Although he had obtained the Secret Technique, the multitude of runes on the stele made refining it no easy task.

However, whenever Yuan Ming channeled the spell, a blood-colored spirit talisman at the center of his brow would always emit a beam of spirit light, covering the runes on the stele and greatly accelerating Yuan Ming's refining speed.

In just a short amount of time, he had already mastered control over ten percent of the Shura Palace's restrictions and even gained the ability to observe the situation throughout the Shura Palace.

He was secretly pleased, and while he intensified his refining efforts, he also allocated part of his Divine Thought to explore the Six Desires Venerable's circumstances through the restrictions he had cracked.

Soon, the blood-colored ancient text on the stele gradually faded away, replaced by an extremely clear image.

In the image, the Six Desires Venerable led the way, followed by Dugu Feng, Thunderbolt Ancestor, and Golden Dawn Fairy. The red-clothed woman and the blood-colored skull were nowhere to be seen, leaving only the Shura Blood Devouring Map floating beside the Six Desires Venerable.

Seeing that Thunderbolt Ancestor and others had been recaptured by the Six Desires, and realizing that they seemed to be flying towards the Black Tower, Yuan Ming couldn't help feeling anxious. With a shift of his Divine Thought, he activated the Shura Palace's restrictions he controlled.

...

In midair, the rapidly flying Six Desires Venerable suddenly stopped his tunneling light and frowned, looking up ahead.

A white fog of unknown origin suddenly began to spread before his eyes. The speed was not fast, but when his released Divine Sense made contact with the fog, he would feel a slight resistance that hindered the exploration of his Divine Sense.

Although this resistance was not yet enough to shield his Divine Sense, as the fog spread, the resistance gradually became stronger, and it might not be long before it could genuinely affect the Six Desires Venerable's Divine Sense.

Realizing this, the Six Desires Venerable immediately transmitted a message to Dugu Feng and others, urging them to increase their tunneling speed.

In response to his request, Dugu Feng and the others dared not neglect their efforts and hastened their flying escape, trying to leave this place before being completely swallowed by the fog.

However, barely fifteen minutes had passed when they noticed something was not right.

"Venerable, this place—we seem to have passed here just now," said Dugu Feng, looking at the hazy scenery shrouded by the fog at his feet with a tone of uncertainty.

"Keep going," the Six Desires Venerable ordered coldly, not replying.

Dugu Feng nodded, and the group set off again. Another thirty minutes passed, but they still had not walked out of the fog.

By now, the pale white fog had turned milky white and even swallowed up everything around it.

The Six Desires Venerable stopped his flying escape again, his gaze on the sky above as he forcefully extended his Divine Sense against the pressure, but he could only make out the vague shadows of mountains and stones.

Since the appearance of the white fog, they had passed through this place four times. Each time they left, the Six Desires Venerable chose a different direction, but in the end, they still returned to this spot.

Even more bizarre was the fact that they had unwittingly turned upside down without realizing it; they were now floating in the air with their feet towards the sky. If he had not used his Divine Sense to detect this anomaly, they might not have noticed anything out of the ordinary at all.

As he pondered, the surrounding fog became increasingly thick, to the point where the Six Desires Venerable could see a layer of mist enveloping his hand like sheer silk when he reached out, as if dipping into river water.

Behind him, Thunderbolt Ancestor and Golden Dawn Fairy, who were farther away, had disappeared without a trace, and even the figure of Dugu Feng began to look blurry, while the Shura Blood Devouring Map floating beside him remained unaffected.

"What exactly is the nature of this White Mist Restriction?" the Six Desires Venerable asked the Shura Blood Devouring Map Artifact Spirit beside him.

"What new tricks could that old thing of the Shura Master come up with? It's still the same old trick of confusing the five senses. You just need to keep releasing Divine Sense as a guiding object without stopping, and you can easily walk out from here," the Artifact Spirit answered nonchalantly.

Upon hearing these words, the Six Desires Venerable nodded silently.

For some reason, he was exceptionally reserved and restrained at this moment, and after hearing the Artifact Spirit's reply, he did not even bother to confirm its trustworthiness before he began to try it out.

But quickly, when the concentration of the fog reached a certain limit and stopped intensifying, it started to show some new changes instead.

And it was at this moment that the Six Desires Venerable suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of fatigue wash over him. A faint sleepiness crept up into his mind; although he immediately suppressed it, it made him realize that something was amiss.

Sleepiness and drowsiness are ultimately the external expressions of Divine Soul exhaustion. As a Soul Cultivator who hadn't expended much Soul Power, how could he feel sleepy?

He frowned, as if realizing something, immediately withdrew his Divine Sense, and after waiting for a moment, finding no more sensation of drowsiness arising, he confined a wisp of the fog with his Mana and studied it closely for a while before understanding.

This fog enveloping the surroundings was a special kind of Spiritual Energy fog. Once a cultivator's Divine Sense made contact with it, sleepiness would arise unnoticed. Nascent Soul cultivators like them were still manageable, but ordinary Core Formation cultivators might truly fall into deep sleep within the mist, never to awaken unless the fog dissipated.

"You dare to deceive me!"

