Fang Dafu stared at Yuan Ming, his complex gaze ultimately leaving behind only a monochromatic hue of hatred. However, just as he was about to act, the blue-eyed man standing beside him reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"Master has said that the mission is most important; all else can wait,"

Upon hearing the blue-eyed man's secret transmission, Fang Dafu grudgingly stepped back, still fixing Yuan Ming with an unfriendly stare.

Meanwhile, among the three following Thunderbolt Ancestor, Yan Sijing also looked at Yuan Ming as if she wanted to say something to him in private. However, considering the Core Formation stage female cultivator standing next to her, she didn't even dare to transmit her thoughts.

Seeing so many gazes fixated on Yuan Ming, within the Spirit Talisman Sect's group, a middle-aged cultivator dressed as a scholar transmitted a message to Yuan Ming:

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, follow me in later, to avoid being ambushed by people from the Guiyuan Sect and the Five Thunder Sect."

This person was Wen Zaihou, who was among the most highly cultivated of the three from Spirit Wind City, already at the late stage of Core Formation.

Yuan Ming nodded in agreement, though in his heart he wasn't too worried.

The situation at hand was significantly better than the worst-case scenario he had previously anticipated.

Just as the atmosphere turned somewhat tense, the three from the Black Desert Alliance stepped forward directly, stood in the Array without saying a word, and after a flurry of spirit light flashes, they too disappeared.

Seeing this, Wen Zaihou immediately gave Yuan Ming a meaningful glance, and the two also stood on the Formation. As a beam of spirit light enveloped them, all the gazes around them suddenly vanished.

Yuan Ming felt the scenery before him change, and a sensation of soaring through the clouds overtook him. When the surroundings stabilized, he found himself in a gorge filled with dense Yin Qi.

Surrounding him was a dark grey fog of Yin Qi, chilling winds howled past, carrying waves of ghostly wails that chilled both heart and body.

Yuan Ming stood within an Array that enveloped the area, a faint white spirit light forming a protective shield that kept the malign wind and evil ghosts at bay, allowing Yuan Ming a moment to observe.

Wen Zaihou was not beside him at the moment; it seemed the Transmission Array had scattered their locations. However, there were no signs of other Nascent Soul cultivators nearby, which was a relief to Yuan Ming.

As he surveyed his surroundings, the Formation at his feet suddenly brightened; soon after, a beautiful young girl appeared behind Yuan Ming—it was Yan Sijing.

As soon as she appeared, she looked around nervously. Seeing Yuan Ming standing in front of her with a smile that was not quite a smile, her face momentarily showed a hint of joy beyond hope.

But then she grew tense again, not relaxing until she noticed that the figure of Thunderbolt Ancestor was nowhere to be seen. She hastily said to Yuan Ming:

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, I—"

However, before she could finish her sentence, the Formation beneath their feet brightened again. This time, the figure that appeared in front of them was Fang Dafu.

When Fang Dafu saw Yuan Ming and Yan Sijing standing before him, he showed a shocked expression, then without hesitation, he drew back sharply. With a single hand raise, he summoned three Core Formation refining corpses to block in front of him.

Yuan Ming had already seen these Demon Core refining corpses through his Second Split Soul when Su Zimo attacked the Spirit Light Restriction. Possessing the complete Transplanting Technique, he naturally knew that these so-called refining corpses were actually Demon Core cultivators cultivated using this technique.

After he destroyed the Guiyuan Sect's mine, he specifically demolished Elder Hai's underground lab as well, yet unexpectedly, after all these years, the Guiyuan Sect's research on this technique had advanced even further, to the point of entering mass production.

Having witnessed the tragic state of those stitched together by the Seamstress, a surge of anger ignited in his heart, and his gaze towards Fang Dafu was filled with killing intent.

Though flanked by three Demon Core cultivators, Fang Dafu was now full of confidence. Sensing the murderous intent in Yuan Ming's eyes, he sneered instead.

"Yuan Ming, when you killed my father in the mine that day, did you ever think this day would come?"

Yuan Ming, however, furrowed his brows: "When have I ever killed your father?"

"The Guardian Elder of the Flame Scale Mine, Hai Qing—don't tell me you've forgotten!" Fang Dafu shouted forcefully.

But Yuan Ming frowned even more deeply: "Aren't you surnamed Fang?"

At these words, Fang Dafu was suddenly taken aback, memories flooding back. The resentment when he first met his father, the stubbornness of not changing his surname, the bewilderment upon learning of his father's death, and the ongoing remembrance.

His eyes suddenly reddened, complex emotions turning into tears, and also into a roar.

"My name is Hai, Hai Dafu!"

As soon as he spoke, he waved his hand, and the three Demon Core cultivators immediately rushed at Yuan Ming.

Compared with the Demon Core cultivators summoned by Su Zimo, those called by Hai Dafu had a much more evident degree of beastly transformation.

The leading Demon Core cultivator no longer had arms, replaced instead with a pair of huge mantis limbs, dark green blades flashing with cold light. With a swing, three pale white blade lights crisscrossed and slashed towards Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming had already raised his sleeve, pushing Yan Sijing several meters back with a surge of power, while lifting his hand, the Golden Sun Ruler spun out. Under a flash of golden shadow, it split into dozens of golden light ruler shadows in mid-air, confronting the blade lights head-on, dispersing them instantly, and then striking toward the Insect Arm Cultivator.

