The Broad Jiao Scissors pierced beneath the yellow sands under Pan Shuang's manipulation of magical power. The raging sand surged, and after a moment, Pan Shuang's face lit up with joy as she located a Quicksand Beetle. "Pfft." A Tier Four Sand Vortex Beetle, hidden over ten zhang beneath the sand, was cleaved in two by the Golden Jiao Scissors, spewing great gouts of crimson blood that seeped up from the sand.

The blood splashed from the Sand Vortex Beetle stained the surrounding waters. The heavy scent of gore redoubled the stimulation of the deep-sea demonic sharks’ extraordinarily keen senses. The shark pack, composed of two to three hundred Sawtooth Demonic Sharks, grew even more frenzied, charging recklessly toward the four cultivators on the sand dune.

The few Golden Core cultivators in the squad felt their hearts pound. While the rank of these sea beasts wasn't overwhelmingly high, their sheer numbers were terrifying; if they went mad, these few Golden Core cultivators would struggle just to hold them off.

"Hmph, courting death."

Zhou Yao's delicate face grew stern, and her jade hands flickered rapidly. Her five top-tier flying sword magical artifacts were unleashed to their fullest, transforming into a radiant sphere of flowing light and color, enveloping herself, Liao Xiaozhuo, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Shuang—the four Golden Core cultivators—within the sword formation.

The low-ranking demonic sharks charging madly were instantly shredded into sprays of bloody pulp upon contact with the rapidly spinning sword formation.

The might of the Grand Five Elements Sword Formation was incredibly domineering. Even the two leading Golden Core-level demonic sharks couldn't break through immediately; they could only circle outside the formation, emitting sharp, angry clicks, driving the lower-ranking sharks to slam into the barrier.

"Come on, I'll smash you beasts flat!"

Seeing Zhou Yao's Grand Five Elements Sword Formation blocking the shark swarm, Jin Zhongshan finally relaxed and shouted loudly.

He had long since unleashed his Primordial Spirit magical artifact, the "Golden Ingot," controlling it with his divine sense to attack the sharks.

This small golden mountain, tens of zhang high, wasn't particularly fast, but it charged through the shark swarm with ferocious momentum. Any shark violently struck was instantly shattered—body and soul rent apart—and those crushed beneath its descent were mashed into flat patties, unable to evade.

Wherever the Golden Ingot artifact swept, the shark swarm could not withstand its power and scattered, trying to attack the sword formation from other directions.

Jin Zhongshan's face looked arrogant, but his heart was riddled with anxiety. Controlling such a large Primordial Spirit magical artifact consumed an astonishing amount of magical power.

In less than half an shichen, his magical power would be exhausted.

Moreover, Zhou Yao's deployment of the Grand Five Elements Sword Formation consumed magical power even faster than he did; the sword formation could not possibly hold against the frenzied assault of these demonic sharks for much longer.

Now, their only hope was that Ye Qin could dispatch the three leading Golden Core-level demonic sharks, completely disrupting the swarm, which would allow them to escape this peril.

In the distance, four figures cloaked in chilling malevolence—cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Alliance—appeared on a seabed sand dune with flashes of "swish, swish, swish, whizz."

"Those Heavenly Dao Alliance cultivators are entangled by a pack of sea beasts. Let's kill them now. That Thousand-Year Blood Coral belongs to me. For the remaining magical treasures and artifacts, you can pick whatever you like." A youth dressed in a pink midriff-baring top among the four said fiercely upon seeing Ye Qin and the other four cultivators besieged by the demonic sharks on a dune.

"Brother Miao, don't be hasty. If we rush over now, aren't we just rescuing them? Wait until they are exhausted, their vital energy depleted by the sharks, their strength greatly weakened. Then it won't be too late for us to clean up," the old Daoist with the green beard said, his eyes gleaming with a sinister smile, speaking unhurriedly.

"That pack of demonic sharks isn't numerous; they might not be able to hold back those five Golden Core cultivators. If we don't act now, by the time they eliminate the sharks and flee, we might not even have time to make a move. If we want to kill, it must be now. Let's go," Miao Tong shouted grimly after glancing at the battlefield.

