Lei He was startled by Yuan Ming's overwhelming barrage of attacks, surprised by Yuan Ming's tactics at the same time. His hands, holding a black short cone, had already unleashed seven or eight thunderbolts, slashing towards Blood Shadow and Hong Ling.

Simultaneously, a red light flashed in front of him as the ancient red painting he had just acquired materialized out of thin air and unfurled with a "whoosh".

The painting depicted a crimson mountain peak. With a loud "boom", a vast crimson mountain erupted from within the painting, nearly filling the entire palace, facing the dense array of magic treasures and secret techniques.

However, the Crow Formation's black sound waves were faster, easily penetrating the crimson mountain and engulfing Lei He's body.

A look of stupor crossed Lei He's face in an instant, and the spirit light on the black short cone and the crimson mountain dimmed as well.

The Fairy Binding Rope emerged from the ground, wrapped around Lei He's ankles, and pulled him out, exposing him beyond the protection of the crimson mountain.

Dozens of magic treasures and secret techniques engulfed Lei He's body, a flash of blood appeared, and was then submerged by a blinding light.

After a few breaths, a small purple figure, covered by Hong Ling's Binding Immortal Spider Web, was delivered next to Yuan Ming.

The facial features of the small figure bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Lei He, but its eyes were tightly shut, seemingly unconscious.

The numb sensation in Yuan Ming's body spread again. Spots of gray-white appeared on his skin, making it look like stone. His mana circulation had begun to stall, but he still pushed himself to take out the Empty Gloves, and with Hong Ling's help, put them on.

A black and blue interwoven hand emerged and entered Lei He's Nascent Soul.

It wasn't long before the black and blue hand dissipated.

Yuan Ming had already gleaned the desired information from Lei He's memories. He was now completely numb, afflicted by a potent Earth Attribute poison: Sandman Poison.

Once afflicted by this poison, one's entire body becomes numb, then petrifies, including the blood, bones, and internal organs. Eventually, it completely turns into a stone statue before shattering into a pile of gravel.

When it reaches this stage, both flesh and divine soul disappear entirely from this world, leaving not a trace behind.

In terms of virulence, Sandman Poison is not inferior to the Snake-man Clan's One Rihong.

Like One Rihong's poisonous liquid, Sandman Poison is colorless and tasteless, appearing as dust—indistinguishable from dust without any smell or essence, unnoticeable when scattered on the ground.

The only weakness of this poison is its slow activation, requiring a long time to take effect after contamination. Lei He talking with Yuan Ming for so long had been for this purpose.

Sandman Poison came from the Southern Border Five Immortals Sect. Lei He slew an expert from this sect years ago and acquired this poison. He had never used it until now; this was its first deployment.

Yuan Ming bitterly smiled inwardly, feeling "honored" to be so valued by a Nascent Soul cultivator like Lei He.

As for Lei He's reason for attacking Yuan Ming, it was similar to Daoist Qian Bao's motive—coveting what was on him. However, Lei He was not after the Golden Crow Divine Arrow but his Thunder God Hammer.

The black short cone in Lei He's hand was called God Bombarding Cone, and along with his Thunder God Hammer, they were a set of magic treasures known as the Thunder God Bombarding Divine Hammer.

The Thunder God Bombarding Divine Hammer was not a replica spirit treasure like the Cold Moon Ring or Purple Star Nine Dragon Spear but a genuine Thunder Spirit Treasure, just lacking an artifact spirit.

This treasure did not originate from Three Immortals Island but was the sect's treasure of Shenxiao Island, a mysterious force from the East Sea ten thousand years ago.

Shenxiao Island was once a major island in the East Sea, on par with Fusang Island, specialized in Thunder and Lightning Divine Power. The island housed an excellent Thunder and Lightning Spirit Vein, rumored to autonomously absorb the celestial power of thunder and lightning, supplying it to the cultivators of Shenxiao Island.

