This is Chapter Two, dated May 3rd. Sigh, the writing is too slow; I only finished the draft past two o'clock.

Ye Qin took less than half an hour to spot the large sailboat on the sea. He and A’Mumen transformed into two streaks of light, rapidly closing in on the vessel.

A’Mumen was overjoyed upon seeing the great sailboat.

“Brother Ye, was this the ship you encountered before?”

From a distance, the sailboat looked like a small speck, not appearing particularly large. But as they drew closer, they could see it towered as high as over ten storeys, stretching a hundred zhang in length and width, with its mainmast soaring skyward. The entire colossal ship was constructed from low-grade spirit wood, making it exceptionally sturdy, its hull adorned with exquisite carvings, exuding a magnificent aura. Such a massive vessel remained utterly unperturbed on the calm sea, not even causing a cup to wobble, resembling a floating, miniature island.

“The insignia of the Shen Family fleet is on the sails; there’s no mistake. Prepare to act. I’ll leave those low-tier Foundation Establishment cultivators to you. I’ll check if there are any other Foundation Establishment cultivators aboard,” Ye Qin stated in a deep voice, glancing at the sails.

“Alright!”

A’Mumen fixed his gaze on the large sailboat and let out a cackling laugh.

The six or seven stout men at the Foundation Establishment cultivation level aboard the great sailboat were quick to react. They immediately sensed two oppressive waves of spiritual pressure rapidly bearing down on the ship.

The burly men showed looks of alarm and hurriedly burst out of the cabin onto the deck to investigate the situation.

At this moment, Ye Qin and A’Mumen were barely two or three li from the ship, arriving above the large sailboat via their artifacts in almost two or three breaths of time. The men on the ship had only just registered the arrival of one late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and one mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. They frantically hurled out various magical artifacts and flew into the air to meet the two and resist them.

“Halt!”

A’Mumen, enveloped in a brilliant golden light, resembled an enraged Vajra figure as he plunged into the midst of the panicked men. He paid no mind to the artifacts attacking him, controlling his twenty-foot-long club and sweeping it across the group indiscriminately. He cared not if he was fighting one cultivator or a whole crowd; the more enemies there were, the more chaotic the situation became, which was actually advantageous to him. He could knock enemy cultivators flying even with his eyes closed.

Ye Qin did not join the direct combat; instead, he landed on the ship’s deck.

Bang. Dealing with the six or seven burly men was enough for A’Mumen; intervening would only disrupt A’Mumen’s efforts.

His gaze swept coldly across the deck.

Besides the six or seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, a crowd of forty to fifty Qi Refining stage cultivators also rushed out. They were the crew members, also cultivators hired by the Shen Family.

They surged onto the deck, holding spirit sabers and spirit swords, surrounding Ye Qin with looks of sheer terror. They seemed eager to fight but lacked the courage to act.

Ye Qin snorted coldly and tossed a storage pouch forward, releasing a sixth-rank skeletal demon. The skeletal demon’s chilling eyes clumsily looked up at the throng of Qi Refining cultivators, emitting wisps of terrifying black mist all over its body. One crewman failed to retreat in time and was tainted by the black mist emanating from the skeletal demon; he screamed, rolled on the ground, and instantly dissolved into a pile of white bones.

“A skeletal demon!”

“W-w-what, a ghost… a ghost cultivator!”

The large crowd of Qi Refining cultivators sucked in a cold breath, terrified, and scrambled back several zhang, daring not to approach. This wasn't because they were cowards; even the boldest Qi Refining cultivator would feel a chilling fear upon seeing such a towering, sixth-rank skeletal demon.

A casual puff of corpse qi venomous mist from the skeletal demon was enough to turn them into bone piles.

The way they looked at Ye Qin was filled with even greater awe. Anyone capable of commanding such a fierce skeleton undoubtedly possessed even more terrifying strength.

Furthermore, the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the ship were locked in combat with A’Mumen, unable to spare any attention here. Moreover, judging by the desperate situation of those stout men against A’Mumen, they wouldn’t last much longer. Which of these Qi Refining crewmen would dare risk their lives to block Ye Qin?

Ye Qin found no other Foundation Establishment cultivators among this group, instantly settling his mind. He coldly questioned the low-ranking crew, “Which one of you is in charge? Step forward.”

The group of Qi Refining cultivators exchanged uneasy glances.

Soon, a grey-haired elder, perhaps sixty or seventy years old, stepped forward, bowed, and respectfully stated, “This old one is surnamed Zhao. I have been at sea for fifty years and have always served as the steward; I hold some prestige and am considered the leader by the others. May I ask what this senior requires? This old one will certainly comply with the senior’s instructions.”

Ye Qin smiled. This elder was quite perceptive, not questioning his forceful boarding at all, but instead asking for instructions.

“Since you are their leader, take me to the cargo hold where your goods are stored,” Ye Qin stated directly, having no time to trifle with them. He needed to find what he wanted in the hold before A’Mumen finished dealing with all the stout men.

Elder Zhao hesitated for a moment, but just then, a scream echoed from the mid-air. He looked up and saw one of the Foundation Establishment stout men explode into a mist of blood. He immediately trembled in fear and quickly said, “Yes, this old one will take the senior there immediately.”

Ye Qin, controlling the nodding and wagging skeletal demon, strode mightily toward the cargo hold. As he reached the entrance of the hold, he swept the area with his divine sense.

