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

The seven women's innate marks lit up uncontrollably at the same time, and seven beams of holy light shot out from their foreheads, greedily devoured by that eye.

"The gaze of the ancient gods..." The cult leader knelt on the ground, his face filled with fanaticism, "Descend! Use these seven holy bodies as sacrifices to descend upon this lowly land!"

Qin Yuan made a move.

His figure vanished from his spot and reappeared above the altar the next moment, the bone blade raised high, the patterns on the blade surging to tens of millions, and the power of chaos surging into the blade like a vast ocean.

He cleaved down with a single stroke.

This is not any move from the Breaking Void Blade Technique, but a blade technique he created after fusing the Nine Transformations of Chaos and the Guardian of Heavenly Dao. This strike has no name, but its power is enough to tear the heavens and earth apart.

The blade flashed into the crack, striking the very center of the eye's pupil.

The eyes are closed.

It wasn't Qin Yuan who wounded it; rather, it closed its eyes on its own. Just before the blade was about to strike, the eye seemed to see something terrifying, abruptly closing and disappearing without a trace along with the crack.

The black vortex dissipated, all the demonic energy threads snapped, and the cult leader's fanatical smile froze on his face.

"No...impossible!" The cult leader's body began to tremble violently. "Why would the ancient gods be afraid of you? You're nothing but—"

He didn't finish speaking. Qin Yuan's bone blade was already at his neck.

The blade pressed against his throat, the chaotic power on the blade frantically eroding the demonic energy within his body. The cult leader's body began to convulse violently, and countless fine cracks appeared on his bluish-gray skin, from which demonic energy leaked out wildly.

"The ancient god is afraid of me?" Qin Yuan looked down at him, his white hair fluttering in the residual air currents. "Of course it's afraid of me. I said something like that ten thousand years ago."

He pushed the blade forward an inch.

"No matter what god it is, anyone who harms my people must die."

The cult leader's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but Qin Yuan didn't give him a chance. With a horizontal slash of the bone blade, he severed his neck.

His head hit the ground, rolled a few times on the altar steps, and came to rest in a pool of black blood. His eyes, burning with green flames, were still staring at Qin Yuan, his lips moving as if uttering a silent curse.

Qin Yuan stomped on his head and crushed it.

Then he turned around, severed the chains binding Yan Yue with a single stroke, and caught her falling body.

Yan Yue landed in his arms, as light as a feather. She had lost a lot of weight; the marks from the chains on her wrists were so deep that the bone was visible, and her primal energy had been almost completely drained. But her eyes still shone, and with her last strength, she gripped Qin Yuan's clothes.

"I knew you'd come..." She forced a smile, her voice as faint as a breeze.

Qin Yuan lowered his head and looked at the stubborn woman in his arms who had been holding on for three years.

Then he said something that Yan Yue would never forget for the rest of her life.

"Shut up. I'll yell at you when we get home."

Yan Yue's tears welled up instantly.

Su Yao walked over and placed her hand on Yan Yue's back, slowly channeling the essence of the Chaos Holy Body into her body. Yan Lingji stood to the side, watching Qin Yuan holding Yan Yue, her eyes red-rimmed, but her lips curved into a smile. Mu Hongyi sheathed her sword, Bing Ji retracted the ice beneath her feet, Hong Yue planted her spear in the ground, and Yue Yao wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes.

And that vanished eye reopened a crack in the final gap of the rift as it closed.

It gazed at Qin Yuan's back across the endless void.

His eyes were filled with greed.

When Yan Yue woke up, she saw a dim oil lamp on the top of the tent.

The wick was almost burned out, the flame flickering and casting swaying shadows on the tent fabric. A faint scent of tea mingled with herbs filled the air—not pleasant, but it brought her peace. She hadn't smelled this aroma in a long time.

"Don't move."

Su Yao's voice came from beside her, followed by a hand pressing down on her shoulder, the pressure light but firm. Yan Yue turned her head and saw Su Yao sitting on a low stool by the bed, holding a bowl of dark medicinal soup, stirring it slowly with a spoon.

"Seventy percent of your essence has been drained, your meridians have seventeen lacerations, your left leg is broken, and three ribs are broken." Su Yao's tone was calm, as if she were reading a list. "I used the Chaos Essence to help you reconnect your meridians, but you'll have to heal the rest of your injuries on your own. You're not allowed to get out of bed for at least three days."

Yan Yue opened her mouth, her throat as dry as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. Su Yao put down the medicine bowl, helped her sit up halfway, and brought a bowl of warm water to her lips. Yan Yue drank two sips, and finally, she could make a sound.

Where is Qin Yuan?

She felt a little embarrassed when she asked those two words. The first thing she said when she woke up was where he was.

Su Yao didn't laugh at her, but simply gestured with her chin towards the outside of the tent: "He's outside. He's been sitting outside the tent for a whole day and night since you fell unconscious, and he won't leave no matter who tries to persuade him."

Yan Yue paused for a moment, then the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a smile. But she quickly suppressed that smile and resumed her usual cold expression.

"I'm not worried about him," she added.

"Yes, I know." Su Yao picked up the medicine bowl, scooped a spoonful, and held it to her lips. "Here, drink your medicine."

Yan Yue obediently opened her mouth, the black medicine tasting bitter and making her frown. But she swallowed it all. After being imprisoned in the dungeon of the Heavenly Mystery Sect for so long, her tolerance for pain had reached a terrifying level.

After feeding Yan Yue the medicine, Su Yao placed the bowl aside and reached out to feel Yan Yue's forehead. The Chaos Saint Body's perception penetrated Yan Yue's body, relaying her internal condition back to her.

"You've recovered faster than I expected." Su Yao withdrew her hand, her tone tinged with approval. "You have a very good foundation; your foundation at the second level of the Creation Realm wasn't completely destroyed. Once your origin is restored, your cultivation level shouldn't drop too much."

"None of that matters." Yan Yue leaned back on the pillow, her eyes fixed on the tent ceiling. "Is the Heavenly Mystery Cult Leader dead?"

"He's dead. Qin Yuan killed him himself."

"Where is that thing?" Yan Yue's gaze turned to Su Yao. "That eye."

Su Yao paused for a moment.

"No," she said. "It was still inside when the crack closed. Qin Yuan said it would come out again."

Yan Yue closed her eyes and took a deep breath. During her imprisonment in the Heavenly Mystery Sect, she had sensed the presence of that eye countless times. It wasn't like a living being, but more like a will—a pure, cold, and greedy will. Every time it gazed at her, she felt her soul being peeled away inch by inch, all her memories, emotions, and will being thoroughly examined.