The Silver Shark shrieked, its entire body erupting with a faint, silvery sheen several inches thick, the demonic energy from its core surging outward. It wildly manipulated its hands, unleashing a massive Silver Shark spanning hundreds of feet, attempting to forcibly reel back the Silver Shark demonic soldiers it had launched.

Silver Sharks were a species of inherently powerful monstrous beasts; the might of a Silver Shark demonic cultivator was enough to overturn mountains and seas, capable of shifting colossal peaks thousands of feet high. This Silver Shark, along with its razor-sharp essence, was further refined into a demonic weapon using its own fangs—a weapon capable of endless transformation and immense lethality.

But within that ghostly mist, the specter vaguely visible held the very tip of the Silver Shark’s demonic blade firmly in a pair of enormous white palms, utterly unmoved. No matter how frantically the Silver Shark thrashed its demonic essence, it could not pull the weapon back.

The Silver Shark couldn't help but feel shock, anger, and a sliver of terror. As a transformed demonic cultivator, it had sensed no dangerous aura from Ye Qin, leading it to hold his power in disdain.

However, from this vast expanse of dense ghostly fog, it felt an overwhelming pressure. The entity within the mist possessed strength equal to, if not greater than, its own.

Corpse Qi snaked around, binding it, forcing it to resist with its full demonic power. Of course, its fear was only a slight tremor.

The ghost opposite them was not powerful enough to genuinely threaten its life. “Who are you?

How can a mere Golden Core cultivator command such a potent spectral entity as a protector!? Are you perhaps a key descendant of some Sect Master or paramount figure from the East Sea?

Otherwise, how could you possess such a formidable guard…” The Silver Shark gripped its weapon tightly, staring at Ye Qin in astonishment. Beneath the surprise, a flicker of pleasure surfaced.

It had been soaring through the Sea of Blood, intending to hunt cultivators. To stumble upon the direct lineage of some important East Sea cultivator was an unexpected bounty.

It had originally planned to dispatch Ye Qin and his companions alone, but upon seeing Ye Qin summon the Transformed Skeleton Demon, it changed its mind. Although it had come to the Sea of Blood without authorization, it knew the Clan King had dispatched several Demon King escorts to follow behind and protect it.

It simply disliked restraint, which was why it hadn't traveled with them. If it could just stall these Golden Core cultivators and the Transformed Skeleton Demon here until its escorts arrived, would it still worry about a mere Transformed Skeleton Demon!?

Silver Shark cultivators were never merely ferocious; they were cunning and excelled at hunting. Ye Qin frowned, subtly glancing back at the Great Wing Warship that was powering up behind him.

Bing'er was still piloting the vessel, completing final preparations. Bai Xiu’er currently stood at the bow, a pale green ancient halberd clutched in her hand, her pretty face taut with tension, ready to intercept any attack the demonic cultivator might launch against the ship.

“As for who I am, that is none of your concern,” Ye Qin paused for a moment, then stated coldly, “Since you can’t recognize this spirit, then I shall make it perfectly clear…” Under the control of his spiritual sense, the ghost fog, dozens of feet wide, rapidly shrank as the entity within absorbed it. Revealed clearly was a tall skeleton, possessing a human-like frame.

It was clearly a Skeleton Demon formed from a transformed beast. This Transformed Skeleton Demon had wisps of eerie cold fire blazing within its abyssal, shadowy eye sockets.

The Transformed Skeleton Demon, still clutching the Silver Shark Demonic Weapon, suddenly cracked its great mouth open, the jaws flexing once. It had just laughed—a grotesque expression, yet one could discern a mockery aimed at the Silver Shark’s overestimation of its own strength.

The Demon Crocodile was also a beast species endowed with innate immense strength; a transformed Demon Crocodile was no weaker than a transformed Silver Shark. “A Demon Crocodile Skeleton!

No wonder its strength is so great!” The Silver Shark’s face darkened. A Demon Crocodile, and moreover, a Skeleton Demon—the Corpse Qi exerted a nearly universal suppression on all living things, causing the Shark intense aversion, apprehension, and hindrance.

While the Silver Shark hadn't reached the point of fearing the Skeleton Demon, being invaded by its Corpse Qi would be extremely troublesome. “Hmph.

The Demon Crocodile is merely a terrestrial demon race, daring to contend with this King in the Sea of Blood. This sea is my territory; with inexhaustible Water Spirit Qi, what can you use to fight me…” The Silver Shark suddenly grinned menacingly and snatched wildly in the air with both hands.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Over a dozen gigantic shark phantoms, conjured from Water Spirit Qi hundreds of feet long, materialized above the sea surface, their cavernous maws wide open.

The Silver Shark waved a hand, and these Water Spirit Shark phantoms lunged to bite at the Transformed Skeleton Demon. The Transformed Skeleton Demon showed no weakness, simultaneously spitting out over a dozen streams of Corpse Fluid toward the mass of Water Spirit Phantoms.

The Corpse Fluid engaged the Water Spirit Sharks in a fierce struggle, hissing as they rapidly neutralized each other. The Silver Shark flashed its form, attempting to bypass the Transformed Skeleton Demon and strike directly at Ye Qin.

But how could the Transformed Skeleton Demon allow that? The Skeleton Demon commanded a cloud of ghost fog, vanishing from its spot with a flash of black light, only to reappear elsewhere in a burst, intercepting the Silver Shark and engaging it in close-quarters combat.

One transformed demonic cultivator against one transformed Skeleton Demon—their battle stirred up the heavens and overturned the seas, raising waves hundreds of feet high. The sea area within a ten-mile radius churned violently with potent Corpse Qi and Water Spirit Qi.

Low-level sea beasts in the depths fled in terror. A low-level beast accidentally brushed by the Corpse Qi would instantly corrode into a pile of white bones.

