It wasn't just the sphere; the swarms of Thorn Bees collecting nectar within the Purple Mansion also seemed intoxicated, falling one after another like raindrops with a pitter-patter onto the ground.

After a long while, the little light sphere finally snapped awake, instantly growing annoyed. Pouting, it muttered a curse under its breath and drove the sword toward the Silken Sound Jade Bamboo again. With another "ding-dang," it fell back into fascination. This cycle repeated; it took nearly half a month of arduous effort, striking the bamboo hundreds of times, before a single section broke off. As for those poor Thorn Bees, they never regained consciousness.

Ye Tun retrieved a section of Silken Sound Jade Bamboo from the Wood Purple Mansion. Afterward, he fetched a small cluster of Blue Flame from the Fire Purple Mansion and began refining his second Natal Spirit Artifact, the Celestial Revolving Silken Sound Sword.

Several months passed.

A verdant glow danced swiftly within the secluded chamber. As it moved, it emitted crisp, resonant tones.

Ye Qin was greatly satisfied. This Celestial Sound Silken Sound Sword not only possessed the power to enchant the soul, but its blade had also been infused with the essence fluid of the Thorn Beast’s demon core. This fluid was incredibly poisonous; a mere scratch would be enough to paralyze the injured.

On this day, many cultivators on Great Glazed Island vaguely heard that seductive immortal music, intoxicating and mesmerizing. It was a pity the immortal sound quickly vanished and never appeared again.

No one knew the source of this celestial music. Some cultivators suspected the chief alchemist of Great and Lesser Glazed Islands was practicing sound-based magic, but without permission from the two Ancestors, no one dared to investigate Ye Qin’s cave dwelling.

That year, Ye Qin’s cultivation had just reached the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ye Qin did not stop; immediately after refining the Celestial Revolving Silken Sound Sword, he began refining the next Natal Spirit Artifact.

He traveled to the Fan Palm Reef to hunt the Gold Spear Beasts in the sea.

Unlike the Thorn Beasts, the Gold Spear Beasts did not remain stationary on the seabed. They moved through the water at incredible speeds, capable of darting tens of zhang away in the blink of an eye. Their sharp, spear-like heads could instantly pierce through incredibly hard reefs.

Although both were low-tier sea beasts, the Gold Spear Beasts were far more troublesome. Foundation Establishment cultivators on Glazed Island rarely provoked swarms of them.

Fortunately, Ye Qin now possessed the Celestial Sound Silken Sound Sword.

The newly refined Celestial Sound Silken Sound Sword’s power was still low, but it was more than enough to deal with low-tier sea beasts. Once this Natal Spirit Artifact was deployed, it could suppress the vast majority of low-tier sea beasts. No low-tier sea beast could withstand the soul-enchanting attack of the Celestial Sound Silken Sound Sword.

Once the Gold Spear Beasts were mesmerized, a piercing strike to the heart awaited them.

Time flew like a shuttle. On the Fan Palm Reef near Glazed Island, another five years passed in a flash for Ye Qin.

After extracting a drop of vital essence from the demon cores of the Gold Spear Beasts, Ye Qin once again tempered the Golden Crow Radiant Crystal with the Blue Flame Earth Fire, infused it with the Gold Spear Beast vital essence, and refined the third Natal Spirit Artifact: the Golden Crow Tide-Breaking Sword.

This Natal Spirit Artifact was aptly named; it was the sharpest of his spirit tools, possessing the effects of breaking armor and shattering barriers, heralded as being utterly invincible. Of course, it could not achieve true invincibility. However, most ordinary magic artifacts could not withstand an attack from the Golden Crow Tide-Breaking Sword. Even the Southern Bright Fire Sword and the Celestial Sound Silken Sound Sword were not as fiercely sharp as this one.

By now, Ye Qin possessed three of the five Natal Spirit Artifacts recorded in the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll.

His cultivation had just reached the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

As for the Rotten Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon, over these years, it had absorbed countless quantities of negative energy from the corpses of sea beasts following Ye Qin. Every bone on its body shone a deep, dark black, reflecting a brilliant luster.

