The valiant man surnamed Peng led the group of Spirit Mist cultivators onward, flying by sword toward the Spirit Mist Mountain Range.

Ye Qin gradually settled down, listening only as Yan Ying recounted the recent conflicts in Spirit Mist City, gaining some understanding of the grim situation. The casualties among cultivators from various factions had reached a horrifying degree.

As they approached the area of the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon, they suddenly spotted several streaks of light flashing rapidly ahead—it was five or six cultivators from the Beast Spirit Sect.

Those Beast Spirit Sect cultivators were riding their mounts, fleeing desperately on their Chasin birds. Seeing a small cluster of Spirit Mist Realm cultivators appear across from the Great Spirit Mist Peak Valley, they were overjoyed.

“Fellow Martial Brothers, save me! I am Fei Yu of the Beast Spirit Sect! Hurry, help me stop the pursuers behind me!” The foremost among those Beast Spirit Sect disciples, a young cultivator riding a fourth-tier Two-Headed Vulture-Eagle, shouted frantically toward the group of cultivators.

“It’s Senior Brother Fei from the Beast Spirit Sect! He’s returned!”

Yan Ying exclaimed. This group of cultivators had indeed come to intercept the Beast Spirit Sect disciples, specifically Fei Yu, to escort a batch of spirit stones to Spirit Mist City. However, Fei Yu and the others seemed to have been ambushed, with only five or six cultivators remaining, most of them injured. Yet, the joy on their faces froze almost instantly, for they immediately saw dozens of lights from various magical artifacts flashing from behind Fei Yu’s group, aggressively hunting them down. Judging by their attire, they recognized them as a group of cultivators from the Azure Vault Plain.

Countless battles had long been fought between the cultivators of the three major cultivation realms, resulting in innumerable blood feuds. When enemies met, there was no need for words; they fought first.

“The cultivators from the Azure Vault Plain are here! Prepare for battle!” “Kill them all!” Seeing their own side being ruthlessly hunted, the Spirit Mist cultivators became furious. They flung out their magical artifacts, transforming into streaks of multi-colored light, charging forward with even fiercer speed, slamming violently into the lights of the Azure Vault Plain cultivators.

Ye Qin hesitated slightly, then tossed out a low-tier flying sword and joined the fray.

Nearly a hundred magical artifacts clashed chaotically in the sky above the Great Spirit Mist Peak Valley, rendering the battle situation incredibly confusing for a time.

Fei Yu and the few fleeing Beast Spirit Sect cultivators, who had been fighting for their lives, finally gained a moment’s respite.

After a brief rest, they turned back to charge toward the cultivators from the Azure Vault Plain.

Cultivators fell to the ground dead from time to time, but the others did not even blink, their eyes filled with bloodlust and rage as the fierce slaughter continued.

However, the balance of power began to shift.

What chilled the hearts of the Spirit Mist cultivators was the sight of a towering, burly giant among the Azure Vault Plain group. He stood over ten feet tall, with a gleaming bald head and thick, dark eyebrows. His coarse face was crisscrossed with several terrifying scars resembling centipedes. Bare-chested, wearing only a rough gray cassock, this man most frequently wielded two top-tier magical artifacts, and his cultivation had reached the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment—he was utterly unstoppable.

A dazzling golden Dharma Wheel hovered beside the giant, spinning rapidly. It could both attack and defend, blocking every artifact thrown at him several yards away, allowing nothing to approach.

Furthermore, there was a Vajra Demon-Subduing Staff, several dozen feet long, sweeping wildly through the sky. One horizontal sweep covered a wide area; the protective aura of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators could not withstand it for an instant, shattering upon impact, demonstrating a powerful armor-piercing effect. Coupled with the staff’s immense weight, no other magical artifact could match it.

The giant charged at the forefront of the Azure Vault Plain cultivators, meeting the challenge of the Spirit Mist group. In the blink of an eye, the three Spirit Mist cultivators arrayed against him were smashed backward by the whistling staff, their low-tier flying swords cracking under the force.

“One of the Eighteen Fiends of the Azure Vault Plain Realm—A-Mu Meng!” Upon recognizing the giant, every single Spirit Mist cultivator’s face paled.

