Bu Qin was utterly perplexed. While the vast underwater desert stretched in profound silence, the small gathering of cultivators murmured amongst themselves.

"This desert is exceptionally strange; there seems to be no sign of life within it. An anomaly like this must conceal something sinister, or perhaps it's home to some incredibly ferocious deep-sea beasts. Given the immense scale of this yellow sand, how can we possibly traverse it safely?"

Zhou Yao scrutinized the underwater desert ahead, casting a dubious look toward Ye Qin and the others.

"Sister Yao, no need to fret. With us here, we can handle any sea beast! Unless it's a Ninth-tier, high-level Golden Core beast, or a Tenth-tier Nascent Soul beast or higher, I refuse to believe that the five of us, all Golden Core cultivators, can't slay it."

Jin Zhongshan declared loudly, slapping his chest with reckless abandon.

Even so, he made no rash move to plunge into the desert. Instead, his eyes were wide with apprehension as he stared at the boundless, dead-silent sands ahead, secretly swallowing hard. He gripped his Fire Gourd magical artifact even tighter, as if expecting a sea beast to appear at any moment.

Jin Zhongshan then glanced sideways at Ye Qin a few times.

With Ye Qin present, Jin Zhongshan dared not flaunt his own capabilities. Despite his outwardly boorish demeanor, his mind was remarkably sharp. He was all for rushing into any profitable endeavor, but he absolutely refused to step forward if there was no discernible benefit. While his mouth roared with conviction, his feet remained firmly planted, waiting for Ye Qin to take the lead and scout the path.

He wouldn't undertake the thankless task of exploring dangerous territory without receiving adequate reward for the risk.

Only Ye Qin, the strongest, most reserved, and most mysterious leader, was fit for the arduous task of scouting ahead.

To this day, Jin Zhongshan couldn't figure out what divine ability Ye Qin had used to eliminate that group of Sixth and Seventh-tier Ghostly Demon Shrimp, or how much strength he was truly concealing. The only thing he understood clearly was that he had better not make any rash moves before Ye Qin spoke and made a decision.

Otherwise, his outcome might not be as fortunate as the last time.

"The greatest drawback of this vast desert is the lack of cover; if we encounter a large swarm of sea beasts, we'll have no geographical advantage to hide within. However, there is an upside: the visibility is excellent, allowing us to see far, which actually makes it harder for sea beasts to launch a surprise attack. Even if a massive horde appears, we'll spot their tracks early enough to evade them. Brother Ye, what is your assessment?"

Liao Xiaozhang offered a gentle smile and asked Ye Qin in a deferential manner.

"Everyone must adapt as we go. If we run into sea beasts swarming in this desert, their speed swimming in the water will certainly be faster than ours. We might only have the Earth Evasion Technique left, hiding beneath the dunes. The only question is, what is the sense of smell of the deep-sea beasts like? Will they detect us beneath the sand?"

Ye Qin pondered calmly for a moment, finding the situation troublesome. He couldn't devise a good plan in the short term to safely cross this underwater desert, which spanned thousands of miles. For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

It would ultimately depend on luck.

In the depths of this East Sea, if they encountered a Tenth-tier, Nascent Soul-level sea beast, they would all perish. Even hiding beneath the sand would not guarantee survival against a terrifying beast of that magnitude.

The hundred or so high-level Earth Clan strongmen, along with the entire squadron of Golden Core cultivators from Zhuo's faction, had already passed through this desert.

Surely, they wouldn't be so unlucky as to run into danger now.

The five Golden Core cultivators in the small team exchanged glances, finding no superior strategy. Ye Qin then proceeded into the underwater desert. The rest of the cultivators could only steel themselves and follow him into the expanse of yellow sand.

After walking for a short while, they paused.

"There is an Dark Iron blade here, still bearing traces and the aura of spiritual power, likely left within the last two hours." Ye Qin stopped, his gaze sharpening. With a beckoning gesture, a Dark Iron blade, half-buried in the sand, flew up from the ground and settled into his hand.

Ye Qin examined the mottled blade closely, then looked ahead, seemingly visualizing the events that might have transpired here. He stated faintly, "Those high-level Earth Clan strongmen must have passed through this underwater desert heading towards the Langya Secret Realm. One of the strongmen stayed behind to cover the retreat and engaged in a brief skirmish with a few cultivators here. There are no traces of blood, so I suspect the outcome was likely a draw. If I'm not mistaken, we should find more evidence of conflict ahead."

Ye Qin's small squadron of cultivators left the Coral Forest and entered the great underwater desert.

Not long after, another squadron of cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Alliance, consisting of four Golden Core cultivators, emerged from the Coral Forest.

This group included a long-bearded old Taoist holding a whisk, a strange boy wearing a pink pouch, a lean man with a coiled beard, and a captivatingly alluring young woman. They appeared somewhat disheveled, clearly having suffered attacks from sea beasts within the Coral Forest.

"Old Daoist Bi, I told you we should have exerted our full strength to eliminate those few Ghostly Demon Shrimp and claimed those rare Blood Corals. But you insisted on using the Blood Coral as bait to weaken the other cultivator teams. Now look! That thousand-year Blood Coral has been taken away by that group from the Heavenly Dao Alliance for nothing. The Seventh-tier, initial-stage Golden Core Snow Eel my Tian Dou Palace has been raising for over nine hundred years—if it had consumed that thousand-year Blood Coral, a few more decades of cultivation would have surely allowed it to break through to the mid-stage Golden Core of the Eighth-tier. Now it's all gone! You compensate me!" the short figure wearing the pink belly-pouch, Miao Tong, glared fiercely at the long-bearded Taoist, his youthful face contorted with furious resentment.

