The Old Ancestor in Green Robe wielded his minor divine artifact, the green flying sword, unleashing a furious strike against Ye Qin that filled the battlefield with such terrifying might that every Golden Core cultivator present, whether treasure hunters or the heretical cultivators from the Savage Isle, felt their complexions change.

Immediately afterward, they watched Ye Qin summon five Primordial Spirit artifacts, attempting to meet the Old Ancestor’s wrathful blow head-on.

But just how vast was the gulf in power between a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage and one at the Golden Core Middle Stage?!

Every treasure hunter and islander on the scene understood this intimately. One was a top-tier cultivator in the East Sea Cultivation World, qualified to establish his own Immortal Palace and dominate a region; the other was a mid-level cultivator encountered everywhere in that same world. There was simply no comparison. For a Golden Core cultivator to challenge a Nascent Soul expert—that was guaranteed death on the battlefield!

Ye Qin, of course, was perfectly aware of the natural disparity in cultivation between himself and the Old Ancestor in Green Robe.

Though his combat power made him virtually unmatched among peers of the same rank, capable of decisively defeating late-stage Golden Core cultivators, and even offering him the ability to protect himself for a short time if besieged by several Golden Core experts simultaneously.

Even so, against the furious assault of the Old Ancestor, who was at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, his strength was clearly insufficient; he held no illusion of being able to contend with him.

Ye Qin was self-aware and never expected his Grand Five Elements Sword Array to match the Old Ancestor’s power.

He selected five Primordial Spirit artifacts, pouring his full magical power—nearly one-third of his internal reserves—into them, forming an incredibly sturdy Grand Five Elements Sword Array in the air to resist the attack with every ounce of his effort.

The sole aim of this desperate gamble was to block the Old Ancestor’s single strike, thereby buying himself enough time to escape his relentless pursuit.

Killing You Tianpeng and blocking the Old Ancestor’s green sword—this desperate fight was not a blind toss of his life for luck.

It was built upon meticulous calculation.

Ye Qin had previously witnessed the Old Ancestor in Green Robe slay several fleeing Golden Core cultivators with his flying sword, allowing him to roughly deduce the might of the minor divine artifact, the ‘Green Sword.’

When the Old Ancestor used the Green Sword to shred those fleeing Golden Core cultivators, the Green Sword, in an instant, shattered five or six top-grade flying swords, and then within a few breaths, blasted apart four or five more Primordial Spirit swords of low and mid-grade, finally killing the fleeing Golden Core cultivators.

Afterward, the fierce aura of the green flying sword dimmed slightly before the Old Ancestor recalled it.

Shocked, Ye Qin dared not continue fleeing through the sky. His mind spun rapidly, using the power displayed by the Green Sword in that battle as a benchmark for a quick calculation.

“If I simply used my five mid-grade Primordial Spirit artifacts, without forming an array, to meet the green flying sword head-on, I might exhaust about one or two tenths of the Old Ancestor’s Green Sword’s power. My five Primordial Spirit artifacts would immediately burst into countless fragments.”

“If I use the five mid-grade Primordial Spirit artifacts to form the peerless ‘Grand Five Elements Sword Array’ for cultivators of this rank, its defensive power would surge several times over, allowing me to deplete about four or five tenths of the Old Ancestor’s Green Sword’s might. The five artifacts would instantly show numerous cracks and suffer heavy damage.”

“Within two breaths, they would be completely destroyed, exploding into Primordial Spirit artifact shards.”

“Before the five Primordial Spirit artifacts collapse, I must immediately toss out the minor divine ancient artifact, the ‘Xunlei Ancient Mirror,’ and using one-tenth of my Golden Core vital energy as a price, unleash a lightning pillar to strike the green flying sword.”

“By using the ‘Grand Five Elements Sword Array’ and the ‘Xunlei Ancient Mirror’ in succession, I can deplete roughly ninety percent of the Green Sword’s power. Then, I can finally throw out my ninth-rank Silver Armored Guards and my seventh-rank Skeleton Demon; together, they can absorb the final residual ten percent of the green flying sword’s power.”

“At that point, the Green Sword’s power will be exhausted, unable to attack again.”

“This means, relying on my current strength and paying an immense price, I can completely block one strike from the Old Ancestor’s Green Sword.”

“Once I block the Old Ancestor’s single strike, the Green Sword’s power will be spent, and the Old Ancestor will have to recall the Green Sword, re-inject it with magical power, and strike me again with the minor divine artifact ‘Green Sword’.”

“And that will take at least several breaths of time.”

“The brief window of several breaths gained before the Old Ancestor’s second sword strike arrives is enough time for my escape.”

“I have only two possible escape directions.”

“One direction leads six or seven li away, to the Earth Warding Great Array set up by Sun Xing. Dozens of mid and late-stage Golden Core treasure hunters have already gathered there, using the array to fight desperately against the Savage Isle heretical cultivators. Even a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor would find it no easy task to break the formation and kill this cluster of mid and late-stage Golden Core cultivators…” Entering the Earth Warding Great Array means I won’t die for at least half an hour. As for what happens after half an hour, I can either enter the Ghost Mist Array or a new opportunity might arise. In short, I must buy time at any cost to secure a path to survival.”

“The second direction is not to rendezvous with Sun Xing and the others, but to flee directly into the Ancient Ruins, only five or six li away, using the unpredictable and perilous Ghost Mist Great Array to evade the Old Ancestor’s pursuit. This giant island spans over ten thousand li, and the Ghost Mist Great Array is immense; even a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor wouldn't easily find a single Golden Core cultivator within it… However, the Ancient Ruins themselves are incredibly dangerous; I might perish accidentally even without the Old Ancestor needing to act. This is purely a gamble. It’s also why Sun Xing and the others, cornered, still hesitate to easily enter the Ghost Mist Array.”

