Qin Jia piloted the Great Winged Warship, slicing through the blood-red sky. To evade concealed tracking by demon cultivators from afar, the vessel altered its course several times mid-journey. After more than ten days, the group—a single person and his companions—arrived about a hundred li from the cliffs of Scarlet Sand Island. Ye Qin recalled the warship and, without stopping at the hidden outpost, proceeded directly to the Teleportation Array there to return to Linhai City in the Eastern Sea Isles.

The moment Ye Qin emerged alone from the city's teleportation array, he sensed something amiss in the atmosphere. Hundreds of cultivators, most in the mid-to-late Golden Core stage, and even several Nascent Soul cultivators, were massed around the central array. A large contingent of city guards, clad in armor emblazoned with the Linhai City insignia, stood watch, inspecting every cultivator entering or leaving via the teleportation array. Every returning cultivator had their identity meticulously checked. Ye Qin exchanged a look with Huangfu Bing'er, both puzzled, but they quietly waited their turn.

Soon, it was Ye Qin’s party. Two late Golden Core cultivators, heavily armored with the Linhai City crest displayed, swept their divine senses over him.

“What has happened in the city?” Ye Qin asked the guards responsible for the check, his expression unchanged.

“Has the esteemed guest been in the Blood Sea for a long time? The entire city has been on high alert since last year. Anyone entering or exiting the Blood Sea must have their identity and origins verified. Please cooperate and present proof of identity to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings,” one of the Golden Core guards stated coldly after sizing Ye Qin up.

Ye Qin nodded without speaking. He understood that some demon cultivators adept at illusion techniques could perfectly mimic human cultivators, even mimicking their aura closely. If one infiltrated Linhai City, it would pose a massive threat. The Eastern Sea Immortal City had suffered such an incident previously, where demon cultivators discovered the cultivators' true strengths, leading to a devastating attack and heavy losses. Thus, Linhai City was always exceedingly strict with its scrutiny.

Ye Qin calmly presented the Elder Token of the Purple Sword Palace. “I am an Elder of the Purple Sword Palace. My wife and a tribal handmaiden accompany me.”

“The Fifth Elder of the Purple Sword Immortal Palace.” The Golden Core guard showed a flicker of surprise upon seeing the black token and reading the inscription. Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er had worn ordinary, unmarked clothes while refining pills on the spirit island for the past few years. However, an Immortal Palace token was extremely difficult to forge. Furthermore, most Elders of the Eastern Sea Immortal Palace were Nascent Soul cultivators, belonging to the upper echelon of the Eastern Sea, and rarely seen; this token held an imposing, golden-hued authority that could not be faked. The guard quickly noticed Bai Xiuer standing behind Huangfu Bing'er and showed mild surprise. Few Earth Tribe warriors accompanied the Eastern Sea cultivators to the Blood Sea; seeing her grip a dull cyan ancient halberd emanating faint malice suggested she was a high-rank warrior.

“So, an Elder of the Purple Sword Palace. We apologize; this is merely routine procedure, we meant no offense,” the guard offered a slight bow, his demeanor instantly becoming respectful.

A late Golden Core cultivator holding the rank of Immortal Palace Elder must possess extraordinary means. Even a direct disciple of the Immortal Palace would never attain such a position without reaching the Nascent Soul stage or achieving immense merit, the guard thought privately. He inwardly admired the clear and composed expression of the fair-faced young cultivator before him. An Immortal Palace Elder was far superior in status to mere city-guarding Golden Core cultivators like himself.

“No matter. Have there been any recent reports of conflict?” Ye Qin inquired calmly.

“Several Sect Masters from the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the five supreme leaders of the Demonic Heaven Alliance are already deploying in Linhai City in preparation for the Immortal-Demon War. Since you are an Immortal Palace Elder, you will undoubtedly know more inside information than I once you return to the Palace,” the Golden Core guard replied with a smile, swiftly verifying Ye Qin’s identity without further questioning Huangfu Bing’er or Bai Xiuer.

