Yang Ye wasn’t courting death, of course. The reason he dared to descend back into the ocean was mainly because Guardian Lin had advanced and was a mid-grade Half-Saint now! In other words, he had a mid-grade Half-Saint and an ordinary Half-Saint by his side.

Of course, he didn’t come here to play. He’d come because he wanted those puppets.

He had Guardian Lin and the Stone of Suppression, so those 9 puppets weren’t very terrifying to him, even if that mysterious person within the stone coffin was there as well. After all, escaping wouldn’t be a problem for him even if he wasn’t a match for them.

It was definitely dangerous, but he’d decided to give it a try because he didn’t want to give up on obtaining those puppets!

In next to no time, Yang Ye arrived before the 9 stone coffins.

“You’ve really surprised me!” Yang Ye had just arrived here when a voice resounded from within that stone coffin.

“Let’s make a deal!” said Yang Ye.

Suddenly, those 9 puppets appeared around Yang Ye, and they surrounded him.

“Let me see if you’re qualified to make a deal with me!” A voice gradually floated out from within the stone coffin.

Yang Ye waved his right hand, and then Guardian Lin appeared by his side. He said, “Am I qualified now?”

“A mid-grade Half-Saint puppet!” The voice within the stone coffin carried a trace of shock.

“You want to escape the coffin, and I want these Half-Saint puppets. Give them to me and I’ll order this Half-Saint puppet by my side to sever the iron chains on that stone coffin. It’s a very simple deal. What do you think?” asked Yang Ye.

“9 is too many. I’ll give you 2 at most!” said the voice within the stone coffin.

Yang Ye laughed coldly. He didn’t say a single word before turning around and walking away.

“5, that’s the most that I’ll give you!” The voice resounded once more.

Yang Ye didn’t stop and just continued walking as he spoke, “Are those puppets more important, or is your freedom more important? Think about it yourself. Right, those fellows have gone back to the Hallowed Halls. If I’m not wrong, then it won’t be long before the top experts of the Hallowed Halls arrive. At that time, even your survival will be a problem!”

“You win!” said the voice within the coffin.

Yang Ye stopped moving while a smile arose onto the corners of his mouth. His figure flashed over to those Half-Saint puppets and said, “Make them lower their defenses!”

However, those puppets flashed backwards to the stone coffin while the voice within the stone coffin resounded, “Kid, I’m not that stupid. You can have the puppets but help me sever these iron chains first. Otherwise, you can leave if you want!”

Yang Ye pondered deeply for a moment and said, “I understand your concerns. I have a few questions for you. Who are you? Or I should say, are you on the defiant profounders’ side or the Hallowed Grounds?”

The person within the coffin fell silent for a while, “I didn’t lie to all of you just now. However, we can’t be considered to be part of the Hallowed Halls as well. Because our bodies are that of the defiant profounders, but it’s our souls that are within them!”

“You took over their bodies!” Yang Ye’s expression changed slightly and said, “All of you actually took over the bodies of defiant profounders!”

The person within the coffin said, “100,000 years ago, the defiant profounders appeared in this world, but they weren’t that invincible. The true reason why they were formidable was their immortal bodies. They couldn’t be killed, so our world was practically on the verge of being destroyed by them. Why couldn’t they die? That was something that every single expert was curious about at the time, and it was something that everyone really wanted to figure out. After all, why were we cultivating? In the end, it was for the sake of immortality.”

He paused for a moment when he spoke up to this point, and then he continued, “However, even those at the Saint Realm or above the Saint Realm would die in the end. But these defiant profounders seemed to be immortal. So, we secretly imprisoned over a dozen defiant profounders and started to study them in secret. In the end, we still weren’t able to discover anything. So, we decided to try and take over their bodies instead!”

“You succeeded!” Yang Ye spoke in a low voice.

“No, we failed in the beginning!” The voice within the coffin continued, “Because the souls of those defiant profounders were far more formidable than we’d imagined. Later on, we thought of a way, and it was to heavily injure their souls. That was the reason why we were able to succeed in the end. Once one succeeded and noticed that they really wouldn’t die, many others couldn’t restrain themselves any longer, and they started to take over the other defiant profounders. But in the end, he noticed that an extremely terrifying existence resided within their bodies!” When he spoke up to this point, the voice actually started to tremble.

That black worm!

Yang Ye knew what that terrifying existence was, and he couldn’t help but shake his head when he thought up to that point. They really were courting death by trying to take over the bodies of defiant profounders…. They actually thought of and did something like that! They doomed themselves by doing that!

“Once that terrifying existence was noticed within us, the Hallowed Halls sealed all of us here!” The voice within the coffin sounded slightly ferocious, “100,000 years! 100,000 years! That’s how long the lifespan of those terrifying existences was! In other words, we’ll only be able to emerge from the seal once those things within us die!”

“You know how the defiant profounders feel now, huh!?” said Yang Ye.

The person within the coffin remained silent for a while before he said, “If you want those puppets, then sever these chains.”

Yang Ye suddenly asked, “Have the people within the other coffins woken up?”

