Gu Qiulong saw this, his face alternating between shadows and light before he once again took out a handful of Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag for replacement.

This scene had already occurred several times, and during this time, Gu Qiulong had almost spent over two thousand Spirit Stones. His face, which had been calm and collected, gradually became furrowed with worry, and his forehead was covered with beads of sweat.

He was already on his ninth replacement of the Array's Spirit Stones, nearly depleting all the Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag, when suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.

With a loud thunderclap from above, dazzling lightning bolts began to emanate from the purple wood columns, quickly cascading down and seemingly drawing in the natural thunder and lightning from outside, causing the dungeon space to violently shake.

The purple Array on the stone platform also suddenly brightened, its speed of operation increasing several times over.

Streams of white Spiritual Power flowed out of the Spirit Stones and into the Winged Bird Egg.

The glaring arcs of electricity on the purple columns were absorbed by the stone platform Array, which transformed them into a much softer Power of Thunder and Lightning, pouring it all into the Winged Bird Egg.

Purple lightning flickered on the surface of the Winged Bird Egg, the erratic patterns dimming and the blood color fading noticeably.

Seeing this, Gu Qiulong stared unwaveringly at the Blood Egg, his expression becoming one of extreme tension.

Yuan Ming had seen enough to understand what was going on; Gu Qiulong, lusting after the Winged Bird Egg, had abducted Gu Qiuming to this place.

When he first arrived in Little Lake City, he didn't immediately go to Treasure Spirit Pavilion to incubate the egg, fearing such a situation might occur. Later, when he met Gu Qiuming, an acquaintance, he felt assured enough to visit, never expecting that things would still move in the direction he feared.

Not only was the Winged Bird Egg extraordinarily precious, but it was also a gift from Xi Ying. Naturally, he couldn't give it up. His thoughts raced as he began to contemplate his options.

However, after much deliberation, he still had no clear idea of what to do next, especially since finding the other party's location was proving to be a significant challenge.

Although the Zhenling Sect was not as formidable as Chang Chun Temple, it still had Core Formation Stage cultivators. As an outsider, he could not simply search and move around at will.

"Gu Qiulong, if you are willing to return the egg, I can pretend this never happened. In addition, as a reward, I can tell you the location of another Thunder Attribute spirit beast," Gu Qiuming suddenly opened his eyes and said.

"What spirit beast?" Gu Qiulong turned his head and asked in surprise.

"A Thunder Worm Beast!" Gu Qiuming said slowly.

"Is it really a Thunder Worm Beast? Where is it?" Gu Qiulong asked excitedly, his attention momentarily diverted from the Blood Egg.

A Thunder Worm Beast was a rare Thunder Attribute demon beast whose strength could reach third-level as an adult. Its value as a spirit beast was immense, no less than that of a Winged Bird.

"It's in the Rain Ruins Swamp, less than a hundred miles from here. That Thunder Worm Beast is still a juvenile, just entering the second level. I accidentally discovered its tracks. As long as you return the Winged Bird Egg to Fellow Daoist Hagon, I will take you to capture the Thunder Worm Beast," Gu Qiuming said.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming's eyes suddenly brightened. The distance between the Zhenling Sect base and Little Lake City, including the Rain Ruins Swamp, was considerable, at least two to three hundred miles, which meant Gu Qiuming and his captor were not at Zhenling Sect!

He had previously assumed they were somewhere in Zhenling Sect, which left him at a loss, but if they were outside, things would be much easier to handle.

Yuan Ming, while continuing to listen to their conversation, concentrated his gaze on the dungeon environment, trying to discern some clues.

The dungeon was extremely damp, with droplets of water continuously forming on the walls and trickling down.

Such a moist and watery environment suggested that they really were near the Rain Ruins Swamp.

But beyond that, there were no other useful pieces of information in the surroundings.

Yuan Ming strained to invoke his Divine Soul Power, trying to extend it outwards. However, it was impossible to do so – it seemed as though there was an invisible barrier around his Divine Soul, preventing his Soul Power from breaking through.

"It seems that the extension of my Soul Power before was indeed due to the improvement of the Black Incense's quality," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Just then, his gaze suddenly shifted upwards.p>

Three prolonged bell chimes came from above, followed by another four sets, and then three sequences of seven, eight, and twelve, respectively.

"Three starting, four descending, seven urgent, eight slow, twelve even; these are the bell tolls of a Daoist temple. Is there a temple nearby?"

Yuan Ming, with his extensive experiences, identified the source of the bell tolls.

He was about to listen further when suddenly, darkness fell; his time of possession had ended.

Yuan Ming's consciousness returned to his own body. After a moment of silence, he got up and walked out, quickly leaving the Treasure Spirit Pavilion.

He didn't summon his Green Cloud Crane or use a magical flying artifact; instead, he employed the Wind Swift Skill and raced toward Little Lake City.

Meanwhile, three figures also silently departed from the Zhenling Sect, following Yuan Ming at a distance – they were three Zhenling Sect disciples.

The leader was a bald, burly man, with the other two being a tall, thin young man and a heavily made-up young woman. The bald man's Cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, while the tall, thin young man and the made-up woman were both at the Qi Refining Peak.

The three of them obviously used either Concealing Talismans or magic tools. Not only was their presence faint, but their figures also melded seamlessly with the surrounding environment, making them difficult to detect.

Yuan Ming quickly covered forty to fifty miles when a dense Black Pine Forest appeared nearby.

He suddenly changed direction and swept into the forest.

The three followers were startled and hastened their pace, plunging into the Black Pine Forest as well, but they had lost track of Yuan Ming.