Miao Tong’s concern was not without merit.

The four Golden Core cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Alliance glared viciously and charged toward the area where Ye Qin and the others were locked in melee.

"Chii! Chii!"

A fiery red flying sword struck the back of a Golden Core-level demonic shark. The fierce light scraped across the shark's incredibly tough, dark grey scaled hide, carving a gash a chi deep and a zhang long, exposing pale bone beneath.

Ye Qin was startled. This Golden Core Demonic Shark's scales were truly that hard; even his full-power strike from the Southern Bright Sun Fire Sword only managed to inflict a wound about a chi long. For a Sawtooth Demonic Shark spanning twenty to thirty zhang, this was hardly a significant injury.

The Golden Core Demonic Shark, writhing in pain, showed savage, bloodthirsty madness in its crimson eyes. It lashed its tail and suddenly opened its massive jaws, lunging at Ye Qin. If he were caught by that bite, even a top-tier magical artifact of immense hardness would likely be snapped in half with a crunch.

Ye Qin dared not test his physical body against the Golden Core Demonic Shark's sharp teeth; he transformed into a streak of light and retreated rapidly backward. The shark's giant maw closed in. Ye Qin's gaze sharpened, and with a thought, he pointed a finger. A colossal golden sword beside him rapidly shrunk and then shot out with a "swoosh" directly into the shark's gaping mouth.

Then, Ye Qin waved his hand again.

"Splurt."

The golden light wreaked havoc inside the Golden Core Demonic Shark's abdomen, instantly churning its internal organs into mush. The golden light then burst through the shark's belly, tearing open a large hole, and flew out, the Golden Crow Heaven-Piercing Sword returning to Ye Qin's hand.

The Golden Core Demonic Shark ceased all movement and slowly sank, utterly dead.

This Golden Core Demonic Shark, which moved unchecked throughout the deep sea, had never witnessed the methods of cultivators. Ye Qin found an opening, and before it could even deploy its demonic core for defense, the golden sword pierced its belly, mangling its innards, killing it on the spot.

Ye Qin breathed a slight sigh of relief after slaying one Golden Core Demonic Shark with a single sword strike. There were three Golden Core-level beasts in this swarm; eliminating one meant only two remained. Once the leader was gone, the rest of the swarm would surely fall into chaos and cease to be a threat.

He was just preparing to turn back and support Zhou Yao and the others when he suddenly felt four powerful magical aura signatures approaching at extreme speed. Ye Qin's heart tightened, and he quickly looked several li into the distance.

Upon seeing the sight, Ye Qin nearly spat blood from frustration.

What approached were the four Golden Core cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Alliance, and they were none other than the same four Heavenly Demon Alliance Golden Core cultivators who had given him trouble when he first entered the undersea cavern.

These Heavenly Demon Alliance cultivators charged toward Ye Qin's squad, their gazes clearly filled with malice.

"It's them. They really won't leave us alone. Running into them here is a huge problem," Ye Qin cursed inwardly while urgently trying to formulate a countermeasure.

The four Heavenly Demon Alliance cultivators landed on a sand dune four to five hundred zhang away and stopped. They were somewhat surprised to see Ye Qin controlling four Primordial Spirit magical artifacts to kill a Golden Core-level demonic shark.

Possessing as many as four Primordial Spirit magical artifacts was extremely rare for a cultivator who had just entered the first layer of the Golden Core realm. Usually, only late-stage Golden Core cultivators had the time and resources to gather enough high-grade raw materials to refine so many Primordial Spirit artifacts.

To have such vast wealth to refine four Primordial Spirit artifacts at the first layer of the Golden Core stage strongly suggested a cultivator from an immensely powerful background.

This filled the other four, who were at the second and third layers of the Golden Core realm, with intense jealousy, leading them to suspect Ye Qin possessed a significant backer.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yao, Jin Zhongshan, and the other two Heavenly Dao Alliance Golden Core cultivators were tightly surrounded by two to three hundred demonic sharks within a sword formation, unable to break free for the time being.

