Ye Tai burst into the Center Earth Grand Array, breaking out in a cold sweat. "Husband!" Huangfu Bing'er rushed over urgently. Ye Qin shook his head; his intentions remained pure.

Seeing blood at the corner of his mouth, Huangfu Bing'er couldn't help but worry. She could hear the great cultivator Cao shouting and inciting the surrounding treasure-seeking cultivators to push Ye Qin out. Her gaze snapped back in anger. "That fellow surnamed Cao, I will certainly kill him sooner or later!" "The battle situation is tense now; don't worry about him for the moment."

Ye Qin glanced at the great cultivator Cao in the distance within the formation, a sharp glint flashing across his eyes. "Dealing with the Green Robe Ancestor together is paramount; surviving this ordeal is what matters. We’ll settle accounts with him when the time is right later." "Brother Ye, how are your injuries?!" The Wang uncle and nephew flew to Ye Qin’s side, their faces etched with concern. Elder Wang had owed Ye Qin his life previously and was deeply worried about Ye Qin’s condition.

Even Sun Xing, who was presiding over the Center Earth Grand Array, flashed over from hundreds of feet away and asked, "Fellow Daoist Ye, are you still capable of fighting?" "Nothing serious. Just a bit depleted of magic power. I just need time to recover it." Ye Qin’s expression was calm.

Although there were smudges of blood on his body, in the life of fighting cultivators, injuries were commonplace occurrences.

"That's good. Now we are all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. With concerted effort, we might still have a chance to survive. If anyone is still plotting other schemes, I fear we won't need the Green Robe Ancestor to strike; we will all perish together. As for Great Cultivator Cao, you needn't concern yourself. I am here; he wouldn't dare do anything excessive. You all immediately guard the south banner of the formation; it must not be lost!" Sun Xing’s face was grave, showing no hint of the unease Ye Qin might be feeling. He briefed Ye Zhen and the others.

"Brother Sun, the situation is hardly optimistic. The Ghost Mist Grand Array at the ancient ruins is our only path to survival. The Green Robe Ancestor, in his fury, will soon attack us with his sword. We had best move the Center Earth Grand Array immediately and draw closer to the Ghost Mist Grand Array!" Ye Qin urged at once.

"This Ghost Mist Grand Array may not be any easier than facing a Nascent Soul Ancestor. We should only enter it as an absolute last resort! Otherwise, why would we treasure-seeking cultivators form an array to resist outside instead of fleeing directly into the mesmerizing Ghost Mist Array! We should only enter if we absolutely cannot hold on!" Sun Xing lamented, shaking his head before flying back to the center of the array to manage the coordination of the Center Earth Grand Array, directing the cultivators in their desperate defense against the hostile cultivators from Savage Isle. Jiang Ling and Zheng Chenghui exchanged a look; the daylight seemed suddenly brighter, and their confidence surged.

They knew that Ye Qin had yet to unleash two major trump cards—the Ninth-Tier Silver Armor Guard and the Swift Thunder Ancient Mirror—and he had already escaped the Green Robe Ancestor’s killing pursuit. Ye Qin entering the Center Earth Array formally signaled the failure of the Green Robe Ancestor’s initial full-force pursuit. However, the fierce battle outside the Center Earth Grand Array did not cease; instead, it intensified.

Huangfu Bing'er, Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, the Wang uncle and nephew, and other cultivators instantly appeared near the nearest south banner, joining the fray to defend the standard against a group of over ten Savage Isle cultivators attempting to hack it down. Ye Qin did not join them.

He had only just evaded the Green Robe Ancestor’s first wave of lethal intent. His Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon was still outside the Center Earth Grand Array, locked in a fierce entanglement with the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon.

The duel between these two exceedingly rare skeleton demons drew the gaze of many cultivators.

Skeleton demons, being such extraordinary beings halfway between demon and ghost, were considered extremely uncommon in the cultivation world. They were occasionally seen only in desolate lands littered with skeletal remains.

