Yuan Ming withdrew his gaze and looked at the Thunder God Hammer in his hand, his eyes showing delight.

The effect of the Gathering Thunder Skill was unexpectedly good, he had only just started to practice it and yet had already enhanced the attack power of the Thunder God Hammer by about thirty to forty percent. If he could fully master this skill, the power of the Thunder God Hammer would likely increase significantly.

In fact, although Thunder Attribute Techniques are powerful, the power of thunder and lightning is erratic and unstable, easily dissipating and leading to losses of concentrated power. The Gathering Thunder Skill cleverly reduces the loss of power during casting and focuses the scattered energy in one place, achieving the effect of doubling the result for half the effort.

Lei He and Yan Xiang walked out of the Formation, and putting aside the excited Lei He for now, even Yan Xiang flashed a hint of relaxation in his eyes.

"Yuan, this time we really owe you—Yan Xiang, what are you doing!" Lei He turned to Yuan Ming, about to offer some praise, but suddenly noticed that Yan Xiang beside him had slightly raised his right hand, sending a black light shooting straight towards Yuan Ming.

Anger appeared on Lei He's face as he slapped out a Purple Thunder in an attempt to intercept the black light, but he was a bit too late.

Yuan Ming, who was already on his guard, did not need his help. With a raise of the Thunder God Hammer in his hand, a streak of Silver Thunder appeared out of nowhere, striking precisely upon the black light.

To everyone's surprise, there was just a crisp "snap" sound as the black light, hit by the Silver Thunder, wavered before dropping to the ground, revealing its true form—a black dagger.

Yuan Ming frowned slightly. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, even a covert strike from Yan Xiang shouldn't have been so feeble.

"What's the matter, you all thought that I, Yan Xiang, was the kind of despicable person who would turn his back after receiving a favor?" Yan Xiang's mouth curved into a cold smile.

"I wouldn't dare assume so, may I ask about the meaning behind Fellow Daoist Yan Xiang's actions?" Yuan Ming asked indifferently.

Yan Xiang did not answer Yuan Ming, instead, he turned his head to Lei He, "Lei He, today I will give you this face. On Three Immortals Island, I will let go of the matter of the tournament. But once we're off Three Immortals Island, if you still try to stop me, don't blame me for not recognizing you anymore."

Lei He gave a bitter smile, "Fellow Daoist Yan Xiang, why do you have to do this?"

"No need for more words. Throughout the many sessions of the Immortal Fruit Conference, it's the first time that an island of the first class has dropped out of the top sixteen. If I don't regain this face, I will not be able to explain to everyone on Karma Fire Island!" Yan Xiang said, then turned his gaze to Yuan Ming, "Boy, your Divine Soul Power is extremely strong, no less than that of a Nascent Soul existence. Now that you have learned the Gathering Thunder Skill from Red Rain Island, combined with that hammer and the Thunder Wing Bird, your combat power is already comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Once we leave Three Immortals Island, I will give you thirty minutes. Whether you seek help or flee for your life, I will not interfere. But after thirty minutes, I will personally take action to claim your life."

"If Fellow Daoist Yan Xiang insists on pursuing the matter of the tournament, then I shall accompany you to the end," Yuan Ming said calmly, without showing annoyance.

"What courage! Since Lei He taught you the Gathering Thunder Skill, I will not be petty. That black dagger, consider it a reward for helping me escape from the trap. It was originally a treasure placed here, not made by me. If you're worried, Lei He can also bear witness. If not, just leave it here," Yan Xiang said with a flip of his hand, directly walking past Yuan Ming and entering the secret room to check the Teleportation Array.

"Yan Xiang wasn't lying, this thing is indeed a chance hidden here. Based on my estimation, it is likely left by predecessors as a reward for finding this place and was originally placed in the center of the Great Array. When we removed this item, the Array was triggered. Indeed, Yan Xiang didn't leave any traps on it, so you can keep it with confidence," Lei He picked up the dagger from the ground, examined it with his Divine Sense, and then handed the dagger over.

Yuan Ming took the black dagger and probed with his Divine Sense, a hint of surprise crossing his face.

The black dagger turned out to be a Poisonous Dagger, containing fearsome poison that could easily corrode and dissolve his mana.

Yuan Ming hurriedly increased his mana and integrated the power of the Cold Moon Ring to barely resist the poisonous erosion of the dagger.

What shocked him was that the poison on the black dagger was almost as potent as One Rihong.

Moreover, the nature of the poison on the dagger kept changing.

Having spent a long time learning from Hua Zhi, who was skilled at identifying poisons, and Purple Extreme Tai Sui, which could fuse thousands of potent poisons, Yuan Ming had an ever-growing understanding of poisons.

The poison on the black dagger would sometimes be Wood Attribute poison, sometimes lean towards Earth Attribute, and then change to Fire Poison, truly baffling him.

It was a pity Hua Zhi was in a breakthrough, or else it could have been asked to identify the poison on the black dagger.

"Be careful, the poison on this dagger is fierce. Even Nascent Soul cultivators like us would be in big trouble if infected. Don't touch it directly," Lei He warned.

"Fellow Daoist Lei He is experienced and knowledgeable, do you know the origin of this poison? I have seen many potent poisons, but never one that changes attributes continuously like this," Yuan Ming asked.

"Oh, you are able to discern the depth of this poison, good eyesight. Indeed, this is not a common poison on the black dagger, but a Gu Poison," Lei He said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Gu Poison?" Yuan Ming was taken aback.

