Time passed quickly, and another month flew by.

A crisp sound of an eggshell cracking rang through heaven and earth, and the rosy light surrounding Yuan Ming rapidly contracted, forming a funnel that absorbed all the Spiritual Energy from the Stealing Heaven Tripod into his body.

However, at the same time, Yuan Ming seemed to fall into a trance, his eyes closing involuntarily as if he had fallen asleep.

This was the Heart Demon Tribulation that one must face during the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage. Yuan Ming had already experienced the Heart Demon Tribulation during his Sleep Witch advancement, so undergoing it a second time would not present too much difficulty.

Nature's spiritual energy surged toward him, and when the last wisp of spiritual energy flowed into his body, Yuan Ming suddenly opened his eyes, shooting out two captivating beams of light.

Following that, he let out a long howl toward the sky, his voice resembling the roar of a dragon and the growl of a tiger, causing the surrounding mist to tremble and then rapidly roll back in retreat.

With the howl, a hundred-zhang silhouette appeared above Yuan Ming's head, surrounded by seven-colored spiritual light, majestic and handsome, resembling a god from heaven, compelling one to worship involuntarily.

But soon, the silhouette vanished abruptly, transforming back into a Nascent Soul and entering Yuan Ming's body.

"Very good, congratulations on successfully forming your Nascent Soul," Xi Ying said with a smile, walking over and bowing her hands in a somewhat ceremonious manner as his breakthrough had ended.

Her Ju Mang Spirit Technique only required a mana connection with the Five Elements Creation Tree to function even within the space of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, allowing her to move freely, unlike Yuan Ming who was trapped within the Undying Tree, with difficult movements.

Yuan Ming had also returned to his senses, and he was extremely excited in his heart.

To be honest, he had not held much hope for this Nascent Soul advancement, but to his surprise, he succeeded in one go.

"I owe it to your guidance and the Five Elements Infant Condensing Pill; otherwise, my success would have been impossible," Yuan Ming thanked her, glancing behind him.

The biggest help for this Nascent Soul formation was the Undying Tree behind him.

Had it not been for the life force of the Undying Tree that had come just in time, the likelihood of success in this breakthrough would have been greatly reduced.

Xi Ying looked at Yuan Ming, feeling quite moved.

The Beast Slave youth she had encountered by chance in the Southern Border had now grown into a formidable Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

"With your current capabilities, the world is wide open to you, allowing you to roam freely," she said.

"Don't make fun of me. Even though I've stepped into the Nascent Soul Stage, I'm still bound to this Undying Tree, unable to move, and besides, the Undead Demon Tree is covetously lurking outside. There's no room for talk of roaming freely," Yuan Ming replied with a wry smile.

"That may be true, but in today's Yunhuang, those like you, who are both Sleep Witches and Nascent Soul cultivators, are few and far between. Although you still fall a bit short compared to me, I'll allow you to be proud this once!" Xi Ying said with her hands on her hips and a smile in her voice.

Yuan Ming watched her playful manner and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The two of them chatted and laughed for a while, after which Yuan Ming looked around, a touch of surprise on his face.

"I didn't expect that my advancement to Nascent Soul would bring changes within the Stealing Heaven Tripod too."

Compared to his Core Formation stage, the internal space of the Stealing Heaven Tripod had expanded two to three times larger, and the white mist that shrouded the surroundings had receded even further, revealing more of the ground paved with Warm Jade Stone Bricks.

The Sword Trace Abyss revealed even more, but still did not show its entirety.

"It's just that, while the space has greatly increased, there isn't any particularly notable change," Xi Ying said after examining her surroundings.

"Well, each time a magic practitioner's realm breaks through, the Stealing Heaven Tripod undergoes new changes. Perhaps when it reaches the Returning Void, there will be some different situation," Yuan Ming said rather optimistically.

After chatting casually with him for a while, Xi Ying re-entered her closed-door cultivation.

