...to the dangers of Windstorms and the like. More importantly, the journey was incredibly long, requiring nearly seven or eight months to finally reach the Eastern Sea Archipelago.

Ye Qin had mentally prepared himself for this.

Given the extensive time required for sea travel, it was crucial not to waste this period. Although he had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, his cultivation of the Divine Consciousness could no longer progress. However, he still had several spells he hadn't mastered, the Liao Clan's ancient text Heavenly Heart Art, and various low and mid-tier spells from the Azure Pill Sect, not to mention the Profound Yin** from the Profound Yin Sect.

Even his primary cultivation technique, Returning to the Origin, remained stuck at the threshold of “Sitting in Forgetfulness within the Void, True Self Without Ego. Shedding the mortal coil and casting off impurities, impervious to dust and filth.”

These techniques and spells would suffice to occupy him over the next seven or eight months of patient cultivation.

What surprised Ye Qin was that his previous cultivation periods had been fraught with peril; a single misstep could lead to overexertion and death.

But the middle volume was strangely mundane, exhibiting no peculiarities whatsoever, and so far, he hadn't encountered anything amiss. He presumed that finishing the middle volume would also pass uneventfully, which had taken him considerable time to gradually adjust to.

Ye Qin scoffed internally.

It seemed he was simply destined to endure hardship; only when faced with true danger and difficulty did things feel normal. If cultivation became too easy, anxiety would set in. However, the middle volume being utterly unremarkable was preferable to the constant apprehension he felt while practicing the initial volume.

And so, a vast, dark cloud drifted day after day over the Eastern Sea.

The suffering belonged to Bai Xiuer.

The divine strength of the Earth Clan Strongmen was innate—a manifestation of Heavenly Might—and required no specific cultivation techniques. They absorbed spiritual energy from the world simply through breathing and natural cycles, with their divine power gradually increasing as they aged.

Of course, they could also utilize Blood Spirit Pills and the unique cultivation methods of the Earth Clan Strongmen to enhance their strength.

But Bai Xiuer was too lazy and playful; she had no desire to cultivate.

She watched Ye Qin meditate before the Cloud Barrier day after day, practicing his spells. Bored to tears, she constantly muttered to herself, until eventually, Ye Qin paid her no mind at all.

Though Bai Xiuer found Ye Qin infuriating, having spent so much time together, she grew increasingly curious. Her bright, lively eyes stared intently at Ye Qin, determined to see just how long he could sit still.

The result was profoundly disappointing.

She couldn't comprehend how a person could remain motionless for such an extended period—for over half a month, his fingers hadn't twitched once. She herself had blinked thousands of times without eliciting any reaction from him.

She even had a fleeting illusion that if the Eastern Sea had no end, he would continue flying forward like this, sailing on until the sea dried up and the rocks crumbled.

“Why do these immortals from the Central Lands fight so desperately?”

Bai Xiuer recalled the Great Elder mentioning that Central Lands immortals enjoyed secluded meditation, often locking themselves away for five or ten years, completely oblivious to the outside world. This Immortal Ye was likely doing the same, ignoring her presence.

She tilted her head, utterly perplexed. Earth Clan people never engaged in such tedious activities. Apart from the elders who enjoyed staying in the Stone Palace, everyone else preferred hunting and capturing sea beasts.

Forget it; these complex matters were beyond her comprehension.

Bored, Bai Xiuer glanced around the perimeter of the Cloud Barrier, trying to find something novel on the boundless, azure expanse of the sea. She blinked, and thought she saw a large area of black shapes churning and splashing about ten li ahead on the water, covering an area spanning several li.

She immediately grew alert and instinctively hurled out her Black Iron Spirit Trident.

In the Eastern Sea region, anything could be dangerous. Especially this deep into the sea, peril could arise at any moment, from any direction.

Even flying tens of zhang high on their artifact did not guarantee absolute safety.

The Dark Cloud Artifact moved swiftly; in moments, it was approaching the location of the large black mass.

