The black-robed skeletal figure, catching sight of Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er standing high above in the sunlight, registered a grave threat. The black robe covering its gaunt frame suddenly billowed out with a whoosh, a torrent of intense corpse energy brewing within.

It was merely an early Golden Core stage Skeleton Ghost Cultivator, controlling three to four hundred puppet skeletons. Managing to completely suppress the two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, the Wang uncle and nephew, already stretched its power to the absolute limit.

In reality, it possessed absolutely no reserve capacity to deal with the mid-stage Golden Core cultivators Ye Tai and Huangfu Bing'er as well. Although Ghost Cultivators were individually formidable, surpassing ordinary Golden Core cultivators, their strength was certainly not boundless.

Once Ye Tai and Huangfu Bing'er made a move, for a mere early Golden Core Skeleton Ghost Cultivator to simultaneously confront four mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, the only option for survival would be immediate, rapid escape.

This reality was not lost on the skeleton; Ye Qin saw it at a glance.

Even the Wang uncle and nephew recognized that their lives were momentarily safe, their faces lighting up with overwhelming joy as they shouted out.

"Who are you, sir? Are you a Ghost Cultivator practicing on this island? State your name! I have never slain a Ghost Cultivator before. If you die by my hand, at least leave a title!"

Ye Qin fixed his gaze steadily upon the black-robed skeleton, refraining from attacking immediately. Instead, he sneered.

"Hmph, this ghost is Che Ze. This place is the domain of my Master. You Eastern Sea cultivators dare to trespass upon my Desolate Spirit Ghost Island, wantonly slaughtering the corrupted beasts raised by my Ghost Domain—that is a capital offense already. That you would even dare cross the Skeleton Mountain Range and enter the Ghost Domain means you are already walking the road of death!"

The skeleton's bony hand gripped a massive skeletal greatsword. It appeared utterly unafraid of Ye Qin, and a grating, unpleasant sound, like stones grinding, emanated from its throat bones, fierce and menacing.

"The corrupted beasts on the island are raised by you?... And who is your Master?"

Ye Qin's heart gave a jolt, and he narrowed his eyes.

His understanding of this massive island was limited to what cultivator Pang and the others had recounted: it was a Desolate Spirit Ruin, occupied by various entities, and held ancient treasures. Little else was known.

Now, seeing this Skeleton Ghost Cultivator confirmed that Pang's words were not false.

The fact that this Ghost Cultivator could command a hundred skeletons to besiege the Wang pair demonstrated its considerable strength. If this island had an owner, and that owner possessed such a Golden Core-level servant, the Master's power must be terrifying.

"The prestige of my Master is something you mere Golden Core cultivators are not even worthy to know! It requires no effort from my Master; I, Che Ze, can slay you all, extract your Yin Souls, and subject them to daily torment in the Yin Fire."

The black-robed skeleton shrieked maniacally.

Seeing he could extract no further intelligence, Ye Qin decided not to waste any more breath on this boastful black-robed skeleton.

He opened his mouth, shooting forth a beam of dazzling golden light. The Golden Crow Radiance Sword exploded outwards in bursts of gold, instantly expanding to over thirty zhang in size, piercing through layers of ghost mist as it sped toward the black-robed skeleton.

The black-robed skeleton recognized the danger in the golden light and dared not delay. With a wave of its hand, the dense corpse energy rolling within the black robe instantly erupted, transforming into a colossal, ten-plus zhang tall skull head that opened its maw to bite down on the incoming Golden Bird Radiance Sword.

It transformed into a plume of black smoke, fleeing toward the other side of the mountain peak. Ye Qin coldly snorted. "Trying to escape? Not so easily!"

The Radiance Sword swept across the entire area, plunging ferociously into the great mouth of the skeletal ghost head. The ghost head had intended to clamp down on the golden sword and corrode it.

However, the ten thousand feet of golden radiance unleashed by the sword was overwhelmingly dominant, far superior to ordinary flying swords. Ray after ray of golden light rapidly dissolved the ghost head's corpse energy with a sizzling 'cizz-cizz' sound, turning it into green smoke. The skeleton screamed, deformed, and dissipated into a wisp of smoke.

