Having confirmed Ye Qin's status as an Alchemy Grandmaster, Jiang Ling and Zheng Chenghui, both Golden Core cultivators, raised no further objections to him joining their team.

They spent their days exploring the East Sea, gathering a considerable amount of alchemy materials that could be refined into elixirs. Should they ever need the expertise of an Alchemy Grandmaster in the future, they certainly wouldn't offend Ye Qin unnecessarily.

"The passage to this Langya Secret Realm opens only once every five hundred years, forced open by violent volcanic eruptions deep beneath the sea, which create an ingress and egress. The underground volcano will subside soon. If we miss this window, we’ll be suffocated in the deep ocean, and even a Golden Core cultivator will be nothing but bone dust in five hundred years. We must hurry to seize the rare treasures here."

The four Golden Core cultivators, keenly aware of the time constraint, wasted no motion. They transformed into four streaks of rainbow light, soaring rapidly across the immense Langya Secret Realm in search of the Ziyou Lotus.

Although Zheng Chenghui possessed a fragment of the Langya Secret Realm Catalog, pinpointing the exact location of the Ziyou Lotus remained somewhat challenging.

After all, they were first-timers here without a complete map. They first needed to locate the terrain matching the depiction in the catalog before they could find the lotus. "This catalog mentions a place called the Nine-Bend Stone Cave. This cave has nine successive bends leading deep underground. The Ziyou Lotus grows at the very deepest point of the Nine-Bend Stone Cave."

As they flew, Zheng Chenghui scrutinized the Langya Secret Realm Catalog.

"This Langya Secret Realm spans tens of thousands of miles; how are we supposed to find a small stone cave?"

Hearing this, Jiang Ling couldn't help but frown. "Brother Zheng, are there any other distinctive landmarks near the Nine-Bend Stone Cave that could help us locate it?"

"Ah, yes. There's a note stating that the Nine-Bend Stone Cave is the coldest, most frigid place in the entire Langya Secret Realm. Within a radius of several tens of miles around the cave entrance, ordinary spiritual items cannot survive. Mid-tier demonic beasts that approach might even freeze to death instantly. Consequently, the area around the Nine-Bend Stone Cave is almost entirely a stone forest, with very few spiritual creatures."

Zheng Chenghui stated solemnly.

"Hmm, with that characteristic, it becomes manageable. A stone forest spanning tens of miles is much easier to find than a single cave entrance."

Only then did Jiang Ling nod, releasing his divine sense across a vast area, fully searching for any signs of extreme cold. Once a frigid zone was detected, they would fly over to investigate.

However, the Langya Secret Realm was far from safe; even flying high in the air, misfortune could strike.

Jiang Ling was flying swiftly when a sudden alarm jolted him. He abruptly halted his flying sword beneath his feet.

"Deep within the seabed, inside the Langya Secret Realm—how can there be flying, feathered beasts?"

He pointed into the distance, his face etched with astonishment.

The others—Ye Qin, Shi Hanyang, and the rest—all looked ahead. Indeed, they saw a swarm of several dozen massive, flat, black flying beasts. Each one stretched for dozens of zhang, trailing a long, whiplike tail, circling in the air, their leathery wings beating with a resonant whoosh.

This Langya Secret Realm was situated within the belly of a colossal undersea mountain. The floor was rock, and the ceiling above was also rock, separating them by a space hundreds of zhang high.

They couldn't fly too high, and neither could those beasts.

They certainly dared not approach rashly.

"This is deep under the sea; logically, only sea beasts should appear, not flying avian creatures," Zheng Chenghui exclaimed in shock.

Almost simultaneously, the swarm of flat, black flying beasts also detected their presence and began beating their leathery wings, charging toward the four Golden Core cultivators suspended in mid-air.

Jiang Ling quickly discerned their appearance and shuddered, recalling encounters with these sky-and-sea beasts in the Sea of Blood.

