Among the relics left by the Wuyue God, other than spiritual materials, the only other objects worth paying attention to were the cultivation techniques.

Yuan Ming and Xi Ying, upon examining them, were both surprised and delighted.

Among the six soul cultivation methods in the ring, aside from the Moonlight Technique, the other five were the Moon Gazing Technique, the Six Desires Breaking Emotion Great Method, the Nine Nether Soul Transformation Technique, the Seven Emotions Rejoice Technique, and the Evil Spirit Splitting Shadow Technique.

The most crucial aspect was that all six methods could be cultivated to the Word Witch Realm without any content missing upon preliminary judgment.

"Tsk tsk, the Wuyue God really lived up to his reputation of domineering for so many years; his foundation is truly substantial. Across the entire Yunhuang, it's rare to see methods that can be cultivated to the Word Witch Realm, and here he has six of them," Yuan Ming took a while to recover his composure before showing amazement.

"It's true when they say the Wuyue God monopolized the soul cultivation techniques of Yunhuang. Before him, it's not that there were no soul cultivation legacies in Yunhuang. These likely were deliberately collected by him to prevent others from breaking through to the Word Witch Realm; for this, he did not hesitate to kill. The taboo against soul cultivation in all major sects of the Yunhuang Continent is somewhat related to the Wuyue God's massacre back in the day," Xi Ying said, shaking her head.

Yuan Ming deeply agreed and then began to examine the techniques with Xi Ying.

Soon, they discovered that aside from the Moonlight Technique and the Moon Gazing Technique, the other methods all had certain drawbacks.

The Six Desires Breaking Emotion Great Method was one of the most pure forms of soul cultivation techniques. However, when cultivated to the seventh layer, the previously sealed six desires had a significant chance to evolve into heart demons, counterattacking the host at regular intervals.

The Nine Nether Soul Transformation Technique was quite peculiar; it required the practitioner to disperse their previous cultivation progress and start over with each breakthrough, although with each repetition, their power would greatly increase. However, once the cultivator reached the seventh layer, they would temporarily lose their memory every ninety-nine years, which would only recover after nine days.

The Seven Emotions Rejoice Technique, in contrast to the Six Desires Breaking Emotion Great Method, sought the extreme of pleasure to sublime the divine soul. Nevertheless, after reaching the seventh layer, it made the cultivator crave a certain emotion intensely at regular intervals, possibly affecting their sanity to some extent. The o&ri#gin^a.l! s$o$urce@ is *..-

The Evil Spirit Splitting Shadow Technique would split the cultivator's divine soul into several parts as the technique's cultivation deepened. Normally, these split parts of the soul could be used as clones to face enemies. However, there was no hierarchy between the clones and the main body; each possessed their own consciousness, and a slight mistake could lead to a struggle for dominance...

"These techniques are truly eye-opening, uniquely eerie indeed," Yuan Ming couldn't help but sigh.

"The Wuyue God likely cultivated the Moon Gazing Technique. It seems that in some details, this technique has quite a few similarities with the Moonlight Technique," Xi Ying said with a frown.

"While the two methods have their differences, combined with your judgment, I have a guess that these two techniques might have come from the same creator," Yuan Ming pondered.

"Not impossible. The Moon Gazing Technique is false in external reliance, while the Moonlight Technique is refined in inner cultivation; there's a complementary meaning between the two," Xi Ying responded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

"Eh, the Moon Gazing Technique states that when cultivating to the seventh layer, a special altar must be built to invoke the power of moonlight for cultivation. Is this moonlight power the special force you mentioned that is needed for the Word Witch Realm cultivation?" Yuan Ming suddenly exclaimed softly.

"Indeed... but only the Moonlight Technique and the Moon Gazing Technique mentioned the existence of moonlight power. Could it be that this is a unique requirement for these two methods?" Xi Ying frowned.

"I don't think necessarily. Perhaps the Moon Gazing Technique and the Moonlight Technique were methods obtained by the Wuyue God from the Overseas World, while the other four techniques were indigenous soul cultivation legacies of Yunhuang Continent. The latter's numerous drawbacks might be due to the lack of means to extract the power of moonlight, thereby causing accidents in the cultivation to the Word Witch Realm," Yuan Ming thought for a moment and seemed to have reached a conclusion.

"Well, in that case, if we could supplement the other four techniques with the method of obtaining the power of moonlight, wouldn't that eliminate their drawbacks? It would also be a good test to see if your guess is correct," Xi Ying suddenly said eagerly.

"It's not a bad idea, but our current knowledge is still slightly lacking; we'll talk about it when we've made more progress," Yuan Ming shook his head.

Xi Ying appeared somewhat disappointed but quickly put the matter out of her mind and continued to examine the techniques.

At that moment, Yuan Ming discovered something unexpected from the Moon Gazing Technique.

"Not only can the altar invoke the power of moonlight, but it can also be used to perform a heaven-worshipping ritual, thereby attaining a revered title unique to oneself and gaining the power to collect Desire Power... Strange, it seems that I've never carried out a heaven-worshipping ritual, yet I've been able to collect Desire Power with the help of the Stealing Heaven Tripod," Yuan Ming wondered.