Only Ye Qin stood outside the sword formation, coldly watching them, warily controlling his magical artifacts.

The four Heavenly Demon Alliance cultivators exchanged suspicious glances, not taking Ye Qin too seriously.

One against four, no matter how strong Ye Qin's combat power, he could not match the four of them.

The only reason they hesitated and didn't strike immediately was due to Ye Qin's background.

These individuals had killed many Golden Core cultivators before, but they were acutely aware that on the East Sea Archipelago, some cultivators were absolutely not to be provoked.

For instance, the direct lineage of the Five Grand Sect Masters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Five Great Hegemons of the Heavenly Demon Alliance.

If they accidentally provoked the descendants of the Five Grand Sect Masters, it would spell disaster, potentially leading to the annihilation of their entire lineage. Their own Immortal Palace backers wouldn't protect them; instead, they would hasten to hand them over, leaving no place for them in the East Sea.

"Little brother, we meet again. Your few friends seem to be in danger. Do you require our assistance to rescue them? Also, judging by the Immortal Palace marking on your sleeve, you must be a Golden Core cultivator from the Violet Sword Palace. May I ask which Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Alliance you share a blood relationship with?"

The green-bearded old Daoist held a horsetail whisk, restraining the overly impulsive Miao Tong. His eyes swirled, and a gentle smile suddenly appeared on his sinister face as he attempted to trick Ye Qin into revealing whether he had any special powerful backing.

"So it is Daoist friends from the Heavenly Demon Alliance. Daoist friends should hurry on to the Langya Secret Realm. As for the mere few dozen demonic sharks here, our Heavenly Dao Alliance cultivators will handle it; it won't trouble you to intervene," Ye Qin said, sensing something amiss, his expression unmoving.

The timely appearance of these four Heavenly Demon Alliance Golden Core cultivators while his squad was in danger was likely no coincidence. The current situation was highly disadvantageous for their squad. In this scenario, he did not want to provoke these Heavenly Demon Alliance Golden Core cultivators and needlessly create several powerful enemies.

"Little brother, what are you saying? If you encounter trouble, how could we stand by? If you were killed by the shark swarm, wouldn't we feel guilty? Brother Miao, Brother Pao, Sister Wu, wouldn't you agree?"

The green-bearded old Daoist saw that Ye Qin's attitude was not overly aggressive and he was unwilling to reveal his origins, leading him to surmise that the probability of Ye Qin having a strong backer was low. The descendants of the Five Sect Masters and the Five Hegemons, such as Yan Hao, descendant of Hegemon Yan, or Yu Weifeng, descendant of Sect Master Yu, were notoriously arrogant and haughty to the extreme, looking down upon ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

This arrogance, inherent from the bone outward, was something ordinary cultivators could never feign. Ye Qin displayed no hint of haughtiness; by all appearances, he did not resemble the descendants of the Five Sect Masters and the Five Hegemons.

The green-bearded old Daoist, a cunning cultivator, retracted his gentle smile, and his words inevitably turned cold again.

"Brother Bi is absolutely right. Since fate has brought us together, we cannot simply leave. You must leave something behind. Your few magical artifacts are quite nice; why not let me have one or two as payment for saving you? How about it?"

Bao, the lean man, glanced at the green-bearded old Daoist, then sneered at Ye Qin.

"Stop with the nonsense. If this brat were a descendant of the Five Sect Masters, he would already be consorting with Yu Weifeng and the others.

"Stinking brat, hand over the few Blood Corals you obtained from the Coral Forest, and I’ll leave you a complete corpse. Otherwise, don't blame me for destroying your soul and body!"

Miao Tong shouted fiercely. He lacked the nuanced planning of the green-bearded old Daoist and directly urged his artifact to charge toward Ye Qin.

The moment he moved, the other three Heavenly Demon Alliance Golden Core cultivators did not hesitate and immediately attacked.

The four Heavenly Demon Alliance Golden Core cultivators controlled their magical artifacts, transforming into four piercing beams of light, lunging toward Ye Qin several hundred zhang away. (To be continued)