The black dragon turtle sped forward, constantly changing direction, occasionally diving into the seabed, as if afraid of being tracked by someone.

It is unclear how long this lasted, perhaps seven or eight days, before the galloping dragon turtle finally came to a stop.

The darkness surrounding them dissipated like clouds clearing to reveal the sun, and a barren sea area filled with black island reefs suddenly appeared before the crowd.

The dragon turtle did not linger on the surface, waving its forelimbs, parting the sea water, and dived straight downward.

The seabed here was very undulating, like mountain ranges, and the black dragon turtle quickly arrived at a seabed cliff and stopped.

Mao Yi waved his sleeve, several blue lights lit up around the cliff, forming a blue light barrier that isolated the nearby seawater, creating a large waterless space.

"Master!" Several people dressed in black emerged silently from nowhere, bowing to Mao Yi.

On the turtle's back, a group of returning Void Island Masters all stood up.

"Take these people down and keep a good watch on them," Mao Yi ordered lightly.

"Yes," replied a hunchbacked man at the forefront.

Mao Yi waved his sleeve, shooting out a black light that enveloped Huangfu Jue, and the two of them disappeared, no one knowing where they went.

Yuan Ming saw this and his tense heartstrings relaxed.

Mao Yi had not noticed him until now; his earlier choice was indeed correct.

With his current strength, as long as Mao Yi was not around, escaping from here was not difficult.

With Mao Yi gone, the several black-clad men also relaxed, looking at Yuan Ming and the others, especially eyeing the storage magic tools on their bodies with greed.

The hearts of the returning Void cultivators sank, but at this point, their mana and soul power were sealed, leaving them with no resistance.

"Get to work!" the hunchbacked man said coldly, unleashing a powerful pressure characteristic of the late stage of returning Void.

The other black-clad men changed their expressions, reluctantly withdrawing their gazes.

The hunchbacked man muttered something, raising a black command flag, as did the other black-clad individuals.

Seven or eight command flags floated in the air, forming an array as they cast spells.

* (*) appreciates your readership at the source.

"Go!" The hunchbacked man pointed with his finger, and the command flag array shot forward, entering the cliff ahead.

The cliff suddenly became illusory, like an illusion.

The hunchbacked man stopped, waved his hand to release a halo, enveloping Yuan Ming and the others, moving toward the cliff, directly into it.

Yuan Ming blinked and found himself inside a long and deep black stone passage.

Proceeding along the passage, the group quickly arrived at a large cavern, where the air was quite humid, and eight or so smaller passages led in different directions.

"Alright, lock them up separately," the hunchbacked man said.

"Boss, the master has already left, the brothers here have waited a decade, without any profits, handle this according to the old rules?" asked a knife-scarred man in black quietly.

The others also looked at the hunchbacked man, with hopeful expressions.

"Alright, but don't harm them," the hunchbacked man closed his eyes to sense something, then nodded.

The black-clad individuals rejoiced, immediately swarming over, stripping the storage bags from the island masters and elders, and even confiscating the lifebound magical treasures stored in their dantians.

Yuan Ming had anticipated this situation, so he had thrown the storage magic tools and Soul Destroying Sword into the Stealing Heaven Tripod's space. The storage magic tools he carried were from a Nascent Soul Stage evil cultivator he hunted down years ago, so losing them didn't bother him.

"Hmm, you have a strong qi-blood power, are you a body cultivator?" The hunchbacked man looked at Yuan Ming with sharp eyes.

Yuan Ming felt a chill. This person had an incredibly keen sense. He had already tried his best to suppress his qi-blood power, disguising it to be similar to that of the other island masters, yet this person had still detected it.

"Not quite a body cultivator, just practiced body cultivation methods," he replied calmly.

"Fellow Daoist is too modest. With your qi-blood power, you're no inferior to a body cultivator with the Body of Wanxiang," the hunchbacked man chuckled, flipping his hand to reveal a silver box.

The box opened automatically, revealing thirty-two silver needles, emitting a cold aura.

Yuan Ming's eyes darkened; the silver needles gave him a bad feeling, seemingly crafted specifically to counteract his physical body power.

The hunchbacked man sneered, forming hand seals as the needles shot out, piercing various parts of Yuan Ming's body.

The strong qi-blood power within Yuan Ming was completely dispersed, his legs felt like they were filled with old vinegar, sore and weak, requiring all his strength just to stand stable.

"The boss's Taiyin Needle Technique is getting stronger, even the Body of Wanxiang can be sealed instantly," the other black-clad individuals flattered.

"Trivial technique, nothing to boast about, lock these people up, they were once returning Void entities, so be cautious!" the hunchbacked man said lightly.

The black-clad men responded, leading Yuan Ming and the others into the tunnel deep in the cavern.

There were individual caverns carved out of the stone walls here, with black barred doors forming cells.

Yuan Ming and the others were imprisoned inside, one person per cell.

