The battle within the City Lord Mansion still raged on.

Beneath the now somewhat sparse Blood River Formation, for some unknown reason, above the heads of the five Nascent Soul cultivators' apparitions, a golden lotus appeared, spinning around as countless fine golden threads cascaded down, immobilizing them in place, preventing any movement.

Not far away, Golden Dawn Fairy wore a solemn expression, her fingers danced ceaselessly, swiftly striking the golden lotuses with one spell after another.

Since these apparitions were restrained, Wan Qi Hong and the other four Nascent Soul cultivators began to focus on besieging the Blood-colored Skull.

Apart from Wan Qi Hong, the other three had already taken on all sorts of attacks from the Blood-colored Skull, putting in great effort to restrain it, while Wan Qi Hong kept launching fierce assaults on the Blood-colored Skull.

Meanwhile, of the two Green Stone Statues battling Yan Sijing and several other Core Formation Cultivators, only the cheetah statue remained, as the other, a giant bear statue, had already been reduced to a pile of rubble.

After a period of adjustment, these Core Formation Cultivators gradually developed some tacit understanding and seemingly discovered the knack to deal with these statues. While the cheetah statue was as swift as the wind, it suffered numerous scars under the concerted attack of the cultivators' Magic Treasures, and its defeat was imminent.

Wan Qi Hong opened his mouth and spat out a golden sword light, which flickered and multiplied into nearly a hundred sword shadows, blanketing the sky as they descended towards the Blood-colored Skull.

The Blood-colored Skull hurriedly maneuvered the Blood River to defend, barely withstanding the blow, but the Blood River was significantly weakened, becoming even more tenuous.

With a flick of his sleeve, Golden Light flashed in front of Wan Qi Hong, and a Flying Sword wreathed in Golden Flames materialized out of thin air. After spinning around, it rapidly grew in size, transforming in an instant into a five or six-zhang-long giant golden sword and slashed down at the thinned Blood River.

The Blood-colored Skull opened its mouth wide, and a blinding Blood Light shot out, colliding head-on with the Golden Flames Flying Sword.

At that moment, an unexpected change occurred!

Between flashes of spirit light on the ground, a huge black Array emerged, enveloping everyone in an instant.

Immediately thereafter, everyone was immobilized, and Magic Treasures like the Golden Flames Flying Sword were suppressed by an enormous force, unable to move even an inch.

Wan Qi Hong and the others were shocked. Seeing the equally astonished Blood-colored Skull, they felt slightly relieved.

Dense black light poured out from within the Array, cloaking everyone, including the Blood-colored Skull, and then in a flash, they disappeared without a trace.

Yuan Ming's vision blurred, and he found himself in a bright space.

Under the clear blue sky dotted with white clouds, an endless verdant grassland stretched out before him, with peaks of rolling mountains just visible in the distance. The air was filled with a freshness indistinguishable from the outside world.

Near him, a group of people appeared amidst the flashing black light on the ground, revealing Wan Qi Hong and the others.

The Blood-colored Skull also ended up here, its blood-red eyes revealing an incredibly surprised delight. After glancing at Yuan Ming, it immediately shot off into the distance.

Numerous clouds of Blood Mist emerged from the Skull, forming a Blood Cloud several mu in size. In the blink of an eye, it flew hundreds of zhang away and then disappeared into the horizon.

"Stop!" Su Zimo shouted frantically, ready to give chase.

"Let's not pursue a desperate enemy in unfamiliar territory!" Thunderbolt Ancestor said, raising his hand to stop Su Zimo.

"Damn it, we were about to seize that Blood-colored Skull and take the treasures within the City Lord Mansion. Why were we suddenly teleported here?" Su Zimo was filled with rage.

"That, I'm afraid we'll have to ask Yuan Ming. How did you come to be here? Right before that Blood-colored Skull made its escape, why did it take a special look at you?" Thunderbolt Ancestor directed his gaze at Yuan Ming.

The others turned their attention to Yuan Ming as well.

Yuan Ming's expression altered slightly as his mind raced. He said, "I do not know. While the seniors and Fellow Daoists went to the City Lord Mansion to search for treasures, I, being weak, did not dare to enter, so I wandered aimlessly around the city. Somehow, a black Array appeared under my feet out of nowhere, and the next thing I knew, I was here."

"Is that so?" The gaze of Thunderbolt Ancestor flickered, clearly unconvinced by Yuan Ming's words, and was about to press further.

"Eh? What's this?" Moving like a wraith, Wan Qi Hong appeared before Yuan Ming and reached into the void.

A strong suction force came forth, and the Black Key in Yuan Ming's hand shot out toward Wan Qi Hong.

Yuan Ming, startled, reached forward instinctively, and a white ring on his finger emitted a puff of white smoke that collided with the void in front of the Black Key.

With a sizzle, the air ahead of the key froze, and the suction force unleashed by Wan Qi Hong was frozen in place.

The Black Key continued to fly forward, struck the icy white expanse, and with a clang, it was repelled back.

Yuan Ming stretched out his hand and snatched the Black Key back.

He felt a rush of relief. The chill within the white ring was indeed remarkable, not only capable of freezing Magic Treasures and Forbidden spells but even able to freeze tangible impacts such as suction.

The quick exchange between Yuan Ming and Wan Qi Hong ended in the blink of an eye, but no one present was weak and all witnessed the scene, showing surprise as they scrutinized the white ring.

Wan Qi Hong's expression darkened, and just as he was about to act again, a ray of Golden Light landed in front of Yuan Ming, forming a golden light barrier that separated him from Wan Qi Hong.

