Taking advantage of the fierce battle between the Blood Mist Demon Worms and the Fire Feathered Demon Birds, they distanced themselves from the large island. Several hundred miles later, the Golden Core cultivators couldn't help but feel a surge of dread and lingering fear. This sudden blood tide had been perilously close.

If they hadn't noticed the blood tide approaching in time, if the cultivators hadn't been so seasoned, if they hadn't reached this large island occupied by demon birds, this group of cultivators, who had struggled so hard to reach the mid-to-late Golden Core stage, would likely have all perished in the blood tide, becoming food for the Blood Mist Demon Worms. Having escaped the danger of death, the cultivators all let out sighs of relief. Few Golden Core cultivators managed to escape the blood tide in time.

During their escape, they encountered dozens of groups of Golden Core cultivators, and more than half of them perished in the blood tide. Ultimately, only a small minority escaped in time, just like them. They looked back toward the distant large island with lingering terror.

The entire sea area surrounding the island was stained crimson across a thousand-mile expanse by hundreds of millions of Blood Mist Demon Worms and tens of thousands of Fire Feathered Demon Birds.

This was no rosy crimson beneath the setting sun, but true demonic blood that dyed the sea crimson over a thousand square miles around the island. Every inch of the sky above the island was a battlefield between the worms and the birds. This great war between the worms and the birds would probably not end for a day or two. "The Sea of Crimson..." Ye Chun gazed at the distant island in shock.

Since beginning his cultivation, he had rarely encountered such a massive blood battle. A thousand miles drenched in blood—perhaps only the great battles of the cultivation world on the Central Continent could compare.

"The Fire Feathered Demon Birds are outnumbered; they probably won't be able to eliminate all these Blood Mist Demon Worms; they can only delay them for a while. Only after this swarm of Blood Mist Demon Worms has fed its fill and returned to its lair will the blood tide dissipate. Only if we bypass the direction the blood lake is sweeping toward will we be truly safe." The Golden Core cultivators guided their artifacts and gradually flew further away.

"On this beast-hunting excursion, we finally encountered two rare and precious Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts. After fighting for a day and a night, just as we were about to succeed, we ran into this incredibly terrifying blood tide, fraught with peril. Sun Xing lamented, "Not only did we gain nothing, but we also lost a Seventh-Rank Golden Core spirit beast, along with several artifacts and talismans. The losses are heavy...!" "It will probably take a long time to make up for this loss," several late-stage Golden Core cultivators beside Sun Xing lamented as well. The cultivators took stock of their losses. All the Golden Core demonic birds they had dispatched perished in the terrifying blood tide; not a single one survived.

The Wang uncle and nephew, whose cultivation was the lowest, suffered the least, only using up some mid-rank talismans and mid-grade spirit wine. Being extremely poor, they didn't even possess Nascent Soul artifacts, nor could they afford to keep spirit beasts, leaving them with little in terms of artifacts or valuables to discard. Even Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er, who used large amounts of Ninth-Rank spirit wine, suffered losses less severe than the Wang relatives.

However, the only cause for celebration was that among their group of over twenty Golden Core cultivators, not a single person died. This was a small miracle. "We have truly cheated death and survived a disaster! Fellow Daoists, what are your plans next?"

Sun Xing, annoyed by the loss of a spirit beast, quickly regained his composure and said, "If there are no other plans, let's return to the Ancient Ship Stronghold to resupply on spirit wine, talismans, and so on, regroup, and then head to the sea islands together to hunt demon beasts again. With Daoist Zheng here, hunting ordinary Golden Core demon beasts should be easier, and we can try to recover our losses."

"Brother Sun, this location is very far from the Ancient Ship Stronghold; the round trip will likely delay us by over ten days. Several of us plan to head to the Desolate Spirit Ruins; we won't be going back. We've already been delayed for quite some time; we mustn't let other treasure-seeking cultivators seize that ancient site first. The later we go, the more the good treasures will be snatched by others." Elder Wang hastily spoke up when he heard Sun Xing suggest returning to the Ancient Ship Stronghold. He was eager to earn a large sum of spirit stones to cover his family's expenses and did not wish to waste precious time traveling.

"Desolate Spirit Ruins? What place is that?" Sun Xing was momentarily stunned by the mention.

