Ye Tai collected the three Golden-Eyed Vulture demon cultivators sealed by the ice mountain. They had been frozen by Old Monster Han Shan’s swimming technique for a long time; the chilling energy had penetrated deep into their bodies. Though not dead, their flesh, blood, sinews, and bones were entirely frozen, rendering them nearly powerless.
Ye Qin shattered the ice crystals using the Silver Flood Dragon Flying Blade and executed the three Golden-Eyed Vulture demon cultivators, extracting their most valuable components: the demon core, the demon spirit, and the spiritual root bone.
These three materials served the greatest purpose: the demon core could be used to refine Nascent Soul stage spiritual pills; the demon spirit could serve as the artifact spirit for a minor divine ability magical tool; and the spiritual root bone was for the Corpse Bone Slime Skeleton Demon to absorb corpse energy.
As for the demon cultivators' flesh, blood, sinews, and bones, they were also highly valuable, serving as potent tonics after injury. The demon cultivator hides and sharp claws were raw materials for crafting offensive and defensive magical tools—ordinary cultivators would likely be ecstatic to obtain them. However, for Ye Qin, these items offered negligible benefit, and he paid them little mind.
With these early and middle-stage transformation cultivators slain, the Golden-Eyed Vulture tribe could no longer pose any threat to them.
This was not due to any inherent weakness in the Golden-Eyed Vulture tribe, but rather the overwhelming strength of the five Nascent Soul cultivators in this group.
The strength of a single Golden-Eyed Vulture tribe was comparable to that of a minor Immortal City in the East Sea. Yet, the number of peak demon cultivators they could field was pitifully small—it was unclear whether this tribe inherently lacked transformation-stage demon cultivators, or if those powerful cultivators had departed for the Sea of Blood, leaving the lair unguarded by strong demons.
The cultivators soared over the Golden-Eyed Vulture tribe’s territory and continued deeper into the Demon Sea.
Along the way, they encountered several more demon tribes in succession.
Old Monster Han Shan and Ghost Lord Huang Ling took turns attacking, their killing intent fierce, meeting almost no worthy opponents along the route.
Ye Qin still harbored some worry; killing their way through like this created too much commotion, likely attracting unwanted trouble.
“There is no need to worry about getting lost in the Demon Sea. This map of the Demon Sea terrain I possess was drawn by an ancient, mighty cultivator. It records the Demon Sea geography and demon tribes in considerable detail. The terrain of the Demon Sea remains unchanged for eternity; only the demon tribes shift. Our goal is the Demon Realm. By avoiding the massive demon tribes and passing through the territories of smaller ones, we will be fine!” the Saint Sovereign said dismissively.
Whoosh, whoosh…! In the gloomy sky above the Demon Sea, dozens of piercing, strange shrieks erupted as a swarm of seventy or eighty demon cultivators burst from the clouds.
These demon cultivators displayed varied appearances: Demon Eagle Tribe, Demon Serpent Tribe, Sea Beast Tribe—an extreme diversity of tribal origins. There were the strong and burly Sea Whale Tribe demon cultivators, and also the seemingly frail Demon Shrimp Tribe ones. They appeared humanoid but retained distinct demonic traits. Among them were even members of races that were historically enemies, yet they were gathered together now.
Leading this group was an extremely powerful late-stage transformation Demon King from the Sea Whale Tribe, who had summoned demon cultivators from over a dozen nearby tribes.
Hovering above the sea, this swarm of demon cultivators gazed upon the two battered corpses of Winged Serpent Tribe demon cultivators floating on the water. Their expressions were grim, carrying a distinct sense of shared sorrow.
The East Sea cultivators dared to slaughter demon tribe members so wantonly in the Demon Sea—it was utterly horrifying. This was something that had not occurred in nearly three thousand years, and it naturally fueled their extreme rage.
“Two Dao Companions died; they must have been killed about an hour ago! The wounds were inflicted by ice magic, and their demon cores and spirits were taken. It must have been that group of East Sea cultivators,” someone stated. “Damn it, we were a step too late, and they got away again!”
