Yuan Ming remained silent for a moment, then continued to cultivate the Death Moon method, absorbing the power of wishes and channeling it into his sea of consciousness.

His transparent soul crow, formed from a split of his soul, wandered aimlessly within the sea of consciousness.

Yuan Ming’s spiritual consciousness scanned the crow briefly but paid it no further attention.

Just as he was about to continue refining the power of wishes, his expression suddenly changed. His spiritual consciousness locked onto the transparent soul crow, and he couldn’t help but find the situation both amusing and frustrating!

The transparent soul crow wasn’t wandering aimlessly at all; it was slowly absorbing the soul power newly integrated into the sea of consciousness, enhancing itself.

The soul power he had painstakingly refined from the power of wishes was being siphoned off by this transparent soul crow!

Yuan Ming was about to summon the transparent soul crow when a thought struck him. In the next moment, he divided the power of wishes entering his sea of consciousness into two streams: one for his main soul and the other for the transparent soul crow.

Since this split soul had already developed its own consciousness, it should also be able to absorb the power of wishes. Once it refined the power of wishes, Yuan Ming could then absorb the soul power from the split soul, thereby accelerating the enhancement of his own soul power.

The power of wishes sent to the main soul was refined and absorbed as usual, so Yuan Ming didn’t pay it further attention. Instead, he focused entirely on the split soul.

The transparent soul crow quickly absorbed the power of wishes without any abnormalities, much to Yuan Ming’s delight. This method seemed to work.

However, at that moment, the transparent soul crow’s body began to change, forming bubbles and cracks in many places, startling Yuan Ming. He quickly redirected the power of wishes back to the main soul, but the cracks on the transparent soul crow continued to increase, as if it were on the verge of collapse.

Through his connection with the split soul, Yuan Ming realized that it wasn’t unable to absorb the power of wishes, but rather it couldn’t dispel the chaotic emotions contained within it.

As someone with a mature and independent consciousness, Yuan Ming himself experienced various emotions, which would gradually dissipate over time. Therefore, even if he absorbed the power of wishes and gained more chaotic emotions, as long as it didn’t exceed a certain limit, he could dispel them on his own.

The split soul, although independent, was still immature and fragile, unable to form clear and distinct thoughts. Faced with sudden chaotic emotions, it naturally couldn’t dispel them on its own. Realizing this, Yuan Ming immediately had the split soul operate the Death Moon method, hoping to use it to dispel and dissolve the chaotic emotions.

However, although the Death Moon method was a profound soul cultivation technique, its effectiveness in dispelling chaotic thoughts was average, and the condition of the transparent soul crow did not improve. “What should I do?” Yuan Ming thought anxiously. Should he just watch the transparent soul crow collapse?

Yuan Ming was deeply worried. The transparent soul crow was hard-won and very useful; losing it would be a significant loss. Just then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he remembered the Heart Cleansing Formula in Sha Hao’s storage bag. As the Grand Elder’s main cultivation technique, the Heart Cleansing Formula’s greatest feature was its ability to cleanse the mind and dispel chaotic emotions. However, at its highest level, it would completely eradicate all human emotions and desires, which was why Yuan Ming hadn’t tried to cultivate it.

Now that the transparent soul crow was on the verge of collapse due to chaotic emotions, it was worth a try, even if it was a desperate measure.

Moreover, even if the split soul lost all emotions due to the Heart Cleansing Formula, it wouldn’t significantly affect the main soul.

Yuan Ming had already memorized the contents of the Heart Cleansing Formula. He decisively controlled the split soul to operate its soul power according to the Heart Cleansing Formula.

Due to the split soul’s considerable soul power and Yuan Ming’s experience with the Death Moon method, the Heart Cleansing Formula quickly took effect.

In no time, the split soul’s collapse began to slow.

Yuan Ming was overjoyed and continued to control the split soul to operate its soul power.

After about half an hour, he began to clearly feel the chaotic emotions within the split soul melting away like snow, gradually disappearing. The cracks started to heal, and its swelling body gradually returned to normal.

Not only that, but the soul power of the transparent soul crow also noticeably increased.

Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected the Heart Cleansing Formula to be so effective in dispelling chaotic thoughts. This way, his previous plan could be fully realized!

Yuan Ming guided another stream of the power of wishes into his sea of consciousness, letting the transparent soul crow absorb it while simultaneously operating the Heart Cleansing Formula.

The Heart Cleansing Formula’s effect far exceeded his expectations. This stream of the power of wishes was quickly refined and transformed into pure soul power.

Yuan Ming operated his main soul crow, using the soul-nurturing technique to absorb the pure soul power before the split soul could. He couldn’t help but feel excited; using this method, he could enhance his soul power without any risk!

