Yu Weifeng abruptly recalled the Minor Divine Artifact, the Crimson Flood Dragon Sword, after utilizing the power of the ten allied cultivators, using it solely to shield himself as he broke free of the formation and fled.

The remaining dozen-plus Golden Core cultivators, utterly drained of their vital essence, cursed Yu Weifeng as despicable and shameless while exchanging glances, each one gripped by an ineffable terror.

They were mere hundreds of li from escaping the great formation, yet this short span was densely choked with no fewer than twenty monstrous Ninth-Tier Golden Core level avian fiends.

Any single Ninth-Tier fiend could effortlessly slaughter two or three Golden Core cultivators. Without the protection of the Crimson Flood Dragon Sword, a Minor Divine Artifact, even three or five of these beasts could utterly shatter their group. Faced with over twenty such fiends—more than double their own number—the prospect of survival vanished before their very eyes. The primal fear of imminent death caused their entire bodies to tremble uncontrollably.

"What do we do now?"

"Fellow Daoists, let's pool our strength and charge in one direction—break through!"

"Can we possibly fight our way through the Ninth-Tier fiends? If we get surrounded, we’re done for. I say we scatter and make a break for it individually! Maybe then there’s a sliver of a chance for one of us to get out alive."

The twenty-odd Golden Core fiends soaring overhead in the surrounding hundreds of li had already spotted the small cluster of Golden Core cultivators and were rapidly closing in from all sides. This sent the cultivators into a frenzy of argument over the best means of escape.

"Brother Ye, will we really make it out alive?"

Zhou Yao’s delicate frame trembled slightly, her face pale, and she looked toward Ye Qin with near despair.

It wasn't just her; Liao Xiaocui, Jin Zhongshan, Pan Shuang, and a few others wore expressions of utter bleakness, having virtually abandoned all hope of escape. The situation was starkly clear: the flight speed of the Ninth-Tier fiends far surpassed theirs. Whether facing them head-on or attempting a desperate flight, they were at an absolute disadvantage—they couldn't win the fight, nor could they outrun them.

"Yu Weifeng dared to use us like this; he will pay a devastating price,"

Ye Qin’s face darkened. His icy gaze followed the rapidly retreating form of Yu Weifeng as he silently swore an oath. The Golden Core cultivators exploited by Yu Weifeng included himself, fueling a burning rage within him. His hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, wishing he could give chase and exact vengeance immediately.

But this was not the time for venting fury. The paramount concern was escaping alive.

"I have a method that can get us all out alive, but the cost will be enormous! It depends on whether the four of you are willing to pay that price!"

Ye Qin retracted his icy glare, swept a glance over the rapidly converging fiends, and then spoke with stern gravity to Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, and the other members of his small squad.

"What method is it?"

"Brother Ye, tell us! No matter the price, if it means survival, I am willing to pay it!"

"Agreed!"

In their state of near-despair and terror, Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, and the other two suddenly heard Ye Qin suggest a chance for survival, igniting a fierce desire to live, and they pressed him eagerly.

They knew well that Ye Qin, their squad leader, was always low-key and steady, concealing his true strength, and never one for unnecessary words. They held an extraordinary faith in him. Even without confidence, at this juncture, they were willing to try his plan—it was better than sitting still and waiting for death.

"Follow me! You must do exactly as I say without any hesitation. If you are unwilling, then don't follow," With that, Ye Qin commanded. The Dark Cloud Chariot artifact beneath his feet erupted with a dark glow, flashing as he swiftly detached from the main group of Golden Core cultivators and flew toward the northeast.

Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Shuang quickly broke away from the main body of cultivators and followed Ye Qin.

What had been a group of over a dozen Golden Core cultivators instantly split into two factions. One group remained at their position, still arguing over how to confront the Ninth-Tier fiends; meanwhile, Ye Qin and the four others had already sped dozens of li away.

The remaining five or six Golden Core cultivators, of various attires—some from the Heavenly Dao Alliance, others from the Heavenly Demon Alliance—looked on dumbfounded, unable to comprehend why Ye Qin, Zhou Yao, and the others had suddenly departed.

The Ninth-Tier fiends inside the great array possessed intelligence. They began to disperse; about two peeled off to pursue Yu Weifeng. About ten continued their charge toward the stationary group of Golden Core cultivators, while the rest, around ten, streamed toward Ye Qin and his four companions.

It was almost two Ninth-Tier fiends for every single early-stage Golden Core cultivator being pursued.

Clearly, with the exception of Yu Weifeng, who possessed a powerful Minor Divine Artifact enabling his escape, the other dozen-plus Golden Core cultivators were facing an almost certain doom under the siege of so many ferocious beasts.

"Quickly, each of you spit a breath of your vital essence onto this small ancient mirror! This is our absolute last resort to keep our lives!"

Ye Qin roared, staring grimly at the fiends rushing at them from tens of li away. He slapped his storage pouch, and a small, mottled, ancient mirror, palm-sized, hovered above his right hand.

As the fiends were about to close the ring, Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, and the others, already paralyzed with dread, immediately spat forth their purest vital energy upon hearing Ye Qin's command.

Though Jin Zhongshan felt deeply resentful, at this stage, he had no retreat left; it was either death or expelling the vital essence from his Golden Core.

The four cultivators of the first layer of the Golden Core realm collectively ejected great gulps of vital energy. The ancient mirror in Ye Qin’s hand absorbed the torrent, instantly swelling to several zhang in size. Within the mirror’s surface, clouds and winds churned violently, as if hosting ten thousand li of thunder and lightning. Faint pichih, pichih sounds of thunder and the crackle of electrical discharge leaked out, impacting those nearby.

