Meanwhile, Yuan Ming had arrived at the White Bone Venerable's retreat. The Yin Fire spewing from the dragon head reliefs had been extinguished, most likely by the thick-browed man earlier.

The area was cold and damp, detrimental to Magic Practitioners but suitable for Soul Cultivators.

He had only had time for a brief exchange with Xi Ying, left Blood Shadow and Hong Ling to guard the entrance to the stone chamber, and then hurriedly began addressing the trouble in his Sea of Consciousness.

Xi Ying had mentioned that absorbing Desire Power was harmless and beneficial except when breaking through the Sleeping Witch barrier, but the current situation proved that her words had been too confident.

But who could have predicted Yuan Ming would obtain such a vast amount of Desire Power? Even within the Wu Yue Sect, perhaps only the revered Wu Yue God would encounter such a situation, so it was understandable that Xi Ying could not perceive the drawbacks of excessive Desire Power.

The Divine Soul is the foundation of a person; Yuan Ming's current situation was indeed quite dangerous. One misstep and he could have been overwhelmed by the excessive and chaotic Desire Power, scattering his Divine Soul to the point of becoming an ignorant fool.

Fortunately, he had discovered it in time and his Cultivation was robust enough to stabilize the situation. As long as he proceeded methodically, continuing to refine the already absorbed Desire Power through the Moonlight Technique, he should be able to resolve this issue.

As for the Desire Power that continued to flow ceaselessly, Yuan Ming allocated a portion of his consciousness to block it from his Divine Soul, allowing it to naturally return to the White Jade Lotus Platform.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, and the Soul Power indeed began to ease.

He breathed a sigh of relief, continued the rotation of the Moonlight Technique, and took out a White Bone Ring, the storage magic tool belonging to the White Bone Venerable.

Consider, on the name of one of the Six Great Venerables of the Wu Yue Sect, it surely would not disappoint him.

Yuan Ming activated his Divine Sense to penetrate the ring and soon revealed a look of pleasure.

Indeed, the contents of the White Bone Ring were bountiful: there were over a million Spirit Stones, countless spiritual materials, and numerous High Grade Magic Treasures.

He had recently been urging the Yan sisters as well as Xu Che to fervently develop the Moon God Sect, attracting truly devout Believers, and the resources being poured in were mounting.

The Hundred Pills Square was just starting out with scant profits, and Yuan Ming was concerned that he would soon exhaust his resources, but the White Bone Venerable had delivered such abundance.

To him, the Wu Yue Sect was indeed like a timely Godsend. It had offered him a generous gift back at the Shura Palace, and now another great boon had come his way.

Yuan Ming took out the items from the Bone Ring and transferred them into his own storage magic tool.

However, he kept a few things for himself: three white Jade Bottles and a grey Bone Slab.

Yuan Ming opened a Jade Bottle containing snow-white pills emitting a fierce coldness; the other two bottles also had the same kind of pills.

He had found records of these pills in a Jade Scroll inside the White Bone Ring. The snow-white pills were called Snow Soul Pills, an elixir taken by Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators to improve their Cultivation.

Yuan Ming caressed the white Jade Bottle and after a moment, set it down.

His Soul Cultivation was progressing by leaps and bounds, and he had the Shura Blood Devouring Map to aid in Body Cultivation, so improvement would not be difficult. Magic Cultivation was the only area lagging.

Though his Spirit Root had been refined to rival a Heavenly Spirit Root through the Ju Mang Spirit Technique, Cultivation in the Nascent Soul Stage was slow. Even with a Heavenly Spirit Root, through mere meditation, advancing a minor realm would take at least a hundred years.

If it were peacetime, Yuan Ming could afford to wait. However, the Yunhuang Continent was currently teeming with turmoil, and he could not afford to Cultivate slowly; he had to rely on the power of elixirs, so these Snow Soul Pills arrived at just the right time.

