"Miss, Young Master Da's friend, Young Master Luo Tang, has come again," a maid's voice came from outside the room.

"Tell him to piss off," Xi Ying's voice rose in disgust, without a hint of politeness.

"Miss, that's Young Master Da's friend. It's not good to speak like that. Young Master Da would like to invite you to meet him when you have time," the maid hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

Xi Ying thought for a while and said, "Then you can meet him on my behalf. Isn't that how they do it in the plays? In the end, the pretty maid marries successfully, and the lady disguises herself as a man and becomes the top scholar."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming couldn't help but chuckle silently within Guoguo's body, causing the furry little body to tremble slightly as well.

"But I'm so ugly, I don't look like you at all," the maid muttered.

"Then can't you wear a mask? Just go, don't bother me. If you succeed, I'll reward you with a magic artifact," said Xi Ying.

"Really, Miss? Then I'll go," the maid smiled and had no choice but to turn and leave.

After sending the maid away, Xi Ying put down her pen and lifted Guoguo under its armpits, holding it up.

It was the same familiar motion, the same familiar point of view.

Yuan Ming, feeling a bit embarrassed, turned his head away, only to see the table densely covered with drafts.

All those papers were filled with complex and intricate lines, resembling the design of some kind of array. Xi Ying then continued to concentrate on studying the formation.

As time slowly passed and Guoguo nearly fell asleep, suddenly two plump lips pressed against its head, followed by Xi Ying's voice saying, "The large transmission array is too complicated, let's take a break. Guoguo, do you think I should use a communication talisman?"

Before Yuan Ming had time to savor the feeling, his vision blurred, and the possession ended.

He woke up somewhat reluctantly in bed, thinking, "The large transmission array, is it an array that can teleport over long distances? Or can it transport multiple people at once?"

Since he didn't know much about transmission arrays, he didn't dwell on it any further. He took out an elixir, swallowed it, and resumed his cultivation.

Use a communication talisman? To contact whom? Me? Or Xi Ying's family?

...

Before long, another six days had passed.

Yuan Ming paced the courtyard, his brow slightly furrowed.

According to what Gu Qiuming had previously said, the Winged Bird Egg was nearly ready to hatch, but not only had Gu Qiuming never come by, he hadn't even sent a message. Something seemed amiss.

It was a pity that he still needed one more day for the next possession; otherwise, he would have just lit the incense and possessed someone to check the situation.

"Elder Hagon, here is your food for today," a fair-looking young man came from outside, holding a tray with a delicate pastry, a plate of Spirit Fruit, and a cup of Spiritual Tea.

Food requirements for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator were minimal, and this was enough to sustain them for a day.

Yuan Ming looked towards the newcomer. This fair young man was named Xu Chuan, a Qi Refining disciple with an external surname from the Zhenling Sect, and he had been responsible for delivering Yuan Ming's food in recent days.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, have you received any news from Fellow Daoist Gu these past two days?" Yuan Ming asked, secretly casting the Enchanting Illusion Technique.

"No," said Xu Chuan, shaking his head.

"Where is the incubation room?" Yuan Ming continued to ask.

"It's ten miles to the southwest, in Wangyou Valley..." Xu Chuan went on to say.

Yuan Ming asked for more details about the place, then he hesitated no longer. With a wave of his hand, Xu Chuan's eyes rolled back, his gaze grew hazy, and he fell asleep.

Yuan Ming quickly took off the other man's coat, exchanged it with his own, laid him on the bed in the bedroom to look as though he were sleeping, and then crafted a barrier with the Four Directions Sealing Spirit Talisman before stopping his actions.

Yuan Ming then took out a translucent white mask, put it on his face; it was the Thousand Mechanism Mask. In his mind, he recalled Xu Chuan's face.

The Thousand Mechanism Mask began to wriggle slowly, changing in a few breaths to an exact copy of Xu Chuan's appearance, without any flaws.

When Yuan Ming probed with his Divine Sense, he could detect nothing amiss and was quite satisfied.

"The Thousand Mechanism Mask truly is extraordinary. It's a pity it can only be used three times," he thought with a tinge of pain.

However, to avoid detection by Cultivators below Core Formation, he still needed to use this precious item. As for Cultivators above Core Formation, he didn't think they'd bother using their Divine Sense to scan a mere Qi Refining disciple.

After stepping outside, Yuan Ming paused after only a few steps.

In this period, besides cultivating the Nine Elements Technique, he had also put in great effort to practice the Moonlight Technique. His Divine Soul had thus grown stronger, and his perception had become even sharper. The moment he had left the door, it felt as though a gaze had swept over him and then quickly returned to monitoring that courtyard area.

"It seems someone is watching me?" A thought passed through Yuan Ming's mind, but his stride did not falter, and he continued to walk ahead.

A short while later, Yuan Ming, following the directions provided by Xu Chuan, arrived at a valley.

Here, Spiritual Energy was abundant, with lush trees and grass everywhere, birds chirping and flowers fragrant, seemingly a paradise on earth.

Yuan Ming paid no attention to the beautiful scenery and soon reached the deeper part of the valley, where a series of contiguous buildings appeared before him.

He pushed on, but his steps were extremely cautious. Many dangerous Forbidden spells surrounded the perimeter of the buildings, and tripping any one of them would lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Wangyou Valley is a forbidden area; idle people are not allowed to enter. Who goes there? State your name."

A voice came from behind the flowers ahead.

"I am Xu Chuan from the Foreign Affairs Pavilion. A few days ago, I carried out an important task for Elder Gu Qiuming, and today I have come back to respond. I heard he was in the Incubation Room, so I came looking for him. Please, brother, could you pass on the message for me?" Yuan Ming took out a spirit stone and sent it behind the flowers, speaking in Xu Chuan's voice.

