At the entrance of the valley, a passage several zhang wide stretched out. On the mountain wall above the passage, Xiao Yi Xian and Xin Lan sat cross-legged. Beside them, the earth spirit automaton stared blankly. Xin Lan gently rested her hand on her cheek, her gaze continuously sweeping across the valley. For several days now, there had been no movement within the valley—no word of progress at all. Hearing the words of Xiao Yishen, Xin Lan's face also turned pale, and her gaze quickly turned toward the valley's outer edge, where indeed faint white silhouettes were visible in the distance. As that hunched figure appeared, a sweeping gust of wind resonated behind him, and shortly thereafter, a series of white-clad figures materialized in orderly formation behind him. Silent and composed, they stood motionless, gradually radiating an aura of solemnity and martial intensity that gently dispersed the surrounding toxic air. When the elder拄ing a serpent staff appeared, Xiao Yi Xian's eyes narrowed slightly, her jade hands subtly tightening. Her voice remained cool and composed: "Indeed, a peak-tier battle cultivator—what a generous move from Ice River Valley!" "Ah, well, for the sake of the afflicted poison maiden, it's not an excessive effort on my part. Moreover, according to our Ice River Valley customs, any elder of the valley who is slain must be captured and executed by the harshest of penalties." "The elderly man拄ing a staff adorned with a serpent, was naturally the Tian-Serpent Elder from Binghe Valley who had come to the Lu Shen Gully in search of Xiao Yan and his companions. Now, with a steady gaze upon the young physician at the summit of the valley, he offered a gentle smile, his voice carrying a tone of calm detachment. 'He is... the Tian-Serpent Elder from Binghe Valley?' Xinlan, standing behind the young physician, had grown slightly pale at the sudden surge of Binghe Valley's elite warriors. Especially when her eyes settled upon the elder, her pallor deepened, and she gasped aloud. 'The Tian-Serpent Elder?'" The young physician was taken aback, and also slightly moved—though even as someone who had only recently entered the Dan Realm, she had heard of this man’s reputation. It was said that he not only possessed formidable strength but had also refined the Ice Sovereign Qi to its utmost perfection, such that ordinary Du-Zong cultivators were rarely able to stand even a single match against him. Each time he fought, he never spared his opponents, instead leveraging the sheer dominance of his Ice Sovereign Qi to freeze them solid, transforming them into lifelike ice sculptures that inspired awe and fear. His formidable reputation in the Central Realm was well-established. Little did she know that the very strong cultivator dispatched by Ice River Valley this time was none other than this seasoned veteran. "Little Doctor smiled coldly, turned her head, and said firmly to Xinlan, 'Go to the valley and take care of Xiao Yan and the others.' Upon hearing this, Xinlan hesitated slightly, but recalling that staying would only become a burden for Little Doctor, she finally bit her lip and quickly stepped back, then leapt into the valley. 'It seems everyone will be staying here—perhaps it's because of the injuries they sustained during their battle with the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast last time?' Tian She didn't seem particularly concerned about Xinlan's departure. Today, none of them would be able to escape. Little Doctor furrowed her brows, surprised that the old sage knew so much about their encounter with the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast—indeed, there was clearly some depth to this. 'Master Snake, this young lady shall be under our care. Please rest now,' one of the three white-robed elders at Tian She's side said respectfully, glancing at Little Doctor. "No, I am also very interested in this calamitous poison-woman..." As he spoke, Tian She suddenly touched the scar behind his ear. There, a deep brown mark stood out, with several uneven depressions embedded within it—like chunks of flesh had been literally scooped out—giving the impression that one could feel a shiver just by looking at it. With his fingers tracing the scar, the misty gaze in his eyes suddenly deepened with a surge of coldness. "It's been some time since our last encounter with that calamitous poison-body, though I can't quite recall when—yet I remember him clearly. Today, I shall once again observe this year's calamitous poison-body and see just how far he has come." Hearing this, the three white-robed elders exchanged glances, each of them silent, unable to speak. That decisive defeat at the hands of the master possessing the calamitous poison-body had always remained a deep, aching wound in Tian She's memory. They dared not speak of it now. "Stay vigilant at the valley's perimeter and ensure no one escapes!" Holding the serpent's staff, the celestial serpent moved slowly forward, then stepped upon the void, advancing step by step until it reached