Several Sect Masters and paramount leaders have arrived? No wonder Linhai City’s defenses are so tight. Ye Qin murmured to himself, thanked the guard, and proceeded with Huangfu Bing’er and Bai Xiuer toward the Linhai market district. Returning to the Immortal Palace was not urgent; first, he needed to deal with the few artifact-refining raw materials he had acquired from the Blood Sea.

“My Lord, seeing this situation, the tension for the Immortal-Demon War is escalating. I have only just entered the eighth layer of the Golden Core stage, and you are still a hair's breadth away from it. Although we are late Golden Core cultivators, our strength is far inferior to Nascent Soul cultivators, and there will certainly be risks on the battlefield. What are your plans, my lord?” Huangfu Bing’er asked, her delicate brows furrowed with a trace of worry as they walked.

“A war of this magnitude, involving the entire cultivation world of the Eastern Sea and the Blood Sea, means no one above the mid-Golden Core stage can escape involvement. However, given our status as Grandmaster Alchemists and Divine Alchemists, we shouldn’t be relegated to frontline cannon fodder. Furthermore, I hold the token of an Outer Elder of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, granting me the authority to refuse summons. The only concern is that the Heavenly Dao Alliance might demand vast quantities of spirit pills for war consumption; if the pill refinement quota becomes too heavy, it could impede our cultivation progress. Once this Immortal-Demon War kicks off, it could easily last for decades, perhaps a century. We must strive to break through to the Nascent Soul stage early in the conflict. Regardless of the war's progress, as long as our own strength is sufficient, we need not worry excessively. Once we become Nascent Soul cultivators, this war can equally serve as a grand tempering experience with significant gains,” Ye Qin mused for a moment before explaining to Huangfu Bing’er. Moreover, ever since testing the might of the Great Winged Warship against the Golden Core cultivators from the Myriad Luo Palace and the Silver Flood Dragon demon cultivators from the Blood Sea, he felt a surge of confidence. Unless besieged simultaneously by several early-stage Manifestation demon cultivators, he and Bing’er possessed the strength to fight on equal footing.

At this moment, Ye Qin entered the Linhai City market district alone. The marketplace was busier than usual yet carried an added tension. Golden Core cultivators thronged the area, busy with buying and selling; few had the leisure to wander idly.

“Yes, once we reach the Nascent Soul stage, we will certainly see battle. Hunting a single demon cultivator yields rewards equivalent to several years of alchemy.” Huangfu Bing’er smiled slightly, recalling the immense benefits she had seen after hunting the tenth-rank Manifestation Silver Shark demon cultivator, whose spoils were rich. Ye Qin glanced at the prominently displayed Heavenly Dao Pavilion in the market, and Huangfu Bing’er and Bai Xiuer headed toward it. The refining materials obtained from the Silver Shark demon cultivator were extremely precious, capable of crafting tenth-rank artifacts. Entrusting these materials to artifact refiners specialized in the craft was undoubtedly the best course of action.

Ye Qin and his party entered the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

“Elder Ye, it has been quite some time since you last visited our pavilion. Please, come in quickly!” A manager busy at the counter looked up inadvertently, his eyes immediately lighting up. He hastily set aside his paperwork and rushed forward with a deferential air. Many Golden Core cultivators nearby displayed looks of surprise; even they, late Golden Core experts, had never received such a warm welcome from this manager. The manager paid them no mind, leading Ye Qin’s party toward the luxurious private rooms upstairs. As one of the managers of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, and one of the few qualified to interact with an Outer Elder of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, he was well aware of Ye Qin’s esteemed status. Ye Qin said nothing, simply following upstairs.

“Has the Elder come today to sell a batch of high-grade spirit pills?” This manager, already familiar with Ye Qin’s habits, got straight to the point after leading the party to the room.

“I have refined some spirit pills over the years. However, my primary purpose today is to commission your pavilion to refine several artifacts. Do you have artifact refiners capable of handling such materials?” Ye Qin said with a slight smile.

“Oh? What attributes and grades are the refining raw materials? The Heavenly Dao Commerce Guild has many top-tier artifact refiners capable of handling high-grade materials,” Manager Wang inquired with some curiosity. Ye Qin took out a palm-sized, silver-gleaming scale, placing it on the table.

