Yuan Ming quickly walked up to Li Xia, and before his head hit the ground, he scooped it up in his hand, intending to perform a Soul Search to ascertain the identity of the Black River God.

However, before he could execute the spell, he saw Li Xia's Divine Soul suddenly explode, and a wisp of black smoke drilled out. It swiftly entered the earthen wall atop Xiansha City and disappeared without a trace.

Yuan Ming's expression darkened slightly, knowing that this might be a trick set up by the person behind Li Xia, yet he was helpless to do anything about it.

He sighed, then picked up the Round Orb and Storage Bag from Li Xia's body, scanned the newly resettled Believers and the crowd, and raised Li Xia's head high.

"I am the Nether Moon God Envoy. The lackey of the False God has been executed on the spot. The Nether Moon God's light shines upon the land, the righteous receive protection, and the wicked face punishment. You all must remember this henceforth."

No sooner had his voice faded than a strong silver-white brilliance erupted from his whole body. It enveloped him and he flew into the Round Moon hanging above the crowd's heads, while at this time, Hua Zhi also placed the crowd back down, once again surrounded by butterflies of light, and flew into the Round Moon.

Witnessing everything that had just taken place in front of them, the crowd was awed by the power of the Nether Moon God. They cheered one after another, their faith growing even more devout.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the crowd, Yuan Ming watched this scene unfold, nodded his head, and then slowly dispelled the Illusion Technique. He recalled Hua Zhi and his Insect Demon minions, turned around, and left the place to return to his residence in the inner city.

The rest could be left to Hu Ji.

"Master, how was it? I played my part well, didn't I!" As soon as he returned to his residence, Hua Zhi couldn't wait to seek his praise.

Yuan Ming nodded and generously commended, "I think you were born for this kind of thing. What do you want?"

"I don't want anything. I just hope Master won't keep me in the Spiritual Beast Bag anymore. It's dark and boring in there," Hua Zhi immediately pleaded.

Yuan Ming contemplated; Hua Zhi was becoming more human-like and disliked the arduous cultivation. He actually grew faster when freely cultivating in the wild. Previously, near Wangyue City, due to the scarcity of demon beasts, his strength had not changed much in five years. Now in a place like Black Wind Desert, where demon beasts were plentiful, it would be better to let him out since he desired it.

With that thought, Yuan Ming nodded, "Alright, but don't go too wild out there. Don't stray too far from Xiansha City and stay safe. Otherwise, if you encounter the Black Wind, it would be troublesome."

Hua Zhi quickly agreed.

Following that, Yuan Ming took out a talisman and a Concealing Cloak, along with a set of black clothes that could cover his body.

"Keep these items well. There's an Array beneath here. Go through the city gate when you leave. Put on the cloak and clothes when entering or exiting the city so others won't see your identity. Also, this Evil Avoiding Talisman is said to be able to resist the Yin Sha within the Black Wind to some extent. It needs to be used underground. If you can't make it back to the city in time, you may try using it."

Yuan Ming had spent a significant sum to buy this talisman in the city. Even the seller wasn't confident in its effectiveness, so only wealthy Foundation Establishment Cultivators would buy one just in case. Now that Yuan Ming didn't need to leave the city much, it was fitting to give it to Hua Zhi.

Knowing the value of these items, Hua Zhi felt even more grateful and close to Yuan Ming.

It took the items from Yuan Ming, said goodbye to him and his Insect Demon minions, and left.

After sending off Hua Zhi, Yuan Ming took out the Round Orb previously held by Li Xia.

The Round Orb was a top-grade magical tool. After examining it for a moment, Yuan Ming put it away and began to examine Li Xia's Storage Bag.

The contents of the bag were sparse, consisting only of elixirs and spirit stones, and a gourd-shaped magic artifact the size of a palm.

The gourd was engulfed in darkness, forged from Nine Nether Iron. It felt chilling to the touch. Intricate patterns were carved on its surface, divided into two distinct sides. One bore the image of a blazing sun with an indistinct figure within, below which myriad cultivators and mortals bowed in fervent worship.

