Yuan Ming, after seeing the battle situation clearly, rushed over immediately.

The red-haired Black Demon also saw He Xiuwen and the process of Zheng Heng's defeat, his expression changed drastically, and without hesitation, he took out the Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither, injecting all his mana into it.

In the next instant, a gigantic white light pillar erupted from the Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither.

Amidst the light beam, a massive phantom identical to Sima Changqin appeared above everyone's heads, emanating an ominous aura like a true dharma manifestation.

Nan Shangfeng and Wulu were immediately oppressed by the aura, feeling as if they were buried underground, unable to move, while those manipulated fire beasts all prostrated themselves, not daring to lift their heads.

Yuan Ming slightly narrowed his eyes, showing a hint of interest.

If He Xiuwen and Zheng Heng were present, Yuan Ming might still worry, but now with the two suppressed, only the red-haired Black Demon was left, he was curious to see how much power Sima Changqin could display using the Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither.

He flew towards the red-haired Black Demon, arriving in front of him in the blink of an eye without making the first move.

The red-haired Black Demon was overjoyed seeing Yuan Ming being so overconfident, and sent the Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither flying, which spun mid-air and landed before Sima Changqin's phantom.

The small wood zither rapidly enlarged, immediately matching the size of Sima Changqin's phantom.

Sima Changqin's phantom then raised his hand, gently touching the zither strings, and instantly, a powerful zither sound echoed through the heavens, causing everyone's bodies to stiffen.

In the next moment, an invisible blade of sound waves emerged above the Fire Lake, rapidly expanding outward with Sima Changqin's phantom at the core.

The fiery lake water beneath was parted by the sound waves, raising towering waves rolling far away, exposing the riverbed and revealing the crimson-red lakebed mud.

Nan Shangfeng and Wulu, however, had no energy to focus on the changes in the Fire Lake; as the sound waves swept across, they screamed miserably, feeling as if they were slashed by a blade.

Both felt as if from Nascent Soul to Divine Soul they were being torn apart, causing their mana to become chaotic, leaving them defenselessly thrown away.

Yuan Ming stood a bit further, and as the sound waves approached, he promptly controlled the dharma manifestation to block in front.

Even so, he still groaned, feeling his Sea of Consciousness tumbling, with his mana and soul power disturbed, the previously stable mana vortex even began to sway.

His grey-white dharma manifestation also shook, retreating repeatedly under the sound wave's impact, becoming significantly less solid.

"Indeed powerful," Yuan Ming nodded silently, circulating Primordial True Skill, quickly subduing the inner chaos.

The grey-white dharma manifestation also returned to its original state, leaping forward to attack the red-haired Black Demon.

Sima Changqin's phantom raised his hand again, activating the zither sound once more.

Another invisible blade of sound waves shot out, slicing towards the grey-white dharma manifestation.

Yuan Ming operated the Eyes of Golden Flame, a golden light flashed in his eyes, and he punched out.

The grey-white dharma manifestation also punched, striking a spot in the void, colliding head-on with the blade of sound waves.

A booming sound arose, the void vibrated, and the blade of sound waves shattered with a single hit.

Sima Changqin's phantom seemed surprised as he plucked the Dragon Roar Wood Zither again, shooting blades of sound waves towards Yuan Ming and the grey-white dharma manifestation.

Yuan Ming dared not be careless, manipulating the grey-white dharma manifestation to meet the attack with punches.

One could only hear the ceaseless sound of banging, with continuous booming sounds between the two gigantic figures, while the fiery lake below surged with towering waves, making it a stalemate for a moment.

Yuan Ming frowned slightly, controlling the dharma manifestation to fight for a while, the mana consumption was huge, continuing like this is not good, he must quickly find a way to end the battle.

He suddenly looked at the Dragon Roar Wood Zither, his eyes gleaming, immediately raised his hand, summoning the Undying Tree Roots, and unleashed the Breaking Space Power.

Sima Changqin's phantom just moved to strum the zither again to unleash the zither divine skills, but the next moment he froze for a moment, looking down sharply at the small zither in front of him.

Seeing a blue-gray root drilling out of the void below the Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither, fiercely stabbing into the zither, voraciously sucking its spirituality.

The small zither, made of Dragon Roar Wood, a high-level spirit wood, is on the "recipe" of the World Tree.

Sima Changqin's phantom encountered such a situation for the first time, slightly parted his lips in surprise but quickly recovered, pressing down on the zither immediately.

A white light burst from his hand, quickly drilling into the blue-gray root.

The blue-gray root suddenly twitched, its surface rapidly split into finger-length fissures, bursting into countless fragments falling down.

Sima Changqin regained control of the Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither, but the spiritual power contained within the zither was less than one-tenth.

Sima Changqin's phantom also dimmed significantly because of this, its oppressive aura greatly reduced.

Yuan Ming smiled slightly, seizing this opportunity, he controlled the dharma manifestation to approach, arriving close instantly, without saying a word, raised his hand and punched.

Sima Changqin's phantom strummed the zither strings again, trying to block, but the zither sound's power was greatly reduced, merely brushing past the grey-white dharma manifestation like a spring breeze, having no effect at all.

Yuan Ming's dharma manifestation's punch easily pierced through the phantom.

Sima Changqin's phantom gave Yuan Ming a deep look, transforming into a large mass of spirit light and dispersing.

