News of Yuan Ming's breakthrough to the Returning Void spread rapidly throughout Yunhuang.

In the history of Yunhuang, very few had achieved the realm of Returning Void, and a cultivator like Yuan Ming, who had simultaneously attained Body Cultivation of Wanxiang, Spoken Witch of the Soul Cultivator, and the Returning Void of the Magic Practitioner, was unprecedented.

It was foreseeable that such an unparalleled achievement would not be matched by anyone else in the short term.

Everyone who knew of Yuan Ming's past was astonished by his talent and fortune, while those who knew nothing of his history regarded him as divine from birth.

Rumors even circulated in the workshops that Nether Moon God Yuan Ming was a powerful being from ancient times who had awakened in the present day, just like the Wu Yue God.

As a result, the number of believers in the Moon Sect multiplied several times over the following period, with countless people praying to the Nether Moon God, hoping to receive a sliver of his talent and fortune.

However, for the old ancestors of sects and leaders of powers who had witnessed it all, Yuan Ming's breakthrough to Returning Void also meant that the strength of the Double Moon Alliance had become even more imposing, making its rule over Yunhuang all the more unshakeable.

Consequently, almost every Nascent Soul cultivator upon hearing the news immediately started preparing congratulatory gifts with the greatest haste and set off for the headquarters of the Double Moon Alliance.

No one dared to refuse the invitation, nor dared to arrive unprepared.

It was said that to prepare these congratulatory gifts, the top Spiritual Objects in Yunhuang had been gathered exhaustively, causing prices in every workshop to soar. Some Nascent Soul cultivators who reacted slowly couldn't even find anything presentable and had to rack their brains to come up with more creative congratulatory gifts.

In order to organize the celebration, the Double Moon Alliance also spared no effort; the amount of Spirit Stones spent alone was counted in the hundreds of millions, not to mention the staggering consumption of manpower and resources.

On the day of the grand ceremony, the headquarters of the Double Moon Alliance was packed with people. Core Formation Cultivators, who were rarely seen, became mere extras, while only the old Nascent Soul monsters and those with a past connection to Yuan Ming were able to join the inner seats and meet Yuan Ming a few times.

"Xing'er has gotten pregnant again recently, and she's been nagging me ever since she heard you broke through to Returning Void. She insists on you giving the child a name, hoping to receive a touch of immortal aura. I've been so pestered by her that I had no choice but to come over with a thick face," said Xu Tian with a wry smile, seeking Yuan Ming's opinion in front of him.

"It's just a small matter, Cousin, why bother so? Let me think... How about the name Xu Yuxian?" After pondering for a moment, Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"Xu Yuxian... Yes, this name is good!" Luo Xing'er muttered to herself with a delighted expression on her face.

Xu Tian was very pleased with the name as well, chatted with Yuan Ming for a few more moments, and then took the initiative to leave with his wife, without disturbing Yuan Ming's reception of other guests.

Yuan Ming watched them leave and, after the two had gone far, he couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Around the time he entered Three Immortals Island, his grandmother had ventured into a secret realm seeking Core Formation opportunities, only to perish, and his two uncles had also passed away one after the other as their Life Span exhausted.

And with the passing of Yuan Ming's parents, the only remaining blood relatives left in the world were Xu Tian alone.

Yuan Ming had just covertly probed with his Divine Sense and discovered that Xu Tian's talent was not high and his age was already advanced. Reaching Foundation Establishment was fortunate enough, leaving almost no possibility of further advancement.

The only thing Yuan Ming could do for him was to order Xu Che to arrange a good position within the alliance that could shelter his descendants.

With this thought, Yuan Ming couldn't help but reflect on how long and solitary the Immortal Path is, casting a slight shadow over his previously joyful mood.

"Master, Wan Tianren and Gu Xuanyang are seeking an audience," Xu Che suddenly reported at that moment.

Yuan Ming composed himself a bit and then nodded, asking Xu Che to lead the visitors over.

Wan Tianren, who followed Xu Che, had lost the overwhelming aura he had when they first met; he appeared to have aged by decades, with half his hair turned white, his shoulders slightly stooped, and his figure no longer erect. His cultivation had even regressed to the mid-stage Nascent Soul.

Times had been hard for Wan Tianren over the past century. This version is sourced from MV3L3MPYR.

Ever since his failure to break through to Returning Void, Fusang Island's status in the East Sea had declined day by day, and when the Double Moon Alliance was formed and Chang Chun Temple was soundly defeated, Fusang Island's situation plummeted.

Most of the islands in the East Sea cut off their connections with them, with the only other contacts being staunch allies such as Gu Xuanyang, but in total they numbered only a few and were also heavily suppressed.

This caused dissension among his subordinates and resulted in a considerable number of defections. The once-renowned Fusang Island in the East Sea had fallen to a state lower than even second-level islands.

Yuan Ming pondered over the intelligence he had gathered from Xu Che in recent days, speculating about Wan Tianren's intentions, and then saw Wan Tianren bend over respectfully to salute.

"Wan Tianren of Fusang Island congratulates Senior Yuan on the great accomplishment of Returning Void," he said with his head lowered.

"Alas, Fellow Daoist Wan, why do you do this?" sighed Yuan Ming, feeling somewhat pity.

