The moment he smelled the alcohol, Xiao Family's Ancestor suddenly felt his mind grow foggy, as if he had drunk a hundred barrels of fine wine, and his steps became wobbly.

In a flurry, he pulled out several talismans and stuck them to his body, trying to defend himself, but it was already too late.

Seeing that things were going awry, Xing Rong hurriedly held his breath and cursed inwardly.

But he saw himself retreating more than a dozen steps, while simultaneously waving the fan in his hand. A yellowish fierce wind surged out, rapidly growing in scale and turning into a ten-zhang-tall tornado that spun around the area with a howl.

Even though the small courtyard was blessed with an Array, the rooftop of the hall was instantly torn off under the sweep of the tornado.

The pink alcohol vapor that had been filling the courtyard was blown away in an instant, and Xiao Family's Ancestor finally took a breath of relief, not collapsing on the spot due to drunkenness.

"Clang, clang, clang"

A series of sword ringing noises resounded one after another, and the Sword Array in mid-air, which was already poised for action, now emitted an even more brilliant sword light, with a dense swarm of flying swords shooting down from the sky, heading straight for Xiao Family's Ancestor and Xing Rong.

Xiao Family's Ancestor's pupils constricted. He twisted his wrist and a palm-sized round Array Plate appeared in his hand. He poured all his mana into it, trying to activate the Great Array of Red Lotus Island.

However, under the cover of the Chaotic Star Plate, his Array Plate couldn't even control the Array of the Xiao Family mansion, let alone the entire Red Lotus Island.

The only thing he could control at this moment was the Array of this ancestral hall courtyard.

It was fortunate he had not held back, pouring almost all his mana without reserve. Under the suppression of the Chaotic Star Plate, the runes engraved around the courtyard lit up one by one, and a powerful force began to gather towards him.

In the next instant, Xiao Family's Ancestor was enveloped in golden light, as if he were clad in golden armor, appearing like a divine being descending to the mortal world.

He raised his hand and pushed towards the torrent of flying swords. A golden shield, tall enough for a person, instantly condensed out of the void, standing in front of him.

One by one, the cyan-golden flying swords struck the golden shield, causing a series of golden iron-clashing sounds like the popping of beans, forcing Xiao Family's Ancestor to retreat repeatedly, while the golden light around his body scattered like dust.

"Aren't you going to help, quick!"

Xiao Family's Ancestor urgently shouted, but Xing Rong did not come to help.

Little did he know, Xing Rong had wanted to abandon Xiao Family's Ancestor and flee, but under the overwhelming pressure of Yuan Ming's Divine Soul Secret Technique, he had fallen into a nightmare and was now standing still in a daze.

With a sharp "clang" sound, the golden shield finally could not hold out and shattered.

Sword lights pierced through the body of Xiao Family's Ancestor, leaving him riddled with holes.

Yet Yuan Ming avoided his vital points, not taking his life directly but only rendering him temporarily incapable of resisting. Uplоаdеd by thе М|V|L(ЕМРYR) tеаm.

With an outstretched palm, he transformed into the vines of the Undying Tree, binding both the critically injured Xiao Family's Ancestor and the entrapped Xing Rong in the nightmare, bringing them both in front of him.

Xiao Family's Ancestor had completely given up resistance.

As a Peak of Core Formation Array Master, he was well-known in the Southern Border Immortal Cultivation World, never imagining that he would fall in such a way on Red Lotus Island, a place he had managed for years and filled with Arrays he had set up.

This was supposed to be his home turf, where he could wield the power of the entire island's Array and even take on Nascent Soul cultivators single-handedly if he could mobilize it.

But now, his once-prideful Formations were thoroughly suppressed, leaving him almost powerless to fight back.

"Fellow Daoists, I... I did not intend to betray Pan Si Island; it was all coerced by the Senluo Sect," Xiao Family's Ancestor tried to appear innocent as he spoke.

"Hmph, what Pan Si Island, Senluo Sect. I couldn't care less about your petty squabbles," Yuan Ming snorted coldly, speaking in an indifferent tone.

"You're not from Pan Si Island? Then I wonder how I have offended you, perhaps there has been some misunderstanding. Please give me a chance to explain," Xiao Family's Ancestor said, surprised but feeling a slight relief in his heart.

"Too late! You shouldn't have harbored bad intentions towards Tuya," Yuan Ming said with a cold smile, speaking slowly.

Upon hearing these words, Xiao Family's Ancestor's expression changed drastically.

"Your Excellency must see, Tuya is unharmed at the moment. I was just momentarily misled by others..." he had investigated Tuya's background, and could not understand why anyone other than her master would stand up for her.

Yuan Ming and his companion didn't bother to respond to him. Xi Ying placed a hand on Xing Rong's head and started to perform a Soul Search.

She wanted to know how Xing Rong had come to possess the Transplanting Technique.

Seeing this, Xiao Family's Ancestor's eyes revealed even more fear, knowing that lying was useless in front of these two, and his expression suddenly became strange.

"Go ahead, search. After the Soul Search, you will find out who is behind him," Xiao Family's Ancestor said.

Yuan Ming looked over in surprise, only to see Xi Ying frowning involuntarily.

A moment later, Xi Ying slowly opened her eyes but looked troubled, with a complex expression on her face.

"What did you see in his memory?" Yuan Ming asked.

"The Daoist Lineage of the Senluo Sect comes from the Flower Sect, and their Transplanting Technique is an orthodox cultivation practice. Also, from Xing Rong's memory, I discovered something interesting," Xi Ying pondered for a moment, then said.

