In a certain corner of the Nong Ya Secret Realm, a small, dark cloud hovered mid-air, from which Ye Qin's murmurs could be faintly heard... Several miles distant, atop a hill rising from a sea of vibrant green flora and blossoms, a contingent of several dozen high-level Earth Clan warriors from the four major tribes were engaged in what appeared to be a heated debate.

Had it not been for their booming voices carrying up to the sky, Ye Qin would have barely noticed them. As far as Ye Qin knew, the sacred relics of the various Earth Clan tribes differed, so they typically did not operate together within the Lang Ya Secret Realm. Instead, they hunted demonic beasts individually to acquire their respective relics. For instance, the Sea-Plundering Tribe, whose relic was the Zi You Lotus, saw leaders like Jing Hun and Jing Bo immediately head for the Nine-Bend Stone Cave upon entering the realm. Similarly, the Shaman, Bone Bow, and Sky Rider tribes each had their designated destinations.

Yet, here they were—the leaders of the four major Earth Clans gathered once more, which struck Ye Qin as highly unusual. The underwater Lang Ya Secret Realm had a severely limited opening time, sealing shut in less than five days. Instead of taking advantage of the short window to hunt beasts and gather rare treasures, why were they congregating on a single hill?

"Could it be that some immensely powerful demonic beast is guarding an object of vital spiritual importance, requiring the combined might of dozens of warriors from the four tribes to subdue?" Ye Qin speculated internally.

But upon closer consideration, he instantly dismissed the notion. "For a Golden Core stage beast below the Ninth Rank, any one of their leaders, accompanied by a few high-level warriors, would suffice. There would be no need for so many warriors to mass together. As for a Tenth Rank Nascent Soul beast, even if all four tribes’ warriors attacked together, they would merely be throwing their lives away. There is no logical reason for them to congregate like this."

Ye Qin pondered endlessly, finding no clear answer.

The dark cloud drifted slowly overhead, listening silently to the distant sounds. Though miles separated them, the voices were clear enough for a Golden Core cultivator to discern.

Ye Qin had no intention of interfering. The strength of even a single Sea Demon Warrior like Jing Hun rivaled that of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Furthermore, the young man from the Bone Bow Tribe, bearing the Ting Jiao Bone Bow, the leader of the Sky Rider Tribe mounted on a Golden Core Black Vulture, and the inscrutable Great Shaman and Saintess—none of them were easy opponents. Alone, he was vastly outnumbered and outmatched by the leaders of these four tribes. Whatever scheme the Earth Clan had gathered on this hill for, he wanted no part in it; he wished only to avoid trouble.

Just as Ye Qin was preparing to silently maneuver the Cloud Barrier away from the area, his eyes suddenly narrowed. Below, he spotted a familiar Golden Core cultivator. In a deeply concealed ravine, the massive figure of Fatty Jin was peeking out from the dense sea-grove, glancing around nervously before quickly shrinking back. If Ye Qin had not been in the air with superior vantage, that ravine would have been completely hidden.

Ye Qin looked closer and saw that just a few yards from Fatty Jin were three other Golden Core cultivators—Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhuo, and Pan Shuang—all of them concealed by magic, disguised perfectly as part of the sea trees and blossoms.

"Only four people daring to tail this group of high-level warriors? They must be tired of living," Ye Qin muttered under his breath.

He had been ready to slip away quietly, but now he stopped. He could not simply allow Zhou Yao to walk into a death trap. After all, he was the primary captain of the Purple Sword Palace; if his deputy, Zhou Yao, perished during a mission, he would undoubtedly bear significant responsibility. The Palace Master would not be pleased. He still relied on the Purple Sword Palace to obtain the latter half of the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll and master the refinement technique for the Little Three Marvel Sword Formation; alienating the Palace was not an option.

Although there were many high-level warriors on the mound, only five leaders stood at the forefront: the Shaman Tribe's Great Shaman Wu Yun and Saintess Wu Yiqing, the Sea-Plundering Tribe's Great Leader Jing Hun, the Bone Bow Tribe's Young Clan Leader Liang Gong, and the Sky Rider Tribe's Clan Leader Yan Xing. These five were gathered at the center of the assembled warriors.

"Jing Hun, where are your clansmen? Why have you only arrived here to rendezvous with us? And where is the seed of the Sacred Lotus, the relic of the Sea-Plundering Tribe?" Great Shaman Wu Yun, gripping his magical artifact, stared intently at Jing Hun with his cold, aged face, demanding in a deep voice.

"Great Shaman, my clansmen fought valiantly and were all tragically killed. The Sacred Lotus Seed was stolen by despicable Immortals. I have nothing further to say," Jing Hun replied, his expression equally icy. Having stated this, he fell silent. As the Great Leader of the Sea-Plundering Tribe, his status was equal to that of the Great Shaman; he did not need to defer to Wu Yun. However, his faction was currently the weakest, and he preferred not to antagonize Wu Yun excessively.

"What?! How could there be such a massive failure in acquiring the Zi You Lotus seed? That is an essential raw material for refining the Sacred Pill! Without the Sacred Pill, how can our East Sea Tribes nurture Saint-stage warriors?" Wu Yun’s face instantly darkened.

"Hmph, the Sacred Pill? Your Shaman Tribe has been mimicking the Immortals' alchemy for tens of thousands of years, and yet you still haven't successfully refined a single so-called Sacred Pill, wasting vast amounts of precious raw materials in the process. With those materials, it would be better to forge other elixirs, which at least could increase the number of high-level warriors," Jing Hun retorted dismissively.

"You!" Wu Yun’s face turned frosty, visibly strained.

"Enough, Great Shaman. Since the Immortal stole the Sacred Lotus, arguing now serves no purpose. We should focus on devising a plan to reclaim the seed; there might still be a chance," Yan Xing suddenly interjected.

