Ye Tai’s swift execution of Old Man Bi did not escape the notice of Miao Tong, who was locked in combat with Zhou Yao. He gasped, a flicker of terror crossing his young face.

“That waste, Old Man Bi! The son-in-law he married into the Jade Palace turned out to be such a pathetic failure. All he had was one souped-up, top-tier magical artifact for show, nothing else of value. For a Golden Core third-layer cultivator, to lose his life before even an incense stick burned down—unbelievable. It’s not just his own death that stings, he dragged me down with him.”

Miao Tong was utterly frustrated. But he knew clearly that Old Man Bi had already been injured by the Sand Whirl Beetle; even if he possessed several more top-tier artifacts, or even one or two Nascent Soul artifacts, he couldn't have withstood Ye Qin’s relentless pursuit. Ye Qin commanded four Nascent Soul artifacts—Metal, Wood, Fire, and Earth—plus a Water-element magic treasure, covering all five elements. He was equipped with such formidable magical gear that a mere early-stage Golden Core cultivator stood no chance fighting him alone. Only a mid-stage Golden Core expert might manage a stalemate, or a late-stage cultivator could rely on superior magical power to suppress and defeat Ye Qin.

“That kid is a ruthless character. He went straight for the outwardly strong but inwardly weak Old Man Bi the moment the fight began. How did I never notice how vicious he was before?”

Miao Tong was currently engaged in a difficult struggle with Zhou Yao. The surrounding schools of demonic sharks occasionally snapped at him, forcing him to split his focus to monitor the situation around Ye Qin. A momentary lapse allowed Zhou Yao to seize the upper hand, sending a jolt of panic through him.

“This little brat isn't easy to handle either; I can’t wrap this up quickly. It seems I can’t afford to linger, or I’ll leave my own life here today.”

Miao Tong lost heart, his fierce little face contorted with dejection. The four Golden Core cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Alliance had originally planned to use Ye Qin’s team’s predicament as an opportunity to strike and seize their treasures. Instead, in the blink of an eye, they had capsized in a ditch, fallen into a trap, and completely reversed the situation.

Miao Tong disregarded his comrades, the Brawny Man Bao and Woman Wu. With a feint of his artifact, he instantly turned and fled at top speed.

“You little dwarf, don't even think about running!” a delicate shout rang out as five top-tier flying swords attacked.

“What? You stinking girl, who are you calling a dwarf?! I was born looking like a child, I’m not a dwarf!” Miao Tong, who was just about to escape, felt his nose skew with anger. His expression was utterly serious, yet his tender, childish voice made him look bizarrely out of place.

Miao Tong had no time to argue with Zhou Yao. His small frame suddenly expanded, puffing up and contracting, causing his water-escape speed to accelerate dramatically. He transformed into a strange silhouette, instantly covering a hundred zhang. To achieve this speed deep underwater was terrifying.

“What kind of spell is this?” Zhou Yao exclaimed, startled. After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and pursued him with her artifact. Ye Qin had already returned to the main battlefield.

Only Jin Zhongshan, Liao Xiaozhi, and Pan Lin—three Golden Core cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance—remained on the field, fiercely battling the two Heavenly Demon Alliance cultivators, Bao the Brawny Man and Woman Wu. Compounded by the swarms of bloodthirsty demonic sharks and the occasional Sand Whirl Beetle poking its head out, the entire scene was chaos.

Bao the Brawny Man broke out in a cold sweat, sensing disaster. He had long wanted to slip away, but he was intercepted by Jin Zhongshan and Pan Lin. Woman Wu was thoroughly entangled by Liao Xiaozhi’s Heaven-Obscuring Sash, completely unable to break free.

Ye Qin’s face was like still water. He waved a hand. His four Nascent Soul artifacts—Metal, Wood, Fire, and Earth—transformed into four incomparably sharp rainbows of light, streaking toward Bao the Brawny Man and Woman Wu.

Crack! An artifact burst. Sizzle! Thwack!