"Oh? What is it?" Yuan Ming's interest was piqued when he heard this.

"The newly discovered Spirit Vein they wish to fight for this time is no ordinary Spirit Vein, but one that likely contains spirit marrow of the Five Elements Spiritual Veins," Xi Ying said thoughtfully.

"Five Elements Spirit Marrow... It is said to be Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object. Absorbing such marrow would increase one's cultivation speed by several times. If the spirit marrow is pure enough, it could even hasten the speed by tenfold," Yuan Ming's eyes shone brightly, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"This thing is different from those elixirs that speed up cultivation. There's no issue of developing a resistance to it if consumed too much because it doesn't contain nature's spiritual energy. Instead, it has the ability to widen a cultivator's meridians for a period of time, speeding up the circulation of mana and spiritual power inside their body, thus increasing the speed at which a cultivator absorbs spiritual energy," Xi Ying explained with a smile and a nod.

"My Spirit Root has been tempered by the Ju Mang Spirit Technique and is now not inferior to the Heavenly Spirit Root. If I can get this Five Elements Spirit Marrow, my cultivation speed will surely increase tenfold. It seems I'll have to go take a look at the excitement there," Yuan Ming said joyfully.

"There's also some bad news," Xi Ying's smile gradually faded, and she continued.

"What is it?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

"This time, Xing Rong's visit to Red Lotus Island and colluding with the Xiao Family against Pan Si Island are orchestrated by Wu Yue Sect. They plan to annihilate Pan Si Island and then slowly take control of the entire Southern Border using Senluo Sect as their proxy. The one responsible for moving this plan forward is one of the Six Venerables of the Wu Yue Sect, 'Venerable Xian Kong,'" Xi Ying said with a slight hesitation.

"Venerable Xian Kong?" Yuan Ming felt the name was somewhat familiar.

The next instant, his expression changed, and he suddenly looked at Xi Ying and said, "Isn't Venerable Xian Kong your father?"

Xi Ying silently nodded.

The Xiao Family's Ancestor, standing nearby, had his expression change dramatically, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"So we are all on the same side after all, isn't it like a flood washing over the Dragon King Temple—a complete misunderstanding." The Xiao Family's Ancestor quickly said.

Yuan Ming couldn't be bothered to respond and waved his hand, causing a tendril to wrap around the man's throat and mouth, making him only able to utter muffled sounds.

"Wu Yue Sect is making moves against both the East Sea and the Southern Border; it seems they have grand ambitions. What's your take on this?" Yuan Ming asked.

"My father following Wu Yue Sect is a path with no future—a dead-end," Xi Ying said without hesitation.

"Hearing you say that, I'm relieved," Yuan Ming nodded.

"So what are your plans going forward?" Xi Ying asked.

"My situation with Wu Yue Sect has become one where neither side can rest until the other is dead. If they hadn't been meddling, I wouldn't have bothered with the affairs of Southern Border. Now that I know they are the ones stirring the pot, naturally, I cannot let them have their way," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"What about these two?" Xi Ying asked hesitantly.

"I've never refined Undead Tree Puppets before; they'll be perfect for a trial run. But before that, let's plant a Soul Descent Talisman in them," Yuan Ming stated.

Having said that, his gaze fell upon the Xiao Family's Ancestor.

The latter was already terrified out of his wits, struggling and twisting his body frantically while still making muffled noises.

Yuan Ming didn't give him the chance to speak again. With a wave of his hand, he cast the Dream Butterfly Illusion Technique, completely blocking the Xiao Family's Ancestor's five senses.

The latter's body stiffened, and he immediately stopped struggling, turning into a statue-like figure.

Yuan Ming sighed lightly and placed his hand on the Xiao Family's Ancestor's head, chanting a spell.

A pure black light emanated from his palm, and a vast amount of soul power slowly seeped into the Xiao Family's Ancestor's Sea of Consciousness, permeating his Divine Soul.

As Yuan Ming's chant changed, many black runes appeared in the black light, the runes of the Soul Descent Technique.

The black runes quickly merged into the Xiao Family's Ancestor's Divine Soul, slowly tinting it with the color of ink.

In just a short while, the Soul Descent Rune was completely implanted.

Soon, Yuan Ming applied the same method to Xing Rong, planting the Soul Descent Rune in his Divine Soul.

"Refining Tree Puppets will take some time, and this place is a good shelter," Yuan Ming said.

"You focus on refining; I'll act as your protector," Xi Ying offered.

Yuan Ming nodded. His figure began to expand rapidly, transforming in the blink of an eye into a ten-zhang tall black giant tree.

The bodies of the Xiao Family's Ancestor and Xing Rong were entwined and wrapped by layers of vines, turning into two large black cocoons hanging from the branches.

Yuan Ming didn't have an Immortal Elixir to feed them, and the method he used to refine them was slightly different from that of the Undead Tree Demons.

Inside one of the large cocoons, two vines respectively pierced into the left and right hands of the Xiao Family's Ancestor. The vine in the left hand greedily sucked away, draining the Essence Blood from the Xiao Family's Ancestor bit by bit.

From the right hand vine, a continuous flow of Undying Tree Juice seeped in at the same steady rate into his body.

This process involved replacing the Xiao Family's Ancestor's Essence Blood with Yuan Ming's Undying Tree Power and then through the integration of the flesh with the power of the Undying Tree, the refinement of a Tree Puppet was completed.

Inside the other cocoon, the same was happening to Xing Rong.