Yu Weifeng was startled, clearly not expecting so many cultivators to rush out and try to stop him from obtaining the Xu Niu Drum.

He couldn't help but turn, his face grim as he looked toward the crowd of cultivators.

These dozen or so Golden Core cultivators who rushed out to shout him down were not aligned with him or the Yu Sect Master; rather, they were closely connected to the other four (Sect Masters) of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the five great overlords of the Heavenly Demon Alliance.

Every single one of these Golden Core cultivators had eyes blazing with anger, one hand controlling their magic tools, the other resting on their storage pouches. If Yu Weifeng dared to rely on his status and forcibly take this Ga Niu Drum, they would likely strike out and seize it.

Yu Weifeng’s gaze was icy cold, radiating a fury that suggested he wanted to devour someone whole, yet inwardly, he was secretly alarmed.

He was only at the first layer of the Golden Core stage; his strength was far from reaching a level that could dominate other Golden Core cultivators. He only served as the temporary leader of the cultivators by relying on the prestige of the Yu Sect Master. Although he possessed several excellent magic tools, if a fight broke out against this group of Golden Core cultivators, he would not gain much advantage.

Inside the main hall were forty more Golden Core cultivators, watching the sudden dispute with cold eyes, murmuring amongst themselves as they looked at the Xu Niu Drum.

"Yu Weifeng thinks far too highly of himself."

"Taking this Xu Niu Drum back to Immortal Palace City—this is an extraordinary feat. Whether presented to the five great overlords of the Heavenly Demon Alliance or the five Sect Masters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, it guarantees unimaginable merit rewards, perhaps even allowing one to request full assistance from the Sect Masters and Overlords in reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Why should such a massive benefit be handed over to Yu Weifeng for nothing!?"

"You must understand, the transition from Golden Core to Nascent Soul is a massive, insurmountable threshold. Countless Golden Core cultivators spend hundreds of years cultivating painstakingly, adventuring across the Eastern Sea in search of rare spiritual items to aid their advancement, yet still cannot break that barrier."

"Having the full support of a powerful faction, being supplied with vast quantities of spiritual elixirs, cultivation holy lands with the most abundant spiritual energy, and various rare cultivation resources, greatly increases the hope of becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator. That is far superior to cultivating on one's own."

"There are countless Golden Core cultivators in the Eastern Sea; they mean nothing, but Nascent Soul cultivators hold noble status. They even qualify to establish their own immortal palace and become an independent force in the Eastern Sea."

"Of course, why are you stating the obvious! Once they start fighting, we immediately strike to seize it too; take it back and present it to the Sect Master or Overlord. Any reward offered by any Sect Master or Overlord will certainly not be stingy."

"But, if we offend Yu Weifeng now, it might be difficult to associate with him later."

"Hmph, what is Yu Weifeng? Is he worth being wary of? His strength and the prestige he accumulated solely through the Sect Master's backing are insignificant. Once we become Nascent Soul cultivators, he will have to defer to us!"

"Never mind Yu Weifeng, even if the Yu Sect Master himself were here, what would he matter in the face of this Xu Niu Drum? The Yu Sect Master is merely one among the five Sect Masters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the five Overlords of the Heavenly Demon Alliance. If the major Sect Masters and Overlords were present in this ancient hall, these late-stage Golden Core cultivators would also fight savagely for this war drum, seizing it at any cost to inherit the orthodoxy of the ancient Heavenly Dao Alliance and become the true leader of the Eastern Sea cultivation world."

"Fellow Daoists, let us act!"

The Golden Core cultivators eyed each other, the greed flashing in their eyes growing increasingly intense.

Immediately, a contingent of four or five Heavenly Demon Alliance cultivators could no longer restrain themselves. The light from their magic tools instantly surged, and they shot out like lightning toward the Xu Niu Drum.

Before Yu Weifeng could even make a move, they had decided to strike first, aiming to seize the Xu Niu Drum.

"Quickly, intercept them! Don't let them get near the Xu Niu Drum!"

In an instant, the main hall erupted into chaos. More than half of the cultivators—about twenty or thirty Golden Core experts—unleashed their magic tools, throwing themselves toward the Xu Niu Drum with full force, simultaneously attacking and intercepting other Golden Core cultivators attempting to seize it, creating opportunities for themselves to secure the drum. They didn't care whether the opponent was from the Heavenly Dao Alliance or the Heavenly Demon Alliance; whoever tried to grab it, they killed them. "Stop! All of you stop this at once! This is an ancient artifact of the Ancient Heavenly Dao Alliance! No one is allowed to seize it! Anyone who dares to steal the Xu Niu Drum, I will kill them!"