“Winged Demon Fish!”

Bai Xiuer finally recognized the sight and shuddered violently, nearly losing her grip on the Black Iron Spirit Trident.

The Bai Clan tribe lived on the sea year-round, so she naturally knew that the most terrifying thing in the Eastern Sea was not encountering a single high-level sea beast of the sixth or seventh rank, but running into a school of low-level sea beasts.

High-level beasts were terrifying, but if one flew past, they might not even bother to look your way.

But a large swarm of second or third-rank beasts could devour you until not even bone fragments remained.

If there was anything more terrifying than a school of low-level sea beasts, it would be a school of low-level sea beasts that possessed wings and could fly. They could attack both over the sea and in the sky, leaving cultivators with nowhere to hide.

The massive school of Winged Demon Fish swirling on the surface contained low-level beasts ranging from the first to the third rank—at least several thousand individuals. Each one was over a zhang long, possessing a mouth full of gleaming white fangs and covered in fine, cyan scales. They looked part fish, part demon, and their wingspans, when fully extended, were likely even larger.

Once they began flying wildly, the sea surface over several li would turn pitch-black, perhaps no easier to handle than a Windstorm.

“Mouth—”

Before Bai Xiuer could even cry out in alarm, a large hand clamped tightly over her small, cherry-like mouth from behind. “Silence! Hold your breath!” Ye Qin’s voice, thin as gossamer, reached Bai Xiuer’s ear. Her eyes were already wide with terror, and she nodded frantically and obediently. Only then did Ye Qin release her. His gaze fixed below the Cloud Barrier, his eyes now filled with apprehension. This stretch of the sea route had no islands, which meant he rarely encountered aerial sea beasts capable of flight—creatures far more dangerous than those confined to the water.

During sea crossings, a large proportion of Central Lands cultivators who perished—aside from those who died falling into the sea due to a lack of spirit stones or meeting Windstorms—were ambushed and killed by these winged sea beasts in the Eastern Sea.

Fortunately, the Dark Cloud Artifact appeared from the outside like an ordinary cloud mass. Outsiders could not discern what was happening inside the cloud.

The sea beasts likely wouldn't be interested in a mere cloud.

Ye Qin cautiously kept the Dark Cloud Artifact moving slowly enough to drift by like a normal mass of moving vapor, striving to avoid alarming the Winged Demon Fish. He certainly did not want to be surrounded by this swarm.

The Winged Demon Fish on the surface let out sharp, strange cries from time to time, making Bai Xiuer’s face turn pale with fear.

However, just as Ye Qin and the girl were about to pass the school of Winged Demon Fish, still several hundred zhang above them, the worst possible scenario occurred.

Stimulated by some unknown factor, the azure sea suddenly grew turbid and murky, sending up large volumes of bubbling air. The entire swarm of Winged Demon Fish covering several li suddenly spread their wings with a resounding whoosh, whoosh, lifting off the water en masse. These Winged Demon Fish flew incredibly fast and densely packed; they could collide with the Cloud Barrier almost instantly. If they made contact, it would be nearly impossible for them not to notice the cloud.

Ye Qin’s expression darkened; he cursed his ill luck internally.

But his speed did not falter. With a flip of his wrist, there was a sharp snap, and he slapped a talisman, the King Kong Barrier, already activated, onto Bai Xiuer beside him. Simultaneously, his mouth opened, and a thumb-sized, purple, fire-element flying sword shot out.

“Southern Bright Departing Fire Sword!”

This was the artifact among his three Nascent Soul artifacts that possessed the widest attack range and the most terrifying power. Although it lacked the unyielding sharpness of the Golden Bird Penetrating Wave Sword or the demonic sound of the Celestial Scroll Silk Sound Sword, its unparalleled area-of-effect destruction was supreme.

