After leaving the Wind Sea, Yuan Ming did not continue on but found a small island with a circumference of only about seventy to eighty meters in a relatively calm area nearby.

He summoned all his companions on the island and took a good rest for half a month. Once their condition had been largely adjusted, he embarked on his journey again.

Given the difficult experiences before, and facing the potentially more dangerous situations ahead, Yuan Ming, as before, took the other people back into the Stealing Heaven Tripod and crossed the sea alone.

By the time he reached the Third Sea Zone, although Yuan Ming had made plenty of preparations and remained on guard all the time, he was still nearly tricked by his first encounter with that legendary evil.

Those whom he originally thought would be fierce and ugly turned out to be large creatures with a human upper body and a fish tail.

Each was beautifully fair-skinned with blond hair and blue eyes. They sometimes rested on the islands and at other times jumped into the sea, frolicking and splashing around. Especially when they were in the water and their lower halves were submerged, they looked indistinguishable from breathtakingly beautiful women, their bodies exuding an indescribable enchanting power.

Yuan Ming naturally had heard of these creatures' sinister nature and dared not provoke them easily.

When he planned to conceal his presence and stealthily bypass these mermaids, a slightly smaller one with golden scales spotted him.

The moment it spoke, a celestial-like singing voice filled the air, not ringing around his ears but resounding directly in his Sea of Consciousness, rendering sealing his ears useless.

Even though Yuan Ming had advanced to being a Spoken Witch, the moment the voice sounded, a blur crossed his view, and enchanting illusions appeared.

However, being a Spoken Witch and having prepared beforehand, he soon woke from the trance, relying on his incredibly powerful Divine Power.

Note: Check * for any corrections.

Before more mermaids could start singing, he decisively opened the space of the Stealing Heaven Tripod and hid inside.

He then utilized the Undying Tree's ability to teleport through voids, releasing its roots to wrap around a demon fish in the sea, thus controlling it to carry him away from the nearby area.

This method initially worked well, but when he had nearly halfway passed through the Third Sea Zone and again took refuge in the Stealing Heaven Tripod space, controlling a Six-winged Seahorse to carry the tripod on its way, an accident occurred.

The Six-winged Seahorse ventured into a hunting ground of an immensely huge Golden Dragon Demon, resulting in the seahorse, along with the Stealing Heaven Tripod and Yuan Ming and others inside, all being swallowed by the Golden Dragon Demon.

Yuan Ming and Xi Ying took a risk by leaving the space of the Stealing Heaven Tripod and entering the stomach of the Golden Dragon Demon, only to find that it was a demon with strength surpassing the Returning to Void Stage and did not dare to make any rash moves.

However, after two days, Yuan Ming and Xi Ying sensed something wrong with the Golden Dragon Demon, discovering it seemed to be fighting someone fiercely, its Qi-Blood surging strongly within.

Being inside the Golden Dragon Demon, they also felt intense tremors.

Yuan Ming and Xi Ying discussed and decided to take this opportunity to escape.

So, they also summoned Wulu, Vajra, and Hua Zhi. All of them took advantage of the intense battle, attacking the Golden Dragon Demon from inside simultaneously.

Shortly after, they were all expelled by the Dragon Demon in one breath.

Unexpectedly, the one the Golden Dragon Demon was fighting was precisely a gigantic mermaid with golden scales. Just as Yuan Ming and the others were ejected, they heard its singing and immediately fell into an illusion.

Yuan Ming exerted all his strength to barely resist the singing. Just as he was about to look for the others, he was swept up by the aftermath of the two demons' fight and heavily injured, crashing into the sea.

Just when he thought he was undoubtedly going to die, the Artifact Spirit of the Stealing Heaven Tripod suddenly transmitted a message in his Sea of Consciousness. It mentioned that considering his respectful attitude over the years, it would help him and the others be saved if Yuan Ming could provide two hundred Vow Power Pills within the next hundred years.

Yuan Ming, not daring to hesitate, immediately agreed to the deal.

Afterward, he could no longer hold on and lost consciousness, falling into a coma. When he woke up again, he had been extracted from the stomach of a Sword-toothed Shark Beast by Sikong Zhan and others.

Looking at Vajra and Hua Zhi on the ground, Yuan Ming called out to the void, "Artifact Spirit senior, are you still there?"

After a long wait, a faint voice finally responded, "What is it?"

"May I ask the senior, what exactly happened after I fell unconscious? Why did Xi Ying and Wulu get separated from me?" Seeing that the Artifact Spirit was willing to show itself, Yuan Ming quickly asked in excitement.

"I don't remember," the Artifact Spirit responded without any emotion.

"You don't remember? Please don't joke with me, senior," Yuan Ming said helplessly.

"I only promised to save you all, but I didn't guarantee you wouldn't get scattered. Under such circumstances, it was already good enough that you survived. What more do you want?" the Artifact Spirit replied irritably.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming could only stop asking further and instead said, "Then, senior, why do you need so many Vow Power Pills?"

"You don't need to worry about that. As long as you fulfill our agreement on time and provide me with two hundred Vow Power Pills within a hundred years, I can make an exception and help you one more time no matter the issue," the voice of the Artifact Spirit came through.

