"Fellow Daoist Yun Luo, I appreciate your thoughts, but I am not fond of such spiritual wine. You should enjoy this jar yourself. I have quite a bit to prepare for, so I'll be busy for now," Yuan Ming interrupted her, making an excuse to end the communication, his brows furrowing.

He wondered whether Yun Luo Fairy was overly confident or simply missing a crucial point. They were currently still wanted and had no time to hide, yet she had the mind to attend some Flowers Gathering event.

Shaking his head, he decided to ignore matters concerning Yun Luo Fairy and instead focused on Su Yingxue's exchange request.

Although he had learned a lot about the Three Realms Sect from Yun Luo Fairy, he still couldn't judge the truth of Su Yingxue's information or the hidden meaning behind it.

This woman, confined in the Nihility Prison and yet highly valued, could naturally overhear some news from the Demon World from time to time.

If the news was only about the apparent meaning, he could somewhat understand Su Yingxue's thinking.

She didn't wish to escape, but rather found it more important to transmit the news of the Three Realms Sect's selection of a Sect Hierarch back to the Chuyun Realm.

Realizing this, Yuan Ming couldn't help but hold Su Yingxue in higher regard, with a hint of admiration and respect.

Thinking this far, Yuan Ming no longer hesitated and once again activated the Void Communication Array. Blood Flames flickered within the array, soon revealing another face—it was Wulu.

"Haha, Brother Yuan, what brings you to contact me today? Could it be you missed me?" Wulu laughed as he appeared.

Back then, a group ventured to the Overseas World, and to prevent getting lost unexpectedly, both Wulu and Xi Ying carried a set of the Void Communication Array. Shortly after Yuan Ming took Spiritual Ape Island, Wulu also established a foothold in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range wasn't too far from the Dongji Sea, within the communication range of the Void Communication Array. Hence the two had maintained contact over the years, exchanging information from time to time.

Now, Wulu used White Emperor City as a base and diligently cultivated within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, having already broken through to the Returning to Void Stage through his efforts.

"Brother Wulu, are you suggesting I shouldn't contact you without a reason?" Yuan Ming replied with a smile.

After some chatter to catch up on each other's situations, Yuan Ming went straight to the point.

"I remember you mentioning earlier that after breaking through to the Returning to Void Stage, the concealment effect of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman became more exquisite?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Indeed," Wulu nodded.

"To what extent has the concealment effect of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman reached now?" Yuan Ming continued his inquiry.

"Recently, when I went out hunting beasts, even a Sixth-level Demon Beast couldn't discern it," Wulu said quite proudly.

"That's good. To be honest, I have a matter here for which I'll need your help," Yuan Ming's expression turned serious.

...

Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, White Emperor City.

The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range lies at the junction of the Dongji Sea Area and the Central Continent, covering an extremely vast area, almost no less than the Dongji Sea Area, teeming with countless demon beasts, hence the name "Ten Thousand Demon."

The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range not only has abundant demon beasts but also rich spiritual energy and various spirit grass and mineral veins, attracting innumerable cultivators every year to seek treasures, continuously sending large quantities of demon cores, demon beast materials, spiritual materials, ores, and other resources into the Central Continent.

To facilitate the exploitation of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range's resources, many cultivator cities have been built nearby, and White Emperor City is the most renowned among them.

White Emperor City is situated in the core area of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, where there are numerous powerful demon beasts, including some at Level 5, and even Level 6 Great Demons.

According to usual logic, it's impossible for a city to appear in such a dangerous place. Yet, White Emperor City stands majestically here like an ancient colossal beast and has remained unyielding for tens of thousands of years.

White Emperor City covers a vast area, encompassing several mountain peaks, surrounded by a cluster of mountains, and even within the city, the terrain is undulating, green stretching to the horizon, with few flat open areas, only an array of high-eaved buildings scattered, crisscrossed by wooden pathways, with trees and buildings set against each other, extending with the mountain terrain.

At the city center stands a mountain far taller than the other peaks, shaped like a long sword thrust into the ground.

The lower half of the sword-shaped mountain's rocky body has long been hollowed out and carved into spacious, magnificent halls, with bridges extending out, suspended to connect with other nearby peaks.

As for the upper half of the sword-shaped main peak, it resembles the hilt of a long sword, fully covered in a man-made enormous garden.

Inside the garden, except for plants and ponds, everything is constructed from pure white bricks and stones, above which numerous buildings and palaces are perched.

This is the core of White Emperor City, where the City Lord's Mansion is located.

Within the City Lord's Mansion, the most striking feature is the nine-story pagoda situated at the garden's center.

The pagoda towers majestically, with cloud mist like ribbons winding around from the third layer upwards, and at its apex, a brilliant Spirit Light Sky Pillar pierces the sky like the sun, casting its light over the entire city day and night, dispelling cold and dampness.

