"Xi Ying, do you know about this Magic Treasure?" Yuan Ming's eyes flickered with a trace of surprise as he asked.

"I know a little. The Night Parade of Hundred Demons is said to be the Lifebound Magical Treasure refined by a legendary Loose Cultivator known as the Shura Master more than three thousand years ago. Its power is enormous, far beyond that of ordinary Magic Treasures. Keep it safe; it will be of great use to you in the future." Xi Ying glanced at Yuan Ming and said.

"This Shura Master is indeed an enigmatic person." Yuan Ming had never heard of this individual, and he vaguely felt that there was more to Xi Ying's words than met the eye.

However, since Xi Ying did not elaborate, he did not press further.

"You've suddenly contacted me; is there something you wish to discuss?" Xi Ying asked again.

"With the power of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, I was able to see clearly the situation within Yin Capital City. The entire city is shrouded in Black Mist, the mist flows as if it contains certain Forbidden changes..." Yuan Ming carefully told Xi Ying about the situation within the city, and even drew a map of the Black Mist's movements and the street layout, giving it to Xi Ying.

"Based on this map, the movement of the Black Mist is indeed some sort of Formation, and this Array is not complicated. By destroying a few nodes, you can break the illusion Array within the city," Xi Ying said with a hint of joy after a brief contemplation.

"It's good that you can see through the mystery of the Black Mist's operation." Yuan Ming sighed in relief.

He had sought to consult with Xi Ying in hopes of leveraging her Array Formation Cultivation to break the city's illusions. If Xi Ying couldn't see through the Black Mist Formation, that would be troublesome.

Xi Ying closed her eyes, seemingly deducing the changes in the Black Mist Formation. Yuan Ming quietly waited without disturbing her.

A few moments later, she opened her eyes.

"How is it?" Yuan Ming immediately asked.

"Time is limited, so I've only deduced most of it—but it should be enough. We just need to destroy these three nodes at the same time, and the Array will fall," said Xi Ying as she took out a blank Jade Scroll, drew the Black Mist Formation on it, and marked three locations.

Yuan Ming memorized them firmly and quickly deduced the positions of the three nodes based on the Array Map Xi Ying had drawn. None of them were too far from him.

"Guide me to one of the nodes. I'll take responsibility for one, and you'll take care of the other two," Xi Ying patted her hands and said.

Yuan Ming then directed Xi Ying towards the nearest node to her, while he and Vajra separately went to the other two nodes.

As the three nodes were destroyed one after another, the Black Mist Formation that pervaded the entire city trembled violently like ripples on water, and after a dozen breaths, it collapsed with a booming sound.

Yuan Ming saw ripples in the void before him, which then returned to normal.

He had now left the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space and could no longer see the Black Mist inside the city, yet he could sense that the intangible Forbidden throughout the city had dissipated significantly. The illusion had likely been lifted, and the city's restrictions on flying had weakened considerably, greatly increasing the range of his Divine Sense when it left his body.

"What just happened? Something seems to have dissipated?" Other people in the city also keenly perceived something unusual.

Yan Sijing was praying devoutly and didn't notice the changes around her.

After a little while, she slowly opened her eyes.

Despite her long prayers, the Nether Moon God had not responded, and she wasn't sure if her prayers had been effective.

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside. Yan Sijing quickly got up and walked out of the room, only to see Yuan Ming standing at the entrance of the mansion.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan? Is it really you?"

Seeing Yuan Ming, Yan Sijing hesitated for a moment, seemingly wary of approaching.

"Miss Yan, rest assured, the illusion Array here has been broken by Lord Nether Moon God, and what you and I see now is genuine and not a facade," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

Yan Sijing, finally noticing the changes in the invisible restrictions in the void, nodded hesitantly. Yuan Ming did not rush to explain further but simply gestured for her to walk out of the mansion.

Several dark figures swiftly flew from afar. They were the Ghost Slaves that had been lost in the Illusion Array, all of which now returned.