The Sea of Crimson contains many ancient ruins, making it a frequent destination for treasure hunters. He had spent decades in the vicinity of the Ancient Ship Stronghold, knew most of the ancient ruins nearby, and had personally visited quite a few of them. Yet, he had never heard of the 'Desolate Spirit Ruins.' "Do you all know where it is?" he asked the other cultivators in the group. They all shook their heads, having never heard of this ruin. Meanwhile, the expression on Cultivator Pang's face shifted slightly, and he inwardly cursed Elder Wang.

His intention in recruiting Ye Qin and his wife, along with the Wang uncle and nephew—four mid-stage Golden Core cultivators—at the Ancient Ship Stronghold to go to the Desolate Spirit Ruins was precisely to have more cannon fodder whom he could abandon at a critical moment to preserve his own life.

Moreover, he didn't need to worry too much about these weaker cannon fodder competing with him for treasures.

However, if Sun Xing's group of over a dozen Golden Core cultivators also went, it would disrupt his grand scheme. Sun Xing's group included several late-stage Golden Core cultivators, Ninth and Eighth Ranks. These late-stage cultivators would never serve as cannon fodder.

Once these cultivators discovered highly valuable ancient treasures within the Desolate Spirit Ruins, they would very likely attempt to seize them. Once the group became too large, he, Cultivator Zhu, and Cultivator Yang—the three cultivators at the Eighth and Seventh Ranks—would lose any advantage and instead be at an absolute disadvantage.

Cultivator Pang never expected Elder Wang to be so loose-tongued as to announce their objective publicly. He tried to stop Elder Wang from speaking, but it was too late.

"Since Brother Sun hasn't been there, why don't we all go together! If our group is larger, we can find more treasures in that ruin! Even if everyone just gets one or two items, it will still be a fortune," Elder Wang said, sounding even more excited, as if completely oblivious to Cultivator Pang's darkening expression.

Sun Xing's gaze swept over Elder Wang and Cultivator Pang, calculating his response, and he smiled, "Fellow Daoist Pang, I have never heard of that ancient ruin. Where is this Desolate Spirit Ruins? Is it a newly discovered ruin?" "It’s just an ordinary ruin; we might not find any treasures," Cultivator Pang’s face grew even more grim. Sun Xing was extremely astute and immediately realized that Cultivator Pang did not want his group to join them. If it were just an ordinary ancient ruin, there would be no need to be so secretive. There must be something special about it.

"Fellow Daoist Pang, that's unfair. Before, when we were surrounding those two Ninth-Rank demon beasts, you wanted to join halfway, and I didn't object at all, letting you in. Now you want to go to a newly discovered ruin but don't want us to accompany you. That’s unacceptable!" Sun Xing burst out laughing. "Since none of us have other commitments, why don't we simply form a squadron and explore that ancient ruin together. Ancient ruins are often vast, and there should be no shortage of treasures. As long as we are strong enough, we won't worry about not getting a share. What do you say, Fellow Daoist Pang?" The other dozen or so Golden Core cultivators were also tempted at this point.

Ancient battlefield ruins that have recently surfaced often hold a large number of treasures, which every Golden Core cultivator in the Sea of Crimson is unwilling to miss. Their group of Golden Core cultivators was quite strong, increasing their chances of acquiring the treasure, so they all voiced their agreement.

"Sun Xing and the others are already suspicious; we can't shake them off. Let them come along. If we fall out now, we might needlessly create enemies. Besides, the ruin is indeed huge and extremely dangerous; it’s beyond what just a few of us can explore. Having more Golden Core cultivators will give us a better chance of reaching the deepest parts of the ruin." Cultivator Zhu looked expressionless, shook his head slightly, and sent a divine sense message to Cultivator Pang: "We have been there once; we have an advantage over them. After we discover the treasure, we can figure out a way to take it." "Very well! Everyone, follow me. However, let it be known upfront: I will lead this expedition. Once we arrive, do not act recklessly." Cultivator Pang's expression was uncertain, but he reluctantly agreed after hearing Cultivator Zhu's suggestion.

"Deal!" Sun Xing immediately agreed.

