"It seems I'll have to wait until the Nascent Soul stage to try again!" Ye Qin felt a pang of reluctance, but there was nothing else to be done. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the Silver Armored Guards into his storage pouch.

But then again, he had little to regret. Treasures on the level of the Nascent Soul stage, like the Ice Lotus Seed or the Netherflame, would likely be unusable even if he took them out now.

It was only the loss of a Ninth-Tier Silver Armored Guard that felt a bit regrettable. "Husband, these are two materials I retrieved from Kong Shi's storage pouch.

See if they are of any use? Can they be used for artifact forging?" Huangfu Bing'er suddenly recalled something and took out two storage pouches, presenting two spiritual items extracted from them to Ye Qin.

One was a smooth, round bead the size of a dragon's eye, emitting a faint, soft white light. A surging wave of water spiritual energy immediately emanated from it, instantly filling the entire cave dwelling.

The other was a section of bone, glittering with scales, flat and elongated, with fierce fire spiritual energy tightly clinging to it. "Nine-Patterned Yuan Clam Pearl!" "Flat skull bone of the Fire-Scaled Scarlet-Eyed Beast!" The labels on the storage pouches clearly identified the items, saving them the effort of guessing what raw materials they were.

"These two materials are quite good; both are Twelfth-Tier spiritual materials! Kong Shi was an expert in formations and possessed extensive knowledge, so his judgment was impeccable.

These three spiritual items are likely top-tier materials within the same elemental category in any treasury. Ordinarily, they should be sufficient to forge minor divine ability artifacts!" Ye Qin took them over, glanced at the tags, and was slightly surprised.

The value of these two materials was comparable to the skeletal remains of the Twelfth-Tier Deep Sea Poisonous Flood Dragon found in the Langya Secret Realm. Of course, these two materials were very small—one only the size of a dragon's eye, and the other merely the size of a forearm.

The aura they emitted was far less imposing than that of the hundred-zhang-long flood dragon. The descriptions on the labels were very detailed.

"The Nine-Patterned Yuan Clam absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, breathing in the essence of the sun and moon to grow. For every three hundred years of growth, a cloud pattern forms on its shell, and this pattern is replicated on the pearl it becomes after death.

This pearl possesses nine such cloud patterns and is an excellent primary material for forging high-grade water-elemental minor divine ability artifacts. Once refined, it can summon clouds and call for rain, wielding immense power over water spiritual energy." Ye Qin picked up the pearl and observed it; indeed, several faint cloud patterns were visible upon its surface.

"It also requires extremely complex auxiliary materials and forging techniques. Given your and my spiritual roots and current artifacts, neither of us possesses the capability or the need to refine it!" Ye Qin infused a trace of his mana into the Nine-Patterned Yuan Clam Pearl.

The water spiritual energy in the grotto intensified, instantly condensing into some rain clouds. "Although the Fire-Scaled Scarlet-Eyed Beast is not extinct, it is an exceedingly rare and peculiar demonic beast, resembling a cross between a horse and a deer, covered entirely in fiery red scales.

This flat bone grows from the forehead. When the Fire-Scaled Scarlet-Eyed Beast attacks and spits fire, a flash from the scales on this bone can greatly amplify the flame's power." Ye Qin waved his hand, gathering both rare Twelfth-Tier spiritual items back into his storage pouch.

"I recall Kong Shi destroying a tail feather from an ancient, variant Fire Peacock in the ice cave passage. Kong Shi probably intended to use this Fire-Scaled Flat Bone as the spine for an excellent fire-elemental minor divine ability fan, pairing it with that peacock feather.

However, without that Fire Peacock feather, the function of this Fire-Scaled Flat Bone is greatly diminished." Ye Qin shook his head and chuckled, "What a pity. Kong Shi labored in vain and didn't live to see the result!" Hearing this, Huangfu Bing'er glanced at the storage pouch with some dejection, slightly disappointed, "Though these materials are good, neither can be used by the Great Lord." "I already possess the Great Five Elements Sword; these raw materials are of no use to me.

Take them back and try forging them into a couple of artifacts for yourself. Even if you don't want them, selling them would fetch an extremely high price, enough to exchange for things you need from other cultivators." A warmth surged in Ye Qin’s heart, mingled with a faint amusement.

He grasped Huangfu Bing'er's smooth, jade-like hand and smiled, "Let's go. We'll return to Linhai City!" "En!" Huangfu Bing'er felt much better upon hearing his words.

She softly acknowledged him and followed Ye Qin out of the cave. Ye Qin summoned the Dark Cloud Veil, soaring into the air, transforming into a streak of dark light, leaving the small island behind, and rapidly flying toward the ancient ship outpost.

Several days later. Ye Qin and Bing'er arrived at the ancient ship outpost and used the teleportation array on the deck of the ancient ship to return directly to Linhai City in the East Sea Cultivation World.

For the next half month or so, Ye Qin was quite busy, having to dedicate time to handling the trivial matters of the Purple Sword Immortal Palace. He collected crucial intelligence from dozens of Golden Core cultivators stationed there, gathering reports from various Blood Sea outposts, and then relayed this intelligence to the higher echelons of the Purple Sword Palace.

According to the Purple Sword Palace's orders, Ye Qin was required to be stationed long-term in Linhai City, responsible for coordinating affairs in the Blood Sea region. For convenience, Ye Qin purchased a manor spanning several acres in Linhai City.

He usually cultivated within the manor with Bing'er, occasionally venturing out to gather intelligence or handle various administrative duties. In a quiet cultivation chamber within the Ye Family Manor.

One day, after finishing his cultivation meditation, Ye Qin took out a bamboo slip from his storage pouch. "Ancient Divine Ability Warship!

