Yuan Ming did not enter Purple Thunder City, but descended thirty li north of the city in a hilly area and, after putting away Lei Yu, communicated with Zuo Qinghui through his mind.

He had killed Elder Guo and was somewhat implicated in Yu Hong's death as well. It was unlikely that the Five Thunder Sect would trace these events back to him in the short term, but to be safe, he decided not to enter Purple Thunder City again.

A moment later, two tunneling lights flew from the distance, stopping right in front of him, revealing the figures of Zuo Qinghui and Xu Che.

"My lord, did everything go smoothly?" Xu Che came forward and asked.

Yuan Ming did not speak but simply nodded slightly.

A smile crossed Xu Che's face. Although he had not been following Yuan Ming for long, he vaguely knew that Yuan Ming had made several preparations for his Core Formation attempt.

Now that they had acquired the Washing Elixir Spirit Liquid, the chances of successful Core Formation had increased again. Once successful, his strength would leap forward dramatically.

"I'm planning to go into seclusion next, Xu Che. You need not accompany me. I am giving you a new task, to travel to various cities in the Black Wind Desert and spread the teachings of the Moon God Sect among the mortals," Yuan Ming said.

"Yes," Xu Che answered solemnly.

"Our deeds of killing Elder Hai and looting the Flame Scale Ore have already reached Zhao Country. The Guiyuan Sect might well be pursuing us; you must be careful in your actions. Take these items with you, just in case you need them," Yuan Ming took out a storage ring and handed it to Xu Che.

After thanking him, Xu Che took the ring and explored it with his Divine Sense, his face showing a shock.

Inside the storage ring were nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones, over a hundred various talismans, dozens of mid-grade magical tools, seven or eight top-grade magical tools, and a pair of earth yellow boots that sparkled with spirit light, precisely the Earth Element Boots.

Beyond these, there were also numerous Foundation Establishment Stage elixirs, each radiating rich Spiritual Power and of high quality.

"My lord, with so many treasures, I am truly unworthy," Xu Che said, his face showing a fearful expression.

"These items are not all for you. When you are spreading the faith, if you encounter cultivators who are struggling to make ends meet, try to recruit them as believers. Cultivators are different from mortals; subduing them will inevitably come at a price. These Spirit Stones, talismans, and magical tools are prepared for this purpose," Yuan Ming explained.

Xu Che finally understood, though some disappointment surfaced in his heart.

Of course, this emotion was but fleeting. He followed Yuan Ming out of a recognition of him; agreeing with Yuan Ming's decisions was akin to affirming himself.

"Those Earth Element Boots are specifically for you. This pair has the Divine Skills of light body and earth tunneling. Wearing them, you could even escape from late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators with ease," Yuan Ming said again.

The boots were extraordinary; even Yuan Ming himself was quite tempted by them, except that he lacked an Earth Attribute Spirit Root to utilize their full power.

Xu Che cultivated an Earth Attribute Cultivation Method and needed these boots for self-protection, especially since he was tasked with traveling far and wide to spread the teachings.

"Thank you for your generous gift, my lord. I will do my utmost to fulfill my duties and repay your great kindness," Xu Che said, his earlier disappointment now completely dispelled as he joyfully kowtowed in thanks.

"These are but trifles. Focus on spreading the teachings. In the future, there will be other treasures for you. Make use of those elixirs as well; while spreading the faith, do not forget to cultivate and enhance your own power. For us cultivators, strength is paramount," Yuan Ming stated blandly.

Xu Che thanked him again, then summoned a Flying Artifact and tore through the sky as he left.

Yuan Ming also summoned Lei Yu again, preparing to fly toward Sandtrap City.

"Master, are you planning to form your core in Sandtrap City?" Hua Zhi popped out of the Spiritual Beast Bag and asked.

"Sandtrap City's Spiritual Energy is too sparse; it is not a good place for Core Formation. I am returning for other matters," Yuan Ming shook his head as he said.

Core Formation mainly relied on condensing one's own Mana, but during the actual core solidification, it would absorb the surrounding nature's Spiritual Energy to complete the last step; thus, places with overly sparse Spiritual Energy were unsuitable for Core Formation.

Yuan Ming's current return to Sandtrap City was mainly for the items in that house.

If Yan Siyun could discover that he was the Nether Moon God, other forces might also be able to deduce it. With a large number of followers of the Nether Moon God among the mortals in Sandtrap City, so many clues could not withstand scrutiny by the determined.

He had been too careless previously when he secluded himself there for cultivation; he must leave soon and find another place for his practice.

The more Yuan Ming thought about it, the more inappropriate it seemed, and he ordered Lei Yu to speed up.

Lei Yu screeched, and the feathers on its wings began to generate strands of electrical arcs, further accelerating and reaching Sandtrap City in just a third of the usual time.

But Lei Yu was nearly exhausted to the point of collapse and hid inside the Spiritual Beast Bag to recover.

In the past two years, Yuan Ming had been busy with his own cultivation and had not taken Lei Yu into account. The Black Wind Desert was dry year-round, lacking natural thunder for absorption, so Lei Yu's power had stagnated, remaining at the Second Lower Rank level.

Short distances were manageable, but over long, exhausting flights, Lei Yu's insufficient demonic power became a glaring weakness.

Yuan Ming secretly resolved that once he had achieved Core Formation, he would properly train Lei Yu, at least elevating it to the Second Upper Rank.

He landed outside Sandtrap City and first controlled Zuo Qinghui, disguised with a cloak, to enter the city.

Zuo Qinghui made his way to Yuan Ming's residence, surveyed the surroundings to ensure no one was watching, then quickly entered the house.

Inside the house, nothing was amiss, nor were there signs of anyone having searched it.

Yuan Ming silently breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that no one had traced him here yet.

