Yan Hao was the direct blood relative of Giant Yan, one of the Five Overlords of the Heavenly Fiend Alliance. His backing was formidable; ordinary cultivators in the East Sea would never dare offend him, much less harbor thoughts of slaying him.

However, the Zi You Lotus was a tenth-rank spiritual item, and the Spirit Root Potential Pills refined from its seeds were enough to drive Nascent Soul cultivators of the East Sea into a frenzy of acquisition.

Faced with this incomparably rare Heavenly Treasure, Jiang Ling and his three companions felt no reverence for Yan Hao; their entire focus was on seizing the Zi You Lotus as quickly as possible.

Jiang Ling, Ye Qin, Zheng Chenghui, and Shi Hanyang—four Golden Core cultivators—had endured untold hardships crossing the Central Plains Continent to reach the East Sea, hoping to one day achieve the Great Dao of Immortal Fate.

The Zi You Lotus offered immense benefits to the four of them.

Jiang Ling desired the twelfth-rank lotus seeds to refine an elixir that would permanently boost his spiritual root potential.

Shi Hanyang coveted the eleventh-rank lotus flower, which possessed mysterious properties, rumored to be capable of refining special avatar artifacts. As Ye Qin understood it, Shi Hanyang likely intended to use it to cultivate some incredibly potent secret Immortal Art.

Zheng Chenghui wanted the tenth-rank lotus pedestal to forge a Lotus Pedestal Artifact. This kind of cultivation-assisting artifact could dramatically increase the speed at which one absorbed Heaven and Earth spiritual energy during regular Immortal Art practice.

Ye Qin wished to obtain an eighth-rank Lotus Flute, intending to cultivate a Lotus Root in his own Sea of Consciousness. With the Zi You Lotus's rhizome, he could freely acquire sufficient seeds and, upon becoming a Divine Alchemist, refine his own Spirit Root Potential Pills.

It would be nearly impossible for any one of them to relinquish the Zi You Lotus; they were prepared to commit murder to seize it.

As for the consequences of murder? As long as they silenced all five Golden Core cultivators in Yan Hao’s squad, completely obliterating their souls, who would ever know it was them?

Though Giant Yan was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he possessed no clairvoyant abilities.

The most crucial factor was that the backgrounds and origins of the four of them were somewhat similar.

In the East Sea, they lacked deep attachments—at most, a Dao companion or a few offspring. None were disciples of great Immortal Palaces or Cultivation Families who needed to worry about a vast lineage and hesitated to act rashly.

Even if the murder eventually came to light, they could escape to the ends of the earth.

The East Sea was immensely vast; after hundreds of thousands of years of exploration, countless spirit islands and immortal isles remained undiscovered. They could simply find an uninhabited small spirit isle, hide away, and remain in secluded cultivation for decades; likely, no one would ever find them.

Though this course of action was audacious, for the sake of the Zi You Lotus, everything was worth it.

“Good. Release Jing Hun, and prepare to deal with Yan Hao.”

Jiang Ling’s desire for the Spirit Root Potential Pill utterly eclipsed his fear of Yan Hao and his powerful backer. As the leader, he hardened his resolve and decided to release Jing Hun, turning their full attention back to Yan Hao.

Jiang Ling waved his hand, recalling his two flying swords, clearing a path.

The encirclement attack formed by the four Golden Core cultivators—Jiang Ling, Ye Qin, Zheng Chenghui, and Shi Hanyang—along with their four spirit beasts—the Eight-Clawed Squid, Skeleton Demon, Green Demon Spider, and Fire Scorpion—was opened up for Jing Hun.

“What is the meaning of this?”

The most bewildered one at this moment was Jing Hun. Just as he had considered retreat, he saw five more Golden Core cultivators rush into the cavern, terrifying him to the point of near soul disintegration.

The initial four Golden Core cultivators had already surrounded him so tightly that he could barely hold on and had begun contemplating escape. Now, with five more Golden Core cultivators appearing, even with his strength, he could not escape the combined assault of nine Golden Core cultivators.

