However, before Yuan Ming could activate his first soul, his body was enveloped by the white light emanating from the Lotus Platform, and the Desire Power was refined before it even touched him, merging into the Lotus Platform.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming slightly relaxed and began to probe the Lotus Platform beneath him with his Divine Sense.

He had thought that his Divine Sense would be repelled again, yet this time the Lotus Platform offered no resistance to his probing, easily allowing his Divine Sense to enter.

A massive current of heat surged within the Lotus Platform, vast like the deep sea, its tumult nearly crushing his Divine Sense.

"So the Desire Power absorbed by the Stealing Heaven Tripod was all stored here," Yuan Ming thought, carefully sensing the currents of heat within the Lotus Platform.

This current was divided into two parts: one was very close to him, and he could clearly sense it was made from his refined Desire Power; the other felt completely foreign.

However, this foreign heat current was extremely scarce, making up less than one percent.

"Could this heat current be from the previous owner of the Stealing Heaven Tripod? Indeed, back when I was a Beast Slave in Biluo Cave, the Stealing Heaven Tripod once released this kind of heat current to save me. At that time, I could not collect Desire Power, so it must have been a gift from the previous owner of the Tripod," Yuan Ming speculated in silence, then attempted to summon this heat current.

The white light on the Lotus Platform suddenly stirred, and the obedient heat current surged out, merging into his Sea of Consciousness.

Yuan Ming's Divine Soul Power swelled as if being inflated, his Soul Power climbing rapidly, and in a short period of time, it had increased more than tenfold.

At that moment, he felt his Spirit Platform was incomparably clear, and with the amplification of his Soul Power, every single thought possessed tremendous power.

Yuan Ming felt as if he had transformed into a spirit god wielding endless power, towering like a mountain, overlooking all beings, able to crush several Core Formation Stage cultivators with a wave of his hand.

"Such powerful strength, the Sixth Level of the Moonlight Technique is probably no better than this, right?"

Just as Yuan Ming was marveling inwardly, the white light from the Lotus Platform dissipated, and he regained control of his body.

Without the Protective Body of white light, tens of thousands of Desire Powers converged, acting upon his Divine Soul.

Yuan Ming only felt a "hum" in his Divine Soul as countless emotions flooded his Sea of Consciousness, nearly bursting it, and he stood up in alarm.

As soon as his body left the Lotus Platform, the surging heat current in his Sea of Consciousness quickly receded, flowing back entirely into the Lotus Platform.

Yuan Ming's Soul Power also returned to normal.

"So it turns out that the heat current inside the Lotus Platform cannot be taken away; it can only be borrowed temporarily," Yuan Ming quickly understood.

He hesitated for a moment, then sat on the Lotus Platform again.

"Boom"

The immense heat current surged from within the Lotus Platform once more, merging into his Sea of Consciousness, causing his Soul Power to skyrocket tenfold.

No white light appeared on the Lotus Platform this time, and countless muddled and disordered emotions followed the Desire Power into his Sea of Consciousness.

Yuan Ming quickly ran the Moonlight Technique. Although this cultivation technique wasn't particularly good at stabilizing emotions, it still helped to steady his Divine Soul, barely withstanding the onslaught.

Yuan Ming did not dare to relax. He continued to run the Moonlight Technique, trying to refine the massive heat current.

The power contained in this heat current was just too strong, and he couldn't help but want to make it his own.

However, no matter how Yuan Ming ran the Moonlight Technique, or even the Heart Cleansing Technique, he was unable to absorb a trace of the heat current. It seemed to contain some special intention that made it impossible to refine.

"There really are no shortcuts to heaven in this world, but being able to experience the realm of the Sixth Level of the Moonlight Technique in advance is also quite good," a hint of disappointment flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes.

Now that his Soul Power had increased tenfold, he had a deeper connection with the golden light around the Lotus Platform that represented Desire Power. With a mere thought, he could trace back to the origins of that Desire Power.

Yuan Ming operated a stream of Divine Sense, reaching out for a point of golden light.

As soon as they touched, the scene in front of him changed instantly, revealing a vision.

In a humble cottage, a woman wearing coarse hemp clothes knelt in front of a wooden ancestral tablet, ceaselessly praying with hands clasped. The tablet was engraved with the words "Nether Moon God."

Not far away, a middle-aged man with a weathered face sat at a table, depressedly puffing on a dry pipe. Glancing at the woman doing so, he couldn't help but complain.

"Stop praying, you pray to this broken tablet every day, and yet our child's illness hasn't gotten better."

"You heartless man, all you do is complain there," the woman retorted, "Mr. Li from the Huichun Inn said that our child's illness cannot be treated by ordinary people, only those Immortal Masters proficient in spells can heal it. You and I are both Prisoners, and those high and mighty Immortal Masters in Xiongya City don't care about our life and death, only the Lord Nether Moon God is willing to show mercy to us mortals. If I don't pray to him, whom should I pray to?" the woman turned her head and snapped back.

"Xiongya City..." Yuan Ming had heard of this city, an underground city under Zhao Country, quite far from Spirit Wind City.

Using the Stealing Heaven Tripod to sense the origins of the Desire Power in the past, the furthest he could reach was merely dozens of miles.

Now that he had entered the Stealing Heaven Tripod, his sensing range had increased so much that he could even see the general situation of the believers clearly.

This Stealing Heaven Tripod is truly inconceivable; what level of treasure could it be?

