However, Dian Xiaosan hadn't had time to put away the Pill King Secret Manual when he heard the sound of thunder rolling in from the direction of the Inheritance Hall.

Moments later, a golden lightning figure darted out from the hall, it was Huangfu Jue, surrounded by thunder, charging aggressively towards him.

Dian Xiaosan was startled when he saw Huangfu Jue's murderous appearance, his thoughts raced after taking stock of his serious injuries, and he raised his hand to throw the Pill King Secret Manual towards Huangfu Jue.

"This old fellow knows what to do." Huangfu Jue snorted coldly in his heart, raising his hand to snatch the Pill King Secret Manual.

But just then, everything went black before his eyes, plunging him into endless darkness, his ears deaf to any sound, his Divine Sense unable to perceive anything nearby.

"Illusion Technique!" Huangfu Jue was shocked and angry, turning the Nine Revolutions Divine Sky Technique to its extreme, with streams of golden lightning shooting from his body.

His right hand continued to reach forward as he had felt before, his fingers touching a hard object — the feel of the Pill King Secret Manual, although thinner than he remembered.

As Huangfu Jue's mind raced, he tightened his grip, firmly holding onto half of the Pill King Secret Manual.

The other half was almost simultaneously grasped by another palm; it was Yuan Ming.

The forbidden on the Pill King Secret Manual had disappeared, the classics weren't very sturdy, and with a "tear," it was ripped in two, with Yuan Ming and Huangfu Jue each holding half.

Yuan Ming put away his half of the Pill King Secret Manual, a flash of black light in his hand, the Soul Destroying Sword shot out, slicing towards Huangfu Jue's wrist.

In the illusion, Huangfu Jue seemed to sense the danger, a large electric arc burst from his forehead, crackling chaotically, forming a golden lightning forest around him again, knocking the Soul Destroying Sword aside.

Meanwhile, Huangfu Jue also broke free from the illusion, reawakening.

"Yuan Ming! You were indeed here! Was the illusion just now your doing?" Huangfu Jue was startled upon seeing Yuan Ming, his body's lightning intensified greatly, retreating instantly by dozens of yards.

The half Pill King Secret Manual in his hand flickered and vanished, stored in his Storage Ring.

Yuan Ming's gaze darkened, and he struck backward with his hand.

A large azure hand appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Dian Xiaosan's body.

At this moment, Dian Xiaosan's gaze was empty, evidently caught in Yuan Ming's illusion, unresponsive to the azure hand's grasp.

As the azure hand withdrew, it captured Dian Xiaosan, tossing him into an empty Spiritual Beast Bag, thereafter putting both him and the bag into the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space.

The Stealing Heaven Tripod Space could only open a tiny slit, too small for a human to pass through, so he resorted to this method.

Though the Spiritual Beast Bag wasn't meant for cultivators, staying in there briefly was harmless.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, what does this mean?" Huangfu Jue frowned and asked.

"This Dian Xiaosan is from Luo Jia Mountain, capturing him shouldn't affect Fellow Daoist Huangfu, right?" Yuan Ming replied unhurriedly.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan has misunderstood, Master Dian Xiaosan is actually an inside agent sent to Luo Jia Mountain by the Palace Master. Please release him." Huangfu Jue's heart surged with murderous intent, yet his face remained calm, even managing a slight smile to explain.

"Palace Master Ouyang... unfortunately, Dian Xiaosan and I have some unfinished business. I'll release him back to Dongji Palace after we're done." Yuan Ming sneered upon hearing Ouyang Qiang's name.

Huangfu Jue's eyes darkened, his murderous intent even stronger.

Yet, the flash-quick exchange earlier had shown Yuan Ming's prowess, shocking him. Given the uncertain situation now, he couldn't afford to completely break with Yuan Ming.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, I know you harbor some resentment towards the Palace Master's prior decision to send you to scout the Fire River Stone Bridge. I, too, disagreed with the decision. At the time, the Palace Master simply picked someone randomly to scout, it wasn't directed at you, Fellow Daoist Yuan, please don't take it to heart." Huangfu Jue smiled, softening his tone.

"Truly? I thought I had offended Palace Master Ouyang somehow," Yuan Ming feigned surprise, not tearing the facade.

His thoughts raced, contemplating how to seize the half Pill King Secret Manual from Huangfu Jue.

Huangfu Jue was stronger than he had anticipated; one failed strike might not afford him a second chance.

"Indeed, but let's not dwell on past matters. Currently, within Emperor Yan's Mausoleum, our Dongji Palace holds the advantage. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Yuan would be willing to return? As Vice Palace Master of Dongji Palace, I promise to persuade the Palace Master not to hold your earlier act of tearing the Shared Fate Talisman against you. As for the half Pill King Secret Manual, it's significantly involved. I hope Fellow Daoist Yuan can return it. In exchange, Dongji Palace offers two million Spirit Stones plus three islands." Huangfu Jue's eyes shifted subtly, his tone conciliatory.

"Vice Palace Master Huangfu's kind offer is appreciated, but as for the half Pill King Secret Manual, I have use for it, and cannot return it." Yuan Ming shook his head.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Yuan arrived here earlier, aware it was the Pill King Secret Manual. I advise you to reconsider. Whether Palace Master, Mao Yi, Bai Yuan, or Zhu Yu, they all greatly value the Pill King Secret Manual. If you refuse to surrender it, you may face pursuit from multiple forces—a complication that isn't trivial..." Huangfu Jue reasoned persuasively.

Before he finished, countless white threads suddenly shot out from the nearby void, instantly entangling Huangfu Jue's body, trapping every finger.

