Ye Qin swiftly caught the jade slip thrown by Cultivator Pang, a hint of confusion crossing his features as he swept it with his divine sense.

The time it took was equivalent to the burning of one stick of incense. In that brief span, he rapidly scanned through the thousands of biographies and ancient texts contained within.

Every biography and text mentioned that during the last Immortal-Demon War, a treasury filled with vast quantities of elixirs, magical artifacts, talismans, raw materials, and spirit stones had been established on an island somewhere within the Sea of Blood.

From all indications, this ancient treasury genuinely existed. However, after that great war, countless cultivators had attempted to locate it, yet it remained unfound.

One must realize the incomprehensible vastness of the Sea of Blood. Even Nascent Soul cultivators could not simply fly across it by sword without exhausting their time; they had to rely on teleportation arrays for long-distance travel.

The Immortal-Demon War unfolded across innumerable desolate islands, leaving traces of that massive conflict upon many of them. To find one specific island among the myriad isles, scattered like stars across the immense Sea of Blood, and then to locate the secret treasury built upon it, was an extraordinarily difficult task.

The biographies and texts within this jade slip all possessed verifiable origins—they were either written by disciples of major immortal cultivation families or compiled by renowned cultivators of the East Sea. They did not seem fabricated.

It was precisely because they seemed genuine that Ye Qin grew increasingly suspicious. Cultivator Pang would hardly expend such enormous effort to forge so many biographies and texts.

But then, why would Cultivator Pang reveal such vital intelligence to him, laying bare the ultimate goal of this treasure hunt? This was not the expected behavior of an experienced treasure-seeking cultivator.

A true treasure hunter would absolutely refuse to disclose leads to supreme treasures to other cultivators, lest they invite covetous stares and outright theft.

Ye Qin passed the jade slip to Huangfu Bing'er and the Wang uncle and nephew for their perusal.

Not long after, Huangfu Bing'er and the Wang pair finished reading, their expressions mirroring his confusion, though mixed with excitement, as they looked toward Cultivator Pang.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, you must be suspecting why I would divulge the clue to such an important ancient treasury to you all. You must wonder if I harbor some other ulterior motive?"

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Cultivator Pang seemed to grasp their thoughts and suspicions, letting out a hearty laugh. "You all worry too much. The Sea of Blood holds many ancient ruins; this is but one of them. Furthermore, the existence of this ancient treasury is hardly a secret, nor is it a secret known only to Pang. Many treasure-seeking cultivators in the Sea of Blood are aware of it and are trying every means possible to find its whereabouts, hoping to strike it rich."

"I, Pang, have been searching the Sea of Blood for over a hundred years, collecting countless biographies and texts, but alas, I always lacked any real lead, even doubting whether it truly existed! Only a few days ago, I chanced upon the blood mist obscuring this massive island gradually thinning. I ventured cautiously into its depths and suddenly understood. That legendary ancient treasury is very likely situated on this very island."

"Ever since the last Immortal-Demon War, the blood energy on this island has been abnormally intense, attracting a massive swarm of Blood Mist Demon Bugs that nested here. No cultivator dared to land. It was only recently, for reasons unknown, that the Blood Mist Demon Bugs departed the island. As the blood mist thinned, I, while treasure-hunting nearby, noticed an anomaly and finally dared to step onto the isle to investigate the situation."

Cultivator Pang rapidly laid out his entire deduction. After a brief pause, he continued, "If this immense treasury truly exists on the island, how could two or three Golden Core cultivators possibly have the strength to devour it all alone? If I can obtain even a few ancient supreme treasures, top-tier elixirs, or prime raw materials from the treasury, I will be content. Rather than monopolize it, it is better to join forces. By uniting, we stand to gain far more."

Ye Qin was not easily fooled by Cultivator Pang’s quick words. He frowned slightly. "Fellow Daoist Pang, you lost two companions of late Golden Core strength when you searched this location previously, which shows how perilous this island is. To risk one's life merely for a few ancient artifacts, elixirs, or materials—I do not believe it! Given your wealth and possessions, Fellow Daoist Pang, you surely are not lacking in resources necessary for your cultivation. What item within this ancient treasury is so crucial that you are determined to secure it?"

Hearing Ye Qin’s words, Cultivator Pang finally let the smile drop from his face and fell silent. Without sufficient benefit or return, who would risk certain death? Especially cultivators like them, at the late Golden Core stage, who stood at the pinnacle of the East Sea cultivation world, surpassed only by Nascent Soul experts. Even if they did nothing, numerous Immortal Palaces and great cultivation families would gladly support them, providing ample spirit stones and elixirs. They possessed lofty status, countless servants to command, centuries of time to indulge and squander without risk.

But why, then, did these late Golden Core cultivators still come to the Sea of Blood, risking near-death exploring such a dangerous place?

Because a mere few centuries was far too short! They desired longer lives—a thousand years—to enjoy all of that!

"Nascent Soul Pill!"

Cultivator Pang did not make Ye Qin and the others wait long before coldly uttering an answer that made their complexions change drastically.

Cultivator Zhu and Cultivator Yang nodded solemnly; they apparently already knew this situation. "A Nascent Soul Pill?!"

This answer caused Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er to gasp in shock. Not to mention the Wang uncle and nephew, who were perpetually short of funds and couldn't even afford a proper primordial spirit artifact, never daring to dream of becoming Nascent Soul cultivators. They had never imagined having a chance to obtain a Nascent Soul Pill.

