There was one matter that weighed heavily on his mind, one that required thorough discussion with Ye, Zheng, Shi, and the others: how to prevent the slaying of Yan Hao from being exposed.

“Once this mission to encircle the Tu Clan concludes, if Yan Hao fails to return to Lingxiao Palace on schedule, the cultivators there will certainly know he met with foul play. The death of a core disciple of the Yan family will undoubtedly trigger a rigorous investigation.”

“Although they might not suspect us immediately, we’ve divided the magic artifacts and treasures taken from Yan Hao and his group. Sooner or later, we will use or sell these items, which could easily leave behind clues and draw the suspicion of the Lingxiao Palace cultivators.”

Jiang Ling spoke with deep worry etched on his somber face. “No matter what, after the four of us leave this place, we must all go into hiding for a while to avoid being traced by Lingxiao Palace. The methods employed by the cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Alliance are formidable. If even one of us is caught, a Nascent Soul cultivator using the Soul Searching Technique will surely find all the accomplices. We Golden Core cultivators simply cannot withstand the reprisal from Lingxiao Palace.”

“Indeed, we should lay low for a time. I wonder where Brother Jiang plans to go?” Ye Qin nodded solemnly.

“I plan to make a trip to the Sea of Blood. In a chaotic battleground like the Sea of Blood, the people from Lingxiao Palace will never be able to track my whereabouts. What about the rest of you? If you have no suitable destination, why not come with me to the Sea of Blood? Although it is extremely perilous, anyone who survives there will reap considerable benefits.” After speaking, Jiang Ling looked keenly at the other three, clearly hoping someone would venture to the Sea of Blood with him.

“I won’t be going to such a treacherous place as the Sea of Blood. My strength was damaged in this battle, and I plan to enter seclusion for a period of intense cultivation. The Baoxia Palace, led by Sect Master Jiang, one of the five great Sect Masters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, harbors enmity towards Patriarch Yan’s Lingxiao Palace. Baoxia Palace and Lingxiao have always been hostile towards each other. While Patriarch Yan’s influence is strong, he cannot possibly conduct investigations within Baoxia Palace’s sphere of influence. I will seek refuge in the islands governed by Baoxia Palace, lie low, and only resurface decades later when things have calmed down.” Zheng Chenghui said, his one remaining arm hanging down.

“Brother Ye, what about you?”

“I am much the same as Brother Zheng. There are countless islands in the East Sea; I will simply find a deserted, secluded islet and devote myself to cultivation. I am only at the first layer of the Golden Core stage, and the Nascent Soul realm is still far off. Everything must take a backseat to my cultivation,” Ye Qin stated calmly. He held Yan Hao’s Xun Lei Ancient Mirror; he would not take it out unless facing mortal peril, and if such a time came, revealing it would be of little consequence.

“Heh heh, among the four of us, Brother Ye has the greatest hope of stepping into the Nascent Soul realm. That is far superior to me, a cultivator nearing two hundred years old who has only reached the fourth layer of the Golden Core stage. Since Brother Ye intends to focus on cultivation, I won’t press the matter. What about you, Brother Shi, where are you headed?” Jiang Ling chuckled.

“I have my own arrangements and will stay far away from the sphere of influence of Lingxiao Palace. Brother Jiang need not worry about my safety,” Shi Hanyang chuckled wryly.

Since everyone had their own plans, Jiang Ling stopped trying to persuade them to join him in the Sea of Blood and quickly took his leave from the Nine Bends Stone Cave. Zheng Chenghui departed shortly after.

However, Shi Hanyang did not leave immediately. He glanced at Ye Qin’s Silver Armored Guards several times, appearing to have something he wished to say to Ye Qin.

“Brother Shi, if you have something to say, just say it. We aren't outsiders; why be so formal?” Ye Qin smiled, noticing his hesitant demeanor.

“To be frank, I plan to return to the Central Land Continent to pursue great endeavors. Brother Ye, if you have no attachments here in the East Sea, why not come back to the Central Land Continent with me? It holds far more promise than just messing around in the East Sea. What do you think, Brother Ye?” Shi Hanyang said with a smile.

“Return to the Central Land? The spiritual resources in the cultivation world of the Central Land are too scarce, far less abundant than in the East Sea. Brother Shi, why this sudden notion of returning? Even if you want to accomplish great things, you could do it right here in the East Sea?” Ye Qin was very surprised.

Shi Hanyang’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly, and he hesitated. “This… returning to the Central Land certainly has its reasons…” “Forget it then. Since Brother Ye has no intention of returning, I won’t insist. I will be back in the East Sea in a decade or twenty years, and we can meet again then.” In the end, he did not reveal his reason for returning to the Central Land, merely bidding Ye Qin a hasty farewell before flying away on his sword from the cave.

Ye Qin was left feeling perplexed after saying goodbye to Shi Hanyang.

After Shi Hanyang left, Ye Qin frowned and sank into deep thought. “The spiritual stones and resources in the Central Land cultivation world are too few, which is highly detrimental to cultivators above the Golden Core stage. That is why the major immortal sects of the Central Land strictly control the number of Golden Core cultivators, sending the surplus to the East Sea.”

“Shi Hanyang is extremely ambitious; he surely hopes to one day become a Nascent Soul cultivator and a regional overlord. In that case, he should definitely remain cultivating among the islands of the East Sea. Given Shi Hanyang’s steady nature, he wouldn’t do anything detrimental to himself. Since he came to the East Sea, why return to the Central Land?” Ye Qin truly couldn’t fathom a reason that would make Shi Hanyang suddenly go back.

“That’s not right!” A sudden shock jolted him awake.