The discovery of the mystery behind the fog filled the Six Desires Venerable with rage, and his eyes, burning with fury, glared viciously at the Shura Blood Devouring Map. His expression was completely different from his earlier reserved demeanor, now appearing as if he might tear the Blood Devouring Map to shreds.

Although the Shura Blood Devouring Map Artifact Spirit didn't know why the Six Desires Venerable's emotions had changed so drastically, seeing his angry face, it couldn't help but let out a laugh:

"Haha, how exactly do you cultivate that you believe whatever I say? No wonder you couldn't beat that old fogey, the Shura Master. Turns out you've got a problem in the head!"

Upon hearing the four words "Shura Master," the Six Desires Venerable's expression changed once again; the anger on his face faded, replaced by a chilling indifference.

Wordlessly, he flicked his finger at the Blood Devouring Map, and a thread of Soul Power shot out from his fingertip, striking the Artifact Spirit of the Map.

The Artifact Spirit, in the midst of its loud derision, was suddenly struck by the spirit light; its boisterous laughter abruptly ceased.

It was horrified to find that it had lost all perception of the outside world, as if it had been shut in a pitch-black box, where complete darkness prevailed and no other object existed.

The Artifact Spirit looked around in shock, trying to speak, but found it couldn't make any sound.

The utter silence around it was frightening; the boundless darkness and absolute quietness gave even this eons-old Artifact Spirit a hint of chill at the bottom of its heart.

It tried to call out the Blood-colored Skull and the red-clothed woman from the Blood Devouring Map for a conversation, but its Divine Thought fell on the Map and was completely lost, without eliciting any response.

The Artifact Spirit was getting afraid. Having existed for endless years, its desire for external things had been reduced to the simplest form, yet it still harbored desires unique to itself.

As a Spiritual Treasure, it had a high starting point, but unlike Cultivators, it lacked the possibility of further progress; it was predestined to be controlled by others. Although it was unwilling, it did not entirely reject this fate.

After all, what it yearned for as freedom, what it aspired to as life, was nothing but to be pursued by the masses and worshipped by the people; even its master would treat it as a companion, or even a senior, showing it respect.

Honestly, it was quite satisfied with the Shura Master—if it hadn't been sealed in the Shura Palace.

And now, trapped by the Six Desires in such a place without a glimpse of daylight, unable to speak or see, with all its myriad thoughts reduced to nothing, how could it not be afraid?

But in its heart, it still held onto a sliver of hope. The Six Desires Venerable had captured it not just to seal it; the lesson was temporary, it believed. As long as it was patient enough, it would soon be able to leave this place.

With this in mind, it waited, and a "hundred years" passed.

After flicking out the Soul Power, the Six Desires Venerable barely waited for a moment before he casually released the illusion.

However, the Artifact Spirit, which had just been booming with laughter, was now as inert as a piece of wood, devoid of any reaction.

The Six Desires Venerable's brow furrowed slightly, realizing the problem.

Though the Blood Devouring Map was a Spiritual Treasure, the Divine Soul strength of its Artifact Spirit was far inferior to that of a Returning to Void Cultivator, even falling short of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator's level.

The illusion he had just woven was intended to make the Artifact Spirit spend a year in darkness. He hadn't expected to overdo it, leaving it stupefied for too long, affecting its mental state as well.

Still, even a momentary oversight was highly unusual for a Soul Cultivator of his level.

The Six Desires Venerable recalled the shifts in his own emotions just now and suddenly understood—the white mist's effect on the Divine Soul was more severe than he had anticipated.

As he pondered, he channeled another thread of Soul Power, beginning to repair the Divine Soul of the Artifact Spirit.

The Artifact Spirit, supplemented by Soul Power, revived like a traveler in the desert receiving sweet dew, and instantly snapped out of its daze.

However, it then recalled the "hundred years" it had just endured and, shivering with fear, promptly extended a Divine Thought towards the Six Desires Venerable in submission.

In the illusion, the passage of time became incredibly clear and slow. Unable to cultivate or voluntarily fall into slumber, it could do nothing but watch helplessly as it suffered through a century in utter silence.

No normal Cultivator could withstand such torment, and this was just an Artifact Spirit.

Seeing that his intimidation had been effective, the Six Desires Venerable chose not to mention his minor mistake, maintaining an indifferent facade.

"Now, are you ready to tell the truth? Exactly how do we leave the White Mist Restriction?" he asked slowly.

"There are two common methods of breaking it, but with me here, I can guide you," the Artifact Spirit replied respectfully.

"Unless you want to experience what just happened all over again, don't try to be sneaky with me," the cold light flashed in the eyes of the Six Desires Venerable.

"Please spare me, master. I... no, Little Luo, Little Luo won't dare anymore," the Artifact Spirit spoke in a panicked tone.

The Six Desires Venerable nodded and ordered it to lead the way. At the same time, he reached out to the Thunderbolt Ancestor and others through soul leeches, telling them to keep close.

The white mist affected the performance of the Divine Sense, but couldn't block the connection between the Six Desires Venerable and the soul leeches. It was precisely due to this that Lei Ming and the Golden Dawn Fairy did not take advantage of the mist to scatter and flee.

With the Artifact Spirit guiding the way, they soon left the area covered by the White Mist Restriction and returned in front of the Black Tower.

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