Following two consecutive screams, Bao the Brawny Man and Woman Wu were obliterated by the four formidable Nascent Soul flying swords, unable to even block the attack.

Ye Qin summoned his Nascent Soul artifacts back. Jin Zhongshan’s mouth dropped open; he wanted to speak but didn't know how. A trace of fear mingled with his gaze toward Ye Qin. As a Golden Core cultivator of the Treasure Gathering Palace, known for his wealth, he had only managed to refine one Nascent Soul artifact before reaching the Core Formation stage, along with seven or eight top-tier artifacts and a hoard of valuable talismans, spirit stones, and materials. Compared to the Nascent Soul artifacts in Ye Qin’s possession, there was no comparison. At this moment, any thought of competing with Ye Qin’s strength completely vanished.

Liao Xiaozhi froze for a moment, maintaining a faint smile, but feeling a slight pang of envy. If Brother Ye could join the Vast Word Palace, their historically weak sect would immediately gain an incredibly powerful Golden Core cultivator. Sadly, such formidable strength was pledged to the Purple Sword Palace, adding icing to their cake. The difficulty of trying to recruit him was immeasurable.

“Brother Ye, truly impressive methods!” Pan Lin was dumbfounded.

Ye Qin glanced at the three of them, then looked toward Miao Tong, who was fleeing into the distance, and Zhou Yao, who was in pursuit. He said to the trio, “These four Heavenly Demon Alliance cultivators must all be slain; not a single one can be allowed to escape. If news leaks, offending the four Immortal Palaces of the Heavenly Demon Alliance will bring endless trouble. Follow me!”

“Brother Ye is absolutely right,” Liao Xiaozhi nodded quickly. Jin Zhongshan and Pan Lin immediately followed close behind.

The speed of artifact travel deep underwater is significantly slower than in the sky—at least ten times slower. Even for Golden Core cultivators, their speed while riding artifacts was not fast. In the time it took to breathe, if they could fly over ten li in the sky, underwater they barely managed ten li at most. Although they had been delayed a moment dealing with Bao the Brawny Man and Woman Wu, Miao Tong had not fled too far. Ye Qin was quite adept with his Water-element spells and possessed a Water-element magic treasure, making his underwater movement speed clearly faster than the three Golden Core cultivators, Liao Xiaozhi, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Lin.

After a short while, Miao Tong sensed several oppressive magical auras approaching from behind. He glanced back and was instantly horrified. Besides Zhou Yao, who was relentlessly pursuing about two hundred zhang behind, Ye Qin had caught up and overtaken Zhou Yao.

“Damn it, this kid’s speed is too fast. If this keeps up, I won't escape. In moments, this brat will catch me,” Miao Tong grumbled inwardly. “Rather than being chased to death all the way, I might as well fight him desperately once; perhaps there’s a sliver of hope.”

Miao Tong hardened his heart, instantly stopping. He summoned a pink pearl, about the size of an egg. This was one of the renowned supreme magic treasures from the Heavenly Canopy Palace: the "Pink Haze Magic Pearl," condensed from the pink radiant light of the Nine Heavens Rainbow, possessing infinite mysterious uses. Only a few core cultivators in the Heavenly Canopy Palace possessed one; it was his ultimate weapon, rarely used. Most crucially, the pearl’s power was extremely limited; each use diminished it. Once the pink light within was exhausted, the pearl would be ruined. Deploying it meant reaching a life-or-death crisis, a moment of life-or-death combat. If Ye Qin hadn’t been chasing him so urgently, Miao Tong would never have dared bring out this magic treasure.

The pink pearl spun rapidly and shot out a beam of pink rosy light toward Ye Qin behind him. This incoming beam of light was incredibly fast. Ye Qin didn't know what this light was, but he was prepared. With a wave of his hand, the broad Yellow Heaven Thick Dust Sword blocked the light in front of him. When the Earth-element Nascent Soul flying sword was struck by the pink ray, it was instantly immobilized, unable to move or respond to Ye Qin’s commands.

“What kind of magic treasure is this? It can freeze a magical artifact?!” Ye Qin was profoundly shocked, having never encountered such a strange treasure.

