Zheng Chenghui and Shi Hanyang nodded solemnly, each releasing their Nascent Soul artifacts and spirit beasts from their respective Spirit Beast Pouches.

Zheng Chenghui’s spirit beast was a Rank Seven, early Golden Core stage Green Demoness. It was massive, its carapace and chest plate covered in thick fur. A pair of emerald eyes glowed with a chilling green light, and its sharp, pointed head snapped open and closed, dripping droplets of pale green venom.

Shi Hanyang’s was a Rank Six Fire Scorpion, entirely crimson, slightly smaller, and incredibly agile. Its tail was arched high, the stinger flashing with a cold glint.

Ye Qin also summoned his two Nascent Soul artifacts: the Golden Crow Blazing Light Sword and the Yellow Heaven Deep Dust Sword—one for offense, one for defense. In his hand, he held a Water Clam Spirit Pearl, in addition to his Golden Core level Skeleton Demon.

It could be said that the collection of Nascent Soul artifacts, magical treasures, and spirit beasts Ye Qin possessed already placed him at the pinnacle among cultivators at the first layer of the Golden Core stage. Very few cultivators who had just entered the Golden Core stage possessed such formidable strength.

Jiang Ling looked at the artifacts Ye Qin released with some surprise, clearly unprepared for him to have so many Nascent Soul artifacts and treasures.

"Two Nascent Soul artifacts, one water-attributed treasure, and a rare Rank Seven Golden Core Skeleton Demon. He is not inferior to Zheng Chenghui and Shi Hanyang; perhaps even slightly stronger. When I first formed my core, I certainly never possessed such formidable power."

Jiang Ling rapidly assessed the situation, comparing Ye Qin's strength against the other three.

The most direct and simplest way to gauge a cultivator's power is by observing two points: first, their cultivation level, and second, the grade of the artifacts and treasures they possess.

A cultivator's cultivation level is easily discernible.

If the artifact grades are insufficient, even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator might lose to an early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

If Jiang Ling was merely surprised, Zheng Chenghui and Shi Hanyang were astonished.

They exchanged glances, both showing looks of shock, their expressions growing complex as they envied Ye Qin's deep pockets.

It must be known that refining a single Nascent Soul artifact requires purchasing rare Primordial Essences and precious, high-grade artifact refining materials. Many Golden Core cultivators in the cultivation world were so poor they were sour, lacking even a single Nascent Soul artifact.

Similarly, obtaining a magical treasure, unless acquired by pure chance, often necessitates spending immense wealth in the market. Even the cheapest magical treasure is beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

And raising a spirit beast from Rank One to Rank Seven requires an undeniably substantial expenditure just on purchasing Spirit Nurturing Pills.

Shi Hanyang, also hailing from the Central Lands, exhausted all his wealth just to break through to the first layer of the Golden Core stage, and his Fire Scorpion has only reached Rank Six so far, yet to achieve the Rank Seven Golden Core level.

Every single one of these artifacts, treasures, and spirit beasts demanded exorbitant wealth; without sufficient funds, one couldn't even dream of possessing them.

A Golden Core cultivator would normally take decades, sometimes even a century, reaching the third or fourth layer of the Golden Core stage, just to accumulate one or two Nascent Soul artifacts, a magical treasure, and a Rank Seven Golden Core spirit beast to significantly boost their combat power.

It could be said that in the cultivation world, a cultivator's strength is largely built upon a foundation of amassed wealth.

In terms of financial resources, Zheng Chenghui and Shi Hanyang were clearly inferior to Ye Qin.

"I only managed to earn some spirit stones by refining pills. For these few Nascent Soul artifacts, treasures, and this spirit beast, I nearly exhausted the spirit stones accumulated from my alchemy over the years," Ye Qin said with a wry smile, knowing what they were thinking.

He was holding back, not revealing his other two Nascent Soul artifacts or the Crimson Cloud Magic Pearl treasure. Otherwise, even Jiang Ling would have felt ashamed by comparison.

