Yuan Ming steadied his spirit and took out the Black Incense. After pondering for a moment, he ultimately decided to attempt the possession on Blood Demon Ancestor.

He sat cross-legged, upright, recalling the appearance of the Blood Demon Ancestor while lighting the Black Incense and inserting it on the Stealing Heaven Tripod, and then he closed his eyes.

The incense smoke curled up, blurring Yuan Ming's vision, and his consciousness gradually became groggy, seemingly no different from usual.

But at that moment, an unforeseen change occurred; an inexplicable wave of Divine Soul Power bore down on him.

This extraordinary pressure made Yuan Ming feel as though he was submerged underwater, with invisible water pressure from all directions assaulting his consciousness. After holding on for a moment, his consciousness seemed unable to withstand such pressure and suddenly slackened, as if he had emerged from beneath the water, returning to his body.

Yuan Ming abruptly opened his eyes and rubbed his temples, easing the discomfort while his brows furrowed slightly.

He looked at the Stealing Heaven Tripod with a trace of uncertainty.

The Black Incense, which had just been lit, had inexplicably gone out. The Tai Chi Pattern on the incense burner was also dim and lusterless. Except for the Black Incense not being completely burnt out, everything else appeared much the same as after the usual end of a possession session.

This was the first time Yuan Ming had experienced a failed possession attempt.

He carefully recalled his sensations from just a moment ago, and a guess gradually formed in his mind.

Could it be that the possession failed because Blood Demon Ancestor's Divine Soul Power was much stronger than his own?

Most of the information about the Stealing Heaven Tripod was discovered through Yuan Ming's own exploration. He wasn't sure if his guess was correct and could only silently note it down.

However, given the current state of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, it definitely couldn't be used for another possession attempt right away.

Yuan Ming shook his head slightly in disappointment, stored away the Stealing Heaven Tripod, and then entered a state of cultivation, waiting for the next possession attempt seven days later.

The seven days passed in a flash, and when the Tai Chi Pattern on the Steaping Heaven Tripod lit up again, Yuan Ming had already prepared the Black Incense and began his second attempt at possession.

However, to be on the safe side, the target he chose this time was Free Venerable.

And this possession went very smoothly.

Amidst the swirling incense smoke, Yuan Ming's vision darkened and then brightened, and his consciousness arrived within the body of Free Venerable.

At that moment, Free Venerable seemed to be cultivating alone in his Cave Mansion, which saved Yuan Ming some trouble.

But no sooner had the possession succeeded, Yuan Ming immediately noticed something was amiss.

He felt that within Free Venerable's Sea of Consciousness, there seemed to be another force of Divine Soul Power.

Based on his past experience with possession, whenever Yuan Ming took control of another person's body, that person's Divine Soul would fall into a state akin to sleep, and the Divine Soul Power would gradually subside, beyond Yuan Ming's control.

But the Divine Soul Power Yuan Ming sensed now was unusually active.

He immediately turned his gaze inward on the Sea of Consciousness, trying to find the source of this Divine Soul Power, and quickly discovered a unique talisman within the already subdued Divine Soul of Free Venerable.

This talisman seemed to be made of Black Mist, floating within Free Venerable's Divine Soul and continuously emitting a cold Divine Soul Power to form a faint black protective shield on the outside of his Divine Soul. It swept through the Sea of Consciousness at regular intervals, as if searching for something.

This talisman appeared to be protecting Free Venerable's Divine Soul, and its power bore some resemblance to that of Wu Yue God's Divine Soul Power.

Yuan Ming cautiously investigated the talisman, suddenly feeling an ominous premonition.

Was this prepared by Wu Yue God especially for Free Venerable? Neither Nine Yin nor Evil Eye had received such treatment; did they have some special relationship, or could it be that...

Wu Yue God had discovered he could possess these Venerables?

Yuan Ming frowned and pondered for a moment, seeing that the talisman showed no particular reaction, and Wu Yue God had not instantaneously arrived to annihilate him, he temporarily suppressed his unease.

It was better to gather intelligence first; after all, with the Substitution Technique, even if he were discovered, it was Free Venerable who would die.

With that thought, Yuan Ming controlled Free Venerable to rise and leave the Cave Mansion, heading directly toward Chang Chun Temple's Chaotian Peak.

In no time, he arrived in front of Chaotian Peak.

Compared to when he had last come here in his own body, the Forbidden defenses here seemed to have been greatly strengthened. There were several Nascent Soul cultivators stationed around, their Divine Senses constantly sweeping the surroundings vigilantly for any possible abnormalities.

Therefore, as soon as he approached, a Green-clothed Nascent Soul Monk appeared before him.

"Lord Venerable Free, how come you are here?" the green-clothed monk looked at the "Lord Venerable Free" before him, a hint of puzzlement flashing in his eyes—as if he thought Lord Venerable Free should not be coming here at this time.

Of course, given Lord Venerable Free's transcendental status within the Wu Yue Sect, he naturally did not dare to ask too much.

"Are Venerable Tian Gui and Venerable Xian Kong present?" Yuan Ming spoke indifferently.

"Following the commands of Wu Yue God, both Venerables have other matters to attend to and are not stationed here," the green-clothed monk answered, but the confusion in his eyes deepened.