The Thousand Mechanism Mask could change not only one's appearance but also had the ability to affect the muscles of the throat, altering the voice.

"Gu Qiuming? He seems to have left already, he's not in the valley now."

The man, having received a benefit, was considerably more amiable as he spoke.

"I heard that he's hatching a bird egg in the Incubation Room. Please, brother, would you go in and check for me?" Yuan Ming was secretly startled and then handed over another spirit stone.

"Alright, wait here," the man said after hesitating.

A grey figure swept out from behind the flowers and disappeared into the nearby buildings.

After a moment, the grey shadow flew back.

"Indeed, Gu Qiuming is not in the valley; he left three days ago and took the bird egg with him. It's said he went to find another place to hatch it," the somber voice said.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming felt alarm and anger stir within him. Could it be that Gu Qiuming intended to embezzle his Winged Bird Egg?

From their past interactions, it did not seem like Gu Qiuming was such a dishonest and untrustworthy person.

Or could it be that he was using the so-called "formation" for incubation?

Yuan Ming didn't ask any more questions, took his leave, and returned to his previous residence.

He removed the Thousand Mechanism Mask, changed back into their respective clothes, and then dispelled the Illusion Technique that had affected Xu Chuan.

Xu Chuan had no awareness of the recent happenings and only felt that he had stayed for an unusually long time, hastily bidding farewell and leaving.

Yuan Ming did not go out or use other means but went to the inner chamber and closed his eyes to cultivate his spirit.

The next day, Yuan Ming cast a soundproofing shield around the room and sealed everything with the silver token before lighting a stick of Black Incense and possessing Gu Qiuming.

Yuan Ming's vision went dark, and when he regained his senses, he was indeed startled.

He had successfully possessed Gu Qiuming, but found himself in a dim and damp place.

At the moment, Gu Qiuming's hair was disheveled, and his hands and feet were locked by a magic artifact; he was indeed imprisoned.

In front of him, the space was quite large, with a hexagonal stone platform on the ground, covered in array patterns, forming a large magic array. A tall, straight purple wooden pillar stood in the middle of the array, which seemed to be made of no ordinary wood, and had some patterns on its surface.

In the very center of the array was the Winged Bird Egg, its surface flickering with purple thunder.

The purple column rose straight up, piercing through the stone walls of the dungeon ceiling, and it was unclear where it led. Spiritual energy seemed to be attracted by an invisible force, entered the Blood Egg, and the surface of the Blood Egg began to show faintly visible patterns that flickered on and off.

A young man dressed in a Cloud Brocade Robe stood beside the stone platform, taking spirit stones out of his storage bag and replacing them in the array.

Yuan Ming had seen this person before when Gu Qiuming had taken him to visit the Sixth Uncle, and they had met once.

"Gu Qiulong, it's not too late to stop now! Since the founding of the Zhenling Sect, when have we ever coveted the belongings of our guests? If this gets out, the reputation we have built over hundreds of years will be ruined in an instant!" Gu Qiuming shouted gravely.

It seemed his mana was sealed, and he couldn't break free at all.

"Rest assured, when I act, I never leave loose ends. That boy has been watched by my people. As soon as the Winged Bird Egg is successfully hatched, he will disappear silently from this world without leaving a trace," Gu Qiulong said nonchalantly without turning his head, his tone utterly indifferent.

"What! You even plan to silence him? Although Hagon's cultivation isn't high, he has a mysterious background. Don't you bring disaster upon the sect!" Gu Qiuming's expression shifted as he shouted.

"That's none of your business," Gu Qiulong said with a cold, disdainful laugh.

He kept inserting spirit stones into the array, and as they were replaced, the great array on the stone platform was activated. It hummed and spun, and the purple wooden pillar also started to shine with strands of white light.

"Hehe, the third cousin has a good eye. Using this Guiyuan Thunder Drawing Array to hatch the Winged Bird Egg is indeed brilliant. It's hard work for you to have done all this analytical proof," Gu Qiulong looked at everything happening with the Blood Egg, a hint of a smile in his eyes, as he addressed Gu Qiuming.

"Pah! You taking away the hatching formation without permission... Elder Lin from the Incubation Room will find out sooner or later. Let's see how you'll handle it then," Gu Qiuming spat fiercely.

"How old-fashioned! The Winged Bird has the ability to summon thunder. With this spirit beast, our sect will enter the ranks of Da Jin's top ten sects within a few decades. I will be the greatest contributor!" Gu Qiulong was not angry but rather full of pride.

"Shameless acts!" Gu Qiuming couldn't help but curse.

"Shameless? The realm of cultivation is all about the survival of the fittest. As long as one can gain tangible benefits, the methods do not matter. It's because you don't understand this that you're still lingering in the Qi Refinement Realm. Who else can you blame?" Gu Qiulong said with disdain.

Gu Qiuming closed his eyes, not wanting to look at the other party.

Gu Qiulong no longer paid him any mind and focused on controlling the stone platform array.

However, it wasn't long before his expression changed.

The array, which had been humming and operating, suddenly slowed down, while the patterns on the surface of the Blood Egg continued to flicker faintly.

Gu Qiulong looked at the many surrounding spirit stones that were almost depleted of spiritual energy and, gritting his teeth, took out a handful of spirit stones from his storage bag, replaced the ones embedded in the array, and cast several spells.

After replenishing the spirit stones, the array operated once again. As spiritual energy continued to enter the Blood Egg, the patterns on the Egg's shell became even more prominent.

But this situation only lasted for a few breaths before it turned sharply downward again, and the array once more showed signs of stalling.

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