He controlled Zuo Qinghui to take away everything from the house, including the Five Elements Illusion Destruction Array, and then used a spell to clean up various places before immediately leaving.

Yuan Ming had originally wanted Zuo Qinghui to find Hu Ji and leave him some money as a thanks for managing the Moon God Sect for the past two years, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

Hu Ji was currently living well and did not need his interference; moreover, Yuan Ming himself was troubled by many problems, and more contact with Hu Ji would only put him in greater danger.

Zuo Qinghui did not stay in Sandtrap City and soon left the city.

"I don't know if I will have the chance to come here again," Yuan Ming, stepping on the White Jade Shuttle, looked at the place he had lived for several years with a sense of reluctance.

He quickly shook his head, and the White Jade Shuttle beneath his feet immediately transformed into a white rainbow that flew northward.

Yuan Ming did not have a specific destination, drifting aimlessly while considering where would be ideal to achieve Core Formation.

He did not want to achieve Core Formation in Sandtrap City, not just because of the sparse spiritual energy here, but more importantly, because Core Formation would provoke great natural phenomena that no barrier could hide; within Sandtrap City, the only Core Formation Stage cultivator was the city lord. A breakthrough here would certainly provoke a fierce reaction from the Sandtrap City Lord.

Yuan Ming had offended the Guiyuan Sect and was entangled in the grievances between Hundred Pills Square and the Five Thunder Sect. At this critical juncture of retreating to advance to the Core Formation Stage, he did not want to draw the attention of any power.

"Master, if it really doesn't work out, we can find a place in the Black Wind Desert to achieve Core Formation. Over the years, I have been hunting beasts in the Black Wind Desert and know several covert places where the spiritual energy is rich," Hua Zhi understood Yuan Ming's concerns and suggested.

"Not feasible. From the start of Core Formation to the solidifying of the pill, it takes a significantly long time, from a few months to several years. If luck is bad and the Black Wind sweeps through, the consequences are unthinkable," Yuan Ming shook his head.

He did not possess any Array Restriction to isolate the fiendish energy of the Black Wind. Being interrupted by external forces during Core Formation could result in minor injuries or fatally ruin all his prior achievements.

Although the chances of such an event were minimal, he could not take the risk.

"What about outside the Black Wind Desert? There's no threat of Black Wind there," Hua Zhi proposed another suggestion.

Yuan Ming had considered the possibility of that choice; however, the areas nearby the Black Wind Desert generally had poor spirit veins and thin nature's spiritual energy; even compared to Sandtrap City, they were inferior unless one ventured deep into the territory of Zhao Country.

But those places rich in spiritual energy were all controlled by the cultivational powers of Zhao Country's Cultivation Sects, making Core Formation there just as troublesome.

Yuan Ming frowned deeply but soon relaxed it.

He had made up his mind to achieve Core Formation inside the Black Wind Desert.

Since performing Core Formation anywhere would draw attention, it might be better to do the opposite and attempt it right in a major city akin to Purple Thunder City.

Such major cities undoubtedly housed numerous Core Formation Stage cultivators; adding one more would hardly draw any attention.

Yuan Ming turned over his hand and took out a Jade Scroll, plunging his Divine Sense into it.

This was a scroll he had purchased previously, detailing various information about the Black Wind Desert.

"Let's go here." Yuan Ming quickly locked onto an underground city named Spirit Wind City within the scroll, governed by Zhao Country's Spirit Talisman Sect.

The Spirit Talisman Sect was second only to the Five Thunder Sect in Zhao Country. Spirit Wind City was not small in scale, rich in various cultivation resources, making it a top-notch underground city suitable for residence.

Near Spirit Wind City, there was a large spirit stone mine vein, and nature's spiritual energy was exceptionally rich, well-known throughout the Black Wind Desert.

More importantly, the Spirit Talisman Sect's actions were primarily moderate, unlike the domineering Five Thunder Sect, and they managed the loose cultivators in the city quite casually, hardly intervening as long as no regulations of Spirit Wind City were violated.

Because of this lenient policy, Spirit Wind City had been developing rapidly in recent years, attracting a large number of loose cultivators to settle down, and was gradually catching up to Purple Thunder City.

Having made up his mind, Yuan Ming accelerated his flying speed and finally arrived at his destination, Spirit Wind City, after several days.

Spirit Wind City, like Five Thunder City, was built within a huge, deep underground fissure, not underground, but on the stone walls on both sides of the fissure.

Numerous tall buildings stood here in layers, distinctly different in style compared to Purple Thunder City.

In mid-air, streaks of tunneling light converged from all directions, and many cultivators shot out from within the city towards various parts of the desert.

Yuan Ming followed other cultivators and landed on a large platform within Spirit Wind City.

A rich wave of nature's spiritual energy hit him, even more vigorous than in Purple Thunder City.

Yuan Ming secretly nodded, coming here to achieve Core Formation was indeed the right choice.

"This fellow Daoist seems unfamiliar, are you here in Spirit Wind City to purchase items, or to settle and cultivate?" a green-clothed monk greeted him, wearing the attire of a Spirit Talisman Sect disciple.

"I need to find a secluded place," Yuan Ming said.

"As a cultivator at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, you can directly obtain a six-month residency permit for our Spirit Wind City. After that period, if you wish to continue residing, just go to the Spirit Wind Hall within the city to handle it," the green-clothed monk's finger flickered with a bright green light from a ring he wore, showing a smile as he handed over a green token.

Yuan Ming took the green token and hung it at his waist.

The richness of the spiritual energy in Spirit Wind City was greatly beneficial for cultivation. Many foreign cultivators, after arriving, clung to not leaving, leading to overcrowded conditions in many areas of the city. Out of necessity, the Spirit Talisman Sect had implemented this rule.

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