Ye Qin spent the majority of his time in Linhai City, cultivating quietly and advancing his cultivation base, making a trip to the Blood Sea once a month to deliver strategic supplies for the Purple Sword Palace.
Even while dedicating most of his focus to cultivation, he remained vigilant regarding the shifting dynamics on the Immortal-Demon Battlefield.
In the blink of an eye, several years passed.
The construction of numerous Immortal Cities by the Eastern Sea cultivators in the Blood Sea clearly provoked the Demon Cultivators, who began organizing small-scale counterattacks, causing the situation in the Blood Sea to become increasingly volatile.
Although the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Eastern Sea successfully lured and killed quite a few Demon Cultivator spies, these victories were mostly achieved through overwhelming force—several Nascent Soul cultivators ganging up to eliminate a single Demon Cultivator before securing favorable results. If a Nascent Soul cultivator faced a Demon Cultivator of the same rank, the outcome was often unfavorable, with most Eastern Sea cultivators being defeated. Even when they managed to defeat the Demon Cultivator, they frequently failed to secure the kill, allowing the enemy to utilize the deep sea to escape.
The Eastern Sea cultivators set up traps and bait, but there were also instances where they severely underestimated the strength of the Demon Cultivators, resulting in numerous cases where their cultivators were defeated.
When Demon Cultivators suddenly appeared in large groups while the Eastern Sea cultivators were unprepared, the result was inevitably a brutal rout. A single defeat could lead to the destruction of a newly built city, the slaughter of at least dozens of Golden Core cultivators, and even the death of Nascent Soul cultivators at the hands of the Demon Cultivators. The ferocity and cunning of the Demon Clan cultivators shocked the Eastern Sea cultivators.
In the battles erupting in the Blood Sea, the Eastern Sea cultivators and the Demon Cultivators continued to probe each other, laying out their strategies with caution.
On this particular day, Ye Qin and Zhou Yao, leading a small squad of Golden Core cultivators, appeared near the Juye Stronghold and sped rapidly toward the direction of the great stone island being constructed by the Purple Sword Palace.
The Juye Stronghold had recently seen the appearance of several cultivator factions, resulting in the construction of several stone cities.
Because the Blood Sea was frequently patrolled by demonic beasts, Ye Qin’s transport squad always altered its delivery route. A group of five late-stage Golden Core cultivators was traveling rapidly through the sky aboard a high-grade flying artifact, a single-leaf flying boat. This artifact was swift, capable of carrying and protecting several cultivators simultaneously, and they could rotate control, conserving their spiritual power.
At this moment, Ye Qin sat cross-legged at the prow of the flying boat, maintaining deep concentration. His spiritual sense continuously monitored the movements in the surrounding sea while his mind silently absorbed the nuances of his cultivation manual.
In a few more years, he would be able to cultivate to the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core realm.
Once he broke through to the Ninth Layer of the Golden Core, he could choose to immediately push against the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage, or he could continue cultivating until the very peak of the Ninth Layer before attempting the breakthrough.
Whether newly entering the Ninth Layer or standing at its pinnacle, a cultivator could attempt the Nascent Soul realm.
However, most Golden Core cultivators preferred to attempt the breakthrough when they reached the peak of the Ninth Layer, as this provided a greater chance of success.
Zhou Yao, situated near the side of the flying boat, sighed and shook his head in front of Ye Qin.
"What is it?"
Ye Qin glanced over at him.
"The Killing Demon Ranking for the Golden Core stage is becoming increasingly fierce; the accumulation of merit is getting harder. Our Purple Sword Palace has five members in the top one thousand this month. But even the highest-ranked core disciple is only in the two or three hundreds, unable to crack the top hundred. The Shangtang Palace and the Wanluo Palace both have members ranking higher than ours in the Purple Sword Palace."
Zhou Yao held a jade slip in his hand and spoke with a slight pout.
Ye Qin offered a faint smile but did not interject, allowing Zhou Yao to continue his lamentations.
