The young girl abruptly stood up, drawing two black iron spirit forks from her waist and pointing them at Ye Qin. Like a small leopard ready to pounce, she snarled furiously, “It’s you cultivators from Great Desolate Island causing trouble again! Come any closer, and I won’t be polite!”
“Xiu’er, stand down! Do not be disrespectful to the Immortal Elder!”
The presiding elder set down the bisected black iron great halberd and firmly commanded.
Bai Xiu’er’s delicate face puffed up with anger, but she dared not disobey, retreating backward.
“I am Bai Yun, the Great Elder of the Bai Clan. Which Immortal Elder are you? You don't seem to be a cultivator from Great Desolate Island.” The white-haired Great Elder fixed his gaze intensely on Ye Qin, his expression solemn. This was the man who had cleaved his black iron great halberd in two with a single strike. As the clan’s Great Elder, he had met countless Immortals, and very few possessed such capability.
“I am a cultivator from the Central Lands, recently staying on Great Desolate Island. I heard your tribe possesses the Li Ling Dan (Fierce Spirit Pill) and wished to examine the alchemy formula. I wonder if the Great Elder would be willing to lend it?” Ye Qin said with a faint smile.
The three tribal elders in this stone hall, perhaps their divine power was astonishing, but their weaponry was indeed extremely poor. Such weapons might suffice against low-grade magical artifacts, but they were nothing noteworthy before him; he did not take them seriously.
The tribal elders knew this well. They had only made a single probing attack before ceasing, allowing Ye Qin to enter the stone hall.
“Li Ling Dan?… My tribe possesses no such item. You have come to the wrong place!” The Great Elder shook his head.
“No Li Ling Dan?”
Ye Qin frowned, turning back to Sun Taozhen and asking in a deep voice, “Brother Sun, didn’t you say the Tu Clan tribe on Red Pine Island definitely has the Li Ling Dan? You aren't trying to make me come all this way for nothing, are you?”
A hint of anger colored his tone. If Sun Taozhen and his companions dared to deceive him, merely using him as an excuse to deal with the Tu Clan tribe, he would never let any of them go easily.
“Impossible! Every Tu Clan tribe has the Li Ling Dan; otherwise, how would the Tu Clan strongmen cultivate? Since the Bai Clan has so many strongmen, they must possess the Li Ling Dan!”
Sun Taozhen panicked slightly upon seeing Ye Qin’s anger. The wrath of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator was something he could not withstand. While he certainly intended to use Ye Qin's strength to break into the stone hall, he would never lie about the Li Ling Dan—that would be suicide.
He immediately turned to the Great Elder and challenged him sternly, “Great Elder Bai Yun, the Li Ling Dan is a spirit pill refined using the demonic cores of demonic beasts as raw materials. Do you dare say your tribe lacks this spirit pill?”
Ye Qin turned, his icy gaze falling upon Great Elder Bai Yun.
“My tribe does not have the Li Ling Dan…” We only have the Xue Ling Dan (Blood Spirit Pill), which is made from demonic cores and a special spiritual substance as primary ingredients. But this Xue Ling Dan is what our strongmen cultivate; it is useless to Immortal Cultivators. What use would you cultivators have for it?”
Great Elder Bai Yun’s expression shifted slightly, but he did not conceal the truth, replying faithfully.
“Then bring out your Xue Ling Dan and its formula. Whether it works or not, I can try! Perhaps your tribe’s Xue Ling Dan is the Li Ling Dan I seek.”
Sun Taozhen was overjoyed at this, his eyes gleaming. He immediately shouted loudly, “Brother Ye, this old fellow clearly doesn't want to hand over the spirit pill formula. Don't waste time arguing; let's just fight!” Zhu Heyuan was equally impatient, interjecting anxiously.
“How audacious! The Xue Ling Dan is the most vital treasure of my Bai Clan, tied to our clan’s fortune. There is no reason to simply hand it over! Furthermore, this Xue Ling Dan is indeed useless to you Immortal Cultivators. I urge you esteemed Immortals to leave this place. Otherwise, even if you are all Immortals, I will sacrifice this old life to ensure we perish together!”
Great Elder Bai Yun was also enraged. He had exercised restraint repeatedly, but certain matters, like the Xue Ling Dan linked to his tribe's fortune, were intolerable. Out of reverence for Ye Qin, he still suppressed his fury and tried to persuade the cultivators to leave.
However, Sun Taozhen, Zhu Heyuan, and the Jiang brothers were not people to be easily placated. Seeing that they were close to forcing out the Li Ling Dan, they had no reason to back down. They immediately took out their magical artifacts, preparing for a bloody fight.
“Hand over the spirit pill formula!”
“If you insist on being aggressive, we will have no choice but to fight!”
“Fight then!”
The two grey-haired tribal elders and the young girl Bai Xiu’er immediately stood up, each drawing their black iron weapons, glaring fiercely at the Immortal Cultivators.
The atmosphere inside the stone hall instantly became tense.
“Though your strength is great, attempting to take my clan’s sacred object will not be so easy,” Great Elder Bai Yun stated solemnly, slowly rising to his feet.
Sun Taozhen snorted, flicking his sleeve. A magical artifact shot out with a dazzling light, directly targeting Great Elder Bai Yun.
Great Elder Bai Yun’s figure flickered. He stomped his foot suddenly, leaving a deep imprint, and the rock within a radius of over ten zhang cracked with loud snapping sounds. His body then shot out, transforming into a lean phantom, engaging Sun Taozhen in combat.
