Ye Qin urged his magic power to the utmost, the Southern Bright Vermillion Fire Sword speeding toward the depths of the ice cave passage.

From the depths of the ice cave, the roar of intense magical combat and near-desperate howls were echoing, the entire ice cave passage vibrating violently. It was clear the fighting had reached a frenzy, a matter of life and death.

Ye Qin recognized Cao Shi’s voice, and his heart stirred. But he couldn't tell who Cao Shi was battling—was it Sun Xing or Cultivator Pang?

He exchanged a glance with Huangfu Bing'er, and they accelerated their pace within the ice cave, which was bristling with crystalline spikes.

After turning through two bends in the passage, Ye Qin immediately saw Cultivator Pang and Sun Xing standing with their hands behind their backs, observing, occasionally letting out cold sneers as they pointed and murmured about what lay ahead, their expressions utterly relaxed.

Sun Xing glanced over when Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er appeared and remarked calmly, "Daoist Ye, Madam Ye, the two of you have arrived as well!"

Ye Qin's appearance was not entirely unexpected for Sun Xing. He knew Ye Qin possessed five Primordial Spirit artifacts. Among this group of treasure-seeking cultivators, only a select four or five truly possessed formidable strength.

"Daoist Brother Sun, Daoist Brother Pang."

Ye Qin halted, nodded to the two men, and looked ahead.

Two hundred feet away, Grand Cultivator Cao was locked in deadly combat with several Crystal Ice Demon Spirits.

These Ice Crystal Demon Spirits were all ninth-tier beings, possessing the strength of the late Golden Core stage.

Standing over ten zhang tall, their bodies were covered in shimmering crystal armor, their defenses incredibly thick. Their fists, and indeed their entire bodies, were made of extraordinarily hard ice spikes. The force behind their swings rivaled that of an Ice-elemental Primordial Spirit artifact.

The desperate roars were indeed coming from Grand Cultivator Cao.

Although he boasted a cultivation level of the ninth tier of the Golden Core, having been cornered by the combined efforts and exhaustive techniques of the other cultivators, he had fled into this ice cave passage only to be swiftly forced into an impossible situation by the several Crystal Ice Demon Spirits. His Demon Suppressing Hammer Primordial Spirit artifact swung wildly, smashing against the Demon Spirits, yet it failed to inflict any significant harm.

Sun Xing and Cultivator Pang made no move to approach, merely observing from a distance with cold smiles, waiting for Cao Shi to be killed by the Demon Spirits.

In the span of a few breaths, Cultivator Fan and Kong Shi appeared, seemingly emerging from the passage.

Ye Qin glanced back, surprised.

Why were Kong Shi and Cultivator Fan allied and venturing this deep into the ice cave together?!

Cao Shi’s battle with the Crystal Ice Demon Spirits was raging, and this strange thought flashed through Ye Qin’s mind as he continued to observe.

Grand Cultivator Cao was struggling desperately, only able to defend against the frenzied attacks of the multiple Crystal Ice Demon Spirits, unable to penetrate further into the cave’s depths.

By this time, Sun Xing and the other treasure-seeking cultivators had arrived.

To retreat from the ice cave was now impossible.

Grand Cultivator Cao was utterly hopeless. In the treasure hall, he had a chance to escape into a passage and cling to a sliver of life. But now, this was a complete dead end, without even the slightest possibility of a turnaround.

"I have roamed the Sea of Blood for decades, joining forces with other rogue cultivators to ambush and kill countless treasure seekers. Today, I am being forced to die by treasure seekers!"

"How infuriating! I have already obtained three Nascent Soul Pills! These are the pills that drive countless late-stage Golden Core cultivators to madness! I was on the verge of leaving this treasury, just needing the final tribulation for my nascent soul formation to become an Ancestor of the Nascent Soul, a ruler in the Sea of Blood! I am not reconciled—!"

"That surnamed Ye, you severely injured my second brother; I haven't had a chance to settle that score with you yet!"

Grand Cultivator Cao’s pupils were bloodshot, descending into mania, his resentment boiling over with nowhere to vent.

"Since you won't let me live, I will drag you all down with me in death!"

Grand Cultivator Cao’s eyes blazed with ferocity, letting out a monstrous, chilling laugh as he swept his Demon Suppressing Hammer to push back the surrounding Demon Spirits, his eyes crimson. He lunged madly toward Sun Xing and the others.

Spiritual energy swelled torrentially within him, a frantic power churning through his body. His fleshly form visibly twisted and expanded at an alarming rate, doubling in size in the blink of an eye.

He was attempting self-detonation, using his physical body to severely wound Sun Xing and the others. If they were heavily damaged, the terrifying Crystal Ice Demon Spirits battling him in the cave would surely claim their lives. This was the most potent form of revenge Cao Shi could enact, even in death.

However, this was merely his wishful thinking.

Those who reached this ice cave—Sun Xing, Cultivator Pang, Ye Qin—were all sharp-witted individuals. They