As Ivan's mocking voice rang out, Lin Xunrou remained embroiled in a fierce battle with the pack of vicious hounds. Compared to her previous frenzy, she began to achieve some clarity, evident in her twisted expression as she constantly struggled with her emotions. She kicked away a dog that lunged at her in an attempt to bite, making a concerted effort to maintain a brief moment of clarity. Looking over the pack, she growled at Ivan, "What did you do to me?"

"Miss Lin, don't say such ambiguous things!" Ivan teased, playing with the staff in his hand, "You should be asking what you did to yourself. I'm just standing here, purely being attacked by you."

Ivan didn't plan to reveal the secrets of his techniques, while below, Pei Yan had almost figured it out, whispering, "Is the source energy affecting Lin Xunrou's mind? What exactly does it contain?"

"Negative emotions absorbed from the Blood Slaughter World, madness, slaughter! And it influences human consciousness just like the fear origin you obtained, plus..." Lin Junzhao paused and then asked back, "Do you know the difference between this girl and you?"

Pei Yan shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

"Combat!" Lin Junzhao looked towards the ring with regret through Pei Yan's sight, "She is personally chosen as a disciple of Lin Ruxue, with excellent talent, skills, and foundation. Even the Divine Artifact bestowed upon her was specially sought according to her characteristics. But perhaps she was too pampered; despite her age possibly being more than yours and training longer, she hasn't necessarily experienced more real battles than you have. You've grown immensely in willpower and experience by battling top contenders and even cross-tier fights along the journey. Were it you in the ring, even inhaling the same source energy, you'd suppress its influence quickly and continue fighting."

Pei Yan felt quite flattered by Lin Junzhao's praise; he scratched his head awkwardly, "But as you said, Lin Xunrou's power is chi. She should be particularly sensitive to source energy, so how come she can't perceive the problem with the source energy and even let this consciousness invade and control her body?"

"Didn't you also not notice any issues at first?" Lin Junzhao said, releasing a strand of source energy following Pei Yan's palm, "Can you perceive the Power of Origin in this source energy?"

Pei Yan looked down at the source energy emerging from his palm and, after probing it with his Divine Sense, answered, "It's Primordial Fire."

As soon as he said that, the source energy in his hand exploded, turning into a thin layer of frost that froze Pei Yan's arm. People nearby were startled by this sudden scene, but Pei Yan waved his hand to indicate he was okay and continued communicating telepathically, "The state changed? I didn't even notice?"

"That's one characteristic of my and the Blood Slaughter World's feature. Before you touched the Otherworldly Investigation Hall, did you know there were superhumans in this world? No, right! Precisely because we devour and digest otherworldly origins, we have unparalleled advantages in eliminating and concealing the origins, a skill I failed to teach you to identify, my negligence!" Lin Junzhao sighed with relief and exclaimed, "Letting the Daoist Realm face the Blood Slaughter World first was beneficial for us; it gave us a clearer understanding of their strength. I never expected Candle Dragon to have such proficiency in concealing source energy. Ivan's body contains two sources of Power of Origin, deceptively interacting to mislead Lin Xunrou. Those hounds, after dying, released the energy of madness and slaughter to corrupt her mind; she's lost this match."

"If she doesn't kill the hounds, she'll be attacked; killing them only infects her with released source energy. Di Xin's magic plunges people into bliss, while theirs leads to madness, Blood Slaughter! Haha, interesting! Very interesting." Pei Yan listened to Lin Junzhao's explanation, looked toward the ring as his battling spirit surged, and involuntarily clenched his fists, simulating and strategizing how he would handle such opponents in his mind.

The match on the ring wouldn't stop due to Pei Yan's distant thoughts. The constant mockery from Ivan and the mounting negative influence from the hounds' relentless hunt began to worsen Lin Xunrou's situation. But luckily, she realized the problem and focused on the source energy that seemingly had no issues, yet consistently tried to infiltrate her body.

Slowing the penetration of negative emotions and using her own Power of Origin, she began purging the evil source occupying her consciousness. Unfortunately, regardless of how clever Lin Xunrou's plans were, having lost the initiative, Ivan wouldn't give her a chance to turn the tables.

Ivan swaggered through the hound pack, creating a path as all the dogs voluntarily moved to side for him, while the rest continued to ferociously attack Lin Xunrou, who had become more hesitant.

Walking effortlessly to Lin Xunrou, Ivan smirked and swung his staff down with force at the target. Lin Xunrou sent a dog flying rearward with a side kick. Hearing the impending attack from the front, she instinctively raised her arm to block.

"Argh!"

The imagined scenario of easily kicking Ivan's staff apart didn't happen. Though the staff merely struck her forearm, Lin Xunrou, whose physical strength far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators, groaned in pain, cold sweat instantly dripping from her forehead.

Before she could figure out what had happened, Ivan retrieved the staff to hold it with both hands, aimed at Lin Xunrou's abdomen, and fiercely jabbed.

"Ugh!" Bone-cracking sounds accompanied another groan. This time, Lin Xunrou's body retreated, blood streaking down her lip.

"This seems wrong!" Ye Ruozai's voice interrupted Pei Yan's simulation, saying, "Given Lin Xunrou's strength, such a staff strike shouldn't elicit such a reaction."

As Pei Yan glanced toward the battlefield, Lin Junzhao's voice timely elaborated, "Does this even need asking? Divine Artifact synergy!"

The fight on the ring continued. Lin Xunrou, who had endured two consecutive attacks, realized the staff's bizarre nature. Faced with the approaching staff's strike, she tried her best to dodge and seize the opportunity to encase her palm in source energy, swinging it down diagonally at the staff like a blade.

Ivan merely smiled at her attack, neither dodging nor stopping Lin Xunrou's hand from cleaving the staff. With a crack, the staff broke in response, simultaneously unleashing a bolt of lightning wrapped in immense hidden source energy of madness, rushing toward Lin Xunrou's surroundings.

Aware of the impending hostility, Lin Xunrou desperately mobilized her source energy to defend herself, yet part of it seeped into her body, plunging her mind, just barely clear, back into madness once again.