Yuan Ming gazed at the Black Sword in his hands, deep in thought.

This sword was a Nine Rune Magical Treasure, and all its runes were of yin attribute. Each one was extraordinary and evidently handpicked by Qi Ye, among which a "Yin Thunder Rune" was particularly formidable, capable of converting Yin Qi into Yin Thunder for incredibly astonishing attacks.

During the great battle of Three Immortals Island earlier, it was under this Yin Thunder Rune that the soul of the Undying Tree Demon was wounded.

After integrating the Nine Nether Iron contained within the Black Sword into the Soul Destroying Sword, in addition to "Blood Frenzy" and "Yin Thunder," there should be enough capacity to inscribe one or two more runes.

Yuan Ming looked at the other yin attribute runes inside the Black Sword and quickly selected two more.

One was the "Shadow Transformation Rune," which could turn the Magic Treasure inscribed with this rune into a shadow, greatly enhancing its stealth and even allowing it to hide in an enemy's shadow to mount attacks.

The other was named "Soul Scattering Rune," capable of dispersing an enemy's Three Souls and Six Spirits, but requiring the Magic Treasure to touch the opponent's body to be effective.

Having made up his mind, Yuan Ming dispatched his first soul to oversee Lei Yu's cultivation to ensure that he could grasp any special situations immediately. He then took out the Sun and Moon Flame Sunrise Furnace to begin melting and refining the Black Sword.

Time flew by, and more than a month passed.

Inside the space of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged on the ground.

In the void before him floated a unique-looking black long sword, over two feet in length.

At a glance, the sword's body, which shimmered with an understated black light, appeared dull without any distinct sharpness—merely covered with a thin layer of black mist on its surface, seemingly not a particularly eye-catching treasure.

It was Yuan Ming's Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Soul Destroying Sword.

As Yuan Ming flicked his hand lightly on the sword's body.

"Clang..."

A loud metallic ringing sound emanated, and the unimpressive black long sword vibrated, stirring up invisible ripples, causing the mist on the sword's body to disperse along with it.

One after another, intricate runes on the sword's body lit up, reaching a total of nine.

After melting the Nine Nether Iron from the Black Sword into the Soul Destroying Sword, its Yin Power surged. With the help of Qi Ye, three runes were added: Blood Frenzy, Yin Thunder, and Shadow Transformation.

As for the Soul Scattering Rune, after inscribing Blood Frenzy, Yin Thunder, and other runes, the Soul Destroying Sword no longer had excess Yin Power to carry it, so they had to abandon the inscription.

"Rise," Yuan Ming uttered softly.

The Yin Thunder Rune on the Soul Destroying Sword suddenly lit up, and a "sizzling" sound emerged from the sword's body as slender black lightning bolts began to flicker.

"Go."

With a wave of Yuan Ming's hand, the black lightning on the sword's body that had lit up suddenly enlarged and shot out as a black electric current, swiftly flying dozens of feet away before flickering for a few moments in midair and then dissipating into nothingness.

Yuan Ming, seeing this scene, revealed a satisfied expression and nodded to himself in approval.

The attack he had just performed might have appeared ordinary to the naked eye, but the black lightning was not intended to harm through the Power of thunder and lightning. Instead, it was a manifestation of pure Divine Soul Power, capable of piercing directly through an opponent's Sea of Consciousness, causing severe damage to their Divine Soul.

Then, he made a gesture with his fingers and softly chanted the word "Hide."

The Soul Destroying Sword, suspended in midair, lit up with another rune as an odd light spread from that rune, enveloping the whole long sword.

A strange fluctuation rippled out from the Soul Destroying Sword, and the sword's glow dimmed as all its aura weakened significantly, with the sword's body transitioning from solid to spectral, turning into a fine black shadow.

With a wave of his hand, the long sword swiftly swept out and disappeared into the shadows beside the altar, reemerging from another shadow shortly thereafter.

This was another ingenious application of the Shadow Transformation Rune, allowing for travel between shadows.

"Not bad. Your Soul Destroying Sword has an even better foundation than my Black Annihilation Sword, and it can fully harness the power of the 'Yin Thunder' and 'Shadow Transformation' runes," Qi Ye said, appearing from within the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

Yuan Ming was also quite pleased with the effects of the Yin Thunder and Shadow Transformation runes.

However, these runes were of secondary concern. What he cared about most was the Blood Frenzy Rune, which he activated by channeling his Mana.

An invisible wave spread out, instantly enveloping the entire space of the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

Yuan Ming's eyes brightened with joy. Whether it was the Curse Rune, Annihilation Rune, or Blood Frenzy Rune, their activation was silent and effortless, much more convenient than other runes.

He composed himself and carefully sensed the fluctuation, soon understanding the effect of the Blood Frenzy Rune.

As he had initially speculated, the Blood Frenzy Rune could accelerate the circulation of blood, making one bloodthirsty and prone to aggression.

However, accelerating blood circulation was just the basic effect of the Blood Frenzy Rune. The rune could also speed up the flow of Mana and Soul Power, rendering one's emotions unstable. Combined with the Emotion Manipulation Ability, its effect was outstanding.

"Hmm? What's this? Is this the effect of the third rune you've inscribed?" Qi Ye's expression changed slightly as he looked around.

