Yuan Ming took a deep breath and dispelled the power of the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill, his body returning to normal.

At this moment, the fluctuations of his mana had also increased considerably compared to before. Over these three months, in addition to painstakingly practicing the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill, he had not neglected the cultivation of the Nine Elements Technique.

Many cultivators had perished within the Shura Palace, leaving behind a large number of Core Formation Stage elixirs. For him, there was no shortage of elixirs for the next two to three years.

With the ample supply of elixirs and the rich Wood Attribute Spiritual Energy in the Medicine Garden aiding him, Yuan Ming's mana had improved significantly, though he was still some distance away from reaching the mid-stage of Core Formation.

In the aspect of Soul Cultivation, as Xu Che had begun to step up his efforts to recruit cultivator believers, gathering more and more Desire Power, Yuan Ming's Divine Soul had also grown considerably stronger, steadily making progress toward the late stage of a Love Witch.

Yuan Ming sat cross-legged in the original spot and took out the Jade Scroll of the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill, his brows slightly furrowed.

As long as there was sufficient Qi-Blood, the first layer of the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill could be mastered quickly. However, the second layer could not.

The second realm of Body Cultivation was the Iron Bone Body, which required practicing and strengthening all the bones in the body. This process was the most crucial foundation for Body Cultivators, and one should not rush; it required steady and methodical work.

The Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill was the same. The Jade Plate clearly recorded that the second layer could not be broken through quickly by leveraging the power of Qi-Blood; one needed to practice a set of "Incense Xiang Bone Forging Skill" for three years to solidify the foundation before continuing to draw in and enhance with the power of Qi-Blood.

Yuan Ming was unconcerned. He was not in a hurry to use Body Cultivation Divine Skills against enemies. After reading the Incense Xiang Bone Forging Skill several times and committing it to memory, he began to cultivate.

"Incense Xiang Stepping Sky!"

"Incense Xiang Spits Water!"

"Incense Xiang Crossing the Sea!"

...

Yuan Ming moved his limbs, mimicking the punches and kicks of each form.

Every bone in his body was engaged; completing a set of the Incense Xiang Bone Forging Skill made his whole body feel as if the bones had cracked open, leaving him unable to muster any strength as he lay on the ground.

Yuan Ming had anticipated this. He lay resting for a moment before managing to sit cross-legged and start the Nine Elements Technique to recover.

After a day and a night, Yuan Ming opened his eyes.

His body had recovered, his bones no longer throbbing with pain, but instead radiating a warm sensation.

Yuan Ming nodded, knowing his cultivation was on the right track.

However, he did not continue to cultivate further. The Incense Xiang Bone Forging Skill could not be mastered overnight, and he had already stayed in the Shura Palace for quite some time—it was time to leave.

The Shura Palace, hidden underground, was very safe and he needed not worry about being detected.

Yuan Ming summoned the Shura Stone Tablet, reducing the restrictions of the Shura Palace to the minimum and closed off all the forbidden areas within the palace, before vanishing in a flicker.

...

Two months later, one night.

As night fell, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged in front of a window at an inn, the moonlight pouring in like water through the window.

This was Linyuan City. After leaving the Shura Palace, he didn't immediately return to Da Jin but came here instead, trying to understand the reactions of the major forces in the Black Wind Desert after the incident with the Shura Palace.

It turns out that after he moved the Shura Palace from the Soul Burying Abyss, the major forces of the Black Wind Desert searched in vain and could only eventually let it go. The Shura Palace had now become a topic of conversation among the cultivators during their leisure time.

Yuan Ming was bathed in the bright moonlight, enveloped in a layer of hazy glow, with the Moonlight Technique automatically circulating within him.

Under the dark expanse of the sky, it was as if the quiet whispers of devotion rose from the ethereal void, streams of Desire Power converging toward this place, being refined and absorbed by Yuan Ming bit by bit.

Xu Che had recently developed a dozen more cultivator believers, and along with many mortal believers, the Desire Power had become much more substantial than before. Now, as he cultivated with the Stealing Heaven Tripod, it felt like being enveloped in warm spring water, both body and spirit sinking into an indescribable comfort.

Yuan Ming's eyes were lightly closed, his brow relaxed, as he intently felt the continuous stream of Desire Power converging towards him.

As the number of Nether Moon God believers increased, his understanding of Desire Power also strengthened.

Generally, most of the Desire Power consisted of devout faith and heartfelt support, and though it contained the individual whims of each believer, such thoughts were too insignificant, drowning in the torrent of faith and unknown to Yuan Ming.

Only when a particular thought was so strong that it approached obsession did Yuan Ming separate it from the complex Desire Power to thoroughly investigate.

This usually happened when a believer found themselves in a difficult position or even a plight, unable to resolve the issue on their own, leading to an outburst of intense longing to seek the Nether Moon God's help to escape hardship, carrying a clear intention.

This kind of Desire Power was often much stronger than the usual devotion or prayers for favorable weather and family health, thus contributing more to the increase of Yuan Ming's Soul Power.

Crucially, if such a longing was responded to or genuinely helped to overcome hardship, its Desire Power would become purer.