However, for unknown reasons, Shenxiao Island suddenly sank ten thousand years ago, and not even the island remained visible. Only a few disciples who were outside survived.

Red Rain Island inherited the Daoist Lineage from Shenxiao Island, but only the God Bombarding Cone survived as the inherited treasure; the Thunder God Hammer's whereabouts were unknown until it was acquired by Shura Master.

Lei He saw Yuan Ming using the Thunder God Hammer at the Immortal Fruit Conference, and felt both shocked and incredulous. He used a secret technique called "Circular Light Technique" to spy on him, investigating whether the Thunder God Hammer was the lost treasure of Shenxiao Island while conspiring to snatch it.

Though Yuan Ming had only a Core Formation stage cultivation, his true strength was unfathomably deep. After careful consideration, Lei He decided to show goodwill first, to gain Yuan Ming's trust before making a move, leading to their current situation.

"Crafty old fox!" Yuan Ming cursed inwardly.

As for the Circular Light Technique, it was a secret technique passed down by Three Immortals Island. Lei He's previously mentioned news about the Three Immortals Island was not false. A Red Rain Island elder once encountered Three Immortals Island reemerging and obtained a page from the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book, which listed this technique, allowing one to spy on others silently and far more covertly than with Divine Sense.

Yuan Ming halted his thoughts and no longer dwelled on Lei He, starting to consider the Sandman Poison in his body.

There was no cure for this poison, and Lei He carried no antidote. Yuan Ming, lacking an Earth Spirit Root, found it even harder to resist the poison.

His thoughts raced, not bothering that Hua Zhi was still breaking through, and he telepathically awakened her.

"Master, what has happened?" Hua Zhi appeared from within the vine cocoon, her aura improved, already stepping into Level 4 realm.

But, her breakthrough being interrupted, Hua Zhi's demon energy was chaotic, clearly suffering significant backlash.

Yuan Ming had no time to deal with these matters and told Hua Zhi in detail about how Lei He had secretly manipulated him.

On hearing this, Hua Zhi hurriedly emerged from the Spiritual Beast Bag and several vines pierced into various parts of Yuan Ming's body, deploying the Absorption Poison Divine Ability.

As time passed bit by bit, a layer of grayish-white color appeared on the vines of Hua Zhi, but the numbness in Yuan Ming's body did not subside at all.

"It won't work, my Absorption Poison Divine Ability comes from the Poisonous Toad, which is just a common demon beast of the Southern Border. As my strength continuously improved, my divine abilities tended towards devouring and regeneration, and the Absorption Poison Divine Ability gradually became a side path. It's fine against common deadly poisons, but this Sandman Poison is a severe poison from the Five Immortals Sect. I am powerless against it," Hua Zhi said dejectedly.

A sense of dread sank in Yuan Ming's heart; he had no other antidote, and Hua Zhi was powerless. The Sandman Poison was probably incurable.

"Damn, am I really going to perish here today?" he thought to himself, forced to consider the ultimate life-saving measure of a Soul Cultivator: body seizing.

Body seizing was an ability of the Sleeping Witch, and he was still some way off from being a Sleeping Witch, but with the help of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, he could perform the body-seizing technique.

However, doing so would ruin the results of his years of hard work in Magic Practitioner and Body Cultivation.

"You need not lose heart, my friend, I have a way to break the deadly poison in your body," suddenly, Qi Ye's voice rang out at that moment.

"Senior Qi Ye! Are you serious?" Yuan Ming exclaimed with joy upon hearing this.

"Of course, I am serious. The antidote is actually already by your side, you just didn't know it," Qi Ye said.

"Which do you mean, senior?" Yuan Ming quickly communicated through a spiritual message to inquire.

"This demon vine by your side, it's surprising to see a Demon Heart Vine here in the Yunhuang Continent," Qi Ye said.

"Demon Heart Vine?" Yuan Ming swept his Divine Sense over Hua Zhi.

Hua Zhi sensed Yuan Ming's Divine Sense and was puzzled.

