For the following several days, Sun Taozhen and the two Jiang brothers visited Ye Qin's cave dwelling almost daily, occasionally discussing insights from their Daoist practices or sharing interesting anecdotes they had encountered on the East Sea.

Over these days, Ye Qin managed, through careful probing, to gather a significant amount of information about Sun Taozhen and the Jiang brothers. It must be said that their situation on Great Desolate Island had been quite dire recently.

On this island, they possessed neither spirit stones nor spirit medicines for concocting elixirs; the island even lacked a decent spirit vein. They had been stranded here for over a decade, with almost no advancement in their cultivation.

Because they were completely out of spirit stones, they couldn't even afford to leave the island and venture to the Archipelago of the East Sea.

Several years ago, when that small tribe of Earthlings migrated near Great Desolate Island to Chisong Island, the Earthlings' recipe for the Fierce Spirit Elixir naturally made their mouths water, making them long to obtain it immediately.

Even if Ye Qin had never appeared on Great Desolate Island, they had already planned to make a move against that small Earthling tribe. Their years spent in secluded cultivation of magical arts were solely for this purpose. Ye Qin’s arrival merely brought immense joy and greater certainty to their endeavor.

It could be said that regardless of Ye Qin’s presence or absence, a bloody conflict between the cultivators of Great Desolate Island and the Earthlings of Chisong Island was inevitable. Ye Qin was acutely aware of this.

He had no interest in meddling in the conflict between the Great Desolate Island cultivators and the Chisong Island Earthlings. He had already firmly decided that once he obtained the Fierce Spirit Elixir recipe he desired on Chisong Island, he would depart, paying no mind to the petty matters here. Another three days passed.

Sun Taozhen and the Jiang brothers arrived to pay their respects to Ye Qin, bringing with them a young, unfamiliar cultivator.

"Brother Ye, this is Zhu Heyuan, Junior Brother Zhu, one of the five Foundation Establishment cultivators of Great Desolate Island. He just emerged from seclusion after finishing cultivation on a magical art. Upon hearing Brother Ye had arrived, he eagerly rushed over to meet you."

Sun Taozhen finished speaking, then chuckled and turned to the young cultivator, "Junior Brother Zhu, this is Brother Ye. You always bragged about your exceptional potential and rapid cultivation progress; are you convinced now?" "This junior pays respects to Brother Ye." Upon seeing Ye Qin, Zhu Heyuan’s expression shifted dramatically. "Hmm, since everyone is here, let's go!"

Ye Qin glanced at Zhu Heyuan, his tone flat. The man was quite young, nearly the same age as him, but his cultivation was far behind—only at the third layer of the Foundation Establishment stage. Who knew when or if he would ever cultivate to the ninth layer. The five of them each summoned their flying swords, transforming into streaks of light as they flew towards Chisong Island. On the way, Ye Qin had already settled the terms with the four.

The conquest of the small Earthling tribe on Chisong Island would be undertaken by Sun, the two Jiang brothers, and Zhu. Ye Qin would not easily intervene, unless Sun Taozhen and the others encountered an enemy they couldn't handle, putting them in danger, only then would Ye Qin step in to resolve it. After success, Ye Qin would take half of the recovered Fierce Spirit Elixir and its recipe; the remaining four would divide the rest.

The cultivation world has always respected strength. Although Ye Qin’s terms were steep, the four—Sun, the Jiangs, and Zhu—had no choice but to accept. After all, Ye Qin’s cultivation at the ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage meant his individual strength was greater than the combined strength of the other four; they had to agree.

Chisong Island was a relatively small isle, only tens of miles in circumference, containing a low mountain valley.

Besides a stone hall towering over ten zhang inside the valley, the rest of the area was scattered with several hundred small thatched huts. Many Earthlings were seen moving about, cultivating land in the island's forests, and piloting small boats near the beach to fish.

If no unexpected incidents occurred, Chisong Island could be considered a very ordinary, peaceful, secluded isle in the East Sea.

