The White Bone Dragon retreated a dozen yards in a flash, with white flames roiling over its form. The shattered parts of its body and its foreclaws were regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye, and it seemed that it would be fully restored in just a moment longer.

In mid-air, a streak of lightning flashed by, revealing the form of a hawk, unmistakably Lei Yu. Accompanied by the rumbling sound of thunder, it disappeared within the electric light.

The next moment, Lei Yu's figure appeared above the White Bone Dragon, spreading its wings suddenly.

"Crackle and snap"

Bolts of thick Silver Thunder descended interweaving from the flapping of its wings, forming a terrifying net of thunderous electricity that enveloped the White Bone Dragon and struck it relentlessly.

The White Bone Dragon endured the slashing of the Silver Thunder with the white flames it raised around its body, not incurring further damage. However, its regeneration was impeded; its foreclaws had just started to grow back, and only a small part of its broken body had been restored.

After a flash of blood flame in its eyes, it seemed to have no desire to continue the fight. It transformed into a white shadow and darted away into the distance.

Just as Yuan Ming was about to pursue, he suddenly stopped and turned towards the stationary Tongchen Puppet.

"Leave Ni Mu to me," a voice suddenly came from within the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space—it was Xi Ying speaking.

"Leave him to you? What do you plan to do with him?" Yuan Ming asked in surprise.

"I've been here for decades; it's time to go out," Xi Ying said indifferently.

"Go out? Are you giving up on the Ju Mang Spirit Technique?" Yuan Ming asked with astonished expression.

"Indeed," Xi Ying replied.

Seeing Xi Ying calm and not acting impulsively, and knowing that the Five Elements Creation Tree grew extremely slowly and couldn't be much hastened even with a great quantity of spirit grass and spirit tree, Yuan Ming realized that giving up might not be a bad thing. It would take too long for Xi Ying to succeed with the Ju Mang Spirit Technique. With that thought, he didn't try to persuade her, but released Xi Ying with a thought.

Xi Ying raised the Soul Suppressing Kettle and began to chant while performing hand signs.

Billowing black clouds emerged from the Soul Suppressing Kettle and in no time engulfed hundreds of yards around, shrouding the Tongchen Puppet within.

The black clouds emitted intense Divine Soul fluctuations, seemingly the product of refined souls, and also served to block Divine Sense. Yuan Ming's own Divine Sense could not penetrate to see what was happening within. T%h@is@ c*h.ap!te!r#'s! tru@e s^ou$r#ce$ is My V@i$rt*ua#l L&i-br%a$r-y Emp%i$re (M#|V!|%L^[email protected]

&R).*

His eyebrows raised slightly, but he did not inquire further. Taking control of Lei Yu, he transformed into a streak of lightning and chased after the White Bone Dragon.

Although the White Bone Dragon was speedy in its escape, it was already seriously injured. Yuan Ming and Lei Yu possessed the Thunder Escape ability and within a few breaths of time, they caught up with it once again.

"Do you truly intend to fight to the death, sir? The power of our Wu Yue Sect is far beyond your imagination. Sir, please do not make a mistake!" The White Bone Dragon, gasping slightly, spoke human words.

"When you moved against my parents, you sealed our fates to a fight to the death. Meet your end!" Yuan Ming swung his arm, and the Exterminating Immortal Sword transformed into a Qing-colored Sword Shadow that was several dozen yards long and slashed down fiercely.

The White Bone Dragon let out a roar, and as the white flames around it surged wildly, its body suddenly enlarged, showing no sign of retreat. It opened its mouth, large as a palace, and viciously bit towards Yuan Ming and Lei Yu, clearly intending to fight Yuan Ming to the death.

Yuan Ming inwardly sighed at the White Bone Venerable's fearlessness in the face of death. He tilted back his arm, and with extreme agility, the Exterminating Immortal Sword struck the Bone Dragon's massive fangs.

With a "crack", a tooth of the Bone Dragon was severed by the Exterminating Immortal Sword. The blade of the sword deeply hacked into its skull, and after penetrating a short distance, it came to a halt.