Over the past year of fierce fighting, although countless cultivators from the three major realms had perished, each realm had also produced a cohort of powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Azure Vault Plain, the most ferocious were undoubtedly those known as the Eighteen Fiends. A-Mu Meng was one of the most notorious high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators among them.

That he could stand out among tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators across the three realms in just over a year demonstrated his brutally dominant strength.

The number of Spirit Mist cultivators slain by A-Mu Meng was now too numerous to count. This individual was arguably one of the handful of supreme Foundation Establishment cultivators among the Azure Vault Plain’s ranks, his fame resounding powerfully throughout all three major cultivation realms.

The Spirit Mist cultivators paled in horror; it was A-Mu Meng who was pursuing the Beast Spirit Sect’s Fei Yu. No wonder Fei Yu was defeated so miserably, having no choice but to flee for his life. Few cultivators dared to casually claim victory against such a fiend. “Senior Brother Peng Hong, quickly stop A-Mu Meng!”

“We cannot let him disrupt our formation, or we won’t be able to hold on!”

While fighting, the Spirit Mist cultivators urgently called out, hoping the Peng-surnamed cultivator would step forward to confront the menace.

Among these dozens of Spirit Mist cultivators, Peng Hong hailed from a prominent family in the Earthly Remnant Gate, one of the Seven Great Sects. His cultivation reached the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, and he possessed several decent mid-to-high-tier magical artifacts, making him quite strong in all aspects. Moreover, he usually held considerable prestige and was the designated leader for this escort mission. If they couldn't rely on him, they had no one else to count on to hold back A-Mu Meng.

However, Peng Hong was currently consumed by regret, his stomach churning with remorse.

He had willingly joined and taken the lead because he knew Yan Man would be participating in this mission. Furthermore, this escort mission was merely about picking people up and wasn't considered overly difficult, so he hadn't taken it too seriously.

Had he known they would encounter one of the supreme Fiends of the Azure Vault Plain here, he never would have signed up for this task.

Peng Hong was self-aware. Though he was somewhat well-known within his sect, he was leagues below the Eighteen Fiends of the Azure Vault Plain. This gap wasn't just in cultivation level; it was in the grade of magical artifacts, the proficiency of spells, the strength of divine sense, and, crucially, the sheer, unyielding madness of their fighting will. Even as both were eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivators, their true capabilities were worlds apart.

Peng Hong felt utterly miserable; his skills were nowhere near enough to contend with a renowned cultivator like A-Mu Meng who shook the three realms. But now it was too late to retreat. If he showed cowardice and refused to fight, the reputation he had painstakingly built over the past fifty to sixty years would be utterly destroyed.

In the Spirit Mist Realm, who would respect him then?

Perhaps A-Mu Meng wasn't quite as formidable as the legends claimed.

Under the scrutinizing eyes of the nearby Spirit Mist cultivators, Peng Hong held onto a sliver of desperate hope. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward, tossing out an earthy-yellow bronze cauldron from his storage bag. This small, dull-yellow cauldron grew rapidly in the wind, instantly transforming into a great cauldron the size of a stone house. Runes on its surface erupted with bursts of yellow light as it smashed down toward A-Mu Meng’s head.

“The Stone Refining Cauldron!”

Peng Hong roared, pouring his sword essence into the spell. This mid-tier earth-element magical artifact possessed extremely high defensive capabilities and was immensely heavy—enough to crush someone to death.

A-Mu Meng was in the thick of the killing, and seeing a Spirit Mist cultivator charging him, he barely glanced over. He controlled the glittering golden Vajra Demon-Subduing Staff in mid-air, sending it howling out violently toward the massive bronze cauldron.

CRASH!

The two magical artifacts collided, unleashing a dazzling burst of golden and yellow light.

The great cauldron vibrated violently, and the light from its runes immediately dimmed drastically. Cracks began to spiderweb across the cauldron body with sharp kacha kacha sounds. These fissures grew larger and larger, soon becoming as thick as a finger. Finally, with a whoosh, the cauldron shattered into countless fragments of magical artifacts, scattering in all directions.

