Having just possessed a body and learned a practical spell, Yuan Ming was quite excited. He then repeatedly hinted to the old woman, trying to make her practice another spell.

After Yuan Ming hinted more than ten times, the cane-wielding old woman stopped practicing, stood up, and moved toward the entrance of the cave.

The entrance was blocked by a giant stone several meters high. The old woman placed her palm on it, and a layer of yellow glow emanated from the stone. It shot up from the ground like a bullet, making a "whoosh" sound as it flew outside.

At a thought, Yuan Ming recognized that the old woman was casting a Middle-level Earth Attribute spell, Stone Control Technique, which could manipulate soil and rocks and was very useful in battle.

Unfortunately, his Spirit Root was deficient in the Earth Element, so he couldn't grasp Earth Attribute magic and didn't bother to perceive the casting process.

Outside the cave was a vast forest of towering stones, among which vines and trees thrived. Even further away, countless tall trees grew, making it look like a wilderness. It was unclear why the old woman had come here.

Just as the cane-wielding old woman was about to leave, a black sword light suddenly shot out from the stone forest without warning, stabbing toward her neck.

The old woman, startled, swung her cane horizontally, and a yellow shadow met the black sword light.

Her other hand radiated a dense yellow glow, as if she was about to use another Divine Skill.

However, at that moment, the black sword light suddenly changed, twisting like a Spiritual Snake, easily avoiding the cane's shadow and stabbing into the old woman's chest at a speed as fast as lightning, piercing through her back.

Bang!

A cloud of blood mist sprayed backward, staining a large area of the ground red.

Yuan Ming, because he was possessing the old woman, was startled by such an immersive sudden attack, and only now did he recover his senses.

Being merely a spirit possessing the old woman, his perception of the surroundings was limited, and he hadn't seen everything clearly.

The cane-wielding old woman spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, her eyes filled with extreme shock and rage. She took out an elixir and swallowed it, while her other hand stretched forward and shot out five purple rays like long dragons from her fingernails, striking rapidly into the stone forest ahead.

The rocks and trees in the stone forest, touched by the purple rays, "sizzled" and melted through like candles.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming couldn't help but admire the lethal potency of the old woman's Poisonous Divine Power. Not to mention a cultivator's body, even a Magic Artifact might not withstand it, making Hua Zhi's poison seem insignificant in comparison.

Although the cane-wielding old woman's Poisonous Divine Power was formidable, her vital spot had been hit and, due to her severe injuries and the leakage of Mana, she soon collapsed weakly on the ground. Her eyes were fixed on the stone forest, filled with hatred and unwillingness, seemingly desperate to know who had killed her.

This old woman held a high position in Bailuo Manor, yet someone had so easily assassinated her. Yuan Ming was also quite curious about the identity of the assassin and looked toward the passage as well.

Time passed slowly, and no one appeared from inside the stone forest.

The cane-wielding old woman's breath grew weaker and weaker and stopped after a few breaths; her eyes slowly closed.

Yuan Ming sighed inwardly. At this moment, since he was possessing the cane-wielding old woman and she was dead, his possession was likely to end, and he wouldn't be able to see the assassin.

However, contrary to his expectations, as the cane-wielding old woman's breath completely dissipated and her Divine Soul Power began to disperse, he could still see his surroundings.

"Why is this happening?"

Yuan Ming was filled with shock and suspicion, and hastily sensed the situation of his possession more carefully, soon making a discovery.

His Divine Soul Power could actually diffuse outward, similar to activating Divine Sense to probe, but much more subtle; if he didn't sense carefully, he would hardly notice it himself.

Yuan Ming realized why he could still see the surroundings when the old woman's eyes were closed.

He guessed that this was somehow related to the incense ashes used to make the Spirit Incense. Could it be that these ashes, having been worshipped by cultivators, triggered so many changes after possession?

Just then, a figure in a broad black cloak emerged from the passage, face unseen.

Yuan Ming extended his Soul Power to try to discern this person's features, but as his Soul Power touched the black cloak, it was blocked by an invisible force, leaving him unable to detect anything.

The robed figure approached the old woman's corpse and took her storage magic tool and the cane artifact.

Yuan Ming felt darkness envelop his sight, and his consciousness completely sank into darkness, returning to his body.

He slowly opened his eyes, silent, his mind whirling.

Who exactly was this black-robed person who had suddenly assassinated the old woman?

However, if he himself had encountered such an attack, how would he have reacted? After briefly pondering without conclusion, he set the thought aside for the time being.

This possession had been full of unexpected events and had not tested the duration of possession from adding Fire Pine Wood to the Black Incense. He would have to wait for the next possession to find out.

Yuan Ming lit a stick of Purple Dark Incense, placing it in the Stealing Heaven Tripod. The incense smoke rose faintly, forming a snake-like pattern, coiling around him. Yuan Ming inhaled, and the spirit smoke split into two streams that he breathed in through his nostrils while swallowing a Four Spirits Pill and simultaneously practicing the Nine Elements Technique.

Suddenly, his Divine Sense in his mind fluctuated.

This was caused by the trembling of the Beast Taming Rune inside Hua Zhi. The Vine Demon was likely battling another formidable opponent again, its demonic power operating too intensely and affecting the runes inside it.

Yuan Ming was not surprised; similar instances had occurred many times this month. Hua Zhi seemed very keen on hunting, and he had long since grown accustomed to it.

