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Ye Qin tidied up the fragments of the green jade pendant, scattering them across the medicine field.

The field was somewhat chaotic; more than ten stalks of Dew Grass had suffered collateral damage when Nan Tianba unleashed his Fireball spell. Several stalks were scorched by the flame bursts from the explosion and turned to ash.

Ye Qin secretly lamented the fate of those innocent Dew Grass stalks; that was enough medicinal herb to fuel his cultivation for an entire day, now wasted for nothing.

As the fragments of the green jade pendant were spread over the field, the Dew Grass began to absorb the spiritual energy within them, growing at a visible, rapid pace. The dozen or so stalks flowered and fruited in an extremely short time, only ceasing once the spiritual energy from the fragments was completely absorbed. In the blink of an eye, the ten-plus stalks of Dew Grass had transformed into ten stalks.

Ye Qin used his spiritual sense to move one stalk out of his Purple Mansion into reality, consuming it raw. He sat in meditation, cultivating, continuously converting the Dew Grass’s spiritual power into True Essence, which his nascent spirit then absorbed.

The Endless Void.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed when a speck of yellow light appeared on the distant horizon, hurtling toward the floating island at incredible speed.

“Hahaha, Nan Tianba is back again—!” A harsh roar echoed across the entire floating island. In what felt like mere blinks of an eye, the yellow sphere of light flashed into existence above the island.

Ye Qin, busy collecting the white gleams within the island, was startled and immediately flashed inside the protective halo of the Natal Spirit Tablet to take cover.

Ye Qin stared at the returning yellow sphere with apprehension and disbelief, nearly exploding with frustration. Why hadn't the yellow ball lost its way in the void? It had returned so quickly. If it kept obsessively harassing him, he wouldn't be able to cultivate in peace.

The yellow sphere had been repelled once and was now significantly dimmer and weaker than before, appearing listless and dim, seemingly having expended a considerable amount of Earth Essence. Nevertheless, it was still far more powerful than Ye Qin.

Nan Tianba grinned sinisterly, drifting around the large stone tablet, like a fox trying to catch a hedgehog—unable to find a spot to land a blow.

“Boy, your protective treasure is quite impressive; it didn’t even flinch at my Fireball spell and even knocked me flying! But it’s a pity. I see it clearly now. It’s ultimately just a defensive treasure, possessing no offensive capability whatsoever. It poses no threat to me.

Even if you sent me flying tens of miles away, I could return in a flash. Say, boy, tell me what magnificent treasure this cracked stone tablet is? I have roamed Pingzhou for decades, yet this is the first time I’ve seen such a peculiar thing. Could it be a Spirit Tool?”

The yellow sphere pressed tightly against the light barrier, peering intently inside. It saw some ancient, crude inscriptions on the large stone tablet, but it could not recognize a single character, confusing it deeply.

This made it even more curious, confirming that the large stone tablet was no ordinary treasure.

It had failed to break the barrier even with its strongest offensive methods. After several previous attempts, this time it had learned its lesson, refusing to actively attack the light barrier to avoid triggering any backlash from the shield.

If it possessed a physical body, attacking a few more times would be inconsequential, merely consuming the mana of the body. But without a body, forcefully casting spells would drain its very Essence. A primordial spirit that had long lost its physical form could not replenish any of its Earth Essence. Every spell cast consumed a large amount of its Essence, and when the Essence was depleted, its spirit would simply vanish into thin air.

Since it couldn’t breach the shield, it wouldn't waste its Essence needlessly. And as long as it didn't attack, the shield wouldn't trigger any retaliation, allowing it to cling to the light circle and peer inside.

Ye Qin was secretly anxious but dared not step even half a step away from the Natal Spirit Tablet.

Unable to reach Ye Qin within the light circle, Nan Tianba gradually lost interest in him and began re-examining the entire floating island. It gazed questioningly at the sky of the island, where countless lines of light—what Ye Qin called white gleams—now appeared, representing spiritual energy.

It couldn't help but feel astonished, drifting over to snatch at the white gleams to see what they were. When it grasped the first strand of white light, its own dim glow actually brightened slightly, recovering a trace of Essence.

Its entire form shuddered, and a sharp light suddenly burst forth.

“This—what is happening? Without a physical body, it is fundamentally impossible for a spirit to cultivate and increase its Essence. Why is it that I, lacking a body, can actually increase my Essence and continue to cultivate? This is utterly unbelievable! I have never heard of such an anomaly; it violates the common wisdom that a spirit without a body cannot cultivate. What kind of place is this, so miraculous?!”

Nan Tianba cried out involuntarily, staring in amazement at its slightly brightened spherical form, nearly unable to contain its ecstatic joy. With this surprising discovery that drove it wild, it completely forgot about Ye Qin inside the Natal Spirit Tablet and instead frantically chased after the white gleams.

Before long, it had almost consumed every white gleam in the entire floating island, allowing its originally dim and weak form to recover some Essence.

Seeing this, Ye Qin couldn't help but inwardly groan. The vast amount of white gleams he had painstakingly cultivated after eating one Dew Grass stalk had benefited this yellow sphere. If all the white gleams he cultivated in the future were snatched by this yellow ball, how could he ever hope to advance his cultivation realm?

Furious sparks nearly flew from Ye Qin’s eyes; he almost wanted to rush out and tear the yellow sphere apart. But considering the immense gap in strength between him and the yellow sphere, he was forced to endure and desperately try to devise a way to resolve this crisis. However, with such a massive disparity in power, solutions were hard to come by.

Nan Tianba’s mood vastly improved. After swallowing all the white gleams floating in the middle air of the island, it was still unsatisfied. It madly searched every rock crevice and every corner of the entire floating island, hoping to find more white gleams, constantly muttering, “Where are those little things? There are too few. Those little things must have appeared from somewhere; I didn’t see them when I first arrived.”

“Hey, Yellow Ball, stop wasting your energy looking. I guarantee you won’t find a single wisp of white gleam on this island again. If I don't let them out, they absolutely will not show themselves.”

Ye Qin couldn't help but mock the entity when he heard it still greedily searching for the white gleams.

Nan Tianba’s good mood was instantly ruined, and it angrily retorted, “Hey, boy, stop calling me Yellow Ball, Yellow Ball, incessantly. I am Nan Tianba, the head of the Nan Clan of Pingzhou, a master at the fourth level of Qi Refining. You, a mere brat at the second level of Qi Refining, dare to speak so flippantly! You infuriate me!”

Ye Qin merely snorted coldly. Protected by the light circle, he felt no fear of Nan Tianba. “Yellow Ball, what if I keep calling you that? I don’t care about your third or fourth level; this place is not for you to dictate!”

Nan Tianba searched the entire island fruitlessly and could only return annoyedly to argue with Ye Qin. “Hey, boy, don’t just rely on sharp words. Tell me, what exactly is this place? Tell me, and I’ll grant you a whole corpse.”

Ye Qin burst into loud laughter. “If you have the guts, come and kill me! If you can enter and kill me, forget about granting me anything, I’ll offer my neck for slaughter! If you can’t kill me, then you’re a grandson, and you’ll kneel down and kowtow to Grandpa a few times.”

Nan Tianba was so enraged that smoke billowed from its orifices, its eyebrows flared, and its eyes bulged. He, a dignified primordial spirit at the fourth level of Qi Refining, was being so brazenly ridiculed and mocked by a low-level primordial spirit at the second level of Qi Refining—it was absolutely unbearable, yet he had to force himself to endure it. It was all because Ye Qin’s spirit was protected by the great stone tablet.