The voice said, “No. But I’ll be able to awaken them right away once I’m freed!”

Yang Ye nodded and said, “Let me take control of 5, and you can give the others to me once I’ve released you. That’s my best offer. Otherwise, wouldn’t I have helped you for nothing if you go back on your word once I free you?”

The person within the coffin fell silent for a short while, and then said, “Alright. I’ll remove the connection I have with 5 of the puppets, and then you can plant your brand within them to take control of them.”

“You don’t have to go to all that trouble!” Yang Ye walked over to those 5 puppets and said, “Order them to relax and not resist. I’ll do the rest!” Yang Ye refused to believe the method of control that the voice told him about. He naturally intended to refine them into Sword Servants because only then could he truly be at ease.

“As you wish!” said the voice.

Yang Ye nodded. He walked over to one of the puppets, waved his hand, and instantly placed it within the Primordial Pagoda.

The person within the stone coffin was shocked, “How could that be possible!? Kid, how did you accomplish that!?”

Yang Ye didn’t speak, and he just walked over to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th puppets…. It wasn’t long before he’d placed all of them within the Primordial Pagoda.

The person within the coffin asked once more, “I’ve lost my connection with all of them. Kid, how exactly did you accomplish that!?”

Yang Ye wouldn’t answer the voice, of course. He sat down cross-legged and started refining them into Sword Servants instead. Because he couldn’t just let that fellow out of the coffin right now. He had to finish refining all those puppets first. At that time, Yang Ye wouldn’t need to fear the person within the coffin even if that fellow went back on his word.

“Kid, shouldn’t you be letting me out first?” said the voice.

Yang Ye replied, “Senior, you’re too strong. My life might be in danger if I let you out right now. So, I have no other choice but to make some preparations to protect myself before letting you out. It’ll take a day at most. You’ve waited for 100,000 years, so what’s another day?”

The voice was solemn, “One more day is naturally not a problem, but I hope you don’t try to play tricks!”

Yang Ye smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Even if I don’t want to free you, I don’t want to give up on obtaining the other 4 puppets. Right, I’m quite curious about something. Why don’t you order these Half-Saint puppets to break those chains?”

The voice said, “They’ll be instantly obliterated if they attack the iron chains!”

So that’s why! Yang Ye chuckled, and then he stopped speaking and concentrated to refining the puppets into Sword Servants.

The person within the stone coffin spoke abruptly, “That method of refinement is even better than the methods possessed by the Hallowed Halls. Moreover, that method of yours seems to be exclusive to sword cultivators. Kid, to be honest, I’m getting more and more interested in you!”

Yang Ye placed the Sword Servant he’d just finished refining into the Primordial Pagoda and said, “I don’t want to become enemies with you as well. All I want are these puppets. So, I hope you’ll keep your word. After all, you’re a Saint Realm expert at any rate. Even though your cultivation and combat strength has declined along with the passage of time, you were still at the Saint Realm in the past. So, I’m really sincere in my intentions to complete this deal with you!”

The voice within the coffin resounded, “I’m very sincere as well!”

Yang Ye smiled, and then he placed all his concentration onto the next puppet. The reason he’d taken such a risk to return here was naturally because he desired to gain possession of these Half-Saint puppets. Now, he’d gained the points he needed, and he could head to the Pagoda of Confinement at any time. But he was very well aware that even if he had the assistance of a mid-grade Half-Saint, it would still be extremely difficult for him to seize the Sword Precursor with the strength he possessed right now.

It wasn’t really realistic to think of improving his own strength right now. So, he had no other choice but to gain even more Half-Saint Sword Servants. Because only then would he have a chance at rescuing the Sword Spirit’s main body.

The person within the coffin didn’t speak another word throughout the time he refined the other puppets into Sword Servants. But Yang Ye knew that fellow’s attention was focused on him at all times. Moreover, the other 4 Half-Saint puppets were standing on guard around him as well.

Time slowly passed by just like that. After an entire day and night of refinement, Yang Ye finally transformed those 5 puppets into Sword Servants.

“Congratulations!” Meanwhile, the voice resounded once more from within the coffin.

Yang Ye smiled and didn’t waste his breath at all. He immediately waved his right hand, and the Lunar Reverie flew into Guardian Lin’s grasp. The latter’s figure flashed and swiftly slashed the iron chains on the coffin.

Bang!

An explosion resounded deep within the ocean, and then the iron chains that bound the stone coffins exploded into pieces….

Bang!

The stone coffin shattered apart, and then a middle aged man with white hair and white brows appeared before Yang Ye.

“100,000 years! 100,000 years! I, Xuan Qing, am finally free! Hahaha!” The middle aged man roared madly with laughter, and his laughter swept far and wide. It even caused the seawater around the pocket of space to surge.

A long time passed before Yang Ye finally said, “Senior, it’s time to fulfil your promise!”

The middle aged man stopped laughing when he heard this, and then his gaze shot towards Yang Ye like bolts of lightning. A short while passed before he suddenly said, “I don’t want to!”