Yu Weifeng grew frantic seeing the cultivators in the main hall descend into utter disarray.

However, no one paid the slightest attention to Yu Weifeng’s words.

The Golden Core cultivators were not fools; they all understood the value of this Xu Niu Drum. Their usual deference toward Yu Weifeng was purely out of respect for the Yu Sect Master’s face. With this profound divine artifact, the Xu Niu Drum, right before them, who would truly hold Yu Weifeng in high regard?

Splurt!

Splurt!

Several of the foremost Golden Core cultivators were instantly sliced into bursts of bloody pulp amidst the storm of chaotic swords. The confusion of the battle was so intense that it was impossible to discern who had delivered the fatal blow.

"Ah!"

Other Golden Core cultivators were struck down, accidentally colliding with the remains of the twelfth-tier Poisonous Dragon skeleton. Enveloped instantly by the blue poisonous mist, they dissolved into mere piles of white bone.

But none of this deterred the frenzied attempt of the Golden Core cultivators to seize the drum.

Ye Qin, caught in the midst of the melee, panicked. He hastily cast a spell to layer a layer of metal-element protective shield over himself. He then heard a series of deafening bangs and crashes. Numerous errant flying swords struck his shield, causing it to shake violently, on the verge of shattering.

Ye Qin dared not delay. Controlling the massive Yellow Heaven Thick Dust Sword with one hand, he swept aside the surrounding flurry of dancing flying swords and magic tools. Stamping his feet, he hastily retreated toward the outermost edge, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

"A cracked ancient artifact—it can't even be used—how could it cause such chaos? This is too insane. I should leave immediately; I can't end up here!"

Ye Qin retreated swiftly to one side of the main hall, showing a rare expression of fear.

He seldom feared anyone. But a group of dozens of Golden Core cultivators, driven completely mad and stripped of reason by the desire to seize a great divine artifact, forced him to feel dread and choose evasion and retreat.

Ye Qin had crossed the sea from the Central Lands and was not entirely clear about the mindset of the Golden Core cultivators in the Eastern Sea.

He failed to understand why they were willing to fight to the death for this cracked Xu Niu Drum, only to offer it to the various Sect Masters and Overlords to gain massive rewards of spiritual elixirs, raw materials, and magic tools from the Immortal Palaces.

To be frank, he had always paid little attention to the Immortal Palaces of the Eastern Sea and was reluctant to become too closely involved with them. He preferred relying on his own strength to cultivate and adventure, obtaining spiritual items for his own advancement.

Of course, this was directly related to Ye Qin possessing a Purple Mansion.

He was entirely self-sufficient and had no need to offer the Xu Niu Drum to any Immortal Palace to acquire spiritual elixirs or raw materials for his cultivation.

Therefore, even knowing that the Xu Niu Drum could be exchanged for enormous benefits at the Immortal Palace, since it offered no direct boost to his own combat power, he felt no interest.

"Brother Ye!"

Ye Qin turned to look. Zhou Yao, Jin Zhongshan, and Liao Xiaozhang, several Golden Core cultivators, had arrived beside him, gazing at him with burning anticipation, hoping he would do something.

"What? You don't all want to snatch this Xu Niu Drum too, do you?" Ye Qin asked in surprise.

"Yes, Brother Ye, your strength is the greatest. Lead the four of us in seizing the Xu Niu Drum! If we can bring this Xu Niu Drum back to the Purple Sword Palace, the Ancestor will give you anything you desire."

Zhou Yao immediately nodded, her clear phoenix eyes filled with hope. She clearly knew Ye Qin's strength far surpassed hers by several times. Without Ye Qin, the strength of their group seemed quite mediocre and inferior; they had no chance of seizing the Xu Niu Drum.

"Hand it over to the Purple Sword Palace?"

Ye Qin frowned, then looked at the others. "Miss Liao, Brother Jin, do you also agree to seize the Xu Niu Drum and hand it over to the Palace Master of the Purple Sword Palace?"

"This junior sister has no objection. My Guangyu Palace is weak. The Xu Niu Drum would be useless to us. The Purple Sword Palace is profoundly powerful, and its Palace Master has already reached the late Nascent Soul stage, giving him the strength to secure the Xu Niu Drum. Perhaps there’s even a chance that in the future struggle for the position of a Heavenly Dao Alliance Sect Master, they could leap forward to become one of the five Sect Masters." Liao Xiao stated.

