Gu Qinghe swung his hand downward, golden qi light blazing at his fingertips.

A massive golden sword appeared and fell from the sky, carrying overwhelming qi momentum.

All the cultivators panicked. They rushed toward Li Xiaoman, demanding a solution.

The two sect elders looked at her sharply.

"There’s nothing we can do. The barrier was formed by a Nascent Soul Master’s technique," one of the elders said.

"So we’re just going to die without being able to do anything?!" they complained.

"We’re sorry."

Hearing the apology from one of the Yin-Yang Sect elders enraged many cultivators.

They turned and tried to attack Li Xiaoman and the two elders. Gu Qinghe watched the scene unfold.

"HAHAHA!"

"Do you see it now, Li Xiaoman?!" Gu Qinghe shouted.

"The people who helped you earlier are now turning against you," he continued.

"You’re going to die, while I will continue to live!"

"Isn’t that... pathetic?!" Gu Qinghe mocked.

Li Xiaoman heard every insult Gu Qinghe threw at her. Her attention shifted to the sky, her eyes glistening with tears.

Still maintaining the qi barrier, she glared at Gu Qinghe with burning hatred.

"I hate you, Gu Qinghe! In my next life, I will always hate you and the Gu Clan!" she shouted.

"Don’t talk about a next life. I’ll make your soul suffer in the void for a thousand years!" Gu Qinghe threatened.

"GU QINGHE?!" Li Xiaoman screamed in fury.

The tip of the massive golden sword struck the sky above the palace.

The pressure of gravity descended, forcing all the cultivators to their knees, unable to move, helplessly accepting their fate.

"Die, all of you!" Gu Qinghe declared.

BLAST!

The giant golden sword slammed into the snow palace and exploded with devastating force, destroying the entire structure, burning everything, and killing all the cultivators.

Thick black smoke rose into the sky, mixed with gold and red from blazing qi and fire.

Several cultivators who had just arrived at the fourth mountain valley stood frozen in shock, their steps halted as they witnessed the massive explosion at the peak.

"What happened?" they asked in confusion.

Gu Qinghe still stood in the air, his body radiating intense golden qi.

He waved his hand to the side, observing dozens of cultivators lying lifeless on the ground.

His attention shifted to Li Xiaoman. Gu Qinghe extended his hand and took her bag of holding.

He checked its contents and found several valuable items, including a Yin-Yang Nascent Soul Pill and many high-grade spirit stones.

"Your death has brought me quite the benefit, Li Xiaoman!"

Gu Qinghe formed hand seals, then bit his finger, drawing blood that condensed into a red orb in front of his face.

They had all died, but their souls still lingered within their bodies before the arrival of the Yuwa Sovereign. However, Gu Qinghe had another plan.

His understanding of demonic cultivation allowed him to use a technique that could extract cultivators’ souls into a large qi essence orb.

That orb could be used for many purposes, but most commonly to break through cultivation realms.

Gu Qinghe threw the blood orb onto the ruined ground in the courtyard, triggering a crimson rune array that glowed brightly with ancient inscriptions.

Six demonic stone pillars emerged, each surrounded by dominant crimson qi energy.

Seeing them appear, Gu Qinghe closed his eyes and began chanting a forbidden incantation.

"Gu juyu lovastaya abhamahe!"

He repeated it three times with focus and seriousness. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The effect of the six pillars and the forbidden chant caused crimson qi light to gather at the center of the ruined courtyard.

A crimson orb of qi formed, sending streams of red energy connecting to each corpse, linking their souls to the void of the Yuwa demon realm.

Gu Qinghe opened his eyes and looked down as the crimson orb began extracting the souls of the dead cultivators.

They screamed in agony as their souls were forcibly pulled from their bodies.

But when the orb tried to take the souls of Gu Qinghe’s companions, he immediately acted.

He extended his hand and captured the souls of Ling Jia, Yan Ran, and Liu Xi.

His sorrowful eyes looked at the three souls now floating behind him.

"Don’t worry. You’ll regain all your memories once you reach the Nascent Soul stage in your next life," Gu Qinghe said softly.

They did not respond. Their eyes remained closed as their souls floated quietly behind him.

Li Xiaoman’s soul was forcefully pulled from her body, causing her to awaken and scream.

Her gaze locked onto Gu Qinghe.

"Gu Qinghe... please spare me!" she begged.

But Gu Qinghe remained indifferent. Li Xiaoman’s soul was drawn into the crimson orb along with dozens of others, merging into the void of the Yuwa demon realm.

After confirming that all the souls had been collected, Gu Qinghe recited another chant, this time with different words.

"Abhamahe Lovastaya Juyu Gu!"

He reversed the chant and repeated it five times. To dismiss the six demonic pillars, Gu Qinghe bit his finger again and offered his blood to them.

The crimson orb filled with souls remained in his possession, while the six demonic pillars and the crimson rune array disappeared completely.

White clouds replaced the rumbling sky. He stored the three souls of his companions inside his bag of holding.

The power from the temporary cultivation enhancement technique ended.

The dominant qi aura around his body faded, and he lost his footing in the air.

Gu Qinghe tried to steady himself by summoning his flying sword.

However, his drastically depleted spiritual qi made it difficult to do so.

Just before he fell, something unexpected happened.

An old man with Early Foundation Establishment cultivation arrived at the palace.

He was neither shocked nor angry. With a single step, his spiritual qi restored the outer courtyard.

With a second step, he appeared in front of Gu Qinghe and prevented him from falling.

His qi allowed Gu Qinghe to land safely.

Gu Qinghe looked around. The courtyard floor had been completely restored, the buildings stood intact as if they had never been destroyed, and all the cultivators’ corpses had vanished into blue particles of light.

As expected. This old man... his background is truly mysterious.

"At first, I intended to kill you for entering my mountain as a Nascent Soul cultivator, fellow Daoist," the old man said.

"But I realized it was only a temporary enhancement technique."

Gu Qinghe cupped his hands and bowed, "My apologies, Senior Daoist. I acted recklessly and destroyed your palace."

"It doesn’t matter. Conflict between cultivators is normal."

The old man glanced at Gu Qinghe’s bag of holding. There were two things inside that caught his attention.

However, he chose not to pursue the matter.

What Gu Qinghe had done would inevitably bring consequences in the future.

"Remember the law of cause and effect, Junior Daoist."

"Good and evil are balanced. I will not punish you."

Gu Qinghe smiled faintly and bowed again. "I am indebted to Senior for your kindness."

"The fifth mountain awaits you. You may go," the old man said.

Gu Qinghe nodded, stepping toward one of the doors in the courtyard and throwing the token the old man had given him.

The stone door recognized the token and opened, revealing a special portal that would send him elsewhere.

"The fifth mountain!"