No wonder an army of one hundred thousand still suffered defeat.

Sensing danger, the Earth-grade assassin instinctively turned his head, but Chen Nan’s Sky-Splitting Sword Finger had already pierced through his skull in a split second, extracting the memories from his sea of consciousness along the way.

Obtaining the assassin's memories, a faint smile played at the corners of Chen Nan's mouth as he melted into the misty embrace of the primeval forest amidst the man's dying scream.

Just as he vanished, another Earth-grade assassin from the Blood Fiend Sect rushed over. Seeing the gruesome state of his comrade, his expression shifted and turned rather ugly.

The Fifth-layer Immortal Realm cultivators of their Blood Fiend Sect were by no means weaker than the Sixth or Seventh-layer ones of other sects, yet before Chen Nan, he had not even the power to fight back, being struck down in a single surprise attack.

"Chen Nan, I'll have you dead."

A ball of blood-red flame materialized in the assassin's hand. As it flickered onto the corpse, the body rapidly withered, turning into a dried husk before being eroded by the toxic miasma and instantly crumbling into powder.

Having done this, the assassin collected his companion's storage ring and immortal artifact, then stood up, his eyes flashing with a bloodshot gaze as he stared into the distance.

Several thousand meters away from his original spot, Chen Nan came to a halt.

He frowned slightly. He had known something was amiss all along, but he hadn't expected the enemy to arrive so quickly and remain so composed.

Standing within the thick fog was a middle-aged man, gazing at him with absolute calm, as if he had been waiting there for him all along.

"You seem awfully confident."

Chen Nan glanced at the man in the distance and let out a cold smile.

The man was roughly at the Seventh-layer Immortal Realm, enveloped in a faint, blood-red radiance that kept the toxic miasma at bay.

Standing there, he seemed almost blended into the poisonous fog; had one not seen him with their own eyes, his presence would have been entirely imperceptible.

"Naturally. To kill you without paying any price at all is simply impossible. In truth, you shouldn't have been in such a rush to make your move. You'll regret this soon enough."

As a Heaven-grade assassin, Nangong Ye looked upon even Tenth-layer Immortal Realm cultivators without the slightest bit of pressure.

Therefore, he had remained calm and collected, waiting for Chen Nan to walk right into the trap. When Chen Nan launched a sneak attack on the Earth-grade assassin, he had already spotted his opponent, yet he did not rush to help because he knew very well that the enemy's strike was far too swift to intercept.

"Regret?"

Chen Nan shrugged, unconcerned.

Actually, he also felt that the cultivation arts practiced by the Blood Fiend Sect were rather bizarre, though he couldn't quite pinpoint where the peculiarity lay.

"Hehe, come then. Let's test your strength."

Nangong Ye offered a sinister smile, then rapidly closed in to attack Chen Nan.

He had originally intended to ambush Chen Nan, only to have one of his own men ambushed instead. It dawned on him instantly that Chen Nan's strength was by no means ordinary within the Immortal Realm, and if those four Earth-grade assassins were dispersed, they simply wouldn't be able to handle him.

Losing one Earth-grade assassin was something the Blood Fiend Sect could replace, but if four of them died, he would not be able to shoulder the responsibility.

Besides, with the towering Heaven-reaching Sect and the Two Poles Sect also meddling in this affair this time around, there was no need to suffer catastrophic losses; losing just one was enough.

"Such speed."

Chen Nan thought to himself. He carried countless spiritual liquids and immortal herbs on his person; any loss of vital blood could be replenished instantly, and his blood was certainly not something these fellows from the Blood Fiend Sect could compare to.

Having plundered the memories of that Earth-grade assassin, he had gained some understanding of the Blood Fiend Sect's mission this time, and he couldn't help but feel a shred of curiosity regarding the true strength of that Supreme Elder.

The Southern Heavenly Monarch of the Heaven-reaching Sect and the Boundless Heavenly Monarch—it was entirely unexpected that these two Heavenly Monarchs were actually willing to expend such immense effort to deal with him.

