As soon as Yuan Ming spoke, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Sima Changqin and Young Master Que Yue stopped in their tracks, and the teams from Heavenly Saint Academy and Taixuan Sect also came to a halt.

Nan Shangfeng also showed a look of confusion as he gazed at Yuan Ming.

"What do you mean by this?" Xizhuang Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked, with a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"Xi Ying is my Daoist companion, she cannot go with you." Yuan Ming's tone was firm, and he was unwavering.

Upon hearing these words, Sima Changqin's eyes flickered, while Young Master Que Yue's face darkened, jealousy flashing in his eyes.

The people from Evergreen Island and the Puppet Immortal also stopped in their tracks, looking curious, wanting to see what would unfold.

"Xi Ying is a disciple of Bright Moon Palace and should naturally act according to her sect. You say she is your Daoist companion, does that make it so?" Xizhuang Yuan sneered, looking at Xi Ying.

The latter opened her mouth, seemingly with something hard to express, unable to speak.

Seeing this, veins slightly throbbed on Yuan Ming's forehead.

"In that case, let's speak through strength." He had long been dissatisfied with Bright Moon Palace imprisoning Xi Ying, and at this moment, his anger was hard to suppress.

With that, with a thought in his mind, the Five Elements Dao Fruit Seal in his Dantian suddenly lit up, and mana surged in.

The Water attribute rune representing the Water Emperor True Intent shone brightly, emitting a unique aura from his body.

Within thousands of miles, Water attribute spiritual power madly gathered, the wind and snow raged, and cold air surged, turning the entire wilderness into what seemed like an ice and snow world.

The blue flying silkworms within a few hundred feet of Yuan Ming's vicinity suddenly froze, encased in frost, turning into countless large hailstones, falling one after another.

As soon as they hit the ground, the flying silkworms shattered into powder without a drop of blood spilled.

Seeing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically.

The people of Bright Moon Palace, except for Xi Ying, had their Protective Treasure Light instantly form ice crystals, which shattered into powder within a few moments, scattering all over the ground.

Then, a faint frost appeared on them, as if they were about to be frozen.

Xizhuang Yuan's face changed suddenly, and with a wave of his hand, a deep black Spiritual Domain enveloped the disciples of Bright Moon Palace.

"Fire Fire Costume!" he shouted in a low voice.

In the Spiritual Domain, flames flickered, and suddenly a set of crimson opera robes appeared on everyone's body, embroidered with fire dragon patterns, fiery and gorgeous, seeming to repel all coldness.

With the robe on, the piercing cold indeed disappeared without a trace, and the frost on their bodies melted gradually under the roasting flames.

Xizhuang Yuan saw this and breathed a slight sigh of relief, just as he was about to look at Yuan Ming, he saw him raise his palm, making a twisting gesture in the void.

In the next moment, the howling wind intensified outside the Spiritual Domain, forming a storm vortex that shot straight to the sky.

A cold air stronger than before gathered, and the wind and snow accumulated outside the black Spiritual Domain, forming a small mountain of ice cones over ten feet tall.

In the vortex like a demon dragon, extremely cold air continuously poured down, like splashing water on the ice mountain.

The black Spiritual Domain was covered with frozen cracks, and those hiding within, except for Xi Ying, had their Fire Fire Costumes shattered under the assault of cold air.

Xizhuang Yuan's corner of the eye twitched, and he waved his hand fiercely, causing the black Spiritual Domain to expand tenfold and extend beyond the ice mountain.

The onlookers saw this and retreated, avoiding the suddenly enlarged Spiritual Domain.

Once the Spiritual Domain expanded beyond the ice mountain, Xizhuang Yuan spoke again: "Void Stage Costume!"

As soon as the words fell, silver light flashed on a few people, and a costume woven with silver threads appeared on them.

The silver light of the costume surged, and their figures vanished from the ice mountain, only to appear beyond it the next moment after piercing through the void.

However, as soon as they appeared, they felt a sudden halt in their breathing, as an indescribable heavy pressure emerged in the surrounding void, as if the heavens and earth were solidified.

Xizhuang Yuan looked up abruptly to see a giant cyan-gray palace appearing above at some unknown time, wavering between the real and the illusory, indistinct, yet exuding a mighty oppressive force.

The shadows of the palace enveloped the people of Bright Moon Palace, making their figures stiff, nearly immobilized.

This is when a cyan-gray tree root reached out from the void behind Xi Ying, lightly brushed against her Void Stage Costume, which tore open with a "hiss" as silver light flowed.

The tree root immediately wrapped around Xi Ying's body, pulling her back into a silver light gate.

Before anyone could react, the silver light gate disappeared with Xi Ying into the void.

The giant cyan-gray palace also dissipated, as if it had never appeared.

The immense spatial pressure, like an invisible giant hand grasping tight, suddenly loosened, making the people of Bright Moon Palace feel their chests lighten and that suffocating oppressive feeling vanish.

They all took a deep breath, as if surfacing from deep water, reborn anew.

Xizhuang Yuan's face was ashen, staring intently at Yuan Ming, angrily shouting: "Return the person!"

Yuan Ming merely glanced at him, dismissively flicked his sleeves, and turned away, leading his people farther away.

Seeing this, Xizhuang Yuan's eyes were ablaze with fury, nearly breaking through his reason, and his figure flashed as he was about to step forward to stop them.

"Don't chase after her." At this moment, Nan Shangfeng stopped her first.