“This Silver Shark scale must be material from a tenth-rank demon cultivator, Elder Ye. You must have more than just this small piece. Please present all the spiritual materials so I may examine them,” Manager Wang’s eyes lit up as he picked up the material, examining it closely. This manager was himself an extremely experienced artifact refiner. Commissioning the refinement of such high-grade materials would cost a substantial fee, a venture he was delighted to pursue. Ye Qin produced a storage pouch filled with the Silver Flood Dragon materials, slowly waiting for Manager Wang’s appraisal while sipping the spiritual tea served by an attendant.

“Based on the spiritual materials you have gathered, what kind of artifacts can be forged?” Ye Qin asked, feeling somewhat relieved seeing how skillfully the manager appraised the materials.

“These Silver Shark scales, combined with other spiritual materials, can be refined and specially processed into a tenth-rank Silver Light Armor artifact. Worn close to the body, it would not only resist blades and magical artifacts but also possess excellent spell-defense capabilities—truly rare. It is a pity that these Silver Shark scales are not entirely complete; there are many damaged sections. I estimate we can only forge one complete set of Silver Light Armor artifacts,” Manager Wang said, admiring the large slabs of Silver Flood Dragon scale with delight, before shaking his head with a trace of regret.

“This Silver Shark tendon is also a superior-grade tendon. It can be forged into a magical whip or used as bowstring. If refined into a bowstring, it would require one top-grade spiritual material for the bow body to create a formidable strong bow.”

“These sharp, primary teeth… if the Flood Dragon’s demon soul can be integrated as the artifact spirit, they could be forged into a set of Silver Blade Water-attribute minor divine ability artifacts!”

“As for these scattered fragments of the Silver Shark teeth—there are over a hundred, each only about half a zhang long. They are not easy to handle. Perhaps they could be fashioned into a set of Silver Blade artifacts or Silver Tooth Arrows,” Manager Wang concluded after examining all the raw materials in the storage pouch.

Ye Qin weighed the options internally.

That Silver Shark demon soul is water-attribute and not suitable for Bing’er. Although the Heaven's Unity Azure Water Sword is a water-attribute Nascent Soul flying sword, its primary function is stealth and sudden assault, which doesn't align with the soul’s characteristics. It would be excellent, however, to cooperate with these Silver Shark teeth to forge a set of special water-attribute minor divine ability artifacts. Whether for personal use or for sale, it would be valuable. After consulting Huangfu Bing’er’s opinion, he retrieved a sealing jade bottle containing the Silver Flood Dragon’s demon soul and handed it to Manager Wang. “This bottle seals the demon soul of this Silver Shark; please have your artifact refiners refine it. Additionally, please refine these Silver Shark scales into a set of Silver Shark Soft Armor, purifying them as much as possible.”

“As for the Silver Shark tendon…” Ye Qin paused here, looking toward Bai Xiuer. Before mastering her shamanistic arts, Xiuer only possessed the cyan ancient halberd, clearly lacking long-range offensive capabilities. If she could possess a set of strong bow and sharp arrows, under her divine strength projection, they could exert extremely powerful effects.

With this thought, Ye Qin continued, “Please, Manager Wang, help me select a top-grade wood-spirit material from the Heavenly Dao Pavilion to combine with these fine silver teeth to form a set of bow and arrows. However, this set of archery equipment must be usable by a warrior without relying on magic power.”

“A demon soul?” Manager Wang took the jade bottle sealing the soul, unable to suppress his astonishment. He had initially assumed Elder Ye had merely collected discarded materials from a dead Silver Flood Dragon in the Blood Sea. But now, it appeared Elder Ye not only possessed a substantial amount of materials from the shark but also its very soul, suggesting Elder Ye himself had slain it. For a Golden Core cultivator to kill a Manifestation-stage demon beast was truly astonishing. (To be continued. For further developments, please visit PiXin Q Hand Scroll Pi Chapter for more support to the author and genuine reading.)