An appointment was made, positioning a cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core realm as an Elder of the Immortal Palace. Before long, the news spread vividly among the thousands of cultivators attending the Palace's celebration.
In an extremely short time, it swept across the entire Northern Isles Sea region, causing a tremendous stir that shocked countless Golden Core cultivators with awe, joy, envy, jealousy, and outright disdain.
In every tavern, immortal pavilion, alleyway, and marketplace in White Float City, the subject of conversation was almost invariably this matter. The largest immortal pavilion in White Float City, the Purple Smoke Pavilion, had gathered dozens of Golden Core cultivators.
"The Purple Sword Immortal Palace is truly absurd. An Elder position within an Immortal Palace, which normally requires the cultivation of a Nascent Soul expert, has actually been usurped by a mere early-stage Golden Core cultivator. This cheapens the reputation of the Purple Sword Palace."
"Daoist Wu, what are you jealous of! This shows the magnanimity of the Purple Sword Palace's higher-ups. For us Golden Core cultivators, stuck in such an awkward position, we now have someone who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Nascent Soul experts!"
"What this Daoist brother says is exactly right. In this East Sea Cultivation World, the status of our Golden Core cohort has always been incredibly awkward. We are a massive step above Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators; we can boss around the lower ranks at will, venting our frustrations as if we were ancient ancestors. However, we are far beneath the Nascent Soul Ancestors, becoming as docile as grandchildren the moment we encounter one."
"Exactly! Although we occupy the middle tier of the East Sea Cultivation World, our standing is neither high nor low. One moment we're acting like ancestors in front of the lower ranks, the next we're acting like grandsons before the Nascent Soul Ancestors. Constantly shifting roles is agonizing. We might as well be the lower-ranked cultivators, who only need to pretend to be grandsons all the time."
"Forget it, it's depressing; let’s not speak of it."
"It turns out that in our Northern Isles, there is an Immortal Palace of the Purple Sword Palace's caliber, one that is no less powerful than the White Float Immortal Palace. The Purple Sword Immortal Palace boasts five Half-Nascent Soul experts, while the White Float Immortal Palace only has three Nascent Soul cultivators."
"Aside from Sect Master Yu, who is at the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul stage, the other two are one at the middle stage and one merely at the early stage. The White Float Palace is truly lacking in successors."
"If it weren't for Sect Master Yu holding the position of Northern Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the White Float Immortal Palace might not even compare to the strength of the Purple Sword Palace. Once Sect Master Yu's lifespan is exhausted and he passes away, the power of the White Float Palace is bound to decline significantly, perhaps becoming inferior to the Purple Sword Palace."
Inside the Purple Smoke Immortal Pavilion, there were hundreds of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, all gazing with deep envy at the Golden Core cultivators who were loudly debating while sipping spiritual brews costing dozens of spirit stones per cup.
Regardless of how the cultivators debated its merits or faults, the Purple Sword Palace, which had not been particularly renowned before, saw its fame soar because of this incident. Overnight, countless cultivators learned the great name of the Purple Sword Palace and, consequently, understood its true strength.
The Purple Sword Palace reaped immense benefits: not only did it acquire the grand divine artifact, the Xu Niu Drum, but it also gained a Golden Core cultivator of immense potential, while its fame skyrocketed overnight.
Meanwhile, the ambitious Palace Master of the Purple Sword Palace, Zhou Yu, and the Grand Elder, Zhou Hong, who orchestrated all this behind the scenes, were likely within the Purple Sword Palace, calculating how much benefit these gains would bring to their sect.
However, as time wore on, the event subsided, fading from the topic of conversation among countless cultivators, replaced by more significant daily occurrences in the East Sea.
Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er returned to Fire Cloud Island.
Other than meeting with an executor from the East Proclamation Hall of the Purple Sword Palace once a month to receive official reports and collect a substantial "Spirit Stone Stipend," there were generally no major affairs in the Purple Sword Palace requiring the intervention of a high-ranking Elder like him.
He was content to remain in seclusion on the island, focusing on his cultivation and ignoring worldly affairs.
Several years later.