“Lotus Flower…” “Lotus Flower Incarnation Great Law… the Central Land…” “Shi Hanyang came to the Nine Bends Stone Cave for the eleventh-rank lotus of the Zi You Lotus. But he wasn’t after it for his own cultivation of that technique; he wants it to serve as a body for the Sacred Emperor!” The moment this thought struck him, Ye Qin was utterly startled.

“Other than that Sacred Emperor in the underground imperial mausoleum, there is absolutely no other reason for Shi Hanyang to go to such great lengths, crossing the vast distance from the East Sea back to the Central Land Continent. Who else could make Shi Hanyang willingly serve and risk his life besides the Sacred Emperor?”

He recalled that Shi Hanyang had casually mentioned before entering the Langya Secret Realm that the lotus of the Zi You Lotus could be used to refine an avatar artifact, allowing one to cultivate an ancient divine technique—the Lotus Flower Incarnation Great Law. This technique was said to be incredibly profound, allowing a cultivator to use the lotus as a physical body and still achieve the immortal path. The speed of cultivation was directly related to the quality of the lotus. The high-grade, eleventh-rank Zi You Lotus was a supreme-grade lotus usable even by Nascent Soul cultivators, ranking among the top three lotus flowers in the East Sea cultivation world.

He had initially assumed Shi Hanyang obtained the lotus for his own refinement. But Shi Hanyang’s declaration about returning to the Central Land instantly awakened Ye Qin—he had been completely wrong.

An icy chill shot through Ye Qin’s entire body in an instant.

“Shi Hanyang is serving the Sacred Emperor! No wonder he was so enthusiastic about entering the Langya Secret Realm, even risking offending Lingxiao Palace to join the four of us against Yan Hao. Once he returns to the Central Land Continent to help the Sacred Emperor break free from the underground ruins, with the Sacred Emperor as an immensely powerful backer, he won’t fear having offended Patriarch Yan at all.”

“One must remember that the Sacred Emperor became a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator a thousand years ago and has not yet exhausted his lifespan; he is truly an immortal freak of the cultivation world. The current five great Sect Masters and patriarchs cannot compare to the Sacred Emperor. Logically, the Sacred Emperor should have died long ago from the exhaustion of his lifespan; no one knows how he has survived to this day.”

Ye Qin felt bitterness well up inside. Shi Hanyang had hidden this fact too well, revealing not even a whisper of it. He had always believed Shi Hanyang was acting alone in the East Sea, never imagining he had secretly pledged allegiance to the Sacred Emperor.

Shi Hanyang, seeing that Ye Qin possessed Silver Armored Guards, suspected Ye Qin might also have secretly pledged allegiance to the Sacred Emperor, which is why he had invited Ye Qin to return to the Central Land with him. But since Ye Qin had no intention of returning, Shi Hanyang immediately grew wary, sensing that Ye Qin had not sworn fealty to the Sacred Emperor, and promptly left without another word.

If he had known Shi Hanyang had pledged allegiance to the Sacred Emperor, he never would have helped Shi Hanyang seize the Zi You Lotus. He had a previous clash with the Sacred Emperor in the underground imperial mausoleum, robbing him of his Silver Armored Guards and causing the Sacred Emperor significant humiliation—a grudge the Sacred Emperor might not easily let go of. If the Sacred Emperor were to break free, the East Sea cultivation world would surely face a devastating tempest.

While the Sacred Emperor might not mobilize forces specifically to hunt down a minor Golden Core cultivator over a trivial incident in the underground mausoleum, Ye Qin’s troubles would not be insignificant. If the Sacred Emperor held a grudge, Ye Qin’s chances of survival would be slim. It is easier for a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to kill an early-stage Golden Core cultivator than to crush an ant.

“I cannot take that risk. The thought of the Sacred Emperor coming to the East Sea is headache-inducing.” After contemplating in the cave for a while, Ye Qin’s face gradually paled as he seemed to reach a decision. Finally, he stomped his foot fiercely, gritted his teeth, and suddenly rushed outside.

“I must make Shi Hanyang hand over the lotus… If he refuses, I’ll just kill him and cut off the possibility of the Sacred Emperor breaking free, thus avoiding making a late-stage Nascent Soul enemy out of thin air.”

Ye Qin moved with incredible speed. Within a few breaths, he transformed into a flash of cyan light, bursting out of the Nine Bends Stone Cave.

However, the stone forest outside the cave held no sign of Shi Hanyang; he had long since fled. Ye Qin ascended into the air but still could not locate Shi Hanyang, falling into a state of dejected resignation.

“After leaving the Langya Secret Realm, Shi Hanyang won’t linger in the East Sea; he will certainly return to the Central Land Continent immediately. Being both first-layer Golden Core cultivators, Shi Hanyang won’t be much slower than me, and moreover, he is skilled in the Heavenly Evolution Secret Art, making him incredibly difficult to track.”

“Even if the Sacred Emperor breaks free, his first priority will be seeking revenge against the former Heavenly Dao Alliance Sect Masters and Heavenly Demon Alliance patriarchs who opposed him. The destruction of the Sacred Emperor Palace a thousand years ago and preventing him from reaching the late-stage Nascent Soul realm—that towering, cosmic grudge is enough to stir up a massive upheaval in the East Sea cultivation world; a bloody war is unavoidable. The minor conflict between the Sacred Emperor and me is insignificant compared to that monumental enmity. For the time being, the Sacred Emperor likely won’t have the leisure to bother with a minor Golden Core cultivator like myself.”

Ye Qin found a reason to relax after thinking this through.

“It seems that after I leave the Langya Secret Realm this time, I must find some nameless island to enter secluded cultivation immediately, keep a low profile, and avoid being remembered by the Sacred Emperor as a minor Golden Core cultivator. Not until I become a Nascent Soul cultivator can I avoid being easily killed by the Sacred Emperor.”