Though the Transformed Skeleton Demon possessed limited intellect, its ingrained instinct for brutal combat remained undiminished, requiring no taxing spiritual control from Ye Qin. Ye Qin, controlling five Great Five Elements Swords to protect himself, observed the battle coldly from not far away.

With his peak Golden Core Seventh Layer cultivation, the Great Five Elements Sword Formation, composed of five high-grade Nascent Soul magical artifacts, was more than sufficient to withstand the residual shockwaves of two transformed beast battles. Considering he, at the Golden Core mid-stage, had once managed to withstand a blow from the Nascent Soul mid-stage Old Ancestor Green Robe, resisting the residual turmoil of transformed cultivators fighting was now far more than enough.

He soon realized that the transformed Silver Shark cultivator was completely incapable of gaining the upper hand against the Transformed Skeleton Demon. While the Skeleton Demon managed to suppress the Silver Shark cultivator, it also failed to deliver any significant damage to it.

Seeing this, Ye Qin let out a small breath of relief. This transformed cultivator was merely in the early stage of transformation, ranking low even within that tier.

The Great Wing Warship was completing its final preparations. A surge pulsed in Ye Qin’s chest as the desire to strike arose.

He narrowed his eyes, executed the Sword Control Art, and made a gesture. “Great Five Elements Sword Formation—Kill!” Ye Qin attacked fiercely, sending out the five Nascent Soul flying swords.

The five flying swords transformed into intensely brilliant streaks of light, whoosh… slicing through the air, suddenly plunging into the fray. “Whooo,” a fierce shriek rang out as they shot toward the exposed spine of the Silver Shark, which was visible behind it.

“Sharp Lock…” A dense volley of metallic clangs exploded outward. The Silver Shark was locked in a desperate, frenzied melee with the Skeleton Demon and had no time to defend against Ye Qin’s sudden assault, not even attempting any evasive maneuvers.

The five flying swords struck the Silver Shark’s back forcefully, exploding outward. But the protective sheen peeled away, revealing only a few faint scratches—it failed to penetrate the Silver Shark’s defense.

The five flying swords were forcefully repelled, their light dimmed. Struck hard, the Silver Shark’s pupils flared with ferocity, and it glanced toward Ye Qin.

In the Demon Sea, when had it ever suffered such indignity, incurred such a loss? If it did not kill these cultivators who had insulted it today, what face would it have left to roam the Sea of Blood?

It tried to charge forward, but the Skeleton Demon clung to it tenaciously, blocking any chance to deal with Ye Qin. “This demonic armor… its defense is so tough!” Ye Qin, seeing his full-strength strike prove useless, felt a chill.

He recalled his flying swords, realizing with alarm that an insurmountable gulf still separated him from an early-stage transformed cultivator. The disparity in combat power between a Golden Core cultivator and a transformed demonic cultivator was simply too vast; a genuine contest was impossible.

His strike couldn't even breach the cultivator’s protective sheen, let alone heavily injure the demon. Fortunately, he had only intended to test the waters; he had no intention of engaging the transformed cultivator in a prolonged duel.

The colossal sails of the Great Wing Warship glowed brilliantly with azure light, and its protective barrier was fully deployed. Whether to defend or flee, all preparations were made.

The initiative was in his hands. Ye Qin had no intention of leaving immediately.

He nodded toward the Great Wing Warship, his calm gaze holding a trace of ruthlessness. Huangfu Bing'er understood his intent and nodded back.

The ten Spirit Cannons aboard the warship began to flicker and activate. Within the barrels of the Heaven-Rumbling Spirit Cannons, ten destructive powers finally began to manifest, their light growing steadily more dazzling.

The light beams fired by the Heaven-Rumbling Spirit Cannons traveled in straight lines with extreme precision. Even if the Silver Shark was engaged with the Skeleton Demon, they could still be aimed directly at it for bombardment.

“Eh…” The Silver Shark, engaged in fierce combat with the Skeleton Demon, finally detected that something was wrong. That strange, large apparatus, which it had initially sensed no threat from and paid little attention to, suddenly began emitting a potent, destructive aura that was rapidly intensifying.

These ten destructive auras were even significantly stronger than the Transformed Skeleton Demon itself. Ye Qin possessed something far more terrifying than the Transformed Skeleton Demon in his hands—this astonished the Shark immensely.

“No…” It felt as if it were locked onto by ten destructive auras. It gave a violent shudder, and sheer terror flashed across its ferocious face.

It unleashed hundreds of fierce, powerful fists, frantically driving the Transformed Skeleton Demon back a short distance. It had intended to stall the Transformed Skeleton Demon and Ye Qin’s group until its own Demon King escorts arrived.

But now, it seemed, it would suffer a major loss before they could even appear. In an instant, it transformed into a flash of silver light and dove straight down toward the sea a thousand feet below, attempting to escape via the water.

“Boom, boom, boom…” The Great Wing Warship violently unleashed ten destructive pillars of spiritual energy, crossing and striking the escaping Silver Shark cultivator as it fled rapidly downward. The Silver Shark cultivator was greatly alarmed and forcibly altered its flight path while moving at high speed.

However, against ten beams of destructive light, while it evaded seven, it was struck by three. Furthermore, one beam struck its vital head perfectly, causing a spray of bloody mist.

Splash… The Silver Shark plummeted into the sea. The Transformed Skeleton Demon transformed into a streak of black energy and followed immediately, splashing into the water.

Moments later. The Transformed Skeleton Demon emerged from the sea surface, one skeletal hand dragging the tail of a Silver Shark hundreds of feet long, its head mostly blasted apart.

It flew toward the Great Wing Warship, its mouth curved in a grin.