On Fire Cloud Island, within a lake shrouded in white mist and dense with spiritual energy.
"The more than ten Ghost Shrimp eggs have finally hatched. Raising these Ghost Shrimp as island-guarding spirit beasts will likely take several hundred years before they reach maturity. These Blood Antler Corals should help speed up their growth and enhance their aptitude."
Huangfu Bing'er’s exquisite face showed delight as she held a small piece of coral shaped like a blood-colored deer antler. Her small hand, like polished jade, crumbled it into fine powder and sprinkled it into the lake.
More than ten fist-sized juvenile Ghost Shrimp immediately emerged from a nest at the bottom of the lake. They cut through the ripples, darting over to greedily devour the scattered Blood Coral powder.
Barely hatched, they already possessed speed and strength comparable to early-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and their heads could even emit low-grade water blade spells capable of piercing hard rock.
After feeding the young shrimp, Huangfu Bing'er clapped her hands. She suddenly turned and looked behind her. Not far from the lake, high up on a peak, the silhouette of a deeply familiar green-robed cultivator appeared.
Her eyes instantly filled with tenderness.
The thought of their dual cultivation session the previous night, aimed at enhancing their cultivation using the Water Cloud Palace’s dual cultivation technique, made her heart tremble. A blush of shyness spread across her cheeks. "Hmph, why am I thinking about this so early in the morning!" With a light stomp of her foot, she summoned her Ice Soul Flying Sword and instantly vanished into the cloud-shrouded, ethereal beauty of the lake.
On the mountain peak, Ye Qin concluded his daily practice of the Sitting in Forgetfulness Sutra. He walked out of his seclusion chamber, feeling refreshed. He chose a prominent rock jutting out several meters high on the peak, sat cross-legged upon it, and then waved his hand. He retrieved a Purple Jade Ancient Scroll from his storage pouch, plunged his divine sense into it, and began to read slowly.
Following closely behind him was the Golden Core Skeleton Demon.
It also lay down lazily on a patch of grass not far from the rock. Its hollow eye sockets radiated a dim, sinister gleam. Inside its hard ribcage, a black demon core emitted a faint, dark light.
It was tightly gripping a long, golden bone in its mouth, completely focused, slowly drawing out the essence from deep within the marrow. If a Golden Core Ghost Cultivator saw this bone, they would likely go mad with jealousy.
This spirit root bone, condensed from the essence of the physical body of a twelfth-rank late-stage Nascent Soul demonic beast, could increase a Golden Core Ghost Cultivator’s chance of breaking through the Nascent Soul bottleneck by more than fifty percent. Yet, it was currently possessed by a mere Golden Core Skeleton Demon—a complete waste of heavenly treasures.
In the cultivation world, Ghost Cultivators have always been exceedingly rare. A Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator is an almost monstrous existence, bordering on defiance of the heavens, and there are very few records of such beings in the history of the East Sea Cultivation World. To become a Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator is tens or even hundreds of times harder than for a normal Golden Core cultivator to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
Even Ye Qin felt a touch of envy towards the Golden Core Skeleton Demon’s good fortune.
The Golden Core Skeleton Demon could not cultivate conventional techniques; it only absorbed necrotic energy (corpse qi). Without this spirit root bone, it would need to absorb the corpse qi from countless high-level demonic beast corpses just to slowly advance its cultivation.
Ghost Cultivators also possess a primordial spirit and are subject to lifespan limits. Under normal circumstances, even if it cultivated until its lifespan was exhausted and its demon core disintegrated, it might still fail to absorb enough corpse qi to attempt breaking into the Nascent Soul realm.
But now, with this super-nourishing Poison Dragon Spirit Root Bone, the Golden Core Skeleton Demon could absorb corpse qi day and night. Its cultivation speed was even several times faster than Ye Qin's.
In just a few short years, it had broken through to the third layer of the Golden Core stage.
Without needing fifty or sixty years, the Golden Core Skeleton Demon was likely to reach the peak of the ninth layer of the Golden Core stage. Such a terrifying rate of cultivation was simply beyond anything Ye Qin or Huangfu Bing'er could match.
