The three Grand Elders of the small tribe gathered, murmuring amongst themselves for quite some time. No one knew what Grand Elder Baiyun said, but the other two elders leaped up in fierce opposition, arguing until their faces flushed crimson. Eventually, however, Elder Baiyun managed to persuade the other two elders to agree. After the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, they seemed to have reached a decision. The Grand Elder of the Bai Clan Tribe personally came out of the hall to respectfully invite Ye Zou into their sacred temple to "discuss" borrowing the Blood Spirit Pill formula. Although it was termed a discussion, they were essentially following Ye Qin's directive. Under Ye Qin's absolute power, they had no choice but to obey whatever Ye Qin said. Even leaving would require the consent of that Golden Core Skeletal Demon currently sprawled outside the hall. This eerie Golden Core Skeletal Demon was even more terrifying than Ye Qin himself.

Ye Qin’s method was remarkably simple: exchange several monster cores for the loan of the Earth Clan Tribe’s Spirit Blood Pill formula. He still had a small number of low-grade monster cores left over from when he refined his Nascent Soul magical artifacts on Bāshàn Reef at Glazed Island. These low-grade cores were of little use to him currently, so giving them up brought him no pain. It was only the arrival of the Foundation Establishment cultivators from Great Desolate Island—Sun Taozhen, the Jiang brothers, Zhu Heyuan, and others—that complicated matters through their intense fighting. Furthermore, the elders of the Chìsōng Earth Clan were initially resistant, engaging in duels and threatening self-harm, refusing to hand over the spirit pill formula. Ultimately, however, they were completely subdued by the Golden Core Skeletal Demon Ye Qin brought, and they proceeded exactly as Ye Qin had instructed. 10th Floor

Grand Elder Baiyun retrieved a heavy, dark-iron great chest from the offering stand inside the stone hall. Resting atop the chest was a small stack of over ten extremely thin, palm-sized dark-iron sheets. The front of each sheet was inscribed with Earth Clan runes, while the back depicted crude drawings of monstrous beasts, clearly carved one stroke at a time by an ancestor of the Earth Clan using a sharp knife. “This is the Blood Spirit Pill formula of my Bai Clan Tribe; my tribe has used these formulas for thousands of years!” Grand Elder Baiyun reluctantly handed the ten-plus dark-iron sheets to Ye Qin, accepting three low-grade monster cores in return. Ye Qin took the dark-iron sheets, pulled out over ten blank sheets of parchment from his storage pouch, formed a hand seal, and covered them with a burst of white spell light, directly copying the Blood Spirit Pill formulas onto the blank parchments. Only then did he carefully examine the raw materials required by the Blood Spirit Pill formulas. 34th Floor

“Brother Ye, I was right; the Bai Clan Tribe’s Blood Spirit Pill formula is indeed the formula for the Malignant Spirit Pill. I have finally found the Malignant Spirit Pill formula! Haha, I won’t have to worry about lacking spirit pills for my cultivation anymore!”

Sun Taozhen exclaimed excitedly, holding the formulas. Even on Great Ring Island, where spiritual energy was thin, he could continue cultivating using these Malignant Spirit Pills without fearing the waste of his lifespan. If he could find enough spirit stones, he could even travel to the East Sea Archipelagoes.

Because Ye Qin had not forcefully seized the Blood Spirit Pill formula, Grand Elder Baiyun’s tone became more courteous. “Immortal Elder Ye, I will be honest with you. The Blood Spirit Pill is indeed closely related to the Malignant Spirit Pill. Previously, we denied having the Malignant Spirit Pill because we didn't want you to take an artifact sacred to our tribe. However, the two are not entirely the same. Did you notice the drawing of a fruit on every formula?” Ye Qin looked over; indeed, a strange fruit was drawn on all ten-plus formulas. Although he was an alchemist and had encountered countless spiritual herbs, he could not identify this fruit. “That is the Blood Spirit Fruit, the sacred object of our tribe. Consuming this fruit has the effect of enhancing divine power and is intrinsically linked to our tribe’s destiny. These spirit pill formulas are, in fact, the Malignant Spirit Pill formulas. But our ancestors added the Blood Spirit Fruit to these formulas to enhance the tribe’s inherent divine power, thus renaming it the Blood Spirit Pill.”

Grand Elder Baiyun explained.

