The good times didn't last long; soon, everyone discovered that even though they fought desperately and killed many Tree-man Puppets, the aftermath of the battle among the three Returning Void combatants also obliterated many. However, the remaining number of Tree-man Puppets was still enormous.

What was most critical was that if their attacks didn't manage to kill the Tree-man Puppets, the injured Puppets would retreat from the battlefield under the cover of their companions and fly back to the side of the Undead Tree Demon.

Many roots hung from the Undead Demon Tree. As soon as the injured puppets approached, these roots would pierce into the puppets' bodies, infusing them with Spiritual Power and healing their injuries.

Often, it only took a few moments for the injured Tree-man Puppets to recover to their original state. Even if they suffered severed hands or feet, these could regenerate, allowing them to rejoin the encirclement battle. Consequently, the people, who couldn't catch a breath, were quickly overwhelmed again.

Inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod, Yuan Ming also noticed this and rapidly contemplated a solution, but couldn't think of a good way to resolve the issue. He could only closely observe the Tree-man Puppets receiving healing from the Undead Tree Demon, trying to find a flaw.

Soon, he suddenly realized that, because of the mixed battle spells, the natural Spiritual Energy of the cave mingled with the Magic Spiritual Power emitted by the cultivators, scattering everywhere.

However, these seemingly disordered energies were subtly being pulled by some force towards the main body of the Undead Tree Demon, where it was completely absorbed and refined. A part of this became demonic power which enhanced its strength, and another part was used for healing the Tree-man Puppets.

This cycle was somewhat similar to the Yimu Formation that Black Bamboo Elder and the other two had established.

Yuan Ming shared his observations with Xi Ying, and after a brief moment of contemplation, Xi Ying guessed the truth.

"The Undead Tree Demon itself has a natural gift for absorbing all the Spiritual Energy from nature. Typically, the Magical Spiritual Power we deploy dissolves rapidly into the atmosphere, but now we are in Guanghan City, presumably covered by a massive Forbidden barrier creating a closed space, locking all Spiritual Energy inside, allowing entry but no exit. Consequently, the Spiritual Power we expend becomes sustenance for the Undead Tree Demon. This place is the most suitable battlefield for it. If we continue fighting, as consumption grows and it strengthens, our defeat is inevitable!" Xi Ying said, her expression grave.

"Is there really no way to solve this problem?" Yuan Ming worried.

"There is. Frankly, the current situation all relates to the white barrier enveloping Guanghan City. If we can break it, we still stand a chance to win. That's our only way out," Xi Ying immediately said.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming turned his gaze towards Guanghan City outside the cave. He had previously discovered that many great arrays were established among the cluster of buildings in the city, among them likely the source of the white barrier's restriction.

However, he didn't have an anchor point nearby, so he couldn't unleash powerful magic to break the Forbidden barrier.

As Yuan Ming pondered a solution, a new situation developed in the cave.

Near Hua Zhi and the others, a figure flickered, and Wulu appeared out of nowhere, raising a white Array Plate into the air with a wave of his hand.

As the Array Plate spun around, it burst out in a dazzling white light.

Streams of white Array Patterns flew out from it, rapidly spreading and forming a white Array, similar to the Teleportation Array Xi Ying had created.

Just then, a piercing screech rang out, as a black long spear and a blood-red curved blade flew towards them, launched by two nearby Nascent Soul Puppets wielding their Magic Treasures directly at the Array Plate.

Wulu, visibly alarmed, flicked his sleeve to block with two Flying Knife Magic Treasures. However, his Cultivation level was far different from his opponents'; the black long spear and the blood-red curved blade flashed past the Flying Knives' block and crossed towards the white Array Plate.

Inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod, although Yuan Ming didn't know what Wulu intended to do, he assumed it wouldn't harm their side.

He controlled his Soul Power and projected it over; the black long spear and the blood-red curved blade suddenly shifted direction, brushing past the white Array Plate.

The shadows within the white Array blurred, and three figures appeared: Luo Qi, a golden longbow, and a black and white chessboard.

The golden longbow was indeed Hou Yi's Sun-shooting Bow, and the chessboard, both in Spiritual Pressure and momentum, was not inferior to the Sun-shooting Bow.

"So the Sun-shooting Bow has indeed come, and that black and white chessboard seems to be a Spiritual Treasure, could it be the Lank Chessboard?" Yuan Ming thought to himself.

The mysterious shift in the direction of the black long spear and the blood-red curved blade left the nearby two Nascent Soul Cultivators baffled, as they controlled their Magic Treasures to attack once again.

The black and white chessboard shot out and expanded when met with air, instantly growing to the size of a palace, blocking in front of Luo Qi and the Divine Bow, bursting out in black and white light.

The moment the black long spear and the blood-red curved blade touched the black and white light, their originally lightning-fast speed suddenly slowed down tremendously, moving as slow as a snail's crawl.

Suddenly, after a tremor, the two weapons transformed into a black and a white chess piece, landing on the black and white chessboard.

The others, witnessing this scene, were dumbstruck.

Yuan Ming was also surprised; what kind of Divine Skill was this, capable of forcibly altering an object's form?

He activated his Divine Sense to investigate further, soon discovering that the black and white chess pieces were not physical objects, but rather the result of a combination of Sealing Skill and Illusion Technique.

The black and white chessboard flew forward, moving unusually fast, and in a flash, it struck the army of Tree-man Puppets, directly crashing into them.