Once the decision was made, the group of cultivators suddenly accelerated their flight, putting a great distance between themselves and the path of the blood tide. Led by Cultivator Pang, the Golden Core cultivators transformed into more than twenty streaks of multi-colored light, speeding toward the location of the Desolate Spirit Ruins.

Seven or eight days later, Cultivator Pang, Sun Xing, Ye Qin, and the rest of the Golden Core cultivators finally reached the periphery of an ancient battlefield ruin.

Flying around the ancient ruin from the sky, its sheer scale exceeded the expectations of Niu Tai and Huangfu Bing'er. This ancient battlefield ruin was actually a narrow, massive island stretching for at least ten thousand miles, surrounded by numerous scattered smaller islands—its scope was immense. Even for Golden Core cultivators, flying across this ancient battlefield ruin would take a considerable amount of time. It was at this moment that Ye Qin truly grasped the vastness of the Sea of Crimson. This single ancient ruin occupied such a large territory. The rumor that it would take hundreds of years for a Golden Core cultivator to fly across the entire Sea of Crimson was clearly not an exaggeration. If not for the large-scale teleportation arrays, travel between strongholds would take an immense amount of time. Ye Qin looked out.

A large portion of this elongated, massive island was enveloped in a vast expanse of crimson mist. Yes, this mist was distinctly blood-colored, extremely similar in hue to the mist sprayed from the mouths of the Blood Mist Demon Worms. "A nest of Blood Mist Demon Worms?!"

When the cultivators first saw this large area of blood mist, they were thoroughly alarmed and nearly turned tail and fled immediately. The blood tide they had just encountered had terrified them to the point where the sight of the blood mist color made them change their expression. It was only after Cultivator Pang guaranteed with his life that there were absolutely no Blood Mist Demon Worms here that the cultivators finally mustered the courage to proceed, slowly approaching the massive island.

Upon getting closer, they discovered that mixed within the center of this blood-colored mist were patches of black gaseous mist. The deeper they went, the more intense the black gas became, surging out like rolling ink. Blood and black mist permeated the sky above the entire island, intertwining to create a dark red hue that was difficult to see clearly, instilling a sense of eerie dread. Ye Qin frowned as he looked at the ancient battlefield ruin ahead, shaking his head uncomfortably. Death Qi! An extremely dense Death Qi!

Having refined the Skeleton Demon, Ye Qin was very familiar with this aura, so he immediately recognized that the interior of this ancient battlefield ruin must harbor terrifying ghostly entities. Since this ancient ruin contained ghosts, there would certainly be no Blood Mist Demon Worms present. Ghosts and all living spirits were mortal enemies. That dense black ink-like gas could kill Blood Mist Demon Worms. The nests of the Blood Mist Demon Worms would never share the same island as the nests of ghosts. Only a small portion of the entire island was outside the influence of the blood-colored mist.

Many Azure Rock giant stones seemed to have been neatly cut by immense magical power or flying swords and stacked to form magnificent ancient cities. These ancient cities were long since ruined, with coarse, broken city walls everywhere. "This place seems to have once been a marching camp built by ancient cultivators; I wonder which ancient Immortal-Demon War it was built for." Sun Xing was surprised when he saw the exposed ruins on the island.

The cultivators and demons of the East Sea had been locked in bloody war for hundreds of thousands of years, fighting in the Sea of Crimson almost every ten thousand years, leaving behind numerous ancient traces. Unless there was definitive proof, it was difficult to ascertain the age of these ruins. The Golden Core cultivators rode their artifacts, circling the island, observing the situation within.

This ruined and desolate city was littered with scattered bones, the immense skeletons of countless cultivators and some demon beasts mixed together, so much so that they were difficult to distinguish after the passage of time. The sharp sea wind howled past the ancient battlefield ruin, creating a desolate, mournful "whoo-whoo" sound. Yet, the dark red mist covering the entire ancient battlefield ruin showed no sign of dissipating in the wind. "This place is the 'Desolate Spirit Ruins'?"

After surveying the ancient ruin before him, Sun Xing frowned and shook his head. "There is so much blood mist here; it must have once been a nest of Blood Mist Demon Worms! However, it seems the island is now occupied by a large number of ghosts, otherwise, why would the black mist be so dense! Daoist Pang, have you really been inside before?"

