While Yuan Ming was immersed in his cultivation, the others were not idle either; they all secluded themselves for arduous cultivation in an effort to advance their cultivation levels within the limited time, to better face the unknown situations to come.

But this was, after all, within a secret realm, where each person's carried resources were limited; once exhausted, it would not be easy to find more.

Spiritual materials that were readily available outside seemed priceless and hard to find in the secret realm.

Queen Ming Kong looked at the transparent zither in front of her, resembling crystal, with a slight frown on her face and a faint worry in her expression.

Her delicate fingers gently brushed across the four strings on the zither, silently mouthing, "Water, Fog, Frost, Ice," yet no sound emerged from the instrument.

She had been refining the Ice Soul Zither for many days, but due to the lack of a spiritual material called "Ice Soul Silk," she had been unable to succeed.

Over these days, she had tried substituting with over a dozen different spiritual materials, yet still not achieved the desired result.

"It seems that there are no other options but to go to them," Queen Ming Kong sighed heavily as she looked off into the distance.

Having said that, she put away the unfinished Ice Soul Zither and set off for the territory of the Tide Makers.

Upon seeing Queen Ming Kong arrive, Yuan Wuji was the first to stand, his face displaying an amused smile, "How is it? Have you thought it over? Our terms aren't really that excessive."

"I can't simply accept all of your conditions as they are. To have the entire Bijiao Island join your Tide-rider Alliance isn't something I can decide on my own. As for myself, as long as I can safely leave Three Immortals Island, I'm willing to join you in a personal capacity," Queen Ming Kong replied with a furrow in her brow.

"Heh, big brother, it seems Fellow Daoist Ming Kong has made a good calculation. Only if she can safely leave Three Immortals Island will she join us. So, should we offer her some proper protection?" Blood Realm Venerable sneered and asked.

"I only need the Ice Soul Silk, which outside isn't even worth as much as a defensive Magic Treasure. I've already said that if you want to trade with Magic Treasures or Spirit Stones, that can be discussed. Why must you make things so difficult?" Queen Ming Kong said with indignation.

"As you said, that's outside. In this secret realm, no matter how many Magic Treasures or Spirit Stones you have, they won't get you what you want," Blood Realm Venerable replied with a shake of his head and a smile.

"Do you really intend to make things this difficult for me?" Queen Ming Kong asked coldly.

"Let's do this, we understand you have gained much since you came to Three Immortals Island. Why not hand over the items you've obtained to us? That way, it can't be considered making things difficult for you, right?" Yuan Wuji sighed lightly before saying.

Upon hearing this, Queen Ming Kong's brows deeply furrowed, then gradually relaxed.

"Hmph."

Knowing they had no sincerity, Queen Ming Kong left behind a cold snort and turned to leave.

"Big brother, do you really intend to trade with her?" Bing Li asked with a slight frown as she watched the Queen's departing figure vanish in the distance.

"The Ice Soul Silk has such value only within this secret realm, and only in her hands. Of course, I want to make the trade. But since we have the item, there's no need to rush this. If she can come a second time, she can come a third time, and each visit allows us to probe her bottom line." Yuan Wuji said with a proud smile.

"That may be the case, but aren't you worried she might give up altogether, and that we'll have worked in vain?" Bing Li asked.

"Similarly, she must have had no other choice to come to us a second time, which is enough to prove the importance of the item to her. There's no need to worry; she will definitely come again. Next time, we just need to show a little leniency, and she will certainly come to trade," Yuan Wuji replied, shaking his head with a smile.

"If big brother says so, then don't worry about it," laughed Blood Realm Venerable.

...

After departing from the Tide-rider Alliance, Queen Ming Kong still couldn't suppress the rage in her heart, her expression cold as frost.

"Fellow Daoist Ming Kong, what's the matter? Why do you seem so displeased?" At that moment, a questioning voice suddenly sounded from beside her.

Queen Ming Kong turned towards the source of the voice and saw that White Scale Master had somehow followed her.

"It's still about the Ice Soul Silk; those bastards from the Tide Makers…" she began to curse, but White Scale Master already knew what had transpired.

Last time, he and Queen Ming Kong had gone together to seek out the Tide Makers, needing to purchase similar spiritual materials, but the Tide Makers also had none.

"Why bother dealing with those people? Why not try your luck with the Divine Envoy?" White Scale Master suggested with a smile on his face.

"You mean Fellow Daoist Yuan? Does he have it?" Queen Ming Kong asked in surprise.

"I don't know about the Ice Soul Silk, but in recent days, many have gone to him to purchase spiritual materials or Spiritual Medicine, and most have been able to obtain what they want—or if not immediately, then within a few days," White Scale Master explained.

"What does this mean? The thing that couldn't be obtained at the time will be able to be acquired after a few days? Could it be that he has a channel to communicate with the outside world, capable of obtaining things from outside the secret realm?" Queen Ming Kong was greatly shocked.

