In the sky, Ye Qin transformed into a streak of green light, shooting like lightning toward Sun Xing and the group of treasure-seeking cultivators besieged by the Xu Tu Great Array. Simultaneously, sensing an intense surge of corpse qi erupting behind him, he couldn't help but glance back quickly.

Ye Qin looked back and could not help but feel a surge of joy, inwardly acknowledging his luck.

"The Old Ancestor in Green Robe, controlling that terrifyingly powerful minor divine ability artifact, the Green Fiend Sword, to pursue and slay the Dharma Body, yet sending a Ninth-Rank Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon to hunt him down. This is a perfect opportunity to escape!"

Ye Qin understood in that instant: because his Immortal Body Great Technique, 'Dividing into Two,' had created one illusory Dharma Body and one true body, the Old Ancestor in Green Robe had misjudged, and the Green Fiend Sword was chasing the wrong target.

The Old Ancestor in Green Robe was enraged beyond measure, yet in the span of a breath, he might not be able to discern which was the true body.

Of course, Ye Qin also didn't know which of the two the Old Ancestor would command the terrifying Green Fiend Sword to pursue.

This meant his chances of being targeted by the Old Ancestor's Green Fiend Sword, or not being targeted, were precisely fifty-fifty.

"If the true body is targeted by the Green Fiend Sword, I will pay a devastating price—tossing out the Exotic Thunder Ancient Mirror to regress my cultivation to the first layer of the Golden Core stage to unleash a pillar of thunder, while simultaneously abandoning the Ninth-Rank Silver-Armored Guard and the Seventh-Rank Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon, just to escape the Green Fiend Sword."

"If the true body is not targeted by the Green Fiend Sword, the outcome will be extremely advantageous for me. My true body will not have to directly confront the terrifying might of the Green Fiend Sword, allowing me to escape with almost no cost."

"Using an illusory Dharma Body to block this single strike is more than worth it!"

An irrepressible, wild ecstasy surged through Ye Qin's heart.

In truth, his initial plan was for the 'true body' to charge directly into the Ghost Mist Great Array. He intended for the 'Environmental Dharma Body' to flee toward Sun Xing, seeking refuge within the Xu Tu Great Array, attempting to lure the Old Ancestor in Green Robe into attacking Sun Xing's group who were within the Xu Tu Great Array.

Ye Qin knew perfectly well that by killing You Tianpeng, he had forged an unending feud with the Old Ancestor in Green Robe, guaranteeing relentless pursuit. Entering the Ghost Mist Great Array of the ancient ruins was the only path to survival, his only avenue for upgrading, allowing him to escape the clutches of the Old Ancestor in Green Robe.

Beyond that, every other direction in the Sea of Blood was a dead end.

Even Sun Xing's Xu Tu Great Array would certainly be unable to withstand the furious onslaught of the Old Ancestor in Green Robe; it was destined to fall sooner or later.

However, after completing the casting of the 'Immortal Body Great Technique,' a thought flashed through Ye Qin’s mind, and he changed his decision.

He suddenly thought of Bing'er.

Within this massive island lay the Ghost Mist Great Array of the ancient ruins, a place of terrifying peril. Golden Core cultivators could perish there at any moment.

He himself possessed sufficient confidence and did not fear entering the Ghost Mist Great Array of the ancient ruins. Since late-stage Golden Core cultivators like Pang, Li, and Hu could enter and exit the ruins alive, with his strength, he too had a chance to emerge alive.

But he was ultimately not alone; he could not charge directly into the unpredictable ancient ruins by himself.

Though he did not fear it, Bing'er was still left inside the Xu Tu Great Array. With Bing'er's strength, entering the ancient ruins alone would be extremely dangerous.

Until he could reunite with Bing'er, Ye Qin did not intend to enter this ancient ruin by himself.

"The Old Ancestor in Green Robe is cunning and old, surely calculating that I would try every means possible to rush into the ancient ruins for survival. That's why he directed the ultimate power of the Green Fiend Sword to attack the 'Illusory Dharma Body' fleeing toward the ancient ruins. What he didn't account for was that I have a compelling reason to go to the Xu Tu Great Array first."