"Young Brother Ye, with your superb alchemy skills, you can make a living anywhere in the Eastern Sea; you shouldn't worry about spirit stones in the future! Unlike us, who constantly have to venture out to sea to hunt demonic beasts and risk our lives seeking rare heavenly materials to earn some hard-won cash."

Jiang Ling nodded calmly. He felt envy as well, but he didn't show it on his face. It was actually quite normal for an Alchemy Grandmaster like Ye Qin to possess massive spirit stones for refining Nascent Soul artifacts and purchasing treasures. If an Alchemy Grandmaster lacked wealth, that would be truly strange.

Jiang Ling mentally elevated Ye Qin's standing, placing him ahead of Zheng Chenghui, who was at the third layer of the Golden Core stage.

However, Jiang Ling still did not believe Ye Qin could surpass him.

There is a gap created by years of time that cannot be bridged simply by having more spirit stones.

Take, for instance, Nascent Soul artifacts.

Jiang Ling possessed the Azure and Blue Nascent Soul Flying Swords, while Ye Qin displayed the Gold and Earth Nascent Soul Flying Swords. Although they are all Nascent Soul artifacts, their grades differ.

When a Nascent Soul artifact is first refined, it is a low-grade one. Only after a cultivator swallows it into their Dantian, constantly nourishing and warming it with their vital energy over long periods, absorbing this energy, does its power grow day by day. The older the artifact, the more terrifying its power becomes.

A newly refined low-grade Nascent Soul artifact cannot compare to one nurtured for decades, let alone one nurtured for centuries.

The power of Jiang Ling’s two Nascent Soul Flying Swords was incomparable to Ye Qin’s. After all, his age of over two hundred and seventy years meant his Nascent Soul artifacts had been nourished for more than a hundred years. Ye Qin was only in his early forties, and the oldest Nascent Soul artifact he possessed had been refined barely a decade ago. The power gap resulting from the difference in the years of nourishment was unavoidable. Jiang Ling did not believe the power of Ye Qin's two Nascent Soul artifacts could surpass his own.

"Brother Shi, your Fire Scorpion is still only Rank Six, not having broken through to the Golden Core level. It won't be very effective fighting the Sea Tribe warriors. Furthermore, it is a fire-attributed spirit beast, which puts it at a significant disadvantage in a place like the Nine Bends Stone Cave, which is saturated with water spiritual energy. I suggest you put it away, lest it gets killed."

Jiang Ling then looked at Shi Hanyang’s Fire Scorpion, shaking his head, clearly not satisfied.

"This Rank Six Fire Scorpion is the only one I caught, from a volcanic mountain range in the Central Lands. It has been with me for a long time, but its innate aptitude is mediocre, and it shows no signs of breaking through to the Golden Core. I have no expectations for it. Still, I can't just keep feeding it for nothing without letting it fight. Whatever combat strength it can add, we’ll take. If it dies, I'll replace it with a spirit beast of better innate aptitude when I return."

Shi Hanyang was resigned regarding his Fire Scorpion.

Since Shi Hanyang wasn't worried about the Fire Scorpion dying in battle, Jiang Ling naturally didn't press the matter and fell silent.

Soon, the four Golden Core cultivators were fully prepared, their attention fixed on the final bend of the Nine Bends Stone Cave, listening intently to the fierce sounds of battle echoing from within. The fierce fight between the Plundering Sea Clan warriors and the guardian beast inside the cave had not ceased for a moment.

Jiang Ling delayed his move, waiting for the optimal moment to strike. Only by rushing in during the most critical phase of the battle between the Plundering Sea Clan warriors and the guardian beast could they withstand the pressure and have a greater certainty of victory in one fell swoop.

"Poison!"

Jiang Ling’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly shouted, charging towards the ninth bend of the stone cave. The other three followed closely behind.