Simultaneously, as their massive vital essence was lost, a faint cracking sound echoed almost in unison from the bodies of the four Golden Core cultivators. Their previously liquefied Golden Cores began to shatter, reverting to a gaseous, misty primordial spirit state. The cultivators of the first layer of the Golden Core realm plummeted directly back to the ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Shuang looked fearfully at the ancient mirror in Ye Qin’s hand and the surrounding fiends. They felt listless, their faces deathly pale. Their fate—life or death—now rested entirely in Ye Qin’s hands.

"Halt, beasts! Die!"

Seeing that the Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror had absorbed sufficient vital energy for a single strike, Ye Qin immediately exerted his full control, driving the mirror to sweep across the dozen-plus Ninth-Tier Golden Core fiends charging directly at them.

"Chih, chih!"

A beam of frighteningly potent, dark-colored lightning, several zhang wide, erupted violently from the ancient mirror, streaking over a thousand zhang into the distance. Amidst intense electrical brilliance, it swept straight across the horde of Ninth-Tier Golden Core fiends advancing upon them.

Every Ninth-Tier avian fiend struck by the lightning pillar either vanished entirely into ash or had half its body scorched, sending it tumbling down toward the earth. It was well known that while avian fiends possessed sharp attacks and incredible flight speed, their natural defense was notoriously weak, utterly unable to withstand an attack as ferocious as this lightning pillar.

"Look! That's the Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror!"

"A Minor Divine Artifact!"

"That's Elder Yan’s small divine artifact! How did it end up in that person's hands?"

"Did Yan Hao die? And this Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror fell into his possession."

"If I had known he had the Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror, I would have gone with him!"

Some of the cultivators still stuck in their original position cried out in horror, recognizing the origin of the Minor Divine Artifact, crying out their regret and cursing themselves for not following earlier.

But they would never have the chance to voice these words again. Over ten Ninth-Tier fiends had already encircled them from every direction; there was no escape route left.

"Hurry, go!" Ye Qin used the Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror to furiously blast the Ninth-Tier Golden Core fiends, forcefully clearing a path of open air.

Then, Ye Qin swept his Dark Cloud Chariot around, engulfing the four cultivators—Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Shuang, all now at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment—and fled wildly toward the edge of the great formation.

Having fallen back to the Foundation Establishment realm, the four suffered a severe drop in strength, and their artifact-assisted flight speed was far slower than Ye Qin’s Golden Core speed. They had to break out of the great array before the remaining Ninth-Tier fiends could close in.

Within a few breaths, Ye Qin guided the Dark Cloud Chariot to the very edge of the formation’s light barrier. The light of his Golden Crow Shining Radiance Sword flashed fiercely as he slashed down: "Break!" The five-colored barrier tore open, creating a gap several zhang wide. Without a moment's delay, the Dark Cloud Chariot instantly rushed out of the Qiankun Wonder Gate Great Array.

The five-colored light barrier sealed shut again.

"Swish!"

Ye Qin retracted the Dark Cloud Chariot, and the figures of himself and the cultivators—Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, Jin Zhongshan, and Pan Shuang—reappeared within the main hall. The hall’s vaulted ceiling was filled with hundreds of spirit pearls, flying and rotating in an intricate, mysterious pattern, their light flickering. The great array was still functioning, trapping the cultivators within.

And before the five of them, on the other side of the hall, a young cultivator in a white robe had just materialized—it was Yu Weifeng, who had broken out using the Crimson Flood Dragon Sword.

After using its remaining vital essence to slay two Ninth-Tier fiends, the Crimson Flood Dragon Sword shrunk back down to a few inches long and returned to Yu Weifeng's hand.

"You—how did you all get out?"

Yu Weifeng was visibly shocked when he saw other cultivators following closely behind him out of the great array. He turned back to look at Ye Qin and the others, his gaze finally settling on the palm-sized ancient mirror in Ye Qin’s hand.

"The Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror. The Yan family's Minor Divine Artifact! It's in your hands! Yan Hao would never give such an artifact to anyone, unless... you killed him. If you could even kill Yan Hao, it seems Fellow Daoist Ye’s power is far beyond my estimation! I confess, I was truly blind not to realize Fellow Daoist Ye’s true strength until now."

Yu Weifeng's face shifted between pale and dark, inwardly alarmed. He struggled to fathom Ye Qin’s true capabilities. He found it almost impossible to believe how Ye Qin managed to slay Yan Hao, who possessed an artifact like the Azure Thunder Ancient Mirror.

"Yu Weifeng, you despicable scoundrel! You just wait! I will kill you and tear you into eight pieces to feed the spirit beasts!"

Jin Zhongshan roared in fury, pointing at Yu Weifeng to vent his inner resentment.

Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaocui, Pan Shuang, and the others glared at Yu Weifeng, shouting their curses, wishing they could kill him. If Yu Weifeng hadn't retracted the Crimson Flood Dragon Sword at the critical moment, trapping them inside the formation and escaping alone, they wouldn't have lost so much vital essence and plummeted back to the ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment realm.

This grudge had reached a point of irreconcilable hatred.

"Hmph, relying on a few Foundation Establishment cultivators like yourselves? You forcibly urged a Minor Divine Artifact into action, losing massive amounts of vital essence and seeing your cultivation plummet to the Foundation Establishment stage. You are simply no match for me,"

Yu Weifeng dismissed Zhou Yao and the others with contempt, his eyes locked firmly on Ye Qin, who held the Minor Divine Artifact.

All the other Golden Core cultivators were trapped to die within the great array. Now, he intended to seize the Ox-Gore Bell. The only remaining opponent was Ye Qin, this Golden Core cultivator whose strength was so deeply hidden it was almost terrifying.