Da Xiu's repairs shook off a pursuing Evil Cultivator from Savage Island and rapidly swept his gaze around.

Twenty to thirty zhang ahead, the Wang uncle and nephew spotted him. Seeing them flee in terror, Da Xiu couldn't help but let out a cold snort of disdain. Just over ten days prior, they had been mortal enemies.

With the current crisis, Great Cultivator Cao didn't have time to deal with two insignificant minor cultivators.

At this moment, Great Cultivator Cao saw a flash of dark light erupt twenty to thirty zhang ahead, his pupils constricting sharply, and a surge of anger rose within him.

“It’s that brat surnamed Ye! He injured my sworn brother; I have an irreconcilable feud with him. Too bad I failed to incite trouble in the Wutu Great Array. I should have convinced that surnamed Sun to drive him out! I’m going to kill him now!”

Great Cultivator Cao couldn't help but bellow curses.

“Boss Cao, the Wutu Great Array has been breached, and the cultivators are fleeing in a frenzy. We should escape quickly too! Otherwise, if we delay, the Old Ancestor Green Robe will arrive, and we won't be able to stop him.”

Cultivator Li was flustered.

“It doesn’t matter.” Great Cultivator Cao hesitated slightly, but then his resolve hardened. He gritted his teeth fiercely, “Right now, Surnamed Sun, Cultivator Pang, and the others... will absolutely not help that surnamed Ye at this moment. This boy is alone and isolated—this is a heaven-sent opportunity to kill him. Once he escapes into the Ghost Mist Great Array covering thousands of li, where will I find him?! You two, hold off those Savage Island Evil Cultivators chasing us! I will take advantage of the chaos to eliminate this scourge and avenge my second brother!”

“Boss Cao, we’ll cover the rear and hold off those Savage Island Evil Cultivators!”

Cultivator Li and Cultivator Hu tried to persuade him otherwise, but found they couldn’t stop him. Boss Cao had already charged over, so they could only focus all their efforts on covering his retreat.

Great Cultivator Cao’s desire to kill was intense; unwilling to let Ye Qin escape, his flying sword sharply veered, shooting toward the dark streak of light, which was only a few hundred zhang to his left.

“That surnamed Ye deserves to die! How dare he provoke the Savage Island Old Ancestor Green Robe? He truly doesn't know life from death. Let’s see if this surnamed Ye has three heads and six arms this time, and if he can use his legendary Grand Five Elements Sword Array to challenge the Old Ancestor Green Robe!”

“It’s also the fault of those bastards surnamed Cao; they couldn't even kill a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. As a result, it dragged on until this point, letting surnamed Ye anger the Old Ancestor. They are truly unlucky!”

The Golden Core cultivators from Shang Tang Palace, including Du Ran and his group, were mixed in with the largest crowd of cultivators, fleeing desperately.

Du Ran was currently in a pathetic state, his face pale, muttering curses under his breath.

They had already lost two members during the previous fight against the Savage Island Evil Cultivators. Now that the Wutu Great Array was breached by Old Ancestor Green Robe, they had no choice but to flee for their lives.

Naturally, Du Ran and his group hated Ye Qin to the core. They fled while cursing amidst the crowd of cultivators.

“However, saving our lives is the priority right now. Once we escape alive into the Ghost Mist Great Array on the giant island, we’ll settle the score with that surnamed Ye then.”

“Senior Brother Du, if we stick close to the crowd, we’ll be safer. Once we enter the Ghost Mist Bewitching Great Array, we can search for some ancient treasures in the ruins to compensate for our losses!”

“That’s a good idea!”

Sun Xing retracted the four Wutu Array Flags, transforming into a yellow streak of light, and rushed toward the giant island along with the treasure-seeking cultivators. He suddenly caught sight of Great Cultivator Cao furiously chasing Ye Qin, and his expression immediately changed.

He had heard from the Wang uncle and nephew and others that Great Cultivator Cao held a grudge against Ye Qin. Great Cultivator Cao had even tried to instigate driving Ye Qin away from the Wutu Great Array earlier.

“What an idiot! He’s engaging in internal strife at such a critical moment; truly foolish!”

“But this might be good too. If they can attract the attention of Old Ancestor Green Robe, I’ll have a better chance of escaping.”

Sun Xing snorted coldly, maneuvering around the main force of cultivators including Ye Qin and Great Cultivator Cao. He violently swept the four magic flags, suddenly transforming into a stream of light and accelerating away in another direction toward the Ghost Mist Great Array on the giant island.