"That Ninth-Rank Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon, with its overwhelmingly dominant corpse qi that corrodes spiritual energy and magic power, is several times more potent than other Ninth-Rank spirit beasts. One Ninth-Rank skeleton demon can even contend against several Ninth-Rank spirit beasts simultaneously. But compared to the minor divine ability flying sword of a mid-stage Nascent Soul Old Ancestor, the gap is simply too vast!"

"For an ordinary mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, dealing with this Ninth-Rank Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon would be impossible. Unfortunately for him, he encountered me, who possesses ample means to deal with this Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon!"

Ye Qin saw the Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon summoned by the Old Ancestor in Green Robe charging ferociously towards him, yet he remained utterly fearless.

Ye Qin casually flicked his hand, tossing out a spirit beast pouch.

A dense black mist drilled out from the bag. As the black mist, covering a range of a hundred zhang, dispersed, a Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon, appearing clumsy as it bobbed its head, a ten-foot-long golden bone clamped in its jaws, manifested in the air.

The moment the Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon appeared, a flash of blood light flickered in its hollow eye sockets. Immediately afterward, its massive crocodile tail swung, swirling with rolling black corpse qi, and it lunged viciously toward the Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon pursuing Ye Qin.

Ye Qin himself did not pause, continuing his flight toward the Xu Tu Great Array where Sun Xing and the group of treasure-seeking cultivators were located.

His Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon, although only Seventh-Rank and two tiers below the Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon, were both Golden Core-level skeleton demons, meaning there was no inherent fundamental gap in their power. Furthermore, the Corroding Bone Crocodile had absorbed the pure corpse qi from the spirit root bone of a Twelfth-Rank Deep Sea Venomous Flood Dragon, making it far superior to ordinary skeleton demons. While its rank was slightly inferior to the Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon, it was absolutely capable of holding the enemy off for a considerable time.

"What, a Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon?!"

More than ten li away, the Old Ancestor in Green Robe was greatly astonished and his pale green face contorted in ugliness when he saw Ye Qin actually releasing a Golden Core Seventh-Layer Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon to deal with his Ninth-Layer Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon.

"This brat, only having mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, yet possessing endless tricks. He's only at the fifth layer of Golden Core, how could he subdue a Seventh-Layer Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon?!"

The Old Ancestor in Green Robe found it unbelievable.

He recalled that when he first became an early Nascent Soul cultivator, it took immense effort to capture that Golden Core-level Bone-Melting Snake in a death swamp within the Sea of Blood, subsequently refining it into a skeleton demon. This Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon had slain countless Golden Core cultivators under his command.

The Old Ancestor in Green Robe was filled with immense regret.

At this point, it was already too late for him to intervene and intercept Ye Qin.

The remaining short distance of two or three li was nothing to a Golden Core cultivator; they could traverse it in an instant.

The group of rogue cultivators from the Savage Isles surrounding the Xu Tu Great Array, both inside and out, were locked in a fierce, chaotic battle with the treasure-seeking cultivators within. Utilizing the might of the Xu Tu Great Array, the treasure-seekers had even managed to suppress the Savage Isles rogue cultivators, forcing them onto the defensive.

With the battle raging fiercely, the Savage Isles cultivators were too preoccupied to stop Ye Qin from breaking into the Xu Tu Great Array.

The anxious Huangfu Bing'er, along with Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, and the Wang uncle and nephew, swiftly rode their swords, broke through the siege of the Savage Isles cultivators, and rushed to meet Ye Qin.

A flash of green light streaked through the rain of artifacts, and Ye Qin plunged into the thousand-zhang radius of the Xu Tu Great Array.

Inside the Xu Tu Great Array, Sun Xing, cultivator Pang, cultivator Cao, and the other Golden Core cultivators steadfastly defending the array showed no joy; instead, every face changed color.

"This brat killed the Old Ancestor's direct disciple, angering the Old Ancestor in Green Robe to personally take action against him. Now that he has entered the array, he will likely draw the Old Ancestor's wrath!"

Inside the Xu Tu Great Array, cultivator Cao's gaze was sinister, and he shouted loudly, "Drive him out! This brat is clearly leading disaster here, dragging our Xu Tu Great Array into opposition with the Old Ancestor. Once the Old Ancestor makes a move, this array probably won't hold!"