The Nine Bends Stone Cave.

The final bend stretched for several miles. Deep within the cave was a cavern spanning five or six hundred feet. The entire cavern was intensely cold, and at the center lay a black, ominous pool, tens of feet wide. The water was so black it was bottomless; it was an area of extreme Yin within the Langya Secret Realm, with bubbles rising from the depths like oil. This pitch-black, almost eerie pool inspired dread.

Yet, growing from this dark pool were three or four miraculous Green Lotuses, standing elegantly on the water’s surface. The largest lotus leaf was the size of a winnowing basket.

One of the lotuses had already begun to bloom, its flower bud composed of five colored petals, emitting a faint golden, cyan, blue, red, and yellow glow. Though the bud was only palm-sized, it radiated a brilliant luster that illuminated the entire cavern. Amidst the cold air, a faint, clean fragrance of lotus permeated the space.

Seven or eight high-ranking Plundering Sea Clan warriors moved swiftly, their figures flashing, weapons in hand, fiercely battling a massive Black Mystic Turtle, several feet in size, on the open ground near the pool.

Sharp Black Iron Spears and blades struck the turtle’s shell in a flurry like a storm, forcing the Black Mystic Turtle to retreat steadily. However, they only left faint marks on the carapace, failing to inflict any significant damage.

This Mystic Turtle was, in fact, a Rank Nine demonic beast. Its ability to single-handedly occupy this cavern among the numerous Golden Core demonic beasts in the Nine Bends Stone Cave, guarding the Sub-Yin Lotus within, was proof enough of its formidable strength.

A Rank Nine demonic beast, requiring only the overcoming of the final bottleneck and surviving the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, could transform into a Rank Ten humanoid demon, becoming a powerful member of the Eastern Sea's demon race cultivators.

Seven or eight high-ranking Plundering Sea Clan warriors had been encircling the Mystic Turtle in a desperate struggle for nearly an hour. They were almost exhausted, yet they still could not kill this terrifyingly hard-shelled creature.

Among these warriors, the leader was a burly man clad in copper-ringed beast armor, wielding a mottled, ancient cyan halberd. His expression was clearly anxious.

"Something is wrong! I heard a drum sound from outside just now; someone must have arrived at the Nine Bends Stone Cave. But the drumming has stopped. The brothers guarding outside have gone silent; they must have been killed by the enemy. They are coming for us! Jinghun, how much longer until you recover your divine power!"

The burly man's cyan ancient halberd unleashed an immensely powerful cyan baleful aura that seemed almost condensed, striking the Mystic Turtle's shell. Every blow caused the turtle to let out a sharp, agonizing screech, yet even so, it failed to inflict heavy damage.

"This Sub-Yin Lotus is a sacred object of our Plundering Sea Clan; it can be refined into an utterly unique spiritual elixir. We absolutely cannot let outsiders take it—be it immortals or any of the other ten major tribes of the Eastern Sea. Our clan’s future rests on this Sub-Yin Lotus. No matter the cost today, we must obtain it. Jingpo, just hold on a bit longer; I will recover soon."

Inside the cave, another warrior in black armor sat cross-legged in a corner, his face ice-cold and expressionless. A massive silver spear lay across his knees; he had not joined the fierce battle. If Ye Qin, Jiang Ling, and the others were present, they would surely be astonished: this person was Jinghun, the Sea Demon Cavalry Warrior who had held back over sixty Golden Core cultivators from entering the Langya Secret Realm for several hours in the narrow passage.

He was one of the most powerful warriors of the Eastern Sea tribes. To block the Golden Core cultivators from entering the Langya Secret Realm, he had nearly exhausted his divine power. After arriving at the Nine Bends Stone Cave, he had been resting and recovering his strength, unable to join the siege against the Mystic Turtle. However, he had rested for several hours, and his divine power was nearly restored.

The Sea Demon Cavalry Warrior opened his eyes, a fierce divine light surging within them.