But at that moment, two straight purple lights shot out from behind the Insect Arm Cultivator, landing on the ruler shadows, pinning them in mid-air.

Yuan Ming, upon witnessing this, swept his gaze across the scene and noticed another Demon Core cultivator behind the Insect Arm Cultivator. This cultivator had four additional eyes on his forehead, a pair of snake pupils and a pair of tiger eyes, from which a purple gloom was emitted by the snake pupils.

When the cultivator with multiple eyes caught Yuan Ming looking at him, all six eyes blinked simultaneously, and a dazzling white light surged from the two tiger eyes, forcing Yuan Ming to squint.

Simultaneously, several booming sounds erupted, followed by waves of scorching heat assaulting his face as several fireballs, each the size of a human head, hurtled toward Yuan Ming.

With a single hand raised, Yuan Ming sent the Bronze Small Tripod flying into the air, where it swelled to the size of a zhang in the wind. Countless red flames billowed from the tripod, coalescing into a blazing Long Dragon that warded off all the incoming fireballs with its claws, spikes, and tail.

The one casting the fireballs turned out to be the last of the Demon Core cultivators, who by appearance was Shi Chuan, the same person captured and taken to the mines with Zuo Qinghui.

At that moment, he was completely out of his mind, his right arm as straight as a white-furred ape's, with flames emerging from his palm and merging into a sphere before bursting forth with a boom.

As the three Demon Core cultivators launched a fierce attack on Yuan Ming, Hai Dafu spat out a White Bone Knife. Its shape was astonishingly identical to the one used by Hai Qing.

Following that, Hai Dafu's Mana surged throughout his body as he pointed a single hand towards the Bone Knife. Immediately, strands of Yin Qi emerged from his fingertips, wrapping around the knife like silk and igniting a pale flame on it, which devoured all the surging Yin Qi.

As Hai Dafu channeled his energy, the pale flames on the Bone Knife grew more intense, radiating bone-chilling cold capable of reaching the marrow. Even bystanders felt that coldness seeping into their Divine Soul.

With a cold smile, Hai Dafu lifted a finger, ready to command the Bone Knife to slash towards Yuan Ming. However, when he looked towards Yuan Ming, he was shocked to see his own father, Hai Qing, surrounded and attacked by the Demon Core cultivators.

"Fu'er, it's your father, stop your attack!" Seeing Hai Dafu realize his presence, Hai Qing hurriedly shouted.

Hai Dafu froze for a moment before suddenly snapping back to reality and gritting his teeth, "Scoundrel, don't think to deceive me with Illusion Techniques! Father is already dead!"

Shouting loudly, Hai Dafu didn't hesitate as the Bone Knife in front of him slashed towards Hai Qing, the pale flames like a ravenous tiger, instantly freezing Hai Qing into an ice sculpture.

However, the illusion in front of Hai Dafu did not disappear. In his eyes, the father sealed within the ice was staring at him fixedly, showing both shock and reproach.

"Don't stare at me like that!"

Roaring, Hai Dafu controlled the Bone Knife to shatter the Frost, but the broken shards were like mirrors, each fragment hiding Hai Qing's eyes.

Those substantial gazes all fell upon Hai Dafu simultaneously, giving rise to an indescribable emotion within him—anger mixed with guilt, and even a spine-chilling sense of relief and guilty pleasure.

"No, that's not right. I didn't think like that!"

Hai Dafu roared, his expression as if he were on the verge of collapse. That bizarre emotion overwhelmed his heart and even made him forget he was engaged in combat with Yuan Ming.

In his eyes, everything around him had disappeared. Only he and those shining fragments of ice scattered on the dark ground remained.

But suddenly, the icy shards melted abruptly and the water surged toward Hai Dafu only to solidify once more into the figure of Hai Qing right before his eyes.

"Dafu, you have deeply disappointed your father," Hai Qing said as he suddenly produced a Bone Knife and stabbed it into Hai Dafu's chest.

Agony surged, but it did not awaken Hai Dafu. Looking at his father, seeing the disappointment in his eyes, he felt, paradoxically, a sense of release.

"Perhaps, it should have been like this all along."

In the last moment of his life, that was his thought.

Since the moment he accepted his father's affection, his hatred no longer held righteousness.

He thought he was shackled by the past, yet he never considered that it might have been his excuse to peacefully enjoy everything.

He always believed that he was too soft-hearted to resist the persuasion of others, but in reality, it was the greed in his heart that led him to where he was today.

His father might have noticed this, but always felt guilty, neither daring nor willing to chastise him.

The chains of desire dragged him step by step into the Abyss, and yet no one was willing to sever them.

No, there was someone, but they were gone after his mother passed away.

If only his father had been stricter with him, if only he had been stricter with himself, perhaps he wouldn't have ended up at this point.

Alas, it was too late.

Yet he never once regretted being born as Hai Dafu.

"My name is... Hai Dafu... Father, Mother, your child... is coming to reunite with you…"

The last thought crossed Hai Dafu's mind as a faint smile surfaced on his lips, and then consciousness plunged into endless darkness. His knees buckled, and his body fell forward heavily, stirring a plume of dust.

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