One day, Ye Qin was cultivating on the Fan Palm Reef as usual, deep in thought.

He had reached the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, and two Natal Spirit Artifacts were complete. The next step was to leave Glazed Island and find a sufficiently safe location elsewhere to form a Core. However, finding a suitable Core-formation location was proving difficult. He had scoured the East Sea Region Map but still hadn't decided which island to head to.

Ye Qin was contemplating this.

Suddenly, the sea surface, previously clear under the blazing sun, darkened completely in an instant. Towering dark clouds rolled in, enveloping the sky above the Fan Palm Reef for tens of li.

“How can the weather change so abruptly? Is a demon storm brewing?”

Ye Qin paused, muttering to himself.

Such a scene indicated the onset of a demon storm. Having spent nearly ten years on the East Sea, he knew the danger of these storms and could not remain on this reef. If a demon storm happened to sweep over the Fan Palm Reef, he could be dragged into it, dying without even knowing how.

He needed to return quickly to his cave dwelling on Glazed Island to escape the coming tempest.

He stood up, casually taking out a spirit beast pouch. With a beckon, he intended to recall the Skeleton Demon and retreat to Glazed Island to weather the storm. But to Ye Qin’s shock, he could not recall the Skeleton Demon.

Ye Qin turned to look at the Rotten Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon beside him.

The skeleton demon was crouched on the ground, raising its skull, gazing defiantly at the sky.

Pinpricks of strange black light glittered in its dark eye sockets. Head held high, its massive skeletal mouth opened, letting out a silent, furious roar toward the heavens.

Although no sound emerged from its mouth, it was unequivocally in a state of furious roaring. At this moment, it was ignoring even Ye Qin’s commands, focusing only on shouting its rage at the dark clouds overhead. wisps of black mist billowed out from between its bones.

It was out of control.

Ye Qin stumbled back a step in shock.

He looked at the Skeleton Demon, then up at the rapidly gathering dark clouds. His mind became a chaotic mess, and an incredible thought flashed through: "A minor celestial tribulation!"

"This Skeleton Demon has reached its critical point—it’s time to face the tribulation!"

Ye Qin was indescribably stunned.

But immediately following the shock was uncontrollable ecstasy.

Although this Skeleton Demon was a puppet skeleton, it possessed its own demon core and could absorb negative energy to grow, effectively making it a ghost cultivator. Although its progress was difficult, it was growing nonetheless, and it could advance.

According to the records in the Profound Yin Great Art, a Foundation Establishment-stage Skeleton Demon could face a tribulation and advance to become a Core Formation-stage Skeleton Demon.

Having followed him on the Fan Palm Reef for nearly ten years, it had consumed all the sea beast corpses, absorbing vast amounts of negative energy. The negative energy in its demon core had reached an incomparable degree, and the moment of transformation had finally arrived.

Ye Qin realized this and immediately retreated, waiting for the Skeleton Demon to meet the heavenly tribulation. This tribulation belonged to the demon; he needed to avoid being caught in the fallout. The strange celestial phenomena above the Fan Palm Reef quickly alarmed all the cultivators on Great and Lesser Glazed Islands. At first, almost all of them, like Ye Qin, thought a demon storm was brewing over the sea. They hurriedly retreated into their cave dwellings or other places of shelter.

But soon, several cultivators noticed something was wrong.

That vast patch of dark clouds hung over the Fan Palm Reef, whipping up fierce winds and possessing peerless momentum.

Yet, it remained condensed and refused to disperse, growing more alarming without any action. This was clearly different from a demon storm, which moved very quickly and would not stay stationary in one place.

Great Glazed Island, Main Peak.

Island Master Zhao gazed with a dark expression, narrowing his eyes toward a mass of dark clouds in the sky far beyond the island.

Behind him stood a group of blue-robed cultivators whose faces betrayed unease, looking somewhat lost.

His expression grew increasingly grim.