Ye Qin paused, then smiled faintly. “So, the Malignant Spirit Pill formula itself isn't the vital part; the Blood Spirit Fruit is. You were unwilling to hand over the formula initially because you feared we would discover the Blood Spirit Fruit and steal your tribe’s sacred object. That’s why you were reluctant to lend us the spirit pill formula for inspection.” Grand Elder Baiyun nodded reluctantly. He knew that once the ten-plus iron sheets were revealed, the Blood Spirit Fruit could no longer be concealed. Ye Qin would eventually discover the fruit's importance, as the drawing of this essential ingredient appeared on every single sheet, underscoring its significance. So why was he now willingly handing over the Blood Spirit Pill formula and proactively declaring it the tribe’s sacred object? “You could have simply claimed it was a rare spiritual fruit, not the sacred object of your tribe,” Ye Qin questioned, puzzled.

“Immortal Elder Ye, my Bai Four Tribe used to reside on an island in the East Sea Archipelagoes, a medium-sized tribe with over a hundred thousand people. But a hundred years ago, we offended an immortal who launched a surprise attack, causing us heavy losses. The tribe lost its island home and has since wandered restlessly across the treacherous East Sea for nearly a century. Our people dwindled until we found this island and settled here temporarily,” Grand Elder Baiyun explained. Ye Qin nodded; that made sense. For an indigenous tribe that once numbered over a hundred thousand to possess three Grand Elders, a Great Chief, and such an outstanding figure as Bai Xiuer was quite normal. It would be impossible for a tribe of only a thousand people to command such resources.

At this point, Grand Elder Baiyun suddenly knelt down, holding the dark-iron chest aloft. He stated solemnly, “In my two hundred years of life, I have never encountered an immortal who spoke of justice. Immortal Elder Ye is the fairest immortal I have ever met. I hope the Bai Clan Tribe can receive your protection, Immortal Elder. Inside this chest is my tribe’s sacred object; I entrust it to your care.”

“What?” Sun Taozhen, Zhu Heyuan, the Jiang brothers, and the other cultivators examining the Malignant Spirit Pill formulas were so shocked they gaped open their mouths.

Seeking protection was common in the East Sea.

Whether mortals or East Sea natives, just like the mortals on Great Ring Island who were under the protection of Sun Taozhen and the others, natives could seek an immortal to shelter them, provided an immortal was willing. However, once protection was granted, it meant that the native tribe would henceforth belong to Ye Qin, no longer to themselves. In return, Ye Qin would be responsible for the tribe's security.

The benefits of this arrangement were naturally countless: apart from the Blood Spirit Fruit on Great Ring Island, he would also gain a group of native cultivators. Although these natives’ strength was slightly lower, they could fight during a major conflict and perform hard labor during peacetime—incredibly useful assets. Sun Taozhen and the others were naturally envious of this prospect.

The Second and Third Elders of the native tribe also knelt beside the Grand Elder, maintaining silence. They clearly understood the situation, having debated it earlier. But Grand Elder Baiyun’s decision was final, and they could not persuade him otherwise.

What surprised them most was Ye Qin’s reaction.

Ye Qin was also startled, then smiled. “My cultivation is only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Such strength is commonplace in the East Sea. How can I possibly shelter your entire tribe? I regret that I cannot agree to this. My current strength is insufficient to protect your tribe.”

Ye Qin let his smile fade, calmly refusing.

He was already venturing through the East Sea alone, a perilous endeavor. Burdening himself with an entire tribe, especially as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator—even if he reached the Golden Core stage, in a place teeming with Golden Core cultivators like the East Sea, his strength would be inadequate to safeguard a tribe of a thousand people. Only by cultivating alone, free from entanglements, could he venture further in the dangerous East Sea. He could not allow a small native tribe to plunge him into jeopardy.

“I will borrow your tribe’s Blood Spirit Fruit for three days. After three days, I will depart from this place and return the original item. In exchange, I can grant you one small request—I can gift you a superior-grade weapon, or perhaps some other item. Consider carefully what you desire.”

Ye Qin collected the dark-iron chest containing the Blood Spirit Fruit and floated out of the stone hall, riding his sword toward Great Desolate Island. Seeing Ye Qin leave, Sun Taozhen, the Jiang brothers, and Zhu Heyuan certainly could not remain. Without Ye Qin, they were no match for the three elders of the tribe, so they too rode their swords away from Chìsōng Island.

Seeking immortal protection was not an impulsive decision for them.

To have guided his tribe through the struggle for survival on the East Sea for over a century meant the Grand Elder possessed far-sighted wisdom.

In the East Sea, the strongest entities were immortals, and tribes must pledge allegiance to an immortal to survive and thrive. He hadn't allowed his tribe to pledge allegiance before because he hadn't found an immortal strong enough and trustworthy enough. Now that he had finally found an immortal who was powerful, possessed great potential, and acted justly, yet he could not secure his protection—finding such an immortal again would be incredibly difficult.