Chapter 517: Decisive Battle in the Snowy Domain, the Opportunity to Break the Formation

While dodging attacks, Xiao Yuan was also enduring a massive internal shock. The Ancestor's words drilled into her heart like demonic sounds, causing her to begin doubting whether her understanding of the Nature Path was too one-sided.

"No, this is not the true power of Nature!" Xiao Yuan gritted her teeth, forcibly dispelling the doubts in her heart. "True Nature is harmony and balance, not this kind of twisted evil!"

She exerted her full strength to drive the power of Nature, engaging in a fierce contest with the Ancestor. This was not just a duel of power, but a collision of philosophies. In the end, the pure power of Nature overcame the corrupted evil power; the Ancestor regained clarity, apologized to Xiao Yuan with tears in his eyes, and then dissipated.

The subsequent trials were even more difficult. The guardian of the fourth level made her experience the despair of a solitary cultivator, while the guardian of the fifth level showed her what it would have been like had she chosen the Void Path back then.

In the illusion of the fifth level, Xiao Yuan saw another version of herself—the Xiao Yuan who had chosen the Void Path. She possessed powerful strength and could shuttle between different spaces, but her heart was filled with coldness and detachment. She had no friends, no attachments, only an endless sense of nothingness.

"Is this what you truly want?" the self in the illusion asked. "Power, freedom, unbound by anything?"

Xiao Yuan was silent for a long time before finally shaking her head: "No, this is not what I want. I chose the Nature Path not just for power, but for that beauty of living in harmony with all things."

The sixth level tested her attitude toward wealth and status, while the seventh level displayed a life of completely abandoning cultivation and returning to the mundane. In this illusion, Xiao Yuan saw herself become an ordinary village woman, living a plain and comfortable life, with a husband, children, and a warm family.

This illusion was so real that Xiao Yuan almost drowned in it. That simple and pure happiness, that feeling of being needed and loved, were things she had never experienced on the path of cultivation.

"Why pursue those ethereal Great Daos?" the husband in the illusion said gently. "Isn't this kind of life good?"

Xiao Yuan's heart began to waver, and she almost accepted this life. But just then, she thought of Lin Xuan, thought of the Fate Compass, and thought of her companions currently fighting a bitter battle in Hunyuan Valley.

"My responsibility does not allow me to stop my steps," Xiao Yuan said firmly. "Perhaps a mundane life is beautiful, but now is not the time to enjoy it."

She resolutely shattered the illusion and stepped onto the stairs of the eighth level.

The eighth level had no guardian, only a giant mirror. What the mirror reflected was not Xiao Yuan's appearance, but her inner world—there was light there, and also darkness; there was firm belief, and also moments of wavering; there was a yearning for beauty, and also a fear of the unknown.

Xiao Yuan gazed quietly at herself in the mirror, recognizing her true face so clearly for the first time. She was not a perfect saint, nor an evil demon lord, just an ordinary cultivator striving forward on the path of cultivation.

The peak of the Snowy Immortal Mountain was covered in silver, the ice and snow that had not melted for a thousand years shimmering with a blinding light under the sun. Yet at this moment, this sacred land was defiled by the flames of war, the sounds of intense magical collisions echoing in the valley, shaking the accumulated snow until it fell in droves.

When Muerxiu and Lingjizi arrived, this was the tragic scene they saw. Xu Feng was surrounded by over a dozen Guixu Sect experts; he had already sustained multiple injuries, and fresh blood bloomed like red flowers on his snow-white Daoist Robe. Those Guixu Sect cultivators all possessed impressive strength, all at the Transformation Stage or above, and their application of Void power was quite exquisite, making them even more like fish in water in this icy, snowy environment.

"Senior Brother Xu!" Seeing this, Muerxiu could no longer care about hiding his tracks; he let out a sharp cry and leaped into the battlefield.

His hands quickly formed seals, and the surrounding space immediately began to twist and deform, as if an invisible giant hand were kneading heaven and earth. Those spells originally attacking Xu Feng instantly shifted direction; some shot into the sky, some struck the mountain walls, and several even turned their targets, backfiring on the casters themselves.

"It's Muerxiu!" The leading Guixu Sect Elder's face changed drastically. "How could he be here?"

The Guixu Sect cultivators clearly recognized Muerxiu; after all, he had once been a proud disciple of the Guixu Sect. However, when they saw the power of the Void Technique Muerxiu displayed, they could not help but gasp.

Muerxiu's Void power was completely different from before; it was no longer that kind of violent power filled with a desire for destruction, but had become purer and more precise. He seemed able to manipulate every detail of space at will, opening dozens of spatial rifts in a single thought to completely neutralize the enemies' attacks.

"Void: Myriad Phenomena Return to One!"

Muerxiu gave a light shout, and his figure instantly split into over a dozen Jianying, each shadow like a real person, shuttling through the battlefield like lightning. These shadows were not simple illusions, but multiple existences he created through spatial folding technology, each possessing real attack power.

The Guixu Sect cultivators were immediately thrown into chaos; they could not distinguish which was the real body and which were the shadows, and could only attack their surroundings wildly. However, Muerxiu's shadows could accurately find their flaws and hit them with a single strike.

At the same time, Lingjizi also displayed the true strength of a Taiji Grandmaster. Although he lacked his Eight Trigrams staff, his Taiji True Intent was instead even purer. He was seen stepping in Eight Trigrams patterns, his body like a swimming dragon, moving through the blade light and sword shadows, every step landing in the most ingenious position. He did not take the initiative to attack, but always appeared where he was needed most at critical moments, either blocking a fatal blow for Xu Feng or creating attack opportunities for Muerxiu.

"Taiji: Yin-Yang Rotation!"

Lingjizi's hands traced a perfect Taiji Pattern, black and white light flowing between his palms. Once the attacks of those Guixu Sect cultivators touched this light, they were immediately converted into opposite attributes—raging fire turned into cold ice, lightning turned into a light breeze, and deadly poison turned into sweet dew.

Under the three of them joining forces, the Guixu Sect cultivators who had originally held an absolute advantage instantly fell into a disadvantage. However, at this moment, a heaven-shaking roar came from the depths of the snowy mountain.

"Who dares to run wild in the sacred land of my Guixu Sect!"

Following this roar, a tall black shadow flew over from the direction of the teleportation array. The newcomer wore black battle armor, their face hidden under a hood and unclear, but that powerful pressure made everyone present feel suffocated.

"Integration Stage!" Xu Feng's face was stern. "It is the Protector Elder of the Guixu Sect!"

This Protector Elder was clearly a top expert of the Guixu Sect, and his appearance changed the entire situation of the battlefield. With a wave of his hand, dozens of spatial rifts appeared simultaneously, each containing destructive power.