"I agree too. Give it to Palace Master Zhou. Ju Bao Palace, Purple Sword Palace, Ju Bao Palace, Guangyu Palace—the three palaces have always been led by the Purple Sword Palace; prosperity or ruin they share together. If the Purple Sword Palace Master becomes a Sect Master, Ju Bao Palace benefits too."

Jin Zhongshan’s eyes revealed a manic glint as he swallowed hard, determinedly saying, "Let's risk everything for this one venture; we won't have to worry for the next several hundred years. With this monumental achievement from securing the Ga Niu Drum, we won't have to worry about the spiritual elixirs required for our Golden Core stage cultivation at all. The Purple Sword Palace Master will surely let us enjoy an endless supply of spiritual elixirs, magic tools, and treasures, saving us vast amounts of time spent searching for spiritual materials outside. Then we can cultivate however we wish. Maybe within one or two centuries, we can burst through to the Nascent Soul realm—that would be huge."

Ye Qin was momentarily stunned, thinking internally how closely related the three immortal palaces were. No wonder the disciples of the three palaces always acted together, inseparable.

Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaochui, and Jin Zhongshan were all determined to move to seize the Ga Niu Drum. Pan Shuang naturally had no objection either; he could gain some benefits from the great merit achieved.

However, this did not mean Ye Qin was willing to act.

Ye Qin glanced back toward the center of the main hall. Thirty to forty Golden Core cultivators were already locked in a frantic free-for-all, blocking others from snatching the Xu Niu Drum. This utterly extinguished his desire to fight for it.

He was self-aware. Although his strength was considerable, he might not defeat four or five fellow Golden Core cultivators attacking together. But here, there were dozens of Golden Core cultivators; he had no real chance of winning against such a large group.

"No. This Xu Niu Drum is a target for everyone. Whoever grabs it will face disaster. If you want to fight, do it yourselves."

Ye Qin glanced at the already frenzied Golden Core cultivators inside the main hall, then ignored the desperate pleas and disappointment from Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhang, and Jin Zhongshan. His figure flashed and vanished, darting rapidly toward the outside of the main hall, intending to leave the Langya Secret Realm alone.

Bang!

Ye Qin’s movement abruptly halted as if blocked by something.

He reached out and touched it, discovering with shock that a transparent, elastic, cool luminous curtain stood before him.

Ye Qin activated his Spiritual Eye technique to look out, and was stunned to see that the dome of the main hall was covered with hundreds of five-element spiritual orbs—gold, cyan, blue, red, and yellow—interconnected. Each orb shot out lines of light, weaving together into a dense net that enveloped the entire main hall.

The Golden Core cultivators were too busy fighting over the Xu Niu Drum to notice.

"Not good! This ancient hall is not a safe place! Every one of these spirit orbs is at least a low-grade magic treasure. The combined power released by all of them is incredibly immense."

Seeing so many Five Elements Spirit Orbs, Ye Qin gasped in cold air. Earlier, he had only focused on the Xu Niu Drum and hadn't paid any attention to the orbs in the dome.

He inwardly sensed disaster. Without a second thought, he spat out a small golden sword from his mouth.

"Go!"

The Golden Crow Blazing Light Sword grew rapidly in the wind, instantly transforming into a sharp, twenty-foot-long giant sword, which slashed violently against the light curtain in front of him. Despite the power of the Golden Crow Blazing Light Sword, it only managed to tear open a slit about a few inches long before the curtain instantly sealed itself, returning to normal, giving Ye Qin no time to widen the tear.

In the brief moment the small opening appeared, Ye Qin faintly heard chanting coming from outside the light curtain.

Outside the light curtain, a slender Earth Clan maiden was softly chanting a shamanistic spell, gazing at the Golden Core cultivators inside the hall with a look of faint sorrow.

Her expression clearly conveyed that she did not wish to do this, yet she was compelled to act.

As she murmured, the five-element orbs in the dome grew brighter and shot out increasingly dense beams of light. Finally, they erupted with a hundred or a thousand times their usual brilliance, immersing the entire main hall in five-colored light.

Every single Golden Core cultivator in the hall, without exception, vanished into this spectacle of multicolored light, trapped within the Qiankun Wonder Gate Array set up by the ancient cultivator Huang Feng Zhenren. (To be continued)

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