"Demon Heart Vine is a creature from the Demon World, capable of devouring all living things and transforming them into its own nourishment. It is also very rare in the Demon World. Yuan, you're indeed fortunate to have tamed a Demon Heart Vine as your spirit beast," Qi Ye said, his tone revealing a hint of envy.

"The Demon World? Does it truly exist in this world?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but ask curiously.

"This world is vast beyond your imagination, and the Yunhuang Continent is just a secluded corner of it," Qi Ye said with a laugh.

"We can talk about the Demon World some other time. Senior, you mentioned Hua Zhi could rid me of the deadly poison, how should this be done?" Yuan Ming was very interested in the outside world, but the increasing numbness in his body was overpowering his curiosity.

"The Demon Heart Vine's ability to devour other beings is astonishing, but it has an even more powerful ability—through the Symbiosis Technique, it can plunder the primary essence of other beings and claim their divine abilities as its own," Qi Ye explained.

"Symbiosis Technique!" Yuan Ming was greatly shocked, a flicker of realization crossing his eyes.

Hua Zhi, when it was still a demon vine, had no ability to release or neutralize poison. It acquired the Absorption ability after absorbing the Poisonous Toad.

He had found it strange before, but now everything made sense. Hua Zhi could refine other beings and plunder their divine abilities.

"This Demon Heart Vine's absorption ability comes from a low-level demon beast, so it is ineffective against the Sandman Poison. I sense that you possess a Purple Extreme Tai Sui, which is of a considerably high level. Purple Extreme Tai Sui is the king of all poisons. Have the Demon Heart Vine employ the Symbiosis Technique again to absorb the Purple Extreme Tai Sui, and its absorption ability will significantly improve. Let alone Sandman Poison, even poisons several times stronger could be devoured and refined," Qi Ye continued.

Yuan Ming's face showed delight, but then he frowned.

"Do you still have any doubts, young friend?" Qi Ye asked upon seeing this.

"Hua Zhi seems unaware of its own ability for Symbiosis Technique. Its merging with the Poisonous Toad was also a fortuitous accident. Even if it can employ the Symbiosis Technique, it might require a considerable amount of time. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on that long," Yuan Ming said with a shake of his head.

The Sandman Poison had already seeped deep into his body and would claim his life before long.

"Your Demon Heart Vine is about to enter Level 4, and even if it hasn't awakened the Symbiotic Divine Ability, it can still instinctively employ it. You don't have to worry about that. And as for your time, worry not. I have a Cultivation Technique that can effectively delay the Sandman Poison. Using this technique, you can gather and compress the Sandman Poison in a specific part of your body. Even if Hua Zhi and Purple Extreme Tai Sui's symbiosis still cannot drive out the Sandman Poison, you can then sever the region where the poison is concentrated, and it will not threaten your life," Qi Ye explained.

"If that's the case, I am tremendously grateful to you, Senior Qi Ye," Yuan Ming expressed his gratitude.

"It's a trivial matter. Now, remember the Cultivation Technique mantra…" Qi Ye transmitted a stream of consciousness into Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness, which turned out to be a profound Cultivation Technique.

This Cultivation Technique, called the "Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique," was an Earth Attribute Cultivation Method, capable of channelling Earth Essence into the body and integrating it into the spleen.

Common techniques stored Mana in the Dantian, but the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique was entirely different.

The human organs also correspond to Yin Yang and the Five Elements, and the spleen belongs to Earth. Storing Earth Essence in the spleen complements each other and is much more exquisite than common Earth Attribute Cultivation Methods.

According to the technique, once cultivated to advanced levels, the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique becomes the King of Ten Thousand Earth, able to wield all Earth Attribute Spiritual Power and even control Earth Core Primordial Magnetism. It can utilize Earth God Thunder, Earth Escape Technique, Mountain Moving Technique, Earth Concealing Skill, and other profound Earth Attribute Divine Skills.

The Sandman Poison, being an Earth Attribute deadly poison, could not escape the scope of the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique.

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