The golden light shattered the skeletal ghost head in one blow and swiftly caught up to the black-robed skeleton's back.

"Screech!"

Seeing the golden light pursuing it and unable to evade, the black-robed skeleton let out a strange cry, its body flashing with black light. Its left hand gripped the giant skeletal greatsword, swirling up a mass of inky corpse energy, which it swung to cleave toward the Golden Bird Radiance Sword.

BOOM!

Two terrifying massive forces collided.

CRACK!

The giant skeletal greatsword splintered inch by inch.

The black-robed skeleton cried out in agony. This top-tier Ghost Artifact greatsword had taken it decades of painstaking effort to forge. Yet, it was instantly destroyed by the cultivator's flying sword.

However, the Golden Bird Radiance Sword was also knocked flying back amid a heart-stopping muffled thud.

The black-robed skeleton had no time to mourn the loss of the Ghost Artifact. As soon as the Golden Bird Radiance Sword was repelled, it threw its full strength into rushing into the ghost mist, fleeing toward the distant mountains.

Ye Qin maneuvered the Golden Bird Radiance Sword to turn in the air, but by the time he could pursue again, the black-robed skeleton had vanished. Locating that skeletal ghost cultivator within the obscuring ghost mist would not be an easy task.

Ye Qin recalled the Golden Crow Radiance Sword and gazed silently in the direction the black-robed skeleton had fled.

He had just repaired his main meridians a few hours prior and could not overextend his spiritual power; for the time being, he could only deploy one Primordial Spirit Artifact. Otherwise, that skeletal ghost cultivator would never have escaped his grasp.

However, Ye Qin's objective had been to save the Wang uncle and nephew. As for killing the black-robed skeleton, it was not essential.

Deprived of the black-robed skeleton's direction and control, the three to four hundred skeletons jostled against each other, instantly becoming chaotic and disorganized. Their attacks even interfered with one another, causing a massive drop in overall combat effectiveness.

Huangfu Bing'er, meanwhile, had already controlled her Ice and Fire Primordial Spirit Flying Swords and rushed in, slaughtering her way among the hundreds of skeletons.

On the battlefield, roaring flames and biting frost swept across the area, bone weapons clashing, and bone arrows flying wildly everywhere.

Huangfu Bing'er's thirty-two small ice and fire flying swords, forming the Ice and Fire Sword Array, were a tool for wide-area slaughter, particularly effective against swarms of low-level enemies.

The freezing aura emitted by the Ice Soul Chill Light Sword instantly froze many skeletons. While not fatal, it immobilized them, completely disrupting the formation of their battle array.

Surging Lihuo flames engulfed the skeletal puppets, thoroughly incinerating their bones and inflicting massive damage.

In just a short engagement, she carved a breach through the skeleton army.

However, with three to four hundred skeletal soldiers possessing the strength of the Foundation Establishment realm, clearing them completely was still no simple task.

It took the time equivalent of a full stick of incense before the Wang uncle and nephew finally broke free from the encirclement. They vented their frustration by slaughtering the clusters of skeletal puppets until nothing remained.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Ye, and your esteemed wife, for the rescue. Had it not been for the two of you, my nephew and I would surely have perished here today. Alas, I am truly ashamed; my lack of strength has caused me to rely on Fellow Daoist Ye multiple times now. I owe an immense debt of gratitude, and with my current wealth and standing, I do not know how I can repay it. Should Fellow Daoist Ye ever have need in the future, my entire Wang lineage swears to repay you with our lives."

The elder Wang, after the fierce battle, retracted his flying sword and approached Ye Qin, his face etched with shame.

Even if the uncle and nephew wished to repay the favor, they were unsure how. After all, Ye Tai's strength and wealth were not things they could assist with.

"No matter; we can discuss repayment later."

Ye Qin had no expectation of repayment from them anyway. He merely shook his head and calmly inquired, "By the way, why are you two on this Skeleton Mountain Range? You both could see that this mountain range is saturated with potent ghost energy and is exceptionally dangerous. With your cultivation level, crossing it should not have been easy! Why did you still come up the mountain?"

