Fire Rock Desert.

According to legend, this scorching red world was created by the aftermath of a battle between a former Great Mahayana Ancestor and a past Demon Emperor, leaving behind a perilous land.

Here, red sand fills the sky, and every grain of sand and every stone on the ground appears in a fiery orange-red. If touched, it will instantly ignite, forming a sea of flames that cannot be extinguished with water.

Once the five teams from White Emperor City arrived here, they quickly dispersed and each carved out a region, advancing in a fan shape to search for traces of the Heavenly Fire.

The exploration area assigned to Yuan Ming's fifth team was vast.

The elder of the Sunset Sect, Wang Fulong, simply divided the direction, splitting the team into several small squads led by Returning to Void Stage Cultivators.

"Wan Tianren, you are at the Returning to Void Stage?" Wang Fulong looked at Yuan Ming and asked.

"Early Stage of Returning to Void." Yuan Ming emphasized.

"Then you and Wei Ling will take a team to search the westernmost area." Wang Fulong said after a brief consideration.

"As you command." As the words echoed, a young scholar in a Confucian robe with a square cap stepped forward.

Yuan Ming looked up at him, and the scholar gave him a gentle smile.

"Wei Ling is at the middle-stage Returning Void. With the two of you leading the team, you should be safe. If you encounter danger or make a discovery, Wei Ling will use a talisman arrow to notify me, and I will assist promptly." Wang Fulong said.

"Understood." Yuan Ming cupped his fists and said.

Then, Wei Ling randomly selected seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators and twenty or thirty Core Formation cultivators from the team and led them westward.

As they gradually distanced themselves from the other teams, Wei Ling began to instruct everyone:

"No matter what happens later, remember not to panic or get separated from the team. If you encounter a demon beast and it does not attack, do not provoke it. Remember, our goal is to search for traces of the Heavenly Fire, not to fight demon beasts. I have the responsibility to lead you into the desert, and I also have the responsibility to bring you out. I hope you will all follow my command."

"Yes." The group responded one after another, hearing this.

Most of them came for the generous rewards of this mission, naturally wanting to return alive.

"Fellow Daoist Wan, your cultivation is slightly weaker, so I will lead the way in front. A few Nascent Soul cultivators will be in the center, and the rest of the Core Formation cultivators will be in groups of three at both ends of the team. You will follow at the rear, just in case of any emergencies. How about it?" Wei Ling finally looked at Yuan Ming and asked.

"That's fine, let's do as Fellow Daoist Wei says." Yuan Ming thought for a moment and nodded.

Soon, the team rearranged their formation and prepared to officially begin the search mission.

"Does anyone in the team have a flying spiritual beast? Release them to search from high above, and report any suspicious areas immediately." Wei Ling suddenly said, glancing subtly at Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming turned a deaf ear to this and did not send Lei Yu ahead to explore.

Instead, a few cultivators in the team responded and released their flying spiritual beasts to patrol the sky.

The team set off again, and Yuan Ming silently followed at the end of the team, constantly observing the surroundings.

After half a day passed, the scorching sun was high, and the deserted desert lay in complete silence.

As far as the eye could see, there was not a trace of life, as if it were a forbidden zone untouched by any being.

The small team searched the desert for a long time without encountering danger or finding any trace of the Heavenly Fire.

"Master, searching with these people is too slow. The people of the Ten Thousand Demon Country have already entered this desert and may have already found the Heavenly Fire. Perhaps we should break away from the team and head towards the depths of the Fire Rock Desert." Lei Yu's voice resounded in Yuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

"If the Heavenly Fire were so easy to obtain, it would have been taken by the Ten Thousand Demon Country long ago; there's no rush." Yuan Ming shook his head slightly.

Having faced no danger for such a long time, the members of the small team also gradually relaxed from their initial vigilance, spreading out to search for spiritual materials buried in the desert.

These Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators did not dare hope for capturing the Heavenly Fire, and they were here for the various spiritual materials of the Fire Rock Desert.

The desert appeared barren, yet the Spiritual Energy was extremely abundant, producing plenty of spiritual materials, which were occasionally found, although they were mostly ordinary items.

Yuan Ming had no interest in the spiritual materials and did not join the search, instead planning his next move.

The Heavenly Fire probably would not appear anytime soon, and he was considering whether to possess Wu Li again to see the situation on Sima Changqin's side.

"What is this?" A voice came from nearby as a burly Core Formation man with a rough face dug out a piece of blue ore from the red sand, its surface faintly emitting the radiance of stars, looking quite mysterious.

Two nearby Core Formation cultivators came over, but neither recognized it.

Yuan Ming glanced over casually and was slightly intrigued, "Oh, this is..."

In a blink of an eye, he appeared above the three Core Formation cultivators.

"Mr. Wan!" The three hurriedly greeted him.

"Let me see the ore." Yuan Ming extended his hand.

Upon hearing this, the three had their expressions change.

In the wild lands of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, the law of the jungle prevails, with cultivators continually preying on each other, robbery and even murder for treasures happen all the time.