Yuan Ming's expression changed slightly, tapping his forehead, releasing five soul crows from his Sea of Consciousness simultaneously, opening their mouths to send a crow cry towards Huangfu Jue and nearby.

Black sound waves rolled out, submerging the area around Huangfu Jue for dozens of yards.

At the same time, the Soul Destroying Sword once again turned into a black shadow and shot out, slashing towards Huangfu Jue's right hand.

No matter whose Divine Skills the white threads belonged to, Yuan Ming planned to first seize the half book of the Pill King Secret Manual from Huangfu Jue's hand, and then leave immediately.

At this moment, a white sword light shot out from the void, with a "ding" sound, it flicked the Soul Destroying Sword away, then the sword light swiftly made a turn, crossing over Huangfu Jue's right wrist.

"Whoosh"

Blood light suddenly appeared, and Huangfu Jue's right hand was severed.

A white figure emerged out of thin air, grabbed Huangfu Jue's severed hand, and shot off into the distance—it was Yun Luo Fairy.

Yuan Ming squinted his eyes, and the Soul Destroying Sword in front of him lightly trembled, the nine runes on the sword body lit up, ready to be activated.

However, he suddenly sighed, withdrew his mana, and allowed Yun Luo Fairy's figure to vanish into the maze.

He had promised earlier to assist Yun Luo Fairy in seizing the Pill King Pavilion Inheritance. As for the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod and that half book of the Pill King Secret Manual, he had taken them from others, and since Yun Luo Fairy did not show up earlier, it was not against his decision. Chapter source: * (*).

Since Yun Luo Fairy decided to make a move for the last half book of the Pill King Secret Manual, he deemed it inappropriate to contend with her for it.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Yuan, for your assistance." Yun Luo Fairy's crisp laughter rang out.

"No problem." Yuan Ming shook his head slightly in an indifferent manner, and after retrieving his Soul Crow and Soul Destroying Sword, his figure also transformed into a blue shadow that shot out, disappearing into the maze in the blink of an eye.

Just as his figure disappeared, Lan Lan and the black Long Gui flew out from the hall, followed by the island masters controlled by the black Long Gui, each bearing injuries.

"Where is the Pill King Secret Manual?" Lan Lan's face turned unpleasant when seeing the outside situation and asked.

The white threads binding Huangfu Jue broke inch by inch, turning into many white dots and disappearing, and his mind also awakened from the Crow Attack.

"It was taken by Yun Luo Fairy and Yuan Ming, and Dian Xiaosan was also captured by that Yuan Ming. Both of them concealed their strength and seemed to have colluded long ago." Huangfu Jue said expressionlessly.

"What!" Lan Lan was furious, their eyes almost spouting fire.

They fought fiercely inside, only for someone else to easily reap the rewards!

"That Yuan Ming and Yun Luo Fairy are from your Dongji Palace, right? Hah, your Dongji Palace certainly excels in producing traitors." The black Long Gui mocked, leading a group of puppets into the maze.

"What should we do next?" Lan Lan also wanted to pursue but stopped and asked.

"Yuan Ming and Yun Luo Fairy are extremely powerful, and now we are all heavily wounded and exhausted. If we recklessly pursue, not only will we fail to retrieve the Pill King Secret Manual, but we may also risk our lives. Besides, no method of leaving has ever appeared before us in Emperor Yan's Mausoleum, so it must not be easy to exit. Let's wait for the Palace Master and others to come out, and then make plans." Huangfu Jue took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said slowly.

In that Spiritual Domain space, flames were burning fiercely everywhere.

The crimson chains binding Mao Yi had already been eroded almost entirely, with only the last chain barely restraining him, and Bai Yuan and Zhu Yu were in similar situations.

Ouyang Qiang, who was severely injured and unconscious before, had also awakened by now. While struggling to protect herself, she constantly performed breathing control to recover and did not allocate extra energy to resist the suppression of the Spiritual Domain.

At this moment, Emperor Yan suddenly looked downward, revealing a barely perceptible smile, and the flames within the Spiritual Domain thinned considerably.

"Quickly now, give it your all, the power of that old Emperor Yan ghost is about to be exhausted." Mao Yi said joyfully, shouting loudly.

As his words fell, the black light on his body suddenly surged, and with a "bang", the last chain snapped.

Immediately, two more "bang bang" sounds rang out.

The chains on Zhu Yu and Bai Yuan also snapped simultaneously, scattering a shower of sparks.

The Flame Spirit Domain convulsed violently; many areas completely collapsed and shattered, reducing the suppression on Mao Yi and others by eighty percent. The three of their Dharma manifestations reformed.

The three of them were overjoyed; without any further communication, they tacitly launched an attack towards Emperor Yan's Molten Rock Dharma Form.

Mao Yi struck out with a palm, a massive palm print formed of black smoke expanded in layers in the void, filled with rampant demonic qi, as if countless phantoms of demons were struggling and howling, striking towards Molten Rock Dharma Form's head.

The Buddha Dharma behind Bai Yuan punched out, a golden fist shadow emerged out of thin air, radiant and majestic, as if surrounded by waves of Brahma sound.

Behind Zhu Yu, the giant blue whale's phantom surfaced, rolling waves within, seemingly imbued with the ocean's power, crashing forward.

The three mighty forces converged into one, together striking the Molten Rock Dharma Form.

Two streams of molten lava dripped from the eyes of the Molten Rock Dharma Form, almost as if it were shedding tears, its fists wrapped in molten lava, billowing thick black smoke, met their attack.