The potency of the Snow Soul Pills was a bit too fierce for his current state, but luckily, he had the Undying Tree, his Lifebound Spirit Plant, which could completely neutralize it.

Yuan Ming put away the three bottles of pills and picked up the grey Bone Slab.

The Bone Slab detailed the Cultivation Technique practiced by the White Bone Venerable, called the Bone Emperor Technique. The higher the realm, the harder the bones would become, and the Practitioner's flesh would gradually recede, revealing white bones, just like the White Bone Venerable's arms.

When the Bone Emperor Technique reached the Returning to Void Realm, all flesh would vanish, completely transforming into an indestructible, Vajra-like skeleton.

Yuan Ming clicked his tongue in wonder at this bizarre technique; indeed, the world was full of marvels.

The Bone Emperor Technique had effects on Body Refinement, especially with innovative ideas for tempering bones and had many similarities with the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill, valuable for reference and comprehension.

Moreover, the Bone Emperor Technique could hide Magic Power within the bones, which was another distinctive feature.

Yuan Ming closed his eyes to comprehend the Bone Emperor Technique, quickly mastering it, and then stored away the Bone Slab.

In truth, whether it be the Spirit Stones, the pills, or the Bone Emperor Technique, they were not what he was most concerned about.

He gestured, and a Bone White Long Banner appeared before him. This Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner was the greatest acquisition of the day.

Yuan Ming carefully examined the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, the tears in the banner's fabric had been repaired, and the twenty-four runes' energy flowed harmoniously, enhancing its power significantly compared to when it was inside the Artifact Refining Furnace.

He was somewhat speechless. Initially, when he opened the White Bone Artifact Refining Furnace, he had intended for the Bone Banner to clash with the Yin Fire inside the refining room, aiming to destroy it. Now, it seemed not only did his plan fail, but it also expedited the repair of the banner.

Fortunately, the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner ended up in his possession. Readaheadandgetupdatesbyvisiting*.

After a slight hesitation, Yuan Ming began to consecrate the treasure, all the while ready to activate the Undying Tree within his Dantian, transforming into his Tree Man form.

However, the situation he had worried about did not arise. The Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner accepted his mana, and the twenty-four runes emitted a gentle glow, completely different from when it possessed the White Bone Venerable.

Yuan Ming couldn't be bothered to ponder why this was the case. He focused on sensing the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, as well as the twenty-four runes, and quickly understood the banner's condition.

The Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner was a Spiritual Treasure, with its material and runes both having reached the level of a Spiritual Treasure. The only thing it lacked was an Artifact Spirit.

Even so, the might of the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner far surpassed the numerous imitated Spiritual Treasures in his possession, as well as the genuine Spiritual Treasure, the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

Compared to auxiliary treasures like the Shura Blood Devouring Map, the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner was a pure slaughter weapon, with a very straightforward Divine Skill - Bone Control. It could manipulate an enemy's bones to cause internal damage or control the remains of those who had died long ago, harnessing their residual power for battle. In places abundant with remains, this treasure alone could easily form an army of skeletons.

Yuan Ming had seen the White Bone Venerable summon countless remains from the ocean using the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner. If used well, this ability allowed a single person with a banner to rival a large army of cultivators.

He was very pleased with the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner and examined it repeatedly.

"A mere slaying Spiritual Treasure, and it warrants such attention from the Fellow Daoist? The Shura Blood Devouring Map can control cultivators and extract their Essence Blood; its value far exceeds that of the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner," Qi Ye's voice suddenly rang out.

"How come Fellow Daoist Qi Ye finds the time to appear?" Yuan Ming brought out the Shura Blood Devouring Map and said.

"Always lurking inside the Shura Blood Devouring Map is rather dull; I came out for some fresh air. Fellow Daoist is truly blessed with deep favor, having acquired another Spiritual Treasure," Qi Ye said.

