The clearer the further toward the mountains they traveled. Contrary to the expectations of Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er, the blood mist gradually thinned over the towering mountain range, while the ghost energy grew increasingly dense. No Corrupted Beasts were sighted near this mountain range. Even the Corrupted Beasts could not tolerate the thick ghost fog here. This ghost fog was an ethereal mist formed by dense corpse qi, its corrosiveness at least ten times stronger than that of blood mist. If a Corrupted Beast dared to inhabit the ghost fog, it wouldn't be a Corrupted Beast; it would be a dead beast. Even Golden Core cultivators had to operate their mana to the fullest, maintaining their protective shields just to barely resist the erosion of the ghost fog.

“So many skeletons on the mountain!” Ye Qin scanned the mountain range and was startled. The entire mountain range, from the foothills to the peaks, as far as the eye could see, was covered in a thick layer of bones, at least several zhang deep. What truly astonished Ye Qin was the scattered presence of actual skeletons roaming on the majestic mountain. These skeletons, some humanoid and some beast-shaped, wandered aimlessly, their bones emitting a "crackling" sound. They trod upon countless fragments of bone, and a faint, sinister light glowed from their eye sockets. The skeletons within Ye Qin’s field of vision were almost all formed from the remains of low-level demonic beasts, manifesting as low- or mid-tier skeletons, possessing only the strength equivalent to Qi Refining stage and early Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“The ghost fog on this mountain must be denser because this is deeper within the island. The skeletal remains on this mountain were likely accumulated from countless slain demonic beasts.” Huangfu Bing'er looked up at the mountain. Having seen very few skeletons before, she couldn't help but marvel and inquire, “Husband, why are these skeletons on the mountain moving on their own? Do they have lifespans? Are our family’s Corrupted Bone Crocodiles related to them?” “The Profound Yin Grand Art records that skeletons are a special type of magical artifact, a type of ghost-path puppet artifact.” “There are two kinds of skeletons in the cultivation world. One kind absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, forming naturally and possessing instinct. The other kind is refined by ghost cultivators.” “Natural skeletons can wander aimlessly, acting on instinct, and can even absorb corpse qi or the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to slowly increase their rank.” “Ghost cultivators use ghostly arts to refine bones, forging skeletal puppets to aid in combat. The offensive power of skeletons isn't immense, but the cost to maintain skeletal puppets is extremely low, making them even more useful than domesticated demonic beasts. These refined skeletons lack independent consciousness and are manipulated by their controller. If the controller ceases manipulation, the skeletons generally won't move on their own.” “The most crucial point is that skeletons, as a 'magical artifact' of the ghost path puppet, possess no inherent consciousness, nor does the concept of lifespan apply to them. They can exist until they finally decay over eons of time,” Ye Qin mused, smiling slightly.

“If the primordial spirit core of a ghost cultivator occupies a skeleton's body, it can become a ghost cultivator. If the primordial spirit demonic core of a demonic beast occupies a skeleton's body, it becomes a Skeleton Demon.” “The situation now is completely different; they are no longer mere artifacts. Both ghost cultivators and Skeleton Demons possess lifespans and can cultivate, rapidly increasing their rank. When their lifespan is depleted, their primordial spirit core or demonic core disintegrates, and they too will die.” “Those roaming everywhere here should belong to the category of naturally formed skeletons. As for how they originated, that remains unknown.” Ye Qin shook his head as he spoke. Although he had studied the Yin Profound Grand Art, his knowledge regarding skeletons was extremely limited.

“Crossing this mountain range, we will likely see a clearer picture of the situation.” Since most of the skeletons on the mountain were low-ranked and scattered, there posed little real danger to Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er, both Golden Core cultivators. The two transformed into streaks of cyan light and shot directly towards the summit without reservation. A few low-tier skeletons along the path "smelled" the auras of Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er and immediately rushed over with crackling sounds.

“Swish!” Ye Qin led the way, without even looking, flicking out several ordinary flying swords that pierced through these skeletons. These few low-tier skeletons charging sporadically were instantly shattered into piles of broken bones by the flying swords. Even the wisps of lingering dark spirits nestled within their frames emitted sharp screams, instantly incinerated into smoke and dust by the fierce flames released from the swords. The skeletons collapsed onto the ground, motionless.

“Oh!” Ye Qin, moving swiftly, suddenly stopped. Towards the mountain peak to his right front, faint sounds of intense fighting drifted through the ghost fog, accompanied by flashes of visible and then disappearing light from flying swords and magic tools.

“Cultivators are fighting. Are they friends or foes!?” Ye Qin frowned. Among the dozens of Golden Core cultivators who had fled to this giant island were trusted acquaintances like Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, and the Wang uncle and nephew, as well as enemies like the great cultivator Cao, Du Ran, and the savage cultivators of the Wild Island.

“Let’s go, we’ll approach and assess the situation first! If they are allied Daoists, perhaps we can lend a helping hand. … If they are enemies, we must certainly intervene and take this chance to slay them, eliminating future trouble!” Ye Qin immediately made his decision. In this perilous great island, every additional ally meant one more chance to survive, and every fewer enemy meant the same. How could he fail to understand such a simple truth! Of course, if the combatants were cultivators he didn't know, then the decision to intervene would depend on the specific circumstances.