“This is the thirteenth incident in the last half a month,” another lamented. “This group of East Sea cultivators is too cunning and frighteningly powerful. They specifically target weaker tribes; if our demon cultivator numbers are too small, we stand no chance against them. When we gather in large groups, the commotion is too great, yet we still cannot track their movements.” “If our tribes hadn't been forced to send a contingent to the Sea of Blood, how could we allow them to be so presumptuous?”
“Demon King, their whereabouts are unknown. It is highly inconvenient for us to stay gathered like this. Let’s disperse and search the surrounding area widely for their tracks.”
“No, three or five Dao Companions are absolutely no match for them. If we are not together, how can we possibly catch them!” The assembled demon cultivators appeared furious. The Demon King hovered over the sea, his eyes coldly sweeping the surrounding waters. “This group of East Sea cultivators is small in number, yet they have penetrated deep into our Demon Sea territory, killing Dao Companions from many small tribes. What are they trying to achieve?” Its pair of green eyes flashed with light, filled with suspicion.
The Saint Sovereign, Ghost Lord, Old Monster Han Shan, Ye Qin, and the Lotus Clone—five figures heading towards the Demon Realm—were intercepted and ambushed by the demon tribes along the way.
However, even when encountering swarms of demon cultivators at once, as long as the number did not exceed several dozen, they posed no threat to the five of them; instead, they faced a one-sided slaughter.
The demon cultivators slain by Old Monster Han Shan along the way were directly exchanged by Ye Qin for Thousand Flower Spiritual Brew.
As for the demon tribes attempting to gather several hundred demon cultivators for an offensive, that was simply impossible. By the time numerous demon cultivators from a tribe managed to assemble, the five individuals would have already flown who knew where. Tracking them down was far from easy.
This situation was, in fact, normal. If several overwhelmingly powerful Demon Kings ventured into the East Sea region, as long as they avoided attacking the Immortal Cities, they would likewise be difficult for East Sea cultivators to catch. Moreover, at this time, both sides had deployed their main forces to the Sea of Blood, leaving no time to concern themselves with this small, elusive group. Several months later, the group traversed dozens of demon tribes, large and small, at high speed through the sky, finally arriving at a desolate stretch of the sea.
This boundless sea area was excessively silent, carrying an aura of absolute stillness. Faintly visible were countless dark mountain peaks—thousands upon tens of thousands—these towering peaks were steep and straight, reaching thousands or even tens of thousands of feet high, piercing the heavens. A dark-red mist permeated the sea surface, appearing as if it were coagulated blood.
This somber, silent sea region of peaks emanated an indescribable, profound pressure that enveloped the entire heaven, earth, and sea, causing a deep shiver in the heart. If a low-level cultivator appeared here, they likely wouldn't even be able to stand steadily, falling prostrate onto the ground immediately.
“Strange, why are there no sea beasts surfacing in this area? Not even a single low-level sea beast can be seen!”
Old Monster Han Shan surveyed the area with a look of astonishment.
“This place is saturated with death energy, far stronger than my Desolate Spirit Ghost Island, yet it has not gathered a large population of wandering vengeful spirits. Truly odd!” Ghost Lord Huang Ling puzzled.
“This place is called the Abyss of Dead Silence. It is the closest area to the Demon Realm, a forbidden zone for the Demon Race, and also their place of spirit return. Legend says that after demon cultivators die, they all choose to be buried in this sea area closest to the Demon Realm. Low-level sea beasts naturally dare not appear in such a place. The presence of death energy here is not surprising. Furthermore, this demon forbidden zone would hardly allow ghost cultivators to settle!” Saint Sovereign surveyed his map, swept his divine sense over the sea ahead, and spoke slowly. “The entrance to the Demon Realm lies within this sea area. Let’s go in and search for the entrance!” He took the lead, and the Lotus Clone followed, plunging into this dark-red sea.
Ghost Lord Huang Ling and Old Monster Han Shan exchanged a look and followed them in.
Ye Qin grew cautious, activating the defensive shield of the Great Winged Warship, releasing the Transformation Skeleton Demon, and gripping the Xun Thunder Ancient Mirror and the Silver Flood Dragon Flying Blade in each hand before tailing the others inside.