A hint of joy appeared on Yuan Ming's face as he gathered them into the Night Parade of Hundred Demons. Yan Sijing became even more convinced by Yuan Ming's words.

Yet, Yuan Ming was not paying attention to Yan Sijing; he looked around, recalling the full view of the city he had seen through the Stealing Heaven Tripod. As he thought about recognizing the way forward, he suddenly saw a pillar of fire surging into the sky at a distance. The crimson light illuminated the entire city, the display immense, yet it seemed to lack any harmful power.

"That must be Communication Fireworks released by a senior; I wonder if it's the Golden Dawn Fairy who released them," Yuan Ming murmured to himself.

"Thunderbolt Ancestor's Divine Skills often involve thunder as a trigger; this kind of fire pillar is unlikely to be his technique," Yan Sijing said, shaking her head upon hearing this.

"Now that the illusion has disappeared and with this firework as a signal, everyone in the city will likely go to investigate. Even if it's Thunderbolt Ancestor's action, we'll be fine if we go a little later," Yuan Ming pondered and said after a moment.

Thus, the two of them returned to the white mansion to conduct a quick search, finding no Exotic Treasures or opportunities. They then set off towards the pillar of fire.

The location of the Pillar of Fire was situated in the midst of a plaza; when Yuan Ming and another arrived, they found that four Nascent Soul Stage powerhouses had already gathered. Besides them, there were also four Core Formation cultivators present.

Behind Dugu Feng stood two in black robes, among them was Xi Ying, and behind Golden Dawn Fairy, Pi Xiu also stood with lingering fear, having seen Yuan Ming's arrival, he couldn't help but reveal a hint of joy. The golden-haired, blue-eyed man behind Su Zimo seemed indifferent to the nose and heart and showed no reaction to Yuan Ming and his companion's arrival.

On the other hand, next to Thunderbolt Ancestor, there wasn't even a Core Formation cultivator; when he saw that one of the two new arrivals was from his own, his face initially lit up with pleasure, but upon realizing it was Yan Sijing, and she was accompanied by Yuan Ming, his expression immediately soured.

Yan Sijing, sensing the possible anger from Thunderbolt Ancestor, immediately lowered her head and without a word, left Yuan Ming's side and quickly walked behind Thunderbolt Ancestor.

Yuan Ming, knowing the woman's current predicament was awkward, did not mind her behavior and quietly took a stand behind Golden Dawn Fairy.

Soon after Yuan Ming, a Core Formation stout man in black robes also hurried over; seeing that the first to arrive were his own Core Formation subordinates, Dugu Feng let out a loud laugh and gave a smug look towards the other three.

Thunderbolt Ancestor's face darkened a bit again, and Su Zimo's expression also turned blank, while only Golden Dawn Fairy exchanged pleasantries with Dugu Feng, complimenting the strength of his underlings.

Following that, another female cultivator under Thunderbolt Ancestor and Wen Zaihou arrived late. Seeing Thunderbolt Ancestor's gloomy face, the female cultivator immediately tensed, and like Yan Sijing, silently left Wen Zaihou's side and stood behind Thunderbolt Ancestor.

Wen Zaihou shook his head as if in regret and then took a place next to Yuan Ming.

Afterward, the cultivators waited for a while longer; seeing no other Core Formation cultivator come forth, Thunderbolt Ancestor's originally grim face eased quite a bit, Golden Dawn Fairy let out a soft sigh, while Su Zimo's expression became somewhat unnatural.

"Alright, the rest who haven't come have probably perished by now; this cursed place is so peculiar, having only lost four Core Formation cultivators is rather fortunate for us," Dugu Feng chuckled lightly.

Su Zimo's expression couldn't help but turn grim, feeling as if those words were like a stab to his chest. He promptly changed the subject, saying,

"Fellow Daoist Wan Qi hasn't arrived yet; Then, it must have been him who broke through the restriction. I wonder how far he's gotten by now. Since everyone is here, let's hurry on over so as to avoid…"

He didn't finish his sentence when they suddenly heard Wan Qi Hong's voice coming from behind them.