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Ye, that is how it happened," the elder Wang quickly explained. "When my nephew and I first fled into the blood mist, we ran into Fellow Daoist Pang and his two companions. Fellow Daoist Pang invited us to join forces with the three of them to search for the ancient treasures within the island. I thought that since we were already here for treasure hunting, traveling together was naturally best. So, my nephew and I partnered with those three, crossing the Blood Mist Wasteland and arriving at this mountain range covered in bones. Otherwise, with our cultivation, we would hardly have reached this place."

"You said you allied with Fellow Daoist Pang's group. Are the three of them here as well? Why can't I see any sign of them?"

Ye Qin looked around the mountainside. Noticing no activity, he frowned in surprise. He hadn't expected the Wang uncle and nephew to be traveling with Pang and the other two cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Pang led the way, intending to cross this Skeleton Mountain Range. Unfortunately, we ran into a Ghost Cultivator at the Golden Core level, and in an instant, we were scattered by the surging skeleton horde."

The elder Wang now offered a wry smile, shaking his head. "One of the weakest, an early Golden Core Ghost Cultivator, surrounded and besieged my nephew and me. The other two mid-stage Golden Core Ghost Cultivators engaged Fellow Daoist Pang and his two companions. Both the number and strength of the confronting skeletons far overwhelmed our side. Fellow Daoist Pang and his two did not wish to sit and wait for death; they charged out about an hour ago, and those two Golden Core Ghost Cultivators pursued them. But my nephew and I were too weak, so we were pinned down here by that single Golden Core Ghost Cultivator, unable to move, until Fellow Daoist Ye appeared and saved us." (Symbol indicating the fastest update address is enclosed in the Chinese text)

Only then did Ye Tai understand the entire sequence of events. He pondered for a moment and then asked, "Did you see which direction the three of them charged off toward?"

The elder Wang's expression turned troubled. "Fellow Daoist Pang showed me a map scroll he drew himself earlier. The route and the destination were very clear. He said if we encountered danger, we should scatter and charge out individually, then rendezvous at that specified location. I know the direction they went. However, I don't know their current status—whether the two mid-stage Golden Core Ghost Cultivators killed them or not."

"Fellow Daoist Ye, what should we do? Should we go look for them?"

The elder Wang now understood his own severe limitations. He desired to find the treasure and gain immense wealth, but having just escaped danger, he was now afraid of encountering further peril and losing his life.

The elder Wang was extremely conflicted. But the final decision rested with Ye Tai.

The Wang pair knew their only chance of survival was following Ye Qin, so they dared not conceal anything, explaining the full details so Ye Qin could make the decision.

Hearing this, Ye Qin fell into contemplation.

He held no hostility toward cultivator Pang, but he also felt no particular affection for him. Ultimately, when Pang recruited the four of them—mid-stage Golden Core cultivators—at the ancient ship outpost, it was merely to gain more cannon fodder to secure the ancient relics here. This was a common self-preservation tactic among high-level cultivators. Given Ye Qin's temperament, the fact that Pang and the others had not broken out with the Wang uncle and nephew probably meant they viewed the Wang pair as too weak and abandoned them as expendable shields.

"This massive island is fraught with dangers. Having several more late-stage Golden Core companions would make both finding treasure and self-preservation much safer. Fellow Daoist Pang's group consists of Eighth and Seventh Stage Golden Core cultivators; their strength is high enough for them to protect themselves on this island. Joining forces with them could reduce considerable friction," Huangfu Bing'er suddenly reminded him.

"Mm, that is right! Let's find them first. Besides, Fellow Daoist Pang has the map scroll; he knows the way, which will help us quickly locate the ancient treasure he mentioned. That's much better than us searching blindly," Ye Qin conceded, nodding as Bing'er advocated for cooperation.

After all, on this island, apart from the missing Jiang Ling and Zheng Chenghui, Pang's trio was the only group they could potentially cooperate with.

At the same time, Ye Qin inwardly sneered. In this search for ancient relics, someone would certainly serve as cannon fodder. As for who would end up as that fodder, that remained to be seen.

Hearing Ye Qin's decision, the elder Wang, though anxious, hardened his resolve and led Ye Qin and the other two deeper into the Skeleton Mountain Range, hoping to locate Pang's group, which had broken out an hour earlier. (Novel website first release U)