The astonishment on the little golden man's face upon seeing that flying sword was no less intense than Ye Qin's shock upon encountering a Nascent Soul cultivator.

For he knew that when the Golden Armored Guards searched Ye Qin's physical body, they had discovered absolutely no Nascent Soul magical artifacts within him.

Later, that wisp of divine sense, in a rash intrusion, stumbled into the Zifu (Purple Mansion) and was swiftly annihilated by Ye Qin’s quick sword strike before it could transmit any information to the Holy Emperor. Thus, although the Holy Emperor knew his divine sense had been destroyed by Ye Qin, he remained unaware of the means Ye Qin had used to dispatch it.

Believing Ye Qin possessed no artifacts, the Holy Emperor, enduring the agony of the ten-thousand-zhang golden light projected by the four Soul Suppressing Pillars, still intended to rush into Ye Qin’s body to attempt Duoshe (Body Seizure). However, he had not anticipated that Ye Qin possessed a Nascent Soul magical artifact.

The appearance of this Nascent Soul artifact completely overturned his previous calculations. Nascent Soul artifacts possess a unique quality: they do not require magical power (Fali) and can be driven directly by the primordial essence (Yuanqi) of the Nascent Soul. Ye Qin was bound by the Immortal Binding Ropes, his entire magical power suppressed, yet this did not impede his ability to unleash the Nascent Soul artifact.

The power displayed by a Nascent Soul artifact is exceedingly fierce; even a Nascent Soul cultivator would hesitate to block such an artifact with their own body. After all, a cultivator's Nascent Soul is inherently fragile. If struck directly by a flying sword artifact, even a Nascent Soul entity would be sliced in half and utterly destroyed if struck without protection.

When the little golden man witnessed Ye Qin spitting out a fire-elemental Nascent Soul artifact, he instantly sensed grave danger.

He rapidly recalculated the possibility of Duoshe. To simultaneously withstand the four Soul Suppressing Pillars and this Nascent Soul flying sword, given his current speed of movement, rushing to Ye Qin's physical body to seize it had become impossible. Due to a few minor errors—the destruction of the Golden Armored Guard's wisp of divine sense and the existence of that flying sword—the difficulty of his Duoshe attempt had drastically increased, leading to the imminent failure of his plan.

He decisively retreated, intending to reach the ice coffin and return to his physical body.

However, just as entering was difficult, retreating proved equally arduous. Under the crushing pressure of the countless golden lights from the four Soul Suppressing Pillars, he could only advance two cun at a time; his speed was pitifully slow.

Conversely, the Nanming Lihuo Sword moved with blinding speed. Ye Qin himself was not suppressed by the Soul Suppressing Pillars. The more intensely the Pillars suppressed the Holy Emperor's Nascent Soul, the lighter the burden became for him. Furthermore, driven by the instinct to survive, Ye Qin counterattacked regardless of cost, slashing down without reservation, pushing the Nanming Lihuo Sword to its maximum power.

The little golden man watched with deep helplessness as the massive flying sword descended upon him before he could return to the ice coffin. “When was it that this Emperor, even facing one mid-stage Nascent Soul, two early-stage Nascent Souls, and a hundred Golden Core cultivators alone, did not hold them in contempt? Now, I find myself cornered by the sword of a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Alas! The times have changed; they grow harder and harder!”

The little golden man sighed, then blew a breath towards the flying sword.

Indeed, the fierce Nanming Lihuo Sword was immediately blown off course by several cun by the vortex of pure primordial essence he generated.

With a sharp clang, the Nanming Lihuo Sword grazed past the little golden man, slamming violently into the ice coffin, yet failing to inflict any damage upon him.

“Ah!”

Ye Qin was momentarily stunned… The breath exhaled by a Nascent Soul cultivator was truly formidable. By the time he attempted to maneuver the sword for another strike, the little golden man had already calmly returned inside the Black Ice Pavilion.

The ice coffin ceased its tremors and fell silent. Once the four Soul Suppressing Pillars lost their target for suppression, their dazzling golden light slowly dimmed, returning to their normal state.

Ye Qin hastily recalled the Nanming Lihuo Sword and frantically hacked at the Immortal Binding Ropes binding him. After dozens of strikes, he finally severed the ropes. Then, he leaped up, drifting several dozen zhang away, putting significant distance between himself and the altar.

Once he confirmed his safety, Ye Qin looked back at the ice coffin on the altar and the four Soul Suppressing Pillars surrounding it, still visibly shaken.

These four Pillars, originally artifacts the Holy Emperor intended to use against the Great Heavenly Tribulation, were now being used by his enemy as potent tools to suppress him, sealing both his physical body and Nascent Soul within this ice coffin. It was a blessing that these four Pillars were present today; otherwise, Ye Qin had no idea what the final outcome would have been.

This result was far better than the worst-case scenario he had envisioned. The worst he had imagined was the Holy Emperor’s Nascent Soul successfully penetrating his Zifu. If that had happened, he would truly be overwhelmed, helpless. After all, while the Soul Suppressing Pillars in the hall suppressed the Holy Emperor’s Nascent Soul, making it difficult for him to exert his strength, there was no artifact within the Zifu capable of suppressing the Holy Emperor.

Although Ye Qin had escaped this peril, his sense of impending crisis had not diminished. The Holy Emperor had been forced back into the ice coffin, but who knew when he might charge out again? The next time the Holy Emperor emerged, he would surely have devised a method to deal with him.

Moreover, although the Golden Armored Guard puppet had ceased moving and entered dormancy, Ye Qin worried whether it could be reawakened by the Holy Emperor's divine sense.

The thought sent a cold sweat down Ye Qin’s spine. He dared not linger in the palace for another moment, quickly turning and speeding out of the structure. Only by leaving this underground imperial mausoleum could he ensure his safety. He intended to use the passage to escape this perilous place.