“Mmm!” Huangfu Bing'er immediately stopped and nodded in agreement. Whether to fight or not was of no concern to her; she trusted Ye Qin to make the judgment call. The pair made a swift decision and hurried towards the location of the battle. A short while later, Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er stood on a concealed rock outcrop, looking down upon the fight below. The two exchanged a glance. It was indeed cultivators they were familiar with—allies they had befriended at the ancient ship outpost, who had come to the Desolate Spirit Ruins seeking ancient treasures: the uncle and nephew pair of the Wang family, both only at the mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level. The Wang uncle and nephew were currently surrounded and attacked by a large horde of skeletons, numbering perhaps three to four hundred in total—a sight that made one’s scalp tingle. Fortunately, most of them were only fifth or sixth-tier skeletons, not overwhelmingly strong. Most were humanoid skeletons, wielding bone sabers, bone swords, bone bows, and bone spears. They were layered densely, surrounding the Wang uncle and nephew in a narrow corner of the mountain peak, spanning perhaps several dozen zhang. Every time a skeleton fell, another immediately stepped forward to fill the gap, absolutely preventing the Wang uncle and nephew from finding an opening to escape. These skeletons were clearly not disorganized stragglers but a disciplined group, attacking with tactics akin to a mundane army. One wave of attacks followed another with virtually no pause. Although individually weak—a single strike from a Golden Core cultivator’s flying sword would destroy them—when massed together as a cohesive unit, they became terrifyingly fierce in an instant. Bone spears thrust in unison, blades chopped together, and bone arrows rained down in dense, overlapping volleys. Wave after wave of attacks nearly forced the Wang uncle and nephew into a purely defensive posture, resisting with all their might. Furthermore, since sword flight was impossible on this island, the Wang uncle and nephew could not even use their swords to escape the heavy encirclement of skeletons.

“How can these fifth and sixth-tier skeletons, which only possess the strength of Foundation Establishment, be so formidable!” Huangfu Bing'er was shocked by the sight. Even she doubted whether she could confidently fight her way out of this skeletal siege.

“These skeletons must be controlled by a ghost cultivator; otherwise, they wouldn't possess such order!” Ye Qin’s expression shifted slightly. His sharp gaze rapidly swept over the mass of skeletons, trying to locate the ghost cultivator commanding them. As Ye Qin’s gaze swept across the battlefield, a burly skeleton clad in black robes, wielding a massive skeletal broadsword, immediately caught his attention. This skeleton was the only one in the entire battle wearing robes and the only one that seemed to be observing the fight. At this moment, the black-robed skeleton seemed to have noticed something as well. It suddenly looked up toward the rock where Ye Qin was standing nearby, and a shaft of dark, faint light shot from its rigid, cold skull sockets. ... If Huangfu Bing'er didn't have absolute certainty of breaking through, Then the Wang uncle and nephew, with their comparatively frail strength, were struggling merely to withstand the siege of these skeletons. At this juncture, under the frenzied assault of the skeletal horde, the Wang uncle and nephew were clearly showing signs of defeat. The two of them controlled several top-tier flying swords, blocking the bone blades from all directions while darting back and forth, deflecting the sky-raining bone arrows, attempting to break through the encirclement of the skeletal soldiers. The attacks of these skeletal soldiers were exceedingly simple: Bone blades chopping in unison! Bone spears thrusting together! Bone arrows shooting wildly! Such simple attacks became terrifying when hundreds of them were executed simultaneously. The Wang uncle and nephew guided their top-tier flying swords, fighting desperately, managing to shatter over a dozen skeletal soldiers in one desperate surge, only to be forced to retreat hurriedly by a volley of bone arrows. They could not sustain the assault and fell back to their original position. As soon as the flying swords dispersed the skeletal soldiers they struck, other skeletons immediately filled the gaps. The black-robed skeleton, holding its massive skeletal saber in one hand, waved its other bony hand, launching more than ten streams of black mana. The scattered bones on the ground were instantly and eerily gathered by the black mana, reforming into intact skeletons that stood up and charged toward the Wang uncle and nephew again. In this manner of fighting, the number of skeletal soldiers never substantially decreased, while the mana reserves of the Wang uncle and nephew were continuously depleted. Moreover, skeletons would occasionally materialize near them, attacking from the flanks. The Wang uncle and nephew were forced to deal with ceaseless external attacks and barrages of bone arrows, while simultaneously coping with surprise attacks emerging from all directions—a truly miserable plight. Just as the Wang uncle and nephew were complaining bitterly, losing hope of breaking out, and verging on despair, the sharp-eyed old Wang unexpectedly spotted the Ye couple on a giant rock nearby. Old Man Wang knew very well that the strength of Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er far surpassed their own by an immeasurable degree.

“Brother Ye, Madam Ye! Wonderful, quickly save this old uncle and nephew…” “Brother Ye, save us!” The Wang uncle and nephew were overwhelmed with excitement and elation, shouting out for rescue.

Thwack, thwack! A dense volley of bone arrows descended. Many pierced through the defenses of several top-tier flying swords and slammed into the protective shields of the Wang uncle and nephew, causing their shields to vibrate violently. This terrified them into focusing their full attention on defense, daring not to lose focus again. It would be too unjust to perish precisely at the moment reinforcements appeared due to excessive joy.

“Early-stage Golden Core ghost cultivator! … This ancient ruin is indeed infested with ghost cultivators!” Ye Qin’s attention had completely shifted away from the Wang uncle and nephew; his gaze was locked firmly onto the black-robed skeleton.