Yuan Ming, after consolidating his realm, attempted to use Nascent Soul Cultivation to drive his magic treasures.

The power of the magic treasures he had seized from the Core Formation Realm hadn't changed much, but artifacts like the Night Parade of Hundred Demons, the Cold Moon Ring, and other replicas of Spiritual Treasures, as well as the genuine Spiritual Treasure, the Shura Blood Devouring Map, had significantly increased in might under his urging.

As for his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Soul Destroying Sword, there was no need to say more. Yuan Ming felt that with his current cultivation, if he were to activate the three Divine Runes on it, the effects they could produce would likely far exceed his expectations.

However, he currently had no target to test his abilities on, so after a brief attempt, he stopped.

"Right, now that I've broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage, my Divine Soul Power has greatly advanced once more. I wonder what level my soul power can reach if I now merge it with the Desire Power within the White Jade Lotus Platform," Yuan Ming recalled something and produced a thick Undying Tree root in his palm, placing it on the White Jade Lotus Platform.

Boom!

The Desire Power within the Lotus Platform surged out, pouring into his Sea of Consciousness and Divine Soul.

Yuan Ming's soul power soared, swiftly reaching the Peak of Sleep Witch but it didn't stop there, continuing to leap forwards.

"Could it be that it will reach the Word Witch Realm?" Yuan Ming exclaimed joyfully, concentrating on operating the Moonlight Technique.

His soul power continued to rise and finally came to a halt after a short time.

A vast soul power surged through his Sea of Consciousness, at least twice as potent as the Peak of Sleep Witch, and the nature of his soul power was no longer ethereal but incredibly dense, almost condensing into a liquid form.

"Soul power turning liquid! This is a hallmark of the Word Witch, but unfortunately, it has not completely liquefied. It can only be considered a Half-step Word Witch!" Yuan Ming said happily.

He spread his hands and took a deep breath.

Since stepping into the Cultivation World, he had for the first time grasped such tremendous power, as if he was a deity ruling over myriad beings. It didn't matter whether it was Xi Ying or the others in the Time Cave—if he wished, with a mere gesture, he could annihilate them all.

"This is the feeling of a Spoken Witch, determining life and death with a single word..." Yuan Ming sighed inwardly.

Xi Ying suddenly opened her eyes and looked towards Yuan Ming.

Feeling the terrifying fluctuations of Soul Power on Yuan Ming's body, Xi Ying, who always had a calm demeanor, showed a look of shock: "Have you reached the realm of a Spoken Witch? No, that's not right, not yet a Spoken Witch, you're just at the Half-step Spoken Witch!"

"Indeed, I've only managed to reach this level by luck with the Desire Power within the Stealing Heaven Tripod," Yuan Ming retracted the Undying Tree Root from his palm, and his Soul Power level returned to that of the Sleep Witch Realm.

A trace of weariness appeared on his face, the power of a Half-step Spoken Witch was too overwhelming; although his Soul Power had broken through the Sleep Witch Realm, and his magic cultivation had advanced to the Nascent Soul, he still felt tremendously drained.

"Even as a Half-step Spoken Witch, it's terrifying. Now that you possess such power, our chances of dealing with the Undead Tree Demon have increased significantly!" Xi Ying said joyfully.

Yuan Ming was also pleased. Xi Ying shared some key points about the realm of Spoken Witch with Yuan Ming, and the two entered into cultivation once again.

...

Two months later.

Within the Time Cave, two beams of spirit light shot out from the black and white suns, merging into the figure of the Black and White Artifact Spirits.

After he appeared, two flashes of light appeared beside him, and the Blood Yan Island Master Luo Qi and Wulu arrived, following behind the Artifact Spirit.

