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

Mu Hongyi attacked simultaneously. The Limitless Sword Intent transformed into countless sword lights, piercing the giant's scales from all directions. Each sword light precisely pierced the gaps in the scales, slicing off one distorted human face after another.

The giant roared in pain and furiously swung its three arms wildly, smashing the entire mine shaft until it teetered on the brink of collapse. But Yan Lingji and Mu Hongyi moved like ghosts, weaving back and forth between the giant's attacks, each strike precisely weakening its power.

Xuan Qing stood on the altar, his expression growing increasingly grim. He could feel the demonized giant's power being gradually depleted by the two women.

"Useless..." He gritted his teeth and turned to try to escape through the secret passage behind the altar.

A hand reached out from the darkness and gripped his throat.

Xuan Qing's eyes widened in disbelief. He saw a figure emerge from the darkness—white hair, hemp clothing, and a patterned bone blade in his right hand.

Qin Yuan.

"Long time no see." Qin Yuan's voice was as calm as a greeting, but the fingers gripping Xuan Qing's throat didn't loosen even slightly. "You have two choices. First, tell me everything you know, and I'll give you a quick death. Second, I'll search your soul; you can decide for yourself what it's like."

Xuan Qing's face turned purple, his withered fingers futilely trying to pry Qin Yuan's fingers apart. He knew Qin Yuan wasn't bluffing—none of those whose souls Qin Yuan had searched back then survived, and before they died, their souls were torn apart inch by inch, experiencing all the pain in the world.

"I...I'll say..." Xuanqing squeezed out a few words from his throat.

Qin Yuan released his grip, letting him fall to the ground. Xuan Qing clutched his throat and coughed violently for a while before struggling to his feet. He knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"The Sect Leader... the Sect Leader opened the 'door' three months ago." Xuan Qing's voice was hoarse and trembling. "That door is located in the deepest part of the Chaos Origin Realm, behind the sealed palace. He originally only wanted to borrow some power from behind the door to restore his cultivation... but what's behind the door is too powerful, so powerful that he simply couldn't withstand it..."

"What's behind the door?" Qin Yuan asked.

"Ancient God." Xuan Qing's voice was almost inaudible. "The remnant soul of an ancient demon god. It was sealed by the Seven Goddesses during the First War between Gods and Demons, but a wisp of its soul escaped and hid deep within the ruins of the Chaos Origin Realm, slumbering for countless millennia. The door that the Sect Leader opened is precisely where it slumbers..."

"What does he want?"

"Descent." Xuan Qing raised his head, his eyes filled with fear. "The remnant soul has no physical form and needs a sufficiently powerful vessel. It has its eye on the Sect Leader, but the Sect Leader's body is too weak to withstand its power. It needs... it needs seven sacred bodies as sacrifices to reshape a perfect vessel using their sacred essence."

"So those demonized worlds, those altars..." Qin Yuan's gaze grew colder and colder.

"It's all for gathering power." Xuan Qing kowtowed repeatedly. "Every time a world is corrupted, the altar can draw life force from the beings of that world and transfer it to the ancient god. Seventeen worlds, seventeen altars—once they are all operational, the ancient god's power will be restored to seventy percent of its peak..."

"By then, the seven women will not be able to stop it." Qin Yuan finished the rest of the sentence for him.

Xuanqing's head kowtowed to the ground, and he dared not lift it.

The sounds of battle deep within the mine had ceased. Yan Lingji and Mu Hongyi dragged their weary bodies over; behind them, the remains of the demonized giant were slowly turning to ash.

"The interrogation is over?" Yan Lingji glanced at Xuan Qing kneeling on the ground. "Kill him."

Qin Yuan didn't make a move. He crouched down, looking into Xuan Qing's eyes: "Where is the sect leader now?"

"The sealed palace..." Xuan Qing's voice was already starting to fade; Qin Yuan had just crushed half of his throat. "He's preparing the final sacrifice... Once all seventeen altars are complete, he'll bring the offerings into the palace and open the innermost seal..."

"Sacrificial offerings? Who are they?"

"He captured many experts from various powerful forces, all of them are in the palace... There are rogue cultivators, disciples of holy lands, and even generals from dynasties..." Xuan Qing's voice grew weaker and weaker, "And... there's also a princess..."

Qin Yuan's gaze suddenly froze.

Which princess?

"The Ninth Princess of the Great Yan Dynasty..." Xuan Qing finished speaking the last word and died.

The mine was eerily quiet.

Yan Lingji and Mu Hongyi exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. The Ninth Princess Yan Yue, the woman who had helped Qin Yuan multiple times in the Eternal Heaven Domain, the woman who had shielded Qin Yuan from a sword strike atop the imperial city, was now in the hands of the Heavenly Mystery Sect Master.

"He really has a death wish." Qin Yuan's voice was calm, so calm that Yan Lingji and Mu Hongyi felt a chill.

He stood up, and the patterns on the bone blade began to surge, from a million to millions, then to tens of millions, the light on the blade so bright it was blinding.

"go back."

Qin Yuan turned and walked out of the mine, his white hair leaving a trail of afterimages in the darkness.

"Then, charge in."

At the Fog Sea Camp, Su Yao was brewing tea.

Bing Ji suddenly stood up from the edge of the icy pool, her gaze piercing through the layers of mist towards the mine. She sensed Qin Yuan's presence, but it was colder and heavier than when they set out, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Something's happened," Ice Princess said.

Hongyue gripped her spear tightly. Jian Wushuang appeared silently at the edge of the camp. Yueyao put down the bouquet in her hand and stood up.

Two streaks of light landed in the center of the camp. Yan Lingji and Mu Hongyi emerged, still smelling of gunpowder from the battle, followed by Qin Yuan's figure appearing from the darkness. His expression was no different from when he set out, but everyone sensed that something was wrong.

Qin Yuan wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve. The angrier he was, the calmer he appeared. And at this moment, his calmness reminded Su Yao of how he looked outside the Goddess Palace years ago, about to unleash a massacre.

"What happened?" Su Yao put down the teapot and walked up to Qin Yuan.

"Yan Yue is in the hands of the Heavenly Mystery Cult Leader," Qin Yuan said.

This statement was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

The shaft of Hongyue's spear creaked under her grip, and Jian Wushuang's fingers had already touched the hilt. The ice beneath Bingji's feet instantly spread ten zhang (approximately 33 meters). Yueyao covered her mouth, her eyes instantly reddening.

Princess Yan Yue, back in the Eternal Heaven Domain, although they only spent a short time together, that seemingly cold but warm-hearted woman helped Qin Yuan countless times in her own way. Without her protection, Qin Yuan's rise in the Great Yan Dynasty would not have been so smooth; without her intelligence, Qin Yuan could not have found the location of the Heavenly Mystery Sect's headquarters so quickly.

Now, she has fallen into the hands of the Heavenly Secrets Cult Leader.

"Save them." Jian Wushuang only said two words.