The Golden Core cultivators who rushed into the ancient hall’s antechamber immediately saw two enormous stone statues of a man and a woman, beneath which were inscribed their names.

Huang Feng Zhenren? This ancient hall was actually built by him?

Ye Qin couldn't help but be slightly surprised upon seeing the inscription for the man.

He recalled the Nascent Soul cultivator's skeleton found at the broken bridge in the sea trench before entering the Eight Desolations Secret Realm—it should have been this very Huang Feng Zhenren. This Desolation Secret Realm was clearly intimately connected to this ancient Nascent Soul cultivator.

Such a magnificent ancient hall, such a grand undertaking. Besides this ancient cultivator Huang Feng Zhenren, who else could it be!? Ordinary cultivators could never excavate rock from the extreme depths of the seabed.”

Who was this beautiful woman?

It seemed to be a woman from the Earth Clan, Wu Qinghui. (Wu—that should be the surname of the Wu tribe, one of the ten great Earth Clans of the East Sea! This ancient predecessor was truly dashing and romantic! To build such a huge ancient hall in this secret underwater location, sculpting statues of himself and this woman.”

The Golden Core cultivators gazed at the giant statues, murmuring amongst themselves, their expressions filled with astonishment.

There was curiosity, disdain, and envy in their eyes.

The Earth Clan held a low status in the East Sea, and it was rare for cultivators to form close relationships with Earth Clan women. At most, they might have Earth Clan servants or maids. A cultivator like Huang Feng Zhenren being infatuated with an Earth Clan woman was truly unusual.

Many among them felt a measure of scorn; it was a completely natural reaction.

However, the statue of the woman was indeed peerlessly beautiful. Her aura was extraordinary, shocking at first glance; even among female cultivators, few could compare.

Huang Feng Zhenren, a leading figure of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, practically a hegemon of the East Sea, yet he was entangled with an Earth Clan woman. “Hmph, no wonder he perished here, estranged from the path to immortal destiny.”

Yu Weifeng scoffed, his tone utterly devoid of respect for Huang Feng Zhenren. He coldly surveyed the entire antechamber; besides the empty walls carved with reliefs of ancient beasts, he found nothing special.

“Let’s go, everyone, check out the rear!”

Yu Weifeng controlled two top-tier flying swords, blazing with light, guarding his flanks, and strode into the main hall with imposing steps.

This wasn't because he dared to court danger, nor was he carelessly forgetting the risks.

Since a group of Earth Clan strongmen had charged into the ancient hall earlier without incident, they shouldn't encounter any trouble either. If there were mechanisms or formations within the hall, those Earth Clan strongmen should have triggered them first.

Moreover, Yu Weifeng intended to use this opportunity, while Yan Hao was absent, to establish his prestige as the leader of the assembled cultivators, thus taking the lead and guiding the group.

If he didn't charge ahead, few of these self-important Golden Core cultivators would listen to him.

The Golden Core cultivators followed Yu Weifeng into the main hall.

Ye Qin remained silent, blending unobtrusively into the crowd, cautiously watching the movements around the unfamiliar ancient hall.

He had come to this hall partly out of his own curiosity, but mostly because Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhang, and the others had dragged him along to fill the numbers. He harbored no illusion of obtaining anything valuable here; protecting his own safety was paramount. To remain safe among a group of Golden Core cultivators, the cleverest course was to become inconspicuous, one easily overlooked, lest he be exploited. This chapter was collected and published by the Friends of [Ji Ji Ji Kou Shan Si].

Entering the main hall, Ye Qin immediately spotted a colossal skeletal remains of a demonic stretching across the space.

This demonic skeleton, stretching one to two hundred zhang long, possessed bones of a chilling, deep blue hue, enveloped by a thick, swirling layer of blue toxic mist, exuding an intensely oppressive feeling.

Yet, Ye Qin’s gaze lingered on the demonic skeleton for only an instant before his attention was fiercely seized by an ancient war drum situated behind it.

This war drum was significantly smaller than the demonic skeleton.