"Have they sent anyone here?" Yuan Ming continued to inquire.

"Venerable Xian Kong has not, but Venerable Tian Gui did send people here twice, though they only escorted some supplies and spiritual stones and did not stay for long," the green-clothed monk recalled briefly.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming nodded slightly. His hand hidden in his sleeve silently formed a gesture, his mana ready but not released, preparing to strike at any moment.

"Is there any new clue about Yuan Ming now?" Yuan Ming asked, his gaze fastened tightly on the face of the green-clothed monk, observing his reaction.

According to Yuan Ming's original plan, he intended to directly ask his subordinates, or people like Ni Mu, for information while impersonating Lord Venerable Free.

But the talisman in his Sea of Consciousness gave Yuan Ming a bad premonition.

If Wu Yue God had guessed that Yuan Ming possessed the ability of possession, then if Yuan Ming inquired carelessly, exposing an ignorance unbecoming of the possessor's identity, he might not only fail to obtain the desired information but could also alert Wu Yue God and provoke his intervention.

Whether he lived or died was secondary; the real trouble would be causing Wu Yue God to become more vigilant and strengthen his precautions again.

Therefore, Yuan Ming decided to change his approach—first to ascertain whether Wu Yue God knew of his ability to possess others, and then to use that as a pretext to achieve his goal.

"Yuan Ming? You mean... the matter of possession?" Upon hearing "Lord Venerable Free's" words, the green-clothed monk's expression immediately turned solemn. Please read this chapter on its original platform—*.

Upon observing this, Yuan Ming's heart tightened, silently cursing that it was indeed the case, and then he raised his hand to set up a Soundproofing Technique, preventing the conversation from reaching anyone else.

"Not long ago, I had some interaction with Tian Gui, and he seemed somewhat different from usual, even asking me some questions he should have known the answers to. Therefore, I suspect that he might have been possessed," Yuan Ming pretended to say with a heavy tone.

"How is that possible? Didn't Wu Yue God embed a Divine Talisman in each of us? If an enemy attempted to possess Venerable Tian Gui and triggered the talisman, Wu Yue God would not have had no reaction!" the green-clothed monk's face changed.

"That's why I said it's possible, and I also haven't reported to Wu Yue God. I wanted to figure it out on my own first," Yuan Ming said earnestly.

The green-clothed monk pursed his lips tightly, subconsciously glanced around, and asked in a low voice:

"So, the reason you're telling me this is...?"

"The items at the top of the peak are of vital importance to our Wu Yue Sect. If Tian Gui has been possessed, he'd surely seek to cause some havoc. It might be okay to trust the people he sent, but those supplies might be problematic, so I want to go in and check them myself. If nothing is found, all will be well, but if something is discovered, it will serve both as evidence and as a means of nipping a potential danger in the bud," Yuan Ming said with a serious tone.

The green-clothed monk's expression changed several times, and after much hesitation, he finally made up his mind.

"All right, I'll take you in to have a look. However, as per the rules, I must follow you at all times, and I ask Lord Venerable not to take offense," he said.

"That's only proper. Oh, and before this matter is clarified, don't discuss it with too many people to avoid causing discord in case it turns out to be a misunderstanding on my part," Yuan Ming added with a smile.

The green-clothed monk nodded and asked the "Lord Venerable Free" to wait a moment before disappearing from the spot. Yuan Ming feigned ease as he let him go, but in reality, he was on high alert, wary of any potential attack.

Fortunately, the green-clothed monk reappeared before him soon after, with no one accompanying him.

"Please follow me," the green-clothed monk said, then turned to lead Yuan Ming up to Chaotian Peak.

The two proceeded in silence, passing through the dense Magic Cloud Forest. Compared to the last time, there were even more Magic Cloud Trees along the way, and the Magic Cloud hanging over the peak had become even thicker, almost suffocating.

Before long, the two reached the summit of Chaotian Peak, and the giant Formation in the center of the plaza continued to operate as it had before.

Last time, because of the disturbance from the Sky-reaching Demon Pillar, Yuan Ming had not scrutinized the entire Formation in detail. Now, returning to this place, he fixed his eyes on the Formation, memorizing every pattern and detail carefully, not overlooking anything.

This time, he also noticed that the Formation was, in fact, incomplete, as if many areas were only hastily constructed with a basic framework and were not yet fully built.

"Lord Venerable, the last time Venerable Tian Gui's subordinates came to replenish the spirit stones, they only had brief contact with the peripheral Stone Pillars. You are free to investigate, but please do not touch anything. Otherwise, I will not be able to explain it to Wu Yue God," the green-clothed monk spoke softly.

Yuan Ming nodded, his Divine Sense sweeping over each of the Stone Pillars in the plaza, discovering that every pillar was topped with a top-grade spiritual stone, continuously providing Spiritual Power to the pillars.

The Formation at the top of the peak was exceptionally complex, appearing to be a combination of multiple different Arrays. However, these black Stone Pillars, as the most fundamental part of the Formation, could be considered the source of its operation. If they were damaged, the Formation's function would be severely affected, and in worse cases, it could even collapse completely.

Yuan Ming quickly realized this and, with a flickering glance, a certain idea formed in his mind.