“Aside from these two directions, fleeing toward any other area of the sea is a dead end, with no chance of survival. The facts have already proven that the Old Ancestor in Green Robe can catch any Golden Core cultivator he wishes to kill across this vast stretch of ocean.”

At this life-and-death moment in his confrontation with the Old Ancestor in Green Robe, Ye Qin, controlling the Grand Five Elements Sword Array, remained abnormally calm, cycling through vast amounts of complex calculations in his mind, checking for any oversight.

According to his computations, despite killing You Tianpeng, saving Bing’er, and enraging the Old Ancestor in Green Robe, the situation, while seemingly incredibly dire, still held a sliver of hope for survival, preventing immediate death.

The extremely fierce green ray launched by the enraged Old Ancestor in Green Robe moved too fast, piercing through ten li of sky in a breath, shooting toward Ye Qin.

The fierce green light suddenly manifested a sword body hundreds of feet long, which vibrated, emitting a sharp, clear whistle as it hacked down toward Ye Qin’s head.

“Haste!”

Would Ye Qin sit idly by and wait for death?

The Grand Five Elements Sword Array, already fully charged, erupted with five beams of light, simultaneously striking toward the green rainbow.

“Boom—!” The fierce green light, one sword strike, slammed directly into the Grand Five Elements Sword Array. A surge of incomparably potent malevolent aura crashed into the formation.

Blinding green light and five clusters of dazzling, colorful radiance instantly erupted in the air. Heaven and earth shifted, space violently shook, and continuous explosions sent layers of light ripples surging outward, affecting the sky and sea for several thousand zhang around.

Ye Qin’s five Primordial Spirit artifacts were all forged from rare, top-tier materials, making them exceptionally robust.

But the moment they engaged the green light, the bodies of the five mid-grade Primordial Spirit flying swords trembled, their radiance rapidly fading, emitting five distinctly different mournful cries.

Ye Qin was exerting full control over the Grand Five Elements Sword Array when he suddenly felt an incomparably potent might, characteristic of a Nascent Soul cultivator, piercing through the array and slamming into his chest, nearly shredding his high-grade protective robe.

Although Ye Qin had calculated the power of the Old Ancestor’s Green Sword beforehand, he still hadn't expected this strike to be so devastating. Even with the Grand Five Elements Sword Array resisting at full capacity, it only managed to deplete about three-tenths of the Green Sword’s power before it could hold no longer.

The Grand Five Elements Sword Array was on the verge of collapse, and a portion of the minor divine artifact Green Sword’s power even slipped past the formation to strike his physical body.

With a muffled groan, Ye Qin spat out a mouthful of bright red blood.

“Damn it, I underestimated the power the Green Sword unleashed in the Old Ancestor’s fury! The ‘Grand Five Elements Sword Array,’ the ‘Xunlei Ancient Mirror,’ the ninth-rank Silver Armored Guards, and the seventh-rank Skeleton Demon—all combined might not be enough to block the power of this single strike!”

Ye Qin sensed immediate danger. In sheer terror, before his five Primordial Spirit artifacts could shatter, he instantly retracted them. Taking advantage of the massive shockwave generated by the clash between the Grand Five Elements Sword Array and the Green Sword, his figure flickered and vanished, accelerating toward the sea below.

The Green Sword and the Grand Five Elements Sword Array collided head-on, sending a powerful rebound force upward into the sky, failing to catch the rapidly descending Ye Qin toward the sea below.

“I must devise another plan, find another way to escape.”

Water Evasion!

Ye Qin plunged into the seabed.

Simultaneously, the Green Sword in the sky, having broken through the Grand Five Elements Sword Array, rapidly dimmed, its power significantly weakened.

Huangfu Bing’er, Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, and the others, who were urgently fleeing toward Sun Xing’s Earth Warding Array, couldn't help but turn back in shock.

“Husband!”

Looking at Ye Qin diving into the sea struck by the Green Sword, Huangfu Bing’er cried out in anguish.

“Go quickly! I have my own means of self-preservation!”

Ye Qin transmitted an exceptionally firm spiritual thought as he entered the water.

Huangfu Bing’er bit her lip until it nearly bled. She knew perfectly well that not only could she offer no support here, but she would only distract Ye Qin, making it difficult for him to fully focus on the enemy. She stamped her foot, urged the ice sword beneath her feet, and shot forward like a rainbow toward the cluster of treasure hunters at the Earth Warding Array.

Jiang Ling and Zheng Chenghui glanced at Ye Qin plummeting toward the sea below, then fled even more fearfully toward Sun Xing’s position. Now, their only hope lay in the Earth Warding Array being able to serve some purpose.

The three Savage Isle heretical cultivators responsible for guarding You Tianpeng finally snapped out of their terror. They exchanged glances and immediately controlled their artifacts, intending to strike toward the seabed to pursue and kill the injured Ye Qin, thus atoning for their failure.

However, the Old Ancestor in Green Robe was personally taking action to avenge his direct disciple; how could he allow such minor figures to interfere?

“Get lost—!”

The moment the three Savage Isle cultivators conceived this thought, they heard an incomparably sinister roar echoing from the sky far away.

They felt a chill run through their entire bodies. Without daring to think further, they hastily abandoned the pursuit of Ye Qin, turned, and chased after the fleeing trio of Huangfu Bing’er, Jiang Ling, and Zheng Cheng. Since the Old Ancestor intended to kill Ye Qin himself, they could perhaps earn some merit by pursuing and killing these three.

At this moment, the green flying sword made a sharp turn in the sky and shot straight down into the sea.

How could a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, no matter how adept at water evasion, escape the range of a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor’s divine sense?