Contrary to expectations, no loud explosion occurred; as the chessboard contacted the Tree-man Puppets and their Magic Treasures, they all transformed into either black or white chess pieces, landing on the board and engaging in a battle of chess tactics.

One by one, the chess pieces shattered, turning into fragments of Magic Treasures or the bodies of Cultivators, utterly perishing.

"I see; this black and white chessboard first transforms the enemies into chess pieces, then utilizes the chess array to attack and kill..." Yuan Ming roughly understood the chessboard's Divine Skill.

Hou Yi's Sun-shooting Bow also radiated brilliantly, and a Golden Crow Divine Arrow appeared on the bowstring, drawn and shot.

Whoosh...

A streak of golden light burst forth, piercing through the bodies of dozens of Tree-man Puppets.

White Scale Master was there among them, his lower abdomen pierced through with a charred hole, his body nearly torn in two.

His face bore an expression of incredulity and unwillingness, his mouth opened and closed, but he uttered not a word before collapsing to the ground lifelessly.

"Good riddance!" the burly man from the Water Ape Clan scoffed coldly, but a trace of sorrow flashed through Queen Ming Kong's eyes.

The golden rainbow did not head straight for the body of the Undead Tree Demon, instead, it struck the wall near the Soluble Cave.

The rainbow ignited intense Golden Flames, melting into the wall like through decayed soil, its speed unslowed as it continued to shoot forward. In the blink of an eye, it penetrated the stone wall and reached a white barrier, hitting it hard.

A thunderous bang resounded!

The golden rainbow exploded, transforming into a sun of golden radiance. The white barrier was blasted open, creating a hole a hundred feet wide, from which dense natural spiritual energy rapidly escaped.

A smile crossed Yuan Ming's face, then his expression slightly changed.

An invisible figure flew in through the shattered hole, using the Invisibility Divine Ability—it was the very familiar Void Transformation Technique.

This person disregarded the ongoing battle inside the cave and flew straight toward the ground level of Guanghan City.

"It's him!" Yuan Ming murmured to himself.

Though the person employed the Invisibility Divine Ability, the Divine Sense augmented by the Stealing Heaven Tripod sees through everything easily, revealing his true face to be Ni Mu.

"This person is indeed still alive," Yuan Ming thought privately and tracked him with his Divine Sense.

Ni Mu was very fast and reached Guanghan City in a few breaths, flying directly to the largest palace there and soon landing in front of it.

The grand plaque above the palace read "Guanghan Palace." Guanghan Palace was a pyramid-like structure similar to the Void Temple, designed to draw in nature's spiritual energy and the power of starlight.

Brilliant spirit light flashed at the gates of Guanghan Palace, clearly guarded by formidable seals.

Ni Mu produced a white talisman and affixed it onto the gate.

The sealing spirit light at the gates of Guanghan Palace quickly dissipated, splitting apart to reveal a three-foot-wide gap.

"This is a Forbidden-breaking Talisman, a kind of talisman specifically designed to break various seals. Such talismans are almost extinct in the Cultivation World. This Forbidden-breaking Talisman easily breached the seals of Guanghan Palace, which is not simple at all," Xi Ying commented upon hearing Yuan Ming's description.

Yuan Ming nodded and continued his surveillance.

Ni Mu's body moved forward, going straight through the gap created by the Forbidden-breaking Talisman, entering Guanghan Palace where a serpentine corridor opened up before him.

He seemed extremely familiar with the interior of Guanghan Palace, ignoring the corridor and continued using the Void Transformation Technique to fly towards the top of the palace, traveling through several walls before arriving at a spacious hall at the top.

This space was quite ample, with twelve silver stone pillars erected around the room, each carved with complex array patterns.

Countless intricate array patterns were engraved on the ground between the twelve stone pillars, forming a grand Array that radiated thousands of beams of white light, appearing immensely majestic.

However, these beams of light quickly vanished into the void, leaving no trace.

Ni Mu ignored the white light from the Array, his gaze fervently fixed on the center of the Array where a silver-white orb floated, adorned with countless star patterns, slowly rotating.

When Yuan Ming had previously investigated Guanghan City, he merely glanced over it without paying special attention to the specific details inside, but seeing this grand Array and the silver-white orb, his eyes also lit up.

The might of the silver-white orb was in no way inferior to Hou Yi's Sun Shooting Bow and the Black and White Chessboard—could it be a Spiritual Treasure from Penglai Immortal Island?

Without hesitation, Ni Mu lunged at the silver-white orb, reaching out with a great grasp.

Several star patterns on the silver-white orb suddenly lit up, emitting a beam of white light that shot directly toward Ni Mu's chest.

Ni Mu lightly exclaimed, spewing a beam of red light from his mouth—it was a Red Flying Sword, blazing bright with light, and eight runes vaguely visible within.

The Red Flying Sword moved to intercept, blocking the white light.

With a "snap" sound, the Red Flying Sword was actually broken in two.

The white light did not pause at all, continuing to cut towards Ni Mu.

Ni Mu's expression shifted slightly, but he did not panic. He turned his right hand to block in front of him, his palm now wearing a golden armored glove—it was his Lifebound Puppet Tongchen.

With a loud "bang," Ni Mu was struck by the beam of white light and sent flying backward, landing outside the Array.

The golden armored glove was marked with a deep gash, but it quickly began to heal, returning to its original state within a few breaths.

"Who dares to steal my treasure!" A voice resounded from the Soluble Cave below, as a face on the black giant tree opened its eyes, looking upwards with an expression of shock and anger.

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