Sun Xing’s few fellow cultivators followed closely behind with equal speed.

“Great Cultivator Cao is such an idiot, trying to kill Ye Qin! That Ye Qin is an Elder of the Purple Sword Palace; his strength is extraordinary—even Old Ancestor Green Robe couldn't kill him. Great Cultivator Cao, even though he is at the ninth level of Golden Core, he won't be dealt with so easily.”

“But if they fight, it’s perfect! It might just distract the Old Ancestor’s attention! Let’s ignore them! We should charge straight into the ancient ruins to the place we reached last time and find a way to seize the buried treasures.”

Cultivator Pang let out a cold snort, a hint of unexpected pleasant surprise in his tone.

His idea at the moment was the same as Sun Xing’s: let Ye Qin and Great Cultivator Cao act as cannon fodder so they could have a full opportunity to escape.

He, Cultivator Zhu, and Cultivator Yang were all seasoned veterans. Their coordination was flawless, and surviving the siege and pursuit by the Savage Island Evil Cultivators was not difficult.

“Brother Pang, Sun Xing has taken several ninth-level Golden Core cultivators and left the main body of cultivators! Should we follow them?” Cultivator Zhu suddenly noticed Sun Xing’s abnormal movement and quickly asked.

“No need!”

Cultivator Pang glanced quickly, gnashing his teeth with deep regret. “We originally came to this ancient ruin to seek treasures. But since meeting Sun Cultivator’s group halfway, nothing good has happened. First, the blood tide, and next, the Savage Island Old Ancestor Green Robe. If we hadn't run into Sun Cultivator and his group, we could have avoided all these calamities.”

“The Ye couple we worked hard to recruit, along with the Wang uncle and nephew, actually ran off with them. Even without the pursuit of Old Ancestor Green Robe, what benefits could we gain by following them into the ancient ruins?!”

“If I had known, we should have gone into the ancient ruins by ourselves to search for treasures. Even if we didn't gain anything, we wouldn't be hunted by the Old Ancestor like this!”

“Let them go their way, and we’ll go ours!”

Cultivator Pang had long been unwilling to team up with Sun Xing. He, along with Zhu and Yang, charged and fled.

Ye Qin, riding the Dark Cloud Barrier, pierced the astral winds and rushed toward the densest area of treasure-seeking cultivators, trying his best to evade the pursuit of the Green Fiend Sword.

In the span of a breath, he had flown four or five li, drawing closer and closer to the Ghost Mist Great Array on the giant island.

Six to seven hundred zhang behind Ye Qin, the streak of sword light formed by the Green Fiend Sword of Old Ancestor Green Robe cut through the obstacles of the pursuing treasure-seeking cultivators, stabbing directly toward Ye Qin.

If Ye Qin delayed even slightly, the Green Fiend Sword could catch up to him in one or two breaths.

Wherever the green light passed, the flying swords and magic artifacts in its path exploded violently. The Golden Core cultivators who couldn't escape in time were utterly annihilated, not even leaving behind dregs, their forms and spirits destroyed.

This terrifying scene was so severe that even those Savage Island Evil Cultivators dared not linger in the path Ye Qin took, fleeing in all directions.

Otherwise, the Old Ancestor Green Robe’s flying sword would not distinguish between a Savage Island cultivator and a treasure-seeking cultivator.

However, Ye Qin’s speed was incredibly fast, comparable to the escape speed of most ninth-level Golden Core cultivators. Most of the cultivators caught in the melee were slower than Ye Qin; they simply didn't have time to flee. Where Ye Qin flew past, they didn't even get a chance to run before they were forced to resist the pursuing Green Fiend Sword.

In the battlefield, there were many Golden Core cultivators, with magic artifacts and treasures flying everywhere, and frequently, magic swords and magic knives were tossed about. The might of the Green Fiend Sword was too fierce; to kill Ye Qin, it was bound to affect the Golden Core cultivators around him simultaneously.

The treasure-seeking cultivators and Savage Island Evil Cultivators affected by the Green Fiend Sword, seeing Ye Qin using them to block the sword, cursed loudly but had no choice but to resist the Green Fiend Sword with all their might to avoid being collateral damage.

With the Green Fiend Sword being fully obstructed, it became harder for it to catch up to Ye Qin.

Suddenly, Ye Qin’s expression changed drastically. He slapped his storage bag and sent out a water-attribute magic treasure gleaming with blue light.