"Stay put here, or don't blame me for being rude," the hunchbacked man said, his grim voice echoing in the passage.

"Boss, rest assured, these people are already like plucked chickens, incapable of making any trouble. I'll guard here, you can relax," the scarred man said.

"Alright, I'll leave this place to you," the hunchbacked man said, then left with most of the people, leaving only the scarred man and two others.

Yuan Ming felt his whole body ache, struggling to sit up and focusing his mind to check his surroundings.

The silver needles had transformed into sharp, chilling qi forces, piercing the many nodes where physical strength and qi-blood circulated, making it impossible to exert any physical power.

"I never expected the overseas world to have methods to seal body cultivation like this; it's quite an eye-opener!" Yuan Ming tried several times to no avail, giving up and inspecting the prison cell.

The cell appeared ordinary, but both the stone walls and the cell door were extremely solid, of unknown material, making it difficult to break even in perfect condition, not to mention now when the island masters' mana was sealed.

With both his physical strength and mana sealed, Yuan Ming planned to use the power of the Undying Tree to open the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space and use soul cultivation divine power to easily deal with the three guards outside.

However, to escape from the incredibly sturdy cell, he must restore his mana.

Yuan Ming sat with eyes closed, exploring the seal within his dantian.

The seal was not unfamiliar to him, similar methods were used to seal the mana of prisoners in the Demon World's Nihility Prison.

Over the years, Yuan Ming had possessed prisoners and guards in the Nihility Prison, gaining substantial knowledge of their seals, and this, combined with his current array formation cultivation, should make breaking it not too difficult.

He used the power of the Undying Tree Demon to open the passage to the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space, releasing a torrent of divine sense to examine the dantian seal.

As time passed, three days quickly went by.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes, a hint of joy flashing in them.

After three days of study, he had roughly figured out the essence of this seal.

The seal combined demonic qi and sealing skills, containing demonic qi, mana, soul power, and a trace of space power. It not only sealed his nascent soul but also isolated it from his body.

Solely relying on mana and forbidden breaking techniques would hardly suffice to break it.

However, having comprehended the seal's structure, Yuan Ming planned to exploit the root-piercing void trait of the Undying Tree to dismantle the space power within the seal, then use demonic qi and mana to attack from the outside, giving him a seventy to eighty percent chance of breaking it.

Nonetheless, the seal was cleverly designed with some sort of warning mechanism. Should he attempt to break it, Mao Yi would likely become aware immediately.

"Looks like I need a way to isolate the warning effect..." Yuan Ming mused silently.

There were indeed ways, such as escaping into the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space or using the Silver Token to create a space barrier, which should isolate the warning.

But this would be too conspicuous, and who knows if someone in this prison was monitoring in secret?

While Yuan Ming was pondering, footsteps approached rapidly from outside.

Yuan Ming halted all actions, leaning back against the stone wall.

A few breaths later, a black-clad figure appeared outside his cell; it was the hunchbacked man from before.

"What brings you here?" Yuan Ming asked.

"I've investigated your identity; your name is Yuan Ming? Proficient in the way of arrays?" the hunchbacked man asked.

"I wouldn't dare claim proficiency; the way of arrays is vast and limitless. I only know a little," Yuan Ming replied softly.

"Knowing humility, it seems your array formation cultivation is not low. Tell me, do you want to live or die?" the hunchbacked man nodded slightly, continuing to ask.

"If given a choice, I don't think any cultivator would choose death," Yuan Ming replied ambiguously, unsure of the man's intentions.

"Very well, to be frank with you, everyone imprisoned here will die soon. However, your luck is good; Lord Mao Yi will be handling a major event and needs capable people. Since you are proficient in the way of arrays, I'll give you a chance to live," the hunchbacked man formed a seal with his hand.

A black light shot into Yuan Ming's body, directly hitting the seal in his dantian.

With a light hiss, the seal quickly collapsed, having dissipated significantly.

Yuan Ming's mana rapidly recovered, coming back under his control, though only half restored.

Alongside mana, soul power in his nascent soul also recovered by half.

Yet before Yuan Ming could rejoice, a wisp of purple light shot out from the black light, flashing into his nascent soul.

His nascent soul swiftly turned a pale purple, looking like amethyst, giving off a dreamlike, enchanting beauty.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yuan Ming asked with an unsightly expression, looking at the hunchbacked man outside.

The nascent soul was the foundation of a magic practitioner, and for it to suddenly become like this, it surely indicated a major problem.

The hunchbacked man ignored Yuan Ming's angry gaze and retrieved a Jade Scroll, tossing it inside.

"You have one month to practice the secret technique on this scroll. If you reach the third realm, you can survive; otherwise, your nascent soul will be fully eroded by the Purple Fluorescent Poison, turning into a puddle of pus and dying," the hunchbacked man said icily.

"You..." Yuan Ming stood up abruptly, his face turning an extremely dark shade.

"Remember, you only have one month," the hunchbacked man noted, saying no more, turning away and leaving on his own accord.