The billowing yellow sand rose higher and higher; the Desert Sea before their eyes was like a man‑eating giant beast.

Any Spirit Talisman that flew in couldn’t stir up the slightest ripple.

After throwing out a few Spirit Talismans and truly sensing how terrifying the Forbidden Land of Fallen Souls was, Ye Qingfeng stopped making moves and instead circled around the outer edge of the Forbidden Land of Fallen Souls, carefully probing.

After all, Ye Haisheng’s Sword Array could only cover one area, and the opponent was only a Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Though he didn’t think he could win, holding him off for a while was still possible.

The yellow sand here was clearly somewhat different, tinged with a bit of pitch‑black, which left Ye Qingwen slightly puzzled.

He scooped up some sand, pinched it carefully; it was a little soft, as if it were some other kind of ore.

Weighing it in his hand and confirming that, like ordinary sand, it was a mundane substance, Ye Qingfeng shook his head and moved off to the side.

The Forbidden Land of Fallen Souls was very large, but in other spots, compared to the place where that Jia Family Cultivator had fled into, the sandstorm was even more severe. An ordinary Purple Mansion Cultivator entering would likely have to unleash both Protective Spirit Shield and Magical Treasure together just to barely pass through.

Ye Qingfeng merely drew a bit nearer and already felt like he was about to be swept in; even the drifting sand and dust that blew out actually pounded his Spirit Shield until it flickered unsteadily.

It did make him think of someone suited for this place—Ye Haige. The latter was a Purple Mansion Body Cultivator and also a Wind Spirit Root Cultivator.

But he quickly shook his head. He had no mood to think about that now. What was most important at the moment was to keep up with Ye Qingwen and Ye Qingyan’s pace. Both of them were already at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment and were probably close to breaking through to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

This secretly alerted him, and his steps once again carried him off to the side.

And in the instant he was distracted, a figure suddenly burst out from within the sandstorm, clad in Golden Armor, and slashed a sword toward Ye Qingfeng.

The sword was too fast.

Ye Qingfeng only had time, in that split second, to fling out a single Spirit Talisman.

Dazzling Spiritual Light gathered, turning into a golden Magic Shield, but the Sword Light raged too fast; the Magic Shield was instantly split in two, and Ye Qingfeng also saw a face covered entirely in metallic luster.

In that instant he finally understood why this Jia Family Cultivator had been able to enter the Forbidden Land of Fallen Souls.

This was clearly refining his own fleshly body into a Spirit Puppet and relying on Magical Artifacts, so as to fear neither raging sand nor dust.

But at this moment, his heart was filled with boundless terror.

Because his Protective Spirit Shield had shattered in an instant as well.

And his hand had only managed to lift his Magical Artifact when he saw the Flying Sword about to fall between his brows.

For a moment he even, in a daze, recalled his whole life.

Yet the next moment, a blood‑red Sword Light drifted over, the dense Sword Qi making Ye Qingfeng’s back tingle like needles.

Boom!

Under the impact of the Spiritual Light, Ye Qingfeng’s body was sent flying.

The raging Sword Light carved countless bloody gashes across his body.

And the blood‑red Sword Aura, like a Blood Eagle, once again swooped toward that Jia Family Cultivator.

"Weren’t you in seclusion..." The Jia Family Cultivator’s face clearly darkened a great deal.

His body shot back toward the dust storm, but it was already too late.

The blood‑red Sword Light was far too fast. As a Tier Three Sword Embryo, even most Tier Three Magical Treasures paled before it; how could a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator possibly dodge?

In an instant, only a half‑human, half‑puppet corpse was left behind.

Clearly, this person was somewhat similar to Jia Zeyuan back at Jiaxing Pass.

But in the face of a Tier Three Sword Embryo, his head was directly chopped off and his internal organs churned to pieces; no matter how strong his fleshly body was, there was no coming back.

"Qingfeng, you’d better write a proper reflection this time. As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, to still get distracted at a moment like this, and not even have your Magical Artifact activated—you’ve really disappointed the family!" Ye Haisheng walked over.

