The Golden Core Skeleton Demon smelled life force! "Watch out for sea beasts beneath the quicksand!"

Ye Qin, Zhou Yao, and the other three Golden Core cultivators in the squad instantly tensed upon sensing the anomalous aura near the whirlpool of quicksand emanating from the Golden Core Skeleton Demon. They immediately launched their flying swords, fire gourds, Huntian Ling, and Golden Jiao Scissors, preparing for an enemy.

Normally, their Spiritual Eye technique and Divine Sense were far superior to the Golden Core Skeleton Demon's, allowing them to track beasts and pinpoint their locations. However, many high-tier demonic beasts excelled at concealment, making them difficult to detect, and Divine Sense occasionally failed against them.

The distant Golden Core Skeleton Demon, being a semi-dead ghost demon, possessed an acute sensitivity to the vitality of living things. It could actually flush out deeply hidden sea beasts skilled at remaining unseen, much like the unseen and intangible Ghost Prawns they had previously encountered in the Coral Forest. This extreme capability made the five Golden Core cultivators place immense trust in the Skeleton Demon's ability to hunt down beasts.

The Golden Core Skeleton Demon shook its stark white, bony head, sniffing the air near the quicksand vortex for a while.

The quicksand vortex remained still.

Ye Qin surmised that a sea beast might be lurking deep beneath the sand vortex. Seeing no movement, he decided to act decisively: he commanded the Golden Core Skeleton Demon to plunge into the funnel-shaped vortex and vigorously dig downward through the yellow sands.

If a sea beast was indeed hiding in the quicksand vortex, the Skeleton Demon would surely find it. With all four legs churning, the Skeleton Demon quickly excavated sand to a depth of over ten zhang.

The other cultivators in the squad widened their eyes, closely observing every movement of the Golden Core Skeleton Demon and the activity within the quicksand vortex.

Just as the Skeleton Demon was digging ferociously, growing increasingly excited as it neared the sea beast concealed deep below, the quicksand vortex suddenly stirred.

An intensely brilliant and heavy yellow light instantly enveloped an area spanning over a hundred zhang around them.

Immediately following this, the previously stagnant quicksand vortex began to spin rapidly, transforming into a massive rotating sand vortex, perhaps a hundred zhang across, continuously swallowing the surrounding yellow sand. The Golden Core Skeleton Demon was firmly magnetized by the yellow light, sucked into the vortex, and rapidly sinking toward the center, in an attempt to be forcibly devoured.

"Quicksand Spell!"

Not far away, the observing Golden Core cultivators gasped in shock.

"So, it's a earth-element beast lurking beneath the sand, employing a spell!"

Ye Qin exchanged quick glances with Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhi, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Lin beside him, unable to hide their astonishment.

This was a low-tier earth spell, one that any cultivator practicing earth magic would know. While this spell lacked significant offensive power, it was one of the most common methods earth cultivators used to restrain enemies.

Yet, it wasn't just cultivators; many demonic beasts instinctively possessed the ability to unleash certain spells. Demon Bears could manifest heavy earthen armor for protection, and Sea Serpent Demons could shoot sharp water arrows. It was not surprising that the sea beast hidden deep in the sand could deploy a spell.

However, what shocked them most about this Quicksand Spell was its potency. A minor, low-tier spell possessed enough force to restrain even the Golden Core Skeleton Demon.

The Golden Core Skeleton Demon was caught fast in the quicksand, struggling desperately with its four legs, attempting to claw its way out. But under the shroud of yellow light, the surrounding mass of quicksand clung tightly, pulling it down.

The Golden Core Skeleton Demon, however, was not easy prey. The power in its skeletal limbs was astonishingly great, and it slowly managed to drag itself out of the quicksand.

"Hmph!"

A black shadow shot out of the sand vortex like a nimble snake, striking the Skeleton Demon's rear leg bone with a resounding thwack, instantly beginning to drag it back down with desperate force.

Ye Qin focused his gaze. It was the tail whip of a sea beast, covered in black barbs, thick as a human arm and fully two to three zhang long. A solid hit from this whip on a cultivator would likely strip away large patches of flesh.

But against the Golden Core Skeleton Demon, whose entire body was hard bone, the whip had almost no effect.

Feeling no pain, the Skeleton Demon realized its rear leg was entangled by the sea beast's tail whip. A savage gleam ignited in its hollow eyes. It turned and bit down fiercely on the tail whip, struggling to haul the hidden sea beast upward from the sand.

The sea beast clearly lacked the terrifying strength of the Golden Core Skeleton Demon. It was dragged alive from the depths of the yellow sand, revealing its full form.

"Sand Vortex Beetle! I've seen this type of beast before. I remember drawings of them in cultivation texts, supposedly only appearing in the arid deserts of the Central Plains, often consuming horses and travelers from desert caravans. I never expected to find one in the underwater desert depths of the East Sea, and this one is more than twice the size of the land-dwelling variety. It must be a variant of the terrestrial Sand Vortex Beetle," Liao Xiaozhi exclaimed in surprise.

What was revealed was indeed a black Sand Vortex Beetle.

This black beetle somewhat resembled a scorpion, carrying a black carapace on its back, its body nearly three to four zhang long. Its small, sharp head poked out from the black shell, a pair of tiny, anxious eyes staring fearfully at the Skeleton Demon. It revealed an iron-hard jaw lined with sharp teeth, snapping open and shut while letting out a shrill shriek toward the Skeleton Demon.

Its slender, agile tail was still firmly clamped in the massive jaws of the Golden Core Skeleton Demon, unable to break free.

