Hearing Ye Qin's words just now, not only the more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators from Xingzhu Palace couldn't help but burst into roaring laughter. Even Wu Yuyue from Jinjia Palace and five or six cultivators in golden robes felt utterly incredulous. This unremarkable-looking man, surrounded by his peers from Xingzhu Palace and pushed to the brink of desperation, was still putting on a brave front. And the cultivators watching from a distance all showed expressions of pity.

Ye Qin's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of those spectators who were eager to watch the excitement. The disparity in strength between the two sides was obvious; in their eyes, Ye Qin had no chance of winning. However, his courage in not begging for mercy before death and daring to be so defiant was noteworthy.

Ye Qin calmly observed the reactions of the assembled cultivators. He had always acted with caution and steadiness, disliking bombastic claims. If the attacking enemy had been a Core Formation cultivator, he would readily admit defeat, not say a word, and immediately flee with Bing'er, getting as far away as possible. With his Core Formation skeleton demon and three Nascent Soul artifacts, he could, at most, hold out for a brief moment. There was no need to feel regret over these ten-plus Foundation Establishment cultivators from Xingzhu Palace; they were not Core Formation experts, and their numbers were not truly overwhelming. Except for Li Shuwen, whose strength was likely somewhat greater, the rest were merely ordinary cultivators, none even possessing a decent high-tier magical artifact.

Ye Qin squeezed Huangfu Bing'er's cool little hands, signaling her not to worry, and chuckled softly, "Bing'er, do you remember how we hunted demonic beasts in Wan Ku Ridge back then?" "I remember." Huangfu Bing'er paused for a moment and nodded. That period was when she first got to know Ye Qin; the memories were vivid, so of course, she remembered. At that time, Ye Qin used the Soul-Seizing Bell artifact to clear the path, while she launched fierce assaults with her Sixteen Ice Soul small swords. Their coordination, despite being only at the Qi Refining stage, had allowed them to sweep aside low-level demonic beasts across the third level of the cave. This tactic of deterrence coupled with surprise attack was particularly effective when slaying beasts.

However, could the low-grade Soul-Seizing Bell artifact still be effective against this group of mid- and high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators? She harbored some doubts in her heart. No matter how powerful this low-grade artifact was, it couldn't possibly exert much influence on these high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, especially a whole group of them. In her view, it would be better to break through immediately and escape far away.

Seeing Ye Qin boldly holding Huangfu Bing'er's hand, Li Shuwen's eyes nearly bulged out; he was practically steaming with rage. The gloomy expression on his face could no longer be suppressed. He pointed his blood-red spear, filled with ferocious intent, at Ye Qin and roared at the Xingzhu Palace cultivators, "All of you, attack together! Beat that pretty boy to death for me! I'd like to see whether my subordinates count as too few!" The more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators in dark green and black robes immediately obeyed the order, manipulating their artifacts to surround and attack Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er. As members of Xingzhu Palace, their strength was considered formidable even among ordinary cultivators.

Ye Qin's eyebrow twitched, just as he was about to make a move. "Junior Brother Ye, you haven't seen me fight in a long time. Why don't you let your Senior Sister deal with them?" As Huangfu Bing'er spoke, she flashed a brilliant smile. She had already stepped forward ahead of Ye Qin, appearing in the center of the area. Her beautiful figure, clad in a white robe, stood tall and proud, her ice-cold eyes sweeping contemptuously over the attacking Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the Spirit Mist Realm of the Central Plains, she had always been the most outstanding, a peak cultivator among her peers, with no one who could stand beside her. Even here, in the East Sea Islands where the strong reigned supreme, she did not consider these ordinary cultivators to be much of a threat.

Ye Qin was slightly stunned for a moment, then smiled and refrained from acting, choosing instead to observe the battle. "Ice Soul Chill Light Sword, Swift!" Huangfu Bing'er's small mouth opened, and a beam of icy light shot out. The sword instantly swelled, transforming into an eight-zhang-long, crystal-clear ice sword. The almost transparent blade was encircled by a vast field of chilling energy, causing the temperature across dozens of zhang in the arena to plummet sharply, so cold it could make low-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators' teeth chatter. This Ice Soul Chill Light Sword sped towards the burly cultivator charging at the very front.

"Nascent Soul Artifact!?" The burly cultivator was instantly shocked, regretting that his eagerness for merit had made him charge too far ahead. Unfortunately, it was too late to retreat, so he could only grit his teeth and control the high-tier soft sword in his hand to meet the attack head-on. The possibility of blocking an ice-attributed Nascent Soul artifact was extremely slim; he was already mentally prepared to abandon his sword and flee.