The Sword Array and Sword Nurturing were naturally his lies. He’d spoken so loudly precisely so the Jia Family Cultivator would hear, and he’d deliberately laid out a Sword Array as well, to conceal his presence.

This was something he’d learned from Ye Haige, and now it had truly come in handy.

Beside him, there were also two Ye Family Cultivators.

The latter hurried forward to support Ye Qingfeng.

"Uncle Haisheng, this grandson was wrong!" Ye Qingfeng lowered his head very low; in truth, his distraction had only lasted an instant.

But to a Cultivator, a single instant could be fatal.

So Ye Haisheng’s reproach wasn’t targeted at him in the least.

This time, he had truly taken a trip to Ghost Gate and back; even now, he still felt lingering fear from that Sword Light.

Only then did Ye Haisheng nod, even subconsciously putting on an air of profundity.

Though he was of the Sea Generation, his age was about the same as many of the Jing Generation.

In the past, it had always been Ye Haige and the Xue Generation patriarchs lecturing him; today, he finally got to instruct a junior.

In his memory, those elders had always been this deep and solemn.

The figure of Ye Jingcheng flashed through his mind as well.

Of course, once he thought of how the latter would never make a mistake, he swept those thoughts away and even cursed himself inwardly once.

Ye Haisheng then put away the Jia Family Cultivator’s Storage Bag and corpse.

This half‑Spirit Puppet, half‑flesh body was very much worth the Ye Family’s study. Moreover, this time the Ye Family had obtained this Spirit Puppet inheritance; in the future they could continue to examine its structure.

Though Spirit Beasts were better, one had to admit that Spirit Puppets also embodied a unique line of thought.

Most importantly, these puppet materials were extremely valuable. He was currently in debt up to the heavens, so naturally he wouldn’t miss even the slightest chance to earn something.

This was also why Ye Xueliang had long since returned to Celestial Phoenix Oasis, while he was still here hunting down Jia Family Cultivators.

"Something’s wrong! Fall back, now!" In the very next instant, Ye Haisheng suddenly shouted.

The other Ye Clan members reacted as well.

They saw that within the sandstorm, everything suddenly turned pitch‑black!

As if something had taken flight inside!

"It’s Soul-Devouring Insects!" At that moment, Ye Qingwen roared.

The only reason he knew this kind of Spirit Insect was because he had stayed in the Ye Family’s Hidden Valley and was extremely familiar with Ye Jingchong; the latter had shown him some Insect Talismans.

Although these Soul-Devouring Insects were only Late Stage of First Tier, they were famous for their massive swarms. Most crucially, they could unleash a Soul-devouring Sound that devoured Divine Sense, somewhat similar in principle to the Soul Flame of the Three-Eyed Demon Roc.

Ye Jingchong had been extremely eager to become a Spirit Binder of this kind of Spirit Insect before.

Of course, right now, the only word in his heart was "run."

Facing such a massive number of Soul-Devouring Insects in the Desert Sea, they absolutely could not meet them head‑on.

"Whatever you do, don’t use Magical Treasures or Artifacts!" Ye Qingfeng reminded again.

Only, his reminder came a bit late. Seeing the insect tide about to burst out, Ye Haisheng’s Sword Embryo had already slashed forth.

Under the rampaging Sword Light, countless insects shattered and fell like raindrops.

However, when the Spiritual Light was spent and the Sword Embryo’s true body was revealed, they saw insects clinging to it, beginning to devour its Divine Sense.

Fortunately, at that moment, Ye Haisheng hastily produced a Tier Three Spirit Talisman, which turned into a sheet of freezing rain, icing over the Soul-Devouring Insects stuck to it and knocking them down as Ice Crystals.

Only then did the Sword Embryo seize the chance to fly back, but even so, the Sword Embryo was already pitted and uneven. Worse, within that insect tide there was still a much larger one that feared no ordinary cold at all, now screeching as it spread its wings and flew over.

The aura it exuded was clearly anything but ordinary.