The trio ventured off to an unknown destination. Wulu and Luo Qi's cultivation had improved significantly since they entered the Time Cave; Wulu had stepped into the late stage of Core Formation, while Luo Qi had even broken through to the mid-stage of Nascent Soul.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the appointed time has come; please speed your way here for a meeting." The Artifact Spirit's loud voice echoed, spreading to every corner of the Time Cave.

In just a moment, several streaks of light flew from different directions of the Time Cave and landed in front of the Black and White Artifact Spirits.

The first to arrive was a group from the Tide-rider Alliance. Compared to before, their cultivation hadn't changed much; at most, their Mana had solidified a bit.

Among the group, Bing Li and Lan Xiao both showed a hint of surprise and envy in their eyes when they saw Blood Yan Island Master Luo Qi who had reached the mid-stage of Nascent Soul.

They had been stuck at the early stage of Nascent Soul for quite some time without a breakthrough. Although Luo Qi's cultivation was on par with them before, he had been slightly weaker. Now, having seized an opportunity, he had surpassed them, how could they not envy him?

But soon, with the arrival of Queen Ming Kong and her group, Bing Li and Lan Xiao were even more surprised.

They saw that among the three, it was White Scale Master taking the lead, standing tall and proud, with a smile on his face that was seemingly indifferent but actually smug.

He indeed had reason to be proud, for now he too was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Hehe, how has everyone been?" White Scale Master's gaze swept across the crowd.

Bing Li and Lan Xiao turned their heads away, showing no intention to respond, while Yuan Wuji didn't even shift his gaze once, his face remaining expressionless.

It was Blood Realm Venerable who glanced at White Scale Master, lingering for a moment, then suddenly licked his lips: "I've heard that snake blood is a great tonic; I wonder if you, White Scale, would be willing to share some for me to taste?"

"That would depend on whether you have the ability to take it," White Scale replied with a cold snort.

For a moment, the tension between the two was palpable, but with a formidable enemy ahead and the Black and White Artifact Spirits watching, neither of them really intended to start a fight.

After a short while, Old Man Hei Zhu, Long Chong, and others also arrived at the location; their cultivation had not changed much either.

Almost everyone had arrived, yet Yuan Ming and Xi Ying had yet to show up. After waiting a while longer, a beautiful, petite girl suddenly burrowed out from the ground in front of them.

Most of those present were Nascent Soul cultivators and instantly recognized the demon energy swirling around the girl. Wulu also recognized her as Yuan Ming's spirit beast Hua Zhi and quickly asked before anyone else.

"Hua Zhi, why hasn't Fellow Daoist Yuan arrived yet?"

Hua Zhi scratched her head, looking troubled: "I don't know either. The Divine Envoy asked me to cultivate on my own years ago, and I haven't met him since. I thought I could see him here again."

Hearing this, the crowd's expressions varied. For a Level 4 spirit beast like Hua Zhi, they wouldn't have cast her aside casually, let alone the fact that she was a servant of the Nether Moon God. Yuan Ming, as the Divine Envoy, had not met with her for years, could something unexpected have happened?

Perhaps out of respect for Yuan Ming's status as the Nether Moon God Envoy, people did not ask further questions. As for why Hua Zhi, a spirit beast, would appear by herself, although strange, it wasn't worth discussing in the current situation.

Just then, the Black and White Artifact Spirits suddenly spoke up: "It's getting late; you should all leave the Time Cave. There's no need to wait for those who haven't arrived."

Old Man Hei Zhu hesitated for a moment before bowing: "Predecessor, since you oversee the Time Cave, may I inquire whether you can tell us the current whereabouts of Yuan Ming and Xi Ying?"

"They are no longer in the cave," the Black and White Artifact Spirits replied outright.

Everyone was surprised; Aunt Wanhua immediately asked, "Then where did they go? Have they found a way out?"

"I was only responsible for protecting you for thirty years; I don't care what happens during that time, and your questions are irrelevant to me," the Black and White Artifact Spirits shook their heads.

Old Man Hei Zhu and the others looked at each other, their expressions growing darker.

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