Crack! The two artifacts collided once. A bean-sized chip appeared on the high-tier artifact. However, the eight-zhang ice sword unexpectedly broke directly in two. The burly cultivator did not expect such a strange outcome and had no time to ponder the reason. His confidence immediately soared, and with great delight, he continued to control his artifact to charge forward. The two segments of the ice sword continued to attack him, one from the left and one from the right. Attack again.

With his confidence greatly increased, the burly man feared nothing and controlled his high-tier artifact to cleave at the two broken pieces of the ice sword. Clang, clang. Indeed, accompanied by crisp metallic sounds, the two ice swords shattered and disintegrated again, splitting into four. The four flying swords continued to slash towards him. The burly man frowned slightly, growing flustered as he tried to block. Four became eight. Eight became sixteen. Under the siege of sixteen half-zhang long Ice Soul flying swords, the high-tier soft sword controlled by the burly cultivator could no longer defend effectively. His expression turned horrified and desperate. The other cultivators couldn't support him in time; in the blink of an eye, he was sliced across by a swarm of ice blades in mid-air, exploding into a cloud of frosty blood mist.

"Ice Storm Sword Array!" Huangfu Bing'er pointed her jade-like hand, uttering four crisp, cold words. After shredding the burly cultivator, these sixteen small Nascent Soul artifacts formed a ring-shaped ice-attributed Nascent Soul Sword Array, creating a rapidly swirling vortex of ice blades spanning dozens of zhang, revolving around Huangfu Bing'er. Huangfu Bing'er, within the Ice Soul Sword Array, was as cold as snow, gazing at the enemies outside the formation. Her proud figure stood shrouded in the misty white cold air, obscuring her features.

Another hot-tempered Foundation Establishment cultivator had charged too quickly to stop himself and was already inside Huangfu Bing'er's Ice Storm Sword Array. The bone-piercing icy aura made him nearly freeze stiff and suffocate; the mobilization of his magical power slowed, his limbs lagged, and frost rapidly covered his body. He looked up to see that the surroundings were filled entirely with the glittering light and shadow of the Ice Soul flying swords—an unstoppable torrent of ice blades surging toward him. With a boom, his high-tier artifact shattered first, followed by his physical body, which then burst into tiny pieces within the rapidly spinning Ice Storm Sword Array, turning into a large cloud of ice-flower blood mist, spreading through the icy vortex, constantly being ground into even finer particles.

The Sword Array composed of sixteen Ice Soul Chill Light Swords successively shredded two high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators in dark green and black robes. From the mist of ice flowers and blood, a chilling killing intent emanated.

The remaining seven or eight cultivators in dark green and black robes saw their complexions change, startled by the terrifying aura of the sword array. They almost all stopped, exchanging glances, and instinctively halted twenty to thirty zhang away from the Ice Storm Sword Array, too afraid to press the attack, their hearts filled with dread.

They had to remember that their strength was even lower than those two high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who had just perished, and their artifacts were not as strong. It required extremely powerful spiritual sense to control so many artifacts smoothly and naturally at the same time, which was inherently difficult. To perfectly control such a complex sword array required astonishing spiritual sense and magical power. If they attacked together, there might be a minuscule chance of breaking the array, but the vast majority would surely perish inside it. To break this sword array, a comparatively simple method was to use a Nascent Soul artifact stronger than the Ice Soul Chill Light Sword to force a path through. But none of these cultivators possessed that capability.

Li Shuwen of Xingzhu Palace, along with Wu Yuyue of Jinjia Palace and the other cultivators, were all stunned, shocked by Huangfu Bing'er's strength. They suddenly awoke to the realization that they had previously been swayed merely by her beauty and had gravely underestimated the true power of this woman who was personally taken as a disciple by a Nascent Soul cultivator. Imagine: without strength far surpassing other Foundation Establishment cultivators, how could she possibly have caught the eye of True Person Liu Yu, a mighty Nascent Soul Ancestor? Even cultivators like Li Shuwen and Wu Yuyue only held exceptionally high status in Xingzhu Palace and Jinjia Palace due to blood ties; otherwise, based on their own innate talent, it would have been impossible.

The field entered a stalemate for a time. Huangfu Bing'er controlled the Ice Storm Sword Array, waiting for the surrounding dark green and black-robed cultivators to charge into it. Meanwhile, the looks these cultivators cast toward the array were now filled with fear and trepidation.

Li Shuwen frowned, his face gloomy, remaining silent. He was no fool; this...