I want to tread the heavens

Inside the ruins, the air was frozen solid.

Guo Yan stood at the only entrance, his poisoned crossbow slightly raised, locked onto Ling Xiao. Behind him, the two outer courtyard disciples—one wielding a knife, the other a hook—spread out, forming a triangle with Guo Yan. The auras of the three were released without concealment; all were at the fourth level of Qi Refining, especially Guo Yan, who had reached the peak of the fourth level. His cold spiritual energy fluctuations carried a faint, sweet-smelling poisonous aura.

"Ling Xiao, I advise you not to make a futile struggle." Guo Yan's voice was dry, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue. "Hand over that thing you found in the ruins, and that beast, and I can decide to cripple your cultivation, spare your life, and let you and your old, immortal Uncle Rong get out of the Guo family and eke out a miserable existence."

He paused, his greed intensifying. "Otherwise... in this ancient vine forest ruins, it's perfectly normal for a few people to die and be devoured by demonic beasts. Don't you think so, Young Master Xiaohu?" His cold gaze swept over the trembling Guo Xiaohu.

Guo Xiaohu's face was deathly pale, and his teeth were chattering, but seeing Ling Xiao's straight back standing in front of him, a surge of courage welled up from somewhere, and he said in a trembling voice, "You...you dare! My grandmother is Elder Guo Yun!"

"Elder Guo Yun?" Guo Yan sneered. "Within the secret realm, life and death are preordained. Besides, who would know it was us? There are only dead people here, and you who are about to become dead."

"Enough with the nonsense." Ling Xiao slowly raised the broken sword in his hand, the rusty tip pointing at Guo Yan. His voice was calm and undisturbed. "If you want it, come and take it yourself."

He appeared calm on the surface, but his mind was taut with tension. Three cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Refining, one of whom was a cunning individual skilled in poison and hidden weapons, were outnumbered and outmatched in a direct confrontation. He had to create an opportunity to eliminate one or two, or… escape.

"You'll regret it if you don't listen to reason!" Guo Yan's eyes flashed coldly. "Make your move! Watch out for that beast!"

Before he finished speaking, the crossbow bolt in his hand had already been fired! It wasn't aimed at Ling Xiao, but at Fa Cai, who was not far away from him! At the same time, the boy behind him who was wielding a knife roared and slashed at Ling Xiao's left side, while the boy who was wielding a hook circled around from the right side and hooked at Ling Xiao's lower body, their cooperation was perfect.

"Get out of the way, Fa Cai!" Ling Xiao shouted, his feet moving swiftly like a fish, dodging the iron hook on the right. His broken sword drew a tricky arc, not to parry the sword on the left, but to strike the pressure point on the wrist of the sword-wielding youth! He used offense as defense!

The young man hadn't expected Ling Xiao to react so quickly and from such a tricky angle, so he hurriedly changed his move, causing his sword strike to falter slightly.

"Whoosh!" Guo Yan's poisoned arrows arrived in an instant, heading straight for Fa Cai! Fa Cai growled, its size hadn't increased, but its gray fur shimmered again. It didn't dodge or evade, but instead pounced on the poisoned arrows. In mid-air, with an incredible twist, it used the hardened fur on its back to deflect the two poisoned arrows with two "clanging" sounds! However, the corrosive venom attached to the arrows still left two charred marks on its fur, making a "sizzling" sound.

"Truly extraordinary!" Guo Yan's eyes burned with even greater greed, and his hands moved swiftly, shooting out several more points of dark light, this time covering Ling Xiao and Fa Cai.

At this critical moment, the broken Starfall Compass hidden close to Ling Xiao's chest suddenly vibrated very faintly but very clearly. At the same time, a cool, strange feeling that seemed to reflect the flow of spiritual energy spread from his chest to his mind.

He "saw"—not really saw, but clearly sensed—the trajectories of the incoming poisoned arrows, the extremely subtle dark green trails of Guo Yan's spiritual energy trailing behind their tails. He even "saw" the weak points in the flow of spiritual energy on the hook-wielding boy's iron hook, and the "signs" of spiritual energy gathering as Guo Yan's fingers were about to pull the trigger for the next round of crossbow fire!

