Fourth A’mulei attempted to engage and kill the Corrosive Bone Crocodile. However, the Corrosive Bone Crocodile was not an easy opponent; it was originally a ferocious beast, half-demon and half-corpse, exceeding the sixth rank. Even after being captured and refined into a skeleton demon by Ye Qin, it retained the vast majority of its strength.

Do not let its usual head-shaking, tail-wagging, slow crawling appearance fool you; it seems clumsy, but once a fight breaks out, its reactions are frighteningly swift. Furthermore, it is a skeletal puppet, controlled by Ye Qin’s divine sense, executing attacks and retreats with perfect strategy; its offense and defense are no less refined than those of a true cultivator.

Ye Qin cautiously vanished into the mist barrier within the Grand Canyon, seeking to avoid a direct confrontation with A’mulei. He decided to let the skeleton demon test A’mulei’s strength first.

The skeleton demon and A’mulei grappled for a good while.

It continuously spewed corpse energy, creating spreading clouds of toxic fog, occasionally darting out from the mist to strike A’mulei before immediately retreating, avoiding direct clashes. A’mulei’s offensive was ferocious; he swept aside the toxic fog with every move, relentlessly pursuing the skeleton demon.

Ye Qin’s heart sank, and he frowned. A’mulei’s Vajra Cudgel artifact was immune to the corpse poison, effectively neutralizing the skeleton demon’s greatest lethal magic—its corpse energy. Relying solely on this sixth-rank skeleton demon, Ye Qin feared it could not defeat A’mulei.

“Stop hiding and come out, you hear me! You skeleton warrior demon only knows how to spit corpse energy; that’s boring. Come out and fight me directly; let’s have a real brawl!”

A’mulei’s killing intent flared high. He scanned the toxic fog for any trace of Ye Qin, shouting fiercely.

“Oh, is that so? Since you are so eager, then let’s have a fight.”

Ye Qin had observed for a while and had a measure of confidence in his heart. Hearing A’mulei’s challenge, he paused for a moment, then chuckled. He opened his mouth, and a small purple sword shot out, transforming into a blade of sword light several zhang tall, wreathed in blazing flames. It plunged into the toxic fog, intercepting A’mulei’s immensely powerful Jinzhou Demon Subduing Cudgel.

The two artifacts—one radiating fiery light, the other golden—battled and entangled in mid-air above the Grand Canyon like two savage young dragons, neither able to overpower the other; the fight was temporarily at a stalemate.

“Fire-element Nascent Soul Artifact!”

A flicker of surprise crossed A’mulei’s eyes. He immediately recognized it as a Nascent Soul Artifact, whose power was in no way inferior to his Vajra Demon Subduing Cudgel. For a mere Foundation Establishment sixth-rank cultivator to possess a Nascent Soul Artifact was exceedingly rare.

However, this discovery only made A’mulei more excited and stimulated. It at least indicated that this Spirit Mist Realm cultivator before him was far from ordinary. Even if he wasn't the absolute top-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Spirit Mist Realm, his strength was certainly enough to challenge A’mulei.

Ye Qin was equally swift in his actions.

He knew well that A’mulei’s cultivation level was two full tiers above his own, meaning his explosive power and sustained fighting capability would certainly be superior. Ye Qin’s options were either to secure a victory through a sudden strike or to stall for time, using the skeleton demon to drain A’mulei’s magic power.

After Ye Qin entangled the Vajra Demon Subduing Cudgel with his Southern Bright Leaving Fire Sword, he instantly retrieved a small cyan bronze bell from his storage pouch.

“Soul-Snatching Wave!”

The small bronze bell flew into the air, expanding into a bronze bell several zhang wide. Ye Qin let out a light cry and flicked a stream of mana toward it. The bell immediately rang out with a resounding dong, unleashing a demonic sound wave that blasted toward A’mulei.

A’mulei sneered. He wasn't entirely clear on the effect of the Soul-Snatching Wave projected by this bell. But regardless of its effect, he simply did not care. He possessed the Precious Manifestation Wheel, a Nascent Soul Artifact rarely seen even in the Sky Dome Primordial Realm.

“Precious Manifestation Majesty!”

A’mulei rapidly performed a series of hand seals, striking his Precious Manifestation Wheel with a series of pila-pala snaps. The Precious Manifestation Wheel artifact, which had been guarding him, suddenly erupted with layers of dazzling golden light, enveloping him and forming a perfect, round halo of light.

