"Fellow Daoist Wen, please stop!" Cui Wuran exclaimed in alarm, flinging his sleeves and releasing several rays of white light into his surroundings, spreading open a white barrier light screen within the private room as he shouted.

The red-haired youth, however, turned a deaf ear, his eyes faintly glowing with a blood-red hue as if he had lost his rationality. With a single sweep of his hand, a black long whip shattered the table and then lashed towards Yuan Ming. The several individuals near Yuan Ming were also affected by the black flames on the whip, panicking and hastily dodging backward in shock and anger.

Yuan Ming frowned; this person really was relentless. With a flick of his sleeve.

The Blood Blade glowed with blood light, shooting out once more as a streak of blood, flashing in front of the red-haired youth with speed doubled from before.

The red-haired youth was greatly startled. His Body Protection Technique operated rapidly, and countless black flames spontaneously erupted, enveloping his body within them. A green shadow flashed in his hand, and he produced a bamboo-basket-like magical tool, attempting to shield against the Blood Transformation Saber.

However, the Blood Transformation Saber suddenly blurred and vanished. Nine blood-colored Flying Knives appeared around his body—above, below, left, right—all exuding a fierce aura and thrusting down mercilessly at the same time.

The red-haired youth was terrified, uncertain which Flying Knife to cover with the bamboo-basket magical tool.

In that moment of hesitation, he lost his last chance. The nine Flying Knives pierced his body; the black fire screen had no effect at all, easily breached by them.

"Ah!" The red-haired youth let out a wail of despair as all the black flames dissipated from his body. He toppled to the ground, a bloody hole pierced through his chest.

A force ten times stronger than before and full of sinister energy rapidly spread throughout his body. Wherever it passed, the youth's body became numb and powerless, immobilized.

The spectators inside the room all wore expressions of shock and dismay, silent for a long while.

Yuan Ming dispelled the Soul Power wrapped around the Blood Transformation Saber, dispelling the illusion. The nine Blood Blades merged into one, and with a flash of blood light, flew back into his sleeve.

In the Inner City of Xiansha, it was strictly forbidden to fight using magic, let alone kill. Yuan Ming did not want to invite serious trouble. Otherwise, even without activating the Blood Transformation Saber, just the saber's Blood Poison alone could easily claim the red-haired youth's life.

Yuan Ming ignored the red-haired youth and continued to immerse his Divine Sense into the Jade Scroll to explore it.

"Fellow Daoist Wen!" Cui Wuran rushed over quickly, helping up the red-haired youth.

The young man's face surfaced with a layer of blood-colored halo, seemingly employing a secret technique, and quickly regained mobility in his limbs.

"Your strength is formidable, I, Wen, admit defeat. We'll settle this account another time!" He broke free from Cui Wuran's support and took out a green talisman, sticking it on the wound on his chest before stumbling away.

Yuan Ming paid no attention to this man, his Divine Sense still probing the contents of the Jade Scroll, indifferent to the affairs of others.

One of the two methods recorded in the Jade Scroll was the Transplanting Technique, quite profound, which could transfer a Third-level Demon Beast's Demon Core into one's Dantian. Once successfully refined, it could act as a substitute for a Golden Core.

This secret technique had many restrictions. First, the attributes of the Demon Core had to match the cultivator's perfectly; any deviation would make success impossible. Secondly, during the refining process, one would need to endure the influence of the residual soul of the demon beast within the demon core.

If one could withstand these two trials, there was a seventy to eighty percent chance of successfully forming a Core.

However, a Golden Core formed through such a shortcut differed significantly from a true Golden Core, lacking life extension effects, and also significantly limited the possibility of future breakthroughs.

Compared to these downsides, a Golden Core formed via the Transplanting Technique had one advantage: the cultivator could perfectly inherit the power contained within the demon core, and even perform the Innate Divine Ability of the demon beast.

The second secret technique was relatively standard, mentioning a Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid that could cleanse a cultivator's Dantian, purifying the Dan Tian Power and facilitating a smoother Core Formation.

However, the Jade Scroll did not specify where to obtain this Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid, vaguely mentioning that it had been seen in Purple Thunder City more than a decade ago.

"Purple Thunder City..." Yuan Ming muttered to himself.

Purple Thunder City is the largest city controlled by Zhao Country in the Black Wind Desert area, governed by the Five Thunder Sect, not only is it more than ten times larger than Xiansha City, its prosperity is beyond comparison.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, you just said, which of these two methods is reliable, and which one has not been verified?" Yuan Ming looked at Cui Wuran and asked through a spiritual transmission.

"The more reliable one is the second method with the Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid; I heard about it from Purple Thunder City. As for the Transplanting Technique, I got it from a corpse and have not verified it," Cui Wuran replied through spiritual transmission.

No sooner had the words fallen than he transmitted over an apology, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, my apologies for the incident just now. That Fellow Daoist Wen is usually quite amiable; I do not know why he lost his temper today. Please forgive his outburst."

"It's nothing. Can Fellow Daoist Cui tell me more about the origin of the Transplanting Technique?" Yuan Ming inquired further.

"Of course. Several years ago, while I was hunting Demon Insects in the Black Wind Desert, I stumbled across a rotten corpse underground. The corpse's finger had a Storage Ring, inside of which there was a cultivation journal that mentioned this Transplanting Secret Technique," Cui Wuran transmitted.

Yuan Ming remained silent. The second method required verification at Purple Thunder City, while the first could not be traced or verified at all. The biggest concern was the inability to make further breakthroughs afterwards, which was unacceptable to him.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, do you not believe me? I can swear upon my Heart Demon that everything I've just said is true. Should there be any falsehood, I am willing to suffer from Heart Demon's harassment and have my Cultivation completely destroyed, relegating me to a mere mortal!" Cui Wuran solemnly sent through telepathy.