Jing Hun fully expected his life to end, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the two groups of Golden Core cultivators began fighting over the Zi You Lotus instead.

“Jing Hun, we can’t kill you instantly, but you are no match for us now. Leave on your own. Don’t wait for me to change my mind; by then, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to,” Jiang Ling commanded coldly, controlling his flying swords.

“Hmph! If my divine power hadn’t been so depleted while guarding the passage earlier, you four wouldn't stand a chance against me!” Jing Hun snarled in fury.

But anger aside, leaving was mandatory. His divine power was nearly exhausted, little remaining, leaving him without the strength to participate in this struggle for the Zi You Lotus.

If he stayed, the possibility of gaining an advantage was minuscule, while the probability of being killed was immense.

He had unexpectedly gained an opportunity to escape this heavy siege. Jing Hun did not hesitate, immediately mounting his battered Sea Demon Horse and fleeing desperately through the opened gap, quickly vacating the Nine Bends Cavern.

Jiang Ling and Ye Qin did not pursue Jing Hun; instead, they resealed the cavern's only entrance.

Then, they settled in leisurely at the entrance, watching with cold amusement as Yan Hao and his five Golden Core cultivators charged into the cavern to fight for the Zi You Lotus.

Not only did the four of them refrain from stopping them, but they all displayed cold smiles, waiting to watch a good show.

The reason Jiang Ling dared to resolve to kill Yan Hao was not that his four-person squad of Golden Core cultivators was far stronger than Yan Hao’s five, but because a ninth-rank Yin Water Mystic Turtle lay dormant in the cold pool of the cavern.

“Anyone who tries to pluck the Zi You Lotus must first pass the test of the Yin Water Mystic Turtle. Before the Mystic Turtle is slain, no one will touch the Zi You Lotus!”

“For Yan Hao to kill the Yin Water Mystic Turtle won't be that easy. Seven high-level strongmen of the Sea Raider Tribe were all killed by this creature. It won't be simple for his five Golden Core cultivators to deal with it. When they are locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Mystic Turtle, we will strike at the critical moment, and he will surely die. He thought he could profit while we were fighting Jing Hun, but he doesn't realize that we should be the ones gaining the real advantage. Once they are mutually devastated fighting the Mystic Turtle, we can harvest the Zi You Lotus without effort.”

Jiang Ling sneered coldly.

He exchanged a glance with Zheng Chenghui, and the thought of gaining such a huge benefit for free nearly made them burst into laughter.

This Yin Water Mystic Turtle was their true bargaining chip, the real leverage that allowed them to defeat Yan Hao’s five Golden Core cultivators.

Ye Qin glanced at Jiang Ling, his expression calm. He sipped some spiritual wine and began meditating on the spot to quickly recover his depleted magic power.

At such a crucial juncture, caution was paramount to avoid stumbling at the final hurdle. As long as the Zi You Lotus was not secured, the situation remained highly volatile, and the final outcome was unpredictable.

Just as Jiang Ling and the other three cultivators predicted, as Yan Hao rushed with his squad toward the cold pool in the center of the cavern, attempting to pluck the Zi You Lotus within, the unexpected occurred.

“Splash!”

A massive Mystic Turtle burst forth from the damp cold, surfacing from the pitch-black water.

Its pair of emerald-green eyes glared fiercely at Yan Hao and his cultivators, then its body and four legs suddenly retracted, hiding within its shell. The shell spun rapidly on the surface of the cold pool, radiating immense power, and slammed violently toward Yan Hao’s small group of cultivators by the edge of the pool.

“What? The guardian beast of the Zi You Lotus hasn't been killed!?” Yan Hao was greatly alarmed to see a Mystic Turtle suddenly charging out of the cold pool.

He had assumed that since Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, and the others had fiercely battled the Sea Demon Horse strongmen, the guardian beast in the cave must have already been slain. They could take advantage of the mutual exhaustion from the fight and snatch the Zi You Lotus.

