As dark clouds emitted another piercing cry, the already turbulent thunderclouds intensified, and silver lightning wildly flashed across the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the dense sound of thunderclaps, more than twenty thick bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, forming a forest of electricity that struck a patch of forest over a hundred meters away.

In an instant, the lush woods were reduced to nothingness, and the ground was pockmarked with deep pits as chunks of earth were flung into the air.

The entire area of the forest was now over two meters lower than the surrounding land, leaving the ground scorched black.

Yuan Ming’s face showed a look of shock. The destructive power Lei Yu summoned with the lightning exceeded that of a second-tier demon beast, and even a third-tier might not be capable of such a feat.

Could the winged bird’s summoned lightning be so powerful? He pondered briefly and realized that most of the lightning forest was naturally occurring in the Ruins Swamp.

With the advantage of the rainy environment, the winged bird had the upper hand. Without its own demonic power, it couldn’t have produced such a terrifying lightning strike.

Lei Yu emerged from the dark clouds, its size significantly larger, now one and a half meters long. Its purple lightning patterns were more vivid, giving it a majestic appearance, truly embodying the splendor of a second-tier demon beast.

Yuan Ming beckoned, and Lei Yu swooped down, alighting on his shoulder in the blink of an eye, chirping joyfully as if to show off to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming naturally offered words of encouragement before instructing Lei Yu to demonstrate its abilities.

After breaking through to the second tier, Lei Yu’s flying speed had greatly increased, and its stamina had improved significantly. The lightning strikes it emitted from its mouth were also much more powerful.

Moreover, its intelligence seemed to have made considerable progress, now able to convey relatively complete information.

Yuan Ming nodded inwardly. At this point, Lei Yu could be considered a capable assistant.

He stored Lei Yu in the spirit beast bag and summoned a white jade flying shuttle, heading northwest.

Feather Crane City was a medium-sized city in the southernmost part of Zhao Country, bordering Great Jin.

Upon arriving in the city, Yuan Ming inquired and soon found Xu Xinyang’s shop.

After giving his name, he was led by a servant to the back room, where he met Xu Xinyang.

Without a word, Xu Xinyang waved his hand over a table, and a red light flashed, revealing three magical artifacts: a black needle, a white jade belt, and a dazzling golden shield.

Yuan Ming’s breath hitched. He first picked up the black needle and swept it with his spiritual consciousness, his eyes lighting up with joy. Then he took the white jade belt and the golden shield, his face showing even greater delight.

The black needle had become a top-grade magical artifact, the white jade belt had clearly been repaired, and although the golden shield was a high-grade artifact, it seemed quite extraordinary.

Although he had boldly hoped the other party could refine three top-grade magical artifacts for him, he knew it was no easy feat.

Otherwise, with Xu Xinyang’s artifact refining skills, he wouldn’t have managed to produce only eleven top-grade artifacts until now. It was already quite remarkable.

“The black needle was already known for its speed and stealth, but it lacked offensive power against strong enemies or powerful defensive artifacts. Therefore, I added the ‘Armor-Piercing’ rune to it, making it the twelfth top-grade artifact I’ve refined in my career. As for the two gems on the white jade belt, I’ve re-enchanted them to restore their spirituality and inscribed the ‘Swift Wind’ and ‘Windbreaker’ runes anew,” Xu Xinyang explained.

“Thank you, Master Xu. To have refined all three artifacts in just a few days is beyond my expectations. Your artifact refining skills are indeed transcendent. I’m familiar with the Swift Wind rune, but what does the Windbreaker rune do?” Yuan Ming asked curiously, expressing his gratitude.

“The faster you move, the greater the wind resistance you encounter. The Windbreaker rune can break through the air resistance caused by high-speed movement, allowing you to move even faster,” Xu Xinyang explained.

“I see, thank you for the guidance, Master Xu!” Yuan Ming nodded slowly.

“This Dragon Scale Shield took the most effort. The scales seem to be from a Flood Dragon, which is rich in spiritual energy. Unfortunately, the person who obtained this Flood Dragon scale originally damaged its foundation with improper techniques. I’ve integrated eight high-grade golden spiritual materials into it. I wasn’t confident that inscribing a fourth rune wouldn’t damage it, so it ended up as a high-grade shield. However, its defensive power is almost on par with top-grade artifacts,” Xu Xinyang continued.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming was delighted, thanked him, paid the remaining six thousand spirit stones, and took his leave.

He didn’t linger in Feather Crane City, heading straight for Wangyue City.

Wangyue City, like Xiaohu City, was named for its location at the foot of the Wangyue Mountain Range.

The Wangyue Mountain Range was a vast mountain range in the north of Zhao Country, stretching thousands of miles.

Rich in mineral resources, the mountain range once housed several large spirit stone and spiritual material mines, but they had been exhausted over a hundred years ago.

After centuries of mining, the Wangyue Mountain Range was riddled with holes and of little value, its spiritual energy gradually depleted. Thus, it was abandoned by the cultivation sects of Zhao Country long ago, only occasionally visited by rogue cultivators seeking treasures.

Despite the depletion of its mines, the Wangyue Mountain Range still had richer spiritual energy than ordinary mountains. Far from the influence of the major cultivation sects of Zhao Country, it was a lawless area where many rogue cultivators chose to settle and establish their own caves.

In a cave within the mountain range, a stone chamber about thirty to forty meters in size housed a white eagle perched atop a stone pillar, resting with its eyes closed.

A platform resembling an altar stood about two to three meters high, with stone steps on all sides. A black array was inscribed on the platform, with a strange black blade, two feet long and neither sword nor knife, suspended in the center.

Eight black spiritual woods were placed around the array according to the Bagua positions, with wisps of yin energy emerging from them and converging on the black blade.

The black blade pulsed with energy, appearing sentient, as if it possessed its own intelligence.

“The Soul Extinguishing Sword Qi has finally stabilized. All my years of effort have not been in vain,” Sha Hao murmured to himself as he stood before the array, carefully observing the suspended black blade.

He took several black yin woods from his storage space bracelet, replacing one within the array that had diminished yin energy. Then he took out a silver-white bell, the Soul Capturing Bell, and gently shook it toward the black blade.

As the bell’s ethereal sound rang out, a smoky soul force spread from the bell, seemingly drawn by an invisible force into the array, wrapping around the black blade like threads.

The smoky soul force entered the blade as if sinking into the sea, and the blade trembled slightly, emitting a series of cheerful, clear sounds.

The Soul Capturing Bell contained only a small amount of soul force, which was quickly absorbed, and the blade fell silent again.

“The souls of Qi refining stage cultivators are too weak. It’s all Ha Gong’s fault for ruining my plans. If I had the soul of Lu Shen’s White Night, plus a few Foundation Establishment stage souls, the Soul Extinguishing Sword would have been completed by now. Now that I’ve been exposed, even the Changchun Sect is after me!” Sha Hao stored the Soul Capturing Bell, speaking resentfully to the white eagle. “It’s a pity that the Soul Locking Bead’s tracking only lasts three days. Otherwise, I would have killed Ha Gong. With the powerful soul of a soul cultivator like him, my Soul Extinguishing Sword would have been perfect!”

Sha Hao’s eyes were cold as he played with a white bead, which emitted a faint yin energy and contained three glowing points within.

“It seems these three won’t appear anytime soon. The tracking is tight right now. Go patrol around the cave and see if there are any suspicious people,” Sha Hao instructed, then left the stone chamber. The white eagle soared out of the chamber.

Meanwhile, ten miles away in another secluded valley, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged in a cave, resting with his eyes closed.

A yellow glow flashed on the ground, and Hua Zhi’s head popped up.

“Did you find out everything?” Yuan Ming asked without opening his eyes.

“I had those underlings thoroughly investigate the ten-mile radius around Sha Hao’s cave, and there was nothing unusual. It seems Sha Hao is quite confident and doesn’t think he’ll be discovered, so he hasn’t prepared any countermeasures. Only the white eagle is constantly patrolling the sky, but it won’t suspect anything,” Hua Zhi reported.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming nodded slightly.

Sha Hao’s hiding place was indeed well-concealed. If not for his possession of the Black Incense, it would have been difficult to find this place.

“There’s a powerful demon beast lurking beneath Sha Hao’s cave. I took a risk and found it’s a second-tier demon snake, likely Sha Hao’s spirit beast tasked with guarding the cave,” Hua Zhi added.

“A second-tier demon snake capable of burrowing underground… Leave this beast to you. Proceed with the plan,” Yuan Ming said, his eyebrows slightly raised.

“Rest assured, master,” Hua Zhi confidently dived back underground and disappeared.

“Sha Hao must be eliminated, or he’ll become an endless threat,” Yuan Ming murmured after Hua Zhi left.

He stood up, changed into black clothes, took out the Thousand Mechanism Mask, and put it on. His appearance rapidly changed, and within a few breaths, he transformed into a middle-aged man with a square face.

He then used a technique to conceal his aura and headed towards Sha Hao’s cave.

Yuan Ming had been in the Wangyue Mountain Range for several days. Relying on the Black Incense’s possession and the help of Hua Zhi’s inconspicuous little demon beasts, he had successfully located the exact position of Sha Hao’s cave.

However, knowing Sha Hao’s strength, he didn’t rashly approach but instead made thorough preparations here.

Sha Hao had become a mortal enemy, and his identity as a soul cultivator was also known to the other party. This hunt must not fail!

Inside the cave, Sha Hao was surrounded by fluctuating spiritual consciousness, seemingly practicing a secret soul technique.

Suddenly, a low roar came from underground, echoing in the chamber.

Sha Hao opened his eyes and took out a blue mirror, tapping it with a spell.

A hazy blue light appeared on the mirror, revealing the figure of a middle-aged man.

“Eh? This person looks somewhat familiar, like Liao, the manager of the Wulei Sect in Wangri City. Could he be tracking me? No wonder I felt like I was being followed when I returned from the market yesterday,” Sha Hao muttered to himself, his eyes turning cold. “No matter what Wulei Sect you are from, since you’ve come to me, I’ll gladly accept your soul.”

With a sinister laugh, he stood up and walked outside.