In the end, there was no significant conflict between him and Wan Tianren, and the current plight of Fusang Island was indeed the bitter fruit of Wan Tianren's own ambition, with no one else to blame.

"Senior Yuan need not pity me. As the saying goes, 'victors beget glory, and losers bear the blame.' I have accepted my fate and have no intention of contending with the senior any longer. My only wish is not to see my ancestors' legacy destroyed in my hands. Here are three volumes of the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book once obtained by Fusang Island. I beg you, for their sake, to show mercy and spare Fusang Island," said Wan Tianren as he straightened up and presented a Storage Ring with both hands.

"Sigh, enough is enough, I shall grant Fellow Daoist Wan's request," Yuan Ming said resignedly, accepting the Storage Ring.

After Wan Tianren delivered the Heavenly Book, he seemed not willing to stay a moment longer. Having exchanged only a few words, Yuan Ming noticed his uneasiness and took the initiative to offer tea and see him out.

Not long after Wan Tianren and Gu Xuanyang had left, Xi Ying arrived with her father and sister in tow.

"What did Wan Tianren just say to you?" Xi Ying asked with a hint of curiosity.

Yuan Ming recounted the recent events.

"He is a clever man, it's just a pity that his abilities don't match his ambitions. Now that he has handed over the Heavenly Book, let's follow your wish and spare him," Xi Ying said with an immediate smile after hearing the story.

Yuan Ming nodded in agreement, then his gaze shifted to Xi Zheng and Xi Qian.

A hundred years had passed and Xi Zheng had still not broken through the Body of Wanxiang, but his spirit was quite admirable, and the relationship between him and Xi Ying had become less strained—they appeared to have reconciled.

As for Xi Qian, she had changed a lot; her cultivation had actually reached the late-stage Nascent Soul, not much less than Yuan Ming when he made his breakthrough to Returning Void.

"See, even Yuan Ming is surprised. Sister, your cultivation pace is really fast," Xi Ying said, also looking towards Xi Qian at this moment.

"It's all thanks to you two. If you hadn't refined the Immortal Elixir, I'd still be lying in a coffin right now, nowhere near this level of cultivation," Xi Qian said with a mirthful laughter.

There were many more who wanted to see Yuan Ming, so after a light-hearted exchange, Xi Zheng and others didn't stay much longer. After offering their congratulations, they were led out by Xi Ying.

In the following time, Yuan Ming met with many familiar people, such as the Li Zhui couple, the father and son of Golden Transformation Master, and so on.

During conversations with them, Yuan Ming often found himself reminiscing about his past experiences. As the last person bid farewell and left, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation, as if he was saying goodbye to the past, severing all lingering attachments.

But he knew it was just an illusion.

Pondering, Yuan Ming quietly stood up from the reception room in the inner hall and walked into the great hall where a banquet was in full swing.

When everyone in the hall saw Yuan Ming appear, they stood up one after another, cheering and offering their congratulations.

Their voices were not in unison; in fact, they were quite disorderly.

However, looking at those faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, Yuan Ming's lips curved into a smile.

"This cup, I invite you all to drink together," he said, receiving a cup of wine from Xu Che and raising it high.

"To the glory of the Nether Moon God!"

...

As the banquet continued in high spirits, with the noise ebbing and flowing, Yuan Ming's attention had already shifted to the three pages of the Heavenly Book presented by Wan Tianren.

Seizing a moment of quiet, he sent his Divine Sense into the Storage Ring, carefully examining the secret techniques recorded on the pages of the Heavenly Book.

The three pages corresponded to three secret techniques—Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, Planting Beans into Soldiers, and Eyes of Golden Flame.

Yuan Ming had already mastered the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, so after a cursory glance, he moved on from it.

Planting Beans into Soldiers was a magic that required the assistance of objects. Before casting, a cultivator must specially refine spirit beans and store a certain amount of mana and spiritual power within them in advance.

In actual combat, the practitioner could throw out the prepared spirit beans, transforming them into their own clones to fight.

This technique had three levels. At the first level, one could only create clones with ten percent of the original's combat strength; at the second level, thirty percent; and at the third level, sixty percent.

It should be noted that the level of mastery only affects the strength of the clones created; the number of clones one can control entirely depends on the amount of the practitioner's own soul power.

Compared to Planting Beans into Soldiers and Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, cultivating the Eyes of Golden Flame was much more dangerous.

It required the practitioner to cultivate with the help of Spiritual Fire, absorbing the power of the fire through their eyes to enhance their eyesight, to minutely observe all things, and to see through all illusions and disguises.

The higher the level of the immersed Spiritual Fire, the more powerful the cultivated Eyes of Golden Flame will be, and the farther they can see through deceptions.

However, any mistake during the cultivation process could lead to the Spiritual Fire damaging the eyes, resulting in complete blindness that couldn't be healed or restored by ordinary means.

Overall, once these two secret techniques are mastered, they would be very useful to the current Yuan Ming. Nevertheless, whether it is refining spirit beans or absorbing Spiritual Fire, both require time and, at least for now, Yuan Ming was not planning to start practicing them.

He quickly withdrew his Divine Sense from the Storage Ring and focused on entertaining the cultivators of Yunhuang who came to offer their congratulations.