"Child Miao, shut your mouth! Can you truly blame me for this? The concealment techniques of those deep-sea Ghostly Demon Shrimp are unbelievably potent; they can easily evade spiritual sense searches, even my Heaven and Earth Tracing Art couldn't locate them. Were they so easy to deal with? I also wanted those Blood Corals for my spirit beasts, but we were ambushed by the Ghostly Demon Shrimp and nearly lost our lives! If I hadn't used several high-grade Water Evasion Talismans to instantly teleport all four of us several miles away, avoiding the main thrust of their attack, we would have suffered a massive loss."

The long-bearded Taoist's expression turned icy as he watched the retreating figures of Ye Qin's group in the desert. "Under those circumstances, of course, I had to use the Blood Coral as bait to let the Ghostly Demon Shrimp drain the strength of the other teams. As for them managing to kill the shrimp and successfully claim the coral, that has nothing to do with me! Why are you pestering me like this!"

"Alright, both of you, stop arguing. The fact that these Heavenly Dao Alliance Golden Core first-layer cultivators managed to eliminate those Ghostly Demon Shrimp suggests they harbor considerably hidden strength. All four of us are second or third-layer Golden Core cultivators, yet we seem inferior to their five first-layer Golden Core cultivators. Brother Bi's scheme using the Blood Coral as bait was likely a wasted effort," the alluring woman consoled.

"That's not necessarily true. The most terrifying aspect of the Ghostly Demon Shrimp is their stealth. If someone in that team possesses a divine ability specifically designed to counteract the shrimp's concealment magic, even if they are all only first-layer Golden Core cultivators, they could still take down those shrimp. Quite a few cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance are proficient in obscure and specialized arts. This doesn't prove they are stronger than us," the long-bearded Taoist shook his head.

"Stop all this nonsense, Old Daoist Bi. The Blood Coral is already in their hands. I only ask what we do now?" The boy in the pink pouch fixed a venomous gaze on the figures gradually vanishing into the underwater desert.

"This underwater passage to the Langya Secret Realm is fraught with peril, and there are certainly more dangerous sea beasts ahead. I, the old Taoist, have never advocated for brute force; I prefer winning through intellect. What we need to do is simple, and we don't even need to fight. We simply follow them from a distance, subtly employing methods to cause them trouble. When they are killed by sea beasts, we can reap the rewards effortlessly—all the rare treasures, top-tier artifacts, and magic treasures on their bodies will become ours, and without leaving any future repercussions," the long-bearded Taoist smiled sinisterly, holding his whisk.

"If we're going to kill them, let's just kill them! Why be so indecisive? When they encounter a sea beast attack in the underwater desert, we'll strike immediately, eliminate them, and seize the Blood Coral, the Water Spirit Pearl, and all their other artifacts and treasures. I am determined to get that thousand-year Blood Coral!" The boy in the pink pouch scoffed, his eyes filled with fierce malice.

"Hmph, you call me indecisive? You speak too boldly. Are five Golden Core cultivators so easy to kill? If we fail to eliminate them completely and one or two escape, it will certainly create endless future trouble, leading to an open feud and chaos between the various Immortal Palaces of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance—that would be troublesome," the long-bearded Taoist was deeply displeased by the boy's mocking remarks.

"Then kill them all, leave no trace—isn't that the solution? The four of us aren't strangers to such deeds; why pretend to be noble? Are you afraid, Old Daoist Bi, that causing trouble will bring blame upon your Jade Accomplishment Palace?" the boy in the pink pouch sneered contemptuously.

The long-bearded Taoist’s face flushed with anger, and he seemed to recall something, forcing himself to restrain his temper.

The lean man with the coiled beard and the alluring woman glanced at each other, feeling somewhat helpless as the intense argument erupted between the Taoist and the boy.

Though Daoist Bi was the leader of the four, it was solely because he was the eldest and most experienced; thus, they traditionally followed his lead. In terms of cultivation level and combat power, the boy in the pink pouch was in no way inferior to Daoist Bi. Even the lean man and the alluring woman possessed strength comparable to their leader. Decisions were usually made only when the majority agreed.

Miao Tong was born deformed and naturally retained a childlike appearance. Moreover, his unique Child Immortal Arts cultivation technique was peculiar, lending him a very strange, violent, and straightforward temperament. Daoist Bi, conversely, favored scheming and intrigue. Consequently, the two frequently clashed over seemingly trivial matters.

Given their personalities, it was genuinely difficult for them to form a cohesive unit. However, within the Heavenly Demon Alliance, all four were cultivators with notorious reputations and had accrued numerous grudges with various Demon Palaces. When executing missions assigned by the Alliance, almost no other cultivators were willing to team up with them. As a result, they were often forced to act together.

"Brother Bao, Sister Wu, what are your views? Should we follow those five and pick up the scraps, or should we look for an opportunity to strike and kill them outright?" Seeing that he couldn't persuade the boy in the pink pouch, the long-bearded Taoist turned to convince the lean man and the charming woman.