Following this, the Golden Core Skeleton Demon and the Sand Vortex Beetle engaged in a frenzied, tearing battle atop the dune.

Yellow light flared up in succession as wave after wave of Quicksand Spells were unleashed.

Soon after, streams of dark seawater emerged—the Corpse Fluid spewed by the Skeleton Demon.

The Golden Core Skeleton Demon did not treat the Sand Vortex Beetle as a minor nuisance. It opened its massive, crocodile-like maw and clamped down on the beetle's body. There was a loud crack, yet it failed to bite clean through the black carapace; the sea beast's shell was extraordinarily tough.

The Sand Vortex Beetle was utterly intimidated by the Skeleton Demon's ferocity and inferior in sheer brute force. It retracted its small, sharp head deep into its black shell, daring not to expose it.

Ye Qin observed the Sand Vortex Beetle's power and soon relaxed.

This was merely a sixth-tier earth-element beetle. Apart from its extremely durable carapace and earth spells, it possessed no other special attributes. Once it left the protective cover of its sand and mud, its earth magic was useless, and it was no match for the Golden Core Skeleton Demon.

"It's just a Sand Vortex Beetle hiding in the yellow sand, nothing major. Let's act and finish it off!" Jin Zhongshan declared with renewed vigor, seeing that the danger had passed. He launched his Fire Gourd artifact, spitting out masses of Samadhi True Fire toward the beetle.

The other cultivators watched, a mix of amusement and exasperation on their faces. Jin Zhongshan had been stubbornly refusing to fight earlier, but now that the peril seemed gone, he became suddenly proactive.

To Jin Zhongshan's embarrassment, the Sand Vortex Beetle remained withdrawn inside its black shell, and the Samadhi True Fire could not immediately crack the hard armor. Breaking open this black carapace would be troublesome. Even the Golden Core Skeleton Demon would require a small amount of time to chew through the shell and flay it alive.

Ye Qin did not wish to waste time. He glanced at Pan Lin.

Pan Lin immediately registered Ye Qin's look, understanding he was being asked to act. He nodded and pointed his finger. A streak of golden light shot out. The Golden Jiao Scissors appeared above the two battling beasts, transforming into a sharp golden ray that struck the entangled Sand Vortex Beetle directly.

The carapace of a sixth-tier beetle could not withstand the full force of a high-tier metal artifact deployed by a Golden Core cultivator. Upon receiving the full impact of the Golden Jiao Scissors, the black carapace shattered with a loud CRACK!, spewing forth a gush of crimson blood.

The Sand Vortex Beetle let out a piercing shriek, struggled and rolled a few times, and all the yellow light vanished. The Golden Jiao Scissors had pierced its abdomen and chest; it was dead.

The Golden Core Skeleton Demon widened its massive jaws, tore open the shattered black carapace, and triumphantly dragged out the corpse of the black beetle to absorb its residual corpse energy.

"Miss Liao, you are the most knowledgeable about these Sand Vortex Beetles. What are their characteristics, and how much threat do they pose to our party?" Ye Qin ignored the Skeleton Demon and turned to Liao Xiaozhi, who possessed the broadest knowledge.

"Uh..." Liao Xiaozhi thought for a moment before speaking quickly. "Records from Central Plains cultivators indicate that Sand Vortex Beetles generally remain beneath the yellow sands of the Central Plains deserts, waiting for passing prey to fall into their quicksand vortexes, then using the Quicksand Spell to suffocate the prey alive within the sand. They do not emerge onto the surface to hunt. Moreover, although they appear in groups, they only ever guard a single vortex individually, never competing for prey. The habits of these underwater Sand Vortex Beetles should be the same as those in the Central Plains deserts."

Ye Qin vaguely felt that these Sand Vortex Beetles were somewhat dangerous, but he couldn't pinpoint where the threat lay. After pondering, he said, "In that case, we will simply pass directly over the top of the vortexes. The desert for the next ten li ahead is filled with these beetles; clearing them all would be too time-consuming and unnecessary to provoke them."

He then glanced at the dead beetle. "This beetle's black carapace is nice, but since it's damaged, it has no refining value. Brother Pan, check if it has a demonic core. Let's move on."

Pan Lin nodded, casually flipping over the corpse of the Sand Vortex Beetle. He found no demonic core and looked somewhat disappointed. "No demonic core."

The five Golden Core cultivators quickly mounted their artifacts and flew over the yellow sand, continuing their journey across the desert floor in the water. Indeed, as long as they avoided provoking the Sand Vortex Beetles hidden beneath the quicksand vortexes, the beetles did not emerge from the sand to attack them.

Ye Qin remained at the very front. After traveling a short distance, his expression suddenly changed. His Divine Sense swept across the surrounding several li of deep water, and he immediately detected numerous lurking sea beasts.

"Something's wrong, there are sea beasts!"

Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhi, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Lin, following behind Ye Qin, reacted swiftly. They rapidly scanned the surrounding sea area with their Divine Sense.

In this pitch-black deep sea, the range of Divine Sense was suppressed and limited to only a few li. However, this was sufficient for them to detect the lurking danger in the surrounding waters. Hundreds of sea beasts were floating motionlessly in the water around them, staring intently at the group. Among them were many Golden Core level sea beasts, with the weakest being third-tier.

The cultivators were instantly alarmed, their faces draining of color.

What they were unaware of was that, ten li behind them, a squad of Golden Core cultivators from the Heaven Demon Alliance was rapidly closing in along the exact route they had just taken.