"I think you have been deceived by that man who claims to be a Nether Moon God Envoy, an Immortal Master named Xu Che. Are there really any gods in this world? Even if you cracked your head open, would that so-called Nether Moon God spare you a glance?" the middle-aged man, frustrated, slapped his dry pipe onto the table with a "snap."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Gouwa is only nine years old, if, if he dies, I won't want to live either!" the woman shouted back, unable to hold back her tears.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man's anger was doused by her tears, and he lowered his head, sighing deeply.

Watching this scene, Yuan Ming mostly understood everything—the woman was very likely a believer cultivated by Xu Che.

He stirred the Divine Sense he had projected over, quickly expanding his field of view to envelop the entire hut. In a neighboring bedroom, he found Gouwa mentioned by the woman, a dark-skinned little boy.

Gouwa was lying on the bed with his eyes tightly closed, his cheeks sunken and his breathing weak; he appeared to have not much time left.

Yuan Ming activated his Divine Sense to examine Gouwa's body and found no injuries. However, his Divine Soul was exceptionally weakened.

Upon closer inspection of Gouwa's Divine Soul, he discovered a fine crack on its surface, seemingly inflicted by some sort of soul attack.

Ordinary people possess feeble Soul Power; even a minor soul shock can cause significant problems.

This level of injury wasn't difficult to handle. Not to mention cultivators, even slightly older mortals wouldn't fall into a coma from this, although they might suffer from other sequela such as amnesia and so on.

Yuan Ming himself had lost his memory after being attacked by the Soul-Attracting Bell.

However, as he began to practice the Moonlight Technique, his Divine Soul became more refined, and he reclaimed his lost memories.

The best way to heal this kind of injury was to allow the injured to use their own Soul Power to mend it, thereby strengthening the Divine Soul.

Of course, Yuan Ming could not pass on the Moonlight Technique to Gouwa, and even if he did, Gouwa couldn't cultivate in his continuously comatose state.

But Yuan Ming was not without methods.

He increased the projection of Divine Soul Power, enveloping Gouwa's body.

Next, he manipulated his first soul, refining the Pure Will Power that still streamed in endlessly, and then infused a strand of the refined Pure Will Power into Gouwa's Divine Soul.

After absorbing and refining the Will Power for so long, Yuan Ming gradually discerned some of its properties.

The Will Power drawn by the Stealing Heaven Tripod originated from others' gratitude, faith, and adoration toward Yuan Ming. Stripping away these emotions revealed that this Will Power was akin to unclaimed Soul Power that others could absorb and utilize.

Although it was just a strand of Will Power, it was excessive for Gouwa, an ordinary child. The crack in his soul quickly vanished, his Divine Soul completely recovered, and even grew stronger.

Yet Gouwa had been comatose for so long and was physically weak, it seemed he would not wake up anytime soon.

"My Divine Power can be projected through the Stealing Heaven Tripod; I wonder if mana can be sent as well?" Yuan Ming thought, casting a Wood Attribute healing spell.

A green light shot from his hand, directed toward the dot of golden light representing the woman.

The golden formation on the altar began to operate, and Yuan Ming felt his connection with the woman strengthen rapidly.

He hurriedly projected the green light toward her.

A ripple appeared above Gouwa's head, as the green light materialized from the void and instantly merged into his body.

The next moment, Gouwa's pale complexion rapidly returned to normal, and his breathing evened out.

Yuan Ming no longer found the magical effects of the Stealing Heaven Tripod strange and was quite satisfied with the current situation.

In the past, he had to work hard to recruit believers, personally going to solve their troubles. Now that he had entered the Tripod, he could finally respond to his believers' prayers from afar, barely resembling a deity.

"As you have wished, your child is now fully healed," Yuan Ming sent a thread of thought, conveying it into the woman's Sea of Consciousness.

The woman abruptly lifted her head, her face displaying shock.

"What's wrong? Why the shock?" The middle-aged man, who was sitting at the table sighing, spoke in an irritated tone upon seeing his wife's reaction.

The woman ignored her husband, abruptly stood up, and rushed into Gouwa's room.

The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly, and he quickly followed her.

Gouwa was sitting up in bed, still looking somewhat confused.

"Child! Are you well?" The woman threw herself at Gouwa, embracing him tightly and crying with joy.

The middle-aged man also showed a happy face, gently stroking Gouwa's head.

"Wife, what's going on?" The man quickly regained his composure and asked.

The woman had somewhat calmed down by now and explained the voice that had echoed in her mind just now.

"The Nether Moon God? Could it be that there is truly a deity in this world willing to protect mortals?" The middle-aged man opened his eyes wide, somewhat incredulous.

He often worked for Immortal Masters and had a broader perspective than ordinary mortals, but he couldn't help but believe the situation before his eyes.

"I have always said that Lord Nether Moon God is effective, now do you believe it?" the woman said smugly.

"I believe, of course, I believe," the middle-aged man quickly responded, nodding eagerly amidst his excitement.

Finally, Gouwa regained his senses, looking up at his parents with a puzzled expression.

"Dad, Mom, what are you doing?"

Seeing her son speak, the woman was both shocked and overjoyed, hugging her child again, crying and scolding, "You little brat, do you have any idea how worried you've made me?"

The middle-aged man wiped his eyes and said, "Wife, take care of the child first; I'll go buy some good incense right now."

"Yes, yes, make sure to buy the good stuff," the woman said, pulling Gouwa to the altar of the Nether Moon God and made him kneel beside her.

"Gouwa, remember, it was Lord Nether Moon God that saved you. From now on, you need to worship day and night with your mother, praying for peace and smooth sailing."

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