"Nanshan, if you have something to say, just say it; there's no need to beat around the bush," Xi Zheng said impatiently, his gaze fixed on the man in black armor standing before him.

Xi Nanshan was not only a Nascent Soul cultivator but also a Sleeping Witch. In terms of strength, he firmly held the second highest position in the Xi Family, just below Xi Zheng.

However, this man liked to speak in a mysteriously halting manner, saying one thing but implying another, which left others helpless.

"My apologies, Patriarch. The Wu Yue Sect is tightening its investigation on an organization called the Moon Sect. I've looked into the Moon Sect, whose followers worship a deity called the Nether Moon God. After extensive searching by the Wu Yue Sect, it turned out that this Nether Moon God is a Soul Cultivator, and his name is Yuan Ming," Xi Nanshan said with an awkward smile as he scratched his head.

"Can this really be true!" Xi Zheng exclaimed in surprise.

The Moon Sect's reputation was soaring, and he was naturally aware of this sect. Because its name resembled the Xi Family's Moonlight Technique, he had even dispatched people to investigate and confirmed that nobody from the Xi Family was involved, which had put him at ease. Yet, unexpectedly, it seemed they were still connected to this matter.

Xi Dongliu next to him appeared calm, evidently having already been informed by Xi Nanshan of these details.

"Did you manage to obtain any portraits or statues of the Nether Moon God?" Xi Zheng asked with a fluctuating expression, looking up.

"Yes." Xi Nanshan handed over a Jade Scroll.

Xi Zheng's Divine Sense entered the scroll, and he fell completely silent.

The portrait within the Jade Scroll wasn't identical to Yuan Ming, but it bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance. Combined with what Xi Nanshan had mentioned, Yuan Ming was undoubtedly the Nether Moon God.

"To think that Yuan Ming is the Nether Moon God. According to recent intelligence from the East Sea, the Nether Moon God possesses at least the strength of a Half-step Word Witch. No wonder the always proud Ying'er took a liking to him and even asked me to leave the Wu Yue Sect! If Yuan Ming truly is a Word Witch, leaving the Wu Yue Sect might be a good choice..." Xi Zheng mused.

Although he wanted to use the power of the Wu Yue Sect to unite the world and break through to achieve the Body of Wanxiang, the Nine Yin Venerable had already started to target him, leaving him with too great a risk and potentially endangering his entire clan.

When faced with a choice between life and power, Xi Zheng was not foolish enough to gamble with the lives of his entire clan.

"Wait, during that encounter at the Southern Border, I didn't sense that Yuan Ming was a Soul Cultivator; on the contrary, his Divine Soul was quite weak. What's going on? Could this be the capability of a Word Witch, to freely control the strength of Soul Waves?" Xi Zheng pondered, his gaze wandering uncertainly.

"Patriarch..." Xi Nanshan, seeing that Xi Zheng had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but speak.

"Enough, let's end this matter here. Do not let a fourth person know about this! Nanshan, personally handle this and erase the memories of everyone in the Southern Border who has seen Yuan Ming!" Xi Zheng instructed solemnly, looking toward Xi Dongliu and Xi Nanshan.

"Yes," Xi Nanshan responded, and together with Xi Dongliu, he proceeded to carry out the order.

Xi Zheng looked forward, letting out a deep sigh.

...

In the following days, the army of the Wu Yue Sect advanced another thirty miles and camped near a brown-red mountain range, continuously dispatching spies to probe the situation of the Cloud Desolate Alliance's army.

News arrived constantly. The three divisions of the Cloud Desolate Alliance's forces from east, west, and south, all converging, suddenly stopped half a day's journey from the brown-red mountain range. This chapter was made possible by the community at *.

At the forefront of the Chang Chun Temple's army, a huge white stone platform hovered, covering dozens of meters and glistening under the sunlight.

Tianyinzi stood on it, looking in the direction of the brown-red mountain range, as if waiting for something.

A crimson tunneling light shot from the distance and in the blink of an eye reached the platform, revealing Wan Tianren's figure.

"Fellow Daoist Tianyin, why did you ask us to halt?"

From another direction, a white rainbow streaked across the sky and instantly landed on the platform—it was Luo Zhu.

"I've asked the two of you here to discuss what our strategies will be for the upcoming battle," Tianyinzi said with a chuckle, before posing the question.

"The alliance's goal in striking the Wu Yue Sect is to wear down their combat strength. As for the method, we'll follow each of our styles," replied Luo Zhu.

"I and Fellow Daoist Luo share the same thought," said Wan Tianren, keeping the specifics unspoken.

"Both of you make good points. I have no intention of digging into the secrets of your sects, but I have an exotic treasure here that might serve some purpose in the upcoming battle, if you two would care to take a look?" Tianyinzi said.

Hearing this, Luo Zhu and Wan Tianren exchanged glances before approaching Tianyinzi.

Meanwhile, within a secluded valley ten miles away, silver light flashed revealing two figures—one was the Silver Kong Tree Demon, and the other a woman dressed in white, her long hair flowing and skin so flawless, her features were beyond reproach, looking exactly like the White Bone Venerable.

"Why have we suddenly stopped?" the Silver Kong Tree Demon looked up into the sky.

"We are almost about to encounter the Wu Yue Sect; naturally, we need to discuss our tactics. Let's just wait; there's no need to rush," the woman in white explained.

"Master, are we just going to watch this whole time?" Silver Kong sat beside the woman in white and asked.

"Our main task this time is to collect Divine Souls to enhance our own strength. As for the battle between the Wu Yue Sect and the Cloud Desolate Alliance, let's wait until we've collected enough Divine Souls to discuss," the woman in white reasoned.

The battle was uncertain for the Cloud Desolate Alliance. Since she was here, it made sense to contribute somehow.

