Outside of the ice mountain, the dazzling golden boundary pulsed violently before it shrank back and exposed a tip of the ice mountain that was previously covered.

The two region’s teams that were waiting outside burst into cheers when they saw the boundary showing signs of collapsing.

“Is this a sign the boundary is going to break?” Yi Qiushui asked in a surprised voice.

Yuan Kun glanced at her and scrunched his brows in a frown. He said hesitantly, “I’m afraid not...”

“The golden light barrier is shrinking, but it is a rhythmic controlled shrinkage. It’s more dangerous now than it was before.”

Yuan Kun’s narrowed eyes suddenly glinted fiercely. “Jiu Gong has taken over!”

“Jiu Gong?” Yi Qiushui exclaimed. “Wasn’t she controlling the boundary before?”

“It should be Xue Jingtao who was controlling the boundary before. Jiu Gong is extremely arrogant, so she must have thought Zhou Yuan couldn’t break through the golden light barrier and didn’t intend to do anything at the start.

“But Zhou Yuan's ability clearly exceeded her expectations...he must have caused the signs of disorder in the golden light barrier we felt before. If this had continued, the golden light boundary would have undoubtedly been destroyed.

“So Jiu Gong couldn’t sit still and do nothing anymore. She kicked away Xu Jingtao, and she is now ready to fight Zhou Yuan herself.”

Yuan Kun stroked his chin that was barely visible and said, “Although that woman is arrogant, she is indeed capable and decisive. As soon as she took over, she cut off the nodes that Zhou Yuan had destroyed. This is similar to cutting off one’s tail to survive, and it’s the reason why the golden light barrier shrank.”

Although Yuan Kun wasn’t skilled in Genesis Runes, he was still ranked eighth on the Divine Dwelling List and had extraordinary perception. Therefore, he quickly identified the changes that were happening within the boundary.

“I see...” Yi Qiushui nodded in understanding. “But now that Zhou Yuan has destroyed several boundary nodes, can she still reverse the situation by taking over?”

Yuan Kun sighed. “The Meridian Golden Light Boundary is divided into two layers, the inside and the outside. What Xue Jingtao controlled was only the outer layer, but Jiu Gong has now abandoned the outer layer and shrunk the inner layer. In terms of danger, it is now trickier than before.”

The golden light boundary was gradually shrinking and stabilizing as it grew more dazzling. Looking at it, Yuan Kun grew solemn.

“It’s going to become troublesome.”

....

Within the golden light boundary.

Zhou Yuan similarly felt the golden light barrier shrink. He narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh. “What a tricky opponent.”

His opponent’s decisive abandonment of the outer layer made it impossible for him to continue to attack.

The nodes that he had destroyed were just like dead tissue on a person’s body, and now that Jiu Gong had cleanly severed dead tissue, it couldn’t further infect the body.

Moreover, as the area shrank, the boundary’s defenses grew stronger, and it wouldn’t be as easy to destroy the remaining nodes. After all, Jiu Gong wasn’t the same as Xue Jingtao, and her control of the boundary could be described as perfect.

Regardless of the difficulty, there was no way that Zhou Yuan would give up.

Zhou Yuan closed his eyes and expanded his Spirit perception to survey the boundary’s many flowing Genesis Runes. He then sent out a series of orders.

“Team 4, step forward two hundred feet and then move three hundred feet to the right and attack the northwest area.

“Team 8, move one hundred feet to the left and attack the southern area.

“Team 3...

“......”

Under Zhou Yuan's command, the teams swiftly moved to the positions Zhou Yuan directed them to, and they launched an attack.

At the same time, on the top of the mountain, Jiu Gong’s eyes were fixed on the light screen in front of her. Her mouth suddenly opened slightly, and a clear voice came out, “The ninth node, strengthen the defense.

“The thirteenth node, manipulate the golden light to attack the team in the southwest.

“The fifteenth node, attack northward.

“......”

Under her command, the boundary nodes immediately started to operate, either attacking, defending, or hiding…

Zhou Yuan wanted to attack and destroy the nodes, but Jiu Gong’s quick defense created an illusion that prevented Zhou Yuan from determining the nodes’ locations.

Although the two sides hadn’t met, they were already fiercely competing.

Boom!

Frantic Genesis Qi constantly erupted within the boundary.

Zhou Yuan was aware of Jiu Gong’s obstruction because he had only managed to find two real nodes and destroy them during this period of time, even if he had identified ten locations.

Therefore, eight locations were illusions Jiu Gong had sent out to mislead Zhou Yuan.

And in those locations, Jiu Gong had gathered mighty golden light to destroy Zhou Yuan’s teams. If Zhou Yuan hadn’t reacted in time and retreated, his teams would have suffered severe injuries.

The speed at which his teams advanced and destroyed nodes was frustratingly slower than before.

But Zhou Yuan didn’t feel anxious. He already knew that Jiu Gong was much more skilled than Xue Jingtao. Given her mastery in Genesis Runes and her advantageous position within the boundary, it was already a pretty good result for him to destroy two nodes.

He only needed to move forward steadily and not be impatient. Otherwise, he could easily fall into her trap.

Thus, Zhou Yuan began to slow down. He carefully deduced and observed the subtle changes within the boundary before advancing forward.

For the next hour, Zhou Yuan and Jiu Gong repeatedly fought several rounds, but the battle’s outcome still remained undecided. As the nodes continued to shatter, Zhou Yuan’s team also suffered significant damage, with some eliminated from Fallen Abyss after suffering the boundary’s impact.

But overall, as Zhou Yuan occupied more and more nodes, the situation seemed to tilt towards his side.

Outside of the ice mountain, Yuan Kun and Yi Qiushui could feel the boundary weakening little by little.

Yuan Kun didn’t say a word. Although that appeared to be the case, he possessed a keen sense like a Genesis beast, so when the situation seemed to tilt towards Zhou Yuan’s side, he felt a little uneasy. He knew Jiu Gong was very difficult to deal with. And he knew this very well.

Is Jiu Gong really unable to withstand his attacks?

....

On the top of the ice mountain, Jiu Gong wore a solemn expression as she stared at the dimming nodes, but there wasn’t a hint of panic on her face.

An urgent voice sounded all of a sudden, “Senior sister Jiu Gong, the twelfth node has been destroyed!”

Jiu Gong’s eyes glinted fiercely. She straightened her back and stared at a certain place on the light screen. Her red lips suddenly curved upwards, and her clear voice sounded, “Zhou Yuan, you are impressive to have struck so many holes into my Meridian Golden Light Boundary....

“But you mustn’t forget that there is a saying...one will suffer from his own scheming!

“Now that you're inside, don't even think about leaving!”

Jiu Gong held a Genesis Rune brush in her slender hand, and its tip drew across the void like a bolt of lightning, forming a series of ancient Genesis Runes. They sprang into the sky and integrated into the boundary.

When they fused with the boundary, a light speck in the depths of the light screen grew brighter.

With a fierce glint in her eyes, Jiu Gong looked terrifying as she whispered to herself, “Zhou Yuan, since you could force my Meridian Golden Light Boundary to this point, I must admit that your ability is remarkable, but unfortunately for you, I will be the one to win in the end!

“Meridian Golden Thunderbolt, break out!”

Boom!

A violent voice reverberated throughout the boundary, and an aura of destruction rapidly rose.

Outside the boundary, Yuan Kun’s face turned ashen. The wave of energy surging out from the boundary sent a chill down his spine. He realized that this was Jiu Gong’s final attack!

She led the enemies deep into the boundary to defeat them with one strike!