"So, you're pursuing freedom?" Void said.

"Yes!" Yuan Ming responded without hesitation, his tone rather firm.

"Pursuing freedom is easier said than done. You possess the Stealing Heaven Tripod, whether you like it or not, sooner or later you'll be drawn into the conflict between the two realms. The strength of the Chuyun Realm is far inferior to the Demon World. Unless you can watch Chuyun Realm perish, there is no freedom to speak of," Void said.

"If that's the case, then just find a way to drive back the Demon World," Yuan Ming said calmly.

Void looked at Yuan Ming in astonishment and after a long time laughed heartily: "It's been a long time since I've heard such arrogance. I didn't expect it from you, young man. Do you know what kind of existence the Demon World is? Before reaching the Mahayana Realm, you don't even have the qualification to stand before the Demon World. Given your current conditions and resources, the bottleneck of the Dharma manifestation Stage might not stop you, but Mahayana Realm is an absolute chasm—countless Dharma manifestation Cultivators exhaust their entire life without achieving it. What confidence do you have to reach it? As for Body Cultivation and Soul Cultivation, their difficulty in cultivation doesn't pale in comparison to Magic Practitioner."

"How would I know it's impossible unless I try," Yuan Ming's tone barely fluctuated.

"I didn't expect Yuan to be so confident in himself now; it's quite different from before," Void said with surprise.

"I am indeed still far from a Mahayana cultivator, but I have a long life span. I will focus on my cultivation. If ten thousand years isn't enough, then twenty thousand years; if twenty thousand years isn't enough, then forty thousand years. Eventually, I'll reach the peak." Yuan Ming said.

"The maximum life span of a Returning to Void Cultivator is four or five thousand years. Even if you break through to the Dharma manifestation Stage, your life span will at most double, reaching ten thousand years. Where will you find forty thousand years to cultivate?" Void sneered.

"In the past, I wouldn't dare to say this, but now it's different. These days, I've been continuously searching for High-level Spirit Wood, nurturing a piece of World Tree bark. As the World Tree grows, my body undergoes subtle changes, my life span increased significantly. If I continue nurturing it, doubling or even multiplying my life span is not impossible." Yuan Ming said.

"Is there such a thing?" Void was startled, he extended a finger towards Yuan Ming's Dantian.

Yuan Ming instinctively dodged, but his Divine Soul was bound by an invisible force, rendering his body immobile, and was pointed at by Void.

A powerful Divine Sense infiltrated Yuan Ming's Dantian, entering the Undying Tree and explored every part.

After a short while, Void withdrew his finger, looking at Yuan Ming with a surprised expression: "The Ju Mang Spirit Technique you cultivated is extremely simplistic, yet it has such effects, merging you with the World Tree entirely. With the Ten Thousand Wood Origin Power fed back by the World Tree, coupled with the aid of the Stealing Heaven Tripod to condense the Dao Seal, you actually have a slight possibility to reach the Mahayana Realm." Void said.

"I'll take that as good words from senior." Yuan Ming smiled.

"Good! I'll be watching to see if you truly can walk to that step," Void said, his figure shifted and disappeared, flying back to the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

Yuan Ming sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began cultivating.

But just then, a sudden bang erupted outside the pavilion, the entire Flying Boat came to a sharp halt, and everyone aboard was uncontrollably thrown forward.

The Ruan Brothers were already standing, so they quickly stabilized themselves, but Nan Shangfeng, who was half-lying on the couch, unexpectedly rolled twice on the ground before stopping.

"Young Master, are you alright?" The Ruan Brothers hurriedly stepped forward to help him up.

"Damn it, which idiot is steering the ship!" Nan Shangfeng couldn't help but curse at this moment.

Yet the next instant, the pavilion's door on the ship burst open, and cold wind howled into the room, making the three of them shiver.

The trio, with such cultivation, felt cold due to a gust of wind, which instantly changed the expressions on their faces.

"Something's not right, seems like trouble is coming." Ruan Lianxin immediately stepped forward, blocking in front of Nan Shangfeng.

The open door continued to let in the cold wind, the outside was empty, yet no trace of anyone could be seen, and no sound could be heard anymore.

The musicians and dancing girls who were just sent out, the many guards patrolling the ship, nearly a hundred cultivators on the vessel, now seemed to have vanished, leaving just the Ruan Brothers and Nan Shangfeng facing the cold wind, not knowing what had happened.

The Ruan Brothers stared intently at the wide-open door, their expressions tight, even their breathing lowered significantly, with their mana surging unabashedly, ready to strike at any moment.

"You are Nan Shangfeng, right?" But in the next moment, a voice as cold as eternal frost echoed from behind the trio, raising their hair on end.

The Ruan Brothers spun around simultaneously and attacked with full force.

Ruan Lianyu made incantation gestures with both hands, his full mana whistling, manipulating nature's spiritual energy, while thousands of starlight descended from the sky, gathered into two dazzling beams of the Star River.

The immense power directly tore the Flying Boat apart, exposing everyone to the night sky.