He found nothing particularly noteworthy, only sensing dense, chaotic spiritual energy within the hold. This was normal; the hold was piled high with vast quantities of raw spiritual materials—the sheer abundance made a lack of spiritual energy the strange thing. Nevertheless, Ye Qin cautiously manipulated the skeletal demon, having it crawl into the hold first to scout.

The skeletal demon, wagging its tail, entered the cargo hold. Afterward, Ye Qin allowed the elder to follow inside, and finally, he himself entered.

Half an hour later, A’Mumen chased dozens of li away, let out a fierce roar, and smashed the last low-tier Foundation Establishment stout man attempting to flee with a single blow, clearing the skies above the large sailboat. Having enjoyed the slaughter, he returned to the massive ship, landed contentedly on the deck, but didn't see Ye Qin.

He grabbed a pale-faced crewman and asked.

The low-rank cultivator was trembling, pointing towards the cargo hold.

“Are all those Foundation Establishment cultivators eliminated? Did none escape?” Ye Qin asked calmly, currently flipping through the cargo inside the hold as A’Mumen descended from the deck into the hold as well.

“Ha, they were all useless trash. Even if they wanted to run, they needed the skill. I’ve killed countless numbers on the battlefield at Lingwu City, uh…” A’Mumen was about to boast when he suddenly remembered Ye Qin was a cultivator from the Lingwu Realm, and continuing would be inappropriate, so he abruptly stopped talking.

A’Mumen’s attention was quickly drawn to the wooden crates stacked in the hold, filled entirely with various raw materials. “Why are there so many valuable goods in this hold? Brother Ye, you didn’t know this was a cargo ship beforehand, did you?”

“See for yourself,” Ye Qin handed A’Mumen the thin, yellow record book detailing the cargo.

A’Mumen flipped through it quickly, then his eyes suddenly widened, stopping at the entry for Demon Cores. He swallowed hard. “Low-grade Demon Cores—there are over a thousand of them on this ship! How many sea beasts must one kill to gather this many?” However, Ye Qin wouldn't have been willing to show him this account book. If Ye Qin hadn't shown the ledger, A’Mumen wouldn't even have known if Ye Qin had taken all the Demon Cores on board.

Amidst his shock, A’Mumen was more filled with suspicion. He didn't believe Ye Qin would be kind enough to share the precious Demon Cores with him. Even low-grade Demon Cores—their friendship hadn't reached that level yet.

“As for the reason, ask Steward Zhao here yourself,” Ye Qin sighed regretfully, his face filled with helplessness. Under normal circumstances, he certainly wouldn't have shown A’Mumen the ledger. But now… whether he saw it or not made no difference.

“Esteemed Senior, it is like this. This large sailboat takes at least a year, perhaps longer, to travel from Glazed Island to Dongyu Town. There is no way to preserve fresh Demon Cores on board. Over time, they will all gradually rot and spoil, even inside a storage pouch. Therefore, the fresh Demon Cores are always dried beforehand into a preserved form, then loaded onto the ship and transported to Dongyu Town for long-term storage. Of course, these dried Demon Cores will certainly lose a great deal of spiritual energy and most of their effectiveness. These dried Demon Cores only have one remaining use: feeding spirit beasts, allowing them to absorb the residual spiritual power and grow faster,” the old man Zhao explained cautiously, terrified of provoking the two Foundation Establishment cultivators who had boarded their ship.

The only reason Ye Qin was willing to show the cargo ledger was precisely because these Demon Cores were all dried goods. To refine the Primordial Spirit Dharma Artifact, he required fresh Demon Cores to extract the trace amounts of primal essence fluids. As for the dried ones, the primal essence fluids had already been baked out, rendering them useless; even his skeletal demon could not absorb the spiritual energy from these dried cores.

Since that was the case, he might as well be generous and show the ledger, preventing A’Mumen from thinking he was secretly hoarding some treasure from the ship and developing resentment. As for the other raw materials, such as demon snake fangs and turtle shells, they weren't of much use to Ye Qin; he didn't plan to spend much time on artifact refining. He could take some of the third-rank material pearls for alchemy. As for rare items like the precious Purple Incense Wood, each piece was several zhang long and incredibly heavy, making them impossible to carry away.

Most importantly, this cargo would only be valuable—fetching a high price—once it reached the Central Continent. In the Eastern Sea, the raw materials on board were relatively easy to find and held little value.

Ye Qin had already taken the materials that could be refined into elixirs and medicines directly. A’Mumen rummaged through the hold, stuffing all the slightly valuable raw materials into his more than ten personal storage pouches. Even so, a great deal of the ship’s cargo remained; they could only take a small portion.

A’Mumen was annoyed that he hadn't found anything decent. “Damn it, didn't find anything valuable. Brother Ye, what should we do with this ship? It bears the mark of the Shen Family, so we can’t take it, and it sails too slowly. Should we just smash it and sink it?”

The elder was startled. If the ship sank, wouldn't this large group of Qi Refining cultivators all be fed to the fish in the sea? He immediately prostrated himself. “Seniors, spare our lives! This is just an ordinary cargo ship of the Shen Family; there are no true treasures aboard. The real treasures are never transported on such cargo ships, lest they sink to the bottom during a demonic storm; the Shen Family Head always retrieves those personally. Ah… this little one remembers, there are a few female slaves aboard. Do the two Seniors happen to fancy them?”