Ye Qin exited the inner court, carefully skirting the dormant Stone Man puppets and the Flying Thunder Kites along the way, stealthily emerging from the ruined city area to reach the passage entrance where the group of cultivators had first entered the mausoleum.

Staring at the passage exit, Ye Qin instantly froze. To his astonishment, the tunnel had been completely sealed by surging molten lava. To pass through that lava was an absolute impossibility.

“It must be that I rested too long recovering within the ruins, missing the five-day window and delaying my exit,” Ye Qin muttered, puzzling over the situation for a moment before shaking his head in distress. “This passage only opens once every forty or fifty years, when the alignment of the Sun and Moon stars shifts, causing the lava tide to recede to its lowest point. Must I remain imprisoned in this mausoleum with the terrifying Holy Emperor for forty or fifty years?”

Since escaping the underground mausoleum was impossible, and he had no choice but to continue battling the Holy Emperor, Ye Qin quickly adjusted his mindset and ceased agonizing over the immediate predicament.

The worst outcome would be the Holy Emperor’s Nascent Soul breaching the Boundless Void and wreaking havoc within his Zifu. If the Holy Emperor possessed the capability to shatter the light barrier surrounding his Natal Nascent Soul Tablet, then Ye Qin would be powerless regardless.

What truly concerned him were other matters.

Ye Qin was not afraid of starving to death in the mausoleum; he carried dozens of low-grade Spirit Stones. As long as he possessed Spirit Stones, he could cultivate sufficient food within his Zifu to survive for forty or fifty years without issue.

However, to advance his cultivation, he required an ample supply of Spirit Pills.

Cultivating spiritual herbs and refining Spirit Pills within his Zifu consumed vast quantities of Spirit Stones. The few thousand low-grade Spirit Stones he carried could sustain this for, at most, about a year before being entirely depleted. After that, he would have no means left for cultivation, and the remaining decades in the mausoleum would be completely wasted time.

If he had a stable supply of Spirit Stones, Ye Qin wouldn't care where he cultivated—even being neighbors with the Holy Emperor was acceptable. But being without a supply of Spirit Stones for forty or fifty years would severely delay his progress, making his future cultivation path slim indeed. This was something he absolutely refused to accept.

This was the true source of Ye Qin’s distress.

After pondering for a moment, he suddenly recalled the tribute bag presented by Shi Hanyang, the leader of the Setting Sun Cult, to the Holy Emperor: it contained a thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones, equivalent to nearly one hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

Furthermore, considering how many years the Holy Emperor had been trapped underground, he must have received substantial tributes over time, many of which were likely Spirit Stones.

In that light, if he could acquire these Spirit Stones, it should be enough to support his cultivation for the next forty or fifty years, perhaps even more than sufficient.

Ye Qin’s spirits immediately lifted. He promptly flew back to the inner court palace and located the Golden Armored Guard. He had personally witnessed the Holy Emperor placing all the received tributes into a Sumeru Ring held by this guard.

Since the wisp of divine sense the Holy Emperor had deposited in the Golden Armored Guard was destroyed by Ye Qin, the guard had remained motionless near the altar until now, showing no sign of activity. Ye Qin returned to the hall and, seeing the guard inactive, felt a moment of surprise, wondering why the Holy Emperor hadn't used his divine sense to reawaken it.

Still, this was fortuitous, saving him the trouble of figuring out how to escape a confrontation.

Ye Qin flew to the front of the Golden Armored Guard, intending to retrieve the Sumeru Ring from its hand.

He discovered, however, that the ring was tightly clasped onto the guard's finger, impossible to pry off. To Ye Qin’s frustration, the ring was also an artifact bound by divine sense recognition.

This meant only the Holy Emperor’s divine sense could unlock it; no other cultivator could. Unless Ye Qin’s divine sense could overpower the Holy Emperor’s and directly erase the controlling divine sense signature, the Sumeru Ring could not be opened. Given Ye Qin’s current cultivation level, this was clearly impossible.

Ye Qin even took out his Nascent Soul artifact, attempting to hack off the Golden Armored Guard’s golden finger. After half an hour of futile chopping, it remained useless. The golden armor of this ninth-tier puppet was too tough; it simply could not be cut.

Ye Qin despaired. Was he truly to be sealed within this underground mausoleum for forty or fifty years, guarding a Sumeru Ring full of tributes yet unable to acquire a single Spirit Stone for use?

“Little brat, what are you doing? Why are you back after just leaving?” The ice coffin on the altar suddenly emitted a dry, slightly mocking voice, sounding like a middle-aged man. “How dare you loiter near this Emperor and openly tamper with my wealth! You have quite the nerve!”

“Your Majesty, are you not stating the obvious?” Ye Qin replied, his attention still focused on how to open the Sumeru Ring on the Golden Armored Guard’s hand, as the altar coffin showed no movement. “You are sealed within the ice coffin, and I am sealed within this underground mausoleum. This mausoleum is only a few dozen li in circumference; where else could I possibly go? What difference is there between being outside the palace and inside it? This is likely exactly what Your Majesty desires.”

“This Emperor has forty or fifty years to contemplate how to seize your shell, so naturally, I am pleased that you are still alive and well. If you are bored, feel free to wander around my palace. Furthermore, my Sumeru Ring contains many precious medicinal herbs; you can use them for sustenance or to boost your cultivation. If you desire them, I will grant them to you for consumption. You needn't thank this Emperor; your body will be mine eventually anyway. Ensuring you don't starve is the least this Emperor should do,” the dry voice from the ice coffin stated calmly, completely unhurried, radiating an air of utter confidence, as if the previous failed attempt at body seizure had brought him no negative emotions whatsoever.