“Dragon Roar!”

Ye Qin formed a water-attribute hand seal with both hands.

In an instant, seven or eight medium-sized blue flood dragons, condensed from water spiritual energy and stretching ten to twenty zhang long, materialized around the water-attribute magic treasure.

These seven or eight blue dragons bared their claws and fangs, all pouncing toward the rear-left side of Ye Qin.

Although they were all conjured by mid-tier water spells and their attack power wasn't great, they excelled in sheer numbers, possessing a strength comparable to a high-tier water spell.

Ye Qin’s divine sense had, in that fleeting moment, detected that in addition to the constantly pursuing Green Fiend Sword, a killing intent had suddenly materialized from his side rear, rushing straight toward him.

After finishing his spell with the Water Shell Spirit Pearl while flying swiftly, Ye Qin hurriedly turned his head to look toward his rear side.

“Great Cultivator Cao! He’s actually ambushing me!”

Upon seeing this, Ye Qin was filled with shock and fury. “So what if I’m attacking you! I want to kill you to avenge my brother. Do you still think you can escape? Just wait to die!” Great Cultivator Cao was right behind Ye Qin, a cold smile playing on his lips, controlling a massive Demon Suppressing Hammer magic artifact and smashing it toward Ye Qin.

However, the seven or eight blue dragons conjured by Ye Qin rushed forward and entangled the Demon Suppressing Hammer, causing the ambush to fail.

Water-attribute spells, while weaker in attack power, carried a slowing effect.

The Demon Suppressing Hammer, a Primordial Spirit-level artifact, was immensely powerful but not inherently fast. Once enveloped by the seven or eight blue dragons, its speed rapidly decreased again, failing to keep up with Ye Qin’s escape velocity.

In such a chaotic battlefield, even a moment’s delay could have dire consequences.

Ye Qin knew things were bad.

He was currently fully focused on evading Old Ancestor Green Robe’s Green Fiend Sword, leaving him no spare energy to tangle with Great Cultivator Cao; he had no mind for a direct confrontation. He instantly shot several blue dragons using the Water Shell Spirit Pearl toward Great Cultivator Cao while focusing on his desperate escape.

When Great Cultivator Cao saw the Demon Suppressing Hammer failing to catch Ye Qin, he was naturally unwilling to give up. He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and spewed out a surge of essence, spraying it onto the Primordial Spirit-level artifact, the Demon Suppressing Hammer.

The Demon Suppressing Hammer immediately blazed with increased light, blasting the seven or eight entangled blue dragons into dust. Moreover, its speed surged significantly, transforming into an almost hundred-zhang-tall, pitch-black giant hammer radiating fierce light, smashing directly toward Ye Qin.

Simultaneously, Great Cultivator Cao’s face turned much paler and withered, looking utterly ferocious.

“Hmph, trying to run? No way! Die!”

Infusing True Essence to urge a Primordial Spirit artifact could instantly increase its power by one-fifth to one-half, with a maximum boost of fifty percent. This was similar to using True Essence to drive a Minor Divine Power artifact, except that the quality of Minor Divine Power magic was far superior to that of a Primordial Spirit artifact, which the latter could not compare to.

Of course, the cost was extremely heavy—decades of hard-cultivated vital energy were burned away. Few cultivators would use such a method to deplete their essence.

“Not good!”

Ye Qin’s face changed drastically, revealing a look of absolute determination. Without hesitation, he hurled the Water Shell Spirit Pearl in his hand, suddenly pouring the remaining fraction of his magical power into it.

The Water Shell Spirit Pearl, delicate and crystal clear, spun in mid-air, transforming into a streak of dazzling blue light several tens of zhang wide, slamming directly toward the Demon Suppressing Hammer.

“Explode!”

Ye Qin roared fiercely.

“Boom!”

The Water Shell Spirit Pearl, a water-attribute magic treasure containing eons of heavenly and earthly water spiritual energy, detonated violently. All the water spiritual energy contained within burst forth, covering an area spanning two hundred zhang around. This power was over a hundred times stronger than the blue dragons.

This water-attribute magic treasure, obtained from the Spirit Mist Cultivation World’s Cold Lake Forest, which had accompanied Ye Qin for decades, instantly shattered into countless fragments of magical debris, completely engulfing the Demon Suppressing Hammer.

And within this two-hundred-zhang radius, the Demon Suppressing Hammer artifact, whose power had just been increased by half, was instantly shrouded under the surging water spiritual energy and severely slowed down once more.