After steadying his spirit, Yuan Ming closed his eyes again and immersed himself in his cultivation practice.

...

Inside the Rain Ruins Swamp.

Hua Zhi was battling a black mantis-like demon beast.

This mantis beast was about sixty feet long with sharp eyes, and its forelimbs resembled two giant black machetes, slashing through the air and creating dark lines that severed trees and stones alike upon contact.

Facing the black mantis, Hua Zhi was extraordinarily cautious, summoning demon vines from all directions to attack while avoiding the forelimbs' slashes.

Around Hua Zhi, many small demon beasts followed suit, including other Vine Demons like Hua Zhi and various poisonous insects and small beasts, amounting to about twenty or thirty, all seemingly under Hua Zhi's command.

These small demons along with Hua Zhi attacked the black mantis from all directions.

The black mantis gradually became overwhelmed, trying several times to fly away but being stopped by Hua Zhi every time.

After a few moments of struggle, the black mantis began to slow down and in a moment of carelessness, one of Hua Zhi's demon vines pierced its hard chest shell, burrowing into its flesh.

Enraged, the black mantis chopped the offending vine in half with a swipe of its limb.

Just as it was about to counterattack, it suddenly felt a severe pain in its chest. The earlier vine had continued to move inside its body, burrowing deeper toward its heart, quickly piercing it.

The black mantis let out a mournful cry, fell to the ground, and after struggling for a moment, lay still.

Hua Zhi extended a vine into the chest cavity of the black mantis and quickly wrapped around a broken vine, which twisted like a snake.

A flash of purple light passed, and the broken vine slowly merged into the vine that had captured it.

Other demon vines from Hua Zhi pierced the black mantis's body, rapidly draining its blood until only a dry husk remained.

It then manipulated the vines to morph into blade shapes, severing the two black forelimbs and bringing them in front of itself before waving its hand.

Nearby, a swarm of small demons crowded around, eagerly devouring the remains of the black mantis and quickly finishing it off.

Hua Zhi spat out a storage ring and collected the sharp forelimbs of the mantis.

This storage ring was given to it by Yuan Ming before coming to the Rain Ruins Swamp, and it could be used with Hua Zhi's demonic power.

Yuan Ming allowed it to roam freely, but not without conditions; he wanted Hua Zhi to help gather various spiritual materials from within the Rain Ruins Swamp and send them back periodically.

"Really knows how to use others." Hua Zhi put away the ring, slightly dissatisfied as it muttered to itself and led the group of small demons forward.

...

Seven days passed quickly, and the Tai Chi Pattern on the Stealing Heaven Tripod was restored. Yuan Ming took out an hourglass and lit a Black Incense added with Fire Pine Wood, and once again undertook possession.

This time, his target was Liu Tianming.

Yuan Ming's vision went dark, and when he came to, he had possessed Emperor Liu Tianming.

At that moment, Liu Tianming was walking along a White Jade Mountain Road, an extraordinarily long path leading to the summit of a giant peak that seemed to reach into the clouds, like a staircase to heaven.

Under the sunlight, the White Jade Mountain Road shimmered, and the peak was radiant with golden light, while nearby stood grand and tall buildings.

In the half-sky above, auspicious clouds were abundant, and immortal cranes flew about, creating an air of a heavenly palace.

"Tsk tsk, this is Chang Chun Temple, really the top Cultivation sect of Da Jin, not at all comparable to Biluo Cave," Yuan Ming remarked to himself as he viewed the scene, feeling quite impressed.

"Who on earth thought of building the Book Collection Pavilion on the peak? Every time it's such a long trek," Emperor Liu Tianming suddenly stopped walking, sat down on a big rock nearby, and grumbled discontentedly.

Yuan Ming didn't bother being polite with the Emperor, subtly bombarding his mind with the words "Fire Cloud Secret Technique."

Ever since entering the Cultivation World, the most powerful Fire attribute magic he had seen was the Fire Cloud Secret Technique. The day he confronted Master Yu Hu, he had thought about stealing the technique.

Previously in the Da Jin Palace, Yuan Ming had subtly encouraged the Emperor to learn the Fire Cloud Secret Technique, exactly for the opportunity to steal the technique himself.

After all this time, he wondered if the Emperor had learned it yet.

The Emperor's cultivation level was slightly lower than Yuan Ming's, and his Divine Sense was not as strong as Yuan Ming's, who quickly influenced him. The Emperor's mind shifted from thinking about the classical texts to concentrating on the Fire Cloud Secret Technique.

He suddenly took out a red Jade Scroll from the storage ring, but then paused, speaking to himself in confusion, "Huh, why did I suddenly take out this Jade Scroll for the Fire Cloud Skill?"

He initially intended to put the scroll away, but after thinking for a moment, he placed it on his forehead and released his Divine Sense into it.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming also extended his Divine Sense into the scroll, finally accessing the long-desired Fire Cloud Secret Technique.

However, the contents of the scroll were quite complex, giving him quite the headache upon first glance.

The Fire Cloud Secret Technique was not just a simple spell; it incorporated several Fire attribute spells, as well as Prohibition Techniques, a rune system, and more, making it far more complex than any magic he had encountered before.

Although Yuan Ming believed he had some talent in magic, such a complex secret technique would take at least a year and a half of exploration before he could possibly master it.

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