On this day, five streams of colored light appeared on the horizon, swift as lightning, arriving above the island's valley and pausing. The figures of the five cultivators appeared above the island, treading their swords.

They made no attempt to conceal their magical aura; a powerful spiritual pressure enveloped the island. Such intense pressure was unbearable for ordinary people. This immediately incited fear among the island's Earthlings. Feeling this formidable spiritual pressure, they looked up to see the cultivators in the sky, dropped their tools, and fled in panic, screams erupting everywhere.

"There are over a thousand Earthlings on this island. The Earthling warriors are no different from secular folk; we can’t ascertain anything by using divine sense." "How can we locate the Earthling warriors?"

Ye Qin surveyed Chisong Island. It was a very common small island; if one hadn't known beforehand, they might have assumed it was an island inhabited by mortals.

Of course, the Earthlings' attire was rather bold—simple clothing. The men were mostly bare-chested, clad only in animal skins, and the women only covered essential areas with animal skins, exposing pale shoulders and smooth thighs. Their accessories were exquisitely crafted from animal bone and teeth, which differed from the coarse hemp clothing of the central land's secular people.

He noticed nothing unusual within his immediate field of vision. Ye Qin then swept his divine sense across the entire island, yet found no spiritual energy reactions, yielding no harvest either. He vaguely felt that the stone hall in the valley was somewhat amiss, but he couldn't pinpoint the feeling.

"Brother Ye, divine sense won't reveal them. However, there is a stone hall at the highest point of the valley; that is where the Earthling tribal elders gather for deliberation, and it is also the sacred ground of the tribe. The Earthling elders certainly possess the Fierce Spirit Elixir recipe. As long as we take this stone hall, we won't worry about them handing over the recipe," Sun Taozhen shook his head, pointing towards the stone hall in the nearby valley.

"I have just completed the fifth level of the Blazing Fire True Art. Why don't I go investigate? If they are willing to hand over the recipe obediently, so be it. If not, I will burn their stone hall to ashes," Zhu Heyuan’s eyes flashed with fierce light. "Our two brothers will go with Junior Brother Zhu," the Jiang brothers, Jiang Yichun and Jiang Yiqiu, chimed in.

"Very well. Junior Brothers Jiang and Junior Brother Zhu, be cautious. If you find any Earthling warriors, don't kill them; we still have use for them. If things look suspicious, retreat immediately," Sun Taozhen nodded, agreeing to let the three investigate the stone hall.

The Jiang brothers and Zhu Heyuan, the three of them transformed into three streaks of light, each holding their magical artifacts, and aggressively charged towards the valley within the island.

At this moment, hundreds of Earthlings, holding bows, wooden spears, and fish spears, were shouting fiercely around the stone hall in the valley. They guarded the area around the hall, attempting to stop the cultivators from approaching. Among these Earthlings were ordinary members of the tribe and Earthling warriors, but they were indistinguishable.

The initial Foundation Establishment cultivation of the Jiang brothers and Zhu Heyuan was hardly something the ordinary Earthlings could resist. As the three charged into the valley, many of these Earthlings were already pressed flat by the immense spiritual pressure.

Only five or six low-level Earthling warriors, possessing strength equivalent to cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage, could still manage to stand and draw their powerful bows to shoot arrows. The occasional chaotic iron arrows flew out, but they were all shattered upon hitting the three's protective shields, causing no damage. Ye Qin and Sun Taozhen remained hovering in the air on their swords, observing the battle. "Brother Ye, it seems I overestimated the strength of these Earthlings earlier. If we are lucky, we might even secure the Fierce Spirit Elixir recipe without needing both of us to act," Sun Taozhen couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Oh, let's see how it develops. These Earthlings must possess more strength than this to have made Brother Sun so cautious," Ye Qin stated calmly.

Sun Taozhen didn't reply, just chuckled a few times.