Yuan Ming repeated the process, continuously sending the power of wishes from the Stealing Heaven Cauldron into the split soul, refining it with the Heart Cleansing Formula. He left only a small portion to nourish the split soul, while the rest was channeled into the main soul. After a whole day of cultivation, Yuan Ming opened his eyes in surprise and delight. His soul power had advanced rapidly, much faster than with the Death Moon method alone. With such rapid enhancement of his soul power, the once unattainable Soul Pill technique now seemed highly achievable. In comparison, the amount of power of wishes from the Stealing Heaven Cauldron seemed insufficient. It appeared he needed to spread his writings in Quicksand City, allowing more people to see them and generate admiration and longing, thereby accumulating more power of wishes.

When he went to buy elixirs today, Yuan Ming took a brief tour of Quicksand City. There were some bookstores here, so publishing his books wouldn’t be a problem.

As Yuan Ming pondered, he suddenly remembered the Insect Elixirs.

These elixirs were cheap, but the most challenging part was the residual thoughts of the demonic insects they contained. Since the Heart Cleansing Formula could refine the power of wishes, could it also eliminate the residual thoughts of the demonic insects?

With this thought, Yuan Ming took action. He took out an Insect Elixir and swallowed it. Soon, a thin black mist appeared in his sea of consciousness. This time, he was prepared and immediately commanded the split soul to absorb all the mist. As the split soul continuously operated the Heart Cleansing Formula, the black mist disappeared in the blink of an eye. Yuan Ming waited for a moment to confirm that the demonic thoughts had completely dissolved, and then he beamed with joy. This way, the side effects of the Insect Elixirs were non-existent for him. He could purchase and consume them without any concerns, accelerating his cultivation while saving a significant amount of spirit stones.

Excited, Yuan Ming immediately went out and bought several Insect Elixirs at low prices from various elixir shops. He returned to his residence and immediately immersed himself in cultivation.

Four months later, Yuan Ming emerged from a bookstore in the outer city, shaking his head as he turned towards the inner city. The Black Wind Desert was located on the outskirts of the Central Plains, far from the Great Jin. Although his works had spread, their number was very limited, and many were pirated copies with errors and omissions. Some even had other books printed in the latter half.

To increase his income from the power of wishes, Yuan Ming had specially rewritten the manuscripts of his works and sent them to a bookstore in Quicksand City for printing and publishing.

But now, four months later, he found that the number of readers had increased very slowly, only adding four or five streams of the power of wishes.

After inquiring at the bookstore today, he understood the reason.

The harsh conditions of the Black Wind Desert made survival difficult for the common people, who had no leisure to buy or read books.

Moreover, the area was ruled by cultivators who treated mortals as slaves, selecting only the obedient ones. Naturally, there were no schools or private academies to teach the common people to read. Most of the mortals in the city were illiterate, leading to poor sales of Yuan Ming’s books, in stark contrast to the situation in the Great Jin.

Faced with this situation, Yuan Ming felt helpless and could only consider book sales as a side note, no longer hoping to gain more power of wishes from it.

After entering the inner city, he soon arrived at Chunfeng Hall. The ordinary elixirs he had bought earlier were all consumed, and he was here to buy more Insect Elixirs for his future cultivation needs.

As he walked into the shop, Yuan Ming was thinking about finding the shopkeeper when he looked up and saw a familiar face.

The man wore a plain scholar’s hat and robe, with a gentle and amiable appearance, though his skin was slightly dark, as if tanned by the sun. He was thin but not weak. He was selecting elixirs in the shop and seemed to sense Yuan Ming’s gaze. He looked up and, seeing Yuan Ming, showed a surprised expression.

“Well, if it isn’t Daoist Cui. What a coincidence, it’s been a long time,” Yuan Ming said with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting.

This man was the Cui-named cultivator Yuan Ming had met at the Four Symbols Tea House in Xiaohu City. Although he was from Zhao Country, the world was vast, and meeting Yuan Ming here again was a stroke of fate. The Cui-named cultivator clearly remembered Yuan Ming, though they hadn’t exchanged names at the time. Now, he wanted to greet Yuan Ming properly but didn’t know how to address him.

Yuan Ming realized this and immediately said, “You can call me Yuan Ming, Daoist friend.”

Upon hearing this, the Cui-named cultivator was momentarily stunned, then he understood and smiled, cupping his hands in return. “I am Cui Wuran. Yuan Daoist, I’ve heard much about you. What brings you to the Black Wind Desert?”

Yuan Ming smiled, cupped his hands in thanks, and just then, the shopkeeper came down from upstairs. Seeing Cui and Yuan, he immediately approached and greeted them, “Senior Cui, you’re here! It’s been a long time. I thought you had settled in another city.”