However, among the treasure-seeking cultivators within the array, aside from cultivator Li, cultivator Hu, and a select few others, there was little response.

They had all witnessed the earth-shattering strike commanded by the Old Ancestor in Green Robe using the minor divine ability artifact, the Green Fiend Sword.

In a mere few breaths of time, Ye Qin had unleashed the Great Five Elements Sword Formation, the Immortal Body Great Technique, and utilized a Seventh-Layer Golden Core skeleton demon—a series of maneuvers that allowed him to escape the Green Fiend Sword under the Old Ancestor in Green Robe's command with minimal cost, miraculously breaking into the Xu Tu Great Array.

A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator managing to escape the full-power pursuit of a mid-stage Nascent Soul Old Ancestor, sustaining only minor injuries—this level of strength surpassed the vast majority of the treasure-seeking cultivators present. Even late-stage Golden Core cultivators in the Purple Mansion realm would struggle to achieve this.

The power and methods Ye Qin displayed shocked the Golden Core cultivators within the Xu Tu Great Array, stirring varied emotions: shock, doubt, awe, and admiration were all present in many. Not everyone harbored the intense resentment that cultivator Cao displayed, wishing Ye Qin would be cleaved by the Old Ancestor's sword.

With a group of Savage Isles rogue cultivators surrounding them outside the Xu Tu Great Array, the cultivators had no time for other considerations.

These Golden Core treasure-seeking cultivators had suffered the loss of twenty or so members just to form this Xu Tu Great Array. Resisting the more than thirty late-stage Golden Core Savage Isles rogue cultivators already felt taxing. The only reason the array had held thus far was because the Old Ancestor in Green Robe had not attacked them directly.

Now that Ye Qin had fled into the Xu Tu Great Array, he had drawn the most terrifying enemy, the Old Ancestor in Green Robe, right to their doorstep.

A minority of treasure-seeking cultivators felt indignant but were helpless. The Old Ancestor in Green Robe would have to be faced sooner or later. He wouldn't spare them just because Ye Qin arrived or not. Ye Qin was, at least, on the same side as them—a friend, not an enemy.

Cultivator Cao, filled with resentment, wished to expel Ye Qin from the Xu Tu Great Array, but no one responded.

"The fellow doesn't fear the Old Ancestor in Green Robe, why would he fear a mere cultivator Cao," many cultivators scoffed inwardly upon hearing Cao's loud demands.

Sun Xing, the core cultivator managing the array, though under immense pressure and his expression grim, also ignored cultivator Cao's personal grievances. Although Ye Qin appeared somewhat battered while fleeing, he still retained considerable strength and formidable combat power. Moreover, Huangfu Bing'er, along with cultivators Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, and the Wang uncle and nephew, were clearly allied with Ye Qin. Anyone who drove Ye Qin out might immediately face internal division before the Xu Tu Great Array was even breached. If that happened, they would be doomed just by the siege of the Savage Isles rogue cultivators, without the Old Ancestor even lifting a finger.

"Fellow Daoists, let us not cause internal strife; we must work together to overcome the immediate crisis!"

In the preceding text, confusion between 'ceng/jie' (layers/ranks) led to inconsistent power division for the spirit beasts. This is corrected here:

1. Spirit Beast Ranks: First to Third Rank correspond to Qi Refining. Fourth to Sixth Rank correspond to Foundation Establishment. Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Ranks correspond respectively to early, mid, and late Golden Core. Tenth to Twelfth Rank correspond to Nascent Soul. 2. The Corroding Bone Crocodile Skeleton Demon is a Ninth-Rank spirit beast, equivalent to the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core stage. [Based on previous plot points, Ye Qin is at the fifth layer of Golden Core after thirty years of seclusion, and the Corroding Bone Crocodile is at the seventh layer, two levels higher than Ye Qin. Therefore, it is a Ninth-Rank skeleton demon.] 3. The Bone-Melting Snake Skeleton Demon is a Ninth-Rank spirit beast, equivalent to the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core stage. [Based on previous plot points, the Old Ancestor in Green Robe's snake was close to breaking through to the Golden Core stage, making it a peak Ninth-Rank skeleton demon.]