"Those are flying sea beasts—the Bat-Lock Ghost Fish! They lash their venomous stingers and naturally possess a pair of fleshy wings, allowing them to fly in the sky and swim in the sea. Their strength is immense. A single flap of their wings can shatter hundred-zhang boulders, and even Deep-Sea Demon Sharks dare not provoke them. Among sea beasts of the same rank, their power borders on terrifying. There is nowhere—sky or seabed—they dare not venture."

Jiang Ling cried out, immediately maneuvering his sword and sharply changing direction, speeding away. One or two Bat-Lock Ghost Fish, he might handle, but a swarm of several dozen was far beyond what the four Golden Core cultivators could manage.

Seeing Jiang Ling so fearful, the other three dared not linger and fled after him.

Fortunately, although the Bat-Lock Ghost Fish were terrifying, their wing-powered flight was slow, and they could not match the speed of the cultivators' swords. Soon, the group managed to shake off the pursuers.

After several hours of searching throughout the Langya Secret Realm for the Nine-Bend Stone Cave, they arrived above a desolate stone expanse spanning tens of miles.

Ye Qin swiftly surveyed the terrain.

The Langya Secret Realm was rich with spiritual energy, overgrown with spirit trees and herbs. Only this specific area was chillingly cold, devoid of any spirit trees or herbs; fish, shrimp, and shellfish were nowhere to be seen. Only vast stretches of bare rock lay in profound silence.

In the center of this tens-of-miles-wide stone forest stood a massive stone cave, dozens of zhang high—the most intensely cold spot.

The chilling aura emanating from the cave was extraordinary. Even they, Golden Core cultivators, felt waves of bone-deep cold penetrating their bodies, forcing them to constantly circulate their spiritual power to dispel the pervasive chill.

"This is it!"

Zheng Chenghui compared the terrain before him with the description in the Langya Secret Realm Catalog; the match was nearly perfect.

Most importantly, above the cave entrance, the characters "Nine-Bend Stone Cave" had been carved by some senior cultivator using his spiritual power.

Seeing the inscription above the cave, Jiang Ling recognized they had found the correct location and relief washed over his face. With a casual wave, he recalled the Azure Flying Sword beneath his feet. The blue light receded as he landed, hurrying toward the entrance of the Nine-Bend Stone Cave.

His usually steady, aged face showed—

It was understandable why Jiang Ling was anxious. Given his spiritual root aptitude, reaching the fourth layer of the Golden Core stage at over 270 years old was somewhat slow. He needed to reach the ninth layer of the Golden Core stage before his 500-year lifespan expired to hold onto that minuscule sliver of hope to breach the Nascent Soul bottleneck.

If he could obtain the Spiritual Root Potential Pill to enhance his innate talent, the benefits would last a lifetime. Otherwise, he wouldn't even brush against the edge of Nascent Soul—not even worth contemplating.

Ye Qin descended last, his expression placid, and stepped into the Nine-Bend Stone Cave.

They all understood they had to secure the Ziyou Lotus and depart before Yan Hao, Yu Weifeng, and other Golden Core cultivators found this place. Otherwise, getting entangled would surely lead to endless complications.

At the dark, grim cave mouth, Jiang Ling briefly probed with his divine sense, detected no immediate danger, and led the way into the bone-chilling depths. Walking at the very front, he was flanked by a cyan, wood-element flying sword to his left and a blue, water-element flying sword to his right. Both were Primordial Spirit artifacts, radiating intense spiritual power and sharp, imposing cold light.

Zheng Chenghui followed closely behind. His artifact was the yellow Yue Niu Drum. This drum was not an offensive weapon but a rarer, auxiliary demonic sound artifact.

Then came the composed Shi Hanyang. His Sun-Moon Twin Wheel Primordial Spirit artifacts were already deployed, casting a large and a small sphere of dazzling golden light that protected him, offering both offense and defense.

Ye Qin naturally brought up the rear.

He had been overly subdued, revealing no true strength from beginning to end. Jiang Ling and Zheng Chenghui did not place much weight on his combat capability; even Shi Hanyang assumed that an alchemist wouldn't possess high combat power.

This Nine-Bend Stone Cave, named for its "nine bends," naturally contained nine winding turns, snaking deep into the earth.