Skeleton demons typically advanced only by absorbing corpse energy, making their growth agonizingly slow. Without sufficient corpse energy, their power could not increase. This duality of demon and ghost came at the cost of a fighting prowess far exceeding ordinary spirit beasts. A single skeleton demon was often significantly stronger than a cultivator of the same rank.

With their unique corpse-energy attacks and fanatical disregard for death, skeleton demons seemed almost born for battle.

Skeleton demons above the Golden Core stage were already exceedingly rare. The sight of two Golden Core-level skeleton demons fighting was likely the first for the vast majority of cultivators present in their entire cultivation careers.

During lulls in their own combat, most treasure-seekers and Savage Isle cultivators couldn't help but steal glances at the Bone-Corroding Alligator and the Bone-Dissolving Snake, feasting their eyes.

Even the Green Robe Ancestor, recalling his Green Fiend Sword with a wave, his face contorted in rage, fixed his gaze on the two struggling demons. "That brat has escaped into the Center Earth Grand Array, so let's eliminate his Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon first! Bone-Dissolving Snake, destroy it for this Old Ancestor!" The Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon was extremely long, perhaps eighty or ninety feet. The Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon was only a few dozen feet long, appearing much clumsier and bulkier.

Once the two skeleton demons engaged, the four to five hundred-foot radius around them was immediately shrouded in rolling black mist. Of course, since both were skeleton demons, their corpse energies were ineffective against each other. Only physical attacks could land.

The desiccated black claws of the Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon wildly raked at the Bone-Dissolving Snake, displaying an agility completely at odds with its clumsy appearance.

The Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon opened its maw, its sharp teeth aiming for the Alligator's throat. Its long serpentine body coiled around the Alligator, attempting to crush it to death by constriction.

The incredibly hard, pitch-black bones of the Bone-Dissolving Snake now revealed their true might. Under the activation of its demonic core, its entire body flared with black light, exerting a crushing force that could strangle even a ninth-tier Golden Core demonic beast to death.

Although the Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon was powerful, there was still a noticeable gap between it and the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon. Once entwined, the Alligator’s body convulsed, its bones emitting a series of sharp cracks as it let out bizarre roars and struggled. In just one exchange, the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon managed to tightly bind the Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon, gaining the upper hand in the sky. The strange roars, the sound of tearing flesh, and the snapping of bones echoed intermittently. Seeing the combat unfold, Ye Qin frowned.

The Bone-Corroding Alligator was only using its limbs to claw at the Bone-Dissolving Snake, while its most ferocious and powerful weapon—its jaws—was strangely clamped shut at a critical moment. "It's the spirit root bone of a Twelfth-Tier Venomous Flood Dragon! Damn it, it refuses to let go at a time like this!" Ye Qin suddenly realized.

When he sent the Bone-Corroding Alligator to meet the Bone-Dissolving Snake, the situation had been urgent, leaving him no time to think; he had sent out the Alligator along with the spirit root bone. "Let go!" Ye Qin commanded with a sharp shout. The Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon ignored him.

Angered, Ye Qin unleashed a torrent of powerful divine sense that immediately flooded into the Alligator’s mind, forcefully compelling it to release its grip.

The Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon had long lost its own intellect; it had been refined by Ye Qin to retain only the most basic instincts, making it completely subservient to Ye Qin’s control, incapable of resisting. It struggled instinctively a few times, but finally relinquished its hold, spitting out the spirit root bone that had been clamped in its mouth for thirty years. The spirit root bone began to fall toward the sea surface.

Immediately afterward, dark, malevolent light blazed from the Bone-Corroding Alligator’s hollow eyes. It violently opened its mouth and clamped down on the flank of the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon, tearing off a large chunk of scale and bone.

The massive skeletal body of the Bone-Dissolving Snake had already tightly bound the Bone-Corroding Alligator. If it had maintained the constriction, it likely would have eventually crushed the Alligator to death.

