As Hu Zha's memories dissipated, Yuan Ming felt an inexplicable sense of loss and emptiness wash over him.

This feeling was hard to describe, as if a part of his own memories had been hollowed out, giving rise to an overwhelming sense of loss and emptiness.

However, he quickly remembered the silver cat's earlier warning.

Using abilities like Soul Feeding, he must avoid getting emotionally immersed, as over time, it could easily lead to memory confusion.

A jolt went through Yuan Ming's heart, and he promptly collected his thoughts, closed his eyes, and silently circulated the Moonlight Technique, to dismiss those jumbled thoughts and negative emotions originating from Hu Zha's memories.

After a while, Yuan Ming reopened his eyes and let out a long breath.

The next moment, he sharply felt a slight change in himself—after devouring Hu Zha's soul, his Divine Soul Power seemed to have grown slightly.

Despite this, he wasn't too pleased, instead reminding himself, "Soul Feeding is beneficial, but one must not be greedy for it."

Just then, he turned around and saw the tattooed man from the Beast Slave Hall standing there, his eyes filled with shock as they met Yuan Ming's.

The man didn't see Yuan Ming holding a weapon, nor did he see any blood on Yuan Ming's clothes, so he couldn't react immediately.

"What... what happened here?" the tattooed man exclaimed in horror.

"Oh, I just got here too, they seemed to have been ambushed by someone... What were you doing?" Yuan Ming suddenly changed his tone, rebuking him.

"I, I…" The tattooed man was already feeling guilty, and now he was completely intimidated by Yuan Ming.

"Come here, I have something to ask you," Yuan Ming commanded.

The tattooed man had no choice but to come over, and before he could get close, Yuan Ming smelled a strong scent of cosmetics and powder.

"Useless fool, can't you control your own desires at any time!" Yuan Ming feigned scolding, taking another step toward him.

Just as the tattooed man was about to plead for forgiveness, before he could speak, a flash of sword light suddenly appeared before him; he felt a coldness at his throat, then his entire body unexpectedly lifted into the air, spinning around, and then he knew no more.

As the man's decapitated body fell, warm blood spurted from his neck, and the scent of cosmetics and powder, stimulated by the scent of blood, grew even stronger.

Yuan Ming kicked the headless body of the tattooed man away, composed himself, rubbed his cheeks, and changed to a more genial expression as he approached the mother and daughter who had escaped death.

The mother held the child tightly, protecting her in her arms, the terror still evident in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm here to rescue you," Yuan Ming said in Southern Border dialect.

The woman barely lifted her head, not daring to look more, only glanced at Yuan Ming before quickly looking away.

She couldn't believe that someone had come especially to rescue them.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming didn't mind, and after checking and finding no obvious injuries on the mother and daughter, he sighed in relief.

"Tuya…" he called softly to the child in the woman's arms.

The little girl's body visibly trembled, and despite her mother's restraint, she slowly turned her head buried in her mother's chest, revealing a young, round face.

Upon seeing this face, Yuan Ming was certain, this child must be Tuya.

Her facial features bore a resemblance to Hagon's.

Although the child was already seven years old, her size seemed more fitting for a child of four or five, her hair slightly yellowed, the signs of malnutrition apparent.

Especially those round black eyes, seven parts panic and three parts confusion, looked like those of a frightened little beast, evoking a sense of pity in anyone who saw her.

"Father…"

The girl suddenly called out, causing both Yuan Ming and the woman to freeze.

Yes, in the eyes of a child who had just escaped the verge of death, who else but the longed-for father could be her rescuer?

"I'm not…" Yuan Ming opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Just as he gathered his thoughts and was about to speak, he suddenly felt a knife-like pain in his abdomen, and immediately, a cold force emanated from his Dantian.

"Poisoned, but when?" Yuan Ming wondered in shock.

Recalling the strong scent from the tattooed man, he realized instantly—the poison must have been emanating from him.

But, who was the poisoner?

Yuan Ming's thoughts raced as he immediately concealed his expression of pain, his hand reaching into his sleeve to form a seal, secretly circulating the Nine Elements Technique, in an attempt to suppress the toxin with his mana.

However, the toxin was strangely fierce; the moment his mana moved, it shot straight into his Dantian.

Yuan Ming suddenly felt a chilling force entrenched in his Dantian, as if it had been encased in ice, and the pain in his lower abdomen became even more intense, reaching an unbearable level.

"No!"

The poisoner must still be hiding somewhere nearby, and his situation suddenly became less favorable.

Yuan Ming clenched his teeth and endured the pain, straightening his body. With a twist of his wrist hidden in his sleeve, he took something out and held it in his hand while his expression suddenly turned fierce.

"I am in a good mood today, so I won't kill you. Get out of here," he commanded Tuya and her mother.

