Yuan Ming steadied his mind and took the storage magic tools from the four men, giving them a superficial inspection.

Although Fang Youting, Feng Qi, and Ya Xian were Guest Elders of the Spirit Talisman Sect, they were essentially Loose Cultivators. Aside from a single Magic Treasure on each of them, they didn't possess many valuable items, and there weren't many Spirit Stones either. The three of them together only amounted to sixty or seventy thousand.

The collection inside Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's Storage Bag was far superior to that of Fang Youting and the others. He had over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones alone. As for Magic Treasures, aside from the black cane left outside, there were three others: a blue ring, a yellow thin sword, and a golden Short Halberd.

The blue ring was a Confinement Magical Treasure with considerable power, and both the yellow thin sword and the golden Short Halberd were Attack Type Magic Treasures, also quite powerful.

As for the rest, there were some precious elixirs, spiritual materials, and Jade Scrolls among other items.

Yuan Ming didn't bother with the rest and took out the two Jade Scrolls, immersing his Divine Sense into them.

One of the Jade Scrolls contained the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's practiced Cultivation Technique—"Phantom Yin Technique", a cultivation method with yin attribute that was extremely powerful. However, the deeper one cultivated this technique, the more their body would transform into a phantom entity.

The other Jade Scroll detailed the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's Soul Cultivation Method called "Mysterious Moon Technique". At first glance, it appeared extremely mystical, seemingly no less astonishing than the Moonlight Technique.

Yuan Ming couldn't help but be intrigued as he closely inspected the contents of the Mysterious Moon Technique. It was strikingly similar to the Moonlight Technique, showing evident signs that the two originated from the same source.

"Could it be that this Moonlight Technique has some connection to the Wu Yue Sect?" Yuan Ming speculated quietly.

Given that the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer originated from the Wu Yue Sect, his knowledge of the sect was surprisingly limited, only understanding very superficial information, which seemed quite abnormal.

Being a Core Formation Cultivator from the Wu Yue Sect, it was impossible for the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer to have no knowledge of his own sect.

After a moment of contemplation, Yuan Ming summoned Fang Youting, Feng Qi, and Ya Xian.

"Master," the three said in a tone devoid of emotion, bowing respectfully to Yuan Ming.

After being transformed into Ghost Slaves, most of a cultivator's emotions are erased, but their spiritual intelligence remains, and so do their past memories.

"Do you three know of the sect named Wu Yue Sect?" Yuan Ming asked.

"We do. Wu Yue Sect is a sect in the Northern Desert, specializing in nurturing Soul Cultivators, and it's the birthplace of Soul Cultivation practices. It once flourished greatly," Fang Youting said in an even voice without any inflection.

"The birthplace of Soul Cultivation!" Yuan Ming exclaimed in surprise.

That Wu Yue Sect was the cradle of Soul Cultivation meant the likelihood that the Moonlight Technique was an inherited skill of this sect was quite high, no wonder it bore such a resemblance to the Mysterious Moon Technique—they likely shared the same roots and origin.

Xi Ying was proficient in the Moonlight Technique; could she be related to the Wu Yue Sect as well?

"If the Wu Yue Sect is the origin of Soul Cultivation, it should be renowned. Why have I never heard of it before?" Yuan Ming wondered.

"The Wu Yue Sect indeed had a prestigious reputation ten thousand years ago. However, because it was a sect of Soul Cultivators that acted wickedly, in pursuit of power, it ignored all the prohibitions of the Cultivation World. Its disciples were overwhelmingly evil, committing unspeakable crimes to refine Evil Treasure and practice Evil Techniques, slaughtering and annihilating souls and clans without any limitations. In the end, it provoked public outrage, and Da Jin Changchun Temple, together with sects from the Western Region, East Sea, and Southern Border worked collectively to eradicate the Wu Yue Sect. Nowadays, there are hardly any who remember the Wu Yue Sect. I also happened to come across a classic about the Wu Yue Sect by chance, which is how I learned about it," Fang Youting continued.

Yuan Ming couldn't help but smile wryly to himself. The reputation of Soul Cultivation was so poor, it was nearly synonymous with a rat crossing the street, all due to the Wu Yue Sect.

He immediately furrowed his brows as, according to Fang Youting, the Wu Yue Sect had perished ten thousand years ago. But if the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer emanated from this sect, could it be that the Wu Yue Sect hadn't disappeared completely but had secretly continued its lineage?

"Do you still have that classic about the Wu Yue Sect?" Yuan Ming looked at Fang Youting.

"I do not. I sold that classic to someone else a few years ago, but I still remember quite a bit of its content," Fang Youting shook his head.

"Record down whatever you remember for me," Yuan Ming said, handing over a blank Jade Scroll.

Fang Youting took the Jade Scroll, his hand glowing white as he swiftly inscribed upon it before handing it back.

Yuan Ming immersed his Divine Sense into the scroll, his expression becoming increasingly grave.

According to this information, Wu Yue Sect had an enormous influence back in the day, not only dominating the entire Northern Desert but also extending its reach to Central Plains, East Sea, Western Region, and even Southern Border.

Unlike sects such as Chang Chun Temple and Five Thunder Sect, Wu Yue Sect organized itself in the manner of a religion, allowing even laypeople to join their ranks.

The hierarchy within the sect was strict, from low to high: common sect members, envoys, Si Zhao, law kings, Venerables, and the supreme Wu Yue God,

The sect members of Wu Yue Sect held intense worship and faith towards the Wu Yue God; the status of sect members, apart from strength, was majorly evidenced by their contributions to the Wu Yue God.

"It really is a peculiar sect," Yuan Ming murmured to himself.