"When luck arrives, nothing can stop it. It's a pity I am not a ghost cultivator, so this twelfth-rank quality Poison Dragon Spirit Root Bone is useless to me; it only benefits this creature." Ye Qin sighed, shook his head, withdrew his thoughts, and focused on the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll.
For the past few years, he had been meticulously studying the "Great Five Elements Sword Array" and the "Lesser Three Marvel Sword Array" almost every day. These two sets of extremely complex sword formations.
The five Primordial Spirit Artifacts required for his Great Five Elements Sword Array had been refined; they only needed to be kept within his body, constantly nurtured by his own vital energy over long periods to gradually increase their power.
This was precisely why cultivators with longer lifespans and higher cultivation levels often possessed more powerful Primordial Spirit Artifacts and greater combat strength.
"The upper volume of the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll details the Great Five Elements Sword Array. Five Primordial Spirit flying swords—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—form the array, where they interact in cycles of generation and restraint, an endless flow. The sword array focuses on defense, possessing incredible defensive power."
"The lower volume of the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll details the Lesser Three Marvel Sword Array. These three Primordial Spirit flying swords are Ice, Wind, and Thunder. Ice and Wind mutually restrain the Lesser Three Marvel Sword Array, which focuses on offense and possesses astonishing destructive power."
"The Water Spirit Root mutates to become an Ice Spirit Root."
"The Fire Spirit Root mutates to become a Wind Spirit Root."
"The Water and Fire Spirit Roots simultaneously mutate and merge to become a Thunder Spirit Root."
"In the cultivation world, no one can simultaneously possess Ice, Wind, and Thunder Spirit Roots."
"Therefore, to manipulate and control the Lesser Three Marvel Sword Array, the profound secrets lie entirely within the Great Five Elements Sword Array. The Great Five Elements Sword Array must be used to drive the formation, thereby controlling the Lesser Three Marvel Sword Array."
As Ye Qin studied the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll of the Purple Sword Palace daily over these years, his investigation grew deeper, leading him to realize just how fortunate he was to have chosen the Purple Sword Art.
"The Purple Sword Palace’s foundational sword art, the Purple Sword Art, uses five Primordial Spirit Artifacts to form the Great Five Elements Sword Array. Only cultivators with five elemental spirit roots can practice it. Furthermore, the more balanced the spirit roots, the greater the power of the sword array."
"Lacking any one element, or if the attributes of the five elemental spirit roots are severely unbalanced, will significantly impede the power exerted by the Great Five Elements Sword Array!"
"A cultivator who can truly unleash the power of the Great Five Elements Sword Array must have the potential for all five elemental spirit roots exceeding ten points. The higher and more balanced this potential, the greater the resulting power. Such cultivators are extremely difficult to find, even rarer than pure single-element spirit root cultivators."
Ye Qin’s cultivation of the Great Five Elements Sword Array could unleash its maximum power entirely because his spirit root potential was perfectly matched to the sword array. If Ye Qin had chosen to cultivate a different sword array, he likely would not have been able to exert much power at all.
The years in the cultivation world always pass remarkably quickly.
Three years, five years, ten years... thirty-plus years flowed by in a blink.
Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er were both Grandmasters of Alchemy. Supported by the background and wealth of the Purple Sword Palace, they never lacked the highest quality high-tier spirit pills. Cultivating single-mindedly, coupled with the extra benefits of dual cultivation, their progress was swift, and they both advanced to the fifth layer of the Golden Core stage, becoming mid-stage Golden Core cultivators.
Among Golden Core cultivators, this level of cultivation was not considered low.
The Golden Core Skeleton Demon had reached the seventh layer of the Golden Core stage, entering the late period.
The later the stage, the longer the time required.
All of this happened as a matter of course.
What truly brought Ye Qin joy and excitement was that the piece of Ziyou Lotus root he had planted in the floating island within his Sea of Consciousness thirty years prior—after exhausting his fortune on massive quantities of high-grade spirit stones of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—had grown into a mature Ziyou Lotus, which had finally bloomed into a five-colored flower.