"Could it be that he noticed us and is trying to find a way to escape?" the thin, tall young man said with a grim expression.

"Did your green bird detect anything?" the bald man asked, looking at the made-up woman.

The young woman put her finger to her lips and whistled softly.

A green bird fluttered down from a nearby tree and perched on the heavily made-up young woman's shoulder, chirping a few times.

"The green bird says that the person walked under this tree and then suddenly disappeared," said the young woman.

"Sudden disappearance? Could it be a concealment spell..." the bald man mumbled to himself, his sparse eyebrows knit tightly.

Before he finished speaking, his legs suddenly weakened, and his figure began to sway.

"Not good, someone used poison…" the bald man's face changed abruptly.

The skinny young man and the heavily made-up young woman were in the same condition, falling to the ground one after another, more swiftly incapacitated, and falling into unconsciousness; the green bird was no exception.

The bald man felt his head heavy and his feet light, his consciousness blurred, and with great difficulty, he reached toward his waist to his storage bag, seemingly trying to retrieve something.

However, his hand had only extended halfway when his consciousness completely blurred, and he collapsed to the ground.

Yuan Ming, wearing a gray cloak, emerged from behind that large tree, holding the Stealing Heaven Tripod in his hand, from which an extinguished incense stick protruded.

This was a stick of Seven-step Immovable Falling Incense, into which he had mixed the Poisonous Flower obtained from Hua Zhi, significantly heightening the toxicity of the seductive scent. The effect was indeed remarkable, easily overwhelming the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator with the bald head.

Yuan Ming put away the Stealing Heaven Tripod, approached the bald man, and placed a hand on his head, using the Soul Searching Divine Ability. He quickly made a discovery.

The bald man was called Zheng Da, initially a Loose Cultivator near Little Lake City who later ingratiated himself with Gu Qiulong and joined the Zhenling Sect, mainly doing Gu Qiulong's dirty work.

This time, he and the other two were commanded by Gu Qiulong to monitor Yuan Ming and, upon Gu Qiulong's order, to kill Yuan Ming and silence him forever.

Yuan Ming did not show anger; rather, joy appeared on his face.

Zheng Da received Gu Qiulong's order three days ago; he met with him in a forest outside the Zhenling Sect. After Gu Qiulong finished his instructions, he flew off toward the southwest, the direction of the Rain Ruins Swamp.

Gu Qiulong might not have truly gone to the southwest, but this was an important clue worth considering.

Afterward, Yuan Ming performed the Soul Search on the other two, obtaining information far less detailed than Zheng Da's but essentially the same.

He immediately took all three's storage magic tools and flicked three Water Arrows, piercing through their foreheads.

Since these three intended to kill him, Yuan Ming naturally would not show mercy.

He then conjured three Fireballs, turning the three corpses into ashes and scattering those to the wind.

He carefully erased all traces in the forest before stopping.

After completing these tasks, Yuan Ming immediately took out a map of the surroundings of Little Lake City and began searching to the southwest of the Zhenling Sect.

Yuan Ming's gaze halted; in the southwest of the Zhenling Sect, near the Rain Ruins Swamp, he found a Daoist temple called "Shuiyun Temple."

"It should be here!" He did not delay and immediately headed in that direction.

Shuiyun Daoist Temple was an ordinary temple, built between two small mountains, with tall gates and majestic temple halls, occupying an area of twenty to thirty mu, its incense offerings flourishing.

By now, the sky had completely darkened, but many rooms in the temple were still lit.

Yuan Ming did not rashly enter and stopped outside Shuiyun Temple, releasing three soul crows to scout inside, while summoning Hua Zhi to search underground.

Time ticked away slowly; neither the soul crows nor Hua Zhi had any results.

Just as Yuan Ming was growing impatient in secret, the skies lowered with dark clouds, and a downpour started again, a thick bolt of thunder streaking out of the cloud layer, tearing through the pitch-black night sky.

The end of the thunderbolt swept past the back of Shuiyun Temple, then suddenly took a turn, as if guided by something.

Recalling the scene he had witnessed during possession, Yuan Ming's eyes lit up. He immediately flew toward that spot on the White Jade Shuttle, spreading his Divine Sense, and soon made a discovery.

"Indeed, it's here!" He stopped his movement, looking toward a high elevation not far away.

There, a purple-black wooden pillar protruded from the ground, the same one he had seen during possession, its top now charred black.

Yuan Ming pulled out a yellow talisman. He had purchased it at a high price from a talisman shop in Little Lake City. It was an Earth Tunneling Talisman, similar in effect to the Earth Travel Talisman, both can tunneled through the ground.

After calling two of the soul crows back and leaving only one outside as a guard, he activated the Earth Tunneling Talisman and submerged into the ground.

Hua Zhi also arrived at the rear mountain at this moment, infiltrating from another side.

Yuan Ming followed the Thunder-Attracting Purple Wood downward, easily finding the underground chamber. He concealed himself in a corner, peering secretly into the dungeon.

Inside the dungeon, Gu Qiulong was still desperately urging the array to hatch the Winged Bird Egg, unaware of the disturbances outside.

Gu Qiuming was still locked in the dungeon, clothes disheveled, face bruised and swollen, suggesting their negotiation had ended in failure and Gu Qiuming had been beaten.

The Winged Bird Egg at the center of the array had undergone great changes: the blood color on the eggshell had completely vanished, replaced by a shining silver color, with strands of thunder and lightning dancing across it.

Furthermore, two fine cracks had formed on the eggshell, giving the impression that it would hatch imminently.

(Fellow Daoists, please cast your monthly tickets at the beginning of the month.)

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