But the demonic skeleton was utterly incomparable to the war drum.

Nine huge, bizarre ox skulls encircled the war drum, exuding a powerful killing intent that completely suppressed the aura of the demonic skeleton, permeating the entire hall. Furthermore, deep within the eyes of the ox skulls, something seemed to be stirring.

Could it be the gleam of a spiritual treasure?

Ye Qin felt immense astonishment upon seeing the stirring within the ox eyes, uncertain what it was.

He immediately activated the Spiritual Eye Technique, focusing intently. Deep within the ox skulls' eyes, there was a mass of incomparably gruesome, sinister crimson light.

The spiritual energy within the eye of one ox skull, drawn by the aura of Ye Qin’s Spiritual Eye Technique, seemed to emit a faint trace of blood-light that shot out of the eye with a sharp bang! This blood-qi, thin as a needle-thread, shot directly into Ye Qin's eye, flooding his mind.

Ah!

Ye Qin’s eyes stung, and he hastily closed them. His mind was filled with boundless, frenzied blood-light. He roared, staggering back several steps, his eyes now wide open and crimson, blood-qi surging, an endless tide of killing intent nearly uncontrollable, flooding out from his consciousness.

“Not good, signs of qi deviation and madness!”

Ye Qin gritted his teeth, striving with all his might to maintain a sliver of rationality in his mind. He circulated his mana wildly, rapidly chanting the immortal art, the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, to suppress the boiling blood and energy.

A moment later, he managed to suppress the blood-light with his mana. When he reopened his eyes, tears leaked from the corners.

Simply glimpsing the hidden blood-light deep within the ox eyes nearly caused him to descend into madness. This war drum was too powerful; Golden Core cultivators dared not approach it.

Perhaps even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not command it. How could such a mighty divine art artifact exist within this ancient hall!”

Ye Qin dared not look again at the eyes of the nine ox skulls, his heart overwhelmed with shock.

He glanced towards the other cultivators in the hall. Almost all of them had noticed the ox skull eyes and, unable to resist, had used magical arts to examine the blood-light within. Cries of pain erupted one after another. They were already in a sorry state, no better off than he had been.

Moreover, several weaker Golden Core cultivators had collapsed with dull thuds, their faces contorted in grotesque agony, as if immersed in a sea of blood, plagued by inner demons.

Ye Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this wasn't due to his own weakness, but rather the overwhelming aura of the war drum.

Fortunately, these were all cultivators at the Golden Core stage, possessing strong cultivation and mana.

Although their minds were momentarily affected by the sinister blood-light and they struggled fiercely, they hadn't reached the point of going mad and losing control. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator were here, they would likely go completely insane, losing their minds entirely to become mere walking corpses driven only by slaughter.

“Clear Wind Dewdrop Art!”

Yu Weifeng possessed an Ice Jade Spiritual Treasure capable of counteracting qi deviation. Although he too saw the blood-light hidden deep within the ox skulls' eyes, he recovered almost instantly, clearly unaffected in his state of mind.

Yu Weifeng shouted loudly, casting forth a downpour of cool, clear dewdrops that descended from the heavens, enveloping all the Golden Core cultivators in the main hall.

Many Golden Core cultivators who had been affected by the sinister blood-light regained clarity and stability within this cascade of cool rain.

Numerous fallen Golden Core cultivators looked gratefully towards Yu Weifeng.

Once the mind was shaken by that blood-light, at best it would impede future cultivation progress and make tribulations harder to face; at worst, it could directly generate inner demons, twist one’s mindset, cause a steep regression in cultivation level, and lead to chaos. On the path of immortal cultivation, further progress would be nearly impossible.

When they looked towards the war drum again, they were filled with extreme awe, understanding its terrifying power.

Fortunately, as long as they did not deliberately employ spells like the Spiritual Eye Technique to gaze into the blood-colored malevolence hidden deep within the ox skulls’ eyes, they were no longer afflicted by the blood-light.

“What kind of artifact is this, so immensely powerful?”

