exposing the bone fragments. But his bone blade pierced through the Grand Void Emperor's right shoulder.

Emperor Taixu cried out in pain, his movements faltering, revealing an opening. Qin Yuan seized this moment, his bone blade piercing Emperor Taixu's chest, shattering the core of the formation. The black mist dissipated like the receding tide, and Mount Taixu was once again bathed in sunlight. Emperor Taixu knelt on the ground, clutching his chest, blood gushing forth.

"You...you won."

Qin Yuan didn't kill him. With a swift stroke of his bone blade, he severed the Taixu Emperor's arms and sealed his cultivation. The Taixu Emperor collapsed to the ground like a rag doll. Qin Yuan escorted him to the main hall of the Taixu Palace and announced in front of the surrendered disciples, "From this day forward, the Taixu Palace ceases to exist." The Taixu Emperor was imprisoned in the Tianxuan Sect's dungeon. Su Yao suggested killing him to prevent future trouble, but Qin Yuan said, "Keep him alive, let the Taixu Palace disciples see who they've pledged their allegiance to."

Qin Yuan looted the Taixu Palace's treasury. Millions of Chaos Origin Crystals, thousands of bottles of pills, and hundreds of cultivation manuals filled half the main hall. Hongyue stared, her eyes wide. "We've struck it rich," Qin Yuan said. "But it's not yours." Hongyue pouted.

Qin Yuan recruited the elite disciples of Taixu Palace and disbanded the ordinary disciples. Yueyao was in charge of screening them, with Su Yao supervising. Yueyao said to Qin Yuan, "I didn't expect you to handle it this way." Qin Yuan replied, "Killing is not the goal. Only the living are useful."

News of the destruction of the Taixu Palace reached the Chaos Ancestral Domain. Bing Ji, a genius female cultivator from the Tianji Pavilion, was ordered to investigate. She was a sixth-level Void Sovereign, possessing unparalleled beauty and an icy temperament, like a block of ten-thousand-year-old ice. She arrived at the Tianxuan Sect, where Qin Yuan received her at Zixiao Peak.

Bing Ji sneered when she saw that Qin Yuan was only at the ninth level of the Void God Emperor realm. "A mere Void God Emperor can destroy the Taixu Palace? I don't believe it." Qin Yuan said, "Whether you believe it or not is your business. The Taixu Palace is already gone." Bing Ji looked him up and down. "You possess the aura of a Heavenly Monarch's inheritance."

She challenged him to a duel. Qin Yuan said, "Didn't you come here to investigate?" Bing Ji replied, "I'll investigate after we've fought." The two clashed atop Zixiao Peak. Bing Ji used the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's secret technique, "Frozen Heavenly Prison," to freeze Qin Yuan. The ice was three feet thick, transparent as glass, and Qin Yuan was frozen inside, motionless. Bing Ji thought she had won and turned to leave. Suddenly, the ice shattered. Thirty lines on Qin Yuan's bone blade lit up, and he broke through the ice, severing a strand of Bing Ji's hair with a single stroke. The hair fluttered in the wind, and Bing Ji retreated, conceding defeat.

"You are qualified to participate in the Heavenly Pride Tournament." Qin Yuan asked, "What tournament?" Bing Ji replied, "The Chaos Heavenly Pride Tournament."

Bing Ji explained the rules to Qin Yuan: the Chaos Ancestral Domain holds a rematch every hundred years, and only those at the Void Sovereign level or above can participate. The winner receives the inheritance of the Chaos Heavenly Monarch. Qin Yuan asked, "Can I, a ninth-level Void God Emperor, participate?" Bing Ji said, "Rules are rules, but people are flexible. I can recommend you." Qin Yuan asked why she would help him. "Because you're interesting. A Void God Emperor slaying a fifth-level Void Sovereign—the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion needs such a monster."

Qin Yuan said, "I don't serve anyone." Bing Ji said, "It's cooperation, not service."

Su Yao arrived and her eyes turned cold upon seeing Bing Ji. "And this is?" Bing Ji introduced herself. Su Yao said, "The Tianxuan Sect doesn't welcome people from the Tianji Pavilion." Bing Ji looked at Su Yao, then at Qin Yuan. "Your woman? Quite nosy," Qin Yuan said. "She's the Vice Sect Master. I'll consider going to the Heavenly Pride Tournament."

After Bingji left, Su Yao asked Qin Yuan, "Are you really going?" Qin Yuan said, "I need more power." Su Yao remained silent. Hongyue said, "I'm going too." Qin Yuan shook his head. "You stay here and keep an eye on the Tianxuan Sect for me." Hongyue nodded reluctantly.

Yueyao volunteered, "I'm familiar with the Chaos Ancestral Domain and can guide Qin Yuan." Qin Yuan agreed. Su Yao's expression grew even colder. "You're taking Yueyao, but not me?" Qin Yuan said, "The Heavenly Profound Sect needs you to oversee things." Su Yao turned her head away. "Whatever."