"I'm not clear about the specifics either, but what I'm thinking is similar to yours," White Scale Master said.

"How is that possible? He's just a Core Formation Cultivator, how could he achieve that? Could it be that he has a space-related Magic Treasure? No, to penetrate the Forbiddens of Three Immortals Island, it should at least be of the Spiritual Treasure Level, right?" Queen Ming Kong said incredulously.

"Of course not, but if it were relying on the power of the Nether Moon God, it would be a different story," White Scale Master shook his head and pondered.

Upon hearing this, Queen Ming Kong was taken aback. If it were with the aid of the power of a deity, it really might be possible.

As soon as she thought of this, she felt somewhat guilty. Although she had already become a Believer of the Nether Moon God, she knew that her devotion was not sincere enough.

Despite this, Queen Ming Kong still steeled herself to find Yuan Ming and presented her request.

Yuan Ming hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing to her request and merely charged a slightly higher price than the outside market.

This almost made Queen Ming Kong unable to believe her ears, as compared to the opportunist attitude of the Tide Makers before, Yuan Ming could be said to be extremely kind. She was filled with gratitude towards Yuan Ming and immediately promised to pray to the Nether Moon God with even greater devotion.

After Queen Ming Kong left, Yuan Ming stood in place, lost in thought.

The reason for his moment of hesitation was that in the past few days, many people had sought him out to buy spiritual materials, many of which required him to use the Stealing Heaven Tripod to contact Yan Siyun to help collect them.

In these exchanges, a significant amount of the Space Power in the Silver Crystal Stone inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod had been consumed, and now not much was left.

Therefore, he thought of constructing a structure similar to the Void Temple to draw down the power of the stars and help restore the power of the Silver Crystal Stone within the Stealing Heaven Tripod. Now, the materials had almost all been collected.

Two days later, Yuan Ming began to construct a peculiar building with the appearance of a four-sided pyramid, following the likeness of the Void Temple from his memory.

Once the construction was complete, he immediately entered it and began to meditate, attempting to draw down the power of the stars.

But there was no reaction whatsoever, almost no different from sitting in meditation elsewhere in the secret realm; in fact, due to the obstruction of the building, the attraction of nature's spiritual energy had even decreased significantly.

Yuan Ming clearly knew where the problem lay. His knowledge of the Void Temple was vague, understanding only the general structure; as for some more detailed aspects, he did not grasp them fully enough.

"The construction of a place like the Void Temple is fully considered and based on Arrays. Some may seem ordinary or even rough, but in reality, simplicity embodies the profound truths of nature. It's just a pity, when I saw the Void Temple, I didn't study it in detail. I vaguely remember there were some Qimen Changes inside, but I don't know if that could be of any help?" Xi Ying said carefully after inspecting the strange building Yuan Ming constructed.

"Certainly better than me trying to figure it out blindly," Yuan Ming exclaimed joyfully upon hearing this and immediately asked Xi Ying to assist him.

Thus, the two of them spent several more days modifying this replica of the "Void Temple."

When Yuan Ming tried again, he found that after integrating the Qimen Changes and adding some Arrays, this peculiar building finally wasn't just an ordinary decoration. While cultivating inside, he was now able to circulate spiritual energy.

However, the Star Power that Yuan Ming wanted still did not come as he wished.

"As expected, it's still not working. With my understanding of the Void Temple, I'm afraid this is as far as I can help you," Xi Ying sighed regretfully and said helplessly.

"If only I could take another look at the Void Temple," Yuan Ming sighed softly.

Unfortunately, the Void Temple was located on Fusang Island which was now occupied by the Wu Yue Sect. Even if he wanted to contact his Believers to help him take a look, it was no longer possible.

Just at that moment, a flash of spirit light suddenly struck Yuan Ming's mind, causing him to slap his palm involuntarily.

The crisp "smack" startled Xi Ying.

"What's wrong?" she asked in surprise.

"I've seen a Cloud Top Hall on the continent where the Three Immortals Hall is located. The structure of that great hall is quite similar to the Void Temple. I can't get someone to look at the Void Temple for me, but I can go see the Cloud Top Hall," Yuan Ming said excitedly.

He remembered that he had just been in contact with Huan Ling Zi two days prior, who was then staying near the Three Immortals Hall.

Yuan Ming immediately contacted Huan Ling Zi, who was searching for treasures on the outskirts of Three Immortals Hall, through the Stealing Heaven Tripod and asked him to hurry to the Cloud Top Hall.

In less than half a day, Huan Ling Zi had found the Cloud Top Hall.

Fortunately, it was well-preserved and had not suffered much damage, and the various Arrays inside were mostly still in their original state.

Yuan Ming immediately instructed him to closely observe everything inside the Cloud Top Hall and inform him in great detail.

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