Seeing that the fight had begun, the Jiang brothers and Zhu Heyuan each shouted, unleashing their flying swords to attack the other two elders.
The stone hall immediately descended into chaos.
Sun Taozhen and Great Elder Bai Yun were locked in combat. Two rapid figures occasionally revealed flashes of black light and bursts of various colored radiance, and for the moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
However, the Jiang brothers and Zhu Heyuan were no match for the other two tribal elders. Barely having exchanged blows, the three of them were already wretchedly disheveled, fleeing in panic out of the stone hall and soaring directly toward the sky. Only by flying into the air did they have a chance to save their lives.
Inside the hall, only Ye Qin and Bai Xiu’er had not joined the fray.
Ye Qin did not wish to fight.
Bai Xiu’er wanted to fight, but she dared not move recklessly. Having fixed her eyes on Ye Qin, she gripped her black iron spirit forks, eager and poised, trying to find an opening where Ye Qin exposed himself to launch a surprise attack and strike him down in one fell swoop.
Yet, Ye Qin merely stood there casually, seemingly open to attack from any angle, which made Bai Xiu’er extremely uneasy and hesitant to strike.
She had hunted numerous demonic beasts and naturally understood that low-level beasts were easy to bully, but high-level beasts were not to be provoked. Ye Qin was the strongest of the five Immortals, and even Great Elder Bai Yun hadn't dared to attack him. Such a profound and unfathomable Immortal was clearly not someone she should provoke.
Ye Qin scanned everyone in the stone hall, frowning. This kind of chaotic battle was not what he desired. He only wanted to obtain the Li Ling Dan formula and leave this place. As for the conflict between the Great Desolate Island cultivators and the Red Pine Island Tu Clan, there would be time for that after he departed.
Seeing that Ye Qin was not paying attention to her, Bai Xiu’er secretly rejoiced and was about to fling her black iron spirit forks at Ye Qin.
But just as she prepared to move, a faint, jade-green radiance appeared beside Ye Qin. This was followed by a sound like heavenly music from flutes and strings, and then her spirit was violently shaken. She froze in place as if entranced, forgetting what she intended to do.
It was not just her; even Sun Taozhen, a cultivator at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, felt his spirit tremble, causing his vital energy to surge chaotically. If he forcefully maintained his spell, he risked his energy backflowing, so he quickly stopped, looking toward Ye Qin and that jade-green radiance in horror. He had no idea what magical artifact it was that could disturb the mind and interfere with combat.
The elders were also stunned, halting their attacks.
The chaotic battle in the hall stopped instantly.
The cultivators and the Tu Clan elders gazed at Ye Qin in shock. They suddenly realized that the heavenly music emanating from the Azure Sword magical artifact Ye Qin controlled was almost unbearable for them.
“Second Elder, quickly take Wu’er and our clan’s sacred object and leave. I will stop this person here, even if it costs this old life.”
Great Elder Bai Yun’s voice carried a note of deep sorrow.
Originally, he had harbored a small hope of defeating these Immortal Cultivators. Now, it seemed Ye Qin alone was enough to eradicate their entire tribe; there was no hope of defeating these Immortals. His only remaining hope was for the Second Elder to take Xiu’er and leave, preserving a last thread of hope for the tribe.
“Great Elder, leave with us!” Bai Xiu’er snapped back to consciousness and urged anxiously.
“Go quickly!”
Great Elder Bai Yun roared urgently.
The Second Elder knew the situation was critical and did not argue. He grabbed Bai Xiu’er and tried to break through the door to escape this place.
“Oh, you think you can just leave?”
Ye Qin sneered, casually tossing out a spirit beast pouch and releasing the Golden Core Skeleton Demon.
The Golden Core Skeleton Demon blocked the entrance to the stone hall and immediately spewed a stream of corpse fluid toward the Second Elder. The Second Elder hastily waved his black iron long spear to defend. Then, he felt a sudden lightness in his hand. The black iron long spear had mingled with the corpse fluid, emitting a hissing, dense smoke, and in moments, it dissolved into a pool of foul water.
Inside the stone hall, everyone’s faces turned ashen with terror, crying out in alarm.
“Golden Core Skeleton Demon!”
Sun Taozhen’s face changed drastically. He looked at Ye Qin in disbelief. This was not a demonic beast below the sixth tier; it was a seventh-tier Golden Core demonic beast. Such a beast could sweep aside Foundation Establishment cultivators with ease.
“I came to Red Pine Island for one purpose only: to borrow a copy of your tribe’s Xue Ling Dan formula. I will return it after copying it, and in exchange for borrowing the formula, I will offer three third-tier demonic cores. Brother Sun and the others who wish to borrow the Li Ling Dan formula must also offer compensation. Great Elder, please reconsider my proposal. You have the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. Remember, even killing you all would still allow me to take the spirit pill formula. And Brother Sun, you have no objections to how I handle this, correct?!”
Ye Qin spoke plainly, then retracted his artifacts, not looking at them, and turned to walk out of the stone hall.
The Golden Core Skeleton Demon shook its head, its sinister gaze sweeping over the numerous ‘prey,’ and swaggered out, its skeletal tail swaying.
In the stone hall, a dead silence descended.
No one could utter a single word.
A cultivator at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, accompanied by a Golden Core Skeleton Demon. All the other Foundation Establishment cultivators and Tu Clan elders on Red Pine Island combined were no match, and even escape was impossible.