On the other side hung a ghostly moon, under which sat a faceless person in the lotus position, hands held as if supporting the moon, or trying to grasp it. Around this figure swarmed countless aggrieved spirits and lost souls, locked in strife and turmoil as though in purgatory.

"This is made of Nine Nether Iron!" Yuan Ming examined the gourd and let out a surprised chirp.

His own Soul Destroying Sword was primarily made of Nine Nether Iron, an exceptionally rare material. That the gourd was entirely cast from Nether Iron suggested that Li Xia's backing was not insignificant.

Yuan Ming took out the gourd and tried to activate it, only to realize that it seemed to require a particular spell to function.

As he attempted to probe it with his Divine Sense, he was astonished to discover a vast amount of Desire Power stored within the gourd.

Yuan Ming was filled with amazement and doubt; the gourd could actually store Desire Power!

Apart from the Stealing Heaven Tripod, he had never seen an object that could store a large amount of Desire Power, except for incense ashes that could preserve a small amount.

Could this black gourd be a treasure similar to the Stealing Heaven Tripod?

However, aside from being cast from Nine Nether Iron, the gourd did not bear any intricate runes, and it was merely a magical tool in terms of rank.

He extended his Divine Sense to investigate the situation inside the gourd more closely and promptly discovered something at the base: a white object the size of a fingertip that seemed like a shard of jade.

The jade shard emitted an attractive force. All the Desire Power within the gourd orbited the shard slowly. Whenever any Desire Power erupted, it was blocked by the gourd's Nine Nether Iron shell, preventing any from leaking out.

Yuan Ming realized the gourd's ability to store Desire Power was primarily due to that piece of jade shard, with the Nine Nether Iron shell serving merely as a container.

What was the origin of this jade shard, that it could attract Desire Power?

He immediately tried to extract the Desire Power within but found he was unable to invoke any of it, leaving him to watch with envious eyes.

He then tried to direct his Divine Sense towards the jade shard at the center of the gourd, but as his Divine Sense drew near, he felt a suction force pulling at it, drawing it into the shard and soon losing contact with Yuan Ming.

This pulling force was extraordinarily strong, surpassing even the Soul Destroying Sword.

Yuan Ming was greatly astonished. After studying it for a moment longer, he found that he could neither utilize the Desire Power within nor remove the jade shard, unless he was willing to destroy this magical tool.

With no other recourse, he sighed and quietly stowed it away, his thoughts turning to the matters concerning the Black River God.

Although he had slain Li Xia, the events just before his death indicated that there was another mastermind behind him.

Moreover, this mastermind also seemed to be collecting Desire Power, though their purpose remained unknown.

Additionally, from his recent attempts, he confirmed once again that he could only absorb Desire Power generated towards himself; Desire Power emanating from others was useless to him and could not even be manipulated.

Yuan Ming pondered for a moment, but couldn't come up with much at once, so he simply adopted the attitude of dealing with whatever came his way, responding to changes with constancy.

The most urgent matter was to enhance his Cultivation and strength as quickly as possible.

With this thought in mind, Yuan Ming sat down cross-legged, summoned the Stealing Heaven Tripod, and continued to absorb Desire Power.

Streams of Desire Power flowed continuously from the surroundings into the Stealing Heaven Tripod, significantly more than before.

Over this period of time, as the image of the Nether Moon God he had cultivated became deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people, together with Hu Ji's quite talented operations, the collected Desire Power had been steadily increasing; and this time, the decisive blow dealt to the Black River Divine Sect proved to have an even more significant effect.

As a result, the advancement of his cultivation in the Moonlight Technique was bound to make leaps and bounds again.

He thought so to himself, while simultaneously controlling his soul split to absorb all the Desire Power, refining it, which rapidly increased the Soul Power in his Sea of Consciousness.

Before he knew it, another month had passed.

In the secret room, Yuan Ming, who was previously meditating with eyes closed, suddenly stopped absorbing Desire Power. A ripple formed at his brow, and a transparent soul crow emerged, circling and dancing around the room.

The size of the transparent soul crow had doubled compared to when it first appeared, and the fluctuation of its Soul Power had greatly increased as well.

However, this fluctuation of Soul Power seemed slightly sluggish, not as spirited as before.