Furthermore, this pool of water was inexplicably cold and strange; divine sense could not penetrate to detect any presence beneath the water, so they had no idea if a beast lurked below.

Contrary to their expectations, this ninth-rank Yin Water Mystic Turtle suddenly emerged from the black, cold pool and charged straight ahead at high speed, catching all five of them completely off guard.

“Not good, it’s a ninth-rank Mystic Turtle! Move away quickly!”

“Ah!”

The short, stout Golden Core cultivator at the very front was struck by the Mystic Turtle. The golden aura of his protective shield shattered with a crack, followed by his physical body being crushed under the immense force of the carapace, instantly turning into a pool of bloody pulp.

How formidable was the force of a ninth-rank Mystic Turtle’s charge? Even Jing Bo, a high-level Earth Clan strongman renowned for his divine power, could not withstand it, let alone an early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

“It’s a Water-element Mystic Turtle, its shell defense is too astonishing. We can’t engage it in close combat. Everyone spread out and use spells to restrain it, prevent it from charging around!” Yan Hao shouted in alarm.

Immediately, the Golden Core cultivators unleashed talismans, casting numerous restraint spells; yellow and blue lights flashed.

“Earth Element High-Grade Spell, Earth Dungeon Fierce Prison!” “Water Element High-Grade Spell, Blue Water Heavenly Screen!”

The Yin Water Mystic Turtle was encircled by four thick earth walls and water walls, each ten feet high and several feet thick, erupting from the ground.

“Bang! Bang!”

With muffled thuds, the Mystic Turtle smashed the earth prison and water prison into dust.

“The spell restraints are too weak! Hurry and use artifacts!”

In this brief delay, the Golden Core cultivators had already deployed various artifacts: a Heaven-Net artifact, a golden bell artifact, a Spirit-Binding Rope artifact… all attacking the Mystic Turtle in a siege.

It had to be admitted that the restraint, attack, and defense methods available to Golden Core cultivators far surpassed those of the high-level Sea Raider Tribe strongmen.

The Earth Clan strongmen's attacks were too monotonous, relying solely on divine power; they could only clash head-on with brute force against the Yin Water Mystic Turtle. If they couldn't match its sheer strength, they would simply be killed.

But cultivators were different; they didn't need to fight the beast head-on. As long as they could restrain the Yin Water Mystic Turtle, they could bombard it from a distance with artifacts and spells without risking harm to themselves—their methods were far superior to those of the strongmen.

The rampant charges of the Yin Water Mystic Turtle, though ferociously powerful, were easily entangled by the constantly emerging array of techniques, making it difficult for the beast to approach the Golden Core cultivators.

“Whoosh!” A high-grade artifact, a massive golden bell twenty feet high, descended from the sky, completely enveloping the rapidly spinning and charging Mystic Turtle, preventing it from emerging.

A green-faced Golden Core cultivator cheered, flicking his hands to channel streams of magic power, suppressing the turtle with his full effort.

“Bang! Bang!” Within the great golden bell, the Yin Water Mystic Turtle continued to charge violently, followed by a dense sound of cracking. Visible fissures appeared on the golden bell artifact, widening continuously. Finally, with a loud crash, the golden bell artifact shattered into countless fragments of golden light.

The enraged Yin Water Mystic Turtle continued its charge toward them.

“This Mystic Turtle is too powerful; even a high-grade artifact was destroyed in just a few impacts. If this continues, all the artifacts we brought might be ruined, and we still might not restrain this creature. Killing this Mystic Turtle will not be an easy task,” Yan Hao’s expression turned horrified; he knew they had provoked a major problem.

The faces of the other three Golden Core cultivators were equally grim. One of their comrades had just died due to a moment’s carelessness, and now the combined strength of the four of them might not be enough to suppress this Yin Water Mystic Turtle, whose shell was incredibly tough.