From the pitch-black clouds, he detected an undeniable aura of deathly energy. As the clouds pressed closer, this deathly energy permeated the airspace above the Fan Palm Reef sea area, becoming increasingly pungent and thick.

"A ghost cultivator dares to face a tribulation near my Glazed Island—they are courting death!"

Island Master Zhao growled in anger, leaping up. Suddenly transforming into a terrifying streak of light, he shot toward the direction of the Fan Palm Reef.

Lesser Glazed Island.

"Island Master, there is an anomalous celestial phenomenon to the west of the Great Island. Please advise!" A large group of green-robed cultivators knelt outside a secluded chamber, sounding panicked.

Not long after, Island Master Wang emerged from his secret refinement chamber, telling the anxious cultivators to remain calm. With his hands behind his back, he looked toward the dark clouds in the sky and murmured softly, "The minor celestial tribulation is heavy with death energy; it appears a Core Formation ghost cultivator is about to emerge! With another Core Formation cultivator, the Glazed Island will surely fall into chaos. No, I must go and observe, and stop the tribulation if possible. You all stay here and do not rashly approach."

"Yes, Island Master!"

The Fan Palm Reef was only seventy-odd li from Glazed Island. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators on the island had noticed the anomaly and were gripped by fear. Such intense death energy undeniably signaled the appearance of a ghost cultivator.

They watched as the two Island Masters flew one after another toward the direction of the Fan Palm Reef.

Their cultivation was low; they dared not approach to investigate.

The minor celestial tribulation was forming, and the black lightning had not yet descended. If they were carelessly affected by the black lightning from the tribulation, their deaths would be utterly unjust. Even Core Formation cultivators had to proceed with caution.

Moments later, Island Master Zhao arrived above the Fan Palm Reef. He stopped several li short of the dark clouds. He saw a Skeleton Demon crouched on the reef, tilting its head back, furiously "roaring" at the dark clouds in the sky, awaiting the lightning tribulation descending from above.

"How is it a Skeleton Demon?"

Island Master Zhao looked surprised.

He had expected a ghost cultivator undergoing tribulation; he never imagined it would be a Rotten Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon.

A Core Formation ghost cultivator could not be subdued, but a Core Formation Skeleton Demon could be controlled.

Although he didn't know how this Skeleton Demon came to be on the Fan Palm Reef or why it was facing its tribulation here, it didn't matter.

If he could subdue this Skeleton Demon and obtain a Core Formation Skeleton Demon, his strength would increase immensely.

Island Master Zhao’s expression instantly shifted from anger to wild elation.

Core Formation Skeleton Demons were far rarer than ordinary Core Formation demon beasts. The reason was simple: there were very few skeleton demons in the cultivation world, let alone Core Formation ones.

However, he couldn't strike now to subdue it. He had to wait for it to withstand the minor celestial tribulation and successfully advance to become a Core Formation Skeleton Demon before he could act.

At that time, no one else on the entire Glazed Island would be able to stand against him.

Island Master Wang’s figure shimmered into existence above Fan Palm Island.

"Island Master Wang has arrived!"

Island Master Zhao's expression flickered slightly, his gaze turning sharp. "This Skeleton Demon was discovered first by this old man. First come, first served. Island Master Wang, you can leave."

"Hmph. This masterless object is sought by all who see it. How can you claim it belongs only to you!"

Island Master Wang scoffed coldly, refusing to yield an inch.

What a joke.

If this Skeleton Demon were subdued by Island Master Zhao, Wang wouldn't even have a reason to remain on Glazed Island.

"Island Master Wang's words imply you wish to force me, Zhao, to take action. It has been decades since we last dueled. I, Zhao, am curious how much skill you've gained."

Island Master Zhao’s face gradually twisted menacingly.

"Heh heh, likewise."

Island Master Wang sneered.

However, although the two Island Masters exchanged harsh words and were on the verge of conflict, neither made a move.

They had to wait until the Skeleton Demon successfully passed the tribulation and became a Core Formation Skeleton Demon before vying for it. If it failed the tribulation and was reduced to ashes by the minor celestial lightning, their fight would be meaningless.