Upon hearing Cui Wuran's oath, Yuan Ming fell silent once more, then collected the Jade Scroll and handed over the three spiritual materials on the table to Cui Wuran.

The trading soon continued, but due to the astonishing Divine Skills Yuan Ming had just displayed, the atmosphere became far more subdued than before.

Yuan Ming remained silent and did not make any more moves.

After half an hour, the exchange meeting ended swiftly, and the attendees bid their farewells.

As Yuan Ming stood up to leave, he was stopped by Cui Wuran's telepathic message, mentioning some matters to discuss.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, what is the matter?" Yuan Ming asked.

Cui Wuran waved his hand to cast a Barrier, then took out the three materials he had just received and pushed them back toward Yuan Ming.

"What do you mean by this, Fellow Daoist Cui?" Yuan Ming asked after a moment of silence.

"During our transaction, had I refused these three materials, it might have affected the exchange meeting. Both methods I mentioned didn't require much effort on my part to acquire, how could I accept these precious materials from you? Besides, you and I are old friends. Consider it a gift from me to congratulate you in advance on your Core Formation," Cui Wuran said with a chuckle.

Surprised by these words, Yuan Ming pushed the three materials back and said, "Fellow Daoist Cui jests. How can I, Yuan, accept such precious secret techniques for assisting in Core Formation without offering anything in return? If you have something else to say, please speak frankly."

"Since you have noticed, I will speak directly. Indeed, I have a favor to ask of you, and these three spiritual materials are just a token of our meeting. There will be an additional reward of five thousand Spirit Stones upon successful completion," Cui Wuran said with an embarrassed smile before becoming serious again.

"Five thousand Spirit Stones! Could you first tell me what the task is?" Yuan Ming inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing complicated—just to hunt down two demon beasts. With your formidable strength, Fellow Daoist Yuan, you are well-suited for this mission," Cui Wuran explained.

"If it's just dealing with two ordinary demon beasts, you would be able to handle them yourself, Fellow Daoist Cui. Even if others were to be invited along, it would not warrant such a high price of five thousand Spirit Stones. Therefore, the beasts you wish to kill wouldn't happen to be two third-level demon beasts, would they?" Yuan Ming asked, looking intently at Cui Wuran.

"The task is to exterminate a pair of Second Rank Upper Stage Red Gold Centipedes. Their strength is extraordinary, and the combined power of a mated pair is enough to make their combat prowess surge, certainly no less formidable than a third-level demon beast. However, you don't need to worry, Fellow Daoist Yuan. It's not just the two of us on this mission; there are several Foundation Establishment Cultivators involved. With the power of the Formation, we'll be able to deal with these demon insects without much danger," said Cui Wuran.

"Red Gold Centipedes!" A trace of intrigue flashed across Yuan Ming's eyes.

Red Gold Centipedes are a type of Gold Attribute demon insect capable of devouring metals; with exceptionally durable bodies, even top-grade magical tools struggle to cause harm. They are among the most formidable second-level demon insects in the Black Wind Desert.

In recent times, Yuan Ming had been in contact with Master Lu on several occasions, and he had mentioned more than once his desire for a pair of Red Gold Centipede bodies to refine a set of special Formation tools.

However, Red Gold Centipedes were extremely rare, last seen over a decade ago. Despite Master Lu offering a bounty for them in several Scatter Alliances, the task had remained unfulfilled to date. Unexpectedly, Cui Wuran had managed to locate traces of the Red Gold Centipedes.

This mission seemed worth attempting. If he could acquire the bodies of Red Gold Centipedes, he would be able to do Master Lu a favor, thus facilitating future requests for him to refine Formation tools.

Even disregarding Master Lu's interests, the mission itself was worth undertaking, with the reward of five thousand Spirit Stones being quite tempting.

Currently, Yuan Ming needed vast resources, as "Zuo Qinghui," controlled by his soul splitting, required the same amount of cultivation as two Foundation Establishment Cultivators combined. His supply of Spirit Stones was dwindling, and the revenue from Hua Zhi hunting demon insects was hardly sufficient.

"Is this mission issued by Earth Spirit Pavilion's Master Lu?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"Master Lu? Of course not. This is a mission entrusted by the City Lord Mansion, supposedly for hunting on behalf of an elder of the Core Formation Stage from the Five Thunder Sect. They also provided the location of the Red Gold Centipedes. The City Lord Mansion has other obligations and couldn't spare experts, so they have turned to us Loose Cultivators to carry out the task," Cui Wuran clarified with a shake of his head.

"Five Thunder Sect!" Yuan Ming's gaze grew slightly serious.

The region where Xiansha City was located fell under the influence of Zhao Country, with the Black Wind Desert's mine resources being plentiful. Major Cultivation Sects of Zhao Country all had stakes here, and Xiansha City was no exception, being controlled by a Cultivation Sect named Yellow Sand Sect.

As the premier Cultivation Sect of Zhao Country, Five Thunder Sect naturally would not overlook the lucrative Black Wind Desert, dispatching numerous elders and disciples to reside there.

Due to the chaotic and disorderly nature of the Black Wind Desert, Five Thunder Sect also enforced a ruthless rule, annihilating anyone or any force that dared to challenge their authority.

With the might of Five Thunder Sect and their iron-fisted policies, they had established a reputation far surpassing those outside. Within the territories of Zhao Country, Five Thunder Sect was akin to an Emperor, whose commands were heeded by dozens of underground cities.

Yuan Ming stayed quiet. If Five Thunder Sect was aiming to hunt down two Red Gold Centipedes, even if he succeeded, the bodies would not end up in his hands. Should he forsake this opportunity?

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