"Bang!"

The violent impact spread outwards, the ground revealing huge cracks as a fierce wind arose, shaking the entire dungeon relentlessly.

In terms of strength, it was ultimately the White Ape that had the upper hand. With a loud "bang," the viney giant palm exploded into a large hole about ten feet in diameter, centered on the fist of the White Ape.

The White Ape passed through the ruptured vine giant palm in a flash and arrived in front of the golden ugly tiger, grabbed its neck, and opened its huge mouth to bite directly onto the tiger's neck.

With a "crack," the neck bone of the golden ugly tiger was forcibly bitten through. Its body shuddered, and its life force completely dissipated.

Poor golden ugly tiger, an extremely formidable being among ordinary spirit beasts, met its humiliating demise at the jaws of the Hua Zhi and White Ape.

Hua Zhi, however, became furious due to the White Ape's action, immediately burrowed from the ground towards the White Ape, and shot vines like crossbow arrows towards it.

Seeing this, the White Ape also charged without showing any weakness towards Hua Zhi.

Just as the battle between Hua Zhi and the White Ape was about to erupt, a yellow light flashed between them on the ground, and Yuan Ming's figure appeared out of thin air, reaching out with both hands.

"Stop!"

Hua Zhi's vision blurred momentarily, and suddenly it found itself in an endless sea with waves surging and sea breezes blowing.

"The master's illusion technique?" Hua Zhi was startled.

A great force swept over it, sending it flying backwards beyond its control. Its vision also returned to normal, relegating it back to the dungeon space, retreating several feet.

Hua Zhi's grip on the giant paw of the golden ugly tiger had loosened, and now the tiger's corpse was held in the embrace of the White Ape, being gnawed upon ferociously.

"Master, you are biased, I want some too!" Hua Zhi cried out in grievance.

"The dark aura carried by that ugly tiger seems to be very beneficial to the White Ape. Let it have the corpse. You have already absorbed quite a bit of dark aura in the underground palace of Snake King Valley. I will definitely compensate you with something else later, okay?" Yuan Ming said.

At this moment, the White Ape seemed to have gone mad, holding onto the corpse of the golden ugly tiger and refusing to let go no matter what. Thus, he had made this decision.

"Hmph, seeing that it's for the master, this will not set a precedent." Hua Zhi glanced at the White Ape with some disdain but reluctantly agreed.

"Why do you and the White Ape both fancy this kind of dark aura so much?" Yuan Ming curiously asked.

"I don't know either. I just saw this dark aura and really wanted to absorb it," Hua Zhi replied.

Yuan Ming fell silent in contemplation and soon shook his head, not dwelling on it further, and looked towards his right hand.

He was holding a man in his hand, none other than Gu Qiulong, who had just had a leg bitten off and knocked unconscious by the golden ugly tiger. When he used the illusion technique to stop Hua Zhi and the White Ape from fighting, he had conveniently captured him.

Yuan Ming stuck a needle into Gu Qiulong's lower abdomen, shattering his Dantian and rendering his mana useless.

Gu Qiulong's face showed pain, but having been heavily dosed with seductive scent and poisonous incense, he still hadn't woken up.

Yuan Ming placed his palm on Gu Qiulong's head and employed the Soul Searching Divine Ability, his expression quickly turning serious.

Gu Qiulong's identity was not ordinary; he was a direct blood relative of the Zhenling Sect's Gu family, much more important than the collateral member Gu Qiuming.

Gu Qiulong's lineage included a Core Formation Stage cultivator, who held significant sway within the entire Zhenling Sect. This Core Formation Stage being was none other than Gu Qiulong's grandfather, who was very fond of his talented and sweet-talking grandson.

As for the reason Gu Qiulong came here, Yuan Ming also found out through soul searching; after being scolded by his Sixth Uncle, Gu Qiulong harbored thoughts of revenge against Gu Qiuming.

When he discovered that the Winged Bird Egg hatched by Gu Qiuming was mutated, greed took over. Initially, he tried to buy it from Gu Qiuming, but after being sternly rejected, he took advantage of the situation, subdued him, and brought both him and the egg to Shuiyun Temple.

Shuiyun Temple, a branch of the Zhenling Sect and in decline for generations, barely maintained itself. Due to Gu Qiulong's identity, the temple master, who only had Qi Refinement Cultivation, let him use the temple's array.

Gu Qiulong also sent away everyone in the temple to keep his actions secret.

Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes. This Gu Qiulong was greedy and shameless, daring to covet his Winged Bird Egg, and deserved to die. However, killing him recklessly might cause significant trouble since he had a Core Formation Stage ancestor.

Yet, letting him go would also lead to considerable trouble.

Yuan Ming had already dealt with the three bald men sent by Gu Qiulong to watch him. How should he handle Gu Qiulong?

After pondering for a moment, he thought of a solution.

He first diligently cleaned up the signs of battle in the dungeon, then took out Xu Changqing's body, using several Corpse Control Talismans on it.

Fresh Qi-Blood was generated inside Xu Changqing's body, and his hair and skin color changed to appear almost like a normal person, as if someone deeply asleep.

"This Corpse Control Talisman really works wonders," Yuan Ming thought to himself with satisfaction. He then took out Xu Changqing's Golden Snake Sword and Gu Qiulong's Yellow Short Halberd and Green Feather Fan, both magic artifacts.

He simultaneously activated three magic artifacts, colliding fiercely within the dungeon, and quickly left marks on both the floor and the walls.

The golden snake sword shot out like lightning, piercing through Gu Qiulong's heart.

With his heart pierced, the man's body trembled violently, and soon, there was no breath left in him.

The yellow short halberd also chopped down fiercely, splitting Xu Changqing's head into several pieces, creating the false impression that both had perished together.