"In the depths of this Lang Ya Secret Realm," Wu Yun roared, slamming his staff into the ground, "we are searching like ants on a chessboard for the lost Sacred Lotus! So many high-level warriors sacrificed, yet we failed to obtain the most crucial Sacred Lotus Seed. It seems the Sacred Pill cannot be refined within the next five hundred years."

"Great Shaman, the Sea-Plundering Tribe has suffered the greatest loss. Not a single member of your Shaman Tribe died, and I haven't said a word. What right do you have to complain? Our four tribes are gathered now; let us proceed to the Sacred Hall to pay respects to the spirits of our ancestors," Jing Hun said coldly.

Among the five leaders, only Wu Yun, Jing Hun, and Yan Xing were embroiled in sharp contention. Saintess Wu Yiqing appeared completely unconcerned by the argument. She fiddled delicately with a cyan-horned conch shell hanging from the silk sash at her waist, gazing around with an air of boredom, seemingly searching for something to capture her interest. Young Clan Leader Liang Gong of the Bone Bow Tribe simply crossed his arms, tilting his head back, his sharp eyes fixed on the northwestern sky, paying no attention to the arguing trio whatsoever.

"Hey, Liang Gong, what are you looking at?" Wu Yiqing asked quietly.

"Nothing," Liang Gong replied, still gazing upward, not turning his head, his voice flat.

Wu Yiqing followed his gaze and saw some clouds drifting lazily in the sky, pushed by the wind. "What’s so interesting about clouds?" she asked with a slight laugh.

Liang Gong, however, remained impassive, offering no explanation. He had a vague feeling that someone was spying on them from above. As far as he knew, Immortals possessed the ability to ride the wind and clouds, disguising themselves cleverly using mist-and-cloud artifacts. However, the Lang Ya Secret Realm, spanning tens of thousands of miles, had developed its own microclimate. Some areas were frigid, others scorching, and clouds, rain, and wind were frequent occurrences. Finding anything amiss among the myriad clouds overhead would be a difficult task. Perhaps he was simply being overly cautious.

Wu Yun and Jing Hun's accusations and arguments ended without resolution; they ultimately decided to proceed to the Sacred Hall.

"Let's go to the Sacred Hall," Liang Gong said, shaking his head slightly.

The large group of warriors from the four tribes left the mound, leaping through the sea-trees and blossoms, rushing swiftly northward.

Seeing the Earth Clan depart, the stationary dark cloud in the sky abruptly transformed into a streak of black light and plummeted downward, landing softly on the ground. The Cloud Barrier dissolved, and Ye Qin’s figure was revealed.

Zhou Yao, Jin Zhongshan, and the others were just preparing to follow the Earth Clan when they suddenly witnessed a cultivator descending from the sky, closing the distance to within several hundred feet of them, which startled them all.

"Brother Ye! When did you get here? You left too fast earlier; I didn't even know where you went," Zhou Yao turned, surprised and delighted to see Ye Qin.

Ye Qin naturally wouldn't tell the four of them that he and Jiang Ling had gone to the Nine-Bend Stone Cave to seize the Zi You Lotus, leaving them behind to avoid unnecessary complications.

"What are you four doing? If those high-level Earth Clan warriors discover you, you're courting death," Ye Qin said, looking sternly at Zhou Yao and the others.

"Brother Ye, we were originally searching for spiritual items and hunting demonic beasts. But we accidentally discovered the shamans and others gathered together. Brother Jin said that since these Earth Clan leaders gathered, they must be planning something important. So we followed them," Liao Xiaohui explained.

Ye Qin nodded, frowning, and looked coldly at Jin Zhongshan without speaking. Stared at by Ye Qin, Jin Zhongshan grew uneasy and quickly said, "Brother Ye, those Earth Clan members are extremely familiar with the Lang Ya Secret Realm; they know where the best treasures are. Their gathering must mean they intend to join forces to claim some treasure. It would be foolish not to benefit from such an opportunity, wouldn't you agree?"

Ye Qin understood the nature of a treasure-seeking cultivator from the Treasure Gathering Palace like Jin Zhongshan—he would never willingly relinquish wealth. Jin Zhongshan suggesting they follow the Earth Clan was hardly surprising.

"But with only this few of you, less than a fraction of the Earth Clan warriors, you're just asking to die. Why didn't you gather more Golden Core cultivators? Even if a fight broke out, you wouldn't be at a disadvantage," Ye Qin questioned.

"Haha, Brother Ye, you are unaware of the full situation. I possess several Communication Talismans and long ago notified Yu Weifeng, instructing him to summon all the cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance. They should arrive soon," Jin Zhongshan boasted proudly.

"Oh? Yu Weifeng is bringing people soon? How long ago did you notify him?" Ye Qin's tightly knit brows relaxed slightly. As long as they weren't charging into certain death, he didn't want to put on a harsh facade for them.

"It's been over an hour already; they should be here soon. Brother Ye, since you've arrived, why don't you take the lead and work with the four of us?" Zhou Yao’s eyes shone with anticipation. Among the few Golden Core cultivators here, Ye Qin was the strongest. With him present, the team's strength would increase significantly, greatly enhancing their safety.

Ye Qin considered it for a moment and agreed. He planned to leave the Lang Ya Secret Realm eventually. Returning through the undersea passage and the Coral Forest would be safest traveling with Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaohui, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Shuang. Leaving the seabed alone posed risks. Since Yu Weifeng was gathering a group of Golden Core cultivators soon, staying put wouldn't present an excessive danger.

"We will follow this group of Earth Clan warriors from a distance to see where they are going and what they plan to do. However, until Yu Weifeng brings his people, we must not act rashly!"