"This Heart Cleansing Technique is indeed peculiar; reaching just the second layer has such a significant impact on the Divine Soul," Yuan Ming muttered to himself.

The soul split had been continuously practicing the Heart Cleansing Technique, and with a great deal of Desire Power to aid it, it had now reached the second layer.

Like the Moonlight Technique, the Heart Cleansing Technique is also divided into six levels.

The consciousness within the soul split wasn't very strong originally, and the Heart Cleansing Technique could sever the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, hence the consciousness of the soul split became even weaker.

However, this was also a good thing, as the soul split would never be able to escape his control.

And with the Heart Cleansing Technique reaching the second layer, he could also attempt a secret technique.

Yuan Ming drew the soul split back into his Sea of Consciousness and rapidly performed hand seals with both hands.

The Soul Power within the transparent soul crow slowly surged, and a crack gradually appeared in the middle, which quickly grew larger and deeper.

"Split!" Yuan Ming uttered a low shout, and the transparent soul crow divided into two halves.

The two portions of Soul Power wriggled quickly, and after a few breaths, they transformed into two slightly smaller transparent soul crows.

This was the Soul Splitting Skill recorded in the Jade Scroll of the Great Elder, which required the cultivation of the Heart Cleansing Technique to the second layer before it could be performed.

Yuan Ming felt as though his Sea of Consciousness was being split open with an axe, a pain far more excruciating than the previous soul split caused by backlash from the Soul Destroying Sword, and much more agonizing.

He gritted his teeth and endured, his body trembling uncontrollably, until a while later when he finally eased.

"I didn't expect the cost of the Soul Splitting Skill to be so great. It's already this painful splitting the soul split; if I were to divide the main soul, it would probably be agonizing enough to kill me," Yuan Ming thought with lingering fear.

He sensed the two transparent soul crows; their abilities for Far Travel and possession were both intact, and he nodded to himself in satisfaction.

The Great Elder's Jade Scroll was indeed true to its word, with the split Divine Souls retaining their former abilities.

With two soul splits, he could do even more tasks.

Furthermore, as he continued to refine and assimilate Desire Power, the number of soul splits could keep increasing. Someday, if he could have hundreds of soul crows like the Great Elder, he wouldn't fear even if more members from the Chang Chun Temple Sect came after him.

Yuan Ming waved his hand, and Zuo Qinghui's body appeared on the ground.

During the past half year, the transparent soul crow rarely possessed Zuo Qinghui's body. Although the body still maintained signs of life, Mana had nearly completely dissipated.

Yuan Ming controlled one soul crow to enter Zuo Qinghui's body.

Color returned to his eyes as he sat up.

Yuan Ming then controlled Zuo Qinghui to sit cross-legged, beginning to practice the Golden Shadow Sword Technique.

The spiritual energy around him started to flow, converging towards Zuo Qinghui's body.

The transparent soul crow possessing Zuo Qinghui was able to cultivate, which meant that this body had fully recovered and was no different from a normal person; with his soul split in control, Zuo Qinghui could be used as a special clone.

Moreover, Zuo Qinghui had Gold and Water Dual Spirit Roots, and was formerly a Core Formation Stage Cultivator. Although his Golden Core had shattered, his potential remained considerable and was worth developing.

Yuan Ming accelerated the circulation of the Golden Shadow Sword Technique, which ran exceptionally smoothly, nothing like someone practicing the sword technique for the first time.

The natural spiritual energy rapidly transformed into Mana, accumulating in Zuo Qinghui's Dantian.

"Even though the Divine Soul has perished, some of Zuo Qinghui's experience in cultivation still seems to reside within this body," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

This was a good sign. Given Zuo Qinghui's aptitude, plus the residual experience in cultivation, his level of Cultivation would soon rise.

"Take these elixirs for now and use them to quickly raise your Cultivation," Yuan Ming said, taking out several bottles of Qi Refinement Realm elixirs and passing them over.

The Insect Pill in his hand was too potent for Zuo Qinghui to handle at the moment.

Zuo Qinghui took them and went to another room, cultivating on his own.

Yuan Ming also sat down and started practicing the Nine Elements Technique.

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