Under the devastating and fierce assault of the three Foundation Establishment cultivators—the two Jiangs and Zhu Heyuan—the Earthlings in the valley were routed with extreme speed. Even those few low-level Earthling warriors couldn't hold out for a moment before being struck down by the trio.

If Sun Taozhen hadn't given instructions beforehand to capture some living Earthling warriors to use as laborers, these warriors might have been completely slaughtered by the three. When the two Jiangs and Zhu Heyuan were still a hundred zhang away from the stone hall—

"Halt!"

The massive doors of the stone hall suddenly burst open, and a burly, broad-browed man, standing ten zhang tall, strode out with powerful steps. He wore a shark-skin belt around his waist and gripped a half-zhang long heavy saber made of dark iron, riddled with mottled nicks, clearly showing he was battle-hardened.

This giant stood before the hall, radiating imposing authority without anger. His towering height made him stand out among the surrounding Earthlings.

"Great Chieftain, these immortals are too tyrannical!" "Our people endured great hardship, wandering across the sea for hundreds of thousands of miles, and finally established a foothold on Chisong Island, only to be disturbed by them!"

Over ten additional low-level Earthling warriors rushed out from the hall, standing beside the stalwart man, glaring at the five cultivators with intense anger.

"You immortal beings from Great Desolate Island, why do you disturb the peace of my Chisong Island? Several years ago, our tribal elders made an agreement with you: Great Desolate Island and Chisong Island would not interfere with each other. What is the meaning of your intrusion today?"

The giant waved a hand, silencing the roaring and cursing of the warriors, then furiously questioned the two Jiang brothers, Zhu, and the cultivators in the air, Ye Qin and Sun Taozhen. "Great Chieftain, we are only here today to borrow a few items from your tribe. As long as you are willing to lend them, our two islands will continue to coexist peacefully," Sun Taozhen chuckled. "What do you wish to borrow?"

The giant considered for a moment. He was clearly reluctant to engage in conflict with cultivators. If he could resolve this confrontation with a small price, he was willing to consider it. He suppressed his anger and asked loudly, "The treasure within your tribe, the Fierce Spirit Elixir, and all related alchemy recipes. Furthermore, my cave dwelling is in need of a few menial laborers; I wish to select a few diligent male and female warriors from your tribe to take to Great Desolate Island. Is the Great Chieftain willing?" Sun Taozhen smiled.

"Don't even think about taking my tribe's treasures! My brothers and sisters of this tribe will not serve as your laborers!" Upon hearing this, the giant roared in fury.

"Serving as my—Sun's—laborers is an insult to you? Since you refuse, we will have to take them by force. Junior Brother Zhu, why haven't you acted yet!" Sun Taozhen’s face immediately darkened, and he roared the command.

Receiving the order, Zhu Heyuan let out a sharp yell, controlling his low-level fire-attribute flying sword, which transformed into a vibrant red sword gleam a zhang long, slashing ferociously toward the giant’s face.

"Good timing!"

The giant roared back with full vigor, stamping his feet hard on the rocky ground. Showing no fear of the magical artifact, he instead leaped forward to meet it head-on.

Although his physique was tall and imposing, his movements were exceptionally agile. With that sudden leap, he was only half a zhang away from the flying sword. He swung his arm, fast as lightning, a dark gleam flashed by, and the heavy saber struck down with precision right onto the tip of the flying sword.

The fire-attribute flying sword rang out with a clear clang, and it was actually knocked away directly by the dark iron saber. A small new nick was added to the body of the dark iron heavy saber. But that didn't matter. By the time the giant landed, he had already closed the distance to within ten zhang of Zhu Heyuan. "Brother Jiang, lend me some strength!"

Zhu Heyuan’s face instantly changed drastically, and he shouted loudly. Being closed in upon by such a formidable Earthling warrior at this proximity was not a good situation. With this strike as swift as thunder, even his fire-attribute protective shield might not be able to withstand it.

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