The City Lord's Mansion may seem defenseless, but in reality, it is fully enveloped by an invisible Great Array, making entry impossible except through heavily guarded entrances scattered in all directions.

A white-faced scholar flew over from a distance and landed at the western entrance of the City Lord Mansion.

"Halt, why has Fellow Daoist Xu returned so early today?" A Nascent Soul guard responsible for this area stopped the white-faced scholar.

"This batch of spiritual materials is urgently needed by the Pill Control Department. I dare not linger outside any longer and had to return early," the white-faced scholar replied with a wry smile.

"I see. However, you know the rules. If you return early, the inspection will be stricter than usual," the guard nodded and waved his hand, and three more people surrounded them from all sides. * (*) hosts the original.

The white-faced scholar removed the storage bags from his waist one by one and handed them over for inspection.

"Alright, you may go in," the guard said after confirming everything was in order, stepping aside.

The white-faced scholar quickly proceeded forward. A long corridor appeared in front, with array patterns carved into its floor and stone walls, forming a great array that emitted a faint white light.

This formation was named the "Visible Formation", capable of rendering all means of concealment ineffective. If the white-faced scholar had hidden someone using any special method, they would be easily discovered. Its power had even been personally tested by the White Emperor City Lord, making it impossible to evade even for those at the Dharma manifestation Stage.

The white-faced scholar walked in, and the formation automatically activated. Several beams of spirit light scanned him up and down, as if probing for something.

The white-faced scholar continued forward and soon entered the garden from the other end of the corridor, heading straight toward the deeper parts without lingering.

The security in this place is known to be strict, and everyone who wishes to enter must go through such a process. For many years, no one has been able to cheat this series of overt and covert methods and infiltrate.

But today, there was an exception.

Just as the white-faced scholar left, a few steps behind the spot he had just stood, an invisible figure stepped out. It was Wulu, holding the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman and maintaining invisibility.

He turned to look at the formation that had just been activated, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Wulu had followed the white-faced scholar into the City Lord Mansion, and entered the Visible Formation with him. Although the formation didn't recognize him, he felt a flicker of unease when the spirit lights swept over him.

If not for advancing to the Returning to Void Stage, allowing him to further harness the power of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman, he might have been revealed on the spot and caught.

Yet, this experience further confirmed to Wulu the might of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman, instilling greater confidence in what he intended to do next.

The white-faced scholar headed in another direction, leaving Wulu to find his own way.

The mansion's area was much larger than Wulu anticipated. He spent half a day to finally figure out the location and found where the City Lord resided—on the top floor of the nine-story pagoda.

There were also restrictions set within the pagoda, but thanks to the ingenious use of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman, he managed to pass through uneventfully.

The study on the top floor of the pagoda was where the White Emperor City Lord handled city affairs, not for residence or cultivation. When Wulu arrived, the City Lord was not present.

This allowed Wulu to exhale deeply, though confident in the power of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman, facing someone at the peak of the Dharma manifestation Stage made him nervous, not daring to be careless.

Wulu didn't hesitate, immediately flipping his palm to take out a Jade Scroll, placing it on the City Lord's desk, then turned to leave, but suddenly footsteps approached.

An overwhelming aura rushed towards him, causing Wulu, who was concealed, to momentarily freeze.

But he quickly realized the aura was merely incidental, not directed at him, so he stepped back and hid in a concealed corner of the study.

A few breaths later, a man with sword-like brows and starry eyes walked in, wearing a white robe, with black hair cascading like a waterfall down to his shoulders, barefoot yet untouched by dust, and exuding an aura of sharpness.

Wulu only glanced at him, feeling a slight sting in his eyes, and hurriedly looked away, fully activating the invisibility of the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman.

The newcomer was none other than White Emperor City Lord Jin Mu, whose cultivation had reached the peak of Dharma manifestation, surpassing even Ouyang Qiang of the Dongji Palace and others.

Jin Mu walked slowly to the desk, intending to take something, but upon lowering his head, he saw the Jade Scroll Wulu had just placed, furrowing his sword brows and clapping his hands.

"City Lord," a black-robed figure flew in from outside, kneeling on one knee—a black-robed youth.

This person's cultivation also reached the Returning to Void Stage, yet his aura was so faint as if he could disappear at any moment.

"Has someone else come by? Was it Chen E'r?" Jin Mu asked.

"No, Young Master Chen went out of the city yesterday to search for traces of Heavenly Fire," the black-robed youth replied, slightly raising his head.

Jin Mu frowned, waved the youth away, picked up the Jade Scroll on the desk, and infused it with his Divine Sense.

In the next moment, his expression drastically changed, and a terrifying tide-like Divine Sense exploded, enveloping the entire room.

Under the pressure of this Divine Sense, Wulu, hiding in a corner, felt suffocated, and the Heavenly Escape Stone Talisman in his hand trembled slightly, but he barely maintained his invisibility.