Yuan Wuji saw that Queen Ming Kong remained silent, and the blood light in his eyes lit up again as the terrifying aura of the Blood Shadow was released once more, this time without any reservation.

"I don't know, it's most likely not going to happen. Perhaps only the Divine Envoy can summon the descent of a deity." Queen Ming Kong's heart trembled, and she spoke subconsciously.

Yet no sooner had she spoken, she regretted it, but it was already too late.

"Divine Envoy! An apostle of Lord Nether Moon God? Who is it?" Yuan Wuji immediately became interested and asked.

"That Fellow Daoist Yuan." Knowing she could no longer hide the truth, Queen Ming Kong had no choice but to reveal.

"That Core Formation Stage cultivator?" Yuan Wuji frowned, somewhat surprised.

Queen Ming Kong said nothing more, but at this moment, her silence served as an acknowledgment.

"Where is he?" Yuan Wuji immediately pressed on.

"I don't know." Queen Ming Kong shook her head.

She genuinely didn't know Yuan Ming's current whereabouts. Earlier, she had secretly visited the valley where Yuan Ming was supposed to be but didn't find him, and her contacts with Yuan Ming had also been one-sided.

What she couldn't possibly know was that Yuan Ming had long been aware of what was happening here.

Initially, when Queen Ming Kong was praying, he had noticed the situation here. However, he had chosen not to respond because he wanted to assess Yuan Wuji's strength through Queen Ming Kong.

Even after observing, he was still somewhat bewildered, unsure what to make of the Blood Shadow that had burst forth from Yuan Wuji's body, which closely resembled the Blood God Puppet that had followed them at Lank Mountain Peak, yet was somewhat different.

After Yuan Ming described everything that happened outside, Xi Ying furrowed her brows in contemplation for a long time before saying,

"It seems that Yuan Wuji has no intention of fighting to the death. The reason he came knocking was not only to figure out the worth of Lord Nether Moon God but also to establish his dominance, probably to hold more sway when it comes time to confront the Undead Demon Tree together."

"I think so too," Yuan Ming nodded in agreement.

"What's your plan, aren't you going to meet him?" Xi Ying asked with a smile showing on her face.

"That blood-red shadow of his is somewhat strange; if a real fight were to break out, I'm afraid many trump cards would have to be played," Yuan Ming said slowly.

He didn't want to reveal too much of his strength at this time, but judging from Yuan Wuji's demeanor, it seemed unlikely he would leave easily.

"Master, shall I give it a try?" At this moment, Hua Zhi, who had been standing by the side, suddenly spoke up.

"You may be Level 4 now, but facing the Late-stage Nascent Soul Yuan Wuji, your chances of winning are slim. He won't strike me harshly, but I can't say the same for you. It'd be a real injustice if he mistakes you for a descendant of that Undying Tree," Yuan Ming shook his head.

Hearing this, a look of defiance appeared on Hua Zhi's face as she said, "Rest assured, in terms of resistance, no one in this Secret Realm is stronger than me, and though I've just entered Level 4, I also have my Divine Skills. It's perfect to try them out with this opportunity."

"If you want to try, it's not out of the question, but follow my commands," Yuan Ming said after a slight hesitation, his gaze sweeping towards the Sword Trace Canyon in front of the altar.

...

Outside the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space.

Yuan Wuji, getting no reply from Queen Ming Kong, gradually grew colder.

Just as he was about to make a move, suddenly, dense vine branches burst from the ground nearby, twining and coalescing into a beautiful girl dressed in purple.

The crowd, witnessing this scene, all raised their Magic Treasures, instinctively regarding her as akin to the Undying Tree.

Yuan Wuji's gaze swept over her, and his Divine Sense scanned from Hua Zhi's body, only to find her aura dissimilar to that of the Undying Tree's kin, his brows furrowing even tighter as he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

"I am a servant of Lord Nether Moon God; aren't you looking for Lord Nether Moon God?" Hua Zhi, following Yuan Ming's instructions, said.