The woman was startled, but upon hearing that they were allowed to leave, she quickly picked up her daughter and started to flee.

Just as they were about to leave, a series of footsteps suddenly came from ahead, and five or six figures emerged, blocking the way.

"Yuan Ming, you really can endure, still keeping your composure after being affected by the Cold Yin Frost. This is the first time I've seen that," the leader said with a loud laugh, clucking his tongue in wonder.

"Kun Tu, you really are like a lingering ghost," Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly.

As he spoke, he sized up the newcomers; they were all acquaintances—Hu Huo, Ba Da, Wulu, and the One-eyed Woman who had appeared the last time they had tried to encircle him.

Behind Hu Huo, there stood two figures over three meters tall, covered with white fur, with blood-red eyes and long black claws on their hands. When they grinned, they revealed jagged, white gleaming fangs.

They were two Human Demons!

However, just as Yuan Ming was about to look away, he realized that these two Human Demons were different from the ones he had seen before.

There was no crazed killing intent in their eyes, only a dry and lifeless stillness like that of a dried well, void of life, making them look just like two puppets quietly following behind Hu Huo.

As he made eye contact with one of the Human Demons, Yuan Ming's pupils suddenly contracted sharply.

Even though there were no emotional fluctuations in those eyes and the body showed no distinct features, a strong intuition arose within Yuan Ming.

That Human Demon was Hagon.

Yuan Ming subconsciously wanted to call out his name.

"Wow…"

At that moment, a cry startled him.

Tuya, only seven years old, was being held by her mother. She cautiously turned her face to glance at the people blocking the road and was immediately terrified by the horrifying appearance of the Human Demon, causing her to cry out.

Yuan Ming looked at Tuya, then at the entity of the Human Demon, feeling an indescribable pang of heartache.

The family of three had been separated for seven years, and their reunion now was under such grim circumstances.

After the sorrow, uncontrollable anger surged within him.

His experiences in the Ten Thousand Mountains had somewhat numbed Yuan Ming, but now, even the persecutions he had faced himself had never incited such fury; his gaze inadvertently passed over Kun Tu, focusing solely on Hu Huo.

Hu Huo's body trembled, feeling slightly frightened by Yuan Ming's terrifying gaze. Initially, he did not understand why Yuan Ming looked at him that way, but after glancing at Hagon behind him, he had an epiphany.

But soon, his expression stabilized and a sneer appeared on his lips.

"Yuan Ming, oh Yuan Ming, we actually followed you here intending to kill you stealthily. I didn't expect you to assault your fellow sect members so soon. Well, that's perfect. We can kill you with full justification and report back honestly, and it will still be a meritorious deed," said Kun Tu with a smile.

After entering the Inner Sect, he had been nurtured by Elder Mengshan and with the help of elixirs, his cultivation had surged to the Qi Refining Seventh Level. Facing Yuan Ming, he naturally felt fully confident.

Yuan Ming's expression remained unchanged, his gaze falling on Kun Tu as he asked, "The tasks of the Beast Slave Hall are always carried out in secrecy, and I've never made them public. How did you know about my participation in this task?"

"Hehe, I forgot to tell you, it went so smoothly this time largely thanks to Wulu," Kun Tu laughed.

Yuan Ming frowned and looked towards Wulu.

"Sorry, Brother Yuan, when you asked me about the Beast Slave Hall's task last time, it felt a bit odd. I reported it to Fellow Daoist Kun Tu after I returned," Wulu said with a smile, showing no sign of remorse.

After all, in his view, Yuan Ming was doomed today.

Yuan Ming heard Wulu's words and inwardly sneered, somewhat surprised.

He had not expected that Wulu would pay attention to such details.

It seemed that after entering the Biluo Cave, his alertness had not been enough, which had led to today's dire situation due to some mistakes he should not have made.

"Indeed, it was Fellow Daoist Kun Tu's wise deduction. Just casually mentioning it, he guessed that you would participate in the Beast Slave Hall's mission, and thereafter kept an eye out and finally caught you," Wulu didn't forget to flatter Kun Tu.

"Yuan Ming, now that we are far outside the sect's territory, let's see if anyone can save you?" Kun Tu's face showed a smug expression as he said with a cold laugh.

"Every man for himself, and the heavens for us all. Brother Yuan, after all, we had an acquaintance together, and I had my own unavoidable reasons. Don't blame me." Wulu smiled sympathetically as he slightly bowed to Yuan Ming.

Just then, Yuan Ming suddenly let out a muffled groan, his face turning an iron blue as he clutched his abdomen and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, Kun Tu could not help but burst out laughing, "Talking so much nonsense, all just to wait for your poison to take effect. How does it feel, the Cold Yin Frost Poison invading your Dantian? Not very pleasant, is it?"

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