the halfway point in the air. It glanced briefly at the young physician and the earth spirit automaton beside her, and offered a calm, gentle smile. "Aside from you, there will be no other living beings in the valley today." The young physician's face grew cold, and her gaze subtly swept across the valley. Her jade hands unconsciously tightened, as the valley remained utterly still—indicating that the fusion of the Heavenly Fire Sovereign's physical form had still not been fully completed. "We can only delay as much as possible. I hope Xiao Yan will speed up!" Taking a deep breath, the young physician gracefully shifted her steps. Just as her foot touched the ground, the earth spirit automaton beside her seemed to be drawn by an unseen force, and with a powerful thud, forcefully stamped its foot onto the earth. Immediately, it surged forward, charging directly toward the celestial serpent. Seeing this, Xiao Yi Xian also hurried to close the distance, her palms radiating two massive gray-purple qi dragons that hissed through the air, swiftly charging toward the celestial serpent to strike and devour it. "This is indeed the puppet—remarkable, no doubt. Yet true peak Dao Sect mastery isn't about sheer numbers; it's about being able to withstand and counterbalance them." Gazing at the earth-demon puppet that had surged forward first, the celestial serpent offered a quiet smile, gently clenching her dry palms. Suddenly, the space before the earth-demon puppet began to warp strangely, and in an instant, it solidified into a tangible wall. "Boom!" The earth-demon puppet struck hard against this spatial wall, the rebound force fully returning to its body, instantly knocking it back and sending it flying. With a simple shake, he repelled the earth-bound spirit automaton. The dry, withered hands of the celestial serpent slowly lifted, then, with a sudden, powerful grasp directed toward Xiao Yi Xian, a colossal palm of frigid energy surged forth, instantly seizing the two massive gray-purple qi dragons. With a firm press, the two dragons shattered, their bodies dispersing into countless radiant energy points that cascaded downward. The colossal icy palm descended without obstruction, and as it collided with the dense, deep gray-purple qi, a surge of terrifying cold radiated outward. Fine specks of ice began to form on the surface of the gray-purple qi. The palm's force pressed down with the might of a falling tree, effortlessly shattering Xiao Yi Xian's defensive barrier. "Pfft!" With her defense easily breached, Xiao Yi Xian had barely time to retreat—before the immense force struck her body directly, sending her spewing blood. Her slender frame then arced like a kite with a snapped string, crashing heavily against the mountain wall, where the powerful impact caused a series of cracks to spread across the stone. Feeling the sharp gust of wind emanating from the silver figure's fist, a faint disdain flickered in Tian She's eyes. He possessed only raw strength—adequate for ordinary Douzong-level opponents—but to him, such a fighter was nothing more than a crude, headstrong brute. A cascade of white, cold air swiftly coalesced on Tian She's arms, forming within moments into a set of ice gauntlets. Then, he launched a punch! Thud! The ice fist met the earth-dwelling automaton's punch with a force that created a striking visual impact, sending a shower of ice fragments flying. The ice shards shot outward from the ice fist as Tian She let out a cold laugh. Suddenly, his arm began to move in a most unusual, serpentine manner, then surged with a powerful vibration. Thud! A tidal wave of force surged forth, radiating from the rhythmic undulations of his arm—this force seemed to carry within it the very essence of the earth-dwelling automaton's power. The peculiar undulating motion effectively returned nearly all of the force that the automaton had originally exerted. The power surged outward in rippling waves, directly pressing into the earth spirit puppet's chest, where it indented deeply, forming a palm-shaped mark half an inch deep. If the puppet hadn't already lost all vitality and sensation, this single blow would have claimed its life at the hands of the celestial serpent. Nevertheless, even so, the earth spirit puppet was still violently shaken and sent crashing down, only to be finally embedded deep into the mountain wall after shattering several massive stones. "I think I'll skip back to the Ice River Valley. This Falling God Gully is a fine resting place—quite a decent burial site for your old bones, I'd say..." In the air, the smile on the Sky Serpent's face gradually faded, and his gaze grew somber, fixed on the valley entrance where two figures stepped forth slowly. The Sky Serpent paused his gaze on the younger figure ahead, then turned to the elder with a warm smile standing behind him—only for his once-somber expression to slowly freeze. "A Supreme Combatant?" The soft voice, laced with astonishment and bewilderment, suddenly echoed throughout the realm, stilling the very air around.