He knew what Zhou Yao was thinking: he was undoubtedly trying to stir Ye Qin into joining the front lines of the battle to secure a top-hundred ranking for the Purple Sword Palace.
Ye Qin had his own plans and would not easily be moved.
The Golden Core disciples of the Purple Sword Palace were, in fact, quite strong overall; having five disciples in the top one thousand was rare among the various Immortal Palaces. This was achieved even while the major Immortal Palaces of both the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance had dispatched large numbers of peak Golden Core disciples to fight.
It was just a pity that Zhou Yi, the Young Palace Master—the most talented and strongest among the Purple Sword Palace's Golden Core disciples—had yet to enter the fray, failing to add a top-one-hundred, or even top-ten, ranking for the Purple Sword Palace. Otherwise, the rankings of the Purple Sword Palace disciples would be nearly perfect.
Currently, the one occupying the absolute top spot remained Li Qingyu of the Taihao Sword Palace.
This individual’s strength was reputed to be phenomenal, and he had held the top position for a full several years, becoming the universally acknowledged number one late-stage Golden Core cultivator in the Eastern Sea.
Ye Qin did not know much about the Taihao Sword Palace, the central sect palace renowned for its exceptional sword cultivation techniques.
When transporting supplies to the stone city, he occasionally overheard other Purple Sword Palace cultivators mentioning the Taihao Sword Palace.
The Taihao Sword Palace, currently the reigning central sect palace, primarily practiced the Taihao Sword Art. It had relatively few core disciples, but most of them were exceptionally powerful.
In fact, the ancestor of the Taihao Sword Palace, True Monarch Taihao, had once fought against the ancestor of the Purple Sword Palace, Divine Monarch Purple Sword.
The Taihao Sword of the Taihao Sword Palace could almost contend with the Purple Sword Art of the Purple Sword Palace.
But—it was only "almost."
The Purple Sword Art carried the fearsome reputation of being "invincible among peers," a title the Taihao Sword Art lacked.
Unfortunately, the Purple Sword Art's Great Five Elements Sword Array and Lesser Three Wonders Sword Array had overly stringent spiritual root requirements, making them exceedingly rare treasures. Even over several hundred or thousand years, few cultivators could fully master the Purple Sword Art. Even when one appeared, their spiritual root aptitude might be insufficient for complete mastery, leaving Purple Sword Palace disciples often limited to mastering only a single flying sword from the technique, resulting in limited overall achievement.
The Taihao Sword Art, however, did not suffer from such troublesome restrictions.
Despite possessing a sword art claimed to be invincible, the Purple Sword Palace’s prestige in the Eastern Sea cultivation world was significantly less than that of the Taihao Sword Palace.
When Purple Sword Palace disciples spoke of the Taihao Sword Palace, their tone was invariably tinged with a touch of envy. Ye Qin pondered for a moment, about to say something to comfort Zhou Yao, when his gaze suddenly sharpened, focusing on the sea ahead.
A group of fifteen or sixteen mid-to-late stage Golden Core cultivators was flying frantically across the Blood Sea, their expressions frantic and battered.
The robes and Daoist attire of these cultivators were mostly tattered, many bearing signs of heavy or light damage, and their magic tools appeared dull and worn. It was evident they had just retreated from a fierce battle.
"Damn it! We were so close to successfully hunting those two Ninth-Rank demonic beasts, but suddenly two Demon Cultivators appeared leading a large swarm of beasts! A trap—it must have been a trap set by those Demon Cultivators! How else could things have aligned so perfectly!"
The leading cultivator, a stout man with a dark complexion, raged, his face filled with resentment and a hint of bitter unwillingness. Had they succeeded in hunting those two Ninth-Rank demonic beasts, his ranking on the Golden Core Killing Demon List would have jumped by at least one or two hundred spots.