Wu Yue Sect was the origin of Soul Cultivation, and the levels of Soul Cultivation were also created by Wu Yue Sect. The Jade Scroll recorded the names of these Soul Cultivation realms.

As he had previously learned, they were divided into "Soul Witch," "Illusion Witch," and "Love Witch", corresponding to the levels of Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation for Magic Practitioners.

The Jade Scroll had explanations for these Soul Cultivation Realm names. A "Soul Witch" signifies one who has initially trained their Divine Soul and completed the Divine Soul Transformation.

When the Soul Power of a Soul Cultivator further increases and can be radiated outward to cast Illusion Techniques, the cultivator becomes an "Illusion Witch".

If an Illusion Witch advances even further, able to sense and even control emotions, they are referred to as a "Love Witch".

Upon reading this, Yuan Ming suddenly understood, combining it with his own cultivation insights from the Moonlight Technique, he deepened his understanding of Soul Cultivation.

The Jade Scroll also mentioned a realm beyond the Love Witch, called the "Sleeping Witch".

The Scroll didn't go into detail about this realm, but mentioned in passing that a Sleeping Witch can manipulate others' dreams and memories, far more formidable than a Love Witch.

"To control memories... Could it be that the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's memories have been tampered with? Erased of all content related to the Wu Yue Sect?" Yuan Ming's heart chilled, and he grew more wary of this sect.

He put away the Jade Scroll, collected the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer, Fang Youting, and others back into the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll, lifted the Array Restrictions in the stone chamber along with the Three-eyed Crow, and took off with Hua Zhi and Vajra towards the outside.

All the Ghost Slaves confined within the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll had escaped, leaving the underground cavern empty. The Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's black cane was still there, having reverted to its cane form.

He picked up the object and probed it with his Divine Sense, a slight joy appearing on his face.

From the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's memories, Yuan Ming learned this cane was refined from a Level 4 Flood Dragon spine, infused with plenty of high-quality Yin Attribute Spiritual Materials. The rune formations carved inside the cane had reached seven, giving it formidable power, especially adept at corrupting Magic Treasures—no wonder the White Bone Knife and the Golden Sun Ruler stood no chance against it.

Yuan Ming collected the black cane but did not refine it.

Right now, the most pressing matter was to recapture the escaped Ghost Slaves; they were a force not to be underestimated or lost.

He took out the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll, sensing the whereabouts of those Ghost Slaves, a trace of surprise flitting across his eyes.

He had thought the Ghost Slaves would scatter in every direction, but those spirits were almost all gathered underground not far from the cavern, seemingly drawn by something.

Yuan Ming activated the Earth Tunneling Talisman and pursued them, and soon a much larger underground hole emerged before him.

This place had an even denser Yin Qi, posing greater constraints on Divine Sense than the cavern the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer had lived in. A several-meters-wide crack on the ground of this underground hole was releasing dense black Qi, accompanied by faint Blood Light.

The Ghost Slaves from the Night Parade of Hundred Demons were all gathered near the crack, greedily absorbing the dark Qi and Blood Light.

"What is this..." Yuan Ming's expression revealed yet another surprise.

He hadn't seen this fissure in the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's memories. Given its proximity to the Heavenly Ghost Wanderer's cavern, if the fissure had long existed, the wanderer would have definitely been aware of it—could it have just appeared recently?

The Ghost Slaves near the crack sensed Yuan Ming's approach and fled when they saw the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll, showing fear as they escaped into the distance.

Yuan Ming gave a slight smile and activated the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll, a burst of white light blossoming from the screen.

But just then, the ground beneath Yuan Ming began to tremble violently, stalactites crashed down from the ceiling, and roaring noises like the howling of Evil Ghosts came from every direction. An overwhelming Yin Sha Qi rolled in, even devouring the white light that shot out from the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll.

With a chill in his heart, Yuan Ming quickly drove his tunneling light and flew towards the exit without concern for the fleeing Ghost Slaves.

Suddenly, a deep red twilight burst from the fissure, piercing through the fog of Sha Qi in an instant, engulfing all the Ghost Slaves.

Wrapped in the twilight, the Ghost Slaves let out piercing wails as their bodies rapidly dissolved in the Blood Light, disappearing completely after a short time.

After swallowing the fleeing Ghost Slaves, the crimson twilight seemed unsatisfied and continued to sweep towards Yuan Ming.

Turning to see this terrifying scene, Yuan Ming hastened to escape, but in the next instant, the blood-colored twilight wrapped around his body as well, enveloping him.

Once wrapped in the twilight, his mana was instantly suppressed. He was unable to cast any magic, and his Divine Sense couldn't penetrate beyond the twilight.

However, perhaps because he wasn't a ghost spirit, unlike the swiftly dissolving Ghost Slaves, he was merely tightly bound and unable to move.

After capturing Yuan Ming within it, the twilight scanned the vicinity several times, and, finding no other living creatures or lost souls, quickly withdrew, disappearing into the fissure.

Meanwhile, outside the cavern.

Thick black Qi spiraled upwards, connected to the clouds in the sky like a towering pillar, surrounded by Yin Wind and Evil Thunder, stirring the Spiritual Energy in the Soul Burying Abyss and driving all demon beasts into a frenzy.

In an instant, the Soul Burying Abyss was filled with the constant wails of beasts and ghosts, and those Core Formation Cultivators who had come to hunt beasts and search for treasures were affected. Some who were battling troublesome demon beasts lost control and were torn to shreds by the beasts in a matter of moments.

Those who had survived thus far hastily disengaged from their opponents, each flying high into the air. Seeing the black Qi reaching up to the heavens, they were bewildered and puzzled about what new change occurred in the Soul Burying Abyss.

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