Yet, the Vajra Demon-Subduing Staff was completely unharmed, not even scratched. Peng Hong recoiled in horror, his face turning purple with shock. Although this cauldron was only a mid-tier earth-element artifact, earth-element artifacts were known for their formidable defenses. In a single exchange, the Stone Refining Cauldron was smashed to pieces. The Vajra Demon-Subduing Staff must be at least two or three tiers higher than the Stone Refining Cauldron to possess such devastating power. Terror gripped his heart, and he finally understood: A-Mu Meng’s fearsome reputation wasn't earned for nothing. The countless cultivators he had slain were not exaggerated tales.

Compared to his own reputation, his life was far more important.

Peng Hong dared not fight any further. He abandoned the half-ruined Stone Refining Cauldron, turned his sword beneath his feet, and hastily retreated. He possessed many such mid-tier artifacts and several high-tier ones. But now that he had tested A-Mu Meng’s strength, even displaying his high-tier artifacts would only result in them being wasted, and he might very well lose his life.

Covered by several other nearby Spirit Mist cultivators, Peng Hong swiftly fell back behind the main formation, securing himself from mortal danger. A-Mu Meng, having utterly destroyed the mid-tier earth cauldron, was about to deliver a finishing blow to the cultivator who had provoked him, but unexpectedly, the man discarded the cauldron and fled back toward the Spirit Mist formation on his sword. A-Mu Meng sneered, spitting contemptuously.

“Coward! To kill you would only dirty my hands. Begone!”

He disdained chasing such a timid opponent. He turned his attention back to attacking the other surrounding Spirit Mist cultivators.

The Spirit Mist cultivators were filled with dread; wherever A-Mu Meng moved, they scrambled to evade him. In just a moment, four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators had died or been gravely wounded by A-Mu Meng’s attacks. Even the strongest among them, Peng Hong, had been repelled with a single touch. Morale plummeted. Although the Spirit Mist forces still held a slight numerical advantage, they were utterly crushed in spirit, and it was doubtful they could last much longer.

Ye Qin manipulated his flying sword, engaging in the chaotic melee, while coldly observing the battle situation.

The numbers on both sides were nearly equal, both possessing twenty to thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Spirit Mist side had a slight edge, including Fei Yu and the few Beast Spirit Sect members.

But A-Mu Meng’s strength was overwhelming. Wherever he went, no one could withstand the sweep of his staff, and the battle was rapidly tilting in favor of the Azure Vault Plain cultivators. The wavering morale of the Spirit Mist forces meant defeat was only a matter of time. Peng Hong’s cowardly retreat accelerated that collapse.

Ye Qin kept A-Mu Meng’s combat style in his sights, rapidly assessing the situation in his mind. A-Mu Meng’s strength was probably comparable to that of Li Xi, the Young Master of the Spiritual Awakening Sect, from the Cold Lake Forest.

If Li Xi still possessed the Water Pearl Spirit Orb artifact, he might be able to engage A-Mu Meng in a solid, protracted battle. As for who would win, it would be truly difficult to say.

Li Xi excelled in manipulating water-element spells; provided he maintained a sufficient distance, he could potentially wear A-Mu Meng down. A-Mu Meng, however, was almost insane in close-quarters combat; once within range, Li Xi would almost certainly die—one strike from that staff and it would be over.

However, Ye Qin had already snatched Li Xi’s Water Pearl Spirit Orb, and with an arm severed, Li Xi certainly wouldn't be a match for A-Mu Meng now.

Ye Qin quickly analyzed A-Mu Meng’s power internally.

If A-Mu Meng could be suppressed, salvaging the battle might still be possible.

But he had no desire to expend such effort.

Ultimately, this escort mission had nothing to do with him. He was dragged along purely because Yan Fei claimed the area outside Spirit Mist City was dangerous, using his safety as an excuse to bring him along. If this battle were won, the merit would belong entirely to Peng Hong and the others carrying out the official orders; it would not be credited to him. If the battle were lost, Peng Hong would bear the brunt of the responsibility. Ye Qin had no intention of competing with this cultivator from a prestigious, established family for such “merit and accountability.”

Ye Qin harbored no desire to engage A-Mu Meng in a direct confrontation, risking his own safety.

Moreover, the distance to Spirit Mist City wasn't too far. Even if they were routed, with his current strength, escaping back to the city would still be easily achievable. Therefore, from beginning to end, Ye Qin remained exceedingly low-key, participating in the fight only with a single low-tier flying sword, constantly watching the situation in case it spiraled out of control so he could slip away.