They were instantly stimulated by this astonishing news, their bodies trembling slightly and uncontrollably. The Nascent Soul Pill—this was a Nascent Soul Pill! Not some elixir that could be bought in the market for a few hundred or thousand spirit stones. Every single Nascent Soul Pill was crystallized from the blood of countless cultivators.

"Correct, it is the Nascent Soul Pill!" Cultivator Pang spoke deliberately, his gaze exceptionally complex. "This elixir allows a late Golden Core cultivator to break through the Golden Core stage and condense a Nascent Soul. Its value is enough to drive countless Golden Core cultivators in the East Sea into a frenzy, causing them to fight to the death for it!"

"Many biographies and texts contain records regarding this. Ten thousand years ago, the high echelons of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance in the East Sea cultivation world prepared Nascent Soul Pills as rewards to motivate morale, specifically for the Golden Core cultivators with the most outstanding wartime contributions, storing them in this ancient treasury, but they were never utilized."

Cultivator Wei looked toward Ye Qin and sneered, "Fellow Daoist Ye, the heretic Cultivator Cao mentioned that you are an elder of the Purple Sword Palace in the Northern Isles of the East Sea. However, even with your status, obtaining a single Nascent Soul Pill from the Purple Sword Palace would surely require an immense price and contribution. I believe I am correct, am I not?"

After speaking, Cultivator Pang glanced dismissively toward the Wang uncle and nephew. "As for you two, you are ordinary Golden Core cultivators with no background or foundation. Under normal circumstances, obtaining a Nascent Soul Pill would be completely out of the question—don't even dream of it... But if the ancient treasury is found, then obtaining a Nascent Soul Pill is no longer a distant dream, but something within immediate reach."

Ye Qin certainly understood the difficulty of acquiring a Nascent Soul Pill. He had handed over the Great Divine Ability Ancient Artifact, the Kui Niu Drum, to the Purple Sword Palace just to earn a promise from Palace Master Zhou Yu that he would assist him in becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator. However, even if the Purple Sword Palace valued him highly, they could likely only provide him with a single Nascent Soul Pill; they could not supply him with unlimited quantities of such an invaluable item.

A single Nascent Soul Pill did not have a high success rate; it could not guarantee the successful condensation of a Nascent Soul. Success still depended on one's strength and immortal destiny. If one’s luck was poor, consuming ten or eight pills would still yield no hope. Moreover, he still had Bing'er to consider. Without a reliable channel to obtain Nascent Soul Pills, these factors had to be taken into account.

Ye Qin suppressed the shock surging in his heart, discarding his previous nonchalant attitude toward the ancient treasury. He stared intently at Cultivator Pang, trying to discern the truth from his expression, while rapidly calculating within his mind.

'Bing'er and I are both at the fifth layer of the Golden Core stage. Continuing at our current pace of cultivation, in another fifty or sixty years, we will reach the peak of the ninth layer of Golden Core and encounter the bottleneck, unable to increase our strength further. Fifty years is but a fleeting moment for an immortal cultivator. The remaining time must be entirely devoted to searching for a Nascent Soul Pill and preparing the artifacts and raw materials needed for the Great Heavenly Tribulation. If our lifespan runs out before we find the pill and we cannot break through the Nascent Soul barrier, we can only sit in meditation and pass away.'

'Therefore, we must prepare the Nascent Soul Pill and all necessary tribulation artifacts as early as possible. Only then will we not be caught unprepared, leading to failure in the breakthrough or even death during the tribulation!'

'No matter what, I must at least find one Nascent Soul Pill for Bing'er!' Ye Qin secretly resolved.

Beside him, Huangfu Bing'er’s exquisitely beautiful face, veiled by light gauze, was also fixed on Ye Qin with determination, her thoughts unknown.

Cultivator Pang seemed satisfied with everyone's reaction. After a faint smile, he continued, "Since we have reached this point, I believe you all now understand the situation. If we were to search for those exceptionally rare tenth-order and above spiritual herbs ourselves, and then pay significant costs to ask a grandmaster alchemist to refine a Nascent Soul Pill, how easy would that be? If we can obtain ready-made Nascent Soul Pills from the treasury, it is undoubtedly the easiest path. The Nascent Soul Pills in this treasury were intended as rewards for outstanding Golden Core cultivators during the Immortal-Demon War, so there should be quite a few—enough for each of us to receive one or two, perhaps even more. Esteemed sirs, tell me, for the sake of the Nascent Soul Pill, is this risk worth taking?"

As Cultivator Pang finished speaking, the Elder Wang quickly interjected, "If we can obtain a single Nascent Soul Pill, even if my nephew and I have no hope of condensing a Nascent Soul, trading it for other spirit stones, artifacts, or treasures would be enough to ensure the prosperity of my Wang family for a hundred years!"

"If a Nascent Soul Pill truly exists, it is indeed worth the risk!" Ye Qin also stated calmly. "Given your foresight and extensive treasure-hunting experience, if you weren't considerably confident in finding this ancient treasury, Fellow Daoist Pang, you likely wouldn't have easily ventured to this cursed island. Since Fellow Daoist Pang has revealed the secrets of this treasury in such detail, it would be unreasonable for us to remain hesitant now."