The closer they got to the Demon Realm, the higher the danger.
For powerful cultivators at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, such as the Saint Sovereign, Ghost Lord, and Old Monster Han Shan, while this place was perilous, it wasn't necessarily fatal. But for him, a cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage, an accident here could easily cost him his life, so he brought out nearly all his ultimate skills.
The group entered the Abyss of Dead Silence.
The peaks here were immensely tall; even though they were thousands of feet in the air, they were merely halfway up the mountainsides. They flew directly between the gaps in the peaks, occasionally spotting gigantic skeletons on the mountainsides.
They could even see the skeleton of a giant Sea Whale, thousands of feet long, resembling a small mountain.
Skeletons of rare, top-tier demon races, such as the Flood Dragon Tribe and the Azure Luan, could also be seen here.
These countless peaks had buried who knew how many demon cultivators over the hundreds of thousands of years.
Ye Qin couldn't help but be awestruck.
It was a pity that these skeletons, having endured countless years of harsh winds, rain, and the corrosion of the dark blood mist, had long since lost their spiritual energy, making them worthless for crafting bone artifacts. Otherwise, taking the skeletons of these high-ranking demon cultivators, up to the twelfth rank, to forge bone artifacts would result in top-grade implements.
Ghost Lord Huang Ling had entertained this idea early on, but upon examining numerous rare demon cultivator skeletons, he found almost all spiritual energy gone, rendering them useless for refining skeleton puppets. He could only grieve in frustration.
After flying past countless peaks, the five of them finally arrived before a mountain peak of unimaginable scale.
On the mountainside of this gigantic peak, a cavern yawned open, roughly several hundred feet wide.
This hole was deep, dark, and bottomless.
On the rock face to one side of the entrance, four crude characters were carved. The characters’ forms were bizarre, bearing no resemblance to the script of the Central Plains cultivation world. These inscriptions were mottled with age, appearing as if they had been carved with a sharp object eons ago; despite tens of thousands of years of corrosion, the script remained clearly visible.
Ye Qin had never seen such writing and could not comprehend it, so he looked towards the Saint Sovereign, Ghost Lord, and Old Monster Han Shan, hoping they might recognize it.
Both Ghost Lord and Old Monster Han Shan shook their heads.
“Ancient Demon Realm!”
The Saint Sovereign gazed at the four characters, pondered for a moment, and murmured softly.
Seeing their confusion, he explained, “These characters are in the demon language, understood only by a select few top-tier demon races. To enter the Demon Realm, I have spent years gathering vast amounts of ancient texts on this subject and have seen some demon script. I happen to recognize these four characters.”
“So this is the entrance to the Demon Realm. For such an important place, why are there no demon cultivators standing guard?” Old Monster Han Shan was surprised.
“Heh, who would dare casually enter a place like the Demon Realm? Within the Demon Realm, there are plenty of transformation-stage demon cultivators at the tenth rank and above; it wouldn't be strange to find those at the thirteenth rank or higher. Whether there are guards here or not makes no difference. If it weren't for my lifespan running short and my need for the Purple Spirit Rejuvenation Grass, I wouldn't venture in to take such a risk,” the Saint Sovereign shook his head. “Legend says an ancient beast from the Demon Realm once passed through this exit and appeared in the Sea of Blood. Later, it encountered a mighty cultivator in the Blood Sea and was killed by that ancient cultivator who possessed great divine abilities, who then refined its hide into a renowned ancient artifact of divine power—a potent weapon against the Demon Race. Do you know of this item?”
“Senior Saint Sovereign speaks of the great divine ability ancient artifact, the Xu Niu Drum?” Ye Qin inquired.
“Indeed, it is the Xu Niu Drum! This drum is extremely famous in the East Sea cultivation world and among the Demon Race, ranking among the top ten most powerful magical tools. It was obtained from that ancient beast from the Demon Realm,” the Saint Sovereign nodded solemnly toward the group. “Such ancient beasts are likely not uncommon within the Demon Realm. The combined strength of the five of us is barely enough to equal that of an ancient, mighty cultivator. But if we encounter such an ancient beast, we likely won't be able to fight it head-on; we must avoid them as much as possible.”