The figure of Golden Dawn Fairy appeared beside Yuan Ming, her brows furrowed as she said, "Fellow Daoist Wan Qi, why are you unjustly seizing Yuan Ming's belonging?"

Only then did the others turn their attention to the Black Key.

"This key is..." Dugu Feng, who had originally been standing at a distance, flashed over in the blink of an eye, staring intently at the black key, a repressed excitement gleaming in his eyes.

The others noted Dugu Feng's expression, and their hearts stirred.

This black key seemed very precious; both Wan Qi Hong and Dugu Feng wanted it.

Thunderbolt Ancestor and Su Zimo extended their Divine Sense to carefully probe the black ring.

Here, without the restrictions from Yin Capital City, their Divine Sense could spread freely.

"Fellow Daoist Jin Xi has misunderstood; I was merely intrigued by the key's uniqueness and wished to take a closer look," Wan Qi Hong said, casting an annoyed glance at Dugu Feng.

Dugu Feng was unfazed, his gaze still locked on the black key.

Yuan Ming, watching the scene unfold, secretly regretted not having put away the black key promptly; it was now too late to hide it.

A thought crossed his mind, and he communicated with Xi Ying through his first soul.

"Xi Ying, do you know the origin of this black key?"

However, Xi Ying stood there with her head bowed, not responding to Yuan Ming's inquiry as if she hadn't heard him at all.

Yuan Ming's brows slightly lifted, but he did not pursue the question.

"Is that so? However, the key belongs to Fellow Daoist Yuan, and even if Fellow Daoist Wan Qi wishes to see it, he should obtain his consent. I do not wish for any more unpleasant incidents to occur," Golden Dawn Fairy said, and at the end of her remark, she shot a meaningful glance at Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming understood and put away the black key.

A flash of ferocity flitted through the depths of Wan Qi Hong's eyes but was quickly suppressed, making way for a benign expression as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, where did you come across this black key?"

"I found it inside an ordinary building in the city. I noticed it possessed some distinctive features, so I picked it up," Yuan Ming said half-truthfully.

"Since the key was obtained by chance, you probably don't care much for it. It is of great importance to me; I wonder if you might sell the key to me? Whether in exchange for Spirit Stones or for spiritual materials and Magic Treasures, either is fine," Wan Qi Hong suggested.

"I also need that key. If Yuan wishes to sell it, he must consider my offer too," Dugu Feng also stated.

"Fellow Daoist Dugu, do you really intend to compete with me for it?" Wan Qi Hong's eyes flickered with a hint of chill.

"If Brother Wan Qi were to obtain the key, I would naturally dare not indulge in wishful thinking. However, since Fellow Daoist Yuan has it, I intend to do all I can to contend for it," Dugu Feng said with a smile.

Wan Qi Hong snorted coldly and turned away from him to address Yuan Ming, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, what do you think about my earlier proposal?"

Yuan Ming had already weighed the matter and, after a brief pause, took out the black key and said, "Senior Wan Qi is right. I came upon this key by chance and have no significant use for it. Since both seniors desire it, I am not averse to parting with it."

His gains for the day were already substantial, and although the black key might be important, with Wan Qi Hong and the others getting involved, he likely wouldn't come out ahead even if he wanted to intervene; withdrawing now seemed wise.

"Excellent, what do you need, young friend? Spirit Stones? Magic Treasures? Spiritual materials and elixirs? Just name it," Wan Qi Hong said happily.

"I am not currently in need of Spirit Stones or elixirs. I have been looking for some Nine Nether Iron to refine a yin attribute Magic Treasure; if either of the seniors has this Divine Iron, and the amount is not too small, I am willing to offer this key with both hands," Yuan Ming proposed.

The Soul Destroying Sword had fused with the Nine Nether Iron from the Black Gourd, greatly enhancing its power, withstanding the Curse Rune.

But that was far from enough. Yuan Ming's ambitions didn't end there. He wished to gather more Nine Nether Iron, inscribe the other two runes onto it, and forge a Divine Sword with power that could pierce the heavens and the earth.

Upon hearing this, Wan Qi Hong's smile stiffened.

He was well aware of this rare yin attribute top-grade spiritual material with its incredible superpower, exceedingly scarce.

Though Nine Nether Iron was rare, Chang Chun Temple, which had been dominant in the Central Plains for over ten thousand years, had collected some. Wan Qi Hong had personally seen a few pieces, but he did not carry any.

"Hahaha, what a coincidence! I happen to have a significant piece of Nine Nether Iron," Dugu Feng laughed out loud and produced a fist-sized chunk of black ore from his hand.

The ore emitted a black spirit light, causing the surrounding area to become noticeably dimmer as if all light was being absorbed into the black ore.

"Nine Nether Iron!" Yuan Ming's eyes lit up, and he drew the black ore towards him.

Such a large piece of Nine Nether Iron, once integrated into the Soul Destroying Sword, should suffice to inscribe the second Rune of the Broken Sword; if not, little more would be required.

As he was about to speak, Wan Qi Hong's gaze turned cold, spreading a chill in the air.

Yuan Ming's eyelids twitched, and he halted midsentence.

"What, does Fellow Daoist Wan Qi intend to steal it by force? Then he shall have to ask if my sword agrees!" Dugu Feng said, looking over as a black long sword materialized in the palm of his hand.

The other three from the Black Desert Alliance also moved closer, lining up behind Dugu Feng.

Wan Qi Hong showed no sign of backing down, his cold gaze fixing on Dugu Feng.

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