"You're not wrong — I did come for the secret of this deadly land. But I won't keep it to myself. I'll share it with all of you. Besides, I already told you: I have no intention of bringing ruin to the people of Qingzhou. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do about that."
"Murong Yanguan, enough talk. Let's move." The gray-robed man spoke calmly.
"Brother — will you step aside or not? If you don't, don't blame me for showing no mercy." Murong Yanguan gritted his teeth, his gaze flickering. Clearly, he hadn't yet steeled his heart.
"You traitor! Stop putting on an act. You killed even the Sixth Protector, and now you stand here pretending to care."
"Fifth Protector Bai Hu, and all the elites of the villa — follow me! We will annihilate every last one of these traitors!"
Murong Yunluan roared in fury. With a mighty shout, the Mystic Force within his body erupted skyward. At the same time, the five Xuan Wu Realm experts behind him, along with several dozen peak Yuan Martial cultivators, released their power simultaneously.
The combined force coalesced in midair, forming dozens of enormous rhinoceroses. Though conjured entirely from Yuan Force and Mystic Force, they looked utterly real, as vivid as living beasts.
More importantly, each rhinoceros radiated a layer of luminescence that enveloped Murong Yunluan and his forces, projecting an aura of invincibility and unstoppable momentum.
"ROAR!"
Without warning, the herd of rhinoceroses let out roars like those of fierce tigers and charged across the sky, stampeding in every direction. With each thundering step, the surroundings shook violently, as though nothing could withstand their crushing advance.
This was a grand formation — one that served both offense and defense. Its power was comparable to the full-force strike of a sixth-level Xuan Wu Realm expert, making it truly terrifying.
"Brother, after this is over, you'll understand that I was acting for the good of our White Tiger Villa. I did the right thing." Murong Yanguan's brow furrowed deeply, then he bellowed: "Formation — activate!"
The moment the command rang out, hundreds of people led by him channeled their Yuan Force in a furious torrent. The energy churned and surged like titanic waves across the sky, crashing forward wave after wave toward the rhinoceroses, and in the end transformed into countless vicious wolves.
The sheer number of wolves was staggering — they clashed head-on with the rhinoceroses. Though each wolf was individually weaker than a rhinoceros, their numbers were overwhelming beyond measure.
The two forces became locked together, neither able to advance a single step. Explosive collisions erupted continuously, and piercing booms thundered without pause. Fierce shockwaves tore through the area, the ground quaking as if struck by an earthquake, while even the specially reinforced stone walls developed hairline cracks.
The impact was simply too powerful, and the clash was truly horrifying. What made it even more fearsome was that, because both sides relied on formations, their Mystic Force and Yuan Force reserves were essentially inexhaustible — allowing this confrontation to drag on for hours.
But no matter how deep one's reserves, they would eventually run dry. After several hours of collision between these two formidable formations, the Yuan Martial cultivators had all collapsed. Their Yuan Force had been completely drained — not a drop remained — and they lay motionless on the ground like people on the verge of death.
Only Murong Yunluan and his five Protectors behind him were still holding on. As for Murong Yanguan, the situation was even grimmer — out of his several hundred followers, only two remained standing: himself and the gray-robed man.
The gray-robed man had never made a move. He simply observed everything in silence. And Murong Yanguan was no weakling either — the black sword in his hand continuously emitted an eerie energy that seeped into his body layer by layer. It was precisely this strange power that allowed him to face six opponents simultaneously without falling behind.
"Traitor! Even if it costs me the rest of my lifespan, I will kill you both today!" Murong Yunluan suddenly bellowed. The Mystic Force inside him surged outward like a tidal wave, erupting like a volcanic explosion, amplifying his power several times over in an instant.
The five Protectors behind him, moved by his resolve, poured every last drop of their Mystic Force into the formation. They intended to annihilate Murong Yanguan and the gray-robed man in a single decisive blow.
The combined full-force strike of six Xuan Wu Realm experts took the shape of a single titanic rhinoceros in midair. Its might was no less than the dozens of rhinoceroses from before — it was, in fact, even more overwhelming.
"Brother, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Murong Yanguan's right hand clenched tightly around his sword. The black blade dissolved into several tendrils of dark mist that slithered into his right arm like small serpents. An eerie yet formidable power coalesced within him.
"Heaven-Breaking Fist!"
Without warning, Murong Yanguan threw a devastating punch. No visible energy gathered around his fist, but the momentum was irresistible — as if he could truly punch through the sky itself.
"BOOM!"
The fist collided with the colossal Mystic Force rhinoceros, and immediately a terrifying vortex of Mystic Force erupted. Since both sides had committed everything without reservation, once the vortex began to sweep outward, no one was left capable of stopping it.
The Mystic Force vortex spread like the end of all things. Every Yuan Martial cultivator coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and many were knocked unconscious by the sheer force. This level of destruction was far beyond what they could endure.
Yet when the terrifying vortex finally subsided, people were astonished to find that everyone was still alive. Injured, yes — but not a single person had been killed by that cataclysmic force.
At that moment, the crowd also discovered with shock that the gray-robed man was still standing in the exact same spot. In his hand, a purple glow was gathering — and then it vanished almost immediately.
"Was it you who intervened to save us?" Murong Yunluan could hardly believe it. This man had clearly come with ulterior motives, seeking the secret of the deadly land, so why would he save their lives?
"I told you — this expert is a good person! He didn't come to harm us; he came to help us!" Murong Yanguan defended him.
"Bullshit! He manipulated us into slaughtering each other! Our White Tiger Villa has suffered devastating losses because of him, and you dare say he means well?!" Murong Yunluan bellowed. He was genuinely furious — his own foolish brother had driven him to madness.
Pay no attention to the brothers' quarrel, the gray-robed man walked step by step toward the life vein. Upon reaching it, he began to set up a formation. As the formation activated, the heart-like life vein began to shrink. Once it vanished entirely, a massive black hole appeared in its place.
This was no ordinary black hole. It was formed from condensed energy, a dark vortex that rotated slowly, possessing a seemingly devouring force. One glance at it sent chills through the body — it felt as though anyone who entered would never return, sealed forever between life and death.
Yet before this terrifying and eerie void, the gray-robed man showed no fear. On the contrary, he was secretly delighted. Though his face was hidden, his entire demeanor radiated unmistakable joy.
He walked toward the black hole, but upon reaching its edge, he paused. Tilting his head slightly, he looked back at Murong Yanguan and said: "Your brother is right. A secret as extraordinary as this — why on earth would I share it with you?"