Yuan Ming's Divine Soul had just returned, when he sensed a sharp killing intent flash through Su Wu's eyes.

Su Wu suddenly took a step forward, raising one hand, and began to cast a spell with a single hand, seemingly planning to use some means.

However, at this moment, a flash of green light appeared between them, and Qing Xu, the mysterious arbiter, appeared out of nowhere, separating them.

"This is a place of assessment, and dueling is prohibited. Anyone who violates this will be immediately expelled from the Three Realms Immortal Boat!" Jie Cha's voice was cold and commanding, leaving no room for doubt.

The killing intent in Su Wu's eyes quickly vanished as he slowly released his grip on the finger mnemonic, a hint of reluctance in his gaze.

Yuan Ming also withdrew his mana, knowing it wasn't the right time to fight Su Wu.

He quickly manipulated the roots of the Undying Tree into the Shura Palace, beginning to draw Spiritual Stones and Blood Origin Pills to swiftly restore his mana and Qi-Blood.

Forced by the current circumstances, he could no longer care if it would affect his future cultivation.

"Senior Jie Cha, long time no see, I hope you've been well. Fellow Daoist Wan and I have both passed the test. May I ask how the ownership of the Three Realms Immortal Boat should be decided?" Su Wu looked at Jie Cha, cupping his hands with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of respect.

Jie Cha spoke expressionlessly, "Su Wu, you have finally come. I have long told the Black Emperor that the Three Realms Sect has already deteriorated, and the Three Realms Immortal Boat is not suitable for the current world."

"I naturally know this matter. I also know that you and my master have an agreement, that as long as a disciple of the Three Realms Sect finds the location of the Immortal Boat, they can take it away. Does Senior Jie Cha still remember this?" Su Wu said with a slight smile upon hearing this.

Jie Cha nodded lightly and said, "Indeed, I did have such an agreement with your master. However, you are not the only one who passed the test. There is a pause of an hour here just like at the three hundred and six hundred steps. You should all recover your mana and then decide the ownership of the Three Realms Immortal Boat."

As Jie Cha's words fell, astonishment appeared on the faces of those below the steps.

They didn't expect that Jie Cha and Su Wu actually knew each other, and from their conversation, they learned a shocking fact—Su Wu was actually a disciple of the Black Emperor!

Yuan Ming also couldn't help but glance at Su Wu, then at Su Yingxue below, a thought suddenly sprouting in his mind.

Could it be that the new Hierarch of the Three Realms Sect, whom Su Yingxue mentioned that day in the Nihility Prison, was none other than Su Wu here?

This Su Wu, with his formidable strength and being a disciple of the Black Emperor, it was very likely.

He closed his eyes, focusing on his recovery.

Time was relatively ample, and he was not in a hurry to absorb the power from the Blood Origin Pill but instead manipulated the roots of the Undying Tree to search for the Power of the Sun in the void, to replenish his depleted Qi-Blood.

Within his Dantian, that Undying Tree had mostly transformed into the World Tree by now, with its roots' penetration capability greatly enhanced.

In this Silver Tower Space, the previously iron-hard Space Power now appeared as thin as gauze before the roots of the Undying Tree, allowing it to shuttle at will.

Yuan Ming focused all his thoughts on the roots of the Undying Tree, striving to extend them deep into the space, eager to draw more of the Power of the Sun.

At this moment, he suddenly felt as if the roots of the Undying Tree had closely connected to something.

Immediately, a torrent of abundant and waterfall-like nature's spiritual energy surged along the roots.

This Spiritual Energy not only contained the power of the Five Elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth but also included Yin Yang Qi.

Even more astonishing, the purity of this Spiritual Power was remarkably high, far surpassing the Spiritual Energy drawn from underground Spirit Veins by several multiples.

Nurtured by this surging nature's spiritual energy, Yuan Ming's mana was restored to its original state within just a few breaths.

Although the recovery of his depleted Qi-Blood Power was slightly slower, it was fully replenished within a quarter of an hour, and his face, previously pale from battle, now became rosy again.

However, this sudden change startled Yuan Ming greatly.

He tried his best to sense and finally perceived, faintly, a colossal tree in the depths of the space, its body as enormous as a mountain, standing majestically in the void.

The pure and vast nature's spiritual energy originated from this giant tree.

What astonished Yuan Ming more was that he sensed an aura on that giant tree similar to his own Undying Tree.

"Could that giant tree be the legendary World Tree?"

A surge of excitement welled up in Yuan Ming's heart. His Undying Tree shared origins with the World Tree, and if he could receive nourishment from the Wood energy of the World Tree, he could completely transform, reaching a new realm.

He attempted to absorb the Wood energy of that World Tree through the roots of the Undying Tree.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he could only draw some nature's spiritual energy, but the World Tree's Wood energy seemed to have an invisible barrier, blocking his perception and absorption.

Helpless, Yuan Ming reluctantly gave up further exploration of that mysterious giant tree and focused on absorbing and refining the transmitted nature's spiritual energy.

There was still some time left, and regardless of what requirements Jie Cha would propose next, enhancing his strength even slightly was beneficial.

Time slowly passed by, and an hour seemed to stretch extraordinarily long.

Jie Cha quietly observed the whole time, his next move filled with the unknown, making him unpredictable.