Upon hearing Sun Xing’s questioning, the other cultivators immediately grew suspicious and cast their gazes toward Cultivator Pang. Although Cultivator Pang held the title of leader, it was only nominal. Only Cultivators Zhu and Yang truly followed his commands. The other cultivators, including the Wang uncle and nephew, would not heed his arrangements when it came to crucial moments. However, Sun Xing, with his Ninth-Rank Golden Core cultivation, four Primordial Spirit artifacts including the Supreme Formation Flag, and over a dozen companions, was the true leader of the group. His words carried far more weight than Cultivator Pang's.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, are you suggesting I am lying to you?" Cultivator Pang frowned, looking somewhat displeased. "A few days ago, my group of five cultivators entered this ancient battlefield ruin. We saw quite a few resentful spirits, zombies, and skeletons, and we even encountered a Bone Skeleton Demon on the way. Going deeper, it was ghostly and desolate everywhere. However, we did not see any Ghost Cultivators. With our late-stage Golden Core strength, we were confident enough to venture in and search for treasures. Are you coming in with me or staying outside?"

"Fellow Daoist Pang, I am not doubting you, just being cautious. I have a straightforward nature; please do not take offense." Sun Xing laughed heartily. However, he then added calmly, "Since Fellow Daoist Pang dares to enter, you must be confident. It's just that this ancient ruin might harbor powerful Ghost Cultivators inside; they won't be easy to deal with."

"The blood mist on the periphery of the island is so dense; it must have been a nest of Blood Mist Demon Worms. But it seems the worms are no longer nesting here. The large swathes of black mist deep inside look somewhat like the means of Ghost Cultivators—the 'Ghost Mist Soul-Bewitching Array.' That is exceptionally perilous!" While Sun Xing was very interested in this ancient ruin, he was unwilling to enter rashly.

Cultivator Pang sneered inwardly when he saw Sun Xing's posture. After interacting for a few days, he had come to understand Sun Xing. This person was definitely not as straightforward as he appeared or spoke; on the contrary, he was extremely meticulous and hard to fathom—certainly no easy person to deal with. Cultivator Pang was extremely wary of Sun Xing, even more so than Ye Qin. After all, Sun Xing was a Ninth-Rank Golden Core cultivator and the leader of a group of Golden Core cultivators; his cultivation and strength were superior to Pang's own.

Their group of Golden Core cultivators was originally two separate teams brought together temporarily, full of complicated motives. When the blood tide hit, they could still unite to help each other survive. But here, at the ancient ruin, that unity was impossible. As for Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er, their hidden strength was by no means weak, and they acted independently, not subjects for Cultivator Pang to command.

As for the "Ghost Mist Soul-Bewitching Array" that Sun Xing mentioned, Cultivator Zhu had little understanding of it. The other Golden Core cultivators were also discussing in low voices how to break this misty array. They could break an array covering a radius of several or tens of miles, but breaking one across a massive island nearly ten thousand miles wide was an entirely different level of difficulty.

"Let's go inside and take a look. If it's too dangerous, we can just run out. Can't a group of us mid-to-late Golden Core cultivators escape if things go wrong?" one late-stage Golden Core cultivator said dismissively. Their strength was already considered quite high in the East Sea cultivation world; anything higher would be the early Nascent Soul stage. They had experience exploring and seeking treasures in other dangerous ancient ruins. This ancient ruin was merely one among many, nothing to make a fuss about. Moreover, they were a squadron of over twenty mid-to-late Golden Core cultivators traveling together; if anything went wrong, with so many Golden Core cultivators present, they wouldn't lack a chance to escape.

"The Ghost Mist Soul-Bewitching Array?" Ye Qin's heart stirred upon hearing this. He had no interest in the mutual suspicion and scheming between Cultivator Pang and Cultivator Sun upon arriving at their destination, preparing to seize treasures. However, Sun Xing's deduction did strike a chord with Ye Qin. The name "Ghost Mist Soul-Bewitching Array" sounded as if it had something to do with Ghost Cultivators.

In the struggle over the mines in the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, Ye Qin had once obtained a jade slip from the foreman (Zombified Foreman) who had transformed from an Yin Xuan Sect disciple. This slip contained the Bone Refining Technique and a Ghost Cultivation manual titled Yin Xuan Grand Method. This miscellaneous section of the *Yin Xuan