Not wanting to get involved in the conflict, Silver Kong hesitated upon hearing the woman's words, looking slightly anxious, "Collecting Divine Souls is no easy task; I think it's best to focus on this. As for the battle, isn't Yuan Ming at the Shura Palace cultivating? It'd be better to have him come over."

The woman in white's expression shifted slightly, she pondered for a moment, then retrieved a green Communication Talisman, infused it with mana, whispered a few words before crushing it.

...

In the depths of the Black Wind Desert, Yuan Ming pursued the black winds, honing his fist intent and technique.

Immense Qi-Blood surged within him, sounding like the roar of rivers and waves. His body emanated substantial beams of blood light, vastly different from his previous inner breath.

"Who would have thought that advancing my fist intent and technique could promote the formation of Blood Gang power?" Yuan Ming thought happily to himself, even more diligently circulating his Qi-Blood Inner Breath.

He possessed the Shura Blood Devouring Map, which allowed him to rapidly enhance his Qi-Blood power. Unlike ordinary Body Cultivators who had to accumulate slowly, once he could form Blood Gang, he would be able to move to the next step—refining the Blood Gang True Body.

Just then, a green light shot out from Yuan Ming's bosom, revealing a green Communication Talisman.

"Xi Ying's Green Spirit Communication Talisman! Could she be near the Black Wind Desert?" he paused in his motion, crushed the talisman, and a stream of information entered his Sea of Consciousness.

"This is reckless, truly reckless!" Yuan Ming exclaimed sternly.

In the information, Xi Ying briefly described her current situation. She had sent a clone along with Yinkong to the battlefield, intending to collect souls.

As the clone was not strong enough, Xi Ying had it wear Blood Puppet Armor.

Yuan Ming paced back and forth, his expression grave.

He still hadn't figured out the details of the Blood Puppet Armor. Even if it was just a clone, wearing the Blood Puppet Armor was very risky.

Moreover, Xi Ying was directly absorbing souls to boost her Soul Power!

Yuan Ming had the ability to Soul Feed and was all too aware of the risks of absorbing Divine Souls directly—it was over ten times riskier than when he refined Desire Power. Xi Ying was normally cautious; why would she act so recklessly this time?

After a long while, he stopped pacing and sighed.

What's done was done; they could only discuss it upon his return.

"I can't believe the Wu Yue Sect's army and the Cloud Desolate Alliance are going to clash so soon," Yuan Ming mused, shifting his attention to another piece of information mentioned in the message.

Xi Ying had mentioned in the message that if it was convenient, he should come and take a look.

Yuan Ming indeed wanted to see for himself, as this might be the first genuine battle since the emergence of the Wu Yue God. However, he was deep within the Black Wind Desert, far too far from the battlefield; even if he wanted to rush there, it would be too late.

"Since my true body can't make it, I can only resort to this method..." Yuan Ming activated the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique, his whole figure enveloped in a yellow light as he slithered into the sandy soil.

Under the illumination of the yellow light of the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique, the nearby sand and rocks turned into yellow mud. He easily tunneled downwards without feeling any resistance and soon reached several humdreds of feet under the Earth's surface.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming inwardly praised the subtlety of the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique. Even a seemingly minor effect like Earth Tunneling was so extraordinary; it seemed he had to delve deeper into this cultivation technique in the future.

He didn't continue to delve deeper. Parting his hands to the left and right, he exercised the earth-controlling Divine Skills of the Taiyin Refining Spleen Technique.

The nearby mud and rocks seemed to come to life, shifting backwards to swiftly create a square underground space with perfectly flat walls, resembling a stone chamber.

"I will be going into seclusion for a while. Protect me," Yuan Ming summoned Vajra from the Spiritual Beast Bag and instructed.

"Master, leave it to me!" Vajra assured, striking his chest.

Yuan Ming was quite confident in Vajra. He took out a Green Spirit Communication Talisman, whispered a few words into it, then crushed it.

Having done these preparations, he sat down, closed his eyes, and quietly began to wait.

Black Incense Possession time was limited; it had to be used at a critical moment. Since Yuan Ming couldn't see the situation at the scene, the timing and target for possession could only be chosen by Xi Ying's clone.

...

Xi Zheng, Ni Mu, and the Evil Eye Venerable led their respective forces and arrayed them in front of the Wu Yue Sect's main army, on the left and right, ready for battle.

Under Xi Zheng's command, there were not only the disciples from the Xi Family but also many from the Wu Yue Sect, though generally of lower cultivation, forming several large and small formations typical of the Guiyuan Sect's Battle Formation.

The situation on Ni Mu's side was similar to that of Xi Zheng. The main force was the Dawn Alliance, gathered from scattered places across the Yunhuang Continent, formidable not to be underestimated. Besides Ni Mu himself, there were as many as five Nascent Soul cultivators.

As for the Evil Eye Venerable, who had always stayed at the Wu Yue Sect's headquarters and had not developed his power outside, had under his command all Wu Yue Sect disciples. The number of his troops was not less than Xi Zheng or Ni Mu, except he didn't have many high-level experts.

To bolster his forces, the Nine Yin Venerable had transferred several sects that had joined the Wu Yue Sect over for the Evil Eye Venerable to command, among them unmistakably the Senluo Sect.

Disciples of the Senluo Sect stood at the very front, while Luo Yongqi hovered in the void, his expression complex, occasionally casting fearful and hateful glances at the Evil Eye Venerable.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, in the impending great battle, we will depend greatly on you and the members of the Senluo Sect," the Evil Eye Venerable, noticing Luo Yongqi's look, turned his head, bearing a smile.

Upon hearing this, Luo Yongqi stared intensely at the Evil Eye Venerable as if he could devour him.

The Evil Eye Venerable just chuckled and nonchalantly shifted his gaze forward.