As one of the Eighteen Fiends of the Sky Dome Primordial Realm, A’mulei’s cultivation at the eighth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage was already immensely formidable. Although he was one layer away from the peak ninth layer, possessing two powerful artifacts—one offensive and one defensive—pushed his strength to a terrifying level.

He rarely used the Precious Manifestation Wheel.

Besides serving as a defensive artifact, the Precious Manifestation Wheel could also unleash a protective spell called ‘Precious Manifestation Majesty,’ which served the magical function of dispelling negative effects.

Most negative spells cast by Foundation Establishment cultivators—the chilling sluggishness of water spells, the rigidity of ice spells, the poisons of wood spells, the corrosiveness of evil poison spells, and so on—were ineffective against him.

It was precisely because of the Precious Manifestation Wheel that he could rampage across the various battlefields of the Cultivation World without reservation, becoming one of the renowned Foundation Establishment cultivators among the Eighteen Fiends of the Sky Dome Primordial Realm.

Once this spell was activated, he resembled a towering Vajra Buddha, his eyes wide with rage, his crude features contorted. A terrifying spiritual aura erupted from him, his body enveloped in golden radiance several feet long, dazzling to the eye. Even the corpse energy surrounding him rapidly dissolved and dissipated, unable to approach him in the slightest.

The Soul-Snatching Wave Ye Qin cast slammed into the golden halo, only to be dispersed by the golden light, failing entirely to achieve any dizzying effect.

“The Sky Dome Primordial Realm actually possesses such a powerful protective spell? It’s utterly incomparable to ordinary Five Element Body Protection Qi.”

Ye Qin was inwardly shocked.

Although the Soul-Snatching Bell was a low-tier artifact, its power was peculiar; it had successfully stunned numerous cultivators through surprise attacks—it was unfailing. This was the first time he had seen a cultivator so cleanly and decisively block his Soul-Snatching Wave, rendering it completely ineffective.

A’mulei had located Ye Qin’s position. He immediately abandoned the skeleton demon, transforming the Vajra Demon Subduing Cudgel into a piercing golden meteor of light that shot into the mist, breaking through layer after layer of barrier, aiming directly for Ye Qin’s location.

Ye Qin realized the danger and felt a surge of urgency.

A’mulei had clearly not revealed his true strength before; he was merely luring him out. Once Ye Qin appeared, A’mulei intended to unleash his full power to take his life.

Ye Qin suddenly understood. He immediately recalled the bronze bell and retreated rapidly. Simultaneously, he controlled the sixth-rank skeleton demon with his divine sense, commanding it to stall A’mulei’s frantic assault at all costs.

A fierce black light flared in the skeleton demon’s eyes. It spared no effort, ejecting the viscous liquid essence from its demon core. It spewed out a dense stream of black liquid arrow, carrying immense demonic power, which slammed into A’mulei, forcing him back several zhang before he could barely halt his charge.

The ink-arrows formed from the black demon core liquid hissed as they struck the golden light, rapidly consuming A’mulei’s magic power.

Even if they couldn't penetrate A’mulei’s protective spell, they could still drain a significant amount of his spiritual energy.

A’mulei cursed furiously. Although he was unconcerned by the toxic liquid itself, getting rid of the relentless entanglement of the sixth-rank skeleton demon to close in on Ye Qin proved extremely difficult.

Ye Qin seized the momentary respite provided by the skeleton demon tying down A’mulei to quickly begin casting the Demonic Shadow Great Art.

In a few breaths of time.

Just as A’mulei was about to reach him, Ye Qin’s Demonic Shadow Great Art finally manifested. He transformed into two identical ‘Ye Qins.’ They clapped their palms together, separating left and right, and shot out into two different directions, plunging into the mist.

Boom!

The Vajra Demon Subduing Cudgel struck the massive rock where Ye Qin had just been cross-legged with ferocious force, shattering the several-zhang-thick hard stone into countless fragments that exploded outward.

A’mulei landed near the spot Ye Qin had occupied, gripping the Jinzhou Demon Subduing Cudgel. He glanced left and right, seeing the two ‘Ye Qins’ disappear back into the mist. He paused, momentarily stunned.

Of course, he knew one was Ye Qin’s true body, and the other was an illusion created by the magic.

But when his divine sense swept over both ‘Ye Qins,’ even his spiritual sense could not discern which was the real body and which was the phantom. For a moment, he didn't know which ‘Ye Qin’ to pursue. Splitting his focus in two, he couldn't guarantee he could strike and kill the genuine target.

Since A’mulei couldn't distinguish the true from the false, he did not pursue.