"Does Lord Nether Moon God intend to dismiss me with just a servant?" Yuan Wuji understood his implication and scoffed.

"My master said, with me taking action, it's more than enough," Hua Zhi glanced at him disdainfully and said.

Yuan Wuji chuckled coldly and said, "A mere Level 4 Demon Beast, you do talk big."

No sooner had his words fallen did his figure suddenly vanish from everyone's sight only to appear abruptly in front of Hua Zhi, raising a hand to strike fiercely towards her chest.

A giant blood-colored palm emerged out of thin air, sweeping across with a thunderous force.

Hua Zhi, startled by this sudden attack, was fortunate her strength had reached Level 4, increasing her reaction speed. She promptly flew backward, her palms meeting Yuan Wuji.

The palms she pushed out turned into vine tendrils, rapidly extending and twining together quickly forming a huge circular Vine Shield.

The blood-colored giant palm struck the Vine Shield, resulting in a 'boom' sound as it burst.

The Vine Shield exploded instantly, turning into countless fragments scattering everywhere.

Even though Hua Zhi had pulled back far enough, the extended arms still burst simultaneously, only stopping near her shoulders, dissipating the residual force.

"Fellow Daoist, such a sudden attack might not be much, but failing to succeed is rather embarrassing," Hua Zhi, with a sparkle of purple light at the site of her severed arms, quickly grew back two new arms and said, wearing a smile.

A flicker of surprise crossed Yuan Wuji's eyes, amazed at Hua Zhi's reflexes; his intention had been to force Lord Nether Moon God to appear by killing the opponent with a bolt from the blue, so though his strike seemed casual, it actually carried nearly eighty percent of his strength.

"Little demon, quite sharp-tongued you are, but I'm not interested in toying with you. Let your master come out instead, or don't blame me for not holding back on the next strike," Yuan Wuji dissipated the blood light in his hand as he spoke.

"Beat me, and you can surely meet my master," Hua Zhi, somewhat awkwardly grinning, said.

"Courting death," Yuan Wuji's eyes abruptly intensified with blood light, and a streak of blood light burst forth from his chest.

The blood light revealed a blurry figure within it, moving extremely fast towards Hua Zhi, and in an instant, it was right in front of her.

Hua Zhi immediately felt an overwhelmingly powerful aura of bloody malevolence enveloping her. This aura was distinct—ruthless, bloodthirsty, dirty, and somewhat malicious—instilling an involuntary fear and repulsion in her.

"Don't be afraid, the time is now!"

At that moment, Yuan Ming's voice rang out in her Sea of Consciousness, instantly dispelling her fear.

Hua Zhi's eyes hardened, and her body suddenly transformed into countless vine branches, forming a gaping maw that devoured the sky. Rather than dodging, she swallowed the blood-red figure in one gulp.

This move stunned everyone else.

"Seeking death!" Yuan Wuji sneered coldly, his Blood God's Son excelled in devouring the enemy's Mana. Once inside the opponent's body, it thrived like a fish in water.

If this Level 4 Vine Demon sought death, he didn't mind giving his newly developed Blood God's Son a boost.

At the same time, a thick white fog appeared out of nowhere, enveloping everyone present.

The fog contained a bizarre power that made it difficult to operate Divine Sense, and many illusions appeared before their eyes, Yuan Wuji included.

Within the fog, Hua Zhi's body swiftly retreated backward, splitting in two. Carrying the clone of the blood-red figure, she dived underground and vanished from sight, appearing inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space.

The Stealing Heaven Tripod Space was also filled with dense white fog, obscuring everything.

Two blood-red eyes appeared on the blood-colored figure's head, passing straight through Hua Zhi's clone.

The clone of Hua Zhi instantly turned into a dried-up corpse, not a trace of vitality remained, and it fell downward.