"It seems the Stealing Heaven Tripod has more secrets than we thought," Xi Ying also exclaimed upon hearing this.

"By the way, you once mentioned that you had seen the appearance and name of the Stealing Heaven Tripod in a Wu Yue Sect classic. Do you still remember the name of that classic?" Yuan Ming suddenly asked.

"I remember it being called the Seeking Heaven Record," Xi Ying recalled after a moment.

"Well... I didn't see that classic in Black Witch Mountain," Yuan Ming said helplessly.

"If I remember correctly, that book was actually a travelogue that described many sceneries of the Overseas World from a personal perspective. I thought it was all fabricated, but now, it seems that there might actually be more truth to it," Xi Ying speculated.

"A travelogue? Maybe it wasn't regarded as an important classic. Later, we could ask Xu Che and others to pay more attention to it and see if they can find it," Yuan Ming suggested after some thought.

The topic was quickly put aside, and the two resumed their study of the cultivation techniques left by the Wuyue God. After deep contemplation, Xi Ying made a decision:

"I want to try switching to the Moon Gazing Technique. According to the description, the Wuyue God's black palace should be his 'altar.' It's currently preserved by the Cloud Desolation Alliance and still in good condition; it should be directly usable."

"Are you really giving up on the Moonlight Technique? Have you thought it through?" Yuan Ming asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The key to the Moon Gazing Technique lies in the altar, and now that we have something ready-made, why not use it? Besides, I don't have the Stealing Heaven Tripod. If I continue to cultivate the 'Moonlight Technique', my progress might be much slower than yours, and I might not even be able to break through in the future."

As she spoke, Xi Ying raised her head and looked into Yuan Ming's eyes.

"I don't want to fall behind you, not in the slightest." Her tone was incredibly serious at that moment.

Yuan Ming couldn't help but smile when he saw the determination in Xi Ying's eyes.

The Xi Ying he liked was always like this—unwilling to be second to anyone, always maintaining an elegance and pride akin to a cat.

"Then you must be careful, I won't stop and wait for you," Yuan Ming said with a laugh.

"That's for the best. Who asked you to let me?" Xi Ying retorted grumpily, suddenly raising her hand to punch Yuan Ming.

The punch was without mana, but Yuan Ming, who practiced the triple path of soul cultivation, had an incredibly tough physical body. Xi Ying's punch did not relieve her frustration; instead, it was her own hand that began to hurt.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming laughed even louder.

After a bit of playful scuffling, Xi Ying left in a huff, giving Yuan Ming the space he needed for seclusion.

After all, he had just broken through and needed time to stabilize his realm, and he couldn't stop refining the Stealing Heaven Tripod either. The power of his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Soul Destroying Sword, was also starting to fall behind his strength, and he still had unresolved Magic Cultivation Technique issues. Although he had annihilated the Wu Yue Sect, there was still much to be done.

But ultimately, it wasn't as urgent anymore.

...

A few days later.

"My lord, we have found the person you were looking for," reported a subordinate.

Xu Che, who was cultivating, immediately raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"Where is he?" he asked indifferently.

"He's locked up in the spirit prison. However, he claims to be an undercover agent sent by Elder Chu of the Fire Origin Sect. But since Elder Chu is absent, no one can verify his identity, so he's been temporarily detained," the subordinate conveyed the information in full detail.

"An undercover agent? With him? Hah, take me to see for myself," Xu Che said decisively, rising to his feet and gesturing for his subordinates to lead the way.

After the great battle, the Cloud Desolation Alliance built a prison specifically to detain the majority of the Wu Yue Sect Cultivators and those who had joined them.

However, due to the large number of prisoners, the Alliance had not yet decided how to deal with them. They were simply ordered to be closely guarded while they discussed the outcome.

For safety's sake, the guards were elite cultivators chosen from different sects, highly alert. As Xu Che and his group approached, they were immediately stopped by someone.

"Fellow Daoist, this place is for detaining prisoners. Without a writ, you must not enter," stated a middle-aged Core Formation Cultivator, wearing a Chang Chun Temple Daoist robe, seriously.

"I am Xu Che of the Moon Sect. There is a prisoner here with whom I share a past, and I wish to meet with him. Please grant me this favor," Xu Che said politely.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Xu. Your request is not difficult, but according to the rules, I must verify your identity. Also, I must accompany you when you meet the prisoner. Please understand, fellow Daoist," the middle-aged Core Formation Cultivator's attitude softened immediately upon hearing the words "Moon Sect", and a smile appeared on his face.

"That is only reasonable," Xu Che nodded.

After verifying Xu Che's identity, the Core Formation Cultivator became even more amiable, and Xu Che dismissed his subordinates, following the Core Formation Cultivator from Chang Chun Temple alone into the spirit prison.

Soon, under the Core Formation Cultivator's guidance, in the area for detaining Foundation Establishment cultivators, Xu Che saw the person he was looking for.

In the dim prison cell sat a young man with disheveled hair. Special shackles on his feet sealed the mana within his body, leaving him in a wretched state, a far cry from his usual well-kept appearance.

At the sound of footsteps outside the cell, he immediately looked up hopefully, rushed to the bars, and shouted out:

"Is it Elder Chu from Fire Origin Sect? It's Zhou Lu; do you remember me?"