Dozens of zhang inside the cave, Jiang Ling's gaze suddenly turned cold.

He saw a giant, brown-shelled demonic crab lying gutted on the ground inside, its white and pink brains and entrails spilled everywhere. Someone had already removed its two incredibly hard pincers.

Traces of violent combat were also etched into the cave walls.

A sea beast capable of surviving in this icy cave must undoubtedly be a Golden Core-level demonic crab.

"Someone has been here before us, entering the Nine-Bend Stone Cave!"

Jiang Ling’s face darkened.

"There are no residual spiritual power signatures here; it was torn apart by brute force. This must have been done by a high-level Earth Clan strongman! Those Earth Clan members entered the Langya Secret Realm several hours before us. It’s not surprising they reached this place first."

Zheng Chenghui nudged the demonic crab with his toe, flipping it over, and observed the massive puncture wounds in its shell. Without astonishing divine strength, inflicting such damage on the incredibly tough carapace of a demonic crab would be impossible.

The four Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances, worry clouding their expressions. If the Ziyou Lotus had already been taken by the Earth Clan strongmen, their journey might have been in vain. Without delay, they rushed deeper into the Nine-Bend Stone Cave, passing several bends in quick succession.

Inside the cave, they found a growing number of sea beast corpses—demonic shrimp, demonic crabs, demonic snakes. There were no fewer than twenty, all mid-stage Golden Core level sea beasts, all killed by sheer brute force.

This intensely frigid Nine-Bend Stone Cave harbored an extremely dense Water Spirit aura. While this density could kill low-level sea beasts, it was a treasure trove for water-element sea beasts above the Golden Core level. Thus, the cave held quite a few Golden Core-level sea beasts.

When they reached the sixth bend, they even saw the corpses of several high-level strongmen from the Sea-Plundering Tribe, killed by sea beasts—some poisoned, others torn apart alive.

Ye Qin inwardly startled. "The Earth Clan strongmen paid a considerable price to carve out this Nine-Bend Stone Cave. It seems the deeper we go, the more perilous it becomes. There are already eighth-rank, mid-stage Golden Core sea beasts here. If the Earth Clan strongmen hadn't cleared a path ahead, this group of four Golden Core cultivators would likely struggle to reach the innermost layer of the cave."

Upon entering the seventh bend, joy lit the faces of the four Golden Core cultivators.

They could faintly hear the sounds of intense combat—the furious shouts of the Earth Clan strongmen and the earth-shattering roars of the sea beasts—echoing from the depths of the cave. A group of Earth Clan strongmen was fully engaged in attacking the Nine-Bend Stone Cave, battling the sea beasts inside.

"Thankfully, the guardian sea beasts within the Nine-Bend Stone Cave haven't been killed yet, and the Ziyou Lotus is likely still there. Hurry! They have superior numbers; we cannot let them kill the guardian beasts. If they manage to kill the defenders and recover, the Ziyou Lotus will be out of our grasp."

Jiang Ling led the charge into the entrance of the eighth bend of the Nine-Bend Stone Cave. Suddenly, they saw six high-level Earth Clan strongmen, looking exhausted, guarding the entrance of this bend. They were armed with black iron spears and halberds, giant blades, and sharp weapons.

These men were all high-level strongmen from the Sea-Plundering Tribe. They bore injuries of varying degrees and were likely left behind to prevent anyone from infiltrating the cave and disrupting their efforts to seize the celestial treasures.

Upon seeing the four Golden Core cultivators appear silently, they were visibly stunned.

"Kill!"

Jiang Ling roared the command without a second thought.

An irresistible, intense killing intent erupted from him.

With a gesture of both hands, the giant cyan and blue swords beside him transformed into streaks of electric light, shooting out and engulfing the two foremost Earth Clan high-level strongmen within their attack range in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly ambushed, this mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, who had ventured into the Sea of Blood multiple times, unleashed his assault with a speed and concentrated killing intent that far surpassed the other Golden Core cultivators.

【Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the final page of this book】