The Soul Power surged, but Niu Fengshou's cultivation was still at the Core Formation Stage, and he couldn't help but lose control.

"Restrain your Soul Power, or you might harm your Divine Soul," Yuan Ming reminded him.

Niu Fengshou was startled and tried to restrain his Divine Soul Power, quickly calming the turbulent Divine Sense fluctuations around him.

A trace of surprise flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes. Niu Fengshou had formidable control over his Divine Soul, truly a promising Soul Cultivator.

"I don't know who the opponent is right now, but they must have a significant background. You're not their match, go back," he said, shaking his head and turning to walk away.

"I'm not afraid to die; please allow me to contribute!" Niu Fengshou chased after him, speaking anxiously.

"Is that so?" Yuan Ming took a few more steps forward before stopping.

"My brother has taken care of me since childhood. If not for him, I'd have died long ago. If I don't avenge him, I won't be at peace living!" Niu Fengshou's face was full of determination, ready to face death.

"Very well, return to White Emperor City first. If I need you later, I'll find you," Yuan Ming said.

With those words, he shot into the air, flying toward the direction of Wei Ling's team.

Niu Fengshou watched as Yuan Ming's tunneling light disappeared over the horizon, then collected Niu Gengtian's corpse and flew out of the Fire Rock Desert.

...

On the other side, the other three Nascent Soul cultivators from Yuan Ming's squad had all returned to Wei Ling, bringing with them the severely injured yellow-skinned elder, who was now in a coma.

A Nascent Soul stage man was nervously recounting the events of the ambush to Wei Ling.

"Where is that Fellow Daoist Wan? Where is he?" Wei Ling frowned and asked.

"He should have already fallen... I saw him suppressed by the Great Array, unable to move," the Nascent Soul stage man replied.

"You didn't see Fellow Daoist Wan fall with your own eyes?" Wei Ling pressed on.

"Mr. Wan was trapped by those four with a Forbidden. Fellow Daoist Chen tried to scare them away after that, but just after revealing our identity and uttering two sentences, he was seriously injured by a move from a man in black robes. We didn't dare to linger and fled, so we didn't see the end," the Nascent Soul cultivator replied with lingering fear.

"Alright, I understand. Go and rest to heal," Wei Ling said, his expression shifting unpredictably as he waved them off.

The three didn't say much more and went aside to rest.

The cultivators within Wei Ling's team were abuzz with discussion, speculating on the reason for Yuan Ming's ambush.

Wei Ling remained silent and contemplative, looking off into the distance.

At that moment, everyone suddenly looked up at the sky and immediately saw a figure flying toward them, silhouetted against the sun.

But when they recognized Yuan Ming's face, they were all shocked.

They couldn't believe that an early-stage Returning to Void cultivator could escape safely from a joint ambush by four Returning Void cultivators.

Wei Ling's face also showed surprise.

Yuan Ming seemed to sense something and looked over.

Wei Ling's heart tightened, but his face remained unchanged, as he quickly walked over: "Fellow Daoist Wan, I already know the situation there. Fortunately, you're alright."

"I was caught off guard and fell into a trap, but luckily I managed to escape," Yuan Ming took a deep breath and said.

After speaking, he couldn't help but cough softly, quickly covering his mouth.

But between his fingers, a hint of red seeped through.

"Are you injured?" Wei Ling asked concernedly.

"Just a minor injury, I'm fine," Yuan Ming wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with an expressionless face.

"That's good, I heard from the cultivators who returned that those four are likely the Black River Four Foes, the evil cultivators who have been active in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range in recent years. They actually dared to attack a treasure-seeking team. Once we regroup with other teams, I will report this to my master to seek justice for you, Fellow Daoist Wan!" Wei Ling said indignantly.

"Then many thanks to Fellow Daoist Wei. However, given what happened, it's unwise to split up. Let's continue together," Yuan Ming coldly sneered in his heart, while keeping a neutral expression.

"Of course," Wei Ling immediately responded.

Yuan Ming thanked him and turned to fly forward.

Wei Ling watched Yuan Ming's back and called out to the others to follow him.

The rest of Yuan Ming's team returned one after another, and the two teams merged into one, smoothly advancing through the desert as they continued to search for traces of the Heavenly Fire.

Night quickly descended.

Everyone ceased traveling and gathered near a cluster of withered poplar trees to rest.

Yuan Ming leaned against a dried-up tree, slightly apart from the others, arms crossed, eyes gently closed as if in sleep.

In fact, beneath him, the roots of the Undying Tree had extended dozens of miles downward, deeply embedded in an underground Spirit Vein, absorbing its Spiritual Power for cultivation.

The climate in the Fire Rock Desert was arid, but Spiritual Energy was surprisingly abundant here, with intermittent Spirit Veins present underground.

Yuan Ming had discovered a substantial Spirit Vein underground, so he disregarded Wei Ling's request to continue exploring and decided to set up camp here for a temporary rest.

In other parts of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, he had to worry about depleting the Spirit Veins too much, affecting the environment. But in the barren land of the Fire Rock Desert, Yuan Ming had no such concerns.

The roots of the Undying Tree continuously extracted Spiritual Power from the underground Spirit Vein, merging it into the Mana Vortex within his Dantian.

The Fire Attribute Spiritual Power in this underground Spirit Vein was exceptionally abundant, and as Yuan Ming's Fire Attribute Spiritual Power advanced rapidly, a red orb gradually condensed on the Undying Tree.

"It seems that different Spirit Veins produce different Gathering Spirit Objects on the Undying Tree..." he thought to himself.

As Yuan Ming exerted efforts to draw out the Spiritual Power from the Spirit Vein, Wei Ling left the camp under the pretense of a night patrol.

Behind a distant sand dune, he set up several Forbiddens and then took out a round Array Plate, manipulating the seals on it to contact others.

Before long, a scroll of light projected from the Array Plate, revealing a figure — Elder Wang Fulong of the Sunset Sect.

"Master," Wei Ling bowed immediately upon seeing the figure appear.

"No need for formalities, how is the task proceeding?" Wang Fulong asked in a steady tone.

"The Black River Four Foes have failed. Either they've fled, or have been killed. But it's been several hours without contact, so the latter is more likely," Wei Ling urgently reported.

"What did you say? Although the Black River Four Foes individually aren't much stronger than ordinary early-stage Returning to Void cultivators, when they combine their efforts, they can even fight against mid-stage Returning Void cultivators, especially with the Four Mountains Linked Seal Magic Treasure that was lent to them to assist in the ambush. Even a late-stage Returning Void cultivator would find it difficult to survive. How could they have failed?" Wang Fulong exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't know the full details either. According to the cultivators who were with Wan Tianren, he didn't detect anything beforehand and was genuinely trapped within the Array. With the Four Mountains Linked Array's suppression, he was surely doomed... yet he managed to return alive," Wei Ling truthfully replied, avoiding speculation.

The figure in the Array Plate remained silent for a long time, lost in thought.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.