Ruan Lianyu's supernatural technique altered the night sky, causing the moonlight to sink, the stars to shine brightly, the circumstellar sky casting starlight, sealing the surrounding space and fixing everyone in place.

Meanwhile, Ruan Lianxin raised both arms, his long spear in hand tapped three times, forming three gradually spreading bloodstains in the void before him, which exploded in the next breath, releasing three blood-colored dragons that roared and charged towards the direction of the icy voice.

Two late-stage Returning to Void Cultivators exerted their full strength, and the momentum was undeniably grand.

What a pity that after their attack was unleashed, they found that the source of the sound was completely empty, just a stretch of darkness where one couldn't see their hand.

The blood-colored evil dragon rushed forward, just like a drop of water vanishing into the sea, disappearing into the darkness without a trace. Ruan Lianyu's Star River divine skill met the same fate, having no effect at all.

However, after absorbing their attacks, the darkness disappeared without a trace.

The Ruan brothers' hearts sank immediately, but with Ruan Lianyu's starlight sealing the space, they remained calm, quickly releasing their divine sense, searching for the lurking enemy.

At that moment, the void behind the three suddenly turned pitch black, and three streaks of black knife light appeared without warning, flashing toward them, aiming directly at Nan Shangfeng and the others' heads.

Ruan Lianxin responded swiftly, standing his long spear up to block the knife light, while Ruan Lianyu remained unflinching, allowing the starlight around him to surge forward, spontaneously intercepting the black knife light for himself and Nan Shangfeng.

However, their defensive measures were completely useless against the black knife light.

Ruan Lianxin's spear spiritual treasure was sliced cleanly in half upon contact with the black knife light, leaving him only a brief moment to register shock before his head was severed.

Ruan Lianyu's starlight fared even worse; it vanished into thin air upon being struck by the black knife light, followed by a soft hissing sound as Ruan Lianyu's body was split in two, and the nascent soul within his dantian was also cut into pieces.

Nan Shangfeng had just recovered from his shock, only to find the black knife light already hovering above his head, poised to slice him in half.

Not adept in combat, Nan Shangfeng stood frozen, unable to respond.

Right at the critical moment, a creamy white arm broke through the void overhead, striking the black knife light.

With a loud "bang," the trajectory of the black knife light was forcibly changed, causing it to cleave into the ocean, creating an immense water column.

Soon after, the owner of the creamy white arm stepped forth from the void, standing before Nan Shangfeng.

The newcomer was dressed in a red gown, her figure voluptuous and her demeanor elegant, with mana at the dharma manifestation stage. Her every gesture was both graceful and alluring.

"Qin Meiniang, why is it her?" In the Void Palace, Yuan Ming recognized the person who appeared and was secretly astonished.

Nan Shangfeng was attacked, and he was already aware and prepared to intervene, but Qin Meiniang got there first.

"Qin Meiniang, why did you come so late? Another moment and I'd have lost my head!" Nan Shangfeng exhaled a sigh of relief before speaking indignantly.

"Who told you to suddenly leave East Extreme Island." Qin Meiniang glared at Nan Shangfeng.

Yuan Ming listened to their conversation, raising an eyebrow, indicating the two had arranged to meet.

"Nan Shangfeng, what is going on? Why is Qin Meiniang here?" He transmitted his inquiry to Nan Shangfeng.

"Fellow Daoist Wan, you know Qin Meiniang? Don't misunderstand; I have no secret dealings with her. We've known each other for a while. After the Ten Thousand Treasure Auction concluded and you left, I received news from Qin Meiniang that I might be ambushed on the way back, so I asked her to secretly guard me."

Yuan Ming didn't inquire further, deciding to watch and see what happens.

"I wonder which fellow Daoist attempted to assassinate. Could you spare Nan Shangfeng for my sake?" Qin Meiniang looked gravely at the dark void not far away.

"Hehe, I recall there's no connection between the Daluo Sect and the Su Nu Sect. Why protect him now? Did Nan Shangfeng charm you into bed, bringing you to defend your lover?" As the voice spoke, the darkness in front of them gradually shrank, revealing a figure in a black robe.

"It's him!" Yuan Ming murmured in surprise.

The man in the black robe was none other than the one who appeared at the auction earlier and purchased the Evil Curse Altar for a high price of twelve million spirit stones.

"It's you! I'm just hired for high rewards by Nan Shangfeng. I'm not sure who instructs you, why kill him?" Qin Meiniang recognized the figure, calmly questioning without anger.

"Does the Three Realms Sect need a reason to kill?" The black-robed man laughed coldly, raising a finger.

The void behind Qin Meiniang twisted suddenly, sending out a swarm of black light aimed at her and Nan Shangfeng.

Qin Meiniang hadn't expected the attack to come from behind, hastily sweeping her sleeve backward, releasing a large swathe of pink radiance to temporarily hold the black light at bay.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Qin Meiniang grabbed Nan Shangfeng, and they dodged to the side.

The black-robed man snorted coldly, raising his hand towards Qin Meiniang.

Two streaks of black light shot out instantly, morphing into two black ribbons, one heading toward Qin Meiniang and the other toward Nan Shangfeng.

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