It's a compass! It's automatically sensing the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations and attack trajectories!

A stroke of genius! Ling Xiao made a slight adjustment to the dodge path he had already calculated in the blink of an eye. His body slid through the gap between the three poisoned arrows with the slightest difference, as if he had foreseen the future. At the same time, the broken sword precisely struck the node where the spiritual energy flowed on the iron hook on the right at an even more bizarre angle!

With a crisp "clang!", the spiritual energy attached to the iron hook was disrupted by this "point". The boy wielding the hook groaned, his arm went numb and the iron hook almost slipped from his hand.

The young man wielding a knife on the left seized the opportunity to slash again, but Ling Xiao, relying on his compass to perceive the flow of spiritual energy, predicted the direction of the power burst in advance. He shifted his feet and, like a fish wagging its tail, narrowly slid away from the blade, then slashed back at the opponent's ribs.

"So slippery!" The sword-wielding youth exclaimed in surprise, quickly retreating to defend himself. Ling Xiao, however, did not linger in the fight. Taking advantage of the opponent's retreat, he retreated rapidly, letting out a short whistle.

Fa Cai understood immediately. After deflecting the second volley of poisoned arrows, he no longer lunged at Guo Yan. Instead, he suddenly turned and pounced on the hook-wielding youth whose arm was numb from being hit by Ling Xiao's hook! His speed was like a gray lightning bolt!

"Watch out!" Guo Yan shouted sharply, turning the crossbow bolt towards Fa Cai, but Fa Cai's target wasn't to attack, but to charge! It rammed headfirst into the chest of the hook-wielding youth. Although its size hadn't increased, its strength was still astonishing, sending the youth flying backward. His back slammed heavily against the broken stone wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood and temporarily losing his fighting ability.

The situation instantly turned into a two-on-two battle! But both Ling Xiao and Fa Cai were also quite exhausted. Fa Cai's back wound was bleeding, and Ling Xiao's breathing was slightly disordered.

Guo Yan's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected Ling Xiao and this beast to cooperate so seamlessly. Moreover, Ling Xiao's dodges and attacks just now were timed too perfectly, as if he could see through their attack intentions! This was definitely not the perception that a third-level Qi Refining cultivator should have!

"You've got some skill; no wonder you were able to kill the Ironback Porcupine." Guo Yan's slight disdain vanished, replaced by a more sinister glint in his eyes. "However, the game ends here."

He no longer used the crossbow, but slowly raised both hands, his fingernails suddenly turning jet black and shiny, and an even stronger, sweet-smelling poisonous odor spread out. He had cultivated poison arts!

"Let me show you what a real power difference is!" Guo Yan's figure blurred, leaving behind afterimages. His speed was more than twice as fast. His black fingernails tore through the air, carrying a foul stench, and grabbed at Ling Xiao's face! Before his fingertips even arrived, the poisonous gas was already making people dizzy.

At the same time, the young man wielding the knife also turned red-eyed, his swordsmanship becoming even more ferocious. Working together with Guo Yan, they sealed off Ling Xiao's retreat.

The pressure increased sharply! Guo Yan's speed and poison skills completely exceeded the limits of Ling Xiao's ability to maneuver using the compass and the Swimming Fish Step! After several dodges, he narrowly avoided vital points, but his robes were torn by the strong wind generated by the poisonous claws, and his skin felt a burning stinging sensation, clearly indicating that he had been contaminated with trace amounts of toxins.

Fa Cai tried to rush to its rescue, but Guo Yan swung his hand back, scattering a cloud of dark green poisonous powder, forcing it to retreat hastily and growl angrily.

"It's over!" Guo Yan grinned maliciously, seizing the slight stiffness after Ling Xiao dodged, his dark fingers, like hooks, went straight for Ling Xiao's heart! If this grip landed, he would be crippled even if he didn't die!

Guo Xiaohu closed his eyes in despair.

Right on the brink of life and death—

"Buzz!"