"It wasn't me."

The cultivators turned their heads to look, only to see Wan Qi Hong striding forward, still wearing his proud demeanor, without a hint of dishevelment on him.

Hearing Wan Qi Hong's denial, the Nascent Soul cultivators were slightly surprised, and Thunderbolt Ancestor directly addressed him,

"Not Fellow Daoist Wan Qi? That's odd. Since it isn't one of the five of us, could it be that there is another Nascent Soul who snuck in?"

Golden Dawn Fairy also frowned and with a wave of her hand, a Golden Scroll flew into mid-air. The pages unfolded and countless golden characters floated up, soon coalescing into a mirror-like shape.

As Golden Dawn Fairy manipulated the spell with her fingers, a scene suddenly emerged within the golden mirror.

The scene showed a place within the city, a seemingly ordinary landscape. However, at the center of the image, a conspicuous charred-black mark on the ground was enveloped by a faint purple glow, appearing quite mystical.

"Thunder Skill? Old Monster Yu, among the people present, who else would use such magic? There's no need to deny it any longer," Dugu Feng said with a laugh.

"Hmph, I act openly and honorably; if I did it, I wouldn't be sneaking around. Besides, Dugu Feng, are you blind? Can't you see the power of this magic stops at Golden Core? If I made a move, would it be so weak?" Thunderbolt Ancestor responded disdainfully.

"Then it seems it must be the act of some Core Formation junior. I wonder who is so skilled that they could break through an Array that even we couldn't see through so effortlessly," Su Zimo said with a sinister smile, his gaze lingering on the Core Formation cultivators besides the blue-eyed man.

At that moment, Xi Ying, who was standing behind Dugu Feng, suddenly stepped forward.

"This was the work of the junior; I hope it brings no shame to the senior cultivators here," she said.

The group was startled, and Yuan Ming also looked at Xi Ying in surprise, not understanding why she would suddenly step forward to admit.

"Oh, right, I had forgotten that your proficiency in Arrays is quite remarkable. But to penetrate the Illusion Array in such a short time, you've done a great service. I will certainly reward you handsomely when we return to the alliance," Dugu Feng suddenly exclaimed as if he had just realized.

"Thank you for your graciousness, Alliance Hierarch," Xi Ying bowed and thanked him.

The other Nascent Soul cultivators looked at Dugu Feng, all with a curious light in their eyes. Among the Core Formation cultivators brought this time, only his subordinate had not perished, and now even an Array that the Nascent Soul cultivators could not break through had been solved by his underling. If she hadn't voluntarily stepped forward, they might have racked their brains in vain to figure out who did it.

"Heh heh, to be able to see through such a Great Array with Core Formation Stage cultivation, Brother Dugu's Black Desert Scatter Alliance indeed has an abundance of talents. No wonder it's possible to suppress so many legitimate Sects in the Northern Desert and prevent them from even lifting their heads," Su Zimo suddenly laughed.

"To each their own. My Black Desert Scatter Alliance might have plenty of talents, but it's nothing compared to your Guiyuan Sect, Brother Su, which always seems to have an endless supply of cultivators to squander. I hear that every year, in the conflicts with the Western Region, no fewer than a hundred perish, and with every fallen cultivator, their bodies always mysteriously disappear. I have no idea where they all go," Dugu Feng said with a meaningful smile.

"Brother Dugu need not concern himself with that," Su Zimo replied, unflustered and appearing not to take Dugu Feng's words to heart.

"Dugu Feng, you may be petty in your personal affairs, but I didn't expect that as the leader of an alliance, you're still not magnanimous in your actions! Such achievements should be rewarded immediately; if I were in your place, I'd bestow the reward right now. Heh heh, my friend, instead of following him, Dugu Feng, and eating dust every day, why don't you follow me back to the Five Thunder Sect? I guarantee that your path to Immortality will be unobstructed," Thunderbolt Ancestor looked at Xi Ying, his eyes flashing with an unusual fervor.

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