I wonder how effective it will be!" Ye Qin gazed at the bamboo slip, frowning slightly, and murmured softly to himself. He then extended his divine sense into the slip to examine its contents.

This bamboo slip contained the manufacturing blueprints for a divine ability ancient warship, along with the required materials, refining techniques, and so on. This type of warship was not the luxurious floating palace-like vessel under the Saint Emperor that lacked offensive power but focused solely on defense.

Instead, it was akin to the warships at the ancient ship outposts—powerful vessels equipped with spiritual energy heavy cannons mounted on their hulls. "Artifacts of the warship class are enormous in size, requiring vast quantities of various raw materials and demanding high and complex forging techniques, making their construction extremely expensive.

A single warship often costs hundreds of times more than an artifact of the same rank!" "This class of giant artifact has relatively low maneuverability compared to flying artifacts, making them unsuitable for small-field combat. However, their immense offensive and defensive power allows them to exert supreme combat strength on large, open battlefields.

Furthermore, they can serve as transfer points and bases for a certain number of cultivators, giving them immense military significance." "Due to their exorbitant cost, in the East Sea Cultivation World, typically only cultivators at or above the Nascent Soul stage—Palace Masters, Elders, and others from major Immortal Palaces with formidable financial resources—would bother forging them." "These warships are not powered by a cultivator's mana but consume high-grade spirit stones to facilitate navigation, attack, and defense." "Warship-class artifacts are assembled from multiple components. A single warship typically consists of a hull, heavy cannons, deck, sails, and equipped puppets." "The hull must be crafted from wood-elemental raw materials of Tenth-Tier or higher!

The internal structure includes the keel, rudder, and so forth." "The spiritual energy heavy cannons must be forged from metal-elemental raw materials of Tenth-Tier or higher! These are minor divine ability Heaven-Shattering Cannons!" "The deck must be made from earth-elemental and metal-elemental raw materials of Tenth-Tier or higher!

The side decks are inscribed with defensive formations, relying on spirit stones to activate the array and raise the ship's protective light shield. The main deck above features an inscribed teleportation array capable of long-distance transmission." "The sails must be made from wind-elemental raw materials of Tenth-Tier or higher!

The sails are inscribed with wind-elemental arrays, allowing the warship to fly." "Equipped puppets are capable of obeying a cultivator's commands to operate the warship." "In addition, many warships are equipped with auxiliary artifacts, such as war drums, formation flags, and other implements." "Warships are categorized based on the rank of their component materials and designs: Low-Grade Minor Divine Ability Warships, Mid-Grade Minor Divine Ability Warships, and High-Grade Minor Divine Ability Warships. The power and the consumption of high-grade spirit stones differ according to the grade.

Higher-grade warships demand a significantly larger expenditure of high-grade spirit stones." Ye Qin finished reading and fell into deep contemplation. This single bamboo slip contained assembly diagrams for over thirty types of warships.

They ranged from low-grade to high-grade designs, detailing the materials used and the forging procedures. The most crucial point was that even though these were minor divine ability-level warships, they consumed high-grade spirit stones.

This meant even a Golden Core cultivator could command such a vessel! Even if he failed to reach the Nascent Soul stage before the Immortal-Demon War erupted, he could significantly enhance his survivability and escape capability with this warship.

However, forging such a massive artifact would not be a matter of months or a few years. It might even require decades to construct such a colossal warship.

"It seems I need to prepare these required raw materials and components as early as possible, striving to complete a warship before the Immortal-Demon War breaks out. Otherwise, once the war starts, it will be too late!" Ye Qin considered this and put away the bamboo slip.

Since he had nothing planned for today, it was a good opportunity to start investigating the availability of the materials and components for the warship. With this thought, Ye Qin left the manor and headed toward the market district of Linhai City.

While Linhai City's scale was not as grand as Xian'ge City or Baifu City, as the easternmost immortal city in the East Sea Cultivation World, its size was certainly not small. Especially since this location was close to the Blood Sea, various cultivation forces converged here, making the environment extremely complex.

The majority of residents in this city were mid-to-late stage Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, who frequently traveled between Linhai City and various Blood Sea outposts to explore ancient ruins, hunt for heavenly treasures, and slay Blood Sea demonic beasts. Consequently, the number of merchant associations in Linhai City was substantial, and trade was naturally highly developed.

Ye Qin strolled into the city's market. People were constantly arriving and departing; cultivators of all descriptions mingled amidst rows upon rows of shops and mercantile houses, with countless cultivators bustling back and forth—it was exceptionally lively.

Recently, the number of cultivators dispatched by the major Immortal Palaces of the East Sea Cultivation World to the Blood Sea for various missions had clearly increased. The city was many times livelier than usual.

Ye Qin browsed the market for a while and noticed a sign hanging from a massive mercantile pavilion, causing a flicker in his mind. "Crimson Pavilion!" This must be a commercial branch under the Crimson Merchant Alliance.

The Crimson Merchant Alliance was one of the most renowned merchant organizations in the Blood Sea, with distribution in many Blood Sea outposts, naturally including vital locations like Linhai City. Ye Qin paused for a moment and stepped into the pavilion.

Perhaps because his cultivation was only Mid-Stage Golden Core, which was quite ordinary in Linhai City, the dozens of attendants inside the pavilion glanced at him but were busy recommending artifacts to other cultivators inside; no one came forward to greet him. Ye Qin paid them no mind and looked around the pavilion casually.

A rather arrogant-looking Nascent Soul cultivator with a greenish face and white beard was descending from the upper floor. On his sleeve was the emblem of the Crimson Merchant Alliance.

"Elder Qing, please take your time! I will certainly handle the matter you instructed as soon as possible." Several Golden Core cultivators from the pavilion followed closely behind, flattering and fawning over him.

One day, ticket...