“Southern Border? No, impossible. The style of this magical instrument’s refinement leans more towards the East Sea islands. It must be the work of a master artifact refiner from an overseas sect. The gemstones are likely from the East Sea as well. As for which spiritual materials they are, I’ll need to study that. Whether I can repair it, I cannot guarantee.” Xu Xinyang said with a slight frown, shaking his head after a moment of contemplation.

“No worries, Master Xu. Please proceed as you see fit,” Yuan Ming responded.

Xu Xinyang nodded, said no more, and took away the black needle and the white jade belt.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming took the initiative to stand up and take his leave, with Song Huitong accompanying him out.

Outside the teahouse, after thanking Song Huitong for her assistance, Yuan Ming bid her farewell and turned to head towards Qingmu Tower.

In a private room on the third floor, Yuan Ming completed the transaction of spirit stones with Di Yue for the heavy armor and once again declined Di Chen’s request for a sparring match.

After all this, he left Xiaohu City, piloting his flying shuttle into the Ruins Swamp, and released Hua Zhi back into the wild.

Having learned of Sha Hao’s possible whereabouts, Yuan Ming was now more eager than ever to enhance his own strength. Hua Zhi, having grown tired of staying in the spirit beast bag, had been clamoring to go out and continue its cultivation, so Yuan Ming indulged its wishes.

Aside from the previously gifted True Water Ring, Yuan Ming had intended to prepare more magical instruments for Hua Zhi, but given its ever-changing form and its ability to condense swords and blades, it couldn’t wear armor. Thus, he abandoned the idea, planning to prepare some auxiliary magical instruments for Hua Zhi later on.

After giving Hua Zhi a few instructions, Yuan Ming hurried back to his residence in the city, lit a stick of Zixuan Incense, took some elixirs, and resumed his cultivation.

Five months later, the old emperor, clad in a yellow robe, stood with his hands hanging down in a courtyard. He looked up at the sun hanging high above and suddenly twiddled his fingers, casting a spell. The mana within his body circulated rapidly, and soon, under his command, clouds gathered in the sky, blocking the scorching sunlight.

Then, a drop of rain fell with a “plop,” landing half an inch from the tip of his shoe.

As if signaling a charge, countless raindrops followed suit, leaping from the clouds and pummeling the ground around the old emperor.

In an instant, a light drizzle turned into a torrential downpour.

The old emperor, who had already erected a mana shield to keep the rain at bay, turned to look at Liu Tianming, who was not far behind him, and said, “This Rain Listening Technique, have you understood it? The environment it creates not only greatly enhances the potency of your water-based spells but also significantly weakens the fire-based spells of your opponents. It’s up to you to apply it in battle. Now, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask.”

“Thank you, Grandfather Emperor, for your teaching. I have committed it to memory and will diligently practice and comprehend,” Liu Tianming replied respectfully.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Xiaohu City in the northern part of Great Jin, Yuan Ming also opened his eyes and recalled the events in detail.

After mixing in thousand-year-old spiritual wood, the black incense he made lasted more than twice as long as before, allowing him to do much more. This confirmed that spiritual incense made from ancient spiritual wood indeed has a longer duration.

When he had first possessed the old emperor, he was just in time to impart cultivation insights to Liu Tianming. First, he explained some key points of the Nine Elements Formula, and then he taught Liu Tianming water-based spells and demonstrated them himself.

During this time, Yuan Ming had almost witnessed the entire process through possession, gaining a deeper understanding of the Nine Elements Formula and successfully stealing the secret Rain Summoning Technique. He owed it all to the extended duration provided by the black incense made from the thousand-year-old spiritual wood; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had enough time to see everything.

However, a single epiphany was probably not enough for him to fully master this secret technique. He would have to possess the old emperor and Liu Tianming again in the future. Otherwise, self-comprehension would not only be time-consuming and laborious but also might not yield ideal results.

Yuan Ming tried to cast the technique and found that he was unsuccessful, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he planned to continue his cultivation while preparing for his upcoming journey to Zhao Country.

Sha Hao was powerful, and even if Xu Xinyang could refine all three magical instruments as Yuan Ming wished, he was not guaranteed victory in a solo fight, though self-preservation was possible.

Months later, he used the best materials and combined them with the poison from Hua Zhi’s flowers to attempt to incorporate the strange and potent poison from He Wendao’s green flying sword, creating a new batch of “Seven Steps Under the Sun.”

The poison from the green flying sword was terrifyingly powerful, and with the catalytic effect of the Joyful Cauldron, its performance was quite remarkable. The poison mixed with the mist and entered the body directly, spreading faster than through a wound. Yuan Ming tested it on several second-level demon beasts in the Ruins Swamp, and they couldn’t resist at all. They would immediately collapse, their internal organs corroded by the poison, leading to swift death.