"It's just luck," Yuan Ming responded. "Since Fellow Daoist Qi Ye is here, could you help me with something? I want to add an Artifact Spirit to this Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, and I need Fellow Daoist Qi Ye's assistance."

"I've already told you about the risks and downsides; are you sure?" Qi Ye asked slowly, showing no surprise.

"Of course," Yuan Ming nodded without hesitation.

In recent times, Yuan Ming frequently chatted with Qi Ye, and they often discussed Spiritual Treasures.

From Qi Ye, Yuan Ming learned a lot about Spiritual Treasures. They are consecrated by cultivators Returning to Void, nurtured day and night with Magic Power Divine Soul, developing a spiritual nature, and their power far surpasses that of ordinary magic treasures.

As for the Artifact Spirits within Spiritual Treasures, most are cultivated over many years with Divine Souls by Returning to Void Cultivators. Such Artifact Spirits and Spiritual Treasures are perfectly matched and can unleash the treasures' maximum potential.

The effort required to consecrate a Spiritual Treasure is nothing like nurturing an ordinary magic treasure. It needs continuous infusion of Soul Power and Lifebound Essence Qi for an extended duration, leading to cultivators' cultivation becoming stagnant or even damaging their Dao Foundation and Divine Soul. Therefore, many Returning to Void Cultivators would at most refine one Spiritual Treasure and never dare to make a second.

To compensate for this shortcoming, the Returning to Void Cultivators in the Cultivation World dedicated themselves to research. They discovered they could capture powerful demon beasts, extract their souls, and refine them into the Spiritual Treasures as Artifact Spirits.

This approach had its pros and cons. If a suitable demon soul was found, it could double the Spiritual Treasure's power. If an incompatible demon soul was refined, it could instead greatly diminish the power of the Spiritual Treasure.

Moreover, refining a demon beast's soul into a Spiritual Treasure had an extremely low success rate, and few dared attempt it.

However, some time ago, during casual conversation, Qi Ye revealed to Yuan Ming that he had a method that could substantially increase the chance of transforming a demon soul into a Spiritual Treasure's Artifact Spirit, to about seventy to eighty percent.

The method was the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

The biggest issue in refining a demon soul into an Artifact Spirit was its wild nature and unwillingness to be refined. They would fiercely resist during the consecration, preferring to be shattered soul and spirit rather than compromise. This is what caused the low success rate. The Shura Blood Devouring Map, however, could erase the consciousness within a Blood Slave's Divine Soul.

Qi Ye suggested that they first refine the captured demon beast into a Blood Slave, erasing its conscious will. Then the oblivious demon soul could be refined into the Spiritual Treasure, significantly increasing the success rate.

However, a demon soul stripped of its consciousness was no longer complete, and such an Artifact Spirit would be much less powerful than a regular demon beast Artifact Spirit and greatly hinder the Spiritual Treasure's future enhancement.

"It doesn't matter. The Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner came to me out of sheer luck. If there are restrictions, so be it," Yuan Ming shook his head and said.

"In that case, I will first nurture the banner within the Shura Blood Devouring Map. Go and collect demon souls; remember, they cannot be too weak. You need at least a Level 4 Upper Stage demon beast soul. As for compatibility, the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner is a yin-attributed bone Dao magic treasure, which is very much compatible with most demon souls," Qi Ye said, as a stream of blood light wrapped around the Ghostly Soul White Bone Banner, taking it into the Shura Blood Devouring Map.

Yuan Ming did not stop him, planning to deal with the Divine Soul issue before going to the outer sea to hunt demon beasts.

Demon beasts were numerous in the outer sea, and Level 4 Upper Stage ones should not be tough to find. If necessary, he could search in the Overseas World. With his current strength, he didn't need to worry too much about safety.

He took a deep breath and pointed to the ground.

A flash of green light passed, and the body of the White Bone Venerable appeared on the ground. This man had not yet fallen and held onto his last breath.