"Brother Ye, do you know that near this Great Desolate Island, there is another island called Chongsheng Island, inhabited by a small native tribe of about a thousand people?" Sun Cunzhen asked with a sincere smile. "Mm, I heard Village Head Li mention it. Why, does this matter of yours have something to do with this small native tribe?" Ye Qin was slightly taken aback.

"Indeed. To tell you the truth, both Great Desolate Island and Chongsheng Island were originally the dwelling places for the residents of several villages like Village Head Li's. About five or six years ago, a small native tribe migrated from who knows where and occupied Chongsheng Island, driving all the residents to Great Desolate Island. I have lived on Great Desolate Island for over ten years and have deep relationships with the villagers here, so naturally, I cannot stand idly by. Brothers Jiang and Old Brother Zhu feel the same indignation. Since then, the four of us have been trying to find a way to conquer this small native tribe and reclaim justice for the villagers of Great Desolate Island," Sun Taozhen explained solemnly and slowly.

"Reclaim justice? I have spent so much time in the major Cultivation Worlds of the Central Lands, and I have never heard of a cultivator seeking justice from mortals. Brother Sun, just say what you mean; there's no need to beat around the bush. Tell me, what benefits do you hope to gain by conquering that small native tribe on Chongsheng Island? If there were no benefits, Brother Sun wouldn't be so eager, would he?" Ye Qin sneered.

Sun Taozhen’s inner thoughts were exposed by Ye Qin’s words, but fortunately, he had a thick skin. He immediately burst into hearty laughter, "Since Brother Ye is so straightforward, I won't hide anything from you either. While I seek justice for the Great Desolate Island villagers, I do have some selfish motives mixed in. Long before I came to the East Sea, I heard rumors that certain native women on the East Sea islands are excellent cauldrons for cultivation, greatly aiding a cultivator's progress. This native tribe has delivered itself right to our doorstep; how could we possibly not subdue them?" "Mm, if that’s the case, then you should just go and conquer them directly. Subduing a small native tribe should be a simple matter," Ye Qin said doubtfully. "Uh, the problem lies right there. Although this native tribe is small, they have several formidable leaders..." Sun Taozhen looked extremely embarrassed. Hearing this, Ye Qin was astonished this time.

There were four Foundation Establishment cultivators on Great Desolate Island, all above the Foundation Establishment stage. How could they be unable to handle such a small native tribe! This was hard for him to imagine.

Ye Qin pondered for a moment and asked in surprise, "As far as I know, this small tribe has at most a dozen or so Native Strongmen, and most of them are comparable to Qi Refining stage cultivators. How could your strength not be enough to take down this small native tribe?"

"I thought so too initially. But out of caution, I personally visited the native tribe on Chongsheng Island years ago to scout them out. I discovered that there were several leaders in this small tribe whose strength was immense. Relying only on the four of us, we lacked absolute certainty. If a direct assault failed, and this small tribe was frightened into migrating to another island, conquering them later would be much harder. That's why the four of us have been holding back and cultivating in seclusion on Great Desolate Island, all to gain more strength," Sun Taozhen explained with a bitter smile, shaking his head.

However, he soon became excited and said, "I never expected Brother Ye to arrive on Great Desolate Island more than a year ago and greatly enhance our strength here. With Brother Ye's cultivation, already at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, your strength is second to none on Great Desolate Island. If Brother Ye could join us in conquering this small native tribe, with the five of us working together, success would be guaranteed." "That's right, Brother Ye, since we have this fate, why don't we conquer this native tribe together? You can choose first among the native women on Chongsheng Island. My brother and I will cover the rear."

Brothers Jiang, Jiang Yichun and Jiang Yiqiu, also stared at Ye Qin with wide, expectant copper eyes. Ye Qin began to understand. No wonder he noticed the four of them had been in seclusion since he arrived on Great Desolate Island—it was for this very reason.

He quickly calculated in his mind and found that conquering the small native tribe on Chongsheng Island would primarily benefit the four of them, who were at the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment. It offered almost no advantage to him. He had no interest in doing a job that primarily benefited others.

Furthermore, as long as his interests were not harmed, he would not casually interfere. And since they were all cultivators, he would not stop the four of them from conquering a small native tribe.

"Oh, I see. However, the women of the native tribe are currently of no use to me; in fact, they would be a burden. As you all know, I am already at the peak of the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment and can no longer cultivate to enhance my Primordial Spirit. I am only one step away from the Golden Core bottleneck. All I need to do now is focus on finding the items required to form the Core and prepare for the minor heavenly tribulation. I have been in seclusion on Great Desolate Island for over a year, and upon coming out of seclusion, I was planning to leave Great Desolate Island and venture to the East Sea Archipelago to seek opportunities. I didn't expect that as soon as I emerged, you all would come knocking. However, this matter has nothing to do with me. If you wish to go to Chongsheng Island, you may go yourselves. While I will not participate, I will not stop any of you either," Ye Qin politely refused their invitation.

Sun Taozhen, the Jiang brothers, and the other two immediately showed extreme disappointment. After all, with Ye Qin's strength, if he were to help them, their side would be greatly strengthened. Since Ye Qin clearly showed no interest in the natives, they were helpless.

"It's normal that Brother Ye, with his high cultivation, isn't interested in something trivial like conquering a native tribe. It seems snatching the pill refinement formula for the Liling Dan from this native tribe will be extremely difficult," Sun Taozhen mumbled dejectedly to himself.