Furthermore, Yuan Ming purchased a batch of talismans from the market, mainly focusing on mid-tier offensive talismans, totaling thirty to forty.

Having successfully ambushed Sha Hao with a talisman before, Yuan Ming had developed a taste for it. Xiaohu City had a large market, and even high-tier talismans were available, so he bought more than ten.

High-tier talismans were expensive, costing twenty spirit stones each, which made Yuan Ming wince at the cost.

Xiaohu City did not sell third-tier talismans. Their power was immense, and whether it was the talisman masters from sects or independent practitioners, they would quickly stash them away after making them, rarely putting them up for public sale. Even if there were any available, Yuan Ming couldn’t afford them in the short term.

As the agreed time approached, Xu Xinyang was late to send a message and did not mention the outcome, only asking Yuan Ming to collect the items from the Crane and Heron Shop himself.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately left Xiaohu City and headed to the Ruins Swamp to meet Hua Zhi.

As soon as he entered the Ruins Swamp, a torrential downpour began, accompanied by deafening thunder and blinding lightning that seemed to pierce the sky, more intense than any storm before.

He quickly descended and burrowed forward to avoid being struck by the lightning. The storm grew denser, and even underground, Yuan Ming felt his hair stand on end and his body tingle.

“Such a rich force of thunder and lightning, perfect for Lei Yu to stretch its wings,” he murmured to himself, then with a wave of his hand, he summoned the Winged Thunderbird, Lei Yu.

Lei Yu had already absorbed all the thunder and lightning from the Bronze Broken Sword, and its aura had grown significantly.

Sensing the thunder and lightning all around, Lei Yu let out an excited cry and circled above Yuan Ming’s head before soaring into the storm clouds.

Lei Yu had the ability to control thunder and lightning, so Yuan Ming wasn’t worried about its safety and continued forward, soon arriving near Hua Zhi’s nest.

“Master, are you going to teach Sha Hao a lesson?” Hua Zhi sensed Yuan Ming’s approach from afar and greeted him with a host of little demons.

When Hua Zhi was returned to the Ruins Swamp, its injuries were almost healed. Now, after about a month, it had fully recovered, and its body, damaged by the Bronze Thunder Pattern Array, had regrown.

“Do you want to bring these subordinates with you?” Yuan Ming nodded, looking at the little demons behind Hua Zhi, numbering forty to fifty.

These little spirit demons were all first-level demon beasts, including birds, beasts, and two vine-type demons like Hua Zhi.

The little demons, not yet sentient, were not very afraid of Yuan Ming, and several looked at him curiously.

“Master, haven’t you yet confirmed the location of Sha Hao’s lair? I’ve selected these subordinates for their scouting abilities, and I believe they can help you find Sha Hao,” Hua Zhi communicated telepathically.

“That will do,” Yuan Ming said, and with a flick of his sleeve, he enveloped Hua Zhi and some of the little demons in a green light, collecting them all into the spirit beast bag.

Hua Zhi’s body, once stretched out, was quite large, and the thunder and lightning it could absorb were dwindling, slowing the growth of Lei Yu’s aura.

Yuan Ming’s eyebrows twitched. If the clouds completely dissipated, Lei Yu’s breakthrough would inevitably fail, possibly even backfiring and causing injury, which would affect its next breakthrough.

In his urgency, he took out three top-grade thunder attribute spirit stones, ready to throw them to Lei Yu, but then another thought crossed his mind.

He stood on the shuttle, hands hanging down, and began to channel his mana, attempting to cast the Rain Summoning Technique. Over the past twenty days, Yuan Ming had possessed the old emperor and Liu Tianming once each, using the soul imprint to subtly suggest they perform the Rain Summoning Technique again. Now he had basically mastered the technique, though he had never cast it himself. Given the current situation, he had no choice but to try.

The moisture in the vicinity quickly thickened, and dense rain clouds began to form in the sky, covering several miles, with rain starting to fall sparsely.

Yuan Ming’s cultivation was far from that of the old emperor, and the rain clouds formed by his Rain Summoning Technique were only so large, and their power was relatively insufficient.

However, the rich water vapor in the Ruins Swamp quickly converged, and the thunderclouds in the sky swiftly expanded, reappearing and gathering towards Lei Yu.

“Just as I thought,” Yuan Ming thought to himself. His Rain Summoning Technique could only cover a ten-mile radius and seemed of little use. However, the water vapor in the Ruins Swamp was incredibly dense, accumulating in the sky, and with a slight external influence, it could easily form a large-scale downpour.

With the assistance of this thunder and lightning, Lei Yu’s aura continued to surge rapidly.

A high-pitched screech echoed from the clouds as they churned, as if a divine dragon controlling the rain and clouds was stirring, and thunder rumbled.

Silver lightning flashed continuously within the dark clouds, and the atmosphere was charged with a deadly stillness.

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew!