Hua Zhi, upon hearing these words, put away her playful expression and meticulously began recounting the changes she experienced during this breakthrough.

Yuan Ming listened with eyes shining brightly, nodding continuously.

"I was able to break through smoothly this time, thanks to the continuous supplies you sent, Master. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to break through so quickly. Rest assured, Master, let me take on any tough battles in the future," Hua Zhi said confidently with a laugh, patting her chest.

"Hearing you say that, I'm much more at ease," Yuan Ming nodded.

...

Time flowed, and several months passed quickly.

Yuan Ming, who was sitting cross-legged near the altar, suddenly opened his eyes and stood up.

Inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space, dense Spiritual Power surged, forming a huge Spiritual Energy Vortex, converging towards Xi Ying.

From the Gathering Spirit Tree, dazzling white light shone, and streams of pure nature's spiritual energy flowed out, forming a Light Pillar that also entered Xi Ying's body.

Vivid light glowed around her, and Mana surged through her meridians like tidal waves, converging towards her Dantian.

"Is it finally time to form the Nascent Soul…" Yuan Ming muttered.

Mighty Mana poured into Xi Ying's Golden Core, which emitted waves of brilliance, growing brighter and brighter.

The Nascent Soul formation required a lengthy process, not something achieved in one go.

Time passed bit by bit, and soon a month had gone by.

The Golden Core within Xi Ying's Dantian had become brilliantly dazzling, hard to gaze upon directly.

A lively aura was poised, ready to break free from its shell.

"Now is the moment!" Xi Ying suddenly formed hand seals, her Sea of Consciousness and Divine Soul separating a part, which merged into the Golden Core.

Yuan Ming's brow twitched. Xi Ying was using the soul splitting method to form her Nascent Soul, which was slightly different from his own third soul, lacking a bit in agility and rather stiff.

The soul splitting and the Golden Core merged, Mana and the Divine Power also began to gather, and the Golden Core started transforming into a fist-sized, semi-transparent Crystal Core.

As the Mana in her body surged relentlessly, that Crystal Core twisted as if alive, gradually growing limbs and a round head.

Yuan Ming watched this scene from afar, his eyes filled with astonishment.

He was far from his own breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage, but from this observation, he still gained many insights.

The rounded head displayed gradually emerging facial features, sharpening from vague to clear, and from flat to three-dimensional.

By the time her features had fully solidified, her form had also become more vivid, strikingly resembling a miniature version of Xi Ying.

Just then, as the Divine Power continually condensed and entered the miniaturized Xi Ying's body, her tiny eyes suddenly opened, and a gleam of lively Divine Light shone through, full of curiosity about the outside world like a newly born child.

Her figure floated about, emerging from Xi Ying's Sea of Consciousness, circling around her own body once, glanced at Yuan Ming who had been watching from a distance, and then flew back.

The next instant, Xi Ying's eyes opened, her aura erupted fiercely, revealing that she was now a genuine Cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage.

"Congratulations, after many years of arduous cultivation, you have finally stepped into the Nascent Soul Stage." Yuan Ming's face relaxed as he transmitted his congratulations.

Xi Ying nodded from a distance to Yuan Ming and continued to sit cross-legged, steadily drawing spiritual energy from the Gathering Spirit Tree to solidify her Cultivation.

...

Meanwhile, at a resting spot of the Tide-rider Alliance, a burst of thunderous laughter suddenly filled the air.

A figure swiftly burst from beneath the ground and landed in front of several members of the Blood Realm Venerable.

"Big brother, have you finished your seclusion?" Bing Li, seeing this, immediately approached.

"Is the Blood God's Son refined?" asked the Blood Realm Venerable, a look of joy on his face.

Yuan Wuji nodded slightly, a hint of dark red flashing in his eyes, which quickly disappeared.

But in that brief moment, a dense and thick aura seemed to emanate from him, causing the hearts of the Blood Realm Venerable and the others to tighten, a chill rising up their spines.

Fortunately, this sensation was fleeting, and soon everything returned to normal.

"That's great, big brother. With the Blood God's Son to assist us, our strength against the Undead Demon Tree has greatly increased," Lan Xiao said excitedly after the shock.

"Exactly, our chances of making it out alive have also greatly increased," Bing Li added with joy.

"Big brother, what are the combat capabilities of the Blood God's Son?" the Blood Realm Venerable asked.

"I haven't tried it yet, so it's hard to say," Yuan Wuji pondered briefly before responding.

"It's a pity that in this Secret Realm, there are no demon beasts to test it," Bing Li sighed and said.

"If you ask me, why not just go challenge Queen Ming Kong as a warm-up? Didn't she just refine the Ice Soul Zither? It's a good chance to teach her a lesson and also vent a bit," the Blood Realm Venerable suddenly suggested, raising his eyebrow.

"Not a bad idea," Bing Li, rubbing his chin, nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Wuji said nothing, but the words of the Blood Realm Venerable reminded him, and he couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile.

"Is a Queen Ming Kong worth using the Blood God's Son? Isn't there a Lord Nether Moon God behind her? It could be a chance to gauge the depth of this so-called Divine," Yuan Wuji spoke indifferently.

"Is this not too risky? We know nothing about that divine being, and if he can fetch things from outside this secret realm through spatial means, he must possess considerable power," Lan Xiao said somewhat hesitantly.

"No matter, if this Lord Nether Moon God were to show himself as a result of this, even if we lost, it wouldn't be a bad thing. The stronger he is, the better our chances of defeating the Undead Demon Tree in the future," Yuan Wuji said, waving his hand, unconcerned.

"Brother is right, and with the Blood God's Son here, how could big brother possibly lose?" the Blood Realm Venerable laughed.

"As long as big brother wins, those people will have to obey his commands from now on. That way, when we fight the Undead Demon Tree, if necessary, we could also…" Bing Li began, but the others understood her implication without needing her to finish.

They exchanged smiles and immediately sought out Queen Ming Kong.

Seeing the group approaching her once again, Queen Ming Kong's expression remained cold and unwelcoming.

"What do you want now?" she frowned and asked.

"I want to see that Lord Nether Moon God," Yuan Wuji said with a smile.

"What business do you have with Lord Divine?" Queen Ming Kong asked.

"Tell him to appear before me, I wish to speak with him in person," Yuan Wuji stated.

"Hmph, what nonsense are you spouting? I devoutly worship Lord Nether Moon God and pray sincerely every day without being granted the sight of his divine form, and you think you can see him just by asking? Are you worthy?" Queen Ming Kong scoffed, her tone mocking as if she had heard the funniest joke.

"So, you're saying that you've never met this Nether Moon God? What about White Scale Master and the others?" Yuan Wuji frowned and asked.

"If everyone could see him, how would he still be considered a divine being?" Queen Ming Kong retorted.

"Could it be that this so-called Nether Moon God isn't really in this secret realm, or simply can't descend into it?" Yuan Wuji's brows furrowed tightly as he asked.

Then, reconsidering, he found this unlikely.

Last time, the Divine Thought of Nether Moon God indeed descended into Lan Xiao's Sea of Consciousness and communicated with her, using some means to procure the Immortal Blood Jade for her, something that someone unable to enter the secret realm should not be able to do.

Queen Ming Kong momentarily hesitated, not knowing how to respond.

Yuan Wuji immediately noticed that she genuinely did not know the answer to this question.

"You'd better pray he chooses to appear before me," Yuan Wuji's expression darkened as he spoke to Queen Ming Kong.

Realizing something was amiss, alarm bells went off in her mind. While she prayed fervently to Yuan Ming, a shimmer of silver light flashed, and she clutched a crystal pipa in her arms.

Seeing her action, Yuan Wuji and his companions did not panic at all, instead observing her with interest.

"So, this is your Ice Soul Zither, it looks to be of fine quality," Yuan Wuji remarked with a nod of approval after a brief inspection.

With that, he raised his hand and waved, and a surge of Blood Light erupted from his sleeve. Three blood-red flying needles shot out, directly targeting Queen Ming Kong's face.

The latter stepped back, steadied her stance, and with one hand on the strings and the other plucking them,

immediately produced a sound akin to rapid rain, sending wave after wave of faint blue Sound Waves visible to the naked eye that collided with the three blood-red needles.

The forward-thrusting needles suddenly paused, suspended mid-air, coated in a thin layer of ice crystals. Before Yuan Wuji could recall them, they shattered to dust in midair.

Seeing this, Yuan Wuji and his companions were somewhat surprised.

The Three-in-One Blood Needle was one of Yuan Wuji's early favored Magic Treasures, and although it no longer matched his current strength, it had helped him slay many foes and was not weak.

Yet unexpectedly, it was completely destroyed at the first encounter.

"It is you who sought death; blame me not," Queen Ming Kong rapidly flashed in front of Yuan Wuji, striking a somewhat abrupt appearance as she plucked the strings again.

Another burst of noisy rain sounds ensued, more dense blue Sound Waves cascading out, hitting Yuan Wuji right in the chest and abdomen.

The areas where he was struck immediately frosted over, encased in ice.

Yuan Wuji's eyes flickered as he suddenly felt his entire body plunge into an ice cellar, nearly unable to move.

Seeing her successful hit, Queen Ming Kong's face briefly lit up with a smile, staying alert for any retaliatory actions from the others, and quickly retreated, widening the distance between herself and the group.

Strangely, however, the Blood Realm Venerable and the other two showed no indication of attacking Queen Ming Kong or aiding Yuan Wuji, merely observing the unfolding scenario tacitly.

In that moment, a Blood Light illuminated from Yuan Wuji's chest, and a blood-red phantom emerged, dissolving the blue ice crystals covering it instantly and disappearing.

Queen Ming Kong saw only a blur as a blood-red figure suddenly appeared right in front of her, the blurred bloodied face almost touching hers.

Her breath hitched, her body frozen in place, feeling as if her blood was uncontrollably attempting to exit her body and enter the figure's.

The Ice Soul Zither in her hands, meanwhile, became visibly tarnished, its surface corroded with pitted marks.

However, Yuan Wuji did not intend to kill her.

With a simple wave of his hand, the blood-red phantom flew back to him, vanishing into his body.

Only then did Queen Ming Kong break free from the suffocating oppression, gasping heavily.

Looking at her now tainted Magic Treasure, she felt both distressed and furious, and also somewhat fearful. Only at this moment did she realize the vast gap between her and Yuan Wuji.

"What if I had decided to kill you? Would your worshiped Lord Nether Moon God have intervened?" Yuan Wuji asked.

Queen Ming Kong merely glared coldly at Yuan Wuji, remaining silent.

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