The power of the Abyss Sword Energy had been used up in the Exterminating Immortal Sword, drastically reducing its ability to kill in a single blow as it had before.

The White Bone Dragon, seeing that Yuan Ming's move was artful and landed on its head, felt its soul almost flee its body, believing its end was certain. Now, it deemed itself lucky to be alive.

The Bone Dragon's skull shone brightly as hundreds of white bone chains shot out, revealing the same Divine Ability as the Bone White Orb before—entangling the Exterminating Immortal Sword and rendering it immobile.

"Without that Magic Treasure, let's see what you've got!" The White Bone Dragon laughed wildly as it swung its tail, a fierce blow that carved a white arc through the void, aiming harshly at Yuan Ming and Lei Yu with massive force.

Yuan Ming stamped hard beneath him, kicking Lei Yu downward and propelling himself upwards, evading the sweep of the dragon's tail but getting blown dozens of yards away by the wind it stirred up.

However, his arms were inscribed with dense Thunder and Lightning Spiritual Patterns, casting beams of lightning that faintly formed two thunderbolt wings.

With a thunderous crack, Yuan Ming's figure blurred and vanished, only to reappear atop the White Bone Dragon's back, using the Thunder Escape Divine Ability borrowed from Lei Yu's Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique.

His legs turned black as he took on the form of the Undying Tree, with numerous thick roots sprouting forth to wrap around the White Bone Dragon, almost binding it like a rice dumpling.

The White Bone Dragon now found itself in the same predicament as the Exterminating Immortal Sword, unable to move at all.

Some of the Undying Tree Roots took advantage of their ability to pierce through the void, bypassing the Bone Dragon's incredibly hard shell and penetrating its body to drain the Bone Venerable's Mana.

"What kind of devilry is this?" The White Bone Dragon, now truly enraged and panic-stricken, struggled with all its might.

Yet, the Undying Tree had grown to the peak of Level 4, just half a step away from Level 5, and its roots had undergone significant reinforcement. No matter how the White Bone Dragon struggled, there was no sign of them breaking.

Yuan Ming's arms also took on the form of the Undying Tree, reaching out more than a dozen yards to grasp the hilt of the Exterminating Immortal Sword, and he poured all his Mana into it.

The Exterminating Immortal Sword roared like a wild beast, emitting a Qing-colored Sword Energy over a dozen yards long, easily piercing through the White Bone Dragon's skull.

Grasping the sword's hilt, Yuan Ming pulled with all his might.

"Chi-la," a light sound echoed as the white bone dragon's head was cleaved in two, the larger half falling onto the ground.

The bone dragon's massive body also crashed to the ground, creating a thunderous noise.

Just at that moment, a blue light flashed from where the bone dragon's head had been severed, and a small azure figure shot out towards the distance at an electrifying speed. It was none other than the White Bone Venerable's Nascent Soul.

Yuan Ming had been prepared. He reached into the void with both hands, shooting out two thick silver arcs of electricity from his palms that spread out into a large silver net, enveloping the fleeing azure Nascent Soul.

But at this moment, a silhouette burst from the ground—it was the burly man with bushy eyebrows who had been guarding the entrance to the Artifact Refining Room. In his hands was a bone white long banner, the dreadful Magic Treasure from within the refining furnace.

The burly man with bushy eyebrows shook his arm, and a sword energy-like white light shot from the long banner, striking the thunder net.

Chi-la...

The silver net, as if made of paper, was torn apart effortlessly.

The White Bone Venerable's Nascent Soul escaped unobstructed, blending into the burly man's body without any resistance.

The burly man's body erupted with large swathes of white flames that swiftly spiraled around him, while "pop" and "crackle" sounds like that of popping beans came from within, his form rapidly changing.

"Is this... body seizing?"

Yuan Ming's expression shifted. Without hesitation, his hands flicked forward, sending over a dozen shadow-like black Sword Qi directly towards the burly man, unleashing the Soul Destroying Sword Energy.

At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a column of thunder and lightning energy, attacking the other.