“This war drum, with its nine ox skulls, the murderous aura hidden deep in their eyes can pierce the heavens—truly terrifying. Legend says during the ancient Immortal-Demon Wars, there was a War Drum that shook the East Sea—the Ga Niu Drum. The Heavenly Dao Alliance struck this Ga Niu Drum to command their vast army against the Demon Race, crushing the demon forces and slaying countless demon cultivators and beasts. That legendary Ga Niu Drum, just like this war drum, possessed nine ox skulls.”

“But the Ga Niu Drum vanished from the East Sea cultivation world ten thousand years ago, never to reappear.”

“If this is the Ga Niu Drum, how could it be in this ancient hall in the Eight Desolations Secret Realm? Abandoned here for so long.”

The Golden Core cultivators were deeply shocked, utterly baffled.

Ye Qin looked towards Zhou Yao and Liao Xiaozhang; they all shook their heads, indicating they knew nothing.

The Golden Core cultivators certainly did not know that the Earth Clan Wu tribe, having sided with the Immortal Army during the Demon-Immortal War, had secretly stolen this damaged war drum during the critical moment of conflict. If they knew this was the very reason the drum disappeared, they would probably be so frustrated they’d vomit blood.

How this war drum was broken, and how it ended up here, were no longer the most important issues.

The most critical question was: to whom would it now belong?

Among those present, the Golden Core cultivators, aside from their shock and ecstasy, were laced with frenzied greed.

They were all Golden Core disciples sent by various Immortal Palaces of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance. Many were core disciples of their respective Immortal Palaces, privy to much of the cultivation world's secrets. They understood the true significance of this drum and what possessing this divine artifact, the Ga Niu Drum, signified.

All the spiritual resources within the Eight Desolations Secret Realm combined, including the twelve-zhang demonic skeleton, were not worth as much as this one damaged divine artifact, the Ga Niu Drum.

“This Ga Niu Drum is an ancient divine artifact, possessing infinite power. In ancient times, only the Sect Master of the East Sea Cultivation World’s Heavenly Dao Alliance could possess it. None of us here have the right to claim it for ourselves. It is damaged, but only the Sect Master has the authority to handle it. I will take it back to the Heavenly Dao Alliance for the Sect Master to deal with. Anyone who dares to obstruct me is a public enemy of the Heavenly Dao Alliance!”

Yu Weifeng swept his gaze across the Golden Core cultivators, sneered arrogantly, and spoke without hesitation, immediately claiming ownership of the Ga Niu Drum. His final sentence was an overt threat.

Moreover, he was fully confident because he was the leader of these Golden Core cultivators. With his rival, Yan Hao, absent, no one held a higher status than him; no one else was qualified to take this war drum.

“Absolutely not!”

“Yu Weifeng, which Sect Master do you intend to hand it over to? Sect Master Yu?”

“Brother Weifeng, wait a moment! This is a public treasure of the ancient Heavenly Dao Alliance, not Sect Master Yu’s private property. It cannot be handed over solely to Sect Master Yu for handling!”

“Preposterous! The Heavenly Dao Alliance of ancient times split into the current Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance. The overlords of my Heavenly Demon Alliance are equally qualified to inherit it! Yu Weifeng, how can it belong only to your Sect Master?!”

“Hmph! Brother Weifeng, let’s not mince words. In the current East Sea, the five Sect Masters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the five Overlords of the Heavenly Demon Alliance are all equals, none superior to the others. This Ga Niu Drum carries immense symbolic weight, signifying the inheritance of the orthodox immortal lineage from the ancient Heavenly Dao Alliance. Whoever possesses this divine artifact gains undeniable orthodox status, increasing their prestige immeasurably—it would effortlessly elevate their standing and authority far above the other Sect Masters and Overlords.”

“Indeed, Yu Weifeng, don't think you’re the only clever one. You plan to offer it to Sect Master Yu. Don’t even dream about it!”

In the main hall, more than ten Golden Core cultivators from both the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance stepped forward, sharply objecting. Their reasons were manifold, but all aimed at preventing Yu Weifeng from taking the Ga Niu Drum alone.