Xizhuang Yuan glared at him, asking word by word, "What did you say?"

"Don't forget your purpose for being here. The main task is important, Xi Ying is inconsequential. The Palace Master has placed a soul-binding spell on her; even if she's taken away, she won't reveal any secrets. Taking care of the main business is paramount," Nan Shangfeng frowned and transmitted sound.

The Puppet Immortal merely watched Yuan Ming's figure gradually disappear into the wind and snow from afar, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he said nothing more and turned to leave the scene.

Sima Changqin, Young Master Que Yue, Swordsman Qing Ping, and others had complex expressions and also all flew away.

...

Yuan Ming led Wang Fulong and several others constantly forward in a flying escape, only to find that more and more blue light spots appeared in the wind and snow ahead, almost as dense as the snow itself.

Not wanting to waste time on these insects, he promptly offered the Shura Palace. With everyone inside, he activated the spatial power of the Shura Palace, flashing in the void as they hurried forward.

Within the Shura Palace, in a separate courtyard Yuan Ming had prepared early on for Xi Ying, the two finally met alone.

They sat opposite each other, poured a cup of tea, and for a while, the silence lingered. Only the glint of moisture in their eyes revealed the deep emotions within.

"You've grown much stronger all these years." It was Xi Ying who first broke the silence.

"Compared to your expectation?" Yuan Ming asked with a smile.

"Far beyond my expectations. These years must have been hard?" Xi Ying said.

Yuan Ming smiled at her words, recounting his experiences over the years and the achievements he'd now made to Xi Ying bit by bit.

Xi Ying also shared her situation over the years with Yuan Ming. Both listened intently, fearing to miss any detail of each other's past, feeling deeply emotional.

Compared to Yuan Ming's turbulent experiences, Xi Ying had always been under the control of the Bright Moon Palace. Though her days were dull and monotonous, they gave her heart much peace, greatly accelerating her cultivation speed, now reaching the mid-stage Life Witch.

"I..."

At this point, Xi Ying's words suddenly halted, as if something had locked her throat, unable to continue speaking.

Then, she raised her hand, pointing to her mouth, and shook her head.

Yuan Ming immediately understood that Xi Ying had been under some sort of interdiction, preventing her from speaking certain things.

Nonetheless, Yuan Ming also knew she wanted to explain why she hadn't shared the eighth layer of the Moonlight Technique with him, so promptly he gestured with his hand.

"I know you definitely have your reasons, no need to blame yourself." Yuan Ming comforted.

Xi Ying sighed at his words and nodded her head.

"Why has the Bright Moon Palace come to the Wentian Secret Realm this time... Can you talk about this?" Yuan Ming tentatively asked.

Xi Ying gave a bitter smile, shaking her head wordlessly.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming was neither surprised nor disappointed, and with a smile said, "Then let's not talk about these things, I have a gift for you."

Saying this, he rotated his wrist, taking out a green crescent moon ring, placing it in Xi Ying's hand.

Upon seeing this, Xi Ying's eyes lit up, and she picked it up to carefully scrutinize, asking somewhat uncertainly, "Is this the Moon God Ring?"

Yuan Ming nodded, saying.

"Such a precious item should stay by your side." Xi Ying quickly said.

"My current cultivation focus is on breaking through to the Mahayana Realm, mainly as a Magic Practitioner. Not practicing Soul Cultivation temporarily, plus with no follow-up technique for the Moonlight Technique, keeping the Moon God Ring with me would be like casting pearls before swine. I'd rather give it to you." Yuan Ming pondered a bit and added.

With these words, Xi Ying finally accepted it.

In fact, after reaching the mid-stage Life Witch, her cultivation speed had noticeably slowed down, and the Moon God Ring would greatly aid her.

"Xi Ying, the Bright Moon Palace should have a lot of information about the Demon World, this shouldn't be in the interdiction range, right?" Yuan Ming asked.

"That's no problem, what do you want to know?" Xi Ying asked.

"I want to know some intelligence about the Returning Ruins; the Bright Moon Palace is the closest to the Returning Ruins, so the intelligence should be the most accurate." Yuan Ming quickly said.

"The Demon World is using the Returning Ruins as a breakthrough point, invading massively there. The offensive has become more fierce. According to the experiences of previous realm wars, the days when the Demon World fully tears the void passage and descends upon Chuyun Realm are likely not far away." Xi Ying nodded and said.

"How much time do you estimate is left?" Yuan Ming asked with a frown.

"No more than ten years, the Returning Ruins will break." Xi Ying pondered for a moment and gave an answer.

Yuan Ming's eyes tightened upon hearing this and inwardly steeled himself to find the Fire Origin Spiritual Object quickly to refine the Enlightenment Pill, striving to break through to the Mahayana Realm before the realm battle arrives.

"This time entering the Wentian Secret Realm, do you have something you wish to find that I could help with?" Yuan Ming gathered his mood, looked at Xi Ying, and with a smile inquired.

"If possible, help me find a Yin Soul Flower, it's an essential spiritual medicine missing for refining the Nine Yin True Soul Pill, which will greatly help me break through to the late-stage Life Witch." Xi Ying thought for a moment and said.

"Leave that to me." Yuan Ming showed a confident smile, patting his chest and said.

His voice had just fallen, and his brows furrowed again.

"What's wrong, is there something happening?" Xi Ying saw his strange expression and quickly asked.

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.