However, with his own time and energy being limited, Yuan Ming found it difficult to grant every request. He could only choose to handle some matters that were convenient for him, while delegating many other tasks by contacting Xu Che to deal with them.

If more devoted and loyal cultivator believers like Xu Che were to join in the future, he could naturally allow them to act as his agents, responding to the believers' pleas.

The foundation of all this was the investment of resources, or rather, the need for a continuous supply of Spirit Stones. Now that he had dealt with the Shura Palace, he was finally in a position to proceed.

Yuan Ming was immersed in the comfortable feeling brought by the condensation of Desire Power when suddenly his Sea of Consciousness felt completely empty. Immediately following, his vision was flooded with brilliant, variegated lights, and a pink mist began to spread throughout the surrounding void.

"Eh, what is this?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but feel astonished.

However, before he could investigate it thoroughly, he smelled a series of overly sweet and rich fragrances, and soon after, the air was filled with the sound of women's playful laughter, sounding charming and alluring.

The voices, coming from far and near, quickly turned mellifluous, and were interspersed with embarrassing panting sounds.

At the same time, vague silhouettes began to appear within the pink mist.

When Yuan Ming focused his gaze, his expression froze, and he felt his mouth and tongue become dry.

He saw within the mist numerous female figures without a thread on them, each with skin as smooth as cream and enchanting figures, displaying various seductive poses in the mist that made his ears burn.

Alluring calls also rose up simultaneously, tempting Yuan Ming to join them, but despite the operation of soul splitting and the Heart Cleansing Technique, it was ineffective.

"Have I... entered demonic possession?"

Although Yuan Ming felt a bit agitated, he was still a Soul Cultivator; such levels of temptation couldn't affect him much. His mind remained unguarded, and he promptly began to reflect.

Immediately, he retracted his Divine Sense and stopped cultivating, trying to break free from the illusory void.

Yet, when he ceased his practice of the Moonlight Technique, he realized that the illusions around him hadn't stopped. Instead, the scenes that stirred up carnal thoughts not only didn't disappear but grew even more rampant.

Yuan Ming looked at the increasingly close illusion of the seductive women, his brows slightly furrowed.

In the next moment, he abruptly let out a low shout, and his Divine Soul Power shook, transforming into an invisible torrent that rushed in all directions.

Amidst the surges of Soul Power, the surrounding pink mist quickly dissipated, and the silhouettes of the seductive women vanished like bubbles, with all sounds disappearing instantly.

Yuan Ming looked around and found himself still sitting cross-legged in front of the window inside the room.

He furrowed his brows in contemplation, silently recalling the details of the Moonlight Technique and the key points of cultivation that Xi Ying had once reminded him of. He found no related content to the strange phenomena he had just experienced.

"There can't be anything wrong with the Moonlight Technique, and there was no issue in my cultivation. It seems that the problem most likely lies with the Desire Power..." After reflecting for a while, Yuan Ming came to such a conclusion.

He had heard from Xi Ying that the Wu Yue Sect had once used its heretical arts to bewitch people, creating various evil gods for believers to worship, collecting their twisted Desire Power.

Such evil gods often controlled believers by amplifying negative emotions such as hatred, sorrow, and lust, causing them to sink into depravity and thereby gaining control over them.

The Desire Power obtained in this way, although twisted, was often much stronger than the Power of faith brought about by conventional worship.

What Yuan Ming didn't understand was that these were methods used by Soul Cultivators to control believers. As a deity himself, to a certain extent, how could he be affected instead?

"Could it be that there is an issue with one of the believers?" Yuan Ming thought to himself.

He immediately took hold of the Stealing Heaven Tripod and once again absorbed and refined the Desire Power. The bewitching women appeared again.

While resisting the impact of these illusions, Yuan Ming searched for the source of the anomaly. After a prolonged search, unfortunately, he still came up empty-handed.

Although he didn't find an answer, Yuan Ming's intuition told him that the problem lay with the believers.

With a thought, he entered the Stealing Heaven Tripod to try and locate Xu Che.

After a moment, Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes, but his brows couldn't help but knit tighter.

Xu Che had vanished.

Normally, during this time of the night, Xu Che should be praying to prepare for Yuan Ming's Divine Presence at any moment, but not this time.

A sense of foreboding began to rise in Yuan Ming's heart.

Without any hesitation, he let his Divine Thought dive back into the Stealing Heaven Tripod and began to sense carefully.

Soon, he found a believer in Wuyun City.

He had recently contacted Xu Che, who had been in Wuyun City at that time.

With a move of his thoughts, Yuan Ming instantly traveled thousands of miles. Using this believer as an anchor, he ignored the distance and descended upon Wuyun City.

In Wuyun City, an elderly man with dark skin and a face full of deep wrinkles was kneeling before the Divine Statue of a young man, murmuring prayers fervently.

Unbeknownst to him, a mighty Divine Sense was radiating from his position, spreading in all directions and enveloping almost the entire Wuyun City within its reach.

At this moment, Yuan Ming's Divine Thought roamed the vast void, as if flying above Wuyun City, overlooking the city and watching the lights of thousands of households below, continuously searching for Xu Che's presence.

However, after examination, he still came up empty-handed.

It seemed that Xu Che was not in Wuyun City.

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