Suddenly, the Blood Light around him flowed intensely, clouds of Blood Mist emanated, and his face showed an expression of pain.

"Stop it, my form is about to disintegrate!" Qi Ye shouted, retreating into the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

Yuan Ming, upon hearing the words, hastily stopped the activation of the Blood Frenzy Rune. Qi Ye's mutation finally ceased, and he sighed in relief.

"What exactly is the origin of that complex rune of yours? Just now, my Blood Path Spiritual Light and my soul body almost collapsed!" Qi Ye asked.

"It is a rune I came across by chance. I don't know its specific name, so I refer to it as the Blood Frenzy Rune," Yuan Ming replied honestly.

The Blood Frenzy Rune could disrupt the flow of an enemy's Qi-Blood, Divine Soul, and Mana. Qi Ye, being the Shura Blood Devouring Map Artifact Spirit, was formed from the condensation of the soul body and Blood Path Spiritual Power and had no physical body, which left him utterly defenseless against the Blood Frenzy Rune.

"Blood Frenzy is an apt name. It seems to disrupt the circulation of Blood Qi and Soul Power, which is very dangerous for an artifact spirit like me, as well as for those who practice Body Cultivation," Qi Ye said, still shaken.

"Body Cultivation can be suppressed by the Blood Frenzy Rune too?" Yuan Ming's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

"Of course, Body Cultivators have abundant Qi-Blood and generally lower Divine Soul Power, so naturally they cannot withstand your peculiar rune," Qi Ye explained.

Yuan Ming nodded, realizing that the power of the Blood Frenzy Rune was even beyond his expectations.

He raised his hand and caught the Soul Destroying Sword flying back towards him, stroking the blade affectionately.

Now the sword, in all aspects, was not inferior to any ordinary imitation Spiritual Treasure and even surpassed them. For him, it would be another prized possession for future use.

Yuan Ming put away the Soul Destroying Sword and looked toward the distant Five Elements Creation Tree.

The five-colored halo under the tree still existed, gently rippling; Xi Ying showed no sign of leaving her closed-door cultivation.

Yuan Ming chose not to disturb her and instead flashed away from the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

...

Meanwhile, over an expansive area of the outer sea.

Today, the outer sea was unusually calm, with only minor waves rippling. A pile of disordered branches was haphazardly assembled into a rickety raft, silently floating on the surface of the sea.

At the front of the raft, a vertical branch bore a brilliantly large blossom, its petals fluttering in the wind as though they were a sail on the dilapidated raft.

A seabird flew from afar and landed on the raft, tilting its little head and pecking at the vivid blossom.

Just as it struck with its beak, the large flower suddenly swayed to the right, causing the bird to miss.

The bird cocked its head and pecked again, but the flower suddenly swayed to the left, making the bird miss once more.

Seeming puzzled by the flower, the seabird hopped around it in a circle before pecking at it again. The blossom continued to sway with ease, avoiding the bird's attempts.

The bird was persistent and did not give up. The flower and bird engaged in what looked like play, repeating the cycle of peck and dodge.

Just then, an undercurrent surged from beneath the calm sea.

A wave arose on the surface, rolling into a large bulge that rushed towards the raft.

The rickety raft met the wave head-on, suddenly flung upward.

The seabird, alarmed, immediately flew away.

As the raft was tossed by the wave, several root-like things beneath it were revealed, stretching deep into the water, extending a hundred zhang beneath the surface.

At a depth of a hundred zhang, amidst a seabed of rocks and silt, a colossal beast with the head of a bull and the body of a fish, thirty zhang in length, was bound by numerous tendrils and vines, struggling incessantly.

Its massive body writhed, emitting huge "mooing" sounds, its fins flapping like a screen, smashing the rocks on the seabed and kicking up silt that darkened the gloomy waters even further.

However, no matter how it struggled, it could not escape the grasp of those tendrils and vines, which grew tighter and caused large scales to peel from its body and blood to gush forth.

Soon, many of those tendrils broke through the surface of its skin and embedded into its flesh, sprouting more branches and roots that pierced even deeper.

The beast's immense Blood Qi began to drain rapidly, and its body quickly withered.

Before long, the tendrils that had stretched into the sea began to retract, all withdrawing back onto the dilapidated raft at the sea's surface.

The luminous raft transformed into a girl in a purple dress with a gentle face—it was Hua Zhi.

She lay on her back, hands supporting her head and legs crossed, floating on the now calm sea surface, watching the blue sky, her mouth twitching as if bored.

The Undying Tree Demon Avatar given to her by Yuan Ming greatly aided her, allowing her to break through to Level 4 Middle Stage with ease and not far from Fourth-tier Upper Stage.

At that time, Yuan Ming was busy refining the Black Sword and only communicated with her briefly through voice transmission, without meeting her in person, leaving her feeling a bit lonely without anyone to share her joy.

In these times, unable to bear solitude, she began hunting demon beasts everywhere to continue enhancing her Cultivation.

All the demon beasts in this maritime area with any Cultivation soon met with misfortune, as she had quickly killed most of them, with the rest either fleeing to farther seas or hiding in deep-sea lairs.

The Level 2 demon beast just now was the one she had dragged out from its seabed lair.

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