Yuan Ming followed the method he learned from Su Yingxue and quickly unlocked the forbidden seals, restoring all his mana.

He did not get up but instead channeled all his mana, heading straight for the various nodes where his qi-blood flowed.

Soon, with a light breaking sound, a silver needle flew out from Yuan Ming's chest, precisely the Taiyin Silver Needle that had sealed his body cultivation.

Earlier, his mana was sealed and couldn't tackle these silver needles, but now that his mana was restored, unraveling them was much simpler.

Consecutive breaking sounds rang out, and in no time, thirty-two Taiyin Silver Needles were forced out entirely.

He kept the thirty-two silver needles properly, and then summoned the main soul from the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space. With this, all his divine skills were fully restored, and he finally felt a bit settled in his heart.

After finishing all this, Yuan Ming finally unleashed his divine sense to explore his surroundings.

Soon, a peculiar light flashed across his eyes; despite the apparent desert-like magma sea, there were strong spiritual power fluctuations.

After standing up, Yuan Ming glanced at the sky but did not fly rashly. Instead, he slightly invoked his mana and stepped on the rock plate beneath him, sliding swiftly across the magma lake as if skiing.

"Bang bang" collision sounds echoed consecutively.

The rock plate under Yuan Ming's feet was akin to a black cross-sea boat, constantly crashing through blocking rock plates, darting forward.

In no more than a cup of tea's time, Yuan Ming arrived at the front of a significantly larger black rock island, resembling an island in the sea.

The island was no more than a hundred feet high but spanned a hundred miles; it was all charred, barren, without any vegetation.

Yuan Ming hopped onto the black rock island, where the rocks beneath were dense with varying sizes of pores, pitted everywhere without any flat landing spot.

He walked a couple of steps forward, and as he put his foot down, a crisp "crack" sound spread from beneath, and instantly a scorching feeling rose from the sole of his foot.

Yuan Ming quickly moved his foot away to see a black 'rock' beneath him cracking open, revealing a peculiar worm with eight pairs of short legs, its shattered body leaking red magma.

Before he could look closely, he was surprised to find that the black 'rocks' the size of fists at his feet all began moving, extending pairs of short legs from beneath, migrating en masse towards the distance.

Seeing these crab-like small creatures without any aggression, Yuan Ming paid them no mind and walked boldly towards the depths of the black rock island.

Earlier, his divine sense had detected some strong spiritual power fluctuations here. Visit * (*) for more.

After walking several hundred steps, Yuan Ming bypassed a high protruding rock.

Soon, he spotted not far ahead a group of strange large birds, fully red and resembling red-crowned cranes, pecking at the migrating small creatures on the ground, one after another.

Yuan Ming's gaze swept over these peculiar large birds, but before he could catch one to examine closely, they all took to the sky, flapping their wings as if frightened, and vanished into the black smoke.

At this point, a series of furious beast roars came; seven or eight giant exotic beasts resembling fierce tigers, bodies comprised of magma and rock, were charging toward him from afar.

The strange fire birds were disturbed by these flame beasts, which caused them to leave hastily.

Yuan Ming glanced at these flame beasts, realizing they were the source of the strong spiritual power waves he had detected earlier, and immediately went to confront them head-on.

The leading flame beast was the largest in size and the fastest in speed, the first to pounce before Yuan Ming.

Without the slightest dodge, Yuan Ming threw a punch straight at the flame beast, hitting it right on the forehead.

With a "bang," the explosive sound echoed.

The flame beast's rock body shattered loudly, magma splashed, rocks scattered, and the body disintegrated instantly.

From its shattered body, a red crystal core dropped out, capturing Yuan Ming's attention.

However, he had no time to pick it up as the other flame beasts were already upon him, so he had to deal with these fellows first.

Not long after, the remaining six or seven flame beasts were smashed by Yuan Ming, leaving a ground full of debris and seven or eight varying-sized red crystal cores.

Yuan Ming stepped forward to pick up the largest crystal core, a wave of heat rushed to his palm, seemingly infused with a rather rich fire attribute spiritual power.

He immediately twisted his wrist, storing it in his storage ring.

Afterward, Yuan Ming raised his hand, summoning the remaining crystal cores that soared from the ground towards his hand.

Yet, just as Yuan Ming reached out to grab them, his wrist suddenly trembled, a hint of bewilderment flashed in his eyes.

Soon, he hovered the other crystal cores in mid-air, a flash of light flickered from the storage ring on his fingertip, and a short black stick about the length of a forearm emerged, the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter resembling a fire burning stick.

At this moment, the top of the black short scepter was swirling with a cluster of red light, after flickering a few times, it was entirely absorbed by the short scepter, disappearing out of sight.

That cluster of red light was none other than the red crystal core Yuan Ming had just stored in the storage bag.

Yuan Ming grasped the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter with one hand, then summoned a red crystal core.

The moment the two neared, the red crystal core adhered to the black short scepter like a magnet with a "bang," rapidly transforming into a cluster of red light, gradually absorbed by it.

During this process, specks of red light flickered upon the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter, and after glowing a few times, it disappeared once more.