The Starfall Compass on Ling Xiao's chest suddenly trembled violently! A spiritual energy fluctuation ten times stronger and a hundred times clearer than before, like a lighthouse in the night, burst forth from the mist not far away! That fluctuation was magnificent, violent, and full of domineering power that could crush everything, and it was rushing towards this place at an astonishing speed!

It was Guo Xiaoyue! Moreover, he made no attempt to conceal his aura; on the contrary, it seemed to be released intentionally, like a king on a royal tour, intimidating all directions!

Guo Yan's poisonous claws stopped abruptly just three inches from Ling Xiao's heart! His expression changed drastically as he stared in horror at the direction from which the shockwave had come. The young man wielding the knife also froze in place, forgetting to swing his blade.

That aura… it’s Young Master Guo Xiaoyue! How did he get here? And this aura… is even stronger than the rumors say! Could it be that he has… broken through?

Just as Guo Yan's mind was reeling from that terrifying aura—

"Clang!"

A piercing metallic clang rang out! Sparks flew everywhere!

At the critical moment, Ling Xiao's broken blade swung upwards at an incredible angle, precisely blocking Guo Yan's halted poison claw wrist! It wasn't a direct block, but rather a use of force! Using Guo Yan's forward momentum and his own upward thrust, Ling Xiao's body flew backwards like a ball being knocked away, spitting out a small mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale, but his eyes remained as calm as ice.

He flew backwards in the direction Guo Xiaohu and Facai were! While still in mid-air, he shouted to Facai, "Go!"

Without hesitation, Fa Cai grabbed Guo Xiaohu by the back of his collar before he could react, and with all his might, he dashed frantically toward the gap on the other side of the ruins where the fog was thickest and the ancient vines were densest! Ling Xiao landed, rolled to dissipate the force, staggered, but did not slow down, and followed closely behind, disappearing into the thick fog.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Guo Yan recovered from the shock of Guo Xiaoyue's aura and the disorientation of his wrist, all he could see was swirling mist and his companion groaning against the wall.

"Damn it!" Guo Yan was furious, but dared not give chase. The violent aura had already swept in like a whirlwind!

"boom!"

A tall, imposing figure, swirling with pale blue whirlwinds, crashed into the center of the ruins like a meteorite, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in the stone slabs. As the dust settled, Guo Xiaoyue's handsome face, though etched with impatience and arrogance, was revealed. He didn't even glance at Guo Yan or the injured on the ground; his sharp gaze swept across the ruins, lingering briefly near the foundation of the central palace, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Useless." He uttered two words coldly, it was unclear whether he was referring to Guo Yan and the others or the vanished Ling Xiao, "He couldn't even take down a mere Qi Refining Level 3 nobody, and he was completely fooled."

Guo Yan's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he bowed and said, "Young Master Xiaoyue, that kid is very cunning, and that beast..."

"I'm not interested in excuses." Guo Xiaoyue interrupted him, her gaze returning to the direction where Ling Xiao had disappeared, a cruel smile curving her lips. "However, he can run away, but he can't hide. The final rankings of the competition will still depend on the 'Spirit Seals.' He took what he shouldn't have, so... in front of everyone, we'll crush him fair and square and take it from him. That'll be more interesting."

He sensed the faint, lingering, strange fluctuation in the air that caused even his wind-attribute spiritual power to stir (from the Starfall Compass), and his interest intensified.

"Ling Xiao... I hope you can last a few more rounds, so I don't get too bored."

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved again, transforming into a streak of azure light, and flew towards the core area of ​​the secret realm. That was the gathering place of high-level demonic beasts and rare spiritual plants, and also the main battlefield for the competition for "spiritual seals".

In the ruins, only Guo Yan, his face ashen, and two disheveled companions remained.

"Young Master Xiaoyue has his eye on him..." The young man wielding the knife swallowed hard.

"It's better if we keep an eye on him." Guo Yan wiped away a trace of black blood from the corner of his mouth caused by the backlash of his poison technique, his eyes filled with venom. "Once Young Master Xiaoyue tramples him into the mud in front of everyone, then we'll... Hmph. Let's go hunt down demonic beasts, collect enough 'Spirit Seals,' and make sure we make it to the finals!"