“Brother Ye, be careful! That is the Nine Heavens Rosy Light! Once you are frozen, even a Golden Core cultivator cannot move for the time it takes an incense stick to burn; only Nascent Soul cultivators can resist it. Do not let it hit you and immobilize you!” Liao Xiaozhi, chasing from behind, saw the pink ray and his expression changed drastically, his face turning pale with fright.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! In the blink of an eye, the pearl shot out several more beams of pink light. Ye Qin snapped back to attention and hastily threw out his hand-controlled artifacts to block the rosy light. In just one exchange, Ye Qin’s four most powerful Nascent Soul artifacts were enveloped by four beams of light and lost control. Fortunately, he still had plenty of low- and mid-tier artifacts in his storage pouch. Ye Qin patted his storage pouch, sending out several more mid-tier artifacts, preparing to continue blocking the light beams from the pink pearl. By this time, the pink color within the pearl had faded by half.

Miao Tong felt a deep pang of pain. A few more uses, and the pearl would likely be ruined.

“Kid, without your Nascent Soul artifacts, let’s see how you fight me. Die!” Miao Tong sneered venomously, retrieving the magic pearl. He was unwilling to waste more rosy light immobilizing Ye Qin’s mid-tier artifacts. He unleashed a top-tier flying sword, aiming directly at Ye Qin.

Ye Qin sent out his several mid-tier artifacts to intercept Miao Tong’s flying sword. Unwilling to engage in a direct clash, he quickly retreated. In that split second, Zhou Yao caught up, firing five sword beams that joined the fray. The Great Five Elements Sword Array besieged Miao Tong.

Miao Tong was so furious he nearly vomited blood, turning to flee again. Two fists were no match for four hands. He now experienced the helplessness Ye Qin had felt when surrounded by the four Golden Core cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Alliance. No matter how powerful one was, they couldn't fight being overwhelmed. Moreover, his actual strength was far less imposing than Ye Qin’s.

Jin Zhongshan, Liao Xiaozhi, and Pan Lin arrived almost simultaneously, unleashing the artifacts in their hands. Miao Tong was enveloped by a storm of artifact light and fell into despair. In his panic, he again unleashed the Pink Haze Magic Pearl, frantically trying to freeze all the artifacts besieging him. But it was too late. Under the frenzied assault of over a dozen artifacts, he could not hold out. Boom! Miao Tong’s physical body was blasted into a mist of blood.

With Miao Tong’s death, the pink light quickly dissipated. The four Golden Core cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Alliance were utterly annihilated in this underwater desert.

Ye Qin reclaimed his four immobilized Nascent Soul artifacts. He held Miao Tong’s storage pouch in his hand. In addition, there were the residual artifacts, spirit stones, and other valuables left behind by Old Man Bi, Bao the Brawny Man, and Woman Wu—at least six top-tier artifacts, and dozens of high-, mid-, and low-tier artifacts. These spoils were to be divided among the five members of the team. The specific division would depend on the decision of Ye Qin, the team leader.

Ye Qin rummaged through the loot and pulled a string of shimmering magic pearls from Miao Tong’s storage pouch.

“Although this magic pearl is a magic treasure, the rosy light within is nearly depleted; it can probably be used two or three more times. I only want this Pink Haze Magic Pearl. You four can divide the rest of the artifacts and spirit stones.”

Ye Qin pocketed the pearl and tossed the five or six storage pouches to Zhou Yao, instructing her to handle the rest of the distribution. This was not unfair in the slightest. Ye Qin already possessed plenty of top-grade artifacts; he had no need for common magical gear. Only the “Pink Haze Magic Pearl,” this single magic treasure, held utility for him.

Zhou Yao, Jin Zhongshan, Liao Xiaozhi, and Pan Lin felt envy, but they raised no objections. There was only one magic treasure among the spoils; they could not argue with Ye Qin over it. Besides, the total value of the other top-tier artifacts and wealth was considerable, not inferior to the Pink Haze Magic Pearl, which could only be used sparingly.