At present, although the group was acting as a team, they were scattered, and their small unit was entirely under the control of two Returning to Void cultivators.

If a Returning to Void Stage leader seized something from a Core Formation Stage cultivator, no one would say anything.

One of the three men, a short man, turned and left, indicating he wanted to stay out of it.

The other cultivator, however, did not walk away but instead moved closer to the burly man.

It was then that Yuan Ming noticed that this Core Formation Stage cultivator was also burly and rugged. His appearance was strikingly similar to the burly man who found the blue ore, as if they were twin brothers.

The burly man holding the ore, however, had shifty eyes and seemed very anxious, while the other looked innocent, a bit naive, and stared straight at Yuan Ming.

"Second brother, do not be rude! Mr. Wan, my younger brother is naturally a bit silly, please do not take offense. Let this ore be our apology." The burly man hurriedly pulled his brother behind him and offered the blue ore with both hands to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming ignored the burly man's words, took the blue ore, and examined it carefully.

"Not bad, it's indeed Heavenly Star Sand!" he thought to himself, a slight smile creasing his lips.

This blue ore was the final main material needed to refine the Moon God Ring, the Heavenly Star Sand.

Having already found Moonlight Stone, Snow Jade, and Moon Cold Core, and most of the other auxiliary materials, finding the Heavenly Star Sand was significant.

Once this operation concluded and he returned to White Emperor City, he would gather the remaining auxiliary materials and could then refine the Moon God Ring.

The burly man noticed Yuan Ming's expression, knowing this blue ore was undoubtedly extraordinary, and felt quite pained.

However, he dared not speak and was about to pull his brother away.

"This item is of use to me, I will take it. Do you need anything? Spirit stones can also be used for purchase." Yuan Ming's voice suddenly resounded.

The burly man was surprised by these words, staring blankly at Yuan Ming.

"I am short on time, speak up quickly if you need anything." Yuan Ming put away the Heavenly Star Sand and said.

"I humbly request a more refined Earth Attribute Cultivation Method, preferably one that can be cultivated to the Nascent Soul Stage!" The burly man suddenly woke, his heart filled with unexpected joy, and bowed deeply.

Pressing his hand on his brother's head, they both bowed to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming was not surprised and, using his Divine Sense, searched through his storage magic tool, quickly retrieving a Jade Scroll and tossing it over.

"Take it, this 'Earth Core Magnetic Skill' is fairly refined and can be cultivated to the late-stage Nascent Soul."

'Earth Core Magnetic Skill' came from the Guiyuan Sect on the Yunhuang Continent, and after the Guiyuan Sect was destroyed, the complete cultivation technique fell into his hands.

Though this technique was of little use to him now, it was extremely valuable to these two brothers, especially since the 'Earth Core Magnetic Skill' included a rare Divine Skill for controlling Earth Core Primordial Magnetism.

"Thank you, Mr. Wan!" The burly man quickly checked the content of the Jade Scroll, his eyes showing excitement, and bowed deeply again.

He and his brother had both reached the late-stage Core Formation, only lacking a Nascent Soul Stage cultivation method to attempt forming a Nascent Soul.

This 'Earth Core Magnetic Skill' was not only refined but also contained two secret techniques to assist in forming a Nascent Soul, something the brothers longed for.

Yuan Ming waved his hand and flew forward.

The younger brother asked about the Jade Scroll's content, and the burly man explained briefly before carefully storing it away and leading his brother to catch up with the team.

The younger brother stared in a daze at Yuan Ming's figure in the mid-air.

The team continued onward, soon passing another half day.

The temperature here was increasingly scorching, and the spiritual energy from nature was even more abundant, with desert demon beasts beginning to attack.

The team did not dare to freely search for spiritual materials anymore, coming together again for fear of being caught by demon beasts.

Yuan Ming remained at the back of the team on guard, gathering his Divine Thought, exploring the surroundings.

"Once you encounter a demon beast attack, do not chase too far, stay by my side. Help others if you can, but if you can't save them, don't risk it." A voice came, the older brother of the burly twins who had sold him the Heavenly Star Sand.

The younger brother nodded heavily, saying nothing.

Yuan Ming was slightly surprised by these words.

Most cultivators are practical people; not plotting against others is already considered decent. Yet this seemingly naive younger brother still wished to help others?

"Don't be too afraid. As long as I'm here, I'll ensure you're safe. Once we get the rewards from this mission, we'll rent a nice cave mansion and go into seclusion to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage." The older brother saw his sibling's tense expression, patted his shoulder, and comforted him.

The younger brother, upon hearing this, smiled awkwardly.

Yuan Ming's gaze lingered on the two brothers for a few extra breaths before moving on.

At that moment, Wei Ling, walking at the front, suddenly called for the team to halt and shouted, "Be careful, something is approaching."

Yuan Ming naturally had already noticed, but he found that the approaching threats were only a few low-level demon beasts, so he didn't take them seriously.

As the words fell, from the distant sand, emerged numerous large yellow-brown heads, with fleshy wings at the back; they were unmistakably low-level fire lizards.

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