The burly man's wooden expression broke into a grim smile as he moved his arm, placing the bone white long banner in front of him.

As soon as the Soul Destroying Sword Energy and the thunder column touched the white bone long banner, they disappeared without a trace.

The gushing white flames, like a whale swallowing water, receded back rapidly, and the burly man completed his transformation. His previously broad face narrowed into an oval shape, his skin turned paler, and his body became slender and graceful. In the blink of an eye, the coarse man had transformed into a tall and gorgeous woman, with a face about seventy to eighty percent similar to that of the previous White Bone Venerable.

The white bone long banner glowed with bone-white spirit light, and its twenty-four runes writhed relentlessly as an enormous, enigmatic aura burst forth.

Yuan Ming wanted to continue his assault, but everything had already ended, leaving him no choice but to stop.

A flash of silver light appeared by his side, revealing Silver Kong's figure. One of his arms was severed at the elbow, the wound ragged as if something had brutally bitten it off, and his body was injured in several places, appearing quite bedraggled.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, I apologize profusely. By the time I reached the place you mentioned, this fellow had already taken out this bone white long banner. I attempted to seize the treasure, but it was too powerful; I was no match for it," said the Silver Kong Tree Demon.

"This banner is likely a Spiritual Treasure. There's no need for concern, Fellow Daoist Yinkong. But as far as I know, there was another woman in the underground stone chamber. Where did she go?" Yuan Ming first consoled the tree demon, then inquired.

"That woman was directly devoured by this bone white long banner, and my arm was bitten off by it too. This treasure is truly bizarre. You must be extremely cautious, Fellow Daoist Yuan," warned the Silver Kong Tree Demon, still shaken by the ordeal.

Yuan Ming nodded slightly and gestured for the Silver Kong Tree Demon to stand aside.

The White Bone Venerable, reborn from fire, moved her body and looked up at Yuan Ming, a fierce smile appearing on her lips: "Your last chance to kill me was just now, unfortunately for you, it's gone!"

"Really? Whether you've seized that body or are simply possessing it, you dare to speak so boldly with only that tiny amount of mana in your Nascent Soul?" Yuan Ming sneered coldly, conjuring the Thunder God Hammer and the God Bombarding Cone and striking fiercely.

The God Bombarding Cone once again erupted with thunder and lightning, shooting out and transforming into a blurry black shadow, hurtling straight towards the White Bone Venerable.

The White Bone Venerable did not wait for the God Bombarding Cone to get closer; she immediately swung her right hand, sending out five crescent-shaped white beams to meet it.

Upon impact, the crescent white light was shattered by the power of thunder and lightning on the God Bombarding Cone, as fragile as if it had been struck.

Seeing this, the White Bone Venerable's face remained calm, but inside, she was secretly alarmed.

Her situation was indeed as Yuan Ming had speculated—her mana was sparse, and she was essentially an empty shell.

Still, she too had a chance to recover.

The White Bone Venerable formed a hand seal, and the bone white long banner grew several times larger in the wind, placing itself in front of her.

The dazzling thunder struck the white bone long banner, emitting a deafening thunderclap, incredibly imposing.

This time the bone banner did not absorb the thunder light but did succeed in blocking it completely, unable to advance even an inch.

"Insolent fool! Since you seek your own demise, let's see how you handle one of the Wu Yue Sect's three great Spiritual Banners, the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner!" the White Bone Venerable channeled her scant mana into the bone banner, unleashing a strange fluctuation that enveloped half of Fusang Island and the nearby sea area.

Within the range of the strange fluctuation, the bones inside the bodies of cultivators and spirit beasts alike began to tremble as if they had come to life, trying to burrow out of their flesh.

The closer they were to the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, the more intense the vibrations became.

Bang, bang, bang...

Several low-level cultivators from the East Sea Alliance and the Wu Yue Sect who were nearby blew apart, their blood-soaked bones flying toward the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner.

In the sea, numerous demon beast carcasses hidden deep under the water and the skeletal remains of fish also started wriggling out, one after another heading towards Fusang Island.