Yuan Ming held the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter in his hand, examining it carefully. However, he found no noticeable changes, so he summoned the other crimson crystal cores once more.

Before long, the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter had absorbed all the crimson crystal cores completely, and the staff finally showed some slight changes as its temperature increased a little.

"It seems as long as it absorbs enough crimson crystal cores, this Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter can reveal its true nature." After a brief contemplation, Yuan Ming decided to kill more Flame Beasts to collect crystal cores.

He carried the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter and continued to head deeper into the black rock island, slaying each Flame Beast he encountered along the way.

While he was collecting crystal cores, a swirl of green light suddenly swept in from afar, heading in this direction.

A fierce whirlwind was kicked up as the green light vortex descended, revealing a tall, gaunt man dressed in a green Feather Robe. His cheekbones were high and prominent, his cheeks hollow, and he had two black mustaches on his lips, his eyes narrow and expression arrogant.

Once he landed, his cold gaze swept over Yuan Ming, and he asked sharply, "Are you from the Black Evil Sect or the Dongji Palace?"

Yuan Ming assessed the man with a glance, noticing a layer of indistinct green light surrounding him and emitting a rather sharp aura, unmistakably a demon at the Returning to Void Stage.

"Are you a cultivator from Azure Dragon Pond?" Yuan Ming did not answer but questioned in return.

"You have some insight... that thing in your hand, bring it over so I can take a look." The green-robed man's gaze suddenly landed on the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter in Yuan Ming's hand, and his eyes narrowed abruptly.

"You want to see this? Just a broken Fire Burning Stick, what's so interesting about it?" Yuan Ming raised the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter in his hand and said, pretending to be puzzled.

"You know, Fellow Daoist, it's just a broken Fire Burning Stick; it wouldn't hurt to let me see it, right?" The Feather Robe man took a few steps closer, showing a smile he deemed benevolent, and said.

"Not impossible." Yuan Ming frowned and pondered.

"Haha, good." The Feather Robe man laughed as he reached forward with one hand to take it.

"Alright, I'll let you take a look." Yuan Ming lifted his hand and tossed it forward, and the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter drew an arc, falling in that direction.

The Feather Robe man raised an eyebrow, a flash of joy in his eyes, and immediately stepped forward to grab it.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter flying in mid-air still had a thin vine tied to its end, which was suddenly yanked back, retracting it.

The Feather Robe man saw he had been tricked and instantly became furious.

Before he could act, however, a sword light suddenly burst forth in front of him, aiming straight for his throat.

The Feather Robe man's pupils contracted immediately, and he waved his hands before him, a green whirlwind swelling up to block the sword light while pushing his body backward.

The sword light shattered the green whirlwind and chased after the Feather Robe man.

Just before it could strike his body, the Feather Robe man's entire form was enveloped in green light and instantly vanished from his spot, allowing the fierce sword light to cut through an empty spot.

Yuan Ming held the Exterminating Immortal Sword, looking up at the sky.

A figure appeared out of thin air there—it was the Feather Robe man.

"You court death." He shrieked sharply, spreading his arms wide, layers of dense green feathers covering them, revealing a half-human, half-demon form.

"He even carries a trace of the Roc Bloodline; no wonder his Wind Control Technique is so skilled." Yuan Ming's gaze slightly tightened, cracking a light smile as he said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the figure in mid-air surged with green light, and his arms swung fiercely downward.

In an instant, a sharp whistling of wind arose, countless razor-sharp Green Light Wind Blades erupted from beneath his wings, forming a wall of green light pressing down towards Yuan Ming.

The sharp whistling in the Void cut through the surrounding space like ghostly screams, projecting a tangled web of Mihuan light and shadow before Yuan Ming's eyes.

His gaze tightened slightly, lifting the longsword in his grip with mana infused into it.

A clear sword hum rang out as the Exterminating Immortal Sword unleashed thousands of sword lights, clashing with the Green Light Wind Blades.

As soon as the two forces collided, the green wind blades shattered instantly, but most of the Exterminating Immortal Sword's light also burst apart; yet, some of the sword light managed to pierce through, penetrating the Feather Robe man's body.

The Feather Robe man was drenched in blood, finally realizing the gap between him and Yuan Ming, causing a wave of fear to rise in his heart.

Ignoring his wounds, he surged with green light all over, flapping his wings intending to use Wind Escape Technique to flee.

Yuan Ming chuckled coldly, naturally unwilling to give him such a chance.

Just as the Feather Robe man was about to fly away, beams of light suddenly appeared behind him in the void, black roots piercing into his many wounds.

The Feather Robe man's entire body stiffened, feeling as if something had rooted within him, followed by a swift drainage of Qi-Blood, sending a shiver through his heart, filled with terror.

At this moment, a figure suddenly flashed before him, a sword light sweeping across his neck.

"Don't kill me, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, his throat was already severed, fresh blood gushing into his mouth, silencing him forever.

A tiny figure of green light emerged suddenly from the top of his skull, attempting to fly away.

A large hand shrouded in black light was already prepared, swooping down from above, easily grasping the green light figure, preventing it from struggling anymore.