"It's not surprising you don't know. Gu Poison is a secret concoction of the Southern Border Five Immortals Sect. It is extracted from several types of severe poison from gu worms and then cultivated with the secret techniques of the Five Immortals Sect. Gu Poison is a fusion of many poisons; hence it has multiple attributes and is very difficult to resist. Once infected by Gu Poison, it is also hard to cure," Lei He explained in detail, with the intention of befriending Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming's heart stirred. This Gu Poison was quite similar to his Purple Extreme Tai Sui.

"Fellow Daoist has profound knowledge of poisons, which I admire. I have heard that the Snake-man Clan is also skilled in using poison, with their most powerful poison called One Rihong. In terms of poisons, who is stronger, the Snake-man Clan or the Five Immortals Sect?" he took the opportunity to ask.

"It's hard to compare. In the research of poisons, the Snake-man Clan and the Five Immortals Sect have taken two extremes. The One Rihong of the Snake-man Clan is a Water Attribute poison; it takes the variability of Water Attribute poisons to the extreme. However, the Gu Poison of the Five Immortals Sect is the fusion of multiple poisons; the more types of poison integrated, the stronger the power of the Gu Poison," Lei He explained.

Yuan Ming understood that the Snake-man Clan specialized in one type of poison, while the Five Immortals Sect sought broader mastery.

"Thank you for the guidance, senior," he expressed his gratitude. After a moment of contemplation, he tossed the black dagger into the Spiritual Beast Bag of the Purple Extreme Tai Sui.

The Purple Extreme Tai Sui sensed the Gu Poison on the black dagger. It writhed over, its body splitting open to reveal a mouth-like opening, and swallowed the dagger whole.

A patch of black toxin appeared on the Purple Extreme Tai Sui's body, rapidly spreading outwards.

A purple light emanated from the surface of the Purple Extreme Tai Sui, enveloping the black toxin. The spread of the toxin dramatically slowed, but it still crept outward.

Yuan Ming's eyebrows lifted slightly. The Gu Poison was indeed comparable to the potent One Rihong; even the Purple Extreme Tai Sui struggled to neutralize it immediately.

However, the Purple Extreme Tai Sui was reputed to assimilate all poisons, so given more time, it likely wouldn't have any issue neutralizing this Gu Poison.

"Yuan, Fellow Daoist Yan Xiang is just that kind of person; you shouldn't worry too much. Once we're out of the Three Immortals Island, I'll call on the Golden Transformation Daoist, and together we'll talk to Yan Xiang. He won't really try to hurt you," Lei He spoke up, seeing Yuan Ming remaining silent, trying to offer some consolation.

Yuan Ming nodded, though, in reality, he didn't take Yan Xiang's threat to heart.

As they conversed, Yan Xiang had already discovered the problem with the Transmission Array and began fixing it.

"Speaking of which, there was a Level 4 Tree Demon guarding outside. Yan Xiang and I relied on Concealment techniques to get past without alerting it. How did you manage to avoid that Tree Demon?" Lei He struck up a conversation with Yuan Ming, seemingly to break an awkward silence.

Yuan Ming looked up, blinking with a blank expression, "Wasn't that Tree Demon killed by the two seniors?"

"What? The Tree Demon has already perished?" Lei He's eyes widened slightly.

"Yes, I came across the corpse of a Tree Demon in the forest above and stopped to investigate. That's when I was transported here by triggering a forbidden mechanism," Yuan Ming explained.

"Oh, is that so..." Lei He furrowed his brow.

The issue with the Teleportation Array was minor, and Yan Xiang quickly fixed it.

The three of them stood on the Array, and after a flash of white light, they left the underground hall and returned to the forest.

Lei He soared up and headed to where the Hua Zhi had devoured the Banyan Demon.

The Banyan Demon's corpse had been mostly consumed by the Hua Zhi, leaving only some remnants.

Lei He glanced over it and then looked aside, noting the impact of the Purple Star Nine Dragon Spear's earth-shattering strike.

On the ground, a pit several zhang in size and fathomless lay conspicuously open—a chunk seemingly gouged out of the forest floor.

The trees, their branches sheared off by the blast wave, stood desolately without a single leaf falling from them. The scenery stretched far and wide; from above, it was shockingly vivid.

"Which Fellow Daoist performed this technique?" Yan Xiang flew over and was taken aback by the scene.

Lei He didn't answer but turned to look at Yuan Ming, who was slowly ascending into the sky.

"I don't know either. This was the scene when I came over earlier; I thought it was the work of the two seniors," Yuan Ming maintained his bewildered look.

Yan Xiang's gaze flickered momentarily, as if he believed Yuan Ming's words, then turned away, "Perhaps it was the deed of some passing Nascent Soul Daoist. It seems we are quite behind; someone has already raced ahead of us. We shouldn't linger here any longer. Let's quickly head towards those three peaks."

Lei He nodded, and after one more look at the devastated forest, he took out a palm-sized Flying Boat and tossed it forward. The boat expanded against the wind, soon returning to its original size.

Seeing this, Yan Xiang directly boarded the Flying Boat, while Lei He turned his head and called out:

"Yuan, come on up."

Yuan Ming hesitated briefly before flying onto the boat as well.

Since many from Fusang Island had arrived at the Three Immortals Island, he couldn't afford to continue at his leisurely pace.

Moreover, with Lei He and another present, if they encountered another Level 4 Demon Beast, he wouldn't have to risk facing it alone.

Lei He took his place at the helm, pinched a spell, and the Flying Boat instantly accelerated, racing towards the mountains at an exceptionally fast rate, second only to Lei Yu at full speed.

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