However, the moment it saw the spirit root bone discarded by its foe, a dark glint flashed in its black eyes. It vaguely sensed a trace of the Venomous Flood Dragon’s aura—something it naturally feared—emanating from the spirit root bone. But even stronger was the intense allure of the potent corpse energy radiating from it.

The Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon instantly abandoned the Bone-Corroding Alligator and lunged for the ten-foot-long spirit root bone. It seized it in its jaws and began frantically swallowing it whole, as if gulping down a meal. But in its haste, it couldn't quite manage to swallow.

Seeing the Bone-Dissolving Snake attempting to ingest the spirit root bone, the Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon deliberately lunged forward and bit down. The two Golden Core skeleton demons fiercely fought over the strange root bone.

The Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon was at the seventh layer of the Golden Core stage, a full two minor levels below the Bone-Dissolving Snake’s ninth layer. Furthermore, its body was considerably shorter, putting it at a distinct disadvantage in the scuffle. "Hiss, hiss~!" The Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon held the spirit root bone in its mouth, its black light flashing wildly, completely dominating the contest.

The Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon’s jealous, faint black light seemed ready to erupt from its eye sockets as it let out strange, grinding screeches, opening its mouth to desperately gnaw at the Snake’s skeletal body. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the treasure-seeking cultivators inside and outside the Center Earth Grand Array, as well as the Savage Isle heretics, were completely stunned.

They couldn't fathom why the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon and the Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon had suddenly started fighting desperately over that strange piece of bone. This bizarre and unusual reversal once again shattered their established understanding. "Damn it! It’s not obeying orders." Ye Qin was exasperated by the sight. The Bone-Corroding Alligator Skeleton Demon's powerful instinct had once again overridden Ye Qin's control over it.

Skeleton demons inherently possessed tenacious vitality; even with large parts of their skeletons torn away, it caused no lasting harm. Since they were both Golden Core-level demons, neither could easily kill the other without engaging their demonic cores. "What is that thing?"

The Green Robe Ancestor saw the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon disregard his command and instead scramble to swallow a piece of bone, causing the battle situation to take a sharp downturn.

His already unpleasant expression grew even more savage.

The Green Robe Ancestor narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the bone fragment with a hint of confusion.

"Why is the Bone-Dissolving Snake ignoring orders to fight over that bone? What bone could possibly be worth such a frantic struggle?" "Could that bone be some sort of treasure?" The Green Robe Ancestor’s heart stirred, and he suddenly recalled something regarding demon cultivators.

"After a demonic beast cultivates to the tenth tier, it transforms into a demon cultivator and grows a unique spirit root bone, which encapsulates nearly all the essence of the original beast. But this Old Ancestor has never seen such a spirit root bone before. Could they be fighting over a spirit root bone?" The Green Robe Ancestor’s eyes brightened; the more he considered it, the more likely it seemed.

A wave of ecstasy washed over him.

This surge of elation momentarily eclipsed his desire to kill Ye Qin.

"Consuming a spirit root bone of the tenth tier or higher significantly increases a skeleton demon's chances of breaking through the Nascent Soul bottleneck and ascending to the Nascent Soul stage! The higher the grade of the spirit root bone, the greater the hope for the skeleton demon's breakthrough into Nascent Soul." "Yes, it must be so. That bone must be a spirit root bone of the tenth tier or higher. Otherwise, it wouldn't dare ignore this Old Ancestor's commands for a mere common bone." "Once the Bone-Dissolving Snake Skeleton Demon breaks through to Nascent Soul, its strength will multiply, making it several times stronger than an ordinary Nascent Soul beast. In this vast Sea of Blood, who would this Old Ancestor fear?!!!" "Hahahaha!" "Bone-Dissolving Snake, hurry and snatch that spirit root bone back!" Two chapters updated for today.

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