The Blood Shadow moved, transforming into a streaking blur shooting forward, its eyes warily sweeping the surroundings.

Just then, the fog in front of him suddenly cleared, revealing a long, black gorge. There was no white fog above it, making it strikingly conspicuous and eerie.

The Blood Shadow abruptly stopped beside the gorge and did not continue forward.

"Quite clever," a voice came from the white fog nearby.

The Blood Shadow turned abruptly toward the voice and darted towards it like lightning.

A palm reached out from the white fog, grasping at the void towards the Blood Shadow.

The scene before the Blood Shadow blurred, and the next moment, for some reason, the vast gorge appeared before him.

A look of terror crossed the eyes of the Blood Shadow, who quickly shot out of the gorge. However, terrifying Sword Qi erupted from within the gorge, devouring everything above.

With a slight hissing sound, the blood-colored figure evaporated instantly, leaving no trace behind.

...

Outside, a violent wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere, easily dispersing the white fog by a great deal.

Yuan Wuji held a yellow Feather Fan in his hand and was about to fan again when his expression suddenly changed.

He suddenly discovered that Hua Zhi was standing fine in front of him, yet the connection to his Blood God's Son had been severed, and it wasn't just being blocked; he could no longer sense its existence at all.

Yuan Wuji felt a surge of Qi-Blood and bellowed loudly, "Where is my Blood God's Son? What have you done with him?"

"Your thing was indeed formidable, I couldn't defeat it, but my master only needed to lift a finger to destroy it," Hua Zhi calmly stated.

"Kill her!" Yuan Wuji roared in a fury, no longer caring about testing the waters, and shouted loudly.

Behind him, the Blood Realm Venerable and others, seeing Yuan Wuji's sudden loss of composure, although still unclear about what had happened, also realized the severity of the issue and were about to take action."

Just then, streams of light flew over from a distance, it was White Scale Master and Old Man Hei Zhu coming to help on the instructions of Lord Nether Moon God.

Queen Ming Kong hesitated slightly, then also stood by Hua Zhi's side.

The two sides faced each other, the atmosphere tense to the extreme, a major battle imminent at any moment.

But just then, another abrupt change occurred.

All of a sudden, a layer of pink fog arose on Yuan Wuji, the Blood Realm Venerable, and others, and vivid red fleshy flowers abruptly sprouted from their skin, blooming enchantingly.

At the same time, Yuan Wuji and the rest felt their Mana rapidly draining.

"What is this?" The group's faces changed, their bodies glowing with various colors of light, easily tearing apart the fleshy flowers.

However, more flowers continued to grow, making them impossible to kill.

In just a moment, they felt a void in their Dantians, their eyes filled with disbelief, and hastily retreated."

"Hehe, these are my spores. They parasitized inside you when you first attacked me, and now they are just flowering and fruiting," Hua Zhi said with a smile, clearly enjoying herself.

This was a "Parasite" ability she had awakened after advancing to Level 4.

This ability combined the properties of the transparent Poison Liquid of the Purple Extreme Tai Sui, making the spores not only incredibly fine but also undetectable, just like the Poison Liquid. Yuan Wuji had not noticed it.

"How about it, still want to fight? My master thinks you're somewhat capable and would like to play with you some more," Hua Zhi said provocatively, looking at Yuan Wuji.

Yuan Wuji's face turned livid, blood light re-emerging in his eyes, and suddenly a vague blood shadow covered him.

The fleshy flowers all over his body rapidly decayed under the invasion of the blood shadow, quickly peeling away, and the parasitic spores inside him were also dissolved by the blood light.

Seeing this, Hua Zhi's expression darkened."

Three beams of blood light shot out from Yuan Wuji's palm, merging into the bodies of the Blood Realm Venerable, Lan Xiao, and Bing Li, eradicating the spores within them as well."

Let's go, we're leaving," Yuan Wuji said, looking at Hua Zhi. After a few breaths, he turned and left.

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