The Dragon Roar Wood Small Zither fell with it, caught by Yuan Ming, who casually tossed it to the Undying Tree Roots for absorption.

He immediately used the Nightmare Divine Ability, pulling the red-haired Black Demon who hadn't escaped into an illusion, then suppressed him along with the previously captured He Xiuwen and the others into the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

Both the red-haired Black Demon and Zheng Heng are Black Demons; who knows if Sima Changqin left behind any remote detection methods on them; only within the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space can detection be completely isolated.

The red-haired Black Demon was suppressed, and those few Fire Lions immediately departed without restraint.

Nan Shangfeng and Wulu ignored them and flew to Yuan Ming's side.

"Brother Wan, we owe you again this time." Nan Shangfeng said gratefully.

"Weren't you acting together with Master Tantai, how did you end up alone?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Master sent a few of us out to find the whereabouts of the Heavenly Fire, unexpectedly encountering assassination attempts. It seems my luck is truly terrible; I shouldn't have gotten into this mess." Nan Shangfeng said with a bitter smile.

"This was done by He Xiuwen, who colluded with two Black Demons wanting to eliminate you, clearing away a major obstacle in the fight for the position of Sect Leader." Yuan Ming briefly explained the course of events.

Nan Shangfeng already guessed the general idea upon seeing He Xiuwen, yet his expression still dimmed upon hearing this.

"I've long told him I'm not interested in the position of Daluo Sect Master..."

"No matter how much you explain, as long as you stay in the Daluo Sect, your few senior brothers won't believe you." Yuan Ming said casually.

Nan Shangfeng was stunned upon hearing this, then showed a realization: "Brother Wan makes sense, I understand what to do now."

This time, it was Yuan Ming's turn to be stunned; he just said it casually, yet Nan Shangfeng's reaction seemed to indicate a major decision was made.

However, these matters were not related to him.

Yuan Ming exchanged simple updates with Nan Shangfeng, advising Shangfeng and Wulu to rest nearby while he entered the Shura Palace, then into the Stealing Heaven Tripod, arriving beside He Xiuwen and the other three.

...

In the Spiritual Treasure Space, on the thousand-mile red earth of the desert, there was a deeply entrenched canyon ravine, sprawling across the ground like an unsightly scar.

At the canyon's bottom, on a level stone platform, Sima Changqin sat cross-legged, holding an entirely dark Round Orb.

He closed his eyes slightly, muttering softly.

The black Round Orb began to vibrate slightly under his chant, sending rippling waves projecting outward.

Moments later, scenes of magnificent mountains and deep canyons emerged within the black ripples, along with various cultivator figures.

Sima Changqin inspected them one by one, seemingly searching for something, but found nothing.

"Why can't I detect Zheng Heng and Yan Jue's situation? Are they dead, or sealed?" After a long while, Sima Changqin slowly opened his eyes, a rare trace of worry and doubt crossing his gaze.

"Lord Qinmo, should I go take a look?" A tall figure enveloped in a Black Robe appeared behind Sima Changqin, speaking in a deep voice.

"No need, continue as planned." Sima Changqin stowed the black Round Orb and took out two white Jade Talismans.

Each Jade Talisman bore an apparition—Zheng Heng and the red-haired Black Demon.

Sima Changqin gripped the Jade Talismans tightly, crushing them.

The Jade Talismans shattered into white points of light, quickly dissipating.

"Lord Qinmo, is this spatial treasure truly the legendary Three Realms Flying Boat?" The tall Black Robe silently watched Sima Changqin's actions, asking only after the white light faded.

"Initially, I wasn't sure either, but after such extensive investigation, it's almost certain." Sima Changqin smiled.

"Understood." The tall Black Robe acknowledged, transforming into a black shadow and darting away.

Sima Changqin also departed shortly, turning into a green light and taking off, soon vanishing into the distant sky.

Moments later, a space fissure nearby opened, and a person stepped forth—it was Xi Ying.

"Indeed, this is the Three Realms Flying Boat of the Three Realms Sect..." She looked toward the direction Sima Changqin left, smiling.

"Master, Sima Changqin is too strong; next time, can I avoid such dangerous tasks?" The space fissure became a large mouth, then a silver tree shadow emerged from the void—it was the Silver Void Tree Demon, appearing extremely fatigued.

"Rest assured, I've shielded your destiny; Sima Changqin won't discover you." Xi Ying said calmly.

"Master, facing both Sima Changqin and Ten Thousand Demon Country is too difficult; let Yuan Ming help, with his power, he could at least relieve one side." The Silver Void Tree Demon suggested, looking at Xi Ying.

"Now is not the time." Xi Ying shook her head.

...

Elsewhere, in the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space.

Yuan Ming looked at Zheng Heng and the red-haired Black Demon, showing a hint of excitement.

Finally suppressing the two Black Demons, these two were Sima Changqin's close guards and definitely knew much regarding his activities.

Zheng Heng was heavily injured, barely clinging to life.

Yuan Ming emitted a burst of Undying Tree Demon Power, melding it into his body, rapidly healing Zheng Heng's shattered form.

Yuan Ming ignored him, placing his hand on the red-haired Black Demon's forehead, commencing a forced Soul Search.

Moments later, Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes, his brow slightly furrowed.