However, the ‘Ye Qin’ did not intend to let him off. It rushed out from the dense fog, accompanied by the skeleton demon, and drove the flying sword to attack A’mulei.

A’mulei was overjoyed. Without much thought, he swung his Vajra Demon Subduing Cudgel. Whoosh! The strike hit, and the ‘Ye Qin’ that rushed out of the dense fog instantly dissolved. The Vajra Demon Subduing Cudgel slammed into the ground, gouging out a giant pit several zhang deep, shaking the entire Grand Canyon. The skeleton demon quickly turned and dove back into the mist.

“Fake!”

A’mulei, having expended his full strength on a miss, was furious, his eyes wide with rage, his pent-up anger having nowhere to vent.

After a short interval, another Ye Qin rushed out of the dense fog.

A’mulei assumed this time it must be the real one, but when he struck with his cudgel, he found it was fake again.

When a third Ye Qin emerged from the mist, A’mulei, thinking it was fake this time, did not use his full strength. Unexpectedly, this was Ye Qin’s true body. The immensely powerful Southern Bright Leaving Fire Sword chopped down overhead, terrifying him so much that he hastily used both the Cudgel and the Precious Manifestation Wheel to defend. Only then did he manage to block it; the oppressive flames nearly scorched his eyebrows off.

This back and forth—true and false, again and again—left A’mulei so agitated he nearly spat blood.

Ye Qin fought with immense caution and great reluctance.

He had no choice but to use this method to torment A’mulei. A’mulei’s Precious Manifestation Wheel defense was too strong, far surpassing that of Li Xi, the young master of the Spirit Spring Sect. A surprise attack simply wouldn't secure victory. His only option was a protracted war of attrition, using his own magic power, combined with the skeleton demon's demonic power, to drain A’mulei’s mana completely, exhausting him to death. There was no other way.

A’mulei was horrified, perhaps even more so than Ye Qin.

Over the past year, he had relied on his immense strength to fight through dozens of large and small bloody battles, painstakingly building his reputation as one of the Eighteen Fiends of the Sky Dome Primordial Realm. With his strength, dealing with ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators should have been effortless.

Although this Spirit Mist cultivator was only at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, far below A’mulei’s level, in just a few blinks of the eye fighting this intensely, he had encountered this man’s endless array of tricks. After fighting for so long, and even using a minor deceitful tactic by feigning weakness, he hadn't gained the slightest advantage.

Coupled with a sixth-rank skeleton demon whose demonic power was abnormally strong and exceptionally resilient—perhaps even more so than A’mulei’s own stamina—the situation was dire.

The Grand Canyon of the Spirit Mist Realm was extraordinary. If Ye Qin continued to hide and wear him down with the skeleton demon, A’mulei might actually be worn to death here.

If he couldn't kill this enemy, the one likely to die would be himself.

The longer A’mulei fought, the more he thought, and the greater his suspicion grew. A faint sweat beaded on his rough palms. His confidence in killing Ye Qin was clearly wavering. This was a situation he had never encountered before; such anxiety and lack of certainty usually only arose when facing top-tier Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same level.

“Damn it, when did the Spirit Mist Realm produce such a tenacious mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator? Why have I never heard of him before?”

A’mulei was exceedingly annoyed.

He had likely encountered most of the powerful figures in the Spirit Mist Realm and had never heard of a cultivator who could command a skeleton demon and was skilled in illusionary arts. He even suspected his own ignorance. Or perhaps the Spirit Mist Realm harbored a large number of cultivators like Ye Qin who had never surfaced.

In truth, this couldn't be blamed on A’mulei’s ignorance.

Since the great wars between the three cultivation worlds, Ye Qin had only undertaken this one mission in the Cold Lake Forest, and that single mission had trapped him in the Vast Ridge of the Spirit Mist Mountain Range for a year and a half.

During that mission, although Ye Qin displayed formidable strength and achieved great merit, Du Shi and Shen Bao, who had escaped back to the city, both assumed Ye Qin was dead. A dead man needed no reputation, nor credit for his deeds. Naturally, no one had ever heard of Ye Qin’s power.

After the time it took to burn one stick of incense, A’mulei’s magic power had been drained by Ye Qin to about seventy or eighty percent. His heart pounding with fear, he finally couldn't endure it any longer. He dared not stay in the Grand Canyon, hastily urged his Jinzhou Demon Subduing Cudgel, and flew out of the Great Spirit Mist Valley. He rallied the Sky Dome Primordial Realm cultivators stationed there and fled in disarray toward the northwest.