"A Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect!" Ye Haisheng couldn’t help but frown.

He finally understood why this place was a Forbidden Land.

He flicked his finger, casting a strand of Golden Sword Skill.

Yet even a Golden Sword Skill strong enough to kill a Tier Two Demon Beast failed to leave even a scar on that Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect.

That his Sword Embryo could freely slaughter Tier One Soul-Devouring Insects did not mean the carapace of the Soul-Devouring Insect was not tough.

Hiss hiss hiss!

Right then, dense soul sound turned into rippling waves, crashing straight into their minds, causing the Magic of the few Foundation Establishment Cultivators like Ye Qingfeng to abort before forming, and they clutched their heads in extreme pain!

"Retreat!" Thankfully, Ye Haisheng, who had a Tier Three Divine Soul Treasure, shouted again.

He activated his Soul Pendant, releasing a great ring of radiance that enveloped their bodies.

Only then did the others awaken, hurriedly tossing out Spirit Talismans; Ye Qingfeng even sent out strand after strand of Spiritual Fire.

At this moment, none of them dared throw any Magical Artifact into the insect tide, or it would be like throwing meat buns to a dog—never to return.

They naturally wouldn’t do something so thankless.

Yet the damage dealt by ordinary Spiritual Fire and even Palm Thunder was minimal. Once these Soul-Devouring Insects died, they would burst forth with a kind of insect oil that detonated, quickly snuffing out the Spiritual Fire, while the Celestial Thunder dispersed soon after.

Even so, it was barely enough to momentarily slow the assault.

The few of them retreated far away, but that Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect Great Demon was relentless, and Ye Haisheng’s eyes widened.

How could he be willing to be chased by a mere Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect?

Though his Water Technique and Flying Sword were useless here, he still had five Five Elements Celestial Armor Puppets.

Unlike other Ye Family Cultivators, who had Communication Beast Contracts with the four great Demon Beast clans, Ye Haisheng himself cultivated Water Technique. He hadn’t profited from this expedition, but because of that, the Ye Family had given him quite a few Celestial Armor Puppets.

Now, the Five Elements Magic of the Five Elements Celestial Armor Puppet surged toward the Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect to trap and kill it.

Dense Celestial Fire, spreading Wooden Vines, along with Ice Cones, Falling Rocks, and Golden Sword attacks, all erupted together.

The Soul-Devouring Insect Great Demon was struck into a frenzy of rage, but there was nothing it could do. It unleashed a Soul-Slaying Sound, but it had no effect on the five Celestial Armor Puppets.

It then tried to close in, wanting to devour the Divine Sense attached to the Spirit Puppets.

But in the next instant, Ye Haisheng seized the opening and sacrificed his Sword Embryo; a wash of blood light swept across, Sword Aura and Sword Light flaring, and directly severed the body of the Soul-Devouring Insect Great Demon.

With the Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect Great Demon dead, the remaining Soul-Devouring Insects went even more berserk, swarming toward the Sword Embryo.

Ye Haisheng hastily sent out two more Spirit Talismans in succession. After slightly stalling them, he collected the Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect corpse and swiftly withdrew.

As for the other Soul-Devouring Insects, he no longer had any desire to kill them.

If they got trapped, even a Purple Mansion Cultivator might fall here; fortunately, he hadn’t stepped into the Forbidden Land of Fallen Souls.

After all, with a Tier Three Great Demon fallen and the remaining Soul-Devouring Insects showing no reaction, there was most likely another Tier Three Soul-Devouring Insect Great Demon inside.

"If I remember right, Jingcheng seems to need soul-type Spirit Insect corpses!" Ye Haisheng was also quietly thinking.

"Let’s go. We’ll search that Jia Family Secret Realm first." Ye Haisheng spoke again.

Given their few numbers, they naturally had no ability to tangle with the Soul-devouring Insect Race.

They needed to report to the family and let the family decide.

And before that, although the Secret Realm had already been looted, Ye Haisheng was still uneasy.

If they could find an Ore Vein, things would become much easier for him and his Little Chen Whale.