Chen Ping knelt on one knee, leaning heavily on his “Metal Splitter” sword, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Sweat mixed with blood slid down his temple, dripping onto the cold stone floor. A sharp, throbbing pain radiated from the wound on his left arm, and his spiritual power was more than half depleted.

Scattered thickly on the ground before him lay a layer of ash—the remains of burned-out talismans.

“Fifty… six…”

He silently counted the Tier 1 Top-grade talismans consumed in the fight, the corner of his mouth twitching.

The cost was enormous. Dealing with these twenty Spirit Gold Battle Puppets had been far more difficult than fighting twenty Qi Condensation cultivators. Their coordination and durability were terrifying.

However, before he could even catch his breath to recover—

Hum!

The floor and vaulted ceiling of the stone cavern simultaneously lit up with countless profound runes. The light flowed like water, causing the entire space to ripple.

In the next moment, the scene changed abruptly.

On the smooth stone walls, the square openings vanished. In their place appeared twenty even larger stone doors, covered in ancient, savage relief carvings.

The stone doors slid upward silently, revealing an abyss of darkness behind them.

Roar!

Howl!

Hiss—!

Heart-palpitating roars erupted from the darkness. A thick, suffocating demonic aura mixed with the scent of bloodlust filled the cavern.

Twenty pairs of beastly eyes, gleaming with hunger and cruelty, lit up in the shadows.

Immediately after, twenty figures pounced out, each radiating an aura at the peak of Tier 1!

Crimson Flame Tigers wreathed in fire!

Wind-Splitting Leopards with claws flashing like cold steel!

Jade-Scaled Poison Lizards spewing venomous drool!

Massive Rock-Armored Giant Bears with exposed tusks!

Every single one was a top-tier predator. They had clearly been starved for a long time. The moment they broke free, their gazes locked onto the only living thing in the center of the cavern—Chen Ping.

Drool dripped from their jaws as greed and killing intent flooded their eyes.

“Twenty… Tier 1 Top-grade demon beasts?!”

A surge of cold air shot from the soles of Chen Ping’s feet to the top of his head. His scalp prickled, and a bone-chilling cold gripped his spine.

He had just endured a bitter battle. His spiritual power was low, his body wounded. Now, he faced twenty ferocious beasts in peak condition, driven mad by hunger.

For an ordinary cultivator, this wasn’t a trial. It was an execution.

Escape? The stone doors had slammed shut the moment the beasts emerged, sealing the cavern tight.

Fight? Being surrounded by twenty elite beasts without special trump cards was suicide. No cultivator of the same rank could survive this.

“Whatever! Just survive first!”

Others might die here, but Chen Ping was different. He had wealth. He had resources.

A frenzied red light erupted in his eyes. His heart hardened, and he fiercely slapped his sleeve. A thick stack of talismans appeared in his hand.

This time, they weren’t just Tier 1. Among them were several Tier 2 Low-grade talismans, emitting terrifying fluctuations of power.

Using Tier 2 talismans made his heart feel as if it were being cut by a knife, but he had no choice.

“Come on!”

With a roar of defiance, Chen Ping did not retreat. instead, he charged forward to meet the tide of beasts, hurling the torrent of talismans into their midst!

Battle erupted instantly!

Boom! Boom!

BOOM!!

Explosions, beast roars, the sound of shattering bones, and Chen Ping’s fierce shouts echoed madly within the sealed cavern.

Flames, ice, metal, poison, wind blades—various Arts ran rampant, colliding and annihilating each other.

Chen Ping was like a small boat in a violent storm. He abandoned all defense, relying only on his “Immovable Mountain” Mysterious Gold Shield and his protective spiritual light to withstand the glancing blows. He channeled every ounce of his remaining energy into offense and evasion.

Tier 2 talismans became his sole reliance for tearing open the beast horde’s encirclement.

“Explosive Flame Talisman!”

A crimson fireball detonated in the center of the pack. Two Wind-Splitting Leopards were blasted into bloody pulp, howling as they were flung backward.

“Golden Blade Talisman!”

A deep cyan blade flash streaked past, slicing cleanly through the rock-hard skull of a Giant Bear.

“Palm Lightning!”

A silvery-white ball of lightning shot into the gaping maw of a Jade-Scaled Poison Lizard, turning its brain into slurry.

Each eruption of a Tier 2 talisman was accompanied by a sharp pang in Chen Ping’s wallet and the fall of a powerful beast.

But more surged forward relentlessly.

Claws tore through his protective light, leaving deep gashes on his back. Venom splattered onto his shield, sizzling as it corroded the metal. Flames from the tigers nearly engulfed him.

Wounds multiplied on his body. Blood stained his tattered robes. His spiritual power flowed out like floodgates opening, sustained only by frantically swallowing Foundation Nourishing Pills.

Tier 1 talismans were scattered like worthless paper, used solely to delay and disrupt, buying him split-second opportunities to kill.

It was a contest of will and resources. A collision between a torrent of money and flesh and blood.

An unknown amount of time later, the final Crimson Flame Tiger was pinned to the ground by an ice spike, its body charred and broken.

The cavern fell silent.

Chen Ping stood amidst the carnage, drenched in blood, leaning heavily on his sword. He coughed violently, each spasm tugging at his wounds with heart-piercing pain.

The wound on his arm had split open again. His back burned fiercely.

Fortunately, they were external injuries. With enough spiritual power, he could suppress them and keep fighting.

He slipped into the Black Earth space within the Jade Pendant to take stock.

Tier 1 talismans: less than two hundred left.

Tier 2 talismans: only fifteen left.

This victory had been pyrrhic. His heart bled at the cost.

He sat cross-legged, took pills, and restored his body to peak condition. This was his true advantage—time and safety within the space.

When he emerged, sure enough, the cavern offered no respite.

The moment his foot touched the ground, the low hum returned. The blood and corpses were devoured by the floor, vanishing without a trace.

Hum!

A soft white light illuminated the center of the cavern.

Twenty identical stone doors materialized once again.

They opened slowly.

This time, there were no beasts. No puppets.

From each door walked a figure.

Twenty figures.

Twenty figures that made Chen Ping’s pupils shrink in shock!