Ye Qin let out a piercing, heaven-shaking roar. Following this sound that tore the heavens and earth, the Southern Bright Departing Fire Sword suddenly swelled against the wind. Raging flames erupted from the blade, rapidly expanding until it became a gigantic fire sword ten zhang long.

The area within a hundred zhang radius around the Dark Cloud Artifact was instantly enveloped in a sea of fierce flames. From the sea of fire, several third-rank Flame Crows burst forth and collided with the Winged Demon Fish surrounding the Cloud Barrier that hadn't reacted in time, resulting in massive, mutual explosions.

This Southern Bright Departing Fire Sword had consumed a significant portion of Ye Qin’s vital energy to unleash such tremendous power. The might unleashed by the flying sword at this moment was equivalent to the power a cultivator at the early Golden Core stage could control.

Ye Qin, being a cultivator at the ninth layer peak of Foundation Establishment, could only manipulate it with great strain when casting at full power, rapidly draining his magical energy, causing his face to instantly turn pale.

The sudden, ferocious eruption of flames gave the Winged Demon Fish no time to react.

Ye Qin pointed his hand vaguely, and the towering giant sword transformed into a streak of crimson light. This red ray surged like a furious tide for several hundred zhang, directly piercing the edge of the Winged Demon Fish swarm and carving out a passage.

Within the path cleared by the red light, over a hundred second and third-rank Winged Demon Fish were instantly torn to shreds—flesh, bone, wings, and scales—incinerated into ash by the fierce flames of the Nascent Soul artifact. A nauseating odor permeated the air.

They were already at the edge of the swarm, and the passage carved was not deep.

Ye Qin dared not delay. He fiercely urged the Dark Cloud Artifact, following immediately behind the path opened by the Southern Bright Departing Fire Sword, and plunged straight out of the overwhelming Winged Demon Fish swarm, then careened wildly eastward without looking back.

After flying several li, he finally dared to look back.

The swarm of several thousand Demon Fish had clearly been driven into a frenzy by the flames and the scent of blood, their sharp cries filling the entire sea surface. However, their flying speed could not match that of Ye Qin’s Cloud Artifact, and after a while, they gradually plummeted back into the water.

Having escaped the Winged Demon Fish, Ye Qin finally let out a breath of relief. He quickly recalled the Southern Bright Departing Fire Sword. His face ashen, he slumped down inside the Dark Cloud Artifact, downed a bottle of spiritual wine, and focused on meditating to restore his magical energy. That single sword strike had drained nearly one-third of the power within him.

Had he been surrounded by these Winged Demon Fish and unable to break free, he could have managed at most three strikes before meeting his demise in the Eastern Sea.

Ye Qin felt a lingering dread.

Bai Xiuer, however, was stunned into silence, utterly awestruck. He actually smashed his way through a swarm of winged sea beasts! Is this the strength of an immortal? No wonder the Earth Clan could never stand against the immortals once they appeared.

Such an event was unimaginable to her before. If an Earth Clan tribe encountered a school of sea beasts on the ocean, even a large contingent of mid-rank Earth Clan Strongmen could not fight their way out. They might manage to save a small fraction only by paying an extremely heavy price.

In the subsequent months of flight, as they penetrated deeper into the Eastern Sea, encountering winged sea beasts became a common occurrence.

After facing such dangers, Ye Qin grew more cautious, his divine sense constantly sweeping across the surrounding several li of ocean surface to avoid being trapped again by a surrounding of winged beasts.

Bai Xiuer became much quieter. When Ye Qin cultivated, she no longer disturbed him.

Even she didn't realize it, but through subtle influence, she had begun to mimic Ye Qin, sitting in meditation.

The Earth Clan Strongmen’s method of cultivation was rather peculiar: merely sitting motionlessly, breathing, and slowly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to convert it into powerful physical strength. This method was extremely monotonous and slow.

“Look! Other immortals! We’ve reached the Eastern Sea Archipelago!”

Bai Xiuer spotted the scattered lights of various artifacts flying on the horizon and shouted out in delight.