Yuan Ming understood deeply that he must give his all at this moment, whether for the fight over the Three Realms Immortal Boat or for his own safety.

Su Wu frowned in deep thought. His true form, the Six-winged Heavenly Cicada, was an entity capable of devouring everything. In the recent battle, he had absorbed all the attacks falling from the sky and had devoured dozens of Yuan Ming's clones, so he did not feel any depletion.

However, for some reason, Jie Cha's attitude made him feel a hint of unease. He even vaguely sensed that Jie Cha seemed to be more inclined toward Yuan Ming.

Nonetheless, Su Wu did not reveal any emotions. He, too, closed his eyes and began Breathing Control to prepare for the upcoming trial.

An hour finally passed, and Yuan Ming and Su Wu opened their eyes at the same time.

Their gazes were both fixed on Jie Cha, awaiting his next instructions.

Jie Cha's gaze swept across the two of them and slowly spoke: "You two have both reached the peak and completed the trial, but there can only be one master of the Three Realms Immortal Boat. Therefore, I have decided to add an additional trial."

With that, he crossed his hands in front of him, and a dazzling azure light shone in his palms.

With a gesture toward the ground, a complex array pattern instantly emerged on the platform's surface. As the azure light surged, a grayish-blue wooden stake rose from the ground.

This wooden stake stood several dozen feet tall and was as thick as three people embracing it. It was covered with vine-like array patterns, mysterious and naturally formed.

Yuan Ming immediately recognized that this wooden stake was also part of the World Tree, and no Forbidden had been set upon it.

His heart stirred, thinking that if he could completely absorb and refine it, his Undying Tree would surely undergo a transformation, but with Jie Cha nearby, he had to temporarily suppress his desire.

"What is this?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but ask.

Jie Cha replied lightly, "This is the core Forbidden of the Three Realms Immortal Boat. The two of you need to refine this pillar simultaneously, and whoever completes the refining first will own the Three Realms Immortal Boat."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately scrutinized the wooden stake closely from top to bottom.

In the next moment, he was surprised to find that although the array patterns on the stake appeared to be naturally growing, a closer examination of their distribution nodes revealed that these patterns were composed of numerous small arrays intertwined with each other in a nested array format, forming an incomparably complex Forbidden.

"When you are ready, you may begin." Jie Cha moved to the side, giving space to the two.

Yuan Ming and Su Wu stood on opposite sides of the wooden stake. Upon hearing the start command, both of them acted simultaneously, channeling their Mana into the stake to begin refining the Forbidden upon it.

Su Wu's Mana was profound, and as the black light flickered from his palm, it quickly permeated the grayish-blue stake.

The stake immediately glowed with black light, diffusing from his palm as a central point to surrounding areas.

Where the black light passed, the array patterns writhed as if coming to life.

Within a short time, Su Wu had already refined two arrays.

Although Yuan Ming's Mana was not as profound as Su Wu's, his Array Formation Cultivation had reached Level 6, and his understanding of formations was equally outstanding.

After just one look, he understood the trajectory of the entire wooden stake's Forbidden, so the position he chose to refine was not random but a carefully selected core array pattern.

This pattern connected the core of three arrays, and through these three arrays, it could remotely connect to another nine arrays.

When Yuan Ming began refining the first array, his Mana had already permeated the other three arrays, effectively refining four arrays simultaneously.

Therefore, although his Mana was not as abundant as Su Wu's, the speed of his refining was no slower than Su Wu's.

At the area Su Wu was refining, the black light quickly spread along the Prohibition Array Patterns, rapidly refining as it went, appearing quite domineering.

In contrast, at the side Yuan Ming was refining, the azure light followed the trajectory of each array pattern, extending from a single point to a line, then expanding into a surface, appearing more ingenious than Su Wu's domineering approach.

About half an hour later, Yuan Ming's side was enveloped in azure light, covering one-third of the entire stake like a peacock spreading its tail, whereas Su Wu's progress was quietly lagging behind.

"Who is this Wan Tianren? His formation expertise is so profound," Hei Lian said with some surprise, seeing what was happening above from below the stairs.

Su Yingxue didn't answer Hei Lian. Her eyes shone with a peculiar brilliance.

Yuan Ming's technique for refining the Forbidden bore many similarities to hers.

"Could this person have some connection to the Hui Clan?" Su Yingxue speculated inwardly.

At this moment, although Su Wu was falling behind, there was no expression of concern on Hei Lian and Su Yingxue's faces.

Su Wu saw a streak of azure light trailing along the array patterns, already invading the area covered by black light, beginning to reverse-refine the area he had already refined, causing his brow to furrow slightly.

He extended his free hand, pressing his fingers between his brows, and began chanting softly.

In the next moment, three strands of azure light emerged behind his head, falling beside him, condensing into three figures, one of whom was a young woman in white, none other than Su Yingxue.

The other two were a middle-aged Daoist with a fiery red robe and crimson fire brows and a graceful mature woman in a water-blue robe.

"Clone Divine Ability?" Yuan Ming's expression slightly changed upon seeing Su Wu's casting.

Below the stairs, Su Yingxue was standing there perfectly well; what Su Wu had summoned was evidently just a clone.