Yuan Ming listened and felt a warmth in his heart.

This Artifact Spirit senior, who had saved them from the hands of the Golden Dragon Demon and the Mermaid Demon, clearly possessed extraordinary Divine Skills. His statement that "anything is possible" was mostly likely not an exaggeration.

However, when Yuan Ming sensed the concentration of Desire Power within the Stealing Heaven Tripod, he couldn't help but give a bitter smile and shake his head.

Perhaps due to the great distance, the Desire Power from Yunhuang Continent was still coming through but at a pitifully small amount, only about ten percent of what it originally had been.

At this rate, they could at most produce ten Vow Power Pills within a hundred years, which was far from enough to repay what he owed the Artifact Spirit, let alone expect the Artifact Spirit to fulfill his promise.

After sighing, Yuan Ming sent Hua Zhi and Vajra out from the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space, took out two Vow Power Pills, and had them each consume one.

In just moments, their Divine Souls stabilized, and after several two hours, they gradually woke up.

Before they could ask Yuan Ming what had happened, they felt the Divine Soul Power in their Sea of Consciousness rapidly increasing, and immediately closed their eyes and sat cross-legged, meditating to merge with this power.

Two more two hours later, Vajra woke up first. Looking at Hua Zhi beside him, who was still in Breathing Control, confusion flickered in his eyes.

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Hua Zhi's eyes suddenly open, a strange brilliance shining in them, her whole body surged with demonic power, and there was even a sign of a Breakthrough.

"Master, may I have a drop of Three Light Divine Water? I feel an opportunity for a breakthrough," Hua Zhi said excitedly.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately took out a White Jade Porcelain Bottle, pulled out the stopper, and with a flick of his hand, a crystal-clear water droplet full of spirit light flew out and drifted toward Hua Zhi.

Without hesitation, Hua Zhi raised a slender finger, hooked the droplet, and swallowed it.

Immediately, a blue spirit light entwined around her body, bright red flowers burst forth one by one, and her entire being seemed to rejuvenate like a withering wood meeting spring.

Yuan Ming, seeing this, waved his hand and put her into a Spiritual Beast Bag for her to purify her demonic body and go through her breakthrough in seclusion.

Vajra, upon seeing this, gloomily sat on one side, somewhat annoyed.

He was not jealous of Hua Zhi catching the opportunity for a Breakthrough but was annoyed that despite also receiving a Vow Power Pill, he had not managed to break through.

"Hua Zhi has been stuck at this bottleneck for a long time. It's only natural for her to encounter this Breakthrough opportunity now. I believe you will soon have your turn," Yuan Ming said, patting Vajra on the shoulder to comfort him.

Vajra's face showed joy and he felt greatly relieved.

Upon his arrival at the Dongji Sea, Yuan Ming had been separated from his companions in unforeseen circumstances. Of the three of them, he was perhaps the only one who had a chance of finding the others.

Hence, Yuan Ming did not stay on Huayun Island any longer. The next day, he asked Sikong Zhan to send him off.

Seeing that he could not be dissuaded, Sikong Zhan had no choice but to comply with Yuan Ming's request and took him to the largest nearby trading island.

This place had more shops, a larger scale, and a broader range of operations. The island was a gathering place for Demon Hunting Cultivators from various places, who brought the Demon Beast Spiritual Materials they caught from all over the Dongji Sea to sell here.

Sikong Zhan took Yuan Ming to a familiar shop named "Sea Treasure Pavilion."

He sold the Demon Core, spine, and eyeballs of a Sword-toothed Shark Beast he had previously caught, earning a total of seventy thousand Spirit Stones, and then sold the Yin Worm Beast Blood and Flesh he had collected for one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

He offered to split the earned Spirit Stones with Yuan Ming, but the latter did not accept.

Yuan Ming had previously acquired assets from the Wuyue Sect and Chang Chun Temple, and with what Xi Ying had accumulated over the years, he was not in much need of Spirit Stones, so he only asked Sikong Zhan to help him buy a more detailed sea map of the Dongji Sea and some Classics about Dongji Palace.

Sikong Zhan was overjoyed and happily took care of everything for Yuan Ming, and afterward, the two parted ways.

The former returned to Huayun Island, and the latter spent some time touring the island to learn about the situation and, following the guidance of the sea map, boarded Lei Yu to head for Dongji Palace.

On the way to Dongji Palace, Yuan Ming rode on Lei Yu's back, browsing through the information about Dongji Palace, and started to gain a general understanding of this Immortal Sect that rules over a million li of sea area.

The Dongji Palace Sect was located on the Dongji Islands, which consists of a Main Island and six surrounding Deputy Islands. It was the largest group of islands in the entire Dongji Sea and also the place with the most abundant Spiritual Energy.

In the Dongji Sea, its status was equivalent to what Chang Chun Temple once was in the Central Plains or even closer to the current status of the Double Moon Alliance in Yunhuang Continent, perhaps even with stronger control.

The Dongji Palace itself had many cultivators and experts like clouds, capable of dominating a sea region with sheer power.