This setup was not very clever but might barely deceive the pursuers. Given Xu Changqing's extraordinary identity, dying alongside Gu Qiulong, under the Zhenling Sect's reluctance to risk their assets, they might slow down their pursuit of the murderer.

As for the two magic artifacts and the storage bag at Gu Qiulong's waist, Yuan Ming did not leave them behind; he took them, regardless of what the Zhenling Sect might speculate.

After a fierce battle in the dungeon space, he had to leave before the people from Shuiyun Temple noticed.

Yuan Ming stored Hua Zhi, as well as the white ape still gnawing on the corpses, into the spiritual beast bag, and made his way to the stone platform.

The array on the stone platform had already ceased operation, and the black young bird was restrained by Gu Qiulong's white net magic tool, lying on the platform.

The entire dungeon space was filled with poisonous incense. The winged young bird, having just been born, could not resist like the golden ugly tiger could; at this moment, it was still unconscious.

Yuan Ming quickly released his Divine Sense to check, and soon found that the bird was only unconscious with no major harm, easing his worries.

He was here today, and had even taken the risk of being pursued by a Core Formation Stage powerhouse, solely for this winged young bird. If it had been damaged, it would have been all for naught.

Yuan Ming took out a new spiritual beast bag, carefully stored the young bird inside, and turned to approach the dungeon's entrance.

During the fierce fight, Gu Qiuming had also not been injured.

Yuan Ming quickly swept his Divine Sense over, and soon, his eyebrows raised in interest, and his fingertips emitted a blue light which promptly transformed into the shape of a hand, tearing off a yellow talisman from Gu Qiuming's back.

Gu Qiuming's mana began to restore immediately.

Yuan Ming picked up Gu Qiuming and moved far away from Shuiyun Temple, setting Gu Qiuming down in a secluded area. Once awake, it would be easy for him to break free from his chains.

He left a note: "Gu Qiulong is dead; leave Thunder Continent quickly." He left five hundred spirit stones in his storage bag. What Gu Qiuming would choose to do next, was up to him. Then, summoning the White Jade Shuttle, Yuan Ming flew toward Little Lake City and quietly entered the city.

Yuan Ming cautiously avoided everyone, returned to residence number 86, activated two arrays, and then took out a silver token and placed it on the ground.

A rich silver light emerged from the token, quickly spreading throughout the room, and soon submerged the entire room.

Yuan Ming finally relaxed a bit, half lying on the bed, pondering today's events from beginning to end. From making Gu Qiuming's acquaintance, to finding Treasure Spirit Pavilion, then his sect and meeting his Sixth Uncle, and finally killing Gu Qiulong, he had left no trail that could reveal his true identity.

Moreover, his daily life was secluded, and sales of incense were mostly managed by Hu Tu and Mu Yang; there were barely a few people in Little Lake City who knew him. Even if Gu Qiuming went back and disclosed everything, he wouldn't know Yuan's residence, making it not so easy for the Zhenling Sect to find him. Considering Gu Qiulong's attitude towards Gu Qiuming, Gu Qiuming would likely have fled far away by now upon finding the extra spirit stones in the storage bag.

As for the temple master of Shuiyun Temple, finding Gu Qiulong dead in his temple, he probably only had the option to flee.

After thorough consideration, Yuan Ming decided not to leave Little Lake City, choosing instead to wait and see how things would unfold.

He retrieved Gu Qiulong's storage bag, his Divine Sense diving into it, brightening his eyes soon after.

Gu Qiulong, truly a Foundation Establishment disciple favored by a Core Formation Stage grandfather from the Zhenling Sect, had a rich legacy. Just the spirit stones alone were over two thousand, and other items included a green jade scroll, a purple invitation, a two-foot-high jade box, several magic artifacts, and more than ten bottles of Four Spirits Pills among other elixirs.

Yuan Ming first picked up the green jade scroll. His Divine Sense dived into it, bringing a glint of delight to his eyes.

The information recorded within the green jade scroll was the Zhenling Sect's Beast Taming Secret Technique, titled "Ten Thousand Beasts True Mirror," similar to the Beast Taming Technique of the Southern Border, involving placing Beast Taming Runes within the demon beasts.

However, the Ten Thousand Beasts True Mirror contained numerous ingenious methods for subduing demon beasts, far more sophisticated than the Beast Taming Technique taught by the Three Cave Masters, though it didn't discuss much about the act of taming itself.

Yuan Ming soon saw that most of the content in the scroll was about introducing demon beasts that could be tamed as spirit beasts in the Cultivation World, detailing their Divine Skills, habits, and more, broadening his horizons considerably.

He searched carefully, but unfortunately did not find the origin of Hua Zhi. However, he discovered a record of Gu Qiulong's golden ugly tiger.

This beast was called the "scale-toothed tiger," a Gold Attribute spirit beast capable of unleashing various Gold Attribute attacks, usually fond of consuming Five Metal Spiritual Materials...

Yuan Ming quickly finished reading the portion about this beast, his brow slightly furrowing.

The jade scroll never mentioned anything about the black qi emitted by the scale-toothed tiger. Could it possibly be a mutated spiritual beast?

Yuan Ming didn't dwell on this, swiftly skimmed through the remaining content, and then set the jade scroll aside, planning to study it in detail later.

He picked up the purple invitation which read "Tianxiang Auction" in large characters. The invitation ended with a date, which was two and a half years later.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming's thoughts stirred.

Having lived in Little Lake City up to now, he was quite familiar with the local situation, certainly having heard of the grand reputation of the Tianxiang Auction, a triennial auction meet agreed upon by the major Cultivation forces of Thunder Continent, where any cultivator with means from Thunder Continent might attend to find treasures of their desire.

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