"The Liling Dan? What is the Liling Dan?" Ye Qin was slightly startled and inquired. As a disciple originating from the Azure Pill Sect, he had an instinctual attraction to spiritual pills. He had never heard of this Liling Dan and naturally wanted to understand it. "Ah, Brother Ye doesn't know the Liling Dan?"

Sun Taozhen was surprised and quickly explained, "The Liling Dan is a spiritual pill refined using demonic beast cores as the primary material, along with some other spiritual items as raw materials. This is completely different from the Central Lands' refinement formulas, which mainly use spiritual herbs. However, most of these formulas originate from the native tribes. I only heard about this by chance from a senior cultivator while traveling to the East Sea."

Ye Qin's gaze swept over Sun, the two Jiangs, and the other two. He couldn't help but sink into thought. So, they weren't just after the native women; they were also aiming for the Liling Dan formula. He wouldn't go to Chongsheng Island without a reason. But if the native tribe possessed this strange Liling Dan formula, he would consider making a trip to Chongsheng Island. "Brother Sun, how can you be certain that this small native tribe definitely has the Liling Dan formula?" Ye Qin asked Sun Taozhen, though suspicion still lingered in his heart. Sun Taozhen laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"As long as Native Strongmen appear in the native tribe, I can guarantee they have the Liling Dan formula. That's because these Native Strongmen rely on the Liling Dan to enhance their strength; otherwise, they can hardly improve," Sun Taozhen asserted. "Brother Ye, why don't you come with me to my cave dwelling? I will explain everything I know in detail. Additionally, when Old Brother Zhu comes out of seclusion in a few days, we can go to Chongsheng Island together. This matter should only take three to five days to resolve and won't delay Brother Ye's schedule."

"Brother Ye also knows that finding spiritual herbs in this East Sea is incredibly difficult. The Liling Dan formula requires no spiritual herbs at all; it uses demonic cores directly for refinement. The sea is teeming with demonic beasts; finding their cores is far easier than searching for spiritual herbs. Even if you become a Golden Core cultivator in the future, the Liling Dan formula will still be useful," Sun Taozhen saw that Ye Qin was somewhat moved and enthusiastically invited him.

"I won't visit Brother Sun's residence. In three days, when Brother Zhu comes out of seclusion, you can come find me, and we will go to Chongsheng Island together," Ye Qin pondered for a moment, then said with a smile. He had originally planned to set off for the East Sea Archipelago to search for several auxiliary items needed for forming the Golden Core. However, spending a few days visiting Chongsheng Island before that would not delay his journey. Sun Taozhen and the two Jiang brothers took their leave from Ye Qin and then returned to their respective cave dwellings by flying swords.

"Brother Sun, the four of us are enough for this matter. Why did you bother seeking out this cultivator surnamed Ye? When we annex the native tribe and reap the benefits, we'll have to share a portion with him, letting him benefit for nothing," Jiang Yichun complained halfway back.

"Be quiet. This man is young, yet his cultivation has reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. Moreover, he is extremely calculating; if he were an enemy, I fear he would be a terrifying opponent. Even with the combined strength of the four of us, we might only have a slim chance of contending with him..." perhaps not even his match. Regardless, since he is currently on Great Desolate Island, we must try to win him over and share some benefits with him. Otherwise, if he ruins our plan, it would be disastrous," Sun Taozhen said with a grave expression. "Didn't he say he was leaving Great Desolate Island soon? Why don't we wait for him to leave before making our move?" Jiang Yichun asked doubtfully.

"Hmph, leaving Great Desolate Island? If it were that easy to leave, why would he stay cultivating in seclusion on this desolate rock for over a year? If he could leave, he would have left long ago. I think he's just saying that to lower our guard. If there weren't nothing of value on Great Desolate Island worth fighting for, he would have already fought us for territory," Sun Taozhen scoffed. Then he sighed, "I have been stuck in this damned place for over ten years, and my remaining lifespan is likely not long. I cannot wait any longer. This native tribe is a chance to go all out, even if it means risking everything. I was originally worried that the four of us couldn't take down that small tribe, but now with this cultivator Ye, our chances are much greater. Sharing some benefits with him is completely worthwhile."

The thought of his dwindling lifespan brought a wave of inexplicable panic to Sun Taozhen's heart. After countless efforts, he had cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage, even risking coming to the East Sea. He did not want to die just like this. "Liling Dan!"

Although this native spiritual pill had very strong side effects, Sun Taozhen couldn't worry about that anymore. To reach the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment before his lifespan ran out, he could only pin his hopes on the Liling Dan. As for forming the Core, the chance was extremely slim. But even a slim chance was a chance, and he had to fight for it.

"He wants to use me to deal with that small native tribe... Are the Native Strongmen of this tribe really that formidable? Besides that Bai Xiuer, there should be one or two other Strongmen strong enough to make a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like Sun Taozhen fear them," Ye Qin thought.

Ye Qin watched the three of them walk away, only retracting his cold, focused gaze after they were gone.

After a long while, he returned to his cave dwelling, hands clasped behind his back.

No matter what, he had to make a trip to Chongsheng Island to witness the natives' alchemy techniques. However, if Sun Taozhen and the others thought they could use his power to gain significant benefits for themselves, they were dreaming. In the Cultivation World, it was always the higher-level cultivators who utilized the lower-level ones; there was no instance of lower-level cultivators manipulating higher-level ones.