Nangong Ye was a Heaven-grade assassin, and with the other two Heaven-grade assassins keeping Liu Tiantian and the Fire Kirin occupied, right here and now, this man was undoubtedly the strongest opponent.

*Boom!*

Chen Nan was no slouch in the speed department either. The very moment Nangong Ye's immortal artifact struck, he unleashed the Phoenix-Winged Gilded Trident in his hand.

In just the span of a few breaths, his body's immortal yuan erupted, carrying a formidable force as the trident slashed down from the void.

*Clang!*

Metal clashed against metal.

As the two immortal artifacts collided, a ripple of energy radiated outward like a stone dropping onto a calm lake, instantly snapping the towering ancient trees in the vicinity straight down the middle.

Nangong Ye had attacked, and Chen Nan had responded in haste. Although he successfully parried the assault, the sheer impact of the enemy's immortal artifact still forced him back a few steps.

A strange feeling stirred in Chen Nan's heart regarding Nangong Ye's peculiar strength.

Having just perused a portion of the Earth-grade assassin's memories, he knew the Blood Fiend Sect possessed numerous secret techniques, yet for the moment, he couldn't quite figure out the underlying cause.

Right then, he saw the immortal power around Nangong Ye continue to surge like a relentless tide, wave after wave converging onto his immortal artifact.

"Heaven-Splitting Hand."

With his hands tingling from the shock, Chen Nan instantly executed the Heaven-Splitting Hand.

This Heaven-Splitting Hand carried the intent to shatter the cosmos and crush the firmament with immense might. However, Chen Nan was not using it for a direct attack at this moment.

As his powerful immortal energy surged and fluctuated, his right hand turned a brilliant gold, emanating a terrifying aura. Gripping the Phoenix-Winged Gilded Trident, he unleashed the eighteen styles of the trident technique, charging straight toward Nangong Ye.

The primordial Qi between heaven and earth instantly turned violent, shaking the toxic fog across the entire Sea of Poison. Some immortal-grade demonic beasts in the vicinity that had still been attempting to scavenge a share of the spoils now fled far into the distance upon witnessing the strength of these two combatants.

The eighteen styles of the trident technique possessed tremendous might. Chen Nan executed seventeen consecutive moves against Nangong Ye, driving the latter into a rapid retreat as his complexion turned increasingly pale.

"This trident technique is remarkably fierce! Yet, it seems there is still a finishing move left unreleased. If this is all you have, then it's my turn to attack."

Nangong Ye offered a chilling smile.

Within this Sea of Poison, the toxic miasma naturally hindered a cultivator's circulation of immortal energy. That Chen Nan could unleash seventeen consecutive moves of his trident technique in one breath had already filled him with profound shock.

Though his expression remained impassioned, in truth, to withstand the final three moves of those seventeen attacks, he had expended a massive amount of vital blood.

"Blood God's Slaughter."

The blood aura around Nangong Ye grew even more frantic, his entire body appearing like a vessel of blood. He vaguely sensed that Chen Nan was about to unleash his eighteenth move, one he might not be able to block.

"Heaven and Earth as One!"

Just as Nangong Ye prepared to unleash the Blood God's Slaughter, Chen Nan circulated his entire body's immortal power, which swelled several times more formidable than before, and executed the ultimate move of the eighteen trident styles.

"Nothing more than a headless corpse ready for the chopping block!"

Amidst Chen Nan's cold laughter, an overwhelming murderous intent soared into the sky.

As he wielded the Phoenix-Winged Gilded Trident, countless bursts of energy exploded within the area encompassing him and Nangong Ye. Even with the astonishing defensive capabilities of this Seventh-layer Immortal Realm Heaven-grade assassin, he was still battered out of the air by Chen Nan's fierce blow, sending a rain of blood scattering down.

"You..."

His eyes were filled with utter terror, but before he could utter a single word, his physical body was shattered by Chen Nan's trident. Plummeting to the ground, he dissolved into a pool of mangled flesh and mud, dead beyond all doubt.