"Boss, in this ambush by the demonic beasts, only a small fraction of our thirty-plus cultivators escaped. The losses are devastating! Even our leading Nascent Soul Ancestor was killed while fighting those two Demon Cultivators! How are we supposed to explain this to Palace Master Ding when we get back to the Di Sha Palace!" the cultivators following behind him worriedly asked.
"Return to the Di Sha Palace? Do we dare go back! With a Nascent Soul Ancestor dead, the Palace Master will be furious and will surely punish us severely. Going back will only mean misfortune!" the dark-faced man said dejectedly.
"Boss, then what do we do?"
"Not only did the mission fail this time, but the Ancestor is also lost! After going back, punishment is certain—either for deserting the field or for failing to protect the Ancestor. Either charge is serious."
This group of cultivators had been conscripted from both the Eastern Sea and the Blood Sea, mostly being treasure hunters or even cultivators with evil backgrounds, all affiliated with the Di Sha Palace under the Heavenly Demon Alliance. Among them, the strongest, Boss Huo, was undoubtedly their leader.
However, this unexpected, crushing defeat had left them in a predicament.
"Let's just leave the Di Sha Palace and join somewhere else!"
A thin old man with a goatee spoke with cold venom, "Boss, you've killed several Ninth and Eighth-Rank demonic beasts, ranking 583rd on last month's Golden Core Killing Demon List—you're already somewhat famous. No matter which faction we join, they will fight over you! Our entire group should follow you elsewhere. Why should we go back to the Di Sha Palace to suffer! If we join another power, the Di Sha Palace can do nothing about it."
The goatee cultivator did not spare a thought for their fallen comrades. He was far more concerned about his own future prospects.
"Fine, let's do that!"
Boss Huo listened, his expression complex, and nodded fiercely. He was not a core member of the Di Sha Palace; he would never be fully utilized regardless.
Leaving the Di Sha Palace for another Immortal Palace or some other faction would still offer him a future. In the current Eastern Sea cultivation world, rankings were everything; as long as he could maintain his standing, he would have a place in any faction.
It was just that during the desperate breakthrough in the previous battle, he had lost several top-grade magic artifacts, which was still a source of intense pain.
Suddenly, Boss Huo's expression tightened.
He saw a single-leaf flying boat speeding rapidly in the distance ahead.
"Heh heh, let's pull a job and recoup some of our losses!"
Boss Huo stared at the flying boat and suddenly grinned hideously.
He had been an evil cultivator running rampant in the Blood Sea for decades, with countless lives on his hands. Only after joining an Immortal Palace under the Heavenly Demon Alliance was he forced to adhere to rules. Now that he was leaving, who cared about regulations? He would seize a windfall first.
"Boss, you want to rob those cultivators? The Dual Alliances issued penal decrees: looting disciples from other Immortal Palaces, once verified, will be executed without exception! Are you certain you can wipe them out completely?"
The goatee cultivator started in alarm, his cold eyes flickering.
"Hah! So many cultivators die on the Blood Sea battlefield every day; who has the time to investigate this nonsense! If they die, others will just assume they were killed by demonic beasts. We do this cleanly, keep our mouths shut, and absolutely no news will leak out! After this score, we'll head to another Blood Sea stronghold and join a different Immortal Palace! Less nonsense, move!"
Boss Huo’s eyes glinted with malice. After speaking harshly, he swept his black robe, transforming into a streak of dark light, and flew rapidly toward Ye Qin's position.
"Might as well!"
"It's been a while since we had a real meal; snatching a few magic artifacts wouldn't be bad either!"
The other cultivators exchanged glances, each displaying wicked grins of delight.
This group of cultivators had done many unscrupulous things; otherwise, they wouldn't have gravitated toward each other.
Their group of fifteen or sixteen mid-to-late stage Golden Core cultivators outnumbered the opponent by a full three to one. With such a significant advantage, they were confident they could eliminate everyone without worry. After exchanging glances, they immediately transformed into over a dozen streaks of multicolored light, following Boss Huo as they shot toward the single-leaf flying boat.